laredos february 2012

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A JOURNAL OF THE BORDERLANDS FEBRUARY 2012 Est. 1994 Vol. XVII No. 14 64 PAGES @lareDOSnews LareDOS Newspaper

Heavy-handed U.S. Marshalscuff and strike disabled LaredoanPAGE 16

The battle of San Ygnacio:grass roots environmental solidarity

prompts Texas Energy to withdrawoilfield waste permit

PAGE 17

“He picked me up like a suitcase,” Gutierrez said, describing Martinez using the cuffs and her hair to take her to a vehicle outside her home while neighbors leaving for work witnessed the humiliating moment. “He never stopped calling me names.”

SYT“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself,

“What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew

I would never see it again?”

Rachel Carson

2 I LareDOS I FEBRUARY 2012 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM

WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM LareDOS I FEBRUARY 2012 I 3

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RADIOLOGYCLINICSOFLAREDO

5401 Springfield • (956) 718-0092

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of the Year

Best Wishes from Your Friends at

Santa María Journal

In the fog, the white goats appeared legless, disembodied;the crescendo of bird chatter heralds the new dayBy MARÍA

EUGENIA GUERRA

In the fog, the white goats ap-peared legless, disembodied;

the crescendo of bird chatter heralds the new day

The mist has given the early hour a surreal cast. My dog Luna, frisky in the cool temperatures, prances at my side with far more energy than I’d like to contend with this morning, but as Oat Willie whispered into my ear in Austin in 1967, it’s onward through the fog and into the natural world.

The day is so new that a couple of coy-otes are still telegraphing back and forth intermittently. The soft coo of mourning dove are the prelude to the drama of the sunrise that will splash light across the landscape and shake the waking world from rest. A crescendo of bird chatter will soon herald the new day.

In the fog, our white goats appear as disembodied, legless forms that float in

the gray cover across the fenced callejón where they live. Luna acts for a moment like she was contemplating cabrito for breakfast, but re-thinks the idea when the buzz on her collar recalibrates the fleeting notion.

We walk on, and it is impossible not to notice how little grass there is. The recent rains have done much to help the winter weeds come to life, but the reality is that there is very little forage. At the end of the caliche road, we turn back, the walk home at a faster clip than the walk out. We move along the horse pas-ture fence and catch sight of El Sabino and Estrellita.

It is rare these days that I am alone here, and while I have enjoyed the soli-

tude of this moment, I am almost ach-ingly cognizant of how much I like to spend time here with my granddaugh-ters Emily and Amandita.

No matter how many times the three of us have gone into the chicken house to collect eggs, the thrill of it still engages them, the slow, careful handling of the eggs into the basket, the counting, the excitement over the green shell of the Araucana eggs, and the duck that is sit-ting on a huge nest of big white eggs.

As we walk back to the house to wash the eggs and put them in cartons to align them next to the ridiculous number of filled cartons in my refrigerator, I think

how lucky I am to have my beloved pin-

guinitas. I have a memory of being with my

grandmother at her deluxe brick-floored

chicken house on Laredo Street. As I re-call, it was a clean, narrow space behind an ochre colored garage. The bricks were yellow and the hens were golden Buff Orpingtons that laid big brown eggs. No doubt I am idealizing decades later what the coop looked like, but I have this core memory of the direct relationship be-tween the eggs on my plate and those chickens and that space.

Recently, as we walked from the henhouse to my house, Emily, the oldest of my granddaughters, told me I didn’t need to hold her hand because she wouldn’t run off like her younger sister Amandita. I told her that while I under-stood she is becoming independent, that I loved her hand in mine.

So much, I understand, rests on those little hands. ◆


RAMIREZ TIRE CENTERwe have them at...

A beautiful winter day on the ranch lands

Sandra and Alfonso Varela of Houston and their son Marcos were recent visitors to Laredo and San Ygnacio. Marcos Varela, a musi-cian based in New York City, played with Joe Guerra’s jazz trio at Jamboozie. They are pictured at their ranch in San Ygnacio.

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Speaking up

Members of Occupy Laredo are pictured on February 10 at the foot of the LCC overpass, making their point about U.S. involve-ment in Iran.

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My One Agenda Campaign for Webb County Commis-

sioner Pct. 3 has put forth many important proposals for

Webb County’s future, but the central piece of that plat-

form is the creation of a new county ethics commission comprised

of citizens of Webb County, who will have the ability to oversee the

business dealings of all county officials and the power to penalize wrongdoers.

The proposed ethics commission will have the ability to set

civil penalties of up to $4,000 for ethics violations and provide pro-

tection to whistleblowers. This type of ethics commission was estab-

lished in El Paso County in 2009, and provides a ready template for

Webb County to adopt. The proposed ethics commission would re-

quire confidential investigations and provide punitive measures for anyone who brings false charges. The ethics commission could have

as many as 10 members who would meet on a monthly basis and

advise the Commissioners Court regarding compliance issues and

disseminate information regarding the ethics code to promote ethical

conduct and to deter violations.

Each commissioner and the county judge would appoint a

member to the commission, and then the appointed ethics commissioners would appoint the remaining positions

through an open application and screening process.

Public corruption — and we have witnessed plenty of it — demoralizes and destroys the integrity of local

government and bears an immeasurable financial cost. Webb County needs an ethics commission with teeth. I’m the only candidate in the race for Pct. 3 committed to the creation of this type of ethics commission.

A vote for me is a vote for a more transparent and accountable Webb County. To learn more about my

vision for change, leadership, and economic development,

please visit www.altgeltforwebb.com

-George Altgelt



The future of heart careDoctors Hospital of Laredo receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation

from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC)

Physicians are on the medical staff of Doctors Hospital of Laredo, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Doctors Hospital of Laredo. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This hospital is co-owned with physician investors.

Everywhere Yanira went

Lala, Yanira Ramos’ very tame 4-H project, gets her exercise fol-lowing Yanira, a United South High School student, along the side-walks of St. Peter’s Plaza.

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At Gateway Rotary meeting

Gateway Rotary members Jackie Ramos, Lucy Quintanilla, and Tagi Sagafi-nejad are pictured at the clubs February 7 meeting at the Embassy Suites.

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Joe Guerra Jazz Trío + Marcos Varela


Pct. 3 candidates for Webb County Commissioner respond to Las Lomas Q&A

The residents of Las Lomas on Hwy. 59 hosted a question and answer forum for the candi-dates for Webb County Commissioner Pct. 3. The well-organized, well-attended event gave the three candidates present the opportunity to share ideas to address the issues of roads that are impassable after rains, flooding, garbage pick-up, and quality of life. The forum was hosted by

Alejandro Obregon under auspices of Familias Unidas Pro Mejoramiento del Sector.

George J. Altgelt

Moderator Alejandro Obregon

Danny Lopez Jr. John Galo

Filming documentary on the Río Grande

Chrisitan Jack and Alan Ibrahaim are pictured in San Ygnacio on February 12 filming a segment for a documentary on the Río Grande. They followed members of the Río Grande International Study Center and the River Pierce Foundation who canvassed San Ygnacio for a February 13 Town Hall meeting about the proposed oilfield waste dump a mile from the river.

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Senate proclamation for TMLC

State Senator Judith Zaffirini presented Tuesday Music and Liter-ature Club President Linda Mott with Senate Proclamation #74, which acknowledges the 100th anniversary celebration of the TMLC, originally organized in 1911 as a study group.

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Feature

BY DENISE FERGUSONLareDOS Contributor

Hundreds of Laredoans — about 700 in total — joined the Mobile Pack - Feed My Starving Chil-

dren Event at Christ Church Episcopal Parish Hall on Saturday, January 28 to prepare 19,000 food packets that wi1l make 16,000 meals

New Vision Community Church, headed by Pastor Lucy De Leon, was the local sponsor of the effort to package food to be distributed to those in need.

Volunteers were of various ages and represented different religions.

Natural born leaders, like the 9-year-old girl who taught her older team mem-bers how to correctly attach the empty packets to the feeder funnel, helped their groups to maximize production. Older participants affixed barcode labels

to the packets. Part of the volunteer training was

instruction to maintain sanitary re-quirements. Everyone was required to wear hairnets completely covering their

hair; no jewelry was allowed (as it might fall in the food); and there was no food, drink, or candy consumption allowed while packing.

Initially, Michelle Heron of Chicago, who has been with the group since last August, provided a slide show illustrat-ing the work of the organization.

“Today,” said Pastor De Leon, “The product of the Mobile Pack is to go right back into the community.”

Heron added, “We fed 100 families in Nuevo Laredo today.”

Pastor De Leon noted, “The need for this type of agency arises from vari-ous causes such as famines, natural disasters, poverty, and political crises all over the world.” She continued, “We serve 57 countries, including the Philippines and Nicaragua. The Mo-bile Pack concept provides a simple, efficient, and inexpensive way to feed

those in need. One box, which can be produced in less than two hours, can feed a family for weeks.”

Pastor De Leon said it costs less than a quarter to produce each bag, which will provide six meals. “There

are four main ingredients — chicken in powdered form, vegetables, soy protein, and rice. Together the ingredi-ents contain the various minerals and vitamins required each day. The food is provided in a rice medium which is a form recognized all over the world. The recipients know how to cook it and what it looks like,” she said.

“Let’s do this in Laredo and not

wait for others to come from outside to help. God’s blessing is with us,” the pastor continued. “He has helped us today in providing the strength, time, and love to share with the needy. Thanks to the people who came to make this event possible, we are trans-forming the community by bringing churches together to help our commu-nity.” ◆

Feed My Starving Children initiative unites volunteers across the community

Volunteers in training for food packaging

Ariadna Paez, Patricia Rodriguez and Pastor Lucy De Leon at registration desk.

Spears


News Brief

WCHF, THC host State Board of Review

Members of the State Board of Re-view and staff from the Texas His-torical Commission visit San Agustín Cathedral as part of a trolley tour provided by the Webb County Heri-tage Foundation prior to their quar-terly meeting on January 21.

Court

esy p

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BY JOSÉ ANTONIO LÓPEZ

In the preface of Tejano Empire,

Dr. Andrés Tijerina reveals a

significant fact about Tejanos in Texas. It was not until the death

of Tejano music star Selena, in March 1995 that the vast majority of the U.S. general public realized the existence of her large and adoring bi-lingual and bi-cultural fan base. The count-less memorials to Selena, a popular full-length movie depicting her life story, and spontaneous public demon-strations of grief were extensively cov-ered by major U.S news media. How is it that mainstream society missed

noticing such an energetic performer any earlier? Or did they?

The fact is that Spanish Mexican Tejanos have been hiding in plain sight for many generations. They are

the direct descendants of the first citi-zens of Texas. As such, they are not immigrants to the U.S. Their family genealogy is that equivalent to mod-ern-day Anglos tracing their lineage to the 13 colonies of the East Coast.

Honor, dignity, and respect have yet to be granted to Tejanos. Sadly, they have endured the pain of social exclu-sion since Texas achieved its indepen-dence from Mexico in 1836. They were deliberately shunned simply because they looked Mexican (Native Ameri-can), spoke Spanish, and were largely Roman Catholic.

The situation only got worse when Mexico officially lost Texas to the U.S. in 1848. It was then that the group be-came an ethnic minority destined to

be treated as foreigners in their own homeland.

Initially by brute force and later by unfair laws, the Anglo majority tried to sweep clean the new territory of all

Mexican (New Spain) traces. Expect-edly, the effort proved impractical. The

U.S. found itself experiencing a lesson learned long ago by Greek and Ro-man armies. It had greatly increased

its land size through conquest. How-ever, no matter how hard they tried, short of complete annihilation of the

local inhabitants, the Mexican-dis-tinct culture had created numerous Spanish-named communities from Texas to California. Horrid acts of big-otry against the conquered Mexican people became standard practice. So began a premeditated act of colonial-style racism that has been 170 years in the making. It must be noted that the Tejano monument is the first vi-sual tribute in our state capital honor-ing Texas’ founding Spanish Mexican pioneers. The fact that this monument is just now being built in 2012 speaks volumes on the level of importance given to Tejano history.

Mexican-descent citizens are by far the largest segment under the U.S. Hispanic umbrella, numbering over 30 million (60 percent). By all standards then, they qualify as a world class eth-nic group with its own identity. They have attempted to gain a firm foothold in the ladder of acceptance. Yet, every step has been a struggle for fairness. Long held by the Anglo majority as a “Class Apart,” they continue to be one of the most hard-working and loyal ethnic groups. Ardently patriotic to the Red, White, and Blue, Mexican-de-scent citizens have earned the medals to prove it. Still preserving their dis-tinctive heritage roots in a vast region

in what is now the U.S., they exist as a sub-culture within the larger main-stream Anglo society.

Their culture straddles the U.S. Mexico boundary in communities that were once united. Then, in 1848, families were split in half when the

border became a permanent Mason Dixon Line. That is why residents on

both sides of the border look identical

to one another. After all, they are the same people. Their long-term separa-tion has not diminished their mutual enthusiasm to maintain close ties of kinship and celebrate their vibrant, unique way of life in the geographic area known as the borderlands.

In pursuing a hostile racial profil-ing campaign against Mexican-look-ing citizens, the Arizona Maricopa County sheriff’s actions are the topic of emotional debate. Following the vile behavior example of 1960s south-ern sheriffs who used their official positions to fight racial equality for Black citizens, the Arizona sheriff is using his position to likewise violate civil rights. He has developed his own predatory criteria. If Mexican-looking blue-collar worker citizens are heard speaking Spanish, or if they drive older vehicles, they are fair targets for illegal search and seizure. Ironically, many Mexican-appearing Arizona citizens descend from various gen-erations who have lived in the South-west. Equally, members of the various Native American tribes whose ances-tral lands are threatened by the Berlin Wall type of fence, have called Arizo-na home for thousands of years.

It is truly sad that the sheriff’s misguided aggressiveness is teach-ing impressionable Mexican-descent children to fear law enforcement offi-cials. His supporters must realize that

terrorizing carloads of working-class families is not a courageous act. His-tory will record that he got his self-im-posed ‘toughest sheriff in the country’ label by being what he truly is – an ir-ritable bully in search of TV cameras. So reprehensible is this rogue sheriff’s behavior that a recent Justice Depart-ment report confirms that he is biased in executing his duties.

“Racial profiling is wrong, and we will end it in America.” That state-ment was not made by a bleeding-heart liberal. It was said in 2001 to a Congressional joint session by Presi-dent George W. Bush. Simply stated, to stop bullying in our schools, stu-dents are urged to report it. In the same way, Mexican-looking U.S. citizens who are harassed by law agents in Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Connecticut, or anywhere else in the country should be encouraged to re-port it.

Litigation in courts of law will show the state of Arizona and other intolerant state governments that

this ultimate act of bullying will not be tolerated. That was President Bush’s promise. Equally important, it’s a promise that must be kept to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Only then can liberty and justice for all be guaranteed regardless of race, creed, or color of one’s skin. ◆


Opinion

Racial profiling, the ultimate act of bullying


1, 2 and 3 bedroom floorplans available. Prices starting at $725Town houses and corporate suites also available

For more information, please contact:www.carmelapts.com

Carmel Apartments Office Hours830 Fasken Blvd. Laredo, Texas M-F 8:30-5:30956.753.6500, 956.753.6502 fax Sat. 10:00-5:00

The best kept secret in Laredo

Sit back, relax, and welcome home

At the FUMC book sale

Mary Webber, Sue Webber, and Dorothy Newman staffed the February 7 book sale at the First United Methodist Church at 1220 McClelland Avenue. The sale is held every first Monday of the month. To donate books to the sale, call (956) 722-1674.

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Grammy winning Intocable headlines the entertain-ment for the 40th Annual Zapata County Fair.

Considered one of the best coun-ty fairs in South Texas, the Zapata event will also feature Los Invasores de Nuevo Leon, Duelo, and South-ern Scarred. Los Invasores de Nue-vo Leon and Duelo will perform at a street dance Friday, March 9, and Southern Scarred and Intocable will perform Saturday, March 10.

The fair kicks off Saturday, March 3, with a pre-trail ride break-fast at the Bustamante Arena on Hwy. 16. In years prior about a hundred rid-ers make the annual 15-mile ride to the County Fair Pavilion.

On March 8, Zapata youngsters be-gin moving their livestock projects to

the fairgrounds for weigh-ins. Judging begins March 8 and continues through

March 9, all in preparation for the Sat-urday, March 10 Livestock Auction in the Ramirez Exhibit Hall.

March 10, a day packed with fes-

tivities and fair events, begins with the annual parade that moves from Third Avenue and north along Hwy. 83. Other scheduled events include a

carnival, the Intocable Roping Com-petition; sales for junior and senior arts, crafts, photography, and baked goods; folklorico and dance team per-

formances; a jalapeño eating contest;

and a grito contest. The fair provides

a host of samplings of delicious foods and sweets

Carmen Paredes, working with a core of volunteers, has chaired the 2012 fair. Sponsors for the Zapata County Fair include Zapata Coun-ty, the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce, L&F Distributors, Fal-con International Bank, Miller Lite, Southern Distributing, IBC Bank, and Casa Raul.

For further information on the Zapata County Fair go to www.

zapatacountryfaironline.comor call the Zapata County Chamber of Com-merce at (956) 765-4871.

-LareDOS Staff

Trail ride kicks off Zapata County Fair; Intocable high note of 40th annual fair

News


The historic Islitas cemetery

located off FM 1472 on what is now the site of the City’s

Max Mandel Municipal Golf Course, was visited recently by members of the Webb County Heri-tage Foundation who were asked to provide assistance with preservation

plans for site.

Among those present were Assis-tant City Manager Horacio de Leon, Margarita Araiza and Edwardo García of the Webb County Heri-tage Foundation, Jack Morgan, golf course contractor, Chale Rodriguez, member of the Golf Course Adviso-

ry Committee, Bill Luft who is work-ing on the design of the Clubhouse, and Alejandro Lambrada, City of Laredo.

Approximately 100 graves dating from 1900-1930s are believed to be part of the site. A preliminary study with ground-penetrating radar re-vealed areas of “disturbed earth” that were marked with orange flags. The cemetery is being assessed in order to be surveyed, fenced off, and marked as a historic site. With ap-proval from City Council, it should form a significant historical attrac-tion at the city’s golf course site. ◆

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BY MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA

Laura Sofia Gutierrez was no stranger to early morning

raps on the front door and

uniformed police officers looking for her adult son Arturo Ro-driguez, who’d had run-ins with the law. Visits by Laredo Police officers and Webb County deputies had been all business, but they’d been cordial, respectful, and non invasive.

Nothing could have prepared her or her other sons — David, Carlos and Roberto — for the May 7, 2010 visit by 10 U.S. Marshals looking for Arturo Rodriguez, who no longer lived with Gutierrez.

She opened the door of her home on Duval Loop to the members of the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Violent Of-fenders Fugitive Task Force and local law enforcement officers deputized by the marshals, all in bullet proof body armor, some brandishing what she believed to be automatic weap-ons.

A c c o r d i n g

to a complaint

filed for Guti-errez by Texas Río Grande Le-gal Aid (TRLA) attorney Dan

iel Monahan, the U.S. agents pushed their way through her front door and did not show Gutierrez a search warrant. The compliant alleges that though Gutierrez and her sons and their girl-friends were fully cooperative with the marshals, the officers swarmed through the house, barking orders, waving weapons, and terrifying the family.

The marshals allegedly pushed David Rodriguez against a wall and pointed a rifle to his chest, threw Car-los Rodriguez to the floor and held him there, and pointed their rifles in Roberto Rodriguez’s face as he lay in bed.

In recovery from reconstructive surgery and physical rehabilitation to his leg, Roberto — according to the suit — was dragged across the floor of the home and into the marshal’s

vehicle.

Gutierrez said that neither she nor her sons offered resistance to the

search that yielded no weapons or the

object of the marshals search, Arturo Rodriguez. With her hands in the air — fearing for the frailty of Roberto’s leg, which had only recently come out of a brace — Gutierrez informed the agents of her son’s injury and asked them to take care with him.

She said a marshal identified as Oscar Martinez seized her by the arm, twisted it behind her, forced her to the floor, and cuffed her. Gutierrez,

who called out that she was disabled, said that Martinez knelt on her back. She said that she began to weep and that her son David also told the agents

his mother was disabled.Gutierrez, who received a kidney

transplant in 2001 and is on a proto-col of seven medications including anti organ rejection meds, steroids,

and blood pressure medications relative

to the transplant, said that Martinez screamed obscenities at her, called her “a fucking bitch,” con-tinued to hold her to the floor, and began to beat her about the head, face, and body, with while her sons

watched the terrify-ing spectacle of their

mother being pum-meled by a federal law enforcement of-ficer.

“Whichever way I turned my face from side to side, he hit me,” she said.

In addition to the horror of bleed-ing wounds on her arms and bruises at the hands of a U.S. Marshal, Guti-errez suffered the degradation of los-ing control of her bladder.

“He picked me up like a suitcase,” G u t i e r r e z said, describ-ing Martinez using the cuffs and her hair

to take her to

a vehicle out-side her home

while neigh-bors leaving

for work witnessed the humiliating moment. “He never stopped calling me names,” she said, “And he did not react when I told him I’d had a kidney

transplant and that I felt sick.”Roberto Rodriguez, his leg in acute

pain, was driven around by the mar-shals in search of his brother and was cautioned not to say anything

about the beating of his mother.Gutierrez, in the patrol car where

Martinez had dragged her, heard over the car’s radio that Arturo had been captured, and that is where she heard Marshal Martinez identify himself for the first time.

Bleeding, lightheaded, and in pain, she said she had repeatedly asked Martinez for medical help and that he responded with obscenities. He said, she recalled, “There is noth-ing wrong with you.”

Martinez finally released her to her son David and told him to take

her inside or he would arrest her. He told David, they had “better not get any calls” to their office. They report-edly had also warned Roberto, cau-tioning him “they would get him for something.”

Gutierrez drove herself to the hos-pital where she was joined by Rober-to, and they saw several of the agents who had been to their home. The now-apprehended son Arturo who had

News

Laredoans allege terror and abuse of Constitutional rightsat the hands of U.S. Marshals brandishing weapons

Laura Sofia Gutierrez consults with attorneys Daniel Monahan and co-counsel Israel Reyna.

He picked me up like a suitcase,” Gutierrez said, describing Martinez using the cuffs and her hair to take her to a vehicle outside her home while neighbors leaving for work witnessed the

humiliating moment. “He never stopped calling me names.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 47 44


San Ygnacio townhall meeting: grassroots, solidarity turn the tide on proposed oilfield waste landfarm

Opinion

BY MARÍA EUGENIA GUERRA

It is rare that we are witness to

grassroots activism, a successful common cause, and the exercise of the will of the people. The San

Ygnacio Townhall meeting of Febru-ary 13 was a civics lesson about a town and a county rallying in one voice in opposition to the Texas Energy per-mit application to operate an oilfield waste landfarm less than a mile from

San Ygnacio and a mile from the open waters of the Río Grande.

More rare was the outcome of the meeting — the pronouncement by Texas Energy CEO John Crisp that he would withdraw his application for the permit that would expand his Highway 3169 salt water disposal op-eration to include pits for oilfield drill-ing waste.

In a Q&A session as the meeting moved to closure, San Antonio activist Margie Cortez challenged Crisp, tell-ing him that if the landfarm pits were

so safe, why not build them in his own backyard.

Crisp answered, “It is in my back-yard. It is in the backyard of my son and my grandchildren. They live on

the Zapata lake.”When Cortez continued, Crisp

stood and interrupted further com-ment.

“I’ll tell you what,” he began, “if you guys don’t want us here, just raise your hand right now.” As he looked out onto a sea of hands, he said, “OK, what we’re going to do is cheat the

Railroad Commission out of some-thing, out of deciding if I’m allowed to have a permit. I don’t want to work in

a community where there is a problem for my people. We’ll just pull the per-mit tomorrow. Good day.”

The stunned audience responded with resounding applause to the un-

expected announcement. He had ear-lier in the panel discussion said that in the face of opposition, he would rather “deploy my capital somewhere else.”

The meeting — sponsored by the Río Grande International Study Center (RGISC), the River Pierce Foundation of San Ygnacio, Zapata Pct. 2 Com-missioner Gabriel Villarreal, Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell, and the Zapata County Commissioners Court — brought together a diverse panel that addressed the Railroad Commis-sion rules that govern oilfield waste; the topography of the proposed site, as well as health and environmental

concerns for air and water; and spills

of oilfield waste as it moves in open bed trailers from the Eagle Ford Shale play and through Laredo to dumpsites in Zapata County.

About 300 residents of San Ygnacio and Zapata County took their seats and heard Judge Rathmell set the tone for the meeting with the affirma-tion that the Commissioners Court of Zapata County, in opposition to the Texas Energy permit application, had passed a resolution of protest on Janu-ary 10, 2011.

Comm. Gabriel Villarreal spoke heartfelt words about his hometown and what could happen to the town’s only source of drinking water and the residents of San Ygnacio if the proposed facility’s containment was

breached. The most compelling information

from the panel came from bio-environ-mental scientist Maricia Perez Rodri-guez, who was well versed on hydrol-ogy and the Railroad Commission’s

rules. Using data from the Texas En-ergy permit application, photographs of one of the landfarms in Bustamante and Google aerials of that site, FEMA maps, and other maps that placed Ar-royo El Grullo inside the current Texas

Energy saltwater disposal site, Perez Rodriguez made the case for adverse environmental impact on the resi-dents of nearby Valle Verde and San Ygnacio, as well as the impact the op-eration could have on the Río Grande and the economic benefits relative to eco-tourism, birding, and fishing.

Other speakers included RGISC board member Victor Oliveros, who spoke on the environmental compo-nents of the 1983 La Paz Agreement between the United States and Mexi-co; and panelist Esmeralda Rodriguez, a biologist and photographer who has documented toxic spills of oilfield waste in Laredo and on U.S. Highway 83.

Crisp, initially a reluctant participant on the panel, spoke well and with un-wavering confidence about engineering practices and safeguards he considers environmentally sound.

The candid point of view of Webb County Commissioner Jaime Canales, a member of the state-appointed Eagle Ford Shale Task Force, was the second surprise of the evening. Early in the meeting he asked for the first show of hands in opposition to the Texas Energy

permit application. “I think you have your answer, Mr. Crisp,” Canales said.

Canales told the audience that he would take the environmental concerns and overwhelming opposition of San Ygnacio and Zapata County to the Rail-road Commission. He also asked Crisp not to bring the oilfield waste operation to Webb County.

Gil Bujano, deputy director of the Railroad Commission’s Oil and Gas Division, and Michael Sims, manger of Technical Permitting, offered little infor-mation on the status of the Texas Energy application, but certainly they were lis-tening and took note of the community and the county’s opposition to the land-farm and pit operation in San Ygnacio.

After the meeting, Bujano told this writer that the Commission had some

of the same concerns with the per-mit application as those voiced at the

meeting — floodplain and hydrology concerns.

One of the most interesting ques-tions directed to Bujano came from Zapatan Dr. Cruz Torres who asked if the Railroad Commission ever con-sidered the factor of environmental

racism in making their decisions. He answered, “We try.”

Torres, professor emeritus of soci-ology at Texas A&M University at Col-lege Station, commented on the show of solidarity of the people of San Yg-nacio in opposition to something that

had the potential to change their lives

drastically. She likened the commu-nity effort to the town’s petition to the

federal government in April of 1951 to

have their lands excluded from pur-chase and condemnation to make way

for the Falcon Reservoir. About 400 letters of opposition to

the proposed oilfield waste landfarm have been mailed to the Railroad Commission.

Christopher Rincón, executive di-rector of the River Pierce Foundation, and his staff, along with RGISC board members and volunteers, were instru-mental in collecting the letters and in

ensuring that San Ygnacio residents were aware of the meeting.

Many of the Town Hall attendees were elated at the meeting’s outcome, and more so when copies of the letter

of withdrawal for the permit applica-tion circulated a few days later.

What a great example of activism, self-reliance, and leadership the resi-dents of San Ygnacio and its elected officials have demonstrated.

Laredo and Webb County would do well to take a lesson from this. ◆


BY MARIELA RODRIGUEZLareDOS Staff

Dr. María Flores, assistant professor of communica-tion and faculty advisor to The Bridge Newspaper, is

one of the hardest working professors

at Texas A&M International Univer-sity. Flores is also a published scholar and a renowned journalist with 13 years of experience in the field.

Flores, who earned a Bachelor’s in communication at the Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, also holds a Master’s in radio, television, and film, and a PhD in journalism, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Asked to comment on her experi-ences as an Hispanic female journalist, Flores responded, “I had the privilege of working for National Public Radio, for a Latino program called Latino

USA. Back then I only had the fun-damental knowledge of journalism, and was not quite familiar with what Latino journalism meant. Through my work with Latino USA, I realized

that it is a cultural perspective that has to be embedded in the journalism. Latino journalism is based on the La-tino culture, and the journalist has the responsibility to ask questions most relevant to the ethnic group that he or she represents.”

Flores cited an example of having a Latino journalist interview a politi-cal candidate, and failing to ask ques-tions pertaining to immigration — an

important topic within the Latino com-munity. Flores emphasized, “Journal-ism in terms of the practice is the same

thing. What is different is the perspec-tive from which journalists must ap-proach a topic.”

She added, “I think it is very impor-tant for any professional, but especially journalists, to learn different cultures, to learn to tolerate, and to learn to un-derstand different points of view and

different systems of beliefs.”Asked for her thoughts on border

journalism, Flores answered exuber-antly, “Well I am in search of that. I did not grow up on the border, so I never had a chance to question this constant

friction between two cultures, the bicultur-al and bilingualism involved.”

Flores is currently interviewing local

journalists to deter-mine what border journalism is and what its characteris-tics are. “To be a bor-der reporter, requires more effort because you have to know the big players on both sides of the United

States and Mexico,” she remarked. Flores also stressed that bi-lingualism is a must for border journalists.

In a discussion on print media vs. online

media, Flores pointed out that this is not the first time that print me-dia has had to struggle to acclimate to technological advances. There was the

invention of radio, then television, and now the advent of the Internet. Flores said that online media has made it in-creasingly easier to facilitate the read-ers’ instant feedback, which in turn provides the publication or newspaper with the needed feedback to keep its readers happy.

Flores weighed in on the state of journalism and its evolution over the next 5 years. “The way that we know

the newspaper right now as a print ver-sion, it will convert itself into a luxury item, or completely disappear and only be available online,” she said.

When asked what she would like for her journalism and communica-

tion graduates to take with them into the field, Flores answered, “ethics and prestige.” She said “If you learn your ethics and you learn that the name of the game is prestige, you will be very successful.”

Flores had a word of advice those interested in pursuing journalism as a career. “Journalism is the best career in the world. It requires a lot of work, ded-ication, and critical skills, not to men-tion discipline.” She further added, “I highly encourage any prospective stu-dents to follow the path.”

If you are interested in participating in Dr. María Flores’ border journalism research or interested in joining The

Bridge Newspaper, she may be contact-ed at [email protected]. ◆

DR. MARIA DE LOS ANGELES FLORESA journalist with something to say about journalism

Dr. María De Los Ángeles Flores

Profile



As distant and removed

as the Vietnam era may seem, it remains a con-stant struggle for those

veterans whose memories make it a

painful, present reality. A handful of Laredoans, veterans of two conflicts, believe that generations of Americans, too young to remember, need to learn the truth about the men and women who served in Vietnam.

They plan to do this with a docu-mentary about Webb County Vietnam Veterans. The “Welcome Home Laredo Vietnam Veterans” project, now two years in the making, will feature vet-erans from all branches of the armed forces.

The planning committee for the

documentary includes members of American Legion Post 59, Catholic War Veterans Post 1908, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9194, and the Lare-do Veterans Coalition.

“The purpose of the project is to promote a living history of Vietnam veterans, and to ensure that a legacy is left to future generations. We also wish to clear up some misconcep-tions about Vietnam veterans,” said Valentín Moreno, historian of the

Catholic War Veterans and the film’s producer and director.

Vietnam veterans are the only group of combat veterans who re-turned home to be vilified and abused, rather than being honored and appre-ciated.

According to Moreno, they are some of the most unjustly criticized veterans in American history. Com-monly referred to as baby killers or stereotypically thought of as non-con-tributors to society, there is much to clear up, Moreno said.

“The Vietnam era solider served with honor. Every solider who served

with honor wanted to come back to America proud. Instead, we were chas-tised by our own communities. We were not welcomed or received well at

all,” commented Juan Castañeda, 2nd vice-commander of the Catholic War Veterans.

Moreno said the documentary will allow vets to talk about their experi-ences. “It will not romanticize war, or try to provide the elusive healing or closure that many have sought. Heal-ing and closure simply do not exist for a Vietnam vet,” Moreno said.

Vietnam era veteran Valentín Jorge Cuellar said that the film seeks to disprove that Vietnam veterans were heartless and uneducated, that they

spent most of the war doing drugs, and that’s why the war was lost. “In

reality, these outstanding men are some of the greatest contributors to our community,” he said.

The organizers of the project, who include American Legion Post 59 com-mander Joe Garza and José M. Soto of the Laredo Veterans Coalition, say the documentary is a call to arms for Vietnam era veterans to contribute to broadening history by including their accounts of the war.

According to Professor Robert K. Brigham, Vassar College, the Second Indochina War, 1954-1975, grew out of the long conflict between France and Vietnam. In July 1954, after one hun-dred years of colonial rule, a defeated France was forced to leave Vietnam. Nationalist forces under the direction of General Vo Nguyen Giap trounced the allied French troops at the remote mountain outpost of Dien Bien Phu in

the northwest corner of Vietnam. This decisive battle convinced the French that they could no longer maintain their Indochinese colonies, and Paris quickly sued for peace. As the two sides came together in Geneva, Swit-zerland, international events were al-ready shaping the future of Vietnam’s modern revolution.

The advent of television gave the

media an opportunity to capture and broadcast war images to civilians di-rectly to their homes. According to

Cuellar, this significantly contributed to the distortion of facts over the years.

Inaccurate reporting and Hollywood’s spin on the war have shadowed these

vets for years.

If you are interested in participat-ing in the documentary or know of a veteran who is, please contact Valentín Moreno at (956) 236-1010 or by email at [email protected] or [email protected] ◆

Documentary seeks to set record straight for Laredo Vietnam veterans

Pictured left to right are Valentin J Cuellar, Vietnam era Veteran; José M. Soto of the Laredo Veterans Coalition; American Legion Post 59 command-er Joe Garza; Juan Castañeda, 2nd vice-commander of the Catholic War Veterans; and Valentin Moreno, historian of the Catholic War Veterans and the film’s producer and director.

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2 0 I LareDOS I FEBRUARY 2012 WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM

At the January 28 conference on the state of the Río GrandeTricia Cortez (far left), executive director of the Río Grande Inter-national Study Center, is pictured with panelists Elizabeth Verdec-chia of the International Boundary and Water Commission; stream flow advocate Steve Harris of Río Grande Restoration; hydro-ecolo-gist Mark Briggs of the World Wild-life Fund; and TAMIU biologist Dr. Tom Vaughan. The conference, en-titled “Río Grande/Río Bravo: River of Life/River in Peril,” focused on the ecological decline of the river over decades and what conserva-tion measures will play into its res-toration. Financial support for the well-attended conference included La Posada Hotel, Union Pacific Railroad, Webb County Attorney Anna Laura Cavazos Ramirez, Peacefield, and the South Texas Environmental Education and Re-search Program.M

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Best Wishes from Your Many Friends

in the Arts

Congratulations, Steve La Mantia,

LIFE’s 2012 Rancher of the Year.


Workaholics on Holiday

Laredoans Carol and Ed Sherwood (seated) and Melissa Guerra, Jaynee Santos, Olivia Rigal, and Bertha Galvan (standing left to right) enjoyed a seven-day cruise on the Princess Ruby that de-parted Ft. Lauderdale for several stops through the eastern Carib-

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LareDOS offers this Q&A forum so that the voters of Webb County can learn about the platforms of political candidates in the upcoming elec-tion, and so that the voter can, by the words of the candidates, distinguish one from the other as to interests, character, and priorities.

These are the responses of four of the five candidates for Webb County Commissioner Pct. 3. The four who responded t our questions were

Danny Lopez Jr., John Galo, Hector Cortez, and George Altgelt. Candidate Alfonso Casso did not respond as of press time.We edited minimally for punctuation and grammar, though not for substance. -María Eugenia Guerra, Publisher

Lopez, Galo, Cortez, Casso, and Altgelt vie for Webb County Commissioner Pct. 3

WWW.LAREDOSNEWS.COM LareDOS I FEBRUARY 2012 I 2 3

What is your interest in serving as the Webb County Commissioner for Precinct 3?

What skills would you bring to the decision-making forum?

What is your assessment of the current Commissioners Court? Does it have real leadership? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Is it responsive to the needs and wishes of the taxpayer?


At the San Ygnacio Town Hall Meeting

David Brown, dean of the Zapata Technology and Advancement Center; former State Representative and activist Frances (Sissy) Farenthold; and Peggy Umphres Moffett, executive director of the Zapata Economic Development Corporation, were in attendance at the February 13 San Ygnacio Town Hall meeting.

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Who reads

Informed,wellreadvoters.

CallMegGuerraat(956)3198001(emailmeg@laredosnews)

orCallMaceMartinezat(56)6452441forourpoliticaladvertisingrates.



Laredo Theatre Guild Inter-national’s (LTGI) “Class on Stage Series” launched a production of Shakespeare’s

The Tragedy of Macbeth on Thursday, February 2 for a run through Sunday, February 12. The endeavor was made possible through a partnership with Laredo Independent School District and Texas A&M International Uni-versity. Funding was provided by the D.D. Hachar Charitable Trust and the International Bank of Commerce.

LGTI is a theater-based nonprofit that

produces and stages theater productions at Texas A&M International University and Laredo Commu-nity College. LTGI not only promotes local talent, but is keen on education. Its “Class on Stage Series” reaf-firms just that.

The series of pro-ductions are part of LTGI’s efforts to pro-vide the community with a four-year run of annual theatrical presentations, based on classic and contempo-rary literary works. In conjunction with curriculum directors,

administration, and teachers, selections for plays are made based on the rel-evance to academic curricula for high school students from grades 9 through 12. “Presenting one show each season

that is immediately relevant to dramatic study in our secondary schools and col-leges gives us the opportunity to give back to our educational partners more

directly than before, while doing what we do best — live theater,” said director Vernon Caroll of LISD’s theater program at the Vidal M Treviño School of Com-munication and Fine Arts.

LTGI received input from educa-tors from UISD, LISD, and some pri-vate schools. Ultimately, however, LTGI met with LISD principals, LISD School Board President George Beckelhymer,

Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson, and Executive Director of Curriculum Linda Theret, and decided to launch the series with Macbeth, one of William Shake-speare’s most powerful plays.

“This project seeks to maximize

the learning experience for local high school students, while enabling them as performers to become enthusiastic

about the literature introduced in their English classrooms,” said Joe Arcinie-ga, LTGI executive director, producer, and lead actor in Macbeth.

In 2010, a pilot program for the “Class on Stage Series” presented The

Taming of the Shrew. LISD students read and analyzed Shakespeare’s comedy as part of their English curriculum. LTGI put on exclusive day time performanc-es for those students who were given

the opportunity to fur-ther appreciate Shake-speare by viewing a live performance.

“The brilliant combi-nation of literature and live performance will ensure that the students truly grasp the concepts within some of the fin-est pieces of literature and gain a better un-derstanding of history as well,” commented Arcinega.

Macbeth’s diverse cast members range in ages from 11 to 70 years and include high school and college students, as well as members of the com-munity. The cast fea-tures Carroll, John Max-stadt, Adolfo Ramos, Jake Rathmell, Ariadne Diaz, Margo Paz, Clau-dia Boone, and Kelly Fitzgerald. Arciniega plays Macbeth while Tee-na Arciniega portrays Lady Macbeth.

“The primary goal of this endeavor is to provide relevant theatrical enter-tainment of the highest caliber, while developing the local performer, pro-duction, audience, and patron commu-nities,” Arcinega said.

TAMIU hosted “Celebrating Shake-speare at TAMIU,” a two-week obser-vation of the performances of Macbeth. “Class on Stage Series” participants were treated to a luncheon with the cast for a discussion on Macbeth, after the performance. Bonner Miller Cut-ting, a special lecturer who has stud-ied the authorship of the Shakespeare Canon for several decades, was a guest

at that luncheon. He is on the board of trustees of the Shakespeare Fellowship, and is the president of the Lone Star Shakespeare Roundtable in Houston.

Miller Cutting presented “Shake-speare: A Cross Examination” in the TAMIU Student Center on February 6 which focused on continued questions

about Shakespeare’s authorship with a careful review of historical evidence and discussion on the film, Anony-

mous, which further emphasized this theory. Miller Cutting also lectured to TAMIU students on the topic of “Shakespeare’s Will Considered Too Curiously.” The same was offered to LCC students in the Martinez Fine Arts Auditorium on February 8. ◆

News

Macbeth (Joe Arciniega) with the witches (Kelly Fitzgerald, Ariadne Diaz, and Margo Paz.)

LTGI’s “Class on Stage Series”fosters education outside the classroom

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Forty Laredo families are recip-ients of Bubble Homes, mobile homes originally intended for those who lost their homes in

2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The families were recognized at a benefit concert on

Saturday, February 4 at Iglesia Cristi-ana Misericordia on Del Mar Blvd. The giveaway is the result of the efforts of three ministries — Laredo Stepping Stone, Christ Episcopal Church, and New Vision Community Church — and Congressman Henry Cuellar, who petitioned the Texas Facilities Com-mission (TFC) for the homes.

TFC received these mobile homes from the Federal Surplus Property Pro-gram (FSP).

After serving as temporary shelters to the disaster areas of Hurricanes Ike and Rita, 28 mobile units became a part of the government surplus handled by the TFC.

“Congressman Cuellar was able to cut a deal so a nonprofit group could

acquire the units for a fee and bring

them down to Webb County to ben-efit families in need,” said Pastor Lucy

De Leon of New Vision Community Church and Bubble Home Project co-ordinator.

An additional 12 mobile homes had served as living quarters for Border

Patrol agents in another border town

prior to being secured by the Bubble Homme Project.

Community-wide fundraising and generous benefactors funded the pur-

chase of the mobile homes, the instal-lation of utilities, and decorating and furnishing the homes.

Participating churches and groups

established a rigorous application pro-cess that ensured that deserving fami-lies would receive not only a home but also opportunities to enhance their lives overall. Once applicants met the qualifications, they were subject to ran-dom drug testing, 10 hours of commu-nity service, vocational/enhancement classes, and to participate in fundrais-ers.

All but five of the 40 families present at the concert are already living in their new homes. The pending five are waiting on utility connections. The first five families that have completed a 24-month probation period were presented with titles to their new homes. They were Juan and Sonia Rodriguez, Alejandro and Bertha Garza, Dan-iela Castillo, Rosita Rodriguez, and Rosalinda Torres.

“People need to know that we are

doing good things. There is more to this city than violence and crime. This is the first program of its kind, and it’s

helping change the lives of families in need,” said De Leon.

Proceeds from the concert ticket

sales went toward continuing the Bub-ble Home Project and helping more

Laredo families rise from poverty. For more information on the

Bubble Home Project please contact

Pastor Lucy De Leon at (956) 712-

0655 or email [email protected]. ◆

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1 Pastor Lucy de Leon, of New Vision Community Church, spoke to the new homeowners.2 Bubble Home recipent families were recognized.

Bubble Home benefit concert recognizes new home recipients

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INCREDIBLE ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP INCLUDES:

Jr.’s Drive InnGrocery & Meat Market

“Stick with the Best”

Hwy. 16 and 1st St.765-9717

GAS & DIESELFelipe, Elia, & Robert Garza

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WE DO MOREAcross Eight

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BRUSH COUNTRYWelcome to Zapata County,

where wildlife and natural beauty abound.

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME, ENJOY THE 4OTH ANNUAL FAIR AND OUR NATURAL RESOURCES -THE RIO GRANDE, FALCON

LAKE, BOUNTIFUL WILDLIFE, RANCHLAND AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE, AND THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ZAPATA COUNTY.

Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell

Comm. Pct. 1 José Emilio VelaComm. Pct. 2 Gabriel Villarreal

El Paraíso RestaurantThe restaurant that

made Zapata famous!

N. Hwy. 83 • 765-3558Welcome To Zapata!

ZAPATA FEED & RANCH SUPPLIES

• Deer Supplements• Livestock & Pultry Feed• Square & Round Hay Bales• Fencing Supplies• Cedar Posts• Buffel Seed•Lage Selection of water tanks

Mon -Sat/8am-5:30pm Sun/9am-12pm

JAVIER ZAPATA/ OWNER1010 Jackson St. Zapata Tx. 78076

Comm. Pct. 3 Eddie MartinezComm. Pct. 4 Norberto Garza

GARCIA’S PILLBOXU.S. Hwy. 83 & 6th

Zapata, TX. 78076

765-6033Ramiro García,

Reg. Pharmacist

Enjoy The Fair & Enjoy Our GOOD FOOD!

Holiday Restaurant

U.S. Hwy. 83(956) 765-4521

6 a.m. – 10 p.m. Daily

Steaks • Mexican Food • Seafood

WELCOME TO THE ZAPATA COUNTY FAIR MARCH 8-10

Member FDIC/International Bancshares Corporation


BY MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA

“We grew up in agriculture. My grandfather, my father, my brothers, sister, and myself were in farming and ranching long before we got into the beer business. Agriculture was our ‘education,’ as my father likes to say,” mused L.I.F.E.’s 2012 Rancher of the Year Steve La Mantia.

La Mantia makes time away from L&F Distributors to plan for, work at, and manage a 500-head yearling calf operation, a hunting enterprise, and a thousand acres of culitvated farmland on the historic Dolores Ranch, the site of a small town that grew up around the coal mine there in the late 1800s.

“When we bought the ranch seven years ago from the Scibienski family, there had not been cattle on the ranch for a number of years. The first thing we did was fix and build fences, and then we started adding earthen tanks for livestock and wildlife. As with any ranch, we are still not done,” La Man-tia said.

He said he has great value for the history of Dolores Ranch, originally a Mexican town established in 1860 as San José until it was renamed Do-lores in 1882 for Dolores Wright, the daughter of Charles Wright, president of the Cannal Coal Company. Charles Wright built the Río Grande and Eagle Pass Railroad to move coal from the mine at Dolores to Palafox and to the market in Eagle Pass. In the 1900s the town had a post office, a school, and a general store and was home to a thou-sand residents.

“The old commissary, train water tower, and several outbuildings are still standing. There is a cemetery with a number of well-recognized Laredo family names among the graves. We’ve cleaned the cemetery and fenced it,” La Mantia said, adding that the narrow gauge tracks of the

railroad were pulled up and removed in the 1960s.

“We have rebuilt some of the old struc-tures. We put a new roof and floor in the commissary and tried to keep a lot of the old detail as we restored it,” he said.

The walls of the old store tell a story. Visible in the bricks are the names of rail-road travelers who etched their names while they waited for the train. According to La Mantia, one of the four-digit phone numbers on the wall was that of the Lare-do grocer Alfredo Santos. “Mr. Santos would accept the chits, the tokens that were the currency of Dolores.”

La Mantia said that when he built his own home on the ranch he en-sured that its style and profile fit into the building traditions of the original settlement.

La Mantia plays a role in operating other family enterprises including wine and spirit distributorships through-out Texas and New Mexico, a ranch in Wimberley that raises cattle and buffalo, a cattle ranch in Colorado, and a horse track and dog racing operation. He is on the board of directors of South Texas Academic Rising (STARS), a non-profit educational foundation established by the La Mantia family to provide schol-arships to deserving South Texas stu-dents.

He is married to the artist Linda La Mantia, and they have five daughters

– Ann, Morgan, Katie, Samantha, and Molly.

Describing the diverse topography of Dolores Ranch – “from the river vega to flat farmland to caliche to South Texas brush” – La Mantia said, “What I value the most aesthetically by far is the river. Think of what that river means to our history and our futures. I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but the signifi-cance of that river to both Mexico and Texas is huge.”

He recently undertook – with the blessing of the International Bound-ary and Water Commission – the clear-ing of Carrizo cane from two miles of riverbank. “We didn’t use chemicals. We planted Bermuda grass, and it has successfully choked out the Carrizo and acts as an anti-erosion measure.”

He called land “the sustenance of life,” adding that its value is twofold – what it can produce and what it returns to the steward who has the good fortune to care for it.

“To be able to still participate in that lifestyle you knew as a child, to be able to notice the smallest things and to have a feel for it — the forbs and browse are coming up, the pasture conditions, time to move the cattle — this is a great thing, a way to be at one with the natural world. You can taste it, you can touch it,” he said, noting that he is at Dolores Ranch two or three times a week, “sometimes for an hour or three or four days at a time.”

It is, according to La Mantia, time well spent. “It pays for itself. We run it as a business, and not a weekend car-nival.” ◆

Rancher of the Year La Mantia: it’s in his genesFeature

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Participants in the Fourth Annual Laredo Birding Festival enjoyed outings to area ranches and the San Ygnacio Birding Sanctuary. This group traveled with birding expert Gene Blacklock, Monte Mucho Audubon Society member Susan Foster, and Laredo CVB director Blasita López.


Neither Webb County nor those who go before the 341st for their day in court can af-ford to have a judge who will be learning on the job. A judge who is learning on the job will

take longer to make a decision, or perhaps even make the wrong decision. The end result — justice delayed or justice denied.

EXPERIENCE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE COURTROOM

• 21 Years Courtroom Experience in civil and criminal cases • 5 ½ Years as a former Webb County ADA Prosecutor • 15 Years in Private Practice • Extensive Trial and Appellate Experience

COMMITMENT

An unwavering, lifetime commitment to the

Rule of Law.


RGISC celebrates its

anniversary

EN LA RANCHERÍA


Canadian birders visit in San Ygnacio

Patricia and Michael Bronskill of Toronto, Canada are pictured on the bluff above the Río Grande at San Ygnacio. They reported no snow in Toronto and colder weather as they traveled through Zapata County on their road trip. They detoured off the birding trail onto a private ranch, happy to sight green jays and ladderback woodpeckers.

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BY MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

RRecent changes to local radio program-ming have led to the extinction of rock on

air. Nevertheless, the rock & roll spirit remains alive thanks to one local up and coming group — Language of The Gun. The five members of this hard rock group are Peter García, vocals; Joe Reyna, guitar; Steve O. Sosa, bass; Ozzy Love, drums; and Noel G. Torres, guitar.

García, Reyna, and Sosa originally belonged to Last Train Home, an acoustic group that was formed back in 2011. When they decided to shift to a heavier sound, they plugged in their guitars and went out in search of a drummer. Ozzy Love, the youngest member of band at 17, answered the call. With a drummer in place, the search be-gan for a bassist, a task that proved to be a bit more difficult than anticipated.

With no luck, the band went in an-other direction. Reyna knew of another guitarist whose capabilities fit with the rest of the band. “Once I heard this guy play, I was blown away by his skills. I just decided to switch over to bass,” said Sosa, about incorporating newest mem-ber Torres into the band.

Language of The Gun’s sound rang-es from radio rock to metal. Seether, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Val-entine, Godsmack, and Staind are a few bands of the bands they resemble.

Collectively the band has composed 10 original songs. “Out of everything we’ve done, no two songs are alike. We try to speak in general to an audience that might be feeling the same as we do. A recurring theme in our songs would be good vs. evil — how it is shown in the world and in all of us, whether it is hid-den or out in the open,” said Reyna.

While the Laredo hard rock scene ca-ters to a select few, it is surprising that there is not more support for original groups as opposed to cover bands.

Reyna said, “I wish there were more venues that wanted original acts, and of course I wish there were more people who wanted to play and listen to origi-nal music. It’s really depressing that this city can’t seem to support rock music, whether it be local or national, but we hope to help the situation in 2012.”

Language of The Gun is doing just that. Along with Pretty Visitors, Sounds of Arson, and Vagabundo, they are set to play Save Rock and Roll, on Friday Feb-ruary 24 at downtown’s On The Rocks Tavern. The musical event wants to raise awareness about the lack of sup-port for the rock community, as well as save rock and roll in Laredo. What does the future have in store for Language of the Gun? “We plan on playing more shows, getting more recognition, writ-ing more songs, and going on tour down the road,” commented García. For more information on up-coming performances check out Language of The Gun’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Language-Of-The-Gun/139945272782329 ◆

The new faces of rock and roll:Language of The Gun

News

From left, Joe Reyna on guitar, vocalist Pe-ter García, Noel G. Torres also on guitar, and Ozzy Love on drums rocked out at The Cold Brew on Saturday, Feb 11. Not pictured is bassist Steve O. Sosa.

Please share with us your

background — family, education,

career.

Palomo: I am Rebecca “Beckie” Ramirez Palomo. I was born and raised in Laredo, the second of four daughters born to loving and supportive parents. My mother, Angelica Gonzalez Ramirez, raised us to value a close relationship with God and family and to value work. She prioritized our education and always reminded us that, unlike her, we would go to college and pursue a career that would ensure our financial indepen-dence as women. I credit my mother for the person I am today, and continue to look to her for personal advice and wis-dom. My father, José Ramirez, is from Nuevo Laredo. He dropped out of school in the third grade to work on the family ranch where he learned the value of hard work. He worked in the oil field for over 30 years to provide for his family until an unfortunate accident forced him to retire early, but well after he had cemented his example of a good work ethic for us.

I attended Bruni Elementary and Christen Middle and graduated from Martin High School in 1991. I was the first in my family to attend college, and I re-ceived my Bachelor’s in Business Admin-istration with a major in accounting from

the University of Texas at Austin. In my senior year of college I called my mother to ask for permission to go to law school. It was understood that I was supposed to return home and help with my sisters’ college expenses. My mother gave me her blessing and reminded me to trust God and to continue focusing on furthering my education. In 1998, I graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law receiving my Doctorate of Jurisprudence.

As my mother earnestly demanded, I waited until completing my education to marry my high school sweetheart, Daniel Palomo. My husband worked in the oil field until he started his own business, Air Solutions, Inc., a Laredo-based air condi-tioning business. God has blessed us with five healthy boys, Daniel (12), Sebastian (10), Marcelo (8), Joaquin (6) and Caleb (4). We are committed to instilling in our boys the same values we received as children: God, family, and work.

While it is challenging to work full-time and raise a large family, I am energized by the challenge. It motivates me to work smarter, not harder, and to stay healthy. I consider myself lucky because I can combine being an attorney and being a mother. The work that I do as a lawyer helps ensure that we live in a safer community. This,

in turn, provides a safer community for raising my children. Sanchez: My name is Fernando Antonio Sanchez Jr. I am 45 years old, and I am

currently a practicing attorney in private practice. I am a native Laredoan, born to Fernando A. and Josie Sanchez. I have one brother and one sister, Gary Sanchez and Joanne Sanchez-Gutierrez. My stepmother is Severita Sanchez, and my stepbrother is Freddy Gutierrez. I am not married and do not have children, however, I have three beautiful nieces and nephews, Clarissa, Sofia, and Lucas.

I was raised in the Chacon neighborhood in south Laredo. I still have a lot of family living there. My grandfather was Jesus Hernandez, who many of you may remember was a social activist in the 1960s through the 1990s, fighting for the rights of farm workers and veterans.

I graduated from Nixon High School in 1984 at the age of 17. Upon graduation, I immediately enrolled at Laredo Junior College and later Laredo State University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in accounting three years later in 1987 at the age of 20. I graduated Magna Cum Laude. Four days after graduating from Laredo State, I started my legal education at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where I received my Juris Doctor degree in 1990 at the age of 23. I made dean’s list three out of the six semesters in law school. I had the privilege of studying under some great professors, including Richard Hemingway, who wrote the Hornbook on Oil and Gas Law, and Anita Hill. I passed the Texas bar exam on my first try, having absorbed Texas law in three months instead of the usual three years afforded to Texas law school graduates. I was licensed to practice law on November 2, 1990 at the age of 23, making me one of the youngest lawyers in Texas that year. I was offered a job in Dallas by ARCO Oil and Gas Company, whom I had clerked for during my second summer at OU, but Laredo was my home, and home kept calling me. My first job was working at the Webb County Public Defender’s Office. I then moved over to the Webb County District Attorney’s Office, where I remained for approximately 5 ½ years. In 1996 I began my private practice.

How many years have you been an attorney?

Palomo: I have been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas since December 1999, starting my legal career at the Webb County District Attorney’s Office where I worked for eight years seeking justice for the victims of crimes and enforcing the Texas Penal Code. I prosecuted hundreds of misdemeanor and violent felony offend-ers, achieving justice and safety for our community. I gained invaluable experience serving as the Chief Prosecutor of 341st District Court where I led a team of attor-neys dedicated to removing violent criminal offenders from our streets.

I believe it was through this experience that I proved myself to the Board of Judges because in 2007 they unanimously appointed me as the Director of the Community Supervision & Corrections Department. I currently oversee the re-habilitation of more than 2,800 adult offenders on probation. We protect victims of crime and do our part to ensure the safety of our community by effectively supervising high-level offenders placed on intensive supervision caseloads such as the sexual offender caseload, domestic violence caseload, mental health case-load, DWI caseload, and substance abuse caseload. With a staff of 61 dedicated employees, we work to ensure that offenders comply with the conditions of pro-bation and attempt to rehabilitate the medium and low risk offenders through behavioral modification using motiva-tional techniques.


Q&A District Judge

Rebecca Palomo, Fernando Sanchez Jr. seek judgeship of the 341st Court

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 44


During this short time I am actively involved as a member of the Texas Pro-bation Association and also had the privilege of being appointed Chairperson for the Legislative Committee of the Texas Probation Advisory Committee. As Chairperson of the legislative committee this past 82nd Legislative Session, I was responsible for coordinating round table discussions with other directors from across Texas to determine the most pressing needs affecting the rehabilitation of adult offenders. During the session, I reviewed and tracked the bills affect-ing probation in one form or another, scheduled members to interview before legislative committee hearings, and communicated our progress with the field and with our Board of Judges.

Sanchez: I have been an attorney for 21 years and approximately 3 months. I have never taken a break from the practice of law, and have maintained my license and continued practicing since November 2, 1990.

How many civil trials do you have to your credit; how many criminal?

Palomo: I can humbly say that I have represented the rights and interests of many civil litigants throughout my career. All of the civil cases that I handled as lead counsel were resolved without having to impanel a jury. By preparing well I saved the court and the taxpayers the burden and expense of a trial. This was something I learned in law school where they taught us that the most efficient lawyers were the ones that could bring successful closure to a case with the least amount of litigation involved.

I worked for several years with the District Attorney’s Office where most of my trial experience had been as a lead attorney representing the interest of justice in general. In that regard, I have participated in the administration of justice in thousands of cases of different offenses and varying degrees of legal complexity. I represented the State of Texas and the victims of our community by demanding justice in hundreds of bench trials and jury trials, too many to enumerate without extensive research and ample time.

Sanchez: I tried my first trial about four months after I became licensed, and since that time, I have tried many, many cases. By way of explanation, a trial is the means to dispose of a case when the parties cannot agree on the outcome and the parties elect to have a judge or jury hear the evidence and determine the outcome. A trial can last as little as one day, and can last for months at the other end of the spectrum. The longest trial I have been involved in lasted five weeks. Most cases, I would venture to say, 90 some percent, are resolved without a trial, a plea bargain if it’s a criminal case, or settled, if it’s a civil case. Very few cases end up being tried.

I tried many cases during the 5 ½ years I was an Assistant District Attorney, the exact number I cannot recall, but I would venture to say, conservatively, in the 50-plus range. These were cases that were taken before a jury. As far as total number of cases I handled, it was in the thousands I am sure.

In private practice, where I have been since September of 1996, I have tried 25 trials and I have assisted as local counsel in two others. I have had three civil trials and 24 criminal trials as a private practitioner. These trials have been both in state courts as well as federal court.

My trial skills were noted in the summer of 1996 by the National College of District Attorneys, which is the training source for America’s prosecutors, when I was invited to teach young prosecutors from around the country for their 2 week long training in Houston, in the art of trial skills. This was a great honor.

How many of your cases have been appealed?

Palomo: While an Assistant District Attorney I prosecuted hundreds of seri-ous felony and misdemeanor cases which resulted in final convictions, includ-ing murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, engaging in organized criminal activity, aggravated robberies, burglary of habitation, theft, DWI, and assault. I am pleased to share with the citizens of my community the fruit of my hard

work and, more importantly, the service I provided in advocating for the vic-tims of crime while ensuring a safer community. None of the hundreds of cases I handled were appealed, and this is a testament to my work ethic, knowledge of the law, and commitment to seeking justice.

Sanchez: I have extensive appellate experience as well. An appeal is a re-quest made by a party involved in the litigation to the next higher court, asking that court to review the decision made by the trial court and/or jury. This is a right that is afforded to all. I have been practicing nonstop for over 21 years, so it is very hard to remember the number of appeals I have handled, or the number of my cases that have been appealed.

I can tell you with certainty that since I have been in private practice, I have handled over 10 appeals, both in State and Federal courts. And, as a prosecutor, I appealed four cases which were published. Published means that the justices from the appellate court felt the issues presented by the lawyer in that appeal were so important, that they either made new law, or interpreted old law in a new fashion that other courts should follow, and are therefore, put in “the books,” and become new law. This is one of the highest honors that can be be-stowed on a lawyer. One of those cases went all the way up to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is the highest court in Texas for criminal cases.

It is imperative that a judge have vast trial and appellate experience. It is very hard to win on appeal, so it is very important that the district judge make the correct decision, because for all practical purposes, that decision will usually be final. I cannot stress how important experience is, especially when you are deal-ing with people’s lives, liberty, and their futures.

What has been your best moment in the practice of law? Your worst mo-

ment?

Palomo: During my career, I have had countless wonderful moments that I carry in my heart. I would have to say that the best moments have been when I read the many letters of appreciation I have received during my career. Whether I received letters from victims expressing their confidence in the judicial system or letters from offenders, or their family, thanking me for being an instrumental part of the positive change in their lives, I cherish these moments knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life.

Likewise, my worst moments have been witnessing the unfortunate pain caused by the senseless crimes involving violence, drugs, and money. Whether it was sharing a silent moment with a grieving mother trying to find closure in her son’s murder or witnessing the unspeakable physical and emotional pain inflicted on children or pleading with a young offender suffering the ravages of drug addiction, all of these moments have been hard to bear but I accept them as part of duties and responsibilities as a public servant.

Sanchez: Some of the best moments I have had in the practice of law have dealt with cases having happy endings. Adoptions come to mind. I have helped many couples that are unable to have children in adopting a child or children. The smile on their faces after the judge pronounces his order granting the adop-tion is priceless.

The worst moments have come after a jury pronounces its decision. This is especially hard in criminal cases, because, as a lawyer, whether you win or lose, in the end, nobody wins. You have families on both sides: the victim’s family, and the defendant’s family, and it is no fault of theirs that they are in court wit-nessing what is just happening. I can feel the hurt or joy the families feel, and I have always carried myself with respect and dignity in addressing them after the jury has made a decision, both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney, whether it’s been a guilty verdict or a not guilty verdict, regardless of what side I was on.



South Texas Food Bank

Ranchers donate deer to feed the hungry

BY SALO OTERO

Salo Otero is the director of development

for the South Texas Food Bank. He can

be reached at sotero@southexasfoodbank.

org or by calling 956-726-3120.

BY SALO OTERO

Laredo and area deer hunt-ers did their part during this past hunting season to assist the South Texas Food

Bank mission of feeding the hungry through the food bank’s Ranchers for the Hungry program.

STFB chief development officer Cindy Liendo Espinoza reported at the year’s first board meeting in Janu-ary a hefty increase in deer meat do-nations. She noted hunters donated 11,252 pounds of venison in 2011 com-pared to 3,410 in 2010. She said that during hunting season, Ranchers for the Hungry become Hunters for the Hungry.

STFB board member Tano Tijerina, a Laredo rancher and businessman, was praised by fellow board members during the meeting for his support. Tijerina, board chair of the Ranchers and Hunters for the Hungry, helps by transporting deer for processing. The venison is then distributed to clients via food bank programs like Adopt-a-Family and Kids Cafes.

Adopt-a-Family has 1,004 families registered to pick up a bag of grocer-ies per month. Kids Café includes 13 Laredo sites serving an after-school meal to nearly 1,000 children Mon-day through Friday.

STFB staff member Pancho Farias coordinates the Ranchers for the Hungry program. The Hunters and Ranchers for the Hungry received its first boost in 2009 when Laredo rancher and businessman Roberto Laurel and his cousin, Oscar M. Lau-rel Jr., harvested 121 deer at their Za-pata County ranch, donating more

than 6,000 pounds of meat.Farias praised the late Joe B. Fin-

ley Jr. of the Callaghan Ranch for his contribution in 2011. “Mr. Fin-ley promised the South Texas Food Bank beef, and true to his word, the Callaghan has donated four steers to date,” Farias said. Finley, who died last August, arranged through his foreman, George Light, for Cal-laghan hunters to donate their deer.

Farias reported that meat from 30 bucks and does made it from the Callaghan Ranch onto the tables of food bank clients of all ages.

Among those who have joined the Ranchers for the Hungry as deer donors are J.J. and Minnie Dora

Haynes (Rancho Colorado); Ronnie Gates (Trapiche Ranch in Jim Hogg County); Travis Carter (Sombrerito Ranch); and D. D. Dodier (Zapata County). Zapata’s Ricky Muñoz, founder and accordionist of the award-winning Tejano band Intoca-ble, will have a donation soon from his Buena Suerte Ranch. Also, mon-etary donations for processing have come from Librado Piña, Tijerina,

and HaynesFarias emphasized, “If hunters

have more donations, just call us and we’ll make arrangements in advance to pick up the deer in our refrigerated truck.” The number is (956) 726-3120. The monetary contri-

butions can be mailed to South Tex-as Food Bank, 1907 Freight, Laredo, Texas, 78041.

Food for ThoughtLULAC Council # 7 members

donated money to adopt five fami-lies in the adopt-a-family program. Sanjuanita Gonzalez is the LULAC Council #7 president and her hus-band, Joe Gonzalez, a retired fire-fighter, is the vice president. “We’ve been donating for the past several years. We help as best we can,” Joe commented.

Lawrence Bruni of Paul Young’s Family Chevrolet placed a collec-tion jar at his place of work. The food bank picked up $103 and the collections will continue.

The Women’s City Club has sev-eral fundraisers throughout the year to help several Laredo non-profits. The South Texas Food Bank received a WCC check for the purchase of 100 carts given to food bank bus-riding clients, mostly elderly, who carry their grocery bags home.

STFB executive director Alfonso Casso Jr. reported on grants re-ceived by the STFB: The Beaumont Foundation, Frank Newton chair-man, $75,000 to buy a van and re-model the warehouse; Shell Oil Company, $50,000 for Kids Cafes in Carrizo Springs and Eagle Pass; All-state Insurance, $25,000 to the gen-eral fund; ConAgra Foods, $15,000 for Kids Cafes food products; and Laredo Medical Center, $10,000 in food product.

(Salo Otero is the marketing director for the South Texas Food Bank. He can be reached at [email protected]). ◆

A welcome addition to the South Texas Food Bank mission of feeding the hungry is a new Ford Edge van with its “wrap,” which was paid for with funds from a Beaumont Foundation grant. It is used by STFB agency director Elia Solis, who travels the eight-county service area from Río Grande City to Del Río.

When I was 12 or 13, I didn’t know what was happening to me. I hadn’t heard the word

“puberty,” and even if I had, it wouldn’t have made any difference because my body had a mind of its own and wasn’t interested in new vocabulary. Back then, what attracted the needle of my body’s compass was an advertisement for the Sleepy Eye Theater in the New Ulm Daily Journal. Just a few inches tall and one col-umn wide, the ad on the back page con-tained a list of weekend show times and one black-and-white image that drew me like a barn cat to a pan of warm milk: Raquel Welch in a bikini.

Mom stacked old newspapers in the porch next to the rug where our collie Patsy curled up in the winter, so when she put that one out with the others that she and Dad had already read, I found it, folded it open to the back page, and care-fully placed it on top of the stack. Then, while I pulled on my coveralls and boots, I could stand next to it and glance at it nonchalantly so Mom and my brothers wouldn’t realize what I was up to. I was mesmerized by her long hair, the curves that hit my bony body like a shock wave, and the smoldering eyes that burned through my layers of clothing. The im-age was so gripping that when I plod-ded outside and fed the hogs, the ears of corn tumbled around her naked feet, and when I pulled open the barn door, she stood near the stanchions, hands on those tan curvaceous hips.

That’s one true thing I never told anyone in my family. But it’s not really truth. Sure, it includes facts, at least the facts as I recall them after 40 years, but facts aren’t the same as the hard truth. Truth goes beyond the ad, farm chores, and fantasies. Truth concerns private honesty. Truth is a tattoo on the hip of a modest past unwilling to disrobe in public.

This is also true: I grew up an evan-gelical Lutheran at a time when “evan-gelical” didn’t have the political con-notations it has today. It was just part of the name of the church my family attended in Sleepy Eye, MN--St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. The German farmers in the congregation didn’t have meetings to decide which presidential candidate most deserved their conservative vote. Back then, adults where I grew up didn’t publi-cally argue about politics or discuss money. They didn’t ask a neighbor how much he paid for the new baler or how much he made on last year’s corn crop. And under no circumstances did they mention or even imply sex. I can still picture Mom’s rosy cheeks and Dad’s stunned silence when my smart aleck cousin Darold, whom we hadn’t seen in several years and was only a few years younger than Dad, walked up to us one Sunday morning outside St. John’s after the late service. He looked down at my sister Darla, my three brothers, and me. Then, he grinned at Dad. “Hey, Lenny,” he said, “I see you’ve been busy.” Of course, I didn’t understand until later why only he laughed.

Even the way people discussed live-stock--breeding or coming in heat or be-ing in calf--never seemed connected to “sex.” They were just fundamental parts of farming. When I was a kid, I don’t even recall thinking “sex” when I watched a rooster balancing on the back of a hen or saw the steers riding the heifers or heard the other-worldly bellowing of the Black

Angus bull locked in the barn away from the cows in the yard. This was all visible and, in my innocent mind, meant that it all concerned something other than “sex” because you didn’t talk about sex or think about sex, and you absolute-ly didn’t look at sex. However, the very public image of Raquel Welch in the New Ulm Daily Journal and its effect on my ad-olescent mind and body was disconcert-ing and seemed the key to some truth I didn’t yet understand.

Two things in my young life con-tributed to my ignorance about what it was: mortal fear of embarrassment and reticent adults. When the relatives got together after a graduation or funeral, all the aunts sat around the table in the kitchen, and the uncles sat in the living room. There the men talked mostly in low, confidential tones about how much rain we got in June, the price of corn and soybeans, and maybe how the Jensen kid drove too close to a slough and sank the John Deere up to the rear axle. And then there was silence. Silence, sighing, and staring at the thin living room car-pet, at their black oxfords, at the bit of chaff from the cuff of someone’s slacks.

Mom always said, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Maybe that explains all the si-lence. Maybe that’s why for 35 years I couldn’t say the honest things, the nec-essary things, the true things. And in my family no truth has meant no truce. Just a long, silent, cold war.

For a long time I feared the conse-quences of putting anger or humilia-tion or love or desire into words be-cause if I did, those sentences would cling to me like a stench I couldn’t wash off, mud someone ruthlessly rubbed my face into, a hickey no turtleneck could cover. I’m mostly beyond that now, but when it comes to writing the details of my own and others’ private lives, I still wonder, how true must we be to get at the truth?. ◆


Serving Sentences

Welching on the truthBY RANDY KOCH

Randy Koch earned his MFA at the

University of Wyoming and teaches writing

at Bloomsburg Univer-sity of Pennsylvania.

Hospitality in the great outdoors

Cookie and Albert Muller of La Bota Ranch welcomed Loving Lare-do hikers and naturalists to their pristine bend in the river. The hike was sponsored by the Río Grande International Study Center.

Court

esy p

hoto


Opinion

The danger of parties — the left-right paradigm


BY GUILLERMO JIMENEZ

George Washington is argu-ably the most highly re-garded and revered Amer-ican figure in our history,

and in light of the month’s festivities in honor of Washington’s Birthday, it seems appropriate to take some time and focus in on the man’s final words to his country as President — a mes-sage that is as relevant today, over 200 years later, as it has ever been.

In perhaps his best known public address, George Washington left the American public with a prophetic ad-monition. While in office, Washington witnessed the development of certain public policies that he believed, if con-tinued, would weaken our country. In short, there were three principal areas of concern in his Farewell Address: (1) the accumulation of debt, (2) follies in foreign policy and an overgrown mili-tary establishment, and (3) the danger of political parties. It is fairly plain to see how all three issues put forth by Washington in 1796 fit into today’s politics—and all three deserve special attention.

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state… It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another…

In today’s political arena, it has become necessary to belong to one of two major political parties to be effec-tively engaged in any part of the pro-cess. Lest ye be shunned to the politi-cal margins, you are essentially forced to choose a side. Are you a Democrat — a “liberal,” with all the assump-tions that it carries, or a Republican — a “conservative,” with its own im-plications? The main-line alternative, an Independent, as viewed from the

perspective of the two-party system, carries with it an aura of pretension—someone who can’t quite make up their mind and pick a side.

For many, identification with a political party is a life-long tradition, even spanning several generations. It becomes so ingrained that the idea of supporting candidates or policies of the opposing party is met with re-pulsion —anathema to the core of a defined political identity. In this way, by associating with a particular party and all its ideological baggage, you give up part, perhaps all, of your own political autonomy.

Once you have accepted labels of either “liberal” or “conservative,” cho-sen Left or Right, you have consented to a merger of political and personal identity which inevitably shapes per-ception. The way in which news and information is received is then parsed and filtered through either a Left or Right lens.

This has been true throughout our country’s history for as long as po-litical parties have flourished, but we need not look any further than the partisan politics of the last decade for a clear cut example.

The most controversial and consti-tutionally egregious policies executed by the Bush administration (the cre-ation of Homeland Security, the pas-sage of the Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay, undeclared wars in Iraq and Af-ghanistan) were met with a great deal of hostility from the “Left.” While it is true that these policies were con-ceived, and thrived, with the support of leadership from both Republican and Democratic parties, President Bush was routinely villainized by the Left, and rightfully so, for overstep-ping the bounds of his executive au-thority.

Flash forward to present — we have a President in Barack Obama who suc-

cessfully campaigned for the office on the promise he would reverse the course of the previous administration and has, in actuality, done anything but. The current administration has not only continued in those same poli-cies, it has, in many ways, strengthened them —upping the ante to include the indefinite detention by military police and outright assassination (through drone strikes) of American citizens.

It stands to reason that the same group of people (the “Left”) who blasted President Bush for his blatant disregard of constitutional boundar-ies would be just as upset, vocal and active in opposing Obama — perhaps even more so, given the betrayal. How-ever, this is evidently not the case.

Opinion polls suggest that the Democratic Party and its base of sup-porters have shifted positions right along with the President.

According to the Pew Research center, 64 percent of Democrats sup-ported the decision to close down the military prison in Guantanamo Bay in the early part of 2009, when it was believed the President still had the intention to do so. Today, as President Obama defends the need for the camp, a Washington Post-ABC News poll shows 67 percent of Democrats now favor keeping Guantanamo Bay open for business.

This same poll also reveals that a large majority of “liberal-Democrats,” a whopping 77 percent, approve of the President’s use of unmanned predator drones – the sort used to drop a mis-sile on unsuspecting victims. Support then dips only slightly (73 percent) when the crosshairs are aimed at American citizens — a policy which would surely be scorned by Demo-crats if occurring during a Republican presidency.

In the interest of fairness, it should be noted that the same

holds true when the political roles are reversed. In the year 2000, George W. Bush ran for president based on a plat-form of a “humble foreign policy,” and “no nation-building,” criticizing then-President Clinton for his overseas ad-venturism.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dis-sension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.

Memories are short, and there ap-pears to be no room for principles in this kind of party-driven system. The ease in which the “party man” ex-ecutes these mental gymnastics, jug-gling between two diametrically op-posed beliefs, is truly disturbing. This has created an environment in which public opinion has become danger-ously malleable to the will of party leaders — the ultimate goal being not the preservation of deeply held politi-cal ideals or convictions but the “domi-nation of one faction over another.”

As long the party is “winning,” members of the party and those who identify with it have their concerns assuaged —no need to worry over the details, the country is in good hands after all, now that the “other party” is out of office.

The divisiveness of the party sys-tem as it exists today has served pri-marily to distract from the true nature of the political and governmental hi-erarchy. Over the last century, regard-less of which party has been in power, we have seen a push toward the same ends — one which Washington would surely recognize as a “frightful despo-tism:” the expansion of government, a reliance on deficit financing, and the promotion of warfare and welfare,


Working on real-time connectivity

Peggy Umphres Moffet, executive director of the Zapata Economic Development Council, is pictured with Houston marketing consul-tant Bruce May of The Experts Knowledge Network, and Maricia Perez Rodriguez, also of the ZEDC. Umphres-Moffett and Perez Rodriguez are in training for performance management and train-ing for changes to the ZEDC website.

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ugenia

Guerr

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The Mystery Customer

La Posada Hotel: high standards set, high standards met

BYTHE

MYSTERYCUSTOMER

Zaragoza GrillLa Posada Hotel1000 ZaragozaThe goal of providing excellent

customer service is evident from the moment you hand your keys over to the very courteous employees who have met you curbside and will park your car. The hotel arranged a small Friday evening dinner party for 12 at the grill, offered its trade-mark lack-for-nothing service, and served delicious food. The out of town guests in the MC’s party who stayed at the hotel were treated like royalty. High standards set, high standards met.

Rodeo Tex Mex Restaurant720 Convent Ave.The MC had a report of very

good service and a great home-made hamburger at Rodeo Tex Mex Restaurant at the corner of Convent and Matamoros.

“Gente muy amable, y la comida sa-brosa” is how it was described.

Sames Honda6105 San DarioWhen the MC took her Honda

in for routine service, a new guy at the service counter didn’t seem to know how to disengage himself from a phone call. He signaled the MC to hang on a minute, but kept chatting. When he finally finished his call and was about to talk to the MC, he saw someone he’d rather talk to and asked co-worker Mon-ica across the way to help the MC. Monica, who has offered the MC the consistently good, sterling ser-vice she’s offered in the past, was her ususal courteous, efficient self.

McDonald’s4719 Hwy. 83Do you love the experience of

a restaurant giving you what they think you need for breakfast and not what you ordered? Such was the case at the new McD’s down south at daybreak on Feb. 2. From the drive-through window, apparently the soundproof drive-through window,

the MC saw staff having the best time, lots of choteando and horsing around. When the MC hit the horn a couple of times to get an explana-tion for a 10 minute wait at the win-dow, there was no response until the MC was handed two dripping-in-grease gray sausage sandwiches. Not a good first impression.

Laredo Salsa’s Restaurant9902 McPherson Rd # 14

With its family-like atmosphere and friendly attentive staff, the MC reported he received excellent cus-tomer service on Feb 1. The server was attentive to his needs from the minute the MC was seated. The MC took note of the fact that live en-tertainment is regularly provided during the evenings. The server provided the MC with everything requested in a timely manner. No drink went without a refill; despite the fact the young lady had several tables to tend to. Her level of energy and desire to provide good custom-er service was oddly refreshing for the MC, and enhanced his dining experience that much more.

McDonald’s4717 San Bernardo AveThe MC experienced complete

disregard for the customer and a lack of service. In the late evening of February 2, the MC opted to go through the drive- thru to pick up two large sweet teas. The MC wait-ed at the speaker for 8 minutes be-fore someone took her order. Once at the window she was greeted by what appeared to be an individual no older than 16. The kid looked half asleep as he handed her the teas, with what appeared to be stir sticks and sugar packets. The MC

was confused and asked the young gentleman to provide her with straws. To which he responded, “I did,” and proceeded to shut the window. MC was upset and decid-ed to go into the lobby and demand her sweet teas. She was met with a sight of a cluster of 15 and 16 years olds huddled conversing. MC at-tempted to get her own drink, but was met with an empty container of tea. She went up to the counter explained what had happened and asked for her teas. MC was then made to wait for an additional 10 minutes despite the fact there was no one else in line. Which teen was the boss?

Danny GunnLaredo Farmers MarketJarvis PlazaIf you haven’t partaken of Dan-

ny’s grapefruit, you have missed a sweet citrus experience. The large ones, the small ones, the ones in be-tween, they are delicious! Look for Danny at the next Farmers Market.

Olive Garden5319 San Dario Ave MC was thoroughly pleased

with the excellent customer service provided, to him and his party of 17, the evening of Feb 5. The two servers that tended to MC and his group worked marvelously togeth-er, as was evident by the flow of the evening’s dinner.

There was a great willingness from the staff to help make the evening a success. MC felt that the young staff was well equipped and communicated wonderfully and respectively to each member of the party. ◆


been tasered was receiving medical treatment at the same facility. As she and Roberto approached the area where Arturo was being treated, two of the agents reportedly admonished Gutierrez and Roberto to say noth-ing about what had happened earlier at their home, putting them in fear of retaliation.

Unfazed by their threats Gutierrez called the Laredo Police Department, and officers documented with photo-graphs the cuts to her arms and the bruises to her face, head, and body. They told her, how-ever, that it was the FBI that polices the U.S. Marshals.

“The FBI treated me very respectfully,” she said of the report they took from her a few days after the marshals had been to her home. “They took very de-tailed photographs of my injuries,” she said, adding, “And they fol-lowed up, telling me that my case was in Washington with the civil rights division.”

Gutierrez said, “Ev-eryone told me ‘no one is going to take on the marshals. They are the government, you won’t beat them.’ The pain, embarrassment, my in-juries, the scars I now have, and the threat of retaliation have made me try to find justice.”

The marshals made good on their threat of retaliation, filing an incident report with the Laredo Police Depart-ment that says Gutierrez kicked Mar-tinez.

Attorney Monahan said, “This case struck the conscience. It wasn’t a case of the marshals putting the cuffs

on too tight. They beat a mother. They threatened her sons. They cuffed everyone except Mrs. Gutierrez’s newborn grandchild and that child’s mother. They violated the rights of everyone in the house.”

He continued, “The marshals knew Arturo wasn’t there — they had already searched the house for him and for weapons. There was no risk to them. Everyone was cuffed, and yet they beat Mrs. Gutierrez and treated other members of her family like criminals.”

Gutierrez characterized the ordeal

as “ugly from the get go.” She said Marshal Martinez, “a stocky His-panic,” was out of control. “I did not know when he was going to stop hit-ting me. I had no defense against his blows. I was handcuffed.”

She said she has yet to feel she has gotten her life back. “They took a lot from me that day. I am in fear that I

might be arrested and taken away, so I always have my medications with me.”

The suit, which names defendants United States Marshal Oscar Marti-nez; nine U.S. Marshals known only as John Doe 1 through 9; and the United States of America, was filed in federal court on February 3, 2012. Gutierrez and her sons allege viola-tions of their Fourth Amendment rights, which guarantee protection from unreasonable search and sei-zure; and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process.

They also allege un-reasonable and excessive force, assault and battery, unlawful detention, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, emotional distress at observing the assault and battery of their family members, physical harm, retalia-tion, and the filing of a false complaint against Gutierrez.

“This is a nightmare, a common one, ” said co-counsel Israel Reyna of the Laredo TRLA office, adding, “We aren’t say-ing all police agents are bad. We are saying that those who were complic-it are just as guilty. We have a moral duty to stop someone behaving badly to a defenseless person. You can’t just watch the show. You have to speak up, even when law en-

forcement tells the abused party ‘Go ahead and try to sue us.’”

Monahan said, “The marshals are thought to be the best of the best, but here they violated the rights of everyone in the house. It’s shocking. Mrs. Gutierrez and her sons are cou-rageous to stand up in spite of the beating and the threats.” ◆

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

Now documented twice on the pages of LareDOS, the heavy-handedness of the U.S. Marshalls seems to be fol-lowing a pattern of violence, unnecessary force, and the violation of Constitutional law.

In this story, that of the Gutierrez family, and in the Oc-tober 2011 story about UISD police officer Richard Villar-real Sr. facing brutal consequences and allegations that he was harboring a fugitive, the stories bear a horrible like-ness.

Both of the victims of the marshals’ show of unneces-sary force were the parent of a fugitive from the law.

In both cases a search revealed there was no fugitive in the house. In both cases, a sibling of the fugitive was forced into a car to aid in the capture of the fugitive. In both cases, other members of the household were terrified and threatened by the marshals’ search party, and in both cases the parent of the fugitive was threatened and physi-cally harmed to the extent that medical care was neces-sary. These two incidents — and no doubt there are others in which the victims feared speaking up — inspire fear about the erosion of our Constitutional rights and they tarnish the image of law enforcement.

— María Eugenia Guerra


differing only in either the social or corporate variety. While the rhetoric within the parties differs, actual pub-lic policy undoubtedly has not.

We have allowed ourselves and our country to be made a caricature of Blue and Red States, “enfeebled,” as Washington described, by a false left-right paradigm — a mental construct recognized early on by our nation’s first president as a way to box-in po-litical dialogue and diminish liberty. The sooner we heed Washington’s words regarding the dangers of politi-cal parties, the better off we’ll be.

The simple truth is — there is no Left or Right. There is only Right and Wrong. There is Liberty and there is Tyranny; Constitutional and Uncon-stitutional. Labels like “liberal” or “conservative,” Republican or Demo-crat, are just that —labels, and we can shed them any time we choose. ◆

Arts, Crafts, Book and hand-made items of all kinds

Every Firts Satuday of the month

500 San Agustín AvenueThe public is invited to attend

Call 956 725-1715For more information

Vendors Welcome $25 per booth

Sorry no food vendors


BY DENISE FERGUSONLareDOS Contributor

Dr. Frederich Gechter of Texas A&M International University is known for his multiple connections with

the music community. At TAMIU Dr. Gechter teaches piano and music theory and serves as student and faculty col-laborative pianist. He also maintains a private piano studio at TAMIU as part of the university’s Young Pianists Program for secondary school students.

He helped inaugurate Laredo’s first Mozart festival with Mozart’s Piano So-nata in A Major, K. 331. In August 2003 he collaborated with violinist Richard Kilmer on the inaugural recital in TA-MIU’s newly built recital hall. And that November he performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major with the Oma-ha Municipal Orchestra in Omaha, Ne-braska. He helped launch TAMIU’s first classical piano recital series in 2006, the Steinway Series, which features interna-tionally acclaimed guest pianists as well as himself. That same year Dr. Gechter was guest artist with the Laredo Phil-harmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor. In the sum-mer of 2007 he led a group of TAMIU students to Salzburg and Vienna, Aus-tria for a month of study and explora-tion. In 2010 Dr. Gechter was guest artist at the Alfredo Saint Malo Music Festival in Panama City, Panama. Recently Dr. Gechter surprised his Laredo fans with the revelation of other facets of his talent. He appeared in the Laredo Little Theater production of Annie. And on February 14, 2012 he presented the program “Comedy in Music A Special Appearance by Vic-tor Borge by Dr. Frederich Gechter” at the Tuesday Music and Literature Club’s annual Valentine Tea. LareDOS recently sat down with Dr. Gechter to talk about his affinity for Borge.

What factors contributed to your decision to present the Victor Borge program for the Tuesday Music and Literature Club?

Gechter: I was brought up listening to Borge’s long-playing albums and watch-ing his performances on TV. I also saw him live in Seattle. Of course, I loved classical music, and Borge’s humor was right up my alley. I enjoyed having fun with his jokes, and I developed lots of skits with my friends. We got together to do a routine for a presentation involving an audience of 200 people. Afterwards I continued to develop the material until I made it my own.

Does this departure from your musical performances present special time conse-quences in the preparation of your perfor-mance?

Gechter: Actually, I have the mate-rial from those previous performances on file. All I need to do is take the bits and pieces together and modify them for the current presentation. This does not require anywhere as much time as it might take, for instance, to prepare a for-mal recital with my students. A profes-sional classical presentation may require more than 60 hours of preparation.

Is there any connection between the warm reception you received from the people of Laredo in your portrayal of Daddy Warbucks in Annie with the Laredo Little Theater and your decision to reveal other facets of your talent — such as singing and comedy?

Gechter: Yes, people were surprised. They said, “We didn’t know you could do that.” I had been asked three or four times to do the role, and I finally accept-ed. It was the right role. That type of of-fer is always welcome. It was a lot of fun and relaxing, as it was a change from the demands of my day job. I needed that. People kept telling me I did a good job. I saw the same people on a daily basis for six or seven weeks, and they were always complimentary. So when Betty Ball (first vice president of the Tuesday Music and Literature Club) called to

ask me to prepare something for the February meeting, I told her that I had done Borge and would bring it out for the Club’s mem-bers. In fact, acting is not out of the realm of my fam-ily background, as my father was a successful actor in the 1960s.

What constituted Victor Borge’s great-est gift within his performances — his rapid finger tech-nique, his rhythm, or his sensitive touch?

Gechter: Borge could play any-thing. His large hands enabled him to engage large in-tervals of notes. He was as good as any pianist of his day. When funny things happened in concerts, he made jokes. It was very different, but something that came natural to him. As a result, he offered something special to international au-diences. It set him apart from similarly gifted artists of the day and provided a special connection with audiences. He had found his niche.

Borge’s comedic interpretations often seemed to result in audiences wanting more. His performances never seemed long enough. Did you ever wonder if there was any par-ticular reason for his limiting the technical piano aspects of the program?

Gechter:It might have vaguely occurred to

me that there may be an underlying

purpose for the interruptions he in-serted into the piano programs. But if I ever had any concerns, they were dismissed when I viewed a couple of videos in which he delivered his long program to completion without inter-ruption.

Do you have any special statewide, national, or international plans in the near future?

Gechter: I am planning to travel to Mexico as part of an exchange program. A piano artist from the area will visit TAMIU for two weeks this spring, and I will travel there in the fall for an equivalent amount of time. ◆

Feature

Dr. Frederich Gechter adds Borge to his diverse performances

Dr. Frederich Gechter


Feature

BY LEM LONDOS RAILSBACKLareDOS Contributor

The Las Vegas Luxor’s life-sized exhibition called “Bod-ies” provides an amazing teaching-learning unit in

three dimensions. As the viewer-partic-ipant-student proceeds through a chain of nearly a dozen separate rooms, inter-esting aspects of the human body are re-vealed. An actual human skeleton with partial skull attached to a vertical rod provides the first shocking display.

As the printed narrative explains, the complete skeleton actually did belong to someone when that person was alive. But, after death, some special sort of stripping and drying processes were ap-plied, and then some sort of thin layer of preservative was sprayed on. Additional displays of different bodies displayed a skeleton with only large muscles at-tached with ligaments and tendons, also specially preserved, of course. Next was another skeleton with both large and small muscles attached with ligaments and tendons. Then, a muscled skeleton with head and mustache and head hair rounded out the concept of a structured human body. In another room, different skeletons displayed various organs — kidneys, pancreas, thyroid, small intes-tine, large intestine, et al.

In a glassed-in table, a pair of lungs and a heart presented themselves. Yet another display, rather delicate look-ing, the blood vessels of the bodies — arteries, veins, and capillaries — were carefully laid out. On a table in another room, a human skin was laid across the length of the table.

As I moved from room to room, I marveled at the science of stripping, drying, and preserving the actual body parts, and I began to appreciate how carefully and thoughtfully the sequence of displays had been organized and

spaced throughout the different rooms, along with the printed narrative expla-nation for each display situated close by. I began to appreciate the benefits of having a visual dictionary to study, as did the Chinese emperor Hwang Ti over four thousand years ago. By work-ing on/with cadavers, he described and drew skeletal models which remain gen-erally accurate to this day. After learn-ing of Hwang Ti’s work, I recalled that even in our West, several historically significant contributors had performed similar work. That fellow who painted that girl who looks like she is either about to smile or to curse someone cer-tainly drew some very accurate skeletal models for medical personnel and art-ists to study. And then there was the guy whose color drawings/paintings which had such generally accurate proportions and measurements that medical stu-dents are still required to study his pre-cise works, especially surgeons. Insight-fully, I paid silent homage to Hwang Ti, DaVinci, that other fellow, and all of the scientists who have contributed to our understanding of our physical selves.

In studying my visual dictionary that the Luxor had provided, I learned several new understandings. If I read my notes correctly, some of my most im-portant discoveries included but were not limited to the following:

More than 200 different kinds of cells comprise a whole human body, and each whole body contains over 75,000,000,000 (trillions) cells.

• 10,000 cells can “sit” on the head of a pin.

• Human bone is five times harder than “mild steel.”

• About 33 vertebra make up a hu-man spine.

• The human being grows 206 bones in its skeleton and attachments.

• Bone marrow in certain bones of certain adults create about 2.5 million

new red blood cells per second. (Amaz-ing, yet?)

• More than 600 muscles line up the body, maintain erect posture, provide lo-comotion, and enable all sorts of move-ments including arm and hand gestures, leg and foot gestures, facial gestures, neck adjustments, and eye movements.

• More than 12 billion nerve cells process all information arriving at/to/from the body.

• To do its work well, the brain re-quires about 20 percent of the blood in the body.

• Every drop of blood in the body passes through the heart once every minute.

• The blood travels through over 100,000 miles of vessels — arteries, veins, and capillaries.

• Food takes about 24 hours to make its way completely through the digestive tract.

• The brain can manufacture certain substances whereby the brain/body can heal itself of certain ailments.

The baker’s dozen facts were simply the most striking items that I could re-member and write in a darkened room while listening to the attendants and reading the printed narratives. I actu-ally learned a lot more, especially the statistically significant links cited be-tween obesity and cancer, between ciga-rette smoking and longevity (or, perhaps more accurately, the loss of it.), and be-tween alcohol abuse and decreased lon-gevity.

I was especially touched by the dis-plays in the last room or two in which human embryos at different stages of de-velopment were displayed. We had been warned about these displays and an al-ternate exit route was pointed out. Some individuals left the exhibit, but most of us stayed. At we surveyed the spe-cial, unusual, and, in some instances, shocking displays, we learned all sorts

of facts about male parts and processes and functioning and about female parts and processes and functioning. Howev-er, the most striking discovery of all was the number and variety of abuses that pregnant females can inflict, through ei-ther intent or ignorance, on their unborn children. The many possibilities for abuse of the one-cell-developing-into-a-human-form were frightening.

I remember that either as we were leaving or as we were entering the exhibit, we encountered one skeletal body overlaid with massive muscles. Its previous owner had obviously been trained as an athlete because the many outstanding muscles exuded great strength. The athlete was poised to throw a javelin. Whether throwing the javelin was intended for killing an animal for food, for slaying an enemy, or for winning a contest, I could not determine. But viewing all of those muscles and the obvious strength that this former human most certainly possessed reminded me of how much enormously hard and extended work is needed in order to build a success-ful athletic body. I remembered my rigorous and grueling training for football in elementary school, in ju-nior high school, and in high school. I remembered my endurance and run-ning and shooting practices in basket-ball in junior high school and in high school. I remembered my strenuous and utterly challenging track duels in the mile race and in the cross-country race.

I still have a three-foot high tro-phy for one of the cross-country races that I won one summer. On that race, after my shoes had just gotten the best of me, I just took them off and ran the last two miles bare-foot, and I still won the race. And I especially

The Bodies Exhibit, an amazing learning experience

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 44

The weather turned cooler today after staying in the mid seven-ties all last week. It’s quite un-usual to have such mild weather

at this time of year. The roses are starting to bloom along with the big sweet olive bush.

I also sort of hate to mention that we’ve had some good rains lately; last Friday night was a gully washer in San Antonio while we got the tamer showers. There was an enormous billowing cloud filled with lightening moving over that city as we got back to the ranch about 10 p.m. The roar of thunder got louder as the night wore on. This is the part of the year that our area gets rain in normal years. Our rains come not in late spring or summer but during the winter. This meant chilly days and unpleasant livestock work, but who cares when we are getting some rain! Neither the cows nor I regret the mud puddles and showers this year.

The grass is very short because of the ongoing drought, but it is green. Short grass means short roots and that is not good. There is a bit of water standing in the spring, but no flow. The creek has had puddles in it but no flowing waters for over a year. With warmer than usual tem-peratures a few butterflies have emerged. Sissy and I rejuvenated a flowerbed here in the yard then planted onion sets instead of flowers. I’m starting to eye any bare yard space as potential vegetable-raising area. I’m not wasting any good spot. What we haven’t tackled yet is the vegetable garden itself. Rye grass went crazy there and after last summer it’s hard to get serious about all the hard work ahead. Will we hit the water-wise wall again? Everybody says we will.

Update: Sissy and I started hoeing up the vegetable garden. The nice show-

ers made the work pretty easy except for several large grass clumps that took some force to remove. We got two-thirds of the work done, and pretty soon I’ll back the pickup up to the cows’ nest in the Green Shed and haul out two winters’ worth of spoiled hay. Eventually, after compost-ing, the garden will rejoice. Our superb seed-starting friend Mary says she’s ready to put seeds in trays in her greenhouse. She’ll start with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. I’ll start pumpkins, beans and squash alfresco as soon as the tempera-ture gets to a safe degree. The kitchen table is covered with Rodale books, seed cata-logues, and gardening magazines. Yep, spring is coming. There are also recipe books in preparation for all that cooking with one’s own produce.

The one thing I will always regret is that 30 years ago I didn’t plant fruit trees. It’s still possible, but all those years of no homegrown fruit were kind of senseless. Of course we were otherwise-occupied defending the home place and things like that which take all one’s time. It wasn’t a matter of laziness, more a matter of concentrating one’s energy. I remember our parents’ efforts with peaches after having planted the local rec-ommended varieties. They were tasteless compared to the hale haven peaches from Ft. Davis days. Research will be necessary because there’s no point in pitiful peaches. I do have a sour orange I started from a cousin’s tree last summer. It can only be planted out here in a protected place, and that’s hard to find in this yard now. I plan to use the fruit for great sauces for chicken, fish, and vegetables.

-Bebe Fenstermaker

While picking the mud and the oc-casional rock out of Langtry’s hooves my mind wandered back to my first horse

when I was a child growing up in West Texas. He had been a gift from Nellie Lee and Pat Mulloy who owned the Jeff Ranch down the canyon from Ft. Davis. Lee was named for Nellie Lee and was born, raised and worked all his life on their ranch. When it was time to retire Lee the Mulloys offered him to us. He had never been load-ed in a trailer and so refused to load for the trip to our house. A ranch hand, Manuel Hernández, had to ride him all the way up from the ranch, crossing several moun-tains to get him to us.

Lee was a tall, raw-boned brown bay with a diamond on his forehead and socks on his hind feet. He was absolutely inde-pendent and ruled the other two horses. Oh, and he had a temper. He became my horse and a wondrous sight we two were. I was a chubby little girl astride a tall, snarky horse. Lee and I did all right together once I was in the saddle. Getting up there was the problem. Actually it was quite a struggle; I could just barely get

my foot in the stirrup followed by several hops to grab the saddle horn. It was a real pull to get myself up to the saddle. Lee, ob-jecting to the hopping and pulling, would flatten his ears, reach around with bared teeth and nip. Seeing that head begin to come around did move me along.

Once on board I was safe and all the other riders in our group gave us a wide berth. Lee had the reputation of kicking or biting if the others rode too close. Lee’s fastest gait was a rough trot. Standing in the stirrups was the best way to handle it. I remember riding bareback once with my youngest sister. Lee and I were trotting as usual and she and her horse Pat pulled alongside us. Lee bit her hard on the thigh, so hard the teeth marks were visible for weeks. She remembers it to this day.

Climate-changing Spring update: Bebe reported an agarita bush already

in full bloom in her yard. Date was Feb-ruary 10.

-Sissy Fenstermaker


remember that several decades ago, I ran in the mile race in Laredo’s annual hom-age to the athletic gods, the Border Olym-pics. In that particular race that day, I was given the opportunity to run against the legendary Humberto Adame and about a dozen more contestants. Believe it or not, while Adame just ran a regular heel-to-toe stride, I had to run that entire race on my toes in order to keep up —or, rather, nearly keep up. Believe it or not, that leg-end won that race that day, rather easily, one might say, but I felt that I had been honored to have been allowed to even be in the same race with Adame. I still feel that way, and if he is still alive and you

know him, please pass on my respects. In short, I know what is required

to train for an athletic contest and to train for Okinawan go-ju, an advanced form of aggressive martial arts. And because of my own experiences, I finished the displays of the Bodies exhibition with even more respect for and understanding of the human body than I already had possessed. And, on the way back to my hotel, I silently thanked my departed mother and father for having given me such a healthy body.

I apologize for not providing pho-tos. I certainly would have like to be-cause the displays were astounding! However, no photography was al-lowed in the Bodies Exhibition. ◆


Maverick Ranch Notes

Prepping the vegetable garden plot;an homage to Lee, a childhood horseBY BEBE & SISSY

FENSTERMAKER

The Webb County Heritage Foundation is calling on the public to initiate or renew membership in the organi-

zation for the 2012 year of activities and services. Membership renewal forms were mailed out in January, but anyone wishing to join the Founda-tion is cordially invited to do so at this time. You may join or renew online at www.webbheritage.org or by coming by the office at 500 Flores Ave. or call-ing (956) 727-0977 to request a mailed membership form.

The Webb County Heritage Foun-dation is a non-profit historic preser-vation organization that is dedicated to the goals of historic architectural preservation, heritage education, and heritage tourism in Webb County and surrounding border region.

The WCHF conducts tours of his-toric downtown Laredo, archives historic documents, maps, and pho-tographs, records oral histories, pres-ents exhibitions, and operates the Vil-la Antigua Border Heritage Museum and the Republic of the Río Grande Museum. The Heritage Foundation hosts the annual Founders’ Day Cel-ebration in May and also names an honorary President of the Repub-lic of the Río Grande as a tribute to outstanding commitment to historic preservation by an individual in this community.

Working with a group of educa-tors from Laredo Independent School District, the Diocese of Laredo School District, Texas A&M International University, and Laredo Community College, the Webb County Heritage

Foundation was successful in initiat-ing a “Laredo History” curriculum in local schools.

Membership levels range from “Student” to “1755 Club” reflecting various degrees of benefits available.

As every year, the Foundation re-

peats its pledge to continue provid-ing access to unique events that cele-brate our heritage, changing museum exhibits, special projects, historical collections, preservation workshops, tours, and advocacy in the name of historic preservation. ◆


HeritageFoundationcallingallmembers

News


What was your work experience before entering the legal field?

Palomo: Although my parents did not have the means to finance my college education, much less law school, they discouraged me from working because they did not want the weight of a work schedule to interfere with my studies. Instead, they encouraged me to apply for financial assistance available for young minority women seeking a college education. I applied for and re-ceived financial aid, low-interest student loans, and was the recipient of the D.D. Hachar Scholarship each year during my undergraduate studies. As part of my financial aid, I participated in the Work-Study Program and was assigned to office duties at the UT Business School in the MIS Department. This was my first job and while I was only an office clerk, I nevertheless matured through this experience because I gained a better understanding of the dynamics involved in running an efficient and effective operation. I learned about work performance measures, accountability, teamwork, chain of command, and adjusting to different personalities in the work environ-ment. After graduating from college I went straight into law school and, again, relied on financial aid and student loans to fund the next three years. Law school was challenging, and I was fortunate to be able to focus on my studies without the weight of a demanding work schedule. During the summer months of my college and law school years, I felt an obligation to give back to one of the organizations that helped me achieve my goals. I volunteered my time at the Boys & Girls Club of Laredo. I enjoyed con-necting with the youth because they reminded me of when I was a young girl running around the Boy’s Club with my whole life ahead of me. It was important to me that I leave a lasting impression on some of those kids in a way that would hopefully inspire and motivate them to set goals towards accomplishing their dreams. It is the least I can do in return for the direc-tion the caring staff at the Boy’s Club gave me.

Sanchez: In my younger years, when I was a senior in high school and a freshman in college, I had a part time job on weekends as a radio personal-ity at KVOZ and KLAR. I ran a radio show from midnight to 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights called the “South Texas Country Show.” I went straight from high school to undergrad to law school. I love the practice of law, and this is all I have done, continuously, for over 21 years.

Have you ever been in private practice?

Palomo: Have you ever been in private practice?I have dedicated my career to public service as a government employee;

therefore, I have not operated an independent private practice. However, I have represented numerous clients regarding a variety of civil matters, including family law cases, probate cases, personal injury cases, family law cases, property disputes, and other legal matters.

Sanchez: Yes. I have been in private practice since September of 1996, for well over 15 years. The areas I practice involve the same types of cases the 341st handles: criminal cases, civil cases and family cases. I handle defense work both in state and federal court. I represent people in divorces, child support and custody cases, and adoptions. I also handle civil cases involv-ing personal injury, wrongful death, oil and gas issues, and real estate dis-putes. I also help people in drafting their last will and testament.

I feel extremely confident in assuming the role of judge of the 341st Dis-trict Court. The types of cases this court handles are the types of cases I handle on a daily basis. If I did not feel confident to assume this job, I would not be running for this position. I would never do a disservice to the citi-zens of Webb County by asking them to vote for me, unless I was absolutely

sure I could handle this job with the utmost of confidence they deserve.As former prosecutors in the DA’s office, did you have a private

practice while being paid by the taxpayers of Webb County?

Palomo: As an attorney I have devoted most of my years of legal work to public service, both as an Assistant District Attorney and currently as the Director of the Community Supervision & Corrections Department. As a public servant I have always been cognizant of respecting and not using taxpayers’ time for personal gain. As stated earlier, I have represented fam-ily and friends with legal matters. I did not solicit their business. Moreover, many of these matters required a legal expertise that my clients could not have otherwise afforded to get, so I helped them out of a firm belief that access to the judicial system should not be denied to anyone because they cannot afford it.

Sanchez: No. I was an assistant district attorney for approximately 5 ½ years, and I never maintained a private practice during my tenure.

What fomented your decision to study the law and become an

attorney?

Palomo: Honorable Elma Salinas Ender was first appointed to serve as judge of the 341st District Court in 1983 when she was only 30 years old. I remember Judge Ender as a young woman with dark, neat, short hair and small earrings, a dignified lady dressed in a dark, skirt suit and a warm smile. She was the guest speaker for the Bruni Elementary 6th grade gradu-ation ceremony in the fall of 1985. The graduation was at the gymnasium of the Main Boys & Girls Club of Laredo. I was a 12-year-old honor student waiting to receive my diploma as if it was my right of passage into another world, middle school. That day was a milestone because I clearly remem-ber feeling older, a little more mature, and a sense of real responsibility looming. I remember feeling inspired by Judge Salinas Ender’s success and was inspired to reach higher. Maybe it was because she was a young lady or maybe because she was Hispanic, I do not know but I do remember my mother’s words when I commented on Judge Salinas Ender, “You too will go

to college and you will be successful.” This was something my mother repeated too often to me and my three sisters, so much so that I am embarrassed to say that I blocked her mundane affirmations until I saw that day and under-stood what my mother was talking about.

I did not pursue the study of law because I loved the rule of law or be-cause I found interpreting Constitutional law interesting. Instead, I wanted to make my parents proud and I have — beyond their wildest dreams. I wanted to be a strong and independent woman and I am. I wanted to be financially secure and I thank my Lord that my earnings allow me to abun-dantly provide for my family. Today, I continue to practice law because I en-joy using my education, knowledge, and experience as an attorney to serve my community. I especially take pleasure in being a role model for young students as Judge Salinas Ender was for me.

Sanchez: As a kid, I always aspired to be a veterinarian. I’ve always loved animals, and still do. I have a little place out in Duval County where I raise Belted Galloway cattle, Texas Dall sheep, and where I have some chickens, ducks, and guineas. However, when I was in eighth grade at Lamar Middle School, and I will never forget this, in Ms. Chacha Benavides’ social study class, we had a mock trial, and I was chosen to be one of the lawyers. I loved it. I found myself being able to articulate my thoughts into words, and lov-ing the contemplation of one day becoming a lawyer if I should change my mind about becoming a vet.

In undergrad, I soon found out science and math were not my CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 44


cup of tea, and so I began to explore what I wanted to do with my life. I looked back at the work my grandfather had done back in the 1960s and 1970s, fighting for civil rights in Austin, and fighting the old party system in Laredo, and I also remembered the voice he gave to the farm workers and veterans in later years, all without a formal education. He helped people, and I embraced that as my calling. My grandma showed me a certificate he had gotten from the University of Oklahoma when they had come down in the 1950s to Laredo for a training seminar. I was so proud to have him at my graduation in 1990 from OU, not too far from the farm fields he once worked, because it was because of him and people like him that doors that had once been shut were now open.

Why do you want this seat on the bench, and if elected, what

will you bring to the position?

Palomo: During my service as a state prosecutor, I was assigned to the 341st District Court where I later had the privilege of being promoted to Chief Prosecutor, having the responsibility of leading the prosecution of hundreds of violent felony offenders. Working for the 341st gave me the op-portunity to observe my role model, Judge Salinas Ender, dispense justice with a firm hand and an understanding heart.

Today, with my experience as director of the adult probation department, I better understand the criminal justice system and the effect it has on our society. I understand that some offenders should be incarcerated to ensure the continued safety of the victims and our community; while other non- violent offenders can be rehabilitated and become productive citizens of our society.

The experience gained in these capacities gives me the unique advan-tage of having two distinct perspectives, each from different ends of the criminal justice field. This has undoubtedly prepared me to make the tough decision required of judges during the administration of justice, especially in criminal cases where a person’s liberty is at stake.

Additionally, I have extensive administrative experience restructuring operations, managing large groups of people, and balancing a multi-million dollar budget funded by tax dollars. Every day I make important decisions that affect the overall operations of the adult probation department, and oc-casionally, I have had to make very difficult decisions related to employee grievance complaints, reassignments, demotions, and termination proceed-ings. Making these administrative decisions requires me to use my knowl-edge, analytical skills, impartial judgment, and a sense of fairness; the same attributes I will bring to the bench as your next district judge.

I will provide a level playing field for anyone coming before the court. It is important that the tradition of fairness and independence from politics in the courtroom continue at the 341st District Court. I intend to promote judicial economy, dispensing justice in a respectful and efficient manner for everyone involved.

In closing, I want the people of Webb County to know that, above all, I am a woman of faith. I have strong family values, a good work ethic and the integrity required of a person in this position. I am ready to serve you.Sanchez: I bring over 21 years of invaluable experience as a practicing

lawyer. There is no better experience than having been in the trenches, try-ing and handling the same types of cases this court hears. I have experience on both sides of the courtroom: I have been both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer; I have been both a plaintiff’s lawyer and a defense lawyer. I would not be running for this position unless I was extremely confident of as-suming the duties of this very important position. I would never, ever, do a disservice to the citizens of Webb County by asking them to vote for me if I

did not believe I was the best qualified to take this job. Judge Elma Salinas Ender has done a tremendous job as judge for the almost three decades she has sat on the bench, and I believe the voters of Webb County deserve to have someone pick up where she left off with no on the job training. This is why I decided to run for this position.

I believe in making the courtroom accessible to all. It is very, very expen-sive to litigate a civil case. Sometimes the legal fees outweigh what the case is worth. This is nonsense, and as judge I intend to do my part in making it more economically feasible for the average citizen to have their day in court. How would I do this you ask? Very simple: fast rulings and don’t make your lawyers go to court (i.e. charge you) when it is not necessary. You cannot afford to have a judge that will be learning on the job with your case. If you have a judge that has to learn on the job, that judge is going to take longer to make a decision, or perhaps even, the wrong decision, the end result being that the client will have to pay his lawyer for all the times the lawyer had to go to court only to have the judge pass the case for another day. That’s why experience matters.

I strongly believe victims of crime should not be forgotten in the judicial process. Once a defendant pleas guilty or is found guilty, the law affords a victim the right to address the court at sentencing. A judge needs to scru-tinize the agreement on punishment reached by the parties, to determine whether the punishment fits the crime. I believe if restitution is involved, a victim should be compensated for the harm they have suffered. Victims of crime should be respected and never forgotten.

I unselfishly offer you, the citizens of Webb County, my vast experience and my undying dedication to justice, and I humbly ask for your vote. Thank you, and may God bless you and your families. ◆



BY CORDELIA BARRERALareDOS Contributor

The agonizing weight of in-sufferable loss (These are the

cheerless heavens above). The claustrophobic spiral of ob-

session (These are the walls, and they are

slowly closing in). Shadowy forms that swell and gasp...and grip with invis-ible fingers. (These are the decaying floor-

boards under your feet). Sinister-looking china dolls, tapestries that breathe sour whispers of doom, marshes of reeking miasma. Such is the dark sym-bolism of the gothic in all its brooding, melancholic glory.

Director James Watkins’s The Woman in Black is an atmospheric, often very scary haunted house film (aka gothic) that

delivers a chilling perspective on mad-ness and vengeance. The film is based on

the 1983 novel of the same name by Susan

Hill; it has also been successfully adapted

into a stage play.

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe (aka

“Harry Potter”) as Arthur Kipps, a be-reaved young husband whose mission is to search a decrepit old mansion for the

papers of its late occupant, Alice Drab-

low. Kipps is a turn-of-the 20th-century

English lawyer in north England with a

young son; the man remains haunted by

the death of his wife who died four years

earlier in childbirth. Even before Kipps

arrives at the depraved-looking house, he

is met with the disapproval and dismissal

of the nearby townspeople — it seems

much of the town as well as the old house

on Eel Marsh is cursed.

With the help of Sam Daily (Ciarán

Hinds), a wealthy landowner from the

township, Kipps is finally able to confine

himself to the house and get to work. At

high tide, Eel Marsh is completely cut

off from the mainland with only the sur-rounding marshes for company. As we

wander with Kipps through the ghostly

corridors of the creepy house once lived

in by Alice Drablow, her husband, their

son, Nathaniel, and Alice’s sister, Jennet

Humfrye (aka “The Woman in Black”),

we are drawn into a world of increasingly

terrifying noises and horrifying images.

In time we begin to understand the na-ture of this particular haunting, and we

are shocked by the visceral horror of the

tragic story that has the nearby town con-vinced of the Woman in Black’s presence.

It seems that seeing her ghastly, ghostly

shape foreshadows the death of the town’s

children. Kipps sees the Woman in Black

on several occasions.

In a haunted house story like The Woman in Black, the eerie and disturbed

house is generally a reflection of the in-terior state of mind of one or more of the protagonists. It’s an old formula that’s

been around for centuries, and it gets re-

worked again and again because it is ter-rifically malleable and oh-so effective.

The Haunted House is an old device in

gothic fiction, a genre that dates to 18th cen-

tury England and Horace Walpole’s clas-sic, The Castle Of Otranto (1764), which

is generally regarded as the first gothic

novel. Gothic novels, of course, have

never gone out of style, and the Haunted

House as a literary device has been suc-cessfully taken up by authors as diverse

as Edgar Allan Poe (The Fall of the House of Usher, 1875); Richard Matheson (Hell House, 1971); and Stephen King (The Shining, 1977).

Historic and contemporary examples

abound. There is the Southern Gothic of

William Faulkner (A Rose for Emily, 1930)

and Toni Morrison (Beloved, 1987); there

is the Horror Gothic of Mary Shelley’s

Frankenstein (1818); and there is even the

Female Gothic of Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre, 1847), and Daphne Du Maurier (Re-becca, 1938).

It’s no coincidence that so many ghost-ly gothics have all been made into very

successful films. The star of any gothic

is ALWAYS the house—the more creepy,

creaky, architecturally vaulted, pointed,

majestically arched and tented, the better.

Gothics embody — and greatly respect

— the joys of extreme emotion coupled

with the weird pleasure of terror, fear, and

awe inherent in the supernaturally, often

preternaturally sublime. Successful goth-ics share the quest for things that might

be said to brood. There is a quality — the

depth and sense of a vault — that plagues

anyone and anything near the place — the

site — where something so ghastly, so

sinister, so nefarious and twisted once oc-curred. For all of these reasons, The Wom-an in Black does not disappoint; the film is

an exercise in the power of a deliberately

debilitating storyline and an exquisitely

Movie Review

The joy and pleasure of terror: The Woman in Black


Ernesto Uribe’s The Unforgiv-ing is set in the Dominican Republic during the heyday of direct U.S. military in-

tervention in the Caribbean. There’s military action, betrayals, intrigue, and romantic encounters between an American Marine captain and the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest Dominican on the island. The novel takes place immediately after the end of World War I, and it depicts the im-pact of an occupying military force of Americans in the affairs of a small na-tion.

At issue is the conflict between the

rights of small farmers and powerful landowners. Marine officers and men

find themselves in a critical position

between the peasants lending support to guerrilla insurgents and ruthless sugar barons. This insightful book examines the unwelcome and unex-pected role of American Marines try-ing to resolve an age-old problem of exploitation of the weak and helpless by the right and powerful.

Ernesto is a perfect example of the academic researcher, when he prepares his books. While serving as counselor for public affairs with the U.S. Em-bassy in Santo Domingo from 1984 to 1988, he researched the U.S. Marine

occupation of the island, an occupa-tion that lasted from 1916 until 1924. During his stay in that part of the world, he trav-eled throughout the country and visited many sites that U.S. Marine troops had actu-ally occupied. And he listened to accounts by lo-cal residents who had memory of the events.

Ernesto now lives in North-ern Virginia and makes ample use of the Library of Congress and the National Ar-chives in Wash-ington, D.C., for material and docu-mentation for his creative writing. If interested, you can find out about all

his books at amazon.com So, what are the beginnings of such

a creative mind? Born in nearby Heb-bronville, he grew up in Laredo where he attended St. Peter’s Elementary, St. Augustine School, and Martin High School. At Texas A&M College he received a B.S. degree in agricultural education in 1960, a second B.S. in journalism in 1961, and a Masters in sociology in 1962. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service with the U.S. Infor-mation Agency in 1962.

He spent an entire 33-year career serving full tours in seven different Latin American countries, as well as three tours in Washington, D.C., where he had the opportunity to attend the

National War College at Fort McNair. He served as a member of the U.S.

Mission to the OAS as Advisor for Cultural, Sci-entific and Edu-cational Affairs. For two years he was loaned by his agency to be Ex-ecutive Director of the Congres-sional Hispanic Caucus Institute. His final overseas

assignment was as the Counselor for Public Af-fairs at the U.S. Embassy, were he served also as president of the Argentine/U.S. Fulbright Com-

mission. He has worked in Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras, Bo-livia, and Argentina.

He retired from foreign service in 1995, lives in Virginia with his wife ex-Laredoan and beautiful classical singer Sarah Meade, Ernesto and wife have one daughter, two sons, and six grandchildren, some already in high school now.

Of his youth in South Texas Er-nesto recalled, “I spent a large part of my time working with my grandfather, Carlos Ortiz, at his little ranch some six miles northeast of Laredo, and on the Uribe family ranch in Zapata, where I spent a lot of time on horseback and doing ranch work in the summers. I still own part of that land.”

And on that note, it’s time for--as Norma Adamo says: TAN TAN ! ◆

Ernesto Uribe’s The Unforgiving: U.S. policy in post WWI Dominican Republic

BY DR. NEO GUTIERREZ

Dr. Neo Gutierrez is a Ph.D. in Dance and Fine Arts, Meritorious

Award in Laredo Fine Arts recipient 2009 from Webb Co. Heritage Foundation, Laredo Sr. Int’l 2008, Laredo MHS Tiger Legend 2002, and Sr. Int’l de Beverly Hills, 1997.

Contact [email protected].

Notes from LaLa Land


BY HENRI KAHN

During his run for the office of President of the United States of America Barack Hussein Obama attracted

thousands of votes by pledging better quality hospital and medical care for all Americans at a cost lower than what the private sector was charging.

He also vilified insurance compa-nies by frequently inferring that in-surance companies were making huge profits by overcharging and cheating the public via underpaying or delaying payment of claims to take advantage of cash flow advantages in interest.

I have been an insurance agent for 50 years and will readily swear on the

Bible that the absolute majority of in-surance companies comply with the provisions of the policies they issue that include fair and timely payment of claims. These company practices are regulated by the state insurance departments of every state in the union to protect policy owners.

From the date of Obama’s election until March, 2010 when ObamaCare was enacted into law, nobody, yes, no-body, knew enough about the specific details the promised benefits of Obam-aCare to inform the public.

As a matter of fact, when ObamaCare was passed, the speaker of the House at the time, Nancy Pelosi publicly stated that the details of benefits were included in a 2,400 page printed bill, so “read it if you want to know what its all about.”

After Pelosi’s ridiculous remark in March, slowly, threads of complicated information began to appear in newspa-pers and TV.

I was obviously interested in the de-tails and kept scratching my head try-ing to determine why Ohama’s people had designed such a complicated mess that frankly highlighted the infamous political carrot temptation ploy.

I wrote an article in LareDOS stating what, in my opinion, was a simple alter-native solution to the complicated ben-efits of ObamaCare..

Keep the system that makes health-care in the USA the envy of the world. Make it available to Americans and charge “all of us taxpayers” to pay the bill along with redesigning plans to provide hospital and medical service

for benefits to cure us when we are in need of care due to sickness or accident with emphasis on preventive care.

Further, create regional private sec-tor panels of healthcare providers to continually monitor and assess health-care necessity and procedures.

Simple and effective? Not for pro-ponents of ObamaCare who haven’t the foggiest idea of implementing a logical, simple, effective healthcare plan.ObamaCare is nothing more than another step to control as many as-pects as possible of our lives.

We must fight every continuing attempt by Obama and his cohorts to weaken our resolve to have the individual freedom in a country of the people, for the people. and by the people. ◆

Seguro Que Sí

Health insurance for all of us, not ObamaCare

BY HENRIKAHN

Contact Henri D. Kahn with your insur-

ance questions at (956) 725-3936,

or by fax at (956) 791-0627, or by email at hkahn@

kahnins.com


Beginning this spring, students who apply for either state or federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal

Student Aid (FAFSA) will now find it simpler than ever before to fill out the online form.

All new applicants who fill out the

FAFSA for the 2012-2013 school year will see a new feature, called “Link to IRS,” within the FAFSA application process.

“As part of a federal mandate, anyone who applies for state or fed-eral monies using this application is strongly urged to use the ‘link’ feature

that allows transferring income tax in-formation from the IRS (Internal Rev-enue Service) directly to the students’ FAFSA application,” Dr. Vincent Solis, Vice-President for Student Services, said. “By linking the IRS information with the FAFSA, it will not only drasti-cally cut time to process, but avoid po-tential fraud, and human error on the application.”

According to Solis, approximately 2,000 new, incoming freshman and 85 percent of current students who apply for financial aid will benefit from this new feature.

“For both of these groups, the soon-er they (new and current students) file their forms, the sooner they can receive their awards for the next school year, and also have first dibs at tapping on not just federal monies, but state aid as well. This helps cover costs for tuition, books, fees, and have extra cash on hand for educational expenses,” Solis added.Students are encouraged to sub-mit their individual or parent’s income tax return, “and wait 2 to 3 weeks for that information to be processed by the IRS,” Solis added. “Once that is com-plete, students should then fill out their

FAFSA. During the final step of the ap-plication process, students should click on the ‘Link to IRS’ feature to link the income tax return data they did a few weeks before to the new FAFSA appli-cation.”

For the best chance to receive the maximum amount of federal aid, stu-dents should file their tax returns by mid-February and submit their FAFSA application by Thursday, March 1.

“Students who forgo using this linking feature will automatically be picked to submit an IRS tax return receipt from the IRS to complete the verification process,” Steven Aguilar, Financial Aid Center Director, said. “Due to a new federal regulation, our center can no longer accept any income tax returns for verification purposes and students must wait approximately four to six weeks to obtain their tax return receipts from the IRS, and pay a fee to do so, potentially missing out on the March 1 maximum cash award deadline.”

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Center at the Fort McIn-tosh Campus at 721-5361 or 794-4360 at the South Campus. ◆

Laredo Community College

New financial aid guidelines to benefit students


Social Security

Don’t wait six weeks; go online todayLESLIE L. YOUNG

Is a Social Security Public

Affairs Specialist in Laredo.)

BY LESLIE L. YOUNGSocial Security Public Affairs Specialist

On Groundhog Day, the world’s furriest weather reporter, Punxsutawney Phil, popped out of his

home to forecast one of two possi-bilities: an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Regardless of what Punxsutaw-ney Phil predicted, there’s no rea-son for you to wait six weeks to do business with Social Security. Whatever the weather, you can visit our online office from the con-

venience and comfort of your warm and cozy home or office. Just go to www.socialsecurity.gov.

You can do so many things on-line. And it’s so easy, even a ground-hog could do it … if eligible. Below are a few of the things you can do at www.socialsecurity.gov.

• Get an instant, personalized estimate of future retirement ben-efits with the Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estima-tor;

• Apply for Social Security retirement, spouse’s, or disabil-ity benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline;

• Apply for Medicare at www.

socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly;• Request a replacement Medi-

care card at www.socialsecurity.gov/medicarecard/, and

• Learn about Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs at www.socialsecurity.gov/prescrip-tionhelp, where you can find a link to apply.

Punxsutawney Phil has called

for six more weeks of winter 87 per-cent of the time. We suspect that’s because he just likes to stay in his comfortable home. You can too, on Groundhog Day or any day, by go-ing online.

Whatever the weather, learn all about the things you can do online at www.socialsecurity.gov/onli-neservices. ◆


David Almaraz graduated from St. Mary’sSchoolofLawin1977.HereceivedhisB.A.andhisM.A.fromtheUniversityofTexasin1972.In1980,hewasappointedAssistantU.S.AttorneyfortheSouthernDistrictofTexas,LaredoDivisionwherehewasthefederalprosecutorfrom19801985.Asasolopractitionerfor26years,hehasgainedrecognitionforhispassionrepresentingclientsalloverTexasandtheUnitedStates.AsACLUChapterPresident,heremindsjurorsandjudgesateveryopportunitythattheBillofRightsmustbedefendedinspiteofoverzealousprosecutorswhotendtooverlookthe4th,5thand6thAmendments.HeisamemberofNACDLandTCDLA.

David Almaraz

AlmarazBldg.,1802HoustonLaredo,Tx.78040P.O.Box6875Email:[email protected].(956)7273828Fax(956)7253639

Claiming territoryIf you sit still a moment there is much to be seen on the natural setting of the ranch lands. Under the branches of an old ebony tree in San Ygnacio, pyrrhuloxia and house finch shared a quiet moment at the birdfeeder, only to be chased off by an angry, territorial Green Jay.

Maria E

ugenia

Guerr

a/L

are

DO

S


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Texas A&M International University

Texas A&M International Uni-versity students have rede-fined the phrase “going with the flow.”

A group of over 40 TAMIU student members of TAMIU’s Freshman Leader-ship Organization (FLO) and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), opted to give their organization’s names special relevance through a FLO service project that paired them with the Feed My Starving Chil-dren Program.

Students worked in two shifts to prepare nutritional food packets to be distributed by the Feed My Starving chil-dren program. Working in assembly-line fashion over a four-hour period, the TA-MIU FLO students created enough pack-ets to feed 217 children. The food packets are delivered to needy areas in the Unit-

ed States and nearly 70 other countries worldwide.

Iliana Rodriguez, FLO member, intro-duced the project to FLO and SIFE and the entire group decided to participate. Rodriguez has previously worked with the Feed My Starving Children project.

Students participating in the project included: FLO - Yvonne Perez, Dan-iel Sanchez, Valeria Nino, Francisco Adame, Danielle Gracia, Elizabeth Green, Cesar Garcia, Jose Veliz, Leslye Cavazos, Leslie Martinez, Andrea Al-mendarez, Alexandra Gil, Eunice Mon-civais, Karina Vidal, Celeste Cantu, Jes-sica Renteria, Diana Castellanos, Aman-da S. Rodriguez, Celina Bernal, Barbara Escamilla, Amber Benavides, Christian Medina, Manuel De La Concha, Jasmin Little, Antonio Moreno, Ricardo Guarne-

ros, Alex Cavazos, Dagoberto Mel-ero, Anaissa Leal, Jennifer Ochoa, Deya-nira Rojas, Iliana Rodriguez, Tomas Du-arte, Raul Lozano, Luis Hernandez, Ai-leen Terrazas, and Jacklynne Garza. From SIFE: Roger Garcia, Alejandra Garza, Maryell Cadena, Gina Medrano, Marlinn Chong, Roxanne Saldana, and Jonathan Gutierrez. For more on TAMIU student

clubs and organizations like FLO, con-tact the TAMIU Office of Student Affairs at 956.326.2282, visit offices in the Student Center, or email [email protected]. More information is also available online at tamiu.edu/studentaffairs/.

For information on the Feed My Starving Children program, visit fsmc.org. ◆

FLO and SIFE students help feed children

to Serve All Your Livestock; 4-H and FFA Project, and Pet Needs

- Free delivery in-town and surrounding areas -

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laredos february 2012

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