ElIndeNews.com

Versión Españól

In South Tucson, Yvonne Billotte, 40, has been the only full-time female police officer out of 16 for about eight years.

On an afternoon ride along on the empty streets of South Tucson, Billotte describes her passion for being part of law enforcement while being a mother of five girls.

"I love being a police officer because I like being out in the streets and talking to people and dealing with things," Billotte said. "But I also like being a detective, solving, and finishing off a case, and arresting and charging people."

Versión Español

Butcher shops are slowly being weaned out of American culture, but in South Tucson meat shops are thriving.

Los Amigos Meat Market, 3929 S. 12th Ave., has been in business for 35 years. The market was started, and is still owned, by Tony and Mary Cardenas. Tony worked for a meat packing company and his interest in the industry is what built the business it is today. Since Tony's passing last December, Mary continues to run the shop and says her son, Tony Jr., will take over when she is done.

"I love my business, the business will stay in the family," Cardenas said.

Versión Español

Arianna Ruiz hadn't considered ballet a passion worth pursuing until she leaped, feet first, into Dancing in the Streets.

 Ruiz, a freshman at the University of Arizona, had only taken dance class at school and didn't really have interest in it, before her mom told her about the South Tucson non-profit, Dancing in the Streets.

"My mom saw them in a newspaper so I called them up," Ruiz said. "Sixth months later I was in the Nutcracker. I just fell in love with it."

Edward D. Lopez de 71 años de edad, tiene artritis. Para cubrir sus deudas está vendiendo sus dos casas, una dúplex y el edificio que ha sido suyo por aproximadamente 32 años. Parece que todo está en su contra, pero eso no impide que él y su esposa pongan a la comunidad del sur de Tucson como prioridad.
Edward y su esposa Tersita U. López de 68 años de edad, dirigen un pequeño negocio, The Gizmo Factory, ubicado en 395 W. 33rd St., donde Edward personaliza camisetas y Teresita se encarga de las finanzas. Ese era el plan para la jubilación de Edward después de terminar su carrera como bombero y su trabajo en la oficina de correos. Hoy, la tienda produce la mayoría de sus ingresos.

Edward D. Lopez, 71, has arthritis. He's selling his two houses, a duplex, and the building he's owned for about 32 years to cover his debts. It seems all odds are against him, but that doesn't stop him and his wife from putting the South Tucson community as a priority.

Edward and his wife Teresita U. Lopez, 68, run a small business, The Gizmo Factory, 395 W. 33rd St., where Edward personalizes shirts and Teresita deals with the finances. It was Edward's retirement plan post-firefighter career and a post office employee. Today, it produces most of their income.
"We're scraping to stay off the floor, everybody is having trouble, and even some of my bigger accounts have mellowed down. They used to order 10 dozen, now they order three or four dozen," Edward said.
Their business motto "No order is too small," is no sham considering Edward has done one shirt for a customer. It's his way of building a relationship with the community of South Tucson.
However, the amount of time dedicated to their non-profit volunteer organizations, The Optimist, Knights of Columbus, and Volunteer Firefighter, is incomparable to the time spent at the shop.