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Progress times
2019EXT Progress Times banner 10.5x2.indd 1
Vol. 47 - #22
Friday, January 25, 2019
50¢ cents
09/01/2019 11:47:54 AM
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Mission opens Bannworth Dog Park
Pictured are some of the dogs and their owners who were able to attend the “leash cutting” ceremony at the Dog Park at Bannworth last Saturday. The 2-acre Mission dog park, located at 1822 N. Shary Rd., has sections for large and small pups alike who want to get some fresh air or learn some new tricks. A variety of amenities at the dog park are made specifically for dog training. The ceremony featured a contest hosted by Mission Pawsible, and awards for Best Rescue Dog, Best Pedigree, Best Cross Breed, Beauty and the Beast, Best Tricks, Best Outfit, Cutest Dog and Best All Around were distributed to some of the participating dogs.
Photos courtesy of the city of Mission.
Election lawsuit cost Mission La Joya ISD ‘water park’ may become talking point during school funding debate mayor more than $57,000 paid for it,” Abbott tweeted among districts with similar By Dave Hendricks By Dave Hendricks
The Mission election lawsuit cost Mayor Armando “Doc” O’caña more than $57,000, according to campaign finance reports filed last week. After former Mayor Norberto “Beto” Salinas filed a lawsuit against him — claiming that bribery and mail-in ballot fraud tainted the 2018 mayoral campaign — O’caña spent thousands on attorneys. “Defending myself has been very expensive,” said O’caña, 64, who works for the La Joya Independent School District and the city of Peñitas. “And the final invoices aren’t in yet, either.” O’caña spent $57,666 on attorneys from July 1 to Dec. 31, according to campaign finance reports filed with the City Secretary’s Office on Jan. 14. O’caña said he spent another $5,000 from his own pocket. The May 2018 election pitted Beto Salinas, who served two decades as mayor, against O’caña and Mission businessman Jaime Gutierrez. Beto Salinas received the most votes but fell three votes short of a majority.
Mayor Armando O’caña O’caña placed second, sending him to the runoff. Both candidates campaigned hard. Voter turnout, which usually sags during runoff elections, surged instead. When the polls closed, O’caña had 51 percent of nearly 6,800 ballots cast, according to results published by the Hidalgo County Elections Department. Beto Salinas filed a lawsuit, claiming the O’caña campaign bribed voters, manipulated mail-in ballots and committed voter fraud. O’caña denied the allegations.
See ELECTION LAWSUIT Pg. 7
Two words may haunt the La Joya Independent School District during the legislative session: water park. The school district spent about $20 million on a Sports and Learning Complex, which includes a planetarium, tennis courts, an indoor pool and a water park — complete with slides, splash pads and a “lazy river.” It’s already a talking point in Austin. “The State will add more funding for education,” tweeted Gov. Greg Abbott, who shared a link to a news story about the water park on Dec. 16. “But it won’t fund water park projects like this. We will invest in the teachers who educate students.” Abbott had already slammed the water park in September. “A Texas school district opened a water park and you
A debate over the Meadow Creek golf course, which has been ongoing since 2016, was continued at this week’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in Mission. Owner Olaguer Bauza and his wife, Laurice, have
been trying to get part of their golf course rezoned to mostly residential lots and one commercial. They, along with some Winter Texan residents of Meadow Creek, were present this past Wednesday. The four tracts of land that the Bauzas would like
student populations, sizes and property tax wealth. The state sales tax, lottery revenue and property taxes collected by wealthy districts support poorer districts, including La Joya. Lawmakers plan to reform the school finance system during the 2019 legislative session, providing additional funding, attempting to reduce the property tax burden and rewarding districts that demonstrate top-notch results. News about La Joya building a water park attracted attention in Austin because the school district struggles with the basics, including student reading scores, said Kara Belew, the senior education policy adviser at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a nonprofit
of Oranges
Saturday, January 26 3 p.m. INSIDE
Agua SUD
See WATER PARK Pg. 7
State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa is drafting a bill that would prevent utility district administrators from moonlighting as contractors, saying that it will address conflicts. Dave Hendricks has the latest, inside. Photo courtesy of the La Joya Independent School District via Facebook.
Mission P&Z recommend approval to rezone Meadow Creek golf course By Jamie Treviño
on Sept. 6, sharing a link to the same news story. “Now you know why it’s hard to get the Legislature to pony up more money for our schools.” For western Hidalgo County, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Federal and state funds account for about 90 percent of the district operating budget, according to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report approved by the school board on Jan. 14. Most of the money funds payroll. With about 4,400 teachers, support staff and administrators, the school district is the largest employer in western Hidalgo County, charged with educating nearly 29,000 children, according to Texas Education Agency data. Texas sends millions to La Joya every year, attempting to equalize school funding
Parade
rezoned would go from PUD Agricultural to either Family Residential Districts or Neighborhood Commercial. The tracts were up for discussion in four separate
See MEADOW CREEK Pg. 6
Progress Times photo by Jamie Treviño.
Winter Texans from Meadow Creek hold up “Vote No” signs at this week’s Planning & Zoning commission meeting in Mission.
Mission surveys employees, who are unsatisfied with pay By Jamie Treviño Following the city’s decision to gather information regarding the level of job satisfaction within city departments, the results of a survey conducted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley were presented at a workshop this week. The survey, taken from Sept. 26 through Oct. 5 last year, was a project Mayor Armando O’caña and former City Manager Martin Garza worked on earlier in 2018. After gathering the results from 96 percent of all city employees, Michael Uhrbrock and Sai Mullapudi spoke about some of the general findings this past Monday afternoon. Uhrbrock and Mullapudi work for the Data & Information Systems Center at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and have pre-
viously conducted a resident survey for the city of Pharr. The survey was made available at the Speer Memorial Library computer lab on the survey dates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Employees received a number from the Human Resources department that they would input in the system in order to keep the results anonymous. “There were two objectives of doing the employee survey,” Uhrbrock said. “One was to measure employee satisfaction, how satisfied they are with the work environment, engagement, conversation, relationships, benefits. The second goal was to get employee suggestions on to they can provide better service to residents and improve operations.” A total of 663 employees
See MISSION SURVEY Pg. 6
See Pg. 5
SPORTS
The arena football team will be coming back to the State Farm Arena with their new co-owner, Juan Arevalo. The season is set to start in March, and Bryan Ramos has more details on their upcoming return in the sports section.
See Pg. 9
INDEX Entertainment..........pg. 2 Lifestyle.......................pg. 3 Sports...........................pg. 8 Obituaries...............pg. 11 Classifieds.................pg.12