Bill Text: TX HCR166 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of John Austin Pena and the naming of the John Austin Pena Memorial Center in Edinburg.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Signed by the Governor [HCR166 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HCR166-Enrolled.html
| H.C.R. No. 166 | ||
|
|
||
| WHEREAS, May 18, 2011, marked the 10th anniversary of the | ||
| untimely passing of John Austin Pena of Edinburg, and a new drug | ||
| treatment center being completed in Hidalgo County has been named | ||
| the John Austin Pena Memorial Center in honor of this beloved young | ||
| man; and | ||
| WHEREAS, We stand together in commemoration of John's life | ||
| with his loving family members: his father and stepmother, Aaron | ||
| Pena, Jr., and Monica Pena; his mother, Criselda Pena; his dear | ||
| siblings, Adrienne Pena-Garza, Aaron Leonel Pena, Alyssa Victoria | ||
| Pena, and Michael Anthony Pena; his beloved young daughter, Chelsea | ||
| Pena, and all his other relatives; and | ||
| WHEREAS, John Austin Pena was born at Park Place Hospital in | ||
| Houston on October 4, 1984; he was a bright, spirited, cheerful | ||
| young man who had many good friends; his broad spectrum of interests | ||
| ranged from sports--especially basketball, soccer, and | ||
| baseball--to skateboarding and playing laser tag with his pals and | ||
| playing video games with his younger brother "Mikey"; endowed with | ||
| a lively imagination and curiosity, he also enjoyed writing and | ||
| traveling; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On May 18, 2001, the limitless potential that was | ||
| embodied in the life of John Austin Pena was tragically brought to | ||
| an untimely end when he and two other young people attending a | ||
| social gathering were encouraged to ingest a substance, distributed | ||
| at the gathering, that later proved to be deadly to all three; his | ||
| death and absence caused considerable anguish among his friends and | ||
| relatives, particularly his parents and siblings; many were led to | ||
| channel their deep remorse by seeking solutions to the growing drug | ||
| epidemic among our youth, with particular attention to those living | ||
| along the Texas-Mexico border; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In June 2002, John's father, Aaron Pena, embarked on | ||
| a journey to examine how Texas was dealing with rising drug abuse; | ||
| he began visiting drug treatment centers across Texas to raise | ||
| awareness of the growing problem, and the endeavor culminated with | ||
| a visit to La Hacienda Drug Treatment Center in Hunt; in order to | ||
| bring attention to the lack of treatment facilities in Texas, | ||
| Representative Pena walked 125 miles from La Hacienda treatment | ||
| center to our state Capitol in Austin; as a result of that visit, he | ||
| made a promise to bring a drug treatment center to South Texas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 2004, to further this goal of drug abuse | ||
| awareness, the John Austin Pena Memorial Scholarship was | ||
| established in John's memory by the Texas Association of Addiction | ||
| Professionals; the scholarship is presented annually to a student | ||
| in recovery who is pursuing a college degree; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On May 18, 2007, through the diligent work of his | ||
| father, State Representative Aaron Pena, the Texas House of | ||
| Representatives gave budgetary approval for a drug treatment | ||
| facility in the Rio Grande Valley; on March 26, 2010, Hidalgo County | ||
| held a ground-breaking ceremony for the substance abuse treatment | ||
| facility located at 3341 E. Richardson Road in Edinburg; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On May 17, 2011, the Hidalgo County Commissioners | ||
| Court unanimously voted to not only memorialize the legacy of a | ||
| young life cut short, but also recognize the efforts of those | ||
| inspired by that tragedy to combat the evils of drug abuse, by | ||
| ordering that the Hidalgo County Substance Abuse Treatment Facility | ||
| be designated the John Austin Pena Memorial Center; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The new John Austin Pena Memorial Center, opening in | ||
| the fall of 2011, will provide substance abuse treatment services | ||
| to adolescents on an outpatient basis; although John Pena is deeply | ||
| missed by his loved ones, the scholarship and the drug treatment | ||
| center that bear his name increase awareness and offer hope of a | ||
| brighter future to young people struggling to move beyond | ||
| addiction; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby pay tribute to the memory of John Austin Pena on the 10th | ||
| anniversary of his passing and commemorate the naming of the John | ||
| Austin Pena Memorial Center in his honor. | ||
| Guillen | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 166 was adopted by the House on May | ||
| 25, 2011, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 166 was adopted by the Senate on May | ||
| 27, 2011, by a viva-voce vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
