Category: kvia-local-news

Nicole Ardila

September is Hunger Action Month, a nation-wide campaign. Every year, Albertsons raises funds at checkout to assist local food banks, including El Pasoans Fighting Hunger and Casa de Peregrinos in Las Cruces. 

ABC-7’s Good Morning El Paso joins El Pasoans Fighting Hunger on Tuesday to talk about the importance of this campaign for the food pantry that assists residents in the borderland.

EPFH says 1 in 3 El Pasoans are food insecure.

CEO Susan Goodell shares how needed donations are, amid the changes in government funding this year for local food pantries.

This month, when shoppers checkout, they’ll be prompted on the pin pad with the question, “Do you want to help eliminate hunger?” 

They can select which dollar amount works best for them. Also at the registers, are plexiglass coin canisters where shoppers can donate spare change they might have.

Every dollar donated will also be doubled with a $300K match.

All money collected through September will be awarded to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, Casa Peregrinos, and possibly others.

The campaign runs from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, and all Albertsons locations in El Paso, Horizon City, and Las Cruces are participating.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX ( KVIA-TV)- Audrey Garcia, Program Officer at Paso del Norte Health Foundation, and Kristen Ortega, Smokefree Project Coordinator at Action for Healthy Kids, join us on ABC-7 at 4 to discuss “Spot the Vape.” This interactive game from Paso del Norte Health Foundation teaches parents, teachers, and community members how vaping devices often resemble everyday items, making them hard to spot. The activity raises awareness about deceptive tobacco marketing targeting youth and stresses prevention. Learn more at vapefreepdn.org.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)-The headlines just keep coming, market swings, economic shifts, and uncertainty around every corner. The question is: Is your retirement plan ready to weather the storm? Fiduciary financial advisor Jeff Thompson joins us to break down what these changes could mean for your financial future and, more importantly, how you can stay confident no matter what the markets do.

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Heriberto Perez Lara

JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — The Juárez Food Bank has been operating south of the city for several years now, under Mexico’s Food Bank network and funded by several private groups, along with local and Chihuahua state government departments.

The Food Bank is located south of the city on Av. Miguel de la Madrid 8715, 32696.

According to Marco Tórrez, the Food Bank’s director, they are currently distributing around 24,000 ‘despensas,’ or food boxes, per month to 12,000 families across the city; the bank’s goal is to reach 15,000 families per month.

To be able to help those 15,000 families in need each month until the end of 2026, Director Tórrez says the Food Bank needs around 40 million Mexican pesos, or about $2.1 million.

The Juárez Food Bank has created a GlobalGiving account for anyone who wants or is willing to donate to their cause and help continue feeding low-income families in Juárez.

More updates in later newscasts.

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Rosemary Montañez

SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) — Some families are feeling hopeful after conditions have improved at Memory Gardens of the Valley in Santa Teresa.

Many prominent El Paso figures are buried here, including Don Haskins and Abraham Chavez.

Back in June, loved ones were frustrated and seeking answers to what they called the declining state of the cemetery. ABC-7 found dead grass, sunken headstones, gopher mounds, ant hills and dying trees.

Gary Aboud’s 14-year-old son, Braden, is buried there, as well as 10 other family members. He is a frequent visitor.

“When we come to reflect on the lives well lived by them, we come to find some peace, and the surrounding has just really become so sad for us to visit on a regular basis,” he said.

Aboud explained how the conditions had evolved over the last few years.

“It has just deteriorated. Unbelievable over the last probably 5 to 7 years, and I just felt the need to come forward, not just for my family, but for this community,” Aboud said.

Other loved ones also noticed the visible transformation. Nichole Diamond’s mother is buried here. She said visiting her mother’s graveside was difficult.

“To see it in this kind of neglect is just, it’s just very disappointing for her and for family like myself. Now, when we come back, it’s almost like it hurts all over again. And so I think a lot of people are very disappointed,” Diamond said.

She and others were calling on management to make urgently needed repairs.

“I’m just calling for a little responsibility from the owners to understand that it’s not only our loved ones’ peace but our peace as well,” she said.

Aboud said he felt like he had no other choice and had even brought his gardener to weed his son’s plot.

He said he had complained throughout the years, but nothing had ever been done about it.

“These last several months, it’s taken just a different direction and has gotten substantially worse than, than I’ve seen it in years, to be honest with you.”

Aboud said a change in ownership is to blame. ABC-7 learned the owners live in Knoxville, TN., not in Santa Teresa.

He explained ownership shifted in the early 2000s, and that’s when he began to notice the gradual changes in maintenance and upkeep.

“They have, what I understand, quite a few cemeteries. And I just think it’s one of these situations, out of sight, out of mind. And I don’t think that they have a real comprehension of how this area actually looks,” he said.

In June, Aboud’s wife made a post on Facebook criticizing the conditions of the cemetery. The post was shared dozens of times and received many comments sharing their same sentiments from others.

Aboud said this prompted the cemetery to hire temporary workers to clean up the property. He said prior to this, he hadn’t seen employees in about three or four years.

ABC-7 visited the office of Memory Gardens of the Valley.

The cemetery only provided ABC-7 with a written statement. It reads in part: “We take our responsibility to the families we serve very seriously at Memory Gardens of the Valley. We have experienced issues with personnel and irrigation system over the past several months. We have that behind us, and we are working diligently towards our resolutions on our water system. We currently have about half of the water system operational and we hope to have 100% operational by the end of the week.”

Aboud argued this was a years-long issue and not just a recent problem with the irrigation system.

ABC-7 filed multiple open records requests with the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, the County of Doña Ana and the City of Sunland Park. We inquired if any formal complaints had been filed against Memory Gardens of the Valley pertaining to the conditions.

In the end, no responsive records were found.

ABC-7 also attempted multiple times to get in contact with the owners of Memory Gardens of the Valley, Dennis and Kim Bridges. We requested an on-camera interview, seeking further clarification and to get their side of their story.

ABC-7 finally heard back in early August.

They wrote an email that stated in part, “Over the last several weeks Memory Gardens of the Valley has made great progress with our irrigation system and the impact it has had with our grass growth. Our grounds crew is fully staffed and we are working through garden by garden to identity and correct problem areas. We are not at 100% as yet, however, it can’t be overlooked that the problem areas are getting smaller and smaller every day.”

ABC-7 also returned to the Memory Gardens of the Valley to check on the current conditions. The area had changed. ABC-7 also met up with Gary Aboud to get his thoughts on the improvements.

“It’s greener, and I’m sure that’s because of the rain. But if you’re up close, most of the green is crabgrass and weeds, to be honest with you. And I know they’re making an effort. I can see the sprinklers are running on the south side, which is good news. But they’re actually watering a lot of the driveway, to be honest.”

Aboud said the fundamental issues were still present.

“I’m not quite sure what they are watering, but they are working, and they look like they’re working well. I just know that there’s still lots and lots of patches on the ground, and there are a lot of sunken markers as well.”

Memory Gardens of the Valley in Santa Teresa is an endowed care cemetery. It’s privately owned; a portion of what families pay goes into creating a trust fund to help with the upkeep of the cemetery.

The New Mexico Financial Institution Division told ABC-7 they don’t oversee the cemeteries, but rather that is left to the local government.

The City of Sunland Park said, “We provide the business registration. It is privately owned, and a political subdivision (I.e. City) has no authority to impose on the operation on a private business.”

Essentially, no one regulates or oversees the conditions of Memory Gardens of the Valley.

Aboud said he won’t stop raising concerns until his son’s resting place is restored.

“This is not the end. We are going to continue to be very aggressive. We’re not giving up, to be honest with you. We’re moving forward. We’re gonna, we’re doing it for everybody. We’re not just doing it for ourselves.”

In the final days of August and almost three months since our investigation began, we returned to the Memory Gardens of the Valley cemetery. The grass was much greener, and many tombstones had been cleaned up. Many workers were still working on portions of cemetery.

Aboud said while the conditions are a lot better, they are still not 100% where they should be.

He said his family and many others feel hopeful about the future of this cemetery, but he said he won’t stop raising concerns and pressing for answers.

The City of Sunland Park said families with loved ones buried at the Memory Gardens of the Valley Cemetery who have concerns can reach out to the BBB or to the New Mexico Attorney General.

Those in Texas can file a formal complaint with the State of Texas through the Texas Funeral Service Commission. You can fill out a complaint form by clicking here.

You can also learn more by visiting the Texas Department of Banking.

Those in New Mexico can submit a complaint through the New Mexico Department of Justice. Click here to learn more.

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Nicole Ardila

Canutillo Independent School District’s bond program is finally out of the design phase and ready to start construction for new schools.

Last May, voters approved $386 million for one of the largest investments in student infrastructure in the county.

They’re ready to rebuild four brand new schools:

Northwest Early College High School

Canutillo Middle School

Alderete Middle School

Deanna Davenport Elementary School

Canutillo ISD spokesperson Gustavo Reveles told ABC-7 that the reconstruction and relocation were very much needed because of the worn down conditions of the older buildings.

“These schools are going to be placed in new neighborhoods that are growing in order to better meet the demand for growth. We know that we have tons and tons of students that live in Canutillo ISD, but do not come to our schools because we don’t have a school near their their homes,” said Reveles. “So we want to make sure that we’re responding to that need.”

For those four new schools, it could take three years to build.

Six other schools are getting safety and security upgrades, new HVAC units, and improvements in wireless connectivity.

Reveles said that by law, the money can only be used for this purpose, and not for other uses like increasing current teacher salaries.

“All that money, it’s being accounted for is being reported back to the community, and we’re making sure that that money, the expectation that the community has, it’s being used in a transparent way, in an efficient way, so that we deliver these projects not only on time, but on budget,” said Reveles.

According to him, the six campuses getting upgrades could have the new features within a year.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV) – Rebaño Chivas El Paso announced the Grand Opening of its official academy headquarters in the Borderland. The academy welcomes all young athletes.  Santiago “Sonny” Torres, the President and owner of Rebaño Chivas El Paso, joins us live to discuss the opening of the new academy and explains how the program helps players succeed on the field. www.rebanochivas.us

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Paul Cicala

EL PASO (KVIA) – The Plaza Hotel is inviting the public to save the evening of Tuesday, August 26th as part of National Dog Day, when they will host an elevated “Yappy Hour” from 5-7pm.  The Paws & Pour Social at La Perla, the 17-floor contemporary rooftop bar, will include a variety of food and beverage offerings and showcase the pet-friendly atmosphere at The Plaza. 

ABC-7 anchor Paul Cicala had an Xtra Depth story that details this event. It’s another edition of People, Places & Paul.

 Tickets for Tuesday night’s event can be purchased by clicking here.

In a press release, the Plaza Hotel added: “And don’t forget that the Plaza offers a dog package for overnighters in the Sun City Pawcation.  It’s a red-carpet experience for pooches and, as always, an ideal place for pet-owners to enjoy a stay at the hotel too!”

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Rosemary Montañez

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KVIA)– In a packed room full of educators, 28-year-old Arcelia “Arcy” Mendoza gave a message of inspiration and encouragement. The Gadsden Independent School District recently welcomed the alumni to a special professional development session.

The 28-year-old graduated from Gadsden High School in 2016.

She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 8 months old. A lack of oxygen during birth damaged the motor system of her brain.

Her condition affects her mobility and speech. Mendoza requires a power wheelchair to get around, but she has not allowed this disability to define her.

“My brain cannot control most of my body movements, but I still can learn to think and feel like any average person,” she said.

She also has to communicate differently. Mendoza has a communication device and an IPad in front of her at all times.

Mendoza uses her wheelchair’s joystick as a cursor to select the words on the screen that she wants, and then they’re spoken by the machine. She also used an IPad to stay in touch with her friends and family.

But Mendoza said she’s just a regular young adult who enjoys hanging out with friends.

She’s currently double-majoring at New Mexico State University in Journalism and Media Studies and Spanish.

“College has given me independence, courage, and confidence to feel more comfortable,” she explained.

Mendoza wants to become a bilingual disability journalist advocate. She wants to be a voice of change for others and promote inclusivity for all.

“My future goals as a journalist are to empower diverse abilities, put a spotlight on those with different abilities who are succeeding in their own way and raise awareness that disabilities aren’t impossibilities.”

During her visit to Gadsden ISD, Mendoza was able to catch up with some of her educators that she has known since she was a child.

Esmeralda Araujo, an occupational therapist at GISD, and Katrina Garza, a physical therapist at the district, said Mendoza’s determination has never wavered. It’s something they saw in her since a young age.

“Just light in her eyes, you know, fire in her eyes, like you knew that she needed a more robust system to communicate. She was going to be able to, you know, accomplish all the things that she’s accomplishing right now. You could see that in her at age three.”

Garza said Mendoza was always motivated to take on her next challenge.

“She embraced it instead of running from it. Just like with her motorized wheelchair, she had to learn how to use it. And then she brought it to school,” Garza said.

During pre-K, Mendoza was introduced to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device by the GISD’s Special Education team.

If Mendoza was told she wouldn’t be able to do it, she always found a way.

“She didn’t; never had fear. If I said “Try this,” she’d try it. Even if I could tell it was really difficult for her,” said her former physical therapist.

During her teenage years, Mendoza struggled with her identity and accepting who she is. She said she was even depressed.

“Society indoctrinates us to think that being disabled is something abnormal and making us feel less than others. And as much as we try to belong and fit into what society considers normal, we simply cannot because we are different,” Mendoza said.

Now, she fully embraces who she is.

“I did not want to accept my disability as part of me. I did not want that part that made me different from the others, but little by little, I understood that this difference is what makes me original, unique, and authentic. My disability is part of me, but it does not define me.”

She has stayed connected with her educators at Gadsden ISD over the years.

“She’s taught me more than what I’ve taught her because she, she is a well-rounded person,” Garza said.

“I think I’ve learned a lot from her. One of the presentations, you know, she she challenges us to not think of individuals with a disability, but to think of them as a person with different abilities. Right? Even just the wording, the power that that word has. So always learning from her and learning from each other and staying connected,” Araujo added.

Mendoza hopes to continue sharing her story at workshops and conferences. She is expected to graduate from NMSU this December.

If you have a Good Vibes Only story, please e-mail news@kvia.com.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV) – Qualifying participants can receive free diapers, wipes, and access to resources such as childbirth classes, birth support, lactation, and parenting or pregnancy classes, while supplies last.

Last year, Guiding Star Southwest served over 280 families. To be eligible for no-cost benefits, participants must reside in Texas and be a parent or guardian of a child under 37 months old, a pregnant woman, a biological father, or an adoptive parent. Proof of eligibility may be required.

For more information or to sign up for services such as pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, or classes, please call 915-544-9600 or email herodrives@guidingstarsouthwest.org to get started.

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