Outside Ciavarra Elementary in Devine, contractors are removing material and replacing it to create the foundation for the new elementary office/administrative area. This is one of many projects approved by voters in the bond election. “They are waiting on approved testing of material before they start filling it back in, and then construction on the foundation will begin,” said Superintendent Todd Grandjean. Contractors are required to dig down to a certain soil profile which includes clay, and because soil is so sandy in this area, they had to dig this deep to see where the clay profile begins. A structural engineer will then create the slab design based on soil samples. Photo by Kayleen Holder.
By Anton Riecher An official groundbreaking ceremony for $11.255 million in construction and renovation at Devine ISD’s four campuses was conducted April 29 by the school board. “It just does our hearts good to see that there is some activity started on the many projects that we want to see done with our district,” said board president Nancy Pepper during the invocation preceding the school board meeting. District Superintendent Todd Grandjean gave a report on the work stemming from the 2023 bond issue approved by voters. “We’re really excited to kick off the next chapter for Devine ISD,” Grandjean said. “Today’s groundbreaking isn’t just about construction. It’s about progress, teamwork and a shared commitment to giving out students the very best.” Grandjean thanked the community for its support in passing the bond issue. “By doing this we are able to move forward with the projects that will make our school safer, stronger and better equipped in the future.” During the meeting, Damion Ratley…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!
Thirty four-year-old Uvalde man, Pedro Espinoza Jr., will face the jury in a trial scheduled at Medina County District Court on Monday, May 19. He faces several charges including Murder, Deadly Conduct, Agg Assault, and Evading Arrest. If you recall, on December 11, 2021, Medina County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a wrong way driver traveling eastbound in the westbound lane who was reportedly shooting at random oncoming vehicles. The horrific incident happened on Hwy 90 between Dunlay and Castroville, around 1:30 AM. Two vehicles were struck…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!
Devine ISD school board cast the deciding vote on a new home for the Medina Central Appraisal District when it sanctioned a resolution April 29 approving MCAD’s purchase of a building to serve as the replacement for its present headquarters in Hondo. A motion cast by board member Renee Frieda, seconded by Chris Davis, passed by a 6-1 margin. Alixana Buvinghausen stood as the single board member opposing the action. The school board became the thirteenth of 15 eligible taxing entities to vote in favor of the purchase, the required supermajority needed to authorize acquisition. “I wish you had picked a better year to do this,” Davis told MCAD Chief Appraiser Johnette Dixon. Dixon replied that MCAD had been pursuing the project for nearly 10 years. The school board was the last Medina County entity scheduled to be approached about the building project. Plans call for MCAD to buy a 7,900 square foot office complex in Hondo known as The Ridge to be the district’s future home. The property is located at 728 18th Street and was the former home of the Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Center. The facility consists of five…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!
Julius is a friendly teen who is very social, enjoys making new friends, and carrying on conversations with everyone who is a part of his world.
Like many his age, Julius enjoys playing video games, football, and riding his bicycle. He also has a talent for creations in the kitchen, as Julius enjoys cooking meals for himself and others, with his specialties being chicken alfredo, baking cakes & cupcakes, along with other gourmand treats. Baking is something Julius truly is passionate about as he, finds it is a fun way to wind down his day after completing his homework.
Julius is excited about the idea of being adopted into his forever family and is eager to be matched with a mom and dad. Forever parents who will love him unconditionally, always protect and keep him safe. Julius’s future family would be one who enjoys outdoor recreational activities such as going to parks and swimming pools. And one where he could share and further develop his cooking & baking skills!
In his own words to his future forever family – “…..Hello, I am Julius, I enjoy making friends, playing video games, cooking, and baking desserts….”.
If you think you could be a forever family for Julius or another Texas child, call 1-800-233-3405. For more information 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 to learn about issues of abused and neglected children
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DEVINE–Seven patients were left alone this past Thursday, April 24 after frustrated caregivers simply walked off, the Sheriff said. The boarding home formerly known as Cruz Boarding Home is located on CR 664 outside Devine. To make matters more complicated, no one claims to own the facility.
“It’s a big mess,” said Sheriff Randy Brown, who said he, as well as Pat Bourcier with Allegiance EMS, and many others spent nearly the whole day at the facility trying to get all of the residents transported to a safe place.
“We didn’t clear the scene until 3 AM,” Sheriff Brown said. A majority of those patients were…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!
Leaders note that they are seeing too many people come through the court system who get arrested on misdemeanor charges, and then get released 15 days later on a PR bond, without getting their mental health neeeds addressed. Medina County Court-at-Law Judge Mark Cashion presides over a conference of area mental health experts conducted April 24 in Hondo to discuss how to bridge that gap. (Photo by Anton Riecher)
By Anton Riecher Mental health experts serving Medina County gathered April 24 to discuss ways to improve the county’s behavioral health care system, particularly gaining access to much needed resources in cases involving criminal prosecution. Janna Heilig, criminal court coordinator, defined the purpose of the meeting in Hondo as helping to focus, listen and learn. “Medina County acknowledges the importance of mental health,” Heilig said. “It impacts us in one way or another, and it’s through open conversation and shared understanding we help build resources and navigate our way on mental health for our community.” Conducted in the upstairs courtroom of the Medina County courthouse annex, she said the space set aside for this meeting was not about judgment, but about support. “There are valuable mental health resources available to our citizens through our local (Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities centers) who are here with us today,” Heilig said. Medina County Court-at-Law Judge Mark Cashion noted that, in particular, gaps in the mental health system become most apparent when dealing with incarcerated individuals. “I guess the biggest frustration for me is we get them arrested and, in my case, because they are misdemeanors, usually 15 days later we PR (personal recognizance) them because it’s a criminal trespass or some non-violent crime,” he said. He’d like to see them get the help they need. Leading the local contingent of mental health workers on hand was Landon Sturdivant, deputy chief executive officer with the Hill Country MHDD, based in Kerrville. “We are a unit of the state government,” he said. “We contract with the state of Texas, the health and human services commission, to serve as the local mental health authority for a 19-county area, which is a large swath of southwest Texas.” Among its many services, Hill Country MHDD operates a 24-hour, seven days a week mental health crisis hotline. Through that hotline and its walk-in clinic, Hill Country MHDD “assists individuals in gaining access to crisis assessment to better determine what their needs are, if that person is requiring a level of care beyond what can be addressed on an outpatient basis,” Sturdivant said. The agency does contract with a number of psychiatric hospitals in San Antonio, he said. “We work very closely with our impatient partners in facilitating those admissions,” Sturdivant said. “We do have some resources to help pay for those admissions for persons who do not have insurance coverage or the ability to pay for themselves.” He also noted that Hill Country MHDD partners closely with the Medina County Sheriff’s Office in providing mental health services to prisoners. “As Judge Cashion was speaking of, too many times we see too many people who may be in a mental health crisis and they end up in jail on some misdemeanor charge or something like that,” Sturdivant said. The sooner health workers can intervene in such a crisis, a person can avoid suffering in jail and working their way through the very expensive judicial system, he said. Sometimes that system becomes a “revolving door” for troubled individuals, ending with them not receiving the services or support needed. Public defender Kani Kennell said her office has applied for a grant that would fund five mental health case workers to help the affected jail population find services when arrested or placement when released. She described it as a means to prevent the cycle “from repeating over and over and over again.” “If somebody’s charged with a felony and they’re found incompetent to stand trial they’re often waiting more than a year in the Medina County jail in order to get a placement in the state hospital,” Kennell said. “They’ve already been determined to have a profound mental health issue.” Then, after hopefully regaining competency after a stay in the state hospital, the defendant has to come back to jail in order to deal with the charges, she said. “We have to get to them quickly before they lose competency again,” Kennell said. In response, Sturdivant announced that his agency has secured funding through a grant to embed a qualified mental health professional in the Medina County jail. The grant also included hiring personnel to manage pre- and post-release planning for continuing mental health care in the hope of reducing recidivism. The issue is slated for further discussion during the May 5 session of the Medina County Commissioners Court in order to address the necessary interlocal agreements required. Medina County Sheriff’s Office mental health Deputy Antonio Aguilar made reference to a recent court case in which a defendant needed medications but said he was not taking them because he could not afford the cost. “I assured the attorney in court that is not an issue,” he said. “If the state hospital has said they are going to take these medications then they are going to get them.” Aguilar said state hospital officials have assured him that resources exist to allow the county to recoup the cost of the necessary medications. “We are working with them to try to have a better relationship, to try to get these things smoothed out,” he said. Kennell said that making defendants pay for their own medications is a big issue with her clients. With only limited funds available, given the choice between purchasing commissary items they enjoy and the medications they need, the inmates make poor choices. “A lot of times our clients who need like an anti-psychotic or something like that don’t make good, rational decisions,” Kennell said. “They’re not willing to pay out of their money in order to get that medication.” On mental health issues outside the courtroom, Kristem Rumley with the Department of Veterans Affairs said that Medina County lacks a mental health resource specifically for veterans. She serves as community engagement and partnership coordinator for suicide prevention for 17 Texas counties, including Medina. “That’s a huge gap,” Rumley said. “People don’t want to drive to San Antonio for these services.” Research shows that veterans, particularly rural veterans, not engaged with the Veteran’s Administration or local health care stand at an increased risk for suicide, she said. In conclusion, Judge Cashion said he plans to continue pushing for meetings such as the April 24th gathering to exchange ideas on how the community can improve on mental health issues. “We’re making some progress but we’re making slow progress,” he said. County Judge Keith Lutz said he shared the concern expressed by others at the meeting about the stigma attached to the topic of mental health. “For me, when the community shows up and asks these questions it’s important,” Lutz said.
Thirty four-year-old Uvalde man, Pedro Espinoza Jr., will face the jury in a trial scheduled at Medina County District Court on Monday, May 19. He faces several charges including Murder, Deadly Conduct, Agg Assault, and Evading Arrest.
If you recall, on December 11, 2021, Medina County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a wrong way driver traveling eastbound in the westbound lane who was reportedly shooting at random oncoming vehicles.
The horrific incident happened on Hwy 90 between Dunlay and Castroville, around 1:30 AM. Two vehicles were struck as he opened fire, and one of the victims sadly lost his life, according to reports at that time. “The suspect, later… 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!
Speak now or forever hold your speed…..Medina County will conduct a Public Hearing to receive public comment and to vote regarding ESTABLISHMENT OF A SPEED LIMIT of 40 MPH on County Road 6612 in Precinct 4. The Hearing will be May 5th in Hondo at 9AM.
Pursuant to Texas Transportation Code section 251.152, notice is hereby given that the Commissioners Court of Medina County will conduct a Public Hearing for the purpose of receiving public comment and voting regarding the following ESTABLISHMENT OF SPEED LIMIT of 40 miles per hour on County Road 6612 in Precinct 4.
The Public Hearing will be conducted during the regular meeting of the Medina County Commissioners Court on Monday May 5, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., at the Medina County Courthouse Annex, 1300 Avenue M, Room 165, Hondo, TX. The hearing concerns adopting traffic regulations under Texas Transportation Code Section 251.154; Maximum Reasonable and Prudent Speeds on County Roads.
Devine ISD is hosting their annual trustee election on Saturday, May 3, 2025. Early voting started on Tuesday, April 22 at central office. There are four candidates seeking the two At-Large positions. The two candidates who get the most votes will win the positions which are for a three year term. Candidates include Chris Davis (incumbent) and Renee Frieda (incumbent), Candace Esparza, and Robert Travis Hildt. Frieda (incumbent), Candace Esparza, and Robert Travis Hildt. Carl Brown, District 2 is unopposed. All registered voters living in the Devine ISD school district boundaries may vote for the 2 positions from the 4 candidates. Early Voting dates and hours are: April 22-25 plus April 28-29, all at the DISD Central Office from 8 am to 5 pm daily. Election day voting is from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm on Sat. May 3 at the central office as well, 605 W Hondo Ave, Devine.
