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Baseball park coming
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL VIEW WITH A TRASHY PROBLEM
Little League field for Falcon, Lopeño area moves ahead; other items tabled By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Several controversial items were tabled at the Zapata County Commissioners Court meeting earlier this week, but the court approved a plan that will result in a Little League baseball park for the Falcon and Lopeño area. “Already everyone said it’s about time,” County Commissioner Jose E. Vela said about the park. “They were very happy about it.” The court authorized county staff to negotiate a lease agreement with a local rancher for one acre of
land where the park will be located. No time line for construction was announced. Among the many reports and presentations made at Monday’s meeting was a petition by local resident Joel Ruiz to be compensated by the county for use of land on lot 18, block 5 in San Ygnacio. The item was tabled to discuss in executive session for further review and legal consultation. The county has said that Ruiz’s property is improperly sitting on county land. County officials claim a sur-
See COUNTY PAGE 8A
Photos by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
This rest stop near San Ygnacio provides an impressive view of the Rio Grande, but it’s threatened by inconsiderate visitors.
To keep rest stops open, state needs county help By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ
EDUCATION
THE ZAPATA TIMES
ZCISD OKs T new rules on admissions By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata County School Board of Trustees welcomed Norma Garcia, Ph. D, to her first school board meeting as interim superintendent before approving the new admission policy Tuesday night. “I had a wonderful first meeting,” Garcia said. “The whole community has embraced the Board’s decision to appoint me as interim.” ZCISD Chief Personnel Officer Jose Luis Morales brought forth an updated student admission policy for the board’s approval. The board approved the new policy, adding 11 new items pertaining to the proof of residency and enrollment of students. The items include penalties for falsifying enrollment, adding a student records requirement and granting authority to determine residency. Other items include
host family information, clarifying information for a minor living apart, recommendation of withdrawal of students not qualified to enroll, appeals procedures, grandparent care information, students not enrolled and withdrawal. According to Morales, the new admission policy is simply an update and the district has not had any issues with enrollment the last four years he has been in charge. He also added that in a case where a student’s parent falsified information, the student would be penalized temporarily by getting expelled from the school. The penalization only lasts until the proof of residency is cleared and then authorization can be granted to re-attend if the proper procedures are met. “We don’t want to keep kids out of school,” Morales said.
See RULES PAGE 8A
he Texas Department of Transportation is threatening to shut down scenic overlook rest stops in Zapata and San Ygnacio if they don’t get cleaning help from Zapata County, citing a serious problem with large amounts of trash. County commissioners say there’s no money in the budget to hire someone just for maintenance, but they indicated at a Commissioners Court meeting Monday that they want to find a way
to keep the popular picnic spots open. Illegal dumping of household items, used tires, animal carcasses and even abandoned appliances create health and safety hazards at the rest stops, state officials said. “We might have to close and dismantle them,” said Eddie Gracia, TxDOT Project Engineer. “We spend a lot of time and effort cleaning.” During a recent visit, an old, plastic trash can filled to the brim with empty beer bottles had been left next to the offi-
See REST STOP PAGE 7A
A trash can full of beer bottles, empty coffee cups and other trash litters the area of the scenic rest stop north of San Ygnacio in Zapata County.
ENERGY
Gulf spill ticks off Obama By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Declaring himself as angry as the rest of the nation, President Barack Obama assailed oil drillers and his own administration Friday as he ordered extra scrutiny of drilling permits to head off any repeat of the sickening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Engineers worked desperately to stop the leak that’s belching out at least
210,000 gallons of crude a day. As Louisiana wildlife officials reported huge tar balls littering a beach, BP PLC technicians labored to accomplish an engineering feat a mile below the water surface. They were gingerly moving joysticks to guide deep-sea robots and thread a mile-long, 6inch tube with a rubber stopper into the 21-inch pipe gushing oil from the
See GULF PAGE 8A
Photo by Susan Walsh | AP
President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the White House after a closed meeting on the efforts to stop the BP oil spill Friday.