One of the top students at Los Fresnos High School has won college expenses a 2016 Gates Millennium Scholarship, meaning her undergraduate, and potentially graduate-school expenses will be paid.

Jocelyn Sosa-Ramirez, one of the top 10 students in her graduating class, received notification that she is one of 1,000 students nationwide chosen to receive the Gates Millennium Scholarship this year, the last year the GMS will be awarded.

The GMS will pay all of Sosa-Ramirez’s undergraduate expenses as well as covering graduate studies in mathematics, the sciences, public health and other fields. She plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin to major in mathematics in the College of Natural Sciences and continue her studies through graduate school.

“The Gates will cover post-graduate studies in several areas and math is one of them,” Sosa-Ramirez said. “It’s great that I have that option and I definitely plan to take advantage of it.”

Each year, the GMS selects top minority students in the U.S. to receive good-through-graduation scholarships. The GMS supports of the cost of education by covering unmet financial need and providing self-help aid.

Sosa-Ramirez said that prior to receiving notice of the award she was worried about where she was going to get the money to pay for college.

“Now a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. I can focus on other things and enjoy my senior year,” she said.

Sosa-Ramirez said the hardest part of applying for the GMS was writing the eight required essays.

“It took me awhile to know what I wanted to say in each of the essays and figure out how to make all of them be united and cohesive,” she said.

SAN BENITO — Simon Macias wore a persistent smile as he held the guitar, the instrument exuding a gentle strength which sought release through his hands.

The notes rose from the strings as his fingers, trained for years to cast that spell of release, awakened the music from its dormancy. His guitar’s voice joined others which had been roused by Simon’s fellow Classical Guitar Ensemble players.

“I like all of this,” said Simon, a junior at San Benito High School.

“This is all I play, which is with the Classical Guitar Ensemble and the Flamenco Ensemble,” said Simon, 17.

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He and the other guitar players were practicing for the UIL State Solo and Ensemble competition in Austin at the end of May. A total of 26 guitar students will compete in the solo and ensemble event.

The Classical Guitar Ensemble did very well at the regional UIL meet in March, scoring a one.

The young musicians seemed at one moment to connect with other players as they practiced and then withdrew to focus closely on their individual techniques. The notes seemed to rise slowly and then descend into a dream. Each string, there were so many of them, gave up pieces of sound like a complex tapestry.

In the midst of these separate, spontaneous musical lines rose an incantation which conjured images of Spaniards on horseback riding across rolling hillsides past homes with terracotta tiles on pitched roofs. The smell of paella and saffron rice drifted from windows with iron grillwork on homes bleached white, and wide entranceways with heavy wooden doors covered with elegant carving.

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MERCEDES — Posting on the Internet is like shouting at the top of your lungs in a crowded hallway for everyone to hear.

So keep in mind, just because you have the freedom of expression and are protected by the First Amendment to say what you want, that doesn’t mean you can’t get into trouble for saying it.

“It’s like writing a letter to the entire world,” said David Donaldson, a media law lecturer for the University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism. “You’re responsible for what you do. That’s what people need to realize.”

In the history of the United States and the First Amendment, social media like Facebook and Twitter are relatively new platforms of expression.

In general, Americans have been voicing their opinions forever. Now the Internet and social media are giving more people access to broad audiences to express their views.

In the past 10 years, the number of people on social networks and reading blogs has increased dramatically. Today, 65 percent of adults use social networking sites — nearly a tenfold jump in the past decade, according to the Pew Research Center.

Experts remind those users there can be a risk in what they’re posting. In some cases, posts have landed people in jail or facing penalties worth thousands and even millions of dollars for what they’re writing.

For example, there was a case at Mercedes High School in January when authorities said a senior fired off a Tweet to a classmate suggesting his friend shoot up the school and that he would help. He might have been playing around, but the authorities took it seriously.

The students were plucked out of the classroom soon after authorities red-flagged their Tweets as threatening. They were in first period class in different classrooms Tweeting and by the end of the school day, they were on their way to jail for what was deemed as a terroristic threat on the social network.

A student was holding up two AK-47 assault rifles in his Twitter profile. Those Tweets landed both of the boys in the county jail with bonds set at $250,000. They also were expelled from school.

“People don’t get to joke any more; this stuff is serious,” Donaldson said. “Whether or not they actually had the intent, that would make them responsible for that kind of activity.”

Another example of free speech sending someone to court is that of Brownsville blogger Juan Montoya. Brownsville City Attorney Mark Sossi is suing Montoya for $10 million alleging defamation of character.

Sossi contends that on Feb. 11, 2015, Montoya published a blog on his site in which Montoya “negligently and maliciously published false, defamatory statements” about Sossi.

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HARLINGEN — Police said officers were forced to shoot a pit bull after the dog was released on them during a family argument.

Officers went to the 3200 block of LazyPalm about 2:20 a.m. yesterday to check on a call about a family disturbance between a man and a woman.

During the arrest of the woman, the man “intentionally released an aggressive pit bull at the officers, shouting orders at the dog to attack,” police said in a statement.

The dog charged two officers, biting one on the forearm and the other on the leg.

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HARLINGEN — Police said officers were forced to shoot a pit bull after the dog was released on them during a family argument.

Officers went to the 3200 block of Lazy Palm about 2:20 a.m. yesterday to check on a call about a family disturbance between a man and a woman.

During the arrest of the woman, the man “intentionally released an aggressive pit bull at the officers, shouting orders at the dog to attack,” police said in a statement.

The dog charged two officers, biting one on the forearm and the other on the leg.

“The attack was so fast and violent, the officers were left with no choice but to shoot the animal to prevent further injury,” the police statement said.

Both officers were taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center for treatment.

The man, who was not identified, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer.

Harlingen Animal Control was called to the scene to remove the dead dog.

No other information was immediately available.

HARLINGEN — Today and tomorrow are your last chances to cast an early vote for city and school board elections.

Election day is Saturday. Early voting ends tomorrow.

Voters will elect the mayor and a city commissioner for District 2.

Two candidates are running for Harlingen school board trustee Place 7.

Early voting is taking place at Harlingen City Hall, 118 E. Tyler Ave., in the second floor City Commission chamber.

Today, early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tomorrow, early voting is being held for 12 hours, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In the race for Harlingen mayor, incumbent Chris Boswell, an attorney, faces former city commissioner Jerry Prepejchal, businessman Kenneth Benton and retired police officer and private investigator Joe Rubio.

Two candidates are running to fill the seat vacated by long-time school board member Verna Young.

Rosalinda Mercado-Garza, 39, and Eladio Jaimez, 39, are campaigning for Place 7 in the school board election.

Incumbent Greg Powers, Place 3, is running unopposed.

In criticizing Mayor Boswell’s statements that Harlingen’s tax rate is the lowest of the major communities in Cameron County, Robert Leftwich incorrectly stated Brownsville’s tax rate is lower than Harlingen’s.

It’s not.

Brownsville’s tax rate is 0.70. San Benito’s is 0.728. Los Fresnos is 0.71 and La Feria is 0.76.

Harlingen’s tax rate is .588 and since Chris Boswell has served as Mayor, the tax rate has not gone up once but has gone down once.

Leftwich also incorrectly asserts that Harlingen’s “building activities are at the bottom of the List.”

Since 2006, the tax base in Harlingen has gone from $2.25 billion to $3.23 billion — a 50 percent increase.

In 2013 alone, Harlingen’s commercial building permits were the highest in the Valley at $134 million compared to $60 million in Brownsville and $88 million in McAllen. And that was not as a result of the school district’s building program which spanned at least three years.

He also complains about increased debt. But he does not tell you that the largest part of that debt, which was for the Bass Pro Shop project and development, is entirely supported by Economic Develoment Corporation funds and which in no way impacts the general fund used for basic city services.

Leftwich campaigned on and, as Commissioner, voted to approve the debt issuance of which he now complains. As Leftwich is fond of saying, that is “disingenuous and misleading to voters.”

Leftwich also wrongly attacks Commissioner Uhlhorn for the Refrigerated Produce Inspection Station at Los Indios designed to attract more produce to cross at Los Indios.

That’s a joint project with San Benito and Cameron County.

And it will help boost revenues for our bridge. It has nothing to do with Commissioner Uhlhorn’s business.

Finally, Leftwich complains of “wasteful government spending and backroom insider dealings.”

Of course, he doesn’t count among those the 5-year $3.5 million deal which Mayor Boswell championed to keep Leftwich’s employer, United Launch Alliance, from moving to Alabama thus retaining 180 good paying aerospace jobs in Harlingen.

Maybe Leftwich should stop criticizing Mayor Boswell and just thank him for saving his job.

Curtis Bonner, former chairman, Harlingen Waterworks board chairman

Connie de la Garza, former Harlingen mayor

Jay Meade, former Harlingen city commissioner

Eddie Medrano, former Harlingen city commissioner

So many of the Democrats have stressed the Republicans are keeping our country from making progress by refusing to compromise.

However, there is compromise in policy and there is compromise of principles.

Policies are sometimes improved and sometimes revoked and are not necessarily permanent, but principles are not that easy to reinstate once they are lost. Purity of purpose can never be restored once principles have been subordinated to corruption.

If we are willing to cast out the basic principles upon which this country was founded, we can usher ourselves back into the world that we left in the 1500s.

From words spoken by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, they had little faith that human frailties would be put aside for long to preserve what is/was bigger than all of us.

So, if we now seek to replace the justice of law with the compulsions of man as the measure of what is good, we will have no stability to make consistent judgments, and today’s views may be the route to tomorrow’s problems. We need to understand what is to be compromised before we judge it to be a solution.

Sincerely, Norma Christian Raymondville

I want to thank the chamber for holding a debate with the mayors office and commissioners.

More people need to know who is running for office and what they stand for. I want to say that after listening to what the three candidates for mayor had to say, and also knowing what is happening in our town, I will support Jerry Prepejchal for mayor.

The reason, his experience and an understanding of the problems and issues that we face in Harlingen.

Many citizens feel the same way about one issue. And that is a special group or “club” control things in this area and they like to keep it that way.

Therefore nothing changes for those that are not in that club. In reading a recent letter to the VMS by former commissioner Robert Leftwich, I have to agree with him.

It has been said that people need to get involved and informed about the issues in this area. I couldn’t agree more.

People need to get out and vote and not for the candate that has the most attractive sign or money.

We do have some good people out there that want to make your town a better place.

It’s going to take some changes though to achieve that.

Vote. It’s your right and your duty.

Roger Keller Harlingen