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Velas first go to DF ata in national archives (Archivo de la Nación) in Mexico City, as confirmed by the highest genealogical material in Madrid, ascertains the first members of the Vela family arrived the modern day DF (Distrito Federal) ARAMBULA around 1531 when it was first known as the Tenotchitlan. The rest is history for the Vela family descendants, other land grantees and their posterity. The Republic of Mexico, having gained independence from Spain after 300 years and having lost Texas at San Jacinto (1836), saw the Vela names appear in the record as owners of Spanish land grants that totaled 170,922 acres. Tenotchitlan, meanwhile, seemed but a bad dream from the past. Ten years before history recorded the first Vela name, (1531), the region had been overrun by Hernando Cortez and his military followers. History tells how the natives outnumbered the invading Spaniards, but the peninsulares were riding horses and were well armed with muskets and cannons. Cortes was born in Medellin, Spain, in 1485. He was a brash young man, almost 20, when he first sailed to the New World, the Caribbean islands in the Gulf of Mexico. He set sail for Mesoamerica from the Dominicana and Cuba. Materials in the national archives include narratives entries by Cortes about his 11 ships, the sailing crews and their weaponry. In the book “Mexico: Hernan Cortes, Conqueror of Mexico, 1485-1547,” the writer quoted from Spanish Crown documents wherein Diego Velasquez, governor of Mesoamerica, directs Juan de Grijalva to investigate reports the Aztecs were hoarding gold. History tells that Grijalva set sail for the mainland and returned with gold and an assortment of goods made of gold. Cortes, wanting to impress the Spanish Crown in Madrid, was game to cash in on the Aztec gold. Aboard the 11-ship flotilla, the conquistador commanded a crew of 110 sailors, 550 men, about 20 horses, several dogs, a dozen cannons and more than a hundred servants, all Cuban Indians. His sights were fixed on the Gulf coast of modern-day Veracruz, but the shifting winds took his ships in a southerly direction to coast of the Yucatan peninsula. The Cortes logs tell of having discovered a handful of white men living with the natives. The men were Spaniards who had sailed from Spain earlier. They were among survivors of a shipwreck and were taken prisoners b the naives off the coast of Yucatan. Other entries describe events wherein bands of Tabasco Indians went after the Spaniards with all kinds of crude weapons. Historians believe that the horse saved the outnumbered Spaniards from certain death. The Tabasco Indians were scared of the horses. The natives had never seen the horse, much less a man riding the animal. In all these early explorations and wars of conquest, Spanish genealogists and historians concluded some men named Vela were part of the project.
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See LAKE VIEW | PAGE 11A
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
County budget shaping up By PAUL S. MARTINEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
ZAPATA — The Zapata County Commissioners Court financial consultant said there will be no deficit in the budget for 2008-2009, but at least three commissioners would still rather have a budget where the expenditures don’t exceed revenue. The budget was part of the discussion at the second public hearing on the 2008-09 tax rate last Monday. A final
decision on the tax rate and the budget is expected at the commissioners’ next meeting Sept. 8. “First off, we have no budget proposal; we have a working document to see what we need and want versus what we expect to get,” said Ramiro V. Martinez, the Zapata County budget consultant. The “working document” indicates expenditures of $27,366,170 for fiscal year 2008-2009 versus an estimated revenue of $23,382,371. But there won’t be a shortfall, Martinez said, because Zapata County
has a fund balance of more than $15.3 million. However, Precinct 1 Commissioner Jose Vela, Precinct 3 Commissioner Joseph Rathmell and Precinct 4 Commissioner Norberto Garza all said they didGUERRA n’t like the idea of using the fund balance to cover the almost $4 million in expenses superceding the revenue.
“If we keep (using fund balance) year after year, our reserves will dry up and then we’ll be in a bad predicament,” Rathmell said. “I know there is plenty of room to cut some projects and some expenses.” Zapata County approved a budget for fiscal year 2007–2008 that was about $900,000 more than its estimated revenue, with plans to make up the difference with money from the fund balance.
See BUDGET | PAGE 11A
Zapata brings $1.5M
TOP HONORS
Higher ed center moves forward By DIANA R. FUENTES LAREDO MORNING TIMES
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
Zapata South Elementary School principal Pedro Morales and assistant principal Rebecca Flores (holding banner) were joined by their faculty and staff after they were presented with the banner noting the school is a 2008 TEA Recognized School during recent kickoff festivities.
With a $1.5 million state grant now in hand, plans are moving forward on the new Zapata County Advanced Technology Center, which will be built downtown. The state money will be combined with $1.6 million in federal and local matching funds already received for a state-of-the-art educational facility. GUILLEN “This multi-use facility is primarily designed to have higher education classes — continuing education, adult education and training courses, such as the oil and gas training where we are partnering with Laredo Community College,” said Peggy Umphries Moffet, president of the Zapata County Economic Development Center. Umphries Moffet worked with state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City,
See STATE GRANT | PAGE 11A
Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times
Former Principal at A.L. Benavides Ellementary, Cynthia Villarreal, and new principal Gerardo “Jerry” Montes are joined by teachers and support personnel as they display the banner proclaiming their status as 2008 TEA Recognized School during the district’s convocation ceremony at Zapata High School.
ZCISD notes Recognized schools
School taxpayers get break By PAUL S. MARTINEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
By PAUL S. MARTINEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
ou have to love what you do. That’s what a successful educator at Zapata County ISD says is needed for success. “The day you’re not going to work for fun, if you’re a teacher, is the day you need to quit the profession,” said Cynthia Villarreal, who was the principal of Arturo L. Benavides Elementary School when it earned the status of 2008 TEA Recognized School. “A dedicated teacher that invests time in studying her own capabilities and never ceases to learn, is a teacher that will be the best teacher always,” she added. A.L. Benavides Elementary was one of two ZCISD schools to be honored by the Texas Education Agency. Pedro Morales is the principal of the other Recognized school, Zapata South Elementary. Morales said he relied on researchbased programs for his school. “We looked at what worked at other schools in other areas, and applied it (at Zapata South),” he said at the ZCISD board meeting last Monday.
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“The acceptability system has become so rigorous that teachers can’t just wing it.” FORMER PRINCIPAL CYNTHIA VILLARREAL
Morales also attributed the success to his teachers and support staff. Villarreal, who now is an assistant principal at Zapata High School, said the district does a good job of instilling a strong educational foundation in its student. “We have a strong bilingual program that gives our students the components like vocabulary and comprehension development to give them the readiness to learn,” she said. Looking into the future, Villarreal said ZCISD should continue to get stronger. She thinks uniforms, which were required for the first time this school year,
should improve student performance. “(Uniforms) are a very subtle way of making every student be part of a group,” she said. Standards continue to get tougher in education, Villarreal said. At one time, certain students could be exempted from taking the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test, but that’s no longer the case. That’s why Villarreal said the most important component to good schools is good teachers. “The acceptability system in education has become so rigorous that teachers can’t just wing it,” she said. “Teachers need to know their material — if not, it’s going to show.” A Recognized status is awarded by the state when 75 percent of a school’s students pass the TAKS. A school is deemed academically Acceptable if 65 percent of its students pass the TAKS. ZCISD’s four other schools were deemed acceptable. The two Recognized schools were honored at the district’s recent opening convocation. (Paul S. Martinez may be reached at (956) 728-2529 or paul@lmtonline.com)
Zapata County residents will get some tax relief as the local school board lowered the tax rate at a school board meeting Tuesday evening. “As of August, the students and people of Zapata are the owners of their high school,” said Romeo Rodriguez, Zapata County Independent School District superintendent. “It’s because we finished paying Zapata High School that we can give this tax break.” The tax is going from $1.16 per $100 of valuation to $1.09, which is the net effective rate, the rate needed to raise the same amount of revenue when factoring in the increase in property values. The vote was unanimous. The average value of a Zapata home is $37,832; with the new tax rate, the owner of an average home would be looking at an annual tax bill of about $412, without exemptions. It took the district eight years to pays off the $14 million high school, Rodriguez said. In other action Tuesday, the school board awarded a $4 million contract to Leyendecker Construction of Laredo to
See ZCISD| PAGE 11A