2 New principals to help lead Devine ISD schools

Michael Gomez will be the new intermediate school principal.

The Devine ISD School Board hired Michael Gomez as the new intermediate school principal, and Magdalena Vielma Strickland as the new Elementary principal at a special meeting on press day, Tuesday, May 24.
Gomez is a 2002 graduate of Devine HS. Taught seven years at Harlandale ISD in San Antonio, and spent last three in Lytle ISD where he was assistant principal at Lytle High School.
“I’m really humbled and excited to lead the intermediate school,” Gomez said.
Gomez earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M Kingsville and masters in educational leadership from University of North Texas.
Strickland graduated from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, TX, in 1993 with a bachelor of science in range and wildlife management. She holds a teacher certification in secondary biology, also from Texas A&M – Kingsville.
She also holds a master’s in education with an emphasis on urban learning from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. She also received a master’s in education management from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and a doctorate in education with a superintendent certification from the University of Houston.
Strickland presently teaches at Ninfa Laurenzo & DeZavala Elementary in Houston. She has taught in that school district since 2005. Strickland earlier taught science and math at McIlvaigh Middle School in Tacoma. Principal Strickland was not at the school board meeting and could not be reached for a comment as of press time.

By Anton Riecher
and Kayleen Holder

Devine seniors receive over $92k in scholarships

Xavier Contreras and Kannon Ramirez received the Athletic Booster Club scholarship.

By Stella Contreras
Devine High School Seniors received $92,700 in scholarships at the ceremony held Sunday May 15, 2022. Following the ceremony many students, staff and family stayed for the traditional Baccalaureate Service given by the First Baptist Church honoring the graduates.

Kylee Saunders, Corinne Fowler, and Aleyna Gerlach receive Martin Family Scholarship.


Scholarship Recipients were:
Darian Alvarez- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Dr & Mrs Robert Francis Gossett Memorial Scholarship
Peyton Carr-Jeremy Freeburn Memorial Scholarship; Jacob Benavides Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; John Wesley Ward, Jr Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Xavier Contreras- Travis Wade

Kelli Geyer, Brady Hackebeil, Karma Herring, and Wyatt Spivey received the Security State Bank Scholarship.

Spielman Memorial Scholarship; Don Sessions Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Youth Sports Scholarship; First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Madison Crabtree- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; Devine Chamber of Commerce Scholarship
Ashlyn Crossland- Carolyn Hopkins Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; American Momentum Bank Scholarship
Brooklyn Crossland- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church ; American Momentum Bank Scholarship
Sage Cruz- Will to Win Scholarship
Jacob Delaney- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Ministerial Fellowship Scholarship
Hayden Dubose- Will to Win Scholarship
Kennedy Duncan- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; American Momentum Bank Scholarship; Tommy Groesbeck Memorial Scholarship; Kelly Culbreath Houston Memorial Scholarship;
Cameron English- Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship; Doris and Ray Conrad/Mulholand Memorial Scholarship
Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship
Marina Esch- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church
Angel Espinosa- Aaron Anthony Benavidez Memorial Athletic Scholarship; Marvin Gustafson Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Jared Fernandez Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship ; Bain Memorial Scholarship
Corinne Fowler- Martin Family Scholarship; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship; Medina County Farm Bureau Scholarship; Devine Current Events Scholarship
Yessika Garza- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Aleyna Gerlach- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Martin Family Scholarship; Bain Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Kelli Geyer- Security State Bank Scholarship; Devine Area Thrift Store Scholarship; Karen Howard Muennink Memorial FCCLA Scholarship; McAnelly Educational Scholarship; Retired Teachers Association Scholarship; Robbie Robertson Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; G.D & Ruby Whitfield Memorial Scholarship
Jenysee Good-Wesley & Gene Lackey Ward Memorial Scholarship
Jacob Guajardo- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Lula Teel Gossett Memorial Scholarship
Brady Hackebeil-George Alexander Jr. Memorial Scholarship; DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Joey Toepperwein Memorial Scholarship; Security State Bank Scholarship; Medina County Farm Bureau Scholarship; Devine Current Events Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship
Riley Hagdorn- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; Medina County Aggie Moms Scholarship; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; Doris and Ray Conrad/Mulholand Memorial Scholarship
Lily Hargis- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; Linda Alexander Memorial Scholarship
Macey Hein Samantha “Sam” Buvinghausen Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Neva Sessions Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship; Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship; Patricia Ann Wilkerson Woods Memorial Scholarship
Karma Herring- Security State Bank Scholarship; American Momentum Bank; Devine Lions Club; Dollars for Scholars; Lytle State Bank- Salutatorian
Audrey Longoria- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Patricia Ann Wilkerson Woods Memorial Scholarship; G.D & Ruby Whitfield Memorial Scholarship
Kendall Marek- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Area Thrift Store Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship
Cecilia Martinez- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Aaron Anthony Benavidez Memorial Athletic Scholarship; Aubrey and Willie Mae Driscoll Memorial; Imogene Tschirhart Memorial Scholarship
Mason Martinez- Will to Win Scholarship
Liliana Mendoza-Jimenez- St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Scholarship
Isaiah Morin- Will to Win Scholarship
Makayla Perez- Bain Memorial; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship
Kannon Ramirez- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Scholarship; Devine Youth Sports Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Gracie Ricord- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship
Jesslyn Sanchez- Neva Sessions Memorial Scholarship
Kylee Saunders- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; Martin Family Scholarship; Devine Lodge #590 Masonic Council Scholarship; Medina County A&M Club Scholarship; Medina County Aggie Moms Scholarship; St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Scholarship; American Momentum Bank Scholarship; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; Devine Area Thrift Store Scholarship
Brian Schaefer- – Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Lions Club; Dollars for Scholars Scholarship; Lytle State Bank- Valedictorian; Sid & Maurice Malone Memorial Scholarship; Robbie Robertson Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church ; Gordon Shultz Memorial Scholarship
Brooke Schott- American Momentum Bank
Lacey Shook Gayle & Don Sessions Scholarship; First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship
Wyatt Spivey- Jacob Benavides Memorial Scholarship; Henry & Henrietta Bendele Memorial Scholarship; Carolyn Hopkins Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church ; Wesley Ward Memorial Scholarship; Security State Bank Scholarship
Abe Taitano- Ruth Allen Memorial Scholarship; Dollars for Scholars; Josie Hernandez Memorial Scholarship Administered by Lytle State Bank; DHS Faculty and Staff Scholarship
Brianna Torres- Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship ; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship
Kadence Yeats – First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship

Lytle and Devine Election Results

Gonzalez re-elected Lytle Mayor, Rodriguez to council, Ritchey wins Devine City Council seat, Davis and Frieda re-elected to Devine ISD board

City of Lytle…
Mayor Ruben Gonzalez was re-elected with 363 votes to challenger Tom Cate with 174.
Michael Rodriguez won the District 4 Alderman race 50 to 21 over Marshall Witter.
District 5 Charles Cate was unopposed.

Ruben Gonzalez was re-elected Mayor for the City of Lytle.
Michael Rodriguez was elected to Lytle City Council.

City of Devine
Josh Ritchey won the District 5 seat with 39 votes over Cassandra Maldonado 15 and Wilburn Woody Woodrow 3 votes. Councilman D1 Rufino Vega and D3 David Espinosa were unopposed.

Josh Ritchey was elected to Devine City Council.

Devine ISD
Trustees Chris Davis and Renee Frieda were re-elected to their At Large seats over challenger Brenda Burford. Davis had 246 votes, Frieda 206 and Burford 95. Trustees SD1- Ali Buvinghausen and SD2-Carl Brown were unopposed.

Renee Frieda was re-elected to the Devine ISD school board.
Chris Davis was re-elected to the Devine ISD school board.

Pirate Robert Wagner qualifies to State in 800m

Robert Wagner, a junior at Lytle High School, won second in the 800M run at regionals with a 1:59.98 to qualify for State.

Lytle Pirate junior Robert Wagner will compete at State after placing second overall in the 800m Run in Seguin at Regional last weekend. Wagner ran 1:59.98 to finish only .89 seconds behind Wyatt Hoover of Poth who ran 1:59.09 to claim the race’s individual championship.
Wagner also competed in the 1600m Run, placing 13th with a time of 5:01.96.
Alex Medina qualified for finals in Discus with a throw of 132’11½” to place third, almost qualifying for State.

Abel Sanchez came in 8th in the 800m Run with a time of 2:06.01.
Pirate Jose Cortez ran both the 1600m and 3200m Run at Regionals in Seguin.

Jose Cortez ran 4:35.54 to place fifth in the 1600m Run and placed sixth in the 3200m Run with a time of 10:49.31.
Abel Sanchez came in 8th in the 800m Run with a time of 2:06.01.
Head Coach Jacob Escamilla stated, “This has been an amazing ride that will continue for another few weeks onto the STATE track meet in Austin. First, congratulations to all the track athletes who qualified for the Regional track meet this past weekend. These student-athletes represented Lytle ISD with pride and I could not be prouder of their efforts.

Pirate Alex Medina winds up to throw the discus at Regionals.

Once again, to get to this point in the track season is remarkable and an effort to be proud of. All of our male and female athletes represented with pride.”
Wagner is scheduled to run at 6:25pm on Thursday, May 12.

Robert Wagner is scheduled to compete at 6:25pm on Thursday, May 12 in the 800 M Run at the State Track Meet.


Foster care
One thing I enjoy getting in my email inbox is Coach Hadley Foster, Jr.’s recap of his thrower’s performances from the previous track meet. For those lucky enough to receive these emails, the care and compassion he puts into words for his student-athlete throwers in his “Lessons from the Rings” recap is clear to see.
Alex Medina was his last performer for the 2022 season, and this is just a snippet of what Medina’s coach had to say about him.
“This year Alex stepped into the leadership role for the throwers as he worked harder than any boy thrower I have ever coached, yet he is a different type of athlete. As the other discus throwers were warming up with high knee runs and stretches, I told Alex to go take a walk. He then came back and began to throw.
If this year has taught me anything, it is that next year is next year. Alex’s success is his and all those who support him.
His parents provide him with the opportunity. He has great friends in Robert Lane Wagner and the support of the Wagner Clan. Mr. Bob is always so proud of Alex. Coach Escamilla’s support and trust in me allowed me to work with the throwers. I don’t see high school boy athletes often, so his belief in the program filters quality boys my way. The season wraps up, the nets will come down and we finish the year with hope.
Wishing Robert Lane the best success as he heads to state.”

Jerel Beaty
Staff writer

Elections this Saturday, May 7 for City of Devine, City of Lytle, Devine ISD and Statewide

Four different elections are taking place this Saturday, May 7, 2022 in our area. City of Devine voters in District 4 can vote, all voters in Devine ISD can vote, and all voters in the City of Lytle can vote in those elections. Statewide all voters can vote in the Special Constitutional Amendment elections hosted in their county.

Continue reading “Elections this Saturday, May 7 for City of Devine, City of Lytle, Devine ISD and Statewide”

Natalia ISD approves $1.6 million in projects for schools

The Natalia ISD school board voted April 25 to approve a $1.6 million package of capital projects including renovations to the junior high gymnasium.

Turf for the new football field, including excavation, removal, subgrade correction, field drainage and synthetic turf is estimated to cost $1 Million ($1,043,700). The turf comes with an eight-year warranty and a 10-year life expectancy. Resurfacing the track is projected at $237,610.

Continue reading “Natalia ISD approves $1.6 million in projects for schools”