As a group of young men, volunteers and contractors continue to painstakingly gut an old US Army supply room, which has been abandoned for over 60 years and continue to shape it into what will now become a barracks of another sort, the sweat and dust which drip from their brows are a sign of progress. Serious progress. Rodriguez along with Mark Segura, Javier Gonzalez, Eddie Fernandez, Victor Olivas and many other probation officers, volunteers, organizations, faith-based groups, area companies and many generous individuals are bringing a highly visionary and unique project to fruition.

The Border Hope Juvenile Rehabilitation Center is the brainchild of one Bruce Ballou, the new Probation Director for Maverick, Dimmit and Zavala Counties and he has come into his new position with a project which will serve this area three-fold. First, it will provide an alternative consequence for probationers who may need a little more structure, if you will, to overcome their issues. Additionally, the center will provide an income to the County as opposed to having to pay up to $85.00 of bed space per day for local youths to be sent to Val Verde or Atascosa Counties to be housed for multiple violations. And Finally, it will provide jobs for quality individuals who want to continue making a difference in the lives of troubled youths who have all of their lives ahead of them and may not see the hope of a new tomorrow. When Amanda Boggs and I arrived to the site of what will be this new center, we were immediately impressed by the conviction with which both young men who are presently serving time on probation for what could be a variety of reasons, some of which may be too much for the normal layperson to comprehend as they have made choices which may impact their young lives permanently, but according to Ballou, this may be just what some of them need to eventually straighten out their lives while receiving training which will help them lay out a path for them and their future families.

"They've made poor choices, we're just going to swing them around," states Ballou who has incorporated his skills in the art of persuasion into the completion of this vision, through the reaching out to various entities, one of which were here today, a faith-based group out of New Caney, Texas, "Some of these kids may even go to college." What Ballou is referring to is the fact that drug cartels across the Rio Grande may be recruiting some of our better kids to run drugs for them in order to avoid doing it themselves. The lure of big money may be too much for some people, however he says that even the children of more affluent families are falling into the traps of the cartels. "These kids are looking at being singled out from their alternative settings for anywhere from two to six months where they will be treated as relative inmates," he warned, "Their heads will be shaved, they will wear uniforms, it won't be pleasant. They will have 16 hour days up at 6:00 A.M. and lights out at 10:00 P.M." "We'll have vocational training in woodwork and carpentry, some minor automotive and welding. There will also be a bootcamp component for the physical training aspect of the program where the kids will workout," adds the Probation Department's visionary leader, "The we will have a one to two acre community garden which we wrote a grant for where our boys will be growing vegetables which will be donated to the local food pantry." Mario Escobar, Director of the EPISD's Discipline Alternative Education Program has also been a major proponent as well as having come up with a similar idea years ago. The building will house 18 beds, two offices, a detention facility, showers and restrooms in an open concept as they do not want to provide any walls or spaces where detainees can hide within the complex. Just beyond this will be the vocational training building which is essentially a garage in the back of the property. The County Judge from Dimmitt County has donated $9,000.00 for the concrete which will go underneath the new building which has been donated to be the 60' x 90' kitchen/cafeteria. "Mr. Ballou has been working with our kids since last year when we set up a building trades facility behind our building," Escobar informed The News Gram. He is referring to an after school program which would keep certain kids after school for violating school or probation department rules, "Some of our kids would stay until 5:00 or 6:00 P.M., others even a little later, but it helped to keep our expulsions down while giving them a trade to fall back on. This is basically Step 2 of a three-step process for juveniles. Step 1 is DAEP, Step 2 would be this Border Hope facility and Step 3 would be TYC." TYC being the closest thing to jail that juveniles could be facing if their three strikes are up. "What we want to do is to provide as many opportunities for these kids to get it right through supervision and education which is something they may be lacking in their lives," adds Escobar, "We want them to get the guidance they need for the community to have the peace of mind that everyone who needs the help will get that attention they need." The district is looking to help fund the program as well as providing teachers, computers and other resources they can to make it work and eventually grow. We are in what we call 'Building 300', directly behind us is what was once the officer's quarters, a two story building which eventually may become phase two of the complex.

Across the street, are what used to be dormitories for the enlisted men, and caddy-corner to the facility was a theatre and bowling alley along with another storage facility, so the infrastructure of what could one day be a compound is definitely available should the need arise as this facility will initially house 18. With the boys carrying sheetrock across the yard with Mr. Ballou graciously addressing our reporters while keeping a watchful eye on his charges and warning them that they would be charged eight dollars if they broke a corner of the sheets, his labor of hope is coming closer and closer to fruition and he knows that a firm hand now will mean a more promising future for the lives of these troubled individuals who only need someone to believe in them. And if the Border Hope Juvenile Rehabilitation Center is any indication of things to come, the five people who will staff the facility will be a big part of great things to come in terms of juvenile law enforcement in Maverick County. As the sounds of cracking concrete, sledgehammers, scrapers and hammers create the sounds of progress behind us, we leave behind what will in September be the most unique facility of its kind in this area and the best thing about it will be that it was made entirely through donations, volunteer work and a will to make this project see the light of day and when that day comes, all of the aforementioned individuals and groups will breathe a satisfying sigh of accomplishment and Border Hope will continue to be the talk of South Texas.