Manuel (left) and Valente Valenzuela wore their uniforms at a recent presentation at UTEP. (Brenda Armendariz/Borderzine,com)

Vietnam veterans fight a new war against deportation from the country they served

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EL PASO — Manuel and Valente Valenzuela have been fighting a war all their lives. The U.S. military veterans fought for America in heavy rain under enemy fire in the Vietnam War but now the country they fought for wants to kick them out. They wore the Army and Marine uniforms, laced-up their boots, loaded their weapons, and protected the soil they stand on today. Now they are engaged in a different kind of war, defending themselves against their own government in a protracted fight for citizenship and the right to remain in the U.S.

On November 2008, Manuel Valenzuela, an Army veteran, received a removal notice from Homeland Security stating that he was being deported from this country. A few months later in January 2009 his brother Valente, a Marine veteran, received the same notice.

Helper Natividad Vasquez (right) and cook Lupita Ceron de Navarrete prepare steak fingers at Hillcrest Middle School. (Brenda Armendariz/Borderzine.com)

New federal school-meal guidelines cause concern in some and revulsion in others

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EL PASO — Just like Cookie Monster who is now eating more vegetables and fewer cookies, students in all El Paso school districts must also eat a healthier diet due to the new federal nutrition standards for school meals. But many young students are tossing their healthy meals at Oscar’s garbage can. Officials say that high school students have been more accepting of the new menu, but middle school students have been placing the required fruits or vegetables right into the garbage can. The new federal nutrition standards went into effect on July 1st, 2012 as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 introduced by First Lady Michelle Obama. These meals must meet science-based requirements to provide a healthier lifestyle to students in Texas schools.