Hidalgo County Commissioners Court recognized Vidal Saenz, Extension Agent-CEP for having received the 2013 Administrator’s Program Award for assisting 45 producers in submitting loan requests for nearly 5 million dollars. His assistance represents a total fee savings to the producers of over $135,000 or approximately $3,000 per producer. Saenz provides technical assistance to limited resource and socially disadvantaged agriculture producers on filling out loan requests from USDA Farm Service Agency and local commercial lending institutions. Commissioners Court congratulates Vidal Saenz on his notable achievement.
Operation Lone Star 2013
A presentation was given today by some of the partner agencies coordinating this year’s Operation Lone Star (OLS). The annual event, in its 15th year, is a collaborative project uniting federal, state and local health and human service agencies, US and Texas Military Forces, local service groups and volunteers to provide the largest public health humanitarian effort in the country.Representatives from the Hidalgo County Health Department, PSJA ISD, and La Joya ISD were in attendance to show their support of the operation and encourage residents to take advantage of the free medical services. Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Director Eddie Olivarez gave an overview on the medical professionals, military personnel, and numerous other volunteers that will be participating in the operation, which is a full emergency response exercise that provides training to many while meeting the needs and providing critical medical services to thousands of underserved, underinsured residents and families.PSJA ISD Public Information Officer Ariana Vasquez Hernandez and La Joya ISD Public Information Officer Eden Ramirez each expressed how important the services the event will provide to underserved and underinsured residents of Hidalgo County. Also in attendance were Safety Directors Romeo Garza (PSJA ISD) and Dr. Armando Ocana (La Joya ISD), who are coordinating the operations at their respective sites.A brief public service announcement was presented to encourage residents to attend. The PSA will be aired on local public, educational and government channels, on the County website, and via social media. Click here to view the PSA >>.Operation Lone Lone Star will be held from Monday July 29, 2013 to Thursday August 1, 2013 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and Friday August 2, 2013 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm at two locations, PSJA High School (805 W. Ridge Rd., San Juan) and Palmview High School (3901 N. La Homa Rd., Mission).
Comissioners Court Recognizes Ofilia J. Perez On Her 100th Birthday
Hidalgo County Commissioners Court approved a resolution honoring Ofilia J. Perez who will turn 100 years old on July 24, 2013. Perez was born on July 24, 1913 to Enemorio Juarez and Pioquinta Laurel Juarez in Santa Teresa, Texas in Starr County. After graduating from Kingsville High School, she continued her education by obtaining a Bachelors of Arts degree from Texas A & I University in both English and Spanish.
In May 1975, Perez retired from the Texas Teachers Retirement System with 36 years of teaching. However, Perez boasts a total of 52 years of classroom teaching, at the San Isidro Independent School District, Sal Colorado School, were she served as a school principal for two years; at the McAllen Independent School District; and at the Edinburg Consolidated School District.
Members of Perez’s family accepted the resolution on her behalf, including son David Perez and Linda Riggle, niece Julia Juarez, niece Martha Salazar, niece Martha De La Garza, two great nieces, Amy Trevino and Diana Vela, and 2 great great nieces and nephews, Freddy and Veronica.
Perez’s niece, Martha De La Cruz, thanked Judge Ramon Garcia and the Commissioners for the recognition, stating that it was a great blessing to have her aunt achieve this great milestone. The approved resolution will be presented to Mrs. Perez at a celebration in her honor. The members of Commissioners Court, and the entire County of Hidalgo, wish Ofilia J. Perez very Happy 100th Birthday.
Two PSJA North Baseball athletes sign with Odessa College
Congratulations to PSJA North Grads Fernie Martinez and Rudy Martinez!
PHARR – PSJA North Pitcher and Outfielder Fernie Martinez and Catcher Rudy Martinez signed with Odessa College on Wednesday, July 17. The athletes will continue to play baseball at the college level. Rudy had a great high school career, making the state playoffs three consecutive years (2011-2013) as a Varsity starter and helping capture Bi-District Championships in 2011 and 2012. He was named District 31-5A 2nd Team All-District Catcher in 2012 and District 31-5A Utility Player of the Year his Senior year.Fernie joined Rudy as a Varsity starter in 2012 and 2013, also helping win the 2012 Bi-District Championship. He was selected as District 31-5A Newcomer of the Year in 2012, District 31-5A 1st Team Pitcher and 1st Team All-Valley Outfielder his Senior year.
PSJA North Graduate wins Gold Medal at SkillsUSA Nationals
Congratulations to PSJA North 2013 Graduate Julio Gonzalez, Jr. for winning a gold medal at SkillsUSA Nationals in Extemporaneous Speaking! The event was held in Kansas City, MO the week of June 24-28. This was Julio’s second consecutive year competing in this event at the National competition, he earned a silver medal in 2012.
Students Join Community to Witness Governor Perry Sign Historic Bill
Along with about 600 students, faculty, staff and members of the Brownsville community, the three UTB students joined the celebratory atmosphere at the event held in the Texas Southmost College Arts Center on Tuesday, July 16.
“I think this is a great blessing for the Rio Grande Valley that will give the community an opportunity to prosper,” said 20-year-old Mendez, a junior accounting and marketing major from Alamo. “This new university will offer a great education for students and will help create a better quality of life for residents of the Valley.”
Martinez, a 20-year-old junior psychology major who is focused on a career in counseling, said he knew the new university would be a boost to the South Texas economy and help create job opportunities in the region.
Ramos, a 19-year-old sophomore, said he is especially interested in the creation of a local medical school. Among the few students admitted to UTB’s Early Medical School Acceptance Program [EMSAP] that will take him to study at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Ramos said he is pleased to know more doors to medical professions will be opened to local students in the future.
Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, Chancellor of The University of Texas System, spoke of the new university as a “work in progress.” He said part of the planning process will include town hall meetings for members of the UTB and UTPA campus communities, as well as residents of the RGV, to be held over the next several months.
The Chancellor said the new university would be admitting its first students in the fall of 2016, and he was hoping a name for the institution would be decided by the end of this year.
Governor Perry said he felt strongly about including his support of creating a new UT System university in his State of the State address.
“Today is a milestone on the Valley’s journey,” Perry said, giving recognition to those who came before who “planted flags” and established the foundation for the creation of the new university.
To learn more about the new university, go to projectsouthtexas.com.
PSJA ISD’s Transportation Dept. selected as top 125 fleets in the Nation
PHARR – The PSJA ISD Transportation Department is among the top 125 fleets in the nation as per Government Fleet, a leading transportation industry magazine and its ranking of The 100 Best Fleets in North America. PSJA’s bus transportation program was one of 25 to earn Honorable Mention honors.
Only three Texas school districts were honored with Houston ISD making the top 100 list, and Austin ISD also receiving Honorable Mention.
PSJA’s Transportation Department is one of the largest in the Rio Grande Valley with 149 buses utilized throughout the school year. For several years now, the goal of the department has been to increase efficiency of the routes by implementing new devices and software that help cut overall travel costs.
According to Fernando Guajardo, transportation supervisor, the department has turned 360 degrees in terms of efficiency, cost savings, safety measures and staff moral. During the last five years, the department has been able to dramatically cut expenditures in the maintenance of vehicles and fuel, saving the district over half a million dollars every school year since then.
With the implementation of new routing software and a GPS tracking device system, all routes, pick-up and drop-off locations are outlined in terms of population, establishing clear boundaries and plans for all drivers. The software also helped the district through its rezoning efforts that started in the 2010-2011 school year, due to the district growth and the opening of new campuses.
“Our Transportation Department has been making great strides as we move our fleet into new technology to help increase the efficiency of the routes and cut travel costs,” Dr. Daniel King, superintendent of schools said. “We congratulate our wonderful transportation staff for this great accomplishment and their continued effort to provide the best environment for our most precious cargo, our students.”
Students Eagerly Anticipate Merger Between UTB and UTPA and Medical School Creation
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – JULY 11, 2013 – Keeisi Caballero of Brownsville first saw the Arecibo Remote Command Center in the Science, Engineering and Technology Building when she was a freshman at the Brownsville Early College High School.
Now Caballero, 17, a member of BECHS’ Class of 2013 and a junior working on a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in physics at The University of Texas at Brownsville, is eager to do the radio pulsar research that physics students do using data from telescopes in West Virginia and Puerto Rico.
“You get to start researching as an undergraduate,” said Caballero. “That’s not something a lot of universities offer.”
Caballero also looks forward being among the first students attending what will be a merged UTB and University of Texas – Pan American in Edinburg expected to begin classes in fall 2015. A new four year-medical school with a presence in Cameron and Hidalgo counties will also be created within the university. The new institution is expected to be the second-largest Hispanic serving institution in the nation.
“I think it’s a big opportunity,” said Caballero. “It’s all about research in physics. I’m excited for my friends because a lot of them are going to biomedicine and having a medical school here will be great. It will not be expensive to move away.”
Gov. Rick Perry and leaders from The University of Texas System and UTB will gather at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 16 at the Texas Southmost College Arts Center for a ceremonial signing ceremony for the legislation passed by the state Legislature in late spring merging the universities and starting the medical school.
Earlier in the day, the governor will participate in a signing celebration at 9:30 a.m. at the UTPA Student Union in Edinburg.
Brandon Gonzalez of Brownsville dreams of one day learning about cancer while taking medical classes in the Rio Grande Valley.
“For me that’s great,” said Gonzalez, 18, a senior biomedical sciences major at UTB. “That’s what I want to do after my undergraduate work. If I can be in one of the first cohorts for that medical school, that will be cool as well.”
Gonzalez, a 2012 graduate of the Brownsville Early College High School, took university-level courses and high school classes to get ahead in semester credit hours before enrolling in fall 2012 at UTB. He is a Greater Texas Foundation Scholar.
Project South Texas, as the new university plan is being called by The University of Texas System, will be developed in the next 12 to 18 months. The plan will give shape to every facet of the university including a new name, academic programs and the make-up of the medical school.
The face of the new university is expected to initially have, according to the UT System:
· More than 27,000 students
· More than 1,490 faculty members
· More than 3,780 staff members
· The average salary for jobs at the university would be $65,000
· Total restricted research expenditures at $11.4 million
· An endowment estimated at $70.5 million
· An operating budget of $419 million
· Total net assets worth $540 million
UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa estimated the cost savings by having one university with a medical school component would save about $6 million a year that could be re-invested into student learning.
Having one university means access to something UTB or UTPA has never had before: money from the Permanent University Fund that is readily available to most campuses in the UT and Texas A&M University Systems.
Regents approve guiding principles for new university in South Texas
The University of Texas System Board of Regents has approved goals and guiding principles for the new UT university and medical school to be established in the Rio Grande Valley.
The new university will combine the resources of UT Pan American and UT Brownsville and, unlike those institutions, will be eligible for participation in the Permanent University Fund. It will automatically be the second-largest Hispanic-serving institution in the nation and promises to transform education, opportunity and the economy of South Texas. Regents have pledged to build a world-class university and pursue global excellence in teaching, research and healthcare.
“These guiding principles are the foundation on which this new university will be built,” Board Chairman Gene Powell said at today’s Board of Regents’ meeting. “If we are truly to transform South Texas and build a state-of-the-art university in the Rio Grande Valley, we have to think globally and that is exactly what we are doing.”
The guiding principles serve as a sort of constitution, establishing fundamental precedents for the formation of the new university. They include:
· Fully integrate next-generation technology and customized learning to increase affordability and maximize student success.
· Promote access to postsecondary education to a diverse student body to become one of the largest and most successful Hispanic-serving institutions in the nation.
· Promote arts and humanities programs to produce state, national and world leaders who are bicultural, bilingual and biliterate.
McAllen Population Could Top 156,000 in 6 Yrs, Census Shows
Texas Border Business
McALLEN (JUNE 24, 2013) – McAllen’s population has increased by nearly 5,000 residents over the last two years sustaining an upward growth pattern that would put its population over 150,000 by the decade’s end if not sooner, according 2012 U.S. Census estimates released in June.
The new Census data set has the City of McAllen estimated population on July 1, 2012 at 134,719, an increase of 4,842, or 3.7%, over the 2010 decennial count of 129,877. The Census did not estimate household income, education attainment and host of other data as part of the report. The federal government only conducts a full decennial census every decade, but regularly updates population figures with estimates.
Most Rio Grande Valley and Texas cities reported population gains, although not many grew as fast as McAllen. The fastest growth occurred in the suburbs of Austin, Houston and Dallas where some cities’ expanded up to 12%. Austin itself is growing at a 6% clip. Among the Valley’s largest cities, Edinburg grew the fastest at 5.3% to reach 81,029 residents. Mission is just behind it at 80,429 and 4% growth. The Valley’s largest city, Brownsville, is up to 180,000, 5,000 more than two years ago up 2.9%.
Hidalgo County, which encompasses the McAllen metro area, increased its population 4.1 %to 806,552, according to the Census estimate. Hidalgo County leaders believe the area was undercounted in the 2010 Census, and its current population is much higher than the federal agency has recorded. Cameron County was up 2.3% to an estimated 415,557.
There are many factors that can impact a city’s population such as the economy, birth rates, immigration and housing. However, if McAllen is able to sustain its 3.7% population growth rate every two years, the city would approach 156,000 residents by 2020, or in 6½ years. It would be the first city in Hidalgo County to break 150,000. The previous decade saw McAllen grow by 23,463 people, and back in 1990 the City’s population was 84,200. So in 22 years, McAllen has expanded by about 50,500 people.
