OCTOBER - 2007VOLUME LIV

A Publication of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development CouncilThe Valley’s Regional Economic Development District and Council of Governments

A Publication of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development CouncilThe Valley’s Regional Economic Development District and Council of Governments

LRGVDC TransitServices Now OfferingBus Advertising

LRGVDC Transit Services is now offering busadvertising on the transit systems: Rio Metro, RioTransit, and Harlingen Express.

Bus advertising is a powerful medium forpromoting your advertising campaigns reaching amassive audience across the tri-county area, wherethe people of the valley work, live and play.

Bus advertising is everywhere and will deliveryour company’s message up to 13 hours a day 5/6days a week.

Our goal is to be a leader in outdoor advertisingby applying the highest standards of excellence tothe provision and delivery of our product andservices at prices our customers can afford.

Advantages of Bus Advertising:• Increase sales• Increase brand/product awareness• Promotion of special offers / events• Educational• Targets the right customers for

your business• Exciting and head turning visual messages• Shorter lead times for campaigns• Various packages to suit your business

of any size.

At the LRGVDC we take pride in our excellentcustomer service. We listen carefully to the needs ofour customers and offer packages to suit both businessand budget requirements. For further details checkour website at www.lrgvdc.org or contact Ken Jonesat 956-682-3481.

Get more mileage out of your advertising!

PROGRAMSPOTLIGHT: AreaAgency on Aging

The Area Agency on Aging (AAoA) is one ofeight departments of the Lower Rio Grande ValleyDevelopment Council (LRGVDC). In 1981 the TexasDepartment on Aging designated the LRGVDC asthe Lower Rio Grande Valley Area Agency on Aging.Prior to 1981 the Governor’s Committee on Agingprovided the original designation in 1974. The AAoAis also one in over 650 area agencies on aging acrossthe country in addition to over 230 Indian tribes underTitle VI of the older Americans Act.

The AAoA is mandated as the focal point forindividuals aged 60 and over to ensure that the dignityand independence of older Americans in their ownhomes is maintained and to provide an opportunityto contribute to their communities. The 2000Amendments to the Older Americans Act addedanother mandate. This mandate is to provide supportto family caregivers who are providinguncompensated care to an older relative or anindividual suffering from Alzheimers or relatedcondition.

The AAoA performs three important activities forpersons aged 60 and over in the Region; 1) advocateson behalf of all older persons; 2) identifies the needsof the elderly; and, 3) creates an Area Plan that detailshow the AAoA will plan, coordinate, and poolresources in order to develop a comprehensive andcoordinated system of support services which enablepersons aged 60 and over to maintain theirindependence and dignity in their own homes or inthe least restrictive environment and provides neededrespite to family caregivers. The AAoA is also anadvocate for older individuals residing in a nursinghome.

(continued on page 2)

22(continued from page 1)

At the core of the Area Agency on Aging is the accessand assistance component that assists older persons to accessservices. The access and assistance component consists ofcase management, benefits counseling, information, referraland assistance, caregiver support and long-term careombudsman program.

Case Management: The program provides the older personand the potential caregiver with a consistent advocate whowill assess needs and coordinate the necessary informationand acquire the needed support.

Benefits Counseling: The Benefits Counseling programprovides both legal awareness and legal assistance to olderindividuals and caregivers on available programs underMedicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs.

Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program: The programserves as “an advocate for Nursing Facility Residents” in theLower Rio Grande Valley. Staff and volunteers are speciallytrained and certified to advocate for quality of care and qualityof life for residents in nursing homes.

Information, Referral and Assistance: Providesinformation about services in the community such astransportation, income assistance, housing, employment,caregiver support, respite care, adult day care, support groups,and other social service programs and benefits.

Caregiver Information Services: Disseminatesinformation for informal caregivers, grandparents or relativescaring for children 18 years of age and under; and the public,through publications, large group presentations, seminars,health fairs and mass media. Additionally, the developmentof informational resources for use in the dissemination ofaccurate, timely and relevant caregiver information is acomponent of this service.

Foster Grandparent Program: The Foster GrandparentProgram provides a way for persons aged 60 and over, whoseincomes are limited, to serve as support to children and youthwith exceptional needs. The program currently has 59 olderpersons as Foster Grandparents that are assigned in areas suchas headstart centers and local schools providing neededsupport to children.

The AAoA also contracts with local providers andmunicipalities for nutrition and support services. Congregatemeals are provided to older persons through a network of 32nutrition sites, and Home Delivered meals are provided tohomebound seniors. Senior center operation is provided tofive centers. Transportation services provided to and fromnutrition sites and senior centers are supported by Title III. A

new program was initiated in 2007 that provides seniors withhealth education regarding healthy lifestyles that includesmedication management, medication compliance, andprevention of alcohol abuse. In addition to these contracts,the AAoA maintains a vendor pool of over 90 vendors thatcase managers utilize to purchase services for their clientsbased on their identified need.

The Area Agency on Aging has two offices. The mainoffice in McAllen is housed with the LRGVDC in the oldMcAllen City Hall, and the satellite office is located inHarlingen. The McAllen office can be reached at 956-682-3481 or 1-800-365-6131. The Harlingen office can be reachedat 956-412-0958.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Oneof Eight Communities Acrossthe Country to Participate inHealth Initiative

The Valley has been selected to participate as one of eightcommunities across the country in this initiative. The otherareas include Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles,California; Miami, Florida; New York City, New York; SanAntonio, Texas; and San Diego, California. There are fivenational partners supporting the initiative: the Agency ofHealthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS), the Health Resources and ServicesAdministration, and the Administration of Aging. The localArea Agencies on Aging from the targeted communities werethe only eligible entities to submit an application forconsideration. The LRGVDC Area Agency on Agingsubmitted its application for consideration and was selected.The main issue to be addressed by the local partners is diabetesamong the elderly and encouraging seniors to take advantageof the preventive services covered by Medicare. These servicesinclude flu and pneumonia shots.

Aging Well in the Lower RioGrande Valley Health Fair

The Foster Grandparent Program and the Elder RightsDivision of the Area Agency on Aging collaborated to sponsorthe Third Annual Healthy Aging Well event at the PharrConvention Center on Thursday, September 19, 2007. Over225 seniors from senior centers and adult day care centersattended the event. Twenty exhibitors were on hand providinga wealth of information on resources, helpful hints to live

3healthy, along with providing glucose and blood pressurereadings. A dance contest was held as a way to promoteexercise. The judges for the dance contest were Will Ripley,Channel 5 morning news co-anchor, Aurora (Nana) Aguirre,of the Charlie Clark TV commercials, and Scott Brasseaux,Marketing Director with Texas Healthsprings. This programwould not have been possible without the support of all thesponsors that provided refreshments, snacks, and food for theparticipants. Both the Foster Grandparent Program and theElder Rights Division are under the LRGVDC Area Agencyon Aging.

LRGVDC Regional TrainingCenter is Gearing Up

The Regional Training Center is gearing up to provide avariety of training topics of interest to cities, counties,businesses and the general public. The Center will assist inlocating and providing training to entities in areas such asFirst Aid and CPR Certification, Citizens Corps, Open RecordsRequirements for Local Government, EmergencyManagement Plan Formulation, Disaster Response Plans forCitizens and Business, continuing education for LawEnforcement Officers and much more.

Public entities, businesses or individuals requestingassistance with any training needs are encouraged to callSandra Boyd at 956-682-3481.

Back to Back GraduationCeremonies Bring outFamilies and Friends

The LRGVDC Regional Police Academy held thegraduation ceremonies for the 118th and 119th Basic PeaceOfficer Academies this month.

The 118th BPOC held their graduation ceremony on the13th of September in Harlingen at the La Sierra Event Center.Willacy County District Judge Migdalia Lopez and Capt. J.Reyna of the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department sharedguest speaker honors addressing over 400 family and friendssharing the festivities with 29 graduates.

The119th BPOC celebrated graduation on September 20that the Los Alcatrases Event Center in Mission. More than 200family members, friends, honored guests, dignitariesrepresenting several LRGV law enforcement, Federal lawenforcement and area Fire Departments were treated toMariachi music in addition to State Representative Armando“Mando” Martinez as the guest speaker for the ceremony. Atotal of 24 cadets received certificates during the ceremony.

Both cadet classes produced videos shown during thefestivities depicting highlights of their academy experiences.Graduating cadets now prepare to take the Texas Commissionon Law Enforcement Standards and Education licensing examand upon successfully passing the exam will move on toemployment throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

State Officials RecognizeLRGV Area’s $3.2Million in Grant Awards

The Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA)recognized several Lower Rio Grande Valley Entities for theefforts and contributions to their communities. The ceremonialcheck presentation took place at the Lower Rio Grande ValleyDevelopment Council (LRGVDC) Board of Directors’Meeting held at Weslaco City Hall on Thursday, September25, 2007. Grant recipients, legislators, local county and cityofficials were present at the event. A total of eleven (11) checkswere presented for a total dollar amount of $3,297,671. Grantrecipients are listed below:

Cameron County - $500,000Cameron County - $289,860.Hidalgo County - $342,000.Hidalgo county - $329,037.Hidalgo County - $97,614.City of La Feria - $289,860.City of Indian Lake - $289,860City of Los Fresnos - $289,860.City of Primera - $289,860.City of Raymondville - $289,860.City of Rio Hondo - $289,860.

Jaime Garza, Case Manager, providing informationabout services to the elderly and caregivers.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Development CouncilBoard of Directors 2007-2008

Executive CommitteeHonorable Norma G. Garcia PresidentMember-at-LargeMr. Arturo Ramirez 1st Vice PresidentGrassroots OrganizationsCommissioner John Ingram 2nd Vice PresidentCity of McAllenMayor Chris Boswell SecretaryCity of HarlingenMayor Pro-Tem Alvin Samano TreasurerMember-at-LargeCommissioner Sylvia Handy Immediate Past PresidentHidalgo County

Contacts For LRGVDC Administered ProgramsKenneth N. Jones, Jr.Executive DirectorAnna HernandezDirector, Human ResourcesJoe GonzálezDirector, Area Agency on AgingAndrew CanonDirector, Hidalgo County MPOJuan GomezDirector, 9-1-1 Services

Ann LylesDirector, FinanceTerrie SalinasDirector, Economic DevelopmentSandra BoydDirector,Regional Training CenterManuel FloresDirector, Transit ServicesManuel CruzDirector, Homeland Security

REGIONAL PURSUITSREGIONAL PURSUITS is the newsletter published bythe LRGVDC. This publication is financed in partthrough funding assistance from State and Federal grants.REGIONAL PURSUITS is available without cost andinquires should be directed to:

Ken Jones, Executive DirectorLower Rio Grande Valley Development Council

311 N. 15th St., McAllen, Texas 78501-4705E-Mail- info@lrgvdc.org • website - www.lrgvdc.org

(956) 682-3481 • Fax (956) 631-4670

Mission Statement“ENCOURAGE AND PERMIT LOCALUNITS OF GOVERNMENT TO JOIN ANDCOOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER ANDWITH REPRESENTATIVES OFMAJOR ECONOMIC INTERESTS, CITIZENGROUPS AND GROUPS EXPERIENCINGECONOMIC DISTRESS TO IMPROVE THEHEALTH, SAFETY AND GENERALWELFARE OF THEIR CITIZENS AND TOPLAN FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTOF THE REGION”

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 31McALLEN, TX

78501

4PDQ! PRINTING

Lower Rio Grande ValleyDevelopment Council

311 N. 15th ST. • McAllen, TX 78501-4705

Printed on Recycled Paper

Remaining Board MembersCommissioner Edna Tamayo Cameron CountyCommissioner Emilio Vera, Jr. Willacy CountyCommissioner Victor Perez City of AlamoMayor Pro-Tem Carlos A. Cisneros City of BrownsvilleMayor Silvestre Garcia City of CombesMayor Ricardo L. Morales City of DonnaCouncil Member Gus Garcia City of EdinburgMayor Steve Brewer City of La FeriaMayor Joel Quintanilla City of MercedesMayor Norberto “Beto” Salinas City of MissionMayor Leo “Polo” Palacios, Jr. City of PharrMayor Orlando Correa City of RaymondvilleMayor Joe Hernandez City of San BenitoMayor Pro-Tem Eddie Rodriguez City of San JuanMayor Buddy de la Rosa City of WeslacoDr. J. Gilbert Leal, President T.S.T.C.Mr. Manuel Rivera PSJA I.S.D.Mr. Gale Armstrong, Manager El Jardin Water Supply CorporationMr. Michael G. Wilson, Manager Port Mansfield PUB * Willacy Co. Navigation Dist.Mr. Don Medina Member-at-Large