Free! Take One
The
COMMUNITY Always Good News! Press
ISSUE 102 MAY 2021
Monte Alto Elsa Edcouch La Villa Alamo Donna Weslaco Progreso Mercedes City of Elsa to create employment opportunities for local residents
INSIDE
The City of Elsa’s Pacific Trails Park Project held its groundbreaking ceremonies with news of a new development strategy. The new development will be undertaken at an abandoned railroad
property located between VFW St. and Arcadio Padilla St. that the city acquired three years ago. The project will include a 1.5 mile long multi-surface exercise and bike trails system, a complete
recreational area that will have beach volleyball courts, a water splashpad, a complete array of Ministry Pg.2 playscapes, family outdoor recreational facilities and an eateries/ food court area. Funding for the PP Loan Pg.3 project has come from numerous sources to include local contributions, two $500,000 grants from Pg.4 the Valley Baptist Legacy Foun- Edcouch-Elsa I.S.D. dation and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as well as another $150,000 in-kind labor Monte Alto ISD Pg.6&7 and machinery use contribution from Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes. See ELSA pg.5
Small Businesses and Nonprofits Impacted by Covid Can Now Apply for Support from Multi-Million Dollar Fund
Mental Health
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Voces of a Pandemic
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Small business owners and nonprofits across the South can begin applying today for very low interest loans of up to $100,000 and free business support through the Southern Opportunity and Resilience (SOAR) Fund—a new program created by a diverse group of community lenders aimed at helping small State Veterans Homes Pg.10 businesses and nonprofits navigate and rebuild from the Covid-19 health and economic crisis. The SOAR Fund is launching with more than $50 million in initial commitments —provided by philanthropic, private and corporate investors—and aims to eventually lend $150 million or more to small businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 50 employees in 15 southern and southeastern states. The loans Mobile Fire Education Pg.11 are designed to reach the smallest of small businesses and those that have been historically underbanked, including those in rural areas and those owned by women, people of color, and immigrants. These businesses often struggle to access capital from traditional sources but are critical to providing jobs and sup- Classifieds Pg.12 porting economic recovery in communities across the South. See SUPPORTpg.5
House Bill 786: Requiring 9-1-1 dispatchers be trained to coach CPR over the phone Trained 9-1-1 dispatchers would be able to help a bystander who has a cell phone or landline to provide life-saving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, more commonly known as CPR, until paramedics arrive, as a result of House Bill 786 jointly authored by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg. House Bill 786 was approved by the Texas Legislature on Monday, May 3, 2021 and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, May 15, 2021. It becomes effective on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. “CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association,” Canales explained. A bill analysis of House Bill 786 found that there were concerns about the low rate of survival for people who experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of a
hospital setting. “Evidence indicates that early administration of CPR has a positive impact on a patient’s chance of survival. When a person dials 9-1-1, they are in communication with a dispatcher who then directs paramedics to arrive at the scene. It has been suggested that if 9-11 dispatchers and other licensed telecommunicators received CPR training they would be able to coach the caller through administering CPR while the paramedics are en route, thus giving the patient a better chance of recovery,” according to the Senate Research Center. “House Bill 786 seeks to require telecommunicators to receive this training as part of their initial licensure training and on an ongoing basis as part of their continuing education.” The Senate Research Center provides quality, specialized, objective research and information to the Texas Senate and Office of the Lieutenant Governor. https://senate.texas.gov/src.php See 911 pg.8