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APRIL 25,2008
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County opens pool By DORA MARTINEZ SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
It was a nice Tuesday morning as County Commissioners dedicated the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Swmimming Complex at a ribbon cutting ceremoney at the Romeo T. Flores Park. County Judge Rosalva Guerra was guest speaker. She spoke of recent ground breaking ceremonies, adding residents are finally enjoying the fruits of their labor. Guerra compared county government to a softball team, and as a fan she knew in order to win a game, the team needs to play as a unit. The next speaker was Jose Emilio Vela, commissioner precinct 1, who spoke of Mr. Walton, the man who wrote the grant to make the pool possible. Vela then presented a plaque to the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation. Shirley Gonzalez afterwards spoke of how she and her uncles (Martinez) would enjoy getting in the water when they were together and added she knew her uncle Guadalupe would be the first one to
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$1.9M for youth workers ByZACH LINDSEY THE ZAPATA TIMES
As many as 50 positions for youth workers could be created in Zapata as part of South Texas Workforce Solutions’ new program. Friday, Rogelio Treviño, executive director of South Texas Workforce Solutions and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, announced $1.9 million for Zapata, Webb and Jim Hogg counties. “This money will provide im-
mediate income assistance for the youth and their families and will provide job training or retraining for adults who are in need of upgrading or developing new job skills,” Treviño said. The money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and goes to the summer youth work experience program. It still must be distributed to individual counties, but, based on the funding mechanism, Workforce Solutions expects 50 jobs for Zapata.
“They’re starting to take applications,” said County Commissioner Jose Vela, who spoke for Zapata at Friday’s news conference. “They want to start as soon as school finishes, probably June 1.” The program is designed to employ youth aged 14 to 24, and teach them meaningful workplace skills. Seventy percent of the money must be spent on youths that are still in school. The remainder can be spent on youths that are out of school.
Youths will work 30-hour weeks and be paid minimum wage. “We should look for work sites where the young employees can learn about responsibilities and at the same time learn some kind of skills,” Vela said. Companies in the area can volunteer at Workforce Solutions to host youths. “They’ll be giving jobs to people,” Vela said. “That’s a good thing for our county.”
See YOUTH | PAGE 11A
LEGENDS OF THE FORT
See POOL | PAGE 11A
Guard eyed for border By ANNE GEARAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering sending more National Guard troops to keep order along the U.S.Mexican border as drug-fueled violence increases in northern Mexico, defense officials said Friday. Governors of Arizona and Texas have asked for more than 250 additional Guard troops this year, but no decision has been made. The administration has asked Congress for $350 million that could fund emergency military operations along the border but the money has not been approved, and no final choices have been made about how to spend it if it comes through, defense officials said. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the White house policy has not been set. The $350 million request does not signal any imminent deployment of National Guard troops to the border, said an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly. In February, Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for 1,000 troops to augment efforts along the border. And in March Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer wrote to the Pentagon asking for 250 additional Guard troops above approximately 150 already there. “Our communities are negatively affected by the impacts of illegal drug trade and illegal immigration, and enforcement agencies in all jurisdictions are stretched too thin,” Brewer wrote. A Pentagon official replied that a decision hinges on a larger national border strategy still in development. National Guard troops have been deployed along the Mexican border for more than a decade. They support civilian agencies and police and do not make arrests, Pentagon spokesman Les Melnyk said. Separately, four border-state
See BORDER | PAGE 11A
Photos by Jerry Lara | San Antonio-Express News
River Pierce Foundation's Christopher Rincon opens a door at the Don Jesus Trevino fort in San Ygnacio on Wednesday, April 8. The foundation has taken up the restoration of the fort.
Fort Treviño reflects hardships of frontier era By LYNN BREZOSKY SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
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AN YGNACIO — Legends differ on the origins of the sundial over the arched gateway of the 1830s Treviño Fort, a cluster of timeworn buildings on the banks of the Rio Grande. One says it was installed as a tribute to cosmology. A 10-year-old boy made his way back from a kidnapping by American Indian tribes, guided by the patterns of the stars.
The atypical flourish is just one curiosity in what historians call the most significant, and amazingly intact, piece of Texas-Mexico border history still standing. The building style is Spanish, its simplicity a testament to the hardships of what became the northern Mexico, then southern Texas, frontier. Its walls predate the U.S.-Mexico border to a time when Spanish land grants straddled the Rio Grande and settlers did business in cities such as Guerrero and Camargo.
Its existence points to the deadly tensions between European settlers and native tribes, particularly concerning the waters of the Rio Grande. “It really embodies in one place, in one structure, the history of the border,” said Mario Sánchez, an architect who edited the book “A Shared Experience” in 1994 as part of a project commemorating the binational history of the Rio Grande. “Let’s face it, it was built by people across the river to tend to their
lands on the north banks,” he said. “It’s there in wood and stone. Architecturally, historically and culturally, it is extremely significant … It is a step back in time.” San Ygnacio was established by Don Jesús Treviño, a land claim purchaser who settled in Guerrero, Mexico, and wanted a fortified dwelling for ranch hands north of the river. His son-in-law, Blás María Uribe, set up the house. Other settlers took refuge and manned the troneras, or gun portholes, during
See FORT | PAGE 12A
ABOVE : The enclosed wall of the fort in San Ygnacio are in the process of restoration Wednesday, April 8. The fort, established by San Ygnacio founder Don Jesus Treviño, served as protection against indian attacks. LEFT : The San Ygnacio fort is identified by the sundial over the main entrance.