HARLINGEN — The South Texas Association of School Maintenance Officials (STASMO) hosted a meeting for personnel in school maintenance across the Valley at the Rio Grande Valley Partnership Chamber in Weslaco on March 30.

The presentations focused on energy efficiency programs by Russell Bego, AEP Texas, and high cost building controls by Greg Lockhart, Climatec.

Being an entity made up of educators of one form or fashion, STASMO has established a scholarship program that helps students, members and family members in maintenance-related programs in their endeavor for high education.

BROWNSVILLE — Though Rodney Brown and Anthony Castillo disagree on where the monument to Confederate president Jefferson Davis should go, the two men shook hands in a moment of respect Saturday morning at Washington Park during a protest to remove the monument from the city park.

Castillo in December initiated a petition to have the nearly 100-year-old monument from its current home in Washington Park in downtown Brownsville to a museum.

Brown, who wore a confederate baseball hat and was accompanied by his two sons, William and Michael, who donned T-shirts bearing the Confederate flag with the words “Heritage not Hate” believe the monument to Davis is an important part of Brownsville ‘s history that must be preserved and displayed.

Brown placed a Confederate flag near the monument in support to keep it at the park.

“This is a part of our history and our past, and you can’t hide history just because they don’t like it. This man did a lot for the Confederacy, for the South and for Brownsville,” Brown said.

Bruce Reiger said he believes the monument to Davis is a city treasure that should remain visible.

“We need to keep our history in a public space, you shouldn’t have to pay to go to a museum to see a part of our history,” Reiger said.

Stain Raines of Brownsville said if the monument is to stay in Washington Park, there should be additional signs that provide the missing context that explains the Confederacy’s ties to slavery.

Ohireime Eromosele said he traveled from Palmhurst to show solidarity for those in Brownsville who believe the monument should be removed.

“I don’t think any taxpayer dollars should go to memorializing a traitor to the United States and a white supremacist in public view. I don’t think we should get rid of it, I think it should be moved to a museum or a place reserved for historical artifacts,” Eromosele said.

Castillo said he plans to formally ask Brownsville city commissioners to vote to move Davis’ monument to a museum.

BROWNSVILLE — A little more than a week ago, the first of three companies filed an application for a permit to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal at the Port of Brownsville.

In response, a group will hold an anti-LNG campaign event this week.

The group Save RGV from LNG will deliver a presentation Monday, highlighting the experiences of the residents of Lusby, Maryland.

The presentation will be about Dominion LNG’s Cove Point liquefied natural gas export terminal under construction there.

The purpose of the presentation, according to the group, is to give Rio Grande Valley residents an idea of what to expect if LNG facilities are built at the Port of Brownsville.

Three companies have announced plans to construct export terminals at the port, projects currently under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The free public meeting also will provide an update on the three LNG projects and Save RGV’s efforts to stop them, including a discussion of the next steps, the group said.

The meeting takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the Historic Alonzo Building, 510 E. St. Charles St. Refreshments and child care will be provided.

Stefanie Herwick of the Lower RGV Sierra Club will deliver the Cove Point presentation. Rebekah Hinojosa, of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star chapter, and Bill Berg and Juanita Stringfield, of Save RGV, also will speak.

Save RGV describes itself as a citizens’ group formed to raise economic, environmental and safety concerns in response to proposals by the three companies — Annova LNG, Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG — to build export terminals at the port.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit Save RGV from LNG’s Facebook page.

Houston-based Texas LNG on March 31 announced it had filed a full application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting authorization to construct and operate its facility.

Texas LNG, Annova LNG and NextDecade LNG submitted their “pre-filing” applications in March 2015. The full application is the next step in the process. Texas LNG has a 625-acre lease option at the port.

The company’s long-term plans call for a facility capable of shipping 4 million metric tons of LNG a year, making it the smallest of the three projects. The first phase of the project would have a capacity of 2 million metric tons a year.

Annova and NextDecade, when fully built out, would have total annual capacities of 6 million and 27 million metric tons, respectively.

While some oppose the LNG plants, others support it, citing, job creation and the potential for improving the economy of area.

BROWNSVILLE — More than 200 people marched from Dean Porter Park in Brownsville to the U.S. Federal Courthouse in the Gift of Life Pregnancy Center’s annual Hike for Life fundraiser.

A band kicked off the event with an upbeat version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” as participants prepared for the walk.

Aztec dancers from the Matlachinas dance ministry who donned gold Aztec costumes bearing the Virgen De Guadalupe were at the forefront of the walk as Most Rev. Bishop Daniel Flores led the procession.

“This is an opportunity for those in the church and those outside the church to be witness to the beauty of life and acknowledge the testimony that we should be conscious of the need to protect life, especially in vulnerable conditions such as the unborn, the elderly and the sick,” Flores said.

Martin Leal, founder of the center, said this is the sixth year the center has held the event, and funds are needed more than ever since the center recently opened a second location in Harlingen to serve expectant and new moms.

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McALLEN — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is working to finalize a private-public partnership that will allow it to get a new research facility in the City of McAllen by the spring 2017 semester and possibly a mini-medical campus in the future.

The partnership between UTRGV, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance and the City of McAllen is allowing speedier construction of the research facility, which university officials said would take years if it was to be built using UT-System funding.

“There are many levels of scrutiny to get public funds to build a new building on the campus proper,” said Theresa Maldonado, UTRGV senior vice president for research innovation and economic development. “If you do get the money, you have to go through long process where there’s facility planning and construction at the university system level that works with the local facilities office at the campus, and it can go on forever.”

The lengthy process was not ideal considering the new university was formed with the expectation of becoming an emerging research institution, she said, so a public-private collaboration with one of the hospitals that already partners with the university in programs such as residencies was ideal.

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[email protected]

HARLINGEN — Let’s just call these days “peak visual” when it comes to flowers in the Rio Grande Valley.

From the glorious, electric-like yellows of blooming prickly pear cactus to the rusty magenta of Mexican hat, the splashy palette makes it seem like a good idea to get outside and enjoy nature.

Spring wildflower season is probably a little past its prime, but there appears to be enough yellow, orange, purple and red in bloom out there to make a drive or a hike worthwhile for the next couple of weeks.

“These wildflowers come up when we have a non-drought time, and we probably have a hundred different kinds,” said Anita Westervelt of Harlingen, a Texas Master Naturalist and a member of the Native Plant Project. “But you can’t really see all of them unless you’re walking around.”

For her part, Westervelt says one of her favorite places to pay homage to wildflowers is an irrigation ditch near her home.

“It’s teeming with things like false dandelion, because Texas doesn’t have the true dandelion,” she said. “The things called firewheel, which are also Indian blanket. And then the Mexican hat and the purple thistle are now gorgeous.

“It’s tall and a whole bunch of pollinators are attracted to this great big purple thistle.”

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McALLEN — The Thirteenth Court of Appeals ruled last week that a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer should get a new trial nearly five years after he was convicted of murder.

Jose Guadalupe Rodriguez Elizondo, 37, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2011, after a jury found him guilty in the murder of Fermin Limon Sr., a 49-year-old nightclub owner.

On August 9, 2010, Elizondo, his wife, Maria, and his brother, Juan, went to the PuntoTres nightclub around 12:45 a.m. Elizondo and his wife were involved in a confrontation with the owner of the nightclub, Limon Sr., his son, Fermin Limon Jr., and some of the nightclub’s security employees, according to court records.

At some point during the altercation, and in an effort to get away from the club personnel, Elizondo ran to his white Dodge Ram truck, which was parked almost 70 yards away, according to the court records.

He was chased by three men. Elizondo then became involved in a physical struggle with Limon Jr. just outside the driver’s side of his truck — with his CBP-issued gun in his hand, according to court records.

Without warning, Limon Sr. approached Elizondo with a gun in his hand. Each man was pointing his gun at the other. Elizondo claims that he shot Limon Sr. in self-defense, according to court records.

Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies arrested Elizondo after the Aug. 9, 2010, fatal shooting, alleging that Limon’s slaying was not justifiable under the law.

At question for jurors during trial, which began in November 2011, was whether Limon’s fatal shooting qualifies as murder, or whether Elizondo was justified in killing him in self-defense.

Jurors convicted Elizondo of murder after less than two hours of deliberation Nov. 14, 2011, and the former CBP officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to court records.

Elizondo faced up to life in prison for Limon’s murder and was scheduled to become eligible for parole after half his prison sentence was served — around the year 2023.

Since his conviction, Elizondo has appealed to the Thirteenth Court of Appeals but the murder conviction had been affirmed by the court — that is until Thursday when the court reversed its decision, ruling that Elizondo deserved a new trial based on incorrect wording in the jury charge read to the jurors during his trial, which caused harm to Elizondo at trial.

“The instruction regarding provoking the difficulty was erroneously worded, and it should not have been included in the court’s charge to the jury in the first place. We hold that the inclusion of the provocation instruction in the jury charge caused some harm. We need not address Elizondo’s remaining grounds for review. The judgment of the Thirteenth Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for a new trial,” the statement reads.

In its ruling, the court stated that the third element in the provoking-the-difficulty instruction to the jury was not met.

The Thirteenth Court of Appeals states that the trial court erred by not addressing whether or not Elizondo’s actions or words were done with the intention of harming Limon Sr.

“The appellate court found that this evidence raised the issue of provocation and supported finding that Elizondo provoked the difficulty and did not abandon the encounter. However, we fail to see how this evidence would support a jury’s finding that Elizondo acted with the intent, and as part of a larger plan, to kill Limon Sr.,” the court states.

Elizondo’s appeals attorney, Brandy Wingate Voss, confirmed the court’s ruling for a new trial but declined comment based on her policy not to comment on pending cases.

At press time no new court hearings had been scheduled for Elizondo.

SAN BENITO — Mary Gillogly’s favorite thing about La Posada Providencia is listening to clients’ stories.

Mary herself immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was 5 years old.

So, she knows a thing or two about trying assimilate into new surroundings in a new country.

“I sympathize with the clients,” she said.

She also tries to help them in their transition whenever they need it.

La Posada’s volunteers play a big role in the shelter’s success, helping to “Welcome the Stranger.”

Mary said she volunteers twice a week and her time is usually spent driving clients to appointments and other places.

Due to the hard work of the volunteers, the shelter launched a Volunteers of the Month program. Each month, two of the wonderful volunteers will be randomly selected and recognized for all the work they do at La Posada.

Mary, who is a retired nurse, said she has been volunteering at the shelter for about four years.

She describes her friends at La Posada as family.

“Everything for the clients is here. Ever since I started volunteering, everyone has treated me like family,” she said. “I try to help them and let them know what they can expect.”

Volunteering for Mary allows her the opportunity to talk about La Posada to others.

“I volunteer God’s gift. What God has given me I volunteer it,” she said.

Since 1989, La Posada has provided a safe haven for more than 7,500 people from more than 70 countries.

It provides shelter, food, training, transportation and mentoring to today’s immigrants, all of whom are in the process of gaining legal asylum or residency.

The shelter was founded and is sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence. The shelter staff provides a safe and welcoming home, mentors to promote self-sufficiency and cultural integration, and imparts values which witness God’s Providence in our world.

As a shelter that also aims to educate the public on immigration, they often host many volunteers from around the United States throughout the year.

“La Posada does very well teaching them,” Mary said. “I see all the good things the shelter does with my own eyes.”

HARLINGEN — Brian says and does strange things, which no one understands.

People smirk and fire sarcastic comments at him, leaving wounds that never heal and memories that never fade.

He looks so disconnected they think he doesn’t know what they’re saying.

But he knows. He knows very well.

Brian is fictitious, based on typical autistic characteristics and life experiences.

But his story is all too real for thousands of people suffering from higher functioning autism. During “Brian’s” formative years, most people knew little or nothing about autism. Those with the more symptoms were easily identified. However, they knew little about people like Brian.

Even those with Brian‘s symptoms were clueless about his situation. He wouldn’t discover until years later he had Asperger Syndrome, which became part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2013. The name Asperger is no longer used, but the symptoms describe his struggles perfectly — socially awkward, unable to read people’s body language or facial expressions, and isolation.

ASD is a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The broad range of symptoms associated with autism can include an inability to speak, repetition of words or actions, and avoiding eye contact. People with autism may also have learning difficulties. At the same time, they may have an intense, almost obsessive, interest in one or two subjects to the extent they may become experts. Those who are higher functioning may speak and write well, but they have poor social skills.

Brian would eventually be considered higher functioning ASD.

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BY AMANDA SOTELO

HARLINGEN — The Texas State Technical Foundation has kicked off a statewide campaign called “Make a Texas Sized Difference,” encouraging TSTC alumni and supporters to donate to the Texas Success Scholarship.

These efforts are part of a TSTC Foundation statewide campaign called “Make a Texas Sized Difference,” encouraging TSTC alumni and supporters to donate to the Texan Success Scholarship.

This fundraising effort is being directed by a newly formed steering committee made up of 13 community and business leaders, retired administrators and TSTC supporters, who are working together to help students receive a technical education.

Officials said the committee is working on strategies to ensure the Harlingen campus is successful during this new scholarship campaign. The committee is reaching out to prospective donors and identifying events where individuals such as TSTC retirees and TSTC alumni can come together and re-engage with the college.

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