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LAW ENFORCEMENT
Sheriff vows 8-liner war By JASON BUCH THE ZAPATA TIMES Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez says he’s launching a campaign to rid the county of maquinitas establishments that pay out more than the $5 allowed by law. Gonzalez said he will seek felony charges against illegal maquinitas in Zapata County. Charging owners and gamblers
with misdemeanor gambling charges has not been enough of a deterrent, and his office will charge people who run maquinithat pay out GONZALEZ tas more than the legal amount with engaging in organized criminal activity, Gonzalez said. “To me, it’s a slap in face to law
enforcement, to the whole community,” Gonzalez said. “My job is to enforce the law, and that’s what I’m going to do.” The gambling machines, also known as 8-liners, are legal in Texas, but can only pay out $5 in cash prizes. The establishments that break the law are a drain on the community and a catalyst to violent crime, Gonzalez said. “They’re intended for entertainment purpose only, but when peo-
ple go out there and spend their whole Social Security check in a few days, they don’t have any money for food, to pay their bills,” he said. And maquinitas places taking in thousands of dollars in cash each night make tempting targets for armed robbers, he said. “You’re talking lots and lots of money that’s coming out of there,” he said. Two armed men from Starr
County held up a Falcon maquinitas spot in 2006, firing into the ceiling during the robbery, Gonzalez said. In September, a husband and wife at a game room in Lopeño were tied hand and foot by their captors, who stole $5,000 from them, he said. And another establishment in Falcon was taken down by armed
See MAQUINITAS | PAGE 7A
A SPLASHING
High Ed Center on track By ERIKA LAMBRETON THE ZAPATA TIMES
Despite obstacles, the Higher Education Center in Zapata has begun to move forward with development plans and is slated to open its doors in March 2010. The center will now be constructed across from the County Courthouse. Originally, it was to be located in a renovated vacant Zapata Independent School District school building. The Zapata Economic Development Center secured about $1.6 million for the project, and received another $1.5 million in state funds to build a brand new UMPHRES facility. MOFFET “We had to overcome a road block and that was having to combine the funds and still meet the guidelines of both agencies,” said Peggy Umphres Moffet, the economic development center’s president. The idea for the center was born after the center realized the need for a more knowledgeable, better prepared and skilled workforce within the county, said Umphres Moffet.
GOOD TIME
EDUCATION
Needs of the community The first steps the center needed to take were to identify and determine the needs within the community as well as securing a facility, Umphres Moffet said. Programs are currently being developed through an Education Steering Committee, which includes representatives of ZCISD and county officials, along with several community leaders. “(The committee) makes recommendations to the county as far as the design and facility programs that will be taught … as an ongoing process to help keep the project moving and (will) focus on any issues and areas (it) needs to focus on,” said Umphres Moffet. The project involves Laredo Community College and Texas A&M International University, which plan to provide educational and
Photos by Ulysses S. Romero | Laredo Morning Times
TOP: Javier Benavidez enjoys his first experience at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Swimming Complex with the help of his mother, Martha Benavidez, on a scorching Friday afternoon. ABOVE: The sparkling waters of the new complex, which just opened Thursday, are sure to be filled with swimmers soon.
See CENTER | PAGE 7A
AGRICULTURE
Thriving Zapata farms beat the norm By ZACH LINDSEY LAREDO MORNING TIMES
While other counties in Texas are seeing a decrease in farmland, ranches and forestland, Zapata County is seeing some increase, according to a recent study released by the American Farmlands Trust. In 1997, there were 380 farms and 420,931 acres devoted to agriculture in Zapata. In 2007, the most recent year with complete data, Zapata had 459 farms and 459,440 acres of agriculture.
The concentration of agriculture has stayed in the same general areas. “That area close to San Ygnacio, that’s always been VELA agricultural land,” said County Commissioner Jose Vela. “But I do see that they have more farmland there than in the past.” One thing that makes that particular area so successful for farming is irrigation practices.
Statewide, the amount of acreage that made up large farms decreased. Zapata saw a rise in farms larger than 2,000 acres, and also a rise in the amount of acreage those farms took up.
Steady growth In 1997, Zapata had 51 farms with more than 2,000 acres. By 2007, that number had risen to 58. Some of those farms appear to have lost some acreage. Although there are seven new farms with 2,000 acres, there is an increase of
only 21,314 acres from the number of acres held by 2,000-plus-acre farms. The amount of land in mid-sized farms, farms of between 500 and 2,000 acres, declined by about 250,000 acres a year statewide. Again, although Zapata lost one farm between 1,000 to 2,000 acres since 1997, in general, Zapata increased in acreage. Mid-sized farms in Zapata increased their acreage by 9,634 acres. Like much of the state, Zapata saw an increase of farms of between 1 and 500 acres. However, in the case of the rest of the state, the
increase in small farms came from a breakup of mid-sized and large farms.
More small farms Zapata saw 7,551 new small farms emerge from 1997 to 2007. While Webb to the northwest and Starr to the southeast both saw a trend toward fragmentation of larger farms, Zapata was one of the only counties in the region the study identified as “South Texas
See FARMS | PAGE 7A