El Independiente

              UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Department of Journalism
Tucson, Arizona 85721
New swim coach
at Pueblo High
makes waves
Page 7
P50k, by St,pbsui, Mono,.
READING ROMP - Childivn from the La Escuelila day-care center go to the new Sam Lena Library. The children had to detour
a few blocks down South Sixth Avenue to a traffic light to cross the street because there is no crosswalk near the library.
2O-yearo1d center comes of age
By Betsy Dunlap
Fi Independiente Staff
Pio Decimo turned 20 this month and
celebrated the milestone with an August 14
open house and mass at the neighborhood
center located at 848 S. Seventh Ave.
An enthusiastic crowd of community
leaders, Pio Deciso staff and center
"regulars," turned out to recognize the
center's continued commitment to serving
South Tucsonans.
Bob Cowles, acting president of the
center's community advisory board and a
charter member of the otiginal board, said
he has seen some remarkable growth since
the center's inception.
"We started with no money - zero
dollars," he recalls. "But we felt that there
was a great need for direct social services in
this very needy area."
The budget of the center grew
substantially when it became a United Way
agency in the early '70s. Margaret Kish, the
center's director, said about half of the
center's current 8210,11)0 budget is funded
by United Way.
Kish said there has been unusual staff
commitment at Pio Declino.
"There are staff members who have been
here seven, eight, li and 14 years. You
don't find that kind of dedication in very
many small non-profit organizations."
Although Pio liecimo's most visible
services are child care and adult literacy
classes, Kish said the center is expanding its
services to teens and the elderly.
The center's preschool, day-care and
after-school programs charge nominal fees
which can be adjusted according to the
user's income. A full day of child care at the
El Independiente
center costs $8.50 and the half-day
preschool program costs $30 a month. The
only charge for after-school care is a $10
registration fee or 50 cents a day if
transportation is required.
Kish said 120 children are enrolled in the
day-care and preschool program and that
30 to 50 children are in the after-school
program.
Acting board president Cowles said that
Pio Declino has pioneered many of the
education programs.
Rewards
of reading
National Reforma
Assault on illiteracy
Sam Lena Library
Pages 4,5
"We had a bilingual program before the
public schools offered them. We were also
the site of the first Montessori preschool in
the city."
Cowles, who attended the 20-year
celebmtion, said one of the most satisfying
aspects of Pio Decimo's growih has been
seeing second and third generation
participants retuming to the center.
"lt doesn't seem like 20 years have gone
by," he said. "But we're looking forward to
the next 20."
Pflk,o b, Mgiit Moni,
Gertrude M. Figueroa (left) sews as 15-month-old Tamara Rivera waiches
her mother, Mary Helen, during a needlework class at Pio Decimo.
Development
encourages
businesses
Non-profit org.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Permit No. 190
Tucson, Arizona
McGruff
to visit
Page 3
TAKEABITEOUTOF L.. 'J"
CHIME
By lohn Pacend
El Independiente Staff
The owners of a South Tucson business
park have decided to make their
commercial complex the biggest in town, a
co-owner said.
Femando Mendoza said the Madera
Business Park, 2740 S. Fourth St., "will be
the biggest of its kind in South Tucson. We
plan to have 5,5w to 6,6(X) square feet to
lease."
Mendoza and his partner, Tom A.
Wood, will add two new buildings to the
industrial park. The first addition was
started last spring and should be finished by
December, Mendoza said.
A third buildine will be consmnwwd-',,,
land near the railroad tracks between
Fourth and Fifth Avenues and south of Old
Vail Road, Mendoza said. He did not know
the completion date of the third building.
The sale of most of the land,
approximately 8,9(X) square feet, by the city
to Mendoza and Wood was approved at the
Sept. 15 City Council meeting. However,
the sale of the land encompassing the
railroad tracks still has tobe negotiated with
Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
Madera Business Park's original building
was built in 1984 after Wood, former owner
of Wood Brothers Construction, sold his
business to Payless Cashways Inc.
Wood, wanting to slay in South Tucson,
kept a major portion of the land he owned
and started the business park with
Mendoza.
Mendoza said he hopes the additions will
provide services to current South Tucson
residents, as well as new ones moving into
the Dos Vistas Apartments, now under
construction down the street from Madera,
north of Interstate 10.
To attract business to their complex,
Mendoza and Wood have lowered the
price of leasing space in the park, Mendoza
"We lease at 35 cents a foot," Mendoza
said. "If you go out to the East side, you
will find the price at 55 to 65 cents a foot."
City Manager Enrique G. Sema said the
city tries to make South Tucson an
attractive place for business.
"You try to create advantages for
business through low interest loans and by
creating a positive image as a magnet for the
business community," Serna said. "In the
Madera case we had bonding."
Industrial revenue bonds, awarded by the
city to potential developers, have spurred
the construction of the Dos Vistas
Apartments, as well as the Madera Business
Park.
Mendoza said he expects no trouble
finding leasers for the two new buildings.
The original building is occupied by
Mendoza and Maderas offices, a
developing company, a pizza restaurant, an
employment agency, two industrial
businesses asid a church.
Volume 11, Number I Serving South Tucson September l9&S