GARCIA MAKES HISTORIC RUN
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LAW ENFORCEMENT
COURTS
OFFICIALS: FISH ON THE U.S. SIDE OF THE LAKE
Judge is recused from cases By DENISE BLAZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Ulysses S. Romero/file | The Zapata Times
Fishermen return after a day on a cold Falcon Lake to have their catches officially weighed for a FLW tournament last winter.
Warnings have not kept anglers, visitors away By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Z
apata officials are concerned over a Texas Department of Public Safety warning boaters of armed robberies and attempted armed robberies by pirates at Falcon Lake, but said the warning is only a precaution. “Local authorities never said it’s dangerous to fish in Falcon Lake as long as you stay in U.S. waters,” said Jose F. “Paco” Mendoza Jr., chief executive officer of the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce. “It’s only a pre-
Roads: 1 finished, 1 delayed FM 3169 now four lanes; U.S. 83 project pending Photo by Cuate Santos/file | The Zapata Times
Anglers fish the waters of Falcon Lake on a sunny, windy afternoon during the spring.
Olga V. Figueroa Zapata County Library officials are finally beginning planning a new facility and the newly appointed advisory board will be discussing specifics with a projects coordinator early next week. “It’s the very first meeting,” library director Aida
Garcia said. “It’s a good thing.” The meeting will be at the library on Tuesday, at 1:30 p.m. Members of the new library advisory board include Elma Martinez, Patricia Ramirez, Rosie Digler and Anita Medina, Ph.D. According to Garcia, a library advisory board was needed to represent the li-
brary in speaking to the Zapata County project coordinator Mario Gonzalez Davis. They will be discussing grants that may be available and specific building requirements. “We plan to ask Meadows Foundation for a grant,” Garcia said. “They help us every year.” She said there are plans to seek help form others, including the Guadalupe and Lilia
THE ZAPATA TIMES
Martinez Foundation. Davis said funding is available through the USDA Rural Development agency for library improvements such as the ones needed by the Zapata County library. At Tuesday’s meeting, Davis will ask the library advisory board what the new building needs so he knows
See LIBRARY PAGE 9A
See COUNTY PAGE 9A
Library sets sight on new facility THE ZAPATA TIMES
By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ The Texas Department of Transportation widening project in San Ygnacio has officially been completed but the road upgrade from south of Tepozan County Road to south of Monterrey Lane scheduled to begin back in February has yet to start. Despite several delays due to bad weather and construction meetings, the project on FM 3169 in San Ygnacio has recently been striped. The road is already in use; once the construction signs and equipment is removed, the project will be formally complete, TxDOT officials said. The project called for the widening of the existing roadway from intersection of Highway 83 to two miles north of U.S. 83 on FM 3169 in San Ygnacio for safety reasons. TxDOT Project Manager Maritza Ramirez said Anderson Columbia Co. plans
COMMUNITY SERVICES
By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ
See LAND GRANTS PAGE 10A
COUNTY
caution.” Mendoza said members of the public have misinterpreted the message authorities conveyed as “stay away,” which could keep visitors from going to the lake, thus impacting the economy. Falcon Lake and the fishing tournaments it attracts are known as one of Zapata’s main sources of revenue. “The message is being misunderstood,” Mendoza said. “We want people to enjoy the lake.” The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce re-
See PIRACY PAGE 10A
A ruling made Wednesday has recused a judge from presiding over cases in Zapata where hundreds of South Texas families are claiming that they are owned money by the Texas State Comptroller. There is no specific respondent in the case. “We’ve been taken back to square one. … For five months, we have not been able to move these cases at all,” said Eileen McKenzie Fowler, an attorney who represents hundreds of people claiming to be the rightful heirs of Spanish land grants. Visiting state Judge Fred Shannon, who had presided over the land grant cases since December 2009, has been replaced by state District Judge David Peeples. The cases, which involve 13 suits, in-