LYFORD — Residents are trickling in to cast early votes in the May 7 election in which a political newcomer joins four incumbents vying for four seats on the City Commission.

Monday, 10 residents had cast ballots by the time the polls closed at 5 p.m. on the first day of early voting, an election official said yesterday.

Yesterday, eight voters had cast ballots by 5:35 p.m. as officials planned to keep the polls open until 7 p.m. to give more residents a chance to vote.

Rick Salinas, a teacher and coach, faces a field of incumbents who include Commissioners Maggie Quilantan, Wally Solis, Albert Cavazos and Tony Chavez.

Chavez, an accountant who serves as a tax assessor-collector, has served on the commission since 2006.

Solis, a retired military officer, was first elected in 1995, serving until 2009, when he was deployed for military duty in Iraq.

In 2010, Solis returned to office, going on to win election in 2012 and 2014.

Quilantan, who is retired, was elected in 2014 after being appointed to the post in 2012.

Cavazos, a former police officer who worked as a special education paraprofessional, was elected to a one-year term in 2015, replacing Commissioner Rocky Guajardo.

Early voting runs through May 3.

SAN BENITO — This summer, the city will hire several young people to work with the summer beautification program.

The city will be hiring 10 students at $7.50 per hour on a 15-hour work-week, said San BenitoParks and Recreation Director Art Garza.

The youths will be responsible for improving city landscape and downtown areas.

On the heels of last year’s success, the city is preparing for round two.

Those chosen to be part of the program will be tasked with removing debris and trash from city grounds, planting flowers and trees and painting.

They also will be tasked with sweeping, washing windows, raking and shoveling.

Under the close supervision, the kids will perform a variety of landscape maintenance activities, which includes raking, watering lawns, grounds, planting, weeding, mulching, pruning, trimming and removing tree branches.

Most of the work will be done along Sam Houston Boulevard.

Last summer, more than 70 kids applied. The city saw major success when they implemented the program for the first time.

The work lasted for about four to five weeks.

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EDINBURG — Juliana Rodriguez read her story to more than 300 Gear Up students.

It was at a college essay writer’s conference held at Region One Education Service Center last week.

Rodriguez, a Point Isabel Gear Up student, is on the fast track to success as she and others finalized their college essay personal statement there.

“I’m ahead of the game,” Rodriguez said. “The writing workshops helped a lot.”

Region One created the series of writing workshops called “The College Essay Writing Project” in partnership with the Texas Valley Communities Foundation (TVCOF), that’s a Mercedes nonprofit promoting education, because the college essay is a critical component of the college application packet for most colleges and universities.

“I think this year-long writing process enabled them to receive feedback in such a positive way,” said Mary Alice Reyes, TVCOF executive director. “At the end of the day it’s the essay that’s going to set you apart.”

The students went through the entire writing process and were taught to take the content and personalize it for different needs, scholarships, internships and college applications.

“We’re hopeful that these essays will give them that edge they need to be considered for selection of admission to the college of their choice,” Reyes said. “To already have worked through this essay is great.”

A good essay can make all the difference.

Rodriguez wrote about the time she had to take control of a moving vehicle at the age of 12.

Her father had fallen unconscious, so she took control and maneuvered the family car to safety.

“I explained how that experience changed my life and how it brought me up into the adulthood I’m in today,” Rodriguez said.

Each student wrote about their personal lives explaining who they are.

The writers conference was the final writing workshop to teach junior status Gear Up students writing techniques to show colleges they are students who will excel at the university level.

The primary goal for Gear Up is to increase the number of students graduating from high school and entering and succeeding in post-secondary institutions.

Over the course of the training, Jeannine Robinson, the creator of EssayHell.com, a website writing source that focuses on writing college application essays that get noticed, told the Gear Up students, “show me, don’t tell me in your essay.”

Robinson said her website has tips for students who need help writing their college essay.

“You always have to captivate your audience,” Rodriguez said about Robinson’s training. “And she made it simple.”

Rodriguez said she is almost done writing her three essay prompts for the Apply/Texas college application and she is only a junior.

“As part of the writing process, you write and you edit, and your write and you edit until you come up with your final draft,” Reyes said. “Even so, you’re always looking to improve.”

Reyes said the conference was impactful and powerful and the student participants were amazing.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons dry instant vanilla pudding mix

1 pound of strawberries, quartered

½ pint blueberries

½ pint raspberries

½ pineapple, cubed

1 bunch grapes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Sprinkle pudding powder over fruit and stir.

2. Serve immediately or allow to sit overnight.

This super tasty potato salad will be the favorite dish at your next cookout.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

3 pounds red/new potatoes

1 large red onion, cut into thick slices

1 tablespoon coriander seed

1 pinch cumin seed

1 tablespoon oregano leaves

2 serrano chiles, minced

3 slices bacon, crisply cooked and coarsely chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro, thick stems discarded, coarsely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon coarse black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and cool. Once cool, quarter potatoes; set aside.

2. Grill onion slices over high heat until lightly caramelized.

3. In a skillet over medium heat, toast coriander and cumin seeds for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add oregano; and continue to toast about 20 seconds, be careful to watch for burning. Immediately remove spices from heat, transfer toasted spices into large bowl.

4. In a large bowl with toasted spices, add oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk together to blend. Add potatoes, onions, chiles, bacon and cilantro; toss lightly to coat.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

12 ounces elbows pasta

5 slices bacon, diced

2 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, for garnish

For the lemon thyme dressing

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

Instructions

To make the dressing, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and thyme in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, bacon, avocado, lemon-thyme dressing, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately, garnished with thyme.

Yield: SERVES 6

Prep time: 10 MINUTES

Cook time: 25 MINUTES

Total time: 35 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 ear sweet corn, husked

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 red pepper, diced

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 avocados, pit and skin removed, chopped

Juice of 2 limes

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato slices with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place the sweet potatoes on a grill over medium heat. Cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes on each side. When the sweet potatoes are close to being done, place the ear of corn on the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes, rotating so the kernels get slightly charred. Let the sweet potatoes and corn cool to room temperature.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes and place in a large bowl. With a sharp knife, remove the corn kernels from the cob. Add the corn to the bowl. Stir in black beans, red pepper, green onions, cilantro, and avocado. Squeeze the lime juice over the salad and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

Note-the salad will keep in the refrigerator for 2 days.

In several of my letters that have been printed in the VMS I’ve stated that in my view both the broadcast and print media have a liberal left wing agenda.

On Tuesday, April 19, Target announced that their bathrooms and fitting rooms would be gender neutral.

Meaning that transgender males and for that matter, any male that “feels” like a female on any given day can use the same bathroom as young girls and women.

Why has it not been all over the VMS and the local TV news? That and the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have signed a pledge to boycott Target because of the stance it’s taken regarding gender- neutral bathrooms. Google Target boycott.

It’s an extremely sensitive left wing issue that has produced a strong backlash that the liberal media prefers to keep as quiet as possible.

Seems to me all females and parents of young kids should be made aware of what the retail giant has chosen to do.

Target’s reasoning seems to be to counter “Freedom of Religion” laws meant to protect the clergy from being forced to perform same sex marriages against their religious beliefs signed into law in Mississippi and North Carolina.

These laws are also meant to protect individuals who on religious grounds do not want to perform services requested by same-sex couples, such as baking wedding cakes, doing landscape work, etc.

Of course what the “people” want doesn’t matter anyway. The ACLU has already filed a lawsuit against North Carolina. And of course a liberal Federal Judge will agree with the ACLU and the “Freedom of Religion” laws will be overturned.

President Abraham Lincoln has to be rolling over in his grave.

All the Union soldiers buried at Gettysburg did in fact, die in vain.

Sir, “that government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” has indeed perished from the earth.

N. Rodriguez Harlingen

SAN BENITO — This summer, the city will hire several young people to work with the summer beautification program.

The teens will be responsible for improving city landscape and downtown areas. They will also remove trash from city grounds, plant flowers and trees and painting.

Officials say the summer program was so successful last year they decided to bring it back again.

The students, who ranged in age from 14 to 18 years old, are paid $7.50 an hour and work 15 hours per week. The work lasted for about four to five weeks.

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For more information call the city at (956) 361-3800 or got to www.cityofsanbenito.com/Jobs.aspx.

The haze you see in the air will stay around for most of the day.

The National Weather Service in Brownsville say the air quality for today should reach the orange level – which means if you have breathing problems like asthma you should consider staying indoors, preferably in air conditioning.

Forecasters say if you must be outdoors today consider wearing a particle mask.

The haze is expected to link through the early afternoon.

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The forecast for today calls for hot and breezy weather with highs in the 90s in Cameron County to the low 100s in the western part of the Valley.

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