San Antonio

The calf scramble was held, February 19 at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. 4-H and FFA youth competed for $800 certificates to purchase breeding animals to exhibit in the 2014 San Antonio Junior Livestock Show. Twelve certificates were awarded this afternoon to those who caught a calf! One such winner was Jose G. Chapa from Eagle Pass, Texas. Chapa is 15 years old and his hobbies include playing football, working out and showing! With his winnings from this afternoon’s performance, he is undecided as to what animal to purchase for next year. In pursuit of its mission “Helping Youth Today So That Agriculture Can Grow Tomorrow,” the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo has committed more than $123 million to youth education since 1984.

A.D. Ibarra -

Eagle Pass

The lights go down, a spotlight focuses on the model making her way down the catwalk in a stunningly luminescent cocktail dress which catches the light and makes an impact on the audience as she strikes a pose to the sounds of cameras clicking and flashes lighting up the stage. Does this sound like the latest fashions from Paris being put on display in front of the world's leading fashion experts in Milan? Well if you do a quick double take, the fabulous dress being worn by the model is not Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera, Anthony Vaccarello, Marc Jacobs or even Prada, it is the latest in cutting edge fashion and made of unusable materials. No it is not the latest hip designer in fashion, the dress is literally made of recycled trash and recyclable materials. As you can see from the accompanying picture, Eagle Pass waste has never looked so good and the talented designers who have come up with these styles are students from Eagle Pass High School. Ruth Zamarripa, a parent of one of the designers, informed The News Gram that the public in general is invited to attend a fashion show at Eagle Pass High School on Saturday, February 23rd at the Eagle Pass High School High School Auditorium. Her son, Aaron, has shown a flare for design and has even caught the interests of Disney and they hope he has a future in the world of fashion and design. What is most important is the fact that Zamarripa is using materials found lying around the house such as used plastic bottles, newspaper, and materials such as these to create his interesting clothing which will be proudly on display this Saturday. If you wish to be the first to see what's sure to be this season's hit and possibly even the next big thing on youtube or even on CNN Style, you need to come out and see it first hand.

Staff -Austin, TX

A group of local authorities from Eagle Pass and Maverick County returned to Eagle Pass after visiting the state capitol where they had audiences with State Senators and Representatives on Eagle Pass Day, February 20th. Authorities stated that they were able to meet with State Representative Alfonso Nevarez and Senator Carlos Uresti among others. School district and Hospital District personnel were also on hand. Their intentions were to seek out benefits and resources for projects in and around Eagle Pass and all along the border. School district personnel were looking for resources to be able to implement programs which will elevate academics in our schools and better prepare students. For example, the EPISD is seeing a large influx of students who are coming in directly from Mexico enrolling in our public schools and have severe language development problems which need to be addressed. The most recent cuts in education about two years ago have affected districts across the state like the EPISD and they are seeking to replenish those funds.