Blaze demolishes historical landmark

Cause still under investigation

By Edwina P. Garza

MISSION – The fire that destroyed the Saint Joseph and Saint Peter Seminary along Farm-to-Market Road 494 was so big that firefighters rushing to the scene could see a glow from the flames beyond the city limits, said Mission Fire Marshal Gilbert Sanchez.

The vacant building, which was built in 1912, was burnt so badly that the first and second floors collapsed into the basement, Sanchez added.

On Wednesday, the building was surrounded by yellow caution tape as investigators worked to determine what caused the fire. The Spanish-styled building, fenced off to the general public, appears hollow, and the roof tiles at the edge of the building walls are drooping at sites where others fell from the fire.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of this historical jewel,” said Bishop Raymundo J. Peña in a statement. “It is a tremendous loss not only for the Catholic faithful but for the entire Rio Grande Valley.”

For many years, the historical building was known as St. Peter’s Novitiate, named after the Oblate priest Fr. Pierre Keralum. Keralum served with the “Calvary of Christ” until his death in 1872.

The Mission Fire Department received a call about the fire from U.S. Border Patrol Agents patrolling in Madero shortly after 6 a.m.
The agents went inside the seminary’s compound to evacuate anyone in the building or the adjacent dormitories, Border Patrol officials said.

Agents located the seminary’s caretaker, and were told there were four rooms in an adjacent dormitory building being occupied by men attending the seminary. The men were located and evacuated.

Deputy Fire Chief Rene Lopez Jr. said the roof had already collapsed by the time the fire trucks arrived.

“It was basically gutted,” Lopez said.

Knowing there’d be a problem with water supply south of the city, tankers from McAllen and Palmview assisted, Lopez said. Along with Mission firefighters, a total of eight units responded to the scene, he added.

Sanchez said it took about an hour to contain the fire.

“It was a sad loss,” Lopez said. “It was a landmark. It was a big imposing building, full of mystery.”

Although there didn’t appear to be anything inside the building, everything inside has been destroyed, Sanchez said.

Along with the MFD, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators have been at the scene trying to determine the cause of the fire. Sanchez said the Diocese of Brownsville’s insurance company has also hired an outside company to investigate and determine the cause and origin of the fire.

The building was vacant and not in use, diocese officials said. For 65 years, the building was a training center for priests. In 1974, the building was leased by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate to the Tropical Texas Center for Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The Diocese of Brownsville, which acquired the property in 1999, planned to renovate the historical site. Several projects were in the works, including plans for a diocesan museum. The building was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and bore an official Texas Historical Marker. The building was constructed by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and housed their novitiate program until 1962.

Over the years when occupied, a kitchen, dining area and dormitory were built on the grounds. Later, after 1999, a chapel and faculty living quarters were added. Today, future priests for the Diocese of Brownsville begin their studies at the St. Joseph and St. Peter Junior College Seminary, church officials said.

Citizens Awards deadline nears

Mission area residents are reminded that the deadline to submit nominations for Mission’s Citizens Awards—Mr. Mission, First Lady of Mission, Man of the Year and Woman of the Year—is September 30.

Nominations may be submitted in person at the Progress Times office at 1217 N. Conway or by mail to Citizen Awards, c/o Progress Times, P.O. Box 399, Mission, Texas 78573. Nominations may also be submitted by email to awards@progresstimes.net or by fax to 956-585-2304.

Nomination forms are available at the Progress Times office and on the newspaper’s Web site: www.progresstimes.net. Forms may be requested by fax: 956-585-2304 or email: awards@progresstimes.net.

For qualifications for each award, see the Progress Times Web site, www.progresstimes.net or call the Progress Times office at 585-4893.

The awards will be presented at the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce banquet in October.

Last year’s honorees for the awards were Father Roy Snipes, Mr. Mission; Luisa Ruiz, First Lady of Mission; Bill Filut, Man of thee Year; and Kathy Brown, Woman of the Year.

Alton police chief arrested on public lewdness charge

By Edwina P. Garza

MISSION — Another sex scandal involving an Alton Police Department official has temporarily left the city without a police chief.

Following the arrest of Police Chief Baldemar Flores by Mission police on Monday, Alton City Manager Jorge Arcaute has assigned Assistant Chief Enrique Sotelo to take charge in Flores’ absence.

Arcaute said Flores has taken a leave of absence until further notice.

“This office has begun an administrative inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mission Police Department’s investigation and arrest of Chief Flores,” Arcaute said in a statement.

Flores replaced Jose Luis Vela as chief in 2007 after he was accused of sexually abusing officers and fired by the city. Vela was found not guilty in that case.

It’s unclear how long Flores will be on leave. Sotelo offered no other comment on the incident. Flores could not be reached for comment.

Flores, 34, turned himself into Mission police on Monday and was charged with public lewdness, a Class A misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum jail sentence of a year and a fine not to exceed $4,000.

Mission Municipal Judge Jonathan Wehrmeister gave Flores a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.

Police arrested Flores after learning from Auto Zone store employees that Flores was seen having sex with a woman in a vehicle behind the store. The store’s manager told Mission Assistant Police Chief Martin Garza about the incident in July, court documents state.

But employees said the trysts between Flores and the woman later identified as Cynthia Garcia, 22, had been going on since 2008 behind the store at 2204 N. Conway Ave. The pair would meet about once or twice a week.

In court documents, the store manager said he saw the two having sex inside an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria police vehicle. He told police he knew the vehicle was a police vehicle because of the visible police lights. Additionally, the man told police he’d seen a marked Alton police Dodge Charger and a black Ford Expedition, also a police unit, behind the Auto Zone.

The other vehicle parked behind the store was a black four-door BMW, the report states.

Earlier this month, the store manager saw Flores on a television news program and noticed he was the same man seen engaging in sexual activities outside the store.

When the store manager caught the two again, on Sept. 4, Garza and Mission Police Chief Leo Longoria went to Auto Zone where Longoria conducted a traffic stop on the BMW, which was being driven by Garcia south of Farm-To-Market Road 495 on Stewart Road.

According to the court documents, Garcia told Longoria she was having an intimate relationship with Flores for the past year, meeting behind the Auto Zone.

Police said Garcia was also charged with public lewdness and also given a $5,000 recognizance bond.

Mission Pink 5K to help raise funds for Breast Care Center

By Edwina P. Garza

MISSION — The Mission Regional Medical Center will host its first-ever walk/run for breast cancer awareness and to raise funds for the hospital’s Breast Care Center.

The Mission Pink Walk/Run for Breast Cancer Awareness will be held on the hospital grounds on Oct. 17.

It’ll be the first event of its kind in Hidalgo County, hospital officials said.

Along with raising money for the Breast Care Center, funds will also benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. About 75 percent of the money raised will go toward the Breast Care Center.

Hospital officials said they expect hundreds of people to attend the event located off of South Bryan Road.

Approximately one in every eight women will develop breast cancer, and over 30 percent are diagnosed after the breast cancer has spread beyond the localized stage, the National Cancer Institute says.

Hospital officials said early detection, which includes mammograms, are the best way to catch cancer early.

MRMC’s Breast Cancer Center is a 1,400-square-foot facility offering mammography for both screening and diagnostic purposes with an all-female staff. They also provide stereotactic breast biopsies. Officials said the center is one of two in the Upper Rio Grande Valley to offer minor invasive breast biopsy using state of the art facilities. The facility also offers radiological interventional evaluations of the breast.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation is the leading group in the world offering breast cancer awareness. According to the group’s Web site, over $1 billion has been raised since 1982.

Komen, an Illinois woman, battled cancer for three years before dying from the disease. She endured nine different surgeries and three rounds of radiation before it had spread throughout her body.

“Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation,” the Web site states.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure group is the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to fighting breast cancer.

MRMC officials are encouraging participants to collect pledges from friends, families and co-workers; teams are also encouraged for the event.

The hospital is currently seeking sponsors for Mission Pink. There are five different sponsorship levels, starting at $500 and up to $5,000. MRMC is also seeking in-kind contributions of food, equipment rental, and other material.

For information on sponsorship, call Evelyn Sáenz or Esmeralda Ochoa at 956-323-1150.

South Padre Island Seafood and Music Festival hooks

redfish tournament and ‘Hell's Kitchen’ Chefs

The inaugural LandShark South Padre Island Seafood and Music Festival announces a new Redfish Tournament to compliment their all-star Texas music lineup. The tournament will run on Saturday September 19, in the peak of fishing season, and will launch/land at Jim's Pier on the bayside of South Padre Island.

The tournament, dubbed "Rock the Riviera," produced by Amberjack's, Jim's Pier, and The Texas Saltwater Series, will air on Fox Sports' Texas Saltwater Series television program and will award generous cash prizes as well as vacation, activity and gear packages.

The Festival, which will be held Sept. 18 and 19 at the South Padre Island Convention Center Outdoor Stages, has also added two celebrity chefs to the talent roster. Chef Coi and Chef Husbands from Fox TV's "Hells Kitchen" will be hosting food presentation clinics in the SPI Convention Center main hall several times during the festival. Festival goers can enjoy the gourmet dishes at the "Hells Kitchen Seafood Booth." Bon Appetit!

The SPI Seafood and Music Festival will feature two outdoor stages of continuous live music from Texas’ hottest acts including: Kevin Fowler, Ryan Bingham, Cory Morrow, Jason Boland, Billy Joe Shaver, Bob Schneider, Bowling for Soup, Michael Salgado, Ruben Ramos & the Mexican Revolution, Honeybrowne, Micky and the Motorcars, Vallejo, Rodney Hayden, Doug Moreland, Jake Andrews, Subrosa Union, Sisters Morales, Uncle Lucius, One Eyed Doll, The Brew, Sam Sliva and the Good, Zach Huckabee, Dremnt the End, One Step Program and many more.

A large variety of delectable seafood and sides from the coastal region’s most esteemed seafood restaurants and vendors will be available. Classic festival food fare will also be sold, including hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage on a stick, funnel cakes, turkey legs, fajitas, and more.

The event will also offer an eclectic variety of coastal and Texas art presented by Texas artisans from near and far.

A kids’ village will be an attraction, complete with a live music stage, games, and lots of activities designed specifically for the younger music aficionados. Games, rides, face painters, clowns, and balloon art will be part of the action for kids.

For those with VIP tickets, one can enjoy side stage catered VIP areas, air conditioned VIP lounges and air conditioned bathrooms.
One-day tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 at the gate. Two-day passes cost $40, advance, $50 at the gate. VIP passes are $300 advance, or $325 at the gate. Kids 8 and under get free admission. Tickets are available at www.sopadrefest.com, or call 512.389.0315.

Hours for the event are 6 p.m. – 2 a.m. Friday night, Sept. 18, and 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19.

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