Severo is a sweet and energetic boy. He is very adventurous and is always up for trying new things. Severo likes the outdoors and likes to play outside and jump on the trampoline. This really helps him channel his awesome energy.
He loves being kept busy and really enjoys collecting action figures with Toy Story and Avengers, being his favorites.
Severo also enjoys coloring, drawing, and watching movies. He loves playing basketball and riding his bike. He also likes playing with Legos and playing video games likes Minecraft
He has a fun personality and may dress up for Halloween as Woody from Toy Story or Captain America.
Severo advised he wants to have a good job when he grows up as he young and undecided on what he wants to do when he gets older, Severo has mentioned he thinks he would like to be a plumber.
Severo is seeking to be adopted by a two-parent home with a mother and father to help guide him into his teen years and adulthood, providing him a loving safe home to grow into his full potential.
In his own words …”My energy is electrifying!”…..
If you think you could be a forever family for Severo or another Texas child, please call 1-800-233-3405 for more information or visit www.adoptchildren.org or www.heartgallerystx.org.
Author: admin
A picture of a distant past…
Local man Don Bottoms, of Devine, brought in this treasure of a photo taken during the “Salvage for Victory” campaign launched during World War II, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was just a young man then (pictured on the far right), and in the photo above he and his buddies are collecting scrap metal to be melted down and used to build ships, airplanes, ammo, and other things associated with the war effort.
“We would go from home to home asking ladies if they had any pots and pans they didn’t use or any kind of scrap metal or steel,” Bottoms recalls. “In the picture you can see an old lantern, bicycle rim, hot water heater, and car parts. We would take it to the drop off site, and the Army would pick it up and melt it down to be used for guns, airplane parts, whatever they needed.”
Thanks to Mr. Bottoms for sharing this piece of local history!
What’s going on with I-35?
As local leaders have noted, I-35 will eventually be 3 lanes. TXDOT officials noted that while this project is not officially part of the future widening effort, “it is designed to tie into that work when it occurs.” Photos by KK Calame.
I-35 Replacement estimated at $12.8 M
TX DOT provided the following details about a major project ongoing in Medina County. The Chacon Creek I-35 bridge replacement estimated at $12.8 million dollars includes both the northbound and southbound bridges, which were due for upgrades, as each had “non‑standard railings and other structural deficiencies” according to TxDot.
“Because this section of I‑35 has limited right‑of‑way and no frontage roads, traditional construction approaches, such as building a detour or constructing new bridges to the outside, weren’t feasible. To work within those constraints, engineers designed a single, wider bridge to replace the two existing ones.
The project which began in November is now 28% complete.
Construction is occurring in three phases:
- Phase 1: Build the center portion of the new bridge between the existing structures. This is the phase currently in progress.
- Phase 2: Shift traffic onto the newly built center section, then remove and rebuild the outer sections.
- Phase 3: Open the full bridge to traffic once all work is complete.
“As a result, I‑35, which…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!

Daylight shines through at MM 124 where TXDOT is working on the center part of the new bridge which eventually connect the north and southbound lanes at Chacon Creek.

Report to congress digs into Data centers
The following Q&A was prepared by the Congressional Research Service, which serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress on the topic of data centers. The report examines the energy requirement estimates and pilot studies, as well as the estimated water consumption rates, and more.
Summary
In its simplest form, a data center is a physical facility that houses and runs large computer systems. U.S. data center annual energy use in 2023 (not accounting for cryptocurrency) was approximately 176 terawatt-hours (TWh), approximately 4.4% of U.S. annual electricity consumption that year, according to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A data center typically contains multiple computer servers, data storage devices, and network equipment that can provide information technology (IT) infrastructure service for organizations to store, manage, process, and transmit large amounts of data. Some projections show that data center energy consumption could double or triple by 2028, accounting for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use.
Roughly one-half or greater of the electric power demand of data centers stems directly from the operation of electronic IT equipment. Much of the rest is for cooling. The operation of the IT equipment raises the temperature of the ambient room air, necessitating a cooling strategy. Centralized cooling resources are of two types: (1) those moving chilled air through large duct work; or (2) those moving chilled water in a piped cooling loop that exchanges heat with the environment. An alternative to these centralized systems is room-scale air conditioners. One type…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!

Devine Livestock Booster Jan.10, Dinner & Dance at golf course
George Strait autographed guitar in auction
The Devine Livestock Booster Dinner & Dance will be held January 10 from 6pm-Midnight. The event will be held at The Devine Golf Course. You can get 2 tickets for the dinner and dance for $125 total. Jerry DeLeon and the Southbound Band will be providing the live music for the evening. For dinner, the club will be serving fajita plates with rice and beans.
There will be a silent auction and ticket auction going on as well as a Card Deck Drawing for guns. The highlight of the silent auction will a guitar signed by George Strait himself!
You can buy a pair of tickets from any 4-H kid or from Sam Barber at 830-741-0300.
And another year is gone
In going through my files, I found the column from the year 2000 where we were all bemoaning the fact that we were facing a new century and all the strange things that could be happening with our electronics and what was going to happen in the world in general, many of which never occurred except in someone’s overactive imagination. Twenty years down the line, we were all scared out of our wits by the covid pandemic. Actually, it’s probably the first thing that comes to our mind. It was truly a horrible time, I spent a lot of time making some of the masks we were all told to wear at all times, and almost all of us did wear them especially when we went out in public. As I said, truly a horrible time.
We have gone from that into a time of bad weather and hurricanes that took way too many lives. Hurricane Ike will live in infamy for the damage caused in Galveston, Texas, and other towns in its path. A few years later we had one named Harvey, that also caused billions of dollars damage to anything in its path. I pretty much watched the one named Ike on TV and worried about my family and extended family who lived in Galveston at the time. My daughter came inland to her sister and her husband stayed with their home. It was mind boggling. During the one named Harvey, I went inland to my son and his family and stayed there. A friend was in Louisiana at the time and couldn’t get back home to Yoakum for nearly a week. It took that long for the roads to reopen.
And, then there was the more recent ice storm about three years ago, with the temperatures so low and power being off, etc., etc. I was here at my home during that time and had nearly run out of propane, and used candles in place of electricity. After surviving that, my sister and I took a trip to be with family in North Texas and I came home to a broken pipe in my attic that no one knew was there. Yep, it was interesting to say the least, my kitchen had to be pretty much gutted and re-done, as was a bathroom, and my dining room table was my pantry. Luckily, my built-in cabinets didn’t have to be torn out and redone.
And this past year, the rain storm that took everyone by surprise and cost many lives and did so much damage, in the Texas hill country, and now, just a few months later we’re in drought conditions and need rain so badly.
Dear readers, I would like to say a big “Thank you” to all of you who have followed me for these past years and read this column. The time has come to hang up my by-line and call it quits. Cook books and recipes have become obsolete, the younger generation picks up their iPhone or some type of device and find recipes and doesn’t use a cook book, and since I’ve seen and tasted some of the food they find recipes for, I’m impressed. (I’m not really sure how they find it again if they liked it), but I’m sure they do! In fact, my granddaughters have shared some of their recipes with me and I’ve truly enjoyed making the food and trying the recipes.
Now, however, it’s time to retire and enjoy not having to struggle to find something to write on a weekly basis. As far as telling you about different vegetables, I realize that I have covered a lot of fruits and vegetables, ranging from beets to quince.
Thanks again for having me in your homes for these past almost thirty years! I’ve enjoyed writing a column that began with about one column by four or five inches in size to what I have now. Also, thank you KK, and before you your parents for allowing me to continue writing. It has been fun most of the time. Hugs to everyone, have a wonderful and Happy New Year during 2026!
Christmas Gift!
It’s a miracle that this Briscoe Family Christmas Tradition has carried on because it is an odd one and a little awkward to convey! I’ll begin with its origin.
My grandfather, Mary Briscoe’s dad, was a young man during the depression. There were very few funds for gifts or “extras” during Christmas, so a game was invented to play instead and he brought this tradition to us. On the morning of Christmas Eve, family members would race to be the first to say “Christmas Eve Gift” to each person in the house.
The name of the person must be said after “Christmas Eve Gift” to be fully official. If you were “gotten,” you’d vow to “get” them the next time and say things like “you cheated,” “hey, I haven’t even had my coffee yet” or “that’s not fair!” Then, the same game would be played on Christmas morning.
“Christmas Gift, Dad!”
You might imagine that when a new person was added to the family, much explanation and encouragement to play the game was sometimes necessary. At this point, the new family member was probably saying, “Who are these people?” But, by some miracle, the game is played with competitive enthusiasm by the new comers as well.
With family members flung far and wide and texting options available, it’s a given that family in Arizona, California, or the Yukon Territory are typically not the winners of the game because of the time differences. Hey, it’s not my fault that they moved to a time zone that is two hours behind!
This silly game has a deeper meaning for me now. There’s someone else who has “gotten” all of us first, Emmanuel, Lord of Lords! We love because He first loved us. So, if a more awake person happens to “Christmas Gift” me, I’m pretty OK that they loved me first.
[Here’s hoping everyone had a] Merry Christmas, and know that we have been “gifted” first with the most precious gift of all.
Hospice closed til January 5
Get your presents early as the lst two weeks of the month Devine Area Hospice will be closed for a Christmas Break from Monday, December 22, 2025 thru January 5, 2026. They will reopen on Wednesday, January 7 to customers.
Thank you volunteers for your dedication. Enjoy your time off with your family during the Christmas Holidays.
The thrift shop has been serving the community for over 26 years.
Please shop, shop, shop in the earlier weeks. And please do not leave donations outside during the holidays.
They will start taking donations when they reopen on January 7.
FCCLA focuses on Community Service
Payton and Viola during their presentation to Mrs. Marek’s classes for Veteran’s Day.
Devine High School juniors Payton Appling and Viola Dzierzanowski created the project “Community Services of Devine” through FCCLA. The project’s goal is two-fold: to demonstrate their commitment to community service and to educate and inspire others, especially young people, to also become involved. The duo will compete at the FCCLA Region V Conference in January in STAR (Students Taking Action for Recognition) events with this project.
The team started their project at the Fall Festival on November 1, by throwing candy out to the crowds to introduce their project. They also created announcements, flyers, and a social media account to let their peers know about opportunities to help.
On November 5th, the girls visited Mrs. Marek’s 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes at Devine Intermediate School to create 75 cards for Veterans Day. And on November 18th, they collaborated with another FCCLA STAR event team, “Clean and Green”, to pick up trash on the high school campus. At the conclusion of the event, 3 bags of trash were collected.
Appling and Dzierzanowski plan to help with the next food distribution in January at the First Baptist Church with the DHS Family and Community Service classes. They also plan to do another presentation at the middle school to keep spreading the word on why community service is important.

Kayla Dzierzanowski and Cat Brown present to Coach Cozby’s Environmental Science classes.

Devine council unenthusiastic about suggested change in water/wastewater rate measure
Richard Gibbons with Texas Rebuild makes a presentation to the Devine City Council on a proposed change in the basic measure for water and wastewater rates. (Photo by Anton Riecher)
By Anton Riecher
Response from Devine County Council members seemed largely negative toward a proposal to move from charging for water and wastewater by the gallon, using instead a standardized measure taking peak usage and varying flow rates into consideration.
A presentation by a municipal consulting firm known as Texas Rebuild suggested substituting a living unit equivalent (LUE) as the measure for average water consumption in Devine.
“The number one challenge that I hear from city leadership, councils, city managers, public works, is we have infrastructure challenges in our waters and wastewater system and we don’t have the money to pay for it,” said Texas Rebuild spokesman Richard Gibbons.
City Administrator David Jordan told the council at its Dec. 16 meeting that the consulting firm had been retained by the city to do an analysis of needed improvements to city water infrastructure, including the recent project to rehabilitate the long dormant L.C. Martin water well.
“Other infrastructure in the city is still lacking and needs repair, such as the lift stations,” Jordan said. “We currently have three lift stations that are aged and we need ways to fund those.”
Gibbons said that his…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!
