Friday, August 21, 2015
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PALMVIEW AIMS TO REGIONALIZE 9-1-1
By Julie Silva
P
almview is heading the charge to regionalize 9-1-1 communications in western Hidalgo County. Law enforcement agencies must have a public safety answering point, or PSAP, in order to get calls to 9-1-1 directed to their local dispatch. Palmview one of only two entities west of Mission with the ability. The other law enforcement agency with a PSAP is the city of La Joya. In the past, Peñitas has requested permission to re-
ceive 9-1-1 calls, but the state of Texas no longer grants PSAPs to individual municipalities. “No matter how you look at it, services have to be regionalized,” said Palmview Mayor Jerry Perez. “Regionalization is key. I’ve always heard about it. There’s always been talk, back in the 2000s, but the political ego, they didn’t want to go there.” Because cities like Peñitas and Sullivan City can’t get their own individual PSAP, they’ve gone through the county dispatch for 9-11 services. Calls go into the sheriff’s dispatch, and then
they’re relayed to local officers. But Palmview Police Chief Chris Barrera said there’s a push on the eastern side of Hidalgo County to regionalize the 9-1-1 service through Weslaco. That hub would extend from east to west from San Juan to Mercedes and north and south from Elsa to Progresso. The project inspired Barrera to look into regionalizing the western side of the county. The Peñitas City Council agreed this week to move its services to Palmview, and Barrera said he’s approached Sullivan City and La Joya
Independent School District to partner with Palmview as well. Sullivan City was scheduled to make a decision on the project this week. City Manager Ramon Segovia said Palmview also reached out to the city of La Joya, but it would need to abandon its PSAP to go through Palmview’s hub. Cities across the state have similar systems, he said, noting San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and El Paso. “We want to take the lead and open the center here,” Barrera said. “It not only saves us money, but it opens up a lot of grant money.”
Barrera said it will also save Peñitas money. The city currently pays Hidalgo County $104,000 for the service. Palmview is charging $80,000. Segovia said Palmview sweetened the deal by negotiating with Pro-Medic, which provides ambulance service to the city and recently added a second ambulance stationed at the city’s fire substation. Pro-Medic agreed to provide ambulance service to Peñitas as well. And just recently, Palmview started providing fire service to the city. But Barrera emphasized
Palmview is not trying to take over Peñitas, stating, “We’re just here to provide a service to better respond to emergencies.” “They’re our neighbors; they’re our brothers, so why not?” Perez added. Palmview hopes to have everything in place to start the service by Oct. 1, servicing Peñitas and Sullivan City. To meet the new demand, Palmview will increase its number of dispatchers from five to nine. There will be two dispatchers during every shift during the week and
See PALMVIEW 11
RUBBLE RECONSTRUCTION
The 2014 Citizens Awards recipients were (L-R): Ruben Rodriguez, Mr. Mission; Joyce Geary, First Lady; Maritza Esqueda, Woman of the Year; and Carl Davis, Man of the Year.
Nominations open for Mission citizens awards
T
he Progress Times announced today that nominations are now open for the annual citizens awards for Mr. Mission, First Lady of Mission, Man of the Year and Woman of the Year. Jim Brunson, publisher of the Progress Times, said nominations for the awards will be accepted until 4 p.m., Sept. 18 at the newspaper office. The annual awards will be presented at the Mission Chamber of Commerce banquet on Thursday, Oct. 15 at Mario’s Banquet & Conference Center in Mission. “We invite clubs, organizations and individuals to submit nominations for the citizens awards,” said Brunson. “These awards are designed to recognize and honor those who have worked to serve others and to make Mission a better place to live and raise our families. You know who works hardest in your organization. Send in your nominations and recognize those who have served Mission well.” While a resume for the nominee is helpful, it is not required. Just provide a description of the ways the nominee has served the community, along with your name and phone number. Nominations may be submitted in person at the Progress Times office at 1217 N. Conway or by mail to Citizens Awards, Progress
Times, P.O. Box 399, Mission, Texas 78573. Nomi¬nations may also be submitted by email to awards@ptrgv. com or by fax to 956-5852304. A pdf version of the nomination form, selection criteria, and a list of past recipients are available online at www.progresstimes.net. Man and Woman of Year Selection criteria for Man of the Year and Woman of the Year are as follows: To be recognized for supe¬rior service either for a signifi¬cant project or continuing broad service to the commu¬nity in the past two to 10 years. This may be for work with one organization or for work in several different areas or orga¬nizations. The combined dura¬tion of service should span no less than two years. May be for work in civic, church or com¬munity groups, if these labors have had significant impact on the citizens of Mission. Must be a resident of Mis¬sion or work in Mission. Service will be measured in terms of its impact on the entire community as a whole as well as to a particular orga¬nization. Mr. Mission and First Lady Selection criteria for Mr. Mission and First Lady of Mis¬sion are the following:
See CITIZENS AWARDS 8
FFA creates MHS memorabilia By Lea Victoria Juarez
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TOP: Mission High School’s FFA students take pieces from the demolished cafeteria and Eagle Café and turn them into MHS memorabilia to be auctioned off September 5. BOTTOM: Sophomore Rebekah Nolan carves a pen from the remains of Mission High School’s demolished cafeteria and Eagle Café. Each pen takes about 10 minutes to carve and she has made more than 30 for the auction. Progress Times photos by Lea Victoria Juarez
“We’re steeped in tradition. We love Mission High School; all of us bleed maroon”
--Coach Mindy De La Rosa
efore Mission High School’s now-demolished Eagle Cafe became the Eagle Cafe, it was the school library. ELA academic coach Mindy De La Rosa said her last memory in the then-library was watching the Twin Towers collapse in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. Now, a gap sits in the middle of MHS where the cafe and cafeteria used to be. Demolition for the renovation project began in June, and the Eagles’ Future Farmer’s of America have big plans for the rubble and remains – MHS memorabilia. Parts of trees, doors, brick and fans have been recrafted into items such as pens, pen holders and various sizes of Mission High School’s iconic “M” logo. The items, most of which were made by the students, will be auctioned off at the FFA syndicate barbecue Sept. 5 at Mission Community Center. “I’m proud to be doing
this since all of my family members have graduated from Mission,” FFA Vice President Brianna Saenz said. “It feels kind of nice, since it was kind of hard for them to see it demolished, to save those things so they can buy them at the auction.” The items won’t have any set price when the auction begins, FFA Advisor Benito Garza said. There will be silent auction, live auction and door prizes for attendees, but not all the items will be renovated MHS products. The FFA chapter collected a limited amount of materials from the site. Since early July, the FFA students began their memorabilia projects, doing a few hours of work every day in their unairconditioned agriculture barn. The proceeds will go to the FFA chapter to help fund its end of the year banquet, and a portion of the money will go toward a teacher appreciation luncheon during National FFA
See FFA 8
INSIDE
Buckner readies students for fall
INDEX
Districts ready for new year
La Joya schools ready for fresh start
Volunteers helped 1,000 students in the Pueblo de Palmas area fit into a new pair of shoes and obtain a backpack full of supplies.
Teachers and staff around the area are getting motivated to head back to work as the fall semester begins next week.
Palmview High School hopes to capitalize on winning season, while La Joya Coyotes put hopes on experienced players.
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Entertainment | pg. 2
Lifestyle | pg. 6
Opinion | pg. 4
Sports | pg. 8
Obituaries | pg. 9
Classifieds | pg. 11