General Interest

“If you close your eyes and listen, you will think the Valley Symphony Orchestra is playing. They are that good!” said Cate Link, talking about the South Texas Youth Symphony. Link, who is operations manager for the Valley Symphony Orchestra, said Winter Texans will have an opportunity to hear the Youth Symphony’s Christmas Concert on Sunday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. at the Edinburg City Auditorium, located at the intersection of 7th and McIntyre.

Read more: South Texas Youth Symphony plans Sunday Christmas concert

Quinta Mazatlan will celebrate Christmas on Thursday, Dec. 13, with a Big Band Concertin the Park featuring the 18-piece Dean Canty Band. Canty is an alumnus of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. As a first trumpet he has played with Bob Hope, Julio Iglesias, Vikki Carr, Jerry Lewis and many others.

Read more: Festive Holiday Events

When Cpl. Herman “Hap” Parsons went to bed in his barracks located just a mile up from Pearl Harbor in the wee hours of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, it was the end of a very good weekend.

Read more: 'Warrior Singer': One man’s memories of Pearl Harbor, World War II and the life that came after

With a chill still hanging in air and the morning sunlight filtering through the trees, Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park/World Birding Center naturalist Roy Rodriguez looks around for stragglers to a bi-weekly guided tour.

Read more: A morning on the birding trail at Bentsen State Park

Steve Chung of Mission looked up to see a truckload of cold, wet families entering the refugee camp. He had been showing refugees from the Syrian civil war how to use the water filters he brought for them. Many in the Domiz Refugee Camp, just outside the city of Dohuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, suffer from diarrhea. Chung’s filters are vital to the prevention of the condition.

Read more: ANSWERING THE CALL: Mission men aid refugees in Kurdistan

Effective Nov. 19, Texas Social Security offices will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – a reduction of 30 minutes each weekday. In addition, beginning Jan. 2, offices will close to the public at noon every Wednesday.

Read more: Texas Social Security Offices changing hours

She looked exhausted with the dirt on her face from when she slipped in the mud while crossing the border—her baby asleep in her arms. Her two older boys stood quietly beside her as her husband, carrying their fourth child, spoke with officials. After losing his father, a brother and an uncle in the fighting in Syria, he made the decision to escape. His family’s safety was more important than protecting their house in Dargecit, Syria. And so they walked into the Domiz Refugee Camp only an hour before.

Read more: The Refugees of Domiz: Thousands flee war-torn Syria to refugee camp in Kurdistan

MISSION—The Juan Diego Academy located at 5208 S. FM 494 celebrated the ground breaking for its new multi-purpose gymnasium on Nov. 8. The new gymnasium will accommodate a variety of activities for the academy that is continuously expanding.

Read more: Ground breaking moves new gymnasium forward at Juan Diego Academy