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County eyes land use Commissioners examine zoning rules for some subdivisions By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Courtesy photo
A house at 205 Kennedy Street was found completely engulfed in flames at about 2 a.m. Friday. No one was injured in the blaze.
Zapata County Commissioner Jose E. Vela will seek approval to apply zoning regulations on certain subdivisions in the next regular meeting Monday. According to Vela, a concerned constituent sent a letter detailing the plans of an individual to build a church on several lots located in a residential area.
“It is a residential area, (it’s) not for a church,” Vela said. Vela will also seek approval to lease an acre of land from Juan A. Medina to construct a Little League baseball park in the Falcon and Lopeno area. According to Vela, the Falcon and Lopeno area does not have a Little League park, and if one is constructed, enthusiasts
will have the opportunity to create teams, practice and compete. “It is beneficial for the kids,” Vela said. Also on the agenda, Aida Garcia, Olga V. Figueroa Zapata County Public Library director, will request authorization to allocate funding to construct the library in a new location. The request follows a sewer flooding incident, caused by heavy rain,
which effectively closed the library for several days. “I don’t know if it will be approved or not,” Garcia said. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” In other business, Judge Rosalva Guerra is requesting permission to modify or change the existing “Welcome to Zapata” sign on the north side of Zapata
See ZONING PAGE 9A
American Red Cross helps ATHLETES ENJOY SPECIAL DAY fire victims By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A Zapata family of four lost their home and all of their belongings early Friday morning in a blaze believed to have been sparked by an unattended candle. No one was injured. According to Fire Department Chief Juan H. Meza, firefighters responded to a small structure fire at about 2 a.m., but arrived to the 500 block of Kennedy Street to find that the house was completely engulfed in flames. “The fire was too advanced,” ZCFD Chief Juan J. Meza said. The family of four — a single mother and her three children — were not in the house at the time of the fire. The residence did not have electricity, Meza said, and the mother had been using candles for light. “The lady said she did not have electricity and was using candles,” Meza said. “She left one on.” Although the residence
was next to several small mobile homes, they were not affected by the fire. “My guys did a tremendous job in containing the fire to the house only,” Meza said. “No one got injured.” According to Isela Sanchez, American Red Cross Laredo Branch Manager, the family was provided immediate economic and shelter assistance by the American Red Cross Laredo Branch volunteers. They will be housed temporarily in a hotel and will have to look for other accommodations after a week. The initial monetary assistance is for clothing, shoes and bedding. “They lost everything in the home,” Sanchez said. “We give them assistance on their basic needs.” According to Meza, many fires occur when the base of the candle breaks. It is better to place a burning candle on top of a pan or in the sink to prevent any potential fire from spreading, he said. (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be contacted at (956) 728-2557.)
Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Zapata Special Olympics team members participate in the parade of athletes Wednesday morning at the SAC for the Area Special Olympics.
Locals take part in Laredo competition By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Z
apata was well-represented when more than 700 athletes from around the region participated in the Special Olympics Texas Spring Games 2010 in Laredo. Several competitors with vari-
ous intellectual disabilities from Villarreal Elementary, Zapata South Elementary, Zapata Middle School participated, and while Zapata High School competed in track and field and softball events. “They have a great time,” said Christina Piña, Zapata High School head coach. “They are
able to show their athletic abilities.” Competing for Villarreal Elementary were Miguel Garcia, third grade, and Fransisco Guzman, fifth grade. Alexis Servino, a fifth-grade student, was the only competitor
See OLYMPICS PAGE 10A
CENSUS 2010
Census Bureau enumerators visit residents By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
The United States Census Bureau is now sending enumerators from door-to-door in its next phase of accounting for the U.S. population. The enumerators are charged with collecting the information of residents who did not fill out
and send back the questionnaire, which had a deadline on April 16. The operation coincides with a similar operation that began in March to target “hard-tocount” residents who live in colonias, new developments and rural areas. “Some of the areas (on) the border are unique, so the census
takers started at the end of March,” said Efren Salinas, U.S. Census Bureau Dallas Region media specialist. “We’re not done.” The nonresponse follow-up began Saturday, May 1, and is expected to run through mid-July. According to Salinas, there are thousands of enumerators, also known as census takers,
who will be working 10 to 40 hours per week and who have been trained to either call or visit homes up to seven times if the resident is not responding. “We’re fully staffed,” Salinas said. “We need to get the job done.” If a resident does not open the door, the enumerator will leave an official census bureau notice
that tells the resident they were visited and to contact the bureau through the phone numbers provided to schedule a better time to be contacted or give the necessary information by phone. The resident may dial 1-866-872-6868 for English and 1-866-928-2010 for Spanish, but the enumerators
See CENSUS PAGE 9A