Healthy Communities of Brownsville

Brownsville, Texas Celebrates One Year Anniversary Of Successful Plastic Bag Ban

2012-01-18T09:46:00.001-06:00

Brownsville, Texas Celebrates One Year Anniversary Of Successful Plastic Bag Ban

Happenings in 2011

2012-01-16T09:36:00.005-06:00

Lots has happened since I last wrote and not all good things. For example my husband of 34 yrs had open heart surgery and we were out of commission for about 6 weeks during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. He is recovery well but we still have to follow a strict diet and lots of exercise.
As for Heathy Communities of Brownsville, we are still moving along with our many projects. Our November 6 Fundraiser was a success and we raised over $7,000 dollars. Our silent auction was the winner of funds collected with a total of $2200. A big thank you Joettet van Doesburg. She collected the prizes, set the site and then delivered the prizes to individuals. She is beyond kind to Healthy Communities. Our Board was very please with the results also.
We also had a very successfull Health Literacy Education Symposium at the Brownsville Event Center on November 14, World Diabetes Day. We have over 30 vendors and over 500 participants. The Walgreen Bus was in the parking lot testing our participants with $100 worth of free tests. They all received free reusable shopping bags, lunch and lots of information about childhood diabetes. Thanks to the staff at the Brownsville Event Center for a job well done.
The Environmental TrendBenders is busy putting the final touches on their newest campaign about cigarrete butts and how to dispose of them properly. Cigarret Butts are consider the second most litered item in Texas. Our plastic bag ban has been in effect almost a year now and we can honestly say that it is working. Our city looks cleaner and the community everywhere has embraced the ban.
Lots more will be happening in 2012, Brownsville Biggest Loser, composting workshop, a contest for easter about the environement. So keep coming back and we will update you or visit our website at www.healthybrownsville.org

its been a while

2011-09-12T11:02:00.002-05:00

yes, I am back in Brownsville. i actually missed being here in the heat, but i must say I did enjoy my holiday in Michigan. Lots of fresh veggie, and fruits. My yard is a mess but that's for my husband to work on.

HCB is planning several events for the fall. We are having our 3rd annual Dog-A-Rama at the Dog Park on Saturday, October 22, 2011 from 3 to 6pm. We will have alive band, doggie bags for the first 200 dogs, Brownsville K-9 unit, Judy the dog trainer will be there to give advice. and the clinic will be open for vacines. State Rep Eddie Lucio III will be hosting the event. Also that same morning we will be having a Strut Your Mutt Walk/Run at Dean Porter Park to the Brownsville Farmers Market.

2nd Month and counting

2011-07-31T16:47:00.003-05:00

It's been two months we have been in Michigan and boy what an eye opening change for us. We have picked Strawberries, Blueberries, rubarugh, sweet corn, green and yellow beans, onions and lots more. It amazing the amount of fresh veggie and fruits we have access to. Groceries are about 20 percent higher here and we have a bottle deposit to deal with but otherwise the living is pretty cheap. Gas is running about $3.75 a gal. We are staying in Ottaway County and its is very quiet and pretty here. You can hear the birds, the bull frogs and other critters. The weather is good, a bit muggy and hot.
Heading to Texas in Mid August because I want to spend some time with my sister and my B.I.L. He has been diagnosed with Colon Cancer stage 4 and is having a hard time with chemo. Sometimes life just isn't fair. He is a pretty neat guy.

Lazy Days of Summer

2011-06-28T19:52:00.006-05:00

It's been about a month that we have relocated to Michigan temporaily for the summer and boy have I learned alot. We are living in a country home, surrounded by corn fields, horse barns and 3 churches. Its beautiful country, quiet and peaceful. But when the weather comes, it comes very hard and fast. We have had rain almost everyday, winds and lots of flooding. The corn fields were flooded for a while but they are back and growing like crazy. Craig has been enjoying having a fire just about every night, very relaxing and peaceful. We have to cut about two acres of grass every week but luckily the house came with a riding lawn mower. We take several country roads to get home, and I have to say that you see signs for rhubard, strawberries, fresh flowers, asparagus and other fruits and veggies. Its the honor system, you take what you need and leave the money in a jar. Pretty great, I think. We have picked strawberries and are enjoying fresh asparagus and sweet peas. Last Sunday we enjoyed last years potatoes, last yrs green beans and pork. The pork came from a hog that my niece and her family brought at the fair last fall. Pretty amazing. Pretty good eating too.
We see Craig Family just about everyday, as he as a standing date for coffee every morning with his brothers. They get together at the local coffee shop and solved the world problems. There are abour 7-8 guys that get together at the same time, same place to take time to enjoy and good cup of coffee. This happens at all local places including the local McDee"s. They actually have big round tables at this McDonalds to accomodate the gentlemen.
Well this is all for now. The summer is slowing being used up by visiting with family, going to outdoor concerts and the beach at Lake Michigan. Its a good life.

Life In Michigan

2011-06-06T15:37:00.003-05:00

Its was a long trip to MI but we got here and boy is the weather terrific. We have not turned on any a/c and the breeze is great. Talk about living green. We are surrounded by farms that have nothing but green fields planted with crops like hay, corn, and soybeans. But the area is ready to harvest fresh strawberries and the blueberries come into season. We baked a rhubarb pie and make some rhubarb sauce for our dinner. We live out in the country, surronded by deer, bullfrogs, and other noises we have yet to recognized. We do live across the field from our niece, the Mulders. Its great. This morning we were awoken at 6:15am by a tractor that is planting something. He is back no seeding and making alot of noise. I am amazed at how clean and green the area is. Amazed that there is very little litter, that people put their shopping carts back in their place and everone mows their yards by church service on Sunday. We have several churches in the area too.
On Sunday, we attend a graduation open house for our niece Jeanie Mulder. It was fun, lots of people carrying little white envelopes, lots of food and family and lots of dogs. The Mulders have 4 goldens and they are great. My louie is just as great. He is adjusting so well to all the open spaces. Runs like a deer.
Getting use to not being at the office but still handling emails and phone calls. I am just putting off writing those grants, hoping some money comes in the door somehow. Well this is all for now.
Will keep you posted.

Update on happenings

2011-05-19T21:45:00.002-05:00

HCB is going to be closed for the months of June, July and August 2011. Rose is heading to Michigan to enjoy her spouse family. In the mean time, projects for the Environmental TB will continue. Sharon and Sandy did a great job with the Up Up and Away...Not story. Close to 60,000 books were handed out to schools, daycares, and adult day care centers. Very successful. Sharon is taking over the Cigarette Butt Litter Prevention Project. Will be having an ad in the newspaper and some other articles about butt prevention.
Healthy Literacy Symposium is being held in November 2011 and our topic will be Diabetics and Children. We plan a rally, testing, and health literacy to our parents.
Maye Gutierrez is involved and will probably have a very successful event.
Met with the Spanish Club for BECHS and they did a great job on the bullying project. Plan to post on our new website when I get information from Miss Munoz. She is a great teacher.
all for now, more later

2011-04-22T15:32:00.001-05:00

EarthFest 2011

2011-04-21T20:34:00.002-05:00

Great time was had by all who attended Brownsville Earth Fest 2011 at Linear Park on Saturday, April 23. We had about 1100 people there at different times, the trashionist fashion show, crafts from Mexican artisian, farmers market, and local orgainzaions doing outreach. Weather was windy but cool. The Blue Eco Bus was there from Rio Brave Wildlife Institue and it drew a crowd. They escorted several people walking, running, and riding bikes to Linear Park from Lincoln Park. The music was very good also.

2011-04-02T21:41:00.002-05:00

Its been a while since i wrote, a trip to Hawaii, the earthquake, tsunami, the volcano and who knowes what else. Yes I felt the tsunami on board the ship, I slipped off the bed and heard a boon. It was scary but really we did not know what was happening. Not till 8am the next morning when the captain told us what happened. He said we were in the best place to be for the tsunami. But the worst is losing my bestest of friends. I only knew her for 2 or so years, but she made a big "matter" in my life. I saw Blanca every day and she and I shared alot. We ate together and talked about her life and mine. I knew her kids, her spouse and her life. She helped read by grants, make the best cup of coffee, and was always here to say "Today is going to be a good day". She was fighting cancer everyday and every minute of her life, but she always dressed up, made up her face and painted her nails. She was a great lady and I love her. I miss her. My job or HCB is still going strong. We have alot of partners we just need funds to continue our mission. The next two months will be tough. More as it happens.

Update on HCB

2011-03-17T13:31:00.002-05:00

its been a while since I wrote, but I was on holiday in hawaii. lots to see, lots to do, but always glad to be back in Brownsville. Lots happening in our city with mayoral elections coming up and several city commissioner seats up for election. The plastic bag ban is going great, always like to drive downtown Brownsville and visit a local grocery store and see the reusable bags. Looking into the fact that some legislature in Austin wants to make plastic bags available for 5 cents instead of banning then outright. El Paso is leading the charge but they do not have a very warm reception. More as that happens.
Sitting in the office trying to write grants but it get tough to manage to say in words that some paper pusher will understand. Money is the name of the game and its needed to continue our cause. the check book balance is looking pretty low. Well all for now.

Lower Rio Grand Valley Development Council

2011-02-25T09:39:00.002-06:00

I was asked to attend a meeting of the LRGVDC on thursday in Weslaco by Mayor Pat Ahumada. The board consists of 26 valley leaders from all over the valley, including our own Commissioner Edward Camarillo. Mayor Ahumada had written a resolution No. 2011-02 supporting the use of reusable bags throughout the lower Rio Grande Valley. Very simple, very plain, just asking that this organization encourage and support prohibiting the use of plastic bags in Lower Rio Grande Valley, that the LRGVDC supports other cities' adopting of plicies prohiting the use of single use bags and non-reusable bags, and begin using reusable bags, that the LRGVDC will assist and aid other LRGV cities to move forward with passing ordinances dealing with curtailing the use of single use bags & encouraging and supporting usage of reusable bags.
The resolution was table when commissioner Hector "tito" Palacios said that if Brownsville has a litter problem, let Brownsville solve it, don't bring it to this group and ask them to support something that might effect their own community. It was a bit shocking that this comment was made since I thought the purpose of the LRGVDC was : "As the international front door to the global market place, the Lower Rio Grande Valley is committed to ensure regional prosperity to all sectors and enhance the quality of life and security to its residents. There was no regional unity there that I could see. What happens in Brownsville does effect all other cities, just like what happens in all other Valley cities effects Brownsville. We need to come together as a region and not a individual city. We will see what happens at the next meeting.

It did not happen

2011-02-22T10:42:00.003-06:00

At my last post, I was excited because I had finally connected with my webmaster and his ideas are great. But...I am still waiting for the final results.
Another thing that did not happen was our environmental meeting. Seems like everyone is too busy doing their own thing to come to a meeting about joining forces. What a week.
On the plus side, I got an intern from Dr. C. Barroso and he is working out. His name is Joe Lopez and is a junior at the school. He is studying public health. I have given him the task of looking at my facebook account and seeing what I can do to improve on it. We get a weekely page but alot of it has to do with what I post on the page.
Getting ready for holiday in Hawaii and looking forward to it.

New Website Coming & Environmental Meeting

2011-02-11T18:15:00.005-06:00

Well, I think its finally going to happen. I met with Santana Galvan and he was some great idea about changing out website. It should look awesome. Look for it in the coming week.
Technology is changing so fast that any changes today will probably be outdated by next week.
We are getting ready to get a group of people together who are making a difference in our local environment. The usual people that show up at all meetings having to deal with local environmental issues. We need to mesh and connect to see how we can all push the same agenda and make a bigger difference. I also have the opportunity to apply for a $100.000 grant from EPA for our community. Big grant, but big rewards. It being held Thursday, at 10am but a place to be determined. Sharon Putegnat will probably lead the group and try to get everyone on the same page. I just hope it works. If you or anyone you know want to participate please come prepare to give your talk about what you want. No I will not have dots like Imagine Brownsville.

Volunteer/Partner Appreciation Dinner

2011-02-08T16:19:00.004-06:00

On February 7, Healthy Communities of Brownsville hosted an appreciation dinner for all the volunteers and partners in the last few years. Its been a while since we got everyone together and the dinner was long overdue. We invited about 100 people and had some wonderful food, and just plain fun. We shared, and learned from each other. The best part was awarding the volunteer of the year award to Joette van Doesburg. She was surprised but thankful. Her spouse Hans who is a big time supported of HCB was also very proud. The goody bags were a big hit and just about everyone walked away with some leftovers, especially the chocolate cake, and cheese cake. The dinner was provided by the attorney firm of Ransome and Ray. Our board member, Bryan Nichols is an attorney there and he also contributed to the expense. So with the expense taken care of and everyone enjoying the food and each other company, we all had a very good time.

Bloggin is not as easy as it sounds

2011-02-05T17:06:00.002-06:00

I learned that since I started this blog, my free thinking abilities are not so free. Its pretty tough to just think of things to say without some stimulation. I can read all the materials I want, I can copy and paste but that is not blogging. Blogging is putting out information that useful and informative. That is tough.
We at Healthy Communities are proud of our accomplishments and our upcoming events will prove that we once again can bring issusses to the forefront and make a big difference. Our next campaign is making Brownsville a Bullying Free City. We are planning to ask students to put together plays with their friends to open discussion about bullying. We plan to ask students to participate by telling us what they think and feel. It should be interesting and very informative. But we could use some help. Call HCB at 956-882-5067 and let us know how you can help.

Environmental Advisory Committee

2011-02-01T15:27:00.002-06:00

When the city commission decided to pass the bag ordinance, they did a wise thing by creating a committee to oversee the bag ordinance. This group of business owners, volunteers, and partners all met every Wednesday at 9:30 and went over any concerns, problems, ideas and everything else you can think off to see that the bag ordinance was fair and just. We took alot of lickings, but we provided the city commission with much needed guidance about the bag ordinance. We have continued to meet, to discuss and to "fix" any concerns the public has brought to us, but we can "fix" the concerns that have no valid reasons. There were no secret surveys, no under the wire passing of the ordinance, no backstabbing, lying way to bring it before the city commission. We have all the minutes, all the publications and lots more to support what we did. If you did not attend our public forums, participated in the surveys or came to any of our meetings, which were open to the public, short of me knocking of each door in Brownsville, the work has been done and the work is good. Please move on to something else people. Brownsville has bigger problems that bag ordinances.

Trashionista Recycle Show

2011-01-31T20:04:00.003-06:00

Incarnate Ward Academy of Brownsville TX hosted a fashion show from recycle products. The crowd went wild when they relized what can be done once you use you imagination. The kids used plastic shopping bags, newspapers,cds, plastic table cloths and numerous other items that can be recycled. Thanks IWA Great job

Health Literacy Education Symposium

2011-01-31T19:23:00.004-06:00

Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Healthy Communities, City of Brownsville, B.I.S.D hosted a health symposium titled Mens' Health. We had three speakers, Dr. M. Del Castillo, Dr. David Wittenberg, and Dr. Jared Montoya. The 500 strong audience participated in the questions and answer part of the symposium and were very appeciative of the speakers. Mostly moms but some men who asked questions like what is obesity, how do i get rid of my fat, why do men who drink get agressive? It was vey informative and successful. We had 32 vendors from healthy coffee, healthy pan dulce, and medical clinics. Everyone was happy and went home well informed.

Now I have lots of time on my hands

2011-01-31T19:02:00.000-06:00

Following January 5, 2011, I thought my world would open up to all kinds of time. WRONG! its only started. Interviews, phone calls, meetings and lots of emails later, I can honestly say the Plastic Bag Ordinanc is here to stay. The first week was a bit hectic but I survived. Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 1, 2011, we give an update to the city commission. Our city is embracing the ban but we still have one or two people we need to convince. The Brownsville Herald was the hardest to read because of the letters to the editor, but the phone calls and support were tremendouse. No Chemisty company, no chaos, no protest. My HEB contact even commented on how smooth the transtition was in their stores. Wal-Mart had a few bumps like people going through their plastic bags recycle bin and getting bags out to use to carry their products home. The city of South Padre Island has pass the same ordinance and they are working with Port Isabel to pass theirs. Look out world here we come. We should get out first report on the "transaction fee" by February 5 and it will be interesting to see what happens. We have some plans for the fee but nothing other that giving back to this community. I am still getting calls from people asking for reusable bags. We only have about 4,000 of the bags the city brought back in March 2010, but we will make them last.

Chase Community Giving

2010-06-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

Healthy Communities of Brownsville will get a gift of $25,000 if we get votes on the Chase Community Giving site. We have 26 votes but could use alot more. We just have to be in the first 200 charities and we will win. So vote vote vote.

Sunrise Mall and going plastic bag less shopping

2010-06-20T14:09:00.000-05:00

This coming Saturday, June 26th, Sunrise Mall merchants are going to ask customers to bring their own reusable shopping bag to shop. This is the introduction to using on reusable shopping bags in the City. Our ban on plastic shopping bags goes into effect in a short 6 months or 1-1-2011. So get ready, Brownsville, use your reusable shopping bag only.

2010-06-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

Healthy Communties of Brownsville is hosting the Border Binational Health Week on October 2 through October 8. We are planning events for kids that deal with childhood obesity. Our goal is to educate and engage the kids to make healthy choices. Look for details on our web site www.healthybrownsville.org

Plans for the future

2010-06-11T10:35:00.000-05:00

We plan to continue our work but want to expand to include the health issue and education issues that effect our community: diabetics and childhood obesity. We are having a symposium in October 2010 to address these issues.

Wal-Mart

2010-06-11T10:29:00.000-05:00

Today HCB received a $50,000 check from Wal-Mart for our efforts to educate the community about our litter problem. Its a great feeling to have these monies to continue our work.

2010-05-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

HCB has implemented many community inspired plans to improve the health & quality of life of the citizens of Brownsville. Our Environmental TrendBenders group focus on enviromental quality of life. the groups vision is simple-A Clean and Beautiful Brownsville. Our Education Trendbenders is mentoring young readers at Raul Yzaguirre School of Success with a reading program. Our Health Trendbenders is hosting the upcoming Border Binational Health Week in October 2010 and will be hosting a healthy symposium dealing with childhood obesity.