Friday, October 9, 2015
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Grant to help National Butterfly Center save monarchs
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By Julie Silva he National Butterfly Center will use a Monarch conservation grant to reach out to the community to help create habitats to attract the state butterfly of Texas, starting with the city of Mission. At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Marianna Treviño Wright, executive director of the center, said the grant allows for surveys of tens of thousands of acres of land in the National Wildlife Refuge. They’ll be looking for different species of milkweed, a plant known to feed monarchs, and col-
lecting those seedpods. “Shrinking habitat and the disappearance of milkweed are contributing to a catastrophic decline in the species’ population in North America,” Wright said. Through the nearly $200,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the center will gather milkweed seedpods to use in gardens across the county, specifically in Mission, Pharr, San Juan and Alamo. The center is matching the grant with more than $239,000, and the total project cost was budgeted at $438,638. Wright said they’d start
with the Mission Main Canal, which runs from the end of the National Butterfly Center’s property to the pump station on the Rio Grande. The grant allows for planting along highways, railways and major thoroughfares, but Wright said the center is focusing on low-traffic areas. Mission City Manager Martin Garza said there are 12 or 13 sites the city has identified for gardens, including the Speer Memorial Library. “Our project will create America’s southernmost monarch way station for butterflies departing the United States each fall and returning
each spring, making Hidalgo County the last stop for refueling before the butterflies cross vast thorn scrub and agriculture lands that do not provide vital nourishment,” Wright said. Over the next two years, she said the center will plant milkweed and nectar gardens across the area and hold community workshops on how the average gardener can create his or her own butterfly haven. The first workshop is scheduled for Oct. 17 with a group of more than 70 Girl Scouts. Right now, Wright said, if
See BUTTERFLY 13
STUDENT ENGINEERS
Agua SUD eyes Sullivan street repairs
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By Julie Silva
Schools compete in Design Challenge
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By Lea Victoria Juarez ith one fist on her hip and the other fist thrust into the air, 10-year-old Christine Zayas exclaimed that she was going to create the world’s first pair of rocket boots when she gets older. “I want to be an engineer when I grow up,” Zayas said matter-of-factly. The fourth grader from Salinas Elementary competed with her team in the Manufacturing Day Design Challenge for National Manufacturing Day on Oct. 1. Five teams from different elementaries in the area participated in the challenge. The schools were Salinas and Midkiff elementaries from Mission CISD, Shimotsu and Bentsen elementaries from Sharyland ISD and an elementary from IDEA public schools. The teams had to create
a bridge and boat structure from limited supplies such as paper and clear tape. Whichever structures could withstand the most weight would win. Each of the students also had the option of participating in an individual competition where they had to develop a toy for a child their age and a business plan for its cost. A student from IDEA took home first place for the individual competition and Salinas Elementary took first in the group competition. The students advanced from a summer program called Enginuity, an initiative that promotes careers in the engineering, design and manufacturing in the Rio Grande Valley. The program is the brainchild of Mission Economic Development Corporation, Royal Technologies and Sylvan Learning
See ENGINEERING 13
Top photo: The team from Salinas Elementary makes final adjustments to their structures before presenting to the judges for the Manufacturing Day competition. Lower photo: Shimotsu Elementary students prepare the bridge they created out of paper and clear tape for the design challenge Oct. 1.
gua Special Utility District board members agreed last week to look into issues with streets in Sullivan City after repeated complaints that sewer construction in the area has caused lasting damage. Ramiro Salinas, Agua SUD employee, said he’d been called out to El Pinto Road four times in the last two months after a water line busted, causing a leak that disrupted the ground beneath the road. “That was one of the main causes why El Pinto road kept on collapsing. I understand that one,” said Julio Cerda, Agua SUD executive director. “That one is a fix that we have to do because of a service line that happened to us, so the rest of El Pinto Road, as it collapses is because of the service line that ruptured and basically disturbed the soils that were compacted along El Pinto Road. “We need to discuss patchwork on some of the other connections in Sullivan City.” Other areas of concern were on El Faro and Los Ebanos roads. Cerda said there was concern about the quality of the construction in those areas. Sewer connections have been done under several different contracts with several different engineers and contractors. At last week’s meeting, there was confusion on which projects are still under warranty. For example, the stretch of El Pinto between Bluebird and Sullivan City line is still under warranty, but the place near the ex-
The remnants of construction on El Pinto Road, just north of the expressway, after a water line break can be seen Friday, Oct. 9.
pressway, where the latest water break occurred, is not. Saul Maldonado, of Sames Engineering, said he’d held off on contacting the contractor on places still under warranty because he was instructed to wait until the board had met to discuss the issue. Cerda said he was never told some of the projects are still under warranty. Board President Everardo Chapa told all involved to take note of the problem spots and ensure that any under warranty were taken care of as soon as possible. Maldonado said one possible solution is to rent a camera to place in the line to look for the source of the breaks in the lines. Cerda asked Maldonado to get quotes on how much it would cost to rent a camera. Frank Flores, general manager of Agua SUD, said he believed the problem with the streets in the city is there is no drainage. Maldonado
See STREET REPAIRS 13
INSIDE
Veterans Memorial readies for Roma
INDEX
Restaurant reaches out to veterans
Mission student goes to state competition
Patriots hope to bounce back against Gladiators after losing 29-27 to the Sharyland Rattlers in the district opener last week.
Chef Mark Sierra, owner of Easton’s Eatsies in La Joya, plans to host a lunch for recipients of the Purple Heart Award on Oct. 22.
South Texas Preparatory Academy sent several students to the Student Innovation Challenge in Austin early this month.
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Entertainment | pg. 8
Lifestyle | pg. 9
Photos | pg. 4
Sports | pg. 6
Obituaries | pg. 12
Classifieds | pg. 11