TITLE: Recognizing February 10 and 11, 2015, as El Paso Days at the State Capitol.

SUMMARY: Recognizing February 10 and 11, 2015, as El Paso Days at the State Capitol.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Texas House of Representatives is pleased to recognize February 10 and 11, 2015, as El Paso Days at the State Capitol; and WHEREAS, Located in the westernmost tip of the great state of Texas, the city of El Paso combines a modern metropolis with the charm born of its Spanish origins; the area was named El Paso by the Spanish conquistador Don Juan de Onate because of the shallow place in the river where the colonists crossed en route to Santa Fe, New Mexico; and WHEREAS, The arrival of the railroads in 1881 ushered in an era of prosperity, and El Paso became a flourishing frontier community that has developed into a significant industrial, commercial, and transportation city; and WHEREAS, Today, semitrailers, trains, and planes transport manufactured goods through the border cities at the Pass, just as Spanish traders did in the 16th century when they guided ox-drawn carts along the Camino Real from Mexico City to Santa Fe; and WHEREAS, With a population of nearly 700,000, El Paso is the state's sixth-largest city and the 19th-largest city in the United States; one of the largest American cities on the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, it lies on the Rio Grande north of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's fifth-largest city, with a population of more than a million; and WHEREAS, Nearby Fort Bliss, which celebrates its 167th anniversary this year, has recently completed the biggest transformation in its history, with a 300 percent increase in its population since 2005 and an investment of $6 billion in construction for new, top-of-the-line facilities for incoming personnel and their families, including a new billion-dollar military hospital; at the forefront of the U.S. Army's transformation plan, the post has transitioned from a TRADOC to a FORSCOM installation; and WHEREAS, El Paso is a vibrant, bilingual community; its residents enjoy a thriving fine arts community, exemplary educational institutions, and many cultural and historical resources and museums; and WHEREAS, El Paso Days at the State Capitol provide an opportunity to honor El Paso and its rich heritage, which today is enjoyed by residents and vacationers of all ages; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas Legislature hereby recognize February 10 and 11, 2015, as El Paso Days at the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere best wishes for an enjoyable and memorable visit to Austin; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the delegation as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Pickett M rquez Moody Gonz lez Straus Guerra Otto Allen Guillen Paddie Alonzo Gutierrez Parker Alvarado Harless Paul Anchia Hernandez Pe a Anderson of Dallas Herrero Phelan Anderson of McLennan Howard Phillips Ashby Huberty Pickett Aycock Hughes Price Bell Hunter Raney Blanco Isaac Raymond Bohac Israel Reynolds Bonnen of Brazoria Johnson Riddle Bonnen of Galveston Kacal Rinaldi Burkett Keffer Rodriguez of Bexar Burns Keough Rodriguez of Travis Burrows King of Hemphill Romero, Jr. Button King of Parker Rose Canales King of Taylor Sanford Capriglione King of Uvalde Schaefer Clardy Klick Schofield Coleman Koop Shaheen Collier Krause Sheets Cook Kuempel Sheffield Craddick Landgraf Simmons Crownover Larson Simpson Dale Laubenberg Smith Darby Leach Smithee Davis of Dallas Longoria Spitzer Davis of Harris Lozano Springer Deshotel Lucio III Stephenson Dukes M rquez Stickland Dutton Martinez Thompson of Brazoria Elkins Martinez Fischer Thompson of Harris Faircloth McClendon Tinderholt Fallon Men ndez Turner of Collin Farias Metcalf Turner of Harris Farney Meyer Turner of Tarrant Farrar Miles VanDeaver Fletcher Miller of Comal Villalba Flynn Miller of Fort Bend Vo Frank Moody Walle Frullo Morrison White of Bell Galindo Mu oz, Jr. White of Tyler Geren Murphy Workman Giddings Murr Wray Goldman Naishtat Wu Gonzales Nev rez Zedler Gonz lez Oliveira Zerwas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 105 was adopted by the House on February 11, 2015, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House