A bump in the road

Today as we hit the ranch road, and I braced myself for some big bumps, the kids began laughing and chuckling and making noises like they were on a rollercoaster. In anticipation of each hole coming up, they shrieked, “Get ready! Here it comes!”
And oh man, as we approached the cattle guard, they really got excited. They were making noises so funny and loud I couldn’t help but laugh and get into it.
It kind of got me to thinking about lemons and lemonade. When life gives us lemons, they say, “make lemonade.” So when life gives us bumps, pretend like you are on a fun rollercoaster.
I can remember when I turned 18 and went off to college in San Angelo, I felt so out of place. There were one way streets and smooth sailing roads, none of the familiar potholes of Devine. I remember actually writing an essay about it, because I kind of missed it. When I hit a pot hole, I know where I am.
It’s always fun seeing life through the eyes of a child. Every little bump in the road is exactly what you want to make of it. You can groan, or you can make the best of it.

Anna Maria Contreras

March, 16, 1955 – May 2, 2022

Anna Maria Contreras, age 67, of Devine, Texas, passed away on May 2, 2022, in San Antonio. Anna was born in Devine, Texas on March 16, 1955, to Felipa and Tomas Contreras.
Anna is preceded in death by her parents: Tomas and Felipa Contreras; brother: Ramon Contreras; and sisters: Martha C. Morales, and Juanita Guzman.
Anna is survived by her daughter: Rene Contreras; sisters: Petra Calvert, and Darlene Hernandez; brothers: Andres Contreras, and Joe Contreras (Imelda); goddaughter: Regina Reyes; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., followed by recitation of the rosary at 9:00 a.m., and a funeral service at 10:00 a.m. at St. John Bosco Catholic Church.
Services are under the direction of Hondo Funeral Home.

Shirley Jane Christiana

Shirley Jane Christiana, 86, of Devine passed away Friday, May 6, 2022, at her residence.
Shirley is preceded by her husband, Nicholas Raymond Christiana Sr., parents, Hollis Reuben and Edith Guidry Temple, sisters, Marion Temple Lablanc, Dolores Butner.
She is survived by her daughters, Josephine Harris (Michael), Shirley C. Hutson (David), Juanita Christiana, son, Nicholas Christiana Jr. (Christy), her faithful dog Toby, sister, Barbara Ann Barnhill, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
Memorial services will be at a later date.
Anyone who wishes to sign the online guest book, share memories, or leave condolences please visit www.hurleyfunerlahome.com
Arrangements under the direction of Hurley Funeral Home, 303 W. College Ave, Devine, Tx. 78016, (830)663-4445.

Sophia Munoz Espinoza

Sophia Munoz Espinoza, age 75, passed away peacefully May 7th, 2022. She was born March 20th, 1947, in Devine, Tx to Jose and Maria Munoz. She later married the love of her life, Roberto Espinoza on May 14th, 1968.
Sophia loved life and all that it offered her. She was a woman of strong faith, with a heart of gold. Her family and grandchildren meant the world to her. She loved playing bingo with friends and family, and her daily visits with her grandchildren. She enjoyed her phone calls with her sisters, or just cooking a hot meal for anyone that would stop by and visit. If you knew Sophia you would say she was the most generous, selfless, caring person. She extended her gracious love to anyone and everyone in need of it. “This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you”. John 15:12
Sophia is preceded in death by her father Jose Munoz, mother Maria Munoz, brothers Emilio Munoz, Ernesto Munoz, and Joe Munoz.
Sophia is survived by her beloved husband Roberto Espinoza. Children Benito Espinoza and Michael Espinoza (Edna), sister Olivia Fraga (Rey), sister Mary Lou Aguilar (Robert), sister Rosalinda Peña (Luciano). Grandchildren Melissa Petry, Ashley Martinez, Jordan Martinez, Stephanie Espinoza, Amy Espinoza Jeffcoat (Mark), Christian Espinoza, Michael Ryan Espinoza, Laura Espinoza, Joseph Espinoza. Great Grandchildren Aiden Espinoza, Emmalee Espinoza, Wyatt Belor, Neveah Espinoza, Ezra Jeffcoat, Ava Jeffcoat, Avery Garza.
Visitation will be Monday, May 16, 2022, from 2:00PM-9:00PM at the Hurley Funeral Home Devine Chapel with a Rosary being recited at 7:00PM. Services will conclude at the funeral home.
Anyone who wishes to sign the online guest book, share memories, or leave condolences, please visit www.hurleyfuneralhome.com
Arrangements under the direction of Hurley Funeral Home, 303W. College Ave., Devine, Tx. 78016, (830)663-4445

Rosemary Dingman

Rosemary Dingman, age 70 of Devine, Texas went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. She was born August 11, 1951, to parents, Roy Haskell Ferguson, Jr., and Mildred Obena Layton Ferguson, in Gastonia, North Carolina.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister-in-law, Kelly Ferguson; Aunt, Dorothy Nichols; Nephews, Jason Starnes and Trent Lovelace.
Rosemary is survived by her husband of 43 years, Lester G. Dingman; children, Garrett Dingman and wife, Samantha, Donald Land, Jr. and wife, Lindsey; Heather Dingman, Matthew Dingman and wife, Kelly, Justin Dingman and wife, Crystal; daughter-in-law, Katresa Ray; Grandchildren, Amber, Blake, Austin, Nathan, Austyn, Justice, Nick, Dayton, Trenton, Jasmine, Alyssa, Evan, Madilyn, Gracelyn; twelve great-grandchildren; sister, Carolyn and husband, Steve Lovelace; brother, Roy Ferguson III; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Services were held Monday, May 9, 2022, with a fellowship at 1:00 P.M. and Celebration of Life starting at 2:00 P.M. at the Devine Christian Church, 1479 CR 5710, Devine, Texas 78016, (830) 665-9070. Floral arrangements were to be delivered to the Church. Anyone wishing to leave condolences, share memories, or sign the online guestbook may do so at www.hurleyfuneralhome.com

Sarah Amber Haass

Sarah Amber Haass of San Antonio, Texas, was called home Thursday, May 5, 2022 at the age of 35.
She will be missed by her survivors, parents Tim and Melba Haass of Devine, brother Tim Haass of Moore, Monica Lascano, and niece Bailee Mae Haass of Moore. The world lost a sweet soul who will be missed by many family members and friends.
After graduating from Devine High school, Sarah worked several years for Hondo and San Antonio Police Departments, and was currently employed by Kahlig Auto Group, as Human Resources Coordinator. Sarah was a dedicated employee working full time while also earning her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M San Antonio. She was also completing her master’s degree from West Texas A&M University.
Sarah had signed up to be an organ donor in 2011. She continues to make an impact on this earth with at least three positive matches from her donation.
Memorial services will be held Thursday, May 12, 2022, at 11:00AM at the Hurley Funeral Home Chapel in Devine. Services will conclude at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Texas Organ Sharing Alliance.
Anyone who wishes to sign the online guest book, share memories, or leave condolences please visit www.hurleyfuneralhome.com
Arrangements under the direction of Hurley Funeral Home, 303 W. College Ave., Devine, Tx. 78016, (830)663-4445.

Meet John…

John is a very loving and kind 13 year old, who is competitive and loves to play basketball, football, & soccer. Along with his athletic ability, John is very friendly and makes friends wherever he goes, as he has a great sense of humor and enjoys making others laugh and smile.  
John is open to new adventures and opportunities, as he enjoys participating in a range of activities, ranging from riding his bike, running track, to taking part in Sunday school.
John is seeking to become part of a loving and active family, who will encourage him to explore and develop his talents in sports and extracurricular activities.
He will do well with a family who has other children or where he can be an only child; he also likes being around animals and will do well in a family with pets.
If you think you could be John’s forever family or for another Texas child please contact the department at 1-800-233-3405, for more information about adoption or visit www.adoptchildren.org where the schedule of adoption information meeting for Texas are posted.

A pressing issue….
Correction and more info on fire protection in Devine area

Correction and more info on fire protection in Devine area

Devine VFD’s tender truck (which hauls a majority of the water to the scene of fires) is broken down, beyond repair. It’s a pressing issue for the City of Devine and rural Devine community.
“Our other trucks, the fire engines, can carry 1,500 gallons of water, but on a house fire, that literally lasts about three minutes,” Chief Atkinson said. “If we have two engines there, that’s about six minutes that we have water to fight a fire. Whereas if we have a tender truck, it hauls around 3,000 gallons to the scene and goes back and forth to supply water to our engines as we fight a fire.
A new tender truck is estimated to cost between $350,000 and $500,000. Right now, Devine Volunteer Fire Department is relying on mutual aide to bring their tender trucks from other cities when a working fire hydrant is not available or there is a fire outside City limits where there are no hydrants.
“Our ESD is great and they can budget for the purchase of a tender truck in the future, but that might take a couple of years, and then once it’s ordered, it takes another year to build it. There aren’t a lot of good used tender trucks for sale, because fire departments tend to hang onto them as long as they can. So we are looking into grants, and we are speaking to city and county leaders as well, to see if they want to pitch in to make this happen sooner,” Chief Atkinson said.
NOTE OF ERROR LAST WEEK:

There was a misunderstanding in the headline of the article about fire hydrant testing in Devine last week. According to Fire Chief Greg Atkinson, 1 out of every 7 tested was not functional, a concerning trend, but not as drastic as the numbers reported last week which we had gotten backwards.
There are 125 fire hydrants in the City of Devine in all, and about 50% of them have been tested so far. With one in seven not working, and fire hydrants not being placed every 1,000 feet as recommended, the tender truck is important for fighting fires in city limits as well.
“They are already not spaced out at 1,000 feet (which is the length of hoses), so if you have a fire hydrant not working at the scene of a fire on top of that, then you’re really in trouble,” Atkinson said. “So far, we’ve not had that situation happen yet in the short time I’ve been here. We’ve been very lucky. And we are also fortunate to have area departments willing to provide mutual aide with their tender trucks, but there are times when you have a fire in your own community and you aren’t able to provide mutual aide.”

By Kayleen Holder
Editor

Lytle and Devine Election Results

Gonzalez re-elected Lytle Mayor, Rodriguez to council, Ritchey wins Devine City Council seat, Davis and Frieda re-elected to Devine ISD board

City of Lytle…
Mayor Ruben Gonzalez was re-elected with 363 votes to challenger Tom Cate with 174.
Michael Rodriguez won the District 4 Alderman race 50 to 21 over Marshall Witter.
District 5 Charles Cate was unopposed.

Ruben Gonzalez was re-elected Mayor for the City of Lytle.
Michael Rodriguez was elected to Lytle City Council.

City of Devine
Josh Ritchey won the District 5 seat with 39 votes over Cassandra Maldonado 15 and Wilburn Woody Woodrow 3 votes. Councilman D1 Rufino Vega and D3 David Espinosa were unopposed.

Josh Ritchey was elected to Devine City Council.

Devine ISD
Trustees Chris Davis and Renee Frieda were re-elected to their At Large seats over challenger Brenda Burford. Davis had 246 votes, Frieda 206 and Burford 95. Trustees SD1- Ali Buvinghausen and SD2-Carl Brown were unopposed.

Renee Frieda was re-elected to the Devine ISD school board.
Chris Davis was re-elected to the Devine ISD school board.