Rotarians set up rehab center in Mexico Rotarians set up rehab center in Mexico (January 14, 2005)

Immigration Service questions big white van carrying equipment
by Jeb Bing

The Pleasanton North Rotary Club has joined its sister-city club in Tulancingo, Mexico, to set up and eventually build a rehabilitation center in Cuautepec, a small city near Tulancingo.

The local club bought and received donations of exercise, gymnastic and therapy equipment valued at over $40,000, with club members driving the material to a border transfer point at Laredo, Texas, 2,800 miles away. At Laredo, the drivers, former Judge Ron Hyde and Bill Wheeler, owner of Black Tie Transportation, met David Negrete, president of the Tulancingo Rotary Club and his wife Sarah, who re-loaded the equipment into their own truck and drove it to Cuautepec.

"When we were in Tulancingo two years ago to deliver wheelchairs that we were donating, we saw the need for a rehabilitation center in Cuautepec, as well," Hyde said. "The people there have almost nothing to use for rehabilitation, so we came back to Pleasanton to work on this new project."

The equipment given to Cuautepec included therapy tables, a hydro-therapy pool, stair-stepper, stationary bicycles, weights and other tension machines and devices. Also included was ultrasound equipment to monitor improvements as a result of the therapy.

Hyde said the two clubs also arranged for rent-free use of a vacant building in Cuautepec, where the equipment is now being installed. A landowner has offered 1,000 meters of property free of charge, and Pleasanton Rotarians will probably travel to the city next year to actually build a new rehabilitation facility for the community.

Hyde said the 30-1/2 hour trip in an unmarked white truck was interrupted at times by the Immigration Service, which tracked the vehicle by helicopter and patrol cars.

"Once they finally stopped us and heard what we were doing, we were cleared to travel the rest of the way without any problems," Hyde said.

But after a day and a half of continuous driving, Hyde and Wheeler called it quits. Hyde flew home while Wheeler, who brought along his BMW W50 motorcycle, rode it through northern Mexico before heading back to Pleasanton. Rotarians Jerry Pentin and Dominic Pipitone flew to Laredo and drove the empty truck back home.

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