Category: Events

Bella’s Pantry opened in December 2014.  For 11 years our volunteers have weathered heat, cold, rain, a pandemic, and yet they always came through.  We gave what we could to help the animals in Lytle and the surrounding communities.
Through the years our numbers have increased.  We have always done our best to meet the demand.  We served usually 70 plus cars each month.  Pet owners from Lytle, LaCoste, Castroville, Devine, Natalia, Bigfoot, Hondo, Atascosa, Von Ormy and Somerset were regulars at the Pantry.  We loved seeing the people and sometimes their sweet pets.
Recently we have struggled to obtain food to give out.  Many non-profits, such as we are, have seen the donations dramatically decrease.  Without the donations we cannot continue. 
Lytle Animal Allies board made the decision to close Bella’s Pantry and Lytle Animal Care and Control agreed to the decision.
Bella’s Pantry would not have been possible without dedicated volunteers who came together 11 years ago to make life easier for pets and their people.
Phyllis Parra, Miriam Garcia, and Ernie Kroeger were there from the start.  Throughout the years we have had help from Santiago Morantez, Rachel Faish, Lorena Gorum, Daniel Garcia, Irene Robbins, Kathryn Jones, Liz White, Melinda Flores, Austin Stornelli, Ruben Gonzalez, and Ruben Gonzalez III.  There are not enough words to express how grateful we are for these amazing people showing up to give back. 
Bella’s Pantry received donations from Pam and Frank Wanjura, Pam Harris, Valerie Worthington, Carol Lumley Spock, HEB, San Antonio Humane Society, San Antonio Food Bank and so many others who would drop off a bag of food.
This was a hard decision to make.  We hope you can understand how much this pantry meant to us also.  We were privileged to give as we know our pet owners were thankful to receive. 
Our last Bella’s Pantry will be held on December 27th.  We will be open 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM.
 Lytle Animal Allies
Ward Sanders, President
Lorena Gorum, Vice-President
and Betty Kroeger, Secretary/Treasurer

St. Joseph’s Guadalupana Society hosted celebrating the Feast Day of “Our Lady of the Americas, La Virgen de Guadalupe” on Friday, December 12, 2025.  This is a Catholic celebration of the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego, an indigenous peasant, on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City on December 12, 1531.
A beautiful colorful and brightly lit float was constructed.  This float carried a live image of our Virgin Mother Mary dressed by Kassandra Fajardo and a live image of Juan Diego dressed by JoseYandel Saavedra. They along with Father/Rev. Antonio Hernandez and with the faithful parishioners and our community pilgrimaged praying the rosary and singing from Devine City Park to the church at 6:00 AM.   The float and the faithful arrived to the church by 7:00 AM.  
Ten beautiful, excited, joyous girls danced to the altar with flower baskets to the Virgin.  The dancers were:  Sadie Washburn, Zoey Washburn, Prestyn Alexander, Azalea Tambunga, Lily Tambunga, Cloee Jo Esparza, Isabella Rodriguez, Azucena Sofia Hernandez, Austin Gonzalez and Lina Bueno (Lina is the great niece of Lydia Benavidez, Guadalupana Society Pres.). 
Mariachi AZUL de San Antonio played “Las Mananitas” in the church.  At 8:00 a.m. a Mass in honor of our Virgin de Guadalupe officiated by Rev. Antonio Hernandez assisted by Dcn Jerry Whitley, music by the mariachis.  Two new members Jessica Carrillo and Mari Carmen Mendoza were blessed by Father Antonio into the Guadalupana Society. 
A delicious breakfast and fellowship followed the mass at the hall.  
St Joseph’s Church and the Guadalupana Society thank our local businesses for their community support: Chaparral Ford for the use of an electric truck, this allowed for “fume free” to the pilgrimage walkers; Devine Tortilla Factory for donation of their delicious corn tortillas and tamales; Chile Bandera, from Jourdanton for donation of their famous flour tortillas; Dulce Bakery, Lytle for donation of their scrumptious sweet bakery (pan dulce).

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer
Devine ISD Theater Directors Mrs. Patricia Taitano and Mr. Jose Guardiola and their ensemble of fine performers presented A Christmas Carol: A Play for Live Radio to a crowded audience in the DSAC on December 10.
The story, told vintage radio-style, is an adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens set in Victorian England in the early 1840s. The 10 Players dressed in black pants and while long sleeve shirt sat V-style behind decorated desks telling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his story of salvation and redemption.
Included in the beautiful evening were other DHS departments that added to the celebration of Christmas and the promotion of several students from other organizations.
Head Band Director Bert Sanchez and assistant Pete Alexander Olguin had several band members entertain in the foyer prior to the doors closing for the reading of Christmas Carol.
In addition, Mrs. Linsey Outlaw and her FACS students baked cookies and other delicious treats available for the attending audience while Mrs. Dawn Hamby and her art students had many of their own handmade favorite pieces of art on display for all to enjoy.
The Players
Nolan Beaty, Griffin Blouin, Cat Brown, Kayla Dzierzanowski, Viola Dzierzanowski, Natalie Gutierrez, Madelynn Mitchell, Dakota Nighswander, and Angeliana Rendon-Zapata.
The Crew
Ella Bowyer, Kassandra Fajardo, Lindsay Garcia, Emma Martinez, and Emerie Ruiz.

Dakota Niighswander and Viola Dzierzanowski perform in A Christmas Carol.

Kayla Dzierzanowski read five parts in A Christmas Carol.

Nolan Beaty as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

The Kindergarten through Confirmation classes at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Devine donated over 400 items for the Devine Food Pantry. They brought canned goods, hygiene products, diapers, baby wipes, and much more.

We are proud to donate all these items to our local community through the wonderful work of the Devine Food Pantry.  2nd grade won a pizza party for donating the most items, and 1st grade came in second place! We thank all of our parents and students for supporting our program and this wonderful effort. 

Joshua Walker, second from right in foreground, recieves a plaque in the honorable mention category during the Lytle Citizenship Awards presentation at City Council (Photos by Anton Riecher).

Pam Wanjura, center foreground, was awarded the 2025 Annual Citizenship Award in the adult category with Lytle Mayor Ruben Gonzalez presenting the trophy during the city council meeting Monday.
In the other categories, Jessie Camarillo, center foreground, won in the lifetime achievement category and Joshua Walker, second from right in foreground, won in the honorable mention category. (Photos by Anton Riecher)

On December 3rd, Shirley Humberson, a Current Events Club member and Frances Plunkett President of the Alsatian Pioneers Daughters of Republic of Texas pose at the 5A section of the Devine Evergreen cemetery. This is the Current Events Club fourth year to bring the Wreaths Across America to the Devine Evergreen and St. Joseph Catholic cemeteries. These two people are part of the volunteer force that will participate in the Wreath Across America event this Saturday. The first stage consisted of placing yellow flags on 675+ verified veteran’s graves. Second stage took place on December 6, as the American flags were placed on the same veterans graves. The last stage is the main event on this Saturday, December 13th when there is a ceremony and many more volunteers place balsam wreaths with red bows on the veteran’s graves in both cemeteries. At the ceremony, all branches of the services are represented Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space force, and MIA.

Notice Is Hereby Given To Hear Comments And Testimony Concerning The Following:
AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; SPECIFICALLY, THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP.
Zoning meeting Dec. 1
The Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Lytle will hold a public hearing regarding this request to provide all interested parties with the right to appear and request information on:
Date: Monday, December 1, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Lytle City Hall, 14916 Main Street
Lytle, TX 78052.
Public Hearing Dec. 8
The City Council of the City of Lytle will hold a public hearing regarding this request to provide all interested parties with the right to appear and request information on:

Date: Monday, December 8, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Lytle City Hall, 14916 Main Street
Lytle.
For Additional Information Regarding These Public Hearings, Please Contact the City Administrator, Zachary Meadows at (830) 709-3692 Ext. 1031.

National Wreaths Across America Ceremony Day is Saturday, December 13, 2025, across our nation and abroad. Around the globe, ceremonies take place at 11:00. Devine’s will take place for the fourth year under the shade of the ceremony oak that spans Devine Evergreen and St. Joseph cemeteries on Colonial Parkway. WAA is a national nonprofit whose year-long mission is to Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach our children the value of freedom. This is a good time to share past themes and a few cemetery locations that might be of interest to you and needs your support.
Through the coordination and leadership of the Current Events Club, Devine has participated in WAA’s mission since 2022. That year’s theme, “Find a Way to Serve,” stressed the importance of service to community and country, especially with WAA’s expanded educational program. We partnered with Devine ISD to participate in their long tradition of Veteran’s Day programs at CIS and DIS schools. In cemetery preparations for ceremony day, we had school organizations from Devine and Natalia volunteer in cemetery preparations such as locating and mapping veteran graves and placing US flags on Pearl Harbor Day; at our ceremony we had youth participation in the presentation of colors, and afterwards with the laying of wreaths. We met countless families that first year to locate and verify veterans, honoring almost 525 veterans and their families on that first National Ceremony Day.
2023’s theme was “Serve and Succeed,” focusing on “the positive impact of service and how it can help individuals succeed in life.” Within our community, the Current Events Club created the flag display at Devine’s Four-Corners to commemorate patriotic dates throughout the year, reminding citizens to “fly your American flag”. We joined with and in support of the VFW’s annual Memorial Day ceremony. We included the 4th grade students in WAA’s ceremony day, added TAPS by a DHS trumpet player, and a Natalia honor student and future service member’s participation in leading the Pledge of Allegiance. We also continued our participation in the school events at the elementary and intermediate campuses. Many more families and friends added veterans to our cemeteries’ lists, and our community honored just over 625 veterans.
Last year’s theme, “Live with Purpose,” focused on veterans and military families “who have found success though service and highlighted the idea of making every day meaningful after adversity”. Men and women right here where we live contribute in their work and daily tasks of raising families, helping neighbors, serving in school, church, and civic organizations. Cemetery mapping was a major goal of the club, organizing the sections in both cemeteries by rows. The projects of past years continued. Because of community support, coordinated efforts of the Current Events Club, and many volunteers, the third year of this mission added 40 more veterans.
This year’s theme is “Keep Moving Forward,” and locations honoring our veterans continue to grow. This theme is inspired by the last words of U.S. Army Captain Joshua Byers, KIA in Iraq in 2003. The theme encourages volunteers and supporters to “continue their mission of remembrance, honor, and service.” Locations have grown from 4,909 in 2024, with over 3 million veterans honored, to over 5,200 locations in 2025. The most recent location added here in our county is in Lytle. For the fourth year, at St Joseph and Devine Evergreen cemeteries, every identified veteran will be honored. Growing across Medina County, veteran names will be spoken by volunteers, family, and friends; wreaths will be placed in their memories and stories shared.
National and State cemeteries across Texas take part in National Wreaths Across America Day. These locations often do not have the coordination, financial, and/or volunteer support that community cemeteries have to honor every veteran. There are two national cemeteries in San Antonio – San Antonio National Cemetery, established in 1867, and Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, established in 1926. Fort Sam took over all veteran burials in 1931 when SANC reached capacity. If you would like to sponsor wreaths for these cemeteries or any national cemetery, go to the Current Events Club’s webpage at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/TX1147P Donations made from the club’s location also benefit our community and is our group’s primary fundraiser.
For more information, contact WAA Location Coordinators Linda K. @830-665-6377 or Martha W. @210-213-5620. Please leave a message.