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Back to School Pics!!!

3rd grader Katrina House gets a big hug from big sister Elena before the big first day of school.

Kohen Hoover is ready for 1st grade

Big brother Jason Chessher walks Waylon to pre-k.

Cousins…Emery Wight and Rylee Velasquez are ready for the first day of 2nd grade at Ciavarra Elementary.

Bradley Zachry is all smiles for his first day of 2nd grade at Devine Elementary.

Westley Zachry is all smiles for his first day of kindergarten at Ciavarra Elementary.

Reese and Riey were ready to start their 1st day of 2nd grade at Devine Elementary.

Cloee Jo Esparza ready for her first day of kinder.

Big brother Kaysen Oakes helps little sister Penelope off to school.

Charlee Brown of Natalia going into 3rd grade at Natalia Elementary.

David Calame III (6th grade), Reagan Duncan (pre k 3) and Waco Calame (3rd grade).

Karlie Gallegos is all ready for 1st grade

Kendrick Ramirez is all ready for 3rd grade in Devine.

Lane and Cody Jones first day of school.

Lucas Rendon is up bright and early ready for second grade.

Luke Kyle and Milee Downing are all ready for the big day.

Senior Sunrise Devine High School.

The Rendons are all ready for the big first day of school.

City of Devine hires Michelle Martin as new City Secretary

The City of Devine announced the hiring of Michelle Martin as City Secretary to replace retired City Secretary Dora Rodriguez who served the city for 41 years and retired in July.
“My family and I moved to the area 7 years ago,” stated Michelle Martin in her resume.
“I have worked for the State of Texas and City of San Antonio in supporting city infrastructure programs, grant projects, community engagement, non-profit support, and small business development with a total of 10 years experience. I have also worked on large corporate projects for USAA and Medtronic. I attended Texas A&M University – San Antonio where I attained my Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Masters in Business Management.”
“I am so grateful and humbled by the opportunity to be the next City Secretary for Devine. I look forward to meeting you all and building a partnership for a stronger community,” said Martin.
Rodriguez retired after 41 years
Dora Rodriguez served the citizens of Devine working at the City Office for the past 41 years in several capacities including the position of City Secretary as well as Interim City Administrator in her later years. Rodriguez graduated from Devine High School in 1984 and went to work for the City of Devine.
She announced her retirement on May 21 but with July 31 being her last day.
Rodriguez worked under many mayors and councils over the years and was a constant steady for all those coming and going. She earned many leadership and continuing education hours throughout her years of dedication to the citizens of Devine. She helped out her hometown through tough times and took on the city administrator job while serving as City Secretary also until the next City Admin was hired. This happened multiple times where she worked many 60 hour weeks.

Balderrama to share son’s inspirational story on TV program next Tuesday

Mary Jane Balderrama who lost her son Adrian Camarillo at age 18 in a automobile accident from Devine will be on Fox/kabb channel 29 on August 19 Tuesday at 9 am. You can also watch this interview on NBC/ WOAI channel 4 on the San Antonio Living segment aired at 10 am Tuesday August 19 as well.
Mary Jane will speak to both stations about her son Adrian Camarillo who graduated in 1994 from Devine High School. Adrian gave the gift of life through organ donation; leaving his legacy to many who had a chance at life because of this unselfish act.
Mary Jane lives in Devine, and has a yearly adopt a highway event in his honor during which many locals come out to support this cause in memory of Adrian.

Regional water alliance group discusses financing for system interconnections

By Anton Riecher
Financing to cover an estimated $49 million in interconnections to link the various water systems participating in a proposed 50,000 acre-foot freshwater aquifer storage and recovery project was discussed during the Aug. 5 meeting of the Medina County Regional Water Alliance.
Kevin Hunt with RESPEC, serving as an engineering consultant, said it would be helpful if the participating systems could determine what interconnections would be needed to make the overall ASR project a reality.
“I know that there’s already movement on interconnects between East Medina (County Special Utility District) and Lytle,” Hunt said. “If any other interconnects are already being worked on we may not be aware of that.”
Cole Ruiz, an attorney with Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, said…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Truck bursts into flames in Walmart parking lot

First responders responding to the scene (on left) initially thought the driver was sleeping inside the cab when it errupted into fire, but thankfully that was not the case. The PD had issued an all-call inside Walmart for truck drivers, and the driver of this vehicle just did not come out until 25 minutes later leading to some concern.
Natalia FD, Devine FD, Medina Co Deputy Fire Marshall, as well as Devine PD responded to the chaotic scene this past Friday, August 8 around 3pm in the Walmart parking lot.
According to the report, an electrical short is believed to be the cause of the fire.

Devine hires Joe Brown III new Chief of Police

The City of Devine hired Joe Brown III as the new Chief of Police to replace retired Chief Kandy Bendavides who served Devine for 40 years. Chief Brown’s first day will be on Monday, August 18, 2025 and he will oversee ten employees in the police department.
His biography is as follows:
Chief Joe Brown III is a decorated law enforcement leader and military veteran with over two decades of distinguished service in public safety, organizational leadership, and community engagement.
During his career, Chief Brown has overseen divisions such as patrol operations, criminal investigations, administration, telecommunications, animal control, and code compliance.
He has successfully managed a $2 million budget, driven operational efficiencies, and spearheaded the department’s pursuit of Texas Police Chiefs Association accreditation.
A proud United States Air Force veteran, Chief Brown safeguarded nuclear assets, led Security Forces under U.S. CENTCOM and SOCOM, and…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Sheriff: Criminals took local residents for $12 grand

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
“Phone scammers have taken over $12,000 from hardworking people in Medina County in the past two weeks,” said Sheriff Randy Brown. “And I know of at least two more who were on their way to the bank when they called me.”
A frustrated Sheriff Brown reiterates that Medina County Sheriff’s Office, nor any other local police department, will ever call you to get payment to avoid being arrested.
“I tell people all of the time, I post it on Facebook, I even stood up at church and told people at church to please stop talking to these phone scammers,” Sheriff Brown said. “This needs to be on the front page, because people, intelligent people, are falling for it.”
Many of these scammers will insist you…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Burger in a bag fundraiser forFlood victims Aug. 23

Mickey Myers is organizing a Burger in a Bag fundraiser to benefit those affected by the horrific flooding in the Hill Country.
The burgers with trimmings, chips and bottle of water or soda will be $9. It will be held August 23 at 3 pm until sold out.
Fundraiser organizers at Foxy’s Bar are looking for donations of silent auction items, raffle items, burgers, chips, sodas, brown bags, and to go boxes. Message the Foxy’s Facebook page or come by to donate or to sign up to help.
Specifically this fundraiser will benefit the Together for Texas charity whose mission can be seen at the following link: https://give.salvationarmytexas.org/campaign/703236/donate

Lytle eyes tax rate, hearings soon

During a regular session Monday the Lytle City Council voted 4-0 to approve a proposed tax rate of $0.446405 per $100 valuation for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The tax rate will be subject to public hearings before a final vote on passage. City Administrator Zachary Meadows said the proposed rate is slightly below the calculated maximum rate allowed by law without requiring voter approval.
However, the proposed rate does exceed the “no new revenue rate,” the amount that would produce the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year. The proposed rate was approved on a motion by District 3 Alderman David Emery, seconded by District 1 Alderwoman Anna Carrillo. District 5 Alderman Matthew Martinez was absent for the vote.

Devine Soccer Club makes pitch for county assistance

Pablo Carmona, founder of the Devine Soccer Club, addresses the Medina County Commissioners Court Monday on finding adequate training facilities for his players.

By Anton Riecher
Extending his crusade on behalf of “the beautiful game” to the Medina County Commissioners Court, Pablo Carmona of the Devine Soccer Club urged county officials to help find training fields for local players.
He spoke during the public comment period at the beginning for the commissioners’ court regular session Monday.
“Being in Devine, we noticed that soccer stops for the kids in about the fifth grade,” Carmona said. “At about 10 years old they have to stop playing soccer. There is nowhere else for them to go.”
A Medina County resident for 27 years, Carmona said he and his wife Paula established the Devine Soccer Club to help give local youth a chance at higher education through soccer.
“What is different about our club is we compete against teams in San Antonio,” Carmona said. “We are trying to give them a pathway to maybe go to college and become semi-pro and pro players.”
The Devine Soccer Club has two professional players serving on its board of directors, he said.
“We are looking for a space where we can train and be able to play games because right now we have temporary places but we cannot play games there,” Carmona said. “We have to travel to Canyon Lake, La Vernia, different places because we have no place to develop fields locally.”
Unfortunately, Devine does not have a city park large enough to use for staging games, he said. He asked if the county could assist in providing training fields for interested players in Medina County.
Two officers approved as Natalia ISD SROs
In other business, commissioners approved an interlocal agreement with Natalia ISD to assign two licensed peace officers from the Medina County Sheriff’s Office to serve as school resource officers. The motion by Precinct 4 Commissioners Danny Lawler was seconded by Precinct 3 Commissioners David Lynch.
The motion was approved unanimously.
Drug Detection Device
Commissioners also approved the purchase of a TruNarc handheld drug detection device for the sheriff’s office using Operation Lone Star grant funds. Commissioners also approved the use of Operation Lone Star funds to purchase a 2026 Kawasaki Mule Pro FXT Ranch Edition utility task vehicle.
Operation Lone Star is a Texas state border security initiative launched by Gov. Greg Abbott to address illegal border crossings and drug smuggling.