See Story Pg.7
Your Hometown Newspaper, Bringing Communities Together.
Vol. 47 - #47
Progress times Friday, July 19, 2019
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• MISSION
Mission discusses city charter
A ‘Starry Night’ for local stars
• LA JOYA
Judge sentences former La Joya police chief to 20 years in prison
By Jamie Treviño
By Dave Hendricks
Mayor Armando O’caña is attempting to fulfill a campaign promise that would implement term limits for the mayoral position in Mission. During a workshop held at the city hall on Tues. July 16, the mayor, city manager and council members discussed a couple of potential changes to the Mission organizational chart as well as the city charter. O’caña promised to create term limits for the mayor’s position when he ran for mayor in 2018. This week he suggested a two-term mayoral limit as one of the changes to the city charter, which has not been amended since 2007. “The term limit will only be for the mayor, not for the city council,” O’caña said. “This is based on the philosophy in the United States constitution - the United States constitution gives the president of the United States to have two terms with four years each. If it’s good enough for America, if should be good for the city of Mission. That’s my belief.” O’caña modeled another potential city charter change after the constitution as well. Citing that the population determines the amount of representatives from your area at the House of Representatives, he believes that because the U.S. Census is happening in 2020 and the Mission population is increasing, there should be more commissioners representing residents. This charter change would include the addition of two more city commissioners, bringing the council from four to six in total. O’caña suggested that four of the council members be from designated geographical districts within Mission, while the two other members be elected from anywhere in the city or “at-large.” “When the city charter was created, there were less than 2,000 people [living in the city],” O’caña said. “Now we have 88,000 or more, and if the census comes through we may have 100,000.” By making this change, passing or denying items during city council meetings would require a majority of four council members or three council members and the mayor voting in favor. “That creates checks and balances, which are the basic fundamentals of our constitution for the United States of America,” O’caña said. “I think that in 10, 20 years
A judge sentenced former La Joya police Chief Geovani Hernandez to 20 years in federal prison Thursday for drug trafficking. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Geovani V. Hernandez, 45, of McAllen — a career cop who campaigned for Hidalgo County sheriff and served as police chief in La Joya — on Thursday morning. Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arrested Hernandez in 2017. Hernandez pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him at trial. “I never understood why you didn’t plead guilty,” Crane said, adding that prosecutors had a strong case against Hernandez. During the past two decades, Hernandez worked for police departments across the Rio Grande Valley, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. He also challenged former Sheriff Guadalupe “Lupe” Treviño in the March
See MISSION CHARTER Pg. 6
Progress Times photo by Jose De Leon III.
Marcus Achilles Quintana reacts to the cheers from guests at the red carpet of “A Starry Night: Capable Kids Prom 2019“ Saturday, July 13, 2019.
By Jose De Leon III For one night, teens who’d otherwise feel like outcasts in high school had the spotlight shining on them. That’s according to Melanie Watson, president of the local non-profit Capable Kids Foundation, which hosted a prom night for special needs individuals in the upper Valley last week. Held Saturday, July 13 at the Mission Event Center, the Capable Kids Prom featured 125 students with special needs dancing the night away. The theme of the night was “A Starry Night.”
“We just want to allow them to have a night to shine,” Watson said of the attendees. “They can be themselves and we can show them that they can make connections with other people and have a great time.” The Capable Kids Foundation-which has locations in McAllen and Port Isabel-works to improve the quality of life of those with disabilities with experiences that help them enjoy life and make sure parents feel equipped to handle any issues that come their way, Watson said.
See CAPABLE KIDS PROM Pg. 4
• PALMVIEW
• PEÑITAS
Court records:
Sheriff’s deputy harassed and insulted Palmhurst police during arrest An off-duty sheriff’s deputy harassed and insulted Palmhurst police when they arrested him on a felony assault charge last month, according to court records. Officers arrested Roberto “Bobby” Rivera, 42, of Palmhurst on June 15, when they responded to a call about an “unwanted male subject at a female’s residence, who was intoxicated and was possibly armed,” according to court records. Rivera, who had been drinking, dared the officers to arrest him and called one a “dumbass.” Police charged Rivera, a deputy assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, with assault on
Gerald “Jerry” Bell’s legacy in the Rio Grande Valley can be found in the metaphorical and physical growth of Peñitas. The city of Peñitas, along with Bell’s family and friends and local officials held a memorial ceremony that honored the late businessman, who passed away last week on July 10, 2019 at the age of 85. The event took place at the Peñitas Public Library on Wed. July 17. After growing up in the Rio Grande Valley and graduating from McAllen High School in 1948, Bell found a home in Peñitas. According to a press release from the city, people driving into Peñitas will find it “impossible to miss” hundreds of oak trees that line the expressway Bell Farms (one of Bell’s properties), representing his contribution to the “rich history, current development and promising
Courtesy photo.
See ROBERTO RIVERA Pg. 8
INDEX Entertainment....pg. 2 Lifestyle...................pg. 3 Death Notices......pg. 8 Classifieds..............pg. 9
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2012 Democratic Party primary. Treviño crushed him, winning more than 80 percent of the vote. Hernandez reached the peak of his law enforcement career in March 2014, when La Joya hired him as police chief. He lasted less than a year. By the time Homeland Security Investigations arrested Hernandez in August 2017, he’d taken a low-paying job with the Progreso Police Department.
See POLICE CHIEF Pg. 4
City honors community founder and staple Gerald “Jerry” Bell By Jamie Treviño
a peace officer, a second-degree felony. “I want to apologize to the Palmhurst Police Depart-
Geovani Hernandez
Peñitas mourns
By Dave Hendricks
Roberto “Bobby” Rivera
www.ptrgv.com
See JERRY BELL Pg. 9
Photo courtesy of the city of Peñitas.
INSIDE The city of Mission held a workshop to discuss the preliminary 2019-2020 budget, and the Mission Economic Development Corporation held a meeting also regarding their budget.
See Pg. 5 Apple Pharmacy #1 2501 N 23rd St B, McAllen 956-627-6652 Apple Pharmacy #2 810 E Veterans Dr. Palmview 956-352-6485 RioScript Pharmacy 2308 Expressway 83, Penitas 956-271-1064
We have the latest on the La Joya election campaign finance report and the city’s housing authority. Dave Hendricks has our stories on what’s happening in the city, inside.
See Pg. 10
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