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FEBRUARY 2019
Volume 9, Issue 10
Office Park West 209 S. Danville, Suite B-103 Abilene, Texas 79605 (325) 701-9505 www.HispanicLifeMedia.com
Well folks, we are in the second month of the new year. Where did the time go? It seems like time keeps flying bye, faster and faster. While things seem to be moving faster and faster, more activities, more social media, more events and so on, we must always take the time to appreciate one another. Taking the time to let somone know that we love them.
[currently under construction]
PUBLISHER David A. Hernandez EDITOR HispanicLife Magazine editorial@hispaniclifemedia.com ADVISING EDITOR AND ACCEPTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS Amy Hernández info@hispaniclifemedia.com (325) 701-9505 Office
ADVERTISING SALES • Terri Collum (325) 439-1214 terri@hispaniclifemedia.com
• David Hernandez (325) 518-7091 sales@hispaniclifemedia.com
GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Debbie Heep info@hispaniclifemedia.com
About Us
We are dedicated to serving the Abilene and the Big Country by providing up-to-date information and resources that promote healthy families and homes. We also promote our clients businesses by increasing their customer bases and enhancing their public images within the Hispanic community. HispanicLife Magazine is published on a monthly basis and is owned & operated locally. Advertising rates are available upon request. While we use great care in creating our display ads, mistakes can happen. HispanicLife and the publisher are not liable for any damages arising from any typographical or mechanical errors beyond the cost of the ad. HispanicLife does not necessarily endorse any of the advertisers, products or services listed in this publication. 2019 HispanicLIfe Media
All rights reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without permission from the publisher. www.facebook.com/HispanicLifeMagazine
Taking the time to share a hug, a smile, or even a simple phone call, or even mailing a greeting card to a loved one. Which is not too popular anymore these days. Life is too short to maintain a grudge or unforgiveness. Just as Christ has demonstrated His love through his death on the cross for our sins, we too must share that same love to those around us. Our sincere prayer is that you and your family, loved ones and friends alike, would make the right choice to love. As stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Blessings, David & Amy Hernández & the girls and all the staff here at HispanicLife
4 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Coming to La Nueva Luna • Abilene, TX
COMMUNITY 2019 20 Under 40: Patty Fuentes
LOCAL PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Saturday, February 23rd
By Abilene Reporter News Age: 35
Business: First Financial Bank Job title: Senior vice president, retail branch administrator, First Financial Bank Why are you working in this industry? Because I can help others. Whether it’s a customer who is looking for financial guidance, or an employee looking for career guidance, I love the ability to help other people. What are three daily habits that have helped you to become successful? 1. Prayer 2. Talking to my family 3. Trying to laugh Who is the person who most influenced you in business? Fortunately, I have been blessed with more than one person who has influenced me in business. First, my parents. They’ve taught me what a good work ethic is and no matter what happens to you, pick yourself up and you try again. I have watched my dad build his company with hard work and dedication and I want to be able to contribute to a company the way they have. Second, my amazing mentor at First Financial, Monica Houston. Monica interviewed and hired me when I started my career at First
Financial. I have followed her lead and taken her advice and truly believe that without her guidance, I would not be where I am today. I am extremely lucky to be surrounded by people who want the best for me and give me the tools necessary to be successful.
If you were to give one piece of advice to someone starting out in your field what would it be? Sometimes you have to give a little more to get a little more. Be willing to learn all aspects of banking, because the more you know, the more you can help others and truly make an impact.
Community, civic, professional, business, religious, social and other organizations of which you have been a member/and or What was your first sum- leader: mer job? My first job was at Motherhood Maternity. That Abilene Chamber of Commerce, board memwas an interesting experience ber/executive committee; Leadership Abilene 2013 and chairperson of the Classes of 2018 for a college kid. and 2019; Abilene Young Professionals; Alliance for Women & Children, past board member; Kiwanis Club of Abilene; National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, board member. Your family: Parents, Johnny and Nelda Fuentes; sister, Veronica Fuentes.
Where will we find you enjoying your hardearned time off? Probably shopping or spending time with family and friends. It’s so important to have a good work/life balance. Describe yourself in word: Driven
Gypsy & Me at Sockdolager Brewing Company 720 China St. Abilene, Texas
CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505 209 S. Danville, Suite B-103 Email: info@hispaniclifemedia.com
Gypsy & Me is comprised of North Carolina-based duo, Mike Moore and Kyzandrha Zarate. Together, they bring us original Americana | Folk | Country | Acoustic sounds. They pride themselves in sharing their life stories and experiences while traveling the world.
Don’t miss your opportunity to see these two talented songwriters and storytellers as they make Abilene a stop on their 14 Tank Tour across the West Coast! On January 26, 2018, they released their debut album, “Road Sweet Home,” and on September 1, 2018, they released their sophomore album, “Delivered.” Their songs consist of meaningful lyrics, meticulously crafted (yet, simple) instrumental work & sounds taking you back to the days of vinyl & creative storytelling. Their sounds are raw and timeless.
6 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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Town & Country Women’s Fair Scheduled for February 19 By Jane Rowan | Taylor County Extension Office
“If you eat and wear clothes, you are involved in agriculture.” This is the slogan for the 21st annual Town and Country Women’s Fair scheduled for Tuesday, February 19th in conjunction with the Texas Farm Ranch Wildlife Expo. The Women’s Fair will be held in the Display Building on the grounds of the Taylor County Expo Center. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Women’s Fair Task Force has planned a day filled with educational programs and creative ideas to promote agricultural food and fiber products. Plan to join women from Abilene and the surrounding area for a day of fun and useful information. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the event will conclude around 2:00 p.m. The day is free to the public and the conference facilities are accessible for the physically disabled. You may spend the entire day or pick and choose the sessions you want to attend. Mari Cockerell, Communications and Media Relations Manager for the City of Abilene, will again serve as moderator for this years’ event. She will kick off the day at 9:00 a.m. with the first session, “Making & Decorating Pillows”. This presentation will focus on a variety of creative ways to make simple pillows or give pillows a new look to enhance your home decor. Speakers, Ruthie Lawrence and Kathy McCoy, will demonstrate ingenious ways to make and/or decorate pillows, even some pillows for those who do not sew.
thirty books; founded the West Texas Book Festival and owns the Texas Star Trading Company – an independent bookstore and gift shop. We often underestimate how much maintaining balance contributes to living life successfully and productively. “Balance – Important at Any Age” will be addressed at the 11:00 a.m. session presented by Jodi Hierholzer, Physical Therapist in the adult outpatient department at West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene. Hierholzer will emphasize the role balance plays in our lives and share ways to increase and maintain balance. During the sponsored luncheon, Dillard’s of Abilene will provide a look at the newest in fashions through a style show. Local women will be modeling styles for various ages and body types. The afternoon program will begin at 1:00 p.m. with “Cooking Under Pressure”. Retired County Extension Agents, Jane Rowan and Martha Alice Spraberry will talk about Electric Programmable Pressure Cookers. The basics of how this popular appliance works and what they can and cannot do will be covered. A variety of recipes will also be demonstrated.
Women’s Fair attendees will receive a SWAG bag of information, recipes, samples, coupons, and goodies. Local, area, state, and national businesses are providing door prizes for the event which will be drawn for throughout the day. A variety of vendors and educaThe 10:00 a.m. session, “Preserving Family tional booths will also be on hand featuring informaStories, History and Recipes”, will provide tion and for sale items. participants with options for documenting important aspects of their family’s heritage The Town & Country Women’s Fair is presented by with guidance from Glenn Dromgoole. A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Taylor thirty-year veteran newspaper editor and County and Abilene Chamber of Commerce. We hope reporter, Dromgoole has written more than you will join us on February 19 for the 2019 event in the Display Building on the grounds of the Taylor County Expo Center. For more information, contact the Taylor County Extension Office at (325) 672-6048.
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Abilene Cooper’s Mason Reynolds (Hardin-Simmons), Tavian Bonds (HSU) and Ricardo Rios (Cisco College) signed to play football at the next level.
Pick us up at Law Enforcement Office & Cisco College | COMMUNITY | 7
Hondo Henderson. Firefighter Henderson joined the Abilene Fire Department in December of 1999. He is certifed as an EMT-Paramedic, Master Firefighter, Fire Instructor I, and Hazardous Materials Technician. He is currently assigned to Engine 6, A shift. Congratulations to Firefighter Henderson.
SPOTLIGHT
Murphey Performance Hall San Angelo Performing Arts Campus Friday, Mar 15th • 7:30 PM Felipe Esparza is a comedian and actor, best known for his raw, reallife comedy that audiences everywhere can relate to. With his signature wild hair, and his often imitated phrase, “what’s up, fool?”, he has been associated with his friend Gabriel Iglesias, who often recounts (and imitates) his experiences with Felipe in his act. After 17 years of stand-up comedy, various television appearances and two movies, Felipe walked away with the title prize on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2010. In 2012, Felipe produced and released his first one-hour stand-up special, “They’re Not Gonna Laugh at You”, for Showtime. It is currently available on DVD and Netflix. In 2014, Felipe launched a podcast entitled, “What’s Up Fool?” podcast on the All Things Comedy network started by Bill Burr and Al Madrigal. In
Firefighter Jacob Smith
joined the Abilene Fire Department in April of 2017. He is certified as a basic firefighter and a EMT-Basic. He is close to completing Paramedic training provided by the Abilene Fire Department training staff. He is currently assigned to Station 6 on C shift.
its first week, it entered the top 15 comedy podcasts and the top 70 podcasts in all categories. It quickly became a fan favorite with a strong, loyal following. It is available on iTunes, Stitcher and SoundCloud/ Felipe is a product of the streets of Boyle Heights/East L.A. and much of his material is the result of trying to find the humor in the struggles of everyday life. “Over the years I’ve noticed so many changes in the neighborhoods around me. Gentrification starts to happen and ‘bad’ neighborhoods start to become ‘good’. But I like to show the other side of it… the guy who hasn’t changed and probably never will. I have a joke that kind of shows that… “I know I’m not a tough guy, but I’m pretty sure I could beat up everyone who shops at Trader Joe’s. But at Food 4 Less, I shut the hell up.” Felipe’s other television appearances include a national Honda campaign, a national Target commercial, The Eric Andre Show, regular segments on TruTV’s “World’s Dumbest…”, “The Arsenio Hall Show”, “Comics Unleashed”, Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend”, and “Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at the El Rey”, Showtime’s “Comics Without Borders”, TBS’s “Lopez Tonight”, and Galavision’s first English-speaking show, a stand-up comedy show called “Que Lo-
8 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Abilene Citizen Honored for Pulling Man from Burning Vehicle An Abilene citizen has been honored for pulling a man from a burning vehicle.
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
“ BROADWAY’S FUNNIEST
MUSICAL COMEDY IN AT LEAST 400 YEARS!” - TIME OUT New York
Abilene police recognized Mickie Fenwick’s heroic efforts by presenting him with a ‘Life-Saving’ Award. Police say Mr. Fenwick pulled a man from a burning vehicle alongside a police officer.
Join us for the 26th annual Steam-N-Wheels Bike Race Saturday, March 16, starting at 10:00am! Riders can choose from three course routes: 12, 32, and 48 miles. It’s $35 per person, and you can register now up until March 14 at 5:00pm. Day of registration will begin at 8:00am until 9:30am, with the fee increasing to $45/ per rider. Packet pickup will be available on race day beginning at 8am. The first 150 riders that register will receive a complimentary long sleeve event tshirt! Prizes will be available for winners of the different age divisions, and be sure to wear green to get into the St. Patty spirit! Register online at www.abilenetx.gov/signup or www.bikereg.com/abilene
PHOTO © JEREMY DANIEL
They want to publicly thank Fenwick for his quick action at the scene!
“ SOMETHING
ROTTEN! is
The Producers PLUS Spamalot PLUS The Book of Mormon . SQ UARED ! ” - NEW YORK MAGAZINE
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FEBRUARY 22
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Pick us up at Alfonso Hernandez Bakery, Mr. Jiffy & Daniela’s Tex-Mex Rest | COMMUNITY | 9
House Bill Amended to Rename Loop 322 After Fallen Abilene Police Offer By Jamie Burch | KTXS-12
State Representative Stan Lambert has amended a bill he wrote to honor the life of a fallen Abilene police officer. House Bill 23 would now rename Loop 322 the “Officer Rodney T. Holder Memorial Highway.” Holder was killed in 2010 when a car hit his motorcycle while on duty. When Lambert filed the bill in November, the plan was to rename Hwy. 83 from S. 14th Street to Loop 322 in honor of Holder. But Lambert later learned it was already designat- Holder graduated from Cooper High School and served in ed “Veteran’s Memorial Highway.” the army. During his 28 years with APD, Holder served as a patrol officer, SWAT team member, detective, and in the During the Abilene City Council meeting on traffic division. Thursday, the council will vote on on a resolution to support the bill.
Adtis-
vering
10 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
West Texas Rehab Telethon Raises More Than $1 million By Erica Garner | BigCountryHomepage.com
Hundreds of people packed the Abilene Convention Center Saturday night to help support a good cause. The West Texas Rehab Center hosted their 49th annual telethon, raising more than $1.2 million to help provide affordable care for the center’s patients. “You don’t just think about people that have no money, you think about people that really have insurance in name only,” says Steve Martin of the West Texas Rehab Center. “In some respects, they have high-deductible plans, or folks on Medicare with a fixed income, or insurance with coverage limits. All
of those people, if they qualify for help with us, get it without regard for financial circumstance, so it’s really neat.” The rehab center relies on volunteers and donors who support their work and service to people across the Big Country and Concho Valley. If you would like to donate, contact the West Texas Rehab Center at 325-793-3400.
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International Rescue Committee for 15 Years Has Assisted Refugees in Making Home in Abilene By Loretta Fulton | Special to the Abilene Reporter-News
Thaddee and Pascasie Uwimana know better without them,” said Susanna Lubanga, resetthan most that a biological family might not al- tlement director and a member of Highland ways be together, even on the same continent. Church of Christ, which also works with refugees. They were married in Rwanda before fleeing to a refugee camp and eventually arriving in In fact, a former IRC employee, Emily ParkAbilene. The two of them were together, but er, gave a program at a national IRC meeting apart from their biological families. They are in 2016 about partnering with churches and Catholics and have faith that God will provide faith-based institutions. Most of the people at— even a family. tending, Lubanga said, hadn’t thought of look“Somewhere you have a spiritual family,” Thaddee said. For Thaddee and Pascasie that spiritual family can be found at Holy Family Catholic Church. For Bikole Mulanda, the spiritual family is at Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest. For Cyprien Kilulu, it’s at St. James United Methodist Church.
“It’s pretty amazing to see,” Lubanga said.
An investment
Refugees must reside in the United States five years before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship. Lubanga estimated that 60 percent to 70 percent of the refugees who come to Abilene eventually become citizens. Many of the ones who stay in Abilene become homeowners, business owners or valued employees, and college students. Since opening in Abilene 15 years ago, the IRC has grown in numbers and in programming. The agency opened with three employees and now has 17. New programming, such as a Student Academic Readiness Program for middle and high school students and a driver’s education class, have been added and will be in the future.
Lubanga is especially proud of a new leadership program Those are just a few of the called LEAD for Leadership, churches in Abilene that Empowerment, Advocacy have been welcoming and and Development. In March, supporting refugees, physia providers conference will cally and spiritually, since be held so that people can they began arriving here in Winner Moligi carries the flag of Uganda on May 18, 2017, at Lee Elementary learn about ways to assist the January 2004 through the School. Students from 19 countries carried the flags of the nations from refugees. International Rescue Com- which their families came during an assembly celebrating the school’s intermittee, a refugee resettle- national diversity. Abilene has become home to more than 1,200 refugees. The refugees who come to (Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News) ment agency. Abilene tout its many qualities and welcoming atmoFifteen years of assistance ing to those institutions for assistance. sphere. But the refugees aren’t the only ones To mark the 15th anniversary of the IRC in “We got great feedback on it,” she said. benefiting from being here. Employers love Abilene, a celebration will be held 4-6 p.m. them, Lubanga said, and she has a long list of Thursday at the IRC office, 3305 North Third But in Abilene, it’s an obvious place to look. businesses that rely on refugees. Many of them St., Suite 320. The public is invited. were professionals in their home country but Lubanga keeps a list of about 25 local con- due to language barriers and licensing issues, When the Dallas regional office of the IRC gregations of various denominations that part- they can’t practice their profession here. decided to open a satellite office in 2003, ner is some way with the IRC. Since January Abilene was selected partly due to the support 2004, when the first refugees arrived, as many So, many are happy to take housekeeping jobs promised by local churches and the city’s three as 200 a year have been resettled in Abilene. at hotels and healthcare facilities, work in food church-affiliated universities. That number is declining, Lubanga said, as service or for companies that hire numerous the government further curtails the number of production shifts such as AbiMar Foods. Churches provide programming, space for refugees entering the United States each year. language-specific worship services, support, Many of the refugees were landing a job withassistance, and a spiritual family. Most of the In 2018, only 116 refugees were resettled in in a week or two of arriving in Abilene, which IRC’s volunteers, and some staff, are college Abilene. Lubanga estimated that about 1,200 caused the IRC to institute a new rule. Refustudents or are affiliated with a local congrega- refugees currently live in Abilene, including gees now have to be here at least a month betion. some who came the first year the IRC operated here. “I do not know how we would do our work Continued on page 13
Feb. 1-17, 2019
San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo by the numbers The San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo gets a lot of hype. From the big names who compete in the arena to the smallest of fans who hope to be there one day. By Senora Scott | KIDY10 Fox San Angelo Competitors, volunteers, and staff all believe that the hype is well deserved. The numbers prove the event is a contender in the nationwide competition for best stock show and rodeo. “Every year we keep seeing our numbers increase. Part of it is contestants want to come here and compete in San Angelo to get a head start to try to go to the finals,” Justin Jonas, San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo executive director, said. So how many contestants will you see in the arena this year? 1,150. And it’s no wonder they want to be seen in San Angelo. It’s not a secret that San Angelo rodeo fans, and the event itself, go unmatched. Jonas confirmed it. San Angelo is, and has been, one of the top five rodeos in the nation for years. “They grade us on purse size, is how they do that. Not just by how many people come to the rodeo. That’s putting San Angelo right in the third and fourth ranked in the United States,” Jonas said. This year, that purse totals just over $600,000. One of the reasons for the more than $100,000 jump is the Cinch Chute Out. The PRCA announced several new sanctioned events in the past few months. This only helps add money and clout to some already famous stops on the contestant’s calendars. “You’re gonna see these cowboys make more money that they deserve that’s gonna count towards the finals. If they get hurt they don’t have salaries, they have to stay healthy, they have to stay good, so the more and more events that are large money that these guys can win, the better for the PRCA,” Jonas said. But that’s just the rodeo. The stock show is boasting some pretty big numbers this year as well. “We have over 14,000 entries. They bring in parents, grandparents. They stay 2 or 3 days, they shop in our shops, they eat in our restaurants, they stay in our hotels. A lot of people in San Angelo are banking the stock show and rodeo to keep on growing because their profit or loss may be in the month of February,” Jonas said.
12 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505
This Tasty Texas Restaurant Is Home To The Biggest Steak We’ve Ever Seen By Katie Lawrence | Only in Your State
Hiding in the tiny town of Buffalo Gap (population: 463) is an unassuming restaurant with the most mouthwatering steak you’ve ever tried. Perini Ranch Steakhouse has been satisfying hungry stomachs with Texassized cuts of meat for nearly 40 years, using a secret family spice blend and cooking technique to guarantee perfection (not to mention it’s located on a working ranch complete with longhorns and a farmhouse for guests to stay overnight!). Formerly a chuck wagon, Perini Ranch Steakhouse has been operating out of its brick-andmortar location since 1983. Over the past 36 years, the restaurant has received countless accolades from reputable publications such as Food Network and Texas Monthly.
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Pick us up at Drug Emporium, Monterrey Mex Rest & Lytle Land & Cattle | COMMUNITY | 13 Refugees - continued from page 11
fore starting work in order to go through orientation and get acclimated to the community.
Churches provide landing place
One place almost all the refugees find immediately upon arrival is a church, Lubanga said, because their faith is so important to them. “That’s where they want to get involved pretty quickly,” Lubanga said. By definition, refugees can’t return to their homeland due to threat of persecution or even death. Sometimes that is for reasons based on religion. Most of the refugees who resettle in Abilene are Christians, Lubanga said, although a few Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus have come here. All are able to connect with a faith-based group if they wish. Most of the larger congregations in Abilene have some kind of ministry for refugees.
Across town, Cyprien Kilulu might be found hoeing, planting, or reaping from a raised bed garden established by and for refugees at St. James United Methodist Church. Broadview Baptist Church also has a garden specifically for refugees. At both church gardens, refugees plant vegetables native to their home country that might not be available locally. The church’s pastor, Dot Lea, came to Abilene three years ago and the garden had been in place 18 months before that. Lea was thrilled when she arrived and saw what the church was doing, a perfect example of Jesus’ mandate to “love your neighbor.” In an interview for the St. James newsletter, Kilulu was asked why he loves working in gardens. “First thing,” he said, “it is the tradition. It is our Congolese, African tradition, to grow plants, our vegetables.” And, Kilulu said, he loves the peace and tranquility of being in a garden, plus the vegetables he grows for his family and others.
The Uwimanas found their spiritual home at Holy Family. They were Catholics in their home country and got In addition to the garden, connected with Holy the church also provides Family right away afgoods for refugees new ter arriving in Abilene. Children enjoy coloring during a Swahili language ser- to town and recognizes They are regulars at the vice at Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest. (Photo: the garden harvest in a 9 a.m. Mass on Sundays Loretta Fulton/Special to the Reporter-News) ceremony in October. and stay for a gathering of refugees at 10:30. The children of the church take up a “noisy ofTheir son, who is now 14, was born with fering” each Sunday, Lea said. Coins are dropped Down Syndrome and members of Holy Fam- noisily into metal cans and then donated to a nonily helped them with transportation to Cook profit such as the IRC. The change dropped into Children’s Health Care System in Fort Worth. the cans is symbolic of the change that can occur through sharing. Every Sunday afternoon, Bikole Mulanda leads a Swahili Like other churches in ISE RT VE language service at HeavAD Abilene that support refuTO US LL CA enly Rest. Mulanda came to gees, St. James looks for 25) 701-9505 (3 Abilene from the Democratic ways to help and invites B-103 Republic of the Congo five refugees to wor209 S. Danville, Suitemedia.com life years ago. ship services Email: info@hispanic An all-female choir leads and other church a lively musical interlude, activities. www.facebook.com/hispaniclifemagazine while various members read the scriptures and prayers — all in Swahili. “Anyway we can support, we do,” Lea said.
14 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Spring Shred Day provided by Shredding Services of Texas, INC.• MALL of Abilene Need to do a little spring cleaning? Shredding Services of Texas, Inc. will be at Mall of Abilene on Friday, March 22 from 1-3pm for on-site destruction FREE of charge! Located on S. Clack near Chili’s.
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Pick us up at Alfredo’s, Gloria’s Grill and Kentucky Fried Chicken | COMMUNITY | 15
317th ISO: Keeping The C-130s Ready By Airman 1st Class Rebecca Van Syoc | 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
A car requires regular tune-ups and inspections to ensure that the vehicle is running correctly. The C-130J Super Hercules follow a similar cycle, requiring regular inspection and maintenance so that they don’t have issues during a mission. In a worst-case scenario a car can simply pull to the side of a road, but an aircraft does not have the same capability if something breaks or stops working. In order to keep these aircraft in good working condition, there are the members of the 317th Maintenance Squadron isochronal inspection team.
This includes checking every system, panel and cord across the aircraft. Not a single inch should be overlooked, as even the smallest detail could turn into a big problem if it’s not properly noted or taken care of. “It’s our responsibility to almost have a healthy amount of paranoia,” Hooker said. “Complacency is the enemy of anyone who works in maintenance; any dent, crack, wear or tear has to be looked at not just as a current issue for the aircraft, but how it will affect it down the line. You might look at something and say to yourself ‘that doesn’t look too bad’, but those are the moments you have to remember that while in the air, our aircrew can’t just pull over if that little issue you brushed off winds up becoming something bigger.”
“Essentially after a certain number of days or flying hours, we have to inspect the aircraft,” said Tech. Sgt. Jakob Howell, 317th MXS dock chief. “That means we are responsible for catching both short-term and long-term is- Members of the 317th MXS ISO shop work sues.” according to the needs of the aircraft on Dyess Air Force Base, meeting scheduling challenges There are many types of inspections that air- to ensure that every C-130 is safe and ready to craft, such as the C-130, need to have on a fly any mission required of it. For the year of regular basis and they all have similarities to 2019 for example, they are 30 aircraft slated to inspections for outside of the U.S. Air Force. be inspected, which each can take a minimum of seven and up to 15 or more days, depend“Inspections done on the flightline, like pre ing on what issues are present at the time of and post-flight inspections, are like the pit scheduling. stops during a NASCAR race,” said Senior Airman Nicholas Hooker, 317th MXS iso- According to Howell, there are more than 35 chronal inspection journeyman. “When the Airmen in the ISO shop, and they have the caISO shop gets an aircraft, it’s like taking your pability to work up to 24/7 to ensure that an car to a mechanic and letting them look over aircraft is inspected in the timeframe it needs it. We might be notified of some issues the air- to be. craft already has, but we might also find more from that in-depth inspection and make sure “We’re a team here no matter what,” Hooker those are fixed.” said. “Either the shift stays together or leaves together, we don’t leave anyone behind or According to Howell, over 360 man hours can overwhelmed.” be put into the inspection of a single C-130.
16 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Courtesy of: HispanicLife Magazine
To place your loved ones obituary or to honor them with a special message, please contact our offices at: (325) 701-9505 Email: info@hispaniclifemedia.com
Miguel Eulogio Lujan, 64, passed away January 18, 2019. Mr. Lujan was born January 09, 1955, in Lubbock, Texas to Eulogio and Alice Lujan. He lived in Abilene for most of his life. He was a member of Life Church, where he played the drums in the Praise and Worship band. He loved playing music, it was his passion and he had many musicians as his friends. Mr. Lujan was preceded in death by his parents Eulogio and Alice Lujan, a brother Robert “Bobby” Lujan, a sister Gloria Lujan Gonzalez, and a nephew Michael Rodriguez. Survivors include his wife Rosie Lujan of Abilene, son Marcus Ray Lujan( Shannon) of Hawley, daughter Raena Anita Lujan (Chris Alessio) of Abilene, sister Victoria Rodriguez of San Antonio, a nephews Libirio Estrada and Angel Gonzalez, and niece Zolay Gonzalez. He also had six grandchildren and one great grandchild and a host of extended friends and family members. Adrian Ventura Jasso, 27, passed away January 20, 2019. Pallbearers are Carlos Zuniga, Zachariah Luna, Matthew Jasso, Jessie Rodriguez, Jose Cancel, Mike Zuniga, and Honorary Pallbearer Gustavo Salazar. Mr. Jasso was born January 31, 1991, in Abilene, Texas to Tereso Zuniga and Teresa Jasso. Survivors include wife, Jacquelyn Jasso, daughters, Hannelore and Emiah Jasso of Abilene, sisters: Clara Jasso of Georgia, Lorena Jasso and Mary Lou Zuniga of Abilene, and brothers Carlos and Mike Zuniga of Abilene. Mr. Jasso was preceded in death by his father, Tereso Zuniga. Victoria J. Quesada, 82, passed away February 03, 2019. Mrs. Quesada was born December 23, 1936, in Abilene to Avelino and Manuela Juarez. Mrs. Quesada was preceded in death by both her parents, her husband of 68 years Luis Quesada, siblings Aurora Daniels, Andrea Ramirez, Mary Loya,
Eva Mendoza, Marcelino Juarez and Constancio Juarez. She is survived by her children: Sal and wife Joyce Quesada of Port Arthur, Luis Jr. and wife Nina Quesada of Abilene, and Ricky Quesada and Yolanda Quesada both of Abilene, sisters Dominga Rosales and Carmen and husband Eleseo Gomez, both of Abilene. She also leaves behind 15 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren and a host of extended family and friends. Idalia De Los Santos Fuentes passed from this life into the other side on February 9, 2019. Idalia De Los Santos Fuentes was born on August 8, 1955 in Taylor, Texas to Sara Garza and Marcos De Los Santos. She had 9 siblings; 4 brothers and 5 sisters. Idalia lived in Lubbock then moved to Rule, Texas where she spent most of her life. She had her first son Jose Zepeda in Hereford, Texas where she worked hard as a single mother. Later in Haskell, she met the love of her life, a traveling Tejano musician, Jimmy Fuentes Sr. They had their second son, Jimmy Fuentes Jr. in March of ‘87. Having both her sons she built a life for them by working hard and giving them the best life that she could. She was a tough woman and at the same time a loving woman. She spent 14 years of her life working with her husband at Mathis and Son Inc. where she did a little bit of everything. She loved helping everyone, especially her family. Whether you were a niece, a nephew, a grandchild, brother, sister, you knew you could count on “Loli” to help you out. A big smile, and a contagious laugh were some of the things we remember about her. Most of all, her love she had for her family. Graduations, banquets, baby showers, no matter the event, if it was family, she was there for them. She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Jimmy Fuentes Sr.; her son, Jose Zepeda and wife Tiffany; son, Jimmy Fuentes Jr and fiance’ Brianne Chavez, both of Abilene; 3 step daughters, Andrea Rosales, Victoria Fuentes, and Stacey Fuentes; 4 sisters, Vera Limones and husband Jacinto, Eva Nieto and husband Juan, and Esther Muniz; all of Abilene, Rosa Gomez and husband Ralph of Kamay; 15 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren; a number of nieces and nephews whom she thought as her own children. She is preceded in death by her parents, Marcos and Sara De Los Santos; 4 brothers, Jesse De Los Santos, Pasqual De Los Santos, Tony De Los Santos, and Louis De Los Santos; and 1 sister, Rachel Navarette.
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Pick us up at Communities of Abilene FCU, SBDC & Lytle Land & Cattle | COMMUNITY | 17
Abilene Community Mourns Passing of Darla Harmon By Joey Hollingsworth | BigCountryHomePage.com
The Abilene community is mourning the passing She did so for the last of Darla Harmon. eight years of her tenure at the Center. According to a Facebook post by the Center of Contemporary Arts, Harmon passed away Sun- “We were trying to day morning. The former executive director for bring more artists memthe Center for Contemporary Arts died Sunday bers. She knew how to on her 65th birthday, with friends and family by instantly make them feel her side. like she belonged here. Like this was a home Harmon was the Executive Director at the Cen- of source for them. She ter for Contemporary Arts from Nov. 2010 un- was very good at creattil Nov. 2018, reeling in creative minds from ing those personal conAbilene and beyond. nections,” Carroll said. “She had a real passion for the center and for the artists and for the work that she did. She was always a wonderful team player. If the Cultural Affairs Council was working on something, she was always there to help,” executive director for the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, Lynn Barnett said. Creating a haven for free expression, Darla Harmon was the light that many artists needed in Abilene. “She knew how to not take herself seriously, especially as a bit of an introvert. She was always willing to put on the funny hat and be the over the top personality,” executive director for the Center for Contemporary Arts, Jonathan Carroll said. She is described as a warm and loving person. Darla’s colleagues said she was perfect for the job. “I just think she was there at the right time for the Center and just took them to the next level and just made such a contribution. She will really be missed not only in the art community but just in general,” Barnett said.
community of Abilene a better place. We cannot measure the impact she has made on so many lives here. She was our fearless leader and our friend, and she will be missed.” Current Executive Director at the Center for Contemporary Arts Jonathan Carroll issued the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened by “The last several months the passing away of Darla at the center she had Harmon on Sunday, Janutrouble going up and ary 27. She meant so many down the stairs. I mean things to so many of us. I she really, she really battled it to stay there as long personally will always be grateful for the mentoras she could,” Barnett said. ship she so willingly gave me over the last two years, when I really got to know her. With a lung replacement set at the end of 2018, she retired, passing the baton to Jonathan Carroll. Darla worked so hard to make The Center what it is, and we all owe her so much for what she “Abilene is always so welcoming and encourag- did for the arts in Abilene. The question I’ve been ing to the arts but in a lot of ways, it’s a very con- asked many times in the last two months is: “So, servative town. It’s very traditional, west Texas are you the new Darla?” It can be a bit of a cliché town in a lot of ways,” Carroll said. question, and my response is just as rote: “There’s no replacing Darla, I’m just here to try and do In ways they were not allowed to get freedom the job as well as she did.” But since yesterday elsewhere. morning, it has really sunk in what she meant to me, and to The Center, and to the community of “We’re so grateful for her presence here and the Abilene, and I say with true earnestness: there is time she spent in Abilene and all she gave back no replacing Darla. Her compassion, encourageto our community and we really do miss her,” ment and selflessness are not often seen today. Barnett said. Those she encountered could sense these traits, and were drawn to her for them. Her legacy is not In a Facebook post, the Community Foundation a beautiful new building or a shiny monument. It of Abilene wrote, “Darla Harmon was a true gift. is that the Center is still here: our artists are creatWe had the distinct honor of working closely ing with passion, and using their craft to bring joy with her during her years with the Center for and inspiration to our community. Contemporary Arts. Darla was passionate about arts and humanitarian causes, and she absolutely And her legacy will live on.” loved those who loved others.”
“She wanted to use arts as a way for those who could not necessarily express themselves in other ways. It was a medium that she knew how to The Center for Contemporary Arts says Darla draw out,” Carroll said. “worked tirelessly to make the Center and the
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18 | COMMUNITY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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Clyde Police Department • Congratulations to Officer Boyett on his promotion this week to the rank of Sergeant.
Physician Assistant Tony Ruiz and Medical Laboratory Technician Cherry Rush were presented with a Recognition of Excellence Coin at Abilene Taylor County Public Health District’s monthly staff meeting! Both staff members were recognized for their hard work and leadership in their respective departments. Keep up the great work guys!
City of Abilene • Thank you to Araiya Jeffers of Allie Ward Elementary for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance this evening - great job!
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EDUCATION
LOCAL SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY NEWS
McMurry Grad Helping Develop the Next Generation of Cancer Researchers By McMurry University, The Messanger
Dr. Malaney O’Connell ’10 attributes her passion for cancer research to her undergraduate years at McMurry. She entered college unsure of a career path, but was quickly drawn to biomedical science through her involvement in student research. Now, having earned her doctorate in cancer cell biology from UT Galveston, O’Connell is back at her alma mater as an assistant professor of biology. She is helping to develop the next generation of cancer researchers and healthcare providers with the same skill sets and strong foundation in science that she was offered as a student. “I fell in love with teaching during graduate school,” says O’Connell. “I knew I wanted to be in the classroom, and I wanted to do really good research at the undergraduate level.” Dr. O’Connell is convinced that quality scientific research can be done at smaller universities and that such settings often provide opportunities for enhanced collaboration and teamwork among the various faculty and departments. She believes the tight knit community and supportive environment at McMurry were foundational to her own academic success.
According to O’Connell, acquiring these research skills as undergraduates, accompanied by the distinction of being published in the scientific literature, can determine whether or not an application is seriously considered or simply passed over. Dr. O’Connell’s research is part of a team effort and frequently overlaps with projects going on in nearby
approaches cancer research from a drug development standpoint, and seeks to identify molecules that will target specific cancer cell processes and inhibit cell proliferation. Like Dr. O’Connell, she understands the value of students being able to link the science they learn in the classroom to real world applications through undergraduate research. After beginning her teaching career, Dr. O’Connell quickly discovered that Abilene was becoming a hub for cancer research, and that many outside the McMurry campus were doing strong work in the field. She began to connect with other scientists and physicians associated with the Hendricks Health System, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Hardin-Simmons, and Abilene Christian University. “All these meetings started happening, one by one,” says O’Connell. “We started to realize that there are a lot of us who do cancer research in Abilene.” This discovery of like-minded researchers led to informal monthly meetings to discuss their work, and last April, Abilene hosted its first interdisciplinary symposium on cancer and biomedical research. Dr. O’Connell considers this increased awareness to be a valuable asset for cancer research in the region, and believes partnerships will develop that will only serve to enhance educational opportuni-
“I developed all the fundamental skills I needed for cancer research while I was at McMurry,” says O’Connell, emphasizing that those skills included not just laboratory techniques, but the ability to think critically as well. “I can credit all of that Jacob Hubbard ‘19, Dr. Malaney O’Connell ‘10, Kelsey McKiernan ‘18 to McMurry and my liberal arts education.” McMurry departments. Her group is attempting ties. With the help of her colleagues, Dr. O’Connell to understand how a specific type of collagen (a is now working to establish an undergraduate structural protein in the body) is involved in met- “We hope to be able to trade students and share cancer research program that moves science ma- astatic breast cancer. Their research is performed facilities, and we hope to collaborate and support jors through the steps of building solid bench-top on cancer cell lines originally developed by Dr. each other on future projects.,” she says. “It’s rescience skills to the development of individual Paul Pyenta, Associate Professor of Biochemistry ally, really exciting!” honors thesis research projects. These would then and Biophysical Chemistry – the same cell lines potentially culminate in journal publications. that Dr. O’Connell worked with during her own undergraduate years. “The students range from freshman to seniors, and the idea is that they will grow with their proj- Dr. O’Connell’s lab has also tested compounds ects,” says O’Connell. “Our hope is that we can isolated through the work of Dr. Hyunshun Shin, set them up for the next step of getting a job or Professor of Organic Chemistry, and her students, having a leg-up in the graduate or medical school to determine if they had any effect on collagen application process.” expression in the breast cancer cells. Dr. Shin
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20 | EDUCATION | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Abilene Sports Alliance Offering Scholarships By Marty Martinez | Abilene Sports Alliance
The Abilene Sports Alliance will offer $10,000 in scholarships to graduating student athletes. One male and one female athlete from Abilene Christian, Abilene, Cooper, and Wylie high schools will receive this award. Applications may be picked up in the high school counselor’s office, from the Athletic Coordinator/Director at each campus or downloaded from http://www.abilenevisitors.com/Sports-Alliance-Scholarships. The completed application must be turned in to the campus Athletic Coordinator/Director by April 5, 2019. The success of the annual Champions Classic has allowed the Sports Alliance to distribute $120,000 in scholarships to local graduates. The Classic kicks off football season West Texas style, an exciting weekend that generates enthusiasm locally and throughout Texas and the nation. Work has already begun to bring the event back to Shotwell Stadium for its final run in 2019, after a hiatus last year. The Sports Alliance is a committee under the Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau an affiliate of the Chamber of Commerce. The Sports Alliance was created to generate revenue to the local economy through sporting events. The goals are to increase existing tournaments and create new ones, have an enthusiastic volunteer base and offer scholarships.
Pick us up at Monterrey Mexican Restaurant, H.E.B. & CISCO College | EDUCATION | 21
MAKING
A+MEETDIFFERENCE
LILIA LIPPS
DEPARTMENT/CAMPUS: ATEMS – Foreign Language TITLE: Spanish Teacher YEARS WITH AISD: 9 years
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? WHAT SCHOOL DID YOU ATTEND? I was born and raised in Mexico. I attended ACU and graduated in 1996. TELLS US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY: My husband is a professor at ACU. I have two sisters and four brothers. TELL US SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT YOURSELF: I have an engineering degree from Mexico and a teaching degree from the United States.
Blankets Donated to Homeless Abilene Students By Brittany Pelletz | BigCountryHomepage.com
“We’re up to 1,100 students classified as homeless. We have about 180 foster care on top of that,” says Darrin Cox, the homeless liaison for the Abilene Independent School District. Cox works to make sure the basic needs of these students are met. “It became very clear, very quickly that children in poverty are in the most need,” says Amy Carnes, President of the Junior League of Abilene.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB? My favorite part of my job is seeing my students succeed in learning Spanish. WHAT THE BOSS SAYS ABOUT HER: “Mrs. Lipps has long been a valued member of the staff here at ATEMS. In fact, our staff members often refer to her as their “mother” as she takes care of organizing campus functions and luncheons and is usually the first one to help with the
cleanup for those events. Mrs. Lipps is dependable, seldom misses work, does a great job working with kids, and is willing to help her colleagues when necessary. She has a wealth of knowledge about the focus of ATEMS (and public education in general) and always carries herself in a professional manner. We are lucky to have her serving our students, and hope she remains on our campus for years to come!” – Jeff Howle, Principal, Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math & Science
4 AISD Students Are Among The Top UIL Congress Debaters in State By Abilene Independent School District
Four Abilene ISD debate students made it all the way to the state meet in UIL Congress competition.
it’s something that’ll really benefit the kids, having something special that is That’s why the ladies at the Junior League theirs. We can give to them, they can have of Abilene cut out the time to help. it as theirs. They don’t need to share it.”
Makayne Favor and Sonia Liu of Abilene High, Jackie Lacey of ATEMS and Isaac Lock of CHS represented Region 14 at the UIL Congress State Meet held Jan. 8-9 in Austin. These four students advanced to state through a regional contest hosted in Abilene last fall, earning a spot as one of the top 60 UIL Congress debaters in the state.
Carnes adds, “We wanted to do some- After spending hours on the project, the thing really fun and hands on.” ladies were eager to make the special delivery to Abilene ISD, “We blessed them League President, Amy Carnes says to- and hope they’ll keep the kiddos warm.” gether they made more than 40 blankets to give to homeless students. It’s a project they hope to make a tradition. Next year, Carnes says they’d like to Cox says, “It’s not really a necessity but make hats and scarves for students too.
Makayne Favor of AHS placed second in preliminaries and moved to the final round, which was hosted at the State Capitol Building. After seven hours of debate, Makayne finished the competition placing 13th overall in the state. Jackie, Isaac and Sonia missed breaking out of their preliminary rounds. Mr. Seth Pietsek coaches both Abilene High and Cooper debate students, while Mrs. Jera Bunton is the coach at ATEMS.
22 | EDUCATION | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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McMURRY
3 area high schools were presented with prize money for participation in McMurry University’s Inaugural Johnson School of Business Video Competition!
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Taking the top prize home of $5,000 was Abilene ISD ATEMS High School with Clyde CISD and Wylie Independent School District each receiving $2,000. Students were tasked with positioning McMurry University as a school of choice for high school students including a 30-second video, a social media strategy, and a unique slogan.
Pick us up at H.E.B., CISCO College & China Star | EDUCATION | 23
Warren, Lackey, Goodenough lead Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame 2019 Class By Stephen Garcia | Abilene Reporter-News
As part of what chairman Al Pickett called “one of the best classes” to enter the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame, 13 members will be inducted at the 18th annual ceremony May 6. Former Abilene High football coach Steve Warren, former MLB pitcher John Lackey and Abilene Christian women’s basketball coach Julie Goodenough headline the 2019 class, which also includes the Hall’s first skeet shooter and gymnast. “It’s amazing. This is our 18th annual class, and you’d think we’d be running out of names,” Pickett said at a news conference announcing the new inductees. “This is a terrific class. You’ve got a guy who’s won the deciding game in two World Series, national champions invited to Olympic teams, the winningest coach at Abilene High.” Warren, who compiled a 175-68 record in 19 seasons at AHS, guided the Eagles to the 2009 Class 5A Division II football state championship. He led AHS from 1996-2014, finishing with the most coaching wins in school history. Currently, a movie about the unbeaten 2009 team titled “Brother’s Keeper” is in final filming stages. A premiere is planned in Abilene for late March. Lackey, an AHS grad, pitched in the majors for 15 seasons before retiring in 2017. He was part of three championship teams, earning the World-Series-clinching win for the Anaheim Angels and Boston Red Sox.
His 188 career wins were second-most among bers of the McMurry Athletic Hall of Honor active pitchers at the time of his retirement. and were standout athletes at Stamford. Each Davis brother was drafted to play professional Goodenough, a Haskell native, has more than football. 400 career wins at the collegiate level. Her coaching career began Elijah Childers, a three-year letterman in footat Hardin Simmons, ball, basketball and track at Woodson High where she spent nine School, joins the class after playing for Prairie years and led the Cow- View A&M football in the 1950s. He is a memgirls to the NCAA Di- ber of the school’s Hall of Fame and played vision III Elite Eight in three seasons in the NFL. 2000. She returned to Abilene after stops at Ellis Jones, an AHS football standout from Oklahoma State and 1939-41, will enter the Hall. Jones was an AllCharleston Southern, American guard and linebacker at Tulsa and taking over the ACU played a season in the NFL, despite losing an women’s program arm as a child. in 2012. The Wildcats won consecutive Both Childers and Jones will receive posthuSouthland Confer- mous Legends award. ence regular season titles in 2016 and For the seventh time, the Hall will present the 2017. Lifetime Achievement award for media. Lance Kitchens, the “Voice of Buckaroos Sports” Jackie Ramsey Cox since 1984, was selected for his years of broadwill be the first skeet casting Breckenridge athletics. shooter to enter the Hall. The Hall will also present the inaugural “Impact on the Big Country” award this year to Myrle A 1970 Cooper grad, Greathouse. Greathouse graduated from AmaCox is a seven-time world champion shooter rillo High after helping the Sandies to the 1940 and set multiple world records. She won a gold football state championship. The Big Country medal at the Pan American Games and was in- Fellowship of Christian Athletes all-star footvited to join the US Olympic team. ball game is named after the oilman and philanthropist, who formerly owned Wes-Tex Drilling Mark Oates, a 1981 AHS grad, will be the Hall’s Company in Abilene. first gymnast. A Class 5A all-around state champion in high school, Oates went on to earn All- Want to go? American honors three times at Oklahoma. He The induction banquet will be May 6 at the was an NCAA champion in the vault in 1983. Abilene Convention Center. Tickets can be Longtime Wylie girls basketball coach Stanley purchased at bigcountryhalloffame.org or by Whisenhunt will be inducted as well. Whisen- calling 325-668-3685.Individual tickets are hunt led the Lady Bulldogs to the 1970 state $65, and tables of 10 are available for $800. championship, part of a string of 15 consecutive A portion of sales will go toward the organizadistrict championships. He is also a member of the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame. tion’s college scholarship endowment. Twelve Ernie, Charlie and Donald Davis will receive scholarships will be presented to graduating the Legacy Award. The brothers are each mem- senior athletes from the Big Country.
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24 | EDUCATION | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Clack Middle Student Wins 20th Big Country Spelling Bee as Event Returns to Abilene By Timothy Chipp | Abilene Reporter-News
As Neila Carias, Clack Middle School’s representative in the 20th Big Country Spelling Bee, approached the microphone, she wore a No. 1 on a placard draped around her neck. When it was all spelled an done, Neila wore a No. 1 on her heart, as well. That’s what happens when you win a competition, after all. “It was very stressful,” Neila said after claiming victory. “Whenever I misspelled a word, I’d get flustered because I’d miss on a letter I was thinking in my head but decided to not say.” Two hours after it started, Neila was crowned the victor of the Kiwanis Club of Abilene’s revival of the bee. Her winning word was “serviette,” a word of French origin. It’s a table napkin. Perfect for her to wipe up the sweat she and other competitors left on the Van Ellis Theatre stage. It was a tense showdown. Round 1 culled some of the eager but nervous, spellers. Eight of the 23 competing students — both the winner from Ward Elementary and the school’s alternate were unable to attend, which reduced the overall total of spellers — were unable to spell their first word.
failed in Round 10. Neila failed in Round 11 trying to spell “imperturbable” for the championship. Immediately, she misspelled “cataphract.” Sanay, though, missed his championship word in Round 13, “acuminate.” They went back and forth, with no winner determined for 18 rounds, several where both speller was incorrect. “Histoplasmosis,” “carpaccio” and “alliaceous” proved among the difficult words. By Round 9, there were only two left: Neila But when the heat was on, eventually “serviand Wylie Junior High’s Sanay Salvi. Sanay ette” was properly spelled and the audience rose
for a standing ovation. “I was thinking it was French and that I needed to add the -te to the end,” Neila said of her final spell. “When they said it was French, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’” Neila’s victory earned her the right to be the first person not named Miller to represent the Big Country in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., i May. The Kiwanis Club, which was host of the event with the assistance of HardinSimmons University and several sponsors, is providing the funding. “I’m exhausted,” said Doug Williamson, former editor of the Reporter-News and organizer of the event for the Kiwanis Club. “What an exhilarating competition. It shows spelling is important but that it can also be fun and rewarding, too.” While some of the students possibly buckled under pressure, others certainly rose to the task and put in superb performances despite the lights in their eyes and the pressure in their brains. Words such as”pumpernickel” and “juggernaut” were in Round 3, both spelled correctly by their contestants. Meanwhile, Round 4 featured “megalopolis” and “incredulous.” Kelsie Patter-
son, of Craig Middle School, correctly spelled “sortie” in Round 6, but was eliminated in the next round on “ephemeral,” a word a supporter in the crowd filed an appeal to have reviewed. Judges returned after a consultation period with the event’s recording and determined the word was misspelled despite not being understood by the student, eliminating her from the competition. Logan Hackney, of Thomas Elementary, was the final elementary student in the bee. He was eliminated in Round 7 after incorrectly spelling “anachronism.” Timothy Head, a fourth-grader from Abilene Christian School, was the bee’s youngest participant. He was eliminated in round 2 by misspelling “coyote.” But despite the accidental forgotten letter or inserting one where it didn’t belong, each and every one of those students was already deemed champions, said Kiwanis Club of Abilene President Randy Roewe. “You’re all champions from your schools,” he said. “You earned the right to be on this stage. You’re the top 1 percent of spellers. Congratulations.” CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505
Pick us up at China Star, Abilene Public Library & Martinez Barber Shop | EDUCATION | 25
Clyde Students Step Up to Help Hendrick Home for Children Inexpensive Advertising: CALL 1-325-701-9505 or E-mail us at: sales@hispaniclifemedia.com
By Brittany Pelletz | BigCountryHomePage.com
It’s the dilemma we almost all can relate to, putting a pair of socks into the washer or dryer and only coming out with one. “They go to the sock heaven. We constantly need socks,” says Barbara Dahl, Vice President of Community Relations at Hendrick Home for Children.
wear,” Joeris says. “We went on the announcements to tell them. We had boxes in the front and kids would come and drop them in the boxes,” says Sanchez. The campus stepped up to the challenge and donated more than 1,000 socks.
That’s why when two young students at the Clyde Intermediate School called the Hendrick Home for Children wanting to help, it was easy to say what was needed.
“It felt great because I never thought I could do that in my life,” Sanchez says.
Dahl adds,“It was a young child wanting to be philanthropic and give to other children and so that touched my heart.”
Children helping other children.
“It felt great,” Joeris adds.
Fourth graders McKenna Joeris and Belinda Sanchez came up with the idea for a sock drive on campus after seeing the success of a fifth-grade fundraiser.
“Like we found when they brought the socks in, they said we could get some. I thought that was really generous of the people who donated them. I thought that was really kind of them,” says Bit Young, a student at Bonham Elementary School.
“We wanted to give them some socks because they were running out and there were kids that didn’t have any socks to
Elisa Ingabre, another Bonham Elementary student adds, “I thought it was pretty cool and nice of them.”
26 | EDUCATION | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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TSTC Alumnus Overcomes Obstacles to Pursue Teaching By Sarah Trocolli | TSTC Communications
Computers and water don’t mix. But water -- too much of it -- was what led Texas State Technical College alumnus Tony Torres to pursue his passion for computer programing. “After my wife finished school, the plan was for me to go (to college). But the day she was supposed to start her new job, our house flooded,” Torres said. “It was a blessing in disguise because I couldn’t juggle fixing the house, going to school and working full time. So we decided that the house and (my) education was a priority.”
Torres’ final project, based on an idea from his Rhoades, Database and Web Programing wife, was an IOS grocery app that helps cre- master instructor, said. “He worked hard and ate recipes, keeps users on budget and sends if he started something, it got done.” reminders about potentially expired foods. After graduation, Torres remained in contact with his instructors while honing his skills as a freelancer. When a position for a Database and Web Programing lab assistant opened up at TSTC in Abilene, he got the job. He is currently working on a bachelor’s degree to become an instructor. “TSTC’s top priority is to recruit top talent -and Tony is top talent,” Rhoades said.
During the two years that Torres studied for an Associate of Applied Science degree “I like to challenge myself, in Database and Web Programing at TSTC in and this was a different type of Abilene, he also repaired the couple’s home. computer language than what we had studied. But I know my craft and had Then, in the last semester before his 2016 the tools to do it,” Torres said. graduation, he caught pneumonia. Despite multiple obstacles, Torres’ dedication “My brother had to drive me to my final made him stand out to his instructors, and he project because I was wheezing so bad that was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Award I couldn’t drive,” Torres said. “But my final and the Provost Award. project was something nobody in our class had done before, and I wanted to present.” “Tony was an excellent student,” Julie
Torres said his instructors were an inspiration to him, and that’s what he hopes to be for his students. “I love teaching,” he said. “I believe in what we do, and that’s changing lives.” Torres encourages anyone interested in problem-solving to pursue the DWP program. For more information on Texas State Technical College, log on to tstc.edu.
Get a High-Voltage Career Electrical Power & Controls is among the new programs offered at TSTC’s new Hardin-Simmons University College of Human Sciences and Educational Studies Like This Page · (January 31) fb Industrial Technology Center.
What exciting news to share...the future opening of a fourth Day Nursery campus in Abilene due to a partnership between Day Nursery, Hendrick Hospital, and Hardin-Simmons University. The HSU EC-6 education majors along with the Human Services Administration Preschool/Childcare majors, and Social Work majors will participate in AsNorm demand for electricity grows, so does the practicums on this campus. What a great team of people serving the community! Thank you to Archibald, Cynthia Pearson, Mary Burke, Shannon Maynard, Dr. Doug McIntyre, and so many other people from HSU, Henfor skilled technicians. Your success in this pr drick, and Day Nursery.
is assured through TSTC’s Money-Back Guara
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TSTC can help you get the things you want.
Attend an Open House. tstc.edu/openhouse
28 | EDUCATION | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Live EnOjoynetheDlittlaye thinatgs inalifeTi! me
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Perfect Attendance Pays Off at Dyess Elementary By Abilene Independent School District
Every semester our wonderful partner businesses donate incentives that our students can work towards winning in our end-of-semester drawing. The big prize, a bike and helmet from BikeTown, is always a huge win! Also, Rosa’s Café provides lunch for 30 lucky students, five from each grade, at their Catclaw location. This is a fun, and tasty, field trip for students and staff! Dyess also draws winners for lunchboxes, treat cups and water bottles, and everyone with perfect attendance walks away with at least a medal and prize. The fall semester big winner is Douglas Liddell, a third grader, who received his fabulous new bike at our Celebrations Pep Rally on Jan. 11. Thank you to our wonderful partners, BikeTown and Rosa’s Café, for helping support the Dyess attendance program.
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It’s that time of year!
Are you ready for the 2019 BCHE Science & History Fair?
Date: March 9, 2019
Cost: BCHE members - Free • Public - $5/student BCHE Science & History Fair is open to area homeschool families who meet the following criteria: student must receive at least 51% of his/her studies at home, under the direct supervision of the parent. Student may not receive assistance from any source except limited assistance from parent/legal guardian. Pre-made science experiment “kits” do not qualify. Registration by deadline is required. Registration deadline is March 7th. As always, parents
Scientific Method Projects are those that require experimentation according to the scientific method. History Projects are those that seek to educate viewers about the cultural and historical significance of a specific event, place, or people. History Diorama Projects are those that feature a specific event or date in history through a diorama (a three-dimensional miniature model). Have a question about your project? Need some pointers? Email vp@bched.com--happy to help!
Tentative Schedule 10:00am - Project Setup; This must be done by students at their assigned tables. 10:30am - Students and families vacate the premises for preliminary judging. may only register their own children, or children for whom they are the legal guardian. Students will prepare a project according to specifications in their chosen category and age division: • Science (Model or Method) Project • History Project • History Diorama All judging criteria are provided after registration, so you can design your entire project to impress the judges. Details about each project type are included. Students are NOT allowed to use a purchased “kit” and enter it as their project.
Projects may be as simple or as complicated as you like! ALL projects require a free-standing threedimensional display (on a display board, etc). Scientific Model Projects are those that model and explain a scientific concept.
12:30pm-1:00pm - THIS TIME IS APPROXIMATE. Awards and reception. Please understand that times are approximate and there may be slight adjustments based on the number of participants. If changes are necessary, a new schedule will be released before the event. LOCATION information is available in your CONFIRMATION EMAIL. Once you have registered, you will receive information about specifications for each category. You may change your category choice by emailing vp@bched.com. Members: We need volunteers to help with the reception/awards presentation, certificates, etc. If you haven’t fulfilled your yearly volunteer requirement, here’s your chance! Email for info or to volunteer.
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Project Guidelines may be downloaded via a link in your registration confirmation email. Project Guidelines may not be shared or posted--they are strictly for the use of current registrants.
11:45am - Students should be in place for judge interviews. (This is not as scary as it sounds, I promise! Our judges are very kind and ask general questions meant to assess students’ basic understanding of their project.) This is an excellent opportunity for your kiddos!
32 | EDUCATION | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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FAITH&FAMILY
SPIRITUAL AND FAMILY ADVICE
Becoming Your Best Self
Diana Gallego has succeeded in many areas and she wants to help you become the best you can be. By Sandy Lowe | HispanicLife Magazine
Diana Gallego is no stranger to awards. Her accomplishments include Audrey Kaplan Inspiring Women of the Southwest, Disney Foundation Secondary Fine Arts Teacher of the Year and the Stand and Deliver Award presented to Hispanic Teacher of the Year for Dallas Schools. But she’s especially excited about recognition as a Mustang Legend from her alma mater J.W. Nixon High School in Laredo. “I am looking forward to sharing my life story with the class of 2019 as an example of what is possible when you focus on your strengths,” she says.
The mystery of her high school years was revealed in 2014 when Diana served as the Director of Dance and Theatre Programs for the Dallas Independent School District. While doing research for a staff development training session, she came across the term “auditory delay.” She looked up the definition and learned that Auditory Processing Disorder, also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder, is a hearing problem that affects about 5% of school-aged children. Kids with this condition
ask people for what I need and want. I can now ask people to slow down, speak louder or repeat themselves without shame for my language processing.” Diana made good use of her degree in dancing. She grew her part-time teaching position while in college into a studio with 325 students and fourteen consecutive national dance championships. Her book, Winning: The Dance Competition Handbook sold continuously for ten
“I also lead a dance social every third Friday at Unity,” she says, “because dancing is the best physical activity for the brain. I am available for private wellness and dance coaching sessions. In preparation for my National Board Medication Examination in June, I need ten volunteers to work with me weekly for two months at no cost. Sessions can be on Zoom. Hablo Espaňol.
Diana graduated from Nixon with a 91 average and earned a Master of Arts degree in dance and related arts from Texas Woman University. She also did post-graduate work in education. She and Dr. Paul, Pottinger, her sweetheart moved to Abilene in November 2018.
You can contact Diana at (972) 571-6368 and dianaegallego@ gmail.com but be prepared. As she’s done in her own life, she will help you become your very best self.
Her schoolmates didn’t exactly consider her a scholar. “I saw myself as an ‘artsy’ type,” she says, “and so did everyone else.” That didn’t keep her from making the highest don’t process what they hear in the same way grade on a chemistry final exam, which she as typical kids, because their ears and brain lists as one of her most memorable experi- don’t fully coordinate. ences at Nixon. As she looked back on her school days Diana “I was the only student in the class with a per- realized that when she sat close to the teacher fect score and the only student to get the bo- she excelled in the subject. But when she sat nus question,” she says. “That meant I made in the back of the room she struggled, simply a higher grade than even the president of the because of her hearing. National Honor Society. I was shocked and so was everyone else in the class. I was not a seri- “My language processing problems have not disappeared,” Diana says. “They are still with ous student of science.” me today. I have finally learned to graciously
Each Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, Diana offers free Restoring Wellness education sessions at Unity Spiritual Center, 2842 Barrow St. The purpose of the sessions is to explain, simplify, and support people wanting to create a healthier lifestyle.
years. A small neighborhood folkloricó competition she started grew into the largest folkloricó competition in the United States and in 2003 she founded a non-profit organization to support the Folkloricó Festival of Texas. Although she claims to be retired, Diana recently completed training as a Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach. She is currently studying an advanced course for the reversal of cognitive decline and the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease through the Institute for Functional Medicine. CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505 209 S. Danville, Suite B-103 Email: info@hispaniclifemedia.com
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The ABC’s of Saying Sorry Well By Mark Merrill | Helping Families Live Well
A few months ago, I wrote about how to ask for forgiveness when you commit a “felony”—an intentional action or words that seriously wound another person. Now I want to offer some ideas on what to do when you’re guilty of a “misdemeanor”—an unintentional, careless oversight or a minor infraction which, left unaddressed, could prove deadly in the long run. We can be tempted to diminish the significance of an unintentional wrong; after all, if you didn’t mean to hurt someone, there’s nothing to say I’m sorry for, right? Wrong. Life does not work like that. As Susan and I were raising our five children, we taught them that when they intentionally said or did something to hurt another person, they should admit their wrongdoing and say, “I was wrong, please forgive me.” Then, of course, not do it again. When they did something unintentionally or by accident, they should say, “I’m sorry.” We tried to help them to understand the difference between their intentional and unintentional acts. So for those unintentional things that are said or done, here are the ABCs (and DEFs!) of saying sorry well. Acknowledge - Acknowledge the hurt you caused. If your husband or wife points out where you have wronged them, let them know you realize what you have done. “Not bringing the milk home like I said I would must have seemed really thoughtless of me, like your request didn’t matter.” Avoid the temptation to defend or justify yourself, especially if they are snappy. It’s tempting to focus on what they did wrong in their reaction rather than your original offense. If it’s a minor slight, they may not say anything, but you may pick up on their body language so move toward them by admitting where you blew it. Recognizing and respecting their feelings is a key first step towards reconciliation.
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Check - Check the temptation to explain or
excuse what you did. When you start to offer a reason for the way things went, you’re effectively saying that you really shouldn’t have to apologize. You’re telling them it was no big deal or they were part of the problem. There may be a time and a place for offering your perspective later; but right now, it’s about them, not you. I looked at some of the ways we tend to try to minimize our part in this blog.
Demonstrate - Demonstrate your serious-
ness by taking real steps not to repeat the failing. Set a reminder on your phone every morning that you need to call home if you are going to be late for dinner. Make a note in next week’s calendar to review how you are doing when it comes to practicing patience while driving in slow-moving traffic and not letting your irritation spill over to others in the car. Remember, you can only manage what’s measured.
Encourage - Encourage them to let you know
if you slip in that area again. Inviting them to point out when you say or do (or don’t do) that thing that requires humility. But it is another sign of your genuine sorrow for what happened. Just remember that you asked them when they do say something. Don’t get huffy and grumble that they are “on your case” when you told them to tell you.
Find - Find a way to make it up to them. You
can’t undo where you went wrong, but in addition to taking steps to try to make sure that it does not happen again, you can offer a salve where there has been a bruise. If you are late home for family dinner again without warning, take them out for ice cream dessert when you do get back. You’re not trying to “buy” favor, but you are demonstrating that they are important to you. Actions can speak louder than words.
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Taking these sorts of steps when you’ve com-
Break - Break down where you went wrong. mitted a misdemeanor are like clearing away the Spell out what it was that you said or did (or did not do) that hurt them. Being specific makes it clear that you really understand where you went wrong and are not simply trying to brush things off. And being detailed can help you avoid repeating the same error in the future by imprinting it on your mind.
stone chippings that pile up when you are sculpting something out of stone. Don’t let the bits and pieces of rubble pile up and obscure the sight of the marriage or family you are building together.
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36 | FAITH & FAMILY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Be Strong and Courageous By Kristie Carpenter | Blended Mom Moments
I want something different. I want to live my life with purpose. And then, fear comes. The voices of “you will never be enough” or “don’t dream to big because it will never happen.” And then, I read Joshua, Chapter One in the Bible.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the 5 Ricki Brown Librarian of the Year recipients, including our latest, Eddy Smith, Executive Director of the Abilene Library Consortium. All are wonderful examples of all the different ways librarians ROCK! L-R Denise Brunner, Eddy Smith, Alyssa Crow, Kristy Compton. Not shown - Teresa Ellis
God, again, tells Joshua to be strong and courageous in verse nine. God backs up His third command by letting Joshua know that God would be with him wherever he went. That is like the difference between facing a couple of thugs in a dark alley with nothing – and then a big brother comes with guns and ammo and super powers! It is easier to be strong and courageous when you know Who is always with you!
This is what I have been looking for – the change I need and the plan laid out completely. Wherever you are – whatever the struggle or stronghold – whatever the dream or desire -- this year can be different. Let’s see how God tells us how to do that. The fourth time we read “be strong and courageous” is from the leaders of the Israelites. The Lord speaks to Joshua. The Israelites’ pre- Joshua has shared the plan to move the people vious leader, Moses, died and now Joshua is to to the promise land. The response from the continue to lead the Israelites to the land God leaders is important. They are reflecting the had promised them. This is probably Joshua’s leadership. They are obedient because they biggest undertaking ever but God is good to have seen Joshua be obedient. They follow remind Joshua that as God was with Moses, because they have seen Joshua following God. God would never leave or forsake Joshua. Your blended family may not be good followers right now. They may not be obedient. But, God tells Joshua in verse six to “be strong and when you make it a priority to follow God, courageous.” This is the first of four times this obey God, believe and trust God – at some phrase is used in this chapter. In this verse, point down the road that will impact them as God is telling Joshua to be ready, have faith well. and trust in God because Joshua will be the leader to many people. God was fulfilling a Be strong and courageous, because God is promise to His people and He would use Josh- working His plan and promises for His good ua as a part of plan. and glory even in the story of your life. God has a plan for you as well. Be strong and courageous. You will lead people. They may be step kids, bio kids, adopted kids, neighbor kids. You are whom they will look to. God will not leave or forsake you – He has promises to fulfill! God says it again – be strong and courageous – in verse seven. This command is then followed by God laying out the plan. The plan is straightforward. God tells Joshua to be careful to obey all the law that Moses gave to Joshua – don’t turn from it. God also reminded Joshua to meditate on God’s word day and night. This is important for us. We are to walk in obedience and do our best to hear God, know God and serve God. A promise is then given by God. He said, “be careful to do everything in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” I have experienced that prosperity from obedience. My relationship with my step kids is the proof!
Blessings in Your Blending! __________________________________ __ Editor’s note: Women’s author, speaker and mentor Kristie Carpenter, aka The Blended Family Mom, has been a blended family/step mom since 2004; her blended family currently includes four children and four grandchildren. Follow Kristie on Facebook (facebook.com/theblendedfamilymom), Twitter (@ BlendedFamilyM), and Instagram (theblendedfamilymom). Her books - “The Blended Family Mom,” and “Blended Mom Moments,” are both available on her website at www.theblendedfamilymom.com).
CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505 209 S. Danville, Suite B-103 Email: info@hispaniclifemedia.com
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How to Stop the Marriage Death Spiral
By AllProDad
The kids are in bed and the chaos subsides for another night. The TV flips on as they both collapse into their usual spots. He’s in a recliner and she’s curled tight on the couch. He goes to grab some chips and asks her if she wants anything. She replies, “No thanks, I’ve already got a yogurt.” Not another word will be spoken for the next hour as the onscreen drama they are watching “together” plays out. At 10:00 pm, she pecks him weakly on the lips to say goodnight and he responds, “Be there in a bit,” as he flips the input over to the video game console. This scene repeats night after night and could lead to a failing marriage. In the modern marriage and family, it is extremely difficult to maintain the special connection between two people that first brought them together. It’s not malicious in intent by one partner or the other; it is simply the path of least resistance and where many marriages wind up. While that bond slowly fades away, other things will begin to fill that void. That is the marriage death spiral. How can you detect if your marriage is going down a dangerous path? Here’s how to stop the marriage death spiral.
1. True and Total Commitment. “Only
one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason, mastery demands all of a person.” –Albert Einstein. It takes just that to make a marriage last until its Golden Anniversary. There can be no halfhearted attempts.
2. Open and Honest Communication.
Keeping the lines of communication open in relationships and giving to them honestly is probably the most used advice given on this site. There is almost no problem, outside of physical health, that can’t be solved when people honestly communicate their thoughts and feelings.
3. Limit Television and All Devices at Home. We are a wired society now and this be-
comes more difficult to unplug with each day that passes. But, we must continue to fight the distractions that take us away from our personal connections. If your wife is on Facebook and you are playing video games or watching a game for the 1-2 hours you get alone at night, the relationship is going to keep sinking like a rock. Keep a tight limit.
4. Purposeful Romance. The longer a mar-
riage goes on, the more challenging romance becomes. It’s all been done and it’s all been said. This is why people start to stray as they seek out the magic that came with the newness of the relationship and the wonderful feelings it brought way back when. Make it a top priority to set aside alone time together to date or just simply connect. It’s hard and it takes a dedicated and purposeful spirit, but it is worth it.
5. Put Faith in the Center. The number one
way to keep a marriage together is to always keep your shared faith in the center of your relationship. Marriages that are committed to a higher purpose will build foundations strong enough to withstand all the storms life is surely going to bring.
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Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
It Takes Two By Tim Challies
Gossip is not only a sin of the mouth, but also a sin of the ears. It takes two: the one who speaks and the one who listens. Reading or listening to gossip is not a different sin from speaking or spreading it, but simply the opposite side of the same sin. It’s a quarter whether it’s head or tails, a die whether it’s six or one, and gossip whether it’s spoken or heard. It’s as sinful to hear it without protest as to speak it without apology. As the children’s song warns, it’s “O be careful little mouth what you say” and ”O be careful little ears what you hear.” The trouble, of course, is that we don’t always know it’s gossip until we’re in it up to our necks. And then, as we begin to acknowledge that growing sense of disquiet, it’s often unbearably awkward to interject and ask, “Is this gossip?” or “Do I really need to know this?” or “Did he give you permission to tell me this?” And so we allow ourselves to be party to this sin, to learn what we should not know, to quietly allow what we should steadfastly refuse. We must not gossip, of course. We must not strike the fire that will soon burn out of control (James 3:6,8). We must refuse to be the kind of arsonists whose crime is not burning down buildings or forests but tearing down people and churches. “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!”
careful preparation. We must be prepared to identify the first signs of fire and to take swift action against it. The only way to do this is to interject and ask questions. “Before you continue…” or “Let me just ask a quick question…” These questions may feel uncomfortable, but they guard against adding fuel to a great conflagration. They may be awkward, but Jesus never promised holiness would come without awkwardness. It’s better to blush than to sin. And long before there’s even the first wisp of smoke, we must douse the tinder so it does not easily burst into flame in the first place. Dry terrain is easily set alight; unholy hearts are easily stirred to gossip. We need to admit that our hearts are dry wood that desperately want to be sparked into flame and we need to set our hearts away from gossip until we are satisfied that we no longer even want to hear it. Our sanctified hearts are meant to be the water-soaked firebreaks that stop the flames from ever spreading. A holy heart is inhospitable ground for sin to spread.
I often wish I could take back every word I have said about others that was unfair, unjust, unhelpful, or unnecessary. I often wish I could unhear so many of the things I’ve heard about others. But the road through life and the path to holiness goes only forward, so I repent and I forgive and I resolve by God’s grace to build But we must also prepare ourselves to douse up and not burn down, to guard my mouth the smouldering tinder, to respond to those and my ears alike, and to make gossip both who use us as fuel for their fire. This requires unspeakable and unthinkable.
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9 Things Parents Should Never Say to Their Children By Mark Merrill | Helping Families Live Well
In another blog, I addressed the power of the tongue by noting that your tongue is a wild animal: you need to chain it, tame it, and train it. Chain it by being silent when you know nothing good will come out of your mouth. Tame it by vowing each day that you will harness and control your tongue. And train it to breathe lifegiving words into those you love.
4. “You’re such a disappointment.”
Your kids can mess up, and they will. We all do. But if you want your children to learn from their mistakes, address their mess and how it can be fixed without hanging it on them. The label of failure is a heavy load to carry, and most kids won’t hold up. Try saying, “Your [bad grade, bad choice, etc.] is disappointing, but I love you no matter what. What can you When it comes to your kids, your tongue can learn from this?” Separate who your child is do a whole lot of damage if you’re not careful. from the mess they’ve made. Never underestimate the defeating power of a few careless words. So here are 9 things that 5. “Don’t be such a wimp.” This should you should never say to your kids: never be said to a boy or a girl. But, for a boy, it’s basically saying, “You don’t have what it 1. “Why can’t you be more like takes to be a man” and can damage him to the _________________?” Comparisons core for quite some time. Saying, “You throw are toxic and they serve no positive purpose. like a girl” to your son can have the same efComparing your child to their brother, sister or fect. friend only tears down your child and makes them feel like they’re not good enough or don’t 6. “You’re such a bonehead.” Telling measure up. Treat each child of yours as an in- your child they’re stupid is implanted in the dividual. Never say, “Why can’t you do well in hard drive of their mind and is difficult to deschool like your sister?” Do say, “What can we lete. It’s certainly no way to motivate them. do to help you do your very best in school?” Each of your children is unique. It’s important 7. “Can’t you do anything right?” to treat them uniquely. When a parent says this to a child in the heat of the moment, it’s not only saying that the child 2. “I don’t have time right now.” One messed this one thing up, but also that they Saturday morning, when my son was a little mess up everything. It’s always dangerous to boy, he showed me his ball and glove and said, use broad brush words like always, never, ev“Dad, let’s play baseball.” Of course, since I’m erything or anything. Mr. Family Guy, I said, “Sure, son.” Right? Wrong. No, I said “I don’t have time right now. 8. Why didn’t you make the starting I’m fixing the toilet. Just give me a few min- team? Your daughter or son probably tried reutes.” Well, the minutes turned into hours and ally hard to make the starting team but landed when I was ready that afternoon to play ball, on the B squad. They probably already are dismy son said, “No thanks, Dad.” When we say, appointed about it and don’t need anyone to “I don’t have time,” what we’re really saying pour vinegar into their wound. Instead, they is, “What I’m doing is more important than need to be praised for doing their best and for what you need.” or “There’s something else even making the team. I’d rather be doing.” Is there anything more important for us to do than to spend time with 9. “So you made a B+, why didn’t our children and family? you get an A?” When something like this is said, here is what a child hears: “Nothing I do 3. “I don’t think you can do it.” What is good enough for my mom or dad.” If they did your child hears is, “I don’t believe in you.” their best, we should praise them. If they didn’t, Knowing you believe in them gives your kids we should challenge them to give it everything strength, courage, motivation, tenacity, and they’ve got the next time. more. Take that belief away and the damage will be huge. When you’re tempted to say something like this, instead say, “You’ve got some big obstacles, but I’m here for you, cheering you on and ready to help you to do your very best.” While you don’t want to fill www.facebook.com/hispaniclifemagazine your kids with false hope or inflated pride, you do want to encourage them in their goals.
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40 | FAITH & FAMILY | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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HEALTH&FITNESS
5 Reasons Why Olive Oil is the Ultimate Healthy Fat By Joh Helmkamp
Whether in Rome or at home, do as the Romans do: Make olive oil a staple in your diet. If you already eat the Mediterranean way, you know that olive oil not only tastes good but also is good for you. It’s an amazing source of antioxidants, capable of dousing inflammation, defending cells from menacing molecules, and more. Here’s the latest on this superhero food.
It Helps You Lose Weight •
“Great taste, less filling” -- that light-beer slogan rings true for olive oil. Ounce for ounce, all oils have the same calories, but olive oil has a fuller flavor, so less is needed for tantalizing taste. Plus, research shows that overweight people who eat a diet with some fat -- including olive oil -- are more likely to shed pounds than the people slash fat. Why? Oil’s rich flavor makes it It Cuts Your Cancer Risk • Olive who easier to stick with the program. oil’s cancer-preventing powers are legendary. Which substances get the credit? Polyphenols, for one. These potent plant antioxidants protect against cancer-causing cell damage. But it also looks like the oil’s monounsaturated fat has anticancer effects, which means olive oil packs quite a one-two punch! Need some proof? Check the lower rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer among Southern Europeans, whose diets flow with olive oil, compared with their neighbors from the north.
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It Helps Your Heart •
There’s virtually nothing better than the big “double O” when it comes to your heart. Olive oil ups good HDL cholesterol, lowers bad LDL cholesterol, and reduces other harmful blood fats (triglycerides). That’s not all. It also reduces inflam- It Eases Your Aching Head • If mation, another contributor to cardiovascular you’re prone to headaches and wary of overdodisease. ing ibuprofen, try routinely dressing your salad veggies in extra-virgin olive oil. It contains It Keeps Your Blood Pressure or oleocanthal, a natural compound that, like ibuDown • Speaking of your heart, how’s your profen, blocks pain-producing and inflammablood pressure? If it’s above 115/76, you need tory substances -- but without the risk of stomto get it down. And yes, olive oil can play a ach upset. Although daily oleocanthal doses role, helping enough to reduce the need for aren’t the painkiller’s complete equal, they daily meds. Those potent polyphenols appear could lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, to dilate arteries, which lowers blood pressure. arthritis, and possibly Alzheimer’s. (Always choose extra-virgin olive oil, by the way -- its minimal processing preserves the maximum number of antioxidants and heatsensitive vitamins.)
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Cold and flu season is here. You might think there isn’t much you can do to prepare for the inevitable aches and achoos. A few small changes in your routine and at home can go a long way toward keeping you and your family healthy all season long.
Tidy toilet bowls: The toilet can be a breed-
ing ground for bacteria, but instead of slipping on the rubber gloves and scrubbing with a grimy brush, consider ContinuousClean from Kohler. This factory-installed system housed in the toilet tank dispenses a consistent dose of cleaner during each flush. Simply place your preferred cleaning tablet in a compartment, choose a cleaning setting and let the system go to work. You don’t have to lift a finger.
Launder towels and linens: Washing lin-
ens regularly helps eliminate germs and viruses while cleaning off dirt and grime. This is especially important when someone in the house is sick because it prevents the spread to others. For frequently used and potentially shared items like bed sheets and bath towels, be sure to wash in hot water or use the sanitize setting. Follow this by drying using the high-heat setting in order to kill any microorganisms.
Disinfect household hotspots: Doorknobs,
cabinet handles and light switches are frequently touched by everyone who lives in your home. That means any dirt, bacteria or germs on their hands will get transferred to those surfaces and onto the hands of the next person who touches them. To prevent this spreading and keep family members healthy, wipe down common surfaces with a disinfectant wipe. It takes just seconds to do but can make a big difference.
Clean hands: Regularly washing hands is
one of the best ways to eliminate germs and prevent illness. All family members should scrub up every time they use the bathroom to keep fingers fresh and surfaces clean. For easy hand-washing, use the Kohler Touchless Foaming Soap Dispenser. Simply hold your hand under the spout to dispense soap automatically. A 20-second lighted timer lets you know how long to lather, which is not only the recommended hand-washing time from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but also a helpful guide for kids.
Self-care: Getting proper rest and nutrition
is essential to maintaining a healthy immune system that fights off the germs and viruses that increase during cold and flu season. To prioritize these two essential steps, consider meal planning and creating a regular bedtime routine. By meal planning weekly you stock your fridge with healthy home-cooked foods. At night, create a routine with relaxing activities like bathing, reading or meditating. Set a daily alarm if necessary on your phone to remind you when it’s time to start your bedtime routine so you don’t put it off.
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February is American Heart Month.
Heart Disease: It Can Happen at Any Age By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Heart disease doesn’t happen just to older adults. It is happening to younger adults more and more often. This is partly because the conditions that lead to heart disease are happening at younger ages. February is Heart Month, the perfect time to learn about your risk for heart disease and the steps you need to take now to help your heart.
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nearly 1 in 6 children ages 2 to 19—has obesity. • Diabetes. Diabetes causes sugar to build up in the blood. This can damage blood vessels and nerves that help control the heart muscle. Nearly 1 in 10 people in the United States has diabetes. • Physical inactivity. Staying physically active helps keep the heart and blood vessels healthy. Only 1 in Heart disease—and the 5 adults meets the physical conditions that lead to activity guidelines of getit—can happen at any age. ting 150 minutes a week of High rates of obesity and moderate-intensity activity. high blood pressure among • Unhealthy eating patterns. younger people (ages 35Most Americans, including 64) are putting them at risk children, eat too much sofor heart disease earlier in dium (salt), which increases life. Half of all Americans blood pressure. Replacing have at least one of the top foods high in sodium with three risk factors for heart fresh fruits and vegetables disease (high blood prescan help lower blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking). sure. But only 1 in 10 adults is getting enough fruits and vegetables each day. Diet high in You Could Be at Risk trans-fat, saturated fat, and added sugar increasMany of the conditions and behaviors that put es the risk factor for heart disease. people at risk for heart disease are appearing at younger ages: 4 Ways to Take Control of Your • High blood pressure. Millions of Americans of all ages have high blood pressure, including millions of people in their 40s and 50s. About half of people with high blood pressure don’t have it under control. Having uncontrolled high blood pressure is one of the biggest risks for heart disease and other harmful conditions, such as stroke. • High blood cholesterol. High cholesterol can increase the risk for heart disease. Having diabetes and obesity, smoking, eating unhealthy foods, and not getting enough physical activity can all contribute to unhealthy cholesterol levels. • Smoking. More than 37 million U.S. adults are current smokers, and thousands of young people start smoking each day. Smoking damages the blood vessels and can cause heart disease.
Heart Health
You’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to your heart. Learn how to be heart healthy at any age. • Don’t smoke. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, learn how to quit. • Manage conditions. Work with your health care team to manage conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This includes taking any medicines you have been prescribed. Learn more about preventing and managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
• Make heart-healthy eating changes. Eat food low in trans-fat, saturated fat, added sugar and sodium. Try to fill at least half your plate with vegetables and fruits, and aim for low sodium On average, U.S. adults have hearts that are 7 options. years older than they should be. • Stay active. Get moving for at least 150 minOther conditions and behaviors that affect your utes per week. You can even break up the 30 risk for heart disease include: minutes into 10-minute blocks. Learn more • Obesity. Carrying extra weight puts stress on about how to get enough physical activity. the heart. More than 1 in 3 Americans—and
Pick us up at Abilene ISD, La Familia Mex Rest & Lytle Land & Cattle | HEALTH | 43
6 Early Warning Signs of Parkinson’s Disease By Patrick Sullivan | ShareCare
With the passing of boxing great Muhammad Ali, Parkinson’s disease has made a return to the national spotlight. The “Louisville Lip” lived with Parkinson’s disease for 32 years, having been diagnosed at the relatively early age of 42. Most diagnoses come after age 60, but about 4% of diagnoses come before age 50. How was Ali diagnosed so early, and what signs should you watch out for in yourself or someone you love? Diagnosing Parkinson’s Some Parkinson’s diseases symptoms are well known, like the tremors from which Ali suffered. But Parkinson’s is often difficult to diagnose when it’s in its early stages, and no blood or imaging test can confirm if someone has the disease.
with Parkinson’s write smaller, with a lighter touch, and took longer to finish a writing task than healthy people. A computer analysis then accurately diagnosed all but one of the study participants. 3. Rigid limbs. Stiffness in the arms or legs is another hallmark sign. Like tremors, rigidity often starts on one side of the body before it progresses to the other. Take note if you notice that you’re starting to shuffle, or not swinging one of your arms as you walk.
4. Loss of smell. Maybe you don’t notice the fragrance from a bouquet of flowers, or that you kept last week’s leftovers in the fridge a little too long. What gives? Experts aren’t sure why people with Parkinson’s lose their sense of smell, but some think it might be because So how is Parkinson’s diagnosed? A doctor certain proteins that people with Parkinson’s will take a medical history and look for signs. have first develop in the part of the brain that In addition to slow movement -- aka brady- controls smell. kinesia – either stiffness or tremors must also be present. The doctor may also use a SPECT 5. Changes in voice. A small 2011 Czech test that tracks the chemical dopamine in the study showed that up to 78% of people with brain. But your doctor needs to know to look early, undiagnosed Parkinson’s disease have for Parkinson’s, and that’s where you come in. some kind of vocal impairment. It often takes Tell your doctor if you’ve noticed any of these the form of a softer voice, or could be a roughearly warning signs. ness of tone, monotone or a vocal tremor. 1. Tremors. If one of your fingers, a foot, or part of the jaw or face shakes while you’re at rest, that could be an early sign of Parkinson’s. Tremors usually start on one side of the body, and eventually progress to the whole body as the disease progresses. 2. Changes in handwriting. How can your handwriting reveal if you have a disease or not? With Parkinson’s, a person’s handwriting often becomes smaller as the disease progresses. A small Israeli study from 2013 of 40 people with and without Parkinson’s found that people
6. Masking. A person with Parkinson’s may sometimes appear to have their “game face” on: they may look serious or depressed, or have a blank stare, sometimes even hardly blinking. Don’t Panic If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms in yourself or a loved one, don’t be alarmed. Having just one of these symptoms doesn’t mean it’s Parkinson’s. Talk with your doctor if you’re concerned or have questions.
44 | HEALTH | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
New Abilene 911 Program Helps Callers in Mental Health Crisis
Pick us up at China Star, Abilene Public Library & Martinez Barber Shop | HEALTH | 45
By Laura Gutschke | Abilene Reporter-News
Abilene is the first city in Texas to include a remote crisis line behavioral health clinician on 911 calls that involve a person in a mental health crisis, Abilene Police Chief Stan Standridge said Friday.
in a mental health crisis, a 911 dispatcher and an Avail clinician, the clinician will “triage them and determine if it’s something that can be handled over the phone or if they need to dispatch our Mobile Crisis Outreach Team,” Cole said.
A new program has been launched that partners the city’s police and fire departments, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, Betty Hardwick Center and Avail Solutions.
Other new initiatives
Avail is a Texas-based company that staffs crisis hotlines. The goal is to direct people who may need mental health services instead of placing them into the criminal justice system. On average, about 37 percent of people in Taylor County Jail have a mental health need, Taylor County Sheriff Ricky Bishop said. “The biggest thing is it’s a common problem across the entire state. For whatever reason, everybody thinks the jail is a mental health facility,” Bishop said. “We need to divert those people out to get them the proper help they need instead of constantly staying in the criminal justice system.”
Shortcomings of jail
Previously, a 911 dispatcher who received a call from a person in mental health crisis would dispatch two police officers to the caller’s location. In many cases, the person would end up behind bars because there were no other options.
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“We have citizens who will call us. They’re very excited and panicked. They will report that people have invaded their living room, and they’re placing bugging devices in their living room. That’s a pretty frequent thing,” Standridge said. “So, you have a paranoid, delusional citizen who has an expectation of some type of service, so that’s normally a police officer. We probably know from the onset of the call that this has a connection with mental health.” Betty Hardwick, the local mental health authority for Abilene and surrounding counties, has contracted with Avail for years for crisis hotline services, said Theron Cole, chief of behavioral health services at Betty Hardwick. Tapping into Betty Hardwick’s contract with Avail means the better response is provided without additional cost to the city. During the three-way call between the person
A long-term goal is to create a crisis drop-off location for people who may be in a mental health crisis, have a complicating addiction and been accused of a misdemeanor, such as trespass. Instead of taking such individuals to jail, they would be better served at the crisis drop-off loBetty Hardwick has at least one team available cation where a mental health clinician could adaround the clock, Cole said. dress their needs, Standridge said.
Looking for better outcomes
The new response protocol is the result of a col- In partnership with Betty Hardwick, the jail oplaborative effort by several Abilene stakeholders erates a mental health clinic. Last year, the jail who formed the Behavioral Advisory Team in dispensed more than 2,000 psychiatric medications at a cost to the county of almost $90,000, Bishop said. Abilene Fire Chief Cande Flores said about 20 percent of the fire department’s annual 9,000 emergency medical services calls relate to mental health issues. “A lot of those calls are repeat calls,” Flores said. “We are trying to find a way not to minimize how that is taxing our system, but mainly to help these people with what they really need, which is not a 911 call over and over and over again.” Guiding BAT members in developing better processes is a community needs assessment report by Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. July to better meet the needs of people dealing Funding for the $100,000 report came from the with mental health issues. Dodge Jones Foundation, Dian Graves Owen Foundation and Hendrick Health System, said The next major step for BAT will be securing Norm Archibald, vice president and director of federal and/or state funding to create a crisis re- major gifts and planned giving at Hendrick. sponse team of a police officer, paramedic and Betty Hardwick clinician to respond to 911 calls Hendrick was the host of Friday’s meeting to that involve a mental health crisis, Standridge share its work with leaders across the commusaid. nity. BAT members are divided into working groups: access to care, housing and homelessHe co-chairs the advisory team with Bishop. ness, crisis and jail diversion and data sharing. The three-person team will travel in one vehicle Arresting people during a mental health crisis to the scene instead of two police officers arriv- who otherwise do not pose a public health risk ing. complicates their recovery and strains local resources. The team also will be proactive. “A lot of employers won’t hire anybody if “What we are trying to do now is identify folks they’ve got any type of criminal record. And in the community that have these needs that are some of these people are getting a criminal renot in crisis and intervene and interact with them cord and it’s not 100 percent their fault. It’s the before crisis, and maybe people will participate disease that they have,” Bishop said. “If we can in outpatient services and we won’t get to this help divert them from the jail by getting them crisis,” Cole said. the help they need through some type of diversion program and they complete that program, Standridge hopes funding can be secured to there’s a possibility those charges go away.” launch the three-person crisis team within the next two or three months.
46 | HEALTH | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
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Join Us! Come celebrate our 80th annual meeting April 18, 2019 at the Abilene Convention Center. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Educational booths, health fair
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BUSINESS&CAREER
What Are the Different Kinds of Mortgage Lenders? By Dave Ramsey
Banks, mortgage brokers, direct lenders. Is there loan application and say, “Hey buddy, it looks really a difference among mortgage lenders? like you can afford this much mortgage. I’ll find you a good lender.” Absolutely. You shake hands and they go to a group of lendSure, shopping for a mortgage lender can feel ers and say, “Hey folks, look here. My buddy like feeding bread to a flock of pigeons: Soon, can take out this much mortgage. Who’s got the you’re surrounded by birds that all look alike. best deal?” And once they know who you are, they’ll never leave you alone! A lender raises their hand, and the broker brings them to you, takes your money, and says, “Hey, But choosing the right lender can save you time, look! It’s a perfect fit!” money and a lot of frustration in the long run. So before you take out a home loan, let’s break And that’s about it. down the different types of lenders and find the right one for you. What doesn’t a mortgage broker do? • Now, keep this in mind: A mortgage broker doesn’t What Are Mortgage Lenders? actually approve your mortgage. That’s the job Simply put, a mortgage lender lends you money of the lender. All a broker does is connect you to so you can buy a house. Mortgage lenders come a mortgage lender or bank. in all different forms—a bank, a credit union, a broker or an independent lender. But they all Is a mortgage broker expensive? • A morthave one thing in common: When they give you gage broker isn’t cheap. You’ll pay them 1–2% money, they expect you to repay them the full of your total mortgage.(1) And more often than amount you borrowed (plus interest). not, a broker would love to lock you into a bigger mortgage, even if you can’t afford it. Why? When do you need a mortgage lender? • Be- The bigger the loan they convince you to take fore you take out a boat-ton of money, make sure out, the more compensation they get from the you know how to drive the boat. You should be lender. out of debt, equipped with an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, and have at So are they worth the extra cost? least a 10% down payment. (Twenty percent is even better and will keep you from paying pri- Short answer: Not really. vate mortgage insurance on top of your monthly mortgage payment.) Long answer: Some people like mortgage brokers because they do the mortgage shopping for You also should know how much mortgage you you. But here’s something you should know: A can afford. Don’t let your lender decide this. You lot of lenders don’t work with brokers. So when decide. You can do that right now with our mort- a broker says they’re giving you a good deal, gage calculator. Our recommendation is to take what they mean is that they’re giving you the out a 15-year fixed rate mortgage with a pay- best deal out of the pool of lenders they work ment that’s no more than 25% of your monthly with. take-home pay (including taxes and insurance). That pool can be big. Or it can be small. The Alright, the pep talk’s over. Let’s look at some bottom line is: You may miss out on a better people who can give you that mortgage. deal with a lender simply because your broker doesn’t work with them.
mortgage process. They do everything from processing your loan application to giving you a mortgage preapproval to underwriting your mortgage. What does that mean for you? The faster a lender works, the quicker you get your mortgage. And when you’re trying to close on a house, getting your mortgage faster gives you an advantage over slower borrowers.
What Is a Credit Union? • Credit unions are
not-for-profit organizations. They’re sort of like the country club of the mortgage world: Members own the credit union, and to become a member, you need some kind of invitation, like from your company or church. They’re the closest thing to the old-fashioned, small bank. (So yes, they still have a soul, so to speak.) Credit unions will give out mortgages, but here’s the thing: You have to be a member to get one. If you are a member, there’s a good chance you might have lower closing costs and a better interest rate.
What About a Bank? • Yes, you can also take
out a mortgage through a bank. In fact, if you have a good, long-standing relationship with your bank, they may lower your closing costs and interest rate. As with direct lenders and credit unions, banks process their mortgages inhouse.
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But be careful with some of the big banks. Though they offer a wide variety of financial services—not just mortgages—they may not give you the best customer service.
Which Mortgage Lender Do We Recommend?
If there’s one thing you get from this article, it’s probably that there are more mortgage lenders out there than you thought.
But just because you have a wide selection, doesn’t mean you should go all eeny-meenyWhat Is a Mortgage Broker? miny-mo on your choice. You don’t want just Mortgage brokers work with several different What Is a Direct Lender? anyone lending you money. You want someone lenders and banks to match you with a loan that A direct lender’s job is to make and fund mort- who cares about you and your journey toward meets your needs. You can think of brokers as gages. Unlike mortgage brokers, direct lenders financial peace. the middlemen between you and the lender. approve your mortgage applications and loan you money directly because they are the lender. What does a mortgage broker do? • A mortgage broker is basically the middleman between One of the biggest advantages to going with a you and a mortgage lender. They look over your direct lender is that they take care of the whole
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Buying a House You Can’t Afford Warning Signs That Your Dream Home Is Unaffordable By Alaya Linton | The Balance
When purchasing a home, there are definite signs that you’re about to get in over your head financially, like borrowing from your retirement funds and taking into account the costs associated with maintaining your home for the long term. Having more home than you can afford will have long-lasting effects that you may later come to regret.
If you are not prepared for the financial aspects of purchasing and owning a home—that is, getting into one before you are ready or getting into one you could not afford without the assistance—that will inevitably result in more harm than good.
Yo u
payment. While you can withdraw funds penalty-free from a Roth IRA to buy your first home, remember that you are tapping into funds that were intended for the future. Remember the reason you chose to save for retirement in the first place. If dipping into your retirement savings is your only option for purchasing a home, consider that a warning sign.
While banking requirements to get a mortgage today are tighter than they were before the 2007 housing crisis, homebuyers can still easily find themselves biting off more than they can chew—and may not realize it until after the purchase is complete. Here are five signs you are buying a home you cannot afford.
You Have a Sinking Feeling - If some-
Creative Mortgage Terms - If the
It’s not easy to admit, but you will know deep down if the home you’re buying is too much. If you have doubts or misgivings, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by paying attention to them, even if it means passing on the home you had your heart set on.
conditions of your financing look like a trail mix of mortgages (e.g., first mortgage, second mortgage, interest only, adjustable rate, extended term, and a balloon payment - although these payments are more common to commercial real estate), that is a significant indicator that you cannot afford the home you are looking to buy. Likewise, if your broker encourages you to accept mortgage terms that are less than ideal with a plan to refinance somewhere down the road, that’s a definite red flag. There is no guarantee you will be able to refinance into better terms. If the financing feels forced in any way, you are taking on more than you can handle, which can spell trouble later.
Down Payment Assistance Programs
- Many programs are designed to help homebuyers with their down payments and closing costs. While these programs are intended to remove the barriers to homeownership as well as stimulate the housing economy, they don’t always work out that way.
thing doesn’t feel right, pay attention to those signs. Buying a home may be your biggest purchase ever in the course of your life. So if you don’t have a good feeling, then this intuition can be the greatest indicator that you are walking down a path you should turn back from.
Have J u s t Avoid Making a Decision You’ll LatEnough to Cover the Payment - You’ve er Regret - Because purchasing a home is done your due diligence and used a mortgage payment calculator to figure out that you can fit the new payment into your budget. There’s no wiggle room, but you feel you can “make it work.”
such a significant decision, make sure you are approaching it with a clear head. Don’t get too get caught up in the emotion of owning a home that you are blind to the reality of the situation you are entering.
Keep in mind that the cost of homeownership goes way beyond your mortgage. In addition to your monthly payment, you’ll need to cover the costs of maintaining and upgrading your home and property. And you’ll need to be able to handle the unexpected: a broken appliance, a leaky roof, or the many additional expenses that come with owning a home.
Ideally, your team of professionals will guide you to the best decision. But your mortgage broker and real estate agent might have their own mortgages to pay and may steer you in a direction that benefits them. You need to be the one to realistically review your options and choose what is best for you.
Borrowing From a Retirement Account - Many homebuyers borrow from their
retirement accounts to help cover their down
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Help Has Arrived! By Doug Peters | President and CEO, Abilene Chamber of Commerce
My dad used to tell me, usually after a tough day, that if it weren’t for employees and customers, he would really love his business. It made me laugh, until I was provided an opportunity to hire talent. Of all the things I’ve done professionally over the years, hiring – and hiring right – is among the toughest. The Abilene Chamber is lucky, perhaps blessed to have the best trained and most dedicated professionals of any Chamber anywhere. I’m truly proud of and grateful for each of them. But I have to say, the thought of being faced with the challenge of hiring today, given the full-employment state of our community and knowing that available, skilled workforce is perhaps our chief economic development challenge, worries me. And it’s not just me. Many of our Chamber members have the same concern. In fact, this isn’t an Abilene problem. It’s a national problem.
Born from the Chamber’s long-standing commitment to help address the workforce shortage, AbileneWorks.com provides a unique, Abilenecentric user interface for both the employer and the prospective employee. As a job creator/provider, simply post your opening and the Chamber and the technology that drives the algorithm does the rest. With plans to make AbileneWorks.com a top-ofmind resource for military installations in Texas, Oklahoma and beyond, our hope is that we can optimize your recruiting process and help you to grow your company through the help of this new tool. In simple terms, we want to make it easy for family members of incoming Dyess personnel, installations across Texas and Oklahoma, colleges and universities and casual job seekers to find meaningful employment in Abilene. The Chamber’s motivation is simple: we want to help build workforce capacity so our community can grow.
Here’s the challenge: after months and months of development, we’re ready to roll it out. But AbileneWorks.com will only be as successful as And while there are a boatthe job opportunities that load of resources out there are posted on it. Afterall, any self-respecting job – the truth of the matter is that few if any – are seeker who visits the site to find an opportunity Abilene specific. Where do you turn to post won’t come back a second time if there aren’t jobs your job opening that reaches multiple markets, available. Make sense? including exiting military members, students, young professionals and literally anyone else So this is where you come in. who wants to be a part of the Abilene story? I hope you’ll take the time to learn more about Some time ago, a small group of folks gathered AbileneWorks.com, and perhaps engage those at the Chamber to discuss how could we best ad- within your enterprise who participate in the hirdress the growing recruitment challenge. How ing process to understand the benefits of Abilenecan Abilene businesses, and most importantly to Works.com and the simplicity of how it works. me our Chamber members, post an opportunity and find the right people without competing with Our Chamber staff is on standby to help answer a gazillion other companies across America for any questions you may have. In fact, if you have the same talent? an opportunity where we can come and share this with your staff or fellow community members, Members, meet AbileneWorks.com. Abilene- please let us know. And, if you’re one of our largWorks.com is a product of the Abilene Chamber, er employers who have their own job portal, give designed and engineered to help you – the risk us a call. We’d be happy to explore ways that we takers and the job creators of our community – can partner. find the talent you need, when you need it. It’s for you. And it isn’t available to businesses out- AbileneWorks.com is but one of many initiatives side of Abilene. underway that your Chamber hopes will benefit your bottom line. I hope you’ll use the product AbileneWorks.com is your brand new, free, go- to do just that and help us to help your company to online resource to find both local talent, and and our great city to compete in an increasingly talent within the communities, institutions and competitive hiring environment. military installations that have the potential to help. Onward!
50 | BUSINESS | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to Offer Final Professional Food Manager Certification Training Course for 2019 By Tammie Belyeu | Administrative Assistant, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Taylor County
Statistics indicate that foodborne illness continues to be a health issue in the United States. Each year, 1 in 6 Americans will become sick, 128,000 will become hospitalized, and 3,000 will die due to a foodborne illness. Texas Food Establishment Rules state that each food establishment is required to have one certified food manager on site.
suits due to foodborne illness By attending the course, foodservice managers will learn about: • identifying potentially hazardous foods and common errors in food handling • preventing contamination and cross-contamination of food • teaching and encouraging personal hygiene for employees • complying with government regulations • maintaining clean utensils, equipment and surroundings • controlling pests
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Taylor, Nolan and Haskell Counties, is offering a professional food manager certification training course. This two day program will be offered for $125.00 on March 25 and March 26 at the Taylor County Extension Office. Cost includes training, materials, and the Prometric food manager certification examination. The food manager’s certification will be valid for five years. Only 50 individuals will be accepted into Foodborne illnesses can be prevented by following simthe course. **** Registration deadline March 11, 2019. ple food safety practices. For more information about the Professional Food Manager Certification Training course This program is designed to not only prepare foodservice of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, called “Food managers to pass the certification examination; it will pro- Safety: It’s Our Business,” call #325-672-6048. You may vide valuable education regarding the safe handling of also access a downloadable registration form at http://tayfood. Almost 50 cents of every dollar Americans spend on lor.agrilife.org. food is spent on meals prepared away from home. Therefore, careful attention to food safety will help keep custom- Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, ers safe and satisfied. national origin, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status.
Foodborne illnesses are estimated to cost thousands of dol- The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, lars in lost wages, insurance, and medical bills. With these and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating. statistics, knowledge of how to prevent foodborne illness is essential. The benefits of improved food safety include: • Increased customer satisfaction • Improved relationships with health officials • Prevention of bad publicity and law
Pick us up at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wal-Mart, Lytle Land & Cattle | BUSINESS | 51
CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505
CALL US TO ADVERTISE (325) 701-9505
52 | BUSINESS | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
DCOA Board Appoints Charlie Dromgoole as Interim CEO By Brock New | Director of Business Development and Marketing, DevelopAbilene - Abilene Industrial Foundation In late 2018, DCOA CEO Kent Sharp resigned his position as the Chief Executive Officer for the Development Corporation of Abilene. Since that time, the Board of Directors have been carefully considering the appointment of an interim CEO to lead the DCOA until such time as a replacement is selected. On Thursday, January 24th the DCOA Board approved the appointment of Charlie Dromgoole as the Interim CEO of the DCOA. John Beckham, President of the DCOA Board of Directors stated, “With the vacancy that was left with Sharp’s departure, we wanted to place an interim CEO that has both a working knowledge of economic development and a good familiarity with Abilene. Charlie has a wealth of experience in both of these arenas.”
Dromgoole, who is a Texas native, started his career in Jasper, Texas in 1974 and has served in multiple roles in various chambers of commerce and economic development organizations in Brenham, Port Arthur, Sherman, Abilene, Round Rock and Lufkin. He served as President of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce from 1988 to 2002. “I am excited about
gram Specialist in Economic Development for the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), and Interim Executive Director of the Parker County Economic Development Council.
In the meantime, the DCOA Board of Directors established a search committee to hire a new CEO. The committee will be composed of a diverse group of community leaders that have experience in the executive selection process. Dromgoole will serve as the Interim CEO throughout the coming back to Abilene and working with search and selection process, providing leaderDCOA. This community has a special place the ship in the transition. hearts of all of my family and I am looking forward to the opportunity of working to enhance the economy of Abilene,” said Dromgoole. CALL US TO ADVERTISE Since 2017, he has served as Interim President (325) 701-9505 of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and is currently serving as the Economic Development Advisor for Sabine County, Adjunct Pro-
Pick us up at Dairy Queen, First Financial Bank & Central Finance | BUSINESS | 53
7 Ways You Need to Use LinkedIn for Your Business By Kathrina | Audience Bloom
LinkedIn isn’t exactly an underdog in the social media world. It has more than 364 million users in dozens of different countries, making it one of the most successful platforms around today. Yet it still pales in comparison to Facebook and Twitter, at least in the eyes of business owners and marketers everywhere. They see Facebook as the universal standard for social media marketing, and sometimes dabble in Twitter, but rarely go beyond those two platforms to market their products and services socially.
individual content post is dropping steadily. On LinkedIn, you have many ways of circulating your content. You can post them as individual updates, as company updates, or perhaps most effectively, in a LinkedIn Group relevant to your specific piece. Plus, if you have a direct pitch or sales deck to present to a target audience, you can use the Promotions tab. Because LinkedIn Groups have a niche focus, they tend to attract more views and visits—as long as you content is strong.
Part of the problem is that LinkedIn is seen only as a platform for networking and job hunting, rather than as a viable tool for an ongoing marketing strategy. In fact, LinkedIn has several distinct functions, each of which can be used to improve your business:
1. Personal Branding.
Personal branding may seem counterintuitive at first, as your intention is to market a business. However, personal branding as a complementary strategy is a highly viable means of generating more traffic and a stronger reputation for your company’s brand. Most modern users trust individuals more than they trust corporations, so making an initial point of contact as a person—rather than as a business—is a surefire way to build trust. Develop your personal brand by getting involved in discussions, circulating content, and building yourself as an authority in the industry. You’ll have an easier time making new contacts, plus when people do background research on your company, they’ll see you and think more highly of the organization.
2. Company Reputation Building.
On LinkedIn, you’ll also have the ability to create a company page and build a corporate brand. It’s true that personal brands tend to be more successful in attracting an audience and building trust, but you’ll also need to have an anchor page for anyone doing research on your company on LinkedIn. Develop your company page fully, filling in every piece of information you can, and make regular updates to your page with new content, news about your business, or other engaging tidbits. It’s also a good idea to encourage all your employees to associate with the page in some way, to make your organization appear stronger.
4. Influencer Networking.
Influencers are gateways to popularity. You can identify influencers based on their large number of contacts, frequency of posting, and the general sense of authority they carry in a specific environment. Reach out to these types of people, and start building a relationship with them. Eventually, your influencers will share some of your content or give you valuable connections, greatly expanding your own circle and increasing the impact of your work. Think of influencers as a social media shortcut that leads you to a greater reputation than you’d be able to build yourself in an equal amount of time.
5. Sales Networking.
Of course, networking with influencers isn’t the only way to take advantage of LinkedIn’s vast professional network. If you’re in a B2B company or you rely on making specific contacts for improving your business’s sales, LinkedIn is the perfect place to do it. Not all LinkedIn users appreciate being approached by strangers, so be careful when you introduce yourself to new people, but in the context of LinkedIn Groups, you can quickly and easily meet dozens, if not hundreds, of potential new leads.
6. Demographic Research.
LinkedIn Groups have yet another important function—one that extends to every area of your As a platform for content syndication, LinkedIn marketing strategy. Here, you’ll be able to track is underrated. Facebook gets a lot of attention, down your key demographics, based on key inbut the organic reach of each company page’s terests, working industry, or other factors, and
3. Content Circulation.
see what their core needs are. By reviewing old posts and current conversations, you can get a better understanding for who your audience really is and how your business can help them.
7. Paid Ads.
As an organic social media platform, there are plenty of strategies you can use on LinkedIn to build your audience, increase traffic to your site, and increase your sales. But don’t forget there’s another side of LinkedIn marketing that’s very useful if you have the budget for it—paid ads and sponsored posts. These can greatly and instantly improve your visibility on the platform, and comparatively, it’s inexpensive. You’ll find much better deals for paid ads on LinkedIn than you will Facebook, Twitter, or even Google. If you aren’t already involved in LinkedIn, either using a personal brand or a company page, it’s in your best interest to get started. You may find that some of these strategies work better for your business than others—for example, B2C companies may find it more difficult to make meaningful sales connections than B2B companies. But every company has something to gain using the platform, and if you aren’t taking advantage of it, you’re losing valuable time.
54 | BUSINESS | HispanicLife l Abilene/BigCountry
Connecting The Community of Abilene & The Big Country
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
BRANSON HURT Name: Branson Hurt Where do you work? Pest Patrol
What do you do in your free time? Spend a lot of time with my two children Adalyn five and Brigham eight months. I enjoy the outdoors, reading, and traveling with my wife, Keeli.
What organizations (non-profit) in town do you choose to support and why? If you serve on any boards in the community or participate in any other groups? If so, what do you enjoy about your participation? I serve on the board for a new organization called Work Again West Where are you from? Texas. We help employ the homeless. I think Abilene,Texas. I gradu- it’s great because we are working on problems ated from Clyde High that directly affect our city. What’s your job title/ what do you do? Service Technician/ I help people with insect and pest problems
School.
Share a fun fact about yourself other AYP What is your favorite thing about living in the Members might not know! I enjoy playing Big Country? I love living in a large city with music and going to concerts. I played with the a small town vibe. It’s a place that’s growing band Callahan Divide when I was younger. everyday and I feel blessed to be apart of it.
Northern Tool Opening in Abilene at Shuttered AMC Classic Abilene 6 Movie Theater and restrooms and adding a truck high-loading dock. Family owned and operated, Northern Tool + Equipment started 35 years ago in a garage as a mail-order company specializing in hydraulic equipment. More than 100 locations across the Midwest and South carry an array of tools. According to the company website, 26 stores are in Texas. Northern Tool + Equipment is moving into AMC Classic Abilene closed May 3, acthe shuttered AMC Classic Abilene 6 movie cording to Reporter-News files. theater in southwest Abilene. Leawood, Kansas-based AMC purchased The city announced Monday in a social me- the former Carmike theater as well as other dia post that the Minnesota-based company chains in March 2016 to become the largest has filed plans for the former theater space movie theater chain in the United States. at 3234 S. Clack St. The theater opened May 23, 1986, as the According to the city’s website, three per- Park Central Six Theater. It was the first Tomits were issued for the space between Oct. ronto-based Cineplex Odeon Corporation 29 and Jan. 28 for several modifications, venture into Texas, according to Reporterincluding renovating the sales floor, offices News files.
Pick us up at Dairy Queen, First Financial Bank | BUSINESS | 55
Professors Open Local Ice Cream Shop By Bryce Lurkens | Abilene Christian University, Optimist
Two Professors Ice Cream has captured the for him and his son. hearts of many and the taste buds of even “I never thought I’d be manufacturing and sellmore. ing ice cream both wholesale and retail, but Carley Dodd, CEO of Two Profs Ice Cream since I grew up in the ice cream world with my shop, opened the restaurant recently after dad working for Borden’s in San Antonio, my he and his son and co-owner bought out the love of ice cream won out,” Carley said. “Our original store originating in Sweetwater previ- entire family has always loved ice cream, and ously called Terry’s Ice Cream. Terry Frye, the this product was so good, we decided to buy original owner of Terry’s Ice Cream, sold the the company.” building, equipment and recipes to Carley and Carley said he hopes this business is passed his son Matthew Dodd. down through his family for generations. The father-son duo has since opened the new “My goal is not really for me, but a chance to shop in Abilene. use leadership skills to develop a company that The new shop, located off of Highway 351 can be passed on as a legacy for Matthew,” next to Heff’s Burgers, is known for its gour- Carley said. “In fact, our entire family tells us met ice cream and incredible customer ser- how proud they all are.” vice. Currently sitting at a five stars, the gourmet ice cream shop has already won the favor The Dodds’ ice cream endeavor is surrounded by much prayer and thought. of numerous satisfied customers. “We hope the store will be a destination for friends, families and community moments to enjoy a great product while visiting and engaging with each other,” Carley said. “We want it to be a place of connection.”
“We started this business with tons of prayer and continue to ask the Lord to show us the way, all while serving others as a goal, if not ministry,” Carley said.
Dr. Dodd said he and his son Matthew look Carley retired in 2018 after 38 years at ACU to forward to the future, and hope to bring as many smiles as possible to every single custurn his focus toward the shop. tomer’s face. Carley said decision to open the Two Professors Gourmet Ice Cream is a dream come true