This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
Telehealth Program Reduces School Absenteeism in Rural Far West Texas
Two years since the federal government awarded a $3 million grant toward expanding telehealth services, the Border Health Outreach Initiative’s Campus Care program has served nearly 3,000 students and reduced student absenteeism by 30%, according to Texas Tech Health El Paso and Project Vida.
The medical school and nonprofit organization partnered on Campus Care, a school-based program that connects K-12 students in remote rural communities to health care professionals via telehealth. Campus Care serves the Canutillo, Socorro, Clint, San Elizario, Fort Hancock and Tornillo public school districts.
As part of telehealth appointments, school nurses on campus are equipped with TytoCare Clinic, a portable device that lets them conduct clinic-grade physical exams for conditions including strep throat, ear infections and respiratory illnesses.
Typically, students in the outskirts of El Paso and Far West Texas have to travel into the city for specialized medical care, which could mean hours-long roundtrip journeys and missing full days of classes. Establishing telemedicine services in rural communities such as Presidio, Terlingua, Alpine and Fort Davis can improve access and convenience.
The Campus Care team determined the reduction in student absences through self-reported data, said Project Vida coordinator Mayra Avalos.
“We’ve identified countless children with undiagnosed conditions like asthma and mental health challenges, providing them with life-changing diagnoses and treatment that prevents unnecessary hospitalizations and suffering,” said Pamela Ponce, Campus Care co-chief with Project Vida, in a news release.
City, County Governments Opening Cooling Centers for Hot Days Ahead
El Paso County will be opening three cooling centers beginning June 15 ahead of the anticipated summer heat wave.
El Paso has experienced increasingly warmer weather over the last few years with 2024 being the hottest year on record with temperatures 4 degrees warmer than normal. June 2024 was also the warmest June on record.
The county cooling centers will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 15 to Aug. 14, with the exception of Juneteenth on June 19 and Independence Day on July 4. The centers are Agua Dulce Community Center, 15371 Kentwood Ave in Horizon City; the Fabens Community Center, 201 NW Camp St.; and the Canutillo Community Center, 7351 Bosque Road.
The city of El Paso also offers four recreation centers as cooling centers from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m.-2 p.m Friday through Saturday and closed Sundays.
The recreation centers are the Valle Bajo, 7380 Alameda Ave.; Marty Robbins, 11600 Vista del Sol Drive; Galatzan, 650 Wallenberg Drive; and Nations Tobin, 8831 Railroad Drive.
Residents are also encouraged to seek refuge from the heat at public libraries. For hours and information, visit the El Paso Public Libraries website.
For after-hours or overnight cooling assistance, call 311 for city shelter network partners.
For more information on heat safety tips, cooling resources and updates, visit https://elpasoready.org/extreme-heat/.
El Paso Schools Offer Free Summer Meals to Children
Schools throughout El Paso are offering free summer meals to children ages 18 and younger as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Seamless Summer Option nutrition program.
The El Paso Independent School District will serve meals on various dates and times.
EPISD elementary schools will serve breakfast from 7:55 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:25 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 9-13 at the following campuses:
- Barron
- Bliss
- Cielo Vista
- Coldwell
- Crockett
- Douglass
- Green
- Guerrero
- Hart
- Herrera
- Hillside
- Kohlberg
- Lamar
- Logan
- Mesita
- Mesita ECDC
- Moreno
- Moye
- Nixon
- Park
- Polk
- Powell
- Stanton
- Sunrise Mountain
- Tom Lea
- Torres
- Travis
- Whitaker
- White
The following schools will serve breakfast from 7:30 to 8 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to noon from June 9 to 27:
- Aoy
- Duran
- Hawkins
- Western Hills
Pre-K through 8 schools will serve breakfast from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. and lunch from 10:45 and 11:15 a.m. June 9-13 at the following campuses:
- Bobby Joe Hill
- Murphree
- Hartley
- Hon Haskins
- Tinajero
- MacArthur
EPISD middle schools will serve breakfast from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 9-13 at the following campuses:
- Brown
- Canyon Hills
- Charles
- Guillen
- Hornedo
- Magoffin
- Navarette
- Richardson
- Wiggs
The following EPISD high schools will serve breakfast from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. June 9-July 11:
- Andress
- Austin
- Bowie
- Burges
- Chapin
- Coronado
- El Paso
- Franklin
- Irvin
- Jefferson
- Young Women’s Academy
The Socorro Independent School District will serve lunches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday, June 9-26, at the following locations:
- Socorro High
- Montwood High
- Americas High
- El Dorado High
- Eastlake High
- Pebble Hills High
- Robert R. Rojas Elementary
- Vista del Sol Environmental Science Academy
- Jane A. Hambric
- Ernesto Serna Fine Arts Academy
- Bill Sybert
- Mission Ridge Elementary
- Purple Heart Elementary
The Ysleta Independent School District will serve breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday June 2-27 at the following schools:
- Bel Air High
- Del Valle High
- Eastwood High
- Hanks High
- Parkland High
- Riverside High
- Ysleta High
- Valle Verde Early College
- Thrive Academy
UTEP Dinner Theatre Organizes Auction, Music Revue Fundraiser Saturday
The UTEP Dinner Theatre’s first fundraising gala, “The Greatest Show,” is a one-night only circus-themed event from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 7, in the University of Texas at El Paso’s Union Building West.
The event will consist of a three-course meal, a live auction of various packages made up of donations from local artists and businesses, and a music revue of songs from the 2017 film “The Greatest Showman” performed in a concert format by UTEP students and dinner theatre regulars.
The movie tells the poverty-to-prosperity story of P.T. Barnum, who is best known for creating the Barnum & Bailey Circus.
The goal of the event is to raise money to help pay for future productions. Jaime Barba, UTEP Dinner Theatre coordinating director, said there will be a 43rd season, but would not name the shows yet. They are scheduled for November 2025, and April and July 2026.
“We’re going to raise funds to continue to do what we do,” Barba said during a phone interview.
Barba said the cost of staging a show this season has ranged from $75,000 to $90,000. The Dinner Theatre has looked for ways to generate more revenue since the university cut program funding that had been subsidized by student fees. What had been a roughly $1 million budget during the 2023-24 season was essentially halved.
For the current season, which included performances of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Grease,” the university allocated $322,000 to the Dinner Theatre.
Visit the theatre’s website to learn more details about “The Greatest Show” to include the schedule, the menu, and the auction packages that include items from the dinner theatre, artists, hotels and eateries. Event tickets are $125 and can be purchased through the website.
The theatre’s next scheduled performances are for “The SpongeBob Musical,” July 11-27, in Union Building West.
U.S., Foreign NCOs to Earn Leadership, Workforce Development Certificates
Almost 500 U.S. servicemembers and 66 international counterparts will earn degrees or certifications from the Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Center of Excellence at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 8, at the Don Haskins Center, 151 Glory Road.
Among the graduates who completed the 10-month course are representatives of the U.S. Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, U.S Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and peers from 55 foreign countries.
Each graduate will earn an undergraduate certificate in leadership and workforce development, or LWD, and be assigned to units around the world. Of them, 34, including 28 active-duty Army soldiers, completed the necessary credits to receive a bachelor’s degree in LWD issued by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
Michael R. Weimer, the 17th Sergeant Major of the Army, will be the keynote speaker. Weimer, who has held this title since August 2023, is the Army’s most senior enlisted noncommissioned officer. He serves as a personal adviser to the Army Chief of Staff on matters that affect enlisted personnel.
The center, formerly the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, is located on Biggs Army Airfield. Military and civilian organizations consider it the world’s most elite institution of enlisted professional military education.
El Paso to Receive $6 Million in Federal Funds to Provide Solar Energy
El Paso will receive $6 million in federal funds to bring solar energy to 440 households in the city, according to Precinct 2 County Commissioner David Stout.
The award stems from a nearly $250 million grant that Harris County – where Houston is located – won last year through the $7 billion federal Solar For All program administered through the Environmental Protection Agency.
The city of El Paso also applied to the Solar For All program directly and sought $100 million to provide solar panels for thousands of low-income households, but the city wasn’t one of the 60 winning recipients nationwide.
Still, Harris County developed the Texas Statewide Solar for All Coalition involving El Paso and numerous other cities throughout Texas to which Harris County is distributing funds. San Antonio, for example, received $24 million in federal grants that it will direct to the housing authority, while Austin received $31 million to provide solar to low-income households.
It’s not clear yet exactly how or when the $6 million will be distributed in El Paso. But for the households who the program will serve, the solar installations are estimated to save each household $300 in electric bills, annually.
“El Paso County was involved in a winning grant application by the Solar for All Coalition, led by Harris County. The city of El Paso is coming in with administrative and technical capacity to manage that grant in our community,” Stout said in a statement.
Also participating in the statewide solar coalition are Dallas and Tarrant Counties, the cities of Waco, Brownsville and Laredo, among others.
The post Telehealth program cuts school absences; El Paso to open cooling centers appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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