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Staff
-Eagle Pass
According to a report from the Maverick County Sheriff's Department, one person was killed in an accident which occurred on Sunday on Highway 57. This person has been determined to have been at fault in the accident. The victim was identified as Antonio Ortiz, 79, of Poteet, Texas who was driving a Ford Aerostar Mini Van and was heading to Eagle Pass. According to the report, the driver lost control of the vehicle and went head-on with a 2011 Ford F-150 in which a San Antonio couple were in the vehicle who suffered injuries, and were taken to Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center and treated for non-life threatening injuries. The couple were identified as David Benavides, 49, and Anette Benavides, 43, of San Antonio. The accident occurred about 25 miles out of Eagle Pass in Maverick County. The Texas Department of Public Safety continues to investigate the causes of the accident.
Staff
-Eagle pass
One of the automobile accidents over the holidays was that of an Eagle Pass resident who crashed into a cow on Highway 57. According to the report, Gerardo Gonzalez of Eagle Pass suffered minor injuries after crashing his Ford F-150 into a bovine on Highway 57. The accident occurred about four miles out of Eagle Pass and although the driver suffered minor injuries, the front of the vehicle was destroyed. The Maverick County Sheriff's Department is looking into the case in order to determine the owner of the cow in order to hold the owner responsible. Authorities ask drivers to be cautious and defensive as they travel on Texas highways as there is much traffic on all roads this holiday season.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
Sandra Martinez, Directress of the Eagle Pass Chamber of Commerce, and her assistant Ana Arizpe, informed The News Gram that they are preparing to go to McAllen to promote Eagle Pass as a viable tourist spot. Every year hundreds of people, retired and elderly who live in the northern United States travel to South Texas looking for warmer climate in which to spend their winters which bodes well for Texas cities such as Eagle Pass and they are promoting our area for such tourism. Martinez added that they would be in the valley on January 8th-11th to participate in a tourism fair in McAllen to attempt to bring in such tourism. She concluded that this fair is held every year at this time and Eagle Pass gets a good amount of tourism in this manner. Every year, these visitors come to Eagle Pass are intrigued by its history, its climate, and above all the tourism attractions such as the casino which provides a great amount of tourism to our fair city.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
The amount of trash which has been sent to the landfill in Maverick County is a significant amount as the landfill has been in existence for two years now in El Indio. Hector Chavez, Public Works Director, who is familiar with the workings of the landfill, said that the first phase is nearly at capacity, yet there are 16 such phases available within the scope of the project. Due to excess trash pickup, the first cell is at near capacity. He said that the facility is receiving more trash than initially expected and they had expected the total amount to be somewhere 90 tons when actually they have taken in approximately 200 tons thus far. The coming of the Eagle Ford Shale Project have made the facility take more trash than previously expected which is good for the County, but he says they must increase the capacity. The project is bringing in $1.2 million monthly. This is a financial gain for the county as we previously were forced to take our trash to San Antonio.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
The Special Meeting of Commissioner's Court took place on Wednesday, December 20th. Some items were withdrawn and tabled for a later time while others such as the advertisement for the sale of fill dirt sitting in Alvin Stock property of Las Quintas Colonias, the consent to rent the El Indio Community Center for $50.00 per hour, and the removal of county material from a private property in Pct. 2, and the hiring of four people to conduct a recount for the last election, and the budget amendment for the Road and Bridge Department to remodel and repair Precinct 2 facilities were approved. The Court adjourned at around 6:00 P.M. to retire to Executive Session to deal with issues ranging from litigation against Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions, Landscape Structures Inc., and Nancy Miwa in the US Court, Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division.
In Del Rio, Texas, Eduardo De La Garza, owner of Rio Bravo Construction, surrendered himself to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback and bid-rigging scheme announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez. A federal grand jury indictment, charges the 44-year-old Eagle Pass resident with three counts of paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. The indictment alleges that in May 2011, De La Garza submitted a $19,800 bid to Maverick County to construct a concrete pad at the intersection of Winsor Avenue and Bianca Road in Precinct 4 of Maverick County. Maverick County issued him a $9,900 check to commence work and then $9,900 check for the completion of the concrete pad. The indictment alleges that De La Garza made a cash payment to an employee working in the Maverick County Auditor’s Office for each check. The indictment further alleges that both checks were issued to De La Garza without undergoing the appropriate internal review process by Maverick County.
Mario Morales of San Antonio was the lucky winner of the 2013 Cadillac CVS on Tuesday. This was the final promotion of the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, they have given away various cars and prizes and appreciate the community’s support this year and hope to have bigger and better promotions in 2013. And they remind you that the winning is bigger in Texas at the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino!
TEMPLE
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist Serafin M. Aguirre announces applications for funding opportunities with the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) are currently being accepted at the NRCS offices located at 2210 N. Veterans Blvd., Suite 130, Eagle Pass, Texas 78852. NRCS in Texas has received its initial allocation of EQIP funding in 2013 and will begin ranking and obligating EQIP contracts after February 15. All agriculture producers interested in submitting a contract application for 2013 should do so before this ranking deadline. EQIP — one of the largest programs in the Farm Bill — is a voluntary conservation program that promotes environmental quality and assists producers to meet local, state and federal regulations. "EQIP is a valuable tool to help Maverick County’s agricultural producers implement conservation practices that provide environmental benefits to help sustain agricultural operations," says Aguirre. EQIP is a continuous sign-up program that allows landowners or operators to apply for financial and technical assistance for the application of specific conservation practices; but the deadline for the first 2013 funding is February 15, 2013. Contracts are offered periodically depending on budgetary allocations. Applications made after the deadline will be considered in the next funding cycle. Higher priority will be given to those applications that address national, state and local priorities and provide higher cost efficiency. EQIP offers technical and financial help to install or implement structural, vegetative, and management practices that can benefit the soil, water, air, plants, livestock, and wildlife. Each county in the state is funded yearly to assist producers financially with these land management practices. Last year, NRCS in Texas funded over 4,000 EQIP contracts with $76 million to accomplish conservation practices such as irrigation efficiency, minimum tillage, brush management and more on 2.1 million acres across the entire state. In addition to helping our environment, Farm Bill conservation program funds support rural communities. In Texas, it is estimated that each dollar of NRCS and private matching expenditures on NRCS conservation programs generates an additional $2.54 in sales of goods and services. For more information, including eligibility requirements, call the USDA Service Center office in Eagle Pass, Texas at (830) 773.2518. Service center locations and program information can be found on the Texas NRCS Web site at www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov.
In Del Rio, Texas, Eduardo De La Garza, owner of Rio Bravo Construction, surrendered himself to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback and bid-rigging scheme announced
United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
Closing statements were heard by both sides in the murder case of Juan De Dios Hernandez by Timothy Johnson (Ret.) who was in District Judge Amado Abascal's stead due to Judge Abascal, who is recovering from an automobile accident. In a stunning verdict, a 12-man jury found Ruben Reyes, who was accused of the December 2010 murder of Juan De Dios Hernandez, not guilty after deliberations were heard by both the State and Reyes' defense attorney. In closing statements, the State presented the two charges facing the defendant; the first, that Reyes on or about May 2010 indeed did shoot Juan De Dios Hernandez twice in the head, the other was that on or about May 21st, 2010, Reyes did intend to cause bodily harm to Hernandez.