Pharr Celebrates National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Raises Awareness Around the Community
Pharr, Texas – Pharr City leaders and employees gathered together at Monday’s city commission meeting dressed in pink to celebrate and bring awareness to National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, marking the annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease, encourage early detection, and support research to find a cure.
“We urge all women and their families to increase their knowledge about breast cancer and join us to celebrate successes and remember loved ones lost,” said Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. “This month is all about joining together to raise awareness and help with early detection,” he added.
City of Pharr leaders and employees are showing their support throughout the month by wearing pink face masks and clothing for breast cancer awareness. The city has also decorated its downtown parks with pink ribbons to honor those that are fighting against cancer.
“The City of Pharr hopes to raise awareness throughout the month-long event and we also want to encourage those going through it today and honor those who have lost their battle,” said Hernandez.
Pink ribbons will be displayed around the city throughout the month of October.
City Commission Approves Proclamation Declaring the Pharr Police Department’s Social Contract
The Pharr City Commission approved a Proclamation declaring the Pharr Police Department’s Social Contract, which outlines their responsibility in service and respect to each other, the department, and the community. Pharr Police Chief Andrew Harvey Jr. presented the proclamation to the city commission. “We are excited to present this social contract that we worked on together as a team to hold ourselves accountable and better serve our community,” said Harvey. “This is part of our journey moving forward and will help lead our department to excellence,” he added.
Pharr Sales Tax Activity Continues to Increase
City Manager Ed Wylie announced that the sales tax activity for the city of Pharr as of the month of October 2020 continues to show a positive upward trend, demonstrating a steady increase in sales activity. The City of Pharr had an increase of 4.14% year-to-date true growth compared to last year (2019) and an increase of 16.46% in collected payment compared to last October 2019.
Pharr IT Department Recognized for Winning State Excellence Award
The Pharr City Commission recognized the Pharr IT Department for winning the Excellence Award at this year’s Texas Association of Governmental Information Technology Managers (TAGITM) Conference. The IT Department won the award for the City of Pharr 911 Communications & Data Center project. According to the organization, Excellence Award winners demonstrate outstanding innovation and application of leading-edge computing or communication technologies. Candidates for Excellence Awards are nominated by TAGITM members. Winners are chosen by a committee of peers who judge nominated projects based on their impact on improving internal operations, providing exceptional customer service, or enhancing communications. “This is the first time any county or city in the Rio Grande Valley receives this award from the state,” said City Manager Ed Wylie. Pharr IT Director Jose Pena thanked the commission and also announced that for the first time, the City of Pharr IT Department was also asked to present at this year’s conference on the Pharr Parks WiFi and Surveillance Project. “Congratulations to the Pharr IT Department and staff, we are proud of your hard work and are especially excited to see you being recognized by your peers at the state level,” said Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D.
Featured Event 1: Trunk or Treat Drive-Thru – Friday, October 23, 2020, from 6 pm to 8 pm
Join us for our Trunk or Treat Drive-thru Event held on October 23rd from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the following locations!
Pharr Events Center – 3000 N. Cage Blvd. Pharr Sports Complex – 100 E. Moore Rd. Jones Box Park – 1201 W Rosa Ln.
This event will be a one-way candy bag drive-thru and will be following CDC guidelines. For more information, contact Officer Zepeda at 956-402-4765 or at [email protected]
Featured Event 2: Movies in the Park-ing Lot – Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 pm.
Join us for our Movies in the Park-ing Lot!
We will be showing The Nightmare Before Christmas! This FREE event will be on October 24, at the Pharr Events Center starting at 7:30 pm!
There will be limited parking spots so make sure you get there early!
Featured Event 3: Trail of Terror – Monday, October 26 through Friday, October 30 from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Join us for some good old family-friendly scares at our Trail of Terror!
The Trail of Terror will be happening between Monday, October 26th through Friday, October 30th at the Pharr/Vanguard Academy Nature and Birding Center from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM.
Admission is free and tickets for this event will be available for pick up starting Tuesday, October 20th, 2020 at the Pharr Memorial Library.
Face masks are required, for more information please call Parks & Recreation at (956) 402-4550.
City of Pharr Strives to Keep Citizens Safe During Voting with New Electioneering Ordinance
Pharr, Texas – Earlier this month, the City of Pharr passed Ordinance O-2020-37 regulating electioneering in city-owned or city-controlled property in order to help keep citizens and the community stay safe during voting. While the city is still allowing electioneering, individuals doing so will have to respect the city Ordinance and only do so in specified areas for safety.
“This is going to be a very busy voting period due to the General Election and we want to help keep our citizens safe not only from traffic incidents that occur in crowded voting locations but also to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez. “We are absolutely allowing electioneering but we are using our rights as a city to ensure that we safely establish order and measures to keep everyone safe,” added Hernandez.
The purpose of this Ordinance is to provide reasonable regulations for electioneering on city-owned or controlled public property when such property is used as an election polling place. The regulations have been implemented to help mitigate against any safety concerns, prevent damage to public property, and ensure that the property is sufficiently available for its patrons who use the facilities for activities other than election purposes. Voting locations in Pharr include the Jose “Pepe” Salinas Civic Center, the Development and Research Center, as well as several schools.
“Individuals are allowed to electioneer, and the city is allowed by law to restrict the time, place, and manner,” said City Attorney Patricia Rigney. “One of the reasons we have done this is because of individuals approaching vehicles which could pose a risk for injuries, accidents, or people ignoring physical distancing measures,” she added. “Electioneering is allowed only on sidewalks outside the property, not in medians or anywhere in a parking lot where vehicles are parked,” stated Rigney.
As per the new Ordinance, it is an offense for any person to engage in electioneering on the driveways, parking areas, on medians within parking areas, or driveways on the premises of a polling location. This restriction shall not apply to electioneering signs that are attached to vehicles that are lawfully parked at the premises of a polling location. Any person, firm, corporation, or entity violating this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $500.00 per occurrence.
“At the end of the day, this Ordinance is meant to protect our citizens and to ensure that voting locations, which also serve as public and school facilities, can continue to serve the public while maintaining a safe order for all,” added Hernandez. “We encourage everyone to go out and vote.”
The city has already received positive praise from the community and neighboring city leaders on their new Ordinance, which is an innovative approach to safety at voting locations. For a list of City of Pharr voting locations and to view the new electioneering designations, please visit https://old.pharr-tx.com/electioneering-ordinance/.
Electioneering designated area at the Jose “Pepe” Salinas Civic Center.
Electioneering designated area at the Development and Research Center.
Pharr Celebrates Start of the 2020-2021 Produce Season
Traditional Cutting of the Fruit – Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D., and special guests including Texas State Representative Sergio Muñoz, Jr., Chairman of the Pharr International Bridge Board Edgar Delgadillo, Vice-Chairman of the Pharr International Bridge Board Tony Martinez, and Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan participate in the ceremonial cutting of the fruit.
Pharr, Texas – City of Pharr officials and Pharr International Bridge leaders celebrated the start of the 2020-2021 Produce Season by welcoming guests to a showstopping array of brightly displayed fresh fruits and vegetables at the annual bi-national event held at the Pharr International Bridge. Guests included dignitaries and produce growers, importers, distributors, and consumers from the United States and Mexico.
“The Pharr International Bridge is the heart and soul of Pharr for economic development,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. “We are especially proud of the hard work of our bridge staff and board for the great success our port of entree continues to experience,” he continued. “We are thrilled to remain the #1 Produce Bridge in the United States, with over 65% of all produce from Mexico crossing through Pharr,” he added. “It takes a team and we have been working diligently with many partners to ensure that our bridge continues to have the infrastructure, resources, and funding to meet our future needs,” Hernandez expressed.
Mayor Hernandez and Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan both noted that Pharr is investing $40 million dollars at the port of entry for expansion and growth. Additionally, they discussed Pharr’s work with programs such as the STAC (South Texas Assets Consortium) Program, the DAP 16 (Donations Acceptance Program), the UTRGV agriculture lab and training center, and the current bridge expansion project which will add more lanes to improve the flow of traffic.
“This year we averaged 15,000-16,000 shipments of fresh produce per month at the Pharr International Bridge,” said Bazan. That is why we are the #1 produce bridge in the nation,” he continued. “This September we had our best month ever in our almost 26-year history, as we had over 120,000 crossings from the U.S. to Mexico both north and southbound,” he stated. “While we continue to face our challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are doing everything we can to ensure that our crossings continue safely, expediently, and efficiently as we continue to adapt, but there is no stopping our success,” he added.
The U.S. has consistently remained Mexico’s No.1 trading partner for produce and goods and Pharr’s ideal geographical location has resulted in not only a great partnership between the two countries, but also in the growth of their produce trading capacity. The Pharr International Bridge will be celebrating its 26th anniversary in November.
The celebration concluded with the ceremonial cutting of the fruit.
H.E.L.P., Hidalgo County and Somos Humanos Todos Contamos Raffle & Telethon for Final Census Push
Somos Humanos Todos Contamos program promotes 2020 Census
WHO: H.E.L.P. and Hidalgo County Cities of McAllen, Pharr, Mission Hispanic Star – Emperio Jewelers – Tania Ramirez Law Group – Hermes Music U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, D-15 Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson – Med Care EMS – Monarca Event Center Texas State Representative Oscar Longoria, D-35 WHAT: Somos Humanos Todos Contamos: RGV 2020 Census Raffle & Telethon WHEN: Thurs., Sept. 24, 2020 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. WHERE: McAllen Performing Arts Center, 801 Convention Center WHY: Here Everyone Loves People, (H.E.L.P.) in partnership with Hidalgo County and the Cities of McAllen; Edinburg; Pharr; and Mission will host Somos Humanos Todos Contamos Raffle & Telethon to encourage participation in the 2020 Census.
Anyone who fills out the U.S. 2020 from www.rgv2020.com will be entered in a raffle to win $10,0000, Ramon Ayala’s autographed accordions, a cruise vacation, HDTVs, and more. Winners will be announced throughout the day, with the big prizes awarded during the live telethon broadcast from the McAllen Performing Arts Center.
The broadcast will be seen throughout the day beginning at 8:00 a.m. However, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. the telethon will feature celebrity acoustic performances, including: Ramon Ayala; Pesado; Reyli; Alex Lora; and Camila, as well as interviews with local elected officials, artists and continuous Census messaging on MCN 1300 Spectrum cable, as well as live streamed at https://www.mcallen.net/departments/media/mcn-1300-live and on the McAllen 3-1-1 mobile app or on antenna channel KAZH-LP 57-1. It will also run on the website www.rgv2020.com.
About Here Everyone Loves People. H.E.L.P. is a non-profit organization based in the Rio Grande Valley that stands committed to contributing and supporting any and all organizations focused on improving the quality of life in the RGV. We are here to help and motivate others to help. Together we are stronger. We welcome EVERYBODY!
