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Raynaldo Ramirez, Jr.

Raynaldo Ramirez, Jr., age 40 of Devine, Texas went to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. He was born on February 9, 1982, to parents, Raynaldo Ramirez, Sr. and Rose Marie Monreal, in Hondo, Texas.
Raynaldo is preceded in death by his paternal grandmother, Lucia Ramirez, paternal grandfather, Ignacio Ramirez, Sr., maternal grandmother, Virginia Gallegos.
He is survived by his maternal grandfather, Jose Maria Gallegos; Father, Raynaldo Ramirez, Sr. and wife, Rose Ann Ramirez, Mother, Rose Marie Monreal and husband, Anselmo Monreal, Jr.; wife, Andrea Ramirez; children, Raynaldo Nathan Ramirez, Shailey Marie Ramirez, Ethan Juan Ramirez, Isabella Raelynn Ramirez, Zayden Alexander Ramirez, Damian James McGee; sisters, Sabrina Ann Ramirez, Vanessa Ramirez, Jessica Marie Ramirez; numerous uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.
Visitation was held Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 2:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M. with Rosary being recited at 7:00 P.M. Hurley Funeral Home Chapel, Devine, Texas. Mass was celebrated on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 10:00 A.M. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Devine, Texas with interment to follow in St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery.
Anyone wishing to leave condolences, share memories, or sign the online guestbook may do so at www.hurleyfuneralhome.com Arrangements are under the direction of Hurley Funeral Home, 303 W. College Ave., Devine, Texas 78016, (830) 663-4445.

Pay increases recommended to Devine ISD

Keith McLemore, human resources and compensation consultant for the Texas Association of School Boards told trustees that nearly 60 percent of school district in the state participated in the review, including nearly 90 percent of the state’s largest districts.

By Anton Riecher
An estimated pay increase somewhere between $172,216 and $255,349 for Devine ISD school teachers is recommended in a Texas Association of School Boards pay system review presented to the Devine school board May 16. No action was taken at the meeting.
Keith McLemore, human resources and compensation consultant for the Texas Association of School Boards told trustees that nearly 60 percent of school district in the state participated in the review, including nearly 90 percent of the state’s largest districts.
“The good news is you all are in good shape,” McLemore said. “The market is moving very quickly right now.”
Two separate models aimed at keeping Devine ISD competitive in the hiring of teachers, administrators, clerical and auxiliary personnel called for an estimated total increase above current costs of between $371,516 (2.8 percent) and $501,231 (3.8 percent). The increase includes both a general salary increase and salary adjustments to bring various job descriptions in line with other competing districts.
“Once we get done matching your jobs and getting the market data together we realign your pay structures,” McLemore said. “If there aren’t any pay structures in place you’re building from scratch.”
For administrators, the suggested total increase ranged from $71,132 to $100,579, including salary adjustments. Recommendations for clerical employees ranged from $79,419 to $87,278. Salary increases for auxiliary help ranged from $48,749 to $58,025.
Pay system objectives include establishing competitive salaries for new and experienced employees to aid in recruitment, he said. It also helps retain employees by preventing overpayment or underpayment based on job value.
Strategies in developing pay system control involve assessing job value accurately, keeping pay ranges competitive, controlling the pay spread between job incumbents, accelerate employees to market pay and budget sufficiently for pay increases, he said.
Of four sets of recommendations included in the study, the leading recommendation urged implementation of pay structure adjustments to align with market value, including strong starting salaries and salary midpoints aligned with the market place.
The review also recommended a general pay increase of two to three percent for all job groups to maintain the district’s market position. For teachers, a general pay increase should be calculated as a percentage of market median salary.
For other pay groups, GPI should be calculated as a percentage of an employee’s pay grade midpoint, McLemore said.
The review further recommends that the district provide salary adjustments to address market differences and maintain equity. To do that, salaries should be at least one percent above minimum with targeted pay equity and scale adjustments included.
Finally, the review recommends increasing stipends for hard-to-fill teaching assignments, such as:
• Math/Science: $500 increase times 12 teachers totaling $16,000.
• Special Education: $400 increase times eight teachers totaling $3,200.
• Life Skills: $1,500 increase times six teachers totaling $9,000.
• Bilingual Teachers: $400 increase (number needed varies).
For purposes of the review, Devine ISD was compared to 13 other districts – Charlotte, Dilly, Edgewood, Hondo, Lytle, Medina Valley, Natalia, Pearsall, Pleasanton, Poteet, Somerset and Southside. Selection was based on similarities in market value and district goals, the review states.
After McLemore’s presentation, Board President Nancy Pepper stated that he had given them a lot to think about, and the board moved onto the next agenda item.

Anderson gives board run down on “accelerated instruction” and how new STAAR legislation affects students

Devine High School assistant principal Steve Anderson making a presentation to the Devine school board on May 16 as part of a required public hearing on the district’s accelerated instruction program. The photo shows Anderson addressing the school board with board members Renee Frieda and Henry Moreno in the background.

By Anton Riecher
Many of the new requirements for accelerated instruction approved by the Texas Legislature in 2021 caused less difficulty for the Devine ISD than other school districts, high school assistant principal Steve Anderson told the Devine school board May 16.
“House Bill 4545 caught everybody by surprise but it didn’t affect us as whole lot because we’ve done a lot of this anyway,” Anderson said.
The school board agenda included an annual public hearing on the high school’s accelerated instruction program.
HB 4545, effective as of June 2021, established new requirements for accelerated instruction for students who fail to pass the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Any student who chooses to retake a required course is entitled to accelerated instruction as required by the new legislation.
“They kind of made it mandatory to do some acceleration for the kiddos that didn’t pass the STAAR test,” Anderson said.
At Devine High School, students are eligible for dual credit programs in which an eligible high school student enrolls in college courses and receives credit from both the college and high school. Dual credit courses for both academic and technical courses may be taught on the high school campus by an approved instructor.
“There are eleventh and twelfth graders that get the 12 hours of English, six hours of U.S. history, then government and economics that adds up to 24 hours,” Anderson said.
The district also offers College Board Advance Placement Program (AP) examinations for topics such as biology, world history and others. One major advance for the local school district is Devine High School is now a testing center for academic, career and technical education courses.
“It used to be a big headache organizing a trip to take kids to the testing center,” Anderson said. “We can actually do that here now.”
However, changes forced by HB 4545 did impact the district negatively in one specialized subject – welding.
“We don’t have dual credit for welding anymore,” Anderson said. “The college board came out with a new rule or law that basically said that all ag teachers that taught welding couldn’t do it anymore unless they had a master’s degree.”
Otherwise, the district met most of the new requirements under HB 4545, he said.
“If you basically fail the STAAR EOC (end-of-course) test then that summer or next year you’ve got to get 30 hours of acceleration for mediation, basically,” Anderson said. “We’re kind of already doing that for the most part so it wasn’t hard for us to implement.”
For example, at high school ninth graders are tested in English, biology and algebra, he said. During sophomore year the student take English II and, during the junior year, U.S. history.
“So they’ve got five tests and they have to pass those to graduate for the most part,” Anderson said. “There are some exceptions but if they fail any of those classes they’ve got to get 30 hours of mediation, which was hard last year because HB 4545 caught everybody by surprise.”
Unfortunately, English tends to be the subjects students struggle with the most, both statewide and in Devine, he said. Developing a rotation of special classes and labs to prepare students for retesting in English and the other various subjects is difficult to manage.
New arrivals at high school also have their problems qualifying under HB 4545, Anderson said.
“In the eighth grade they take four STAAR tests – science, social studies, math and reading,” he said. “We had 60 kids that came to us that failed at least one of those subjects.”
Statewide, high schools also report a high number of STAAR failures for incoming students, due largely to COVID,” Anderson said.
“In Devine, we probably had 15 of those kids fail all the tests and maybe another 15 who only failed one,” he said. “We had to find a way to remediate those kids.”
The district created five STAAR labs depending mainly on computer programs with teachers monitoring their work, he said. Failure to pass any of the STAAR testing required 30 hours of accelerated remediation.
“Basically, to get 30 hours done it takes about nine weeks based on 45-minute class periods,” Anderson said. “The state made it difficult. If you fail four subjects you are going to be in a STAAR lab all year long.”
Options for summer school classes are also in the works, he said.

Devine ISD to fill several unanticipated job vacancies, this year’s Dexta display to trace history of Devine ISD back to 1890s

Nancy Saathoff makes presentation to Devine ISD board.

By Anton Riecher
The Devine School District Board of Trustees voted May 16 to authorize Superintendent Todd Grandjean to hire professional staff as needed during the summer.
A motion by Chris Davis, seconded by Ali Buvinghausen, came after a closed executive session to discuss personnel. Grandjean has earlier mentioned during his monthly report to the board that the interview process was underway for new principals at the elementary and intermediate schools.
Interviews with the candidates for principal were scheduled for May 18, Grandjean told the board.
“We are going to ask for hiring responsibilities tonight like we normally do in the summer,” he said. “We would have that start tomorrow and then finish up at our August board meeting.”
However, Grandjean said he had no plans to hire a new athletic director on his own authority.
“We are not going to hire the new AD on my own,” he said.
Several unanticipated job vacancies have been posited by the district in addition to early retirement resignations that were expected, Grandjean said.
“I’ll give a full report when we go into executive session,” he said.
In further action following the executive session, the trustees voted to change professional contracts entered into by the district to one-year terms as recommended by Grandjean. Again, Davis’ motion to approve the proposal was seconded by Buvinghausen.
Grandjean reported that the district is continuing to meet with the Devine Fire Department regarding the development of a fire and EMS training academy that would prepare students to obtain their certification as emergency responders from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection.
To earn a certificate, responders must undergo an approved basic fire suppression program, pass an exam and earn accompanying emergency medical qualifications.
“We talked about that a little bit in our budget workshop,” Grandjean said. “We have a draft master schedule ready at the high school. All the kiddos are ready to fit into the slots if we can get it moved forward.”
Devine HS student would concentrate on firefighting in their junior year and move on to studying to be emergency medical technicians (EMT) in their senior year. Plans call for the academy to start this fall with the new 2022-23 school year.
“Our current talks involve the complexities of funding as soon as we get some clear options,” Grandjean said.
Grandjean reported that a meeting of the board of trustee’s strategic planning committee is anticipated in the near future. The committee consists primarily of teachers and community members involved in accessing a comprehensive, long-range facilities plan for the district.
“We are putting our needs into a guide that we can use to continue to the next step,” Grandjean said.
Action by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality remains pending on the district’s application for funding to cover replacement of four school buses. TCEQ earlier authorized $48,000 towards replacement of a 2006 school bus still in use, he said.
Nancy Saathoff with the Devine Ex-Student /Teacher Association reported to the school board on plans for the high school homecoming festivities Oct. 7 and 8. Beside the Friday night football game, the association plans to display its archive collection tracing the history of Devine ISD back to the 1890s.
The association also plans to honor the Devine High School graduating class of 1972 on its 50th anniversary, she said.
“Our annual homecoming information pages and membership forms will be mailed this week to hopefully build up our membership base,” Saathoff said.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the Dexta Student/Teachers Association, she said.
“We have a long tradition of serving and supporting our alumni as well as giving annual scholarships for graduated seniors at DHS,” Saathoff said. “All of our funds are raised from the $10 annual dues and $100 lifetime memberships as well as through memorial and honor donations from our generous alumni.”
See updates from latest meeting in article on new hires.

Memorial Day Ceremony in Natalia

Veterans and community members of Devine will pay tribute again this year during the annual Memorial Day Ceremony and flag retirement. It will be held on Monday, May 30 at the VFW Post in downtown Devine next to the Post Office. If you have a flag that is no longer serviceable, please bring it to the ceremony to be retired. If you cannot attend and have a flag to be retired, you may drop it in the flag drop box at the main entrance to the VFW (near the flagpole).

The Annual Memorial Day Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 29th 2022 at 7:30 pm. at the Veterans Memorial Monument in Natalia, Texas. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of all service members who were Killed In Action during a time of war. The ceremony will be short event of prayer, music and the reading of all the names of those service members who paid the ultimate for their country. Everyone is invited to attend, please bring your own lawn chairs as there will be no seating provided.

East Medina to install another generator for Plant # 1 soon

A $339,000 payment for an elevated tank and other capital expenditures left the East Medina County Special Utility District with just over $2 million in bond proceeds in its account, according to a financial report for April submitted to the board May 17.
“We are starting to see a little uptick in our interest rates through across all of our accounts,” business manager Lauren Evans said. “That’s nice because we’ve just been seeing those steadily fall to nothing recently.”
Outside of bond proceeds, EMSUD took in $259,692 in revenue in April, Evans said. Expenses for the month totaled $368,224, including the acquisition of Creekwood Ranches Water Supply Corporation.
A payment was also made involving a completed project to add 3,300 linear feet of 8-inch PVC water main on U.S. 90 from the Castroville Veterinary Clinic to CR 4612. A second phase of that project is 50 percent complete.
EMSUD superintendent Bruce Alexander reported to the board that steel for a tank construction project at Plant 5 in the northwest part of the district has been delivered.
“If you’ve ever seen one built it’s pretty interesting how they do it,” Alexander said.
However, storage tank and service pump improvement proposed for EMSUD Plant 1 remains on hold waiting for materials, Alexander said. A generator slated to be installed at the recently acquired Creekwood Ranches Water Supply Corporation is not due to leave the factory until the end of May.
Also, an application for funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to add a generator at EMSUD Plant 6 remains on hold, Alexander said. Problems collecting payments from other water districts in Texas has complicated the issue, he said.
Supply chain issues continue to hinder progress on updating EMSUD’s System Control and Data Acquisition system. The project involves using 2-way radio systems to communicate between the various plants and the district’s main office.
Legal issues regarding a contested certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) continued to drag through the Texas Public Utilities Commission.
The certificate grants a CCN holder the exclusive rights to provide retail water or sewer utility service to an identified geographic area. In this case, the conflict hinges on an alleged verbal agreement dating back more than 30 years.
“The Public Utilities Commission took action (on May 12) to refer the matter to a state hearing,” Alexander told the board. “They are not convinced that the area is ours exclusively because the other party still claims that he had an agreement from 30 years ago.”
Editor’s Note:
We want to thank the leadership of East Medina, which had generators in place when the historic winter storm hit, ensuring water service when many other entities had water service cut off for days. And for East Medina’s foresight to continue installing generators at various plants to ensure service for any future events. You are one step ahead of the game, and the residents of EMSUD appreciate it! -Kayleen Holder

By Anton Riecher

2 New principals to help lead Devine ISD schools

Michael Gomez will be the new intermediate school principal.

The Devine ISD School Board hired Michael Gomez as the new intermediate school principal, and Magdalena Vielma Strickland as the new Elementary principal at a special meeting on press day, Tuesday, May 24.
Gomez is a 2002 graduate of Devine HS. Taught seven years at Harlandale ISD in San Antonio, and spent last three in Lytle ISD where he was assistant principal at Lytle High School.
“I’m really humbled and excited to lead the intermediate school,” Gomez said.
Gomez earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M Kingsville and masters in educational leadership from University of North Texas.
Strickland graduated from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, TX, in 1993 with a bachelor of science in range and wildlife management. She holds a teacher certification in secondary biology, also from Texas A&M – Kingsville.
She also holds a master’s in education with an emphasis on urban learning from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. She also received a master’s in education management from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and a doctorate in education with a superintendent certification from the University of Houston.
Strickland presently teaches at Ninfa Laurenzo & DeZavala Elementary in Houston. She has taught in that school district since 2005. Strickland earlier taught science and math at McIlvaigh Middle School in Tacoma. Principal Strickland was not at the school board meeting and could not be reached for a comment as of press time.

By Anton Riecher
and Kayleen Holder

Blood needed in wake of Uvalde tragedy

According to South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, they have rushed 25 units of low titer blood to Uvalde Memorial Hospital, plus an additional 10 units today, Tuesday May 24, which was needed in addition to what the hospital had in stock.
“Our blood supply going into this was already very fragile,” said Roger Ruiz, spokesperson for South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. “We sent those 25 low titer units, plus an additional 10, and we continue to be on standby. Keep in mind that those numbers are just units, and patients often need more than one blood transfusion.”
“We have less than a 2 day supply of blood as of now,” Ruiz said. “It all comes from the community, and when you make a donation, it is typically only 24 hours until your donation makes it to the patient.”
“All blood types are needed, but O-negative and O- positive are most needed in an emergency like this,” Ruiz adds.

Uvalde ISD went into lockdown today, Tuesday May 24, around 11:30 and notified residents of an active shooter situation at Robb Elementary shortly after.

This afternoon, the Governor addressed the state of Texas and the nation, stating that there were 14 students and 1 teacher killed in this heartbreaking incident. However, many more victims were transported to area hospitals including Uvalde Memorial, SA area hospitals, and Medina Regional in Hondo. At one point, Uvalde stated they had 13 injured victims in their care, and sadly further reports indicate there are many more injured.

As of 12:38 today, Uvalde PD stated it was still an “active scene” asking parents not to approach. At 1:06, Uvalde PD stated the suspect was in custody.

Students were transferred to an alternate location. The Reunification Site for Robb Students is at the Willie DeLeon Civic Center.

SWAT teams from surrounding areas and several Airlife helicopters and EMS units were called in to help at the scene in Uvalde. FBI and the Texas Rangers were also on scene as of Tuesday evening.

Many, many units of blood was rushed to Uvalde, and there will be a mobile blood drive in Uvalde tomorrow, Wednesday, May 25.

It will be held from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Herby Ham Activity Center.
Address: 248 FM Rd 3447
Uvalde, TX 78801
Email: uaacoffice@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 830-591-2711

Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved.

Updated May 24 at 7PM

Over $100,000 was raised by this amazing community!!!

Runners and walkers line up to kick of the Audrey Jane’s Light fundraiser this past Saturday at Devine Acres. Audrey Capps, 4, (pictured in the center) led walkers off in her jeep. This will be an annual fundraiser.

Over $100,000 was raised by this amazing community during the 1st Annual Audrey Jane’s Light event held at Devine Acres this past Saturday, May 14. The event was held in honor of Audrey Capps, 4 years old, as she battles a very rare and devastating disease called A-T (or Ataxia Telangiectasia).
The Capps and Calame crew are doing everything they can to raise money for research to find the cure. The AT Children’s Project was started by two other A-T parents and works tirelessly to find that cure. If you didn’t get a chance, you can make a donation at www.atcp.org/Audrey

1,000+ people expected…
Scholarship fundraiser Food Truck Rally May 21
Live music, lots of great food,
sign up your food truck today

The Lytle Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce that the big Food Truck Rally ? Miriam Lovelace Scholarship Fund will be happening on Saturday, May 21 in Lytle from 11 to 7pm. You can expect to find close to a dozen food trucks with lots of tasty treats to try.
Right now they have pizza, bbq, chicken, shaved ice, and funnel cakes to name a few. There have been some cancellations so there are some openings. If you know of anyone with a food truck please pass along the message and have them contact President Brad Beazer at 830-391-8107 or look on the Greater Lytle Chamber of Commerce website for information or to sign up a food truck.
There will also be live music and a DJ at the event. Headliner country artist Matthew Ryan will play from 5-7pm.
There will also be a drawing with some great prizes as well.
The annual event is lots of fun and raises money for local students, it is a big evnet at the high school parking lot that draws over 1,000 people.