HARLINGEN — For nearly three quarters, the Harlingen Cardinals and the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles contest was a tight match.

But it was the aggressive Cardinals who outlasted the Eagles in the end, as a fourth-quarter run paved the way to a 69-56 win Friday night in Harlingen.

The win put Harlingen, Hanna and Harlingen South all at 4-3 and vying for third place in a tight District 32-6A race.

“I told the guys that Hanna was ahead of us coming in and we need to beat who’s ahead of us (in the standings),” said Harlingen head coach Greg Yates. “They came out and did a great job. It was a competitive first half and we did a good job in the second half.

“We got on a bit of a run, started attacking the basket a little bit more and that was the difference in the game.”

Full story at RGVSports.com

HARLINGEN — The second restoration of the pool at the LonC.HillAquaticCenter should be finished soon and the facility re-opened to the public in time for the upcoming swimming season.

The project was budgeted for $217,000, and funded via community development block grants.

The pool, originally built in the 1950s, previously was renovated in the 1960s.

“New filters, new pump, brand new skimmers, brand new plumbing line, everything is brand new,” said Jeff Lyssy, superintendent of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. “We’ve really revitalized this pool to where it’ll be almost like a brand new structure.

“Of course we did some tile work, we did not re-plaster the pool, it stayed the same. However it did receive new tile around the pool … It looks brand new.”

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HARLINGEN — The second restoration of the pool at the Lon C. Hill Aquatic Center should be finished soon and the facility reopened to the public in time for the upcoming swimming season.

The project was budgeted for $217,000, and funded via community development block grants.

The pool, originally built in the 1950s, previously was renovated in the 1960s.

“New filters, new pump, brand new skimmers, brand new plumbing line, everything is brand new,” said Jeff Lyssy, superintendent of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. “We’ve really revitalized this pool to where it’ll be almost like a brand new structure.

“Of course we did some tile work, we did not re-plaster the pool, it stayed the same. However it did receive new tile around the pool … It looks brand new.”

Lyssy says the renovation will help keep the pool operational, and should cut down on maintenance requirements.

“When you don’t have pumps that work, it’s a big headache during the summer,” he told parks and recreation board members at their meeting this week.

The pool is open from June through August. Daily hours are 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. A daily fee of $1 is charged per swimmer.

A department official estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 swimmers use the pool each summer.

The park originally was named Fair Park prior to becoming Lon C. Hill Park in 1950. The park was expanded in 1983 when the city purchased an abandoned cotton oil mill complex on the east side of the park, which consisted of 16.44 acres.

The present park encompasses 73 acres and includes a playground, covered picnic shelters, barbecue pits, basketball and volleyballs courts and a hummingbird and butterfly garden.

LA FERIA — It was once just a flat surface of dirt residents used to walk around for exercise.

The city now has transformed it into a park with so much to do for fun and fitness.

Soon the neighborhood, city residents and even visitors will be able to enjoy beach volleyball, basketball, soccer or even a picnic at UngerPark located at the intersection of West Street and Central Street.

That’s not all.

Children and visitors can cool off with the citrus water sprinklers if they like playing with water.

La Feria City Manager Sunny Philip said the park will be ready in about 30 days.

“There’s some landscaping and last-minute touch-ups it needs before people and kids can go play,” Philip said.

The park’s orange theme stems from the Valley’s rich history of citrus farming and agriculture business.

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LA FERIA — It was once just a flat surface of dirt residents used to walk around for exercise.

The city now has transformed it into a park with so much to do for fun and fitness.

Soon the neighborhood, city residents and even visitors will be able to enjoy beach volleyball, basketball, soccer or even a picnic at Unger Park located at the intersection of West Street and Central Street.

That’s not all.

Children and visitors can cool off with the citrus water sprinklers if they like playing with water.

La Feria City Manager Sunny Philip said the park will be ready in about 30 days.

“There’s some landscaping and last-minute touch-ups it needs before people and kids can go play,” Philip said.

The park’s orange theme stems from the Valley’s rich history of citrus farming and agriculture business.

“Our city is always on the lookout to revitalize and re-energize neighborhoods for kids to play,” Philip said.

The park is equipped with swings, an exercise station, an enclosed basketball court, a small soccer field with two goals, a beach volleyball court and playscapes for children to climb.

“People are anxious to go and play,” Philip said.

The City Of La Feria public recreation site development project was funded with the assistance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Land and Water Conservation funded $100,000 and the city Of La Feria matched $100,000 to fund the project.

La Feria resident Maria Guerrero, 52, said the park is going to be good for the city.

“There are a lot of families that go to the city parks in La Feria,” Guerrero said.

She also said this park will be fun for people to use and is a nice addition to the city park system.

HARLINGEN — Former Harlingen police officer Robert Ahrens has taken a plea deal avoiding jail time.

After an indictment revealed he accepted drug money in 2011, Ahrens will serve five years of probation.

According to the indictment, Ahrens took between $1,500 and $20,000.

Following an “extensive investigation” by the Cameron County District Attorney’s office and the FBI, he was caught when a confidential informant led to the initial investigation in the case.

An arrest warrant was issued by the 197th state District Court for the state jail felony charge.

He was arrested at the police department.

Soon after being suspended without pay from the force pending the investigation, Ahrens resigned from the Harlingen Police Department.

He was a 10-year veteran of the department.

Officials first became aware of Ahrens’ possible misconduct in mid-2013, authorities said.

BROWNSVILLE — As elections draw closer, some students of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Brownsville campus are taking the initiative to go out and get people registered and ready to vote.

The Cameron County Department of Elections & Voter Registration and the Texas Freedom Network walked students through the process to become a volunteer deputy voter registrar on Thursday afternoon in Brownsville.

Deputy voter registrars will have the ability to distribute and accept voter registration forms from any resident of CameronCounty.

Marvey Sandoval, the registration and outreach coordinator for the elections department, said the office is trying to reach as many people as possible before early voting starts Feb. 16.

“Since (Remi Garza, elections administrator) has been in, we’ve been very active in getting people to become active voter registrars,” Sandoval said. “They’re our frontline.”

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Police have released the name of a Brownsville man shot and killed during a party in Harlingen and charged a woman with destroying evidence at the scene of the crime.

The victim has been identified as 32-year-old Byron Pineda. He was shot in the back when a fight broke out at the party inside an apartment at 1902 E. Tyler. Someone then took Pineda’s body to Harlingen Medical Center where police learned of the shooting.

Investigators arrested a juvenile Thursday afternoon and charged him with Pineda’s murder.

Police say they also charged five others with failing to report a felony. Those charged include Stephanie Lee Lopez, 31; Crystal Rae Ramos, 24; Lorraine Camero, 24; Isis Rene Rivera, 33; and Albert Alexander Hernandez, 21. The offense is a class A misdemeanor.

Harlingen Police Sgt. David Osborne says none of the five called police or emergency services. He says they also failed to render aid to the victim.

Crystal Rae Ramos, who rented the apartment where the shooting happened, is also charged with tampering with evidence, a third degree felony.

According to Osborne, Ramos tried to clean up blood from the crime scene before police arrived therefore destroying evidence.