El Paso Times from El Paso, Texas • 11

Call 546-6200. primes Tlmes Wednesday, Feb. 16. 2005 Metro Editor Armando V. Durazo, 546-6124, adurazoelpasotimes.com www.elpasotimes.com elpasotimes.com Xw Bv I vi 6r IV-J- 1 11 ill! ill JJUAliili LHJ 1 a.

'VMU I I ti.s. Rudy Gutierrez El Paso Times Fences and warning signs surround an area just south of Aoy Elementary School as a demolition company prepares to clear the area to make way for a new elementary school. school." The $12 million reconstruction will combine Aoy and Roosevelt. The building should be ready for the 2006-07 school year, district officials said. Several residents fought the district's attempt to buy their homes, saying the amount of money offered for their homes would not allow them to buy a new one.

The district closed on the last properties in September, avoiding molish homes on the properties. "The sooner that they knock them out, the sooner we'll have our new school," said Mendoza, the mother of one boy at Aoy and another at Roosevelt Elementary School. "We hardly ever get any nice things in this neighborhood, so I'm very anxious to see the new By Gustavo Reveles Acosta El Paso Times South Side resident Isabel Men-doza sees the chain-linked fences now surrounding the two blocks south of Aoy Elementary School as a positive sign. About 15 months after the El Paso Independent School District first moved to buy the land needed to rebuild the campus, construction workers are ready to de- DISCARDED VETERANS GETS NEW HOME I I 'OA 1 I PLAQUE FOR WWII '-J 0 1 drawn-out eminent domain proceedings. "The purchasing of the land and the negotiations took some time Rudy Gutierrez El Paso Times tk 1 I A 7 I si 'Sr i Daily news updates Bridge wait times HOUSEFIRE Investigators say blaze in Central was arson An early-morning house fire was deliberately set Tuesday in the 2900 block of Grant in Central El Paso, arson investigators said.

The large fire, which started on a back porch, sent a plume of smoke and flames skyward as 13 fire units responded at 5 a.m. The house did not have electric or gas power but was occupied. Investigators said they don't believe the fire, which caused $35,000 in damage, was linked to a rash of arson cases in the area. No reported injuries were reported. An investigation continues.

Daniel Borunda AREACRJME Man robs East Side 7-Eleven of cash, beer An armed robber stole cash and an 18-pack of Bud Light at about 10:30 p.m. Monday from the 7-Eleven at 8160 Gateway East at Lomaland Drive, police said. The man, believed to be 30 to 40 years old, grabbed the beer, showed a handgun and demanded the money. Anyone with information on the robbery may anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 566-8477. Daniel Borunda RECOGNITION Group honored for successful job-a-thon The Upper Rio Grande Work's 2004 Job-a-Thon has been named the national Theodore E.

Small Workforce Partnership Distinguished Honoree, executive director Martin Aguirre said. The honor was made by the National Association of Workforce Boards, which will recognize Upper Rio Grande Work in March at the group's national convention. Charles K. Wilson CITYCOUNCIL Building Standards Commission created The El Paso City Council will be getting out of the business of condemning dilapidated buildings and ruling in other urban nuisance cases in 90 days as a result of action at its meeting Tuesday. Following the example of most large cities in the nation, the council approved establishing an 18-member Building and Standards Commission to decide on cases involving substandard buildings that require repair, security or demolition and similar cases traditionally heard by the council.

Concerned about the loss of contact with constituents, East-Central city Rep. Jose" Alexandro Lozano cast the lone vote against the measure. David Crowder Got a news tip? E-mail us at tipllneelpasotimes.com or post It at www.elpasotimes.comAlpllne IBS! t3 6) V. Witt Vfi iV because the density of the area and its population were unique," Please see Homes 4B Free clinics will pepper Juarez area Saturday By Diana Washington Valdez El Paso Times About 200 volunteers from the medical profession and translators will set up one-day clinics in 10 Juarez neighborhoods Saturday to treat low-income people who normally don't get to see a doctor or dentist. Dr.

Oscar Noriega, 53, said Anapra will be among the neighborhoods to be visited by volunteers from El Paso. The U.S. group will include medical students, doctors, nurses and medical assistants. "In past years, we saw people with a range of problems, from routine colds to acute respiratory illnesses, rashes, diabetes, osteoarthritis and heart conditions," Noriega said. "What's different this year is that we're bringing dentists to do cleanings and evaluations." Last year, the clinics were set up at six sites, and each saw between 50 and 60 people, Noriega said.

The Christian Medical and Dental Society is organizing the trip, and Texas Tech is donating the cost of the buses that will take the volunteers across the border, said Lisa Ruley, spokeswoman for Texas Tech. Drug manufacturers are donating the medications. Teresa Moon, 25, a fourth-year medical student, said she's looking forward to Saturday's clinics. "We will be there to help as many people as we can. We will be able to do some tests, such as taking temperatures, checking for high blood-pressure and blood sugar for diabetes.

"It's very rewarding to see how medicine is practiced in a non-hospital setting, where you must make do with what is available," Moon said. "It's an eye-opening experience that everyone should have." Ruley said Texas Tech's Christian Medical and Dental Society has organized the volunteer clinics for 13 years. Juarez residents hear about them by word of mouth, and several churches in the impoverished neighborhoods volunteer space for the patients to see the medical volunteers. Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldezelpasotimes.com; 546-6140. a golf pro they would not tell interim Parks Director John Torres whom to hire.

Torres said a golf pro is not in the budget right now. Last fall, the county cut the parks budget by a third, eliminated jobs and cut salaries by 25 percent. The golf course has been closed Mondays since October due to the cuts. "Timing is the problem right now," Torres said, saying a golf pro could be hired in the future. Instead, Torres said he would proceed with a plan to extend the hours of six Ascarate Park workers from 30 to 40 hours a week to improve service to the whole park.

Charles K. Wiison may be reached at cwllsonelpasotlmes.com; 546-6137. Lloyd Hackenberg, 83, of Las Cruces wept during a plaque Teresa. The plaque was dedicated to World War II veterans ceremony Tuesday at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa who served in the China-Burma-India theater. Museum honors aging heroes By Charles K.

Wilson Paso Times Tears and triumph mixed as World War II veterans from the China-Burma-India theater unveiled a plaque Tuesday at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa. "This is a very big day," veteran Stuart Meerscheidt said as he and War Eagles museum director Skip Trammell lifted a cover from the plaque that had been removed from a Las Cruces memorial. "We found a new home for a discarded plaque." "We hope you feel like you're home," Trammell said as 16 silver-haired veterans of the China-Burma-India theater gathered in front of a DC-3 twin-engine transport, whose military version was the C-47, like those used to ferry supplies across the Asian mountains and jungles during World dwindling, Trammell said, with an estimated 1J00 dying each day. "I think some of the experiences we went through are pretty fresh," a uniformed Meerscheidt, 78, said of his World War II experiences. "You'll never forget 'em." Lloyd Hackenberg, 83, spent three years in the China-Burma-India theater as one of the Army's first Rangers as a member of Merrill's Marauders, after Brig.

Gen. Frank Merrill. "I'd say 90 percent of the time I didn't think I'd get out alive," Hackenberg said, his voice cracking with emotion but his blue eyes sharp and piercing, his tan uniform complemented with polished boots. "I was wounded three times, but not very seriously. I never left my unit." Charles K.

Wilson may be reached at cwilsonelpasotimes.com; 546-6137. Mussumhours What: War Eagles Air Museum. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday.

Where: 8012 Airport Road in Santa Teresa. Information: (505) 589-2000. WarIL The plaque contains a quote from the Feb. 13, 1945, Congressional Record that saluted the group's efforts. Tuesday was a time for misty eyes as well as celebration.

Taps echoed through the museum's displays as veterans, family and friends bowed their heads in respect. The World War II veterans' numbers are Budget limits to keep Ascarate from having By Charles K. Wilson El Paso Times Ascarate golf course will go without a golf pro this spring after Commissioners Court rebuffed a request to name an interim pro. A majority of commissioners fretted about micromanaging the Parks and Recreation Department. But Mike Smith the assistant-pro-turned-cashier in the parks department's cutbacks last fall said the community would lose out on an operation that turned a small profit last year.

Golfers at Ascarate's winter-brown fairways were divided Tuesday on the value of a pro to the course. appealing for players. Ramirez and Torres believed a pro was essential to keep Ascarate moving forward. But not everyone agreed with the need for a pro. "A pro here is a waste of taxpayers' money," said Cesar Parra, who said he has played at Ascarate for 30 years.

He said current staff handles the course well enough. Luis Delgadillo, who had been Ascarate's pro since March 2003, left in January to direct another local course. Smith said the gains Delgadillo had made the golf course earned more than $80,000 last year could not be maintained without a pro. But commissioners told Smith Ascarate Some facts and figures about Ascarate Park Golf Course. Course: 18 holes, 6,565 yards, par 71.

Greens fees: $13 Monday-Friday; $16 "We finally got a pro, but now we're back to square zero," East-sider Tony Ramirez lamented as he prepared to tee off on the 50-year-old course. Ramirez and playing partner Hector Torres of the Lower Val golf course Saturday-Sunday; $10 twilight (after 1 p.m.); $7 super twilight (after 3 p.m.) Hours: 6 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Mondays. ley said the course needs a pro to help draw tournaments, answer golfers' rules questions and keep the site ready to play. Ascarate is closing in on a $2 million irrigation project that is expected to make the course more 3.