LADY HAWKS BEGIN DEFENSE
SATURDAY MARCH 17, 2012
FREE
WITH DISTRICT 31-3A UNDER WAY, ZAPATA WANTS REPEAT, 1B
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
TO 4,000 HOMES
A HEARST PUBLICATION
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
COMMISSIONERS COURT
Water delinquencies Outside agency may be hired to collect on old billings By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County commissioners moved forward with a plan to use an outside agency to collect money from delinquent wa-
ter users. County Judge Joe Rathmell said Commissioners Court will look at which firm to hire at next month’s meeting. Funds owed to the county waterworks department total more than
$100,000, he said. “We just want to make sure we try to collect them,” Rathmell said. “The waterworks (department) is in good shape.” The county employs law firm Linebarger, Goggan, Blair &
Sampson to collect late real estate property taxes. County Commissioner Jose E. Vela said the county may consider using the same firm to collect from delinquent water users, which include both residential and com-
mercial users. Vela said the expense of hiring a collection agency would “pay for itself ” as the firm would receive a percentage of
See COMMISSIONERS PAGE 7A
COMMUNITY
CHILD ENDANGERMENT
BEST LITTLE FAIR IN TEXAS
Baby’s walk leads to arrest By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Danny Zaragoza | The Zapata Times
The Guerrero Gobierno municipal team drives in the parade as it hauls an oversized paper mache fish on Saturday morning.
Intocable pledges free ‘make-up’ concert in July By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Grupo Intocable had to take a rain check Saturday — literally. The homegrown band of Norteño musicians forged through six songs in the rain as the headlining act Saturday, cap-
ping off a weekend of events at this year’s Zapata County Fair, until the weather proved too much. The group took to Facebook the next day to issue an apology. “An incredible rain fell, and we continued playing until the equipment stopped working,”
the group said in a Spanish status update. “In gratitude and in conjunction with the Zapata Fair, we will return in the summer and give a free concert to which is everyone is invited.” Zapata County Chamber of Commerce President Paco Mendoza said Intocable’s make-up
concert will take place sometime in July on the fairgrounds. Admission, as the group promised on Facebook, will be free. “We’re calling it part two of the best little fair in Texas,” he said.
See FAIR PAGE 7A
A barefooted child wandering out on the streets landed a teenager in Zapata Regional Jail. Jesus Antonio Lopez, 18, is being charged with abandoning/endangering a child. Lopez is out on bail. Deputies responded to a child unattended call at 8:52 a.m. March 9 LOPEZ in the 100 block of Ann Drive. Sgt. Mario Elizondo noted how the weather that day was cold. Reports do not mention the child’s age. An on-site investigation led deputies to arrest Lopez. Child Protective Services was also called in for an investigation. The child was turned over to a relative. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
DRUGS
BP arrests 21-year-old on possession charge By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a 21-year-old man for transporting approximately 650 pounds of marijuana in San Ygnacio on March 10. Jesus Muñoz is being charged with knowingly and unlawfully possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The man remains in federal custody. Federal court records state at 1:20 p.m. March 10, a Border Patrol agent assigned to the San Ygnacio area spotted a gray GMC Yukon followed by a convertible Ford Mustang. A criminal complaint states the Yukon appeared to be heavily laden. The agent noticed how both vehicles got off U.S. 83 and went
JESUS ALBERTO MUÑOZ: Charged with possession with intent to deliver. into a San Ygnacio street. A criminal complaint states the Yukon parked at a property with a brown trailer home. A man identified as Muñoz was standing next to a GMC pickup parked next to the Yukon. As the
agent drove toward the area, he noticed the tailgate of the GMC opened and spotted a square bundle in plain view consistent with narcotics smuggling. A criminal complaint states Muñoz went inside the trailer after noticing the agent walking toward the area. A K-9 unit inspected the Yukon and alerted agents to the presence of narcotics. Agents knocked on the trail-
er home door to no avail. Court records states agents heard footsteps inside the residence and a telephone ringing. Agents opened the doors and saw Muñoz on the living room couch. A criminal complaint states agents found more bundles similar to the ones in the Yukon inside a closet which did not have
See POSSESSION PAGE 8A