SAN BENITO — Ricardo and Lydia Rodriguez were identified as having a housing need more than three years ago.

They have four children and currently live in a two-bedroom house.

They have lived in that unlevel home for more than 20 years. It lacks insulation.

Many of the widows are broken.

The roof is leaking. The siding is falling off.

They currently are using the kitchen as a third bedroom.

But all that has changed.

In a few days, they will be set to move into a newly-built home.

A modest, one story, gray and white, three bedroom home, with enough room for all.

Yesterday, city and state leaders and officials with Habitat for Humanity dedicated the new home to the Rodriguez family in a ceremony that displayed the love and kindness the organization is known for.

“We are so excited and extremely blessed,” Lydia said of her new home located on Lozano Lane.

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SEGUIN — For the Santa Rosa Warriors, the first half of their Region IV-3A semifinal was not one they would like to remember.

The second half, however, was one they will not soon forget.

After trailing by 13 in the first half, the Warriors outscored the Goliad Lions 31-13 in the third quarter and never looked back as they punched their ticket to the elite eight with a 73-69 come-from-behind win in Friday night at the Goldie Harris Gym in Seguin.

The Warriors are into the regional finals and will face state-ranked Aransas Pass at 1 p.m. today. AP, who beat Lyford in Tuesday’s regional quarters, beat Universal City Randolph 71-52 on Friday night.

With turnovers and ice-cold shooting plaguing the Warriors in the first half, Goliad took advantage and racked up a double-digit lead early.

Santa Rosa head coach Johnny Cipriano had just one message for the Warriors at the half: Slow down.

“I told the guys at half that we were making these shots all year; you just have to settle down,” he said. “If we’re calm and composed, we’re gonna sink them because that’s what we practiced. It was just a matter of sinking that first one. Sure enough, that first one goes in and there we go.”

Full story at RGVSports.com

PALM VALLEY — And then there were two.

On Friday at Harlingen Country Club, Ron Kilby and Ray Iler defeated Bill Werley Jr. and Chris Wicker, respectively, to book their spots in today’s final of the 64th Annual Life Begins at 40 Golf Tournament. The two tee off at 1 p.m.

Both Kilby and Iler are no strangers to the championship round of the LBA 40, especially Kilby, who is the tournament’s two-time defending champ and also a winner in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2008.

Iler, meanwhile, took home the title in 2012, but he has plenty of experience playing “The Killer.”

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“Ron and I have played many times in this tournament and he holds the edge,” said Iler. “He’s won more than I have and we’ve met in the semifinals and the finals before. We’ll have a good match and it will come down to whoever makes the most putts.

“I remember the last match we had a couple years ago, I was up one (stroke) playing the 18th (hole) when I hit the green on my second shot to within 20 feet. He (Ron) knocks his shot in to about two feet and ties the hole to go onto the next hole. He hit it into the trees and it came up in the fairway, and made another birdie and beat me. When you play Ron you have to make pars and make a couple of birdies, and then you’re in business.”

As for Kilby, he has plenty of respect for Iler.

“As in the past, in order to win this thing you have to beat out the Harlingen Country Club members,” said Kilby. “Ray’s probably playing the best of any of them and has been for the last few years, so it’s not surprising to me that Ray came out of that group and now I get to play him.”

ROAD TO THE FINALS: Kilby’s tournament started with victories against No. 16 seed Steve Brewster on Wednesday, No. 9 Frank Cohen on Thursday and No. 4 Werley Jr. in Friday morning’s semifinals.

“I got off to a rough start but played good after that,” said Kilby. “Werley is a good player and a very good ball striker, and kind of like yesterday (against Cohen) I was able to capitalize every time he made a mistake, and, fortunately, I didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes out there.”

Iler’s road to the final was just as tough. On opening day he defeated No. 14 seed Keith Schussler before getting by No. 11 seed Frank Miller on day two. On Friday morning, he beat seventh seed Wicker in 13 holes to secure his spot in the title match.

“In essence, Chris didn’t have his A game today and he made a lot of bogeys, and missed some short putts early that he normally doesn’t, and then he went down two (strokes) and on these greens it’s tough to come back from that,” Iler said. “Also, I just didn’t give many openings and I just kept making pars.”

SAN BENITO — There has been a shift in leadership within the fire department.

San Benito Fire Chief Raul Zuniga made the announcement about the shift a few days ago.

“In a measure to streamline operations and provide better service to the San Benito community, TJ (Jesus) Tijerina is being moved from the assistant chief’s position to lead the equipment apparatus maintenance division of the fire department,” said Zuniga.

He assures no positions are being eliminated.

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RAYMONDVILLE — When Angel Soria graduates in June, he’ll have a job waiting for him.

Since January, Soria and 20 classmates have been working toward jobs as nursing assistants at RetamaManorNursingCenter.

The program is part of a new partnership between RaymondvilleHigh School and the nursing home to train more residents to meet the growing demand for nursing assistants in the area.

“It puts me ahead of other people,” Soria, 18, said yesterday.

The program has forged a unique partnership between the school district and business sector, said Benjamin Clinton, the Raymondville school district’s special programs director.

“We’re doing something big for the community,” Clinton said. “There’s a need and it’s great experience for our students. For a lot of them, this is the career they’re getting into.”

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HARLINGEN — The school district is trying to identify students who may need special education services.

On Monday, it will host a Child Find Event at the Harlingen school district’s Administration Building at 407 N. 77 Sunshine Strip.

Parents of children ages 3 to 20 are asked to bring their children’s birth certificates. Parents must also bring their own drivers’ licenses or state identification cards.

Child Find is a mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, says the www.wrightslaw.com website.

“Child Find requires all school districts to identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disabilities,” states the website.

The IDEA requires all states to develop and implement a practical method of determining which children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services and which are not. This can even include children with passing grades and who have passed from one grade to the next.

The Child Find Event will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, call 956-430 – 9500.

With crude oil prices at a 14-year low, gasoline prices have been creeping downward for months, delighting motorists at the pump.

That trend has reversed in recent days, with the price of a gallon of regular unleaded jumping roughly 15 cents. Will Speer, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, said the sudden increase is partly due to a rally in the price of crude caused by a decrease in domestic oil production.

The U.S. rig count has fallen from more than 1,600 active rigs in November 2014 to 400 as of Feb. 26, he said.

“The oil rig count number is kind of a good indicator of how healthy the oil business is,” Speer said. “We’ve seen six consecutive weeks of declining production.”

Still, this country has a lot of oil on its hands. While it’s normal for gas prices to rise when refineries switch over to cleaner burning “summer blend” in March and April, very high inventories of domestic crude will keep a lid on gas prices, even during the peak of summer driving season, Speer said.

“We’ll see a little increase because now it’s a more expensive blend,” he said. “But because of healthy inventories that should cap how high it goes.”

The fact that refineries shut down for maintenance in the spring exacerbates the glut, because it creates less demand for oil, Speer said.

Taking a “wild guess” on the scenario a year from now, Speer predicted that rig counts would continue to fall, further affecting production.

“As (production) goes away, we may finally start to be able to work through our inventory glut in a meaningful way,” he said.

As oil prices go up, however, rig counts tend to increase too, creating more production in relation to demand, Speer said. The “shale revolution” that led the U.S. crude oil glut in the last few years means generally lower oil prices, he said.

Speer said he doesn’t think gas prices will go much higher than $2 this driving season, if indeed they reach that level. People will complain anyway, though drivers should bear in mind that an average gallon of regular unleaded peaked 56 cents higher last year, he said.

“It’s still a really good savings,” Speer said. “It’s a good time to do those long summer drives.”

ALTON — Members of a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley fraternity were involved in an armed standoff with police Friday after multiple reports of shots fired at a ranch with various exotic animals prompted a multiagency response, according to police.

More than 50 members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity were gathered about 12:45 a.m. in the 1400 block of North Glasscock Road when police received calls from neighbors saying they were hearing what they described as a gunfight inside the seven-acre ranch.

“Officers arrived and shined their spotlight on them, but as soon as they activated the patrol lights, the officers heard three or four shots that rang out from inside the ranch,” said Alton Police Chief Enrique Sotelo. “We were not able to determine from the investigation if the officers were targeted, but that was a deliberate act to their lights being activated.”

More than 25 law enforcement officers responded, including deputies with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety, which assisted with aerial support. The officers used loudspeakers to try and communicate with the gunmen, but they failed to comply, Sotelo said.

“This could have been an extremely horrible situation but, luckily, the composure was there, and we were able to take care of the situation peacefully,” Sotelo said. “A justifiable response would have been to open fire as soon as you heard the shots fired, but our guys hunkered down and called for assistance.”

After being held up in the ranch for more than 45 minutes, officers entered the property and ordered the more than 54 men, aged 19-24, to surrender. The men claimed to be members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and four of them came forward and took responsibility for the shots fired.

“They were scared about what they had done, and they knew there were some consequences, and that’s what kept them from complying and answering to the commands,” Sotelo said. “They told officers there was some sort of initiation to the new members of the fraternity. Whether or not that has anything to do with the shots being fired, we don’t know.”

Officers seized two rifles and one shotgun believed to be registered to one of the members and legally owned. Investigators were able to match some of the casings found around the dimly lit ranch to the three firearms, according to Sotelo.

That is not the only thing officers found in the dark ranch. Toward the back of the property, officers noticed cages with wolves, monkeys and exotic cats inside. Sotelo said the animals were also legally owned.

“We couldn’t really see the whole range of animals that were there because it’s a dimly lit ranch,” Sotelo said. “It’s not your typical petting zoo animals.”

Officers issued four citations for disturbing the peace, a Class C misdemeanor, to the fraternity members who took responsibility for the shots fired. One of the suspected gunmen was the nephew of the ranch owner, Sotelo said.

UTRGV Spokesman Patrick Gonzales said the university has opened an investigation on the matter and sent two police officers Friday to the Alton Police Department to gather more information on the incident.

“We are going to do our due diligence to try to complete the investigation in a timely manner,” Gonzales said.

At this point, university officials are not sure whether all 54 people are in fact UTRGV students, but a cease and desist letter was sent to the fraternity, prohibiting it from conducting any business on or off campus without permission from the dean of students, Gonzales said.

“The safety of our students is a top priority for UTRGV, and we take these matters very seriously,” Gonzales said in a written statement. “UTRGV is conducting its own investigation to ensure that this situation is handled appropriately.”

Sotelo said no further charges or citations are expected in the case.

“It would be extremely difficult to determine whether or not we had an intention towards the officer or an intention to purposely not comply,” he added. “The citation is really not that big of a deal, but it was more so the intensity of the situation because things could have gone awry really rally fast.”

So, the “Bozz” (Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell) wants to spend $14,000,000 on a new convention center and hotel. I wonder how many of the local hotel/motel owners and operators were consulted on this.

A look at the State report on occupancy — http://www.sourcestrategies. org/texas/reports/ TXT15Q2CNTY.pdf — shows that occupancy is at 55 percent and dropping, which leaves 3,500 rooms available every night.

And, some of these places have facilities for conventions, if there were any conventions to be had.

So then, where is the plan that will guarantee occupancy of the new facilities sufficient to pay all the bills and debt, as well as to increase the floundering hotel/motel businesses already here.

Or is this money just to come from the Economic Development Committee budget until it is paid, and then what money is the EDC supposed to operate on?

Then, how many other convention centers are in the region, already established, with experienced crews and fighting tooth and nail for that same business.

An easy drive around town shows more empty buildings and land that even God couldn’t fill up and yet we are supposed to let the city “bozzes” build more.

How about the Municipal Auditorium? A beautiful 1,800 seat theater with a stage and all the fixins for a wonderful night life, but it sits empty. Is this a precursor to a new convention center with a building that covers a full acre of space? Just because you build it, does not mean they will come.

Walmart just closed two stores in the area, and a lumber yard just closed in Harlingen. The Mall is half empty and holding on with its fingernails.

It seems that there are a whole lot of other things that could be done for $14,000,000 to bring people here, like making that Municipal Auditorium the Broadway of Texas. Like making events happen here every day and every week that fill up all the restaurants and motels that are already here. Like making Harlingen the Capital of south Texas rather than the Poorest Place in the USA.

Then, are we just supposed to trust that $14,000,000 is all going where it is supposed to go, or does the plan include a civilian audit committee to make sure that everything is all hunky dory?

It is leadership like this that got us where we are. Things need to change.

Terry Westerman, Harlingen

BY Lynda Lopez

Using basketball jargon, you could say Efrain Villarreal Jr. scored a three pointer at the buzzer when he came to work at the TSTC Wellness and Sports Center back in 2007.

The Harlingen native was working on his basics at TSTC when he made his way over to the gym and stumbled onto a job opportunity.

“I got my start as a work study at the gym for two or three years. That was my first job. You could say I grew up here. I stay here because I love working here. It doesn’t feel like a work. I enjoy it so much,” said 26-year-old Villarreal.

The student job eventually led to a part-time employment and eventually to a full-time job as assistant supervisor of the Wellness Sports Center and Intramurals.

“I was the youngest full-time employee at the age of 23. Coach Joe (Garza) came in as supervisor and he gave me an opportunity. I’ve learned discipline, organization and to be open to change from this man. He’s been a great influence on me,” said Villarreal.

Coach Garza says Villarreal is a hardworking and reliable employee. He boasts that Villarreal has a strong connection to the students he serves.

“He was a student here, he knows the system and he has a good understanding of what students want,” explained Garza. “He knows how to communicate

Today Villarreal is in charge of managing a team of student employees, organizing intramural sports, scheduling games, and coordinating events and weight loss workshops. He does all this while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

“TSTC is a great place to work. Thanks to the college and my supervisor I’ve been able to continue my studies,” explained Villarreal. They work with my schedule and give me the time to go to school and get my education.”

But Villarreal says the greatest benefit of working for the Wellness Center is guiding and mentoring students.

“We have an open-door policy because sometimes students need someone to talk to. They have family or financial problems, explains Villarreal. “We always stress the importance of staying in school. We are here for them. It’s rewarding to see our students succeed at school and in life.”

Villarreal says it’s also rewarding to see students who have never played organized sports get involved and play on a team for the first time in their lives. And, he especially loves to see students making progress on their personal weight goals.

“We have students come back to visit or to help at our events. They stay connected because they had a great experience at TSTC and at our Wellness Center,” said Villarreal.

Villarreal encourages all TSTC students to take advantage of the Wellness and Sports Center, a 29,000-square-foot facility equipped with basketball courts, racquetball courts, weight room and cardio room. He invites students to come see what is being offered and reminds them the services are free.

“It’s a great place to relax, get a break from the stress of school. You can work on getting healthy. We’re here for you,” said Villarreal.

The TSTC Wellness & Sports Center is open Monday through Friday and is free to all TSTC students, staff and faculty. For more information on hours, upcoming activities or intramural sports, call 956-364-4344 or go to facebook.com/TSTC-Wellness-and-Sports-Center.