Friday, June 26, 2015
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A FIRST FATHER’S DAY Council hires two
city attorneys
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By Kathy Olivarez
Mission assisted living center holds celebration
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By Lea Victoria Juarez
TOP: Amy Smith (left) fountain fishes with her grandfather Vallie Toney for Father’s Day at The Bridges at Mission. Toney was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and moved into the assisted living center a year ago. ABOVE: Vallie Toney is one of eight fathers living at the home. The Bridges celebrated the day with a cookout, fishing and live entertainment. Progress Times photos by Lea Victoria Juarez
or the first time in her life, 18-year-old Amy Smith was able to celebrate Father’s Day. She sat with her grandpa as he fished from his wheelchair for plastic sea creatures in a courtyard fountain. For almost a year, her grandpa Vallie Toney has been living with Alzheimer’s disease at The Bridges at Mission assisted living center. “He has good days and bad days. Some days he’s more confused or forgets who I am,” Smith said. “He gets reality confused with something he saw on TV or something he thought about. But today’s a good day.”
JFK teacher an example for her students
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By Julie Silva hen Alicia Garcia addresses her students at La Joya ISD, one of the most low-income school districts in the state, she has a better idea than most about the challenges they face. She was born in Los Ebanos and grew up a product of La Joya Independent School District before dropping out in 1974. Garcia later went back and obtained her GED. In 1981, she took a job as a library clerk for the district while taking basic courses at South Texas Community College. Over the next decade, she moved up to instructional assistant and eventually became a HOSTS teacher. In those years, Garcia said she
learned a lot about teaching while watching others. By 1991, Garcia was appointed a first-grade teacher at J.F.K. Elementary on an emergency teaching permit while working toward a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at Pan American University. She earned her degree in 1995. Garcia, now a second-grade teacher at J.F.K.
Elementary, is this year’s elementary Teacher of the Year at La Joya ISD. “A dream is but a dream until someone like me comes along to lovingly transform it to reality, and no, my outstanding accomplishments will not become a mere statistic, for it is through my love, commitment, determination, initiative, and diligence that I am (proof) that I too was one of the many best teachers there can be … and the dream goes on,” Garcia wrote in her application for teacher of the year. In her time as a teacher, Garcia has walked the streets in her community, visiting with parents and asking them to come by the school. She’s participated in communi-
See GARCIA 8
The Bridges celebrated Father’s Day with a cookout, fishing and live entertainment. Even though its eight dads might not have known it was a day dedicated to them, the assisted living center’s staff wanted the honorees to participate in traditional “fatherly” activities. “It gives them a sense of pride that they’re outside and that they’re together and there’s barbecue – that’s something that they used to do way back when they were living at home,” said Presilla Castillo, supervisor activity director. “They no longer can do that for physical reasons... but they can continue doing activities with us supervising
See FATHERS DAY 10
wo new city attorneys, who will work inhouse for the city only, were hired Monday by the Mission City Council. Abiel Flores was appointed City Attorney and Jaime Tijerina takes the position of Deputy City Attorney. City officials opted to create their own department after the resignation of David Guerra in March. Guerra had a contract with the city for nearly 30 years. Flores is a native of Mission and graduated from Mission High School in 1998. He holds a degree in finance from the University of Texas in Austin, which he received in 2001. He received his law degree from the University of Texas in 2005. Upon graduation, he worked for the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office for a year and a half before joining the firm of Garcia, Quintanilla and Palacios in McAllen, where he stayed for four and a half years. In 2012 Flores started his own firm, The Law Offices of Abiel Flores in 2012. He will be closing his office and coming to work for the city full time. Flores is the son of Arturo and Margarita Flores. He is married and has two daughters and another due to arrive in a few weeks. His wife Sylvia is the daughter of the late Councilman Celestino Ramirez and former Councilwoman Maria Elena Ramirez. Flores stated he was excited to have been selected as city attorney and looks forward to the challenges presented by representing a growing city like Mission. He is sure there will be more
Jaime Tijerina, left, and Abiel Flores are Mission’s two new in-house attorneys.
than enough to keep him occupied full time. Tijerina, who was named as Deputy City Attorney, is a 1981 graduate of McAllen High School. He received an undergraduate degree from Pan American University in business administration. His Juris Doctorate degree was earned at Texas Southern University in Houston. Tijerina spent 25 years in the U.S. Army Reserve as part of the JAG (Judge Advocate General) division. He also was an elected judge serving Kenedy County for 12 years. He and his wife, the former Diane Galik of McAllen, have three children. Tijerina is the brother of Tomas Tijerina, who with his wife, Renee Martin, own Renee’s in Mission. Tijerina said he is also looking forward to serving the city. The duties of the city attorney will be broken down between the two attorneys have not been determined as of yet. In other action, the council went into executive ses-
See MISSION 10
La Joya High teacher identifies with students
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By Julie Silva andra Lomeli didn’t speak English when she moved to the United States at the age of 15, but she credited both her mom and an ESL teacher named Mrs. Black for encouraging her to reach her goals under any circumstances. Lomeli, now an English teacher at La Joya High School, is La Joya Independent School District’s secondary Teacher of the Year. “(Mrs. Black) would always tell me that not knowing the language was not an excuse,” Lomeli wrote in her application for teacher of the year. “She told me that if I wanted to succeed I needed to let go of my fears and learn how to swim like the rest of the students. Although I only
had her for one semester, she continued to push me the rest of my high school years.” When Lomeli graduated high school, she had a full scholarship to junior college. She said she never saw Mrs. Black again, but the seed already had been planted. Mrs. Black is the reason Lomeli became a teacher after earning a bachelor’s degree in liberal and performing arts
from the University of Texas-Pan American. Lomeli’s mother always encouraged her to reach for the stars and had dreams of Lomeli becoming a nurse, so her daughter could take care of her in her old age. However, Lomeli’s mom also believed education is the best inheritance. Lomeli believes she’s doing her part by teaching the community’s future medical students. “And the best reward you can get from this profession is when you see your former students following your footsteps,” Lomeli said. “So far, there are five teachers on my campus that at one point were my students and now they are my colleagues. It makes me feel old, but at the
See LOMELI 8
INSIDE
INDEX
Santa Maria Bullring to test heifers
When math makes summer fun
Marine Lt. Col. Edward Jeep, an aficionado practico, will perform July 4 in La Gloria.
The math department at La Joya ISD is hosting camps and classes to students of all ages.
See story page 3
See story page 3
Entertainment | pg. 2
Lifestyle | pg. 5
Opinion | pg. 4
Sports | pg. 6
Fourth of July office closure
The Progress Times and Winter Texan Times offices will close at 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day. Normal business hours will resume Monday, July 6.
Obituaries | pg. 7
Classifieds | pg. 10