BEST AVAILABLE COPY a Thursday, September 25. 2003 THE MONITOR, McAllen, Texas OBITUARIES DEATH NOTICES RIO GRANDE CITY Elida Valadez, 68, died Wednesday, 24, 2003, at Edinburg Regional Hospital. Hernandez Funeral Home of Rio Grande City is in charge of funeral arrangements. ELSA Linda Rubio Ramirez, 53, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003, at her residence.
La Blanca Kountry Funeral home is in charge of funeral arrangements. McALLEN Claire Gautreau died Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003, at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston. Kreidler Funeral Home Inc.
of McAllen is in charge of funeral arrangements. EDINBURG Maria Garcia Alvarez died Sept. 22, 2003, at McAllen Medical Center. Gonzalez Funeral Home of Edinburg is in charge of funeral arrangements. FUNERALS TODAY WESLACO Funeral Mass for Eudelia Roman will be at 1 10 a.m.
today, Sept. 25, 2003, at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Weslaco. Burial will be at Highland Memorial Park in Weslaco. Hawkins Funeral Home of Weslaco is in charge of arrangements.
ELSA Funeral services for Simona Hernandez will be at 2 p.m. today, Sept. 25, 2003, at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. Burial will be at.
Highland Memorial Park. Guerra Funeral MEDICAL continued from page 1C Participants who pass a test administered by the Texas Department of Health are certified: as registered nurse assistants and patient care assistants. The job doors these certificates open only pay $6 to $10, but many academy members GARZA continued from page 1C holiday; how to wrap a gift professionally; and how to make beautiful bows. Among the door prizes will be a sewing machine donated by Singer Professional Sewing Center of McAllen. For more information, call the Texas Cooperative Extension office at 383-1026.
Making items to sell at the Holiday Expo will be a smallscale operation for Erica. She was inspired to teach herself to sew after seeing all the beautiful items the Master Clothing Volunteers were making. She admits she doesn't have the patience to make clothing and prefers making accessories and decorative items for the home, such as curtains and pillowcases. She gets a lot of satisfaction from making beautiful items to sell from bags of scraps that her husband calls "trash." "When I see the bag, I see money," she said. About three years ago, Erica was asked to teach a sewing class for children.
Now she is a faithful volunteer with the Texas Cooperative Extension and at her children's school, Elementary. Home of Weslaco is in charge of arrangements. McALLEN Memorial services for Betsy Pohler will be at 6 p.m. today, Sept. 25, 2003, at the First Free Will Baptist Church of Weslaco.
Kreidler Funeral Home Inc. of McAllen is in charge of arrangements. OBITUARIES MARGARITO "CUATE" MORIN MISSION Margarito "Cuate" Morin, 52, entered into eternal rest on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003, at Rio Grande Regional Hospital. Born in McAllen, Mr.
Morin was disabled and had previously been a retired meat processor. Mr. Morin is preceded in death by his parents, Matias and Maria Morin; and a nephew, Lance Cpl. Jorge Morin. He is survived by his loving wife Raquel Cardona Morin of Mission; his children Danny, Crystal and Michael Morin all of Mission; two stepdaughters Carolina Huante of Edinburg and Leticia Morales continue their medical studies in colleges and universities to become registered nurses and radiologists, Marshall said.
"It is good that the students are exposed to the medical field at such a young she said. Gonzalez received her registered nurse assistant certificate last school year, and is on schedule to receive her patient care assistant cer- "That's when my life began to change," she said. Erica got married when she was 17. Her ambition at the time was to be a wife and mother. "That was my background.
It was OK with me at the time," she said. But once the housework was done, she spent the hours brooding. "I felt that something was missing," she said. Volunteer work got'her out of the house and involved in the community, she said. Sewing took her mind off her problems.
At about the same time, a friend helped her spiritually. The hundreds of other volunteers she associates with daily through the two groups feed her soul. Greeting people warmly turns on their inner light, she said. As much as she loves her volunteer work and new business prospects, her family comes first, she said. One of her goals has been to make her husband proud of her.
Erica and other Master Clothing Volunteers have been participating in a series of homebased business workshops at the Texas Cooperative Extension office. They have learned about the types of financing available for small businesses, business of McAllen; three sisters Celia Morin, Maria Elena Morin and Adelina Lomas all of McAllen; five brothers Baldemar (Sylvia) Morin of Edinburg, Armando Morin and Abel Montes both of McAllen, Ruben (Delia) Montes and Jose (Leticia) Montes all of Mission; and three grandchildren. Visitations began on Wednesday, September 24, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a 7 p.m.
rosary recited at Ceballos Funeral Home of McAllen. A funeral Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated today, September 25, 2003. at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church of McAllen.
Burial will follow at Valley Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the care of Ceballos Funeral Home of McAllen. ANTONIA MOLINA ZAMORA GRULLA, Texas Antonia "Tonita" Molina Zamora, 94, born in Grulla, Texas, on Nov. 6, 1908, died Tuesday, Sept. 23, tificate by June.
She plans to enroll at STCC next year and major in X-ray technology. She wants be an X-ray technician or maybe a nurse. "I feel at home in the hospital." Gonzalez said. Bobby Wilson covers Mission and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4423.
psychology, customer service and creating a business plan. This series of business-related workshops is being funded by the United Way. Erica said she particularly enjoyed an activity in which participants were asked to make a collage of pictures that appealed to them for their shape, color or message. Without knowing that the purpose of the exercise was to identify possible job interests, her poster captured a snapshot of her life and shows her interest in design. Her poster had a home, a fireplace, beds and a sturdy wooden chair.
"This chair represents my husband. It is the main character in my life. Of course, my daughters, too. But my daughters will leave. That chair will be with me long after." Erica smiled as she told how her husband recently rolled over in bed to face her and sleepily told her, "I'm proud of you." "I won the lottery when I married my husband.
It is rare that a person wins the lottery twice," she said. Nora N. Garza is a County Extension Agent with the Texas Cooperative Extension. She can reached by e-mail at n- Kevin Associated Press LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL Galveston police officer Jerry Netherton looks at two custom motorcycles built by Big Dog Motorcycles of Wichita, as vendors set up for the Lone Star Rally on Wednesday in Galveston. Organizers expect more than 20,000 bikers for the event that runs through Sunday.
OBITUARIES 2003, at the McAllen Medical Center of McAllen. She was preceded in death by her husband, Floridor Zamora; a daughter at infancy, Rosalva Zamora; her parents, Julio Molina and Felicitas Longoria Lopez; her stepfather, Felix Vela Lopez; and one brother, Domingo T. Lopez. She is survived by one son, Floridor Zamora Jr. of Grulla; nieces and nephews, Juan Luis Lopez (Linda) of Rio Grande City and Gilberto Lopez (Pat) of Corpus Christi; grandniece, Sharon Rodriguez (Roel) of Rio Grande City; and grandnephew John Lopez Jr.
(Johanna) of Rio Grande City. Mrs. Zamora was a member of a pioneer family and from the land grant belonging to Juan Longoria. She made the best ice cones (raspas) in South Texas. The family of Antonia would like to thank Doctor Luis Arango, Dr.
Luis Bay and the staff of 5 East at the McAllen Medical Center and a very special thanks to a good friend, Janie Duarte also Melton's family from Lynn, Ind. Visitation will be from 1 to 10 p.m. today, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003, with a 7 p.m. rosary.
Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 26, 2003, at the Holy Family Catholic Church of Grulla. Burial will follow at the Grulla Cemetery (old Cemetery) of Grulla. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Sanchez Funeral Home of Rio Grande City.
MARIA GONZALEZ SANTA MARGARITA, Texas Maria Gonzalez, 96, passed away Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003, at Starr County Memorial Hospital. She was born in Santa Margarita, Texas, on January 10, 1907, to Luis Gonzalez and Antonia Garza. Mrs. Gonzalez is survived by her sons, Herberto, Hector and Reynaldo; daughters, Bertha and Maria Ramona; three sisters, Ignacia G.
Mendiola, Elida G. Garcia and Amanda G. and 30 grandchildren. Visitation was held from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, Sept.
22, 2003, with a rosary recited the same evening. A second visitation was held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a 7 p.m. rosary.
Funeral Mass was held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Texas. Burial was at Cemetery in Texas.
Hernandez Funeral Home of Rio Grande City is in charge of arrangements. BLANCA BEA BROWN MISSION Blanca Bea Brown, 71, entered eternal rest on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003, at Mission Hospital. She was preceded in death by her husband, Louis O. Brown; and four children, Rebecca Jesus: Serapio and Juan She is survived by nine children, Irma (Angel) Delgado of Mission, Gilberto (Mary) of Cosmo, N.M., Maria: Soccoro (Jesus) Salinas of McAllen, Guadalupe Castillo and Raquel (Luis) Estrada of Raymondville, N.M., Blanca Bella (Jose) Mejia of Willmar, N.M., Jose Luis of Mission, Senaida (Eric) Parrish of Panama City, Fla.
and Maria Luisa (Edward) Elizondo of Lubbock; 46 grandchildren and 38 great -grandchildren. A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today, Sept. 25, 2003, at Flores Funeral Chapel. Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 26, 2003, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mission. Interment will follow at Valley Memorial Gardens in McAllen. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Flores Funeral Home of Mission. NOTICE: Death notices and funeral announcements are provided free of charge by The Monitor as a public service.
For families who want a complete story, including photograph, an obituary is available for a nominal charge. Information will be accepted only from an established funeral home. The deadline is 2 p.m. daily. For information on obituaries and billing, call Yoli Garza at 683-4453.
LM Associated Press New York real estate heir Robert Durst stands during a break in his trial on Wednesday in Galveston. Durst is on trial for the Sept. 28, 2001, murder of his neighbor, Morris Black, 71. Defense attorney says Durst will testify at his murder trial HOUSTON Cross-dressing New York real estate heir Robert Durst plans to testify at his trial that he didn't murder his elderly neighbor, a defense attorney said in court Wednesday. The revelation came from lead defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin while he made a motion to state District Judge Susan Criss to allow the jury to visit the crime scene, a low-rent Galveston apartment house where Durst and 71-year-old Morris Black lived across the hall from each other.
Durst, 60, had rented his apartment under the guise of a mute woman. Criss said the crime scene look probably would take place once the prosecution rested its case. Prosecutors contend Durst intentionally murdered Black THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and then tried to hide his crime by cutting up the body, and throwing the parts in Galveston Bay. But defense attorneys claim Black accidentally was shot after he and Durst struggled over a gun. They contend Black was in Durst's apartment illegally and their client feared for his life because his neighbor was a violent man obsessed with guns.
On Wednesday, jurors heard testimony detailing how Black's body parts were found September 2001 in trash bags floating in the bay. An officer testified how trash inside the bags, including a newspaper with an address label, led investigators to the apartment house Police there found a handgun, believed to be the murder weapon, and a shell casing inside a trash can and receipts which led them to Durst. ONLINE stand in line, they can (renew) over the Internet." continued from page 1C Only those who have night," Barrera said in a press release. The service began this week after the local officials worked with the state to add Hidalgo County to the Internet service provided by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), said Hidalgo County Auto License Motor Vehicle Manager Arnold Morin. "Other counties have had it for about a year, but we just hadn't been able to initiate it," Morin said.
"Finally, we got the word this week, so we started this week. "Any person that has a computer and they don't want to Jurors also were shown photographs of Black's body parts. The victim's head, however, never has been found. Durst has pleaded innocent by reason of self-defense and accident. Durst, whose family owns The Durst Organization, a privately held billion-dollar New York company, faces from five to 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.
He came to Galveston after the investigation "into the unsolved disappearance of his former wife, Kathleen, 21 years ago in New York was reopened. After Durst was arrested for Black's slaying, he jumped bond and was a fugitive for six weeks before being arrested again in Pennsylvania for shoplifting a $5 hoagie and some bandages in November 2001. received a registration renewal notice in the mail from TxDOT will be able to renew online, though, and only within 90 days after receiving the notice, Barrera said. Customers who use the site will need a credit card to pay the fee for the sticker. Also, a $3 charge will be added for a convenience and mail-processing charge.
The Web site should help customers who might not have time during the day to renew their sticker, Morin said, as well as alleviate long waits at the motor vehicle office. Lines have been growing at the office, as the number of registered vehicles in the county continues to grow, with more than 14,000 additional vehicles registered in the past two years, Morin said. With more than 238,000 registered vehicles, Hidalgo County has the seventh highest volume in the state. "The county has grown tremendously," Morin said. "At the end of the month, sometimes (drivers) will stand in line for more than an hour.
"This should help us tremendously, because the customers won't have to come and stand in line." Juan Ozuna covers Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at 683-4437..
