HARLINGEN —Tuesday couldn’t have come any sooner for Harlingen High track and field standout Travis Barnes.

After signing his letter of intent to compete for the Division I University of Houston in the American Athletic Conference, Barnes was all smiles as he delivered a heartfelt speech to his family, friends and coaches at the Harlingen High School library Tuesday afternoon.

“Today was a very emotional day for me. I knew it was going to be a very special day. It was one of those days that you’ve dreamt of your whole life and you never would have imagined it could happen,” said Barnes. “It happened today and it’s one of those emotions that you don’t know what you’re supposed to do next. It’s definitely one of the best days of my life.”

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GALVESTON ISLAND — Texas’ smelliest flower is about to bloom again at Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid.

And staff at the botanical gardens are holding their breath in anticipation.

The corpse flower is native to the rainforests of Sumatra in Indonesia. “Morphophallus titanum” is known by its common name of titan arum.

What makes it unique, outside of its rotting flesh smell when it flowers, is how rarely it blooms. The Galveston flower bloomed in June 2012 for the first time.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a corpse flower bloom once,” said Donnita Brannon, horticulture exhibit manager at Moody Gardens. “I’m over the moon to see it bloom twice.”

The staff has nicknamed the flower “Morticia” and it’s expected to bloom within the next week. It is one of only five to bloom in Texas and 122 in the United States since 1937.

One of the reasons for the plant’s rarity is its unreliable blooming schedule, Moody Gardens said. The flowers can take anywhere from two to 10 years to bloom with no guarantee that it will ever flower.

And the smell? Well, the plant uses it to attract pollinators such as insects which feed on dead animals or lay their eggs in rotting meat.

The pungent aroma increases from late evening until the middle of the night, when carrion beetles and flesh flies are active as pollinators, then tapers off towards morning.

The first bloom ever recorded in the United States took place at New York Botanic Garden in 1937.

For more information call 800-582-4673 or visit www.moodygardens.org.

HARLINGEN — A Harlingen woman faces a felony charge after her daughter fell out of a second story window Sunday.

Brooke Ashley Wise, 25, was charged with a second degree felony for injury to a child, with bond set at $35,000.

At approximately 12:48 p.m. Sunday police and EMS responded to the 500 block of East Davis Street in reference to small child that had fallen from an apartment window.

The one-year-old girl was medically evaluated and transported to the Valley Baptist Medical Center.

As a result of the investigation, Wise was arrested.

I was very surprised that Mr. Rodriguez seems to believe that the only plank in the Democratic platform is “pro abortion.” Having served on platform committees I know how difficult it is to gain consensus on various issues.

It is important to remember that a party platform is made up of many planks.

How about me saying that I can’t be a, or vote for, a Republican since they believe in or are “pro capital punishment” which violates a core belief of mine, as a Christian. Forgiveness is mandated by Jesus.

Just as a sidebar, I have struggled with the fact that a sin is a sin. I’ve always felt that sins should be on a points basis.

You know this one is really bad and this one isn’t so bad.

Like murder is 10 points, swearing is 2 points, etc. I’ve been comforted that I didn’t have any 10 pointers.

Back to reality, sin is sin, there is no point system.

Would anyone care to wager that all the people performing and receiving abortions are Democrats?

On the lighter side. I like to tease my Republican friends that I once was a Republican but I overcame it.

There is always hope. I also chide them by telling them that I am working as hard as I can to amass enough capital to be able to gain Republican status. Seeing an economically challenged person driving a broken down jalopy with a Republican bumper sticker makes me sad.

It always makes me wonder how they can be against their economic interest. I believe you can legislate economic issues but you will find it difficult to legislate moral issues.

Oh, just to make it clear, I am a Christian, pro life, and a Democrat. And just for the record I know other folks that meet those criteria.

Tony Bos Harlingen

On May 5, under the direction of Dr. Hudson DeYoe, an interdisciplinary multi-stake holder workshop was held on the UTRGV Brownsville Campus to promote a network for alignment toward sustainability thinking. Speakers included – ecosystem valuation, coastal resilience, coastal resource management, agroecology, and a general discussion on how the attendees could promote sustainability in the Rio Grande Valley.

As our region becomes more populated, we must consider planning of our communities in neighborhood configurations with walking/ biking trails, public transport, use of our natural resources, and renewable energies.

At a time when heavy industrial petrochemical plants threaten the survival of our coastal ecosystem on the Brownsville Ship Channel, as more wind turbines move into our area, as more roads and toll roads are proposed.

We must remember that in order for our environment to thrive and remain healthy, we must make difficult choices on how to preserve our natural resources for the future generations.

Diane Teter Laguna Vista

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — The design is in and plans are moving forward for the Island’s park and ride facility.

“The design looks nice. It’s an Island look, so as you come off the causeway it’s a nice appearance,” Mayor Barry Patel said.

The transportation hub is projected to be operational by summer of 2017. It will be located between the access road and Padre Boulevard in front of Pearl South Padre.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $3.5 million to the city of South Padre Island for the project. The city didn’t have to provide any matching funds.

The two-story building will have a coastal comfort feel to it and will be the next building visitors will see as they enter the Island.

The facility will offer “intermodal” connections between automobile and bus, providing a better transfer location for visitors to the Island. It will also provide riders the safety of a secured building with lighting and a security officer.

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HARLINGEN — Voters rallied Saturday for and against school bond proposals worth millions that would pay for facility construction costs and upgrades.

Voters said no to La Feria’s $14 million bond issue. But that wasn’t the case for Rio Hondo’s $20 million or Santa Maria’s $9.4 million proposals. Both of those passed.

La Feria’s bond issue failed by a vote of 633 against to 375 for the proposal.

“The results were certainly very disappointing,” Superintendent Rey Villarreal said. “I believe that our students deserve the best learning environment that we can possibly provide as a community. In my opinion, we are falling short of that goal at this time.”

The bonds would have allowed the district to upgrade C. E. Vail Elementary School, including the replacement of inefficient and unusable buildings and upgrades to buildings that are still viable.

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The Navy Service Training Command released the distinguished unit list for Area 10, with members of the San Benito Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) earning the 2016 Distinguished Unit Award title for the fifth year in a row.

This year, out of 57 Texas schools competing, the San Benito NJROTC Liberty Hounds placed eleventh, and the NJROTC group also earned a commendation award for “Academic Honors.”

Captain Nels Swanson explained, “Area 10 is the area that spans nearly the entire state, covering the area east to west from Houston to El Paso, and up north past Dallas/Fort Worth to down south to the Rio Grande Valley.”

In addition to the credit gained through competition trips throughout the year, the cadets reached this milestone by logging 4,688 community and public service hours and 2,186 school support hours, surpassing last year’s totals by 18 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

“This is such an incredible feat. Hats off to our NJROTC Unit who continue to proudly represent San Benito CISD with honor, courage, and commitment,” Swanson said. “They continue to be the ‘backbone of San Benito,’” he added.

SANTA ROSA — Santa Rosa senior Manny Sanchez is a multi-sport athlete and is preparing for his final postseason as a Warrior.

Get to know the senior infielder a little more.

Age: 18

Class: Senior

Q: How long have you played baseball and why did you pick up the sport?

A: I have played since I was old enough to pick up a bat. I love the game and when I got to high school, I wanted to pick up my game and for the past four years, I have improved each and every year.

Q: What’s the most challenging part about the sport?

A: Fielding. You have to know the situation, especially with the game on the line.

Q: What is it about the program that motivates you?

A: The coaches tell us to go at it at 110 percent, not to give up and to finish strong and always finish the play.

Q: How do you prepare for a big game?

A: I get rest, focus and really just don’t talk to anyone. I like to focus mentally during the pregame.

Q: What is your best memory playing the game?

A: As a freshman, we won our final district game to go to the playoffs.

Q: What other sports do you play?

A: I play basketball, run cross-country and play golf.

Q: What other hobbies do you have?

A: I go to church every once in a while and I really like drawing.

Q: What is your favorite subject in school and why?

A: I like math because, like sports, I’m pretty good at it.

Q: What are your plans after high school?

A: I plan on staying around here for two years to get my basics in kinesiology and then go to Kingsville.

Q: Favorite food?

A: Hamburgers because it’s basically all I eat before every game.

Q: Favorite music?

A: Christian music

Q: Who are your heroes?

A: My dad and my grandpa, because they push me to do more and to always give 110 percent and never give up on what I love to do.

PALM VALLEY — A pair of incumbents earned re-election Saturday taking the top and third spots out of a total of six candidates.

A total of 231 of more than 1,000 registered voters turned out Saturday in the city, according to city secretary Sylvia Trevino.

Those who came to the polls were able to choose three candidates out of a pool of six to serve as members of the city council.

Debe Wright will return to the council for another 2-year term after garnering the most votes with 146.

Fellow incumbent John Widger had the third most with 121, narrowly defeating Quentin Keyes, who had 119.

Widger will serve another term and said he will continue working to ensure the city remains fiscally responsible and stable.

Cynthia Thompson collected the second-highest number of votes with 142 and will take Cissie Nesmith’s position. Nesmith decided not to run for re-election.

Wright is a Harlingen native, whose family has lived in Palm Valley since 1975. This will be her third term on the council.

She currently works for Frost Bank. She has a master’s in business administration and has worked in the banking industry since 1984.

In her bio on the Palm Valley website, Wright states it is imperative the city works to “encourage new families to relocate to Palm Valley by offering a lifestyle that is not available anywhere else in the Valley.”

She said yesterday the city’s quality staff are key to the success of Palm Valley. She called the city secretary and police chief great and the city is “fortunate to have them and their knowledge to provide leadership and guidance.”

She also talked about the important issues facing the city — infrastructure and the importance of Harlingen Country Club.

An aging infrastructure, including issues with roads and drainage were issues she mentioned she would like to continue.

However, she admitted she had no answers as to dealing with the future of the Country Club.

There have been concerns for quite some time about long term decreases in membership and financial struggles at the golf club.

“It will take us all working together, a unified effort and ideas,” she said.

The club and golf course are the largest revenue generator in the city.

“It’s not our job to run it, but the people in the city need to be supportive,” she said. “We don’t want that to fail.”

While she doesn’t have answers, she believes others in the community might and working together will be imperative moving forward on all topics.

“That is the key — getting to work together instead of working against each other,” she said.

Widger, a Michigan native, has been in the area since 2007 and agreed on several topics with the lifelong area resident, Wright.

Widger is retired, but formerly a computer systems analyst with a master’s degree in business administration.

Widger said yesterday he ran again to serve the council to continue working on ensuring the city’s fiscal responsibility as well as working on its infrastructure.

“I think at least we have our budget in a better position and we are engaged in better spending practices,” Widger said.

He also said the city has more funding for capital projects because of the recent fiscal responsibility. But, he also admitted there are some challenges in the future, specifically infrastructure such as drainage issues to deal with.

“We need to come up with answers to that,” he said. “Throwing money at the problem won’t fix it. We need to find a viable solution.”

He also talked about the health of Harlingen Country Club, being the largest business in the city, generating the most sales tax.

“I feel there are limited things we can do to help,” Widger said. “What we can do is provide a clean, safe city for them to operate in. I am open to partnering with them by using them as a vendor for our events. Those are the areas that meet the legal requirements of a city helping a private entity.”

Efforts to reach Thompson were unsuccessful yesterday.

A total of six people, including Wright, Thompson, Widger, Keyes, Charlie Ramsay and Paul Powers vied for the three seats. Ramsay received 73 votes and Powers received 22.