JANUARY 17, 2008VOL. 35, No. 3

NEWSBRIEFS

A kindness done today is the surest wayto a brighter tomorrow.

— Quips & Quotes

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

1973

2008

35YEARS

Water loanThe U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) has approved a loan of $4.7 mil-lion for El Paso County Water Control andImprovement District No. 4 (Fabens),Congressman Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso,announced today. USDA’s Office of Ru-ral Development awarded this water andwaste disposal direct loan, which will beused to construct a new wastewater treat-ment plant. “Everyone deserves access toclean, safe water, and I applaud USDA forproviding this loan to El Paso County,”said Congressman Reyes. “This infusionof federal funds is important to our com-munity.”

Free workshopAnthony United Methodist Church willhold a free diabetes workshop on Sat., Jan.19 from 10 a.m. to noon. The workshopwill be conducted in both english andspanish by a nurse practitioner that spe-cializes in diabetes. The church is locatedat 101 Franklin ST., Anthony, TX.

Counselor recognizedErnesto Serna School Counselor TammiMackaben is one of the ten finalists se-lected from 300 nominees across theUnited States for the American SchoolCounselor Association’s “Counselor of theYear” award. As a finalist, Mackaben willbe going on an all-expenses paid trip toWashington, D.C., in February, where shewill participate in high-level discussionsabout education trends, tour Washington,D.C., and be honored at a black-tie awardsceremony, where the national winner willbe selected. Mackaben is the second SISDcounselor to receive recognition on a na-tional level for making major contributionsto the counseling profession. Lucy Cabal-lero from Socorro High School, wasnamed the Secondary Counselor of theYear last year by the ASCA.

OsteoarthritisNearly 21 million Americans have os-teoarthritis — the most common typeof arthritis. Osteoarthritis mostly affectscartilage, the hard but slippery tissuethat covers the ends of bones where theymeet to form a joint. As a result, peoplewith this condition usually experiencejoint pain, inflammation, and stiffness.Learn more, including available treat-ment options and helpful exercises, withHandout on Health: Osteoarthritis. Thisfree publication is from the NationalInstitute of Arthritis and Musculoskel-etal and Skin Diseases. For your copy,send your name and address to the Fed-eral Citizen Information Center, Dept.537R, Pueblo, CO 1009. Or call toll-free1 (888) 8 PUEBLO, that’s 1 (888) 878-3256, and ask for Item 537R. And visitwww.pueblo.gsa.gov to read or printthis and hundreds of other FCIC publi-cations for free.

DSHS boosts resources to help people stop smoking

Special to the CourierBy Emily Palmer

Quitting tobacco use can be difficult but notimpossible. And for those trying to give upnicotine in the new year, the Texas Depart-ment of State Health Services (DSHS) is morethan doubling its resources dedicated to freecessation services provided through theAmerican Cancer Society’s Quitline. Thisyear, DSHS will provide $550,000 for theservice, up from $250,000 provided in 2007.

The toll-free multi-lingual telephone coun-seling service, at 1-877-YES-QUIT (877-937-7848), is available to all Texans trying to quitsmoking or dipping. Calls to the Quitline haveincreased significantly since DSHS beganfunding the service in 2001, totaling more than6,250 calls in the last fiscal year.

A federal Centers for Disease Control andPrevention grant for cessation services andfunds from the Texas tobacco settlement pro-vide the DSHS funding directed to the Quitline.

“One of the most important things we cando to improve the health of Texans is to helpthose who smoke to quit,” said PennyHarmonson, DSHS tobacco prevention andcontrol program manager. “Research showsthat those who get help through a service suchas the Quitline are more successful at break-

ing their nicotine addiction than those whogo it alone.”

The Quitline provides free, confidentialtelephone counseling 24 hours a day, sevendays a week, with tools and strategies tailoredto each individual caller. The service also of-fers callers self-help booklets and adviceabout support programs available in theircommunities. Resources and information tohelp you quit tobacco use also are availableonline at www.yesquit.com.

In addition to the Quitline service, yourchance of success is even better, Harmonsonsaid, if you talk to your doctor about medica-tions that can help ease cravings and with-drawal symptoms.

The adult smoking rate in Texas droppedbelow 20 percent for the first time in 2006 witha rate of 18.1 percent, below the national aver-age of 20.2 percent. Still, more than 3 millionTexans continue to smoke, and 24,000 of themdie from tobacco-related illnesses each year.

The Quitline service is available year-round, but demand usually peaks as a newyear begins when many smokers resolve tostop using tobacco.

“The new year symbolizes a fresh start formany people, but help is available anytime,”Harmonson said. “The first step is choosing aquit date that’s right for you. Mark it on yourcalendar and make the call.”

Montwood cheer squad takes top spot at National Cheer competition

When students returned to Montwood HighSchool after the winter break, there was an-other addition to the school’s trophy case.Thanks to the Montwood Varsity CheerleadingSquad, the school is now home to a 4-footNational Cheerleading Association trophy. The17-member squad spent two days competingin Dallas against 19 teams from Arkansas, Illi-nois, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas andWashington. The team took first place in theVarsity Non-Building Division at the 2007NCA Senior and Junior High School NationalChampionship on Dec. 28 and 29. Coached byLaura Price and Betty Enriquez, the team spenttheir free time before and after school practic-ing a routine they designed in September.

“We are very proud of these students andtheir coaches for bringing national recognitionhome to Socorro,” said SISD SuperintendentDr. Sylvia P. Atkinson. “While the rest of uswere on holidays, these students were work-ing hard to make us proud.”

“We didn’t think our scores were going tobe high,” said team captain and senior AleksiaLicon. “But the judges liked our performanceand gave us an 8.36 in the first round. So weentered the final round in first place. We man-aged to win without a choreographer againstteams that had their own choreographers.”

“This team clearly focused on working to-gether and making their strengths work for thebenefit of the team,” said SISD Board Presi-dent Charles E. Garcia. “The result is that theyare now national champions.”

Team members are Alexis Arce, Arianna

By Irma FloresSpecial to the Courier

Vanessa Ramos, Alyssa Rey, Briana Rey,

— Photo by Stacy Hendrick/SISD

CHAMPS — The Montwood champs are shown from left, front row, Coach Betty Enriquez, Briana Rey, Vanessa Ramos, Audrey Vasquez,Bryana Porras, Amanda Veliz and Head Coach Laura Price. Middle row: Lauren Gutierrez, Kaylee Vasquez, Ariana Castillo, AleksiaLicon and Alexis Arce. Back row: Elijah Garcia, Cindy Chavira, Stephanie Garcia, Alissa Rey and Marissa Diaz - De Leon.

See CHEER SQUAD, Page 8

Castillo, Cindy Chavira, Marissa Diaz DeLeon, Elijah Garcia, Stephanie Garcia, LaurenGutierrez, Aleksia Licon, Bryana Porras,

Page 2 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER January 17, 2008

Reyes Reports By U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes

One perspectiveBy Francis Shrum

PUBLISHED:Published each Thursday byHomesteader News, Inc. Appreciationto our many contributors. Office openMonday through Thursday.

COPYRIGHT:Entire contents © 2008 HomesteaderNews, Inc. Individual authors retain allrights. Pictures, drawings and writtenmaterial appearing in the West TexasCounty Courier may not be used orreproduced without written permissionof Homesteader News, Inc.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:Letter must not be more than 250words in length. They should bedated, must be signed and have anaddress and daytime phone number.Only the name and city will be printedwith the letter. The Courier reservesthe right not to print letters to theeditor or other submitted materials itconsiders inappropriate.

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HomesteaderEst. 1973

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

1973

2008

35YEARS

M o s tM e d i c a r ebeneficiariesand their

caregivers are familiar with the ba-sic Medicare coverage with the op-tion of enrolling in a prescription cov-erage plan, often known as MedicarePart D. Some seniors might not beaware of another option available,better known as Medicare Advan-tage, in which additional Medicarebenefits can be purchased through aprivate insurance plan. Additionalbenefits include discounts on eye-glasses, hearing aids, and dental care,just to name a few.

Troubling evidence is mounting,though, that some are trying to takeadvantage of seniors through fraudu-lent sales of the program, and whilethis can be a beneficial, helpful pro-gram, please proceed with cautionwhen enrolling.

The Washington Post reported thatinsurance companies in at least 39states are using illegal or unethicaltactics to sell private Medicare plans.

In some cases, the companies are“enrolling the dead or mentally in-competent, impersonating Medicarerepresentatives, and using personalinformation stolen from federalrecords, according to interviews anddocuments released to Congress.”

In El Paso, there have been occa-sions in which Medicare Advantageinsurance companies have hostedfree lunches for Medicare beneficia-ries. Who doesn’t like a free lunch?But as my mother always said, noth-ing in life is free. There is always areason behind offering something forfree, and this instance is no different.

I have been told by constituentsthat tactics are being used at these“free lunches” in order to lure seniorsinto sharing their personal informa-tion, which is later being used to en-roll the individuals in the company’shealth plan. Others have shared withmy office that they have beenswitched from one health care planto another without their knowledgeor consent. Please keep in mind thatwhile most insurance companies are

reputable, there are a select few whodo not have your best interest inmind.

Here are a couple of practical tips:When approached by a health insur-ance representative, please make surethat the information is presented toyou in your primary or preferred lan-guage. Do not sign anything withoutreading the fine print. Be aware thatmost enrollment events are held inrestaurants offering a “free meal.”You should not have to sign an en-rollment sheet to receive your meal.Finally, do not give any personal in-formation over the phone to anyone.

Medicare is a valuable program forEl Paso’s seniors, and Medicare’sAdvantage Plan offers another optionfor health insurance. It is extremelyupsetting that there are individualswho would take advantage of thisprogram to just to make money, butthe sad truth is they’re out there.Please look into these programs cau-tiously and thoroughly, and contactmy office at (915) 534-4400 with anyquestions you may have.

Nothing in life is free

Beware of abuse tactics

There wasa song re-

corded some years back by the coun-try band Alabama entitled Song of theSouth.

It’s about the deprivation of theDepression years in the deep South,the struggles of trying to raise kidsand crops during the prolonged anddevastating economic crisis thatraked the U.S.

The story talks about how “thecotton was short and the weedswere tall, but Mr. Roosevelt wasgonna save us all.”

Life was pretty hard, but it is re-membered fondly. At the conclusion,the father and mother, who hadworked night and day to keep bodyand soul together, were finally tootired to go on.

The mother was sick, the father“got down,” which means his backwouldn’t stand up to the strain of hardwork anymore. As the song goes, “thecounty got the farm and they movedto town.” The father got a job withthe TVA, the Tennessee Valley Au-thority, which brought electricity andprosperity to the impoverished

southland. The couple “bought awashing machine and a Chevrolet.”

So what does this folksy tale haveto do with food?

Well, if there hadn’t been peoplelike this man and woman during theDepression, and the family farm onwhich they lived, our nation wouldhave starved to death.

How well do you think we’re go-ing to do the next time around?

The supreme business model of theU.S. is to get bigger, get more. Nomatter how big your enterprise is inthe beginning, it must continue togrow and grow and grow.

If it stops growing, and just holdssteady, it is called stagnant. If you havea couple of bad years in which you takea loss, the IRS will shut you down.

Traditionally, farms and ranchesdon’t make profits every year. Whatthey have done is kept families aliveand together, and sent kids out intothe world armed with skills, workethic and thought processes thatmake them successful in almost anygiven field they choose to enter.

The modern business model of big-ger and more didn’t really apply to

agriculture because the people wholived and worked the land to producefood and fiber did it because it was away of life, not just a way to makemoney.

Welcome to our brave new world.The “bigger” business model was in-troduced to food production, and, inthe short term, it works. Make moremeat for less in big, concentrated feedlots, chicken warehouses and pigbarns where you feed ‘em hormonesand other artificial growth stimulants— never mind what that meat doesto the growing bodies of our young.Grow more vegetables for less by ar-tificially forcing the soil until it be-comes useless and sterile. Producemore grain and fiber by mutilatingthe graceful, hardy seedlings that ourCreator gave us into genetically al-tered plants with unknown capacityto wreck havoc in the fields — theresults of which we haven’t even be-gun to reap.

There’s just one problem. Nobodyloves a hormonal hog. No one ad-mires a bloated cow fed with garbageand routinely deprived the opportu-nity to mother a herd. Nobody lovesa chicken that has never seen the sun-light.

And when these chickens or cowsor fields stops fulfilling the “bigger”requirement, they will be abandonedand the money will go elsewhere.

Food production will stop.Industrialized food production is

not undertaken for the sake of a fam-ily, community or nation. It’s forprofit, which is a thin and miserlymotivation that has never worked,nor will it ever work, in the funda-mental world of agriculture.

For the sake of profit, we plasterconcrete parking lots, highways,malls and houses over precious farm-land because that is what fits the “big-ger” model. Even families who don’twant to sell out to the highest bidder— and these are getting fewer all thetime — are taxed off of their preciousinheritance because it has become agold mine in the grip of developers.

Now, I’m not talking about issuesthat haven’t been haunting the menand women charged with oversightof this nation’s food production. Theyknow something is wrong — deadwrong — and they don’t know whatto do about it.

There is a professor with the Uni-versity of Mississippi, Dr. John Ikerd,who has produced a lot of pretty good

material involving a concept he sim-ply terms “sustainable agriculture.”It has nothing to do with bigger. Ithas to do with better.

He advocates family farms andagricultural ventures that are basedon two concepts — they have to beeconomically viable and socially re-sponsible.

In other words, a family has to beable to stay alive doing it withoutdestroying the earth that feeds it.

Unfortunately, Dr. Ikerd’s ideasand concepts are illustrated by menand women who have revolutionaryideas like “money matters but notabove all else” and “success meansliving a modest and conservativelifestyle within your means.”

Why, these folks even have con-cern for the good of their neighbors:“It is important to cooperate ratherthan to compete, because our indi-vidual successes contribute to thesuccess of the whole area.”

Imagine that.It’s a good, solid concept to restore

the fundamentals of American agri-culture we have so carelessly de-stroyed.

I’m just not sure we have a crop ofpeople ready and willing to work it.

Thinkingabout food

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) announcedtoday a Smoking & Home Fires Campaign to put anend to the number one cause of preventable home firedeaths — fires started by smoking materials. The cam-paign is designed to alert smokers and those who livewith smokers about simple steps they can take to stopthe fire before it starts in their home. The USFA, whichis a division of the U.S. Department of HomelandSecurity’s Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), is encouraging smokers to “Put It Out. Allthe Way. Every Time.”

Most smoking-related home fires happen on beds,furniture, or in trash when smokers do not put ciga-rettes all the way out, toss hot ashes in the trash or fallasleep while smoking. What’s important to rememberis that smoking home fires can easily be prevented. Itjust takes a few seconds to light up and a few secondsto make sure that cigarette is completely out.

Every year, about 1,000 people are killed in smok-ing-related home fires.

According to the USFA, one-in-four people killedin home fires are not the smoker whose cigarettecaused the fire. In fact, 34 percent were children of thesmokers and 25 percent were neighbors or friends of thesmokers. Too often, the victim is the firefighter trying tosave them.

The Smoking & Home Fires Campaign will warnthe public about the dangers of careless smoking andurges smokers to do it outside if they need to smoke.Inside the home, people should use big ashtrays witha stable base and really put the cigarette out, don’tjust tap it into the ashtray. People should especiallymake sure their cigarette is fully out if they are drowsydue to medicine or alcohol.

Of the three fire fatalities in the City of El Paso in2007, two were caused by smoker’s carelessness. Todemonstrate how quickly a smoldering cigarette canturn into a raging fire log on to: www.usfa.dhs.gov/smoking.

— Contributed by Lt. Mario Hernandez

Smoking targeted by government fire-safety campaign

January 17, 2008 Page 3WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

What’s up, doc? By Albert Balesh, M.D.

“Hey, little girl, wanna piece of candy?”They come in all shapes and sizes, and all col-ors of the rainbow. They tempt us. They rapeus. They poison us. While we’ve come a longway since the times of sweets laced with toxicadditives such as mercuric sulfide, copper ars-enite, and lead chromate, today’s food supplymay be no less responsible for driving longnails into short coffins.

Let’s take a staple as simple and sacred asmilk, for example. The next time we or ourchildren have a nice, refreshing glass of thatbone builder, we’ll also be enjoying the extraadded “benefits” of the 50 antibiotics, hor-mones, blood, and pus contained therein. Cowudders and hooves are infectious vehicles. So,to expect a germless nectar would be tanta-mount to a belief in leprechauns, elves, andfairy godmothers

With holsters at the ready, and a quick drawleading to slow agony, the fruit and vegetablegang also patiently awaits a showdown to takeus down. We scrub those skins, we peel thoseorbs, and yet traces of toxic pesticides such ascopper sulfate linger on that apple a day. It’sno consolation to us that the doctor eats fromthe very same orchard, reminding us that nu-tritional research progresses in leaps andbounds, as well as the more than occasionalfalse starts and dead ends

When we turn our gaze to modern-day Af-rica and many areas of South America, we seethe ravages of malnutrition, scurvy, and folateand thiamine deficiencies. We thank our luckystars that we were born here in our sanctifiedMecca, and protected from an invisible oral as-sault on our metabolic machinery. That short-lived lure to a false sense of security comes toa screeching halt when we recall history’s les-sons. Even the culturally and economically ad-vanced, ancient Romans were prey to 1,500years of malnutrition, under the misguidedteachings of the famous physician Galen whostrongly advised against consumption of any

The good, the bad, andthe downright dangerous

form of fruitWhen many of us were young, there was a

stigma attached to the “Made in Japan” label.Then we grew up, the world evolved, andHondas were built. Soon, connotations weremodified, and the Japanese colossus took flight.We must never forget, however, that it wasJapanese food researchers who invented high-fructose corn syrup, an economical soft-drinksweetener that has made most of our acquain-tances on more than one occasion. It is six timessweeter than glucose, and, according to someestimates, it has single-handedly breached ourpancreas’ Maginot Line, taking no prisonerswhile at the same time increasing rates of dia-betes and obesity the world over.

The push-and-pull of the passing of time hasnonetheless yielded quite a few successes toaccompany the numerous shortcomings in nu-tritionists’ thinking. Three come to mind.Where would we be today were it not for thoseperspicacious investigators who connected vi-tamin deficiencies to serious disease? The an-swer is up to our necks in birth, blood, bone,cardiac, gastrointestinal, gum, and neurologicdiseases. The British Admiralty also made itscontribution, issuing seamen on ships-of-the-line a regular ration of rum, water, and lemonjuice, which prevented the vitamin C deficiencybetter known as scurvy. And, finally, givingnew meaning to the old adage, “you are whatyou eat,” we arrive at the French, who oncetreated constipation with large, oral tablets oftoxic antimony. Back in the good ole days,those excreted metal pills were reused.

Tall tales, you say. Not exactly. Were we todiscuss the trans fats, additives, substitutes, fill-ers, dyes, sweeteners, preservatives, colorings,and artificial flavorings currently employed inthe food production industry, noses would byno means grow long______________________________________________________

2008, Albert M. Balesh, M.D.All rights reserved

Page 4 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER January 17, 2008

COLLEGE STATION — Twostate agricultural agencies that haveserved Texans for a combined 224years are beginning 2008 with newnames and renewed missions.

Texas AgriLife Research is the newname for the Texas Agricultural Ex-periment Station, which annuallyconducts more than $150 million inagriculture and life sciences researchin such areas as improving food andfiber production, enhancing humanand animal health, and conservingwater, soils, wildlife and other natu-ral resources.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Ser-vice is the new name of Texas Coop-erative Extension, which providesTexans in all 254 counties with ob-jective, research-based educationprograms and services in agricultureand natural resources, 4-H and youthdevelopment, family and consumersciences, and community economicdevelopment.

“We are making these changes tobetter communicate the life-sustainingand life-changing impacts that bothAgriLife Research and AgriLife Ex-tension deliver to the people of Texas

and beyond,” said Dr. Mark Hussey,director of AgriLife Research.

Both agencies remain members ofThe Texas A&M University System,with the same commitment to theirpartners, clients and mission.

“But we also want to tell our story to alarger audience and a changing statepopulation, attract new resources andbuild new partnerships, while strength-ening our existing ones,” Hussey said.“In this way, we hope to better servethe people of this great state.”

The name changes are part of a re-branding initiative launching thisyear after two years of study andplanning. These efforts were led byformer vice chancellor Dr. ElsaMurano, who was named presidentof Texas A&M University on Jan. 3.

“The re-branding efforts are cen-tered on one foundational message:‘Agriculture is Life!’” Hussey said.“The central idea is that life itself isthe core value that our agencies seekto sustain and enhance.

“People usually don’t realize howmuch we all depend on agriculture andthe life sciences. Discoveries and in-novations in these fields directly im-pact the quality of the food we eat, theclothes we wear, the air we breathe,the water we drink, the homes we livein, and, more and more, even the fuelswe pump into our vehicles.”

“This is more than a name change,or even a new logo design,” said Dr.Ed Smith, director of AgriLife Ex-tension. “These new brands will im-pact not only our marketing materi-als and signage, but also the way weposition and prioritize our programsand work with our federal, state andcounty partners to serve the state ofTexas. It is vitally important to tellour story and that people connect ouragencies to the tremendous impactsthey have on the state.”

One of the drivers of the re-brand-ing initiative was a market study thatshowed that the work of the researchand extension agencies was not widelyknown across the state of Texas.

“We hope to help people betterunderstand the vital role that agricul-ture and life sciences still play inimproving the prosperity of theirlives,” said Smith. “We believe thatif they come to know us better, theywill see that connection more clearly,even within a state population that isnow 85 percent urbanized.”

AgriLife Research, established in1887, employs a team of 425 scien-tists on the campus of Texas A&MUniversity and at 13 centers acrossthe state. Research has made manyinnovative advances over the years,including development of the Texas1015 onion and the TAM MildJalapeño pepper, which revolution-ized the U.S. salsa industry.

Current major research includes theefficient use and conservation of wa-ter resources, the development of fruitsand vegetables with higher levels ofdisease-fighting compounds, and theadaptation of crops and other agricul-tural products for making biofuels.

AgriLife Extension, established in1915, provides Texans with continu-ing education programs and services.More than 900 professional educa-tors team with some 90,000 volun-teers to serve families, youth, com-munities and businesses throughoutthe state. Some 600,000 children an-nually participate in Extension’s 4-H and youth development programs.

For more information, see http://agrilife.tamu.edu/.

Special to the CourierBy Dave Mayes

Agencies change names

Community service starts atschool for Alderete Middle Schoolstudents, teachers, and staff, asmembers of AMS student organi-zations including the Ambassadors,Mother-Daughter, Father-Son, Stu-dent Council, and some parents,teachers, and staff personnel cametogether on a recent Saturday morn-ing to help spruce up the play-ground area and decorate bulletinboards.

“We wanted to give our studentsan opportunity to give back to theirschool as a lesson on communityservice and, at the same time, cleanup our playground area becauseright now it is limited to one part ofour campus due to the constructionthat is in progress,” said ConnieParker, AMS assistant principal.

One group of volunteers raked,swept, shoveled, and picked uprocks in the playground, while an-other group designed and decoratedbulletin boards in the main entrancehallway with holiday themes.

A cookout was provided for all

Alderete Middle School holds clean up day

participants after the four hour cleanup project. The cookout was madepossible through the donations ofseveral local businesses includingUpper Valley Press, Rio Grande Su-permarket, Speedy’s Restaurant,Little Diner, Sonic, Photo-Pros, C&J

Printing, and the First BaptistChurch.

Coordinating the clean up effortwere Jaime Mercado, AMS Coun-selor; Laura Lopez, AMS officemanager; and Jorge Valenzuela, Bi-lingual Office aide.

By Alfredo VasquezSpecial to the Courier

— Photo courtesy Canutillo ISD

KEEPING IT CLEAN — Alderete Middle School Volunteers pick uplitter, from left, Christopher Garcia, sixth grader; Jonathan Martinez,seventh grader; and Nellie Sanchez, AMS Instructional Coordinator.

January 17, 2008 Page 5WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

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Having built a total equity of$111,894.58 dollars, the MountainView High School Team won thethe Fall 2007 Stock Market Game.The Team of five student investorsincluded Pauline Dominguez, Os-car Hernandez, Gabriel Higareda,Angie Meza, and Jonathan Thome.First year teacher, Arturo Escobar

— Photo courtesy Clint ISD

MONEY MOGULS — From left are teacher Arturo Escobar III with students Oscar Hernandez, GabrielHigareda, Pauline Dominguez, and Angie Meza. They “made” over $100,000 “buying and selling” stocks.

Mountain View High School students win with stocksBy Laura Cade

Special to the Courier

III guided the students during the15 week game. “Buy high and sellhigher was our strategy”, saidGabriel Higareda during the awardsdinner held this month to honor allparticipating students and schools.

The Stock Market Game wassponsored by the Texas Council forInvestor Education, the El PasoTimes Partners in Literacy, and FirstLight Federal Credit Union. Thegame entailed an online simulationwhere students reviewed current

issues, researched companies,checked stock prices and managedtrading accounts. The simulationallowed students to apply theirknowledge in math, social studies,economics, language arts, reading,business, decision making and re-search.

“This is quite an accomplish-ment, especially for a first timeteacher advisor” said DebbieMackey, Stock Market Game Co-ordinator.

Gifted and Talented students fromfour SISD middle schools will becompeting at the state level thisspring after earning top honors at theDistrict competition. Teams fromCapt. Walter E. Clarke, William D.Slider, Col. John O. Ensor and PasoDel Norte have each earned a slot asone of the top five in the District.They will go on to participate in theupcoming state Team Quest compe-tition. They are also qualified to com-pete in the city contest.

“It’s wonderful that so many of ourGT students will be competing at thestate level in spring,” said SISD Su-perintendent Dr. Sylvia P. Atkinson.“The skills these competitions en-courage such as team work and prob-lem solving are the kind of abilitiesthese students will need in life.”

Taking the top spot in the SocorroIndependent School District MiddleSchool finals were Clarke studentsHenry Lujan, Maria Ceniceros,Cristian Orozco, and Samantha

Alcala.“We are proud of all the students

who participated in this competition,”said SISD Board President Charles E.Garcia. “It’s due to the commitmentand dedication of the teachers whocoordinate this program that these stu-dents are achieving success.”

Guiding and coaching the Clarketeams are GT Campus CoordinatorsBlanca Parra and Brenda Prieto. Thestudents work on various projectssuch as transporting water from oneplace to another using only the re-sources provided to them. Theprojects test students’ creativity andproblem solving skills. Parra who isin her first year with the team isamazed by the work the students do.

“There is no planning for this,” ex-plained Parra. “The students find outwhat projects they have to completeduring competitions. Often you havefour leaders on one team and they allhave to learn to work together.”

Socorro students will first competeagainst other El Paso teams in the citycompetition in the spring which willbe followed by the state competitionto be held in San Antonio.

By Irma FloresSpecial to the Courier

SISD gifted and talented students go to State

— Photo by Stacy Hendrick/SISD

GIFTED AND TALENTED — Students (front row, from left), AlejandroRamirez, Henry Lujan and Cristian Orozco. Middle row: Rebecca Lopez,Vanessa Granandos, Susie Carillo and Fabiola Nevarez. Back row: Di-ego Reyes, Maria Ceniceros, Michael Duran, Sarai Cortez and SamanthaAlcala.

Page 6 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER January 17, 2008

By Steve EscajedaSpecial to the Courier

As many of you know, the world of broad-casting can propel an individual to unbeliev-able stardom.

Take John Madden for instance, he was neverthis famous when he was the head coach ofthe Oakland Raiders.

Other announcers, like Pat Summerall,Keith “Whoa Nellie” Jackson, Vin Scully,Al Michaels and Dick Vitale are now house-hold names because of how they’ve broughtthe world of sports into our living rooms fordecades.

But on the other side of the coin are someannouncers who were on their way to immor-tality, just to throw it all away, ironically, withthe one part of their body they made a livingwith — their mouth.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and hehow many broadcast booth blunders you re-member.

Remember back in 1983, when HowardCosell drew a lot of heat during a MondayNight Football game when he described theplay of Washington receiver Alvin Garrett, “…That little monkey gets loose, doesn’t he?”

Former Miami Hurricane player turned an-nouncer, Lamar Thomas, was doing a gamelast year between Miami and Florida Interna-tional. During the game, the two teams startedfighting on the field. Thomas weighed in,“Now that’s what I’m talking about. You comeinto our house, you should get your behindkicked. You can’t come over to our place talk-ing noise like that. You’ll get your butt beat. Iwas about to go down the elevator to get in

that thing.”Thomas was fired.During game three of the 2006 baseball play-

offs, Lou Piniella spoke a little Spanish on theair, and stunned analyst Steve “psycho” Lyonstried to be funny by saying that Piniella was“habla-ing some español there, and I’m stilllooking for my wallet. I don’t understand him,and I don’t want to sit close to him now.”

Lyons was fired.CBS college basketball announcer Billy

Packer once referred to Allen Iverson as a“tough monkey”.

In 1995, PGA golf announcer Ben Wrightwas fired after saying that, “lesbians in the sporthurt women’s golf,” … and that women golf-

Kelly Tilghman was on the air with Nick Faldo,and she was trying to come up with a solutionso that the other golfers on the tour could com-pete with the great Tiger Woods, and she actu-ally came up with one.

In her infinite wisdom, she said maybe theycould “lynch him in a back alley.”

Now she and Tiger are friends and I’m sureshe didn’t mean it quite the way it sounded.

She was trying to funny by stating that theonly they can beat him consistently is to getrid of him. But she obviously could have put itanother way.

She could have said they could lock him ina room, or they could give him the wrong teetime, or they could switch out his clubs.

But to choose the word “lynch” in describ-ing what to do with a black man? That is theheight of stupidity and bigotry.

How does that word even enter her mind?Tilghman was suspended for two weeks, and

if you ask me she got off light. She is very luckyto still have a job.

There’s absolutely no doubt that we live inan age where people are way too sensitive, andmany are just waiting to be offended. Butcomments like that are just plain ignorant.

So please, to all you broadcasters out there,even those of you who were chosen more foryour looks than the amount of brain matterbetween your ears, think very carefully beforeyou speak — it could save your job.

Foot-in-mouth hangs up broadcast journalist for two weeks

LEGALS

ADVERTISEMENTAND

INVITATIONFOR BIDS

TOWN OFANTHONY,

TEXASP.O. BOX 1269

ANTHONY,TEXAS 79821

H.O.M.E.PROGRAM1000298

The Town of An-thony, Texas will re-ceive bids for hous-ing rehabilitation ofthree homes withOwner-OccupiedHousing Assistanceprogram underContract #100298until 4:30 p.m. Day-light Savings timeand Mountain Timeon Monday, Janu-ary 25, 2008 at theoffice of the TownAdministrator, 401Wildcat Dr., An-thony, Texas 79821at which time andplace all will beopened and readaloud.

Bids are invitedupon the severalitems and quanti-ties of work as fol-lows:Three homes willbe rehabilitated in-cluding, roofs,walls, doors, ceil-ings, plumbing,electrical, flooringand related items.

Contract items, in-cluding drawingsand technical speci-fications are avail-able at the office ofthe Town Adminis-trator, Town of An-thony, Texas79821.

Copies of the Con-tract Documentsmay be obtained atthe Town of An-thony for each setof documents.

Building contractorsare to submit astatement of quali-fications includingat least two yearsprevious experi-ence with housingr e h a b i l i t a t i o nprojects, TexasResidential Con-struction Commis-sion (TRCC) li-cense, insuranceand bonding ifavailable and re-quired. At leastthree references

from previoushomeowners, sub-contractors andsuppliers will be re-quired to allow thetown to reviewqualifications.

The Contractormust ensure thatemployees/appli-cants for employ-ment are not dis-criminated againstbecause of race,color, sex, or na-tional origin.

The Town of An-thony is an Affirma-tive Action andEqual OpportunityEmployer and en-courages Histori-cally UnderutilizedBusinesses to sub-mit proposals.

The Town of An-thony reserves theright of reject any orall bids or to waiveany informality inbidding.

Published thisWednesday, Janu-ary 16, 2008

Art Franco, Mayor________________________

Town ofHorizon City

PUBLICNOTICE

During the Regu-lar Council Meet-ing on Tuesday,January 8, 2008the Town of Hori-zon City Councilapproved the fol-l o w i n gordinance(s):

ORDINANCE NO.0163

AMENDMENTNO. 006

Section I

WHEREAS, an or-dinance was en-acted on the 25thday of September.2007, whichadopted a budgetfor the fiscal year ofOctober 1, 2007 toSeptember 30,2008 for the Townof Horizon City, and

WHEREAS, it isnow necessary toamend said budgetfor items not previ-ously considered,

BE IT ORDAINEDBY THE TOWNCOUNCIL OF THETOWN OF HORI-ZON CITY, TEXAS,

THAT:

The following fundsare to be trans-ferred as follows:

From: Acct.# 400615Prior Year Excess$200.00

To: Acct. # 400605Miscellaneous Rev-enue$200.00

Explanation: Torecord previousyears unspent allo-cated amount forthe 2006 ChristmasParty.

The following fundsare to be trans-ferred as follows:

From: Acct.# 400615Prior Year Excess$352,938.00

To: Acct. # 500818C o n t i n g e n c i e s$352,938.00

Explanation: Torecord the prioryear difference be-tween expenseamounts budgetedand expenses actu-ally spent.

Ordinances are al-ways available forviewing or copyingupon request fromthe City Clerk atTown Hall, 14999Darrington Road,Horizon City, Texas,Monday throughFriday from 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. or call915-852-1046.

Karen EllefsonCity Clerk

WTCC: 01-17-08__________________________________

SOCORROINDEPENDENT

SCHOOLDISTRICT

Invitation toBid/Respond:

Sealed bids/pro-posals/CSP to fur-nish the District withthe following prod-ucts and/or ser-vices will be ac-cepted at the fol-lowing times:

FRIDAYJANUARY 25,

2007

MUSICALINSTRUMENTS

CSP NO.199-0125-8038

ACCEPTED

UNTIL10:30 A.M.

SUNSCREENCANOPIESCSP NO.

199-1203-8013 RBACCEPTED

UNTIL2:00 P.M.

Proposals will bereceived at Busi-ness ServicesDept., 12300Eastlake Drive, ElPaso, Texas 79928until the specifiedtimes. Detailedspecifications areavailable from theabove office be-tween 8 a.m. and 4p.m. Mondaysthrough Fridays.WTCC-01/17/08________________________

BUILDINGSUPPLIES

STEELBUILDINGS

Choose your size.Up to 50% off forspecial advertisingdiscounts! One perlocation. Can erect.(915) 525-4897.WTCC- 01/17/08________________________

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HEALTH

Free DIABETESinformation work-shop. Sat., Jan. 19from 10 a.m. tonoon. AnthonyUnited MethodistChurch FellowshipHall. 101 FranklinST., Anthony, TX.Information given inEnglish and Span-ish by a nurse prac-titioner specializingin diabetes.________________________

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Houses for sale. Nodown, low interst,financing available.Carlos Aguilar, Bro-ker, Realtor. 857-3374 or 269-1251.________________________

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I am available toclean your home,pet-sit or run er-rands. Please callPatty between8a.m. and 6 p.m. at852-3228.________________________

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and insured foryour protection.

Classified Adsers, “are handicapped by having boobs.”

During a broadcast in 1990, former GreenPacker player Max McGee said that HerschelWalker ran, “like he’s just stole a watermelonheadin’ south.”

Former CBS football commentator,Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder, was fired formaking the remarks, “During the slave pe-riod, the slave owner would breed his bigblack with his big woman so that he wouldhave a big black kid — that’s where it allstarted.”

And then there were the remarks of DomImus, describing the Rutgers women basket-ball players as, “… some nappy-headedho’s.”

Of course, the I-Man was fired.There are many more examples of

announcer’s “mouths gone wild”, and youwould think that today’s broadcasters wouldlearn by the mistakes of the past.

But I guess they don’tCase in point, last week the Golf Channel’s

The El Dorado girls swim team brought home the first placetrophy from the Odessa Invitational Swim Meet. Held on Dec.8, both the 20-girl and 16-boy Aztec teams coached by JohnHaddox Jr., placed in the top five. The girls team won first

place after scoring 256 points while boys team placed fourth with 198 points.“All their practice and discipline really paid off for the Aztecs,” said SISD Superintendent

Dr. Sylvia P. Atkinson. “It’s great to see our students reap the rewards for their hard work.”“Our girls finished first out of ten teams and beat out the second place team by more than

100 points. The boys finished 4th this year. They did really well and I’m proud of them,”coach John Haddox.

Taking first place in their races were Shenti Estrada, Angela Worsham, Marcela Erives,Kimberley Azcarate in the 200 Medley Relay. The team of Marcela Erives, Paula Erives,Kayla Hartford, Shenti Estrada took 1st place in 400 Free Relay and Marcela Erives in the200 Individual Medley.

“Our last race was really intense,” said Junior Kayla Hartford. “We won by only a touch.”“The 400 Free Relay team was seeded fourth and was not expected to win,” add Coach

Haddox. “This win was a big exclamation point on the tournament.”Kimberley Azcarte took second place in the 50 Freestyle and third in the 100 Freestyle while

teammates Erives took second in the 100 Butterfly and Shenti Estrada took 2nd place in 100Backstroke. Joel Rodriguezalso posted a 2nd place inthe100 Freestyle. The relayteam of Paula Erives, AngelaWorsham, Kayla Hartford,Kimberley Azcarate took 2ndplace in 200 Free Relay.

With 3rd place wins areKayla Hartford in the 100Butterfly, Shenti Estrada inthe 500 Freestyle, and An-gela Worsham in the 100Breaststroke. For the boysteam, Jesus Hernandez, Os-car Lopez, Eric Rosales, andJoel Rodriguez took 3rdplace in the 200 Free Relay.

“We are a young team, weare only in our 5th year inprogram. We have a lot offreshmen and sophomores,”said Coach Haddox. “Theyhave improved a lot andthey are one of the bestteams in El Paso.”

“It’s really good to see our

SISD swimmers take first at Odessa InvitationalBy Irma Flores

Special to the Courier

— Photo by Stacy Hendrick/SISD

400 FREE RELAY WINNERS — From left are Paula Erives(fr.), Marcela Erives (sr.), Shenti Estrada (fr.) and Kayla Hart-ford (jr.) from El Dorado High School.See SWIMMERS, Page 8

January 17, 2008 Page 7WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

King Super Crossword

ComixOUT ON A LIMB By Gary Kopervas

AMBER WAVES By Dave T. Phipps

THE SPATS By Jeff Pickering

R.F.D. By Mike Marland

By Don FloodA new study says that men are

now happier than women.Women will say: Of course, they

have us.Men will say: Hey, it’s not our

fault women aren’t happy. Theyhave us.

But I wondered about why menare happier.

Could it be that men, as a whole,have matured; that they havelearned to take a calmer, more rea-soned approach to life — an ap-proach that focuses more on theirspiritual and psychological needsrather than the emptiness of chas-ing material possessions?

Or could it be those cool newflat-screen TVs?

And don’t get me started on HDTV. It’s just incredible… and an-other perfectly acceptable path to-ward enlightenment.

The study also noted that menmight be happier because “sincethe 1960s, men have gradually cutback of tasks they dislike.”

Women, on the other hand, “arespending more time doing thingsthey don’t enjoy.”

Well, duh! What are men sup-posed to do if women refuse to helpthemselves?

As that TV pitchwoman used tosay (actually, shout): “Stop the In-sanity!”

Another area of American lifewhere insanity rules is eating. (No,really?)

Consider this real-live headlinefrom Men’s Health: “What if badfat isn’t so bad?”

According to the article, no one’sever proved that saturated fatcauses heart disease.

Are you kidding me?This is like the surgeon general

calling a press conference, light-ing up a smoke and announcing,“You know, no one’s actuallyproven a link between cigarettes

Here’s to good health and bad fatand lung cancer.”

I know this because I livedthrough the Great Saturated-FatPopcorn Scare of 1983. Youngerreaders may be shocked, but I re-call a time when movie theaterpopcorn wasn’t considered junkfood. I’d polish off a tub or twoand congratulate myself on myhealthy eating habits.

Then came word that movie the-ater popcorn was so bad for you,so incredibly unhealthy, that it wasa wonder that heart surgeons didn’thang out at the Cineplex handingout business cards.

To back up its heretical headline,the article discussed the men of theMasai tribe in Kenya, who live ona diet of red meat, whole milk andenormous tubs of movie theaterpopcorn.

OK, scratch the popcorn part,but the rest is true. They live on adiet so bad by the standards ofAmerica’s health experts that youcould get arrested for serving it inSan Francisco.

(True fact: San Francisco’smayor recently advocated charginga fee to stores that sell sugary so-das as a way, as The New YorkTimes put it, “to trim the city’swaistline,” which has gotten big-ger and now spills over the city’sbelt. Also, the city’s collective buttis looking pretty big too.)

And yet the Masai are close tophysical perfection, tall and leanwith some of the “lowest levels ofcholesterol ever recorded and werevirtually free of heart disease.”

Obviously, American men havesomething very important to learnfrom the Masai men — namelyhow we can we can eat the foodwe love and stay healthy while at-taining a state of spiritual onenesswith our flat-screen TV.______________________________________________________(c) 2008 King Features Synd., Inc.

dflood287@comcast.net

TOWNS-PEOPLEACROSS

1 Beauty spot 5 Relative of PDQ 9 Wattle’s partner 13 Grating 18 Schipa solo 19 Actor O’Shea 20 One of “The ThreeSisters” 21 Kind of roof 22 Pianist fromMaine? 25 Pearl harbor? 26 Assert 27 Lascivious look 28 Leatherworker’stool 30 _ -Cat (winterwheels) 31 Cover 33 Talk-show hostfrom Colorado? 39 Nineveh native 44 Tibia 45 Miami’s county 46 Railroad dep. 47 _ rug 49 Verve 51 Kim of “True Grit” 55 Singer fromArkansas? 59 Hamlet’s home 62 “There’s _ OutTonight” (’61 hit) 63 Smidgen 64 “Heaven’s _” (’80film)

65 Distress 66 Philosopher Blaise 69 Deadly septet 72 Antipollution grp. 73 Sportscaster Allen 74 Actress fromAlabama? 79 “Pshaw!” 82 Lennon’s lady 83 Trifling 84 Pencil production 87 Orthodontists’ org. 88 Helicopter sound 89 Link letters? 91 Western lake 93 Friday’s rank 95 Pitcher from Ohio? 99 Crow’s toe100 Sign of sainthood102 Parent103 Sundial numeral104 Eliot’s “_ Bede”107 Emulates Simon109 Lost one’s balance112 Drummer fromVirginia?117 Finished first118 Mary of “Sons andLovers”119 Start to cry?120 Provokes123 Specks127 Theater district130 Actor fromPennsylvania?135 Poet Sidney136 Depend (on)137 What have you

138 Anita Looscomedy139 Satin quality140 Wagon part141 Say it isn’t so142 RN’s workplace

DOWN 1 Cohn or Connelly 2 Spoken 3 Tenor Luis 4 Far and away 5 Brenneman orLinker 6 Doorway part 7 Opposite ofaweather 8 Might 9 John _ Passos 10 Cockpit fig. 11 Actor Tognazzi 12 Trite 13 Flicka’s food 14 Jarreau andJolson 15 Role for Dustin 16 Pool person 17 Biblical tyrant 21 Lively dance 23 Kuwaiti kingpin 24 Author Murdoch 29 Cotton clump 32 AnthropologistFossey 34 “The Way of Love”singer 35 Metric measure 36 _ bind

37 Rocker Van Halen 38 Estrange 39 Hammett hound 40 “The Bristol _” (’61hit) 41 Apia’s locale 42 Exist 43 Tree house? 48 Embarrass 50 Mideastern desert 52 “… where thebuffalo _” 53 Cheeseboardchoice 54 Roar 56 Actor Mostel 57 Formerly 58 Abhorrence 60 _ lazuli 61 Celery serving 67 Hilo hello 68 Russianrevolutionary 70 Vane dir. 71 Get sidetracked 75 Jay of “Dennis theMenace” 76 Murcia mister 77 “Why don’t we?” 78 “L’_, c’est moi” 79 Express 80 Notion 81 Hindman orHolliman 85 Cathedral feature 86 Comedian Mandel 88 Darling child 90 Chad and Jeremy

song, e.g. 92 “Idylls of the King”character 94 Stimulus 95 Burrowing critter 96 Jerky toy? 97 Angus’ uh-uh 98 Expanded101 Hibachi residue105 Shady spot106 “O Sole _”108 Cut a cuticle110 Taj Mahal, for one111 TV’s “Eight Is _”112 Knots113 Bathsheba’s firsthusband114 Patriot Silas115 Mongoose foe116 Like a prune121 Kitchen addition122 Loony Laurel124 Bananarama, e.g.125 Souffle ingredients126 Freighter or ferry128 Taradiddle129 Decimal base131 King’s handle?132 Herriot title start133 Salon supply134 Furtive

Answer Page 3

Page 8 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER January 17, 2008

Social Security Q&A By Ray Vigil

SISD teams winning in so manydifferent sports,” said SISDBoard President Charles E.Garcia. “These athletes are topnotch and their coaches deservea pat on the back for the time andeffort they put into helping thesekids succeed.”

SwimmersFrom Page 6______________________

Answer Page 3

El Dorado High School’s wrestlingteam practiced through the holidaysto prepare for their first trip to thestate wrestling tournament thismonth. The 20-member team sur-prised area wrestlers by taking firstplace in the El Paso Dual Champi-onship. El Dorado seniors also re-ceived top honors by taking firstplace in their respective divisions.Team captains Carlos Anguiano andAndrew Aguilar are ranked first inthe 135 and 189 weight classes.

“It’s no surprise to us that the ElDorado wrestlers are going to state,”said SISD Superintendent Dr. Sylvia

El Dorado wrestlers win tourney, go to StateP. Atkinson. “Their determinationwill serve them well against the topteams in Texas.”

The team’s first round match wasagainst the undefeated HanksKnights which were ranked first city-wide. After defeating Hanks 42 to 32,the Aztecs went on to defeat Chapin36 to 33 and then defeat Eastwood41 to 33. Going into the competition,the El Dorado team was seeded last.

“It was a great tournament for thekids,” said Coach Freddy Flores. “Wewrestled against Hanks in the firstround and it was the toughest roundfor us, but the kids stepped it up andwon.”

“The most important thing is thewinning attitude of the students andtheir coach,” said SISD Board Presi-

dent Charles E. Garcia. “I wish themwell in Dallas.”

Flores said the team will head to Dal-las to participate in the state tournamenton Jan. 18 and 19. For Anguiano andAguilar, the final results and newrankings caught them off guard.

“I expected to be in the top three,but not really expecting to be rankedfirst,” said Anguiano who will bemaking his first trip to the state com-petition. “It was really competitive,but we all pulled through.”

“I didn’t expect to be ranked, but Ihad to try,” said Aguilar. “It feelsgood to be going to state. I hope togo far and take first place.”

Anguiano and Aguilar have beenin the wrestling program at El Doradofor all four years under Coach Flores.

— Photo by Jennifer Huber/SISD

El Dorado wrestler Carlos Anguiano uses the “Guillotine” to subdue his opponent.

— Photo by Stacy Hendrick/SISD

El Dorado wrestler Andrew Aguilar took control of his opponent at the Andress wrestling tournament.

By Irma FloresSpecial to the Courier

Audrey Vasquez, Kaylee Vasquezand Amanda Veliz.

“It was awesome,” said seniorBryanna Porras. “It was kind ofshock. We went through a lot of littlechallenges to get here.”

“It was a great experience and agreat way to top off our senior year,”

Lopez and Jesse Bustamante. Theyare coached by Aida Mata.

“All team members worked manylong days as we prepared for thiscompetition. We worked extra hardto improve every skill and learn ahigh skill level routine. With heartand determination we accepted ev-ery challenge that came our way,”said Mata. “We are proud of our ac-complishments and wish to congratu-late Montwood High School on a jobwell done!”

Cheer squadFrom Page 6______________________

said Marissa Diaz-De Leon.It’s really a tribute to our seniors who

worked so hard,” said Price of the sixseniors who make up the team. “Theentire team’s enthusiasm was over-whelming. This is something theywanted and worked hard for. They arean amazing group of young ladies.”

The Americas High SchoolCheerleading team also participatedin National Cheerleading Competi-tion and took third place in the Var-sity Non-Building category. Team

members are: Ashlie Mena, ClarissaAcosta, Magaly Tarango, KelseyRivera, Desiree Grajeda, PamelaNajera, Adriana Chavez, AndreaMoore, Jasmin Duque, IsabelVillalva, Vanessa Gonzalez, AlexDom”nguez, Desi Lopez, CarleeBarton, Stephanie Dominguez,Lauren Blackwell, Danika Romero,Kimberly Guzman, Sarah Simental,Heather Paz, Janene Rojas, MarisolVasquez, Michael Morales, MarceloManriquez, Tomas Rivera, Matthew

Q: I have worked the loading dockall my life. But recurring back prob-lems have become so bad that I can-not lift the heavy boxes any more.Can I apply for Social Security dis-ability benefits?

A: Yes. You can qualify for disabilitybenefits for any impairment or com-bination of disabling conditions if theyare found to be so severe that they keepyou from doing any substantial workfor at least a year, or if they are ex-pected to result in death. But while youcan apply for benefits, you also shouldknow that for Social Security, your dis-ability must be so severe that it pre-vents you from doing any kind of workyou’re suited to. If there is other workthat you can do, your claim might notbe approved. Learn more by visitingour website at www.socialsecurity.gov,or call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

Q: I’ll be visiting my parents. They’vebeen asking me to help them withtheir retirement plans. I know SocialSecurity will be closed, but is there

any way I can help them out over thelong weekend?

A: Yes — our website,w w w . s o c i a l s e c u r i t y . g o v /onlineservices, is ready to assist you.You can visit our online retirementplanners to help them find out their fullretirement ages and information tohelp them determine when the time isright to apply for benefits. And if thattime is now, you can even help themcomplete and submit their applicationfor retirement benefits online. Thereare a number of things you can do us-ing our online services, including or-dering a Social Security Statement andfinding the nearest Social Security of-fice. Just visit www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices to get started.______________________________________________________For more information on any of the ques-tions listed above, visit our website atwww.socialsecurity.gov or call us at 1-800-772-1213. If you have any questionsthat you would like to have answered,please mail them to the Social SecurityOffice, 11111 Gateway West, Attn: RayVigil, El Paso, Texas 79935.