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SAN YGNACIO — In acommunity where peopletreasure the value of theirchildren education, thegrand opening of A.L. Be-navides ElementarySchool was a long-antici-pated victory.

Cutting the ribbon onthe new facilities — whichbear a resemblance to SanAntonio’s most famousmission, the Alamo — theceremonial event, held on

Dec. 6, was attended bythose who have plenty toinvest in the students’ fu-tures, including school ad-ministrators and staff, aswell as politicians and lawenforcement officers.

“It’s been a dream cometrue,” said Romeo Rodri-guez, Zapata County Inde-pendent School Districtsuperintendent.

The $4.2 million projectwas funded through allo-cated monies, he added.

The school now consistsof eight classrooms, a sci-

ence lab, a computer labwith 20 PCs, a library —which boasts 26 additionalcomputers — and a cafete-ria, said librarian Mar-lene Guerra. Staff and ad-ministrators are also en-joying their new facility,which includes a teacherworkroom, a conferenceroom and a principal’s of-fice.

The only surviving fa-cility from the project isthe gym, which was closed

EDUCATION

Students back in school

ZCISD Board President Jose M. Ramirez III, center, cuts the ribbon with ZCISD Superintendent RomeoRodriguez, right, as the A.L. Benavides Elementary School staff and community leaders look on duringthe grand opening of the A.L. Benavides Elementary School on Sunday morning.

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

Officials celebrate grand opening of A.L. Benavides Elementary’s new facilitiesBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See CAMPUS PAGE 9A

The Zapata County CommissionersCourt may resort to condemnation in anongoing effort to improve drainage on Jen-nings Road.

At Monday’s meeting, the court isscheduled to discuss pending litigation re-garding the road, as well as possible con-demnation, in executive session. Themeeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Za-pata Courthouse, 200 E. Seventh Ave.

Currently, the road cuts across a privatelandowner’s property. County officials saythe landowner has resisted efforts to fixdrainage on the caliche road because theowner wants it moved to the fence line.

Drainage has long been an issue on sev-eral county roads, and Commissioner JoseEmilio Vela said the county has approveda contractor to install several culvertsalong Jennings Road, which is about sixmiles long. However, the road was neverofficially dedicated to the county, thoughit’s been frequently used by the public.

“Most of our county roads have neverbeen dedicated to the county,” Vela said,“but prescription, I guess, after so manyyears of using a road, it eventually be-comes public.”

The tract that’s being protested ac-counts for about a mile and a half of Jen-nings Road, Vela said.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Courtwranglesover roadCommissioners to consider

condemnation MondayBy JULIE DAFFERNTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See REPAIRS PAGE 9A

TEXAS WORKFORCE WINNERS

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata TimesZapatan Joe Gage, second from left, president of Gonzalez Auto Parts, accepts an award from TexasWorkforce Solutions for South Texas on Thursday afternoon at the Embassy Suites. Pictured withGage, left to right, are Rogelio Treviño, Lupita R. Cananles and Larry Jones.

It happens daily: Thepoor and the elderly oftengo without food and basicamenities in the Laredo

community.It’s an epidemic the

South Texas Food Bank hasbeen fighting for more thantwo decades, and it’s a bat-tle that is fought in Zapata,as well, through the area’sfive area pantries.

With limited resources,the South Texas Food Bankoften relies on the help ofhusband-and-wife Luis andLucy De Leon, pastors ofNew Vision CommunityChurch and School of Min-istry of Healing. The pair,from Chicago, moved to La-redo seven years ago.

The pastors often visited

COMMUNITY

Food bank combatsarea hunger troubles(Editor’s note: This is one

in a series of profiles of the 26agencies funded by UnitedWay. The 2009 campaign isnow under way.)

By ERIKA LAMBRETONTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See HUNGER PAGE 10A

Upon entering theJesús Treviño FortComplex, locatedin the intersectionof Treviño Street

and Uribe Avenue, visitorsare transported back to the1800s.

Old wooden tables fill

the rooms, and candles giveit the sense of naturallighting. A burning odorwafts from the kitchen,where there is a brickchimney believed to behave been used by earlysettlers to cook their meals.

The structure is filledwith a solemn silence, with

LOOKING BACK

Inside the Treviño Fort are antique wooden tables and chairs used by the Treviño family of San Ygnacio.

Photos by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times

A sign identifies the Treviño-Uribe Ranch as one of the many sites thatis included on the historic houses tour.

Tour takes visitors ona trip through timeBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See HOUSES PAGE 9A

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

Saturday, Dec. 12Hawks and Lady Hawks basket-

ball teams continue to play in the SanDiego tournament.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit486 will be having Christmas HomeTours starting at 1 p.m. Tickets are $5each. Meet at the American LegionBuilding, 2213 N. U.S. 83, first to getrefreshments and the map of the parti-cipating homes. For more information,call 765-8546.

The fourth annual “Mission GiveLaredo” donation drive will include acommunity telethon, live and on-siteat Sames Motors in Laredo. The themefor the telethon is “sharing hope,” withthe purpose of raising much-neededfunds to support and maintain vitalmeal and shelter services that BethanyHouse has been providing for 27 years.

Sunday, Dec. 13There will be a dance at the

Community Center in Zapata, acrossfrom the County Courthouse, on thewest side of U.S. 83 to benefit the localToys for Tots drive. Music will be by LosMizmos from Rio Grande City and LosCinco de Zapata, among others. Tick-ets are $10 each at the door. For moreinformation, call Manuel Garcia at 337-4917.

Monday, Dec. 14The Zapata County Commission-

ers Court will hold it regular meetingat 9 a.m. at the county courthouse,200 E. 7th Ave., Suite 108.

Hawks basketball team hostsMartin High School.

Tuesday, Dec. 15Zapata County Independent

School District Board of Trustees willhold a public hearing Tuesday, Dec. 15,beginning at 6 p.m. at the ProfessionalDevelopment Center, 17th and CarlaStreet.

Lady Hawks basketball teamhosts Rio Hondo High School.

The Zapata High School AnnualCareer Fair will be held from 8:30 a.m.to 2 p.m. in the ZHS Gymnasium.

Wednesday, Dec. 16A Parental Involvement Meeting

will be from 12:45 to 2 p.m. at the Za-pata County Pavilion.

Thursday, Dec. 17The AARP of Zapata will have its

regular monthly meeting at the Ma-sonic Lodge, 14th and 16th streets.Lunch is served at noon, and the meet-ing begins at 1 p.m. Cost of lunch is$5, payable at the door. The speakerwill be the Zapata County librarian.Anyone over 50 is welcome to attend.

Friday, Dec. 18The Zapata High School Drama

Department presents “Beauty and theBeast” at 7 p.m. today at the ZapataHigh School Auditorium. Tickets for $5are available at Zapata High School,Zapata South Elementary, VillarrealElementary and Zapata Middle School.

Students will be released fromclasses early today.

Hawks basketball team hostsZHS alumni.

Lady Hawks visit Lyford.

Saturday, Dec. 19The Zapata High School Drama

Department presents “Beauty and theBeast” at 7 p.m. today at the ZapataHigh School Auditorium. Tickets for $5are available at Zapata High School,Zapata South Elementary, VillarrealElementary and Zapata Middle School.

Sunday, Dec. 20The Zapata High School Drama

Department presents “Beauty and theBeast” at 2 p.m. today at the ZapataHigh School Auditorium. Tickets for $5are available at Zapata High School,Zapata South Elementary, VillarrealElementary and Zapata Middle School.

Monday, Dec. 21Winter break begins for stu-

dents.

Thursday, Dec. 24All county offices will be closed

today and Friday for the Christmas ho-liday. Regular operations resume on

Monday, Dec. 28.Monday, Dec. 28

Hawks play at the Falfurrias bas-ketball tournament, through Tuesday.

To submit an item for thedaily calendar, send the nameof the event, the date, time, loca-tion and a contact phone num-ber to editorial@lmtonline.com

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, Dec. 12,the 346th day of 2009. Thereare 19 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in Histo-ry:

On Dec. 12, 1917, Father Ed-ward Flanagan founded BoysTown outside Omaha, Neb.

On this date:In 1787, Pennsylvania be-

came the second state to ratifythe U.S. Constitution.

In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey ofSouth Carolina became thefirst black lawmaker sworn in-to the U.S. House of Represen-tatives.

In 1897, “The KatzenjammerKids,” the pioneering comicstrip created by RudolphDirks, made its debut in theNew York Journal.

In 1906, President TheodoreRoosevelt nominated OscarStraus to be Secretary of Com-merce and Labor; Straus be-came the first Jewish Cabinetmember.

In 1925, the first motel —the Motel Inn — opened inSan Luis Obispo, Calif.

In 1937, Japanese aircraftsank the U.S. gunboat Panayon China’s Yangtze River. (Ja-pan apologized, and paid $2.2million in reparations.)

In 1939, swashbuckling ac-tor Douglas Fairbanks died inSanta Monica, Calif., at age 56.

In 1963, Kenya gained its in-dependence from Britain.

In 1985, 248 American sol-diers and eight crew memberswere killed when an ArrowAir charter crashed after take-off from Gander, Newfoun-dland.

In 1989, in New York, hotelqueen Leona Helmsley, 69, wassentenced to four years inprison and fined $7.1 millionfor tax evasion. (Helmsleyserved 18 months behind bars,plus a month at a halfwayhouse and two months ofhouse arrest.)

Ten years ago: Author Jo-seph Heller, whose darklycomic first novel “Catch-22”defined the paradox of the no-win dilemma and added aphrase to the American lan-guage, died in East Hampton,N.Y., at age 76.

Five years ago: A bomb ex-ploded in a market in south-ern Philippines, killing atleast 14 people. Militants blewup an Israeli base at the Gaza-Egypt crossing, killing five sol-diers. Palestinian leader Mah-moud Abbas apologized to Ku-waitis for Palestinian supportfor Saddam Hussein after Iraqinvaded Kuwait in 1990.

One year ago: A bomb ex-ploded inside the West CoastBank in Woodburn, Ore., kill-ing Woodburn Police Capt.Thomas Tennant and OregonState Police Senior TrooperWilliam Hakim. (Two sus-pects.

Today’s Birthdays: TV hostBob Barker (“The Price IsRight”) is 86. Former NewYork City Mayor Edward Kochis 85. Basketball Hall of FamerBob Pettit is 77. Singer ConnieFrancis is 71. Singer DionneWarwick is 69. Rock singer-musician Dickey Betts is 66.Former race car driver Emer-son Fittipaldi is 63. ActorWings Hauser is 62. Actor BillNighy is 60. Actor DuaneChase (“The Sound of Music”)is 59. Country singer LaCostais 59.

Thought for Today: “Experi-ence has taught me that theonly cruelties people condemnare those with which they donot happen to be familiar.” —Ellen Glasgow, American au-thor (1874-1945).

TODAY IN HISTORY

WASHINGTON — Democrats plan to al-low the government’s debt to swell by nearly$2 trillion as part of a bill next week to payfor wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Theamount generally equals the total of a year-end spending spree by lawmakers and is bigenough to ensure that Congress does nothave to vote again on going further into debtuntil after the 2010 elections.

The move has anxious members of themore conservative group of Democrats ma-neuvering to win new deficit-cutting tools asthe price for their votes, which is ignitingbattles between the House of Representativesand the Senate and with powerful interestgroups on both the right and the left.

The record increase in the so-called debtlimit, the legal cap on the amount of moneythe government can borrow, is likely to be inthe neighborhood of $1.8 trillion to $1.9 tril-

lion, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyersaid Friday.

That eye-popping figure is making Demo-crats uneasy but is what is needed to makesure they do not have to vote again beforenext year’s midterm elections. The govern-ment’s total debt almost has doubled in thepast seven years and is expected to exceedthe current ceiling of $12.1 trillion beforeJan. 1.

Democratic leaders say they will try toraise the ceiling to nearly $14 trillion as partof a $626 billion bill next week to pay for thewars in Afghanistan and Iraq and other mil-itary programs in 2010. The bill does not in-clude the additional $30 billion President Ba-rack Obama is expected to seek early nextyear to pay for his 30,000-troop buildup in Af-ghanistan but it might carry an added $50billion to pay for a six-month extension ofunemployment benefits and health care in-surance subsidies for the long-term jobless.

AROUND THE NATION

Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.,, left, shares a laugh during remarks from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md., right, duringa news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Friday, to discuss the U.S. debt. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D.,is at center, Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla. is second from right.

Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP

$2T debt hike mulledBy ANDREW TAYLORASSOCIATED PRESS

Drug trafficker gets 5 lifeprison terms

PHOENIX — Authorities say adrug trafficker who had his fin-gerprints altered to conceal hisidentity has been sentenced tofive concurrent life prison sen-tences in Arizona.

Federal authorities say 62-year-old William Wallace Keegan,of Palm Harbor, Fla., also re-ceived a 20-year prison sentenceThursday for money laundering.Keegan was convicted in June af-ter a 10-day trial in U.S. DistrictCourt in Phoenix.

NH man arrested in bank robbery

MANCHESTER, N.H. — AManchester man has been ar-rested in connection with a localbank robbery.

Police say 30-year-old RonaldCross is suspected of robbing theCitizens Bank on Elm Street inManchester on Thursday morn-ing.

The robber told tellers he hada gun but never revealed one.

Tips from the public that camein after surveillance photos ofthe robbery were released.

Bus crash sends 12 tohospital

DINWIDDIE, Va. — A dozenstudents have been taken to localhospitals with minor injuries af-ter a school bus crash in Dinwid-die County.

The bus carrying 25 studentswrecked about a quarter-milefrom Dinwiddie Junior HighSchool just before 3 p.m. Friday.The middle- and high-school stu-dents helped each other out ofthe back of the bus.

-- Compiled from AP reports

Guard fired afterinmate’s escape

AUSTIN — A second eastTexas prison guard has beenfired following the escape of aninmate with a loaded pistol.

Monte S. Henson, lieutenantof correctional officers at theEstelle Unit near Huntsville,was let go Friday for failure tofollow policy and procedures.

Henson was the supervisorin charge of restraining sex of-fender Arcade Joseph ComeauxJr. as he was removed from hiscell to be transferred to a Beau-mont prison.

Swine flu vaccineavailable to all

AUSTIN — The Texas healthdepartment is recommendingunrestricted distribution of theswine flu vaccine thanks to anincrease in supply.

The Texas Department ofState Health Services said Fri-day that providers could offerthe vaccine to the general pub-lic.

Nearly 1.2 million of the 6.7million doses available to Texashave been allocated this week.

Fort Hood familiesattend concerts

FORT HOOD — Soldiers atFort Hood had the day off Fri-day to spend the time withtheir families and enjoy a car-nival and concerts organized to

support them in the wake oflast month’s mass shooting.

The event was to feature per-formances by Gary Sinise andthe Lt. Dan Band, Nick Jonasof the Jonas Brothers, the ZacBrown Band and rapper Cha-millionaire. Comedian DanaCarvey was to be the emcee.

-- Compiled from AP reports

AROUND TEXAS

Sgt. Pedro Jauregui, left, and his son Danny, are greeted by Spc. Steve Whitted,second from left, at the USO’s Community Strong event in Fort Hood, on Friday.

Photo by Jack Plunkett | AP

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The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the LaredoMorning Times and for those who buy the Laredo MorningTimes at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted.

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The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Ave-nue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mailthezapatatimes.net

CONTACT US

Carmen Ramirez - Rathmell, D.D.S.“Let your smile be

a sign of happiness& good health”

1520 Corpus Christi StreetTelephone (956) 726-0160

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009 Zlocal PAGE 3A

Olga (Amy) L. Salinasis a 1978 Zapata HighSchool graduate.

Born in Kingsville, sheis the daughter of Hectorand Olga Lopez.

Amy is married to Au-relio Salinas Jr. Theyboth have three childrenand five grandchildrenand are happy to an-nounce that the sixthgrandchild is on the way.

Amy says that growingup in the peaceful com-munity of Zapata servedher as an inspiration asit instilled closeness offamily, strong family val-

ues and an appreciationfor good friends.

Amy says that going tothe grocery store andhaving the cashier knowher on a first-name basis,or attending Sunday ser-vices and sharing withpeople she went to schoolwith gives her a feelingof satisfaction. She’s stilla proud fan of theHawks.

At present, Amy is em-ployed with the ZapataCounty IndependentSchool District as a spe-cial education teacher at

Zapata North EarlyChildhood Center. It’s aprofession that is veryrewarding to her.

Amy enjoys horse rac-ing, a sport that waspassed on by her familythat she learned to love.It gives her the opportu-nity to spend qualitytime with her loved onesand to appreciate themany blessings theyshare.

(Dora Martinez is a na-tive of Zapata who waspublisher of HispanicNews in San Antonio for21 years. She can bereached at thezapata-times@att.net)

Salinas loves Zapata’stight-knit community

By DORA MARTINEZ COLUMN

BURGLARYA 27-year-old woman reported

around 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6,that unknown people burglarizedher 2008 Ford Expedition in the2300 block of Lago Vista Drive.

A 29-year-old woman reportedaround 2 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6,that unknown people stole somejewelry, a purse and wallet, somepersonal documentation and a por-table DVD player from her 2007Ford passenger vehicle in the 200block of Loma Drive.

A 42-year-old man reportedaround 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6,that his Stiletto Sirius Radio wasstolen from his vehicle parked inthe 400 block of Cerrito Drive.

A 30-year-old man reportedaround 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8,that his 2009 Dodge pick up truckwas burglarized in the 1100 block of

Weslaco Lane.

ASSAULTKenneth Alan Rich, 46, was

arrested on charges of assault, fam-ily violence, around 11:30 p.m. onSaturday, Dec. 5, in the 100 blockof River Drive. Rich was booked andtransported to Zapata Regional Jail,where he was held on a time-served bond.

Luis Javier Tovar, 18, was ar-rested on charges of assault caus-ing bodily injury, family violence,around 11 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6,

in the 1600 block of Zapata Avenue.Tovar was booked and transportedto Zapata Regional Jail, where hewas held on a $3,000 bond.

POSSESSIONLeonardo Zuñiga Sanchez, 32,

was arrested on charges of posses-sion of marijuana around 10:45 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 8, in the intersectionof Miraflores Street and Cedar Ave-nue. The man was booked andtransported to Zapata Regional Jail,where he was held on a $3,000bond.

THE BLOTTER

STELLAR STUDENTS

Courtesy photo

Pictured above are the Zapata South Elementary School Students of the Week for the week of Nov. 29through Dec. 4. In the back row, left to right, are Karissa Piña, Alex Ontiveros, Esther Solis, Roel Rodri-guez, Mario Landa, Miguel Treviño, Coral Morteo, Tiffany Hernandez and Juan Guzman. In the middlerow, left to right, are Angelee Lopez, Noe Ramirez, Jennifer Serrato, Aileen Sanchez, Rosanna Piñeda,Jasmin Contreras, Brandy Guzman, Arturo Ramirez and Juan Guzman. Pictured in the front are SarahiArambula, Luis Lopez, Adrian Martinez and Jesus Rivera.

OFF THE STREETS

Courtesy photo

The Zapata Coun-ty Sheriff’s OfficeTask Force investi-gated a residenceon Tuesday, Dec.8, in the 400block of SecondStreet. Accordingto reports, investi-gators saw bun-dles of marijuanain plain view inthe back seat of aFord F-150. Uponfurther search, in-vestigators discov-ered 24 bundlesof marijuana witha total weight of407 pounds and astreet value of$65,120. No ar-rest was made.

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

My first Christmascard arrived afew days ago. It

was still November andthere it was, a photocard, no less, perfectlylighted and cropped andaddressed and mailed!

I studied it while eat-ing Thanksgiving left-overs. How is it possiblethat people are this orga-nized?

The first attemptLast year at Thanks-

giving, all my grandchil-dren were in one place —my house for the longweekend — and I dressedthem in brand new,(which means, as yet un-stained) matchingChristmas pajamas.Then I rounded them up,begged them to sit still,look at the camera andsmile.

They smiled — but notall at once, and they didnot sit still. They werelike puppies, wrigglingand jumping and wag-ging what could havebeen their tales. Two 1-year-olds, a 4-year-old,and a 5-year-old. I woundup yelling at them. How’sthat for Christmascheer?

I got a picture, finally,after snapping about ahundred. Then I down-loaded them, croppedthem, asked all the par-ents which picture theyliked best, and orderedwho knows how many?

A great start. I had thebest intentions ... but Inever got around to ad-dressing and mailingthem until a few days be-fore Christmas.

Next year, I said then.Next year will be differ-ent.

Try, try againNow it is next year

and I am going into thiscard thing at a huge dis-advantage. The childrenwere never all togetherfor a group shot thisyear. Four of them madeit to the Cape in July andthinking this might bemy only opportunity toget a photo of most ofthem, I begged them tosit on the steps of ourrented cottage and posefor pictures, assumingthat later, when I learnedhow, I could Photoshopin the missing baby.

Four children justback from the beach,hair awry, sand all overthem, cute sweatshirts.Yes, they all say, “CapeCod.” But look at thefaces! Megan is scowlingand Charlotte is yawningand Lucy is looking tothe left and Adam islooking to the right. Andthat’s how it is in everypicture: Someone is

squinting. Someone ispouting. Someone ispushing the person nextto her. And someone iscompletely turnedaround.

And learning to Pho-toshop? To cut and pastea baby into all this?What was I thinking?

Picture-perfectA few Christmases

ago, a friend sent a photocard of her grandchil-dren, three boys and agirl, all under six and allvery Hanna Andersson.They wore red: Threered sweaters and one reddress. They had shinyshoes and clean facesand hair newly combed.

The children were sit-ting on a white couch.They were sitting upstraight. They were look-ing at the camera. Theywere not sticking outtheir tongues or crossingtheir eyes. They weresmiling! And to makethings even more pic-ture-perfect, there was adog in the photo, too. Agolden retriever, not re-trieving anything, justlying still like a stuffeddog, like a dog on Vali-um.

I want to send a cardlike this. That’s my goal.Red sweaters. New shoes.A couch, maybe notwhite, but with a whitethrow, and never mindthe dog. I’ll settle for justthe kids for now. Howhard could this be?

Not hard. Impossible.

ForgettingPhotoshop

So I am going for cre-ative this year. No brow-beating the children. NoPhotoshopping the fam-ilies. I am going to dowhat good cooks do allthe time: to use what Ihave.

I have individual pho-tos of all the kids. Hun-dreds of them. I’ve up-loaded them into one file.Now I am comparing,seeing which goes withwhich.

I’ve found a card I like.It holds five photos. Nextstep choosing, then or-dering, then holding mybreath.

I save all the photocards people send me. Ikeep them in a box up-stairs, and every Decem-ber I bring them downand place them in aChristmas bowl in thekitchen.

I love these cards, theones with Santa, theones with dogs, cats, kidson horses, childrensquinting or grimacing,the kids and familieschanging and growing.They’re all perfect cards.Everyone hushed for themoment. Eyes on thecamera. Smile now.Cheese!

Holidaycards a

tough taskBy BEVERLY BECKHAM

THE BOSTON GLOBE

OTHER VIEWS

The Zapata Timesdoes not publish anony-mous letters.

To be published, let-ters must include thewriter’s first and lastnames as well as aphone number to verifyidentity. The phonenumber IS NOT publish-ed; it is used solely toverify identity and toclarify content, if neces-sary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.

We want to assure

our readers that a letteris written by the personwho signs the letter. TheZapata Times does notallow the use of pseudo-nyms.

Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, lengthand civility. No name-calling or gratuitousabuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send let-ters to editorial@lmton-line.com or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Lare-do, TX 78041.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

He saw her in one ofthe windows on thesecond floor of the

abandoned house in Vier-ville-sur-Mer, the first vil-lage off Omaha Beach. Shehad long hair and a longerrifle.

It was 9 in the morningon June 6, 1944. John To-bin, 21 years old, had some-how made it off the beachwithout a scratch, and hesaw this woman going fromwindow to window, takingpotshots at his comrades inthe Fifth Ranger Battalioncoming up the road.

John Tobin lay on hisbelly, trained his rifle onone of the windows, squint-ed down the barrel, andwaited.

War is an odd thing. Itmakes ordinary people doextraordinary things. JohnTobin was an ordinary kidfrom Dorchester, 17 whenhe fudged a birth certificateto get into the Army. Whenhe heard they were lookingfor volunteers for a newRanger battalion, he put

his hand up, even thoughthe worst-kept secret in theArmy was that the Fifthand Second Rangers weregoing to be the first ones toinvade continental Europewherever, whenever thegenerals decided.

It was decided it wouldbe Normandy, and the littleEnglishman who steeredthe landing craft towardOmaha Beach in whatseemed like a hurricanecut the motor, looked at To-bin and the rest of theAmerican kids, and said,”Good luck, Yanks.”

The water was over hishead and Tobin did some-thing that saved his life: Hethrew his rifle and packaway. Other men sankaround him. The Germanspoured machine gun fireinto the water. The bulletssmacked around Tobin likehuge raindrops.

”When I got to shore, thewater was blood red,” JohnTobin said. ”It was hard toget through the bodies.They’d come in with awave, and then slam intoyou when the tide wentback out.”

There were even morebodies on the sand. Tobincrawled over them. Heheard the dull thud of bul-lets hitting the bodies offriends who protected himeven in death. He grabbedone of their rifles andmoved on.

He made it off the beach,into the village, and waschecking out a Germansupply dump when he sawthe woman in the window.

”I didn’t think of her asa woman,” John Tobinsaid. ”I thought of her as asniper, and she was shoot-ing my buddies.”

On that morning, 65years ago, the woman withthe rifle raised her headand balanced the barrel onthe windowsill.

John Tobin closed oneeye and squeezed the trig-ger, lightly, the way he wastaught. He never figuredout who she was, what shewas, why she was there,but she died, as surely asTobin and the men comingup the road lived.

He and the rest of theSecond Ranger Battalionmoved across France, into

Germany. They went be-hind enemy lines and mostof them didn’t make it out.Tobin did, and he cameback and raised a familyand worked as a carpenter,and for some 40 years hedidn’t collect the stack ofmedals the Army had wait-ing for him.

The French governmentonly recently discoveredhim, too. President NicolasSarkozy two months agomade him a chevalier ofthe Legion of Honor —France’s highest civilianaward, equivalent to ourMedal of Honor.

The French ambassadorwas supposed to give it tohim this week. But therewas a scheduling conflictand now it will happen inFebruary.

For now, John Tobin sitsin a small apartment inWeymouth, his wife, Ruth,on the couch, ”Kojak” onthe TV, and he remembersthe woman in the windowand doesn’t regret a thingin this life, because some-times men go to war andthey do what they have todo.

COLUMN

A clear view in the fog of warBy KEVIN CULLEN

THE BOSTON GLOBE

AUSTIN, Texas —Have you seen thatpicture of the world’s

littlest Longhorn?Actually, it’s a sonogram

of the 21-week-old daughter-to-be of David Sheehan andDana Shafir of Arlington,Texas.

Last Wednesday whenthe couple went to the doc-tor’s office to have the sono-gram done, the techniciannoticed something unusual.The fetus on the sonogramappeared to be flashing theUT hand sign familiar atLonghorn football games. Iguess if they had listenedclosely, they would haveheard “Texas Fight” comingfrom inside Shafir’s tummy.

Or, “Go Horns Go.”Which brings up a couple

of questions. Would a fetusknow the point spread? Butmore important, is being aLonghorn genetic? Thisfamily has some Longhorn

roots. Shafir is a graduate ofUT, and so are her brotherand sister. Husband DavidSheehan graduated fromUT-Arlington.

“Is becoming a Longhornin the genes?” Sheehanasked in an e-mail. “To ex-plore this question, I thinksome grant money to theUT biology department is inorder. I think this is strongevidence to the affirmative.”

The sonogram came as acomplete surprise to thetechnician.

“In her 12 years (of work-ing sonograms) she saidshe’d never seen anythinglike that,” Sheehan said. “Iasked her how many shedid in a day, and she saidprobably 20.”

The technician was sotaken with the photo thatshe started showing itaround to the doctors andother staff members. Shee-han said that as many as a

dozen of those folks wereLonghorns themselves andgot copies of the sonogramto take home.

So what happens if latersonograms show the fetusdoing a Guns Up or a Gig‘Em sign?

“Oh, God, I don’t know,”Sheehan said. “We’ll keepthat suppressed. We won’tlet that information get out.We’ll deny it and just claimit to be a strange hand posi-tion.”

Will the couple name thegirl something UT-ish, likeBevorina?

“I love the university andall but you got to draw aline, unless there’s somekind of endorsement deal Ican sort out with the uni-versity, like free tuition,”Sheehan said. Hey, withMack Brown making $5 mil,they can afford it.

But knowing UT, the cou-ple is more likely to get sued

for trademark infringement.The Longhorn fan on the

way may be a bigger fanthan the parents, who wentto the movies at the mallrather than watch the Tex-as-Nebraska game for theBig 12 title.

But when they came outof the theater, they did seethe last two plays on a TVset in the window of theDallas Cowboys store.

David and Dana thinktheir littlest Hook ’Em hadsomething to do with theLonghorns’ win, too.

Before the winning fieldgoal try Sheehan says herubbed his wife’s belly “forgood luck. I was sittingthere rubbing the belly. Wethink that’s why they won it— because we rubbed thebelly.”

Yeah, that must havebeen it.

John Kelso writes for theAustin American-Statesman.

COLUMN

A Longhorn for a lifetime

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009 Zlifestyle PAGE 5A

DEAR MISS MANNERS— My wife and I are bothfortunate to come fromlarge families with whomwe love to spend time, anddo so frequently. We are al-so blessed to belong tomore than one large circleof friends.

Consequently, we re-ceive a fair number of in-vitations to various gather-ings, from impromptu andvery casual BBQs to morestructured gatherings likebirthday parties, weddingsand dinner parties. Wehappily attend the vastmajority.

When, for whatever rea-son, we cannot or wouldrather not attend, my con-tention is all that is re-quired and expected is tosay something to the effectof “Thank you for the invi-tation, we’d love to bethere but we can’t make it.Perhaps another time.”

I find it unpleasant to begrilled by the inviter. Ifthey continue to press, I’llsay something like, “Well, Ididn’t want to hurt yourfeelings because youweren’t also invited, butwe’re having dinner anddrinks with the Queen ofEngland.” This usuallygets the message across ina firm but humorous way.

My wife insists it’s rudenot to offer a specific ex-cuse why we won’t bethere, and if we’d simplyrather not go, to make upan imaginary excuse.

This baffles me, and hasput me in an awkwardspot more than once. Thenext time we talk to the in-viters, one will say some-thing like “Oh, how didJack do in his game?”

Because I don’t know or

don’t remember that wasthe excuse we used, I’ll an-swer truthfully that Jack’sseason ended weeks ago.When they say “Oh, wethought that was why youcouldn’t come to the partylast week,” I’ll have tostammer something aboutan imaginary postseasonall-star game or the like.

My wife believes thecloser we feel to the inviter,the more elaborate the ex-planation we are requiredto offer. I agree we can’tjust say, “No, sorry,” butthe multi-layered excuse,especially if it’s partially orcompletely untrue, is total-ly over the top and canbackfire.

GENTLE READER —On the principles, MissManners is entirely withyou. Ahead of you, actually,because she has always de-clared specific excuses tobe unnecessary when onepromptly and graciouslydeclines by expressing re-gret. False excuses containtheir own punishment.

Also, she does not re-gard most invitations assummonses, and reassuresthose who claim they feelguilty that they are perfect-ly at liberty to decline.

But if the occasion is atruly important one forsomeone extremely close— Christmas with the fam-ily, your sister’s wedding,your best friend’s funeral— you are not going to getaway with mere expres-sions of regret and jokes.

MISS MANNERS

Don’t lie to getout of events

“JUDITH MARTINAmong the Jewish ob-

servances, Hanukkah isconsidered a minor holiday,but its significance reso-nates with the families thatgather for eight nights tolight the candles of themenorah, recite prayers,sing songs, eat latkes andgive gifts.

Beginning this year onFriday, Dec. 11, and contin-uing through Saturday, Dec.19, the “home holiday” —meaning families do notgather at the temple of syn-agogue to celebrate — com-memorates the Miracle ofthe Oil, which unfolded inthe Great Temple of Jerusa-lem more than 2,100 yearsago.

For the Norton family,Hanukkah — which is con-sidered less religiously sig-nificant than the major ob-servances, such as RomKippur, Rosh Hoshanah andPassover — is a “fun holi-day,” said matriarch MargieNorton.

The historyHanukkah is rooted deep

in history, said Rabbi ElliotRosenbaum of Congrega-tion Agudas Achim.

Circa 150 B.C., much ofthe world composed theGreek Empire, includingmodern-day Israel, whereSyrian King Antiochus IVruled. There, the ruler —who had dubbed himself“Epiphonous,” or “God onEarth” — imposed variouslaws to enforce assimilationto the Greek culture, whichwas Hellenistic and polyth-eistic, worshipping manygods familiar in modernlore. Among the new edicts

were the erection of statueswithin the Jewish templesand animal sacrifices, in-cluding pigs, which are for-bidden in Judaism.

The final abomination,though, came with the out-lawing of circumcision, Ro-senbaum said.

It eventually promptedan uprising from the Jews,led by Judah Maccabee, theson of a high priest. Follow-ing victory, the Jews discov-ered that the Great Templeof Israel had been desecrat-ed by the blood of pigs,which had been sacrificedwithin its sacred walls.

The temple had to becleansed, but only one jugof purified oil remained —enough for only one day.But the jug lasted eight, al-lowing the devoted to pre-pare and press new oil.

Now, Hanukkah is cele-brated each year beginningon the 25th day of the Jew-

ish lunar calendar month ofKislev.

Since the holiday beganthis year on a Friday — theJewish Sabbath, known asShabbot — the Hanukkahcandles are lit before theShabbot candles.

The traditionsThe menorah — the orig-

inal symbol of Israel — ac-tually only has sevenbranches, while the Hannu-kiah, a special menorahused for the holiday haseight branches, one for eachday of the celebration, Ro-senbaum said. A ninth can-dle positioned above therest, which is called a sha-mesh, or “helper” candle, isused to light the others.

Each night, a new candleis lighted until the entiremenorah is cheerfullyablaze with light.

“We light up our lives,light up our homes,” Rosen-baum explained.

As per Jewish law, believ-ers must not only light theHanukkiah, but also displayit openly, such as in a win-dow — which in othertimes, other places, madeobservant Jews a target foranti-Semitism, Rosenbaumexplained.

The Hallel prayer, apsalm of praise, is said, andspecial songs are sung dur-ing those nights.

Also integral to traditionare the foods, which arecooked in oil in honor ofthe miracle. In the UnitedStates, many make latkes, aYiddish word for potatopancakes fried in oil, whilein Israel, sufganiote — a jel-ly donut — is the preferredtreat.

Another favorite pastimeis playing with a dreidel, afour-sided spinning top.

Hanukkah a ‘minor holiday,’ buta time to remember miracles

Richard, Margie and Dana Norton light a Hanukkah menorah at their home.

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

By KIRSTEN CROWTHE ZAPATA TIMES

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That’s because Laredo Medical Center treated my

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a normal, productive life. The advanced therapies

and skilled care I got at the Wound Care Center

made all the difference. I wouldn’t be here without

them. Thank you, LMC.”

Visit us online at laredomedical.com/changinglives

to learn more about how Laredo Medical Center’s

comprehensive Wound Care Center helps people

like Hector every day.

Quality Care. Close to Home.

1700 E. Saunders (956) 796-5000

PAGE 6A Zentertainment SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

Maintaining a high pro-file in World Wrestling En-tertainment has been hardwork for Mickie James, yetit’s paying off quite well.

James, who spent a dec-ade working independentpromotions before joiningWWE in 2005, honed herpro wrestling skills whilelearning from one of thebusiness’ true legends —Ricky “The Dragon” Steam-boat — along with veteransRicky Morton and BobbyEaton.

“It was great to have him(Steamboat) give me adviceand an honor to be able todo that kind of stuff,”James said during a phoneinterview while the“SmackDown” crew was inHouston earlier this week.“I went to the Steamboatcamp and I was still ayoung kid striving to dowhat I could and learn.Here I was, the only girl inthe camp with a bunch ofguys, and I would learnalong with them.”

Transitioning characterJames, along with her

fellow “SmackDown” wres-tlers and “ECW” roster-mates, will be part of a TVtaping that starts at 6:30p.m. Tuesday at the LaredoEntertainment Center.

“Funny thing is that I’dhave my camp work tapedand while working inde-pendent circuits, I would goback, watch stuff two orthree years later and reallyget it from a learning per-spective,” James said.

“I would pull a lot of thelegends that were wrestlingon the same indy card tothe side, ask them to watchmy match and offer feed-back. They were willing todo that, and it’s proved tobe an invaluable part of mycareer.”

James’ first stop in WWEwas with “Monday NightRaw,” the company’s pre-mier TV show, and a story-line with then-Women’s

Champion Trish Stratus.Her in-ring character had arather wild demeanor, giv-ing her and Stratus a lot ofroom to work on what theymight do during matches.

“I think the character Ido now is just me amplified,where doing the psychotic-type of character was somuch fun,” she said. “Ev-erybody had an opinion onwhat to do. If they had beentaping some of the stuffTrish and I talked aboutbackstage, it would havebeen just as much fun, too.

“She (Stratus) came froma different world, made thetransition up here andlearned how to wrestle. Sheworked really hard uphere.”

Televised showScheduled to highlight

Tuesday’s card is a WorldHeavyweight Championshipmatch between The Under-taker and Batista. Alsoscheduled to appear are ReyMysterio, Chris Jericho andCM Punk on “SmackDown”and Christian on “ECW.”

Laredo wrestling fanscan look forward to someescapism from day-to-day

worries, thanks to Jamesand WWE’s superstars.

“Aside from an amazingshow, I think the wonderfulthing about wrestling isthat you can lose yourselfand be absorbed into theshow,” she said.

The show, which airs na-tionally on MyNetworkTV,is shown locally on KFOXfrom 10 p.m. to midnight onFridays.

Tickets are on sale nowat the LEC box office,through Ticketmaster atwww.ticketmaster.com.

WWE SmackDown,ECW to duke it out

in national broadcastBy JOE RUTLAND

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Mickie James celebrates victory during a WWE Raw match.

© 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Special to the Times

of voodoo peril.The songs and score by

Disney stalwart RandyNewman, including a tunesung by Dr. John, arebrisk and catchy.

The last time we heardfrom the hand-drawn ani-mators at Disney, they of-fered up the barnyard tale“Home on the Range.”

Thankfully, the spirit ofanimation maestro WaltDisney lives on. The stu-dio has gone back to itsroots with a fresh, funnyretelling of a classic fairytale in “The Princess andthe Frog.”

Updating the BrothersGrimm tale “The FrogPrince” into a toe-tappingmusical set on the Loui-siana bayou in the 1920s,directors Ron Clementsand John Musker delivera satisfying gumbo ofsnappy dialogue, lovablecharacters and bright-hued images, spiced upwith just the right touch

“The Princess and theFrog,” a Walt Disney Pic-tures release, is rated G. Itis playing at CinemarkMall Del Norte and Holly-wood Theaters.

‘Princess and the Frog’is a hearty hop

By DAVID GERMAINASSOCIATED PRESS

Princess Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, holds Prince Naveen,voiced by Bruno Campos.

Photo by Disney | AP

A rescheduled perform-ance of the Broadway mu-sical “Cats” has been can-celed, according to LaredoEntertainment Centerand Theatre Council offi-cials.

The show was original-ly intended to be an in-stallment of the “Broad-way in Laredo” series,initially booked in thespring. Following the can-cellation of the originaldate, “Cats” was resche-

duled for Dec. 23 — butdue to continuous sched-uling conflicts with thetouring company, theshow has now been can-celed entirely.

“It is always difficult toreschedule a show that iscontinuously on the road,and it is truly unfortu-nate when it is canceledaltogether,” said Roy Me-dina, general manager forthe SMG-managed LaredoEntertainment Center.

Full refunds will be giv-en at the original point of

purchase. If the ticketswere purchased online,call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. If you purchasedyour tickets through theseason ticket package,call the Theatre Councilat (888) 512-2929 for moreinformation regardingthe refund process.

‘Cats’ officially canceledSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

SÁBADO 12 DE DICIEMBRELAREDO - Se invita a

clases de Caligrafía por laartista Gloria So, en el Salónde Usos Múltiples de la Bi-blioteca Pública de Laredohoy de 3 p.m. a 4:30 p.m.Aunque la clase es gratuita,debe inscribirse ya que laclase es limitada a 15 estu-diantes (mayores de 10 añosde edad). Para inscribirsellame al 795-2400 x2268.

LAREDO - El PlanetarioLamar Bruni Vergara de Te-xas A&M International Uni-versity exhibe hoy “Seasonof Light” a las 5 p.m., segui-do de “Holiday Music Magic”a las 6 p.m. y “Dark Side ofthe Moon” a las 7 p.m. Laentrada general es de 5 dó-lares para adultos y 4 dóla-res para niños.

LAREDO - La cuartacampaña anual de recauda-ción de fondos “Mission GiveLaredo” incluirá hoy un tele-tón comunitario en SamesMotors. El tema es “compar-tiendo esperanza” y el obje-tivo es beneficiar a los servi-cios que brinda BethanyHouse.

LAREDO - Hoy se pre-senta la dramatización “The99” en el Laredo Entertain-ment Center de 7 p.m. a 11p.m. La producción está di-señada para mostrar a losjóvenes el resultado de ma-las elecciones y relacionesequivocadas.

DOMINGO 13 DE DICIEMBRELAREDO - El equipo de

baloncesto femenil de TAMIUrecibe hoy a Concordia Uni-versity en la cancha delcampus a las 2 p.m. La en-trada general es de 5 dóla-res, 3 dólares para estudian-tes, y gratis para cualquieracon ID de TAMIU.

LAREDO - The LaredoLittle Theater presentará“Some Girl(s)”, una obra deNeil LaBute a las 3 p.m. dehoy en el teatro ubicado enel 4802 Thomas Ave. Laobra es dirigida por FarolBatey. La admisión es de 5dólares.

LAREDO - Hoy se pre-senta la dramatización “The99” en el Laredo Entertain-ment Center de 7 p.m. a 11p.m. La producción está di-señada para mostrar a losjóvenes el resultado de ma-las elecciones y relacionesequivocadas.

LAREDO - La CarreraJingle Bell/Caminata contrael Hambre es hoy a partirde las 8:30 a.m. en el IBCSan Isidro Branch (NorthMcpherson). Las inscripcio-nes inician a las 7:30 a.m.Posteriormente se acudirá alNorth Central Park. La cuotade inscripción es de 10 dóla-res.

MARTES 15 DE DICIEMBRELAREDO - Hoy es el

evento de Smackdown y laECW de la WWE en el Lare-do Entertainment Center alas 6:30 p.m. Adquiera suboleto en la taquilla de LEC,en www.ticketmaster.com,por teléfono en el 800-745-3000 y en todos los expen-dedores de Ticketmaster. Losprecios de los boletos varíande 45, 35, 25 y 15 dólares(más la cuota de las instala-ciones y cargos de conve-niencia.

MIÉRCOLES 16 DE DICIEMBRELAREDO - La reunión

del Club Gateway City BookLovers es hoy de 6 p.m. a7:30 p.m. en el Great Roomde la Biblioteca Killam deTAMIU. Se discutirá el libro“A Walk in the Woods” deBill Bryson. Más informaciónllamando al 795-2400 x2268

VIERNES 18 DE DICIEMBRELAREDO - Hoy se pre-

senta lil Wayne en el LaredoEntertainment Center a las6:30 p.m. Los boletos tienencosto de 22, 42, 62 y 82dólares, más la cuota de lasinstalaciones.

Agendaen Breve

CD. VICTORIA, México– El Gobierno de Tamauli-pas considera que es lamejor plataforma logísticadel país gracias a que ac-tualmente construye dosnuevos cruces fronterizosy diversas obras estratégi-cas de comunicaciones ytransportes, basadas en elPrograma Estatal de In-fraestructura.

“(Tamaulipas) se sostie-ne como uno de los mejorcomunicados y con mayorinversión por habitanteen este rubro”, dijo duran-te la lectura de su V Infor-me el Gobernador del Es-tado Eugenio HernándezFlores.

CrucesLa construcción de dos

nuevos puentes permitiráatender diariamente unaforo de diez mil vehícu-los adicionales.

El Puente Río Bravo-Donna entrará en opera-ción el próximo año. ElPuente Reynosa-Missionestá a punto de entregarsey cuenta con obras adua-neras y vialidades para fa-cilitar el acceso directo ala Ribereña y a la carrete-ra a Monterrey.

En Nuevo Laredo, Her-nández Flores sostuvo quepara impulsar la competi-tividad de la Aduana en elPuente Internacional Nue-vo Laredo Tres se instala-ron los equipos electróni-cos de cobro y aforo;igualmente se transformael Aeropuerto Internacio-nal en uno de carga.

Los planes del Gobier-no de Tamaulipas para el

2010 son iniciar la cons-trucción del nuevo cruceferroviario Matamoros-Brownsville, construir enel corto plazo el libra-miento sur de Reynosa ysus entronques, el libra-miento de Nuevo Progre-so al puente internacionalLas Flores y la moderni-zación del entronque An-zaldúas.

También, la construc-ción del corredor interna-cional Reynosa-Pharr, queincluye la modernizacióndel distribuidor vial exis-tente y la edificación deldistribuidor Luis DonaldoColosio.

CarreterasEn cuanto a carreteras,

se tienen cubiertos mil400 kilómetros y, junto conla Federación, se destina-ron mil 960 millones depesos a obras como la mo-dernización del eje carre-tero Tampico-Monterrey yla próxima conclusión deleje Reynosa-Matamoros aSan Luis Potosí, entreotras.

Hernández reportó queen febrero del 2010 se ini-ciará la construcción dela Carretera Mante-Ocam-po-Tula, con inversión detres mil 275 millones depesos.

“Este proyecto sumaráal desarrollo del país unnuevo e importante ejetransversal que une elGolfo y el Pacífico, impul-sando las actividades dela zona conurbada deTampico-Madero-Altamiray dará a la región de ElMante una nueva dinámi-ca económica”, dijo Her-nández.

DestacanlogísticaEstatal

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

CIUDAD MIER - El seisde diciembre se festejó delSegundo Aniversario deCiudad Mier como PuebloMágico, con el encendidotradicional del pino navi-deño en la Explanada de laPlaza principal.

La decoración fue coor-dinada por la Presidentadel Sistema DIF IsabelCristina Treviño Ruiz.

El encendido se llevó acabo después de una Misade Acción de gracias don-de estuvo presente el Jefede Gobierno José IvánMancías Hinojosa y su fa-milia, así como el ExPresi-dente Municipal HerveyRamos Ramos, fundadordel Pueblo Mágico.

Durante la misa partici-pó el Mariachi Monterreyy en la ceremonia de en-cendido del árbol la Or-questa Municipal de Nue-vo Laredo.

Para cerrar con brochede oro hubo fuegos artifi-ciales.

Antología fotográficaDentro del mismo ani-

versario, se llevó a cabo laAntología Fotográfica deVilla de Cántaros por An-tonio Guerra Sandoval.

La obra consistió en laexposición de más de 350fotografías antiguas en re-lación al Municipio en los

principios de su funda-ción.

“Ciudad Mier por eso esllamado Pueblo Mágico yaque su historia antigua seenvuelve de magia al re-cordar aquellas anécdotasque pasaron y que a travésde los años se siguen re-cordando con mucho gustoy alegría”, dijo Mancías.

SUPERIOR: Antonio Guerra Sandoval presentó la Antología Fotográfica de Villa de Cántaros en el marcodel segundo aniversario de Ciudad Mier como Pueblo Mágico. INFERIOR: El 6 de diciembre se llevó acabo el encendido del pino de navidad en Ciudad Mier.

Fotos de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier

Festeja Cd. Mier ser‘Pueblo Mágico’

POR YAHAIRA L. ZAMBRANOESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7ASÁBADO 12 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2009

CIUDAD MIER - ElPresidente Municipal JoséIván Mancías Hinojosa diolectura a su II Informe deGobierno el 7 de di-ciembre, donde resumiólas diferentes acciones quedesarrolló para el Munici-pio en el 2009.

Destacó las reunionespara la modernización dela Carretera 54 Monterrey-Mier. La obra cuenta con85% de avance.

También se celebró laprimera reunión públicadel Proyecto del Puente In-ternacional Mier-Roma.

En cuanto a turismo,destacó cursos de prime-ros auxilios, inglés, alfare-ría, protección turística,computación básica y pla-tillos regionales.

También hizo referenciaal Moto Rally Fronterizo yla Expo Feria Tamaulipas.

Junto a turismo, destacóa la Casa de la Cultura querecibió a 900 visitantes.

Durante las Fiestas delPueblo en los 256 años deCiudad Mier, se coronó ala Reina Samara I, e igual-mente se eligió a la Señor-ita Independencia Fernan-da Marie Barrios Soto.

Fue en el Festival Inter-nacional Tamaulipas queel Consejo Ciudadana Cul-tural y la Fundación Cul-tural del Cántaro tuvieron18 eventos artísticos, 3 in-ternacionales, 15 nacion-ales y 2 locales, con la par-ticipación de 150 artistas.

Recordó que en coordi-nación entre GobiernoMunicipal, Sistema DIF yRegistro Civil se realiza-ron cuatro campañas deregistro para adultos may-ores, niños y matrimonioscolectivos.

“En este año se celebra-ron 150 Años del RegistroCivil”, dijo Mancías. “Se

llevó a cabo un evento enel recinto y colocamos unacápsula del tiempo debajodel Monumento a Don Be-nito Juárez que se abrirá,por acuerdo de Cabildo, enel Aniversario 300 delMunicipio”.

En la Comisión Munici-pal de Agua Potable y Al-cantarillado se invirtieron8’642,500 pesos en reposi-ción de los sistemas deagua potable.

“Actualmente se encuen-tra en proceso de construc-ción del emisor de la Plan-ta de Tratamiento deAguas Residuales y la con-strucción de la Planta deTratamiento de Aguas Re-siduales y Estación deBombeo.

Petróleos Mexicanos do-nó el equipo completo paraun quirófano y dijo que yaestá autorizada la amplia-ción del Centro de Saludpara el 2010 con 4 camaspara internamiento.

Con referencia al Relle-no Sanitario Regional dijo

que esté dará por termina-do el problema añejo de labasura.

Agregó que lleva un70% de avance el área detransferencia de basuradonde los camiones de bas-ura municipal y la pobla-ción podrán llevar susdeshechos.

Hoy es una realidad laCasa Club del Adulto May-or y la Unidad Básica deRehabilitación.

Con el programa Sumade Voluntades se pudo con-struir un cerco perimetralen el parque de béisbol deLigas Pequeñas, pavimen-taciones, rehabilitación dealcantarillado, rehabilita-ción del albergue munici-pal y se mejoraron viali-dades.

Con la oficina de ITAVUse otorgaron a 34 familiaslotes en la Colonia Barriodel Cántaro y se escritura-ron a 6, quedando pen-diente 96 lotes por escritu-rar.

ColorAl evento asistió la Pres-

identa Municipal de Nue-va Ciudad Guerrero OlgaJuliana Elizondo Guerra,el Presidente Municipal deMiguel Alemán ServandoLópez Moreno, la DiputadaFederal del Distrito I Cris-tabell Zamora Cabrera, yBladimir Martínez Ruiz enrepresentante del Gober-nador Eugenio HernándezFlores.

“Reconozco y agradezcoel esfuerzo y compromisode todos y cada uno de loscolaboradores de mi Ad-ministración a los directi-vos de las diferentes de-pendencias del ayunta-miento por laresponsabilidad que hantenido en el desempeño desus labores”, dijo Mancías.

Finalmente a la ciuda-danía le aseguró que se-guirá trabajando para queMier siga siendo una ciu-dad Unida que forma a unTamaulipas próspero.

Entrega Alcalde cifras positivasTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Invitados a la lectura del II Informe de Gobierno del Presidente Municipal de Ciudad Mier José IvánMancías Hinojosa, al centro, se encuentran, de izquierda a derecha, el Alcalde de Miguel Alemán Ser-vando López, la Diputada Cristabell Zamora, Mancías, el Representante del Gobernador BladimirMartínez y la Alcalde de Ciudad Guerrero Olga J. Elizondo.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Ciudad Mier

NUEVO LAREDO – Hoy12 de diciembre esta ciudadrecibirá a la masonería detoda la República Mexica-na, como parte de la cele-bración del Centenario dela Gran Logia de Libres yAceptados Masones de Ta-maulipas.

La convención masónicaestá programada para in-iciar a las 8 p.m. en el Cen-tro Cultural, y asistirán al-rededor de 500 personas detodos los municipios de Ta-maulipas y del resto delpaís.

Están confirmados elpresidente de la Confeder-ación de Grandes Logias,Felipe Vitela Morales,quienes serán recibidos porel respetable gran maestrode la Gran Logia de Ta-maulipas, Ricardo RenéMartínez Rodríguez.

Se darán cita todos losgrandes maestros de la Re-pública, de Coahuila, Nue-vo León, Querétaro, Naya-rit, Hidalgo y Oaxaca, entreotros.

“Queremos celebrar elcentenario de la fundaciónde la gran logia de Tamau-lipas, que se fundó el 5 demayo de 1909, para cumplirobjetivos de beneficio parala sociedad en su participa-ción civil”, dijo OlivioOchoa Gutiérrez, segundogran vigilante de la GranLogia de Tamaulipas.

En Nuevo Laredo existensiete templos (talleres) endonde los principios de rec-titud, honestidad y respon-sabilidad son los objetivosprincipales para servir.

Fronterarecibe amasones

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE LAREDO

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES Health SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

‘THE NUTCRACKER’ CAST VISITS THE NURSERY

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

William Iruegas, who will be 2 months old on Dec. 15, smiles as he gets a visit Thursday morningfrom Elizabeth Gordon, a member of the San Antonio Ballet who portrays “Doll” in the group’s pro-duction of “The Nutcracker.” The visitors brought toys for the children and candy canes for the par-ents of the patients at the pediatric ward at the Laredo Medical Center.

Ah, the holidays — thatfestive time from Thanks-giving through New Year’sDay when we reconnectwith family and friends,gather around the fire-place and sip our fat-freeegg nog. Right?

Wrong! More often thannot, the holiday season of-fers an excuse to overin-dulge in decadent, season-al goodies.

A study from The NewEngland Journal of Medi-cine found the averageAmerican gains morethan one pound duringthe holidays. While thisincrease might seem mini-mal, each year it contrib-utes to excessive weightgain that occurs in adult-hood.

How can you preventthat stuffed-goose feelingthis season?

“Focus on maintainingyour weight,” said Dr.Luis Rodriguez, director

of Nutritional Services forDoctors Hospital of Lare-do. “It’s important to setrealistic goals during theholidays. Maintainingyour weight is doable.Trying to lose weight isunrealistic.”

If you’ll be attending aget-together, Rodriguezrecommends these tips:

Eat light snacksthroughout your day.You’ll have less of an ap-petite and be less likely toovereat at a party.

Offer to bring an ap-petizer — preferably alow-fat option; maybe avegetable or fruit platter.

If you drink alcohol,then limit yourself to twodrinks per day. Alcoholstimulates your appetite.

Be a social butterfly.By spending more timetalking with people, or

helping the host, it willgive you less time to nib-ble at the dessert table.

Don’t restrict your-self. Take bite-sized por-tions of multiple dishes tosatisfy your craving orshare with others. Addsmall amounts of butteror gravies to your dishes.Remember – toppings en-hance flavor, not overpow-er it.

Because added-calorieintake is inevitable dur-ing holidays, Rodriguezadvises partygoers to en-gage in a higher level ofactivity.

“People who work outregularly should increasetheir exercise routine,” hesaid. “Those who rarelywork out should becomemore active to offset theadded calories con-sumed.”

For more informationon holiday eating, callDoctors Hospital’s Clini-cal Nutrition Departmentat (956) 523-2572.

Beware of buffet-tablebinging this season

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES Dr. Luis Rodri-guez, Director ofNutritional Servic-es at Doctors

The Doctors HospitalSpeech Therapy Depart-ment wanted to do some-thing special for therapypatients during the holidayseason.

They got together withtheir patients and incorpo-rated therapy by buildinggingerbread houses.

These beautiful ginger-bread houses are now ondisplay at the Doctors Hos-pital Women’s Center lobby.

The gingerbread houseactivity was incorporatedinto therapy in a variety ofways. Patients had the op-portunity to practice skillssuch as problem solving,maintaining attention andconcentration as well asfollowing directions.

Additionally, patientswith articulation goals uti-lized seasonal-themed vo-cabulary that integratedtheir target sounds.

“This activity has alsoallowed our voice and flu-ency patients to practicetransfer of skills such aseasy onset, decreased vocalabuse and proper speechpatterns through spontane-ous conversation,” said Ro-sa Robledo, speech lan-guage pathologist.

“Parents and caretakershave the opportunity to in-

corporate this activity athome for transfer of pa-tient goals and current de-velopment of speech

skills.” For more information on

speech therapy at DoctorsHospital, call (956) 523-2922.

DH speech therapy groupbrings holiday spirit to its work

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Ana Jaimes, speech language pathologist, helps young patient May-ela Garcia-Karg with therapy as she builds her gingerbread house.

Courtesy photo | Doctors Hospital of Laredo

A recession is not onlytough on the pocketbook –it can also be bad for yourhealth. More and moreAmericans are lying awakeat night worrying aboutthe economy and their per-sonal finances, according to

the National Sleep Founda-tion’s annual poll about thenation’s sleep habits.

It’s estimated that one-third of Americans are los-ing sleep over the currentstate of affairs in the coun-try, according to the mostrecent poll results releasedin March 2009.

The average adult gets

just six hours and 40 min-utes of sleep per night, ac-cording to the study. An in-creasing number of Ameri-cans report that they getless than six hours of sleepper night. Nearly one-thirdattribute their lack of goodsleep to distress over theirpersonal finances, the econ-omy or employment.

Economic woes affecting America’s sleep habitsBy BENSON HUANG

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

before construction began,Guerra said.

But in addition to enjoy-ing the school’s amenities,the children are also ableto attend classes locallyagain. Before BenavidesElementary became oper-ational in August, stu-dents had been getting“bused in” to Central Ele-mentary in Zapata, Guer-ra said.

The school currentlyserves about 115 students.

The historyOriginally named Bena-

vides Elementary in 1967,the school has undergoneseveral remodeling pro-jects throughout the years.

But the latest remodel-ing of the “replacementcampus” is “awesome,”said Principal GerardoMontes.

“People in this commu-nity are really committedto education, and educat-ing their children andhaving a place for them toget their education,” hesaid.

Jose M. Ramirez III,ZCISD board president,was impressed with thedesign. He said the oldSpanish architecturelooked historic, and re-flected the historical as-pects of San Ygnacio.

“It’s the heart and soulcommunity,” Ramirezsaid.

Beyond wallsBut beyond its facelift,

the school has also gar-nered attention for its aca-demics. Montes said Bena-vides Elementary wasnamed exemplary schoolthis year.

He credited the achieve-ment to parental support,adding that having stu-dents living close by cre-ates the concept of a“school neighborhood.”

Another bonus to theproximity of the homes tothe campus is fewer ab-sences, he said.

“Why?” Montes said.“Because there’s a schoolaround their homes.”

Ramirez said the schoolis opening its doors as anexemplary school to manyfuture generations, dem-onstrating that the districtcontinues to grow and de-velop among Zapata Coun-ty.

He reaffirmed theboard’s commitment tobetter education.

“We feel is our obliga-tion and our duty of themembers of the board toprovide the necessary re-sources to the children of

Zapata County,” Ramirezsaid.

Among other politic-ians, Congressman HenryCuellar was there to cele-brate with the people ofSan Ygnacio, where hecommitted to have educa-tion as a priority at alltimes.

Cuellar said he was hon-ored to be an advocate foreducation and to speak forthose parents and educa-tors who make a differ-ence in the lives of chil-dren.

“You will inspire thosechildren, you will chal-lenge them and you willgive them the tools neededto get ahead,” Cuellarsaid. “Parents teach togive back, but teachersshow how to give back.”

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568or crodriguez@lmton-line.com)

CAMPUS Continued from Page 1A

County Judge Rosalva Guerrasaid the county has been maintain-ing the road for years, fixing cattleguards and repairing it.

“Every year, the county spentthousands of dollars in repairing(county roads),” stated CountyJudge Rosalva Guerra in a news re-lease. “Sometimes repairs weredone in one day … and by the nextday, if it rained, it was all gone.”

Guerra said the planned con-struction work would “permanentlyfix these areas by building low-wa-ter crossings.

“We looked at the distances, thehomes/ranches affected and the ar-

eas where we received the mostcomplaints of the county roads. Jen-nings, along with Pedernales Road,were the first ones that we decidedto work on,” she said. “The ranch-ers/owners from Pedernales Roadwere very happy with our decision.We never thought that someonewould oppose our plan because it issupposed to benefit all propertyowners.”

Also on Monday’s agenda is anitem that would end the sale ofcounty water to companies thatturn around and resell it to oil drill-ing entities.

“We’re trying to contain the use

of water to the residents of ZapataCounty and not have the water be-ing resold to oil drilling compa-nies,” said Carlos Treviño Jr., wa-ter/wastewater director. “People inthe past have bought water from usand just resell it outright, and wehad no control over how much andall that.”

Treviño added that it was a realproblem when the oil fields were ingood shape.

“It hurt us,” he said, adding thathe is preparing for the drought sea-son next summer.

(Julie Daffern may be reached at728-2565 or jdaffern@lmtonline.com)

REPAIRS Continued from Page 1A

the walls as witnesses towhat might have hap-pened in those early days.

Some have their owntheories, believing thatthe old fort was used byearly settlers as shelterfrom Indian raids.

It all set the stage, andthe ambiance, of the SanYgnacio historical housetours, where a collectionof sandstone structuresbuilt in the 1800s and1900s are exhibitedthroughout the communi-ty.

Christopher Rincón, ex-ecutive director of the Riv-er Pierce Foundation ofSan Ygnacio, said the fortis among the originalhouses built in San Ygna-cio, sharing the same his-torical value as the Ala-mo, the Golden Bridgeand the Statue of Liberty.

As such, the side of thecomplex facing UribeStreet is owned by theRiver Pierce Foundation,a nonprofit organizationdedicated to the histori-cal, cultural and environ-

mental preservation.And it does have a his-

tory.According to the Hand-

book of Texas Online Website, former residents ofRevilla — now NuevoGuerrero, Tamaulipas —settled in San Ygnacioaround the 1830s, makingit the oldest city in ZapataCounty.

Jesús Treviño was theleader of the residents. In1830, Treviño built a 100-by-140 feet sandstonehome, later known as FortTreviño.

The house is one of thefew that survived the 1953flooding of Falcon dam

that destroyed many com-munities, Rincon said.But many of the historicalhouses in San Ygnaciostill remain.

A sundial that was in-stalled in the structure in1851 has become a touristattraction, he added.

Pride in the pastThere are, of course,

other attractions. A.L. Be-navides principal GerardoMontes said some of thesites exhibit some old fur-niture and dishes.

“It’s to preserve the his-tory and memory of par-

ents, of siblings and otherancestors,” he said.

The tour takes visitorsback in time to under-stand the history behindevery structure, he said,and proceeds from thetour are invested in theschool.

“Everything that (peo-ple) make out of the housetours, they donate it to theschool for teacher and stu-dent incentives,” Montessaid.

Montes said the histori-cal houses tour has longbeen a tradition for peoplein San Ygnacio, addingthat residents “take it toheart.”

“This event is whatkeeps the history of thetown and the homes in theforefront for others to con-tinue learning about theaccomplishments and ef-forts of the community,”Montes said in a state-ment.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568or crodriguez@lmton-line.com)

HOUSES Continued from Page 1A

“It’s to preserve the history andmemory of parents, of siblingsand other ancestors.GERARDO MONTES, A.L. BENAVIDES PRINCIPAL

The first-ever Blue San-ta Toy Donation DriveParty was held Thursday,Dec. 10, at the ZapataCounty Courthouse withRio Grande City’s talent-ed Grupo Riezgo.

“It was a very goodturnout,” said Dalia Vil-larreal, administrative as-sistant to Justice of PeaceAnna Guerra.

In addition to the pre-

sents that have alreadybeen donated, more areexpected within the com-ing days, especially withthe extended deadline.

“We were hoping formore and that’s why weare extending the dona-tion deadline” to Tuesday,Dec. 22, said Celia Balde-ras, membership servicescoordinator of the ZapataCounty Chamber of Com-merce.

For more information,call 765-9165.

Blue Santa extendsdonation deadline

By ERIKA LAMBRETON THE ZAPATA TIMES

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

people who were on theCommodity SupplementalFood Program waiting list,and decided to name herprogram the “Silver StarProgram.”

The program helps thosein need who are more than55 years old, regardless ofreligion, and on the firstday, more than 200 peoplesigning up.

“People started comingknocking on the door fromthe surrounding neighbor-hoods, asking for help,” DeLeon said.

Soon, however, they hadoutgrown the space availa-ble in the church, and in2008, the Joseph StoreHouse was added.

“We saw a great need inthe community and wewere not able to fulfill theneeds of every person thatwas knocking on the door.

“We were only 60 mem-bers at the time,” De Leon

said.With the success of the

Joseph Food Store and thefaithful help of church vol-unteers, the New VisionCommunity Church hopesto continue with its mis-sion and expand in the fu-ture.

“I see that a lot of fam-ilies in Laredo are depend-ing on this store, and wepray that this will go on formany years,” De Leon said.

“We don’t know whereGod is taking this, but weknow we are (heading inthe right direction).”

For more information onthe South Texas FoodBank, call 726-3120.

Food bank outlets in theZapata area are:

Concilio El Buen Pas-tor, Hawk Street and Fal-con Meza;

Shepards Pantry 508Hawk St.;

Helping Hands, 2102Stop 21 A;

Iglesia Pentecostes Em-manuel, 306 East Hwy 16and

Boys and Girls Club ofZapata.

Laredo for missionarywork; however, when theysaw the desperate need ofthe community, their nexthome became apparent.

“The call to become pas-tors was here in Laredo.

We were coming just todo missions — that wasour call at first, but Godhad a different plan,” saidLucy De Leon.

“The Lord chose Laredofor us, so we sold every-thing we had, we left ourjobs, and within threemonths we had our minis-try,” she added.

After settling into Lare-do, De Leon says herchurch registered with theSouth Texas Food Bank tosupply groceries to not on-ly their parishioners, whoneeded assistance, but alsothe community itself.

Through the South TexasFood Bank, De Leon wasable to adopt more than 400

HUNGER Continued from Page 1A

New Vision Church volunteer Rudy Velasquez, right, helps Jorge Martinez with a bag of groceries thathe received from the church’s pantry.

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

Eleven Zapata CountyISD instructors wereamong 116 teachers who re-ceived recognition Mondayin Laredo for providing ahigh-quality preschool cur-riculum to children ages 4and 5.

The teachers were eachawarded the Texas SchoolReadiness Certification for2008-2009 by the State Cen-ter for Early Childhood De-velopment. The center hashad a program during thepast several years calledTexas School Ready!,which certifies prekinder-garten classrooms that ef-fectively prepare studentsfor elementary school.

A ceremony for theteachers was held Mondayat the United IndependentSchool District Student Ac-tivity Center.

According to a TMCnews release, teachers re-ceive the school readinessdesignation when, aftertwo years of compliance,their classrooms haveshown a high level of per-formance in providing a

quality preschool curricu-lum.

ZCISD administratorssaid Friday that the SchoolReady Project curriculumhas particularly helped thepreschool teachers give aneffective bilingual educa-tion to students, a chal-lenge many schools dis-tricts face along the border.

“We’ve worked hard toget equity with bilingualand English speaking stu-dents,” said Erica Ramirez,principal at Zapata NorthEarly Childhood Center.“What we’ve seen with theprogram is we’re begin-ning to see a close in theachievement gap.”

Teachers certified atZCISD include:

Benavides Elemen-tary – Marlen Guerra

Zapata North EarlyChildhood Center – ConnieMuñoz, Damiana Guerre-ro, Jessica Villarreal, JoseManuel Araiza, JulianitaAlaniz, Laura Elena Gar-cia, Margarita Garcia, Mel-isa Garcia, Susana Lopezand Veronica Gutierrez.

(Nick Georgiou may bereached at 728-2582 ornickg@lmtonline.com)

TMC recognizesZCISD teachers

By NICK GEORGIOU THE ZAPATA TIMES

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

The Zapata Lady Hawks lost aclose one Tuesday night as theyhosted the Cotulla Lady Cow-girls.

Cotulla left the Zapata Gymwith a 38-33 victory in theirpocket.

The Lady Hawks had a horri-

ble day from the field as theyshot only 14 percent from two-point land despite getting greatlooks at the basket.

“Our girls were getting goodlooks, but the shots were justnot going in,” Zapata coachClyde Guerra Jr. said.

The Lady Hawks’ defense wasstellar, only allowing 38 points,but their offense faltered at the

most opportune times in thegame.

“Clarissa (Solis) and Maritza(Garcia) are playing really gooddefense,” Guerra said. ShelbyBigler and Mela (Martinez) arerebounding extremely well.”

Zapata’s 1-3-1 defense kept theball out of the paint and con-trolled the boards while their 1-2-1-1 defense mixed in with their

trademark man defense createdturnovers, but the Lady Hawksfailed to convert the layups intopoints.

Zapata, which is averaging 50points per outing, was held to aseason-low 33 points.

The Lady Hawks failed to con-vert on wide-open layups andmissed too many free throwsthat could have been the differ-

ence of the game.“Our defense was good at

times, but our layups and freethrows need work,” Guerra said.

Zapata also had a hard timekeeping taking care of the ball,committing an abundance ofturnovers.

“We need to take care of the

Learning from their lossesLady Hawks drop low-scoring contest, look to improve shooting numbers

By CLARA SANDOVALSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

See BASKETBALL PAGE 2B

their hard work on and offthe course.

Three runners from thegirls’ cross country teamwere honored for all theirhard work in the classroomas they were named to theTexas Class 3A AcademicAll-State Team by the TexasGirls Coaches Associationthis past week.

Melissa Martinez andtwin sisters Michelle andMaritza Garcia, all seniors,were named to the all-stateacademic team by the TGCA.

The Texas Girls CoachesAssociation is the largestcoaching association in the

Becoming a successfulcross country runner takes atremendous amount of dedi-cation, sacrifice and commit-ment.

The runners spend hourspounding the pavement toshape their bodies intochampions, and they takethat same philosophy intothe classroom.

The cross country seasonhas been over for about amonth, but the Zapata LadyHawks continue to pile upthe postseason awards for all

state of Texas.Michelle was the only Za-

pata runner to be named toboth the 3A all-state crosscountry team and the all-aca-demic team.

In order to be named tothe all-state academic team,runners must maintain agrade point average of 95 orabove for the entire fouryears of their high school ca-reers.

They are also required tobe a runner in good standingwith the team and must beon the varsity squad.

This season, the LadyHawks made a return trip to

the state meet after lastyear’s historic run at stateunder Coach Mike Villar-real.

Zapata captured the dis-trict title behind the legs ofMarlena Martinez, the indi-vidual district champion.

Martinez continued to putall her running education tothe next level and capturedthe regional title.

The Lady Hawks placedthird at the regional meet toearn their second trip to thestate meet.

Zapata came in seventh atthe state meet to cap off a ve-ry successful season.

CROSS COUNTRY

HONORS KEEP PILING UP

Zapata cross country runners, from left to right, Michelle Garcia, Melissa Martinez and Maritza Garcia were named to the all-state academic team.

Courtesy photo

Running trio named to all-state academic teamBy CLARA SANDOVAL

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

HOUSTON — When the Houston Tex-ans host the Seattle Seahawks for thefirst time this weekend, they’ll be meet-ing a group that looks very much likethem.

These teams enter Sunday’s gamewith 5-7 records and similar disappoint-ment at being all but out of the playoffhunt with four games to go. They eachneed a victory to extend their chance offinishing with a winning record, andthey’ll both have to do it behind a beat-up quarterback.

“You just have to go out and try towin these four games we have left,”Houston’s Andre Johnson said. “I thinkthat’s the biggest thing. We can’t worryabout playoffs or anything like that. Youjust have to be focused on the task athand and that’s the only way that you’llfind a way to get through it.”

QB problemsThe Texans are in better shape at

quarterback with Matt Schaub fullyparticipating in practice this week andready to go despite dislocating his non-throwing shoulder in last week’s loss toJacksonville. He’ll wear a harness tosteady the injured left shoulder andhelp guard against another dislocation.

Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck missedpractice time this week because of asore right throwing shoulder, but coachJim Mora has said he’s probable to startagainst Houston. He took a hard hit ona scramble late in the Seahawks’ 20-17win over San Francisco last week, butwas able to finish the game.

Problems at quarterback are badnews for these two pass-heavy teams.

Texanstake on a peer

Houston, Seattle fightingfor winning seasons

By KRISTIE RIEKENASSOCIATED PRESS

See TEXANS PAGE 2B

ARLINGTON — The lasttime Jerry Jones hired ahead coach, he narrowedhis choice to either WadePhillips or Norv Turner.

Considering how thingshave turned out, Jonesshould’ve hired both: Phil-lips to run things throughThanksgiving, then Turnerto take over from there.

Phillips got the job, ofcourse, while Turnerwound up the head coachin San Diego. Phillips’teams have been terrificthe first three months ofevery season, while Turn-

er’s clubs have done the op-posite, struggling early,then posting a perfect re-cord in the final month andremaining strong in theplayoffs.

On Sunday, the coachessquare off for the first timesince Jones chose betweenthem to replace Bill Par-cells in Dallas, with theirteams following predictablepaths.

Different pathsSince they were 2-3, the

Chargers have rolled to sev-en straight wins. The latestimproved them to 10-0 in

December under Turnerand gave them an NFL re-cord with 15 straight winsin the month. They leadthe AFC West and couldeven clinch a playoff spotthis weekend with a winand several other favorableresults around the league.

The Cowboys have astout 8-4 record and a shareof first place in the NFCEast, but the outlook isn’tso great.

An ugly loss to the NewYork Giants last weekendstripped away the goodvibes of a 6-1 wave they hadbeen riding.

Avoiding a secondstraight loss is a must be-

cause next up is a trip toNew Orleans to face thecurrently undefeatedSaints, and because a two-

game losing streak wouldplay into the perception/reality of another promis-ing season going down the

drain in December andearly January.

Phillips, Turner readyto battle on the field

By JAIME ARONASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Aug. 9, 2008, file photo, San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner talks with quarterbackPhilip Rivers, right, before a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys in San Diego. Sunday, Turnerwill get a chance to prove he should have gotten the Cowboys’ coaching job instead of Wade Phillips.

Photo by Denis Poroy | AP

See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

Late slumpsThe Cowboys haven’t had a

winning record in the finalmonth since 1996, which also isthe last time they won a playoffgame. Their unwanted holidaytradition obviously predates Phil-lips, but he’s done nothing to stopit.

On his watch, Dallas is 27-8through Thanksgivings, but 3-7after that, counting a loss in hisonly trip to the playoffs. Keep itup and he likely won’t be backnext season, despite Bill Belich-ick being the only coach withmore regular-season wins since’07.

Cowboys players have spokenout this week about winning tohelp Phillips keep his job.

“There’s pressure on everyonefrom the head coach down to thepractice squad guys, that’s justpart of being in this league,”Cowboys linebacker Keith Brook-ing said. “The key is putting yourblinders on. Not looking to yourleft or looking to your right, defi-nitely not looking behind, justfacing it, looking forward andjust preparing each week, ex-haust yourself and take it out onthe field on Sunday.”

Hiring disparitiesPhillips is quite popular in San

Diego’s locker room, too, becauseof the success he had as their de-fensive coordinator from 2004-06.He set up the defense Ron Riveranow runs.

The opposite is true in Dallas.Turner was the offensive coordi-nator when the Cowboys won the

Super Bowl following the 1992and ’93 seasons. Jason Garrettwas a backup quarterback onthose clubs and uses many of thethings he learned from Turner asthe team’s current offensive coor-dinator.

As it turns out, Garrett andRivera also were among the can-didates Jones considered whenhe hired Phillips over Turner.

“You look at the tape and a lotof it is very similar to us andwhat we do,” Turner said. “I

think in a lot of cases bothgroups have a handle on whatthe other is doing.”

Questioning decisionsTurner’s San Diego teams have

gone 18-16 from Septemberthrough November, but they’vefollowed their perfect Decemberswith three playoff wins and a tripto the AFC championship game.

So Turner could be tempted to

strut into Cowboys Stadium onSunday.

When he greets Jones, hemight say nice things about the$1.2 billion palace and slip in aline about how many bills ahome playoff game could pay. Orhe could mention what a shameit would be not to have a homeplayoff game the first year in thenew stadium.

However, none of that is Turn-er’s style. Asked if he believesthis game is a chance to prove

Jones hired the wrong coach,Turner said, “No, I don’t.”

“That’s not just talking be-cause there’s so many things thatare important,” he said. “Wehave so much at stake; bothteams do. ... So I think any ofthose side issues, they’re reallynot an issue.”

Other issuesActually, this game has plenty

of side issues for the Cowboys:— Can they prove the loss to

the Giants was a fluke and notthe start of another collapse?They haven’t lost consecutivegames all season, and this wouldbe a heck of a time to start withthe Saints up next.

— Can Tony Romo handle a 3-4defense? He’s lost four of his lastfive against such schemes, twicethis season and twice last Decem-ber.

— Can kicker Nick Folk end arut of four straight games with amissed field goal? Romo is likelyto replace punter Mat McBriar asthe holder in hopes that was theproblem. This will be Romo’sfirst hold in a game that countssince a bobble that cost Dallas aJanuary 2007 playoff game.

— Can Phillips’ defense slowPhilip Rivers and contain LaDai-nian Tomlinson?

Tomlinson grew up nearby inWaco, went to college at TCU,and played the second game ofhis career at Texas Stadium.

He hasn’t been back to the areasince and realizes this might behis only chance to play in thenew stadium.

“It’ll be special,” he said.

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B

In this Dec. 29, 2008, file photo, Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips pauses as he responds to questions during anews conference at the team’s training facility in Irving. After seeing Super Bowl hopes fizzle into a 9-7 season that wasn’tgood enough to make the playoffs last season, Phillips vowed to do things differently, and he knows he needs to end thisseason differently if he wants to stay in Dallas.

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

Both rank near the bottomof the league in yardsrushing and Houston’swoes in that area could getworse this week with theloss of Steve Slaton.

Running gamesSlaton was placed on in-

jured reserve with a nerveproblem in his neck onWednesday and the Texanswill likely start ChrisBrown in his place. Brownis averaging 3.5 yards acarry, but his season hasbeen more memorable be-cause of two gaffes thatcontributed to Texans loss-es. The last one came onan ill-advised halfbackpass that was interceptednear the end zone in a 23-18 loss to the Jaguars lastweek.

The Seahawks have usedboth Julius Jones and Jus-tin Forsett and both havehad big games this season,but neither player hasbeen able to solidify Seat-tle’s rushing threat.

“It is frustrating,” Morasaid. “It’s something we’reworking hard on. It’s anew system for these guysand we had a bunch of dif-ferent lineups up frontearly in the season. So it’sbeen hard for us to getconsistency. As of the lastfew weeks, we’re actuallyrunning the ball a little bitbetter, so we’ve got to con-tinue to make improve-ments there.”

Recent streaksThe Seahawks come to

Houston with two straight

wins and are looking tobuild on that success.Houston hopes to breakout of four-game losingstreak.

“Obviously nobody’sreal upbeat right now,when you go through whatwe’ve gone through thelast month,” coach GaryKubiak said. “The onlything that makes thingsbetter is winning football

games, so that’s what wegot to prepare to do.”

Rookie LBsA bright spot in the

struggles of these teamsthis season has been thestellar play of their rookielinebackers. Houston’sBrian Cushing leads theteam and all rookies with

102 tackles and has threeinterceptions. Seattle’s Aa-ron Curry has 56 tacklesand two sacks. Curry waschosen fourth overall,while Cushing was taken15th.

Mora raved about Curryand said he’s helped inSeattle’s success in the lasttwo games.

“He’s big. He’s strong.He’s fast. He’s quick. He’s

explosive,” Mora said. “Hecan overpower guys inpass rush if you get himon a back. He can covermost tight ends because ofhis speed. He continues toget better every week. It’stough being a rookie line-backer in this league ...there’s a process you haveto go through. He’s makinghis way through it justfine.”

Kubiak was impressedwith Curry when he methim at the combine, butgeneral manager RickSmith quickly remindedhim there was no way he’dstill be available whenHouston picked.

New demandsCurry has dealt with the

fatigue that comes withthe length of an NFLschedule as compared tothe demands of a collegeseason.

“A few weeks back, theyclaimed that I had hit thewall when I wasn’t on theup — I was more on thedown or just too leveledout,” he said. “So, therehave been some roughtimes in my season, likeany other rookie. We’ve allhad rough times in ourseasons, and the key isjust to figure out how tobounce back from it andreally bust through thewall and just get better.”

Cushing has avoided therookie wall so far, but Ku-biak said that could havesomething to do with hissitting out of practicequite a bit over the lastmonth with a sore foot.

Cushing doesn’t feel likehe’s competing with Curryin this game, but willthink about the fact theSeahawk was the first line-backer taken in the draft.

“That’s something thatis definitely in the back ofmy mind,” he said. “I obvi-ously know that. My maingoal is to go out and per-form as well as I can andhelp the team as best Ican.”

TEXANS Continued from Page 1B

Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) walks off the field after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday at Alltel Stadiumin Jacksonville. The Texans host the Seattle Seahawks this weekend with both teams needing a victory to post a winning season record.

Photo by Nick de la Torre | Houston Chronicle

ball more,” Guerra said. “Turnovers needto be limited in order for us to compete atthe level we want.”

Senior Adriana Peña, who has been aforce on offense for the Lady Hawks, led

Zapata with 12 points.Peña has been putting the fate of the

team on her back with her strong per-formance on the court early in the season.

“Adriana is playing at the level that is

expected of her,” Guerra said. “Our girlsare adjusting into their roles and goodthings will start to happen.”

The Lady Hawks will go back to thedrawing board and try to work on their

free throws and layups.“I’m extremely proud of the dedication

our girls show day in day out,” Guerrasaid. “We still have a lot of room for im-provement.”

BASKETBALL Continued from Page 1B

FOOTBALLNFL Glance

AMERICAN CONFERENCEEast W L T Pct PF PAPatriots ............. 7 5 0 .583 328 224Dolphins ........... 6 6 0 .500 278 296Jets .................... 6 6 0 .500 249 208Bills .................... 4 8 0 .333 199 261South W L T Pct PF PAx-Colts ............ 12 0 0 1.000 331 201Jaguars .......... 7 5 0 .583 225 273Titans ............. 5 7 0 .417 246 316TEXANS .......... 5 7 0 .417 277 266North W L T Pct PF PABengals ............ 9 3 0 .750 254 187Ravens ............. 6 6 0 .500 271 215Steelers ........... 6 7 0 .462 278 244Browns ............. 2 11 0 .154 158 315West W L T Pct PF PAChargers ............ 9 3 0 .750 342 242Broncos ............. 8 4 0 .667 240 202Raiders .............. 4 8 0 .333 142 282

Chiefs ................. 3 9 0 .250 196 326

NATIONAL CONFERENCEEast W L T Pct PF PACOWBOYS ............ 8 4 0 .667 279 213Eagles ................... 8 4 0 .667 327 235Giants ................... 7 5 0 .583 303 285Redskins .............. 3 9 0 .250 200 238South W L T Pct PF PAx-Saints ................. 12 0 0 1.000 440 251Falcons .................. 6 6 0 .500 279 279Panthers ............... 5 7 0 .417 215 262Buccaneers .......... 1 11 0 .083 187 330North W L T Pct PF PAVikings ............ 10 2 0 .833 359 233Packers ........... 8 4 0 .667 323 229Bears ............... 5 7 0 .417 233 270Lions ................ 2 10 0 .167 206 358West W L T Pct PF PACardinals ............. 8 4 0 .667 297 23449ers .................... 5 7 0 .417 245 233Seahawks ............ 5 7 0 .417 243 267Rams .................... 1 11 0 .083 139 314

Thursday’s games

Browns 13, Pittsburgh 6Sunday’s games

Seahawks at TEXANS, noonPackers at Bears, noonLions at Ravens, noonSaints at Falcons, noonBills at Chiefs, noonBroncos at Colts, noonPanthers at Patriots, noonJets at Buccaneers, noonDolphins at Jaguars, noonBengals at Vikings, noonRams at Titans, 3:05 p.m.Redskins at Raiders, 3:05 p.m.Chargers at COWBOYS, 3:15 p.m.Eagles at Giants, 7:20 p.m.

Monday’s gameCardinals at 49ers, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 17Colts at Jaguars, 7:20 p.m.

Saturday’s gamesCOWBOYS at Saints, 7:20 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 20Dolphins at Titans, noonCardinals at Lions, noon

Falcons at Jets, noonTEXANS at Rams, noonBears at Ravens, noonPatriots at Bills, noonBrowns at Chiefs, noon49ers at Eagles, noonRaiders at Broncos, 3:05 p.m.Bengals at Chargers, 3:05 p.m.Buccaneers at Seahawks, 3:15 p.m.Packers at Steelers, 3:15 p.m.Vikings at Panthers, 7:20 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 21Giants at Redskins, 7:30 p.m.

TRANSACTIONSBASEBALL

American LeagueCHICAGO WHITE SOX: Agreed to terms withRHP J.J. Putz on a one-year contract.CLEVELAND INDIANS: Named Greg Hibbardpitching coach, Jim Rickon coach and ChadWolfe trainer for Akron (IL); Aaron Holbertmanager, Tony Arnold pitching coach andJeremy Heller trainer for Kingston (Carolina);

Ted Kubiak manager, Mickey Callaway pitch-ing coach, Phil Clark coach and Issei Kamadatrainer for Lake County (SAL); Dennis Malavecoach for Mahoning Valley (NY-Penn); andChris Tremie manager for the Indians (Arizo-na) and catching coordinator.KANSAS CITY ROYALS: Agreed to terms withLHP Adam Bostick, LHP Bruce Chen, RHP De-von Lowery, 1B Ernesto Mejia, RHP FranciscoRosario and C Vance Wilson on contracts.TAMPA BAY RAYS: Acquired RHP Rafael Sor-iano from Atlanta for RHP Jesse Chavez.Agreed to terms with Soriano on a one-yearcontract.

National LeaguePHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: Agreed to termswith OF Chris Duffy, C Paul Hoover, INF CodyRansom, INF Andy Tracy, OF DeWayne Wise,INF Wilson Valdez and LHP Bill White on mi-nor league contracts.WASHINGTON NATIONALS: Agreed to termswith C Ivan Rodriguez on a two-year contract.

FOOTBALLNFL

NFL: Fined Tampa Bay OT Jeremy Trueblood$25,000 for unnecessary roughness and Ten-

nessee DT Tony Brown $20,000 for unsports-manlike conduct during Dec. 6 games.ARIZONA CARDINALS: Signed LB Mark Wash-ington to the.BUFFALO BILLS: Placed OT Demetrius Bell oninjured reserve. Signed OL Andre Ramseyfrom the practice squad.JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: Signed DE ChrisHarrington from Arizona’s practice squad.Waived DB Kennard Cox.SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: Announced the re-tirement of LB Jeff Ulbrich.

HOCKEYNHL

DALLAS STARS: Activated D Karlis Skrastinsfrom injured reserve.

COLLEGEFLORIDA: Named Zach Azzanni receiverscoach.ILLINOIS: Fired offensive coordinator MikeSchultz, quarterbacks coach Kurt Beathard,receivers coach Jim Pry and special teamscoach Mike Woodford. Announced TE HubieGraham and WR A.J. Jenkins will transfer.NOTRE DAME: Named Brian Kelly footballcoach.

ClassifiedCARS FOR SALE 200

‘04 Chrysler Sebring LXi V6 Conv 2dr 54kmi Rims All

Power, Like New! $5000 OBO 220-4287

‘07 Ford Mustang,18kmil., $9,000

Call 753-3585 or771-1761

‘91 Pontiac Bonneville 4dr,white,V6, a/c, $850 OBO

call:763-7253

Attention Low riders 1966 Chevy Belair, 4dr, 6cy.,

$4,500 obo, call 956-220-2770 Must See!

Charger ‘08, 4kmi., blue title,

$9,500, like new,call 237-7483

Ford Focus ‘05, 2puertas, standar,$3,250, llamar

956-229-7941 o 135*829*1216

Mercedes ML500 ‘09, Silver W/all options, 39k mi., all HWY $35,000 OBO Call Scott @

728-1565

Nissan Altima ‘07,4cyl, Xtra-clean,A/c, $8,900 OBO,

call 237-7483

Nissan Sentra ‘91, excelente cond., $1,100 llamar

333-8892

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198

‘04 Dodge Ram Lonestar edition 1500, blue title, 6cyl,

Chrome “20 rims, 60Kmiles,sand/gray color, $7299.00

OBO call:333-5863;333-0496

‘99 Chevy Silverado Z71 good truck,4x4, bed liner, a/c, cd.

$5,900 call:337-7063

Chevy ‘04 Cab1/2,rines 20’,V8, alarmaa/c, buenas condi-

ciones, Call 775-2962 $5,650

Chevy Surburban‘03, leather/TV, 140kmil., $7,500, please

Call 235-3342

Ford F100 1964 Custom Cab, New paint, uphol-

stery& carpet, std,$4,950 956-237-0719,

Nextel 145*2*4302

GMC Pick-up ‘80,78kmil., New

upholstery, $3000OBO Call 334-3223CARS FOR SALE 200

‘00 Chevy Malibua/c, good tires, good

cond., 96Kmiles,$1,650 OBO call:210-430-7370

ARTICLES FOR SALE 136

Formal Dresses New $20 117 E.Mayberry

Call 251-5628Kenmore Washer & Dryer in good condition $300 for both

call: 744-3769Riding mower used 1 time

15HP 38” $750call 956-763-4163

Se Vende Hermoso come-dor y recamara, mesas de centro de marmol, sofa cama y mas articulos.

empesando $500 llamar 725-2921 con prebia cita

Se Venden Ojarascas $4.00 La Dozena. Llame (956)286-0125

Mrs. Lujan despues de las4PM

Selling used Whirlpool appli-ances washer, refrigerator,

stove. Prices starting at $150 OBO call:771-1919; 771-0920 (if no answer leave message)

Sport Card Boxes 5,000 cards per box, $30ea.

Call 242-1887 or go by 12520 Mines Rd

(Wolf Creek Center)

TRANSPORTATION

BOATS 190

2007 176XT Stratos bass boat,like new, $9,900 call SOLD

HEAVY EQUIPMENT 192

New 16Ft pipetop 2 Axel trailer, New 10 ply tires

and brakes $1,850 956-763-4163

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS 194

15” thru 20” Original Tires & Rims, Different Styles Availa-ble. Starting @ $10. 2201 San

BernardoCall 242-8944 or 135*830*7572

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

French Poodles, F/M,1st shots, dwrmd, tails clipped $200ea. Call

744-2342;145*131079*10

PUGS for sale Perfect for x-mas. Dewmd, 1st shot $285

Call 645-1597TOY CHIHUAHUA puppies,

$100 & up shots & dewormed 956-319-5029

Winnie dogs for sale!4mo old, $65ea,Call 237-7871

MISCELLANEOUS

ARTICLES FOR SALE 136

27”TV, & Rocking chair, $175

call 717-4183

5pc dinning set, 2 lamps,entertainmet center, 2 bed frames, starting from $15

12520 Mines Rd,(Wolf Creek Center)

call 242-18875pc Livining room set,$450, good condition

call 717-41837pc Dining room set, $200

good condition,Call 717-4183

8ft Olhausen Pool Table with Italian Slate Surface

Aramith balls, 15 pool sticks paid $3,000, asking For $980, 956-235-9447

Baby Bathtub portable W/stand & Drain $25

Call 242-1887 or go by 12520 Mines Rd

(Wolf Creek Center)Bar-B-Q Grill ( New) $45 call 242-1887 or go by

12520 Mines Rd(Wolf Creek Center)

Collectible Items Barbies, G.I.Joe’s, Sport Figuirines, old

Texbooks Dec. 4,5, 11, and 16,1pm-7pm,

711 Lane $1.00 upcollection Items Michael Jor-dan & old antique dolls! start-ing $200 OBO call 333-9560

HELP WANTED 122

DRIVERS WANTEDLEASE PROGRAM

NO CREDIT CHECKNO MONEY DOWN

12 month lease with option to buy + $2400 completion bo-nus.Various makes and models

available. Average 91 CPm (based on avg. length of haul) + fuel surcharge. Also hiring

owner-operators.866-817-9666

U.S. Xpresswww.xpressdrivers.com

EMT Neededfor an ambulanceservice Immediateopenings please CallIrma 713-201-2432

PETS & SUPPLIES

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

***Adorable teddy bear faced YORKIE pups. FOR SALE! AKC reg,1st shots/ dewormd,

parents on site, $800 Call 956-206-4962 Perfect for

Christmas gift!

1M/1F Jack russell terriers puppies Shots, & dewormed

$200Call 956-206-0366Basset Hound Puppies 6 wks, 1st shot, dewormed

$200Call 724-8370

Beagle puppies for sale 4 males & 2 females W/shots &

dewormed. Parents on site.$500 OBO for more infor call

956-523-8984Canarios red factor,

Sinches, Cockatoo $15 en adelante 645-1597

Chihuahua puppies, $150 ea,1st shots, dewormed,

Call 324-2403 after 10amGuard dog for sale, 1yrold, male Donovan pin-sher, basic obedience, &

more! $800OBO,956-229-2039HELP WANTED 122

REAL ESTATE

HOMES FOR SALE 61

Owner Finance! 10% down,3/2, Las Misiones offHWY 359 $118,000

Call 645-6336CONDOS FOR SALE 64

Regency Oaks Townhomes for sale, 4246 Dorrel 2 & 3

bedroom, starting $87,900.Near Paul Young Dodge.Call

956-237-2377LOTS FOR SALE 70

5400 McPherson 144 x300 Zone Commercial, $12.50sq.ft.

725-3000BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 82

Sell personalized children’s books. Large se-lections great titles $1,750

Call:(956)726-8982

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED 122

6 Data Entry Clerks Needed.

Must type 40 WPM,resume need, Bi-lingual.

1705 E. Del Mar Blvd.#116 Times Square Plaza

Tel. (956) 723-4980

ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTJOB POSTING

Position: Instructional Assistant, MariachiMinimum Maximum

Salary: $13,958.00 $21,587.00Pay Grade: Paraprofessional-Pay Grade1Minimum Duty Days: 187 Days

1. Possess a high school diploma or its equivalent and2. Meet one of the following qualifications:

A. Completion of an associate’s degree or higher degree from an accredited institution.

B. Possess 48 semester credit hours from an accredited institution.

C. Successful completion of a rigorous training program approved by the Superintendent.

D. Passing scores on the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA). (Exemptions based on the SAT/ACT or TAKS are accepted).

3. Must have experience in music instruction.Preferred Experience: Some experience working with children.

Demonstrated ability to work effectively and harmoniously with administrators and other staff.Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both in written form and orally.Possess technical skills necessary to perform essential job requirements, such as adequate knowledge of subject matter, sound teaching methodology, and effective discipline techniques.Treat all people with dignity and respect.

Deadline For Applying: Monday, December 14, 2009 @ 5:00P.M.Applications may be obtained from:

Human Resources DepartmentP.O. Box 158

17th and CarlaZapata, Texas 78076

(956)765-6858 Fax (956)765-5940We consider applicants for all position without regard to race, color,

national origin, age, religion, sex, marital or veteran status, thepresence of a medical condition, disability or any other legally

protected status. An Equal Opportunity Employer

MinimumRequirements:

SpecialKnowledge/Skills:

THE ZAPATA TIMES | 3BSATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it: FAMILY CIRCUS

BABY BLUES ZITS

DENNIS THE MENACE

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2009

LAKE BUENA VISTA,Fla. — Colt McCoy’s nearblunder in the final sec-onds of the Big 12 titlegame hasn’t cost him onthe awards circuit so far.

It hasn’t hurt the con-ference, either.

McCoy capped a bigThursday for the Big 12,winning the MaxwellAward for the nation’sbest all-around player.

It was just the latest ina series of postseasonhonors for McCoy, who al-so is a finalist for theHeisman Trophy. He wonthe Walter Camp FootballFoundation’s player of theyear award for the secondconsecutive season.

Before he beat out fel-low Heisman finalistsMark Ingram of Alabamaand Tim Tebow of Floridafor the Maxwell, hepicked up the DaveyO’Brien Award at the an-nual college footballawards at Disney World,given to the nation’s bestquarterback.

“To win awards likethis shows that you’regreatly respected,” McCoysaid. “It means people seethe things that you do,and you’re rewarded forthem.”

Apparently they didn’tsee his last play. Or may-be they just let it slip.

The Longhorns (13-0)needed a field goal astime expired to beat Ne-braska 13-12 in the Big 12title game Saturday night.But on the second-to-lastplay, McCoy nearly let theclock strike zero on a roll-out that surely had Long-horns fans gasping.

McCoy said his twoawards Thursday nightdoesn’t give him any indi-cation how the Heismanrace will play out.

“Who knows? All theseawards are voted on bydifferent groups of peo-ple,” McCoy said. “I reallydon’t pay attention to it. Itry to stay away fromthat. You’re going to heargood things and badthings, and I don’t neces-sarily feel you need tohear either one of them.”

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy poses with his trophy after win-ning the Davey O’Brien Award for best quarterback at the HomeDepot ESPNU College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista , Fla.,on Thursday.

Photo by John Raoux | AP

QB takingover awards

By ANTONIO GONZALEZASSOCIATED PRESS

SOUTH BEND, Ind. —Brian Kelly has his dreamjob. Now he has to figureout how to turn NotreDame back into a nationalchampionship contender.

The former Cincinnaticoach was introduced Fri-day as the new coach of theFighting Irish, a storiedprogram that hasn’t won atitle in 21 years. With hisfamily watching from themiddle of the football audi-torium and with a stand-ing-room crowd of morethan 200 people listening,Kelly said he knows thereare challenges and he’sready for them.

“When I refer to thechallenge, it’s strictly get-ting to that high bar that’sbeen set at Notre Dame,”said Kelly, who signed afive-year deal with theIrish. “We’ve got challeng-es, but we’ll go to work onthose right away.”

Asked how long thatwould take, Kelly de-murred.

“We don’t get a five-yearplan. This is a five-minuteplan,” he said. “We expectour football players to playat a high level immediately.Timetables, we don’t wantto get into those — thoseare a setup.”

Easy decisionAthletic director Jack

Swarbrick said Kelly wasthe first candidate he spoketo and the only one he of-fered the job to. Kelly wise-cracked that he didn’t “doo-dle the ND diagram” at hisother jobs, but hoped hecould one day run the Irishand called the job the “cul-mination” of 19 years ofcoaching.

Kelly met with his play-ers for 25 minutes Friday.He said he didn’t have firmimpressions of the teambuilt by Charlie Weis, savefor watching some film of asingle game earlier thisseason.

“It’s not just about get-ting bigger, stronger, fas-ter,” he said. “It’s gettingyour players to trust, to beaccountable on a daily ba-sis, it’s about developingthem as young men. ... Toget people to do things thatthey would not normallydo on their own.”

Irish players said theywere excited about theirnew coach. Tight end KyleRudolph, who is from Cin-cinnati, said he’s been get-ting calls from Bearcatsplayers and other friendswho attend Cincinnati.

“I’ve heard nothing butgreat things so I’m excitedto get things going,” hesaid. “I’ve gotten a few textmessages saying that I’vestolen their coach.”

New startDayne Crist, the only

quarterback on scholarshipleft on the team after Jim-my Clausen announced heis entering the NFL draft,said he is excited about theidea of running the spreadoffense even though hecommitted to Weis, whoran a pro-style offense.

“It’s great to see the ver-satility he has. Obviouslyhe’s a tremendous coach,”said Crist, who hopes to beready for spring practiceafter tearing his anteriorcruciate ligament in hisright knee against Wash-ington State on Oct. 31.

The 47-year-old Kelly of-ficially takes over Monday,starting the job he has al-ways wanted. His Twitterpage got a complete make-over after the announce-ment. The background fea-tured Notre Dame’s stadi-um, and the biographylisted South Bend as his lo-

cation.“Thrilled to be the coach

of the Notre Dame FightingIrish,” the bio said. “Com-mitted to stirring Peoplewith PASSION and PUR-POSE.”

Recent problemsHe won’t have a difficult

time stirring the Irishfaithful. The question iswhether he can succeedwhere his predecessorsfailed, returning NotreDame to BCS prominenceand keeping those fans onhis side.

He headed to SouthBend with slightly less jobsecurity than previouscoaches. The last threeNotre Dame coaches start-ed with six-year deals —Weis, Tyrone Willinghamand George O’Leary, whoresigned five days after hishiring. The last coach toget a five-year deal was BobDavie, who took the job af-ter the 1996 season.

Notre Dame has gone 16-21 over the past three sea-sons and is losing two of itsbest offensive players. Clau-sen and his favorite receiv-er, Golden Tate, announcedMonday they will enter theNFL draft.

Prior experienceKelly grew up in Chel-

sea, Mass., and went to As-

sumption College, a Catho-lic school in Worcesterwhere he played linebacker.He got a degree in politicalscience and later workedon Gary Hart’s 1984 presi-dential campaign in theBoston area.

He was a head coach atDivision II Grand ValleyState in Michigan, wherehe won back-to-back na-tional titles. He built Cen-tral Michigan into a win-ning program in threeyears, and then in 2006took over at Cincinnati forMark Dantonio.

Kelly built the Bearcatsinto a Big East powerhouseand his departure comes asthe undefeated Bearcatsare preparing to play Flor-ida in the Sugar Bowl.Some players, notably re-ceiver Mardy Gilyard, saidthey felt Kelly had aban-doned them for a biggerpaycheck.

“I handled myself in amanner that was upfrontand honest,” he said.“When I had the opportuni-ty to inform our team, Icertainly did that. I’m for-ever grateful to the playersat Cincinnati for what theygave me. They gave me thisopportunity.”

He added: “You would al-ways want it to end withthe best story. The best sto-ry would be that I get tocoach in the Sugar Bowl.But I’m at Notre Damenow, and this is where Iwant to be.”

Kelly excited for his dream jobBy TOM COYNE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brian Kelly addresses the media during a press conference to introduce him as the new Notre Damehead football coach on Friday in South Bend, Ind. The former Cincinnati coach met with media aftermeeting with Irish players on Friday.

Photo by Joe Raymond | AP

ARLINGTON — RichHarden looks forward tothe opportunity to put hisinjury woes in the past andpitch 200 innings a seasonfor the Texas Rangers.

Harden has averaged9.35 strikeouts per nine in-nings over the past sevenseasons, more than anypitcher with at least 125starts in that span.

Now if he could justpitch a full season. Theright-hander has been onthe disabled list seventimes the past five years.

“I’ve learned to try toput it behind me. There’salways going to be thosequestions (about health),”Harden said Friday. “I basi-cally use it as motivation towork harder and be outthere every fifth day. Hope-fully have a whole bunch ofhealthy seasons here andput it behind me. But I feelgreat.”

Busy weekThe Rangers introduced

their new starter after abusy week at the wintermeetings, where they trad-ed Kevin Millwood to helpclear payroll space. Hardenwill get $6.5 million nextseason and can earn anoth-er $2.5 million in perform-ance bonuses.

There is an $11.5 millionmutual option for 2011.

Harden was 9-9 in 26starts last season for the

Chicago Cubs. He missednearly a month in the mid-dle of the season with alower back strain.

“Definitely, my ultimategoal is go out there andmake every start,” Hardensaid. “Make 30-plus startsand reach 200 innings, I ex-pect that out of myself ev-ery season. Unfortunately,some things have happenedin the past that haven’t al-lowed me to. I truly feelthat I am getting closer todoing that.”

Harden, who turned 28last month, had to pass a

physical before the agree-ment was finalized.

“We truly believe thebest of his career is aheadof him,” team president No-lan Ryan said.

Primary targetGeneral manager Jon

Daniels said Harden wasthe Rangers’ primary tar-get going into the offseasonand had been coveted forquite some time.

“You really don’t have tofollow him all that closely

to know what a dominantupper rotation starter he’sgot the ability to be andhas been in his career,” Da-niels said. “We know whathe’s capable of. He can goin there and flat shut downan opposing lineup.”

Harden struck out 171batters in 141 innings lastseason for the Cubs, whoacquired him in a tradefrom Oakland in July 2008.He was drafted by the Ath-letics and made his majorleague debut in 2003.

Harden is 50-29 with a3.39 ERA in seven big

league seasons, but hasthrown more than 148 in-nings only once (189 2-3 in-nings in 2004). He has beenon the DL for a strainedleft oblique (2005), strainedback (2006 and 2009),sprained elbow ligament(2006), and strained shoul-der (twice in 2007 and oncein 2008).

Other possibilitiesDaniels also said there

was nothing new on thepending deal to acquire

2007 World Series MVPMike Lowell from the Bos-ton Red Sox.

The 35-year-old thirdbaseman was an All-Starfour times from 2002-07, hit-ting .324 with 21 homersand 120 RBIs in 2007. Buthe slumped to 73 RBIs in2008 and 75 RBIs this year,hitting 17 homers each sea-son.

Lowell had surgery inOctober 2008 to repair atorn labrum in his righthip and remove a bonespur on a thigh bone. He isowed $12 million in 2010,the final season of a $37.5million, three-year con-tract.

That deal would be sub-ject to physicals and Bos-ton would have to pay asubstantial part of Lowell’ssalary. So there is still workto be done before Lowellgoes to Texas as a designat-ed hitter and backup firstbaseman, likely for catcherMax Ramirez.

“But we feel pretty goodabout it,” Ryan said.“There would be a lot ofbenefit to that. When youhave a young ballclub likewe have, when you can getan individual of that char-acter and that status, it def-initely has an impact onyour ballclub.”

Daniels acknowledgedFriday that it is unlikelythat Texas would be able tore-sign Marlon Byrd. Theoutfielder turned down sal-ary arbitration and is seek-ing a three-year deal.

The Rangers did agree toterms with television play-by-play man Josh Lewin ona contract for 2010 with amutual option for 2001. Le-win also works on broad-casts for the NFL’s San Die-go Chargers.

Harden ready for his role as Rangers’ new ace

New Texas Rangers pitcher Rich Harden, center, poses with general manager John Daniels, left, and team president Nolan Ryan, right, dur-ing a news conference on Friday in Arlington.

Photo by Mike Fuentes | AP

RHP hoping forbest season yet

By STEPHEN HAWKINSASSOCIATED PRESS