Category: Tid Bits by Richie Priest

Hello from Lytle! Last week, Lytle P.D. officers handled 66 calls for service and conducted 126 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 94 drivers receiving citations and 32 receiving warnings.
Officers made four arrests last week: #1 & #2 – Officers responded to the H.E.B. Plus for a report of a shoplifter. It was another mother/daughter duo! The daughter was arrested for theft (approx. $130 worth of merchandise) and the mother was cited for criminal mischief for damaging some of the property. I have complained in the past that my dad was, and still is, a workaholic and that he seldom took us on vacation. I guess I should appreciate the fact that he and dear old Mom also never took us shoplifting. Arrest #3 – Officers were dispatched to the Star Food Mart (Chevron) for a report of a man who took a beverage without paying for it. Officers arrived, located the suspect, and determined he had a felony burglary of a habitation warrant out of Medina Co. He was booked into the Medina Co. Jail. So, his one free “stolen” drink led to free food, drinks, and lodging at Randy Brown’s hotel in Hondo. I like Randy, but I wouldn’t want to be an overnight guest at the place he runs. Arrest #4 – A verbal disturbance on Main St. resulted in the arrest of a female, that had a felony warrant out of Medina County for injury to a child/elderly/disabled w/bodily injury. She, too, was booked into the Medina Co. Jail. Back maybe in 1997 or 1998, there was a Schlotzsky’s in Hondo that was on Highway 90 and wasn’t there very long. I worked part-time for Lytle P.D. and looked forward to taking prisoners to the Medina Co. Jail, so I could stop by and grab a sandwich and a cup of broccoli cheese soup. Sorry, my stomach started wandering down memory lane.
Property crimes from last week, three were reported: #1 – A mini-storage unit on N. Somerset was burglarized. A ladder and some tools valued at $370 were reported stolen. #2 – That is the H.E.B. Plus mother/daughter theft I mentioned earlier. #3 – H.E.B. Plus reported a suspect walked out with about $120 worth of beer and other items.
The mayor provided me with some good info. to pass on. You will want to pay attention to this (unlike most of my written rambling). The FM 3175 lanes under I-35 will be closed effective 12 July for a few weeks. This is necessary for construction related to the ongoing TXDOT projects. Both frontage roads will return to two-way roads before this closure. Travelers on FM3175 will need to use the frontage roads to get around the construction. The plan is to have the lanes open by the start of school on the 9th of August. Imagine what a mess that would be if that intersection was closed and the school buses and parents coming in on FM 3175 had to re-route!
The city is still accepting applications for an Animal Control Officer and a Public Works employee. You might think “It’s too hot to work outside”, don’t worry about that. The weather around here gets pleasant for at least a month or so each year.

The latest news from Lytle P.D., some you can use, most of it…. maybe not. Your officers responded to 60 calls for service last week and conducted 44 traffic stops. Of those 44 stops, 24 resulted in a citation and 20 were either verbal or written warnings.
What arrests did we make last week? Well, we had 3 of them. #1 – A simple citation and release for possession of drug paraphernalia was the result of a traffic stop for failing to dim the headlights. #2 – Officers responded to a two-vehicle, non-injury accident on Main St. and a routine check revealed that one of the drivers had an active DWI warrant out of Nueces Co. He was having a bad day for sure; he was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #3 – Officers conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle going the wrong way on a one-way road. The passenger had a warrant for trespassing out of Bexar Co. She was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
Property crimes reported to us last week numbered 4.

1 – A complainant reported that he had a fellow drop off his lawn mower for repair and the guy came back and picked it up without his permission. #2 – A North Prairie St. resident reported that an air compressor valued at $200 was taken from a shed. #3 – An employee at Best Western Plus reported her vehicle was broken into. Some receipts and identifying information were taken. #4 – A Live Oak St. resident reported that a wood privacy fence was damaged. It appeared a vehicle struck it.

I may sound like a “broken record”, if people still know what that even means, but our 4th of July Fireworks Show is quickly approaching. If you love fireworks or just need some “me” time with food trucks (like me) this is the event for you. No big city crowds, free parking, and plenty of police officers to keep you safe. The festivities start at 5 PM and will conclude with the fireworks show once it gets dark. So, you have all day to BBQ or hit the swimming pool and you can close out the day with fireworks.
From the personal files of Chief Richey Priest…. My wife and I welcomed our fifth child last Thursday. Canon James Priest entered the world around 5:45 PM and both he and Kaycee are doing well. It’s official, I am 53 years old and have two kids in diapers! I ask for your prayers and maybe a GoFundMe account! I also just saw that come September 1st diapers and wipes will not be subject to sales tax! That’s good timing for me.
Seldom a day goes by that someone doesn’t say to me “Richey, we need more people like you in this world” so with five kids I think I am doing my part.

Time for some Lytle PD news that you can use, maybe? Last week your officers handled 47 calls for service and conducted 123 traffic stops. The result of those stops was 94 citations and 29 warnings.
Property Crimes: We had two property crimes reported last week. #1 – Lytle Loft Storage reported a burglary of a storage unit, the event occurred on May 20th. Attempts are still being made to contact the owner of the contents. #2 – H.E.B. Plus reported a theft of approx. $40 worth of snacks. In today’s world that could be a couple of candy bars and a soft drink.
Arrests: We only had one arrest last week. A 20-year-old male was taken in on a warrant for criminal trespass. He was given a trespass notice at H.E.B. and decided to return. Video placed him in the store and a warrant was obtained. He was located when officers responded to a report of squatters in an abandoned house.
The city’s surplus auction will be this Saturday (June 3rd) at the Lytle Police Station. Lots of stuff, including 5 retired city vehicles. Two of those are police SUVs. The event will run from 9 AM–Noon. It will be a silent auction with bid sheets, we did this a few years ago and it was very successful. I might even throw in a cool certificate of authenticity certifying that the police vehicle was used to “stop speeders, haul people to jail, and pick up fast food” But, maybe not in that order. If you are a taxpayer, you most likely already helped pay for some of these items, you just didn’t get to keep them at your house. Now this is your chance to bring it home!

Here is your Lytle P.D. news for the week ending Sunday, May 7th: Officers responded to 53 calls for service and conducted 58 traffic stops. The breakdown was: 43 resulted in citations and 15 were warnings.
The biggest event last week was a rare (thankfully I can say that) armed robbery. It went down on Monday, May 1st at approx. 2:30 AM. A male had been hanging around the small shopping strip on Main St. that includes the Lytle Super Stop (Exxon). He entered the Cricket Wireless store, hung out in there for a while, and looked at a few phones. He got his courage up, pulled out a pocketknife (which we believe he shoplifted from the resale shop next door), and demanded phones and money. He made off with 2 phones and $140 in cash. He didn’t even take all the money from the register, and he apologized to the clerk for what he was doing. So, our armed robber was at least polite and thoughtful. He fled in a white Nissan Altima that had been taken in a carjacking in San Antonio the previous day. I’m glad no one was injured; this is an active investigation.
Only one property crime was reported this week!
H.E.B. Plus reported that a female attempted to make off with a box of diapers valued at $46. The diapers were recovered. I’m hoping the lady was going to sell them and didn’t have a baby at home that needed diapers. My wife and I have one in diapers and one on the way so I know firsthand how expensive it can be.
Your officers made 5 arrests last week: #1 – Officers were dispatched to a disturbance on S. Prairie St. It was a mother-son disturbance and officers determined the son had a felony dope warrant out of Medina Co. He was arrested on the warrant, which ended the disturbance. He was booked into the Medina Co. Jail in Hondo. #2 – Officers responded to a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of Main St. and FM 2790 N. The driver of one of the vehicles was upset so he ran up and pushed the other driver down! I certainly hope that doesn’t become a trend. So, not only did we have a collision to investigate, but we had an assault as well. The roadway was cleared, and a citation for assault by contact was issued. #3 & #4 were both from traffic stops about 15 minutes apart. Both drivers were cited and released for possession of drug paraphernalia. #5 – Our officers were on the way to assist Atascosa Sheriff’s Deputies with a disturbance in Los Palomas (off FM 3175). They located the vehicle that fled the scene on the access road. They determined the driver had 3 active felony warrants (2 out of Bexar Co. and 1 out of Wilson Co.). He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
In other news…. sometime, most likely, early Sunday morning thieves struck a friend of mine that lives out on FM 2790 near Lucky Rd. Two large birds, a Military macaw, and an African Grey, were taken from their outside birdhouse. They have had the birds for 20 years, so they are devastated. The Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation.
What’s coming up? Get ready for a city auction! The date will be Saturday, June 3rd. I think it will be held in the police station parking lot, I know there will be several vehicles and lots of other junk items too. Our surplus items might be your dream purchase. We will be sending out more information in the future. Hopefully, you took advantage of the community clean-up this past Saturday. That means you now have some room in the garage to fill up with auction items. It’s a never-ending cycle.

You have hit the jackpot if you are wanting to know what Lytle P.D. did last week. Though, I will admit it would be a small jackpot. It’s time for some numbers: Officers handled 70 service calls (that’s a busy week) and conducted 70 traffic stops (46 of those resulted in a citation and 24 were warnings).
Arrests: Officers had three arrests last week, all were cited and released. So, no long trips to the county jail. #1 & #2 – Two females (ages 24 & 25) were cited and released for class C theft (shoplifting). #3 – A traffic stop resulted in a cite and release of a 47-year-old male for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Property Crimes: Two property crimes were reported last week. #1 –H.E.B. Plus theft from above. The two females tried to make off with…. a 12 oz HEB Sweet Tea, Pringles chips (unknown flavor, but I prefer the salt & vinegar), Hot Fries, Blue Gatorade, 3 Donuts, and a 12 pack of Malibu Seltzers. If it had been me, I would have left off the seltzers and increased the donut count. #2 – One of those “porch pirates” (not to be confused with a Lytle Pirate) struck at a residence on Main St. The package that had been delivered was stolen; the contents included a $600 cell phone. Surprisingly, we don’t have more of these thefts reported to us.
We were busy assisting with “bailouts,” we had five that ended here in town. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and property damage was minimal. I’m still not sure why our community is such a good place for human smugglers to decide to stop running from the police and “bailout.” I’m looking into buying a lot of full-sized cardboard cuts of myself and placing them all along the interstate. When the smugglers see that it may encourage them to keep going, the downside is that it might have the same impact on everyone.
On Saturday, May 6th, from 9 AM – 12 PM, Keep Lytle Beautiful, in collaboration with the City of Lytle and Waste Management will be walking the streets picking up trash and accepting any bulky waste from City residents. There will be 2 drop-off locations for residents to bring their bulky waste. Residents should also bring a Lytle city utility bill. The first location will be the City Hall (14916 Main St.) and the second at Lytle High School (18975 FM 2790 N.). Contact city hall or visit the city website for more information (www.lytletx.org).
If you haven’t checked out the truck stop being built on IH-35 at FM 3175, construction is quickly moving along. I can already see myself hitting the pancakes at IHOP.

Here is your weekly report from Lytle P.D., straight from the desk of Chief Richey Priest (for whatever that is worth). Your officers responded to 51 calls for service last week and conducted 79 traffic stops. Of those 79 stops, 70 resulted in a citation and 9 were either verbal or written warnings.
Property Crimes: Only 1 reported, a complainant reported her Apple iPhone and watch were taken by a friend. It involved a dispute over an unpaid debt. The property was recovered.
Arrests: Officers made 3 arrests last week. #1 – While Ofc. L. Diaz was investigating a hit-run accident, he determined a female witness had a felony warrant. She was wanted out of Atascosa Co. on an Evading Arrest w/MV. #2 – Ofc. J. Cortez conducted a traffic stop for a reckless driver and arrested the male driver for D.W.I. #3 – Ofc. J. Cortez, assisted by Ofc. L. Diaz was dispatched to the Sonic Drive-In for a male asleep behind the wheel in the drive-thru. He was arrested for D.W.I.
Last Monday, Sgt. David Lopez and I headed out to Forth Worth for the Annual Texas Police Chief’s Association Conf. We had an event filled 2 and ½ days. There were some great speakers and topics covered. So, what is big on the minds of Texas Police Chiefs? Well, recruiting and retention of police officers is a big topic, not only in Texas but in the rest of the country as well. We also spent time with vendors and catching up on the latest and greatest advancements in law enforcement. Some local area chiefs we ran into up there included Chief Kohler from Castroville, Chief Soza from Hondo, Chief Delgado from Dilley (who was also a presenter), and Chief Ronald Sanchez and his crew from Pleasanton.
The breakfast buffet at the Omni was $28 a person, so Sgt. Lopez and I hit a Waffle House. It was his first time at a Waffle House, and that alone would make the trip memorable. Oh my, the look in David’s eyes when I ordered double hashbrowns (still only .50 extra) with my order.
I even got my dad to meet us and buy lunch one day, he drove over from Paris. I tried to borrow some money from him, but he said “Friend, I’m broke” as he drove off in his new pickup. I have been hearing that for as long as I can remember. Here is a little family trivia, I do not have a lot, so I must dig deep but here we go: My dad played on the locally “famous” 1964 Canton Eagle Football team (he was #72). They went undefeated and were not scored on in all 10 regular season games.
Sadly, I learned that retired Atascosa Co. Sheriff Tommy Williams passed away over the weekend. He was a legend and he helped me tremendously when I first became the chief back in late 1999.
I have been told about 200 kids attended the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. It was another success; the weather was great.
The next big city event will be the fireworks show on July 4th! I will have more details in the future. I enjoyed the addition of the food trucks at the event last year. While I don’t seek out food trucks, I find them irresistible when they are right in front of me.

Lytle Police news from last week …… Officers managed 52 calls for service and conducted 128 traffic stops. The result of those stops was 113 drivers received citations and 15 received either a written or verbal warning.
Officers took reports of 3 property crimes: #1 – The male restroom at John Lott Park was graffitied. #2 – A 2008 Ford Expedition had the catalytic converter cut from it; the vehicle was in the 15100 blk. of Main St. #3 – An attempted burglary of a vehicle at the H. E.B. Plus resulted in damage to a door lock on a 2005 Chevy P/U. The crooks did not gain entry.
Officers made 5 arrests: #1 – A traffic stop on a speeding vehicle in the 17900 blk. of Wisdom resulted in the recovery of a stolen vehicle. A 2005 F250, reported stolen out of Devine) was recovered. The female driver was arrested, she said she just bought the vehicle a few days ago but could not remember who sold it to her. #2 – A traffic stop for speeding on N. Prairie St. resulted in the arrest of a female driver for D.W.I.
Arrest #3 – A traffic stop for speeding (38 in a 30) at 1:30 AM on Main St. resulted in an arrest for human smuggling. The driver, a Honduran citizen (who lives in Houston), had 12 other Hondurans packed into his Chevy Equinox. Ofc. John Cortez (who did a great job!) was the only officer on so I was called out to help. Fortunately, an Atascosa Co. Sheriff’s Deputy was in the area and helped as well. The group ranged in age from 18-59 and included one married couple. I mostly just stood around and waited for the U.S. Border Patrol to do their thing. I speak very little Spanish and zero Honduran, so I was not much help. I can only imagine, coming all the way from Honduras and your trip ending in downtown Lytle, Texas because the driver was going 8 miles over the speed limit.
Arrests #4 and #5 were cited and released for class C misdemeanors. An adult male on Wisdom Rd. was cited for discharging a firearm in the city limits (ordinance violation). An adult male was cited for public intoxication and released. He was on a golf cart near the intersection of FM 3175 and the IH-35 access road. The golf cart was impounded.
TXDOT Update: The NB access road in front of Best Western is now open to two-way traffic! The NB access road just south of the city will be down to one lane for a few weeks. There will be a temporary traffic control signal, so expect delays.
This weekend is our annual Easter Egg-Travaganza at John Lott Park. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 8. Registration opens at 1:00 PM and the egg hunt starts at 2:00 PM. The registration fee is 1 canned good or $1.00 per child. I think that has been the cost for about 20 years so this is one place where inflation hasn’t paid a visit, heck it might be the only place. The Easter egg hunt is for children ages 1 thru 8.
Last Thursday I was over in the Jourdanton/Pleasanton area all day. I had three stops to conduct background investigations on police applicants.
I also attended a meeting at the courthouse that the new County Judge hosted, a lot of high-powered criminal justice professionals like me were in attendance. It was nice (even though there were no refreshments) to see and hear from some folks I seldom see. I even visited Charlotte Texas for the first time! I have been listening to police and ambulance calls on the radio down there for 30 years, but I had never been there. It was a lot nicer of a place in person than it sounded on the police radio.
I saw that the Pleasanton Police Chief is retiring, I am sure some people thought I was down there scoping the job out. I want to stop that rumor; I have no intention of applying for that position. I am happy where I am, and they probably have high standards and want somebody that can wear a tie. Furthermore, there are way too many good places to eat over there. To take that job the city would have to agree to pay me by the pound and increase my salary as my weight went up.

Here is your weekly dose of “What Lytle P.D. did last week and other stuff the Chief throws in”: Officers handled 60 calls for service and conducted 118 traffic stops. Of those 118 stops, 102 resulted in a citation and 16 resulted in warnings.
Lytle P.D. arrested 5 people last week, and all were booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #1 & #2 – Ofc. Cortez and Ofc. Diaz – A disturbance at the Railhead Café resulted in a female being arrested for D.W.I. and a male being arrested for criminal mischief. The male broke out a glass door and the female drove him away, but they didn’t get far. An officer was able to stop the vehicle and made the arrests. #3 – Ofc. Cortez assisted by Ofc. Diaz – A disturbance at H.E.B. resulted in the arrest of a male who had active theft warrants out of Bexar Co. and Wilson Co. #4 – Ofc. Diaz – A traffic stop for running a red light resulted in the discovery that the driver had an active warrant out of Bexar Co. for failing to Report Highway Damage. #5 –Ofc. Pena assisted by Sgt. Hanson – initiated a traffic stop for running and red light and the driver then crashed into a drainage ditch. He was arrested for D.W.I.
Property Crimes: We had a total of 5 property crimes reported last week: #1 – In the Railhead Café incident mentioned above, a glass door was broken out. #2 – A resident of the Pecan Grove Apts. (14900 Main St.) reported a window was broken out. #3 – A business on Adams St. reported that they took a $20 bill for payment and didn’t realize it was marked “play money”. #4 – Dollar General reported that they received a counterfeit $20 bill. #5 – On Sunday, a man reported that on Saturday he went to South Texas Hardware on Main St. to purchase and few items and accidentally left a Ziplock bag with $3,000 cash sitting on a stack of bottled water. Let’s be honest, haven’t we all done the same thing? I know a lot of people tell me about losing a wad of cash….but it is normally followed by “at the casino”. But this story has a good ending. Sgt. Lopez and Cpl. Robison were able to track down the person that “found” the money. They went to his house and recovered $2,759, still in the same Ziplock bag.
Congratulations to Natalie Pacheco for placing 1st in the state for Powerlifting. We were able to escort the team out of town last Wednesday. I have to be careful; the school is turning out so many winners if I start trying to keep track of them in my weekly report I won’t have any room for my “police stuff”.
Your wait is over! This weekend is the first annual Lytle Music Fest. The event will be held at John Lott Park on Friday (March 24) and Saturday (March 25). Friday is from 6P-10P and Saturday starts around 10A and runs to 10P. There will be live music, over 40 vendors, and 10 food trucks. The headliner is the group Kin Faux, there is no admission charge and I don’t think anyone is charging for parking either. If you can resist the vendors and food booths, you can get by without spending any money. As for me, I can resist the vendors most of the time and the food booths none of the time.

It’s spring break, and kids and adults look forward to it all year. Here at the Lytle P.D., we look forward to it because we get a break from all the school traffic and a teaser of what summer brings. Last week the Lytle PD officers managed 64 calls for service and conducted 86 traffic stops, of those stops, 78 resulted in citations and 8 in warnings.
Officers took 2 reports of property crimes: #1 – A 3rd St. resident reported that they suspect a FedEx package of screws was taken by a “porch pirate”. Some lucky crook got a box of screws; I bet they were hoping for an iPhone. #2 – A lady was shopping at H.E.B. and another female took her wallet and phone from her basket! The crook fled into the parking lot, she left in a vehicle with different front and back license plates.
     Officers made 3 arrests last week: #1 – A traffic stop on Railroad St. resulted in a female being arrested for DWI w/child. She was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – A traffic stop on FM 2790 for speeding resulted in the driver’s arrest for D.W.I. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #3 – A traffic stop on Main St. resulted in the arrest of a male for an active warrant out of Bexar Co. for violation of a protective order. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
Another fire! On Wednesday evening around 6:00 PM, officers responded to a fire at Lynda’s Island (AKA Lynda’s Trade Mart). The building had about 10 apartments and one of them was the source of a fire that destroyed the interior, some of the other units had smoke and water damage. It could have been much worse. The Lytle Fire Department responded quickly, followed up by our friends from Natalia VFD, Atascosa Co. E.M.S., and Bexar Co. E.S.D. #5. I saw someone from Devine Fire Rescue as well. The firefighters did a fantastic job and property loss was limited to primarily one small apartment. Again, Lytle Public Works assisted as well as the Red Cross because there were 15 people displaced. Our Mayor, Ruben Gonzalez, was also on the scene (and was at the big fire last week too) and helped coordinate assistance for the residents. The fire was not suspicious; the cause is currently classified as undetermined.
We had two “bailouts” last week. Devine PD chased one into town and Texas D.P.S. chased the other. In all, about 13 of 20 suspected undocumented immigrants were detained. Medina Co. S.O. assisted with both events. There was also another pursuit, led by Medina Co. S.O. that exited the interstate and went down Naegelin Rd. I’m glad there are a lot of young officers who can jump out and continue the chase on foot, I’m better suited to set up a command post or maybe get drinks. Is somebody “down Mexico way” handing out maps with Lytle circled and written next to it “Good place to bailout”? I guess it would be written in Spanish though.
Special thanks to the youth group from Trinity Baptist Church here in Lytle. On Sunday they cooked burgers for first responders, dropped some off at the police station, and then headed over to the fire station. I wasn’t around on Sunday evening but I did find one in the fridge on Monday morning and had it for breakfast, it was really good. 
The boys’ basketball season has ended; they made it all the way to the state tournament! Our schools are turning out talent in all areas, I don’t know what they are doing up there but It appears to be working.
The Lytle Animal Control indoor yard sale was a success; I forgot about it and didn’t get to attend. It’s for the best, I get suckered into all those “for a good cause” events and would end up buying something I would never use, like exercise equipment.

for the week ending February 19, 2023: Lytle PD officers managed 44 calls for service, that’s on the low side. They also conducted 97 traffic stops, those stops resulted in 87 citations and 10 warnings.
Property Crimes: We had three (3) property crimes reported last week. #1 – Management at the Pecan Grove Apartments (14900 Blk. of Main St.) reported that a door to a vacant apartment had been kicked in. #2 – Three juvenile males were cited and released for criminal mischief for an incident that occurred at H.E.B. Plus. It resulted from a TikTok milk jug prank where one falls with a gallon of milk (creating a slippery mess), a second then walks into the scene and does the same, followed by the third. Of course, another person is recording it so everybody can check it out online. The juveniles were ages 14, 15, and 16. Looks to me to be just a waste of good milk and a big mess to clean up. #3 – A recently separated employee of the Lytle Super Stop (Exxon on Main St.) entered the store and walked behind the counter. He grabbed $350 out of the cash register, flashed it to the camera, and then left. Maybe, he was just getting his severance pay and he selected the “quick pay” option.
Recover Stolen Vehicle: Officers Luis Diaz and John Cortez pursued a stolen 2022 Ford F250 on FM 3175, the vehicle ran through three fences at the end of Naegelin Rd. The driver fled on foot and the vehicle was recovered.
Arrests: Officers made two adult arrests last week. #1 – A traffic stop on Main St. for speeding resulted in the arrest of a 47-year-old male for D.W.I. (2nd Offense). He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail. #2 – A 50-year-old male was arrested for public intoxication on Bruce St. He was booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail.
More news on another TxDOT project: The plan is to install a right turn lane in front of city hall, so traffic headed to the H.E.B. area will flow a little better. For now, they are just working on the first phase. The TxDOT contractor will be installing traffic light poles in front of the city hall. No lane closures are planned but be patient around that intersection as they do their work. I think it will be awesome when this project gets completed.
In other news …. My wife is pregnant with our 5th child. He is due in July. So now I have an 18-year-old, 15-year-old, 13-year-old, 18-month- old and one on the way. I’m 53 now, so that will cause me to adjust my retirement age. It looks like I will now be aiming for retiring around age 75. My wife and I could be “empty nesters” by the time I hit 80 so I need to start planning for that (if I make it that long). I want also to mention that Sgt. David Lopez and his wife are expecting their 3rd child, due in August. Your prayers would be appreciated for the expecting moms and little ones. We have been asked if we had some kind of pregnancy pact between us, but that is not the case.