Richard Hayes “Rick” Cooley, age 69 of Natalia, Texas passed away on Thursday, December 15, 2022. He was born on October 29, 1953, in Hamlin, Texas. He is preceded in death by his father, Jake Cooley; mother and step-father, Annie and Otto Mann, Jr.; Step-brothers, Jerry and Robert Mann. Rick is survived by his wife of 46 years, Gail Cooley; daughters, Melinda Dugosh and husband, James; Robyn Wheeler and husband, Buddy; granddaughters, Allison and Annie Dugosh; grandsons, Bo and Duke Wheeler; brother, Kenneth Cooley and wife, Georgia; step-sisters, Emily Briscoe and husband, Ben; Marylin Ingerick, Nancy Wanner and husband, Bill; step-sister-in-law, Linda Mann- Gewin and husband, Mike; step-brother, James Mann and wife Janie; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Funeral Service was held on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, 10:00 A.M. at the First United Methodist Church Devine, Texas with interment at Miguel Cemetery in Bigfoot, Texas. Anyone that would like to make a donation in Rick’s name may do so to the Devine First United Methodist Church or Devine Masonic Lodge #590. Anyone wishing to leave condolences, share memories, or sign the online guestbook may do so at www.hurleyfuneralhome.com
There are sure a whole lot of things I don’t know much about. And it seems the older I become that fact is more evident. But one of the points I am confident in is that when I run out of fingers counting off the days of December, the rut is about to get going in our little neck of the woods. Based on that “truth” I headed south recently when the wind was going to be right for a particular location. It is bordered on two sides by some heavy creek bottom country and joins an irrigated high fenced oats patch on another side. There is also a nice +/- acre food plot between the blind and feeder. Sneaking in and getting settled that afternoon, the wind was coming straight into my face. And that is a good thing most of the time when hunting in my experience. The first deer out was a really nice 3 ½ year old 8 point with a wide spread and good body size for his age. One brow time was half broken off and he was missing a G2. Clearly, he had been involved in some “brawling” already. He was “checking out the scene” and walked off within a couple of minutes, since there was nothing of interest for him at that location. Given there is only one main thing on his mind right now, I was not surprised. Interestingly he came back well over an hour later, arriving on the opposite side of me, having circled completely around. My thinking is he was taking a stroll and looking over his scrapes. Multiple does and yearlings plus several younger bucks were out by then. One young fellow kept chasing a particular doe all around the feeder area. No one else joined in. About the time it was “getting dusky dark” another 8 point, also 3.5 came out. Those two older bucks took a real interest in that same lady. The 3 of them began the age old “dance” of the rut. Back and forth and round and round they went. I am not sure of the outcome as the doe finally took off out of view with those guys right behind her. There are many funny things I have observed over the last 60+ years outdoors in La Brasada during the whitetail breeding season. It never gets old for me, and the actions of the deer are just plain and simple different, both for the males and females during this time. So, Good Lord willing, I am planning on heading out there regularly these next few weeks to see what kind of antics I might get to observe. It sure beats the heck out of the shows on TV!
Christmas here we come! Last week officers handled 49 calls for service and conducted 97 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 82 citations and 15 warnings. The Lytle PD had two arrests last week: #1 – On Monday, a wanted person turned himself in to the PD. We had obtained a felony domestic violence warrant on him from an incident the prior week. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – On Sunday Ofc. L. Diaz stopped a vehicle and determined it be reported stolen out of SAPD. The driver was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. The 1994 Ford Ranger was recovered. We had three property crimes reported last week: #1 – McDonald’s said that they received a counterfeit $100 bill. #2 – H.E.B. Plus reported that a shoplifter left the store with some merchandise, the case is under investigation. #3 – A Lake Side Circle resident said that a bullet entered a glass window of their residence. It appeared to be a large caliber rifle projectile. Most likely came from out in the county somewhere, the case is under investigation. At the city council meeting last week, the council received an update from our local health authority, Dr. Richard Neel. He reported seeing an increase in the Flu, COVID, and RSV. He said the best prevention is frequently washing your hand and avoiding confined spaces with large groups of people. Traffic Alert: The city’s public works department will be repairing a water leak on McDonald St. this week. The location is between City Hall and the CVS Pharmacy and there will be some lane shifting. We anticipate the work to start on Tuesday and be completed by Wednesday (if all goes well). It shouldn’t be a major issue, just a heads-up. Last Monday I was dispatched to the area of Taco Bell for an intoxicated suspect, I found the guy and he was intoxicated for sure. He was just passing through; said he was homeless. I told him I was going to have to take him to jail and he became a little aggressive. I was working alone (all the officers were in Pleasanton for a short training), so I called the City Administrator, Matthew Dear, and asked him to switch hats and become Lt. Dear and give me a hand. It was kind of like when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman except Matt didn’t come from the bat cave; he just came from the city hall parking lot. We got placed him in custody and off to jail I went. I don’t regularly take people to jail. I’m like your average big-city police chief; I mostly just sit around and look good. I got to the jail and took off my weapon and body armor carrier (you can’t take all that stuff in the jail) so that left me with an empty holster and a Lytle PD t-shirt. I was fumbling around with all the paperwork and the ACSO Jail supervisor who was helping me asked “Are you new at Lytle PD?” I just told him “I’ve been here a while”. I need to work on being more regionally recognizable.
This is gonna be the last edition of this column. My 12 year stint as Commissioner in Pct 4 will end midnight New Years Eve. Sure went by fast. During my tenure, we have made many accomplishments. New and dependable equipment to do our jobs with, new buildings, subdivision rules that have an impact, and recently we got a County tax freeze for 65 and older on the ballot and it passed bout 14-1. There are many other items to list but, not enough space. Many thanks the Department Heads that consistently managed their budgets conservatively and came in under budget….think that we have bout $20 million in our Reserves to start 2023. The Medina County Elected Officials and their staff have been a pleasure to work with and I consider each and every one of them a friend. My Administrative Assistant, Gracie Martinez, along with Ciro Garcia, Emilio Carrillo, Jr. Rodriguez, Clay Triesch, Paul Sellers, Ray Hernandez and John Gorhum made coming to work very easy. Gracie ran the office and I just signed stuff, while the crew took care of business without a lot of intervention. I always tried to make working in Pct 4 a place where you wanted to come and not a place where you had to come. These folks are adults and did not need to be supervised constantly. They did their jobs well and I am proud of each of them. While on Commissioners Court, we Commissioners (and the Judge) did not always agree on items or the outcome of the decisions made but, we always had the good of the County in mind…and whatever the decision, we supported it. So, to the voters and residents of Medina County Pct 4, I thank you for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I have been a public servant all of my adult life it seems and now, I’m gonna fade into the scenery. I’ll take with me a knowledge that the County is in good hands, a lot of fond memories and my stalker. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!
Tucker woke up this week and feeling that is was cold outside, he automatically assumed, “Hey mom it’s going to snow now right?” I guess at his young age, last Winter was certainly the most memorable one and he’s thinking that’s just the way it is in Winter. I explained to him that snow in Devine is a very rare event, and he was a little disappointed to say the least. The kids and I judged the Christmas light contest this weekend. I took my daughter the first night and my son the next as we made the rounds. At one of the last homes, a real life Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus greeted us at the gate. This should have been really exciting, except for one little thing: Tucker is terrified of Santa. I know a lot of kids cry when you set them on Santa’s lap, but I can’t even get Tucker close. As soon as he sees Santa at a party or event, his eyes grow wide and he takes off running the other direction or takes a ninja stance. The Morris family (whose home was in the Christmas light competition) also had a table with hot cocoa and cookies set up and invited families to take a ride in Santa’s sleigh set up below a snow machine. As we entered the yard, Tucker was very careful to keep an eye on the guy in the red suit, and not to make any eye contact with Santa. When Santa did speak to him, Tucker ducked and hid beneath the table. He loved playing in the snow machine (made of bubbles) though. And low and behold, Tucker did get his snow day after all!
By ANTON RIECHER The Devine City Council held two closed executive sessions during its regular meeting Dec. 13 – one to discuss a possible settlement regarding city efforts to condemn three Devine Municipal Airport hangars and another to review applications for city administrator. No action was taken following either closed session. In November the council voted to condemn hangars 8, 8A and 10 by means of eminent domain. The formal motion refers to acquisition for “the Public Use of Designing, Developing, Constructing, Enlarging, Extending and Improving the Devine Municipal Airport.” More than 27,715 square feet of hangar space is involved in the action. The council also voted in November to advertise in professional publications for a new city administrator. City Administrator John Vidaurri resigned effective October 22, 2021, leaving city secretary Dora Rodriguez to step into his vacated role on an interim basis. The city is seeking candidates with five years’ experience as a city manager or administrator who also hold a bachelor’s degree and degrees in public administration, management or business. In other action, the council asked city attorney Thomas P. Cate to draft an amendment to the city’s alcoholic beverage ordinance based on the discussion among the council members. The draft motion was made by District 4 council member Josh Ritchey and seconded by District 5 council member Debbie Randall. Mayor Cory Thompson said the current ordinance restricts alcoholic beverages within a 300-foot radius of schools and church. However, downtown Devine is all but officially dry due to an overlap of these radiuses often surrounding churches that are no longer in use. “I’m often getting requests from business owners who want to sell alcohol but are located within these zones,” Thompson said. City staff has been unable to find any official reason why the council chose to enforce a standardized 300 foot radius for these locations back in 1976, he said. Whereas modern minutes record the council’s action in detail, older minutes tend to be brief and uninformative, Thompson said. Today, the ordinance is often not enforced 100 percent, particularly during events such as the Fall Festival or October Fest. Thompson noted that the Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter is within 100 feet of school property. “For the most part I would like to see the ordinance go away but there are certain points I’d like to keep,” he said. In particular, the mayor wants to keep the official closing time at 1 a.m. He also wants to continue requiring application for city permits to serve alcohol. An addition that Thompson proposed to the ordinance is no glass bottles on public property. Alcohol would be allowed but containers must not be obviously displayed. “Places like Marble Falls or parks in Travis County alcohol cannot be visible,” Thompson said. “If the beer can is in a coozie no one has a problem. On the other hand, no one wants to see an open ice chest.” Noting that the ordinance had previously been amended in 1981 and 1990, Thompson said it has always been an “ever evolving document.” “We can always readdress this,” he said. In other discussion about ordinances, the council tabled action on fence restrictions under consideration by the planning and zoning commissioners. In particular, Randall expressed concern about fences that obscure traffic by being too tall, too close to the corner or opaque. Some board fencing makes it impossible to see the cars waiting at stop signs at certain intersections, Randall said. Ritchey said he would like to see any new ordinance focus on safety factory rather than the style of fencing. “Lots of stuff in their now is not palatable to a lot of folks, including me,” he said. The council also discussed new code requirements regarding the collection of solid waste. Randall said she was in favor of requiring homeowners to promptly collect their waste containers after trash has been collected. She said an impromptu survey via Facebook that she conducted found that most people would support rules to get the containers out of the street and off the curb. However, some folks simply replied “just let people be,” she said. Thompson said leaving the containers in the street often restricts the flow of traffic on narrow residential streets. Also, maneuvering around the containers can make exiting driveways more hazardous. The council took no action but asked Cate to draft changes for a future vote. Misty Thompson of Thompson Houston Real Estate addressed the council about obtaining an extension on master plan approval at the 13.71-acre Cactus Flats subdivision. The council granted a three-year extension. “We were not aware there was a time limit,” Thompson said. “Approval was only good for three years.” To date only four houses have been built in the subdivision. Also regarding subdivision development, the council approved a $103,693 road construction project for Shaver Street between West Davis Avenue and Kempf Street. The council voted 4-0 to approve based on a motion by Ritchey. The council voted to make a correction in an earlier proclamation in honor of National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 17. Among the 3,702 participating locations across the country Devine was represented by the Devine Current Events Club, not the Devine Garden Club. Business woman Brittany Sullivan-Ott offered the city council a deal during its regular meeting, offering to pay to repaint two sadly faded “Welcome to Devine” signs. “It’s very faded in my opinion,” she said. “I’m tired of driving by it.” Repainting the signs will cost $1,500 apiece, she said. Her only stipulation was to add the logo of her two businesses – C&R Grill and Alamo Truck Accessories – to the refurbished signs. Other than that, Sullivan-Ott asked only for help installing the replacement signs. Both signs are located on Devine ISD property. The motion by District 4 council member Josh Ritchey, approved 4-0 by the council, puts a four year limit on the new signs. Once expired Sullivan-Ott can replace them again or turn the honor over to some new willing entrepreneur.
By ANTON RIECHER The Devine City Council held two closed executive sessions during its regular meeting Dec. 13 – one to discuss a possible settlement regarding city efforts to condemn three Devine Municipal Airport hangars and another to review applications for city administrator. No action was taken following either closed session. In November the council voted to condemn hangars 8, 8A and 10 by means of eminent domain. The formal motion refers to acquisition for “the Public Use of Designing, Developing, Constructing, Enlarging, Extending and Improving the Devine Municipal Airport.” More than 27,715 square feet of hangar space is involved in the action. The council also voted in November to advertise in professional publications for a new city administrator. City Administrator John Vidaurri resigned effective October 22, 2021, leaving city secretary Dora Rodriguez to step into his vacated role on an interim basis. The city is seeking candidates with five years’ experience as a city manager or administrator who also hold a bachelor’s degree and degrees in public administration, management or business. In other action, the council asked city attorney Thomas P. Cate to draft an amendment to the city’s alcoholic beverage ordinance based on the discussion among the council members. The draft motion was made by District 4 council member Josh Ritchey and seconded by District 5 council member Debbie Randall. Mayor Cory Thompson said the current ordinance restricts alcoholic beverages within a 300-foot radius of schools and church. However, downtown Devine is all but officially dry due to an overlap of these radiuses often surrounding churches that are no longer in use. “I’m often getting requests from business owners who want to sell alcohol but are located within these zones,” Thompson said. City staff has been unable to find any official reason why the council chose to enforce a standardized 300 foot radius for these locations back in 1976, he said. Whereas modern minutes record the council’s action in detail, older minutes tend to be brief and uninformative, Thompson said. Today, the ordinance is often not enforced 100 percent, particularly during events such as the Fall Festival or October Fest. Thompson noted that the Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter is within 100 feet of school property. “For the most part I would like to see the ordinance go away but there are certain points I’d like to keep,” he said. In particular, the mayor wants to keep the official closing time at 1 a.m. He also wants to continue requiring application for city permits to serve alcohol. An addition that Thompson proposed to the ordinance is no glass bottles on public property. Alcohol would be allowed but containers must not be obviously displayed. “Places like Marble Falls or parks in Travis County alcohol cannot be visible,” Thompson said. “If the beer can is in a coozie no one has a problem. On the other hand, no one wants to see an open ice chest.” Noting that the ordinance had previously been amended in 1981 and 1990, Thompson said it has always been an “ever evolving document.” “We can always readdress this,” he said. In other discussion about ordinances, the council tabled action on fence restrictions under consideration by the planning and zoning commissioners. In particular, Randall expressed concern about fences that obscure traffic by being too tall, too close to the corner or opaque. Some board fencing makes it impossible to see the cars waiting at stop signs at certain intersections, Randall said. Ritchey said he would like to see any new ordinance focus on safety factory rather than the style of fencing. “Lots of stuff in their now is not palatable to a lot of folks, including me,” he said. The council also discussed new code requirements regarding the collection of solid waste. Randall said she was in favor of requiring homeowners to promptly collect their waste containers after trash has been collected. She said an impromptu survey via Facebook that she conducted found that most people would support rules to get the containers out of the street and off the curb. However, some folks simply replied “just let people be,” she said. Thompson said leaving the containers in the street often restricts the flow of traffic on narrow residential streets. Also, maneuvering around the containers can make exiting driveways more hazardous. The council took no action but asked Cate to draft changes for a future vote. Misty Thompson of Thompson Houston Real Estate addressed the council about obtaining an extension on master plan approval at the 13.71-acre Cactus Flats subdivision. The council granted a three-year extension. “We were not aware there was a time limit,” Thompson said. “Approval was only good for three years.” To date only four houses have been built in the subdivision. Also regarding subdivision development, the council approved a $103,693 road construction project for Shaver Street between West Davis Avenue and Kempf Street. The council voted 4-0 to approve based on a motion by Ritchey. The council voted to make a correction in an earlier proclamation in honor of National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 17. Among the 3,702 participating locations across the country Devine was represented by the Devine Current Events Club, not the Devine Garden Club. Business woman Brittany Sullivan-Ott offered the city council a deal during its regular meeting, offering to pay to repaint two sadly faded “Welcome to Devine” signs. “It’s very faded in my opinion,” she said. “I’m tired of driving by it.” Repainting the signs will cost $1,500 apiece, she said. Her only stipulation was to add the logo of her two businesses – C&R Grill and Alamo Truck Accessories – to the refurbished signs. Other than that, Sullivan-Ott asked only for help installing the replacement signs. Both signs are located on Devine ISD property. The motion by District 4 council member Josh Ritchey, approved 4-0 by the council, puts a four year limit on the new signs. Once expired Sullivan-Ott can replace them again or turn the honor over to some new willing entrepreneur.
Make sure to get your pipes wrapped, and bring the animals indoors. As of this Tuesday, the National Weather Service forecast is showing a low of 19 degrees Thursday night, 18 Friday night, and 23 degrees Saturday night, and 29 Sunday night. It could feel like 3-10 degrees with the windchill Thursday night going into the early hours of Friday morning according to NWS warnings.
The National Weather Service is predicting four nights of below freezing temperatures for our area starting this Thursday and continuing through Sunday night. Thankfully, it is expected to warm up during the daytime, so there will be a little relief in that, officials hope. Thursday night, the forecast is projecting lows of 19 degrees along with winds up to 15-35MPH. With the wind chill, this could create temperatures coming into Friday morning that feel more like 3 to 10 degrees according to a NWS. Friday night, the forecast shows a low of 18 degrees, with winds 5 MPH. Saturday lows of 23 degrees, and Sunday (Christmas night) lows of 29 degrees. Local officials urge residents to be prepared. The Red Cross recommends having one gallon of water per person, per day, on hand. They also recommend having easy to prepare food that does not require electricity to cook such as bread, peanut butter and jelly, or canned meat. If you do experience an outage, don’t panic, officials say. They would like to remind residents that if you experience an outage, it’s not always the grid overloading. High winds, for example, are also a big cause of outages. NWS Forecast as of Tuesday night: Wednesday Night-Mostly clear, with a low around 42. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Thursday-Sunny, with a high near 67. Breezy, with a light and variable wind becoming north 20 to 25 mph in the morning. Thursday Night-Clear, with a low around 19. Blustery, with a north wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Friday-Sunny, with a high near 37. North wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Friday Night-Mostly clear, with a low around 18. North northeast wind around 5 mph. Saturday-Sunny, with a high near 42. North northeast wind around 5 mph. Saturday Night-Mostly clear, with a low around 23. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Christmas Day-Sunny, with a high near 50. Sunday NightMostly clear, with a low around 29. Monday-Sunny, with a high near 59. Monday NightMostly clear, with a low around 35. TuesdaySunny, with a high near 61.
By ANTON RIECHER A ransomware attack on the company serving as hosting provider for the city of Devine means that any email communications from Dec. 9 through 13 may be permanently lost, the city’s IT consultant told the city council last week. “Network Solutions basically lost their exchange server due to an encryption hack,” consultant James Evans said. “So it was pretty much on their part. They didn’t upgrade some servers and I think it was just due to negligence on their part.” In response, Evans redirected the city’s computer servers to Office 365, a subscription service operated by Microsoft. “Now that we are up and running I would probably stick with 365 just because they are a publicly traded company,” Evans said. He doubted that Network Solutions would survive the lawsuits certain to result from the latest loss of critical data. Ransomware is a type of malicious software, or malware, preventing access to computer files, systems, or networks unless a ransom is paid for its return. According to Forbes magazine, Network Solutions is the fifth largest domain name registrar worldwide with nearly seven million domains on file. Evans said that city service emails are normally copied to a local hard drive for protection. However, any emails received during the affected period are likely encrypted by the ransomware and unreadable. As a precaution, Evans said he has reset passwords for all the city accounts affected by the attack.
Kelli Geyer, granddaughter, and Cooper Aldridge, great grandson, of Frank L. Bain, WWII USAF veteran place a wreath on his grave in his honor during Devine’s historic first Wreaths Across America Day on Saturday, December 17, 2022. Over 400 people attended the historic event.
