The Community Press Issue 103 June 2021

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COMMUNITY Always Good News! Press

ISSUE 103 JUNE 2021

Monte Alto Elsa Edcouch La Villa Alamo Donna Weslaco Progreso Mercedes Hidalgo County Governor Abbott Reappoints Five To Launches Vendor Texas Historical Commission Enrollment Tool

INSIDE

Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Monica Zárate Burdette, Lilia Garcia, David Gravelle, John L. Nau, III, and Tom Perini of the Texas Historical Commission for terms set to expire on February 1, 2027. The commission provides leadership and coordinates services to support projects commissioned by county historical commissions, historical societies, agencies and institutions interested in the preservation of archeological and historical heritage. The commission also acts as a clearinghouse and historical information center.

Monica Zárate Burdette of Rockport is the former owner and chef

at The Inn at El Canelo Ranch in Kenedy County. El Canelo Ranch, originally established in 1864, has served as a center for cultural heritage and land stewardship under the care of Burdette and other family members. She is a former board member of the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, where she chaired the committee that produced “Mesquite Country,” a cookbook which won a national award. She also chaired the committee that founded the “Wild in Willacy” Nature Festival of the Raymondville Chamber of Commerce. Burdette has retired to Rockport and continues to engage in various historical preservation efforts See TEXAS pg.5

Ministry

Hidalgo County has launched ConsiderMe, an online vendor enrollment solution, offering an Men’s health awareness equal opportunity for all providers of goods and services to ade- Small Business Support quately fulfill the needs of county government. La Villa I.S.D. The new tool is a development by the county to help fulfill the need to secure qualified vendors and allows potential vendors consideration for Hidalgo County projects. Local, state and national vendors can apply by using the online registration form.

Edcouch-Elsa ISD

Pride Fire Education Classifieds

Pg.2 Pg.2 Pg. 3 Pg.4 Pg.6&7 Pg.9 Pg.11 Pg.12

The tool will also help county de See VENDOR pg.5

UTRGV receives historic $40 million gift The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley received a transformative $40 million gift from philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett to enhance its mission of student success and expanding educational opportunities. UTRGV President Guy Bailey said the grant will provide much-needed scholarship money for students not just as they enter college, but throughout their educational journey.

gift, and the support we continue to receive from many others, will help UTRGV continue to transform the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.” Scott and Jewett recognized UTRGV based on its success as the second-largest Hispanic Serving Institution in the country and its proven ability to transform the lives of underserved students through higher education.

“This is truly a significant day for UTRGV that should be celebrated by all of us. We are extremely grateful to Ms. Scott and Mr. Jewett for their incredible generosity,” Bailey said. “This

Recently, UTRGV ranked first in Texas and fifth nationally in the performance of Pell-eligible students; first in Texas and 11th nationally in the performance of first-generation students; and

second in Texas and 29th nationally in the social mobility of our students. UTRGV is also the first among national public universities with the lowest student debt.

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Historic Mercedes Cemeteries Memorialize European Immigrants On the corner of Anacuitas and Mile 1W roads, two historic cemeteries sit catty-corner to each other. One is fairly well known with its historical connection to one of the oldest churches in the Diocese of Brownsville. It’s Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery. Its origins go back to 1910 when four acres were donated by Capisallo Town & Improvement Company. The cemetery was named for the parish church in Mercedes – Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church. On the adjoining corner of Anacuitas and Mile 1 W, there’s another ceme-

tery – nearly as old – and also tied to a historic church in Mercedes. The Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery was established in 1913 on land donated by the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Company. This cemetery, like its Catholic counterpart across the

street, has ties to a historic Mercedes church. The Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel Church was organized in Mercedes in 1910. It was first known as the German Evangelical Lutheran Church and today is named the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. These two century-old churches – Lutheran and Catholic – and the cemeteries tied to them speak to the pioneering spirit of Mercedes. They are also a testament to the first residents and immi-

grants who shaped and formed Mercedes. “As the city, (Mercedes), grew, there also grew a need for the immigrant population from the Midwest to join together in worship,’’ says an online history on lutheranmercedes.com “There were families of German heritage who moved south with the promise of land and a rich future in agriculture.’’ The legacy of those early European immigrants is honored at the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. See MERCEDES pg.8


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