Valley Town Crier February 27 2013

Local Man on Mission to Obtain Medal for Father Killed in Vietnam

Laura Garcia Valley Town Crier

To say Mario Ybarra Jr. has traveled a long and tiring road would be an understatement. His road has not been paved in gold and he has encountered many road-blocks along the way.

Ybarra understands that a certain innocence is lost when attempting to spearhead an awareness campaign when the military is involved. He says people will try to discredit his points, they will give him the run-around or try to shut him down altogether.

The Weslaco native has taken on the task of attaining the Silver Star for his father PFC Mario Ybarra who was killed in Vietnam in 1966.

After three years on

this journey, he has not lost hope and feels that if he keeps at it, eventually changes will be made.

With the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s ban-lift on women in combat , it is evident that the military can change its pol-

icies at any given moment, this is the hope Ybarra hangs onto by a thread.

The elder Ybarra was in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam war (1954-1974) which resulted in 58,000 casualties.

Through countless hours of research, Ybarra has come to the conclusion that since Operation Utah was one of the first during the Vietnam war, the immediate focus wasn’t documenting and awarding medals, it was simply to survive. According to a Congressional Research Service report dated March 30, 2006, acts of valor that under normal circumstances would have been rewarded with the Medal of Honor, Distinguished

PFC Mario Ybarra was killed in Vietnam in 1966.

Texas liquor stores in counties that border Mexico could open on Sundays

By DAVID A. DÍAZ Legislativemedia@aol.com

Liquor stores located in Texas counties that border Mexico would be

able to open for business on Sunday from noon until 9 p.m. under legislation that has been filed by Rep. Terry Canales, DEdinburg.

Canales said his measure is designed to keep more Texas shoppers and their buying power in local communities during the weekend, give border liquor shops a more even playing field against their Mexican competition, and reduce the need for Texas residents to risk the threat of the drug-related violence in neighboring Mexican cities.

“Mexico is fraught

with violence, especially along the frontera (border),” Canales said. “The passage of this legislation provides a safe alternative and benefits the economy at the same time.”

His legislation, House Bill 703, would also help protect U.S. consumers who have little assurance of the quality of the liquor sold in Mexico.

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The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission collects in excess of $200 million annually in tax es and fees, which aids in the financing of the state’s public schools, local governments, re search, human services, and other areas in which state government pro

vides services.

“Generating revenue for these key state ser vices is also an impor tant reason for my legis lation,” Canales added. “However, it seems unfair to me to force a specific industry to be shut down on Sundays through no fault of their

own and for no good reason.” Canales has signed on as a joint au thor of House Bill 421 by Rep. Senfronia Thomp son, D-Houston, which would allow the more than 2,400 liquor stores statewide to open for business on Sundays.

Sen. Juan “Chuy”

Hinojosa, D-McAllen, is carrying a bill in the Senate that is identical to the Thompson/Cana les version.

Liquor shops and automobile dealers are two of the major indus tries in Texas that are required to close one day each weekend, the

result of what are known as “blue laws,” according to the Texas Tribune.

Over time, the laws have changed in Texas, and most of the bans were removed in 1985, except, of course, for the restrictions on liquor and on auto dealers. The state’s 2,460 liquor stores

cannot sell liquor on Sunday, but after noon on Sundays, bars and restaurants can sell alco holic drinks, and stores can sell beer and wine.

Currently in Texas, package stores, whole salers, and local

Valley Town Crier

Remember the saying “Breakfast is the most im portant meal of the day?”

If you explore the great doors regularly, or even occasionally, you might agree that it certainly is. Camping can be fun, ad venturous and unpredict able all at the same time and maintaining your en ergy is important. Learn to use simple tools like the Dutch oven and a few basic ingredients to whip up a meal that will both satisfy morning hunger and energize the body.

Learn to make quick and easy breakfast meals inside a Dutch oven on March 2nd from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with Chef Mark Deckard at the Town Lake at Firemen’s Park in McAllen.

For those new to Dutch oven cooking the basics of Dutch Oven cooking will be taught.

Chef Mark Deckard kicked off the three-part series with three tradition al outdoor meals: Chicken Enchiladas, Hearty threebean chili, and Peach

Cobbler. On Feb. 2nd, avid outdoorsman and Dutch oven aficionado, Carlos H. Cavazos fol lowed with three hearthealthy dishes using fresh locally grown vegetables provided by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Grow’n Grow ers of Hidalgo. All dishes were eagerly sampled by all registered guests.

Live demonstrations include details on how to select and care for cast

iron; prepare fire and coals, plan for trips and how to play it safe when cooking outdoors.

Participants must preregister to save a spot as seating and samples are limited. Class fee is $7.00 per program participant. Register online at www. mcallen.net/parks (Activ ity Number & Selection: 150-200.03) or in person at any of McAllen’s three community centers: Las Palmas, Palm View and

Lark Community Center. Individuals are en couraged to arrive early and visit the Farmer’s Market at Firemen’s Park Pavilion hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. The market is open from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and has a variety of fresh fruits and veggies.

For more questions, please call the McAl len Parks and Recreation Dept. at (956)681-3333.

Vietnam was an entirely different war than those fought in recent years. The advanced technology that today’s troops have at their disposal was unheard of during that time. Things could not get done by a mere push of a button and such documentation had to be done at a separate location.

In 1996 the National Defense Authorization Act was established hoping to amend past mistakes due to administrative chaos.

Section 22 of the act detailed the findings made by Congress and concluded that numerous and repeated acts of extraordinary heroism, sacrifice and bravery on the part of the members of the Armed Forces had been documented in accounts since the end of conflict but had never been officially recognized.

As of now, protocol states that a person must find witnesses to correlate their account of what happened on the field and whether they merit such an award such as the Medal of Honor, a Cross or a Silver

Star.

However, getting in contact with witnesses who are in their late 60s by now, has proven difficult.

“Knowing that many of our Vietnam Veterans died in combat and many are dying every day( because of age), how can they expect for one to obtain the witnesses that they ask for?” Ybarra said.

He has contacted several agencies during his quest including the offices of Congressman Ruben Hinojosa and former State Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson. While he has not received a final response from Hinojosa, Hutchinson’s office forwarded him a letter from the Department of the Navy indicating the protocol. Ybarra has aimed a bit higher, writing a letter to President Obama only to be directed to Headquarters of U.S. Marine Corps Military Awards Branch.

He fully understands rules are rules however he is hoping to find an alternative route so that he is able to honor his father.

“In my case I have an official military document that speaks of an act of heroism by my father’s superi-

or,” he said. “Why shouldn’t a document such as that suffice?”

Ybarra thinks that it’s unacceptable for situations like this to be happening not only to his family but to other families who might be going through the same thing.

The number of unsung heroes isn’t documented but Ybarra thinks there may be others out there who are in the same position he is and he hopes to raise

awareness on the subject. Though he can’t say whether he’ll accomplish this task for his father and for himself, he says that simply trying is satisfaction enough.

“I’m not doing it only for my father, but for all the others who don’t want to speak up,” Ybarra said. “This brings me closure, knowing that I tried to do something for them.”

I See You

By Heather Marks

It’s another beautiful week in the Rio Grande Valley…

Vinos was once again a smashing success and lots of fun! Kudos to Pat Blum and Tracy Gerdes for putting together such a great event to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center – Estrella’s House. Delicious treats and eats were provided by Sahadi’s, Ace’s BBQ, Fromage, Zushi, and Alberico’s, just to name a few. Marvelous music by the Renaissance Rockers and Del Castillo made it one great night! Enjoyed seeing folks like Lorena Castillo, Lucy Garcia, Ruby de la Garza, Jennifer & Dwain Lewis, Ben Mall, Shannon & Hilario Ortiz, Kelsey & Teddy Martin, Espy & John Brattin, Joann Wright, Becky & John Gerling, Diane & Omar Palomin, Cindee & Tony Godinez, Clara Chapa, Rudy Montalvo, Kristy Meyer, Stephanie Cassity & Mike Zimmerer, Frank Dudley, Renee & Jason Dains, Charity & Joe Garzonie, Callie & Ed Bertaud, and so many more!

Attended a lovely tea at McAllen Country Club celebrating the upcoming wedding of Cody Hamer & Halley O’Neill. Also seen were Jodi & Bill Hamer, Cindy O’Neill, Madison Wellman, Reba Showers, Shirley Chester, Beverly Stansberry, Amanda Stansberry, Peggy Yancy, Nicole Martinez Giraldo, Stefani Johnson, Kandy Reed, Pam Wingate, Debbie Schuster, Brandy Wingate, Leila Bird, Rosie Bird, Lily Rambo, Ami Sides, Patia Walker, among many others. Best wishes to Cody & Halley!

Events you should know about…

The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce After Hours Mixer is tomorrow, February 28, 2013 at 5:30pm at the MET Business Center, 315 N. Shary Road in Mission. Food, fun, and networking are on the agenda for the evening.

McAllen’s Art Walk continues this Friday night with art galleries, museums, local artist showcases, and much more. Held in the Arts District on Main street, Art Walk is always a great opportunity to get out and enjoy a Friday evening.

The American Cancer Society is seeking enrollees to participate in their Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3) , a historic research study that will help researchers better identify the lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer. CPS-3 is open to men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 years who have no personal history of cancer. Enrollment will take place from 6:30pm until 10:30pm on Friday, April 26th at the Relay For Life of the Upper-Valley at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission.

The ultimate goal is to enroll at least 200 individuals in this study. By joining CPS-3, you can help researchers understand how to prevent cancer, which will save countless lives. Honor those in your life who have been affected by this dreadful disease by enrolling and help spread the word. Call the local American Cancer Society office at 682-8329 for more information about how to participate in research today for a cancer free tomorrow!

Mario, who considers himself an orphan of the war, stands in front of his father’s coffin.

Education Beat

By Chris Ardis

If Only They Had Listened

If it weren’t so disturbing, I’d find it funny that state legislators have demanded answers about C-SCOPE, a K-12 Texas Education Service Center (ESC) curriculum created during the 2005-2006 school year and implemented the following year. If only they had listened to teachers.

This evening I searched through my files and found a column I wrote in October of 2007, and it wasn’t the first I had written on C-SCOPE. In the October column, I wrote, “…Many teachers have grown weary of the program being so far behind schedule and there being no money to purchase the materials needed for “non-negotiable” lessons. Some teachers are holding fundraisers just to pay for these materials. I can’t help but wonder if the money spent for the program would have been much better spent on lab equipment, technology, books, and other equipment.”

I understood the concept. The ESCs (like Region One in Edinburg) wanted to create a curriculum that would be used statewide. Then, when students moved from one area of Texas to another, the academic transition would be relatively flawless. Wonderful idea. Not a wonderful product.

Early on, core (ELA, math, social studies, science) teachers were told they had to abide by a strict timeline; however, the ESCs didn’t deliver the curriculum or the required end-of-unit assessments in a timely manner. When the lessons were finally available, teachers had to download them from a website. Printing hundreds of pages became cost- and time-prohibitive.

Teachers were also told they had to stick to scripted lessons. Teachers found countless errors, both content-related and grammatical. Not only were materials required to implement the lessons unavailable on most campuses, but schools didn’t have the funds to purchase them, either. Many teachers told me at the time that some of the activities were good and that it would be a great “resource.” But despite the legitimate protests made by teachers using the curriculum, in many schools, teachers were told using C-SCOPE as THE curriculum was “non negotiable.” Threats were a daily occurrence.

Despite the multitude of problems with C-SCOPE, districts across the state and the Rio Grande Valley shelled out a lot of taxpayer money to purchase it. I filed Public Information Requests at that time (October 2007) with two Valley districts to find out exactly how much money they spent on C-SCOPE for the 2007-2008 school year:

Mission CISD: $131,968.25

PSJA ISD: $194,240.00

For the 2006-2007 school year, McAllen ISD paid Region One $118,740.00 for the middle/high school C-SCOPE and $112,110.00 for the elementary curriculum. Although I don’t have the figures for 2007-2008 or 2008-2009, McAllen ISD spent $165,921.00 on CSCOPE for the 2009-2010 school year and $178,804.00 for 2010-2011.

Keep in mind that these figures covered the rigid/ error-filled/punitive curriculum without any of the materials needed to implement it. (Cost is determined by Average Daily Attendance (ADA) in district campuses.) And those costs continue.

So now, here we are, five-and-a-half years later, and the legislature has an epiphany that C-SCOPE is rife with questionable issues. Now, they are telling districts it should only be used as a “resource.” Now a curriculum review panel has been established. Now, the lesson plans must be available to the public.

And I am left with a question and a comment:

Q: Why should our districts keep paying for this “resource”?

C: If only they had listened to teachers.

Chris Ardis is in her 29th and final year of teaching. She has taught in McAllen ISD for 28 years. You can reach her at cardis1022@aol.com or on Twitter @ CHRISTINEARDIS.

Experts to offer tips on creating container gardens

By Isaac Garcia Valley Town Crier

McALLEN– Not everyone has the space to till their backyard and start a garden of their choice. Many people live in apartment complexes, where such a thing is impossible and other folks, like Winter Texans, may not have the option due to limited space at RV parks.

Container gardens are a nice alternative for those who want to show their green thumb this spring, but don’t have the cubic land space to go the more traditional route.

So, what is a container garden? It’s pretty much just what it sounds like. Instead of growing plants directly on the ground, they are planted in containers.

Some of the more popular types of container gardens include: boxed vegetable gardens or flower beds, window boxes and flowerpots.

Quinta Mazatlan officials say that container flower gardens go great on patios and are excellent at attracting an array of butterflies and birds.

Horticulturist Ouina Rutledge will present a hands-on work-

shop, “Create Your Own Container Garden,” on March 2 from 1p.m. To 4 p.m..

Advance registration is required, so the center can have the appropriate number of plants on hand for the workshop.

The $20 fee will cover everything that goes into the pot and guests are to

bring their own containers.

Rutledge will cover topics such as combining plants, watering, maintenance, and how to correctly plant in a container.

For more information, Quinta Mazatlan may be reached at 956681-3370.

Madame Gourmande

By Odette MacDonald

Like a good friend, “The Pampered Chef” is there.

Dear Foodies, Times sure have changed. “Warm and Serve” microwave dinners have relinquished old family recipes, and fast food has become an attractive option. This generation complains about: lack of time, knowledge, patience, and creativity when it comes to cooking a well balanced meal. Will the kitchen ever take its rightful place?

Now, let me ask you another question. When was the last time you hosted a traditional sit down dinner party? Perhaps it’s been a while? Don’t worry…..I have a solution. Get over your dinner party anxiety and host a “Dinnertime in No Time” cooking show. Learn new skills, cook new foods and gain confidence in the kitchen.

Pampered Chef Consultant, Rachel Bunton brings the class to you! This two hour (depends) demonstration is held at the comfort of your own home. You also get to invite all of your foodie friends - how fun is that! Yes, the plan is to eat her creation at the end. She also gives you the latest on: Pampered Chef kitchen tools, food products, and cookbooks for preparing food at home. * Their Pantry products contain no high-fructose corn syrup or added MSG.

I must thank her for attending the “Holiday Open House” at Just between Friends Tearoom and Antiques. Owner, Rosie Romero wanted to pamper her guests with a special treat; a mini demo/sampling. Rachel came to delight our taste buds and teach us basic cooking concepts; one’s that every home cook should know. She quenched our thirst with a delicious “Skinny Cosmopolitan Drink” (blend of cranberry/ lime flavors – added cold water and vodka) which took her seconds to prepare. “Itty Bitty” bev drink mixes by Pampered Chef could be the life of your party (with or without alcohol). Strawberry Daiquiri, Margarita, Cucumber Mojito, Lemon Drop Martini, and Appletini lovers have never had it this easy ($8.50 each – makes 16 servings, 100 calories per serving). Mix and splash - how hard was that?! The Olive Bruschetta was a huge hit with all the ladies. Go ahead…..write this one down. It has green olives with pimentos, black olives, celery, garlic (chop) – it’s moistened with Italian salad dressing and served on toasted (sliced pieces) baguette with chive/ onion cream cheese, and topped with a cherry tomato quarter. It melted in our mouth!

Rachel is great at answering questions as she goes along and at giving cooking advice for those who are interested. She’ll teach you how to create themed meals, from appetizers to desserts. How about putting together a personalized “Italian Show” or “Mexican Show” – that’s entertainment.

An important rule of thumb is to buy long lasting quality items such as stainless steel, glass, or good old fashioned cast iron pans. This advice is for young couples (foodies, singles) that are beginning to purchase cookware. It’s costly, to both your wallet and our environment to replace a worn out pan, than to pay a little more, for durable cookware in the first place.

These are Pampered Chef items one should consider: Bamboo utensils (have antibacterial properties, and are extremely durable), Tri-ply Clad Stainless Steel Cookware, Stoneware, and Forged Cutlery. * With Lifetime Guarantee*

Are you ready…….

I pledge to cook from scratch more and buy less processed food. It’s good for both the wallet and the waistline.

Throw one dinner party every season (i.e., spring, summer, fall, and winter) with the goal of taming down your cooking perfectionism and confronting your hostessing anxieties. Make an effort to cook recipes from one of those cookbooks you purchased long ago with intentions of preparing homemade dishes. * Many of the recipes featured in Pampered Chef cookbooks (wonderful collection) are prepared in 30 minutes or less and feed your family for around $2.00 per serving. You should consider purchasing “Pampered Chef Favorites made Gluten” and “It’s good for you” – cookbooks filled with healthy recipes for busy families*

* March “Guest Special”: With purchase of $60.00 you get 3 Flexible Cutting Mats (small) or a Bar Board

March “Host Special”: Choose any one of these items at 60% off! The Manual Food Processor (was $49.00 – now $19.50), Food Chopper (was $32.00-now $12.80), Simple Slicer (was $30.00 – now $12.00), or the Ultimate mandolin (was $66.00 – now $26.40). What a deal!

Host perks: Host-never pays full price – they get free products- half price and discounted products - receives 10% off for a year and free shipping

You’ll have more items to choose from when show sales are higher, so invite everyone! Talk to your consultant about a Face Book Show.

Remember, home is where the heart (food) is.

Sign up, The Pampered Chef Sales Director – Rachel Bunton

(956) 973- oo84 or (956) 778-0772

Visit: www.pamperedchef.biz/rachelbunton Madame Gourmande / odettemac@gmail.com

Operation Safeguard calls for SWAT team

Pedro Perez IV Valley Town Crier

EDINBURG – Student safety is a top priority for the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School Dis trict (ECISD).

In light of the New town Conn tragedy that happened earlier this year ECISD decided to put po lice officers on all 41 cam puses to not only protect their 34,700 students but to make sure they feel safe as they learn what’s being taught in the classroom.

“We took some of the police officers from the high schools and middle schools and deployed them to the rest of the school dis trict,” ECISD Police Chief Ricardo Perez Jr. said.

Perez and the police force were spread across the district and conduct ed surveys to make sure that the schools were safe in case of an emergency. Small measures like locked doors at all times to having the officer visible around the school are components of Operation Safeguard that the district sees as a must.

Administrators for the

district wanted to make sure that all students were completely safe in case a lockdown occurs on any of the campuses.

Along all those mea sures ECISD wanted to take a proactive approach and wanted to be ready in case someone like an intruder attempted to take control of a campus. In doing so now the ECISD Police is creating a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and re sponse team.

“School may be in ses sion but then you have ac tivities that occur out in the public,” Perez said. “Some times we have instances where the Border Patrol are chasing illegal aliens or police that are pursuing a person of interest and the might end up at a school campus.”

The components of the SWAT team is that there are to be 12 certified of ficers. There are already some officers who have been training with the Ed inburg Police Department and the University of Texas Pan American Police de partment in Active Shooter situations.

Each of the 12 officers will be placed at their re spective campus. That of ficer will have a support team that consists of other officers and support se curity that will be the first responders. The other 11 officers will be dispatched to form the complete team.

Officers are also being trained in Active Shooter response but not as highly trained as a SWAT officer.

The SWAT team mem bers will have an M4 Car bine at their disposal along with their sidearm if a situ ation for that amount of fire power should arise.

“Those types of weap ons are only utilized in a circumstance as it arises,” Perez said. “We’re not going to be walking around cam puses with them (M4) but we base the need for our equipment as the situation occurs.”

As of Monday members of the police force began training for Active Shooter situations with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Depart ment.

BorderFest kicks off Feb. 28

Valley Town Crier

BorderFest, South Texas’ largest and oldest heritage and music festival, re turns to celebrate the cultural treasures of Mexico from Feb.28 through March 3 at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo. The event will showcase some of Mexico’s most re vered craftsmen and performing artists, such as the famed acrobats of the Fly ing Tribe of Papantla, along with several of the biggest names in popular music on both sides of the bor der.

Following in the footsteps of Demi Lovato, Janet Jackson and other superstars who have headlined BorderFest will be Zac Brown Band. Best known for catchy songs such as “Chick en Fried,” “Toes” and “As She’s Walking Away,” the Atlantabased band most re cently captured the prize for Best Coun try Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards held this month. Zac Brown Band will per form March 1, inside the arena.

Honoring the event as its 2013 In

ternational Ambas sadors will be the prestigious musi cal troupe Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, known for more than 100 years as the defi nite sound of classic Mexican music, and Dra. Ana Maria Polo, the star of the smash court TV show, “Caso Cerrado.”

BorderFest will host an array of te jano, norteno, coun try and Latin pop/ rock hitmakers at this year’s event, in cluding Pesado, Los Palominos, Los He rederos de Nuevo Leon, Los Igualados, La Ley and John Con lee. Also appearing will be cover bands Revolucion de Amor, Ramble On and Mys terious Ways, who will pay tribute to the songbooks of Mana,

Led Zeppelin and U2, respectively.

The attractions fans have come to expect at BorderFest will be back includ ing the Budweiser Grand Parade, the Action 4 Illuminated Evening Parades, the Stripes Treasures of Mexico, the Bert Og den auto exhibit, the HEB Health and Well ness Pavilion and other popular exhib its.

Plus, attendees can watch a brand new fireworks extrav aganza after sunset on the evenings of March 2 and March 3.

The public may purchase two-day advance tickets at any Stripes conve nience store loca tions within Hidalgo County for only $13.

your valleysports

Roundup: Kaufmann breaks personal best at Stark Relays

Valley Town Crier

MISSION - McAllen Memorial’s Madeline Kaufmann not only beat her personal best and marked an 11-3 to win the pole vault event at Sharyland’s Stark Relays. She attempted to break 11-6 but was unsuccessful.

Over the weekend she competed in the 65th Annual McHi Invitational.

BASKETBALL

McAllen Memorial faced off

against the Edinburg North Cougars Feb. 22 in McAllen. Rowe went on the road to face off against Laredo Alexander in Roma Feb. 22.

The winner of Memorial and Edinburg North will face the winner of Harlingen South and Laredo United. The winner of Rowe and Alexander will face off against the winner of Del Rio and Porter.

As of Feb. 22 all teams in Region 4 need two more wins to make it to the region semis at UTPA.

Broncs Roundup: Provost passes three players on score list

ARLINGTON – Senior guard Brandon Provost passed three players, including a recent Hall of Fame inductee, on the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men’s basketball career scoring list in a 63-48 loss to the UT Arlington Mavericks on Wednesday at College Park Center.

Provost scored 16 points to increase his career total to 1,168, passing Michael Edwards (1,160) 1976-70, Kevin Johnson (1,156, 1984-88) and Roma-native Jesus “Chuy” Guerra (1,154, 1972-76), who was inducted into the UTPA Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, for 13th place on the program scoring list. Provost also tied his career-high with a season-high five steals.

Jesus Delgado led the Broncs (13-15) with 17 points on a career-high eight field goals in a career-high 13 attempts.

Jordan Reves led three Mavericks (15-9) in doublefigures scoring with a double-double, scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds. Brandon Edwards also posted a dou-

ble-double with 11 with 10 rebounds. Kevin Butler finished with 11 points

The Mavericks hit their first four baskets and 7-of-8 while jumping out to a 17-2 lead over the first 7:11.

The Mavericks extended their lead to as many as 21 points at 38-17 on a Reves layup that capped an 8-0 run, the last five of which were scored by Reves, with 1:46 left in the first half.

The Broncs climbed back to within 13 five times in the second half, the third of which was at 51-38 on an Aaron Urbanus threepointer with 6:28 remaining. Edwards responded with a three-pointer two minutes later to make it 54-38 and the Broncs didn’t threaten again.

GOLF

The Broncs women’s golf team came in 15th on Feb. 18 at the Le Triomphe Collegiate Invitational, hosted by McNeese State, at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club.

The Broncs shot a second round 336 and a third round 346 for a final score of 1,029,

five strokes shy of 14th place Shorter University.

Lamar won the event with a 930 (311, 312, 307).

Junior Elena Arroyo and sophomore Marisa Canales led the Broncs, tying for 56th out of 87 golfers with scores of 254. Canales improved during each round, going from 86 to 85 to 83.Lamar’s Ghni Ngo won the individual medal with a 10 over 226 (74, 80, 72).

Senior captain Sarah Kothny saw a big improvement in the second round, shaving eight strokes for a score of 83, before firing an 86 in the final round for a 260, putting her in a tie for 64th.

Sophomore Blake Peterson also made a big second round improvement, cutting off seven strokes before finishing tied for 74th with a 266 (91, 84, 91).

Freshman Rachel Gere came in 79th with a 270 (86, 93, 90).

TENNIS

Roma High School alum Julia Perez made her dual

debut as the Broncs women’s tennis team fell to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders 0-7 on Feb. 19 at the newly renovated Orville Cox Tennis Center.The Islanders (6-0) took control early in doubles as they took the win in the No. 2 and No. 1 doubles matches to clinch the point. The No. 3 doubles team of Perez and Didi Fatchikova lead at one point against Maider Martin and Mia Matuszak but fell 8-4.

The Broncs (0-7) battled in singles play but the Islanders controlled throughout. Manon Lavrijssen fell 0-6, 1-6 to Sandra Burges in the No. 3 singles match. Perez lost in straight sets 3-6, 1-6 to Leanne Mascall and Reegan Greenwood dropped her match 1-6, 0-6 to Celia Rodriguez.

Wanda Beguelin fell 7-5, 6-1 to Stefania Nicolae in the No. 4 singles spots. Didi Fatchikova went three sets with Martin but fell 1-6, 6-3 (107). In the No.1 singles match, Dana Nazarova went backand-forth with Doris Kuselj but lost 5-7, 3-6.

Didi Fatchikova dropped her match against Maider Martin 6-1, 3-6, (10-7)

Photo by Greg Selber

Keep McAllen Beautiful scores new coordinator, readies for paramount projects

By Isaac Garcia Valley Town Crier

McALLEN– Keep McAl len Beautiful has made wonders happen since it rolled up its sleeves and got to work in 1976. The program still runs strong on a shoe-string budget, when compared to other non-profit organizations. And now a new man has been tasked with coordi nating all of KMBs events aimed to educate and beautify the city.

Scott McKeon, 22,who moved to the Rio Grande Valley when he was twoyears-old, is fresh out of the water after working six-years in the aquat ics division for the City of McAllen.

Now, McKeon is ready

to work hand in hand with the community to empha size beautification and education.

“The Valley is a really great place,” McKeon said. “There is a lot of beauty here that we are casting aside and now it’s time to dig in and make things better.”

McKeon attended Cov enant College in Georgia, where he earned his de gree in Community Devel opment.

He said he plans to fo cus on lower-income and at risk areas where KMB can help and work along side the community to make each hot-spot better for years to come.

“What I’d like to see is for KMB to do things with the community instead

of for the community,” he said. “We want to involve the community in every step, so that they learn, grow together and re-in vest in the community.”

McKeon has been on the job for a little less than four months and already he has some big projects to coordinate.

Great amerIcan clean-up

In April community members will have the chance to join KMB in cleaning up the city and making it friendlier to its people, wildlife, and easier on the eyes.

Think of it as a time to give back for all the littered shopping bags that zoom by you on a daily basis.

From 8 a.m. to noon on

April 13, KMB will be host ing the Great American Cleanup and Texas TrashOff, an annual litter cleanup event.

KMB is asking for as many volunteers as possi ble in order to make these events more successful than in years past. GAC is open to the entire commu nity, businesses, groups, and organizations looking to make a difference.

As with all KMB events, GAC counts towards com munity service hours.

Paint McAllen Beauti ful

Paint McAllen Beautiful works to paint the houses of elderly, disabled, lowerincome income individu als at no charge.

Made possible by the energy and investment of

local volunteers, the Paint McAllen Beautiful pro gram strives to reach out to places and people that are missed by others.

If you know of a house that needs a paint job, or if you want to make a dif ference and help reach out with this program,log on to Keepmcallenbeauti ful.org for an application. Deadline for this project is March 7.

Scott McKeon

Dear Marcie-

My husband and I have been married for 5 years and just had our first child 8 months ago. The thrill and excitement of being a new mom has slowly been eroded by my husband’s lack of enthusiasm and seemingly total lack of interest in anything having to do with our son, from responsibilities like feeding and diaper changes, to just spending more quality time with the baby. What is your advice to help get my husband’s attention away from

fishing lures and rifles and directed toward our beautiful baby and his responsibilities as a father?

Sam Dearest Sam, First-time motherhood and the raising of your newborn is an extremely joyous time.

Remember, a wide range of beliefs and views towards roles always come into play in any cohabitation scenario. With a first child, the initial step should always consist of one or more discussions on the impending arrival of baby. The expectations, hopes and dreams of each parent should be shared in helping to establish the roles and boundaries for each in the critical upcoming chapter in your lives.

As with most mothers who have just giv-

en birth to their little bundles of joy, childrearing will often come naturally when

our eyes first set on those tiny hands and feet. So, keep in mind it’s going to take a bit

longer for a male to be comfortable coming between a mother and her “everything”. Men

will approach with extreme CAUTION.

Commentary

By Mark Noe

The Rules of Child Rearing

There are rules? Nobody told me there were rules. Not that it would have helped. I discovered years ago that being a father means doing everything wrong—at least that’s what my teenage daughter tells me. So, even if I’d known the rules, all they would do for me would be to explain what I was doing it wrong.

Even though I’d like to think that there aren’t actually any rules, I know there must be because there are shelves of parenting advice books at Barnes and Noble—not to mention websites and blogs that can explain to me exactly what I’m doing wrong. I’ve been looking for one with a checklist. That way I can just go down the list and check each mistake off and get it over with: “Teething? Yep, did that one wrong.” “Explaining where babies come from? That one too.” “Meet her boyfriend for the first time? I swear, I didn’t turn the sprinklers on intentionally.”

Sure, if you look at those books closely you’ll notice that they all disagree with each other. Doesn’t matter. Rules are rules. They’re not supposed to make sense, just confuse you sufficiently; if they made sense you might get mad when they don’t work. If you don’t understand them, well then, that’s your fault, isn’t it?

Remember Dr. Spock? (Not Mr. Spock; different universe; he had to deal with Romulans; we have to deal with teenagers; he got the better deal.) When I was growing up, everyone read Dr. Spock and followed his rules to the letter. Which, at least gives my mom someone to blame. Then, long after it’s too late, too many years in therapy, we find out that Dr. Spock didn’t have children of his own. Exactly whose children did he experiment on? How did he test his rules? Did he just make them up?

Disenchanted, we look for rules from other sources. I was told by a friend in the strictest confidence that if your first child is born in the year of the pig, don’t have your second in the year of the rooster, they’ll always I fight with each other.

Wait a minute, that’s a rule? How does that work? Which year is the year of the pig? Why are we naming years after animals anyway?

I wanted to tell her I didn’t believe in astrology, and I wasn’t Chinese anyway. (I was pretty sure that it didn’t work unless you were Chinese.) but I knew what her answer would be: “But astrology believes in you.”

So I checked around to see if anyone else had a rule that made more sense.

“Spare the rod spoil the child.” Well, I don’t want a spoiled child. But that doesn’t sound any better than the whole rooster/pig thing. Though it does have the advantage of coming from no less an authority than Bible. My dad must have bought it, because I wasn’t spoiled.

“Children, honor your parents.” Another one from the Bible. I looked it up, and discovered something interesting. The other half of the verse says, “Parents, don’t provoke your children to anger.” Now, I’m okay with the whole “honor your parents” thing, but every time my dad (who, unlike my mom, never read Spock) didn’t spare the rod, it provoked me to anger.

The problem with rules may be that people tend to pay attention to the rules they like and not the ones they don’t. (This in itself makes no sense. You don’t need rules to make you do things you like to do.) So, in the interest of fairness, we have to balance discipline with something else. I’m thinking maybe we might add another rule that, strictly speaking, isn’t about raising kids at all. Remember the Golden Rule? Love your neighbor as yourself? If we’re supposed to love our neighbors, even the one who never mows his grass, shouldn’t we love our kids first? Then, at least they’d know somebody loved them. A rare enough commodity these days.

Middle school students challenged during VIVA Engineering

Valley Town Crier

Competition was fierce when more than 200 mid dle school students visited The University of Texas-Pan American for the Eighth An nual Viva Engineering chal lenge Feb.16. The daylong event held in the University’s Engineering Building fo cused on introducing junior high students and teachers to UTPA’s engineering pro gram and related careers.

The challenge focused on generating excitement by Rio Grande Valley and Lar edo area students about the many opportunities avail able to them if they go to college, graduate and pursue careers related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The event included a tour of the engineering building, engineering presentations and poster displays. The ju nior high students also heard from faculty members who

urged them to graduate high school and college and pur sue a career in engineering.

The highlight of the day was the competition. Stu dents designed carts using foam, hot glue, bubble wrap and wood sticks that could carry an egg inside. The carts were tested for durability by having them collide into a wall. After finishing their construction challenge, the teams also had to give a small product marketing presentation to the group of judges. The winners were se lected based on their presen tation scores and cart perfor mances.

Christopher Garza, presi dent of UTPA’s Engineering Student Advisory Council and Region 5 pre-college director of the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers (SHPE), said the competition was designed in a way that the youngsters could learn about engineer ing but make it entertaining

at pursuing a higher level of education.”

Garza said the goal is to give students a different per spective

“It

imperative

through interactive hands on activities,” Garza said. “SHPE focuses on having younger students look at college from a different point of view. We want them to see the fun side of engineering.”

at the same time.

“SHPE changes lives by empowering the Hispanic community, making it aware of the many opportunities available in STEM. SHPE knows that, unfortunately,

there are still many wrong stereotypes about Hispanics in the STEM fields,” Garza said. “We want to discover the hidden talents within Hispanics and to encourage these younger generations

about STEM careers.

is

for us to start educating our children

More than 200 middle school students received hands-on training on what it takes to be an engineer during UTPA’s eighth annual Viva Engineering event