HARLINGEN — They’re learning to make their voices heard.

Students in Mary Garcia’s broadcasting class listened attentively as she explained the steps necessary for creating and editing quick spots on the radio.

“We’re going to do a drop,” said Garcia to a class of sixth graders at Memorial Middle School.

“Do you know what a drop is?” she asked. “A drop is what you hear on the radio between songs. It’s transition. You may have the name of the radio station.”

Garcia, a radio personality on Q94.5, is now sharing her years of experience in radio broadcasting. She has one class of sixth graders and two classes with seventh and eighth graders. The class is only a half semester long, so the current one began this week.

She flipped a switch and a loud “drop” rushed from a speaker, clips of different songs strung together before a high-octane voice declared, “Memorial Raiders Radio.”

The young broadcasters seemed suddenly energized by the quick radio segment.

“You have to put this together,” Garcia said. “Look back at the screen.”

While it was only the first day, Brandon Velarde, 12, already was enjoying it.

“I want to start learning how to stand up in front of people and not be scared to talk,” he said. “I thought it would make me more sociable than I am right now.”

Garcia said the students were starting off fresh, learning the basics. One of those is selecting a subject to write a podcast.

That subject can be anything, she said. It can be about video games, basketball, or almost anything else they’re interested in. They must then research the subject thoroughly in order to write a factual podcast.

“Research is something you need in high school and in college,” she said.

She also teaches them how to speak well.

“We work on articulation, how to speak properly,” she said.

She sometimes demonstrates by using her radio voice.

“They freak out because they say I have a famous voice,” she said with a laugh.

They were now finding their own voices while learning a whole new terminology such as “FX” for sound affects and “podcast” for radio shows. Garcia frequently approached a screen with the jagged edges of sound tracks.

“In order to get audio, you are going to insert,” Garcia said. “What is the S? Scissors. That’s what you use when you want to cut something. If you want to throw something away, the delete button throws it in the trash.”

They now went to the computers.

“Go ahead and log-on,” she said. “As soon as you log-on, look at Reaper. It’s an editing program.”

Mikayla Villarreall, 11, was enjoying the first day.

“We are going to use the computer and all the sound effects,” she said.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — City leaders are planning for the future to attract more tourists with more fun for everyone.

The council is working on adding new amenities to the island to attract more visitors and to extend their stay.

Mayor Bharap R. Patel held the state of the city address Wednesday night before a regular city council meeting.

Patel’s talked about the financial condition of the city and a new city park that is in the works.

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Planning also is in the works to improve the bay side of the island.

And there are plans for a large amphitheater to host concerts.

In his address Patel reported the city has received the highest from of recognition for governmental reporting of finances and has a 6-month reserve and a balanced budget.

Patel also said in his address hotel tax revenue is up $50,000.

The city has collected $420,000 in sales tax and $4.2 million in property tax collections.

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HARLINGEN — It was called Rattlesnake Junction before it evolved into Six-Shooter Junction.

Whatever the name, what eventually became the City of Harlingen has a historical fabric that continues to be a rich one.

Some 20 high school students from three Harlingen schools took the tour of downtown yesterday morning. Like pretty much any activity that can get you out of class on a beautiful morning, they liked it a lot.

“It’s awesome,” said Alyssa Sanchez, who attends Harlingen High School. Hers was a commonly repeated phrase Thursday.

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“I didn’t really know a lot about it,” said Analicia Alvarez, a Keys Academy student, of the history of Harlingen going back to the days of founder Lon C. Hill. “I don’t think most of us knew about this.”

“It was very informative,” said Justine Corkill, a senior at Harlingen High School, “because I’m not from here. I’ve lived here for a while, but I didn’t know a lot of these things.”

Some of those things were early names for Harlingen, like Rattlesnake Junction (it was pretty rough and undeveloped brushland then) and Six-Shooter Junction.

The latter, explained tour guide Joie Rose Laney, was because the early train station where travelers stopped to disembark was outside the Texas Rangers headquarters that had been built and offered to the Rangers by Lon C. Hill.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.

HARLINGEN — It was called Rattlesnake Junction before it evolved into Six-Shooter Junction.

Whatever the name, what eventually became the City of Harlingen has a historical fabric that continues to be a rich one.

Some 20 high school students from three Harlingen schools took the tour of downtown yesterday morning. Like pretty much any activity that can get you out of class on a beautiful morning, they liked it a lot.

“It’s awesome,” said Alyssa Sanchez, who attends Harlingen High School. Hers was a commonly repeated phrase Thursday.

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“I didn’t really know a lot about it,” said Analicia Alvarez, a Keys Academy student, of the history of Harlingen going back to the days of founder Lon C. Hill. “I don’t think most of us knew about this.”

“It was very informative,” said Justine Corkill, a senior at Harlingen High School, “because I’m not from here. I’ve lived here for a while, but I didn’t know a lot of these things.”

Some of those things were early names for Harlingen, like Rattlesnake Junction (it was pretty rough and undeveloped brushland then) and Six-Shooter Junction.

The latter, explained tour guide Joie Rose Laney, was because the early train station where travelers stopped to disembark was outside the Texas Rangers headquarters that had been built and offered to the Rangers by Lon C. Hill.

Often, the Rangers were outside practicing with their Colt revolvers, hence the name of the village that eventually became Harlingen a few years later.

The tour wasn’t just history, although that was a thread that ran through much of the discussion of architecture and art. A lot of time was spent on the murals downtown as the 90-minute tour proceeded up Jackson Avenue from J&B’s Café.

Three Harlingen police officers were on hand to keep traffic in check as the tour looped around and through the old downtown area.

“We do walking tours of downtown Harlingen every Saturday morning that are free and open to the public but we also do them by appointment for groups,” said Cheryl LaBerge, downtown manager for the city. “So we’re always excited to have RV park groups, church groups (and) school groups.”

The two guides for yesterday’s tour were Laney and Deborah Covarrubias.

SAN PERLITA — San Perlita High School Principal Ramiro Moreno may soon be terminated for “good cause.”

The school board has accepted Superintendent Albert Peña’s recommendation proposing the firing of Moreno.

The board may consider Moreno’s termination at its next meeting Feb. 9, Peña said yesterday.

Yesterday, Moreno continued to serve under his contract.

Peña said he could not disclose whether an investigation had been launched into Moreno.

“As this is an ongoing personnel matter, I cannot comment further,” Peña said in a statement.

Board president Melissa Guadinana declined comment, referring questions to Peña.

Moreno, who has served as the high school’s principal since 2008, is making a salary of $79,500.

As principal, Moreno oversees 10 teachers and 88 students.

Students boast high academic marks, out-performing most Texas students in such subjects as reading, mathematics, writing, science and social studies.

The school’s graduation rate stands at 100 percent, compared to the statewide rate of 88 percent, in 2013, the latest state figures show.

SAN BENITO – One person was killed after they were struck by a vehicle south of San Benito.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers say the accident happend near South Sam Houston Boulevard and FM 675.

They believe the victim, David Ortiz Rosales, 36, of San Benito, was struck sometime Wednesday night.

Anyone with information is asked to call the DPS at (956) 565-7600.

Three people are hospitalized after a head-on collision on the expressway in Harlingen where police say one man was driving the wrong way.

The accident happened at 5:17 this morning on the southbound lanes of the highway between the Fair Park Boulevard and Harrison/Tyler street exits.

Harlingen police say the driver of a silver Landrover was driving northbound on the southbound lanes of expressway when he collided with a blue Ford Escape.

The man and woman in the Ford and the driver of the Landrover were all taken to area hospitals. Their conditions and identification are unknown.

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The Wal-Mart Super Center store in Raymondville was an absolute pleasure – wide aisles – immaculately clean – well-stocked.

Unfortunately, the sad news is that this location will be closing.

I’ll miss this store tremendously as will the people of Raymondville and Willacy County..

As a resident of Harlingen, it was a little out of my way to shop at this location – but I value an immaculately clean and well-stocked grocery store as opposed to the cluttered, shoddy Super Center we currently have in Harlingen.

Susan Lipscomb Harlingen

BY Cheryl Taylor

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Sergio H. Nuñez, a 41-year-old senior computer science major, and Sergio A. Nuñez, a 20-year-old junior computer engineering major, are not only students at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; they also are father and son.

A few years ago, the Nuñez men had no idea they would end up in school together, both studying computers.

“After the economy went down, my business wasn’t doing well,” Sergio H. said. “I was in advertising, doing independent TV producing, coordinating videographers and writers. And well, when budgets are tight, this is usually the first place businesses start cutting. I decided it was time to change my career path to computer science and finish my degree.”

Sergio H. returned to South Texas College, where he had started a number of years earlier, and finished his associate’s degree, then he continued school at The University of Texas-Pan American.

“My plan was to find a job as a computer specialist right after I got my associate’s degree. But shortly after I finished, I found the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA),” he said. “With tuition assistance from VIDA, I had the peace of mind to continue with my bachelor’s degree. VIDA is a great agency that offers various training programs and career development. They are really changing lives with the help they provide to people in the Valley.”

Sergio A. already had started working on his degree at UTPA, and before long, father and son began having the same classes and professors.

Self-described tech geeks, they are one of several teams in the Hack and Make Creative Coalition, a student organization with members on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses. Members attend Major League Hacking (MLH) hackathons once or twice a semester. MLH is regarded as the official student hackathon league.

Hackathons are weekend-long programming competitions where student hackers get together to show off their technical skills at building websites, applications and hardware hacks. These events generally receive financial support from sponsors – large companies like Google, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Exxon and Chevron – that rely on the latest technology.

MLH provides event marketing, promotional material, and hardware for hacking on or for various events during the hackathon. If enough participants register to fill up a bus, clubs located a sizeable distance from the events will generally receive complimentary bus transportation provided by hackathon sponsors.

Last year, UTRGV Hack and Make Creative Coalition attended hackathons in Dallas, Austin and Houston.

The two-man team of Sergio H. and Sergio A. won first place at the CodeRED hackathon, hosted by the University of Houston on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Houston.

“We were blown away,” Sergio H. said. “We knew we had something good, but didn’t expect to win. To hear your name called – it was so awesome.”

The Nuñez team designed an app called “Battlefit,” which combines video games and fitness.

Team Battlefit came home with first-place medals and the top prizes consisting of assorted electronic gear like monitors, keyboards, stands and tablets.

“The concept of Battlefit is to create a game out of fitness, with the player receiving benefits along the way,” Sergio A. said. “The Battlefit program brings together biometric tracking, multiplayer experience, fitness technologies and mobile devices to provide a richer experience to make people active.”

Both father and son said UTRGV is providing them with valuable tools they will be able to take with them at graduation.

“Dr. Dongchul Kim has been my mentor, the one I could always call on with questions for this project,” Sergio H. said. “He has been really patient with me while I’ve learned the language of computing and software. After we won, I made a beeline to his office the following Monday for us to take a photo together with my medal.”

UTRGV Hack and Make Creative Coalition has about 40 serious members who get together every two weeks in Brownsville and Edinburg. Co-founded by Alejandro Huerta, club president, and Carlos Alaniz, club vice president, in the spring semester of last year, the club provides students with resources like workshops and information about local career opportunities, and helps facilitate trips to hackathons.

Team Battlefit looks forward to the upcoming Texas hackathons: MavHack, April 2-3 at The University of Texas at Arlington, followed by HackDFW, April 16-17, organized by several universities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“My immediate goal after graduation is to work for Google, on a development team,” Sergio A. said. “I’ve always admired Google’s ability as a company to always be moving forward and making great advances to bring technologies to everyday working people. I want to be a part of this, helping improve and enhance everyday life.”

Both father and son are serious about their Battlefit idea, and they are looking into possible commercial development. They already have discussed their concept with the UTRGV Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development.

Down the road, they see themselves forming a software development corporation, doing what seems natural – working together.