Category: Commentary

Time is flying by

So far the weather is holding with beautiful spring days, however, I still haven’t spotted a single scissor-tailed swallow! The “mud birds”, aka bridge swallows and several other names are flying around everywhere. We really need rain, but all the clouds that show up are blown away be the gusty winds, I have no clue what the wind speed is, but today seems more like “windy March” then “showery April” and it doesn’t seem to be dropping.

Continue reading “Time is flying by”

An amazing response

Shifting our lens now to wildfires and Medina County’s massive emergency response to “Das Goat” fire that has made for a very long and difficult weekend. We are very fortunate to have our local emergency responders working around the clock for us. There aren’t enough thank you’s for those that put their lives in jeopardy to help others and protect our homes and property. Seeing State emergency responders stepping in and a visit from Governor Abbott with a local disaster emergency proclamation on Sunday was amazing.
Shelters were opening in some churches and Medina Valley Loma Alta Middle School opened its doors as a Red Cross Shelter on Saturday. Few utilized the shelter at MV Loma Alta Middle School Saturday night but were very appreciative of having that place to go and thankful to the Medina Valley staff present.
Many residents brought in food, drinks, animal kennels, and dog and cat food and were ready to offer more or help out. The Red Cross Shelter moved to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Sunday afternoon so the school could be in session Monday. Lake Hills United Methodist Church had opened its doors over the weekend as well with plenty of room for those in need. As of Monday morning and my writing, Medina County Public Health is out and about getting status updates on shelters.With fire emergency response continuing this week, our community and surrounding counties will be working together to help those families affected and to stand by if and when needed.
Everyone, if you haven’t signed up for local emergency alerts, please do so now! In situations like this you would receive evacuation notices. I recommend getting them on your phone as a text and also as an email.
COVID Forecast
The 7-day COVID forecast is looking good with cases falling, low hospitalizations, and a low positivity rate.
Key Messages: (CDC DATA Tracker as of 3/28/2022 prior report date was 3/21/2022)
How many cases are there? Total cases over the last 7 days: 38 cases down from 63
Transmission? Positivity rate: 3.96%slightly up from 3.09%
How many total deaths are there? 197 up 1 death from last week
What can we do about it? Monitor hospitalization rates, continue to watch the next variant BA.2 for changes in the severity of disease, and monitor transmission rates. COVID-19 vaccines are available for ages 5 and up.
Visit the Medina County website under “Coronavirus” or “COVID-19 Vaccine” for more information.

By Trish Mechler, RN, BSN

40 school days left this year

Counselor’s Comments, by Roland Cadena-We have made it through most of the school year already. On March 30 there will only be 40 school days left this school year. As you have seen, our students are still competing and placing in state and regional competitions. Everyone at the high school has united and have met their challenges head-on. Now with so few days left we are going down the home stretch. Finally, spring is here and the baseball and softball teams have taken the field.
Last week some students took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), while others took the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), TELPAS, and/or benchmark tests. During the first week in April, we will administer the STAAR English I and English II end of course exams. In the month of May, our students will be administered the Algebra I, Biology, and U. S. History STAAR tests.
At this time, the high school counselors have begun to contact eighth grade students and parents about the 2022-2023 freshmen class schedules and four year plans. Some parents have already come to the high school to discuss their son’s or daughter’s 2022-2023 freshman schedule. The administration is preparing accommodations for students that do not pass the STAAR exams. Current 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students will be working on completing their 2022-2023 choice slips.
The final day of the school year is May 26. Many of our students have earned distinguished recognition either as a member of a group or as an individual. We would like to congratulate senior Brian Schaefer for his acceptance into the United States Air Force Academy. We would also like to thank U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents the Texas Congressional District 23 for nominating Brian.
The senior students April activities begin on April 11 with an ice cream social. The high school will administer the Scholastic Aptitude Test on April 13. Then on May 7 the senior class will hold its prom followed by the senior Round the World activity on May 21. Seniors will have their final class outing with the May 23 senior trip.
We would like to remind all parents and/or guardians to check on their children’s fifth six weeks progress report grades. Students should also check their grades during this fifth six weeks using the Devine Independent School District portal. Mostly importantly senior grades should be checked. Senior student’s parents should contact their senior student teachers. Now more than ever, all school assignments are important. As a reminder, all senior students are encouraged to complete their Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA) and their Apply Test Application. The FAFSA is required unless the eighteen year old student or a student’s parent decides to sign an Opt-out form.

Being Older

We had a get together with some cousins this weekend, and their conversations are always interesting.

Listening to a group of competitive “big boys” talk, I had forgotten how big of a deal it is to be 4, or 5, or 8, for example.
Three of the boys were brothers, and so instead of calling them by each of their names, my little one said “Hey kids, look at this!”
One of them quickly responded, “I am not a kid! I am 5 years old!”
Their favorite activity of the day was to pick up the largest dirt clods they could find and see how big of a splash it would make when they threw it in the tank. With each dirt clod, the thrower announced, “See I’m strong. I’m 8 years old.”
To which the next one would say, “I’m strong and fast. I am 4 years old.”
The 4 and 5 year old competition was most fierce. Five year old Lane said to 4 year old Tucker: “You might be fast, but I am strong.”
These days, I don’t even remember exactly how old I am. Thirty-three, thirty-four, doesn’t much matter. But I also had two cousins who were extremely close in age, and when we were all 11-12 years old, quite a few serious conversations revolved around who was “older”. I think I was the youngest, or at least they convinced me of that. It seemed every argument boiled down to my cousin Daniel reminding us that, he is “the oldest”, followed by my eye rolls.
But I can also remember that in my basketball games with Jacob (my other cousin), that when he called a foul on me, his “older-ness” was supposedly the final word. Even though, he is literally just a couple days older than me.
So anyhow, the little boys conversations on who was bigger and stronger and who was older, brought back lots of memories. I don’t care if I was the youngest or not, I still think most of the time, I was right. Perhaps that’s why I named my column the way I did. Haha. I will say though, that my cousin Jacob grew up to become a head coach and athletic director, so maybe he did know the rules of refereeing basketball a little better than me after all.
I have a feeling when we get together in another 40 years or so, that I will be reminding Jacob and Daniel that “I am younger”…even if it is just by a couple days. Funny how life works like that.