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Behalf Of fnsnews@nmsu.edu Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 12:03 PM Subject: FNS News: Flames or Frost? ----- November 4, 2009 Education News Flames or Frost? Parents of school children in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez face a quandary: Should their young ones shiver in classrooms or risk injury and possible death from a cheap, makeshift heater? As winter weather approaches, some parents criticize the lack of heating in 37 portable classrooms set up in the rapidly-growing southern section of the city. Each portable unit serves between 35-40 elementary students. Eleven schools that were supposed to be finished at the start of the fall semester are not completed, said Alejandro Mendoza Vasquez, chief of educational services for the Chihuahua state department of education's northern zone. Resident Rigoberto Espinoza contended that cold classroom conditions caused his first-grade son to fall ill and "make all of us sick." A neighboring parent, Angel Trujillo, shared Espinoza's concerns, adding that his daughter and her two friends also got sick from a chilly room. But Dora Armendariz, mother of two students, said it was better to wait until a new school with an adequate heating system is finished. Installing a temporary heater in a portable classroom is risky business, Armendariz asserted. Guillermo Narro Garza, general director of the state education department's northern zone, seconded Armendariz's stance. A fire could rapidly engulf a portable classroom in flames, he said. Every year, malfunctioning portable heaters cause numerous injuries and deaths in Ciudad Juarez. Last winter, 102 people in the city were poisoned from carbon monoxide fumes, according to the Chihuahua State Civil Protection Department. According to Angel Trujillo, local students have had a rough time this school year-even having to sit on the ground because of an initial shortage of seats and tables when school got underway. No certified teachers were available to teach the children at the beginning of the school year, Trujillo complained, forcing local mothers to act as substitutes. New schools with modern heating and air conditioning systems are expected to be up and running within the next few months, but parents in at least one school have been asked to donate about $20 each to help finish the state-sponsored project, Espinoza added. Last week, Ciudad Juarez was hit with an early blast of winter-like weather as snow dusted the high desert ground. For the next several days at least, the city should get a break from the chills. Temperatures through next Monday are forecast to range from lows in the 40s and 50s to highs in the upper 60s and mid 70s. Homero Navarro Fraye, Chihuahua state coordinator of civil protection, predicted a cold winter in store for Ciudad Juarez, with at least 60 cold fronts expected to descend on the borderland. Sources: El Diario de Juarez, November 2 and 4, 2009. Articles by Guadalupe Felix. Norte, November 4, 2009. Article by Salvador Castro. wunderground.org, November 3, 2009. Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news Center for Latin American and Border Studies New Mexico State University Las Cruces,New Mexico For a free electronic subscription email: fnsnews@nmsu.ed
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