HARLINGEN — Advanced Call Center Technologies continues its growth spurt in Harlingen.

Already one of the larger employers in the city, ACT will ramp up hiring this month by adding 330 new employees, said Lyle Garza, commercial recruitment/retention manager and director of marketing for the Harlingen Economic Development Corp.

Garza told HEDC board members last week ACT, which already employs 756 workers, also has raised its starting wage from the minimum of $7.25 in Texas to $8 an hour.

Calls to the company for comment were not returned.

To apply for openings at ACT, go online to www.acttoday.com/careers/

Garza also told board members call center Qualfon is nearly finished building out its second floor to add office space that will enable it to expand from about 250 workers it has now.

The call center is located at 2200 Haine Dr.

To check on job availability at Qualfon, go online to www.qualfon.com/careers/

At the HEDC meeting, the board denied incentive proposals for Project Stack in which a retailer requested up to $750,000 of infrastructure and other onsite improvements.

Also, the board declined to meet a request by Project Forest, in which a developer for several restaurants requested $83,000 of infrastructure and improvements.

Both decisions were reached in executive session. The HEDC uses code names for projects to ensure confidentiality in dealing with prospective businesses seeking to locate in the city.

HARLINGEN — As galleries go, the art-to-space ratio at Escanuela’s Fine Art is fairly high.

The small gallery can’t be more than 350 square feet, but it makes up for its size by being jammed with the brilliant, hot-colored acrylics and oil paintings of Christian Escanuela.

His father Augustine’s heavy sculptures of benches and tables of old, reclaimed wood create an incongruous balance in the tiny space at 103 W. Jackson St. in the old Rialto Reception Hall.

For years, the family worked Market Days in downtown Harlingen before opening their gallery one year ago.

“It started with my mom and dad,” Christian, 26, said yesterday. “But I’ve always liked artwork, and took some classes down the street there at the Art Center.

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McALLEN — The moment he received a call from his mother to let him know the car alarm to his patrol unit was going off, the San Juan police officer charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals realized what he had done.

Last Thursday, San Juan Police K-9 Rex died after he was left inside Juan Luis Cerrillo Jr.’s patrol unit for more than two hours, according to the criminal complaint.

Cerrillo, 37, who is currently suspended without pay pending an internal and criminal investigation, left work in his patrol unit at 3 p.m. June 2 and arrived at his residence shortly after, only to leave at 4 p.m. to run errands, the complaint states.

“Cerrillo added that at 5 p.m. he received a phone call from his mother who advised him that the alarm to his work vehicle was going off,” the complaint states. “Cerrillo stated he asked his mother to check for Rex in the kennel next to his apartment, but she advised him he was not in the kennel.”

Immediately Cerrillo drove home and found Rex, who was still breathing and lying inside the back of his unit after he had broken the door off of his kennel, the complaint states.

Cerrillo, a three-year-veteran of the department, called McAllen Police less than 30 minutes later to report what had happened and officers responded to his residence.

“Cerrillo said that he pulled the portable kennel out from the backseat and placed it on top of the truck bed before he carried Rex out of the vehicle and over to the side of the apartment where there was shade and began CPR,” the complaint states.

Cerrillo also poured water on Rex in an attempt to cool down the Belgian Malinois who had been inside the vehicle for more than two hours, according to the police report.

“Inside the vehicle, there was saliva and excessive amounts of fur throughout,” the complaint states.

Officers arrived at approximately 5:40 p.m. and stated Rex was already dead, the complaint states.

The high temperature in McAllen on June 2 was recorded at 93 degrees, according to the National Weather Service website.

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Do you get a good night’s rest when you go to bed? Sleep problems are often ignored. But if left undiagnosed and untreated, sleep disorders can increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

A sleep study at Harlingen Medical Center may be something your doctor may consider if you or a loved one (ages 5 years or older) has trouble sleeping, snores and stops breathing when sleeping, experiences chronic tiredness, lack of concentration or any other signs and symptoms related to Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This is a potentially life-threatening disorder which may cause you to stop breathing during your sleep — possibly several hundred times a night.

To determine whether you might benefit from a sleep evaluation, your physician may refer you to have a sleep study (“polysomnogram”), a non-invasive, pain-free procedure which requires spending a night in the Sleep Lab at Harlingen Medical Center. If obstructive sleep apnea is diagnosed, a second-night therapeutic sleep study may be ordered to determine if your sleep may be improved through treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

Alma Summers, RRT, RCP, Sleep Lab Director for Harlingen Medical Center, noted that loud snoring can be a possible symptom of sleep apnea – although NOT everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

Please take the following self-scoring questionnaire as a guideline to help identify sleep-disordered breathing problems, including Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Check the appropriate line if you have experienced the symptom(s) on a regular basis:

* I have been told that I snore.

* I have been told that I stop breathing when I sleep, although I may have no recollection of this.

* I am always sleepy during the day or always fatigued – even if I slept throughout the night.

* I have high blood pressure or heart disease.

* I have been told that I sleep restlessly. I am always tossing and turning while asleep.

* I tend to sweat excessively during my sleep.

* I tend to wake up during the night gasping or choking.

* I frequently wake up with headaches in the morning.

* I tend to fall asleep during inappropriate times.

* I have noticed, or others have noticed, a recent change in my personality.

* I am overweight.

If you have marked three or more lines, you show symptoms of Sleep Apnea. It is recommended that you talk to your physician about a possible sleep examination. Likewise, if your partner shows any signs of Sleep Apnea, you should persuade him or her to do the same.

For more information on sleep studies at Harlingen Medical Center, please contact Alma Summers at (956) 341-1000 or by e-mail at [email protected], and visit www.HarlingenMedicalCenter.com/Services/Sleep-Lab.aspx. To schedule an appointment, please call Central Scheduling at Harlingen Medical Center at (956) 365-1839.

Do you get a good night’s rest when you go to bed? Sleep problems are often ignored. But if left undiagnosed and untreated, sleep disorders can increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

A sleep study at Harlingen Medical Center may be something your doctor may consider if you or a loved one (ages 5 years or older) has trouble sleeping, snores and stops breathing when sleeping, experiences chronic tiredness, lack of concentration or any other signs and symptoms related to Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This is a potentially life-threatening disorder which may cause you to stop breathing during your sleep — possibly several hundred times a night.

To determine whether you might benefit from a sleep evaluation, your physician may refer you to have a sleep study (“polysomnogram”), a non-invasive, pain-free procedure which requires spending a night in the Sleep Lab at Harlingen Medical Center. If obstructive sleep apnea is diagnosed, a second-night therapeutic sleep study may be ordered to determine if your sleep may be improved through treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

Alma Summers, RRT, RCP, Sleep Lab Director for Harlingen Medical Center, noted that loud snoring can be a possible symptom of sleep apnea – although NOT everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

Please take the following self-scoring questionnaire as a guideline to help identify sleep-disordered breathing problems, including Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Check the appropriate line if you have experienced the symptom(s) on a regular basis:

* I have been told that I snore.

* I have been told that I stop breathing when I sleep, although I may have no recollection of this.

* I am always sleepy during the day or always fatigued – even if I slept throughout the night.

* I have high blood pressure or heart disease.

* I have been told that I sleep restlessly. I am always tossing and turning while asleep.

* I tend to sweat excessively during my sleep.

* I tend to wake up during the night gasping or choking.

* I frequently wake up with headaches in the morning.

* I tend to fall asleep during inappropriate times.

* I have noticed, or others have noticed, a recent change in my personality.

* I am overweight.

If you have marked three or more lines, you show symptoms of Sleep Apnea. It is recommended that you talk to your physician about a possible sleep examination. Likewise, if your partner shows any signs of Sleep Apnea, you should persuade him or her to do the same.

For more information on sleep studies at Harlingen Medical Center, please contact Alma Summers at (956) 341-1000 or by e-mail at [email protected], and visit www.HarlingenMedicalCenter.com/Services/Sleep-Lab.aspx. To schedule an appointment, please call Central Scheduling at Harlingen Medical Center at (956) 365-1839.

SAN BENITO — Sister Margaret Mertens was there from the very beginning.

Mertens has been in the Rio Grande Valley since 1995. All this time she has worked serving those in need.

Since the inception of La Posada Providencia, Mertens, who was also the shelter’s director for 13 years, has been a staple at the shelter and a major proponent of its cause, welcoming the stranger.

During yesterday’s San Benito Chamber of Commerce weekly “Coffee With” session, Mertens told the story of La Posada Providencia and how it came to be.

It all started many years ago when she was a nun. Mertens was elected as a representative from a group in St. Louis.

From there, Mertens, a Missouri native, traveled to Germany where congregation officials encouraged her and a group of other nuns to go back to their home countries and look at the immigration situation.

“We ended up at Proyecto Libertad in Harlingen for a while,” she said. “We started with a little house and two refugees in 1989.”

From there, they moved to a house on Sam Houston.

Now, after several years, the shelter is located on the outskirts of town helping clients, Mertens said.

For those that don’t know, La Posada Providencia was founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence, a ministry for people in crisis from around the world who are seeking legal refuge in this country.

The shelter staff provides a safe and welcoming home, mentors to promote self-sufficiency and cultural integration, and imparts values “which witness God’s providence in our world.”

“We help them learn as much as they can,” Mertens said.

All of the shelter’s clients are referred to them by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or local immigration attorneys.

They are in the legal process of seeking asylum, residency or some other legal alternative.

While they wait for their cases to advance through the court system, most of these individuals have no place to go and arrive at La Posada’s doorstep with nothing.

Staff members ensure they receive the necessary legal aid, health care, social services and other relocation assistance.

In addition, staff members help clients become familiar with the values, customs and social practices typical in the United States, including currency, personal finance and employment practices.

“They’ve got a nice place to be, they are taken care of and they know they are loved,” Mertens said. “So, we know we’re loved also.”

Many asylum seekers arrive in the United States with both physical and emotional scars from their journeys from places as far as Africa, Cuba, Mexico and Asia.

“We hear some of the horror stories,” Mertens said. “The stories of walking, walking and walking.”

Some of those stories will stick with Mertens forever.

“Some of the Africans have landed in South America and have walked through Central America, through Mexico and to the United States,” Mertens said. “Some even talk about seeing the dead bodies along the way that were left behind to die.”

As of now, their client census consists of women, children and men, from Cuba, Somalia, Eritrea, Guinea and Ethiopia.

Many of the African women, who are coming now, are coming in with just their children. Mertens said the husband usually gets detained and sent out of state to another detention center, prompting a three-to-five month wait to reunite.

Most are fleeing for various reasons, including civil unrest, fear of government control, political unrest and religious persecution.

The shelter sees a lot of mothers with children who have fled their home countries out of fear. Just recently, four women have given birth.

It hasn’t always been easy for La Posada. Mertens said the shelter faces a lot of backlash for what they do.

“We deal a lot with prejudice,” Mertens said. “People say they are coming in to take our jobs. What jobs are they getting? The ones that nobody else wants a lot of the time.”

SEEKING EXPANSION

With the need for services expected to grow, those at the shelter hope to expand in the future to accommodate more people.

Shelter leaders are currently asking for monetary pledges from people through their Circle of Hope Monthly Giving Club.

“You can be part of the ministry and included in all the prayers from the outside by supporting us, with prayer, donations or volunteering,” Sister Margaret Mertens said.

With the proceeds, Mertens hopes they can build a new building to house dorms, offices, a kitchen and other rooms. Willing participants can pledge as much money as they want or make a one-time pledge.

For more information on the Circle of Hope, contact the shelter at 956-399-3826.

LAGUNA VISTA — The recent rains have created a huge mosquito problem, so Thursday night the City of Laguna Vista will start spraying in hopes of getting rid of the bugs.

Along with being annoying and ruining that evening dinner on the patio, mosquitoes also carry dangerous diseases.

But there are measures you can take to protect your family. That can begin with maintaining your yard by trimming tall grass and eliminating standing water.

“We are encouraging local residents to mow their yards, get rid of any standing water, clean their culverts (pipes on their driveways),” said City Manager Rolando Vela. “With regard to mosquito spraying, we’re prepared in Laguna Vista. But we won’t do so if we are expecting rains. We will, however, monitor this.”

In addition to being pests, mosquitoes transmit the agents of serious diseases, including encephalitis, dengue, Zika and the chikungunya virus, as well as heartworms in pets.

By following the Four Ds to fight the bite, residents can protect themselves.

1 – Drain standing water in your yard and neighborhood. Standing water can be found in swimming pools that are not kept clean, ponds, pet watering dishes, birdbaths, potted plants, old tires, empty containers and clogged rain gutters.

2 – Dusk/Dawn are times of the day you should stay indoors when mosquitoes are most active.

3 – Dress in long-sleeved shirts and wear pants when you are outside; spray thin clothing with insect repellent.

4 – DEET is an ingredient to look for in your insect repellent.

I’ve stated in the past that the sole reason I write to the VMS is to “try” and counter the daily dose of liberal propaganda we are fed.

I’ve also stated that when news is one-sided and full of half truths, then it is indeed propaganda.

In their efforts to help Obama “fundamentally transform America,” the media has to do all it can to try to keep Donald Trump from being elected president, so it has to hide, suppress and distort facts.

From a sdlrla.com article by Rodrigo Guevara; Please join us for the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association Judiciary Reception! Date May 25, 2016, Time 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. … ”

“This year we are proud to honor Judge Gonzalo Curiel at our reception and recognizing him for his leadership and support to the community and to our association!”

The vast majority of the liberal media, including Fox News, has been attacking Donald Trump for saying that Judge Curiel should recuse himself from the Trump University lawsuit.

Pretty convenient of the media to leave out that:

★ Judge Curiel was appointed by Mr Obama in 2012. In my opinion our current president is a Socialist that not only hates Donald Trump, but conservatives and America as well. Why else would he want to “fundamentally transform America” ?

★ Judge Curiel like Obama has long been a supporter of illegal immigration.

★ According to the American Spectator, Judge Curiel is also a Hillary Clinton financial supporter.

Having this judge presiding in the Trump University lawsuit is equivalent to having a judge that’s a member of the KKK presiding in a lawsuit involving Barack Obama.

What’s the difference ?

Google: “sdlrla.com,” “proof @ megynkelly caught lying about judge gonzalo curiel’s la raza membership to bash @ real donald trump,” “trump university lawsuit judge,” etc.

What the citizens of America need more than ever is unbiased facts and the truth.

Unfortunately, that is not going to happen.

N. Rodriguez Harlingen

SAN BENITO — Morriah Pinon is preparing to be an astronomer.

To do that she and other gifted and talented students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Veterans Memorial Academy in San Benito are taking part in an end-of-the-year science camp called ENCORE.

Morriah and her classmates worked together on Monday making engineering projects for kids. They were making a mousetrap race car.

Another engineering project they created using jumbo craft sticks, tape and slip syringes was a pneumatic machine to create a hydraulic process using compressed air.

During the next few days, just before the break for summer, the students at Veterans Memorial are going over lessons in engineering, medicine, crime scene investigation and biomedical sciences.

“It was really, really, really fun working with my teammates,” Morriah said.

Besides the For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

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BROWNSVILLE — Eddie Treviño Jr., the Democratic Party nominee for Cameron County judge, will have to wait until after the November general election to take over the position.

Some had thought Treviño could immediately take over the helm because there is no Republican candidate for the position.

The issue was discussed in executive session at Tuesday’s Cameron County Commissioners Court meeting, and the commission agreed to wait until after the November general election to move forward with the swearing in of Treviño as the new county judge, Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda Jr. said.

“Commissioner (David) Garza made a statement on behalf of Commissioners Court stating that when I was appointed it was until the next general election,” Sepulveda said.

Sepulveda was sworn in as county judge March 11, 2015.

Treviño is disappointed he will have to wait until November to take office and said that Sepulveda had earlier stated he would step down once a candidate had been elected to office.

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