We recently attended a Birthday Party for a Dear Friend who turned 100. While quite a milestone in human standards, I find this wonderful lady possesses one of the most balanced attitudes of anyone I know. Keep in mind that she was born in 1922 and that means she has seen quite a few things most of us have not, or only read about in books. The celebration was very well attended, and I found myself looking for a corner and then moving out into the foyer of the building where her Great Grandchildren were manning the guest registry sign in duties. Since some of the kiddos were quite young, it seemed like a plausible excuse not to be in the “visiting room”, which was large but still crowded. At the end of the day, Ms. Elizabeth commented that she only failed to recognize one person out of the well over 100 attendees. I got lost in the “name recalling” after about the first 10 folks! In reflecting the viewpoint of this wonderful role model, I came away with a little less dread about the growing numbers of candles on the B-Day tortillas each year and decided to put on a different outlook. Accept the ever-growing limitations, laugh at them, and keep on plugging along. I really took that attitude to heart and bought my much older than me Brother-in-Law (11 months) a T-shirt for Christmas to reflect that new outlook. It says…I Am Too Old to Fight and Too Slow to Run. But I Am Still a Pretty Darn Good Shot. Strikes me that may describe more than just him in our family tree. Just as an important side note, he is a Navy Seal!
Almost 2023! Last week officers handled 69 calls for police service. That is on the “high” side, surprisingly most of them were minor calls and didn’t require any follow-up. Officers conducted 60 traffic stops, resulting in 53 citations and 7 warnings. There were no arrests last week. We had three property crimes reported last week.
1 – A roll-up door at the John Lott Park pavilion was damaged. It appears someone may have been trying to break inside the storage room. #2 – A 2001 Ford F250 was stolen from the apartments on Lytle-Somerset St. It was recovered a few days later in Uvalde Co. I don’t have the details yet, but I would bet it was used in a human smuggling operation. #3 – On Christmas Day, the Lytle One Stop (Exxon) on Main St. reported an attempted theft. While one person distracted the clerk, another person reached behind the counter and grabbed four $50 lottery tickets. The clerk confronted the thief, and he left the tickets behind. When we get him identified we will be sure and add him to the naughty list.
It was awfully cold for a few nights, fortunately, there were no major issues. Public Works did handle a few calls for broken pipes, and they worked to keep the freezing weather from causing issues with our water system. Maybe you are new to the City of Lytle and are unfamiliar with our ordinances. Here is an important one: The discharge of fireworks is prohibited in the city limits, so no “popping” fireworks, please! If you happen to see or hear fireworks the perpetrator would be someone who just moved to town. Someone that has lived here for over a year would know about the ordinance and certainly wouldn’t “pop” firecrackers (Would they?). Please report fireworks violations to our dispatcher, the Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Office @ 830-769-3434 (option #1). The family and I had a great Christmas, a few activities at church, and a few gifts for the kids. Life is good. I am an old boring guy, I either work the streets on New Year’s or stay home. This year I will be at the house. But…. we will have extra officers out on the road on New Year’s Eve, our D.W.I. guys will be out in force. Please don’t be our first arrest of 2023. I might come up with a song to go with that.
The weather this past week has been a doozy. I went from mild and balmy to totally icy in just a couple of days, and Texas isn’t in nearly as bad a shape as many of the northern states. The temperature here at my house was a very cool 17ºF, on Friday morning. None of my pipes were frozen mostly due to all the work that was done a couple of years ago. The only problem I encountered was that I had hot and cold water all over the house except the kitchen, it had only hot water! That worked OK as the RO system was working fine. Finally, around 3:30 in the afternoon when the sun was on that side of the house, the pipe thawed out and I had water again. I went out and checked and the pipes were well wrapped. Needless to say, on Friday night, that faucet stayed on with just a fine trickle of water. This Christmas started out as being a very quiet one, that didn’t last for long! We are actually celebrating on Monday and what began as a small get-together mushroomed into being about 15 to 18 people! As it turns out, I will probably have all four of my children and their spouses, two or maybe three of my grandsons and their families and several friends of the family. We will be serving Mexican Food, as it’s something fairly simple and goes a long way. Saturday evening, I will go to church in town with my sister and her husband, and then we will go to her house for supper and exchanging of gifts. It will be just the three of us and it has become our tradition, as we have done it almost every year since I’ve been here! We enjoy it so much. For several years, we went to the little country church for Midnight Mass, but since Covid, all Christmas Eve Masses are in town. Are you planning a get-together, open house or party for New Year’s Eve? If you are, here are a few recipes for dips and some cheese balls if that is what you care to serve. Italian Dip 2 blocks cream cheese (8-ounce size) ½ cup sour cream (if desired) 1 package Good Seasons® Italian, Zesty Italian or Garlic dressing mix 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Beat cream cheese until smooth, beat in sour cream (if used), add dressing mix and Parmesan cheese. Stir together until well mixed. Chalupa Dip 2 cans (16-ounce size) refried beans (your choice, with or without jalapenos) 1 package taco seasoning mix 3 large avocados (or a package of ready made guacamole) 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice 1 clove garlic, very finely minced 2 cups sour cream ¼ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup picante sauce (mild medium or hot) 3 to 4 cups finely shredded lettuce 2 small tomatoes, diced and drained well 4 or 5 green onions, sliced thinly, including tops 1 can sliced ripe olives 2 cups shredded Longhorn style cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese Mix taco seasoning into the refried beans. Spread into a 9×12 clear glass baking dish or onto a large sandwich tray with sides (10 to 12-inch glass cake plate with sides about ½ inch deep). Mix together the avocados with the juice and garlic to make guacamole or spread the package of ready-to-eat guacamole over the beans. Mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise and picante sauce, spread over the avocado mixture. Top with remaining ingredients in order listed. Chill before serving. Serve with tortilla chips Hidden Valley Ranch Cheese Ball ½ cup mayonnaise ½ cup milk 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix 8-ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 1 package cream cheese (8-ounce) Toasted almonds or pecans, very finely chopped. Mix together milk, mayonnaise and dressing mix. Set aside. Have cheese at room temperature for at least one hour. Beat cream cheese thoroughly with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in shredded cheese and dressing mixture. Pack into small bowl which you have lined with plastic wrap. Chill in freezer for 30 minutes. Lift out of bowl with plastic wrap and shape into ball. Roll in chopped nuts. French Dressing Dip 1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup Kraft French Dressing 2 tbs. catsup* 2 tbs. mayonnaise 2 teaspoons very finely chopped or grated onion Beat the cream cheese until smooth, and then beat in the French dressing, catsup, mayonnaise and onion until well mixed. Chill before using to allow flavors to blend. Serve with chips. This is a very good basic dip that also makes a great shrimp dip. *For shrimp dip, I added about a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and in place of the catsup, I used an equal amount of the bottled chili sauce and added a couple of teaspoons of prepared horseradish. For shrimp dip, drain and rinse a small can of shrimp, dice finely and stir in with the rest of the ingredients. Dill Pickle Cheese Ball 1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, softened ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided use ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese ¼ cup finely chopped dill pickle, or ¼ dill pickle relish 1½ teaspoons pickle juice ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon paprika ¼ teaspoon salt Coating: 4 to 5 slices bacon cooked and crumbled (thin sliced bacon) ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh dill In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; then add the remaining ingredients until well combined and shape into a ball. In a shallow bowl or plate, mix the bacon, cheese and fresh dill, and roll the cheese ball in this mixture until well coated. Chill before serving. (Make ‘mini’ cheese balls, about ¾-inch in diameter; roll in the mixture and use a pretzel stick in each one to serve. (They need to be one-bite size, I made mine the size of a walnut and they were too big and my friends ended up having to spread them on chips). Here’s wishing all my friends and readers a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. God bless you and be safe if you’re traveling!
There are sure a whole lot of things I don’t know much about. And it seems the older I become that fact is more evident. But one of the points I am confident in is that when I run out of fingers counting off the days of December, the rut is about to get going in our little neck of the woods. Based on that “truth” I headed south recently when the wind was going to be right for a particular location. It is bordered on two sides by some heavy creek bottom country and joins an irrigated high fenced oats patch on another side. There is also a nice +/- acre food plot between the blind and feeder. Sneaking in and getting settled that afternoon, the wind was coming straight into my face. And that is a good thing most of the time when hunting in my experience. The first deer out was a really nice 3 ½ year old 8 point with a wide spread and good body size for his age. One brow time was half broken off and he was missing a G2. Clearly, he had been involved in some “brawling” already. He was “checking out the scene” and walked off within a couple of minutes, since there was nothing of interest for him at that location. Given there is only one main thing on his mind right now, I was not surprised. Interestingly he came back well over an hour later, arriving on the opposite side of me, having circled completely around. My thinking is he was taking a stroll and looking over his scrapes. Multiple does and yearlings plus several younger bucks were out by then. One young fellow kept chasing a particular doe all around the feeder area. No one else joined in. About the time it was “getting dusky dark” another 8 point, also 3.5 came out. Those two older bucks took a real interest in that same lady. The 3 of them began the age old “dance” of the rut. Back and forth and round and round they went. I am not sure of the outcome as the doe finally took off out of view with those guys right behind her. There are many funny things I have observed over the last 60+ years outdoors in La Brasada during the whitetail breeding season. It never gets old for me, and the actions of the deer are just plain and simple different, both for the males and females during this time. So, Good Lord willing, I am planning on heading out there regularly these next few weeks to see what kind of antics I might get to observe. It sure beats the heck out of the shows on TV!
Christmas here we come! Last week officers handled 49 calls for service and conducted 97 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 82 citations and 15 warnings. The Lytle PD had two arrests last week: #1 – On Monday, a wanted person turned himself in to the PD. We had obtained a felony domestic violence warrant on him from an incident the prior week. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – On Sunday Ofc. L. Diaz stopped a vehicle and determined it be reported stolen out of SAPD. The driver was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. The 1994 Ford Ranger was recovered. We had three property crimes reported last week: #1 – McDonald’s said that they received a counterfeit $100 bill. #2 – H.E.B. Plus reported that a shoplifter left the store with some merchandise, the case is under investigation. #3 – A Lake Side Circle resident said that a bullet entered a glass window of their residence. It appeared to be a large caliber rifle projectile. Most likely came from out in the county somewhere, the case is under investigation. At the city council meeting last week, the council received an update from our local health authority, Dr. Richard Neel. He reported seeing an increase in the Flu, COVID, and RSV. He said the best prevention is frequently washing your hand and avoiding confined spaces with large groups of people. Traffic Alert: The city’s public works department will be repairing a water leak on McDonald St. this week. The location is between City Hall and the CVS Pharmacy and there will be some lane shifting. We anticipate the work to start on Tuesday and be completed by Wednesday (if all goes well). It shouldn’t be a major issue, just a heads-up. Last Monday I was dispatched to the area of Taco Bell for an intoxicated suspect, I found the guy and he was intoxicated for sure. He was just passing through; said he was homeless. I told him I was going to have to take him to jail and he became a little aggressive. I was working alone (all the officers were in Pleasanton for a short training), so I called the City Administrator, Matthew Dear, and asked him to switch hats and become Lt. Dear and give me a hand. It was kind of like when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman except Matt didn’t come from the bat cave; he just came from the city hall parking lot. We got placed him in custody and off to jail I went. I don’t regularly take people to jail. I’m like your average big-city police chief; I mostly just sit around and look good. I got to the jail and took off my weapon and body armor carrier (you can’t take all that stuff in the jail) so that left me with an empty holster and a Lytle PD t-shirt. I was fumbling around with all the paperwork and the ACSO Jail supervisor who was helping me asked “Are you new at Lytle PD?” I just told him “I’ve been here a while”. I need to work on being more regionally recognizable.
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!
Tucker woke up this week and feeling that is was cold outside, he automatically assumed, “Hey mom it’s going to snow now right?” I guess at his young age, last Winter was certainly the most memorable one and he’s thinking that’s just the way it is in Winter. I explained to him that snow in Devine is a very rare event, and he was a little disappointed to say the least. The kids and I judged the Christmas light contest this weekend. I took my daughter the first night and my son the next as we made the rounds. At one of the last homes, a real life Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus greeted us at the gate. This should have been really exciting, except for one little thing: Tucker is terrified of Santa. I know a lot of kids cry when you set them on Santa’s lap, but I can’t even get Tucker close. As soon as he sees Santa at a party or event, his eyes grow wide and he takes off running the other direction or takes a ninja stance. The Morris family (whose home was in the Christmas light competition) also had a table with hot cocoa and cookies set up and invited families to take a ride in Santa’s sleigh set up below a snow machine. As we entered the yard, Tucker was very careful to keep an eye on the guy in the red suit, and not to make any eye contact with Santa. When Santa did speak to him, Tucker ducked and hid beneath the table. He loved playing in the snow machine (made of bubbles) though. And low and behold, Tucker did get his snow day after all!
By ANTON RIECHER The Devine City Council held two closed executive sessions during its regular meeting Dec. 13 – one to discuss a possible settlement regarding city efforts to condemn three Devine Municipal Airport hangars and another to review applications for city administrator. No action was taken following either closed session. In November the council voted to condemn hangars 8, 8A and 10 by means of eminent domain. The formal motion refers to acquisition for “the Public Use of Designing, Developing, Constructing, Enlarging, Extending and Improving the Devine Municipal Airport.” More than 27,715 square feet of hangar space is involved in the action. The council also voted in November to advertise in professional publications for a new city administrator. City Administrator John Vidaurri resigned effective October 22, 2021, leaving city secretary Dora Rodriguez to step into his vacated role on an interim basis. The city is seeking candidates with five years’ experience as a city manager or administrator who also hold a bachelor’s degree and degrees in public administration, management or business. In other action, the council asked city attorney Thomas P. Cate to draft an amendment to the city’s alcoholic beverage ordinance based on the discussion among the council members. The draft motion was made by District 4 council member Josh Ritchey and seconded by District 5 council member Debbie Randall. Mayor Cory Thompson said the current ordinance restricts alcoholic beverages within a 300-foot radius of schools and church. However, downtown Devine is all but officially dry due to an overlap of these radiuses often surrounding churches that are no longer in use. “I’m often getting requests from business owners who want to sell alcohol but are located within these zones,” Thompson said. City staff has been unable to find any official reason why the council chose to enforce a standardized 300 foot radius for these locations back in 1976, he said. Whereas modern minutes record the council’s action in detail, older minutes tend to be brief and uninformative, Thompson said. Today, the ordinance is often not enforced 100 percent, particularly during events such as the Fall Festival or October Fest. Thompson noted that the Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter is within 100 feet of school property. “For the most part I would like to see the ordinance go away but there are certain points I’d like to keep,” he said. In particular, the mayor wants to keep the official closing time at 1 a.m. He also wants to continue requiring application for city permits to serve alcohol. An addition that Thompson proposed to the ordinance is no glass bottles on public property. Alcohol would be allowed but containers must not be obviously displayed. “Places like Marble Falls or parks in Travis County alcohol cannot be visible,” Thompson said. “If the beer can is in a coozie no one has a problem. On the other hand, no one wants to see an open ice chest.” Noting that the ordinance had previously been amended in 1981 and 1990, Thompson said it has always been an “ever evolving document.” “We can always readdress this,” he said. In other discussion about ordinances, the council tabled action on fence restrictions under consideration by the planning and zoning commissioners. In particular, Randall expressed concern about fences that obscure traffic by being too tall, too close to the corner or opaque. Some board fencing makes it impossible to see the cars waiting at stop signs at certain intersections, Randall said. Ritchey said he would like to see any new ordinance focus on safety factory rather than the style of fencing. “Lots of stuff in their now is not palatable to a lot of folks, including me,” he said. The council also discussed new code requirements regarding the collection of solid waste. Randall said she was in favor of requiring homeowners to promptly collect their waste containers after trash has been collected. She said an impromptu survey via Facebook that she conducted found that most people would support rules to get the containers out of the street and off the curb. However, some folks simply replied “just let people be,” she said. Thompson said leaving the containers in the street often restricts the flow of traffic on narrow residential streets. Also, maneuvering around the containers can make exiting driveways more hazardous. The council took no action but asked Cate to draft changes for a future vote. Misty Thompson of Thompson Houston Real Estate addressed the council about obtaining an extension on master plan approval at the 13.71-acre Cactus Flats subdivision. The council granted a three-year extension. “We were not aware there was a time limit,” Thompson said. “Approval was only good for three years.” To date only four houses have been built in the subdivision. Also regarding subdivision development, the council approved a $103,693 road construction project for Shaver Street between West Davis Avenue and Kempf Street. The council voted 4-0 to approve based on a motion by Ritchey. The council voted to make a correction in an earlier proclamation in honor of National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 17. Among the 3,702 participating locations across the country Devine was represented by the Devine Current Events Club, not the Devine Garden Club. Business woman Brittany Sullivan-Ott offered the city council a deal during its regular meeting, offering to pay to repaint two sadly faded “Welcome to Devine” signs. “It’s very faded in my opinion,” she said. “I’m tired of driving by it.” Repainting the signs will cost $1,500 apiece, she said. Her only stipulation was to add the logo of her two businesses – C&R Grill and Alamo Truck Accessories – to the refurbished signs. Other than that, Sullivan-Ott asked only for help installing the replacement signs. Both signs are located on Devine ISD property. The motion by District 4 council member Josh Ritchey, approved 4-0 by the council, puts a four year limit on the new signs. Once expired Sullivan-Ott can replace them again or turn the honor over to some new willing entrepreneur.
JodiAnn Dzierzanowski has built for herself a fascinating resume with a varied career field and extensive courses of study. First attending Buffalo State University where she earned 82 semester hours in French and anthropology, JodiAnn Z. Dzierzanowski is currently Principal/Truancy Prevention Coordinator with the DISD and overseer of DAEP and the Devine Learning Academy, with the responsibility of recovery of potential and current drop-out students. In her spare time, and in keeping with her philosophy of helping others – including animals – JodiAnn has gone through training and inspections to be able to volunteer as a permitted Texas Parks and Wildlife Rehabilitator. She takes in orphaned and injured wildlife, helps them recover, and releases them back to the wild. Prior to her present position with DISD, JodiAnn experienced a colorful career. She graduated from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Center in April of 1990. From there, she joined the United States Army Intelligence School, completing her Military Intelligence diploma in November of 1990, to become a Platoon Leader and Electronic Warfare Analyst. In May of 1992, JodiAnn completed her Associate of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, European Division, with an emphasis in biology. Pursuing her career in the field of science, she then attended Texas A&M University, completing her Bachelor of Arts in December of 1995 with a major in biology and minor in chemistry. She then received her teachers’ certification from the University of Texas at San Antonio in May of 2001, followed by earning her Master’s of Science in Microbiology in August of 2002, again from UTSA. Meanwhile, JodiAnn served in the United States Army as an electronic warfare voice interceptor and signals analyst from February of ‘89 to June of ‘92. Next, she worked in the entomology research and systematics laboratory, Jan of ‘95 to Dec of ‘95. An interesting next move took JodiAnn to the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Southwest as a microbiologist/ lab technician – from February of ‘96 to April. Continuing in the field of beverages, JodiAnn then moved to the Pearl/Pabst Brewing Company as a microbiologist – May of ‘97 to July of ‘99. Pursuing that teacher’s certificate, JodiAnn decided to enter the field of education, working for some years in Natalia High School, Southwest High School, and Palo Alto College, all serving in the areas of science. Her next stop was at Pearsall JH/High school as Academic Dean/Assistant Principal – October, 2008 to June, 2014. And that brings JodiAnn to her current position in DISD, the best of all, no doubt, stating, “It’s been wonderful in Devine.” However, amidst all of the above-mentioned experiences, JodiAnn had a fascinating career serving in the U.S. Army. She explains that she graduated from her interceptor school just prior to Desert Storm. The U.S. entered the war about six months after she arrived in Germany. “I remember being asleep in the middle of the night in the barracks, and our platoon leader came around, banging on everybody’s door, yelling, ‘We’re at war! Get up and get dressed!’ “ JodiAnn goes on to say, “It was really surreal. After we lined up, we got briefed on the situation. They divided us into squads, at least six…. We worked at an intelligence post that was a high-value target due to the intelligence we gathered there. The post was located about eight miles from where our barracks were. The squads took turns, three days out; three days back; three days at work. Two squads went out at a time to patrol the post, so as one was back at home camp, the other was out on duty. “The perimeter was never left unguarded. When we were out, we camped out in old WWII buildings located on the intelligence base. The buildings had not been used since WWII since many of them had bomb damage with blown-out walls and caved-in roofs. It was like time was frozen in 1942 there. “It was in the middle of winter when we entered the war, so it was cold and snowy. The base camps weren’t very warm, though we had a building that had its walls and roof. We never had anyone physically try to enter the post, and the war was short-lived, so everything worked out.” Commenting on the privileges of living in America JodiAnn has observed by her experiences serving overseas, she shares: “Living in other countries and serving in the Army really drives home what an amazing country we live in. I will always be thankful for the United States and the privileges it awards us by just living here, and the empowerment to change a situation if something is not right. Many people in other countries do not have that.” To elaborate on those freedoms, JodiAnn gives this example: “One day when I was at work, we were discussing people getting deployed. The sergeants were telling us that the female soldiers deployed to Iraq were being restricted to stay on base because women in Iraq did not have any rights; they weren’t even considered equals to men or even to their own male children. “There were American female soldiers who wore makeup, showed their faces, and wore pants, all of which women were not allowed at that time in Iraq. [In addition], Iraq didn’t want their women getting any ideas. To make matters even worse, American female soldiers were treated as equals in the U.S. Army, and when they left base, they were armed, giving them power among the Iraqi men. This was unspeakable in the eyes of Iraq in those days. “One particular incident sparked off the conflict of women in Iraq. A female MP was driving in town in the MP jeep. Women were not allowed to drive vehicles either in Iraq. Holy men, also known as the ‘Islamic Religious Police’ or ‘morality police’, walked around with large sticks to enforce the religious laws at the time. A Holy man witnessed this soldier getting out of her jeep. He walked up to her and her jeep and started pounding on the jeep’s hood with his large stick! In response, the lady MP pulled out her pistol, locked and loaded, and made him back off! “All sorts of Iraqis witnessed this whole interaction, including women and children. The Iraqi government became enraged and started talks with the U.S. to prevent situations like this in the future. …Keeping women on base was discussed as one of the solutions.” In reflection of her life of many facets, JodiAnn says this: “I feel I’ve had a good life and have been blessed. I’ve learned a lot of things, including to be patient, grateful, and strong. I’m at a point in my life to pass it forward, so that is what I try to do. It takes nothing away from an individual to be kind to others or to animals. When I am able to help someone out and they ask me how they can repay me, all I ask for is that they do the same when the time arises.”
As related by JodiAnn Dzierzanowski, Principal of Devine Learning Academy, and edited by Kathleene Runnels Devine Learning Academy graduate, Brandon Lee White, joined the Armed Forces and left for basic training on Monday, October 31, 2022. Brandon said that he wouldn’t have been able to complete high school without the help of the Devine Learning Academy; traditional school just wasn’t for him. Brandon stated, “I was very grateful for the opportunity the Learning Center gave me; otherwise, I never would have been able to join the Army.” He added “I was able to work around my schedule and complete my coursework at my pace.” Brandon graduated in July 2022.
