We got a little reprieve last week; we only had 38 calls for service! Officers had some extra time on their hands and conducted 110 traffic stops. Of those traffic stops, 94 resulted in a citation and 16 were warnings.
There is not much to report this week, so brace yourself for boredom. We only had one property crime: #1 – The Animal Control Director reported a possible burglary at Diamond S Buildings (19650 IH-35 Access Rd.). We discovered that someone pushed out a window AC unit and made entry. The owner reported 2 Takamine acoustic guitars were missing; they were valued at $350 each. Somewhere, some crooks are strumming on those guitars. If you happened to hear them, give us a call.
Officers made two arrests this past week: #1 – Officer S. Pena observed a Hondo ATV being operated on a public roadway. He attempted to make a traffic stop but the ATV rider opted to “run.” A pursuit ensued and with the help of Ofc. J. Cortez and ACSO Deputy E. Lopez the suspect was taken into custody. He was booked on a felony charge of evading arrests. #2 – Officer J. Cortez (assisted by Ofc. Pena) conducted a traffic stop on Main St. at Bank. A female was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia and a handgun was seized (the serial number had been altered). More charges are pending.
What else is happening around town? To put it simply; lots of growth. The city has three new subdivisions in various stages. Saddle Ridge Estates (which got out of the gate first) is building strong, by Halloween that will be some prime “Trick or Treat” territory.
The 7-Eleven / Stripes is getting close to completion. They were hoping to open in early August, but it looks like it will be a little later. The old Days Inn (originally the El Cid) hotel is long gone, replaced by fuel pumps and Slurpee machines.
I can’t believe it, but school starts in less than a month! August 11th will be the first day back for students at Lytle I.S.D. This year, like all the years in the past, the Lytle P.D. will do our part to get this school year started on a good note. Please take notice of the school zones and be understanding of the heavy congestion that comes along with the first few days of school. After the first few days it becomes just moderate congestion.
Category: Commentary
The 4th of July Fireworks show was a blast!
Your Lytle PD officers kept busy this past week. For the 7-day period that ended on July 10 we had a total of 63 calls for service. That period also included 87 traffic stops with 80 of those resulting in citations and 7 resulting in warnings.
Only two property crimes were reported last week. #1 – A 2014 Nissan Sentra was reported stolen. The owner had parked the car at John Lott Park (Adams St. side). #2 – A Bruce St. resident reported that her car was “keyed”.
Arrests for the last week: #1 – (Ofc. Diaz & Sgt. Hanson) A motorist stopped for speeding on Main St. was determined to be DWI. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 & #3 – (Ofc. Diaz) Traffic stop at 2:40 AM resulted in two juveniles being cited for curfew violation, they were released to guardians. #4 – (Ofc. A. Lopez & Capt. Reyes) Officers responded to a trespasser in the 18000 Blk. of FM 2790 (by the Animal Control Facility). A male was arrested for trespassing and booked into the Medina Co. Jail. #5, #6, & #7 (!) – (Ofc. Cortez & Ofc. Pena) Officers responded to the Whataburger for a disturbance. The end result was one person arrested for DWI and a warrant for DWI, a passenger was arrested for a warrant out of Kendal Co. (marijuana possession), and another person was arrested for public intoxication. Three arrests for the price of one. They were all booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. This is the kind of stuff our officers deal with at 4:42 AM when most of us are home sleeping.
Crime of the Week: Aggravated Robbery – On Thursday July 7th at approx. 12:13 AM Sgt. Hanson was on routine patrol. He turned off of Wisdom Rd. onto Ball Rd. and observed a robbery in progress. Two victims were lying face down on the roadway, the suspects jumped into their vehicle and fled. Sgt. Hanson pursued them and they crashed out at Greenwood Rd. and Old Pearsall Rd. The suspects escaped on foot, and we are working to get them identified. It appears our suspect(s) impersonated law enforcement during the robbery. This case is under investigation.
The 4th of July Fireworks show was a blast! A bunch of people showed up and endured the heat for a good time. It would appear that the food trucks were a huge hit; I saw long lines and some ran out of product. I got that one wrong, I figured they wouldn’t do that well. My thought process was that people would be cooking out all day and the last thing on their mind would be food trucks. I stand corrected, this makes about the 6th or 7th time I have been wrong on something….so write it down. I talked to a lot of people and they all had positive comments about the event.
I stepped outside my comfort zone last week and was a youth camp sponsor for our church. I headed up to Highland Lakes Camp in Spicewood the morning following the fireworks show, my son and two other young men were in my care. I spent three nights in a bunkhouse we shared with about 40 kids and adults from La Vernia FBC, they were awesome. I’m not sure what they feed those boys over there, it looked more like a college football team. I was lucky and had two mattresses; I believe both of them were WWII surplus. Everyone said the food was really good for “camp food”, I didn’t miss any meals. There was a zip line, a pool, a banana boat (there was still enough water in Lake Travis, I’m not sure for how long), awesome speakers and worship music. Like most places these days they were short staffed, but they made do. By Friday morning I was wore out. If I was running that thing the schedule would include nap time.
Reunion
We had our big family reunion last weekend, and there were cousins galore. We must have three dozen little hooligans between all of us. Family reunions are a little complicated to plan, but it sure is nice to get to actually talk to your cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts, and uncles. Even though many of us live in the same town, we are all busy with other stuff and seldom take that time.
This weekend, I learned that one of our little cousins is going to be a veterinarian, surgeon, or doctor, so that’s good to know. She’s only in the fourth grade, but I have no doubt she will be exactly one of those things.
I missed the sand volleyball game this year for fear of collapsing after I chased Tucker back and forth between every cousin’s cabin a million times. That resort is lots of fun, but there are A LOT of hills and stairs. It seems that everywhere you go is uphill, both ways.
Every day we had a huge buffet of home cooked food and casseroles to choose from, but I am sure we worked it off on those hills.
Yes a family reunion is a lot of planning and organization, but it’s well worth it.
Garlic does what?
The month of July seems to be flying by, doesn’t it? By the time some of you read this it will be within days of being half over. My week has been nice and quiet, no meetings and doing whatever crafts or sewing that I wanted to. It has been very enjoyable, with a little visiting, an evening with a friend playing a board game until all hours and a shopping trip to Victoria. Now, the fun begins with Pokeno on Monday, a funeral and then a meeting on Tuesday and who knows what else the rest of the week!
This week, I decided to tell you a little bit about garlic. It seems to be in the forefront in articles that your read telling you that it helps control heart problems and cholesterol, etc. They have even come out with pills so you don’t have “garlic breath” if you follow a regimen to help with any illnesses. When I went into the search mode on my computer, I quickly found that there were nearly 30-million sites concerning garlic. Parts of this article are from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, parts are from About.com:Home Cooking and some is from Cookbook:Garlic – Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks.
Garlic is a member of the lily family, as are onions, leeks and chives. The scientific name for garlic is allium sativum. Unlike onions, leeks and chives, garlic is generally used as a spice or a seasoning rather than as a vegetable due to its extremely strong flavor.
The word garlic comes from Old English garleac, which means, “spear leek”.
Garlic was referred to in the Old World, Egyptian and Indian cultures 5,000 years ago, and there is historical evidence of it being used by the Babylonians 4,500 years ago, and by the Chinese over 2,000 years ago. Until the first quarter of the twentieth century, garlic was not very popular in the United States and was found mostly in ethnic dishes in working-class neighborhoods. But, by 1940, America finally recognized the value of garlic, not only as a seasoning, but also as a major ingredient in recipes
Egyptians worshipped garlic and placed clay models of garlic bulbs in the tomb of Tutankhamen. It was so highly prized, that it was used as currency.
An old folklore belief was that garlic repelled vampires and protected against the Evil Eye, as well as numerous other beliefs.
It grows wild only in Central Asia today. Garlic grew wild over a much larger region, and wild garlic may have occurred in an area from China to India to Egypt to the Ukraine. This is considered its “center of origin”, as this is the geographic region where the crop originated and the only place where it grew wild.
Many cooks make the mistake of thinking that the large bulb of garlic you buy is a clove of garlic. This is not true by any means. The whole garlic is called a “head” or a “knob”. Each segment is called a “clove” of garlic. In other words, if a recipe calls for three cloves of garlic, you would use three of the separate segments. Garlic will keep a long time if the heads are stored in a cool dark place. If you keep them in the fridge, they will sprout and taste bitter.
Cookbook:Garlic states that garlic heads can be frozen, without ill-effect, or they can simply be stored in a dark cupboard away from moisture. If you buy the garlic braids, they should be hung up to prevent bruising of the cloves. It also states that if you want to store garlic gloves individually and ready for use, the garlic must be either dried or processed. A good way to freeze prepared garlic is to crush or mince it in a food processor and mix it with a little water, then freeze it in an ice cube tray, so that the cubes can be used as needed. It also can be frozen in olive oil, or frozen whole. You should never under any circumstances should you leave garlic in olive oil at room temperature or leave garlic in oil to sit on the counter. Since garlic is grown in the ground, it can be contaminated with botulism spores, which are almost impossible to remove. The spores are generally harmless in their normal state, but because they are anaerobic bacteria, they will grow if the conditions are right – that is, submersed in oil and stored at room temperature. These spores cannot grow in the cold, so freeze or refrigerate it, or store the garlic in vodka, wine or vinegar rather than oil.
In this day and age, we no longer really have to use fresh garlic and have our hands and cutting boards smelling of garlic. We can simply use a bottle of garlic from the grocery store. It keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator and the garlic odor does not penetrate the glass, so your fridge does not smell of garlic.
You may not believe this, but in one of the sites, there was even a recipe for garlic ice cream! No thank you not for this lady! Most of us just use garlic when we make spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread to go with the dish and in the seasoning of our chili and beans.
Spicy Garlic Chicken Skewers
Ingredients:
Water, for soaking skewers
1 dozen 10-inch bamboo skewers
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons English or Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into thin strips
Instructions: Soak 12 bamboo skewers in water for at least 20 minutes
Meanwhile, in a non-reactive bowl (i.e. glass), mix together the garlic, honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Toss in the chicken strips and stir until well combined. Cover and marinate 20 to 30 minutes or overnight. Prepare outdoor grill or preheat broiler to high. Thread marinated chicken onto skewers. Cook over the hot cools of an outdoor grill 5 to 6 minutes. Or, arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil 6 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally until well browned and cooked through. Yield: 4 servings.
Garlic Broiled Shrimp
2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined, with tails left on
½ cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
Salt and pepper to taste if desired
Place cleaned, seasoned shrimp on a foil-lined baking sheet. Melt butter with minced garlic over a low heat and cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Brush shrimp with butter mixture, place under broiler and broil for 3 minutes. Brush shrimp again and turn over. Brush this side and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Serve with red sauce, if desired.
When my grandchildren were small, my daughter gave me the recipe for this bubble stuff. It would not be long before there would be ten or more children in my yard chasing bubbles. Everyone loved it, and now my great-grandchildren love it also!
Super Duper Bubbles
6 cups tap water
2 cups dishwashing liquid (I usually use Dawn®, because that is what I have on hand, but Joy® works really well also)
¾ cup white corn syrup (this makes the bubbles last longer, but can be omitted if you don’t have any)
Mix all ingredients in a clean 1-gallon water, milk or juice jug. Stir to mix thoroughly.
Pour some of the mixture in a shallow pan on a flat surface outdoors. One of the 8-inch or 9-inch clay or plastic pans (that are used under a flowerpot) works great. An aluminum pie tin works well, but tips over easily! Dip wand into mixture and wave gently through the air. If too many bubbles form on top, blow excess off. This happens if you stir it too much while using it. This mixture can be poured back into the container to use again another day. The best bubble wands for this are the new larger ones that are now on the market at most of the dollar stores. Have fun.
No rain.
No rain. No rain. Sounds like the crowd chant at Woodstock. Times were simpler back in the late 60’s. Nowadays, with runaway inflation, a President that don’t know what’s going on (and don’t care) and an ineffective Congress we are at the mercy of price gouging and a deflated dollar. I heard it was pride month last month…I’m proud of being an American, proud of my kids and grandkids, proud of where I am in life, proud of my accomplishments, proud of my wife…don’t believe I left anything out.
It’s Budget season all over and the taxing entities are going through the process of preparing for the next fiscal year. All of them are waiting on the final numbers from the Appraisal District. That means waiting until all of the 4,200 protests have been heard and resolved. Once that happens, tax rates can be set by these entities based on this Tax Base…the total value of all the properties in Medina County. THEN…you get the bill to fund them and keep these operating in the manner that they have decided on.
But first…the Appraisal District. The Appraisal Board is made up of common folk selected from various parts of the County and make the decisions that the Appraiser follows. Medina County has a representative on the Board (Melissa Lutz, our Tax Assessor/Collector) BUT, she has no vote on issues that come before the Board. The Chairman is Tim Hardt from the Castroville area, Vice Chairman is Jody Jacobs from Hondo, Secretary is Mamie Navarro from the Devine area, Cindy Segovia is from the Natalia area and Clay Bell is from the D’Hanis area. Medina County pays approximately 25% of the cost of running this operation with the rest spread out among the other taxing entities. Their total Budget is $1,559,155 with $1,021,855 going to salaries and benefits.
The Appraisal Board voted to give the Appraisal District employees a 7% pay raise this coming year. Don’t sound like much but….that means that Johnette Dixon, the Chief Appraiser, will be getting a $609.58 a month raise in pay bringing her annual salary to $111,815 (that figures out to be $53.75 per hour). The least paid employee in this Office will only get a $169.17 per month raise. I do not believe that the Chief Appraiser will have any problems paying for her increase in Appraisal with this kind of raise. I do not know (yet) if the increased Appraisals affected them like it has affected the rest of us. I believe that anyone can sit there and say “we’re going up 10% on appraisals” every year.
My Appraisal went up $56,490 from last year. The only thing that I have done to improve my residence is mow the grass and Sandy does that. This is absurd and downright criminal. My protest hearing is on July 8th. I believe that it is time to take a stand.
There has been an organization formed recently called the Medina County Taxpayers Association and I intend to be an active member. There is a way to be heard without marching in the streets, burning businesses or vandalism. These elected folks will listen when it comes election time and this includes State level Candidates. The time to sit back on your gluteus maximus and complain among friends has passed. Change needs to occur and why not start in Medina County America?
Commissioners Court is also in Budget mode. We have been listening to Department Heads presenting their ideas to us…some of them are wishful thinking and some are justified. When we get the final numbers, then we can set our tax rate. I am going to push for the Effective Tax Rate (a rate that brings in the same amount of money as the previous year). More on this later..running outta space.
Your Pct 4 crew is busy re-paving roads and trying to maintain the roadways during this heat. So, if you see them sitting in the truck taking a break, give em a little slack…its hotter’n the hinges of Hades out there.
Helped Butch Morgan (the bowling ball man) move some furniture that was too big for Eddie Hutzler’s room at the nursing home. Eddie has not lost a step…recognized me with a mask on. Butch, you are a good man and a better Christian. We had a short discussion on life and such with more to come. Mawmaw (Johnnie Faye Evans) turned 89 the other day and she ain’t lost a step neither. Sorry we missed your birthday celebration…
Mean Aunt Kayleen
It was a pretty good weekend. First we got to have a cousin sleepover with Audrey and Pauliney. The kids had so much fun playing and arguing. We have two tiny trampolines and at one point Tucker agitated Audrey by jumping on her trampoline so she fixed that pretty fast. She picked up the end of it and dumped him right off. It’s okay though, Tucker landed on his feet just like a cat. Audrey is normally super sweet and patient with her hyperactive cousin, so it really cracked me up though I had to be “mean Aunt Kayleen” and correct her, for which she never forgave me that Saturday. I hardly did anything other than using a stern voice, but she cried for close to 30 minutes. She’s one of those super sweet angel children, and it makes it so hard when they actually do something wrong.
On Sunday, I had a real treat. I reconnected with my old college roommate Melissa and she came for a day at the ranch. It was the first time we’ve seen each other in 16 years, so that was a blast! It’s funny how you can go so long without seeing a good friend. When I first left for college in San Angelo I was incredibly homesick and super shy, and Melissa quickly became my best buddy in college. I’ve always loved her and thought of her over the years but our families took us to two different states. I am so glad to have her back in Texas!
After 16 years of not seeing each other, a lot has happened, but we picked up right where we left off, and I felt just like a kid again getting to see her. One of the funniest things is seeing your kids play together. I always love that.
Talk about bad luck!
The hot weather kept it slow this week; we only had 54 calls for service. Officers conducted 80 traffic stops, 72 of those resulted in a citation, and 8 were warnings.
Only two property crimes were reported last week: #1 – A home under construction on Doc Holiday had $400 worth of insulation stripped from it. #2 – John’s Small Engine Repair (Main @ Benton) reported the theft of a Husqvarna riding lawn mower.
Arrests were another story, we had seven incidents involving 9 arrested or cited persons. #1 – Ofc. A. Lopez conducted a traffic stop and determined the driver to have an active Marijuana Possession warrant out of Bexar Co. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – Cpl. Robison cited a male for a theft that occurred on 6/8/2022. He had taken a saw from a residence. #3 – Sgt. Hanson conducted a traffic stop and cited two juveniles for curfew violations. They were released to guardians. #4 – Ofc. A. Lopez conducted a traffic stop on a 2004 Ford F250, he determined it to be stolen out of San Antonio. Two males were arrested and booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #5 – Ofc. L. Diaz conducted a traffic stop that resulted in a citation and release for possession of drug paraphernalia. #6 – Sgt. Hanson and Ofc. L. Diaz responded to a report of shots fired on Oak St. After a thorough investigation a male was arrested for Aggravated Robbery and Deadly Conduct. A firearm was recovered, and shots had been fired into the ground. The male was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #7 – Officers Cortez and Pena responded to a hit and run accident. One of the drivers fled on foot (the one who caused the accident), but he wasn’t located. While investigating the accident the officers discovered the driver who stayed, had three theft warrants out of Bexar Co. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. Talk about bad luck!
I wish I could take a nap and wake up and it would be October. I can’t afford to drive anywhere because of the cost of gas, and I can’t afford to sit home with the AC on, what a mess.
Making cobblers
My trip to Devine, last week, was great. I enjoyed playing bunco with my friends and we truly missed the ones that were out sick. There were several of them and I really hope y’all are beginning to feel better. I got to see my newest great-granddaughter on Wednesday and of course she is a doll. Her mama is such a sweetie; I was allowed to hold her all I wanted to!
The corn fields are ready to be harvested for livestock feed and all the fields and pastureland I saw were really dry. It didn’t look as if there was much grazing land to be used. We finally had some rain around the 23rd or 24th of June. Burn bans are back in effect for almost all of our counties down here, and in fact, before the rain, Victoria County was saying absolutely no fireworks and they wouldn’t even be sold in the county. Since they had more rain than we did, that restriction was lifted, but many of the places that usually have fireworks show cancelled them. The two inches we had helped, but we need rain as badly as it’s needed in your area.
One day at lunch time, quite a while back (you know, back in the good old days when we could go eat at the Senior Citizen center?), I asked one of the men if he thought we were ever going to get rain. His answer was different to say the least, as he replied, “Yes, just as soon as this dry spell is over!” We both had a good laugh and went to our tables to wait for our food. I have to agree with him, we have had clouds several days this week and part of last week and only immeasurable drops of rain.
Where cobblers got their name is unknown to me, but I firmly believe it was some rushed housewife who decided to ‘cobble’ some flour, sugar and milk together and add some fruit from her pantry, who made the first one. Cobblers can be found in cookbooks dating from the early parts of the 20th century and possible even before. They are simple to make and always delicious as you can use any fruit you have on hand to make them. I have made them with apple pie filling, cherry pie filling, canned peaches or almost anything. (In fact, at one point in time, my daughter promised her lunch mate teachers a peach cobbler for dessert at lunch, got ready to make it and had no peaches at home. She used a couple of cans of fruit cocktail and had a hit on her hands!).
The following cobbler is a little different than the ones we usually make, in that it uses buttermilk (or soured milk) in place of the milk that’s usually called for. For some reason, it’s called “Magic Lemon Cobbler”. Since I’ve always felt a cobbler was sort of magical, in the way you put the dough mixture in the pan and then the fruit, and the dough rises to the top, the name doesn’t make much sense! We took a pan of it to my grandson and his wife last Wednesday and they seemed to enjoy it immensely. I’ve served it to my Pokeno ladies, by placing it in 8-ounce glasses and it was a hit with them also. The lemony flavor is really awesome.
Magical Lemon Cobbler
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk (or soured milk*)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 can lemon pie filling (21-ounce)
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Place the stick of butter into a 9”X9” square baking dish and place it in the oven to melt while you mix up the batter. (Keep an eye on this, you don’t want it to get brown, just melt!).
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, (flour, baking powder, salt and sugar). Pour in the buttermilk, vanilla and lemon extracts and stir or whisk until just combined.
Pour the batter evenly over the melted butter in the pan, do not stir; spoon the lemon filling over the batter, bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the edges of the cobbler are golden brown. Cool before serving. *To sour milk, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a measuring cup and fill the cup to the 1-cup line. Stir to combine and allow to sit until it thickens.
The following cobbler recipes are some of my family’s favorites, with the first recipe for peach cobbler being from my mother and grandmother. It’s a truly old family one, and as you notice, it uses fresh peaches.
Peach Cobbler
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
¼ cup margarine
2 to 3 cups sliced fresh peaches
½ to 1 cup additional sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Melt the margarine in a 9×9-inch baking pan. Peel and slice peaches into a pot, adding ½ to 1 cup granulated sugar depending on the sweetness of your peaches. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in the extract and set aside while you mix the dough.
Mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Add the milk to make a soft dough and pour the dough mixture into the prepared pan. Top the dough with the peach mixture, (if it has made a lot of liquid, don’t use all of it); sprinkle with some cinnamon and sugar if desired, bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until done.
Cherry or Apple Cobbler*
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
¼ to ½ cup margarine
1 can apple pie filling or cherry pie filling
1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1 teaspoon almond flavoring
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Melt margarine in 9×9-inch pan. Set aside. Combine flour, sugar and baking powder, add milk and vanilla. Mix to make soft dough and pour into pan with melted margarine. Stir cinnamon into apple pie filling or stir almond flavoring into cherry pie filling. Spoon fruit onto the top of the dough, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if desired. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold with whipped topping or ice cream. *I feel you could use peach pie filling for this in place of either of the others.
4th of July Fireworks Show @ John Lott Park
It was another busy week; officers managed 72 calls for service and conducted 130 traffic stops. Those traffic stops resulted in 112 citations and 18 warnings.
Officers took reports of 4 property crimes. #1 – A pawn shop employee reported that a customer took his iPhone 13 Pro Max phone valued at $1,100. The phone was sitting on the counter and our crook decided to take advantage of it. #2 – A Creek St. resident reported that their trash can was taken; it was valued at $75. #3 – A complainant reported that two gas cans were stolen out of the bed of his pickup truck. The incident occurred a week prior, the exact location of the theft is unknown. #4 – A complainant reported that their vehicle was “keyed” while parked at the H.E.B. Plus.
Officers made 5 arrests last week. #1 – While we were about to dig into lunch there was a knock at the door. A male came to talk to us, and he wasn’t aware we had a warrant for his arrest. He had violated a protective order. He was taken into custody and booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. It would be nice if everything was so easy. #2 – Ofc. A. Lopez conducted a traffic stop and determine the driver had a felony warrant out of Kendall Co. He was booked into the ACSO Jail. # 3 – Ofc. Diaz conducted a traffic stop and cited and released the driver for possession of drug paraphernalia. #4 – Sgt. Hanson conducted a traffic stop and the driver gave a fake name and date of birth. He was given numerous options to come clean, but he was firm on his date of birth and name…even though when asked his age it changed numerous times. That is a clue for us, his identity was later confirmed. He thought he had a warrant, he didn’t. So, he picked up a fail to ID charge for no good reason. He was booked into the ACSO Jail. A prime case of it’s better to tell the truth. #5 – Sgt. Hanson received a call for a reckless driver on IH-35, he located the vehicle and arrested the driver for DWI. It is very possible that Sgt. Hanson prevented a tragedy on the highway that night.
Here is information worth repeating:
Don’t forget the 4th of July Fireworks Show at John Lott Park. The fireworks start when the sun goes down. There will be food trucks and live music starting at 5 PM. Looks like lots of fun; I would bring plenty of water to stay hydrated.
As a reminder, it is illegal to discharge fireworks within the city limits. If you have a fireworks complaint, please call our 24-hour dispatcher: The Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Office in Jourdanton @ 830-769-3434 (Option #1). They have direct radio contact with all our on-duty officers.
Stage 3 Water Restrictions are now in place for City of Lytle Water Customers. Visit the city’s website or call city hall for more details.
My wife and I taught Kinder and 1st Graders at our church’s Vacation Bible School last week. Five long, but fun, evenings. We had about 10 little kids we were watching over. I am so proud of myself, I never once said “don’t move, and let me see your hands.”
Holiday Time!!!!!
Wow! June has only one more day to go and this year will be half over. It has been a typically hot and dry month with very little rainfall. The drought seems to be reaching epic conditions. We haven’t had any measurable rain fall in several weeks, and in watching TV weather forecasts, it doesn’t seem as if we will have it any time soon.
My week has been quiet (for me!). Monday was my Pokeno day, and I really enjoyed being with the ladies, we had a great time; Tuesday was gift shop day, this was my last time to work a full day, as next week, I’ll be back working my regular afternoon shift. Wednesday and Thursday were my days this week to do laundry, errands and some housekeeping; and help that evening, at our weekly bingo, and Friday, it was back to a combination of working in the gift shop and in the lobby selling tickets, we’re almost at the deadline, with the drawing being on July 1! The beautiful wheelchairs we’re giving the hospital came in today. It seems as if there is always a shortage of them. If someone comes into the medical building, the chairs are by the front door, same thing if someone comes in needing one for ER, they’re in the medical building.
Father’s Day weekend was beautiful and very quiet for me, however, my sister invited me over for dinner that evening, and we had a good time together, as well as her usual delicious food and dessert. She and her children were actually celebrating it on Monday due to work schedules and such.
This coming Monday is 4th of July with all of it’s attendant celebrations, picnics and parades. Fireworks will probably fill the skies at least over the lake at the park in Cuero, as they usually have a nice display, I haven’t heard for sure if it will happen this year or not. At this time we are under the usual no burn ruling that seems to have been in place nearly year-round during the time I’ve live here!
The following article is from a magazine section that was a part of The Devine News during the 30’s and 40’s. It still sounds as if it is as true today as it was then, doesn’t it? And, yes, we’re under a burn ban now, in DeWitt, Lavaca and Victoria counties. The Victoria paper stated Thursday that fireworks wouldn’t even be sold in Victoria county this year due to the dangers of fire!
June – 1937 A Saner and Tamer Fourth – Newspapers have long been advocating a saner and tamer celebration of the Fourth of July. Formerly, they had much to say about deaths from fireworks; these were frequently horrible deaths of children after prolonged suffering from lockjaw, the germs of which had gained entrance into the bodies of the victims by means of slight wounds caused by toy pistols or other forms of explosives. There has been a slight diminution of deaths from this cause, but the Fourth seems to be bringing an added increase of deaths from drowning, automobile and other accidents.
We hope our patriotic day will not continue a harvest of casualties; that we will learn to celebrate it sensibly and cautiously; that boys will not be too venturesome in water; that drivers of automobiles will realize the Fourth as the most dangerous day in the year when more people are on roads, many of them without sense or discretion.
For the entire nation, there were nearly 400 killed in accidents the Fourth of July, 1936. Is it too much to hope that such number may be cut in half this year?
(Don’t we wish that we would only have as few as 400 killed in this day and time on the Fourth, alas, those days are gone forever)!
From The Devine News in a 1967 paper, this is what Dr. Glenn Smith had to say about patriotism. Flag Waving – Do not feel ‘corny’, or ‘square’, or ‘out of date’, if you felt a little stirring of patriotism in your heart last Tuesday, July 4th. That feeling is never out of date, although it would seem so in this day. It is still a good thing for Americans to be proud of being Americans. It is still noble to have a “lump in the throat” when you see “Old Glory” flying on a staff or passing in a parade.
No one is born patriotic. It is acquired through teaching and experience, like religion. Like religion, it has to have habitual practice lest it fade and wither. Patriotism is instilled in the next generation by the teaching and example of the previous generation.
What are you doing to pass on pride of homeland to your children? What kind of citizens will they be? What will be their reaction to the flag, the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance?
That was in 1967, today in 2022; those words are still very apt. Since then we have had 9-11 and perhaps an awareness of freedom and pride that we didn’t have back then.
Independence Day, more commonly known as Fourth of July, is probably the most important secular holiday celebrated in the United States. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence, which announced the breaking of ties between the 13 American Colonies and England.
We now celebrate with fireworks, picnics and get-togethers in general and try to have a good but safe time. Don’t forget to fly your flag on this day.
If you are planning a trip over the holiday, always remember to be careful of the driver of the car, in the car behind the car in front of you! In other words, pay attention to what you are doing at all times. Keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, don’t talk or text on the cell phone, and keep your eyes watching your surroundings, be aware of what is taking place around you. (If you absolutely have to use the phone, pull over to the side of the road until you finish talking or texting).
If you are planning on staying at home, keep as cool as it is possible to do. Drink plenty of water, and take care not to get too overheated. You do not want to have a heat stroke or other heat related problems that could be controlled by staying indoors during the heat of the day and by replacing body fluids with liquids, other than alcoholic beverages. Do not forget to protect yourself with sunscreen. Sunburn is one of the most uncomfortable things there is. The best cure is prevention, but milk of magnesia, kept in the fridge and gently patted on the skin, is a great antidote. Also, cooled, brewed tea patted on, or even just cloths repeatedly wrung out in cold water will help ease the burning. There are some excellent commercial remedies on the market, but these three are all old timers!
Savory Seasoned Burgers
2 pounds lean ground meat
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 hamburger buns.
Heat grill. In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except buns; mix well. Shape mixture into 8 patties. To barbecue, place patties on gas grill over medium-high heat, or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium-high coals. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, turning once. (It’s time to turn the meat when you see little dribbles down the sides of the patties.) Serve on buns with lettuce, sliced tomato, onion and pickles, if desired. (These can also be either baked in the oven or cooked on top of the stove, I done both!).
Some members of my family like to add sliced jalapeños, bacon, cheese and maybe even sliced avocados to their hamburgers. Not exactly healthy, but truly delicious!
Baked Beans
2 cans pork & beans 15-oz size or 1 can 32-oz size
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup diced green bell pepper
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup prepared barbecue sauce
Several strips, thin-sliced bacon
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Dice bacon and fry until crisp. Drain well on paper towels and set aside. In 1½ to 2 quart round casserole dish, combine beans with remaining ingredients. Mix together. Sprinkle bacon pieces on top. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes.