The Brownsville Herald from Brownsville, Texas • 19

BY GARY LONG STAFF WRITER The 73rd annual Pigskin Jubilee high school marching band contest is set for Saturday, and for the first time the competition will take place at two sites Bobby Morrow Stadium in San Benito for Class 6A schools, and Bennie La Prade Stadium for Class 5A and below. Pigskin Jubilee is the main University Interscholastic League competition for all Rio Grande Valley bands. Every other year, decided by conference, the groups have a chance to advance to state competition. year is a 5-A year, so the groups that get a First Division rating will advance to the Area contests to be held at Calallen (in Corpus Christi) on Oct. 24, the following said Paul Flinchbaugh, instrumental music supervisor for the Brownsville Independent School District.

This state marching band championships are scheduled Nov. 2-3 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. According to the Pigskin Jubilee website, the competition in Donna begins at 5:15 p.m. with Class 2A La Villa High School. Class 3A Lyford and Santa Rosa follow, and then the Class 4A schools Rio Hondo, La Feria, Progreso, Port Isabel and Raymondville perform.

Following a dinner break, 5A schools perform, beginning at 7:45 p.m. with Donna High School. Edcouch-Elsa, Brownsville Pace and Porter, Mercedes and Donna North follow in order. Each school is judged on its performance. Ratings are expected to be announced at 10 p.m.

In Class 6A, the schools that comprise District 32-6A perform starting at 7 p.m. with Weslaco High School. Performances are every 15 minutes thereafter. Hanna, San Benito, Lopez and Weslaco East perform prior to a break from p.m. Harlingen, Rivera, Harlingen South, Los Fresnos and Brownsville Veterans Memorial then perform.

Pass in review and announcement of results are scheduled at 9:45 p.m. Flinchbaugh said the performances are worth coming out for. a great evening of some incredibly well-performed he said. presentations include music, dance and choreography all rolled into one. We have some incredible musicians and music programs in the Valley, especially brownsvilleherald.com DUCATION TRA C1 www.brownsvilleherald.com Classifieds C3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT EDUCATION BRIEFS Noemi DeLa Fuente School: Champion Elementary Why here: here because I want to make a difference in the lives of my students.

What makes it worthwhile: What makes it worthwhile is when you see your progress throughout the academic year. Teaching tip: Try to make your lessons fun and engaging for all students in order for them to be successful academically. Win a new car WHAT: Graduating Brownsville ISD juniors and seniors (Class of 2016) with within a six weeks period will be eligible to win a 2016 Mazda CX-3 donated by Cardenas Mazda. WHEN: The attendance contest runs throughout the school year and ends on June 2, 2016. WHAT ELSE: The selected winner must meet the 2015-2016 contest requirements for the BISD Student Attendance Car Giveaway at www.bisd.us.

Choose your dream WHAT: Brownsville ISD offers several Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that lead to industry certifications and articulated credit at Texas community colleges. WHERE: BISD Early College High Schools WHAT ELSE: Make your dream a reality by calling (956) 548.8217 to learn more. BISD notification WHAT: The Brownsville Independent School District uses School Messenger to provide notification services for emergency broadcasts, parental outreach and student attendance communications. WHEN: Service began on Monday, Aug. 24.

WHERE: All 58 BISD campuses WHAT ELSE: Parents must ensure that BISD schools have up to date and accurate telephone and email information. The notification database is automatically, regularly updated throughout the year so that it is always current. If at any time information changes, parents are advised to notify the school immediately so that records can be updated. An app for that WHAT: Download the free BISD custom mobile app to stay on top of what matters most. WHERE: The BISD app can be downloaded for your smart phone in the App Store and Google Play.

WHAT ELSE: When you are on the go, you can stay connected to school and district news, events, menus, announcements, directories, and much more. STARGAZER It has been awhile since we located the positions of the planets as if they were hour hands on the face of a clock. Astronomy magazine obliges with an update each month, so for October the arrangement is as follows: Mercury 12:00, Venus, almost 1:00, Earth, almost 2:00, Mars 10:30, Jupiter 10:00, Saturn, 7:00, Uranus, 2:30, Neptune 3:30, Pluto 7:00. The magazine has also included Ceres, one of the recently designated which is at 5:00 between Mars and Jupiter. Sketching this or using a computer astronomy program may increase your understanding of the positions.

When the predawn skies are clear, then you will be able to see Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, with Mercury sometimes, all lined up in the eastern sky before sunrise. Venus will be the brightest one of the planets. Mercury is low, difficult to spot and seldom visible due to its rapid revolution rate. If you have to be at work in the morning, a decent telescope will enable you to track the four Galilean moons of Jupiter as they constantly revolve around the gas giant. Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto trade positions on either side of Jupiter throughout the night.

It was through observing the motions of these moonlets that caused Galileo Galilei to dispute the idea that the sun revolved around Earth. Of course with computer graphics nowadays, we would just say he Photoshopped and continue ignoring the facts presented. If you keep observing the planets all month you will see Venus between Mars and Jupiter by the end of the month. Mars and Venus will experience a close conjunction in early November. Saturday Mars will be very close to Jupiter with Venus off to the side a bit.

The planets can be intriguing to observe and even to record. Years ago before I began to understand astronomy a bit I watched what I know now to have been Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter gathering in the east at night. I had no clue what I was seeing but night after night I watched with interest as those three bright points of light gathered in the late evening sky while I walked our Lab. I wish I had known then. Related to that reference, if you have a telescope will you please invite your neighbors to join you when you bring yours out to observe? I was 45 years old before I ever saw Saturn through a telescope.

A bit late to get started looking up and knowing what one sees, you agree? I would also add if you have a decent unused telescope that you donate it to a local middle or high school science department and teach the teachers and students how to use it. The UTRGV observatory is in the process of being relocated to the Resaca de Las Palmas state park outside Olmito. Currently the skies there are fairly dark and on the last Friday of each month, weather permitting, the students from the Astronomy and Physics Department share their telescopes with families that come out to join the night hikes. This week we can begin watching for the newest new moon sliver in the west right after sunset. How early will you spot it? New moon occurs at 7:06 CDT and that means the moon is lost in the glare of the setting sun.

Be sure to look the following evening to glimpse the ghost of the sunlight reflected off the outer limb of the moon. Keep a photo record and share it on your favorite social media site. What? No constellations this week? They changed since last week. Until next week, KLU. Like clockwork: Where to find the planets in the night sky Carol Lutsinger is a Solar System educator and ambassador, Texas Space Grant Consortium collaborator, and American Astronomical Society resource agent AROL UTSINGER American Astronomical Society PIGSKIN JUBILEE Annual high school marching band contest set for Saturday BY RONALD W.

ERDRICH ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS BALLINGER In case forgotten, still a library down here. The Carnegie Library of Ballinger is one of two such buildings in the Big Country. It and the Stamford Carnegie Library, along with three others in the state, are the only Carnegie libraries still in use for their intended purpose. According to the National Park Service, industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated over $40 million between 1886 and 1919 to create over 1,600 libraries across the nation, 32 of them in Texas. Ballinger received $17,500 from Carnegie and construction began in 1909.

May 6, 2016, will mark 105 years since the library first opened its doors. Many libraries featured auditoriums and special club rooms to help defray operating costs. Ballinger is one of them and the second floor is home to a large auditorium. Mechele Ussery has been the librarian for about four months. The wooden stairs creaked with a worth of footsteps as we ascended to the second ticket booth.

had the USO up here in the she told the Abilene Reporter- News. had ballet up here, on Oct. 24 the Ice House Brass Band from San Angelo is going to play In the corner stands a relic from the days as an entertainment center for troops. An old jukebox, lights still working well enough to read the typed slips of paper labeling what it used to play. The records are long gone, but at least you can still see what people were dancing to.

Clyde and Patty Even George mother, Rosemary, singing Ussery has big ideas for the library she said one of the reasons why she got the job. She said they recently received a $5,000 grant for more books. was a bilingual teacher for 25 years and I retired, so this is just perfect for she said. But it takes more than just books to keep the library going. Ussery said that a lot of people realize that the auditorium only used for music or comedy shows, but weddings and reunions as well.

have a lot of money, just trying to keep our library she said. Libraries in Texas have taken a hit in recent years over funding. I reported back in 2012 how the state Legislature the year before had slashed the overall budget for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) from $19.8 million to $7.2 million. As a result, funding for the library programs dried up from $13 million to $1.6 million. Small-town librarian wants to honor gift COURTESY PHOTO Bands assemble for the grand finale at the 2014 Pigskin Jubilee marching contest.

COMPETITION MYBROWNSVILLEHERALD. See a photo gallery of the 2013 contest..