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Campaign battle plays out on Facebook (Editor’s note: Progress Times does not give credence to anonymous or fake sources, but with the upcoming election, we wanted to give candidates running for office in La Joya ISD the opportunity to respond to allegations that are being made online.) By Julie Silva He’s got a mug shot. She has a tax lien. Another’s business has been sued. Two were featured in a controversial video. If everything on Facebook is to be believed, all the candidates in La Joya Independent School District’s upcoming election have skeletons in the closet.
Anonymous Facebook profiles have made finding the dirt on the six candidates as easy as a few clicks, but deciphering truth from fiction isn’t as easy. Two slates of candidates have signed up for battle: Team Liberty and The Diamond Pack. Within Team Liberty are the three incumbents: Juan “J.J.” Peña, Place 1; Juan Jose “J.J.” Garza, Place 2; Johnn Valente Alaniz, Place 3. The Diamond Pack consists of three political newcomers: Fernando Torres, Place 1; Irma-Linda Villarreal Veloz, Place 2; Victoria “Vicky” Cantu, Place 3. Two of the more prom-
inent Facebook pages that have popped up during the campaign season, “Did you Know?” and “El Piojo Anonimo” both appear to support The Diamond Pack. Outside of Facebook, commercials have come out on both sides, one, presumably from a Team Liberty supporter, accuses Cantu of pulling a child’s hair at the daycare she owns. It also states Torres’s construction business has been sued several times. Cantu has said this never happened, and Torres said the statement that he has been sued multiple times is untrue. In response, The Diamond Pack released a commercial
stating Alaniz has two siblings in jail on healthcare fraud and a cousin of Peña’s received a lucrative contract while Peña was on the board. One of the most frequent posts on a few of the pages is a mugshot of Garza with a caption asking how parents can allow him to represent their children. Garza said the mugshot occurred when he was riding in a vehicle with a friend, and they both had been drinking. When the officer pulled them over, Garza said he told his friend he didn’t have to take a test to show if he was drunk. That’s when, Garza said, the
See CAMPAIGN BATTLE 8A
‘Melo’ faces bribery, organized Citrus-growing legacy to live on criminal activity charges
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smael “Melo” Ochoa, former justice of the peace Pct. 3, Place 2, has been arrested and charged with bribery, money laundering and organized criminal activity. He was booked Thursday morning at Hidalgo County Jail after he was formally charged in the 332th District Court. “It’s just sad that we have to do this,” District Attorney Rene Guerra said shortly after the arrest. According to the indictment, Ochoa allegedly accepted money from Julio
Armando Davila to reduce bonds for inmates once around Nov. 9, 2011, and a second time around June 1, 2012. The indictment states between January 2010 and Aug. 1, 2012, Ochoa allegedly possessed between $20,000 and $100,000 of funds gathered through criminal activity. Davila, who worked in bail bonds, and his brother, Arnoldo, who also is listed in the indictment, both were convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy last year.
See OCHOA 10A
Police make arrest in two-year-old homicides
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By Lea Victoria Juarez aw enforcement agencies believe the same man was involved in two homicides that occurred within months of each other in 2012. Carlos Olvera, 23, has been charged with two counts of capital murder, a criminal attempt at capital murder and an aggravated kidnapping. Sullivan City PD conducted a traffic stop Oct. 21 and identified Olvera as the passenger during processing and finger printing, according to the city of Mission. He was initially arraigned at the Mission Municipal Court Oct. 23 and charged with capital murder and ag-
See OLVERA 10A
Carlos Olvera
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By Julie Silva he owners of Klement’s Grove and Country Store are stepping down from its operations, but the shop will live on through the work of fellow citrus-growing family, the Holbrooks. The store will reopen Wednesday under the name Earth Born Market with a grand opening scheduled Friday. Dennis Holbrook, whose farmer father moved to the Valley in 1955, has continued the tradition, building his business, South Tex Organics, into one of the largest citrus and vegetable producers in South Texas. Earth Born Market is the label he uses on the company’s organic vegetables. “It’s something natural, something that the earth is giving back,” Holbrook said. The Holbrooks assured that those who have been shopping at the country store, on the corner of Mile 3 and Taylor Road, still will enjoy all the products they’ve come to love, like fresh juice,
Wil Klement, owner of Klement’s Groves and Country Store, shares the secret to making excellent fudge with Emily Holbrook, part of the family that is taking over Klement’s and is opening it as Earth Born Market. Progress Times photo by Doug Young
“That’s the culture we want to create, keep the same homey, country feel, but modernize it with today’s methodology of farming.” --Russon Holbrook
homemade pies, homemade fudge and nuts and dried fruits. But they’ll also introduce organic alternatives. Russon Holbrook, Dennis’ son, pointed to the origin of the Klement’s store and how it started as a way for the Klements to teach their children the value of hard work. “The same mentality that my grandfather taught my father and my father taught me is the same mentality that I want to pass on to my kids as well,” Russon Holbrook said. “That’s the culture we want to create, keep the same homey, country feel, but modernize it with today’s methodology of farming.” Russon Holbrook said they’ve dedi-
cated a piece of land as a store garden, where they’ll be able to experiment growing different types of fruits and vegetables that they’ll sell at the store. He also said they’re looking for other local, USDA-certified growers to sell their wares in the market. Dennis Holbrook said several events led him to start growing organic produce in 1983, long before people started limiting their diet to the products. In ’81 and ’82, he said, Texas had an oversupply of grapefruit and was selling a ton of citrus for $15. Nowadays, he said, a 40-pound box sells for more than $15.
See LEGACY 10A
INSIDE
INDEX
4-year-old brings gun to school
It’s down to 3 in volleyball playoffs
La Joya ISD PD aims to balance education with safety of students in rural community.
Veterans Memorial, Sharyland and Mission high schools all have teams still competing.
See story page 3A
See story page 3A
Entertainment | pg. 2A
Lifestyle | pg. 6A
Opinion | pg. 4A
Sports | pg. 1B
LJISD has legacy of folkloric success Dance and mariachi program formed 37 years ago continues to rake in honors nationwide.
See story page 3A
Obituaries | pg. 9A
Classifieds | pg. 11A