Author: admin

Bomb Squad X-rays backpack

Authorities took every precaution after the report was made, with the FBI,
SA Bomb Squad and many others responding to help.

Chief explains Donation was neither a hoax nor bomb

We spoke to Chief Justin Kohler this Tuesday, who wants to clear up any confusion about the incident, which was neither a hoax nor a bomb.
This past Monday, December 9, a man set the backpack down near the donation station beside the Diamond Shamrock/ Dairy Queen area in Castroville, and quickly drove off.
Castroville PD was notified and after inspection, contacted the SA Bomb Squad who quickly responded to help.
“Basically what happened is it was a backpack that had material in it that looked suspicious. So we contacted the SA Bomb Squad, and they agreed,” Chief Kohler said.
The investigation and procedures eventually led to shutting down HWY 90 around 3:40 pm.
“They did an X-ray of the package and were concerned enough…

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4-day week debate

Speakers voiced concerns on both sides of the Devine 4-day week debate.

By Anton Riecher and Kayleen Holder
A decision on whether Devine ISD will move to a four-day school week remains in limbo after the big school board meeting Dec. 4.  Citizens, staff, and school board spoke on both sides of the important issue.
Trustees Chris Davis, Carl Brown and Henry Moreno voted in favor of the four-day week with Davis making the motion. Renee Frieda, Keri James and Ali Buvinghausen opposed the measure.
All eyes focused on board president Nancy Pepper when the stalemate became apparent. Pepper said she had strong feelings on both sides of the fence, and chose to abstain from voting for the change.
“I feel I need to abstain since it’s a split vote,” Pepper said…

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First Natalia Night Parade met with enthusiasm

The Arriola family’s float was awarded with “Most Lights” at the first annual Night Christmas parade which was a huge hit!

By Catherine Richard
A large crowd gathered in the cold, breezy night last Thursday, and Christmas music drifted through the air as everyone waited for the parade to begin. Cars lined the half mile stretch in front of the Natalia Veterans Memorial Monument, with families sitting on tailgates and lawn chairs while others shopped the Christmas market set up nearby.
At 6:30 p.m., runners dressed in their Santa suits raced past the crowd, drumming up excitement for the beautiful hour-long parade that followed.
There were more than 60 floats in the lineup!
After the display of lights, the appearance of iconic Christmas characters such as Santa and the Grinch, and even fireworks (courtesy of Scooterz Fireworks) aded tons of fun. Many kiddos lined up excitedly to meet with Santa at the Natalia City Offices.

Biker Santa from Calvary Chapel

Destino Danzzar Performance Group Dancer

Fire Department Santa

Lytle council presents 2024 Citizenship Awards

The City of Lytle awarded its annual citizen awards last Monday, Dec 10. Pictured above is the winner of the adult category Sammy Aguinaga with Mayor Gonzalez and the council.

Lytle council presents 2024 Citizenship Awards
By Anton Riecher
With the holiday season upon us, one local personality that Mayor Ruben Gonzalez dubbed “one of Santa’s helpers” was among this year’s recipients of the City of Lytle Annual Citizenship Awards presented Monday.
Adorned with a large white beard, Sammy Aguinaga received the 2024 award in the adult category for his work with local children. In the youth category, pre-teen Carter Clayton was recognized for his volunteer work at the local animal care and control facility.
Gracie Gallegos received honorable mention for a wide range of activities including the local food bank and health care outreach to elderly residents.
About Aguinaga, Gonzalez called him “a great, great person” who is “always there to help out in the sense of being able to take care of kids in different ways.” The community previously recognized him for his work with children by naming him grand marshal of the 2024 Lytle Homecoming Parade.
“On a personal note he’s gone through a lot of challenges and he’s always been very positive about it,” Gonzalez said.
As for Clayton, the mayor described him as “an unbelievable person” who began volunteering at the animal care and control center in 2022. Eventually, Clayton adopted a dog named Freckles and together the pair began visiting the local nursing home with Freckles serving as a…

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Lytle’s Christmas Lighting and Santa’s Hayride this Saturday

Every year Lytle holds its Annual Christmas Lighting and Santa’s Hayride. The festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 14th at the Lytle Community Center. Santa arrives at the Community Center to turn on the lights at the Community Center and Main Street. After the lighting, Santa accompanies the children and their guardians on his hayride.
The 2024 Annual Christmas Lighting and Santa’s Hayride will start loading trailers at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center, 19031 Priest Blvd., Lytle, Tx.
Admission is $1.00 or one canned good.
For information call 830-709-3692.
Please also join us at the Shops of Lytle at 15126 Main Street where we will have Santa’s Workshop with events for the kids to include an Ornament Workshop, the North Pole Post Office and Gingerbread Bakery.
The event is brought to you by the City of Lytle, Lytle Chamber of Commerce, Pena Family, Patriot Automotive, Lytle VFW Post 12041 and HEB Plus.

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Lytle council reaffirms previous vote rejecting manufactured home park

By Anton Riecher
The Lytle City Council Monday again voted unanimously to deny approval for a proposed 30-acre manufactured home park, reaffirming its decision in November citing the project’s failure to conform to current zoning of the property.
City Administrator, Zachary Meadows, explained that the final plat for Lytle MHC Mobile Park had been resubmitted by the developers after the council’s previous action.
“The state does require that with the changes that were done under the local government code regarding platting when we receive basically a request to reconsider it, we have 15 days to hear it,” he said.
Since the council does not have another meeting schedule before 2025, the request to reconsider was placed on the Dec. 9 agenda.
District 3 Alderman David Emery made the motion to deny the request “as the final plat does not conform to the City of Lytle comprehensive plan and related zoning regulations.” District 2 Alderman Richard Hughes seconded the motion.
Meadows reported in November that both the city staff and the city planning and zoning commission recommended denying approval for the mobile home park.
“Staff has communicated…

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Shop at Home

“MARKDOWN MANIA” this Saturday Dec. 14 with late hours 6-9 pm

By Kathleen Calame
Publisher, The Devine News
This shopping event of the year is being hosted in Devine again by small town locally owned businesses on Saturday, December 14. It is their way to say “Thank You” to customers for “Shopping at Home” and helping small businesses, while keeping shopping for Christmas gifts safe and close to home.
The businesses will be open 9 am to 9 pm Saturday with a Late Night event, opening late from 6:00 until 9:00 p.m. to celebrate the Markdown Mania event with specials all day and super RED LIGHT SPECIALS sale prices and prizes from 6-9 pm that night!
Also known as a Sip and Shop style event, some will offer cookies, cider, hot chocolate, or other beverages as well as door prizes and special savings during this Shop at Home and Save opportunity!
Any businesses is invited to join in on by hosting their own markdowns, special offers, door prizes, or drawings and late hours this Saturday, December 17. The more the merrier!
As an added bonus six lucky people will win a $100 gift certificate during the event, one at Bushel and a Peck, one at Mag’s Place & Boutique, one at Country Gals Market, one at Lavish Vibes, one at Cynthia Calame, Massage Therapist, and one at Sherry’s Flowers by registering with a purchase at those locations the all day event! Each business will draw their own winners.

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Home-made Christmas gifts

Thanksgiving Day dawned bright and beautiful and just begged for people to be outdoors as well as indoors, with the weather being just cool enough for a light jacket or sweater, and many family members did just that.
My son got his large turkey-fryer out and soon had everything set up to begin cooking a turkey while the ladies were inside getting ham and dressing into the oven to heat and tables set up so everyone had a place to sit as we visited and compared notes.
It is always an interesting time for me, as we never have “just family” for a Thanksgiving Day at their home, it has always been family, extended family (from both sides), and basically anyone who decided they wanted to be with us. One year, we had Military members with us, and even though, technically, we were a little ways out of the distance allowed, (at that time, it was thirty miles from the base), since a family member was stationed in San Antonio, it was allowed, and we had an interesting and fun day.
This year, we were family members, and a couple of friends but we were missing several family members due their being with their spouses’ family. However, we still had another great and memorable day, sitting around the table playing games after the meal and dessert! This has become a tradition with this group and the amount of game players and the games change from year to year. All I can say is “Thank you, Lord for another great Thanksgiving with my family”.
Well, everyone, since Thanksgiving is over and done with, most of the leftovers eaten, and our memories made, the so-called Black Friday, (which to me, started early and was followed by Cyber Monday), with shops opening at all hours beginning on Thanksgiving Day, is over as well, and you either were up until all hours shopping, or like me, didn’t even bother to go, maybe it’s time to think about making some Christmas gifts.

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Lytle’s Annual Christmas

Lighting and Santa’s Hayride this Saturday

Calls were up a bit from last week when we only had 32 calls. This week we made it to 47, that’s still low but 32 is “rock bottom” low. Officers conducted 82 traffic stops. Of those 82 stops, 31 were citations and 51 were warnings.
Only one property crime was reported again this week! A 2018 Ford F250 was broken into at Best Western Plus. Nothing was taken, but the damage was estimated at $600.
Only one arrest last week! It only made it into this week’s report by 35 minutes. Ofc. R. Garcia stopped a vehicle on Wisdom Rd. on Sunday at 11:25 PM. The passenger was found to be in possession of a controlled substance, the 48-year-old female was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
We recently assisted our Lytle I.S.D. campuses with lockdown drills. As always, they do a fantastic job safeguarding our children. It’s nice to see a well-oiled machine in action.
It’s time! This Saturday, Dec. 14th, is Lytle’s Annual Christmas Lighting and Santa’s Hayride. The event will be held at the Lytle Community Center located at 19031 Priest Blvd. We will start loading the trailers at 5:30 PM. Admission is $1 per person or 1 canned good. There will also be activities in downtown Lytle. Stop by the Shops at Lytle to visit Santa’s Workshop with events for the kids including an Ornament Workshop, North Pole Post Office, and Gingerbread Bakery. Other businesses in the DLEADD (Downtown Lytle Entertainment and Dining District) will be having events, food, or other activities. For now, it looks like the Bakery Pub, Tommy Joe’s BBQ, and the 702 Tejas will be the hot spots that evening. So, make the rounds and check them out. They are all within walking distance. Disclaimer, DLEADD is something I made up so don’t expect to find any info about it on the web. I’m sure somebody can produce something better.
Did you know that a recent change in the law made Texas Peace Officers’ licenses and training records available online to the public? You need to register, and you can access them from the TCOLE main website, https://www.tcole.texas.gov. You can search by name or agency, and you can see what the training and tenure of your local peace officers are like. Transparency is good, and this is a neat tool.

Where’s that Blood Coming From?

I was about 20 when my Grand Dad, Charlie Rosenauer, was the age I am now. I recall thinking how strange it seemed for him to say he could walk by a mesquite bush and start bleeding. Like him, I find myself now on Blood Thinners given both sides of my genetic make-up include a history of heart problems. And I FULLY understand how easy it is to bleed these days.
I was taking off my Sweatshirt the other evening getting ready for bed when some red dots appeared on the floor. I did a “Body Search” and could not find any broken parts on my arms or torso. I called out to The Boss Lady who proceeded to conduct a quick check. She was likewise unable to find the culprit of the red stuff and was talking about a full body inspection.
Then, looking closely at my sweatshirt we found a spot where some Cherry Jello had “slipped” off the spoon and landed on the shirt. Those globs shook loose when I pulled off the garment. They sure enough did look like blood spots on first inspection.
While no real harm was done to the fabric or the tile floor, it was a good reminder that “jumping to conclusions” can sure take a person down the wrong road of thinking. I plan to be more careful about assumptions in the future, IF I can remember this lesson. Now where is that Bib she said I better wear from now on when snacking on red colored stuff?