San Benito High School Band
By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
No one, not even the Mayans could have predicted the type of year 2012 turned out to be for San Benito. Regardless, the following are the top five stories of 2012 that shook the community of San Benito, as per newspaper sales, website hits and feedback from readers.
Kicking off the annual list at number five is the Save Dolly effort fronted by San Benito Rotary President Lionel Betancourt. Save Dolly became a movement led by Betancourt and a number of volunteers to restore the Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital into working condition in hopes of attracting a buyer. The Save Dolly effort were diminished, at least according to Betancourt, when the San Benito City Commission voted unanimously to approve a $10,000 bid by Southern Counties Investment Group, LLC. “I am very disappointed,” said Betancourt in the December 5 edition of the San Benito News. “The playing field was not the same to all of the folks who wanted to do something in the health care district.” He added that the campaign might no longer be needed. “The Save Dolly program was generated to initially make the property as nice and neat as we could for prospective buyers. As it turned out, according to how it was played, it didn’t need to be cleaned. We lost, and we will get together to take down the signs. We have faded off into to the sunset.”
Powering its way to the number 4 spot on the list is that of the San Benito Lady ’Hounds powerlifting team, which brought a state title home to the Resaca City for the first time is the school’s history. The Lady ’Hounds, consisting of Alex Marmolejo, Samantha Machuca, Denise Barrera, Illeana Lopez, Emily Hernandez, Amanda Ortega, Jamie Rodriguez, and Gina Elizondo finished 18 points ahead of the second place finisher Weslaco as they sealed the state title with a total of 41 points. “We all had to get on the same page and commit to a common goal. The girls made a lot of sacrifices starting with most of them showing up at 6:30 a.m. for practice and had to endure a lot of pain and hard work. At the end of the day they had to treat this like business, work,” said former girls powerlifting coach Mike Evans. With Laura Gonzales and Jaime Vela returning, the team looks to bring another state title to San Benito in 2013. “The girls understood that there’s no ‘I’ in team but there’s an ‘I’ in win, and individually each and every one of them had to make sacrifices and individual choices that allowed San Benito to win the state championship.”
The number 3 story of 2012 is what has come to be known as the insurance letter debacle, in which San Benito CISD School Board President Yliana G. Rodriguez signed her name to a letter to drop the district’s current insurance agent, Bob Treviño Insurance Group, and immediately instate Robert Champion Jr. of Salazar Insurance Group (SIG) as the new agent two days after being re-elected in May. The action resulted in an outcry from the public, including Board Member Oscar Medrano who requested that an investigation be launched into why Rodriguez would make such a decision. Medrano’s request was later denied by Superintendent of Schools Antonio G. Limón, who said that such a request had to come from the board as a collective and not one member. The fiasco also resulted in the termination of San Benito CISD Risk Manager Janie Gonzalez, who admittedly typed the letter on district letterhead. Limón eventually reinstated Gonzalez, much to Medrano’s disapproval. “Policy has been violated in regards to the (May) letter,” said Medrano. “The public is asking what will be done, and we’ll have to discuss it with the board as a whole. If there’s any determination, then we need to know about it.”
Coming in at numero dos is the story involving the indictment of San Benito Mayor Joe H. Hernandez over the “Raspagate” scandal. Hernandez faced charges associated with an ethics complaint filed against the mayor in February. The charges levied against Hernandez included allegations of ethics violations, tampering with evidence and abuse of official capacity – all associated with the Raspagate scandal from 2011. The ethics complaint accusing Hernandez of violating a conflict of interest affidavit was filed with the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office after the San Benito City Commission, on Feb. 7, unanimously voted to defer the case to the DA. The indictment was handed down by a Cameron County Grand Jury on September 19 with Hernandez’ arraignment occurring before 445th District Judge Rolando Olvera on November 1. The federal charge against Hernandez was dropped on December 19, with misdemeanor charges hanging in the balance for up to one full year. “As far as that goes, there was no merit to that charge,” said Hernandez’s attorney Rey Rodriguez of the felony charges against his client. “The people put their trust in me by electing me as mayor,” said Hernandez in the December 23 edition of the News. “When the time comes for re-election in a year-and-a-half, I will run again. I will continue running ‘til the people say [not to run]. This is not going to get in the way.”
The top story of 2012 was that of the San Benito Mighty Greyhound Band advancing to the UIL (University Interscholastic League) State Marching Competition for the first time in school history. The band advanced after placing fourth out of 42 bands that competed in the area competition at Laredo. “It is an honor to be able to represent South Texas in the state marching contest,” said San Benito CISD Director of Bands Willie Perez in the October 31 edition of the News. “We are now the best of the best.” Perez depicted some scenes from this year’s show, saying, “At the beginning, [the show is] kind of dark and mischievous. It adds an element of paranormal to the show, which is called Behind the Door – A Paranormal Experience.” Perez added, “The music, the marching, the show, the execution, the color guard – everything fell into place this year. We knew early September that we had a really good shot.” The band traveled to San Antonio to compete in the State Marching Competition at the Alamodome on November 6, where they placed 34th.
Read this story in the Jan. 2 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
2 comments
Congratulations to the San Benito High School Greyhound Band on being named the number 1 story of 2012. Outstanding coverage by the San Benito News! Go Band!
Too bad that 2 of the top stories of 2012 made the City look stupid! (if you exclude the ‘Save Dolly’ foolishness). Read what you will into that statement.