Category: Top News Stories

Keep up with what’s going on in Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot and Moore areas in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties.

Bands strike it big

Devine Warhorse Band brought home Sweepstakes honors from UILConcert and Sight Reading.

Warhorse Band earns Sweepstakes

Devine ISD Band Boosters- Congrats to the JV and Varsity Warhorse Bands. JV received Excellent ratings and Varsity got STRAIGHT ONES in Concert and Sight-reading earning a SWEEPSTAKES!! Only 5 bands out of 23 earned straight ones today!
Congrats to our amazing middle school bands also. They both did an outstanding job at UIL concert and sight reading contest! DMS Concert Band received a 1(Superior)in concert and a 2(Excellent) in sight-reading! DMS Symphonic Band received a 1(Superior) in concert and a 1(Superior) in sight reading!

Natalia Mustang Band brought home Sweepstakes honors from UIL Concert and Sight Reading.

Mustang Band earns Sweepstakes

Natalia ISD.net- Our Mustang Varsity Band earned Straight 1’s at the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Concert Contest — the highest possible rating bringing home Sweepstakes honors.We are so proud of our talented student musicians and directors for their dedication, discipline, and countless hours of hard work. Your commitment to excellence truly shows!Way to represent Mustang Nation with pride! Natalia JR High Sweepstakes-Congratulations to our Junior High Band! Our talented students earned straight 1’s and Sweepstakes at the UIL Concert Contest! This outstanding achievement reflects the hard work, dedication, and countless hours of practice from our students and directors.

Lytle Pirate Band received a First Division in Sight Reading at the UIL Concert & Sight Reading.

Pirate Band sending 20 to State

LytleISD.org- 20 students qualified for STATE in Solo and Ensemble. Our select Lytle Band Members performed for UIL Solo and Ensemble on Feb. 26, and we are pleased to announce that the results were fantastic!  Solo and Ensemble performances receive ratings, just like UIL Marching and UIL Concert and Sight Reading, where a rating of a 1 is the highest score, and a 5 is the lowest.  

…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

PD investigating 15-18 shots fired at apartments

LYTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE – SHOTS FIRED INVESTIGATION (Aggravated Assault w/Deadly Weapon)
On March 5, 2026, at approximately 11:00 PM, officers with the Lytle Police Department responded to reports of multiple gunshots in the 14900 block of Main Street (Pecan Grove Apts.). Officers quickly arrived on scene, secured the area, and began an investigation.


Preliminary findings indicate that approximately 15 to 18 rounds were fired from two separate firearms during the incident. Investigators have determined that no one was hit during the shooting and that the shooting was a targeted event, with no indication of an ongoing threat to the general public at this time.
During the course of the investigation, one suspect has been identified and taken into custody in connection with the shooting. Detectives continue to actively investigate the incident and are working to identify two additional suspects believed to be involved.


The investigation remains ongoing, and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the Lytle Police Department.
📞 830-709-0277
📧 lytlepolice@lytletx.org

Meet creative, 15-year-old Izabelle

Meet 15-year-old Izabelle, who is starting the new year with the dream of becoming part of her Forever Family.
Izabelle is a sweet and imaginative young girl who enjoys engaging in arts and crafts. Her creativity comes through especially when she spends time on her original coloring artwork.
Izabelle enjoys spending time at home, but when there is a chance for an outing, it’s a trip to the movies, followed by eating at McDonald’s, where her favorite item to order is Chicken McNuggets.
Some Fun Facts about Isabelle: She is learning to speak Spanish, she is a fan of pets, she enjoys arts & crafts, and she likes to help in the kitchen and learn about cooking.
With a strong love for animals, she likes spending time with pets, and they like her as she has a gentle and calm demeanor with them. She would like her future Forever Family to know she would like her family to have a pet of any kind she could help care for.
If you think you could be a forever family for Izabelle or another Texas child, please call 1-800-233-3405 for more information or visit www.adoptchildren.org where you can find a schedule of online public information meetings, and learn about the foster/adoption program.
You can also view the www.heartgallerystx.org website, where South Texas children have their portraits along with individual personal stories they wish to share, with their future forever family.

Basic Adoption Requirements
The prospective foster/adoptive parents may be single or married and must:
be at least 21 years of age, financially stable, and responsible mature adults
complete an application (staff will assist you if you prefer)
share information regarding their background and lifestyle
provide relative and non-relative references
show proof of marriage and/or divorce (if applicable)
agree to a home study which includes visits with all household members
allow staff to complete a criminal history background check and an abuse/neglect check on all adults in the household
attend free training

Medina County top lawman devises “Brown Box” for improved school security

To date, four prototypes of the Brown Box has been built. At least two companies – one based in Dallas and the other in Houston – are pursuing the rights to build and sell it commercially, Brown said. However, Brown has repeatedly stated that his preference is to pursue federal grant money or even donations to make the device available.

By Anton Riecher
At 2 a.m., the morning following the most deadly school shooting in Texas history, Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown was still awake and thinking about all that had happened.
“I remember the clock chiming in my house after coming home from Uvalde,” Brown said. “I thought ‘What can we do?’ because we always have to be proactive. If we’re not proactive, then we’ve lost.”
What he thought about was a tool box, a readily available yet secure storage container designed to give law enforcement immediate access to the weapons and defensive equipment needed to protect those threatened by an active shooter in their midst.
A prototype of just such a tool box is currently undergoing testing at the James W. Danner Sr. training center annex in Hondo with the cooperation of County Judge Keith Lutz. Brown also made a presentation on the project Feb. 24 during the Natalia school board meeting.
The project has been dubbed “The Brown Box.”
A video shown…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

KB index puts Medina County in “extreme potential for fire” emergency mgr. warns

By Anton Riecher
A burn ban for Medina County in effect since Dec. 1 has been extended an additional 90 days beginning Feb. 28 by county commissioners on the recommendation of Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Chadwick.
Using the Keetch-Bryam drought index as a fire risk barometer, Medina County ranks 704 out of a possible 800 as of Feb. 23, placing the county in “a really extreme potential for fire,” Chadwick said.
On a motion by Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch, seconded by Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre, the Medina County Commissioners…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Lytle council allows private firm to test water process locally

Lytle ISD Superintendent Dustin Breithaupt, foreground left, topped the agenda at the Feb. 23 Lytle City Council, thanking Police Chief Richard Priest, center, and his department for their quick action when nearly 40 students left campus in a recent walk-out protest akin to many seen across the state. Priest said his immediate concern was that “those situations can dynamically change so quickly based on who’s driving by and what mood they’re in.” Fortunately, the protest remained peaceful. (Photo by Anton Riecher)

By Anton Riecher
Permission for a Wyoming-based company to use city owned property adjoining the Lytle wastewater treatment plant as the location for a pilot program to extract and condense humidity from the atmosphere as a sustainable water source was granted by the Lytle City Council at its Feb. 23 meeting.
City Administrator Zachary Meadows said the project proposed by 109 Capital Partners LLP calls for construction of a special facility to test its evaporation process technology in the United States.
“Tonight, we are presented with a license agreement for your consideration between 109 Capital Partners and the city of Lytle for the construction and operation of an atmospheric water tower,” Meadows said.
These systems typically extract humidity from the air and condense the resulting moisture into potable water as an alternative to drilling wells in rural regions. The agreement…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Medina County okays “largest, most expansive” PID bond thus far

Medina County Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch, left, County Judge Keith Lutz, center, and Precinct 3 Commissioner Larry Sittre at the Feb. 23 Commissioners Court meeting in Hondo. (Photo by Anton Riecher)

By Anton Riecher
In four separate unanimous votes during its Feb. 23 meeting the Medina County Commissioners Court approved establishing assessment revenue to support the first public improvement district for the 472-acre Viera subdivision.
The newly established PID will cover the cost of roadway improvements, drainage and landscaping for a 114-area of the new subdivision, said R.J. Rios with McCall, Parkhurst and Horton, special counsel to the county for subdivision development.
“If everything goes to plan with public improvements, Public Improvement Area No. 1 will be completed and then deed to the county in the fourth quarter of 2026,” Rios said.
A PID is a defined, geographically designated area established by a city or county under state law to fund…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

It was “love at first sight”

By Angelica Ariza and Kayleen Holder
Amando and Ofelia Bustos, of Devine, are celebrating 59 years together. Their granddaughter nominated them to be featured in our Local Love Story series, explaining how the example her grandparents have set is “my true definition of love”.
“They have had their ups and their downs and leaned on God through it all,” said their granddaughter Haley Bustos. “Our foundation was rocked when my grandpa got sick and seeing my grandma take his hand and love him through it. She loves him with every breath she has.”
They met at the Azteca Dance Hall, Mrs. Bustos explained. She was just 20 when they met and he was 22, young, full of energy and not expecting that one dance would change everything.
“I was working and he asked me to dance for the first time. It was love at first sight! After that first dance we were inseparable,” she said.
They got married in Devine, July 12th, 1967, and are proud to have 2 children, 6 grandchildren, and 9 great grandchildren.
Mrs. Bustos was born in Black Creek but grew up in Devine, a place she’s always proudly called home. Her husband Amando, is originally from San Diego, TX. He first came to Devine for work, taking a job helping build I-35. What started as a work opportunity then became something much more. A new home and the beginning of their love life together in Devine.
“We didn’t waste any time. We got married right away six months after we met,” Mrs. Bustos.
He proposed at a local baseball game, no ring no big production and she said yes without hesitation.
“He asked me to marry him and I said yes!” she added.
She received her wedding band on their wedding day. The ceremony was simple but full of love. Her older sister baked their wedding cake, adding a personal touch to a day centered on love and family. Not long after, they welcomed their first child born on March 23, 1968, beginning a new life chapter together.
Looking back at their journey Mrs. Bustos mentioned, “We’ve had our ups and downs but God has been with us this whole time. My husband is the love of my life and I’m thankful to God for all the years He’s allowed me to be by my partner’s side.”
Mrs. Bustos worked at a local clothing store for a while. She then began to work at the local middle school where she spent many years dedicating herself to the students and community, and eventually retired from there. Her husband did a little bit of everything to provide, from construction work to becoming an electrician, and even spending time working the San Antonio Stock Show with livestock.
Faith has always been an important part of her life. A lifelong Christian, she says her beliefs carried her through the years. Her husband was raised Catholic but chose to join her church on the day they were married.
She prays others find a love that’s strong and kind, and above all peaceful. When asked for advice, together her and her husband encourage their loved ones to focus on themselves first, finish school, and build their futures and maybe not rush into marriage so early in life.
Mrs. Bustos’ advice to everyone is simple but powerful, “Pray every day, trust God. He’ll always answer your prayers, and always have faith.”
One of her favorite bible verses is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

It’s a verse she’s carried with her since childhood, back when she attended Bible school. A faithful reminder that stayed with her through every chapter of her and her husband’s life.

Audit identifies thousands more missing in VFD embezzlement scandal

Karl Goering, a certified public accountant with Armstrong, Vaughn and Associates, delivers a preliminary report on audits in progress covering finances for the Devine VFD for the years 2023 through 2025. (Photo by Anton Riecher)

By Anton Riecher
Latest audit results for the Devine Volunteer Fire Department covering the years 2023 through 2025 reveals nearly $35,000 more in missing funds or fraudulent charges in an embezzlement scandal that brought a massive upheaval to local emergency management in the past year.
The new estimate is in addition to more than $76,000 missing from over a two-year period.
On December 5, 2024 the VFD office administrator Heather Shultz was arrested and still faces charges of “Tampering with evidence”.
Karl Goering, a certified public accountant with Armstrong…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!