It’s Not Like Living In Lime Springs!
Most of you are aware that Pat and I are spending our second winter in Mission, Texas. Or at least Mission is our address. Our actual location is west of the town of Palmview, which is west of Mission. And we are less than three miles from Mexico.
We watch the local news on TV with interest. Living near Mexico is not like living in Lime Springs or Cedar Rapids or Owatonna—or any other place I’ve ever been in the upper Midwest.
Living Near Mexico
A few weeks ago, the Lime Springs Herald reported on school lunches and what happens when students lunch bills get too high. Today we toured the La Joya Independent School District’s nutrition center, which is only half-a-mile from us.
This district includes 226 square miles. Its southern border is the Rio Grand River. I’ve read that 99% of its students are Hispanic. I believe it; no blondes around here!
About 88% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches! Probably because of this, the lunches are provide free to all.
This school district has about 30,000 students and serves about 50,000 meals five days/week. That includes breakfast and lunch. The nutritionist told us that they try to give them a really good meal on Fridays because many kids don’t get much to eat over the weekend.
School Police Department
This school district has its own police department! It has 40 officers and 30 “safety guys” whose title I can’t remember. There are four officers in each of the three high schools in the district.
Marijuana is almost a daily issue in the school system.
Like I said, living near Mexico is not like living in Lime Springs!
Oh, there’s another difference, too! It’s been over 80* each of the last two days.