T-minus 6 hours til the launch of Regional Identity!!!! # 
Adios ASARCO, Hello Future!
by Regional Identity Staff
February 4, 2009
“Adios ASARCO, Hello Future!” Event Recap
With recent news of ASARCO permanently shutting down, Texas Senator Eliot Shapleigh is already looking forward to the prospects of a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous El Paso.
As the city begins to plan and speculate about the outlook of the former smelting plant property, Senator Shapleigh is interested in what the UTEP student body has to say about the upcoming redevelopment of the land. The prospective uses of the ASARCO property will bring significant social, environmental, and economic effects to the region.
Anybody can attend and enjoy the festivities following the presentations!
Students, we want to know what you think should happen to the ASARCO site.
The Regional Identity, run by the Regional Economic Development Association, is proud to collaborate with Students for Reform, Get The Lead Out, and the office of Senator Eliot Shapleigh in hosting A Day in the Sun: Adios Asarco, Hello Future.
The event will act as a forum for students and student organizations to voice their opinions and plans for the future of the ASARCO site and the city. This event is your chance to spread your message, promote your organization or cause, and be heard by your Texas State Senator and El Paso Mayor John Cook! Following student presentations, regional leaders, including Senator Shapleigh, will discuss the ASARCO property topic and provide their professional input and opinions.
If you are interested in participating or attending this event, please check below for further information. Students and student organizations are encouraged to participate, everybody is encouraged to attend!
A Day in the Sun: Adios ASARCO, Hello Future
Saturday February 21, 2009
UTEP Union Cinema 11 a.m.
If you would like to submit a presentation regarding what you or your organization thinks should happen to the ASARCO site, please:
- Submit your presentation (PDF, PowerPoint) to adiosasarco@gmail.com
- Limit your presentation to 2 minutes
- Include a title, a description of your idea, a list of names of presenters and/or organization
- Possible issues to address: What should happen to the ASARCO site? Who should be responsible for the remediation efforts? Should the smokestack stand or fall?
We encourage quality and creativity. Audio and visual equipment will be provided.
Adios Party to follow in the UTEP Union Breezeway! Music, food, and networking with El Paso organizations.
Bookmark this page and refer to it for future information. For more information, please post a comment below or contact:
Richard Sapien
President
Regional Economic Development Association
rcsapien@miners.utep.edu
Priscilla Moreno
President
Students for Reform
pmmoreno@miners.utep.edu
Analisa Cordova
Legislative Intern
Office of Eliot Shapleigh
800 Wyoming, Suite A
El Paso, TX 79902
915-544-1990
Analisa.Cordova@senate.state.tx.us
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Topper February 4, 2009, 9:38 pm
great job mr prez!
Topper February 10, 2009, 6:09 am
I say build a circus there. That way it’s entertaining and those who call themselves down casts of society can have a job there. Just an idea.
Aaron Quinn February 11, 2009, 11:17 am
This battle against the smoking giant has come to a end. I believe we should do one thing for the people of el Paso. We should leave the tower up as a symbol that 300 hundred people from El Paso went to Austin to protest the reopening of Asarco last year and print their names on a metal board for their efforts to make a difference when others never bothered. The grounds should be turned into a wildlife park to make up for the border wall cut off that surrounds our beautiful city. We’re all smiling at our win but i wish Acorn was still around to bring in more members for future events. good job everyone.
priscilla February 12, 2009, 1:19 am
I like your idea Aaron, don’t be shy about submitting it. Thanks for giving props to the community members and UTEP students who went and protested at the TCEQ hearing
Dave Cortez February 12, 2009, 7:30 pm
Here here Aaron. Viva los Acornistas!
The old Asarco site outside of Denver did exactly what you are proposing; they cleaned the site and maintained some of the old plant structures as pieces of a community public park.
Who knows? We’ll see how much support that gains when people are seeing green when they look at the valuable land.
Natalia Salmeron-Mendoza February 13, 2009, 5:43 pm
Aaron I agree with you 100%
the tower needs to stay in order
to remember everyone of how power
is in the hand of the people
Erik Pavia February 15, 2009, 10:05 pm
As ugly as some people consider the tower to be, its part of the cityscape. El Paso doesn’t have much of a skyline, but the Asarco smokestack part of it. That tower has been there as long as I can remember and I can’t really imagine the city without it. It stands for a lot, and leaving it as some sort of monument is not a bad idea at all.
Charles February 15, 2009, 10:59 pm
I still remember the good old days at Mesita when that sulphur would fill your lungs and you could literally taste the air. Do you think we could somehow recreate pouring slag at night just to watch it glowing!
Chuy Licon February 19, 2009, 7:27 pm
I am glad that they have closed ASARCO. I am curious what people will decide to do with the ASARCO site. The ASARCO tower should be kept in place. It would be a marker of where a major pollutant once stood and how the people can overcome such an obstacle. I am unsure what ASARCO property will be given up but it has some potential, it is right against the river, it seems that part goes along the NM border line and it is just south of I-10. An idea is to make it a forested park, like the Bosque Park in the lower valley. I wonder what was the natural state of that area before we all came. UTEP could annex it and use it for research in cleaning up waste sites. It should end up in better condition than what it is today.