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ZAPATA COUNTY
NATIONAL
Retirees hear ‘no’
Hot air boy a hoax?
Commissioners won’t pay 100 percent of their insurance costs By JULIE DAFFERN THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata Commissioners Court opted not to cover 100 percent of the insurance premium for its retired employees at its Monday meeting. Commissioner Jose
Emilio Vela said the court was approached by some retirees after the county agreed to pay the entire insurance premium for those currently employed. The retirees, who currently have 85 percent of the premium paid by the county, asked
the whole sum be paid. Vela said the Commissioners Court did not have money set aside for that. “We just can’t afford it right now,” he said. There are about 15 retired employees on the county’s insurance. Vela
said he feared more would sign up if they heard the county was paying the full premium. “If we change that, it’s going to be a big liability,” he said. Commissioner Gabriel Villarreal agreed with Vela, saying that the 85
percent being paid for by the county was fair for the retired employees. Also at Monday’s meeting, the court approved a resolution clarifying that the only people who can access a
See COUNTY PAGE 10A
A GRATEFUL NATION
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
Jeff Milligan, left, director of the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System, gets a handshake from Manuel Uribe, Post Commander for the American Legion Post 486 on Monday afternoon during a ceremony for a mobile medical unit.
Cuellar, others unveil medical unit for veterans THE ZAPATA TIMES
A new mobile medical unit that will provide health care services for the area’s veterans was unveiled earlier this week to the applause of local veterans who were delighted with the increased local access to medical care. “It’s very convenient for all of us,” said Alberto J. Arambula, finance officer for American Legion Post 486. “We can get primary care – blood work, X-rays – and do paperwork right here. They can even do teleconferences with specialists in San Antonio and elsewhere. It’s the latest technology. “It saves us a trip to Laredo or farther,” the Vietnam veteran added. Not only will Zapata County veterans be able to receive primary care at the unit, they also will have access to preventative
care and some mental health services. A doctor and nurse travel with the unit when it visits Zapata, currently scheduled every first and third Thursday of the month. “There is no need for our veterans to have to travel out of town to receive health services that they so desperately need,” said Congressman Henry Cuellar, who was in Zapata for the unveiling ceremony Monday. “These veterans were there for us when our nation needed them most, and now we have to be there for them when they need us most.” A strong advocate of services for veterans, Cuellar worked closely the last couple of years with the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that these medical services came to Zapata County. Arambula said veterans are
See VETERANS PAGE 9A
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
At the ribbon cutting for the mobile medical unit were, left to right, Teo Garza, Zapata County Auditor; Congressman Henry Cuellar; Post Commander Manuel Uribe; VA chief Jeff Milligan; and Zapata County Judge Rosalva Guerra.
By P. SOLOMON BANDA AND IVAN MORENO ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — By all accounts, Richard Heene is an unapologetic self-promoter who would pursue all sorts of off-the-wall stunts to get media attention. Flying saucers, mountaintop helicopter stunts, storm chasing, reality TV shows — no gag was beyond his limits. But would he go so far as to hide his 6-year-old son in the rafters of his garage for five hours and make it seem like the boy floated away in a helium balloon? It was a question being asked everywhere Friday, one day after the balloon drama unfolded live on television during a frenzied search before little Falcon Heene was found. The sheriff ’s office said it does not believe at this point that the balloon episode was a stunt, but investigators planned to question the family again Saturday. Richard Heene denies that the events were a hoax, dismissing such allegations as “extremely pathetic.” Doubts surfaced after a series of bizarre TV interviews, including one on CNN in which Falcon Heene told his parents “you said we did this for a show” when asked why he did not come down from the garage rafters during the search.
Talk shows The family made the rounds on the morning talk shows Friday, and little Falcon threw up during two separate interviews when asked why he hid. Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden acknowledged that Falcon’s comments on CNN had clearly “raised everybody’s level of skepticism.” But, he said, investigators had no reason to believe the whole thing was a hoax. Alderden said the family seemed genuine during the panic, and he believed events could have unfolded just as they described: Falcon got frightened when his father scolded him for playing inside the balloon, and hid in the garage out of fear. If the balloon ordeal was a hoax, the parents could be charged with making a false report to authorities, a low-level misdemeanor, Alderden said. He said authorities would need to bring a criminal case before attempting to recoup restitution costs for the thousands of dollars spent to search for the boy, an effort that involved military helicopters, a ground rescue and even a mounted posse.
SPIRITUAL
Winter Texans serve others By ERIKA LAMBRETON THE ZAPATA TIMES
When temperatures begin to drop, Winter Texans begin to migrate down to sunny Zapata. With the inevitable rush of people seeking warmer temperatures, there are those who stand ready to serve their needs. Including some of their own. The Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, whose congregation is almost entirely made up of Winter Texans,
is welcoming Pastor Paul Helmer and his wife, Charlene, back to Zapata again for their annual six-month stay. “The people that come to Zapata from the northern parts of the United States during this time of the year, their spiritual needs need to be attended as well as teachings of the Gospel and the sacrament of the Lord, it is very important and I am glad I am able to do it,” Pastor Helmer said. “This is their church
home in Zapata and they need spiritual care while they’re here.” Their first service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Helmer, originally born in Brazil while his father was on missionary work, retired several years ago from being a pastor in Fort Dodge, Iowa. “I retired when I was 62 and began looking for something to do in a more limited service and when the chairman of the (Zapata) congregation approached
me in 2005, I was very pleased,” Helmer said. For almost five years, Helmer and his wife, Charlene, an organist with the church, have made the trek from their home in Kansas to Zapata. It’s a new and interesting experience for the couple. “It’s a different kind of a culture, and we’re becoming familiar with the area,” the pastor said. “We just enjoy coming to Zapata.”
See SERVE PAGE 10A
Courtesy photo
Pastor Paul Helmer and his wife, Charlene, spend their winters in Zapata, where he ministers to Abiding Savior Lutheran Church six months out of the year. She’s the church organist.