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Del Rio, Texas – Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued a Central American man Sunday afternoon after finding him in distress in the middle of the Rio Grande River.
Agents assigned to the Eagle Pass North Station were patrolling the Rio Grande near downtown around 3:50 p.m. Sunday when they saw a man’s head bobbing in the water. As the man drifted under the Camino Real International Bridge, he grabbed onto a support pillar. Agents were able to make contact with the man who indicated that he was unable to make it back to the Mexican side of the river due to the swift current. Agents deployed a rescue rope from their service vehicle and were able to pull the man to safety.
The subject, a 27-year-old Salvadoran man, declined medical attention. He will be processed for return to El Salvador.
“We continue to warn of the dangers of crossing the border illegally,” said Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch, Del Rio Sector. “In this instance our agents were able to pull the man to safety. Others aren’t always so fortunate.”
During Fiscal Year 2012, Del Rio Sector agents performed a total of seven rescues. In FY13, Del Rio Sector has performed six rescues involving eight individuals.
Del Rio Border Patrol Sector is an integral part of the South Texas Campaign, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
Austin, TX -- As the last day of session, also called 'Sine Die,' looms, the legislators are scrambling to get their bills passed out of committee and Representative Poncho Nevárez is no different.
With his HB 1351, relating the authority of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) when it comes to eliminating low-producing certification or degree programs, becoming a hot topic this session, many legislators believe that this issue needs to be addressed. Last week, Senate Committee Chair on Higher Education Senator Kel Seliger used Representative Nevárez's HB 1351 language to amend SB 215 that relates to the functions of the THECB. The Senator used the HB 1351 language as an amendment on the floor of the Senate that removed the authority of the THECB to eliminate low-producing programs leaving that power to the institution's Board of Regents. It was passed unanimously.
"I am honored to work with Chairman Seliger to make sure that this issue is fully addressed and I look forward to help pass this bill in the House," Nevárez states.
Representative Nevárez has also joined forces with Representative Naomi Gonzalez from El Paso regarding bills they both have relating to residence homestead property taxes. Representative Gonzalez has filed HB 1597, relating to installment agreements for the payment of delinquent residence homestead taxes, which is germane to Nevárez's bill relating to fighting for veterans' rights to make installment payments on residence homestead taxes. As both Representatives have related bills, they have decided to collaborate and work together to ensure that both of these pieces of legislation move forward through the House.
"I am working hard to make sure the constituents of District 74 are fully supported," Nevárez adds. "I am honored that my colleagues support my ideas because it helps not only my constituents, but theirs as well. However, there is always more work to be done."
Representative Poncho Nevárez is currently serving his first term in the Texas House of Representatives. He represents District 74. He also serves on the House Culture Recreation and Tourism Committee, International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, and Rules and Resolutions Committee.
A.D. Ibarra
-San Antonio, TX
A whirlwind of emotions overcame our sister city of Brackettville over the weekend as the community is reeling over the sudden deaths of a prominent family of five, four of which were killed instantly by a tractor trailer which was driving the wrong way on a busy Alamo City thoroughfare.
The accident occurred around midnight on Highway 90 in San Antonio when the family were on their way back home after a One-Act Play competition in which Madison and Marley Koontz participated and won the Area 4 competition with their production of "Radium Gris" which was the winning production this year in District 28-A.
Their brother Zach was the only one to survive the horrendous crash which left their vehicle, a Ford Expedition, virtually unrecognizable. The young man is reportedly recovering from his injuries and is in stable condition in a San Antonio hospital.
Both Madison and Marley are being remembered by friends and fellow classmates as outgoing, kind girls who were active in school programs.
Congressman Pete Gallego (TX-23) issued the following statement in regards to the tragic death of the Koontz family.
“I join the entire Brackettville community in mourning the senseless death of the Koontz family- Ken Koontz, his wife Melissa and their two young daughters Marley and Madison who still had their whole lives ahead of them.
My thoughts and prayers are with their extended families and all of those who feel the pain of their loss. No one feels the pain more than their son, Zack - who although survived this horrific accident- will forever live with the agony of losing his family. He is foremost in my mind and in my prayers.
The Koontz family was headed back home to Brackettville from a one-act play competition in San Antonio. Many of us can relate because we routinely follow our kids to all of their events. And, many of us routinely drive along Highway 90.
However, their lives were senselessly ended when their vehicle was hit by a drunk driver. The tragedy teaches us that any day can be our last, but that time came much too soon for the Koontz family.
More than just in Brackettville, I know that our entire region - and legions of parents across the state, mourns their loss.”
The girls' parents, Melissa and Kenneth Koontz also perished in the accident and are being remembered right now as exemplary parents.
“They were superb parents,” Brackett ISD Superintendent Taylor Stephenson said. “They lived the Christian ethic and their kids modeled it for the other kids and for the community.”
Grief counselors will be at Brackett High School Monday. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.