Zoo holds 'Kid Appreciation Day'-07.27.07

Brownsville, Texas— In honor of National Kids Day, Gladys Porter Zoo will celebrate “Kids Appreciation Day” this Sunday.
From noon to 4 p.m., children can create passports to fun, which will take them through several activity stations around the zoo. Last year, 3,000 children attended the event and officials hope for a similar turnout this year.
Some stations include face painting, a bike rodeo and a children’s touch pool with marine animals made by senior aquarist Patricia Scanlan.
“The pool is something new this year and should be very exciting for the kids,” said the zoo’s marketing director, Cynthia Garza Galvan.
Other activities include a bike safety station by State Farm Insurance and a health and wellness station provided by Valley Regional Medical Center. KVEO NBC 23 and the Brownsville Police Department are also sponsoring the event. Burger King locations are giving coupons to admit one child free with paid adult admission. Goodie bags are available for the first 1,000 children. For more details call the zoo at 546-7187.

The Brownsville Herald

Youth football league kicks off this fall-07.26.07

Brownsville, Texas—After almost a decade’s absence of gridiron glory, young Brownsville footballers will play between the hashmarks.

The city, police and school district have teamed up to tackle what organizers feel is a lack of athletic opportunities for children in the city.

“I’ve been getting a lot of complaints from parents who have to drive to San Benito for their kids to play football,” City Commissioner Charlie Atkinson said.

The City of Brownsville Youth Football League (COB-YFL), a boys and girls league, kicks off its nine-week season in mid-September with games every Monday night.

Using Paredes Line Road as a divider between the city’s east- and west-side conferences, 10 initial teams will be formed. The winners of each respective conference will play for the city’s first championship title at Sams Stadium.

The first 300 children ages 11 and 12 that are not yet enrolled in the seventh grade can register with proof of residency (utility bill or birth certificate), Atkinson said.

Ten-year-olds weighing more than 100 pounds are also eligible, he added.

“We anticipate a lot of children coming out for this,” said Robert Tyler, a Brownsville Police investigator and league organizer.

“We’re going all out with this,” Atkinson said. “The coaches will wear wireless headsets (donated by Motorola) and statistics of every team will be kept (and posted online).”

Registration is $65 per child, which covers insurance, equipment and a team uniform.

“Everything but a jock (strap) and tennis shoes,“ said City Commissioner Carlos Cisneros.

Cisneros and Tyler, who coached for the original Boys & Girls Club youth football league that ended in 1999, want to make sure this one stays in tact.

“The success of this program depends on donations,” Tyler said.

Tyler and Cisneros both blame the old league’s dispersion on insufficient funds and disorganization.

“First we need coaches,“ said Tyler. “Then, they will draw for teams.”

Coaches will then swap teams through draws every two years.

The 10 teams are the Bears, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Falcons, Jaguars, Patriots, Raiders, Ravens, Seahawks, and Steelers.

“We want it to be about football, teaching kids the fundamentals,” said Cisneros. “Not about the coaches. Too often, people go by who is coaching.”

The coaches will also have a draft for players. The child can only choose what side of town to represent.

“In the old system, people would know who was going to win at the start of the season,” Tyler said. “We don’t want that to happen.”

All of the organizers stressed “passing,” both academically and on the field, although the state’s “no pass, no play” rule will not be enforced.

“We’re relying on parents for this,” Cisneros said.

City Manager Charlie Cabler, who Atkinson recognized as the “key” for this project, said the Boys & Girls Club league may have fizzled because it lacked support.

Cabler said that will not be an issue this time. “We’re all working together to make sure this happens.”

Organizers said all team members would get play time. “As a parent, you’ll know you’re going to see your child play,” Tyler said.

The league is only the first of many new programs by the new city department for youth recreation, said Tony Saavedra, head of the department.

“We’re working on starting fast-pitch baseball and volleyball soon,” Saavedra said.

For more information contact Robert Tyler at 956-466-2330 or Tony Saavedra at 956-455-2351. You can also visit the Web site at www.hometeamonline.com keyword Brownsville. All coaching candidates will be subject to a background check.

If your child is interested in playing, registration will be held at the Brownsville Youth Recreation Center.

The Brownsville Herald

Reel Experience-07.25.07

Brownsville, Texas—Belize native Michael Gallaty rarely visits Brownsville, but when his uncle told him of a film camp being held here, he was first in line to sign up.
“I came to visit my uncle, but I just really wanted to come to the camp,” the 15-year-old said.
The first ever film camp is being held on the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College’s ITEC campus and provides 10 children, ages 10 to 15, the skills to film, edit and write scripts.
The two-week camp is sponsored by the Brownsville Society for Performing Arts and UTB-TSC.
Top: Iris Rivera, 13, edits "One Chance, One Planet," a conservation film on global warming she is making during a filmmaking class at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College’s ITEC campus. The 10-member class, calling themselves Fort Brown Productions, is sponsored by UTB-TSC and the Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts. Right: Bobby Robles wants to be a producer and director like his heroes Clink Eastwood, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. He his getting his start in the filmmaking class at the UTB-TSC ITEC campus.

“The program is to build awareness of the filmmaking industry. It’s something we’ve seen growing little by little already in South Texas,” said Cledia Hernandez, interim program coordinator for business and industry at the university.
The camp started on July 16 and ends Friday with the premier of a 5-minute video created entirely by the students.
Their video, “One Chance, One Planet,” will emphasize local concerns over global warming.
“We wanted to capitalize on the bad weather last week,” said camp instructor Luis Martinez, referring to the video’s topic.
Martinez was surprised at how fast they adapted to the new Apple software, Final Cut Pro.
“They’re like sponges at this age in terms of learning,” he said.
Martinez, normally a media-technology teacher at Los Fresnos High School, described this camp as “trying to compact into two weeks what you learn in your entire career.”
The camp served as a pilot program with most equipment being donated by the father of a participant. The cost for the program was $400 per child.
“(Local cardiologist) Dr. (Robert) Robles wanted to send his son Bobby to a film camp in New York, but when he looked around he saw the potential to have one here,” Martinez said. “It’s all sky-rocketed from there.”
Scheduling for a month-long filmmaking camp for teenagers in the fall is already in the works.

The Brownsville Herald

pictures by Daniel Lopez

video by Diana Maldonado