A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

Sacred Heart Church culminated its 'The Living Way of the Cross' event on Friday as a congregation of parishioners dramatized the Way of Sorrows, which personifies the fourteen stations which marked the final act of Christ on Earth as a mortal man.

The event began at 2:00 P.M. on the corner of Williams and Travis and wound its way to La Lomita, the area adjacent to the church marked visually by the three crosses which stand proudly on the hill overlooking the garden outside the Priest's quarters on the grounds of Sacred Heart Church.

We recall that the crosses were built back in 2001 and donated by Eagle Pass High School CC Winn Campus and elaborated by the students in Hassen Moses' welding classes to be used especially for this event each year. 

The part of Jesus was played by Adrian Hernandez and the part of mary was played by Yajaira Ibañez.

A communion service was held at 3:00 P.M. immediately following the Via Crucis.  A second reading of the Via Crucis was held inside the church at 7:00 P.M.

Via Crucis; also called the  Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply, The Way) is a series of artistic representations, very often sculptural, depicting Christ Carrying the Cross to his crucifixion in the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus before he died, and the devotions using that series to commemorate the Passion, often moving physically around a set of stations. It may be done at any time, but is most commonly done during the Season of  Lent, especially on Good Friday and on Friday evenings during Lent. 

Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death. Station 2: Jesus carries the cross. Station 3: Jesus falls the first time. Station 4: Jesus meets his mother. Station 5: Simon helps Jesus carry the cross. Station 6: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Station 7: Jesus falls the second time. Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. Station 9: Jesus falls the third time. Station 10: Jesus' clothes are taken away. Station 11: Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross. Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross. Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross. Station 14: Jesus is laid in the tomb.

A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

Commissioner of Precinct 2 Daniela Aleman will be attending a workshop this week in order to somehow reduce the incredible amount of discarded tires which has been stockpiling for many years.

Should one go out to the isolated patch of land adjacent to the Maverick County Fairgrounds, you would be shocked as the amount of tires found there.

Commissioner Aleman has a crew of workers from her precinct, Precinct 1 and Precinct 3 working on organizing the massive mountain of rubber which was piling higher and higher every day.

"If we wanted to send them off to be disposed of, it would cost the county approximately $1,500.00 for every 800 tires," stated Aleman, "We have anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 tires out there, do the math.  We can save the county $30,000 to $60,000 by processing them ourselves."

Commissioner Aleman informed The News Gram of the need to establish a more efficient system which won't be as expensive.

"First of all, a system must be in place in order for us to get the necessary help to reduce the amount of unwanted tires in our county, stated the commissioner, "We must create a system that will provide the accountability in order to meet TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) requirements."

"If we had the stack the way it was, TCEQ would fine us $10,000.00 a day because it would've been considered an illegal stockpile," as the stockpile was over twenty feet tall at one point before they started separating the tires by category.

What is being considered is a manifest system, a way to calculate how many tires are coming into the area, a document which determines tonnage for record keeping.

City of EP to receive an $833,000 lump sum

City Attorney gives details on proposed lease agreement 

With GSA for International Bridge II Admin. Bldg.

A News Gram Exclusive

A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

City Attorney Eddie Morales graciously informed The News Gram of the details surrounding the long-awaited lease agreement with GSA (General Services Administration) the federal body governing federal projects which coincide with municipal entities housing government facilities.

Essentially, we got a brief history lesson on how the Camino Real International Bridge began to be built back in the late 1990's, an agreement, which has officials wondering how and why the details actually went down back then, to have the city be responsible for the construction of the facility, for a lease amount of $1 a year for the first ten years which were up on July of 2010, plus details on an agreement which took many months to years to agree on a fair market value for the lease of the property on which the Administration Building sits.

The presidential permit back then which called for the city to build the administration building, the dog kennels and the canopies for the facility for the $1 a year lease agreement, was established in the late 1990's when Eagle Pass jumped from 12th on the bridge building list of the federal  government to 2nd or 3rd.

Cut to 2013 as City administration and Morales awaited the resolution of the agreement which we now know will pay the city a lump sum amount of $833,000.00 for the period of July 2010 to May 2013 on or around may 31st of this year.

What was also agreed was the amount of $172,000.00 per year for the lease of the land on which the building sits.

These welcomed revenues are in addition to the funds generated by tolls which run in the millions.

"we're finalizing these documents now with GSA," stated Morales who added, "Once we donate the 40 acres, the deal will be in place and we can finally move forward."

Department of Justice

United States Attorney’s Office

Western District of Texas

In Del Rio, 62-year-old Jose Luis Aguilar of Eagle Pass, TX, faces up to five years in federal prison after

pleading guilty this morning to aiding and abetting bulk cash smuggling announced United States Attorney

Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez.

Appearing before United States District Judge Alia Moses, Aguilar admitted that on January 4, 2011, he and codefendant,

28-year-old David Gelacio, brought a total of $13,000 in U.S. Currency from Mexico through the

Eagle Pass Port of Entry without declaring it to federal authorities. According to the factual basis filed in the

case, Aguilar was carrying $7,000; Gelacio, $6,000. Aguilar also admitted that the money was the proceeds

from selling a Ford truck owned by former Maverick County Precinct 2 Commissioner and co-defendant

Rodolfo Heredia to individuals associated with the Los Zetas Cartel in Piedras Negras, Mexico. At the behest

of Heredia, Aguilar had sold the truck in Mexico. The factual basis further states that after selling the truck,

Heredia did not want Aguilar to declare the money to law enforcement when he entered the United States. So,

he sent Gelacio to assist Aguilar in transporting the money from Mexico into the United States. Aguilar

admitted that he knew he was assisting Heredia in his efforts to smuggle the funds back into the United States

without having to declare the funds to the appropriate authorities.

Aguilar and Gelacio have remained in custody since their arrest in October 2012. Sentencing for Aguilar has

yet to be scheduled. On January 24, 2013, Gelacio pleaded guilty to the same charge. Gelacio, who faces up to

five years in federal prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2013. Heredia is currently scheduled for

jury selection on May 21, 2013.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department

of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Galdo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the

Government.