RAYMONDVILLE — Going, going, gone.

Four months after low prices helped sell off its merchandise, Walmart was hawking its store’s equipment, furnishings and fixtures to the highest bidder.

Buyers came from Mexico and across the Rio Grande Valley to bid on everything from empty shelves, more than 200 sections of pallet racking to entire departments left behind after the world largest retailer closed its Raymondville store in January.

“This is the first time I’ve seen an auction like this,” said Arminda Mares, who came from Mission to help buy equipment for her daughter’s new restaurant.

In the middle of the crowd of about 250 stood auctioneer Judd Grafe, who said his auction targeted a wide range of retailers.

“I think it’s well-organized,” said Arminda Garza, who was buying equipment for her new pizzeria in Mission.

Sinks, tables and refrigerators were on her shopping list.

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Brownsville — Today is the last day to vote early.

Democratic voters of Cameron County must decide on a few important races, including county judge, County Court-at-Law Nos. 4 and 5, and in some cases, county commissioner Precinct 1 or constable Precinct 2.

As of Wednesday — the latest figures available — 6,906 early votes had been cast in both the Democratic and Republican runoff elections.

The county judge race comes down to former County Commissioner Precinct 4 Dan Sanchez and former Brownsville Mayor Eddie Trevino Jr.

County Court-at-Law No. 4 will go to either Sheila Garcia Bence or Daniel T. Robles.

In County Court-at-Law No. 5, voters will pick between Estela Chavez Vasquez or Jesus T. “Chuy” Garcia Jr.

The county commissioner Precinct 1 race is a showdown between incumbent Sofia C. Benavides and Beatrice Rosenbaum, whose husband was a former Precinct 1 commissioner.

The constable Precinct 2 race is between Abelardo “Abel” Gomez Jr. and Pete Avila Jr., who also served as a constable in the past.

Republican voters, on the other hand, must decide on their candidate for sheriff, who will challenge incumbent Omar Lucio: Victor Cortez or Robert Rodriguez.

And the constable Precinct 1 race has both Armando Mora and Pedro “Pete” Delgadillo vying for the position.

Residents who voted in the primary are locked in to the party they chose last time, said Remi Garza, elections administrator.

Residents who did not vote in the primary are free to choose the party they want, Garza added.

Election Day is May 24.

RIO HONDO — Juan Garza and his classmates strolled into the cafeteria yesterday like any other lunch hour.

Except, this time the à la carte lane was filled with dragon fruit, rainbow carrots and blood oranges for the students to try.

“When I tried the yellow carrots it didn’t taste any different from a regular carrot,” Garza, a third grader, said. “I really hope they add these kinds of fruits to the menu because they are really good.”

Rio Hondo Intermediate Elementary students were given samples of fruits and vegetables to taste so by the time they’re on the menu when the students reach junior high and high school, it’s nothing new for their tastebuds.

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PALM VALLEY – After a quick canvassing of the May 7 election, three council members were sworn into office Tuesday night.

A pair of them had taken the oath before.

Debe Wright, John Widger and Cynthia Thompson will each serve 2-year terms.

Wright, an incumbent received the most votes with 146, followed by newcomer Thompson with 142.

Widger, an incumbent, received 121, winning the third spot by just two votes. A total of six candidates were in the running for the positions.

Judge David Sanchez administered the oaths, which took longer than the actual canvassing process to verify the vote tallies.

Minutes later, Widger was selected as the Mayor Pro Tem. He served in that capacity under Mayor George Rivera during the previous year.

PALM VALLEY – Residents with golf carts and motorcycles can officially and legally park those vehicles in their driveway or in front of their homes without concerns.

On Tuesday, the city council adopted an amendment to the parking ordinance that now addresses that issue. Prior to the change, neither golf carts or motorcycles were allowed to be parked in driveways or the front yard area for more than three days out of every 30 days.

It was determined last month following a discussion between the board, Police Chief Alvaro Garcia and city attorney Jason Mann, the parking ordinance needed a rewrite.

Last month, the question was whether the city could enforce the parking ordinance regarding trailers being parked in driveways. According to Mann, parking of those types of vehicles are restricted to three days every 30 days.

The regulations, are stipulated under Title VII Vehicle Code.

Trailers and recreational vehicles of different sorts can be parked behind a fence or in the backyard where they are not visible from the roadway.

But, they can’t be parked in the front yard or driveway. Last month, that code included golf carts and motorcycles in the same category as trailers.

The change added those two vehicles as exemptions to that code, now allowing them to be parked in driveways.

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RIO HONDO — Dragon fruit was on the lunch menu today at Rio Hondo Intermediate elementary.

“I think it’s a cool thing for the kids and its something fun,” said Adriana Lippa, the principal at RH Intermediate. “It’s educating them on making the appropriate choice when eating.”

Students were given samples of fruit and vegetables to taste so by the time its on the regular menu when they make it junior high and high school its nothing new for their taste buds.

The entire student body got to eat dragon fruit, blood oranges and rainbow carrots to go along with their regular school lunch.

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SAN BENITO – City crews are working to fix a water main leak on Rio Grande Street. City crews expect to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Rio Grande Street is south of I-69 and McCullough Street.

If you have questions or concerns related to this issue, you can call the City Hall offices at (956) 361-3800.

I agree with most of the Valley Morning Star’s Antonio Garza’s commentary entitled “Are we still the home of the brave.”

Many summers ago, 55 individuals took it upon themselves to try to improve the exasperations and the shortcomings facing them. They had to decide either to try to improve or completely change the path of the future. They decided on the latter.

These individuals were the farmers of the U.S. Constitution, who in 1787 during a sweltering hot Philadelphia summer wrote what many consider the greatest political document ever written – the U.S.

Constitution.

The document has worked for more than 200 years. Its ideals and principles include democracy, equality, justice, personal liberties, representative government and most importantly the rule of law.

Mr. Garza’s commentary details the current situation in the 2016 Presidential Election dealing with both the Democratic and Republican parties’ candidates taking verbal jabs at each other over the problem this nation faces.

He mentions problems dealing with the educational system and other public services, the economy, immigrants and trade.

Mr. Garza also mentions the Latino phrase: “E pluribus unum” or “out of many, one” that deals with this nation’s role in the lives of immigrants and refugees.

Hopefully, the remaining presidential candidates will be briefed on the ideals and principles those 55 individuals came up with during that hot Philadelphia summer long ago.

Whoever becomes president should use this as a basis of their philosophy on governing this great nation.

Yes, Mr. Garza, we are still the home of the brave and a nation of laws.

Silvestre Moreno Jr. Mercedes

Both school board candidates who are running for the trustee position are very selfish. They decided not to go for the coin toss to decide the winner.

Instead they want to spend a lot of taxpayer’s money and want to inconvenience a lot of people to go out and vote again.

That is the problem we have in our society today. There is no empathy for the community. They just want the best odds to accomplish their best self-service.

But I have a solution that is better than what we have today. How about giving them a test? Test them in math, English, history, and another subject of their choice. The candidate with the best statistical average wins. It can all be decided in a one-hour test.

That way we know the smartest candidate got the job.

They will not be chosen by how pretty they look in a picture, by how much money they spend, by how many relatives they have or by sex race, color, or by any other background.

He or she will be chosen by who is the smartest. The only thing we will have to worry about is if they have a good conscience to make the right decision for the community.

Just imagine how much money will be saved by not having a re-election. We can use the saved money on educating our kids.

Santiago Perez San Benito

RAYMONDVILLE — This small town pulled together to turn two old baseball fields into a $1 million sports complex.

After eight months of construction, city leaders yesterday opened Veterans Park at the site of the former North Ward elementary school on the town’s northern edge.

“This is a dream come true for us,” City Manager Eleazar Garcia told a small crowd near the park’s entrance. “It is a community park.”

Designed by Guzman & Muñoz Engineering, the sports complex features two lighted playing fields, bleachers, a 6,000-square-foot pavilion, an 8,000-square-foot skate park, a half-mile walking trail with exercise stations and a concession stand.

Mayor Gilbert Gonzales recalled his days at the old school razed years ago in the neighborhood of old wood frame homes near the corner of First Street and Durango Avenue.

“This neighborhood has never had something like this,” Gonzales said. “Just looking around makes me feel as proud as proud can be.”

Former Raymondville High School Head Football Alex Leal chuckled as he recalled teaching at the school where he spanked Gonzales.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment,” Leal said. “It is totally awesome to come here and see what I’ve seen today. I hope you take real good care of it because this is something to be very proud of.”

Under a faint drizzle, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, said the park stood as a tribute to servicemen and women.

“The very name of it is special,” Lucio said. “All of us respect and admire men and women in uniform. I couldn’t help but feel the drops are tears of joy from those who could not be here with us today. There is a lot to be thankful for and Willacy County has always been a jewel for me.”

Gonzales called the sports complex home to “the biggest skate park south of San Antonio.”

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