Medina County Veteran’s services office helps secure millions to take care of local veterans

By Anton Reicher and Kayleen Holder
Medina County Commissioner’s heard a follow-up budget presentation by Medina County veteran’s services officer Ruben Gonzalez this past July 28. The total that the team has brought into Medina County veterans alone is up from approximately $40 million in 2020 to $46 million in 2021.

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Amongst packed court room County leaders push 65+ property tax appraisal freeze idea to the voters in November

By Anton Riecher
Medina County commissioners gave unanimous consent Thursday (July 28) to add a measure to the Nov. 8 ballot seeking voter approval to freeze the appraisal value on property owned by residents over 65 years old.

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ESD 2 hears Devine VFD fire chief discuss goal of becoming a full “combo” department with some paid staff around the clock

By Anton Reicher
The Devine Volunteer Fire Department has approved paying some emergency personnel beginning with the fire chief and assistant fire chief positions, Chief Greg Atkinson reported to the Medina County Emergency Services District No. 2 board on July 19.
“We’ve gotten to a point with the Fire Academy, the EMT work and all the things we are doing that we have to have some consistency with the people in the building,” Atkinson said.
The chief also reported to the board that the association that Medina County Emergency Services District No. 6 in Hondo has requested a proposal for Devine VFD to contract to provide fire and first responder services in their area.
ESD No. 6 currently contracts with the Hondo and Yancey volunteer fire departments.
“They have some questions on the level of services they are getting right now,” Atkinson said. “I have been approached asking if it was okay for our association to submit a proposal.”
Regarding the new paid positions, Atkinson said the initial focus will rest mainly on administrative work and maintenance.
“The goal is to eventually become a full ‘combo’ department and have some paid staff on here around the clock,” Atkinson said. “But right now we hope we can supplement two to four people here from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. which is our hardest time to get volunteers.”
Atkinson said the addition of paid personnel “raises the level of protection we can offer to the community and the professionalism that goes with that.”
Asked if Devine ISD will lose its status to apply for grant funding as a volunteer department, Atkinson said that because the salaries are funded through the volunteer association rather than the taxing district the department would maintain its volunteer status.
“The rules are written to the advantage of rural communities such as this,” he said.
If services are extended to ESD No. 6, that emergency services district would contract with the Devine VFD in the same way as the local ESD No. 2 presently does. Atkinson compared it to the way Allegiance Mobile Health provides ambulance service to multiple ESDs in the county.
“Our goal would be to build up a system very much like we have in place here,” Atkinson said.
The advantage to the Devine VFD would be a bigger pool of personnel to draw from and distribute as needed, he said.
“There are times right now where if we have a lot of people leave for the weekend, say Memorial Day weekend, we are left saying ‘Hey, we need mutual aid assistance from other departments because we only have one or two people available,’” Atkinson said.
In his presentation to the ESD No. 2 board, Atkinson reported that in the previous 49 days the Devine VFD had responded to 17 fires, seven medical runs, four accidents, two public service events and two utility problems. Although fire activity remains high, the total of emergency runs is down from the previous year.
“This is probably the first time in my 20 years in the fire business that I’ve had more fire calls than rescue calls,” Atkinson said. “That’s pretty much unheard of for a volunteer department.”
For the year to date, the Devine VFD has logged 770 man-hours of in-house training and another 692 man-hours of off-site training, costing $3,452, Atkinson reported. At present, the department has eight firefighters ranked as Fire Fighter 1 under National Fire Protection Association standards, and five ranked as Fire Fighter 2.
The department also has five certified fire instructors, four EMS instructors and seven wildland firefighting instructors.
“In a department of our size to have that many fire and EMS instructors and certified firefighters is a blessing,” Atkinson said. “It also shows the work ethic of the people here.”
In Texas, it is still possible with some volunteer departments to simply show up and get to ride the fire truck, he said.
“Here, if you come in you have to have certain training accomplished to meet the state minimum requirements to hold a fire certificate,” Atkinson said.
He also brought the board up to date with regard to the Fire Academy project designed to train high school juniors and seniors to work in fire rescue and emergency medicine.
“We are working on a schedule to fix the training with a school day,” Atkinson said. “We’re working on when we can conduct the necessary skills tests.”
San Antonio College is allowing the Fire Academy to use their live-burn training facility for that testing.
“Everyone has been extremely supportive of this,” Atkinson said. “It’s exciting to watch it come together.”

Treasurer’s Report
The ESD No. 2 treasurer’s report states that the district has $326,879 in its operating fund at American Momentum Bank and another $99,889 in a money market account at Security State Bank. Adding $63,704 in an interest and sinking account at Security State Bank and the district shows $490,473 in total cash. The Fire House loan is at $777,187. The ESD paid $9,812 in expenses for the month of June, including the Fire House note payment $7,828 and other regular expenses such as utilities.
Total property tax revenue, interest and other income was projected to be $426,200 for the 21-22 fiscal year.
The next ESD No. 2 board meeting is tentatively set for August 9.

New tax exemption or freeze to be discussed at July 28th Medina County meeting 10 AM

New freeze could affect residents 65 and over.

Medina County Commissioners Jerry Beck, David Lynch, Larry Sittre, and Tim Nueman, along with Judge Chris Schuchart will be discussing the possible tax freeze for 65 and older this Thursday.

If you would like to see an over 65 exemption on your Medina County taxes like the school districts offer, please contact your county judge and commissioner to let them know you would like to see this offered to senior citizens over the age of 65.
What the Devine ISD taxing unit offers is an over 65 residence homestead exemption which freezes your tax rate and appraised evaluation from the moment of exemption on as long as that is your homestead.
Medina County is considering and may take action on what they can or want to offer in the form of a tax exemption or freeze at the 10:00 am July 28, 2022 Medina County Commissioners Court meeting at the new courthouse annex which is across the road from the old courthouse in Hondo.
It’s time to speak up and/or show up if you want to see an exemption passed. It would help many people.
“I think people are ready for any kind of tax relief right now,” said Commissioner Jerry Beck.
Contact: Medina County Judge Chris Schuchart at 830-741-6020.
Pct. 1 Comm. Tim Neumann, Hondo, 830-741-6016
Pct. 2 Comm. Larry Sittre, Castroville, 830-931-4000
Pct. 3 Comm. David Lynch, Hondo, 830-741-6006
Pct. 4 Comm. Jerry Beck, Devine, 210-244-3413 cell or 830- 665-8015.

Medina County discusses $850K study
for new “loop” around Castroville


The Medina County Commissioner’s Court met for their regular meeting on July 14, discussing a variety of important issues including proposals for the Castroville Loop to ease traffic due to the booming growth there.
The County Commissioners discussed the need for notice of any surcharge on countywide bids, prior to accepting any bid. All agreed this would enable discussion of the surcharge before any bids are accepted. All members voted to approve this proposal.

Continue reading “Medina County discusses $850K study
for new “loop” around Castroville”

Downtown mural celebrates Everything Devine


There’s a new mural in town. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop by Sherry’s Flowers in downtown Devine. This beautiful mural painted by local artist Kirsten Schneider encompasses all things Devine. It highlights the iconic maroon and gold water tower, the community’s big heart, awesome golf course, local farming and hunting industries, excellent Mexican food, music, churches, and of course, “We love Eddie.”
“Cindy Morales contacted me and asked me to do it. It was a really fun project,” Schneider said. “It started out as a butterfly, but it took on its own personality as I went….it really did. When I got close to finishing, my mind was blown and I just needed a few more items to add to it. So we called some friends and they started recommending some more ideas to add to it.”
Schneider worked on the mural for about two and a half weeks.
Morales is super pleased with the mural, and can’t wait to start the next one at Bushel and A Peck.
“I think having little murals around town is kind of fun, and we are hoping it spreads,” Morales said. “I already talked to another business owner who said he is in. Marcus kind of started this with the color wall (in downtown Devine) and then Margaret did the beautiful mural (at Mag’s Place), so I knew I wanted to do something. We started with the idea of a butterfly, but then we started thinking outside of the box. Kirsten is a former classmate and she is so talented. I am going to keep her busy! We named this mural the Devine Butterfly.”

By Kayleen Holder
Editor

Book written in Devine, Tx makes national news

I was scrolling news online last Wednesday night when I stumbled across an article about my book “Hello from the Great Blue Sea” on Yahoo News! It came as a total surprise.
An article about our book was published on the front page of the Corpus Christi Caller Times last Monday, July 11, and I noticed that article was written by a journalist who is part of the USA Today Network. So Yahoo News apparently picked it up sometime after that.
The book is illustrated by Chad Wildoner, an inspiring young man who battles the same disease as my little niece, but he won’t let this disease stop him from living life to the fullest. He’s gone skydiving, horseback riding, kayaking, you name it–and now he has illustrated a children’s book that made National news! I wrote this children’s book for my niece Audrey (after she was diagnosed with A-T) to help show her that she too, can do anything she wants to do and go anywhere she wants to go, wheelchair or not.
Chad and I are donating all book sales profits to a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for A-T, the A-T Children’s Project.
Because A-T is such a rare disease, the A-T Children’s Project is the driving force behind most of the research that’s being done. So our family has connected with Chad’s family, over 2,000 miles away in California, in our mission to help raise funds for a cure.
You can buy our book on Amazon by typing the title into the search bar: “Hello from the Great Blue Sea”.
The theme of the book is how the world’s oceans connect us all, so how appropriate it is to be a fundraiser for a condition so rare that it only affects 1 in 40,000-100,000 people, but to see so many people come together to help us in so many ways. Small acts of kindness can go such a long way, like the sweet lady, Mrs. Ann, who is the director of the condo at the beach, who agreed to sell our books in her little gift store in Port Aransas. Because of that, the Corpus Christi Caller did a story on our book, because the book is sold at a local store. Then the story ends up on Yahoo News. Pretty cool.
A direct link is as follows on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Hello-Great-Blue-Sea-Wonders/dp/B0B5KXGSYW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NTAACF3YETO8&keywords=hello+from+great+blue+sea&qid=1658175708&sprefix=hello+from+great+blue+se%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-1
Hello from the Great Blue Sea is a non-fiction picture book with sea animals including a starfish, shark, sea turtle, dolphin, whales, and fun facts along the way. A short 5-minute read. At the back of the book, are a “behind the scenes” story and pictures showing the illustrator as he drew the pictures and telling the story of how he continues to overcome his disabilities.

Circus in Natalia Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26th & 27th, Come join the fun at 7:30 PM !!!

The Luna Family Circus will be in Natalia on Tuesday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 27 near city hall, at 2079 State Hwy 132. There will be one show each day starting at 7:30 pm. Ticket Price is $10.00 per adult – and children get in free with an adult.
There will be jugglers, a balancing act, clowns, acrobats, a magic act, and a Sponge Bob character is also part of the show. The family circus act is based out of Houston.
The show is about an hour and a half long, and seating is under the big top circus tent.
“People love our clowns and kids love the our performing puppy,” Jo Luna said. “He is still in training, but I bring him out and the kids love him.”