Celebrating 126 Years of Serving the communities of Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot, and Moore in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties
…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!
Steve Lopez, front and center, pictured with Devine VFW Post 3966 members: L to R- Craig Steffens-Trustee, Gary Saathoff-Quartermaster, Roland Esquibel-Commander, Steve Lopez-Senior Vice Commander, Felix Bazan-Chaplain, Robert Rodriguez, Jesse Rodriguez-Junior Vice Commander.
On behalf of the government of South Korea, VFW Post 3966 presented Chief Master Sergeant, USAF Ret. Steve Lopez with the Korean Ambassador for Peace Medal on February 7, 2026. Steve Lopez’s family and VFW Post members attended the ceremony held on the stage in the VFW courtyard. Post Commander Roland Esquibel presented the award as the letter of thanks from the South Korean Consulate was read.
PFC Steve Lopez of Devine served in Korea in 1952-1953 with the 8th Army I Corp in the Armored Munitions Depot, Company C, 43rd Truck Company, in Uijeongbu, South Korea, which was the largest ammo dump. “We supplied ammunition to the 2nd & 3rd Army Divisions, 1st Cav, and the 1st & 3rd Marines on the Front Lines.”
His job was driving the 6×6 “double deuce & a half” heavy duty truck with a 45-side arm, and manning the 50-caliber machine gun in a…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!
There will be two drawings to benefit Angels in the Fairway Memorial Scholarship on March 23rd.
One drawing is for a Titleist iron golf club set, custom fitted by Carson Tilley, valued at $1,800. Only 100 tickets will be sold with each ticket being $50 each.
The second drawing is for a luxury travel collection valued at $1,000. This Jon Hart collection includes a makeup case, grande, large travel kit, medium square duffel and medium holiday tote with personalization. Winner can choose the color and personalization. Only 100 tickets will be sold with each ticket being $50 each.
If you have any questions please contact Ali Buvinghausen at (210) 508-6606 or Candace De Jesus at (210) 386-8594.
By Angelica Ariza Intern
Community members are coming together to support the families affected by a tragic crash that claimed the life of a Natalia man and left three others seriously injured. Juan Peralta, 58, died as a result of the crash. Three others were severely injured, including Peralta’s son in law, Johnny Aguiñaga, 48, his grandson, Alonzo Aguiñaga,21, and a close co-worker. Family members say the incident has left loved ones facing both emotional and financial challenges as they cope with the loss and ongoing medical care.
To help the families during this difficult time, a Benefit Brisket Sale and Silent Auction has been organized. The fundraiser will be held Sunday, March 22, 2026, beginning at 12pm at St. John Bosco Church Hall and will continue until plates are sold out. Brisket plates will be available for a $12 donation and will include brisket, rice, beans, and potato salad. In addition to the plate fundraiser, a silent auction will also take place during the event, with winners scheduled to be announced at 4pm.
Organizers say all proceeds from the event will go towards funeral expenses for Peralta and medical costs for the injured victims. Community members are encouraged to attend, purchase a plate, and participate in the silent auction to show their support for the Peralta and Aguiñaga families.
Deputies executed a search warrant on West Moore Avenue in Devine last week, finding scales, packaging materials, narcotics, and more, making 5 arrests. See article for details.
By Medina County Sheriff’s Office Press Release–On 3/10/2026, Medina County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at 508 West Moore Avenue in Devine, Texas as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.
“During the execution of the warrant, five individuals were taken into custody at the residence, including three males and two females, identified as Raul Roy Martinez, Daniel Martinez, Anthony Nathaniel Alexander Rios, Jessica Marie Ramirez, and Martha Sauceda Settles,” said Sheriff Randy Brown.
“Investigators located digital scales, packaging materials, and baggies containing methamphetamine that appeared to be prepared for distribution. In addition, each individual arrested was found to be in possession of narcotics on their person.”
All subjects were transported and booked into the Medina County Jail for possession and or delivery. This investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges may be filed.
“Medina County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to aggressively pursuing illegal narcotics activity and protecting the safety of our communities,” Sheriff Brown said.
Suspects were charged with…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!
Jodi Ann Dzierznowski holding her 1st book “Amulets for Salem,” the first of the 3-book series.
By Angelica Ariza- Devine News Intern
After years of working in education, Jodi Ann Dzierzanowski decided to take on a new challenge, becoming an author. Dzierzanowski grew up in Cheektowaga, New York and now lives in Devine Texas. During her career, she served as principal at middle and high schools in South Texas communities including Pearsall, Natalia and Devine.
Dzierzanowski said she didn’t begin writing until she was 57 years old. The inspiration came during a trip with her father to Salem. While visiting museums and learning about the town’s history, she became interested in the stories surrounding the witch trials, also known as the Salem Witch Trials that began in 1692, and remain one of the most well known and tragic chapters in early American history.
“That trip really sparked it all,” Dzierzanowski said.
Her research and interest in Salem’s history led to a fictional three book series about witches, aimed at younger readers who…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!
By Anton Riecher
In a compromise reached with Lytle State Bank, the Lytle City Council voted unanimously at its March 9 meeting to amend its depository services agreement with the bank to include creation of a $2 million money market account for city funds.
Officials with the bank raised concerns in January that the council’s decision to invest nearly $7 million in city funds in TexPool, a low-risk pool providing investment services to more than 2,750 communities across Texas, rather than locally with the bank would negatively impact the Lytle economy.
In other financial business, the council also voted unanimously to approve the issuance of $6 million in certificates of obligation to support future city utility projects.
Regarding the new bank agreement, City Administrator Zachary Meadows said that after considerable “back and forth” between the city and the bank a workable negotiation was finally reached.
“(The bank) would like to amend the existing depository agreement to establish a money market account that would stay at a constant $2 million,” Meadows said. “If it drops below $2 million for any amount of time as outlined in the agreement then we would have a limited amount of time to get it back up to $2 million.”
On a motion by…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!
Meet two brothers who are seeking to be adopted together…. Michael age 9 and John who is 8 share a close, loving bondfull of love, laughter, and creativity.
They enjoy spending time together, whether they are shooting hoops, building Lego creations or coming up with imaginative games.
Both boys are active and thrive when they have the opportunity to move, explore and engage in hands-on play.
They look up to each other and work well as a team, often encouraging one another to try new things. When they are indoors, they enjoy playing video games, coloring or watching funny videos that make them laugh.
Michael’s kind, protective nature blends perfectly with John’s curious and humorous personality. Michael tends to be the leader, while John brings lighthearted fun and creativity to everything they do. Together, they bring joy, excitement, and warmth to any environment.
Michael and John are seeking to be matched with a family who enjoys being active and can offer a variety of activities such as sports, outdoor adventures, and creative projects. They would like a loving family who can provide encouragement and support as they grow into confident, caring and successful young boys.
When asked what they wanted their future family to know about them they said, “We are Michael and John! We love playing basketball, drawing, playing Legos, and spending time together.”
If you think you could be a forever family for these brothers, or another Texas child, please call 1-800-233-3405 for more information or visit www.adoptchildren.org where you can find a schedule of online public information meetings, and learn about the foster/adoption program.
You can also view the www.heartgallerystx.org website, where South Texas children have their portraits along with individual personal stories they wish to share, with their future forever family.
Basic Adoption Requirements
The prospective foster/adoptive parents may be single or married and must:
be at least 21 years of age, financially stable, and responsible mature adults
complete an application (staff will assist you if you prefer)
share information regarding their background and lifestyle
provide relative and non-relative references
show proof of marriage and/or divorce (if applicable)
agree to a home study which includes visits with all household members
allow staff to complete a criminal history background check and an abuse/neglect check on all adults in the household
attend free training to learn about issues of abused and neglected children
Post Adoption Services
Adopted children who have been abused or neglected often need help coping with the effects of abuse and the loss of their birth family.
All families of children adopted through DFPS can get post adoption services. For more information about the services available go to https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Child_Protection/Adoption/adoption_support.asp
“To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.”
-Winston Churchill
A hobby is a gift you give yourself. In years past, most people enjoyed hobbies of some kind. As kids, we all had hobbies. We built model airplanes and cars, collected stamps and coins and baseball cards. Our parents, busy as they were, had hobbies as well. They enjoyed painting, gardening, and photography. They read real books, played cards and musical instruments, and donned matching outfits to go square dancing (seeing dad dressed as Slim Whitman had to be traumatic for some kids). My dad was a master woodcarver and enjoyed nothing more than time at his workbench with a knife and carving tools. Today, life seems different. I recently read an article lamenting this change in our culture. It seems that many humans today have replaced healthy organic hobbies with the digital hobby of doomscrolling. Their only hobby is scrolling on their phones, and this is not good for our brains.
It has been reported that the average person spends seven hours a day staring at screens. Consuming that much rapid and fragmented content (TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and more) steals your time and life, shortens your attention span, and literally re-wires your brain. Most folks reach for their phones like chain-smokers fumbling for another cigarette when bored. The internet, and especially demonic social media, has conditioned the world to crave quick dopamine hits. Our phones are like digital crack pipes demanding our full attention. This constant consumption leaves our brains overwhelmed and hyper- stimulated, and they begin to re-wire themselves.
In the brain we have receptors that receive signals when dopamine is released. Social media and online consumption cause a flood of dopamine in our brains, and this results in maximum stimulation on those receptors. To restore balance, our brain begins to down regulate these receptors, and they become less sensitive to dopamine. Over time, the same stimulation doesn’t give you the same feeling of reward. Your brain is essentially re-setting how enjoyment and rewards feel. So, when you do real-life things like reading a book, or going for a walk, dopamine release is minimal and these activities are not rewarding or enjoyable. In extreme cases this can result in digital anhedonia, the reduced ability to find any enjoyment in real-world and everyday experiences. Prolonged digital saturation and stimulation essentially rots your brain. Maybe this is why much of the world seems to be going crazy. But the good news is that your brain can re-set and heal itself, and old-fashioned hobbies can help in this process.
A 2023 meta-analysis found a direct association between hobbies and mental well-being. Researchers discovered that humans with one or more hobbies exhibited fewer depressive symptoms, and had higher levels of self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction. And it is believed that some types of hobbies, like playing an instrument or creating art, can increase the volume of your brain, fostering memory and reducing the chances of developing dementia. Hobbies can help re-train our brains to focus and enjoy life in the real world.
Engaging in an enjoyable hobby will trigger a dopamine release, just like scrolling on your phone, but it is a slow dopamine release. You get a slow burn of happiness from your hobby activity, along with an added dose of the feel-good chemical serotonin. Hobbies offer something similar to a healthy whole foods meal as compared to online screen hyper-stimulation which is more like junk food that tastes good while at the same time destroying your health.
If you are in the mood for some brain-healing, mind settling, real-world satisfaction, consider finding a hobby (if you don’t already have one or two). Start by considering what you might enjoy, or what you’ve always wanted to try. It is okay to try many things. Experiment with different options.
Hobbies can be loosely categorized into various categories. There are creative hobbies like art (painting, drawing, photography), music, cooking, gardening, and writing. Many prefer outdoor and active hobbies like hunting, fishing, running, hiking, biking, and dance. Intellectual hobbies like reading, learning, and traveling are especially helpful in healing your brain. Hobbies can also include social activities like joining clubs, taking classes, and hosting friendly gatherings.
Hobbies can foster a deeper meaning, purpose, and flow in your life, something the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia. This Aristotelian philosophy can be translated as “human flourishing and enjoyment.”
Consider cultivating a creative and mindful hobby to counteract the screen tension and stress that we live with in this modern world. A sound hobby will reduce your stress and help heal and settle your mind as you pursue the trajectory of a happy life. Be happy – find a hobby!
© 2026 Jody Dyer
typewriterweekly.com
