serving anthony, vinton, canutillo, east montana, …may 24, 2007 · seay was named the secondary...

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO MAY 24, 2007VOL. 34, No. 21

NEWSBRIEFS

See BRIEFS, Page 4

The enemy you make today may be theonly one who can help you twenty-fiveyears from now.

— Quips & Quotes

1973

2007YEARS34

Clint ISD ‘biz kids’number one in nation

ChampionsEAST EL PASO COUNTY — The MountainView High School chapter of the Business

— Photos courtesy Clint ISD

THE BIG SCREEN — Mountain View High School Website Design Team members SandraPerez and Nataly Garcia, center, are shown on stage flanked by the second and thirdplace design teams. TEAM #1 by the school’s name said it all during the awardsceremony at the Business Professionals of America conference in New York City.

Jonathan Roman

Marisela HigaredaDustin Blystone

Nataly GarciaSandra Perez

Professionals of America (BPA) WebsiteDesign Team of Jonathan Roman, SandraPerez, and Nataly Garcia was named num-ber one in the nation at the BPA NationalLeadership Conference in New York CityMay 9-13, 2007. They had placed first at thestate level over 30 other competitors toqualify for national competition, where theyprevailed over 35 teams. Their lead advisorwas Janis Andrade assisted by DustinBlystone. Marisela Higareda, who won firstplace over 33 other competitors at the statelevel in Computer Network Technology,placed 13 out of 59 at the national level.Blystone was also her advisor. This is thethird consecutive year the Mountain ViewChapter of BPA has had teams and/or indi-viduals qualify for the national competition.Over 5,000 people attended the conferencefrom the 23 states with BPA chapters.

— Contributed by Laura Cade

Janis Andrade

SAN ELIZARIO — San Elizario Inde-pendent School District teachers and em-ployees were honored at the 2007 StarRecognition Banquet for their exceptionaljob performances and contributions to the

district . Thedistrict’s Teacherof the Year andEmployee of theYear winners werealso announcedduring the event.

Jefferey DukeSeay was namedthe SecondaryTeacher of theYear. Seay is an11th and 12thgrade EnglishLanguage Arts

Teacher who has been at San Elizario HighSchool for four years. Seay also currentlyserves as the chair of the English Lan-guage Department and class of 2009 spon-

sor. “There’s chal-lenges but I thinkit gives me moreincentive to try tomeet those chal-lenges and to try tobe creative and in-novative withwhat I do in theclassroom,” Seaysaid about being ateacher.

The ElementaryTeacher of theYear was Veronica

J. Brashear, a 4th grade Teacher atSambrano Elementary. Brashear, withover nine years teaching experience, isalso very involved with after-school ac-tivities at the campus including organiz-ing meetings and the science expo. Goingabove and beyond for students is a qual-ity that Brashear believes should be in-herent in all teachers. “I will do anythingfor my students to be successful — theirsuccesses are my successes,” Brashearsaid.

Eloy Anaya, a Security Officer at ExcellAcademy who has been employed with thedistrict for over 21 years was awarded theemployee of the year award. “I’ve beenworking with kids for a long time now andit makes me feel good to see them get ahead,”Anaya said in reference to the students heinteracts with at Excell.

The two district Teacher of the Year win-ners will now move on to represent SanElizario ISD in the Region 19 Teacher of theYear competition.

The annual banquet was held on May 17at the Mission Valley Ballroom where morethan 100 teachers, district personnel, rela-tives and other guests were on hand to rec-ognize the noteworthy contributions of the15 teachers and employees nominated for thedistrict’s top honors.

Special to the CourierBy Cynthia P. Marentes

San Elizario ISDannounces Teacherand Employee ofthe Year honorees

Jefferey Duke Seay

Veronica J. Brashear

CANUTILLO — Nora Aguilar, CanutilloElementary School special education teacher,and Hermes Forbes, Jose J. Alderete MiddleSchool bilingual education teacher, will repre-sent Canutillo ISD in the Region 19 Teacherof the Year awards program.

The District selection committee namedAguilar as the Elementary Teacher of the Yearand Forbes as CISD’s Secondary Teacher ofthe Year for 2007. Their respective campusesnominated them.

Aguilar began her teaching career at CISDseven years ago and currently teaches life skillsin a self-contained classroom for students with

Canutillo ISD selects Teachers of the Yearspecial needs. Forbes has taught for eight years

Hermes ForbesNora Aguilar

See CANUTILLO ISD, Page 4

By Kim GuzmanSpecial to the Courier

Food Stamp ChallengeThe West Texas Food Bank has challengedall elected officials to call attention to“Hunger Awareness Month” by living offthe food that an average food stamp re-cipient receives. The Food Stamp Programhas been America’s first line of defenseagainst hunger. From May 29 - June 5, par-ticipants are challenged to restrict theirdaily food costs to the same budget that isavailable to food stamp recipients — themaximum allocation per person in Texasis $5 per day. The average for El PasoCounty’s 10,000 Food Stamp recipients is$22.45 per person per week. This breaksdown to $3.20 per day or $1.06 per meal.Hyta Folsom, WTFB Executive Director,said people with insufficient food dollarsoften eat food that is filling, such as beansor rice, as opposed to food that is healthysuch as fruits and vegetables. This can ul-timately contribute to diabetes, heart prob-lems and obesity. “Taking the Food StampChallenge allows us to ‘walk in theirshoes’ and better understand the chal-lenges of eating healthy on a daily bud-get,” said Hyta. Committed to participat-ing in the food stamp challenge is MayorJohn Cook and City Reps. Susie Byrd,Alexandro Lozano, Eddie Olguin, BetoO’Rourke, and Steve Ortega; and CountyCommissioners Veronica Escobar, DanHaggerty, and Miguel Teran. To partici-pate in the Food Stamp Challenge e-mailSiria Rocha at [email protected] go to the website at WTxFoodBank.organd sign up.

SISD graduationNearly 2,000 graduating seniors from thefour Socorro Independent School Districthigh schools are preparing for their walkacross the stage next week. For the firsttime, military parents stationed overseasand other out-of-town parents will be ableto watch the graduations live on theinternet via video streaming through theSocorro ISD website (www.sisd.net) andthe Army Online site. The ceremonies willalso be archived for parents to watch lateras well. The four high schools will holdcommencement ceremonies from May 25through 28 at the Socorro Student Activi-ties Complex, 1300 Joe Battle Blvd.May 2007 Graduation Dates• Montwood High School: Friday, May 25at 7:30 p.m.• Socorro High School: Saturday, May 26at 7:30 p.m.• El Dorado High School: Sunday, May27 at 7:30 p.m.• America High School: Monday, May 28at 7:30 p.m.Family and friends attending the ceremo-nies are encouraged to arrive at least 30minutes prior to the start of the ceremony.Balloons, noise makers, glass containersand banners are not permitted in theSocorro Student Activities Complex. Dueto safety concerns with the turf at the SAC,

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WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER May 24, 2007

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PublisherRick Shrum

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ContributorsDon WoodyardSteve Escajeda

Arleen Beard • Jan Engels

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Member Texas CommunityNewspaper Association News, Inc.

HomesteaderEst. 1973

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

1973

2007

YEARS34

One perspectiveBy Francis Shrum

Por la Gente By State Rep. Chente Quintanilla

Hola, migente. Thoseof you who

follow the legislature know that thecurrent session is almost at an end.We will be adjourning on May 28.This legislative session has seensome significant education billsvoted in both houses.

The first education issue thatmoved was contained in the appro-priation bill. Two very important sur-prises passed the House: a measurethat prohibited any monies to bespent on vouchers and the othereliminating incentive pay and insteaddirecting funds toward a teacher payraise. The passage of the appropria-tions bill with those two provisionsmarked a stark departure from pre-vious actions in the House. For themost part, teachers and benefits forteachers had been under attack by theultra conservative leadership. I wasvery proud when the vote so over-whelmingly supported our teachers.

Also, the House voted for the first

Education and teachers benefitedfrom this legislative session

time in years to provide retired teach-ers with an additional paycheck; as wasthe tradition for many years prior. Inany case, the passage of the pay raiseswas a major statement in support ofteachers by the House of Representa-tives. I understand that the Senate isnot going to show the same support.The amount of increase for teacherswill be less and there is some questionwhether the retirees will be favorablyconsidered by the Senate as well.

Regarding specific issues affectingeducation, none has received moreattention than the TAKS testing.Senator Shapiro filed a bill, SenateBill 1031, that replaces the TAKS asthe single test that determinedwhether our students graduated.

While assessment of our students isimportant, the problem is the TAKStest became the focus for school cur-riculum in lieu of traditional teachings.Our students deserve a diversified edu-cation, one that provides them with asolid basis for going to higher educa-tion. The test failed to benefit students

when teaching the TAKS and achiev-ing district wide performance stan-dards became the focus in class-rooms. I agree with the change.

Currently, conflicting House andSenate versions of the bill do elimi-nate the TAKS as the sole determi-nant for graduation. At this time, aconference committee of House andSenate members is negotiating thefinal bill. One thing is certain, theTAKS will be replaced with severalyear end tests and students will havethe opportunity to attain an averagepassing score to graduate; a definiteplus. TAKS will probably still be uti-lized as an assessment tool in primaryand middle schools, depending on thefinal outcome of SB 1031.

The change in the TAKS test is agreat example of teachers and par-ents strongly voicing their concerns.Thankfully, the legislature respondedcorrectly.

Gracias, and I remain your friendand public servant, Chente por lagente.

I’m not ateacher.

Well, not a teacher in the sense thatI have a college degree or helpedlarge numbers of kids obtain knowl-edge that is essential to their future. Ijust took on the education of twokids. Mine.

When my two youngest were inearly elementary school, I was facedwith a terrible reality. The school towhich I was entrusting the bedrockyears of my kids’ education was sohopelessly hamstrung by the educa-tion system that it was not going tobe able to do the job.

It is a cold, frightening feelingwhen a mother realizes that she can’tdo a worse job of teaching her kidsthan the school is doing.

This is not an indictment of teach-ers. Even before I startedhomeschooling, I admired my kids’teachers. Five years of doing it my-self was enough to put me forever inawe of every man or woman whoanswers this calling, especially facedwith the uphill battle they must wageevery day to try to get someone else’skid to learn something, while fre-quently being sabotaged not only bythe system that regulates their class-room but all too often by the parentsof the kids they are trying to teach.

I hope that I never made anyteacher feel like I was against them.I wasn’t. I admired every effort theymade. The problem was that theywere not allowed to discipline theirown classrooms, regulate their ownteaching environment, and just dowhat they do best — teach.

Instead, I saw they were function-ing under a constant barrage of in-structions to attend this meeting orthat, obtain this training or that, uti-lize this process or that. Meanwhile,

Educationalguinea pigs

because their teaching was ob-structed, my kid wasn’t learning.

Now, my story isn’t heroic. Itdoesn’t have a child in it that washandicapped, had a learning disabil-ity or was emotionally disturbed, soI wasn’t facing some of the really bigobstacles a lot of parents do. My littlestudents liked school, liked readingand writing, liked each other, and —most of the time — liked me. So wedid okay.

I’m not a real smart, crafty momwho can devise her own curriculumout of thin air, bake cookies and doscience projects all at the same time.I was scared to death. Thankfully,homeschooling doesn’t suffer thesame lack of support it once did, so Ihad plenty of resources readily avail-able. I chose a good, solidhomeschool course of the three R’s,set a schedule, and off we went.

I realized early on that they weregoing to eventually outpace me, es-pecially in math, so I set the basicgoal of getting them back into theschool system by high school — af-ter they had a reasonably solid foun-dation in how to read, write, do somemath, and in how to learn.

An essential tool I used during mybrief teaching tenure was yearlyachievement tests to measure howmuch they were actually retainingfrom their school work. It was ameans to an end. It wasn’t the enditself.

You’re probably way ahead of meby now. You know I’m getting aroundto the TAKS test and how Texasschools have been forced to “teachto the test” or be penalized by thestate. Because the test makes nosense, the schools have to teach a

See TEACH, Page 5

May 24, 2007 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

Reyes Reports By U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes

— Photo courtesy Canutillo ISD

Canutillo ISD unveilsSgt. Isela Rubalcava Blvd.UPPER VALLEY — The Canutillo Independent School District Board ofTrustees recently honored a falled Canutillo soldier killed in the IraqWar by naming the street that runs between Canutillo High School andEl Paso Community College’s Northwest campus, as Sgt. IselaRubalcava Boulevard. More than 120 guests attended the event thatfeatured guest speaker Colonel Heidi Brown, Assistant Commandant/Deputy Commander of Fort Bliss. CISD presented the Rubalcava fam-ily with a specially designed street sign replica. Pictured, from left, areSgt. Rubalcava’s family members, Ramon Rubalcava (father) with CISDBoard President, Sergio Coronado; Maria Isela Rubalcava (mother) andFernando Rubalcava (brother).

— Contributed by Kim Guzman

“The legacyof heroes isthe memory

of a great name and the inheritanceof a great example.”

This iconic quote by Britishstatesman Benjamin Disraeli in-vokes the spirit and substance ofMemorial Day, which we celebratethis coming Monday, May 28. Herein El Paso, we have mourned theloss of service members whoserved in Iraq and Afghanistan andpray for their families and lovedones. Yet, in the midst of this sor-row, we lift up their courage andselflessness, and will forever re-member them as true Americanheroes.

This spirit and bravery is alsoevident in those who have returnedfrom Iraq and Afghanistan withlife-altering injuries. These menand women will honor their fallencomrades on Memorial Day, andare furthering their legacy byworking hard, through emotional

Memorial Day is about sorrow,selflessness and courage

and physical pain, to rebuild theirlives. A disturbingly large numberof these veterans have lost limbs,and it is the responsibility of mycolleagues and me in Congress todo all we can to facilitate their re-covery.

This sense of responsibility led meearlier this year to introduce the Vet-erans Amputee Assistance Act of2007. In March, Major L. TammyDuckworth, a decorated Iraq Warveteran who lost both legs when herhelicopter was hit by a rocket-pro-pelled grenade, and who is now theDirector of the Illinois Departmentof Veterans Affairs, testified on thechallenges of amputees whentransitioning from Department ofDefense to Department of Veterans’Affairs (VA) care.

I have met with MajorDuckworth and an El Pasoan whois now an amputee, and all injuredservicemen and women who facethese challenges will require VAcare for the rest of their lives. At

this point, it is apparent that the VAdoes not have the tools they needto care for them, and we need toensure we have the technology andpersonnel to provide for these menand women. Director Duckworth,whom I met in May 2005 when shetestified before the House Commit-tee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcom-mittee on Oversight and Investiga-tion, worked with me on the finallanguage of this bill.

This legislation I have proposedwould require the VA to: complete areview of its prosthetic laboratories,clinics and prosthesists; certify itsorthotic/prosthetic laboratories andclinics; allow disabled veterans toobtain new devices and seek care forrepair and servicing from outside theVA system if not provided within theVA; and develop a plan for inform-ing disabled veterans on recent tech-nological advances in the field ofprosthetics.

As I referenced above,”[t]helegacy of heroes is the memory of

HORIZON CITY — A longtimeresident of Horizon City, Marga-ret “Peggy” Schairer died May 16at the age of 82. She was the widowof another well-remembered Ho-rizon resident, Karl Schairer.

Memorial services will be heldtoday, Thursday, May 24, at 7 p.m.at Martin Funeral Home, 1460George Dieter, with interment atFt. Bliss National Cemetery.

Peggy was born to JamesO’Very and Margaret Clark onFeb. 24, 1924, in Rock Springs,Wyoming. She spent her childhoodand graduated from high schoolthere. Peggy attended St. Mary’sSchool of Nursing in Salt LakeCity, Utah. When she obtained herRN license, she was hired by theLatter Day Saints Hospital in SaltLake.

In 1951, she enlisted with the

U.S. Army Nursing Corp., servingin hospitals in Ft. Sam Houston, Ft.Bragg and Ft. Bliss, where she metand married Karl Schairer. Theywere both deployed to Germany,where she was stationed atStuttgart Army Hospital. Peggywas awarded both the National De-fense Service Medal and the Armyof Occupation Medal.

She resigned her commission asa captain and the Schairers re-turned to Ft. Bliss. They bought ahome in Horizon City in 1974.

The couple had one child, adaughter named Karla, who diedwhen she was a small child. AfterKarla’s death, Peggy became thechief operating nurse at WilliamBeaumont Military Hospital in ElPaso and eventually retired after alengthy service and receivingmany outstanding service awards.

Margaret ‘Peggy’ Schairer dies

a great name and the inheritance ofa great example,” and it is so im-portant that we remember the sto-ries of those we have lost and livein a manner that honors their sac-rifices. Our injured veterans do this

day in and day out as they seek torebuild their lives, and on Memo-rial Day and always, our fallen he-roes and these courageous men andwomen serve as inspiration andencouragement to us all.

www.wtccourier.com


PUBLIC NOTICEEl Paso County Water Control& Improvement District No. 4

United States Department of AgricultureRural Development Loan/Grant Application

Public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 29, 2007 hasbeen canceled and rescheduled as follows:

Please note that the meeting has been relocated toaccomodate all interested persons.

El Paso County Water Control & Improvement DistrictNo. 4 will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 5, 2007at 6:00 p.m. at the Fabens ISD Primary SchoolAuditorium at 301 Camp NE, Fabens, Texas to receiveinput from the citizens on a proposed submission of anapplication to U.S. Department of Agriculture RuralDevelopment.

El Paso County Water Control & Improvement DistrictNo. 4 is anticipating submission of an application for$414,334 for water projects.

Citizens are urged to attend and state their consents orobjections at this meeting. A project summary will beoutlined at this time.

Citizens unable to attend may submit their views and pro-posals to the El Paso County Water Control & Improve-ment District No. 4, P.O. Box 3880, Fabens, Texas 79838-3880. Persons with disabilities that wish to attend thismeeting should contact Geri de la Torre at (915) 764-2212 to arrange for assistance. Individuals who requireauxiliary aids should contact the District Office at least 2days before the meeting so that appropriate arrangementscan be made.

WTCC: 05/24/07


El Paso County Water Control & Improvement DistrictNo. 4 will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 5, 2007at 6:00 p.m. at the Fabens Primary School Auditorium,301 Camp NE, Fabens, Texas to receive input from thecitizens on the water and wastewater rate analysis (ratestudy) and long term financial plan presented byEconomists.com. Citizens are urged to attend and statetheir consents or objections at this meeting.


WTCC: 05/24/07

To AdvertiseCall 852-3235

and has been with CISD for four years.He is currently teaching sixth gradein the bilingual education program.

“I will always remember my mostgratifying experience as an educator,it was at the end of my first year ofteaching and one of my student’s par-

ents came in tears to see me andthanked me for the progress that herchild had made in my class,” saidAguilar.

“I became a teacher because Iwanted to make a constructive im-pact and be a positive influence androle model in the academic and sociallives of my students,” said Forbes.

Aguilar and Forbes will now com-pete with teachers from surroundingschool districts for regional honors

as part of the Texas Teacher of theYear Program. The winners, whichwill be announced in late August, willadvance to the State Teacher of theYear program.

The Texas Teacher of the Year an-nual event is the highest honor thatthe state can bestow upon a teacher.The Texas Education Agency re-wards and recognizes excellence inthe teaching profession through theTexas Teacher of the Year Program.

Canutillo ISDFrom Page 1______________________

no graduate will be permitted towear spiked high heels. Onlygraduates will be permitted to beon the field before, during andafter commencement exercises.

Expensive fruitU.S. Customs and Border Protec-tion (CBP) officers working at theStanton Street SENTRI/Dedi-cated Commuter Lane (DCL)seized five undeclared mangosSaturday afternoon from a 39-year-old female El Paso resident.Failure to disclose the fruit costher a $500 penalty and the revo-cation of her DCL crossing privi-leges. “CBP has a zero tolerancepolicy regarding violations in theDedicated Commuter Lane,” saidDavid Longoria, U.S. Customsand Border Protection El PasoPort Director. “DCL users areconsidered trusted travelers, how-ever, they are still subject to in-spection. We trust DCL users butwe also verify to insure that theDCL is not compromised.” Un-like avocados, mangos are stillprohibited even if the pit/seed hasbeen removed. Last week, areaCBP officers made a total of 15different food and agriculturalseizures during the week, result-ing in $4,250 in penalties beingassessed. Along with mangos,prohibited items seized that wereseized last week included rawpork, bologna, pork skins,chorizo, chicharones, avocados,oranges, passion fruit, potatoes,citrus leaves, and live plants.

In other news� The Junior Woman’s Club ofEl Paso is hosting a member-ship drive through June 30.Benefits of membership includeopportunities for community in-volvement, meeting new peopleand building lasting friend-ships. Membership is open towomen ages 22 to 50. ContactCeci Fierro at 595-2715 or LucyLoya at 590-8780.

� You can fight skyrocketinggas prices by taking control ofyour vehicle’s unnecessary fuel

consumption. Performing simpleand inexpensive vehicle mainte-nance will not only save gas moneybut will also improve a vehicle’ssafety and dependability. The CarCare Council offers these gas-sav-ings maintenance and driving tips:• Check your vehicle gas cap.About 17 percent of the vehicleson the roads have gas caps that areeither damaged, loose or are miss-ing, causing 147 million gallons ofgas to vaporize every year.• When tires aren’t inflated prop-erly, it’s like driving with the park-ing brake on, and can cost a mileor two per gallon.• A vehicle can have either four,six or eight spark plugs, which fireas many as three million times each1,000 miles, resulting in a lot ofheat, electrical and chemical ero-sion. A dirty spark plug causesmisfiring, which wastes fuel. Sparkplugs need to be replaced regularly.• An air filter that is clogged withdirt, dust and bugs chokes off theair and creates a “rich” mixture —too much gas being burned for theamount of air, which wastes gasand causes the engine to losepower. Replacing a clogged air fil-ter can improve gas mileage by asmuch as 10 percent.• Keep your car properly tuned. Atune-up can improve your gasmileage by an average of four per-cent. Fixing a serious maintenanceproblem, such as a faulty oxygensensor, can improve your mileageby as much as 40 percent.

� The U.S. Department of Edu-cation has awarded almost $1 mil-lion in federal funds to the El Pasocommunity for the Upward Boundprogram which provides supportfor disadvantaged high school stu-dents in preparation for higher edu-cation. The U.S. Department ofEducation awarded:• $399,381 to the University ofTexas at El Paso (UTEP) UpwardBound program that serves theAnthony, Canutillo and El PasoIndependent School Districts(ISDs).• $339,011 to UTEP UpwardBound program that serves theYsleta ISD.• $249,910 to the El Paso Commu-nity College Upward Bound pro-gram that serves San Elizario andClint ISDs.Upward Bound serves high school

students from low-income fami-lies, high school students who areamong the first in their family topursue a college education, andlow-income, first-generationmilitary veterans who are prepar-ing to enter postsecondary edu-cation. Upward Bound is de-signed to prepare participants forthe rigors of a college education,and provide the tools they needto graduate and succeed.

� El Paso Fire Department Of-ficials would like to remind theCitizens of El Paso and the mem-bers of the media that this week,May 20-26, 2007, has been des-ignated as National EmergencyMedical Services (EMS) WeekThe nation’s 750,000 EMS pro-viders are the first point of con-tact in the health care system formany people having medicalemergencies. Their extraordinarycompassion, courage and exper-tise during those terrible momentswhen people need lifesaving caredeserve special recognition.The emergency medical servicessystem consists of emergencyphysicians, emergency nurses,emergency medical technicians,paramedics, firefighters, educa-tors, administrators and others.The members of emergencymedical services teams are readyto provide medical care to thosein need 24 hours a day, seven daysa week.Fire Officials remind you alwaysto call EMS if you or someonenear you needs immediate medi-cal treatment. To know when tomake the call to 911, ask your-self the following questions:• Is the victim’s condition life-threatening?• Does it appear the victim re-quires emergency medical inter-vention as soon as possible?• Could the victim’s conditionworsen and become life threaten-ing on the way to the hospital?If your answer to any of thesequestions is “yes,” or if you areunsure, it is best to call 911. Para-medics and emergency medicaltechnicians can begin medicaltreatments at the scene and on theway to the hospital. They will alsoalert the emergency department ofyour condition en route.

— Contributed byLt. Mario E. Hernandez

BriefsFrom Page 1______________________

COLLEGE STATION — Cancerprevention screenings just becamemore affordable for women who havelittle or no health insurance, saidCourtney Schoessow, Texas Coopera-tive Extension program specialist forhealth education and development.

“On April 20, President Bushsigned the National Breast and Cer-

vical Cancer Early Detection Pro-gram Reauthorization Act (HR 1132)into law,” she said. “According to theNational Cancer Institute, this bill au-thorizes the National Breast and Cer-vical Cancer Early Detection Pro-gram to provide breast and cervicalcancer screenings to uninsured andunderinsured women.”

According to estimates from thecancer institute, this year 180,000women will be diagnosed with breastcancer and 11,000 with cervical cancer.

“Unfortunately many women withthese cancers do not know they haveit until it is in its advanced stages,” shesaid. “Early detection via healthscreenings is an important step.” Andthis legislation will make early detec-tion more affordable for many women.

“The program is expected to providemore than 700,000 screenings for low-income and underinsured women,” shesaid.

For information on who is eligiblefor these tests, Schoessow advisedvisiting the Texas Department ofState Health Services Web site atwww.dshs.state.tx.us/bcccs/andclicking on the link to “Eligibility.”“For example,” she said, “you can

qualify for a free or low-cost screen-ing if you have four people in yourhome and the annual maximumyearly salary is $41,300 or less.”Women who are concerned abouttheir risks for developing these dis-eases should talk to medical provid-ers, Schoessow said. Gettingscreened “could save your life,” shesaid.

— Contributed by Maru Barúa

Cancer screenings now more available to underinsured, uninsured women



United States Department of AgricultureRural Development Loan/Grant Application

Please note that the meeting has been relocated toaccomodate all interested persons.

El Paso County Water Control & Improvement DistrictNo. 4 will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 5, 2007at 6:00 p.m. at the Fabens ISD Primary SchoolAuditorium at 301 Camp NE, Fabens, Texas to receiveinput from the citizens on a proposed submission of anapplication to U.S. Department of Agriculture RuralDevelopment.

El Paso County Water Control & Improvement DistrictNo. 4 is anticipating submission of an application for$4,615,422 for a wastewater treatment plant.

Citizens are urged to attend and state their consents orobjections at this meeting. A project summary will beoutlined at this time.


WTCC: 05/24/07

— Photos courtesy by Roger Maier/CBP

EL PASO COUNTY — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)officers working at the Bridge of the Americas commercial cargofacility in El Paso seized 2,030 pounds of marijuana on the eveningof May 16. The seizure was made after a CBP drug-sniffing dogalerted to the shipment. CBP officers at the El Paso port of entrymade six other marijuana busts on Wednesday seizing an addi-tional 552 pounds of the drug. CBP officers made the one-ton drugseizure at approximately 5:30 p.m. when a tractor-trailer enteredthe facility from Mexico. CBP drug sniffing dog “Freedom” wasconducting a sweep of vehicles waiting in the queue before the

primary inspection boothwhen the dog alerted to atrailer hauling a load of thickmetal plates. CBP officerssearched the shipment anddiscovered a hollowed-outcompartment within the ship-ment of thick metal plates.CBP officers removed a totalof 890 marijuana-filled bundlesfrom the compartment.

Smugglers attempt to ‘steel’across border with drug load

— Photo courtesy Clint ISD

EAST MONTANA — The Mountain View Strutters competed at the Starbound National Talent Competition onMay 11-12 in Phoenix, Arizona, returning home with 15 golds, one silver and two Special Judges Awards.Judges were professional dancers, choreographers and ballerinas. The Strutters were the only public schoolto compete — the event had mostly private dance studios. They were also commended for professionalismand speed in changing costumes. Those attending the competition were Anahi Guerrero, Lupe Saldivar, NatalieSaldivar, Jose Montes, Israel Chavez, Evelyna Aldana, Georgina Barrios, Lucero Chavez, Joanna Cazazes,Pauline Dominguez, Raquel Onsurez, Laura Marquez, Paulette Pena, Jenny Aldape, Karen Morales and SylviaFlores. Dance Director Mary Allaire-Curtis sponsored six graduates on a tour of London, Paris and Rome lastyear to enrich their cultural understanding. In June of 2008, a similar group will visit Athens, Sicily and Rome.

archives:www.wtccourier.com

Mountain View Strutters make impression at competition

curriculum that doesn’t make muchsense either just so the kids can passit. The pressure and hype surround-ing the test are inane. The natural re-sult is that we’re not giving our kidsa well-rounded education.

I’m really glad that the Texas leg-islature may finally do somethingabout it. My only question is: Sinceeveryone knew it wasn’t working,

why on earth did they wait so long?It is unfortunate that in our at-

tempts to “fix” the teaching processwe are constantly disrupting the frag-ile thread of learning that takes placein a child’s life.

Math doesn’t change, it just buildson itself. The same with reading andwriting. Scientific knowledge keepsexpanding but the basic elements don’tchange. The fact that different kidslearn in different ways doesn’t changeeither, but instead of supporting teach-ers in implementing several forms ofteaching into a common environment

we engage in a frenzied, disruptivesearch for a one-size-fits-all formula.

If some hair-brained teachingmethod doesn’t work out, well, we’resorry about that, and move on tosomething else. Never mind that a kidonly gets to go through elementaryschool once. If he doesn’t get it then,no contingency plan in the world isgoing to give those precious yearsback to him.

Seems to me we’d have better re-sults teaching a curriculum of basic,functional knowledge and stop usingour kids as educational guinea pigs.

TeachFrom Page 2______________________


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SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

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YEARS34

There was a time when I considered BrettFavre to be one of the stand up guys in foot-ball, and all of sports, for that matter. But whatI’ve witnessed over the last few weeks haschanged my perception of him forever.

First of all, I had already lost a ton of re-spect for Favre when he began putting his per-sonal numbers ahead of the Green Bay Pack-ers’ goals.

I mean, the guy just won’t accept reality andsay goodbye to the game. His abilities havedeteriorated drastically and he’s turned into avery average quarterback, when he was onceconsidered among the best.

But even with all that, he was still a man’sman. By that I mean a guy who meant what hesaid, did what he promised and carried him-self with a touch of class.

But he has since turned into the NFL quar-terback version of the Phoenix Suns, whiningand complaining when he failed to get what hewanted.

Glory days are long gone for Favre and he should follow themFirst there was the tirade he made when the

Packers failed to acquire Randy Moss from theOakland Raiders. When the New England Pa-triots beat them to the punch, Favre was re-portedly very upset and told the team he wouldnot attend last week’s mandatory mini-campbecause he was going to help plan some par-ties for his daughter’s graduation.

Yeah, Favre and Martha Stewart have somuch in common.

Then, Favre’s agent hinted to the Packers thathis client wanted to be traded to another team.

The Packers’ quarterback voiced his dissat-isfaction with his team’s front office for notgiving him the weapons he’s needed to guidethem to the playoffs but has since denied thatany trade talks ever came up.

After Favre made the comment a coupleyears ago that he wasn’t sure he wanted theball in his hands with the game on the line any-more, he’s played like it.

I don’t know how well Favre is going to playthis season, but I don’t think he’ll be any bet-ter than he’s been the last three or four years.

It wasn’t long ago that Favre was regardedas favorably as a Derek Jeter, Tim Duncan or

Peyton Manning.Now he’s just another professional athlete

who thinks he’s bigger than his team, but hasno idea that he’s actually costing them.

Holyfield is the Real DealListening to Evander Holyfield speak at the

Don Haskins Center last week, it was refresh-ing to hear a pro boxer talk about what wasimportant to him and not spend the time bad-mouthing his opponent.

Holyfield talked about how he got started inboxing when he was eight years old and spokeof how his mother taught him that he couldbecome whatever he wanted to be.

He had nothing but respectful things to sayabout his opponent in his June 30 El Paso fight,Lou Savarese. He spoke about his belief in Godand his forgiveness of Mike Tyson, even afterMike bit off a chunk of his ear.

It was refreshing to watch one of the tough-est guys on the planet act like a human beinginstead of a raging animal. He showed that evenboxers can be civilized.

How can you not root for this guy to regainthe title? If for nothing else, he gives the sport

some much needed dignity and grace.

Athletes behavin’ badlyAny sophomore defensive tackle in college

football has got plenty to worry about — mak-ing sure he learns every play in the playbook,making sure he keeps his grades up and mak-ing sure he doesn’t sell his cocaine to any un-dercover officers.

And wouldn’t you know it, the one that Uni-versity of Idaho player Marvin Jones Jr. messedup was the last one.

Jones was arrested last week for selling co-caine to undercover officers, not once, nottwice, but on three separate occasions.

That’s thrice the stupidity of a normally stu-pid person.

It appears that Jones will have a hard timegetting out of this one. You see, police foundover $1,600 in his room, including marked billsthe police used to buy his cocaine.

Even worse news is that police have said thatmore arrests could come from this.

Jones is 6-2 and 300 pounds. I believe ofthat 300 pounds, his brain weighs in at aboutthree or four ounces.

LEGAL

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SCHOOLDISTRICT

Invitation toBid/Respond:

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TORNILLO — The Eighth GradeTornillo Baseball Team ended a greatseason with a second place finish inthe El Paso County Conference Tour-nament held on May 16-18. This isthe first time Tornillo has made it tothe championship game.

The Coyotes defeated Fabens 11-4 to make it to the championshipgame. “We had a great season,” said8th grade student Jesse Guerra. “Wewon all of our games and tied Clint.”This was the first year coaching theCoyote Baseball Team for BaseballCoach Alex Macias. He was assistedby Junior Zach Brooks from the Tor-nillo Varsity Baseball Team.

The two teams that made it to thechampionship game were Tornilloand Clint. Clint was last year’s de-fending champions. Justin Trevizoled the Coyotes pitching the entiregame racking up eleven strike outs.Ezequiel Madrid led the team in bat-ting with three RBI’s. Clint edged outthe victory against the Coyotes win-ning 6-4.

“We had fun this season and had acoach that really believed in us,” said8th grade student Danny Garcia.Many of the kids have plans to playvarsity baseball in the future.

— Photo courtesy Tornillo ISD

FIRST TRIP TO THE FINALS — The 8th grade Tornillo Junior HighBaseball Team, shown left to right, with JV Baseball Coach D. JoeWilliams and 8th grade Baseball Coach Alex Macias

Great season for Tornillo Junior High baseball team

EL PASO COUNTY — A meet-ing for landowners wanting to knowmore about the bird hunting industrywill be held in June. It’s designed foranyone who wants to improve bird hunt-ing, breed birds for release and protecttheir birds against disease losses, saidDr. Lee Cartwright, Texas CooperativeExtension poultry science specialist.

The conference is on June 15 from8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will be heldat the Texas A&M Research Center,located on 1380 A&M Circle, justpast I-10 and Americas Avenue. Reg-istration is free. Participants who pre-register will receive a free lunch.

Topics will include:• The Game Bird Business;• How to Hunt Your Property;• How to Manage Property for

Wild Birds;• Planting Your Property — At

What Cost?;• Promoting Your Birds and Your

Preserve; and• Threat-Proofing Your Business.Speakers will outline the national

poultry improvement plan. A hands-onsession with a disease-testing schooland necropsy/bird posting health ex-amination will also be presented.

Anyone interested in attending canregister by contacting Cartwright bymail: 107 Kleberg Center, TAMU2472, Texas A&M University,College Station, TX 77843-2472;phone: (979) 845-4319; e-mail:[email protected]; or onlinefrom http://gallus.tamu.edu/ (click onthe link for Workshops and Symposia).

Hunting bird grower and huntingpreserve conferences set for June


King Super Crossword

ComixOUT ON A LIMB By Gary Kopervas

AMBER WAVES By Dave T. Phipps

THE SPATS By Jeff Pickering

R.F.D. By Mike Marland

By Don FloodIn space news, we welcome the

report of a recently discoveredplanet said to be strikingly similarto Earth, though apparently lack-ing HBO.

Unfortunately, some outlets,such as the Daily Mail in London,got carried away, reporting: “It’sgot the same climate as Earth, pluswater and gravity. A newly discov-ered planet is the most stunningevidence that life — just like us —might be out there.”

OK, let’s get this straight. Thereis no planet anywhere with life“just like us,” though various epi-sodes of the “Star Trek” documen-tary series would seem to suggestotherwise.

Not even close. We are PlanetEarth, and we can proudly claimthe Weirdest Life Forms in theUniverse.

We’ve got Paris Hilton, AlbertoGonzales, Michael Jackson, NorthKorean leader Kim Jong II, andjust about everybody on reality TVshows, which includes three fifthsof the U.S. population.

If the inhabitants of Gliese 581 C— which is the rather lame name ofthe planet — think they match usfor weirdness, I say, “Bring it on.”

But we should still try to estab-lish good relations with Gliese 581C, which is why Earthlings shouldbe aware the planet revolvesaround a red dwarf-type star.

This is nothing to be embar-rassed about, but Gliesiens, whoalready suffer the stigma of livingon a planet whose name soundslike a subsection of the federal taxcode, may be sensitive about thissubject.

That’s why I’m proposing weknock off the dwarf jokes now andconsider banning dwarf-tossingcompetitions.

On the plus side, Gliese 581 C,unlike Earth, doesn’t appear tohave started its 2008 presidential

election, indicating it might actu-ally support intelligent life.

Unfortunately, here on Earth,where the search for intelligent lifecontinues unabated, especially onthe campaign trail, Rudy Giulianihas made it clear he’s CaptainClueless.

Recently, in a CNN.com story,Giuliani said that voters should fo-cus on his record and not his“rocky” personal life, which in-cludes three marriages.

Good call, Rudy. How aboutsuggesting we dispense with sing-ing the National Anthem beforebaseball games and hold flag-burnings instead?

Of course we’re going to focuson your personal life. This cam-paign is scheduled to go on another18 months — assuming we alldon’t die of boredom. You expectus to sit through policy statementsfor next year and a half?

What’s great about Giuliani isthat his current wife is also on herthird marriage, so it’s a 2-for-1deal.

The odds of one or the other orboth stumbling into an embarrass-ing personal scandal might surpasseven the chances for Bimbo Erup-tions during the Clinton years.

And that will be the key forGiuliani, milking the nostalgiavote.

At the time, people were out-raged at Clinton’s personal failingsbut in retrospect — after Bush —his administration has begun toacquire a rosy glow.

Americans are tired of foreign-and domestic-policy scandals.They want to get back to “nor-malcy” — 24/7 cable coverage ofpresidential sex scandals.

That’s what democracy is allabout. Hopefully, some day we canexport it to the citizens of Gliese581 C.______________________________________________________(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

Planet offers hope of intelligent life

PAILS INCOMPARISON

ACROSS 1 Evaluated 6 “Later, Luis!” 11 Start to paint 14 Reggae relative 17 Vision-related 19 _ acid 21 Samuel’s teacher 22 Existed 23 Queen Annechair? 24 Start of a remarkby Mary Waldrip 27 Party animal? 28 “Othello” villain 30 “_ Miniver” (’42film) 31 Racer Luyendyk 32 Presque _, ME 33 Where to spend akrona 37 It’s on the bee’sknees 39 Disconcert 42 Mosque feature 44 Washer residue 45 _ Raton, FL 46 Malice 47 Tombstoneterritory 51 Part 2 of remark 57 _ Tin Tin 58 From _ Z 59 Brandy bottle 60 84 Across, for one 61 Without _

(daringly) 62 “Thanks,Robespierre!” 64 Happen 67 Wipe out 69 Furniture wood 71 Hit rock bottom 75 Ade ingredients 76 Self-confidence 78 Andes animal 79 Ham up “Hamlet” 81 Gray or Moran 82 Diva Ponselle 84 Senegal’s capital 86 At once 89 Seixas of tennis 90 Part 3 of remark 95 Polished 97 English county 98 Rain hard? 99 About100 _ store102 First in a series103 Perceptive106 “Gunsmoke” star107 Muscat’s nation109 Fawn’s father110 Calculatingperson?111 Emulate Ederle112 Spring115 End of remark122 Summer hummer124 High peak125 Geologic division126 Ariel, for instance127 Like somewatches

128 Affirmative vote129 Combat130 Model ofsimplicity?131 Dote upon

DOWN 1 Actress Lillian 2 Exercise aftermath 3 Rotate 4 Jeff Lynne’s grp. 5 Coffeeaccompaniment 6 Choir member 7 Dit’s cousin 8 Cola cooler 9 Giant legend 10 Round Table title 11 Labor leaderEugene 12 Out of sorts 13 “American _” (’72hit) 14 Eddy 15 Couric of “Today” 16 Pallid 18 Genuine 20 Telescope view 25 Keatsian crock 26 Strauss specialty 29 Something ofvalue 32 Author Dinesen 33 Prowl 34 Poverty 35 Desire deified 36 Actress Moore 37 “Treasure Island”

extra 38 “I’m working _” 39 Eban of Israel 40 Canvas contest 41 Henchman 43 Burly Burl 44 Bolger/Haley co-star 48 Decorative 49 Sib’s kid 50 Pays to play 52 Violinist Zimbalist 53 RN’s specialty 54 “I Am … I _” (’71song) 55 Trigger Trigger 56 Ripped 61 Throw _ (rage) 63 North Carolinacampus 64 _-Locka, FL 65 Machine part 66 Security grp. 68 Plants 69 Novelist Binchy 70 Taxing time? 72 In addition 73 Russian, for one 74 Astronaut Slayton 77 Charlotte, Emily,or Anne 80 _-jongg 83 Kruger of “HighNoon” 84 Jim Morrison’sgroup 85 With 111 Down,“Nana” star

87 Rock’s _ Express 88 Ridge 90 Publisher Conde 91 Idyllic area 92 Actor Enriquez 93 Surrealist Tanguy 94 Tibia 96 Measure100 Up for _(available)101 Dachshundlike102 “The Magic Flute”heroine103 Examine104 Hackneyed105 Florida resort106 Gibbon or gorilla108 Isinglass110 Glinka’s “A Life forthe _”111 See 85 Down112 Sign of sainthood113 Bouquet114 Kid at court116 Whip up awaistcoat117 Author Levin118 Good times119 Dernier _ (latestfashion)120 Kipling novel121 WWII area123 Heel

Answer Page 6


Social Security Q&A By Ray Vigil

Q: My son has a disability and re-ceives SSI. Last month, a neighboroffered him $25 to do some yardwork. Will this affect his SSI?

A: Probably not. Generally, the first$20 of unearned income and the first$65 of earned income from work donot count. The income does need tobe reported, however. As long as yourson is not receiving more than thoselimits in a given month, there will beno change in his benefit amountbased on his earnings. If the amount

earned goes over the limit in somemonths, we will take $1 in benefitsfor each $2 he earns.

Q: Is there a retirement planning sec-tion on Social Security’s website?

A: Yes. Social Security’s Online Re-tirement Planner allows you to com-pute estimates of your future SocialSecurity retirement benefits online.It also provides information on im-portant factors affecting retirementbenefits, such as military service,

household earnings and federal em-ployment. Visit the planner atwww.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/.

Q: I am only in my twenties. Lastmonth I was injured in an auto acci-dent and unable to work. How old doyou have to be to get Social Securitydisability benefits?

A: There is no minimum age, but youmust have worked long enough andrecently enough under Social Secu-rity to earn the required number ofwork credits. You can earn up to fourwork credits each year. The amountof earnings required for a credit in-creases each year as general wage

levels go up. The number of workcredits you need for disability ben-efits depends on your age when youbecome disabled. In some case for avery young worker, you may onlyneed six work credits — as little as18 months of work. You can find outexactly how many credits you needto qualify for disability benefits onour website, atwww.socialsecurity.gov/dibplan/dqualify3.htm. If you don’t haveenough work credits, you may stillqualify for Supplemental Security In-come benefits if you are disabled,have limited income and resources.

Q: Are Supplemental Security In-

come (SSI) benefits only for peoplewith disabilities?

A: No. To qualify for SupplementalSecurity Income (SSI), you must ei-ther be blind or disabled or you mustbe 65 years old. You must also havelimited income and resources.______________________________________________________For more information on any of thequestions listed above, visit ourwebsite at www.socialsecurity.gov orcall us at 1-800-772-1213. If youhave any questions that you wouldlike to have answered, please mailthem to the Social Security Office,11111 Gateway West, Attn: Ray Vigil,El Paso, Texas 79935.

Two from East County selected as Gates Millennium ScholarsEL PASO COUNTY —

Montwood High School SeniorArturo M. Escajeda and Clint HighSchool Senior CynthiaChacon have been se-lected as a 2007 GatesMillennium Scholars.The annually renewablescholarship will fund thestudents’ education fromundergraduate careerthrough the masters anddoctoral levels.

The two are amongonly 1,000 studentsfrom across the nation toreceive the scholarship.All nominees are se-lected based upon aca-demic achievement, community ser-vice, and leadership.

This year the Gates MillenniumScholars program attracted over11,000 applicants. With these awards,1,000 highly motivated low-incomeminority students from 48 states andthe District of Columbia will be ableto attend college without the burdenof tuition.

Arturo Escajeda plans on attend-ing Boston University in the fall andheads to East Coast in June for a sum-

mer orien-tation. “Weare veryproud ofA r t u r oalso, notonly for hisacademica c h i e v e -ments butfor what hehas done inmusic andathletics aswell,” saidJ u n i

Mathews, Montwood High SchoolPrincipal. “He helps give Montwoodthe great reputation we have.”Escajeda was also awarded the Na-tional Hispanic Merit ScholarshipAward in October 2006. He is amongthe nearly 5,000 high school seniorsacross the nation to be recognized bythe College Board’s National His-panic Recognition Program (NHRP).

Escajeda is involved with AcademicDecathlon, National Honor Societyand the school’s orchestra.

Cynthia Chacon is anhonor student, VarsityTennis Team Captain,Go Center Vice Presi-dent, Student CouncilSecretary, and NationalHonor Society Histo-rian. She has volun-teered over 300 hours ofcommunity service toClint High School andthe community of Clint.After graduation sheplans to study at UTEPand major in ElectricalEngineering.

“I believe she is one of those rareindividuals that are very dedicated,goal-oriented, hardworking, caring,enthusiastic and family oriented. Shedisplays a maturity and politenessrarely found in her age group,” saysFelipe Cobos, Clint High SchoolCounselor.

— Contributed by Laura Cadeand Irma Flores

Cynthia ChaconArturo M. Escajeda

— Photo courtesy Socorro ISD

Montwood sophomorecrowned El Paso TeenEL PASO COUNTY — Montwood High School student, SarahChenausky, was crowned Miss El Paso Teen on April 29, 2007. Sa-rah has been preparing for the last several months for the annualcompetition. She was trained by Richard Guy of Guy/Rex who hasbeen credited for having five girls go on to win Miss USA. Held atthe El Paso Woman’s Club downtown, the competition included aninterview, swim suit competition, evening gown competition and afinal question on stage. When the night was over, Sarah wascrowned as Miss Photogenic, Best Hair and Miss El Paso Teen.Sarah will go on to compete in the national competition in Las Ve-gas, Nevada for the title of Miss Teen of the Nation. Additionally, asthe new Miss El Paso Teen, she will spend the next year as a spokes-person representing El Paso.

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