Photo Gallery: UTRGV falls to San Francisco (USF) 3-0
Kamara scores 4 TDs, Saints end Cowboys’ 16-game home streak in regular season with 44-19 win
By SCHUYLER DIXON | AP Pro Football Writer
ARLINGTON (AP) — Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns, including a 57-yarder on a screen pass, and the New Orleans Saints ended Dallas’ 16-game home winning streak in the regular season with a 44-19 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday.
Derek Carr threw for 243 yards and two TDs to go along with a 1-yard sneak for a score, and the Saints (2-0) got touchdowns on their first six drives a week after setting a franchise record by starting the season with points on nine consecutive possessions in a 47-10 rout of Carolina.
It was actually the second straight loss at AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys (1-1) after their 48-32 wild-card shocker against Green Bay last January.
A week after holding Cleveland to 54 yards and one first down before halftime in a 33-17 victory, Dallas gave up two TD passes longer than that before the break — Rashid Shaheed’s 70-yarder, a career long, on a perfect deep throw and Kamara’s catch-and-run that started behind the line of scrimmage.
The Saints kicked four field goals in offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s sparkling debut as their play-caller. There was no settling for three while taking control against Dallas.
Score one for the 37-year-old son of former NFL coach Gary Kubiak in his second game over 68-year-old defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer in his second game since returning to the Cowboys.
New Orleans finished with 432 yards and scored at least 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 2018 when coach Sean Payton was calling the plays for quarterback Drew Brees.
Carr was 11 of 16 but lost his perfect passer rating early in the fourth quarter when he was intercepted by Donovan Wilson with the Saints leading 41-19.
Kamara, who had 180 scrimmage yards (115 rushing), capped an opening 80-yard drive with a 5-yard run, and Carr hit Shaheed in stride between safeties Wilson and Malik Hooker on the first play after the first of Brandon Aubrey’s four field goals for Dallas. Shaheed had 96 yards receiving.
The long TD from Kamara, who had his career high with six TDs against Minnesota in 2020 when Zimmer was head coach of the Vikings, came after the Cowboys settled for three again.
Dallas tried to keep up when CeeDee Lamb ducked out of a tackle and ran the rest of the way on a 65-yard score, but Prescott had the first of his two interceptions on the next series.
Jalen Brooks slipped coming out of a route and Paulson Adebo weaved his way for 47 yards on the return, setting up Carr’s sneak for a 35-13 lead.
Prescott was 27 of 39 for 293 yards in his first game since signing the $240 million, four-year contract with a record $231 million guaranteed. He agreed to the deal hours before beating the Browns last weekend.
Injuries
Saints CB Marshon Lattimore was out with hip and hamstring issues after leaving the victory over the Panthers. … TE Taysom Hill exited in the second half with a chest injury. … Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson was out with a left knee injury sustained against the Browns.
Up next
Saints: Philadelphia at home next Sunday.
Cowboys: Baltimore at home next Sunday.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
From scalpels to microbes, TSTC Surgical Technology students train for operating room roles
HARLINGEN — Surgical Technology students at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus experience a rewarding medical education in preparation for their work in operating rooms.
Their commitment takes on added significance during National Surgical Technologists Week, which is observed annually during the third week of September and was designated as such in 1984 by the Association of Surgical Technologists Board of Directors to recognize surgical technologists and their profession.
Among TSTC’s Surgical Technology students are Frank Cantu and Ashley Monreal, who recently shared what they are learning at the college.
Cantu, of Los Fresnos, is a new student who is studying for an Associate of Applied Science degree.
“What I learned about the surgical hands scrub is that it should be done thoroughly for five minutes,” he said of a recent lab session. “I rinsed and lathered my hands. I scrubbed and picked my nails. Then I cleaned my forearms, followed by up to two inches from above my elbows. As for gowning and gloving, I didn’t do great. But it was my first time trying it. It will improve with practice.”
Monreal, of San Benito, is a third-semester student in the program.
“I’m learning how to do an arteriovenous fistula in the lab,” she said. “It’s a surgical incision that connects a vein and an artery. It’s done on a patient who would need dialysis.”
Monreal said the medical practices that she has learned will make a difference in her career.
“I learned that understanding the concept and skill of an aseptic technique is crucial,” she said. “It’s a practice that can help prevent an infection in the operation room.”
Yolanda Ramirez, TSTC’s Surgical Technology program team lead, said the depth of the program’s education and training highlights the critical skills and knowledge required to be a successful surgical technologist.
“Students in our program learn not only the technical aspects of surgery such as aseptic technique, instrumentation and sterile processing, but also the soft skills like communication, teamwork and problem-solving,” she said.
Anna San Pedro, associate provost at TSTC’s Harlingen campus, said the program delivers quality instruction in a state-of-the-art facility.
“The program features a dynamic clinical training component,” she said. “We partner with 17 clinical affiliates to provide students with hands-on experience and exposure to a wide range of specialties that enhance training and increase employment opportunities after graduation.”
According to onetonline.org, surgical technologists can earn a yearly median salary of $59,810 in Texas, where projected job growth for the profession was forecast to increase 18% from 2020 to 2030.
TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology, as well as an occupational skills achievement award in Sterile Processing, at its Harlingen campus.
For more information about National Surgical Technologists Week, visit https://www.ast.org/aboutus/nstw.
For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
Mission man indicted in friend’s boyfriend’s shooting death
The 26-year-old Mission man who was accused of shooting and killing his friend’s boyfriend in July has been indicted in the case.
Esdras Elias Ortiz is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on a murder charge.
Ortiz is accused of killing 27-year-old Yorman Jovani Reta who sustained gunshot wounds to the head and left side of his body.
Reta and his girlfriend, Jessica Lee Herrera, had been washing dishes on the evening of July 1 when Ortiz knocked on the side door of her residence, located in the 2800 block of Dinastia Dorado in Mission.
Herrera told police that she had heard a sudden argument followed by several gunshots after Reta had gone to check who was knocking.
When she walked outside she saw Reta on the “ground with gunshot wounds and barely breathing,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
She also told police that Ortiz had continued advancing towards Reta to shoot him again but managed to get him to leave.
Police also found six spent 9mm casings in the vicinity of the shooting.
Authorities found Ortiz at a secondary location, 1510 Judy St. in Mission where he told police he had shot Reta in self defense and handed police a 9mm Glock 26.
Police obtained a surveillance video for one of the neighbor’s surveillance cameras that showed Ortiz walking away from Reta before turning around to shoot him.
Ortiz remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a $150,000 cash surety bond, jail records show.
Donna man ejected, killed in fiery crash near Weslaco
A Donna man was killed after being ejected from his vehicle in a fiery crash Friday near Weslaco, state troopers said in a news release.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a two-vehicle crash that occurred around 5:40 p.m. in the vicinity of Mile 6 Road West and Mile 12 Road North, near Weslaco.
That’s where a 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer was heading southbound on Mile 6 while a white 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 was traveling westbound on Mile 12.
According to DPS, the Silverado “disregarded a stop sign and collided with the” Trailblazer.
“The Chevrolet Silverado veered into a large drainage ditch and engulfed in flames,” DPS said. “The driver of the Chevrolet Trailblazer was transported to (DHR Health) with non-life-threatening injuries.”
The driver of the Silverado, however, Concepcion Chable Reyes, 56, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene of the crash due to his injuries.
Authorities say they are awaiting a toxicology report to determine if Reyes was driving under the influence.
Army veteran, now TSTC student, sets sights on cyberattackers
HARLINGEN — For six years Samuel Steele served in the U.S. Army, and the talent that he developed as a network communications systems specialist has led him to an education at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus.
“I relocated to the Rio Grande Valley after my military career and looked for a job in the telecommunication and networking field,” Steele said. “I had difficulty finding a job because the job descriptions on several job postings listed a requirement for a certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree. I explored the college’s website and found the Cybersecurity program.”
While Steele browsed through TSTC’s Cybersecurity webpage, the program’s merit as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, as well as its advanced technical certificate in Digital Forensics Specialist, caught his interest.
“I thought it was unique that TSTC offers an advanced certificate,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do that type of work in law enforcement. I enjoy working for our country.”
Now Steele, a former Dallas resident living in Port Isabel, is studying for an Associate of Applied Science degree in Cybersecurity. He plans to pursue the program’s advanced technical certificate sometime after graduation.
TSTC’s Cybersecurity program is offered in a performance-based education (PBE) format. In PBE, students work with program staff to develop a schedule in two-hour time blocks. Lectures, videos and other learning content is online, and hands-on work is done in labs.
“I appreciate how the instructors said they are available whenever we need them,” Steele said. “I’m getting adjusted to a flexible, at-your-own-pace education.”
Alex Alcoser is one of Steele’s instructors.
“Some new students perceive Cybersecurity based on what they saw on television,” Alcoser said. “However, they’re in awe when they’re engaged with an assignment. It’s exciting to introduce new students to the magic of fending off cyberattackers.”
Steele said TSTC has given him a new outlook.
“I really appreciate that there are opportunities for veterans to get trained for a career that leads us straight into the workforce,” he said.
According to onetonline.org, digital forensics analysts in Texas can earn a median salary of $100,720 a year. The website projected that there would be a 20% increase in the number of such jobs in the state from 2020 to 2030.
For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
From neophytes to masters: Exhibit features works from UVAL members with varying degree of skills
This exhibit feels a bit flat. The Upper Valley Art League presents their Fall All-Member Exhibit at the Kika De La Garza Art Gallery and, as usual, there is no lack of artworks from this dynamic organization. Demonstrating a range of mediums, styles, and techniques, 49 artists are participating in this show and showing 125 pieces of art.
For me, a large work located in a tight space at the rear of the galley is the most dynamic piece in the show.
“Taimatsu” by Karen Schmidt references a Japanese torch that is lit as a signal or for celebration. Comprised of strips of copper foil, fabric, and yarn, Schmidt’s strips of woven fiber create value contrasts that move the eye to the topmost area where flashes of light from crumpled copper strips symbolize sparks of fire.
Fabric, Copper Foil, Yarn
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Another work demanding attention is Eric’s “Longhorn Jackolope” (sic). This piece creates a humorous Texas icon by taking the Wyoming Jackalope and replacing its antlers with the Texas variety. The Longhorn Jackolope peers at us against a Cadillac Ranch backdrop. Texas lore continues with “Roll Roll Armadillo,” a whimsically designed quilted fabric with acrylic by Renee Darkis. This is a feel-good piece.
“Midas’ Apple,” a resin sculpture by Timothy Watkins, attracts viewers drawn to the strength of the image itself, as well as their curiosity as to whether the apple was a lidded jar, luring them to touch an object cursed by touch.
Watkins warned viewers, “Don’t touch the hand or you’ll turn to gold!” From a past love of flower pressing, he realized that he could use resin to preserve a whole flower, initiating a creative and slippery slope to experimenting and mold-making to cast the resin. This piece presents a life-sized apple cupped in two hands.
Curtis Whately shows an elegant bowl, “Splash,” using glass to reference the iconic motion when an object is dropped in water. The blue sides rise to the edge, culminating in a circular sequence of small white dots that simulate the open areas lying between escaping splash-drops. Two sides are dramatically folded.
A new plastic card work, “When You Fail to Notice” by Noreen Graf, plays on a double meaning. A tiny magnifying glass icon that is needed to read the fine print in credit card agreements is placed among the card fragments; these are the cards of people who didn’t notice the terms and lost their credit. If the viewer fails to notice this icon, they miss the meaning of the work.
There are more notable works here, and as the show statement reads, “As an art league, we encourage the arts among all its members — those who are in early stages of developing their skills and those who demonstrate greater mastery. In this exhibit, you will experience the full range of artful expression.”
The emotional flatness of the exhibition may be the balanced inclusion of master works that exude confidence as well as communicate feelings about their subjects, and novice works that speak of uncertainty. The mixture seeks a middle ground. Engaging pieces are scattered throughout the gallery and sometimes almost hidden, discouraging a desirable aesthetic flow. In addition to the novices there are many new practicing artists participating this year who present fresh interests. All the more art to talk about.
Fall All-Member Exhibit
WHERE: Kika de la Garza Fine Arts Center, 921 E. 12th St., Mission
WHEN: Through Sept. 27
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
CONTACT: (956) 591-0282, www.uppervalleyartleague.org
COST: Free and open to the public
Oil on Panel
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Resin
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Acrylic on Fabric
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Glass
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Mixed
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Fabric, Copper Foil, Yarn
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita of Art, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at [email protected].
Photo Gallery: Mission High defeats Sharyland High in Non-District play 36-22
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Counselor offers advice to Valley parents amidst rash of school threats
With a wave of school threats across school districts in the Valley, stress, fear and anxiety are among the emotions that are felt by parents, students and staff.
Sitting down and addressing the threats in the Valley and the nation is a different situation with many parents finding it hard to have these uncomfortable but needed conversations.
Among the school districts that received threats are the Donna, PSJA, Brownsville and Mercedes districts, as well as IDEA Public Schools.
Jacqueline Hernandez, a parent of a PSJA student, was already feeling tense from the threats at a neighboring school district. Her stress was elevated at the beginning of this week when she saw rumored threats to her child’s school district online.
Right away, Hernandez began calling her daughter’s elementary school to inquire about the threats and what the protocols were in those situations.
Hernandez said she was told extra security was added at the school. She then called the central office to learn about protocol in these situations. Hernandez said she got the runaround.
“I was so confused and kind of upset just because I was asking what are the protocols? Or has there been any threats to elementary schools?” Hernandez said.
“This message is to inform you that this morning on Wednesday, September, 11, 2024, the individual responsible for the recent social media threats was arrested by the PSJA Police Department and will be charged with a felony for making a terroristic threat to impede public service or cause fear of serious bodily injury,” PSJA said in a message that day.
Hernandez found herself reflecting on the best way to speak with her daughter as she prepared for the awkward conversation over what happened and about school threats in general.
“I personally have not had that conversation with her, because it’s really hard,” she said. “So now I’m reading articles on how to have specific conversations with your kids, or how to prepare them, and to think that I’m even contemplating on doing that. And my child is only 9 years old. You shouldn’t have to be worrying about any of that.”
Donna ISD investigated and arrested two students last week for making separate threats at both high schools
Melanie Ballardo, the Donna ISD Student Support Services supervisor who has a certification in counseling, gave advice on how to better handle these situations.
Ballardo said with any situation on this matter, parents and students are going to feel anxious, fearful and helpless with every parent approaching it differently.
“Some of the advice that I would give to parents … for them to become more involved in the school system,” she said. “Anxiety is basically a response in our body that’s telling us we need to prepare ourselves for action, but how do we do that? … Understanding and being proactive, of our protocols, of our systems, could ease their anxiety.”
At home, Ballardo said reassurance is one important factor in easing those emotions when parents talk to their children.
“It’s vital for them to listen to their child with empathy and provide them with constant reassurance,” she said.
Ballardo added that if parents see that their child is still having a hard time, she suggests reaching out to their campus counselor and providing them with other coping skills or resilience skills that can reduce their anxiety.
When having those uncomfortable but needed conversations with their children, Ballardo said to keep their age in mind and use age appropriate language for the students.
“A lot of the parents are scared to talk about verbalizing a school shooting or because school safety can stem from violence to even hazardous weather,” she said. “Appropriate language is that they understand their child as good as anybody else, so they understand what level of understanding they’re going to have.
For elementary or middle school aged students, Ballardo suggests focusing not on the intent or the violent act but to focus more on how to help them deal with emotions.
“Focusing on what is going to happen, it has not happened,” she said. “That’s going to continue to create that continuous fear, that continues anxiety. So focusing on that, on how today you’re feeling anxious. What can we do to help you today?”
For older high school students, Ballardo suggested giving the advice to be more vigilant and to also express their feelings or suspicion to the appropriate adult on campus or in the area.
“Whether they’re are high schoolers, they still have the same emotions and the same feelings,” she said. “It’s going to be more addressing them in terms of how you feel a certain way, but also be aware of your surroundings and make sure that you know where to go and find the resources.”
Commentary: Olympics: Getting it wrong
One commentator offered this sage comment in summary of Olympian hopes and dreams: “In the Olympics, if you get it wrong you have to wait a long time to get it right.”
The same is true of our sacred system of government. Historically, once nations turned to authoritarianism, whether on the left or the right, it took many decades if not centuries to right the ship and return control of the government back to the people. Most often those initially democratic nations were never able to get back on track, electing emperors, conquerors, dictators or despots to represent them forevermore.
America is currently giving up on people’s government in politics and law by fashioning special privileges and immunities for our self-proclaimed God-blessed partisan leaders. We are also giving up on social and economic equality, as our corporations settle into unchallenged monopolies in restraint of trade and our billionaire class moves to enact special citizenship privileges for the wealthy and powerful.
Political monopoly is the conjoined twin of economic monopoly, and both are inevitably reflected in culture and sports. America’s Olympic experience in 2024 amply demonstrates this.
Television coverage of the Paris games was steeped beyond belief in what I like to call “celebrity worship,” a form of hero-worship America accords daily to those who have special skills we love to see on display, but who contribute little to our traditional principles and activities of republican government. Those who do practice democracy are marginalized and forgotten.
In Paris, America the Brash elevated our trash-talking athletes on the track, field and basketball court, for example, to the level of, well, elite gods ruling the universe from their pedestals on Mount Olympus. One Olympic ad touting the aggressive mentality of our athletes asked, “Am I a bad person? I’m simple-minded … delusional … maniacal … does that make me a bad person?” Well, it makes you a celebrity American exploiter-athlete, just like your corporate sponsor.
The closing ceremony of the games featured this exploitative mentality in spades. All the heroes of the games were paraded out to help transition the Paris spectacle to the one in Los Angeles in 2028. Hyping Los Angeles-28 before the curtain even fell on Paris-24 is the corporate equivalent of a president who wins an election on Nov. 5 and then kicks off his second term campaign on Nov. 6. The greed and ambition for power are just too evident to ignore.
“Visit California” ads blared out across the ceremony’s commercial breaks. Every athlete employed to promote LA in 2028 played their mercilessly scripted, mechanical role perfectly. However, one wonders if LA has sufficient time to sweep its homeless population out of town by then. Where will they be hidden? Catalina Island? More of those $700,000 public housing units for lucky street-dwellers? Refurbished state mental hospitals? Cozy boxes six feet under?
America today is as much a disappointment in the world as some of our corporations and athletes show themselves to be. For example, we have underperformed in Palestine for decades, and in Gaza we are currently playing the role of the evil genius puppeteer destroying the lives of innocent civilians, subverting religious freedom and enriching the accounts of the military-industrial sector. The country is slowly figuring this out, as it once did at the time of the Vietnam War, but too late for tens of thousands of hapless victims of American greed and cruelty.
Yes, America is a bad person. The nations of the world have figured it out, but our own people are still clueless.
Robert Kimball Shinkoskey of Woods Cross, Utah, is the author of books on democracy, religion and the American presidency.