Category: Commissioner’s Comments by Jerry Beck

We got some decent rain last week…bout 0.9 inches out Black Creek way. Got my yard fertilizer out at just the right time. Got 3.5 inches so far this year. Hallylouya!! Now pray for a turd floatin gully washer that will fill Medina Lake. Hope everyone had a Blessed Resurrection Sunday. We had a house full but, still a lot missing.
I am sure that everyone is looking forward to April 15th. The day that we get to send money to the Government so that the illegal aliens can have a means of income and we can continue the flood of money used to fund countries that hate us. I had to send them an extra $1,408 on top of the $12,367 what was already taken from my paycheck. Thought that our Supreme Leader said that people who made under $400,000 would not see an increase (and I made way, way under that amount)….what a relayer of falsehoods.
With all the legal (?) actions surrounding potential favorites not of the current ruling party, looks like we are a couple steps away from a Banana Republic system of government where the opposition disappears. Seems like we are living in a country headed for the likes of the one our Founding Fathers fought to escape.
See where the City Council decided to remove the Drainage Bond issue from the ballot. Drainage has been an issue since Colonial Oaks was developed. Seems the developers forgot to provide drainage to a couple low areas that would be used by a farmer or rancher nowadays as a stock tank. Underground culverts or more streets like Upson seem to be needed to properly drain the problem areas.
Looked at the Commissioners Court Agenda but, other than the usual business, nothing notable transpired. Considering the weather, the 4 wheel drive nuts and the theft of signage, looks like the Pct 4 Commissioner and crew finished paving CR 777 and it turned out excellent. Vehicles can now pass each other without knocking off mirrors and there are no potholes to dodge.
Lewis Stroud sent me a bunch of Kamela Harris quotes the other day…tried to read them but, all I got was a headache from trying to make sense out of them. Thanks a lot Stroud.
I checked on my guns the other day. They had not decided to run amok or take off and shoot someone. In fact, the lazy things just laid there. Didn’t do nothing but attain room temperature. They been trained. It’s the lunatics and those not raised proper that make them functional in the wrong way resulting in the tragedies we see on the news.

Nothing yet…got sprinkles on my window this morning between Lytle and Natalia. Too late to do the Bluebonnets any good but, we sure could use enough rain to fill Medina Lake and make Francisco Creek run.
How you like our situation in America so far? The current Administration has totally messed up America as we used to know it and their only excuse is that it was someone else’s fault. Gas, groceries, utilities and such are steadily going up in cost as the value of our dollar is declining. Soon, looks like money will have no value at all…may have to rely on cards that tell us how much money (“credits” in the Sci-Fi movies) we have available and there’ll probly be restrictions on how it can be used.
Talked about reform last time and the need for reform (rather, the return to the old ways) in our educational institutions. Since the summer of love in Portland and Seattle this past year, Law Enforcement has been under constant attack by the purple haired crowd with degrees in philosophy and political science as being too brutal. This is the same crowd that believes that there are 47 different genders. Guess professional protesting has its advantages…they scream and squawk and get lotsa attention.
There are bad apples in every profession, and they need to be eliminated. Our government is overloaded with crooked politicians out to enrich themselves at the tax payers’ expense. Look at how many went to DC and came out millionaires. Our small-town school districts employ pedophiles, and these folks should be fired…from society. Police departments have officers that should be in jail.
With the development of GPS tracking and body cameras and society moving toward the softening of consequences, Law Enforcement is becoming ostracized. I remember when the GPS tracking was implemented and sold as a method of greater safety for officers. But the Supervisors, some of which had never been on the streets longer than the period between promotional tests, used it as a means of discipline for things like staying in one location too long or being out of the area assigned.
The folks that stand by and watch a law enforcement officer fight for his life by whatever means necessary (and filming the incident so they can post it on social media) without lending a hand are worthless. AND, once the handcuffs are on…the fight is over…or should be. Unless you have fought for your life in the middle of the street at midnight or tried to control a meth head who did not want to be arrested, your opinion has no weight with me in an incident like this. I took an oath once that still applies. I will jump in. I will help. I will use whatever means necessary.
And to make a few other folks mad…there is only one race and it’s called the Human Race. Also, there are only two genders…male and female.
On a lighter note, looks like Commissioner Lawler and his crew are ready to put the finishing touches on CR 777. Gonna be nice. Heard George Alexander and Ron Outlaw had to free a bull what got caught in a cattle guard last week. They shoulda put in a bull guard instead. Congrats to the Lytle HS basketball teams for making it to the State Tournament…heckuva accomplishment.

Did you pay your property taxes too?
First, someone took off the Briscoe house, then the Catholic Church was razed, Rihns closed down and now, Morales Feed lot is no more…Saw Ernie Morales today and he said that delivering flowers is easier than punching cows.  Probly smells better too.  Heard that Rihns has reopened but, aint patronized them yet.
By now, everybody has paid their bills for being allowed to live in Medina 
County cause the interest and penalties started February 1st.  I went ahead and fixed up my Income Tax and it aint pretty.  Pretty darn (used the nice word) ridiculous for those who work for a living and don’t rely on government handouts to live.  With my County rent ($9.17 per day) and my cost of living in the United States ($36.59 per day) my total rent is about $45.76 per day to live in Medina County America.  Thank you, Mr President.
Wouldn’t mind it so much if my taxes were going to Disabled Veterans or Social Security recipients but, seems like its going to drug addicts, those who don’t wanna work and illegal aliens.  
Looks like there is gonna be an election in the City of Devine this year.  Hope lots of folks show up and give us a good idea of what the populus thinks.  I would hope that the days of elections being decided by a vote of 20-15 are over.  Get out and make a decision.
Aint had no rain lately and it shows.  We’re gonna take a ride up to Medina Lake and see if it has any water in it.  Probly gonna be real dissapointed.  Keep praying for rain… 
Laid Bubba Hanson to rest last week.  The icon is no more.  Saw millionaires, hundredaires, doctors, lawyers, farmers, cowboys, some from out of state and old friends I aint seen in a long time…all in all, it was the biggest collection of raggedys (I left the second word out) I’ve seen in a long time.  He woulda been proud.
Retirement is great. Seems like every day is Saturday except on Sunday. 

Lost another local icon last week.  Bubba Hanson took off and left us without an electrician.  He did all the County work during the last 12 years.  Granted, it was on his schedule..had to always remember that there is Central Standard Time and there is Bubba Hanson time.  Believe it or not, he will be missed.  
Seems its Rodeo weather time and it has seemed to set in already.  Cold, wet and borderline miserable.  We did get a good start to 2023 last Tuesday when we got 7 tenths of an inch of rain.  Probly cause I washed my truck.  Nickie and Jason got 5 inches in Magnolia…traffic in front of their house was causing waves of water to wash into folks garages when they passed by.
Retirement is pretty good so far.  Forgot what day it was once…a week or so ago.  When I retired from SAPD in 2006, I said that I wasn’t gonna do nothing for a month…that lasted bout a week.  Took to trimming trees and stayed busy.  This time, I stuck to it…ain’t done nothing much beside trim a tree, build a picture frame and fix a cabinet door for Sandy.  Gonna get active in February.
Still getting calls from our new Commissioner but, they are few and far between now.  Think he’s got this under control.  Lotta good things happening out there.
Got a few ideas for your President…we can fix the Border by enforcing the laws ALREADY on the books.  Quit sending our Strategic Oil Reserve to Russia and elsewhere overseas.  Stop financing other countries with our tax dollars.  Keep our money here and there probly would not be a debt ceiling that needed raising.  If stopping pipelines sending oil to Russia will cripple their economy, why did he stop the ones in our country?  Quit blaming high gas and grocery prices on outside factors..take responsibility once in a while.  Watta maroon..please run in 2024…cheese and rice dude.  There are more but, KK ain’t gonna give me that much space.  
Please be sure and put the author of this column at the top cause I don’t wanna listen to Sammy Smith complain about not knowing who wrote it.  Keep praying for rain least until Medina Lake is full.  Didn’t see anything on the Medina County Agenda to comment on but, did not look at Devine City Council Agenda.  City folks need to get involved. 

This is gonna be the last edition of this column. My 12 year stint as Commissioner in Pct 4 will end midnight New Years Eve. Sure went by fast.
During my tenure, we have made many accomplishments. New and dependable equipment to do our jobs with, new buildings, subdivision rules that have an impact, and recently we got a County tax freeze for 65 and older on the ballot and it passed bout 14-1. There are many other items to list but, not enough space.
Many thanks the Department Heads that consistently managed their budgets conservatively and came in under budget….think that we have bout $20 million in our Reserves to start 2023.
The Medina County Elected Officials and their staff have been a pleasure to work with and I consider each and every one of them a friend.
My Administrative Assistant, Gracie Martinez, along with Ciro Garcia, Emilio Carrillo, Jr. Rodriguez, Clay Triesch, Paul Sellers, Ray Hernandez and John Gorhum made coming to work very easy. Gracie ran the office and I just signed stuff, while the crew took care of business without a lot of intervention.
I always tried to make working in Pct 4 a place where you wanted to come and not a place where you had to come. These folks are adults and did not need to be supervised constantly. They did their jobs well and I am proud of each of them.
While on Commissioners Court, we Commissioners (and the Judge) did not always agree on items or the outcome of the decisions made but, we always had the good of the County in mind…and whatever the decision, we supported it.
So, to the voters and residents of Medina County Pct 4, I thank you for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I have been a public servant all of my adult life it seems and now, I’m gonna fade into the scenery.
I’ll take with me a knowledge that the County is in good hands, a lot of fond memories and my stalker.
God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

The last two weeks were quite eventful…we got a little over 2.3 inches of rain out t’wards the Black Creek metroplex, bringing our total to 18.4 inches for the year…so far. Zackly what we had for 2020. We need more years like 2018 when we got 46.8 inches.
Did some contract renewals and vacating and re-platting of lots and such. Good reports from the Treasurer and Auditor are always good to get too. Debbie Southwell and Eduardo Lopez keep us on our toes when it comes to spending money…correctly.
We kept our usual contribution to the San Antonio Food Bank Distribution Program at the $12,000 mark. Was told that once we get the funding from Federal sources, the construction of the new Nutrition Center can begin.
Evidently, Mandi Wilcox is doing such a good job with the WIC Program that Atascosa County wants to join our group. This was tabled until the next meeting.
We did cancel the December 29th Commissioners Court meeting so, I only gotta go to one more meeting. We also cancelled the Burn Ban effective midnight today (Monday) so, burn it if you need to, but call the Sheriff’s Office and let them know.
We have gotten our trailer in the yard for old tires and will be accepting them from 8-4:30 Monday through Thursday. Call ahead (830-665-8015) and let us know when you are coming so we can have someone there to direct you to where they need to go. No tractor tires….
Thanksgiving is come and gone and it is now legal to put up Christmas decorations. After our Thanksgiving Day meal, I aint gotta eat until December 15th. Only leftover I look forward to is the ham…
Got a lot to look forward to come January…gonna finally get to trim ALL my trees, fix my tank so that I can go get wet whenever I wanna, and Willie Jo and I are planning a motorcycle ride to Michigan…and I aint gotta get up early no more. Woo Hoo!
Been axed a lot about whether or not I am gonna keep writing columns….told them that is totally up to KK. She may be open to saving space for more pertinent information (I never mentioned Brandon even once). Told Ron Outlaw that if I’m cancelled, I’d write him a letter every two weeks and Jimmy Wilkinson will have to find another way to keep up on the Devine happenings.

Hallylouya the Elections are finally over! Congratulations to Danny Lawler, Larry Sittre and Phillip Lange. Medina County remains a conservative Republican stronghold….and the Tax Freeze Proposition passed with 97% of the vote!
Our Medina County Sheriff’s Office received a Federal Grant called “The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program Grant” in the amount of $6,850. Woo Hoo…oughta call it “The Drop in the Bucket Grant”. Least it’s something…
Cara Thomas gave us a report on the Chapter 59 Asset Forfeiture fund and the Equitable Sharing fund that is managed by the Sheriff’s Office. In the Seizure fund, there is $80,659 for use by the SO and there is $12,318 in the Forfeiture fund. Good to use crooks money against them.
We also adopted a Resolution creating the Adult Sexual Assault Team to better investigate these types of cases and to make reporting them easier once it is seen that cases are tried and crooks are sent to prison.
Whole lotta vacating and replatting also…seems we always have a little bit of this every meeting, making it quite evident that Medina County is growing.
Governor Abbot has declared an invasion at our Southern Border. We’ll see if there is any effect on the flood of drugs and the criminal element or not…
Good to see that he is shipping some of them to Zombieland (Philadelphia).
We had a workshop dealing with the Castroville Airport after the meeting having to do with zoning restrictions around the airport. Biggest thing that I noticed was an air of contention in the room. Sposed to have a meeting that night (Thursday) and work on the restrictions.
Been working with the Lytle Mayor to eliminate one of the biggest dumping sites in the Twin Lakes area. We will start working on it on the 21st. Amazing how some people can be so inconsiderate and down-right trashy.
Getting cooler finally. Still need rain. We have only gotten 16.1 inches so far this year out in the Black Creek metroplex. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Only 31 days till Christmas! No decorations until after Thanksgiving and I one-upped Lewis Stroud this week.

Very dry couple weeks…Francisco Creek managed to run for a little while when we got that rain on October 28th, but not for long.
Pct 1 is paving some roads up by one of the Capital Aggregates quarries and has had base material donated for their project. That sure cuts down on the cost of paving.
Did a lot of vacating and re-platting for subdivisions in other Precincts and gave final approval for Redbird Ranch Phase 2 in Pct 2 off of CR 381.
Early Voting was in full swing during the last two weeks. Over 11,500 people voted early…nearly 32% of the registered voters in the County. Now, we need to make a good showing on Election Day.

Not much rain to speak of recently…only 14.6 inches for Black Creek Estates in 2022. Sposed to be some on the way this week so, we’ll see. Went to vote Monday morning and Katie Shults done broke one of the machines. Can’t take her anywhere…
For those who have been trying to contact our office this last two weeks, we have been without telephone or computer service since October 7th. This is a result of a mistake made by AT&T and they are in no hurry to accept responsibility or expedite the repair. Remember when their commercial said “We may be the only phone company in town but, we try not to act like it”? Now they do. They can flip a switch and stop service but, it takes an act of Congress to flip it back on. Does no good whatsoever to complain.
The public overwhelmingly approved the County to proceed with a Grant application to address the flooding issues in the D’Hanis area. The application process is gonna cost us about $45,000 but I am understanding that this will be reimbursed or included as an expense in the grant itself.
Pct 1 advertised for bids to remodel and add on to their office and got the required 3 bids. I can’t believe the cost of materials. The low bid was a little over $134,000! More than it cost me to build my 2,500 sq ft house including the 2 car garage.
Early voting started Monday and the parking lot at the Annex remained full almost all day. I think this is a good sign. We have got to start taking our country back so, why not start now. I am hoping that all the incumbent Democrat office holders are voted out of office. Our current Democratic Socialist regime has to be dismantled soon. Our children and grandchildren need the opportunity to grow up in the same country that our generation grew up in. My apologies to the Greatest Generation.
For those of you, who think that the bigger the number of political signs along the roadway, the better the candidate, please stay home.
Early voting numbers for the County were up quite a bit. At the Devine/Natalia site located at the County Annex building across from Tractor Supply there were 357 folks showed up to vote on the first day. In Castroville, 533 voted and in Hondo, 400 voted. We need to pick it up a little over here.
There is a possibility that we will begin the process of paving Zig Zag Rd. from SH 132 to the city limits out towards Rose Hill. Depends on the City Contractor and the weather.
We still need folks to pray for rain. It has cooled off a little but, we need rain.