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Cuellar urges officials to request funds By ZACH LINDSEY THE ZAPATA TIMES
The same week after President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar was touring his district urging local officials to apply for funds right away. “Haste but not waste,” Cuellar said Wednesday at the Laredo Community College. “We’ve got to get those dollars out there as soon as possible.” Some of those dollars will come to Zapata. “I think it was great news for all of our school districts in the area, including Zapata,” said Zapata Independent School District Superintendent Romeo Rodriguez. “We’re getting the $2.4 million that will come in through Title I moneys and IDEA, which is special ed.” ZISD plans to use the money to target pre-kindergarten and special ed programs. The package could’ve included another $2 million to be used for renovation or construction, but the Senate lacked the votes to get that into the bill. However, that money could become available in a state fund. “We’re just waiting to see what’s going to happen in terms of what formulas are going to be used to
CUELLAR
distribute those moneys,” Rodriguez said. It will be highly competitive. “All school districts in the state are waiting to do some construction,”
Rodriguez said. As far as the rest of the bill is concerned, if the economic stimulus bill works out the way it is intended to, it will create 269,000 jobs in Texas. To ensure that number of jobs is created, Cuellar stressed the importance of hiring locally. “I’ve done this privately, I will do it publicly,” Cuellar said. “I ask the city to work with local contractors. I want to see some of the profits stay in our area.” According to Cuellar’s office, Texas will receive more than $11.97 billion from the bill; $2.25 billion will be marked for highway projects, and $3.1 billion will go to a “state stabilization fund.” About $4.7 billion would be available for issues relating to education or child health, including the national school lunch assistance program and Title I education for the disadvantaged. The state stabilization fund of
Docs get more money By NICK GEORGIOU THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County Medical Clinic personnel appeared before commissioners Tuesday requesting additional funds so they could increase doctors’ wages and combat growing operational costs. The discussion with Dr. Larry Sands, operator of the clinic, happened during an executive session that lasted more than an hour and a half. In the end, the court, which
has a contract with the medical clinic, agreed to increase the doctors’ wages from $100 an hour to $165 an hour, said Commissioner Joe Rathmell. However, the county will not increase the $140,000 in operational costs that it gives the clinic per month. “They wanted more money from our general fund, but we just couldn’t pay any more,” said Commissioner Jose Emilio Vela. “They claim that the main reason they need more help is because patients aren’t paying the co-payment. “It’s a problem all over the na-
tion. (The clinic) has a very poor collection rate when it comes to co-payment because most are unable to pay.” Revenues generated by the clinic go into a special countycontrolled bank account. Funds are withdrawn from the account only for unforeseen circumstances, Rathmell said. But apparently there was confusion over what the funds were to be used for. “(The clinic) thought the money is for them, but it’s not. It’s county funds,” Vela said.
If the clinic is in need of funds from the special account, the court has to approve. “We’re not supplementing any more funds than we did in the past,” Vela said. “If they want anything else, they have to come to Commissioners Court.” He said that given the increased amount of patients going to the 24-hour medical clinic, it should eventually be a self-sufficient operation that wouldn’t need the county’s help anymore.
See MONEY | PAGE 9A
GETTING READY FOR THE FUN
See CUELLAR | PAGE 9A
Photos by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times
Zapata County Parade Marshals Juanita and Osvaldo Ramirez react after being congratulated during the 2009 Zapata County Fair Kick-Off Parade at the Zapata County Courthourse. BELOW LEFT: 2009 Zapata County Fair Queen contestant Jessica Garcia slices a piece of cake during the kick-off party at the Zapata County Courthouse. BELOW RIGHT: 2008 Zapata County Fair Queen Velma Saenz and 208 Zapata County Junior Miss Gabriel Gonzalez pose during the kick-off party for the 2009 Zapata County Fair.
This year’s fair continues sesquicentennial celebration By DIANA R. FUENTES THE ZAPATA TIMES
Courtesy photo | Special to the Times
1st Lt. Iajara “Heidi” Perez is surrounded by Iraqi children in Tal Afar, Iraq, where she is stationed.The kids have received soccer balls, school supplies and goodies as part of “Operation Cheerful Child,” an outreach program sponsored by IBC Bank-Zapata.
Zapatans helping Iraqi children By JOE RUTLAND THE ZAPATA TIMES
One soldier’s dream has turned into an outpouring of love between two cities and two nations caught up in the twisting, turning sphere that is war. First Lt. Iajara “Heidi” Perez is serving as a military pPolice officer in the U.S. Army in Tal Afar, Iraq, taking part in a transition phase to turn over control of Iraq to its police forces. Through her many missions into the field, Perez was led to seek support for Iraqi children in need through developing “Operation Cheerful Child.” “To be honest with you, ‘Operation Cheerful Child’ was my sister’s doing,” Perez said via e-mail from Iraq. “I arrived in Iraq and after several missions, I saw firsthand the quality of life that these people live in, and it saddened me to see so many children with dirty clothes and no shoes (especially when it’s more than 100-degree weather). Her sister is Norma Perez Hino-
josa, an IBC Bank-Zapata employee and key sparkplug behind creating “Operation Cheerful Child.” “She (Perez) had stated how she was touched by seeing these underprivileged kids living in these circumstances,” Hinojosa said. “She said it was so sad to see them in poor conditions … so much so that a lot of the troops give them candy and bottled water. Even a simple pencil or pen brightens up their day. “So I brought up with the IBC Bank-Zapata employee advisory board that we could do something for the kids. If you look at it, they are really victims, too,” Hinojosa said.
Meeting a need Seeing people — especially children — as she does while on duty, Perez felt a need to do something beyond her everyday role. “During every patrol, you see Iraqi kids run up to our trucks
See HELPING | PAGE 9A
embers of the Zapata County Fair Association were in high spirits earlier this week as they gathered with a wide range of civic leaders to kick off the 36th Annual Zapata County Fair with a rousing tribute to the past. “Zapata 150 Years … a million memories!” is this year’s theme as the county continues celebrating its sesquicentennial. “We had a lot of our past presidents here, and past marshals and the first queen,” said Teresa Hein, third vice president of the association and the mistress of ceremonies for Wednesday’s event. “It brings back a lot of memories.” Hein was a teacher at Zapata High School when the first fair was organized in the 1970s. She taught at Zapata County ISD for 15 years before she left. It would be 18 years before she returned.
M
See FAIR | PAGE 9A