Friday, October 20, 2017
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Vol. 46 No. 11
Overview: seven state constitutional amendments on ballot First of a two part series By Joe Hinton With early voting beginning Monday and the general or “constitutional amendment election” Nov. 7, the Progress Times takes a look at the seven amendments to the Texas constitution in as many ballot propositions. The overview, broken into two parts, this week and next, is based on information obtained from The League of Women Voters of Texas, Ballotpedia and published reports. When not otherwise attributed, the majority of the arguments presented for and against a proposition were authored by the Texas House Research Organization and published by the League of Woman Voters and Ballotpedia. The HRO is a nonpartisan, independent department of the Texas House of Representatives comprised of 15 House members elected by the House membership. It provides impartial information on legislation and issues before the Texas Legislature. Proposition 1 Proposition 1 would allow the Texas State Legislature to pass bills to provide partially-disabled veterans or their surviving spouses with a property tax exemption if the veterans paid 50 percent or less of the market value for the house donated
to them. The measure would also keep the existing tax exemption for partially disabled veterans who received their homes at no cost from a charity. The tax exemption would be equal to the percentage that the veteran is partially disabled. Proposition 1 would not itself provide a tax exemption, but would authorize the legislature to create one. In an Oct. 8 Op/Ed piece supporting the measure, State Rep. Bobby Guerra said the action was needed because as war veterans return to their communities, some, who have become disabled during service, will work with nonprofit groups and community groups to assist them in acquiring a home that will accommodate their specific needs. In some of these instances, part of the cost of the home is donated with the veterans paying some amount, as well. Currently, if a veteran receives a fully donated house, they receive a property tax exemption. However, the veteran who has paid some amount doesn’t receive the same benefit. Guerra said the goal of Prop 1 is to correct the oversight and allow veterans who have been able to pay for
Walk for Freedom
More than 400 persons marched 2.5 miles along Griffin Parkway and Shary Road Saturday, Oct. 14 in Mission to raise awareness of modern day slavery and human trafficking. The “Walk for Freedom” march, sponsored by Palm Valley Church, was held in conjunction with the A21 Campaign, an organization that hires survivors of human trafficking to help them get back on their feet. Mission was one of the 600 cities in 50 countries where the walk took place. According to A21 every 30 seconds someone becomes a slave and 99 percent of those victims are never rescued. In the U.S. alone, more than 25,500 cases of human trafficking are reported annually, according to the A21 literature handed out during the march. Progress Times photo by Joe Hinton
La Joya City Council candidates outline platforms By Jose De Leon III With this year’s general election set for Nov. 7 and early voting commencing Monday, Oct. 23, the Progress Times reached out to the four candidates vying for two seats on the La Joya City Council. Mary Salinas (Place 3) is the only incumbent running for reelection. She is joined
See OVERVIEW Pg. 10
by newcomer Ray Acosta (Place 1) to make the “Team L1berty” slate. The duo faces off against the “Progress for La Joya” slate, made up of businesswoman Maria Aurora Ruiz (Place 1) and former La Joya Finance Director Rosa Treviño (Place 3). While both slates want to make improvements in the city, they have focused on differing priorities.
Team L1berty
Progress for La La Joya For Ruiz and Treviño, the city needs to work on transparency to ensure the community is aware of what the city is doing. “The city doesn’t have an updated website where they provide the minutes, agenda or any information on where our tax dollars are going to,” Treviño said. “We need transparency to provide the information everyone wants
to know and even something as simple as updating the website will be enough for people to know how this city operates.” Treviño, who currently owns the Treviño Tax and Bookkeeping Services Company, said over the years she’s made numerous public information requests to the city concerning their audits
See LA JOYA CANDIDATES Pg. 14
Progress For La Joya
Fans take ‘home away from home’ games in stride Booster expresses disdain over loss of revenues By Joe Hinton Except for a smaller press box and visitor’s bleachers – and the absence of a 12-foot tall statue of Tom Landry out front – Mercedes High School’s Tiger Stadium is nearly a mirror image of the as-yet completed Tom Landry Hall of Fame Stadium at Mission High School. And despite having to drive east a half hour to get to the Oct. 13 game between the Veterans Memorial High School Patriots and Laredo Nixon High School Mustangs, the Patriot’s were well represented by fans in the home team’s bleachers. And complaints about having to make the drive from Mission to Mercedes because the Tom Landry Stadium is still under construction two months after its original completion date were few and far between. “I’m kind of disappointed for the boys because they didn’t get a chance to play
in their new stadium,” said Ed Gilpin, father to Patriot’s head coach, David Gilpin and grandfather to Patriot’s junior starting quarterback Landry Gilpin. “But on the other hand I understand that construction is not an exact science.” The elder Gilpin made his comments during half time of the game which the Patriot’s won 48 to 17 leaving the homeless team with seven wins and no losses. “It doesn’t matter where they play, the kids just want to play,” Gilpin said. VMHS sophomore, Mauricio Gonzalez, and junior, Eric Castro, were among many students sitting together in the stands. Both said they haven’t missed a game despite the first four home games having been moved to various stadiums throughout the Valley. And both agreed once the stadium is completed it will be a great legacy
See LOSS OF REVENUES Pg. 10
Mary Salinas
Ray Acosta
Maria Aurora Ruiz
Another hurdle passed in south-side freeway toll road By Joe Hinton Another hurdle has been passed toward creation of a 120-mile beltway for Hidalgo County. On Tuesday contractors from across Texas and out of state met with officials of the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority in a mandatory pre-bid meeting to discuss plans for the first 12.2 mile, $168.8 million leg of the beltway that will traverse southwestern Hidalgo County. The deadline for submitting bids on the project is Nov. 10 and the contract will be awarded on Nov. 28 followed by a pre-construction meeting on Jan. 8.
See TOLL ROAD Pg. 8
INSIDE Contract extended
INDEX
National Night Out
Snakeskin classic
Citing a failure to institute basic policies, Palmview fired its city manager six months ago. Now the city has extended the contract of the man hired to turn the city around.
Sharyland ISD’s two football teams, the 5-1 Sharyland High School Rattlers face off against the 3-3 Pioneer High School Diamondbacks tonight in Mission. Reporter Bryan Ramos has the preview.
See Pg. 5
See Pg. 6
Entertainment | pg.2
Rosa Treviño
Lifestyle | pg.3
Opinion | pg.4
Sports | pg. 6
Five cities in western Hidalgo County recently joined together to commemorate National Night Out, a nationwide event designed to create closer ties between police and their communities. The story is inside.
See Pg. 8
Obituaries | pg. 11
FOOTBALL $50 WEEKLY PRIZE
& $200 BOOSTER CLUB GRAND PRIZE
Classifieds | pg. 12 See Page Inside
CONTEST