Deborah Tomai, president of the Rio Grande Valley Down Syndrome Association, and her son Ben invited the Edinburg City Council to the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk.
The event will take place at 9 a.m. on Oct. 19 at the Edinburg Municipal Park, located at 714 S. Raul Longoria Road.
“We appreciate the work that Edinburg does to be inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities, particularly people with Down syndrome,” Tomai said during the public comment period. “We meet with several city staff members as we get ready for the walk every year, and we have done the walk 11 of 12 years at the Edinburg Municipal Park; this is our 12th year to do it.”
Registration for the event is currently open on the RGVDSA website. Tickets for adults and children are $15. Persons with Down syndrome can attend the walk for free.
Ronnie Larralde, executive director for the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, announced the new date for the Texas Cook’Em High Steaks festival, which typically takes place the Fourth of July weekend but was postponed due to Hurricane Beryl.
The four-day festival begins Saturday at the Ebony Hills Golf Club, located at 300 W. Palm Drive, in Edinburg.
Larralde said the “massive event” will include a $20,000 award for the competition, food, free entertainment, local bands, a car show, a freedom jump parachute and a firework show.
“On top of that, we’re honored to celebrate some scholarships for local veterans [at] UTRGV,” he said.
Chief of the Edinburg Police Department, Jaime Ayala, introduced its newest member, Domino, a 4-year-old poodle.
“Domino came to fruition through some collaboration with Canines for Warriors,” Ayala said. “It is a group that trains therapy dogs for military personnel as well as first responders.”
He said the police department had been looking for a therapy dog for some time.
“We are super excited to have him rolling around the department and out in the community,” Ayala said. “We are looking forward to him getting to know our personnel here at council as well.”
The council passed a proclamation recognizing October as Fire Prevention Month.
“According to the National Fire Protection Association, in the United States, an average of 360,000 homes experience structural fires each year, killing 2,700 people,” City Secretary Clarice Balderas said.
Balderas said that Fire Prevention Week, the longest-running public health observance on record, which runs through Saturday, aims to aid in reinforcing the critical importance of developing a home fire escape plan.
“For the next four months, our marshal’s office will be visiting every elementary school and performing a show for them to teach them about fire safety,” Edinburg Fire Chief Omar Garza said. “We’ll visit over 32 campuses and reach about 20,000 kids by the time they’re done.”
Domino, the Edinburg Police Department’s therapy dog, sits in front of the city council while being recognized during Tuesday’s meeting. Raquel Cazares/THE RIDER
