HARLINGEN — Harlingen Family Dentistry hosted its 9th annual values-based Scholarship Competition recently and in the process provided scholarships to three students.

Students were acknowledged and awarded for their community projects that incorporated “The Way to Happiness precepts” and JROTC Core Values.

Schools from across the Rio Grande Valley participated in the contest. The three winners will share $6,000 in scholarships when they register in an institution of higher learning of their choice.

In the competition, members of local high school JROTC programs present activities they have personally done to implement precepts contained in “The Way to Happiness” book and the JROTC Core Values.

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The common goal is to help make the world a better place.

All participants were awarded certificates of commendation from U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela.

The certificates read, “Congratulating to you on a job well done and celebrating your commitment to The Way to Happiness and the JROTC Core Values that improve the quality of life in your communities.”

The first-place winner was Harlingen High School student Gabriela Reyes.

Her instructor was Master Sergeant Tony Gonzales and 1LT Moses Mendoza. Gabriela’s project, “One Step Closer,” focused on the students who need an extra push in the right direction.

Her goal was to teach the students the Army Core Values and the 21 Ways to Happiness Precepts. She achieved her goal by not only teaching the goals, but she had the students apply them through the various projects that not only helped the students but also helped the community.

Second place was captured by Gabriel Figueroa, Rio Hondo High School, with instructor Lt. Col. Clifford Moriarty.

Gabriel’s project was to conduct the first ever official Rio Hondo City Cleanup.

Gabriel and his JROTC team collected 180 pounds of trash, exceeding their goal by 80 pounds.

With his accomplishments, other high school clubs are making plans to do other community projects to beautify Rio Hondo.

He has built a bridge between Rio Hondo City Hall and the Rio Hondo High School JROTC by achieving city approval to conduct any and all community projects.

Third-place winner was Joseph Castro, Simon River Early College High School, Brownsville, instructor Col. Junior Tilly.

His conducted a scholarship chess tournament.

They had more than 2,000 competitors, mostly elementary school children who brought their parents.

He organized his JROTC unit to help keep order and facilitate the two-day chess competition.

Runner-up awards were presented to Anacecilia Santoyo, Veterans Memorial, Brownsville, Instructor, Chief Warrant Officer Raul Rodriguez; Angelo Corona, Edinburg North High School, Instructor LTC James Troia; Niurka Magalie Cervantes, Harlingen High School South; Victoria Alondra Leyva, Harlingen High School South, Instructor, Major Pedro Gonzalez; Adelaida Flores, Weslaco High School; and Maria G. Martinez, Weslaco High School, Instructor SFC Mario Gonzales.

“We are very proud of these winners,” said Dr. Villarreal. “We are also proud and grateful for all the contestants who worked so hard with their instructors contributing to their community. As far as we are concerned, they are all winners.”

The 2016 competition judges included Sheriff Omar Lucio; Navy Lieutenant Israel Villarreal; Serafin Pardon, Walgreen’s manager; Rick Caballero, Khan’s Grill CEO; Major Dolores Watts, Salvation Army; Lisa Seiser, Valley Morning Star Editor; and Officer Hector Villegas, Harlingen Police Department Ernest Espinosa, Boy Scouts.

Portfolio judges were Judy Emsley, educator (retired); and Marsha Gramley, Principal (Retired).

Competition tabulator was Janie Sandoval, Rio Grande Valley Credit Union and the timekeeper, was John Hollingsworth, Rotarian.

To qualify for the competition, JROTC cadets were required to present a portfolio containing a JROTC Service Criteria resume, cover letter, certificates of achievement and references.

Each candidate in the competition presents a portfolio summation of results achieved in implementing “The Way to Happiness” precepts and JROTC Core Values.

In addition, each student makes an oral and visual presentation to the judges, with project documentation.

HARLINGEN — The city is inviting residents to protect pets with the rabies vaccination.

Harlingen’s annual Spring Rabies Clinic is April 18 to 23 at different locations throughout the city. There is a minimal immunization and licensing fee of $15 per pet.

“Protecting your pets by keeping them current on vaccinations is very important,” Environmental Health Director Ramiro Gonzales said. “Rabies is 100 percent deadly and there is no cure.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal.

Dogs and cats who receive an initial rabies vaccination are not considered immunized until 28 days after the vaccine has been administered. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that any animal newly vaccinated, or those too young to receive the vaccine (less than three months), not be left outdoors unattended.

For more information, please call the city of Harlingen at 956-216-5220.

MERCEDES — The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office needs help identifying two potential witnesses in a homicide investigation.

Sheriff’s deputies found the body of 44-year-old Gilbert Garcia Garces of Progreso near a levee off Farm-to-Market 491, south of Mercedes, on April 7, about 7:30 p.m.

A preliminary examination of Garces’ body indicated a gunshot wound and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, Sgt. J.P. Rodriguez said.

Witnesses at the scene said they had been riding ATVs in the brush before discovering the body.

The sheriff’s office released surveillance video obtained from a local store that depicts two women who are being sought for questioning.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at 956-383-8114 or Crime Stoppers hotline at 956-668-8477 to remain anonymous.

HARLINGEN — A police officer remains hospitalized two weeks after he was injured trying to protect members of a SWAT team during a raid.

Charles Duhamel, 30, is being treated at San Antonio Military Medical Center after suffering injuries to his right hand and arm during the March 31 incident.

A police department press release stated Duhamel “is currently receiving treatment and is doing well.”

Duhamel and the SWAT team were executing a search warrant during an investigation into an aggravated robbery when a tactical distraction device known as a flash bang landed next to another officer’s feet.

“They were getting ready to throw it in a room,” spokesman Sgt. Dave Osborne said yesterday, referring to the flash bang.

But the flash bang landed next to another officer’s feet, Osborne said.

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HARLINGEN — Beef is back on the menu.

After two years of the highest average beef prices in nearly 20 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a report every American will be eating a half-pound more this year than they did last year.

The beef price problem was created by years of drought in the South and Southwest, leading cattle producers to sell their cows for slaughter because of high feed costs.

As ranchers increased their herds after the drought eased, it means there’s more beef and lower prices for consumers.

The average cost of a pound of beef, all cuts combined, was $5.28 per pound in February 2015. A year later, that average price had dropped to $4.38 per pound, which is the lowest composite beef price since 2009.

The average American is expected to eat 54.3 pounds of beef this year, the USDA projects.

Local meat market managers, like Mike Ortiz at A&V Lopez Super Meat Market in San Benito, have seen customer preferences change in response to higher beef prices. He wants beef prices to continue to drop.

“That’s what we’re hoping, that eventually the prices go a little bit down and get more people in the store and buy more meat,” said Ortiz, the store manager. “We’ve been selling a little more chicken than red meat this past year.”

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RAYMONDVILLE — Officials project Walmart’s closing will cost the city about $50,000 a year in lost sales tax revenue.

But officials will not make budget cuts to offset those losses, City Manager Eleazar Garcia said yesterday.

“We’re just tightening up our belt, being conservative with our spending,” Garcia said.

Walmart, one of the city’s biggest retailers, closed Jan. 29, laying off 149 employees.

The city’s sales tax collection dropped from $139,458 in January to $103,695 in February, state figures show.

Big clearance sales might have boosted Walmart’s sales tax revenues in January, Mayor Gilbert Gonzales said.

“I know we’re down but that loss isn’t as much as we thought,” Gonzales said.

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BROWNVILLE — Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr. likely won’t be heading back to his office anytime soon.

Yesterday, visiting Senior State District Judge Manuel Banales denied a motion by Yzaguirre’s defense attorneys that sought to reconsider conditions of bond and allow him to return to the office.

Earlier this year, Yzaguirre was arrested along with county tax investigator Pedro Garza, dealer/notary supervisor Omar Sanchez-Paz and Chief of Investigations Lt. Jose Mireles on bribery and other charges.

The arrests followed a two-year Texas Department of Public Safety investigation of the tax assessor-collector’s office called “Operation Dirty Deeds.”

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BROWNSVILLE — Mayor Tony Martinez has announced that Brownsville is planning to build a new Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport terminal to expand its economic opportunities.

According to Interim Director of Aviation Sesha Vorrey, construction of the new airport terminal would take place directly in front of the existing terminal. Now in the planning stages of the project, he said preparation to build the terminal was started in 2014. An environmental and inventory assessment was completed in April of last year. The cost for the study was provided through Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) funding.

Projects such as these are generally completed in three phases, Vorrey said. These phases consist of design, bidding and construction.

“It’s easy to say it’ll be completed in three phases, but there’s a lot of work to be done,” Vorrey said.

For these reasons, Martinez said it’s important to keep the existing airport in operation. The city hasn’t improved the airport in “probably 50 years,” so it’s important to make these improvements because of the city’s numerous advancements, the mayor said.

“I think there’s a lot of updating that’s required to meet the need of things that’s coming down the pike,” Martinez said.

“The airport presents a challenge for Brownsville,” he said. “We have probably not maximized our potential out there with the amount of land we have.”

“Our airport is the first thing a lot of people see when they come to Brownsville, so we need to make a good first impression,” the mayor said.

Construction of the new airport will bring additional airlines, especially with technologies such as SpaceX within its proximity, Vorrey said. A new airport also would bring business, more passengers and cargo attraction for cargo operators.

Extending the airport runway was another airport improvement Martinez was interested in working on. The mayor said there was already an extension request with the Federal Aviation Administration, but that particular item was going to take more time and would have to undergo further studies.

“A letter was given to the FAA in the last couple of years that was sent to us from SpaceX,” Martinez said. “They had some interest in trying to bring some air cargo in here that would require an additional extension to the existing runway. Without a letter of interest the FAA would not be considering it, but that letter of interest is in their hands.”

Extending the runway would allow the airport to look into accommodating bigger cargo operating planes, Vorrey said. In order to transport cargo at a 100 percent load factor and obtain peak ambient temperature settings, they would need longer runways.

With the airport bringing in approximately 9,000 passengers per month, these two improvements would allow the airport to operate at its maximum potential.

The new airport terminal will host state-of-the-art amenities, being built with the latest technologies available on the market. It will feature a double floor, four passenger-loading bridges and be built using environmentally-friendly technologies.

The airport terminal is estimated to cost $25 million.

Funding for air operation and the ramp will be coming from the FAA.

The new terminal will be funded by the city through certificates of obligation.

As of yet, a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction has been scheduled for October or November.

Vorrey said the terminal should be up and running in 2018.

“The city airport is the gateway to the city,” Vorrey said.

HARLINGEN — They spent the past year promoting school spirit, raising money for the American Cancer Society and bolstering autism awareness.

Now the student council at Harlingen High School South has been recognized for its efforts.

The National Association of Student Councils has awarded the council the 2016 NASC National Gold Council of Excellence Award. The award is presented to those councils which demonstrate the highest levels of leadership as well as meet additional standards set by NASC, says its website.

Claudia Rogers, student council sponsor, said she was very proud of the students. Ever since she began working with the student council seven years ago, she’s been trying to help the students win the award — no easy task.

“It’s not easy getting the award,” she said. “We have been working hard for recognition. It’s a great accomplishment.”

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