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-Austin, TX
In a highly anticipated decision which has been awaited by some for over a decade and has been opposed by a large contingent of Maverick County residents, The Texas Railroad Commission has approved a strip mine which will be located approximately six miles north of Eagle Pass in the Thompson Road sector of Maverick County. A delegation which included Eagle Pass Mayor ramsey English-Cantú and County Judge David Saucedo were present and were even given the opportunity to make final statements publicly on the issue before the decision was officially handed down. The decision came down just before 3:00 P.M. and of the three commissioners present at the hearing, the votes cast were two for, one against. The Dos Republicas Coal Partnership, which is based in Mexico, will begin mining coal within the next twelve months and will subsequently be transporting via rail to power plants in Nava, Coahuila where it will be transferred to be incinerated and used for power, according to permit application documents filed at the Railroad Commission. Despite efforts by local dignitaries who attended the hearings in Austin on Tuesday as well as by an adamant local committee who attended countless public hearings on the matter, the commission chose to grant permits to the Mexican-US group, who has been seeking permission to mine since at least 1993. One of the leaders of the Maverick County Environmental & Public Health Association, George Baxter, was constantly in the public eye opposing the project citing proximity to residential areas and posed health risks to residents. Baxter made his concerns known to both City Council and Commissioner's Court on several occasions with his committee members en masse, attempting to gain support from public officials in this matter also producing evidence that similar projects in Mexico have caused irreparable damage to the environment and in the surrounding areas around the mines. Dos Republicas spokesman Rudy Rodriguez, who has been in Austin attempting to garner a favorable decision for his associates and has assured the commission that Dos Republicas would adhere to any and all EPA guidelines along with state mandates and regulations in order to insure the people of Eagle Pass and Maverick County, has argued that this would not be the case, especially on the United States side of the border. Conversely, project would provide quite a significant amount of jobs and would boost the local economy in many ways. Diana Sanchez, a member of the MCE&PHA, informed the News Gram that their fight is not over and that their attorneys will in fact be filing an appeal to the decision.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
On Saturday at noon, the auction was held of the projects exhibited in the 2013 Maverick County Junior Livestock Show at the Maverick County Showbarn. Grand Champions in the various categories were as follows: Roland Rodriguez was awarded Grand Champion Steer and his project sold at a whopping $11,000.00 and was purchased by the Dos Republicas Coal Mining Partnership. It is the second year in a row that Dos Republicas wins the bidding war for the Grand Champion Steer. The Grand Champion Lamb was awarded to perennial grand champion Ernest Molina, who has an impressive collection of grand champion belt buckles from across the great State of Texas and who will be attending Texas A&M University next fall. Molina's project sold for $5,250.00 to Ancira Ford. General Manager Werner Johnson was on hand to be photographed with Molina and his Grand Champion project. Molina is a senior at CC Winn High School.
A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
As the one million plus in attendance at the historic second inauguration of President Barack Obama gazed at the dais which symbolically rose above eye level at one of the most historic events in American history, a nostalgic freshman congressman was also taking it all in for his family, his state and for all of us, his newest constituents on a cool, winter day in our nation's capital.
"As I stood on the dais watching, and having the opportunity to be so close to what will be one of the greatest moments in history, I had to think of my parents and grandparents," stated The Honorable Pete Gallego, newly elected US Congressman, "And what a great country we live in, we really have come a long way."
Staff
-Eagle Pass
A train was derailed this Friday morning in the Thompson Rd. area in northern Eagle Pass. The train engine had apparently fallen of the tracks as it passed.
Both Fire department and Sheriff's department were on scene to lend a hand and fortunately there were no injuries reported as part of the incident. The train was headed out of Eagle Pass at approximately 6:30 a.m. when the derailment was reported and left the train engine at a decline tilted off of the tracks. A special crane was used to lift the engine and secure it properly onto the tracks. Due to the incident traffic on the track was halted for a matter of hours and was resumed at around noon on Friday. Employees from Union Pacific are responsible for reviewing the causes of the accident.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
According to the Federal Court in Del Rio, four Maverick County residents, two of which have been detained since October, plead guilty in re-arraignment proceedings held on Thursday.
According to federal sources, Alejandra Garcia, ex-employee for the Maverick County Auditor's office, Eduardo Rene Rodriguez and Jaime Flores, both of whom worked in Precinct , 1and David Gelacio all plead guilty and now await sentencing.
Garcia declared herself guilty of one charge of bribery as she was in charge of paying contractors for the County. She is free on bond and is awaiting her date to be sentenced as well as restitution on bail money.
Flores, brother of Commissioner Cesar Flores, also plead guilty of one count of theft.
Rodriguez plead guilty on one charge of bribery as well. According to the federal accusation, Rodriguez was an intermediary between the county and contractors and would tell contractors how much to bid followed by the delivery of bribes to commissioners.
Staff
-Eagle Pass
Director of Human Resources Jesus Costilla informed The News Gram that as of Wednesday, Cesar Flores, a teacher with the EPISD is suspended with pay pending the result of the criminal charges facing him in US Federal Court. Flores is currently serving as County Commissioner of Precinct 4 and on Thursday of last week he was formally charged with having received kickbacks and bribes in a bid rigging scheme in Maverick County. According to EPISD authorities, this procedure is part of school policy and it is applied to all employees facing such legal situations and it is temporary until Flores takes care of any and all legal matters facing him in Federal Court in Del Rio. Flores, along with Eliaz Maldonado and Rudy Heredia are facing similar charges according to the US Department of Justice. He has been working for the school district for 14 years at CC Win High School while also serving as County Commissioner of Precinct 4.
Maria from Edinburgh was at the right machine at the right time when she hit the Betty Boop mega jackpot for $1,220,501.00!
Staff
-Eagle Pass
Dora Madera has been named Justice of the Peace of Precinct 2 in substitution of Cesar Perez who was suspended by order of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct last week. Maverick County Judge David Saucedo informed The News Gram that he had spoken to Madera about the appointment and she was called in on Tuesday to be sworn in. Madera is familiar with the function of said office as she has previously worked for JP Tere Melendrez in Precinct 4. She even ran for the position three years ago and lost to Perez in that election. According to sources, Madera will remain in said position until Perez' legal matters are cleared and if and when he is permitted to return.
Department of Justice
United States Attorney's Office
Western District of Texas
In Del Rio this morning, a federal grand jury indicted Maverick County Precinct Two Commissioner Rodolfo
Bainet Heredia, age 54, of Eagle Pass, Texas, in connection with an alleged bribery, kickback and bid-rigging
scheme, announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Armando
Fernandez.
The federal grand jury indictment charges Heredia with six counts of receiving a bribe and one count of paying
a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. The indictment alleges that in 2010 and 2011,
Heredia manipulated the bidding process to guarantee that contractors he chose would be awarded Maverick
County construction contracts. Those contractors deposited the checks issued to them by Maverick County and
then made cash payments to Heredia. According to the indictment, the private contractors submitted inflated
bids to Maverick County in order to ensure the availability of sufficient funds to perform the construction work,
make a profit, and also to pay the bribe to Heredia. The indictment further alleges that Heredia gave benefits to
a county employee to guarantee that checks were issued to the contractors involved in this scheme.
Upon conviction, Heredia faces up to ten years in federal prison on each count. Heredia remains in custody
following his arrest in October of last year on federal money laundering and bulk cash smuggling charges. A
trial on those charges is scheduled for April 16, 2013. No court dates have been scheduled in connection with
today’s indictment.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department
of Public Safety. Individuals who have first-hand information about corruption, fraud, or bribery related to
Maverick County are urged to contact the FBI at (210) 225-6741.
Assistant United States Attorney Michael Galdo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is
presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Senator Carlos Uresti has written a letter to the Texas Railroad Commission on behalf of the citizens of Maverick County, urging the Commission to deny the permit application being made by Dos Republicas Coal Partnership to operate an open pit coal mine here. In doing this, the Senator is trying to protect us against the air contamination and the pollution of our drinking water supply which would result if the mire becomes a reality.
If allowed to operate, this mine would be located on Thompson Road, only three miles from Eagle Pass city limits and only one mile from Deer Run Subdivision and Pete Gallego elementary school. It would be 10 square miles in size and would operate 24/7, creating a constant source of dust pollution from the mine itself and off of the 150 car coal train that would pass through the center of town every day, en route to Mexico. The mine would discharge all its wastewater into Elm Creek and then into the Rio Grande, upriver of the city water intake. All the coal mine will be shipped to Mexico to be burned for electric power generation there. Texas will receive no energy benefit from this mine, only all the adverse consequences.
The Railroad Commission is scheduled to make its final decision on this permit application on January 29. In addition to Senator Uresti, Representative Poncho Nevarez and Congressman Pete Gallego have also expressed their strong opposition to this mine.