HARLINGEN — He radioed his final 10-42 pulling up to police headquarters as a commander of the force.

“Throwing that last 10-42 was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” Harlingen police Commander Narciso Noyola said, referring to the “off duty” code. “I will never use the radio again or turn on my lights again.”

What awaited the commander were officers with drawn swords forming a tunnel for him to pass through. It was all to honor his 30 years of service to the force.

“It was the longest walk,” Noyola said. “It felt like a mile even though it was only like 50 feet.”

The sounds of “Scotland the Brave” played on the bagpipes by the Brownsville Firefighters Pipes and Drums set the tone of the engagement.

At the end of the tunnel stood his wife Becky, family and friends waiting to congratulate him and wish him well.

Six years earlier Noyola helped come up with the idea of the Tunnel Honoring Our Retirees.

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EDINBURG — University of Texas Rio Grande Valley officials announced the largest donation to the institution since it was created, a gift of $2 million by the Vackar family, owners of the local Bert Ogden car dealerships.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey, joined by Robert and Janet Vackar, announced the donation during a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center yesterday morning.

“This is a seminal event in the history of our institution,” Bailey said. “An endowed scholarship of this magnitude means that students will forever benefit from the generosity of the Vackar family.”

The money will be used to create two endowed scholarship funds — $1 million for the Janet Vackar scholarship for mass communication in the college of liberal arts and $1 million for the Robert Vackar scholarship for the college of business and entrepreneurship.

Endowed funds are in-vested by the university to use earned income to provide scholarships, allowing the university to use the funds forever and donors to continue adding funds to the endowment if desired.

Janet Vackar said the family discussed the donation and agreed on where they wanted the scholar-ships to go based on their ties to those particular colleges.

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BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County Commissioners met yesterday morning to discuss what possible action they could take, if any, regarding the tax office following Tax Assesessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr.’s arrest.

Before a closed session in which they discussed the matter, Mary Helen Flores, a resident of Brownsville representing Citizens Against Voter Abuse, addressed the commission during public comments urging them to act.

“I am here today to ask you, as the political leaders of this county, to put your foot down and say no to the corrupt practices that continue to plague our public offices,” Flores said. “I ask you to do everything in your power to follow the laws and if you are able, please remove the indicted tax office employees from their duties.”

Yzaguirre and three others were arrested on Jan. 6 on various charges including bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity and official oppression. They have not been indicted.

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Flores suggested unpaid leave as an appropriate measure to take on behalf of the public.

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WESLACO — As she clutched her wedding photo, Elizabeth “Betty” Nelson’s trembling hands belied a semblance of strength she exhibited when sharing her story.

It was a tender moment that, while lasting a few seconds, captured a lifetime of love that grows each day she cares for her terminally ill husband, Richard.

“Everything really is in the hands of the Lord,” Betty said of his condition.

Though appearing somewhat weary, her faith remains unfazed in the wake of Richard’s devastating diagnosis — a cancerous brain tumor that’s untreatable.

It’s news that came less than a year after he survived lung cancer, and only five months following the couple’s permanent move to the Rio Grande Valley.

“He went into Valley Baptist (Medical Center) on Dec. 10 and was diagnosed with two tumors on the right side of his brain,” Betty said, adding that subsequent surgery and rehabilitation did not prevent what was to come.

“The day after Christmas, he didn’t feel like eating or doing anything. That was on a Saturday, and then Sunday was the same. On Monday, they told me they wanted to move him back to Valley Baptist. So back he went, and on New Year’s Day he was transferred to a hospice house with a small tumor that had doubled in size. At this time, they said there was nothing they could do for him.”

These are some of the difficult moments Betty described on Monday afternoon as she sat inside the living room of the Aurora House in Weslaco, a special care facility for the terminally ill where Richard now resides. But there are memories the 70-year-old Minnesota transplant also holds onto — meeting Richard, marrying, becoming parents, building a life together and retiring in Weslaco.

“We even share the same birthday,” she added. “We were born on the same day, Aug. 5, but five years apart. He’s 75 and I’m 70.”

Betty said the Aurora House has been such a blessing to the Nelsons that it’s even made room for new memories. Among them are sponge baths, polite conversation and overnight accommodations for family as well as reasonable visiting hours, clean facilities and warmth that emanates from the home.

It’s the Aurora House employees, however, that won over Richard and Betty.

“Any place can be a home, but it’s the staff that makes you feel welcome,” Betty said. “They have everything you would need, from a chaplain to a chapel, blankets and pillows. I don’t think I could have picked a better place. Even our son, who has a 5-year-old in San Juan, is welcome here.”

Aurora House Director Kathy Scheuerman said it’s no surprise the Nelsons feel at peace in the home, where she stressed that comfort for patients and their families is the staff’s foremost concern.

“You’re treated with dignity here,” Kathy said.

Such vital services come at a cost, which is why the director identified the donations the Aurora House receives from the general public as paramount.

According to Kathy, the nonprofit’s main source of revenue are monetary contributions that help fund an annual budget of $212,000 and a staff of 15 dedicated employees.

As one of the 21 beneficiary organizations of the annual AIM Media Texas Charities fundraising effort, Kathy hopes money generated during the 2015-16 campaign will help the Aurora House continue its effectiveness in comforting families like the Nelsons.

“If we didn’t have money coming in from the general public we wouldn’t operate, because we operate strictly on the generosity of the community,” Kathy said. “We do have a couple of grants, but they’re not for operational expenses.”

AIM Media Texas — parent company of the Valley Morning Star, the Mid-Valley Town Crier, The Monitor in McAllen and The Brownsville Herald — is covering the campaign’s administrative costs and will donate 100 percent of all monies generated to the charities. The campaign runs through Jan. 31.

It’s assistance Kathy said the Aurora House is grateful for, especially when considering its impact on the lives of families who are suffering.

“It takes a special person to work here … not everybody can do this,” Kathy stressed. “I’ve heard people ask, ‘How can you stand it?’ But I love it — to comfort family members and be with patients.

“Our staff could even go to McDonald’s and make more money than they do here, but all the girls just absolutely love their job. It’s very fulfilling to feel like you made a difference in someone’s life, to create extra peace and comfort and to just hold their hand.”

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HARLINGEN — He radioed his final 10-42 pulling up to police headquarters as a commander of the force.

“Throwing that last 10-42 was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” Harlingen police Commander Narciso Noyola said, referring to the “off duty” code. “I will never use the radio again or turn on my lights again.”

What awaited the commander were officers with drawn swords forming a tunnel for him to pass through. It was all to honor his 30 years of service to the force.

“It was the longest walk,” Noyola said. “It felt like a mile even though it was only like 50 feet.”

The sounds of “Scotland the Brave” played on the bagpipes by the Brownsville Firefighters Pipes and Drums set the tone of the engagement.

At the end of the tunnel stood his wife Becky, family and friends waiting to congratulate him and wish him well.

Six years earlier Noyola helped come up with the idea of the Tunnel Honoring Our Retirees.

It has become known as the THOR presentation, honoring the service and work of Harlingen police officers finishing their career in good standing.

Noyola said he is going to miss catching the bad guys.

As a rookie in 1986, Noyola’s first test came at the Atlantis Game room. He was given the order to pull a rowdy troublemaker out of the restroom.

“It was scary,” Noyola said. “I didn’t know what to do.”

He said he relied on his training that day in the game room and he acted on it to do the right thing.

During the next 30 years, he rose through the ranks from probate duty to sergeant, lieutenant and then commander.

He joined the Harlingen Police Department straight out of college.

“It’s been a long, great career, and I thank Harlingen for letting me be one of its protectors,” Noyola said.

He was awarded a plaque from the chief of police for recognition of service.

The Harlingen Police Officers & Law Enforcement Association awarded Noyola with a plaque commemorating the commander for his loyal and dedicated service to Harlingen and the state of Texas.

Noyola also was presented with a retiree badge that his wife Becky clipped onto his uniform.

Police Chief Jeffry Adickes said during the ceremony the proudest day for any warrior is not the day they pick up their sword but the day they lay it down.

Noyola said he would miss chasing the bad guys or going on a hot pursuit.

However, he was ready to go home to his family and spend time with friends fishing and watching football.

“I think anyone who wears a badge for 30 years and places himself in harm’s way deserves the honor he received today,” Adickes said.

EDINBURG — University of Texas Rio Grande Valley officials announced the largest donation to the institution since it was created, a gift of $2 million by the Vackar family, owners of the local Bert Ogden car dealerships.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey, joined by Robert and Janet Vackar, announced the donation during a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center yesterday morning.

“This is a seminal event in the history of our institution,” Bailey said. “An endowed scholarship of this magnitude means that students will forever benefit from the generosity of the Vackar family.”

The money will be used to create two endowed scholarship funds — $1 million for the Janet Vackar scholarship for mass communication in the college of liberal arts and $1 million for the Robert Vackar scholarship for the college of business and entrepreneurship.

Endowed funds are invested by the university to use earned income to provide scholarships, allowing the university to use the funds forever and donors to continue adding funds to the endowment if desired.

Janet Vackar said the family discussed the donation and agreed on where they wanted the scholarships to go based on their ties to those particular colleges.

She recalled her time as a communication major studying TV production at UT-Pan American and her father’s — Bert Ogden — love for local students, who she said have always been some of the business’ best customers, and many of those in the business realm are now their employees as well.

“It’s a great decision between the two of us,” she said. “Our family discussed it, and we are 100 percent supportive of the university… We are very proud to donate.”

Robert Vackar said the university continues to have an impact on their business as they rely on hiring well-prepared graduates to manage the car dealerships.

“These are young people that have moved up quite rapidly and done quite well,” he said. “Every one of our graduates have done so well in all of our positions.”

The couple also announced their intent to donate $80,000 to grow the Susan L. Vackar Clark endowed foundation, which was created in April with a $10,000 donation in memory of Robert Vackar’s sister, who graduated from UTPA 1963.

The fact that this is the largest donation received by UTRGV is important not only for its main purpose to support and encourage students, Bailey said, but to also set a bar for possible donors in the Valley.

“It will have an enormous impact on students and students’ ability to go to school,” he said. “In addition to that, it sets a pattern in philanthropy that we should aim for going forward.”

Bailey said it can be hard to instill that philanthropic mentality at smaller universities where the culture of philanthropy doesn’t really exist. So donations such as this one work to create that base that the university can use to build upward.

“The first one is always the most important,” he said. “This gift will be a foundation … once you get that culture built, it becomes easier to raise money.”

This is also the greatest donation ever received by the college of liberal arts, said Walter Diaz, dean of the college of liberal arts, and he hopes it will allow the university to attract and retain students who would otherwise struggle to pay for school.

“Both campuses are heavily commuter campuses, and students can live very complicated lives, so financial support, great or small, can make a great difference for their success,” Diaz said.

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BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County Commissioners met yesterday morning to discuss what possible action they could take, if any, regarding the tax office following Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr.’s arrest.

Before a closed session in which they discussed the matter, Mary Helen Flores, a resident of Brownsville representing Citizens Against Voter Abuse, addressed the commission during public comments urging them to act.

“I am here today to ask you, as the political leaders of this county, to put your foot down and say no to the corrupt practices that continue to plague our public offices,”

Flores said. “I ask you to do everything in your power to follow the laws and if you are able, please remove the indicted tax office employees from their duties.”

Yzaguirre and three others were arrested on Jan. 6 on various charges including bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity and official oppression. They have not been indicted.

Flores suggested unpaid leave as an appropriate measure to take on behalf of the public.

The issues discussed in executive session pertained to the operation of the tax office and what the process for appointing a new tax assessor-collector is.

However, due to the fact that Yzaguirre is an elected official, the commissioners cannot remove him from office.

The Commissioners Court would only be able to appoint a new tax assessor-collector in the event he is removed from his post following a district court ruling or if Yzaguirre resigns.

Yzaguirre has stated he will continue working until he is acquitted of all the allegations.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and see what occurs on the district attorney side,” said Juan A. Gonzalez, county civil litigation counselor.

Although the commissioners themselves cannot act, any resident of Cameron County who has lived in the area for longer than six months can file a Title 87 petition for the removal of a county official, which Flores said she has.

The commission also briefly discussed the civil legal division chief counsel’s resignation notice before tabling it and appointed Pct. 3 Commissioner David A. Garza the county judge pro tem.

HARLINGEN — Montrell Johnson has never forgotten the presentation delivered by a neurosurgeon last year.

Montrell, a freshman at the Harlingen School of Health Professions, hadn’t yet decided what field of medicine he wanted to pursue. Dr. Michael Rabin’s presentation last year about his work as a brain surgeon settled that question.

“He inspired me to accept my goal,” said Montrell, 14. “When I grow up, I want to be a neurosurgeon as well.”

Rabin, of Chicago, is one of many physicians who have given presentations each Thursday since the $13.9 million school opened in 2014 at 2302 N. 21 St. Presentations by physicians about their specialty have helped students, administrators and teachers remain aware of the realities of the medical professions.

A 13-member HSHP Advisory Committee has worked with the school since its inception to help develop the school’s curriculum for the Harlingen school district. The Advisory Committee includes Dr. Frank Fernandez, founding dean of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. Manny Vela, president and CEO of Valley Baptist Health System, also sits on the committee.

An example of the involvement of the committee and other local health professionals is the creation of the specialty rooms. Those rooms include the Surgical Procedures room, the Patient Care room and the Dental Science Room.

“We brought in experts from the field who are practicing sports medicine and people from the dental community,” said Veronica Kortan, administrator of organizational development. “We brought those doctors to the table to help us create specialty classrooms that are very much aligned to what our students will hopefully practice one day.”

The Advisory Committee meets officially each spring and fall, Kortan said. However, the school and the district have regular contact with the members.

Principal Tina Garza said the committee is serving in a guidance-type advisory role to make sure the school is aligned with the doctors’ specific area of expertise.

“They ensure that we are aligning our experiences in the classroom with establishing the foundation that the students need in their particular school of study,” Garza said.

An ongoing dialogue with the committee is an important part of the school’s development, Kortan said.

“It’s important to capitalize on the fact that the Advisory Committee really is a part of the guidance piece with the school,” Kortan said. “While they’re still doing guidance on a particular strand or a particular school of study, it’s really about looking at providing our students with opportunities that are going to prepare them for the career of their choice.”

Committee members like Dr. Nolan Perez, who also is president of the school board, are so devoted they also have given presentations. Perez, medical community liaison for the Advisory Committee, gave the students a presentation about his area of expertise, gastroenterology. This field of medicine deals with disorders of the stomach and intestines.

In his presentation, he showed students pictures of an endoscopy, a procedure in which tubes and a camera photograph a person’s digestive tract. Students were invited to view and even handle the scopes and cameras he uses for his procedures. The students impressed him with their interest and questions.

He definitely captured their attention. Daniela Ramos, 15, said Perez was very thorough in his presentation.

“He was showing some videos, pictures of surgeries,” said Daniela, who is thinking of becoming a general surgeon. She appreciated the opportunity to handle surgical instruments.

“It gave us a little bit of insight into the tools used in the surgical room nowadays,” she said. She laughed and then added, “It interested me more than the others because it had to do with surgery. I’m all blood and guts and it got my attention.”

The involvement of physicians both on the advisory committee and from the rest of the community have given students — and are giving them — a greater understanding of the medical professions. These experiences will empower them to make more informed decisions about their future.

EDINBURG— University of Texas Rio Grande Valley officials announced the largest donation to the institution Tuesday morning, a gift of $2 million by the the Vacker family, owners of the local Bert Ogden car dealerships.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey announced the donation during a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center joined by Robert and Janet Vackar. The money will be used for endowed scholarships, he said.

EDINBURG— University of Texas Rio Grande Valley officials announced the largest donation to the institution Tuesday morning, a gift of $2 million by the the Vacker family, owners of the local Bert Ogden car dealerships.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey announced the donation during a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center joined by Robert and Janet Vacker. The money will be used for endowed scholarships, he said.

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• The Robert C. Vackar Endowed Scholarship for Aspiring Entrepreneurs will support students pursuing a degree in the College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
• The Janet Ogden Vackar Spirit of Philanthropy Endowed Scholarship will provide financial assistance to students pursuing a mass communications degree in the College of Liberal Arts.
• The Vackars also announced an additional $80,000 for the Susan Lewis Vackar Clark Endowed Memorial Scholarship previously established at the university. The scholarship is named after Bob Vackar’s late sister, a 1963 graduate of then Pan American College and an elementary school teacher.

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