April 2025

Last month was sexual assault awareness month, and with that, U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (RIowa) codified key parts of President Trump’s zero-tolerance border crackdown. The two introduced new legislation to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes through the Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by Unnaturalized Emmigrants (BE GONE) Act. This act amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence as crimes that are defined as aggravated felonies.

TEA releases 2023 A-F accountability ratings After a prolonged delay because of a lawsuit filed by about 100 school districts, the Texas Education Agency has released the 2023 A-F accountability ratings, indicating the share of campuses that received a passing ranking dropped by 14% from 2022.

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Irene “Nene” Gallego Espinoza, a lifelong resident of Alpine, was called home to glory on April 24 with her beloved family by her side. Nene was laid to rest at Holy Angels Cemetery in Alpine.

As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week next week, there has never been a more critical time to support Texas’ public school teachers. For generations, public school teachers have been the bedrock of our communities, educating the next generation of leaders, public servants, business owners, tradespeople, faith leaders, workers, and officials.

“My old friend, I apologize For the years that have passed Since the last time you and I Dusted off those memories.” — Song lyrics performed by Tim McGraw. We never forget friends.

In the April 24 edition, the sports column“Lady Bucks place 13th in Abilene, boys 12th”, golfer Ace Granado was mistakenly left out of the column. Ace tied for 53rd at the Regional golf tournament held in Abilene, not Levi Garcia as the column listed. The column also listed that Garcia had tied for both 53rd and 88th place. Garcia tied for 88th.

The Alpine High School tennis teams took the courts by storm last week as they competed at the District tournament against Kermit and Tornillo. The JV mixed doubles, girls’ singles, and girls’ doubles were the winners of their events, and a significant number of other players also made the podium in the top three.

The Alpine Lady Bucks’ dominant softball season came to a close over the weekend, as they were edged out of the playoffs by Lamesa in a two-game bi-district series. After finishing a perfect 8-0 in district play, the Lady Bucks dropped game one on a walk-off and couldn’t rally in game two, ending a season that was as close-knit as it was competitive.