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.
By Anton Riecher Despite a 12-hour power outage Dec. 10 at the East Medina County Special Utility District plant in Pearson none of the 5,000 people served went without water, district superintendent Bruce Alexander said. “What really helped were capital improvements we recently made that included building a new half million gallon storage tank at plant one,” he said. However, that tank came within a foot of being empty before water could be restored, Alexander said. As of Dec. 14, operations at plant one and all its wells is completely restored, Alexander said. Either late Friday or early Saturday a 150-horsepower well motor at plant one failed. Employees arriving at the scene attempted to reset the motor but it suddenly burned out instead, causing a “compounded issue,” Alexander said. “It just literally blew fire out the side of the motor,” he said. “The surge was so great and so quick that it went through our control circuits and actually took out the electrical service coming from CPS,” Alexander said. “First we had to get CPS out to restore service and, even then, we couldn’t get out controls to work.” Those controls operated not only the well with the burned-out motor but all the wells on site, effectively shutting down plant one, Alexander said. Fortunately, within 12 hours workers were able to get one well working to replenish the rapidly depleted water in storage. The district took steps to make customers aware of the need to minimize water use. Besides posting a notice on the district webpage, Alexander activated an emergency communications system to alert customers via text message and email as to the progress being made. Another capital improvement that came in handy was the district’s drive to update emergency generators at all its water plants. Prior to obtaining federal stimulus money through the county for the project, the district invested more than $200,000 in emergency generators in recent years. “We put one in a few years ago at plant 1 and it was the system that kept power running during the big snow in 2021,” Alexander said. Enough fuel to operate five days straight is kept on site, he said. Meanwhile, workers toiled around-the-clock to get plant one back completely back on line. Finding the needed parts for the control system alone became a daunting task, Alexander said. “I’ve been told we were actually very fortunate to get things working because the controls we use come from California and it’s a 15-day wait to get the parts,” Alexander said. “We were able to scrounge up the parts we needed. I hate to use that phrase – scrounge up – but it is what it is.” Replacing the destroyed motor cost $32,000 with another $10,000 spent to repair the damaged controls, Alexander said. “This was a major issue for us but thank goodness we have the resources to cover these types of emergencies,” he said.
JodiAnn Dzierzanowski has built for herself a fascinating resume with a varied career field and extensive courses of study. First attending Buffalo State University where she earned 82 semester hours in French and anthropology, JodiAnn Z. Dzierzanowski is currently Principal/Truancy Prevention Coordinator with the DISD and overseer of DAEP and the Devine Learning Academy, with the responsibility of recovery of potential and current drop-out students. In her spare time, and in keeping with her philosophy of helping others – including animals – JodiAnn has gone through training and inspections to be able to volunteer as a permitted Texas Parks and Wildlife Rehabilitator. She takes in orphaned and injured wildlife, helps them recover, and releases them back to the wild. Prior to her present position with DISD, JodiAnn experienced a colorful career. She graduated from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Center in April of 1990. From there, she joined the United States Army Intelligence School, completing her Military Intelligence diploma in November of 1990, to become a Platoon Leader and Electronic Warfare Analyst. In May of 1992, JodiAnn completed her Associate of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, European Division, with an emphasis in biology. Pursuing her career in the field of science, she then attended Texas A&M University, completing her Bachelor of Arts in December of 1995 with a major in biology and minor in chemistry. She then received her teachers’ certification from the University of Texas at San Antonio in May of 2001, followed by earning her Master’s of Science in Microbiology in August of 2002, again from UTSA. Meanwhile, JodiAnn served in the United States Army as an electronic warfare voice interceptor and signals analyst from February of ‘89 to June of ‘92. Next, she worked in the entomology research and systematics laboratory, Jan of ‘95 to Dec of ‘95. An interesting next move took JodiAnn to the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Southwest as a microbiologist/ lab technician – from February of ‘96 to April. Continuing in the field of beverages, JodiAnn then moved to the Pearl/Pabst Brewing Company as a microbiologist – May of ‘97 to July of ‘99. Pursuing that teacher’s certificate, JodiAnn decided to enter the field of education, working for some years in Natalia High School, Southwest High School, and Palo Alto College, all serving in the areas of science. Her next stop was at Pearsall JH/High school as Academic Dean/Assistant Principal – October, 2008 to June, 2014. And that brings JodiAnn to her current position in DISD, the best of all, no doubt, stating, “It’s been wonderful in Devine.” However, amidst all of the above-mentioned experiences, JodiAnn had a fascinating career serving in the U.S. Army. She explains that she graduated from her interceptor school just prior to Desert Storm. The U.S. entered the war about six months after she arrived in Germany. “I remember being asleep in the middle of the night in the barracks, and our platoon leader came around, banging on everybody’s door, yelling, ‘We’re at war! Get up and get dressed!’ “ JodiAnn goes on to say, “It was really surreal. After we lined up, we got briefed on the situation. They divided us into squads, at least six…. We worked at an intelligence post that was a high-value target due to the intelligence we gathered there. The post was located about eight miles from where our barracks were. The squads took turns, three days out; three days back; three days at work. Two squads went out at a time to patrol the post, so as one was back at home camp, the other was out on duty. “The perimeter was never left unguarded. When we were out, we camped out in old WWII buildings located on the intelligence base. The buildings had not been used since WWII since many of them had bomb damage with blown-out walls and caved-in roofs. It was like time was frozen in 1942 there. “It was in the middle of winter when we entered the war, so it was cold and snowy. The base camps weren’t very warm, though we had a building that had its walls and roof. We never had anyone physically try to enter the post, and the war was short-lived, so everything worked out.” Commenting on the privileges of living in America JodiAnn has observed by her experiences serving overseas, she shares: “Living in other countries and serving in the Army really drives home what an amazing country we live in. I will always be thankful for the United States and the privileges it awards us by just living here, and the empowerment to change a situation if something is not right. Many people in other countries do not have that.” To elaborate on those freedoms, JodiAnn gives this example: “One day when I was at work, we were discussing people getting deployed. The sergeants were telling us that the female soldiers deployed to Iraq were being restricted to stay on base because women in Iraq did not have any rights; they weren’t even considered equals to men or even to their own male children. “There were American female soldiers who wore makeup, showed their faces, and wore pants, all of which women were not allowed at that time in Iraq. [In addition], Iraq didn’t want their women getting any ideas. To make matters even worse, American female soldiers were treated as equals in the U.S. Army, and when they left base, they were armed, giving them power among the Iraqi men. This was unspeakable in the eyes of Iraq in those days. “One particular incident sparked off the conflict of women in Iraq. A female MP was driving in town in the MP jeep. Women were not allowed to drive vehicles either in Iraq. Holy men, also known as the ‘Islamic Religious Police’ or ‘morality police’, walked around with large sticks to enforce the religious laws at the time. A Holy man witnessed this soldier getting out of her jeep. He walked up to her and her jeep and started pounding on the jeep’s hood with his large stick! In response, the lady MP pulled out her pistol, locked and loaded, and made him back off! “All sorts of Iraqis witnessed this whole interaction, including women and children. The Iraqi government became enraged and started talks with the U.S. to prevent situations like this in the future. …Keeping women on base was discussed as one of the solutions.” In reflection of her life of many facets, JodiAnn says this: “I feel I’ve had a good life and have been blessed. I’ve learned a lot of things, including to be patient, grateful, and strong. I’m at a point in my life to pass it forward, so that is what I try to do. It takes nothing away from an individual to be kind to others or to animals. When I am able to help someone out and they ask me how they can repay me, all I ask for is that they do the same when the time arises.”
Lions Club donated $200 in gift certificates for toys for a kindergarten program called Youth Alive. Pictured are (l-r) Abigail Beadle, Baily Kohlleppel, and Kellen Nixon (Lions’ Club Treasurer).The Devine Lions Club donated $500 to the Devine Salvation Army. Pictured are (l to r) Lewis Stroud, president, Cliff Redus, Kellen Nixon, treasurer and Bill Herring, vice president.
Natalia ECC staff Jennifer Velasquez and Karen Bedford with Natalia School Board President Eric Smith.
By Anton Riecher The Natalia ISD board took action last week to approve and distribute $109,000 in retention stipend checks to the district’s more than 200 employees, board president Eric Smith said. “Every person from the janitor to the superintendent will get a $500 check,” Smith said.
