HARLINGEN — When you hear Gabriela Garza sing, you have no idea she’s a 13-year-old.

After listening to a sample of her singing, anyone would conclude that her voice is not only beautiful, but amazing.

You don’t expect that type of sound to come out of a young teen’s voice, but anything is possible.

Garza, a Gutierrez Middle School student, has been selected as a junior finalist for the 2016 Middle School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall.

She will perform as a soprano part one at Carnegie Hall in June with the Honor Junior Choir.

Participation in one of the three Honors Ensembles is limited to the highest rated middle school performers across North America and select schools internationally.

Garza auditioned in the fall for the performance series and was accepted after a review by a selection board. Acceptance to the elite group is a direct result of the talent, dedication and achievements demonstrated in her application and audition recording.

“It’s such an honor to be selected to participate in this series and to be able to further my knowledge in singing and to also help me become a better singer,” Garza said.

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BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County sheriff candidate John Chambers has taken legal action against Cameron County and the chairwoman of the county’s Republican Party to get his name on the party’s ballot for the May 24 runoff election.

Chambers has filed a lawsuit requesting that the county refrain from printing the ballots for the runoff election until the issue regarding his eligibility has been resolved.

Chambers believes his name should be on the ballot. The county’s Republican Party maintains that he is ineligible.

Jesus Villalobos, Chambers’ attorney, anticipates the court will make a ruling by the end of the week and believes the ruling will be a favorable one for his client.

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RIO HONDO — One resident is fearful for her daughter’s life when it comes to drivers on FM 2925.

She would like to see more police patrolling the road to stop speeders.

“I have a daughter who will turn 18 and I fear every day for her safety,” said Sonia Gonzales, whose home is on FM 2925. “She is not allowed to drive without me right now but I know one day she will.”

Gonzales’ daughter, who is old enough to drive and has her own vehicle, is not allowed to drive herself to school because there are too many speeders, her mother said.

“At night is when we get a lot of speeders and they zoom by going about 80 and this road is 55,” Gonzales said.

She said many years ago her brother’s vehicle rolled over into the same canal where a Harlingen teen, Ashley Hernandez, 18, was found dead after her truck rolled on FM 2925.

Gonzales said her brother fell asleep at the wheel but was able to walk away from the accident.

Hernandez apparently was trying to avoid another vehicle that veered into her lane. She lost control of her truck and it went into the canal on Sunday, March 13.

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HARLINGEN — It’s getting safer for children to walk to school.

City and school district leaders have teamed up to build more sidewalks to help students walk and ride their bicycles to school.

The project also helps residents take longer walks in an effort to become healthier.

“It’s definitely helped from a safety standpoint,” Oscar Tapia, the school district’s assistant superintendent for district operations, said yesterday. “We got the kids off the streets and shoulders.”

As part of the program, the school district buys construction material while city crews build the sidewalks, City Manager Dan Serna said yesterday.

Since 2014, the partnership has helped build 18,110 liner feet, or about 3.4 miles, of sidewalks to tie neighborhoods with schools.

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SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Crews continued the search yesterday for a missing spring breaker from Kendall, Texas.

Justin Kirby Walker, 18, was last seen Saturday night on South Padre Island.

Patrols were organized Sunday to search for Walker after he was last seen at the Ultimate Music Fest at the Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, Sgt. Richard Hernandez of the Cameron County Park Police Department said.

Authorities began the search Sunday night and continued throughout the day yesterday.

Investigators say three Houston teenagers have died and another was critically hurt in a South Texas traffic accident as they drove home from Spring Break on South Padre Island.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says the wreck happened Sunday afternoon on Highway 77 near Corpus Christi when the car went out of control and hit an 18-wheeler.

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RIO HONDO — Isis Cleopatra Gomez will follow in her father’s footsteps when she joins the Army.

“He told me it was one of the best decisions he made,” Gomez, 17, a senior at Rio Hondo High School, said of her father Santiago Cantu Borjas. “He told me it was a great way to go — fighting for your country and the people who lost their lives fighting for our country.”

So in ninth grade, she joined the high school’s Air Force Junior ROTC program.

“I thought it would be a great way to kick off my military career,” said Gomez, the daughter of Norma Garza Gomez of Rio Hondo.

The ROTC program helped mold her for her career, she said.

“I know what to expect. Everything I need to know, they have taught me — and I’m ready to go,” Gomez said. “You develop great leadership skills and discipline — learning to address people of authority, learning the rank system.”

At school, Gomez runs track and cross country — and she’s active in law enforcement and band.

But ROTC has become a big part of her life.

This year, she became commander of the program’s saber team.

“I’ve always had a passion for the saber,” Gomez said. “They’re dealt with precision. You learn how to march in formation.”

Now she helps mold a new crop of cadets.

“I was really excited,” Gomez said. “I have a whole new team of cadets to lead to perform to excellence. You teach them how to twist (the saber) with precision and safety.”

As a member of the color guard, she carries the United States and Texas flags.

“I feel honored to be able to carry the flag,” she said. “I feel pride.”

When she graduates in June, she’ll enter basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., where she’ll work as a vehicle mechanic.

After she graduates, she’ll be assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.

“I love my country,” Gomez said. “America is the land of free and the home of the brave. I want to keep the tradition.”

SAN BENITO — City commissioners are that much closer to a decision on a skate park and a new pool.

Today, city leaders are expected to discuss plans about both and possibly take action to furthering plans to build a skate park and pool by summer.

The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. at the San Benito Municipal Building, 401 North Sam Houston.

The idea of a new skateboard park has been a topic in the community and among city officials for several years.

Mayor Celeste Sanchez has said from the very start that she hopes it can be built by summer. The skateboarders also hope they can have a new place to call home soon.

Last month, a group of skaters and their representative met with commissioners during a public meeting to discuss plans and what they would like to see built.

They came prepared.

Group spokesperson and local skateboarder Stacey Gonzalez started off by providing commissioners an inside look at just how many skateboarders populate San Benito.

Last year, the group started a petition. In the span of 10 months, they had secured about 361 likes and support from people who were willing to “vouch” for the skate park.

“I would say it’s pretty impressive considering we only offered it within a short time,” Gonzalez said.

According to the numbers crunched by Gonzalez, about 3.8 percent of San Benito’s population participates in skateboard activities.

“That’s quite a bit considering we are homeless so to speak,” she said. “We’re not asking for a regional or national size skate park.”

Ideally, Gonzalez said they would like to have an 8,000 to 12,000-square-foot skate park which, depending on the design, can cost about $200,000.

“We might be able to cut down cost through grant writing. I know we would be more than happy to do fundraising and whatever it takes to secure funding,” she told the council.

Parks and Recreation Director Art Garza provided commissioners a rundown on the different types of skate parks there are.

There’s a lot that goes into building a skate park. Garza said the main issue is funding.

There are above-ground skate parks and in-ground skate parks. The difference between the types is in the funding. Above-ground skate parks are going to cost much less than in-ground skate parks.

They range in price from $30,000 to $300,000 and beyond.

Several locations have been considered for the new park, including the Resaca Trail and Stookey Park.

“We can identify more areas later,” Garza said.

Today, the skaters and city leaders hope to make some decisions.

In addition, city commissioners also will discuss and take possible action on plans for a new pool.

Any action on the swimming pool idea has been up in the air since it was introduced by former City Manager Manuel Lara several years ago.

The swimming pool has been closed a little more than seven years and the skate park has been closed for a little less than a year.

Last month, city leaders discussed either remodeling the current pool or building a new pool all together.