Friday, November 20, 2015
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VALLEY NATIVE RECOUNTS EXPERIENCE DURING PARIS ATTACKS M By Lea Victoria Juarez ission High School alumnus Steve Smith was at a restaurant in Paris when a series of attacks involving gunfire and explosives occurred in the French capital, Nov. 13. The Islamic State, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), claimed responsibility for the attacks shortly after, killing at least 129 people. Smith and his girlfriend didn’t hear any shooting or explosions from their dinner location, but he said the restaurant occupants reacted almost as soon as they got word of what happened. “To see their reactions,
the instant crying, the worry, literally the guys were saying ‘We’re scared, we’re scared,’” Smith said. “I don’t think any of us understood how big of a deal it was.” He said about 90 percent of the restaurant cleared within about 10 minutes of receiving the news, but he and his girlfriend continued with their scheduled evening. It wasn’t until the next morning, when they saw a news story on TV, that the two realized the gravity of the situation. The following day, the couple set out to continue exploring Paris. The two went to the Eiffel Tower, which, to Smith’s surprise, was still a heavily trafficked
area. However, the restaurants inside the monument were closed. Smith and his girlfriend were scheduled to go on a tour, but it was canceled. They also planned to attend mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral, but that was also canceled. The couple sat in a cafe the evening of Nov. 14, disappointed about the canceled events, when a young woman received a phone call in front of them and began to cry. “I guess she found out that someone she knew closely was either gravely injured or potentially killed, but that’s when it kind of hit home,” Smith said. “At that point I was thinking about all the people that had died...
and thinking about how many people had received phone calls like that today.” He remembered how he felt during the series of terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. “I didn’t lose anybody, but it (was) that same fear and same uncertainty of what was going on,” Smith explained. “It’s a sad thing but unfortunately early on I didn’t really realize the gravity of the situation until that second evening.” Smith said he didn’t initially react strongly to the Paris attacks because he has experience in those types of situations. He moved to Mexico in 2010 and since then has lived in both
Reynosa and Monterrey where he’s seen a lot of violent deaths. “You name it, I’ve seen it – people being shot, people shooting,” Smith said. “I’ve always lived by the fact, and told this to many people, if you can’t hear the gunfire then don’t be so worried because I’ve lived through so many events where I heard the gunfire.” The Monterrey resident said staying calm during the Paris attacks might have actually saved his life. Had the couple rushed out of the restaurant upon receiving the news of the incidents, they would have walked toward the direction of some of the attacked locations to return to their hotel.
Smith has a daughter at Sharyland Pioneer High School and another at University of Texas at Austin. He said he text the two of them to let them know he was safe before they heard about the attacks. “For me, I don’t think I was fearful at all, unfortunately because of those experiences in Mexico, but it hit home when I saw that young lady break down,” Smith said. “I hadn’t realized the impact of what it’s going to do to reshape France…the people and the way they think. To hear them say ‘This is our September 11,’ it made me realize this is going to change the way people live there.”
Lady Lions roar to state championship Constable announces reelection campaign
By Lea Victoria Juarez the criminal and civil process that comes out of the courts. idalgo County Pre- When there is a lawsuit filed cinct 3 Constable in the justices of the peace Lazaro “Larry” Gal- court or county and district lardo Jr. announced his court, the constable’s office candidacy for reelection in is given an order to execute March 2016. He’s served the the judgement ruled by a people in the 3rd Precinct judge. This could mean colfor 15 years, making him the lecting money or property longest-standing officer of from an individual. the four current constables in The more warrants they the county. execute, the more fees and Gallardo said he’s always fines they bring back to the admired law enforcement. community. He played cops and robbers “Sometimes it’s not nice as a child, riding his bike because it’s hard to sell down the street and mimick- somebody’s property. We’re ing the siren noise of a police messing with somebody’s car. livelihood,” Gallardo said. Throughout the last 15 “Everybody’s human, evyears, he said he’s become erybody’s got problems. We more appreciative of the job. always try to work with in“I am paid by the tax- dividuals that are being sued payers and I think I have before drastic measures have the sworn duty to give them to be taking in order to give what they pay for,” he said. them every opportunity to He said an issue he comes take care of their problems.” across is that people don’t In 2014, constable’s ofunderstand the purpose of a fice generated an estimatconstable’s office. ed 2.8 million dollars. This A constable serves the year, they have already genjustice of the peace court by See GALLARDO 14 providing bailiff and serves
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By Luciano Guerra io Grande Valley high school sports team state champions are few and far between. While several Valley soccer teams, including the 2011-2012 Sharyland Rattlers boys team, have accomplished this impressive feat, only a handful of Valley teams in other sports have reached the pinnacle of high school sports as the top team in the Lone Star State. Last Saturday, the Juan Diego Academy Lady Lions volleyball team took to the court at the South San ISD Activity Center in San Antonio with the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) 1A state championship on the line. The Lady Lions earned this right by compiling an impressive 36-3 record, including a straight sets victory over Fredericksburg in the bi-district round, a four set victory over San Antonio Gateway in the area round,
a straight sets victory over San Marcos Hill Country Christian School in the regional semifinal round and last Thursday’s straight sets victory over Bellville Faith Academy in the state semifinal round. Located south of Mission, in the shadows of the old St. Joseph and St. Peter Seminary, Juan Diego Academy is a private regional Catholic high school with a current enrollment of 129 students. Of those 129, 13 are members of the Lady Lions varsity volleyball team. Those 13 girls made the trip to San Antonio as regional champions and returned as state champions with a 25-17, 25-22, 2225 and 25-21 championship game victory over Lubbock All Saints Episcopal School. Two of the Lady Lions’ standouts are transfers from McAllen Memorial High School – senior Jasmine Long and junior Elouise “Elie” Kittleman. While Juan Diego Academy did get as far as the state
semifinal game last year, Kittleman is in her first year on the Lady Lions’ squad making this her first trip to the state tournament. That made the entire experience an especially memorable one for her. “It was really exciting,” declared Kittleman. “We had a lot of support going to the game. I had never felt so much support and love. It was just exciting and fun!” As for what she felt going into Saturday’s championship game Kittleman said, “Obviously the nerves were there; I’m not going to lie. We were all nervous and excited. But we all had confidence in each other and we knew that we could do it.” In her second year as a Lady Lion, Long was part of the team that qualified for the state tournament last year but lost to San Antonio Gateway in the semifinal round. Long believes that having been there before helped the Lady Lions this year. “I think that we weren’t
mentally ready last year,” Long said. “This year though we conditioned a lot more so I think that not only were we more mentally prepared this year but we were also more physically prepared.” As for what she felt the moment the Lady Lions scored the final point and became state champions Long said, “It was something unforgettable. All the work that we had put in that led up to that last point. While we were a little shaky in the third set, we came back and we knew what we had to do. We knew we could do it and winning the state championship made all our hard work pay off.” Lady Lions head volleyball coach Vic Garza shared what having the support of the fans meant to him and his team. “We counted and we had about 214 people at the game,” Garza said. “They were definitely the loudest
See LADY LIONS 9
Lazaro “Larry” Gallardo Jr.
INSIDE
Veterans Memorial to play Victoria West next
Campaign Announcement Policy
La Joya fire cadets graduate
The Patriots football team advances into the second round of playoffs for only the third time in school history.
Candidates for local elected office may submit a campaign announcement to Progress Times before the filing deadline Dec. 14.
Eight trainees were the first cohort to receive their badge and certificate from the Alton Fire Academy, Nov. 13.
See story page 9
INDEX
Entertainment | pg. 2
Lifestyle | pg. 3
See story page 5
Opinion | pg. 4
Sports | pg. 8
Obituaries | pg. 11
Classifieds | pg. 12