South Texas weather has recently again shown its “diversity” by going from below 20 to near 80+ in the span of under a week. We went from worrying about frozen pipes to thinking about heat stroke. Go figure! I was doing a late morning to noon hunt for turkeys with no success. After a quick lunch my guest and I settled into our spots again and proceeded to begin the afternoon “deer blind sauna” experience one more time. While I had carefully sprayed down with scent killer before leaving the truck, by the time the deer started moving out of the thick brush, it was near sundown and the NW wind had not done much good in cooling the interior temp. of the metal enclosure I had been sitting in. Several does and yearlings plus a fine 4.5-year-old 8 pointer were feeding along the food plot edge, with the buck pestering the girls. They seemed uninterested in his attention and preferred the corn spread out by the game feeder. Another buck, younger by a year, but with an impressive 10-point typical rack sneaked out and began feeding in a pattern that was going to take him directly down wind from where I sat. This was opposite the direction of the rest of the deer before me. At the exact moment his movement brought him to the very edge of where my scent was blowing, his head popped up like a jack in the box clown, and he started looking in my direction. Knowing the buck was off limits in my management practice of letting them grow to at least 5 years of age before even considering them as “shooters”, I was sitting very still and focused on his reaction. He instinctively knew something “stinky” was somewhere around and while not in a panic, quickly reversed his course and in less than 30 seconds was lost again in the thick brush of La Brasada. I guess my scent removal approach had worn off courtesy of the warm temperature in the blind. While that deer was in absolutely no danger of me that day, I was reminded how well The Good Lord has provided for their safety by giving them such a keen sense of smell. He did not know WHO I was, or exactly WHERE I was, but quickly had connected WHAT I was, and high tailed it to someplace far safer than being exposed out in the open.
Last week your Lytle PD officers handled 57 calls for service and conducted 86 traffic stops. Officers issued 75 citations with 11 warnings. Arrests: Officers only had one arrest last week. Ofc. J. Cortez stopped a vehicle on Main St. for speeding and determined the driver to be intoxicated. He was arrested for DWI. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. Property Crimes (5 reported): #1 – A mini-storage unit on S. Somerset St. was burglarized. The victim reported that 5 inflatable Halloween decorations were taken, valued at $500. #2 – The construction company doing site work on the Rosewood Subdivision (on FM 2790) reported a $50,000 Caterpillar wheel loader was taken. They were tracking it on GPS, which was found abandoned on Smith Road in Bexar Co. before we could even finish the report. #3 – A person staying at the hotel reported that a window to their vehicle was broken out, and nothing was missing from inside. #4 – A business owner in the 15000 blk. of Main St. reported that a security light was “shot” out. #5 – Officers observed a vehicle with two open doors on Houston St. Contact was made with the owner, who stated a “junk box” was taken and they didn’t want to file any report. I love it when criminals steal worthless items. In other news …. It looks like the Adoption event at the Lytle Animal Care and Control center was a success. It appears that 7 dogs and 1 cat found new homes! One dog also found a foster home as well. I stopped by the event for a few minutes and saw that our city animal control staff as well as volunteers from Lytle Animal Allies were really busy answering questions and showcasing the animals. They had a bake sale going on too. I was able to resist, but Sgt. David Lopez opted for a brownie. Hit and run! On Friday night, Ofc. Luis Diaz was patrolling Live Oak St. when out of nowhere a deer tried to jump over the hood of our police Dodge Charger. Luis was surprised, to say the least, the dashcam didn’t record what he said, that’s probably a good thing. His windshield was busted out but other than that there was no damage! The deer just slid across the hood and kept on going. We feel that was just a random incident, we have no credible information to lead us to believe that this was a planned attack on a police vehicle by members of DAPA (Deer Anti-Police Association). Last Wednesday I celebrated my 23rd wedding anniversary! My wife has been on this police chief journey with me for a long time. That journey has included; lots of missed plans because of work emergencies, tons of phone calls that roll in 24/7, and of course the general stress of this type of work. My kids have been along for a lot of the ride as well and they too have stories to tell. I am blessed to be married to a strong Christian woman who has done more than her share to take care of my family while I am trying to take care of Lytle. I worked this weekend and it sure was nice to see a lot of people outside, the weather was really nice. During the heat of the summer, people stayed inside. You could drive down street after street and the only people you would see, if you were lucky, was somebody going from their vehicle to the house at a brisk pace. It was like we enacted a daytime, severe heat curfew and included a provision prohibiting rain.
Aint rained out in the Black Creek vicinity since December 18th. Some you folks are leaving rain outta your prayers. Almost time to pay your annual rent for the privilege of living in Medina County. Mine comes to $9.17 a day…every day. Thanks to last year’s vote, County taxes are now frozen for those of us over 65. Still high due to the Appraisal but, what are you gonna do? Pay them or give it to the County and let them sell it for less than it’s worth or defer your taxes and let them have it when you die? Last week’s Agenda for Commissioners Court was not very interesting with vacating and replatting taking center stage. Don’t think I’ll go watch unless there is something interesting on tap. Lost a good man last week that was a positive influence on your kids…mine don’t go to school here anymore. Jacob Sanchez touched those he taught and will definitely be missed. Those who were the recipient of his efforts will never forget his influence on their lives. Need a lot more like him. Retirement is good so far. I try to get at least one task completed every day. If not, I am free to put it off until tomorrow. After trimming trees for a couple of days, I woke up at 6 but, knowing I didn’t have to get up, I went back to sleep and slept till 9..felt good but, wasted most of the day. And no, Sandy don’t have a list of things to do…I got a list of things that I’d like to do but, sometimes I change priorities. Don’t know what your City has on its long range plans but, it would be good to resurrect some old ideas like…sidewalks on the other side of SH 173 or changing the name of that road to something more Devine like. But, that’s not my problem. I’m kinda like Bob Bendele and seeing the word “Hondo” on the front of our High School is kinda tough to look at. I would be in favor of the idea. KK has decided to let me continue to write for the paper and I’ll try to do the same bi-monthly entry and keep an eye on County (maybe some City) happenings. Danny Lawler has taken over as your Commissioner and I do believe that he is going to do good things for us in that Office. Says he’s gonna keep some of the services like tire disposal and assisting the Cities of Devine and Natalia.
To say this past week was hectic would be a bit of an understatement! For a couple of days, I felt as if I were a dog chasing his tail. The funeral for my brother-in-law was on Thursday, with the rosary service the evening before. Everything was beautiful and very well organized, as my sister and her daughters did a wonderful job, even with a few obstacles being encountered. There was not a whole lot I could other than be there for some moral support. Friday was our Hospital Auxiliary annual awards banquet, I had plenty of help, and luckily a lot of things were already finished beforehand. Several of us went to the meeting room we were using at a local church and started covering tables and working on centerpieces, and as the old saying goes “many hands make light work”, we had it finished in plenty of time. And, of course, as with anything of this type, we had a couple of glitches that worked out just fine. The food was catered by a nearby restaurant, and as always it was very good. When is the last time you ate beets? Have you ever eaten beets; did you like them? Most of us never think of whether we like beets or not, right? We just look at them in their cans on the shelf and think, “they’re sure a pretty color, but what would I do with them?” Or, if we see them on a salad bar, we just ignore them because we have never tried them and probably don’t want too! They seem to be either increasing in popularity, or either they’re just being advertised more, as they are one of the featured items in my current issue of Cooks, Illustrated®. Their recipe is for borscht, a soup very common in the Ukraine. It looks interesting; however, it also looks as if it is quite a bit of work! Since I was raised during the WWII years, with grandparents who had gardens and a Dad who worked in a grocery store, I learned to eat beets. They do taste good if they are fixed correctly, even if they come out of a can. Just straight from the can, they don’t taste very good and when you look at them in the produce aisle at the grocery store or a farmers’ market, you thought is “how on earth would you cook something like that?” So, today, to clear up a little of the mystery about beets, I will tell you a little bit about them. My information is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. There are many varieties of beets that include the leafy varieties called chard and spinach beet, the beetroot or garden beet and also the sugar beet that is used to make table sugar. All of the cultivated varieties are in the subspecies Beta vulgaris subp. vulgaris, while Beta vulgaris subp. martima, the common name for the sea beet, is the wild ancestor of these. The history of the beet goes back to the second millennium BC. It was probably domesticated along the Mediterranean, and later spread to Babylonia by the 8th century BC and from there as far toward the east as China by 850 AD. Evidence shows that the leafy varieties were most widely cultivated for much of its history. However, much later they lost some of their popularity with the introduction of spinach. Beets became very important commercially in the 19th century in Europe, after the development of the sugar beet in Germany, when it was discovered that sucrose could be extracted from them. This discovery provided an alternative to the tropical sugar cane and to this day, beets remain a widely cultivated commercial crop for producing table sugar. To cook beets at home after purchasing them from the store or from a farmers’ market, you scrub them well, place them in a pot, cover them with water and cook them until they are done. The peels will slip off just as the peels from peaches and tomatoes come off when they are dipped into boiling water. After they are cooked, they can be eaten as a hot dish with butter, they can be pickled and chilled and eaten cold as a condiment, (and this is the most common way they are eaten in our areas), or they can be shredded raw and eaten as a salad. The pickled beets are a traditional food of the American South and believe it or not, according to the information I have, in Australia and New Zealand, it is common for sliced, pickled beets to be served on a hamburger. A traditional dish of the Pennsylvania Dutch is to use the left-over pickling liquid and place hard cooked eggs in it and store in the fridge until the eggs turn a deep pink/red color. While I was in this site, I also looked up “beet recipes” and many were for salads with the addition of feta, blue or goat cheese. Many of them also had lime, orange or lemon juice as an addition, along with arugula, water cress, shallots, apples and the list goes on and on. In checking through cookbooks, I found recipes using beets in cakes and cookies, which seems a really sneaky way to get you family to eat a dish they might tell you they don’t like. As for myself, I have eaten them prepared with a thickened sauce, (Harvard beets), as well as just plain with butter, salt and pepper, but my favorite, if I am going to eat beets, is pickled. When I lived in Devine, especially when the children were small, my grandma and aunt from La Coste and I would can beets. We cooked the beets, peeled them and cut them into chunks or slices, made up a hot mixture of vinegar, sugar and the liquid from cooking the beets and placed them in quart jars, sealed them shut and I truly don’t remember if we processed them or not, as too many years have gone by. Also, in later years, a friend, who had a big garden, would pick the leaves of the plants when they were small and cook them just as you would cook spinach. They were good served this way. Pickled Beets 2 or 3 cans sliced beets (can use the cut pieces or quarters if desired) Equal parts, sugar, vinegar, liquid Open the cans and drain the liquid from the beets and set aside. Place the beets in a bowl and set aside. Measure out 1 cup sugar, 1 cup of the beet liquid or water, and ¾ to 1 cup vinegar, place in a pot and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and then pour over the beets in the bowl. Chill thoroughly before serving. This is how my grandma made her pickled beets. Many cooks do not heat the mixture, they just stir until the sugar is dissolved and pour it over the beets, and still others add pickling spices to the mixture; it truly is a matter of personal preference. Harvard Beets 2 cans sliced beets, drained and liquid set aside ½ cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons corn starch ¼ cup vinegar ¼ cup beet liquid 2 tablespoons cooking oil Combine sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, beet liquid and oil and bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the beets and cook at simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Now, I know I mentioned a cake made with beets, and, I found recipes for sauerkraut cake, poppy seed cake, carrot cake, potato cake, wacky cake, pork cake, watermelon cake and all sorts of other cakes using vegetables and/or fruits but could not find the one using beets. It was called, of all things, “Beatnick Cake”, but without spending several hours going through cookbooks, I can’t find it this morning! Believe it or not, here it is ten or twelve years down the line, and I decided to use this column about beets again, and in the cookbook made by the women of the Moore Library Committee, I found the “Beatnik Cake”! The ladies on the committee were Octavia Jones, Chairman; Alice Terry, Betty Gentry, Wanda Salzman and Ann Wofford. Beatnik Cake Laura Petri 1½ cups ground beets ½ teaspoon baking soda 1½ cups sugar 1¼ cups cooking oil 1 7/8 cups flour ¾ teaspoon salt 3 eggs ½ teaspoon vanilla 6 tablespoons cocoa 1 teaspoon lard Cream sugar, egg, and oil. Add beets, cocoa, lard, flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Bake in a loaf pan. Ice with favorite icing. (It does not say whether the beets should be cooked or not. However, since I’ve been seeing recipes using beets recently and they are shredding them raw for salads, that could be the way you would use them. I can’t quite see grinding a cooked beet, the texture is similar to cooked carrots).
Rosa M. Navarro passed peacefully on January 10, 2023, from complications of kidney disease. She was born in Devine on May 23, 1949, she was 73 years old. She is predeceased by her parents Santos and Rosa Ramos. Survivors include her children: Roger Navarro (Danielle Navarro), Rachel Duran (Raymond Duran); grandchildren Brent Navarro, Janessa I. Cespedes, Sabastian Sandoval, Damian Sandoval, Micco Navarro Sandoval, Audrey Rose Navarro; and great-grandson Henry Navarro. A memorial service celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 1 pm at Primera Iglesia Bautista Betania, 404 E. Hondo, Devine, TX 78016.
Robert “Bob” Jungman, 76, passed away peacefully Saturday, January 7, 2023. He was born November 26, 1946 in San Antonio to Alex and Ellen (Tschirhart) Jungman. Bob married his sweetheart Carol Kroeger on January 7, 1967 in San Antonio, TX. In 1979 they moved their family to Yoakum, TX to start a new life in the country. He was a veteran having served in the US Army Reserve for 20 years. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and a life member of Knights of Columbus. Bob was a salesman for Eddy Packing Company for 11 years. He then continued his sales work with Hermann Sons Life and retired after 23 years. In his spare time, he loved to fish and hunt while enjoying the outdoors. Family time and gatherings were a very important part of his life. Bob was very good with his hands and enjoyed doing hobbies like: building birdhouses, reloading shells, and mounting deer horns. Survivors are his wife of 56 years, Carol (Kroeger) Jungman of Yoakum; two daughters, Nancy Jurena and husband Bernard of Yoakum and Annette R. Acosta and husband Rafael Jr. of Cuero; granddaughter, Kayleen Jurena; brother, Curtis J. Jungman and wife Susan of San Antonio and numerous family members and friends. Preceded in death by his parents; infant son, Robert E. Jungman Jr.; sister Joan M. Underbrink and husband Gary. Visitation was held Wednesday, January 11, 2023 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm with Rosary recited at 6:30 pm at Thiele Cooper Funeral Home. Funeral Mass was Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 11 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church with committal following at St. Joseph Catholic Mausoleum. Memorials may be given to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Yoakum or the donor’s choice. Arrangements by Thiele Cooper Funeral Home, Yoakum, TX.
James Edwin Bennett, III, of Natalia, Texas, went to be with the Lord, on December 28, 2022, at the age of 67, in San Antonio, Texas. James was born on February 8, 1955, to James and Joann Tilton Bennett in Columbus, Ohio. James served in the United States Army, for 20 years. He served in support of Desert Storm. He was also a member of Lytle VFW Post 12041 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Motorcycle Group of Texas (VFWMGTX), Unit 8. James is survived by his wife, Petra S. Bennett; brothers, Jack Bennett, Jeffrey Bennett (Kelly), John Bennett and Jody Bennett; and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be on Monday, January 23, 2023 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm at Primrose Funeral Services, 14822 Main Street, Lytle, Texas 78052. Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 2:15 pm at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, San Antonio, Texas 78209, with Full Military Honors. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate.html Anyone wishing to sign the online guestbook, share memories or issue condolences to the family, may do so at www.primrosefuneralservices.com Arrangements under the direction of Primrose Funeral Services, 14822 Main Street, Lytle, Texas.
Lois Delean Mangum Wanjura of Lytle passed away on January 11, 2023 at the age of 95. She was born August 5, 1927 in San Antonio, Texas to the late James Mitchell Mangum and Annie J. Ferguson Mangum. Lois attended high school in Oklahoma City and then Lytle High School. On June 15, 1946, Lois married Franklin S. Wanjura at the Lytle Methodist Parsonage. They were blessed with seventy years of marriage at the time of his passing in 2016. Lois was a school nurse for Lytle ISD and retired in 1990 after twenty-six years. In addition to being a school nurse, Lois also helped her husband on the farm, all while raising their three children. Survivors include her children and their spouses, Franklin Wanjura, Jr. and Pam of Lytle, Warren Wanjura and Diane of Lytle, and Denise Avants and Roger of San Antonio; grandchildren, Kyle Wanjura, Warren Wanjura, Jr. (Jennifer), Tricia Kelley (Brandon), Tyson Wanjura (Vicki), Clinton Avants (Rebekah), Ashley Avants, and Nadia Robinson; great-grandchildren, Colby Wanjura, Laynie Wanjura, Sarah Kelley, Andrew Kelley, Leo Wanjura, Emily Wanjura, Camden Avants, Averie Cairns, Hailey Cairns, and Wimberly Avants; honorary grandchildren, Caleb and Carson Green; sister-in-law, Bonnie Finnigan; as well as several nieces and nephews. Lois was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Franklin S. Wanjura, Sr.; her sister, Elizabeth Peters (Marvin); her brother, James Mangum; and her brother-in-law, Jack Finnigan. Visitation will be Saturday, January 21, 2023 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Lytle United Methodist Church with the Funeral Service at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at the Lytle Community Cemetery in Lytle, Texas. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Lois’ memory to the Lytle Animal Shelter, Lytle Public Library, Lytle UMC, or the charity of your choice. Arrangements by Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home. Visit www.tondre-guinn.com.
Dollie Mae Buser of Natalia went to be with her Lord and Savior on January 6, 2023 at the age of 70. On July 6, 1952 Dollie was born in small town Poteet, Texas. Dollie was as a South Texas native all her life; she took great pride in her beautiful state and country. Dollie settled down in Natalia, Texas where she went on to raise 3 beautiful daughters. Dollie served as a bus driver for the local school district for over 25 years. Dollie’s children had children and their children would also later have children bestowing unto her the title she took the most pride in, “Mammie”. She is often remembered as being a Mammie not only to her grandkids, but to many. Those who knew Dollie appreciated that you could not come by her house without leaving with something in your hands and food in your stomach. Dollie was a bright soul, she would always bring love and laughter to every gathering she attended. Sadly, after a week in the hospital, Dollie’s pain was eased and she gained her wings. She will be loved and missed by all who knew and loved her. Dollie is preceded in death by her parents, Rolyn “Bill” Stevens, and Annie Mae Stevens; grandparents, William Nelson and Edna Lee, John Stevens and Viola Akers; brothers, William Stevens, and Rolyn Stevens; aunts and uncles, Lonie and Georgia Lou, Ernest and Lily, Ben and Paula, Velma and Edwin Poe, Billie Jo and James, Patsy and James; and cousin, Charlotte Stevens. Dollie is survived by her children, Viola and Lee, Poo and Derek, Vonda and Mark; aunts and uncles, Nancy and Ray, Jack and Elaine; nieces and nephews, Wendy Lee, Wendy Leigh, Franklin, Roy, Robert, Tommy, TG, Brandon, Wesley, Rolana, and Tynia; grandchildren, Richard, Kassandrah, Savannah, Alisyn, Justin, Trey, Alicia, Emily, and Nickolus; great grandchildren, Colton, Jacob, Eli, Aceton, Cameron, Brady, Jocelyn, Raelynn, Keaghan, Oaklynn, Gracelynn, Madelyn, and Waylon Services are under the direction and guidance of Camero Funeral Home.
PRESS RELEASE A Medina County Jury sentenced a Hondo man to life in prison for the murder of his neighbor at the Cheers n Beers Bar in downtown Hondo. Luis Deleon, Jr., 51, was found guilty of the July 18th, 2021 murder of Roger Palacios, Jr. Evidence showed Palacios was stabbed multiple times in his chest and neck with a large hunting knife Deleon brought into the bar. Witnesses described Palacios as a popular, kind person who was having a good time dancing a Cumbia in a packed bar before the attack. Deleon, who has a long history of methamphetamine abuse, accused Palacios of an affair with his then-girlfriend, though witnesses testified there was no such affair. Numerous eye witnesses described the assault in that bar in vivid detail; one which prosecutors argued resembled a “prison-style shanking,” done quickly, quietly, and without any warning. After being found guilty, prosecutors demonstrated an escalating pattern of violence in Deleon’s life, with previous convictions for assault and domestic violence. Conceding that even a minimal sentence would likely mean Deleon spent the rest of his life behind bars due to his poor health, prosecutors argued that a strong sentence would send the right message to the Palacios family and citizens of Medina County. “I commend my colleagues, Christian Neumann, Julie Solis, Debra Lankford, and Gilbert Valdez, for their diligent work in achieving justice and closure for the victim’s family,” said Medina County Criminal District Attorney Mark Haby. Assistant District Attorney Christian Neumann and First Assistant District Attorney Julie Solis prosecuted this case in the 454th District Court. The Hondo Police Department investigated the crime.
