MISSION — The addition of the new Hollis Rutledge Sr. Park located on Inspiration Road just north of the Mile 2 Line Road, provides even more outdoor space to assure that residents are all able to enjoy a higher quality of life no matter where in the city they live.

Scheduled to open in December, construction on the eight-acre tract is underway with restrooms and lighting already built and installed. Parks Director Julian Gonzalez said Rutledge Park would be a zone park, meaning it will have more facilities than a neighborhood park, but less than the new regional park located at 1801 S. Inspiration Rd.  The park will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Read more: Mission parks adding to quality of life

ALTON — The Jensen Environmental Team, or JET Club, with the help of the City of Alton, is promoting recycling at school.

To get the program started this year, the students visited with Tony Garza, recycling coordinator for Alton and the earth, or the city’s recycling mascot, HERO (Helping Earth Recover Resources).

The students were able to view a presentation about recycling to learn about what can and cannot be recycled.

Garza told the students that the items they collect have to be clean. Pizza boxes that have the grease and cheese from the pizza on them cannot be recycled. Drinking bottles and other items need to be rinsed as well or they cannot be recycled.

Read more: SISD’s Jessie Jensen Elem. promotes recycling

MISSION — In four years, high school athletes scrape the ceiling of glory and plumb the depths of defeat. High school football, as well as baseball, basketball and volleyball, are more than diversions, more than simply a thing to do on Friday night. For many athletes, they represent the apex of their sporting careers. However, once the lights are snuffed and the diplomas disseminated, what becomes of the local hero? Where do high school athletes turn when their time at glory reaches its inevitable end? For Mission native Ben Lopez, this is the moment he steps into a valuable role of helping athletes take that next step.

Lopez, a recruiter for Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO., has made it his mission to share the gifts of Rio Grande Valley athletes with the rest of the nation and, more importantly, give local athletes a chance to continue their education.

Read more: Lopez legacy one of athletics and academics

EDINBURG — Weeks after saying they didn’t want to make a selection to fill the vacancy for the new Hidalgo County Court-At-Law No. 7, Hidalgo County Commissioners selected McAllen lawyer Rolando Cantu to run the not-yet established courtroom.

Dozens of people attended Tuesday’s Commissioners’ Court to offer their support for their desired candidate who would fill the seat until the 2012 election cycle. County leaders said they wanted a judge who wouldn’t be seeking election for the seat to fill the vacancy until voters could decide whom they want as judge.

Read more: County selects court no. 7 judge

Partnership to curb drug trafficking, develop trust in La Joya

LA JOYA — The U.S. Border Patrol partnered with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, La Joya Police Department and the City of La Joya on Tuesday to develop a permanent presence in the city.

They set up camp in front of soccer fields at Garza Avenue and Military Highway. Their presence, they said, will not only help law enforcement respond faster to activity in the area, but it will develop a relationship with the communities of La Joya, Peñitas, Sullivan City and Havana, among other communities.

Read more: ‘This is not an overnight job’

For the third year, the Mission Historical Museum’s annual banquet program centered around a tribute to people who have contributed personally to Mission’s history and success over the past 30 years or longer. Seven local residents were named to the museum’s “Wall of Fame” during the event held Sept. 22 at The Club at Cimarron.

The 2011 honorees were Bill Dondlinger, former Congressman Eligio “Kika” and Lucille de la Garza, Mary Guerra, Estella Salinas, and Pat and Virginia Townsend.

Read more: MHM presents ‘Wall of Fame’ honorees

EDINBURG — Ai Nhan Ngo moved from Vietnam to earn a master’s in English as a second language at the University of Texas-Pan American last month. With her degree, Ngo plans to open a business back home teaching English to the Vietnamese.

“The economic situation in Vietnam is not great, and there is a very high need to know English there, especially if you want a good job working either with the government or international business,” Ngo said.

Ngo is among hundreds of other students that come to UTPA with an academic F1 visa to study in the United States. According to UTPA’s Office of International Admissions and Services Director Pam Chapa, there are 486 foreign students attending UTPA with an F1 visa.

Read more: A foreign education

MISSION — Junior highs at in the Sharyland Independent School District are two of 26 Texas public and private schools to receive a 2011 Blue Ribbon award from the U.S. Department of Education last week.

“When the person from (the Texas Education Agency) called in the spring about the nomination, they were actually excited,” said Superintendent Scott Owings this week. “If you look at that list, even the huge cities that have more than one, many of them are magnet campuses. I think that’s an extra feather in their cap that we’re regular public school campuses and have both of them in the same year, like, that is just really fantastic.”

Nationwide, SISD’s Sharyland North and B.L. Gray junior highs are two of over 300 recognized schools. The schools will be formally honored at an event in Washington, D.C. in November.

Read more: SISD junior highs receive Blue Ribbon honors