Duval County Picture (San Diego, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 29, 1992 Page: 1 of 8
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luiral bounty JHrtur?
Vol.7 No. 4
Wednesday, January 29,1992
San Diego, Texas
J
Freer trash could
go to San Diego
FREER - Garbage from this
western Duval County commu-
nity may have to be hauled to the
county seat in San Diego if the
state shuts down its landfill. That
was the message Mayor Malloy
Hamilton got when he asked
county commissioners about the
status of the landfill.
The county operates a 6.5
acre landfill north of town which
they say is already full to capac-
ity.
Manuel Munoz, the county’s
man in charge of landfills, told
Hamilton at a workshop meet-
ing of the commissioners court
on Thursday, Jan. 24, that he ex-
pected the state to shut down the
landfill possibly within 15 days.
County Judge Gilbeito Uresti
told Hamilton that the county
had tried but had never been able
to acquire land for a dump in
Freer. The present landfill has
been in operation since before
he first came to office in 1975,
said Uresti.
Even if they could find land
for a landfill now, they could not
get it permitted for another two
years, said County Commis-
sioner Bob Lee. Munoz added
that it could be that a permit
could not be secured because of
more stringent regulations which
will go into effect in October
1993.
The county did buy some 122
acres in San Diego, 30 of which
have been designated as a
landfill.
It is to this site that Freer’s
trash may have to be hauled, said
Uresti. The county would estab-
lish transfer stations in Freer and
cany the trash to the San Diego
landfill.
Hamilton said the city had
been looking into the issue ever
since the county indicated it
would give up its trash collec-
tion functions.
The mayor told commission-
ers his council had looked at the
possibility of using a private trash
pick-up service but found it
would be too expensive. They
•/
Freer Mayor Malloy Hamilton
... wants answers about trash
also looked into purchasing a
trash truck but it too would be
costly.
“We have sixty percent of
our citizens living on fixed in-
come. We have 80 widow
women in that small town,” said
Hamilton.
“We need to know some-
thing,” added the mayor. “We
don't want to leave people with-
out trash pick-up services.”
Uresti told Hamilton he was
glad the city was doing all this
research. “Now you know what
we face,” he told Hamilton.
The cities of Alice,
Kingsville, and Corpus Christi
all have poor people and wid-
owers, Uresti told Hamilton, but
they all charge for garbage pick-
up.
“We’re the only ones that
don’t charge,” said Uresti. Still,
added the judge, the county had
to retire a $1.5 million deficit
somehow.
Uresti pointed out to the
mayor that they shared constitu-
ents and the court was as con-
cerned about the situation as the
city council.
“We’re your friends,” said
Uresti. “Nobody is going to
leave you alone.”
Students, parents faulted
for bad TAAS test scores
SAN DIEGO - Students who
do not care for learning, and par-
ents uninterested in their
children’s education are the rea-
sons why local students did not
fare well in the Texas Assess-
ment of Academic Skills (TAAS)
test. That was the refrain most
often heard by San Diego ISD
board members on Thursday, Jan.
22.
The board met to hold a public
hearing on its performance on the
Academic Excellence Indicator
System. The Texas Education
Agency requires that notice of the
public hearing be given to prop-
erty owners and parents in the
district
Superintendent Eloy Guerra
said he had given that notice in a
newspaper published outside the
district becauseoftime constraints
although he admitted having the
report since September. Besides
school staff and the media, only
one parent^property owner was in
rttendance.
Guerra had the regional Edu-
“The problem is at home ” said a first
grade teacher. “We have no parent in-
volvement. Kids get to high school that do
not know how to read. The student atti-
_tude is tremendously bad."
cation Service Center in Corpus
Christi reprocess the state’s re-
port and present the information.
The revised report turned out to
contain several errors, one of
which had the tendency to show
the district in a better light
The state’s report indicated
that the district had scored below
the state averages in every grade
level and below “group” scores in
all but fifth grade. The Education
Service Center’s narrator “com-
mended" the district for
outscoring the group at various
grades but it turned out they were
using the wrong information for
comparison.
“We are concerned,” said
Guerra, “this are not the scores
we exoected. This arc not the
scores we wanted.”
He added that the district’s
students had begun to perform
well in the state’s TEAMS test
but now they faced a new and
different examination.
“No sooner that we have stu-
dents masters test, and the agenda
is changed,” said Guerra.
Trustee Tommy Molina said
that the students, most of whom
scored below fifty percent on the
tests, “could have flipped a coin
and done better on the average.”
Molina said he saw the
district’s role as having two ma-
jor objectives. First, to give their
students the best education pos-
sible and second, to do it with the
best return for the taxpayers in-
vestment
“We are not doing either,” said
Molina. “We need to set higher
goals.”
After the hearing, Guerra
brought in teachers from every
grade and every campus to teil
the board what they were doing to
improve the situation. Each cam-
pus had its own ideas of what
needed to be done.
“The problem is at home,” said
a first grade teacher. “We have no
parent involvement. Kids get to
high school that do not know how
to read. The student attitude is
tremendously bad.”
“It’s the kids and parents
faults,” she added. Many teach-
ers in attendance agreed, either
openly or privately, with this
line.
Teachers said that many stu-
dents “did not care" to learn and
were not only uncooperative but
sometimes hostile. When parents
are invited to the school few come.
Usually only the parents of the
students doing well show an in-
terest in the schools.
$3 million taxes delinquent at SDISD
Three seek vacant
council seat in SD
SAN DIEGO - If the San
Diego Independent School Dis-
trict could collect a quarter of its
$2.9 million in delinquent taxes it
could come out from under its
deficit. If it could collect all of the
bad taxes, it could improve facili-
ties. buy needed student supplies,
reduce taxes, or put some money
in the bank for a rainy day.
That, unfortunately for school
supporters, is an unlikely possi-
bility.
For starters, four percent of
the taxes are considered “uncol-
lectible” by the school’s delin-
quent tax attorneys.
“Over a period of time, errors,
double assessments, accounts no
longer collectible because of
statutory guidelines, accounts that
SAN DIEGO - Three local
residents have expressed an in-
terest in filling a vacancy on the
San Diego City Council. All three
notified the city secretary before
the Jaa 20 deadline.
The city council voted at its
last meeting to "solicit” appli-
cants for the vacancy created by
the death of J. S. "Ch«»" Garcia.
Among those who responded
to the call are:
• Tony Berunudes Jr. who is
presently pursuing a degree at
Texas A&I;
• local Postmaster Ruben
Escobar, and
• Duval County Sheriffs
Deputy and former councilman
Tommy Stansell.
Mayor Amando S. Garcia said
the council is looking for some-
one to run for the seat in the
August elections and who "actu-
ally has the time" to attend meet-
ings and serve the city.
The new councilman is ex-
peetd to be selected from these
three applicants at the council's
next meeting scheduled for Feb.
5.
Judge names
grand jury
commissioners
State District Judge Ricardo
H. Garciahasnamed five Duval
County residents to serve on
the Grand Jury Commission
which will recommend grand
jurors for the February term.
Named to the commission
were Teresa Munoz of San Di-
ego, Humberto De Los Santos
and Belinda Gutierrez of Be-
navides, Eugene BruceofFreer
and Adalberto Gonzalez from
the San Jose area.
have long since disappeared from
the current tax roll, and unknown
owners with wily older years due
can clutter the delinquent tax roll
and artificially inflate the collect-
ible outstanding balance,” said
Kathleen Morrison with the firm
of Calame, Linebarger, Graham
& Pena, the district’s delinquent
tax collectors.
Anotherfourpercent,ornearly
$50,000, is in bankruptcy and
three percent is assessed against
“unknown” owners.
Still, the district’s attorneys
are “targetting” $1,090,658 in
taxes for collection. These involve
taxpayers who owe over $4,500
or whose taxes are over five years
past due regardless of the amount.
The attorneys have already
entered into “pay agreements” for
a little over $200,000. The firm’s
personnel develop “individual
work plans” for taxpayers willing
to pay on a monthly basis.
“Where requests for payment
and all other negotiations have
failed,” said Morrison, “wc have
backed up our notice letters with
lawsuits/’
Over the last two years the
district has filed lawsuits against
33 taxpayers for taxes totalling
$878,686.
Suit
$564,484
I
52%
Bankruptcy
$48,998
Remaining Target
$192,338
Unknown
$35,285
Uncollectible
$47,525
Pay Agreement
$202,028
Target Roll
$1,090,658. W)
The bulk of the delinquent
taxes are attached to real prop-
erty. This category of taxpayer
owes $1,132,536in past due taxes.
Mineral related taxes are delin-
quent to the tune of $835,959;
farm acreage delinquineies total
$793,441 and personal property
accounts for $186,328 of delin-
quent taxes.
Over the last two years the
school’s attorneys have collected
$378,824 in delinquent taxes,
penalty and interest
“There is no magic formula to
collections.” Morrison told the
board.
“Although we can’t get blood
out of turnips, our goal is to make
sure that your taxes are at the top
of die debtors’ lists so when they
get money you will get paid."
Alvarez walks away
with $42,500 payoff
School superintendent still
stonewalling on attorneys fees
Duval county gets approval
for another housing grant
by AlAredo E. Cardenas
Managing Editor
HEBBONVILLE - Former
Jim Hogg County ISD superin-
tendent Roberto Alvarez will
receive $42,500 as part of a settle-
ment he reached in November
1991 with the district’s board of
directors. Details of the settle-
ment were released on the eve of
a court hearing to determine why
the matter was being kept secret.
Trustees for the school district
■greed on Monday, Jan. 20, to
make the settlement agreement
public. The Jim Hogg County En-
terprise had forcedthe issue by
taking the matter to court and a
hearing was scheduled for Tues-
day, Jan. 21.
Under the terms of die agree-
ment, Alvarez dismissed his ap-
peal before foe Texas Commis-
sioner of Education regarding a
poor evaluation.
The district for its part,
agreed:
• to give Alvarez $42,500;
• to give Alvarez a letter of
recommendation "on qualifies
tions";
• not to give out information
on Alvarez that would be "calcu-
lated to discourage potential em-
ployers"; and
• give Alvarez a "cumulative
evaluation" saying his perform-
ance had been satisfactory.
Both parties agreed to keep
the information from public dis-
closure.
Superintendent Mona Hop-
kins continued to hold back infor-
mation this week. She referred to
school attorneys a request for in-
formation showing how much the
district had expended in attorneys
fees.
This type of request is rou-
tinely considered public informa-
tion. Hopkins said the district had
10 days to make that determina-
tion.
SAN DIEGO - Given a choice
between a $100,000 grant or
applying for $300,000 with no
guarantee, Duval County has
decided to take the money.
"It’s a sure thing we don’t want
to pass up," said Gilbeito Uresti,
County Judge, "and we can al-
ways apply for additional funds
next year."
The county learned of the
grant's acceptance last Thursday
after receiving word from the
Coastal Bend Council of Gov-
ernments. Because the county was
ranked seventh, it was eligible
only for partial funding.
The grant's acceptance now
sets foe stage for implementing
the county's Housing Rehabilita-
tion Program, which was the
recipient of a $320,000 Farmers
Home Administration grant
awarded earlier this year.
"The county has been very
fortunate in having received these
grants. Together, they’ll help us
address one of the most urgent
needs facing our residents," said
Uresti of the county's housing
problem.
Uresti said he will now in-
struct staff to begin work on for-
mulating a schedule to imple-
ment both grant programs. He
said the county has already re-
ceived more than 400 requests
for housing assistance since
March 1991.
’’We want the public to know
that we are sensitive to their
needs, but are required to follow
program guidelines before actual
work can begin. Our plan, is to
inform the public once applica-
tions are available," added the
judge.
Uresti and Commissioner Bob
Lee arc both members of the
Regional Review Commitee
which evaluated grant applica-
tions in the Coastal Bend Council
of Governments region.
Other projects receiving fund-
ing and their funding amounts
include: Falfurrias, $248,00;
Mathis, $300,000; Three Rivers.
$300,000; San Diego, $300,000;
San Patricio County, $300,000
and Bishop. $220,000.
SD gets] $300,000
for housing repairs
SAN DIEGO - The Coastal
Bend Council of Governments
in Corpus Christi on Thursday
announced the award of a
$300,000 housing rehabilitation
grant/loan program to help up-
grade substandard housing in foe
city of San Diego. The grant is to
be funded by the Texas Depart
ment of Housing and Commu-
nity Affairs in Austin.
The city's application, was
among seven funded by the de-
partment out of more than 19
applicants. The application was
ranked fifth.
"This is definitely good news
for San Diego residents," said
Mayor Amando S. Garcia. "It puts
us in a position to help our resi-
dents improve their quality of
living."
The grant will provide gram/
loan combinations to low and
moderate income and to elderly
residents. The city will begin the
program as soon as contract docu-
ments are executed.
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Cardenas, Alfredo E. Duval County Picture (San Diego, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 29, 1992, newspaper, January 29, 1992; San Diego, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1005382/m1/1/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .