At Zavala Elementary, fifth graders in Xochitl Lara’s class shared these thoughts about their favorite U.S. president. The students are all members of the Zavala Owls Media Club and they produce a newspaper each month.

The students each had a picture of their favorite president on a paper plate. They also had a sheet of paper with facts they’d written about their president.

Jennah Gonzalez, 11: My favorite president is Barack Obama because he’s the first African American to be president of the United States. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. He was born Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.” She had a paper plate with a picture of Obama.

Leilani Iniguez, 10: Her favorite president is John F. Kennedy: “He was the youngest president to be elected at age 42.” She admired him for helping African Americans. In 1963, Kennedy sent a bill to Congress making sure African Americans had civil rights.” Reporter’s note: Kennedy’s comprehensive civil rights bill was making its way through Congress when Kennedy was killed in November of 1963. President Lyndon Johnson pushed the bill through Congress and it was passed as the Civil Rights Act. Many saw it as a way of honoring Kennedy, whose administration created the bill.

Emily Estrada, 11: Her favorite president is John F. Kennedy: “I really like him because he was the youngest president and he inspired me to do anything at any age. “ She had one of Kennedy’s famous quotes on a piece of paper. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Gregorio Mares, 11: “My favorite president is Ulysses Grant because he was the 18th president. He was commanding general. He worked closely with Abraham Lincoln to win the civil war.”

Ethan Garza, 11: His favorite president is Thomas Jefferson. “He helped write the Declaration of Independence. He was the third president.”

Oscar Lugo, 11: His favorite president is Chester A. Arthur: “He was the quartermaster general of the New York militia in the American Civil War.

Charlize Morales, 11: Her favorite president is George Washington: “He was the first president of the U.S. He was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution.”

Kassandra Salazar, 10: Her favorite president is Abraham Lincoln: “He was against slavery and he wanted everybody to be equal. My favorite quote is ‘In the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts, it’s the life in your years.’”

Hannah Garcia, 10: Her favorite president is Teddy Roosevelt. “Because when he went hunting one day, when his friends caught a bear for him to shoot, he took a look at it and said, ‘No’ because he said it was an old bear. Bears are my favorite animal.”

DONNA — Gunfire could be heard at the fourth annual Chisholm Trail Festival on Saturday, during one of the three gunfighter shows. The festival commemorated the trail used to drive cattle from Texas to Kansas during the post-Civil War era, which is believed to have a Donna connection.

The event was kicked off with a 5K run at 8 a.m. and a 1 Mile Kid’s Run at 9 a.m. and featured a cook-off, a parade, gunfighters shows, performances from local school mariachi groups and performers, including country singer Tracy Lawrence.

In harmony with the cowboys who used to transport cattle, Jesse Briones rode his horse, Whiskey, to the festival.

“We’re trying to push for next year to start off farther away and ride to Donna and get people from other communities to come,” Briones said. “(Right now) it’s pretty short; we just ride around Donna and back.”

The 31-year-old said he has attended the festival for the past few years and would like to see the trail aspect of the festival elongated.

“The actual Chisholm Trail comes all the way down from (Kansas),” he said. “I don’t want to go that far, but I want to maybe start toward the Harlingen area and work our way to Donna.”

The Santa Rosa native said that he knows several people who enjoy the ride and like to saddle up their horses for a long day. Briones said that he enjoys the festival and likes what it does for the town.

“It’s good to get the community involved,” the Santa Rosa native said. “It brings people to Donna and helps the Valley grow.”

He said that he’s part of an organization called Cowboys and Angels that does outreach at different events.

“A lot of the kids like to see the horses, take pictures and touch them,” he said. “It just opens up the kids’ eyes to different ideas than just being on the streets and stuff. There are good hobbies that they can go out to and do stuff. We encourage community involvement.”

Guadalupe Castillo said her grandchildren are among those who like to see the horses during the Chisholm Trail parade, though she said they did not arrive early enough to catch it this year.

The 62-year-old said she enjoys attending community events with her grandchildren.

“I love Donna,” she said. “I’ve always lived here, and I went to school here. I think this is a great town and I don’t know why people don’t think so but it is. It’s a good, wholesome community. There’s a lot of security. The environment is well controlled; it’s a very nice day.”

Castillo said apart from the nice weather and horses, she liked that the festival brought the community together.

“It lets you meet with people you haven’t seen in a while from the same hometown,” she said. “We’re all so busy working and you never have time to really visit. It’s a good chance to visit and catch up.”

She said that she ran into her childhood neighbor at the festival and wants to see the city have more events and get itself on the map.

“The city needs to promote the city more,” she said. “All the other towns have a lot of other events going on.”

She believes having more events would be good publicity for the city.

David De Los Rios, the event coordinator, agrees.

“The city of Donna has never had any events that they can call their own,” the 40-year-old said. “A couple of years ago, they had put up a historical marker that the Chisholm Trail had passed through this area, and they decided to implement and start hosting an annual event.”

Since it first started 4 years ago, the festival has expanded exponentially.

“I was part of the first one,” the Donna native said. “We had probably like 2,000 people, and today we’re expecting thirty to thirty-five thousand people throughout the whole day.”

The event coordinator said he liked seeing the community come together as a family to celebrate the city’s past.

“There’s a history here in Donna, and we want everyone to understand that the city has some type of history,” he said. “We have this and can call out and say the Chisholm Trail passed through here, and we should recognize it and celebrate. That’s pretty much what we’re trying to do.”

WESLACO — Police are looking for a four-door charcoal gray Chrysler 200 with extensive damage to the hood and possibly the windshield.

The vehicle is believed to have been involved in an auto-pedestrian accident that left a 22-year-old man in serious condition yesterday morning, officials said.

Officials identified the 22-year-old man as Hugo Ernesto de la Garza, who was traveling with his girlfriend east on Expressway 83 (Interstate 2) and Farm-to-Market 1015 heading home to Los Fresnos.

The couple reportedly began arguing; De la Garza stopped the car and got out of the vehicle, according to officials.

According to police, his girlfriend jumped into the driver’s seat and followed him, pleading for him to get back into the car.

Officers believe he then stepped into the traffic lane and was struck by the charcoal Chrysler.

Officials say the vehicle did not stop and was last seen driving east on U.S. Expressway 83.

The vehicle is believed to be missing its grill.

De la Garza was transported to Knapp Medical Center, where he was stabilized then transported to McAllen Medical Center, officials said.

He is now in a San Antonio Hospital in serious condition.

Those with information are asked to contact Weslaco Crime Stoppers at 956-968-8477.

BROWNSVILLE — Eyes were on the sky at BrownsvilleSouthPadre IslandAirport yesterday afternoon as aircraft took flight in a dazzling show for the 2016 Air Fiesta.

Thousands of spectators traveled to the airport for an up-close glimpse of classic aircrafts and the chance to see them maneuver in the skies over Brownsville.

Air Fiesta Chairman David Hughston said Air Fiesta will continue this morning with the air show to begin at noon.

Hughston said at least 4,000 people attended the show Saturday, but final numbers aren’t available yet. Hughston credited the boost in attendance with the date of the shows — before Charro Days — and fabulous weather.

Hughston advised the public to come early for the second day.

“On Sunday, folks should definitely come early, before 11 a.m. if they’d like to see the aircrafts up close,” Hughston said. “Today many people were able to see the aircrafts after the show, but we won’t have the ramp open on Sunday after the show.”

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HARLINGEN — He was at the point he wanted to end his life and just give up.

San Benito resident Rick Bajaran, 36, couldn’t take it anymore and he was angry about everything in his life.

But one morning after a night of drinking he began to cry and ask God, why?

Just as in the story of Job in the Bible, Rick wept with sorrow.

“I cried for 15 to 20 minutes. At that point I was so deep into drugs and then I felt a warm embrace,” he said.

The next thing Rick did was turn on the TV some time before dawn, and Pastor Kevin Ortiz from Faith Pleases God Church in Harlingen was on.

Rick recalls Pastor Kevin asking the viewers if they were going through depression or leading a sinner’s life. He continued, “I’m here to tell you Jesus loves you and if any one of you are lost out there suffering or tired of your life, just give yourself to Jesus.”

Rick said Pastor Kevin recited the prayer of salvation, and that was all it took.

Rick was hooked on Jesus and he sought out Pastor Kevin and his church.

“I had been in and out of the hospital and mental institutions,” Rick said.

He believes he would have been dead or locked up if he had not heard Pastor Kevin that day.

“I was just full of anger and hatred,” Rick said. “And I just wanted to hurt everybody.”

Now Rick is pleasant and leads the food ministry for the church.

“Now God is using me and he taught me how to love again,” Rick said.

His wife is in charge of doing all the paperwork for the food ministry. And he organizes the food distribution for the church every week until it’s all gone.

“We’re looking for the resources to give more,” Rick said.

“The church gives $600 of food away per week to the needy. Last year we served over 33,000 people.”

The church food pantry is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Faith Pleases God Church in Harlingen located on West Expressway 83.

“These days we just have 12 volunteers, but God sends us people to help,” Rick said. “I see my enemies coming here and I go with them and I pray with them and it’s something they never expected.”

Change wasn’t an easy road for Rick.

When he first got saved — baptized — he started being home more. His kids would ask him, dad, what are you doing home? It wasn’t normal for him to be around. And at first his wife wouldn’t go with him to church.

He attended church for five months alone while he was changing his ways.

He is proud to say he was the first one in his family to get saved. And now there are 16 of his extended family who were also saved and are attending church.

“God can heal, God can restore, God can provide, and it’s amazing,” Rick said.

HARLINGEN — The 22nd Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival last November wasn’t as high-flying as the previous year, but event organizers say they are satisfied with attendance.

The numbers showed official registrants were down from 620 to 590 year-over-year, and Texas registrants dropped from 245 to 204.

But Sue Griffin, chair of the birding festival, said “any time we have over 550, we count it as a success.”

Griffin noted that last year’s festival offered more field trips than the previous year, 91 to 84, and of those trips, 42 were sold out. That 46 percent sellout number beat the previous year’s 30 percent.

“We have people that do not resister and come with spouses, we have people who don’t register ahead of time but wait until they get here, and we have people who come but they don’t go on field trips, so they don’t feel the need to register,” Griffin said.

The festival was certainly a success for the Valley, and Griffin said she was sure the event met its annual economic impact for the area of around $300,000.

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HARLINGEN — American flags were waving.

Smiles were wide. The occasion — 120 immigrants took the oath of allegiance yesterday to become U.S. citizens.

“It’s a good feeling to be a United States citizen,” said Joe Gardner, 24, from England.

The ceremony was one of 180 that are happening throughout the U.S. during Presidents Day weekend.

Many new citizens from around the world often have waited many years to gain their citizenship.

Yesterday’s ceremony at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen made 120 people in the Rio Grande Valley new American citizens.

Gardner raised his right hand along with the others declaring allegiance to the U.S. and to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.

Gardner came to America with his family and moved to the Valley. In 2007, he received his green card.

He said he and his family all signed up at the same time to become citizens and didn’t know why he was selected before any of the others.

“I must be the lucky one from my family,” Gardner said. “But I will be looking forward to come watch them go through the ceremony, too.”

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HARLINGEN — Tomorrow it’s Valentine’s Day here in the Valley, and what’s not to love?

If anything, V-Day and its attendant retail sales are becoming even more important to local retailers and service businesses. Nationally, Valentine’s Day this year is expected to generate $19.7 billion for the nation’s economy, up from $18.9 billion last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

It’s not all about the money, of course. There’s the romance, too. But local businesses are becoming more imaginative when it comes to marketing around the holiday.

“Valentine’s Day is our biggest and men tend to spend more money at Valentine’s than they do on Mother’s Day,” says Pam Fuller, owner of Bloomers Flowers and Gifts in Harlingen.

Fuller said Bloomers offers 15 special Valentine’s Day arrangements at a variety of price points. The most unusual has to be the “Year of Love” package.

Year of Love consists of flower arrangements delivered on these holidays and special dates: birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Fourth of July (?), Halloween (!!??), Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“Make them feel special all year long without you having to remember a thing,” goes the Bloomers slogan. At $499, it’ll jog your wallet if not your memory.

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