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GALVESTON
TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Keck to succeed Jones TAMIU head appointed to TAMU-C SPECIAL TO THE TIME S
Dave Rossman / Associated Press
Scott Hanson displays an old beer sign at his workshop in Galveston, Texas. The door has been cut from several pieces of reclaimed wood and assembled into something beautiful.
Salvaged wood adds elegance
John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, announced Friday that Ray M. Keck has been appointed interim president at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Keck succeeds Dan Jones, who served as pres-
ident at A&M-Commerce from 2008 until he died April 29. Since 2001, Keck has served as the fifth president of Texas A&M International University, where he worked closely with Jones, who served as provost from 2003 until his presidential appointment at Commerce, locat-
ed northeast of Dallas. “We lost a tremendous leader when we lost Dan Jones,” Sharp said. “In appointing Ray Keck as interim president, we help insure that Texas A&M University-Commerce will be in capable hands during this difficult transition. His experience as
Keck
Keck continues on A10
OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH
BLUE MASS CELEBRATION
Artist brings new life into old pieces of lumber By Diane Cowen HOUSTO N CHRONI CLE
GALVESTON, Texas — Scott Hanson runs a hand across his just-finished door with a touch so gentle that he barely caresses the wood. He steps back to admire the 3-by-8-foot piece and states — like a proud papa — that it’s destined for a condo in Galveston’s Palisade Palms luxury high-rise. A patchwork patina of green, blue, orange and ivory, the door has been cut from several pieces of reclaimed wood and assembled into something both beautiful and practical. He can only guess where all the pieces came from.
Perhaps a floor in an older home, a countertop in a Depressionera business or even pieces of a table that once fed a happy family. The custom-made furniture that emerges from Hanson’s island workshop is alive with tales of the past. A few decades or so ago, Hanson, a Minnesota transplant, was juggling jobs working construction and driving a couple of Houston antiques dealers as they bought and sold their wares. After a year, he moved to Galveston, where he continued construction work. One day, he was on a remodeling job in a historic home and the Wood continues on A8
Courtesy photo/ Zapata County Sheriff’s Office
Officials and staff from the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office pose for a picture outside Our Lady of Lourdes Church following the celebration of Blue Mass.
Ceremony dedicated to local law enforcement By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Families, friends and citizens of Zapata County gathered Friday for a special celebration at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 1609 Glenn St. They got together for Blue Mass.
“This mass is given for the safety of our dedicated first responders, men and women in law enforcement, fire rescue and public safety who put their lives in harm’s way for the good of our community,” the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office said. Mass continues on A10
Courtesy photos/ Zapata County Sheriff’s Office
Members of the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office attended Blue Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Friday.
IMMIGRATION PATTERNS
Down in farm country, up in some cities By Tim Henderson STATEL INE .ORG
Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press file
In this file photo, workers plant strawberries in Watsonville, California.
SEATTLE — In the fruit and vegetable country around Seattle, farmworkers talk about smuggling fees as high as $8,500 per person and arduous, circuitous routes across the
Mexican border. Under those conditions, thousands fewer are coming to work in the fields and farmers are desperate for more help. But in Seattle, it’s the opposite: More immigrants are flocking to fill a void in fields like information technology
and engineering, as tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft expand operations. Many are from India, with visas for skilled workers. The divergent immigration patterns are particularly evident in Washington state, Farm continues on A8