Friday, October 2, 2015
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LA JOYA HEADED FOR CONTENTIOUS ELECTION
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By Julie Silva
hree slates of candidates have lined up for the City of La Joya election slated for November, but all of the mayoral candidates will look familiar to voters. Mayor Jose A. “Fito” Salinas teamed up with Alderwoman Anna Lisa Ruiz, who is running for place 2, and Maria E. “Geny” Salinas, who is running for place 4. Just four years ago, current Alderman Mike Salinas ran on a slate with Fito Salinas and Ruiz, but this election cycle he’s stepping out on his own for a run for mayor, partnering with Maria Peña Salinas, who is running for place 4. Mike Salinas said he purposely didn’t
choose a running mate for place 2 because that race is already tight. Isidro Casanova, a former alderman now running for mayor, heads the last slate. He has allied himself with Rosie Treviño, former city finance director, running for place 2, and Daniel Flores, who is running for place 4. Citizens Working Together Fito Salinas and Anna Lisa Ruiz won their offices four years ago under the Citizens Working Together banner. Fito Salinas said the group took nominations for a third candidate this year and Geny Salinas came out on top. “I never do anything individually when it concerns the city,” Fito Salinas said.
He touted recently paved streets in the community and the purchase of the old Plains Capital Bank, which he plans to turn into a city hall, as his accomplishments. Also, the mayor said, next Wednesday, city administrators are proposing a 4 percent raise for all city employees. “I’m a firm believer that all our employees should at least earn $10 an hour, and we’re getting there,” Fito Salinas said. If elected for a second term, the mayor said he wants to extend the city limits because the city has not annexed new land in 20 years. He said he wants to expand a mile and a half toward the west and north. Fito Salinas also said he wants to build a new water plant.
The mayor said he’s seen other candidates promise lower water rates, and he said if they have solutions, they should bring them forward. The city can implement them now and the candidates will get full credit, he said. “I just hope that people of La Joya make the right choices and elect the people who really want the city to progress and are not out for individual trophies,” Fito Salinas said. Geny Salinas said she wants to continue work on paving streets and community development. She currently serves as vice chair of the La Joya Housing Authority and has been regularly attending city meetings to better understand the needs of the community.
HEALTH ENDEAVOR IN SOUTH TEXAS
“I’ve always been a part of the process to make change,” she said. “The reason I’m running is so we can make positive change, continue with the projects that are already in place and make it even better.” Geny Salinas’ husband is related to Aldermen Victorio Salinas. Anna Lisa Ruiz could not be reached for comment. La Differencia Casanova started contemplating his run for mayor two years ago, and he pointed out his is the only slate without Salinases. He wants to look at annexing surrounding areas and improving economic development. He once worked for the city as chief of police and now works for La Joya Inde-
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By Lea Victoria Juarez n an effort to reduce preventable diseases, the Texas A&M University System launched a health program that will be tailored to local needs of different communities. Healthy South Texas is a pilot program of the Healthy Texas Initiative, which was announced in 2014. It is the result of a $10 million investment from 84th Texas Legislature that took place earlier this year. By combining the expertise of the Texas A&M Science Center with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services, the focus is on reducing high-impact diseases
such as diabetes, asthma and infectious diseases. The program will span 27 counties in South Texas. One of the strategies of implementing the pilot is to develop coalitions that will build local programs that fit the local needs of their communities. Experts will also concentrate on physical activity on a regional scale and find ways to motivate people to move more. Healthy South Texas will also provide support for communities who want to provide farmer’s markets or community gardens. “How can we do all this? With a lot of hard work and perseverance and resources that have been generously
given to us by the Legislature,” said Susan Ballabina, associate director of program development at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Scott Lillibridge, the director of health initiatives at the Texas A&M University System, said that Healthy South Texas will have proper hand-off methods that may be lacking in other health initiatives. “You can round people up for a massive exercise activity, but if you don’t enroll them and screen them for other things, you’ve missed a hand-off opportunity,” Lillibridge said. “We’re going to close those hand-offs, we’re going to increase ed-
ucation and we’re going to use sophisticated evaluation and outreach capacities.” The Texas A&M system has committed to the project for the next 10 years, but Lillibridge said he hopes the initiative expands to other parts of Texas. The Texas AgriLife Extension services are already present in the 254 Texas counties. Agents and program assistants are taking research-based information to the communities they live in and spreading the knowledge. “This is going to be truly transformational, not just for South Texas but for the state and for the nation,” Ballabina said. “We’re going to create a national model.”
See LA JOYA 12
MARCOS OCHOA SEEKS ELECTION IN MARCH 2016
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Left to Right: Senators Eddie Lucio Jr., Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, Health and Nutrition Specialist Elaine Gonzalez and Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp prepare smoothies that are part of the Healthy South Texas program.
pendent School District. Casanova said his slate would add balance and insight to the city. Treviño has experience with the finances and Flores, former administrator for Ignite Public Schools, has experience in education and public relations as well as budgets. Casanova said he wants to bring more transparency to the city. For example, he said, the slate has asked for several open records that have been denied – one was billed $3,000. He questioned why streets around the mayor’s home were recently paved and others were not. Also, Casanova said, Mayor Salinas recently appeared on news reports stating the city might have
ISSION — When Hidalgo County commissioners were faced with the task of appointing a new Justice of the Peace for Precinct 3, Place 2 last December, they found what they were looking for in Marcos Ochoa. Less than a year later, Judge Marcos Ochoa has proven himself to be an asset to the courtroom and the community of western Hidalgo County, whether he’s needed at an emergency arraignment or to issue a death certificate in the middle of the night. “My day does not start at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.,” he said, “I am a full-time justice of the peace. When my community needs me, it’s my duty to be there. Nights, weekends, holidays … I am always on call. It’s a huge responsibility, yes, but more than that it’s an incredible honor.” As a child migrant worker, Ochoa helped support his parents and six siblings by working fields all across the United States, from picking apples in New York to harvesting garlic alongside the braceros in California during the 1960s. In 1987, he began a fruitful career with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission that ended with his retirement after more than two decades of hard work. His public service began in
1999, when he was elected to his first term as alderman of Peñitas. “I wanted Peñitas to start doing as well as our neighboring cities, and I knew I could help make that happen,” he said. After 10 years on city council, Ochoa was elected mayor of Peñitas, a tenure marked by tremendous growth and positive change for the small city. The community came to view him as a role model and a leader they could reach out to personally in times of need — such as during incidents of flooding. “People knew they could call me at 1 a.m. if they needed water pumped out of their streets and homes, and that I would answer … and I enjoyed being somebody they could rely on.” Ochoa has brought that same devotion to the day-today wellbeing of his community into the office of justice of the peace. He has crafted a new approach to juvenile cases, helping to steer offenders away from the cycle of crime by teaching them to aspire to successful lives as productive, law-abiding citizens. As he seeks the support of voters in the March 2016 Democratic Primary, Ochoa feels proud to be considered a voice of wisdom and a
See OCHOA 12
INSIDE
Lobos face Eagles at Tom Landry Stadium
INDEX
LJISD interns get a head start on career
Breast cancer survivors ready for Mission Pink
Will it be the Lobos’ time to howl or the Eagles’ turn to soar? The question will be answered tonight.
At La Joya ISD, students are given a chance of becoming student interns with KLJS-TV, the district’s television station.
Pat Almendarez, who has just gone through her second round of breast cancer, shares her story as she prepares for the annual 5K walk.
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See story page 2
See story page 2
Entertainment | pg. 9
Lifestyle | pg. 8
Sports | pg. 5
Obituaries | pg. 10
Classifieds | pg. 11