The Mercedes Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 8, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 25, 1998 Page: 1 of 24
twenty four pages : ill. ; page 23 x 14 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Annual award winners to be named at Thursday's C-C Banquet
Thursday night’s the night for nam-
ing of winners of the “Man of the
Year” and “Woman of the Year”
Awards, as well as the “Lifetime Ser-
vice Award” winner, when the
Mercedes Area Chamber of Commerce
hosts its annual banquet.
“Happy Days are Here Again” will
be the theme of the banquet, and guests
are encouraged to dress in vintage at-
tire. Banquet time is 7 p.m. in Mercedes
Civic Center.
The menu will feature steaks and
baked potatoes, and featured speaker
will be Mercedes City Manager
Ernesto S. Silva. He is expected to
share his experiences, findings and
expectations after 100 days on the job.
Tickets for the dinner are available
at the Chamber office at 316 S. Ohio
Street in Mercedes for $ 10 per person,
or by contacting Chamber Board me
bers. Proceeds help support the
Chamber’s operations and programs.
Fhe Merce
terprise
Mercedes, Texas 78570 Wednesday/ February 25,1998
Volume 86
Number 8 Price 509
MISD adds director of
community relations;
drops MJHS stadium
School trustees gave approval last
week to the hiring of a director of
′ community relations for the district,
and accepted a plan for paying addi-
tional stipends to teachers on cam-
puses that achieve recognition for test
results.
for true “partnerships” between school
and home; and she’ll have the job of
putting out quarterly newsletters for
each campus and a quarterly newslet-
ter for the district.
Hypothesis
Procedures
Hired as director of community
relations was Nina Pruneda, presently
a broadcast journalist with KRGV-
TV. “We’re very excited about adding
her abilities to the staff,” says Super-
intendent Jesus Gandara. “She’s very
well-known, and since she’s covered
the school beat, she’ll be familiar with
the aims and challenges of the dis-
trict.”
Other action at the meeting saw the
superintendent explain an incentive
program to reward personnel at cam-
puses with high test scores. “We’ve
issued a memo to our staff that tells
them that professionals on a campus
that earns a ‘Recognized’ rating on the
TAAS test will earn a one-time bonus
stipend of $300; paraprofessionals
there will receive $100,” he says. .
He says the administrator will have
several primary functions: first, she’ll
GOING BACK TO STATE MEET — direct the district’s parental involve-
Victoria Dominguez will advance ment program, expanding it to include
to the state level Hoop Shoot as parents in actual teaching and tutor-
representative of the Weslaco Elks ing; she will be responsible for run-
Lodge, after placing high at both ning the Partners in Education pro-
local and district contests. The .. 1
-.- . 0 19 gram, in which corporate sponsorships
10-year-old, Travis Elementary will be solicited in order (0 take the
student is returning to state meet. .
for the second year in a row. Last burden off local businesses when it
year, she finished third at state, comes to supporting school efforts
To earn the right to advance, she through contributions.
hit 13 of 25 freethrows at the local
level, then sunk 15 of 25 at district The official will also direct the
level contest. State meet will be Alliance Schools effort, under which
this Saturday at Plano* $30,000 grants have already been se-
Richardson, and Victoria says her cured (through Valley Interfaith) for
goal is to advanee to regio na is in West and Kennedy Schools (with other
Oklahoma City on March 27. funds expected for additional cam-
Victoria is the daughter of puses) to be used for in-service and
Baldemar and Rosalda Chavez. training for both teachers and parents
“Schools earned ‘Exemplary’ sta-
tus will see professionals receive a
$500 stipend, and paraprofessionals
get $200,” he continues. “What that
means is that if every campus earns
‘Recognized’ status, it will cost the
district $181,000 in additional stipends.
We think that kind of achievement is
worth every penny.”
IT’S SCIENCE FAIR TIME across the Mercedes
school district, and these two seventh graders
are among the dozens whose projects
qualified to advance to the district-wide show
this Saturday. Crystal Perez, left, and Josie
Gonzalez, conducted an experiment to
determine the faults of out-dated camera film.
They are students of Mrs. Ruby Lozano.
District qualifiers and high school projects
will be judged on Saturday at Mercedes High
School Gymnasium, with a public viewing
period to run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. All are
welcome to visit. (Enterprise Photo.)
Little League registration slated
Registration is about to get under- to 10 for minor leagues, and 11 and 12 though there is no separate T-ball, and
way for youth baseball in Mercedes, for major leagues.
A related agenda item would pro-
vide some of the funds for those bo-
nuses. The superintendent recom-
mended, and the board accepted, a
scaling down of the junior high foot-
ball field project. “There are so many
other needs,” Mr. Gandara says, “so
we’ve cut back to a track and practice
field that would cost some $150,000.”
The original plan, featuring seating,
restrooms and other amenities, was a
$500,000 project.
reports Mario Palacios, longtime or-
ganizer.
Sign up for the Little League's T-
Ball, minor league and major league,
as well as the girls’ minor and major
leagues, and senior girls’ teams, is
getting started this Saturday.
The sessions will run from 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m., each Saturday from Febru-
ary through the last Saturday in March. '
Players will need to be accompa-
nied by an adult, and must bring their
Those ages also apply to girls.
seniors are 13 to 15 (though they can-
not be 16 before July 31.)
Softball season underway
Lady Tiger softball players dropped 1-3 record in games against 5-A teams.
their first district ballgame Tuesday,
but they played it close.
“It was neck-and-neck all the way
through,” says Coach Betty Morrell of
the 9-8 loss to Brownsville Lopez.
“We jumped out 3-0 in the first inning,
but the rest of the game was back and
forth. We just fell a coupe of runs
short.
Elida Rivas took the loss on the
mound, striking out five and walking
five. Olda Lydia Trevino was sharp at
the plate, going three for four, all
They opened play with a 25-12 win
over La Joya, but followed that with
losses to Harlingen South, 16-4,
McAllen Memorial, 12-11, and
Weslaco, 20-10.
Hopes are high for the team, which
lost only a couple of players to gradu-
ation. “We’re strong and experienced,”
the coach says. “We just need to play
up to our potential.”
Starting team members, all seniors
unless noted otherwise, include Sonya
Flores (1st); Joleen Garcia (CF);
Trevino (3rd); Martha Campos (C);
Castaneda (P); and Jennifer Salinas
(2nd).
Rounding out the squad are Cathy
Sanchez, Magda Gonzalez, Lisa
Lopez, junior Diana Ri vas, junior Jen-
nifer Castaneda and freshman Laura
Martell.
singles. In all, Tigers had nine hits and sophomore Emma Flores (SS); fresh-
two errors. man Stephanie Espinoza, (LF); junior
Pre-season saw the Ladies put up a Anita Manzano, (RF); Rivas and Lisa
The team was to play in the
McAllen Memorial Tournament, start-
ing Thursday at 6 p.m. No games are
scheduled next Tuesday, which is set
aside for TAAS testing.
The following Friday will see the
second district contest, when Ladies
host Raymondville, with JV playing at
5 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m.
AW CLINIC
RIBBON CUTTING MARKS OPENING -
Mercedes Area Chamber of Commerce
officials conducted a ribbon cutting ceremony
last week at The Law Clinic, at 538 South
Texas Avenue. Associated with the Law Office
of J.R. "Bobby" Flores of McAllen, the Clinic
has as its director Robert J. Salinas, who
prepares to cut the ribbon in center of photo.
To his left is his wife, and to her left is
Chamber President Edna R. Martinez. Also
shown are other Chamber directors, Clinic
staff members and well-wishers. (Enterprise
Photo.)
birth certificates. A registration fee of
$15 will be charged.
Registration will take place at the
Little League Park on Hidalgo Street.
Eligible to play are: Little League
T-ball, five to seven years of age; eight
To dedicate
L.R. Ramirez
LRC March 7
Dedication of the Leo Ramirez Jr.
Learning Resource Center will take
place on Saturday, March 7, report
officials of Mercedes public schools.
The library facility at the new
Mercedes Junior High School is being
named in honor of Mr. Ramirez, who
served as a member of the Mercedes
ISD Board of Trustees from May 1989
until his death in December 1996.
The school is located just south of
Business 83 on Mile One East.
The public is invited to the cer-
emony, which is scheduled to begin at
11:30 a.m.
Circus will
be in town
Wednesday
It’s almost time for the circus!
Next week’s performance of the
Allen Brothers Big Top Circus in i
Mercedes will benefit the programs of |
the Mercedes Boys and Girls Club, |
reports Club Executive Director Bob
Gonzalez.
Featuring all the traditional circus
attractions, from clowns and animal
acts to acrobatics and pony rides, the
event is scheduled for two perfor-
mances on Wednesday, March 4, at
5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
To be sponsored by the Boys and J
Girls Club, the circus will be set up on
city park property adjacent to the club’s
headquarters.
Reduced price tickets are now on
sale at the Club and at Mercedes Na-
tional Bank. Tickets bought at the door
will sell for $2 more than the advance
tickets, which will cost $6 for adults,
$4 for children under 12 and nothing
for those under 2.
For more information, Mr.
Gonzalez can be reached at 565-3033.
INTERACTION OF FLAME AND GRAVITY poses a problem for
these MISD instructors, who took part in a workshop offered here
recently by Angelo A. Casaburri, at right in upper photo, Aerospace
Education Specialist with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration is Houston. In the experiment, a jar holding a
lighted candle was dropped — and participants (shown below,
also) were astounded to find that the candle’s flame separated
itself from its base and before going out top of the jar. The two-day
workshop for both teachers and administrators was meant to
enhance the district’s curriculum in science, technology,
mathematics, and the social sciences. (Enterprise Photos.)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Mercedes Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 8, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 25, 1998, newspaper, February 25, 1998; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1632199/m1/1/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.