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. 

UTEP, EPCC, Texas Tech Health El Paso to Hold Winter Commencements

Several thousand graduates from Texas Tech Health El Paso, El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso will participate in winter commencement ceremonies from Dec. 12 through Dec. 19.

EPCC has scheduled two ceremonies to celebrate about 1,500 graduates who will cross the stage Friday at the Don Haskins Center, 151 Glory Road. That number includes 274 students enrolled in dual credit, early college high schools and Pathways in Technology programs.

The 1 p.m. service is for those who will earn associate of science or associate of applied science degrees or a certificate of completion. The 5 p.m. event is for those who will earn an associate of arts or associate of arts in teaching.

The scheduled keynote speaker is Jamie Merisotis, Lumina Foundation president and CEO.

UTEP Spring Commencement, May 2023. (Courtesy UTEP)

UTEP will have ceremonies at 1 and 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Haskins Center. The ceremony will recognize more than 2,900 fall and summer graduates and degree candidates.That number includes the largest fall-only cohort of degree candidates – 2,280.

On Saturday, the afternoon event is for the colleges of Education and Engineering, and the evening exercise is for the College of Liberal Arts. The first event Sunday is for the College of Science, School of Pharmacy and the Woody L. Hunt College of Business. The second is for the colleges of Nursing and Health Sciences.

The winter commencement season will end with a 6 p.m. ceremony Friday, Dec. 19, for the TTHEP Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing at the Starlight Event Center, 6650 Continental Drive. Information: commencementelp@ttuhsc.edu

The Ysleta Independent School District headquarters in East El Paso. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

Former City Rep. Henry Rivera Appointed to YISD Board

Henry Rivera

Former El Paso City Council member Henry Rivera will represent the Del Valle High School feeder pattern on the Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees.

The YISD board voted 4-1 Wednesday to appoint Rivera to the position and replace former Trustee Kathryn Lucero, who resigned in September as she prepared to move out of state.

Trustee Chris Hernandez cast the lone vote against the appointment, but did not state the reason. Trustee Shane Haggerty was absent.

Rivera, a retired El Paso police officer, is expected to take office Feb. 18 at the monthly school board meeting. He will complete Lucero’s term, which is set to expire in May 2029.

Trustee positions are nonpartisan and unpaid. YISD trustees serve four-year terms with no term limits.

The board of trustees is charged with the hiring and evaluation of the superintendent, adopting a tax rate and an annual budget, and setting goals, policies and priorities for the district. Trustees can also call for bond elections to improve and build new facilities.

Rivera represented parts of the Lower Valley and the Eastside on the El Paso City Council for eight years until he reached his term limit.

Bighorn sheep are released into Franklin Mountains State Park on Dec. 4, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

El Pasoan Named Desert Bighorn Sheep Program Leader

Texas Parks and Wildlife selected its senior wildlife biologist Jose Luis Etchart, 32, as its new desert bighorn sheep program leader. Etchart, who grew up in El Paso and remains a resident, replaces longtime program leader Froylán Hernández, who left the department this summer for a new role at the Nevada Department of Wildlife. While Hernández was based in Alpine, Texas, near Marfa, Etchart will stay based in El Paso.

LEARN MORE: First desert bighorn sheep lambs born in Franklin Mountains

In December 2024, Etchart was part of the team that reintroduced native desert bighorn sheep to the Franklin Mountains. He has been involved with desert bighorn sheep restoration in the Trans-Pecos region for nearly 10 years.

Etchart holds a bachelor’s in animal science and master’s in wildlife management from  Sul Ross State University, a public school in Alpine that encompasses the Borderlands Research Institute. Etchart worked as a wildlife technician for the program, which focuses on conservation in the Chihuahuan Desert.

PHOTOS: Desert bighorn sheep move into Franklin Mountains

As a postgraduate student, Etchart worked as a desert bighorn sheep technician for Texas Parks and Wildlife and studied the relationship between bighorns and aoudads in the Sierra Vieja Mountains of West Texas. Aoudads, a hardy non-native sheep brought from Africa, are the bighorns’ primary threat because they can carry a life-threatening bacterial disease and compete for resources.

El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Honors Businesses, Leaders

The El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce offices, 2401 E. Missouri St. (Brandy Ruiz / El Paso Matters)

The El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday honored a handful of local businesses and leaders during its 35th Anniversary Mercado recognizing community impact and entrepreneurial achievement. 

The award winners:

First Steps Award: Pinky Clean Center

Staying Power Award: Helping Hands Handyman

Military Readiness and Impact Award: ReadyOne Industries

Volunteer of the Year Award: María De Jesús Ortiz-Frausto, FirstLight Federal Credit Union

Growth for the Future Award: Raiz Federal Credit Union

Customer Service Award: FirstLight Federal Credit Union

Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Ruben Alvarez, the Marketing Hunters

Community Partner Award: University Medical Center of El Paso

The Cindy Ramos-Davidson Legacy Award, named after the former longtime CEO who died in June, was presented to Robert Davidson.

The event also marked a leadership change for the organization, which welcomed incoming chair Antonio Rico, who’ll replace Frank Spencer.

“Our award recipients remind us why the chamber exists — to champion small business, create opportunity, and strengthen our regional economy,” said Rico, CEO of ElectroSystems Engineers.

Founded in 1990, the chamber offers advocacy, education, collaboration and training to small businesses, including minority-, women- and veteran-owned enterprises.

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