Category: Top News Stories

By Anton Riecher
Out of 48 emergency responses logged during the initial month of Medina County Emergency Services District No. 1 assuming management of fire protection in Devine, 33 percent were fire related, ESD1 battalion chief David Powers reported to the local ESD2 board Nov. 18.
Stating that the fire portion of the run statistics was “pretty high,” Powers said that other than several building fires, the rest of the fire runs were for grass and brush fires.
The other 67 percent of emergency response calls logged were EMS related, Powers said.
Three of the 48 responses logged were mutual aid assistance to nearby Natalia “to help them out a little bit,” he said.
Average response from time called to arrival was eight minutes, Powers said.
He reported that the ESD1 board of commissioners signed the interlocal agreement to take charge of local management at its Nov. 12 meeting in Castroville.
Since taking charge…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!

A whole new crew and administration is now providing our community with fire (in Devine) and EMS services (in Devine/Natalia). Pictured above are just a few of the new paramedics who went through orientation in October. As you see the crews around town, be sure to say hi as they are excited to be part of the community.

By Anton Riecher
An audit of the Devine Volunteer Fire Department finances for the fiscal year 2022-2023 uncovered new details in the fraudulent misappropriation of more than $76,000 over a two-year period, resulting in the VFD office administrator being criminally charged last December.
Karl Goering, a certified public accountant with Armstrong, Vaughan & Associates, referred to the fraud involved as being “very straight forward.”
“They were mainly just paying themselves outside the contract,” Goering said. “The bookkeeper was paying herself outside the contract in addition to what she was supposed to be paid.”
The audit, one of two ordered by Medina County Emergency Services District 2, was presented to the ESD2 board of commissioners during their monthly meeting Nov. 18.
Complete video coverage is posted on The Devine News’ YouTube channel.
Matt Bowers, representing the Devine VFD board of directors, notified the ESD2 board that a resolution to transfer control of the VFD operations to the ESD lacks only one signature to become official.
“Because there are issues that need to be addressed and we don’t appear to be able to, we have drafted a resolution of necessity and transfer that would basically give (ESD2) control of the board so that you guys can implement the new bylaws needed to accept and appoint the new board,” Bowers said.
The VFD action comes in…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!

By Anton Riecher
Action to tighten restrictions against buildings and other unkept properties by imposing liens against the owners was discussed during the Nov. 18 Devine City Council regular meeting.
Mayor Butch Cook said the city is trying “super, super hard” to clean up areas of the city in need of attention.
“We have a few very egregious properties in our town that have been that way for a long time,” Cook said. “Some of them are owned by people who don’t live here so they couldn’t care less about the appearance of that property.”
Despite being repeatedly notified and cited about the condition of their property, the problem continues to persist, Cook said.
He proposed moving forward with enforcement of an ordinance on the city books since 2021 that permits placing liens on the offending property as a means to bill the owners for clean up if and when the property ever sells.
Cook admitted that the major drawback to the proposal is the owners can still continue to ignore demands for immediate upkeep on their property regardless of legal action. However, the time has come for taking action that “has some teeth in it.”
District 3 Alderman Jeff Miller agreed with taking stronger action, noting that aside from concerns for public safety, the failure to maintain these properties could potentially depress local property values.
“At some point the safety and protection of everybody else becomes the most important issue,” Miller said.
District 5…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!

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.

Deadline Dec. 8th

The following Medina County elected offices are up for election in the March 3, 2026 primary and the general election in November 2026.

-Medina County Judge
-Medina County Court at Law Judge
-District Clerk
-County Clerk
-County Treasurer
-County Surveyor
-County Commissioner (Precincts 2 and 4)
-Justices of the Peace

Anyone interested in signing up to run for those positions should know the sign up starts on Saturday, November 8, 2025 and ends on December 8, 2025 at 6:00pm. 
The fees associated with each position can be found on the Texas Secretary of State’s website. 
Please contact your party chair or go onto your party’s website for more information.

By Anton Riecher
Medina County commissioners unanimously voted Monday in favor of a resolution opposing construction of the record-setting Howard-Solstice electrical transmission line along a proposed route cutting across the county.
The resolution states that “various residents in the county have voiced significant concerns about the potential negative impacts” of the proposed transmission line, including decrease in property values and potential environmental harm from electromagnetic field radiation.
A public hearing on the proposed transmission line topped the Sept. 8 commissioners court session with opposition voiced by local landowners dominating the discussion.
On a motion by Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre, seconded by Precinct 4 Commissioner Danny Lawler, the action was taken with relatively little additional discussion.
Texas Public…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!

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
The Carranza family recently filed a report with Devine PD after one of their children bit into a chocolate candy with a sewing needle inside of it. The family said the candy either came from their trick-or-treating trip in Devine, where the family went to homes mostly around the Devine Golf Course area, or possibly from the parade as those two piles of candy had been combined.
According to Devine PD, the incident was reported on November 15 when a child opened the candy.
“My 8-year-old daughter opened up her candy and took a bite she said she felt something hard as soon as she bit down,” said the child’s mother Destiny Carranza. “She came to us and immediately made us aware. She pulled out the needle from the candy bar and we took it from her.”
According to Devine PD…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!

By Nancy Ehlinger Saathoff, Devine Historical Association
*Can you imagine driving through Devine and not seeing the grain towner at the Mill? What an empty skyline we would have! Fortunately for us, the current owner of the Mill is a visionary and wants to make the Mill useful again for our community! It all starts with the clean-up and planning, which is already underway.
“Saving a historical building & reusing it can enhance a community and opens it up for future use!”
“According to the standards of many national historical associations, a building is worth saving if it has significant historical, architectural, or cultural value, such as a connection to important events or people, unique design, or cultural importance to a community. Other factors include the quality of its original materials and construction, its potential economic viability, and whether it holds a central place in the community’s identity.” 
Historical Value: For over 100 years a grain mill and elevator has stood on the corner of Bright Dr. and Hondo Ave. (Hwy 173), in Devine, Texas and served as an agricultural hub for Devine and South Texas in the form of the Adams Corn Sheller, ACO Mill & Elevator, Devine Mill & Elevator, Tri-County Farmer’s Co-Op, and SWT Farm & Ranch Supply. *An early Devine entrepreneur, W.B. Adams built the Adams Corn Sheller business in 1918 and is designated on the 1922 Sanborn Fire Insurance map for Devine, Texas.
Architectural Value: The iconic tower elevator is unique and stands tall in the Devine skyline! The thick brick walled buildings were expanded as the area and agricultural needs grew over the century, and some parts are at least 80 years old, but at this time we do not know if any parts of the original 1918 buildings remain. Research is ongoing to find more information on the structure.
Cultural Value: The story of the Mill is more than just the brick and mortar, it is the story about the people in and around Devine – the farmers who needed seed, fertilizer, & equipment, for their crops and later to bring their crops to market; the ranchers who needed feed, medicine, and supplies for their cattle, horses, and other livestock; the home gardeners & homemakers who needed seeds or plants for their gardens and advice on better planting to get better yields to feed their families; the high school & college students who needed summer & school break jobs; the DHS students who needed jobs for the work study program, the pet owners who went there for food, supplies, and often pet care advice; the FFA & 4-H kids who bought feed and supplies for their livestock projects, and depended upon the businesses there to purchase their animals at the county livestock show each year; and the many full & seasonal Employees who learned the value of hard work and reliability to serve their customers.
Potential economic viability: It does take a visionary who loves our community, and is willing to work hard toward making this, or other local historical buildings, a valued part of our community again!
*If you have any pictures or stories to share about this building, or the people who worked there, please comment on our Devine Historical Association Facebook page, or contact Nancy Saathoff at 210-289-6205 (text) or email at 210-289-6205.