LA JOYA – School administrators announced recently that all elementary and middle schools will have school uniforms.

At the elementary school level, the uniform will consist of red polo-style shirt. Administrators will be allowing a red spirit shirt to be worn on Fridays only, officials said recently in a news release.  

“The uniform concept has worked well at the middle school level,” said La Joya Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Alda T. Benavides.

All middle schools will continue to have a school uniform in place. Benavides said middle schools have had uniforms for five years. Depending on which middle school a child attends, the colors may consist of red, white, black or grey polo-style shirt and blue or black denim pants, shorts and/or skirts.

“It has halted a lot of discipline problems,” Benavides said. “We feel elementary schools would benefit from this, too. It helps to deemphasize gang activities.”

For more information, call the elementary or middle school your child will be attending next school year. Any individual campus, including an alternative campus, may elect to establish and implement requirements for mandatory school uniforms to improve students’ self-esteem, reduce ethnic/racial tensions, bridge socioeconomic differences among students, and promote positive behavior, thereby enhancing school safety and improving the learning environment, district officials said. 

By Dona Fair

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del.—After an unexpected knock at the front door or a phone call, for the family and friends of service members who pay the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country, the painful process of grieving begins.

For the son of a Mission couple, the painful task of identifying the remains, scanning for unexploded ordinances, performing an autopsy, and preparing each service member for burial in a casket chosen by the family for the final trip home begins.

Navy Chief Petty Officer William R. Montague, son of Ed and Rae-Ann Montague of Sunset Blvd., Mission, and the other civilian and military members who work at the 70,000-square-foot, Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, are tasked with making sure that the remains of every service member is treated with dignity, honor, and respect.

Montague is assigned to the mortuary as a mortician. "I provide professional guidance to casualty officers, family members, and commands on technical mortuary issues, movement of all fallen Navy and Marine Corps service members. As a licensed mortician in the state of Texas, I have the technical expertise to do embalming and funeral arrangements and explain all Navy mortuary benefits," said Montague. "I also make sure that uniforms are available for every Navy and Marine deceased service member."

Before the remains are taken to the mortuary for preparation for their final resting place, they are honored for giving their lives in the service of our country by what is called a dignified transfer.

The dignified transfer begins when the fallen military member is returned to Dover, usually within 24 to 36 hours after their death. It is here, along the flightline and out of the sight of the media, where family members are allowed to witness the transfer.

The dignified transfer is a solemn, precision movement of the transfer case by a carry team of military personnel from the fallen member's respective service. Always conducted the same, a senior ranking officer of the fallen member's service oversees each transfer. The transfers are conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country.

"There is only one opportunity to get it right in order to ensure family satisfaction under these difficult times. Attention to detail is never more important when doing everything necessary to return these fallen service members home with honor, dignity, and respect," said Montague, who graduated in 1982 from Valley Christian High School, and in 1984 from the Commonwealth College of Mortuary Service, Houston.

Beginning with the Persian Gulf War in 1991, a moratorium was placed on media access to cover dignified transfers. The policy was reissued in 2001 when Operation Enduring Freedom began, and again in 2003 for all military operations. Since 2001, more than 4,000 dignified transfers have taken place.

Because of the moratorium, few people are aware that Mortuary Affairs exists, and what their role is in preparing the remains of a fallen hero before being returned to their loved ones.

"Our mission is to provide exemplary mortuary affairs services and support whenever possible, while proving care, compassion, and support to each and every family member and command as necessary," said Montague who has been in the military for more than 17 years.

Stretched budget results in new life for old buses

MISSION – A tight budget situation at Mission Consolidated Independent School District has forced the district to halt the practice of purchasing five school buses a year to replace older school buses. 

Combined with the opening of two new schools and the creation of more bus routes this past school year and the district’s transportation department was pushed to its limits.  

Transportation department administrators have been busy trying to find ways to streamline their operations and become more efficient in an effort to save money, according to a press release from the school district. During this process, they found a way to increase the district’s bus fleet by four buses this year, without purchasing any new buses. In fact, the district will be able to do this for about the cost of only one brand new bus.

“We have been trying to figure out a way to get more use out of a number of buses that would normally be retired,” said Carlos Lerma, Mission CISD transportation director. “We discovered that we had several buses that were good candidates for refurbishing. This would enable us to get several more good years of service out of the buses for a fraction of the cost of purchasing new buses. Then, as we looked into the process, we realized we have the expertise to do the refurbishing ourselves and save even more money.”

Lerma said it costs the district about $87,000 to purchase a new bus. The nearest refurbishing company in Texas would charge about $35,000, plus there would be the expense of getting the bus to and from the company. Depending upon the exact needs of a bus, the district transportation department can refurbish a bus for about $25,000.  

Lerma said the refurbishing process would address all aspects of the bus and its systems in order to make sure they remain as safe as they were when they were new. The refurbished buses will actually be more comfortable for students because air conditioning will be added. Most of the district’s older buses do not currently have air conditioning.

“Being able to reclaim these four buses this year will make a huge difference for us,” Lerma said.  “It will mean we won’t need to have as many of our buses making multiple runs to service  a school. Often times, this results in buses running late for the junior high and high school students. Since the refurbishment will include overhauling engines and transmissions, it will also mean fewer headaches when we have to conduct preventive maintenance or repairs to our buses.”

The district currently has a bus fleet of 71 buses. Eight of them are currently on the replacement list due to their age and condition. Officials plan to reclaim four of the buses this summer through the in-house refurbishing at a total cost of about $100,000. This would be at least $40,000 cheaper than using an outside firm for the work and at least $248,000 cheaper than purchasing four new buses. Lerma expects to be able to get at least another five years of use out of the refurbished buses, some of which have more than 20 years of service on them already.