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.

“PROJECT CINCO” Data Center Details

By Anton Riecher
Lytle and area residents seeking information about the massive Project Cinco data center project expected to begin construction this year crowded into Lytle High School Monday evening to meet with company officials in an “open house” setting.
Mayor Ruben Gonzalez said the community got the answers to its concerns.

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How does he do it?…Lewis Stroud,81 years young

At the age of 81 he is hanging up his whistle. Stroud has worked an estimated 6,000+ games in his career, running about 4 miles per varsity game, “which means Lewis ran the distance around the earth– 24,901 miles– on a basketball court,” said Butch Cook, presenting a plaque. We caught up with Stroud and picked his brain about how to stay so active and healthy. Here’s what he had to say…

By Kayleen Holder
He wakes up at 6 am every morning, and he takes his coffee black. More than likely, you’ve never seen Lewis Stroud frown, and that’s no accident! Whether you know him as coach, teacher, co-worker, or referee, Mr. Stroud is a friend to all, and for him, “being positive” is the only way to be. At 81 years old, he continues to get up and “go to work” each day– long after he retired–spreading encouragement and appreciation to everyone he meets, every chance he gets.

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Military eyes airspace over Medina County for simulated combat training

New low-altitude zone proposed

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
Every kid loves to see the airplanes flying by, and it looks like they may be seeing a lot more of them soon. The military has selected most of Medina County and parts of Uvalde, Frio, and Bandera Counties as a prime area to conduct “low-altitude” flight training as low as 500 feet above ground level.

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Story behind the story: Dog digs up 100 human teeth

By Kayleen Holder
It was a dog who dug up a pile of human teeth this past Tuesday, March 4 at a residential home in the 1500 block of Avenue J in Hondo. As you can imagine, it was one of the most bizarre calls they’ve ever gotten, Chief Justin Soza said.
“When the homeowner saw what the dog dug up, they called the police,” Chief Soza said. “We found approximately 100 teeth including some possible old dentures.”

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Special meeting about possible Forensic Audit

Medina County ESD #2 in Devine (fire) has special called meeting for today Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at the fire house, 1419 County Road 5710, Devine to consider and take possible action to order a Forensic Audit for the Devine Volunteer Fire Department amid two investigations underway involving the DVFD.

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Crews fighting fires versus 49+ MPH winds

By Kayleen Holder and KK Calame
Officials are asking people to please, please not burn. Firefighters all across Medina County were working as many as four fires at one time this Tuesday around 2 pm. Emergency Coordinator Mark Chadwick called to give us an update as he was enroute to yet another fire. Winds have reached 46 MPH in Medina County, he said.
“All departments in the county are active today. They are running. We’ve got some

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Devine Fire Chief arrested on allegations of Official Oppression/Sexual Harassment

Devine Fire Chief Greg Atkinson was arrested today, Thursday Feb 27,2025 and booked into Medina County Jail on charges of Official Oppression/Sexual Harassment. Atkinson turned himself in after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

“Our investigation continues on,” Sheriff Randy Brown said. “If anyone feels like they were done wrong and coerced into doing something they did not want to do, please come forward.”

The best way to get in contact is to call Medina County Sheriffs 830-741-6150 line during work day hours as after hours that line transfers to dispatch.

Atkinson turned himself in after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

The sheriff explained that victims in a case like this can be given a pseudonym or fake name to protect their identity.

“On February 13, we received info about a possible victim and found at least some of the allegations to be true. We interviewed multiple suspects, and have more to interview still.”

Sheriff Brown adds, “If you are a person of authority and you use blackmail etc to coerce somebody to do something using the power you hold, that is Oppression.”

Sheriff Brown confirmed there is photo evidence.

The sheriff thanked the Devine VFD board for quickly taking action to make sure fire operations continue smoothly.

Atkinson was put on leave at an emergency meeting by the Devine Vol Fire Department Board yesterday evening, Wednesday February 26.

“Kuddos to them for doing what they needed to do to keep things running smoothly even though I could only provide limited information at that point,” Sheriff said.

Chief Atkinson has served as Chief at Devine VFD since 2021, and started fire academies that offered classes to students in Devine ISD, Natalia ISD, as well as Hondo ISD.

Devine Vol Fire Department is also a contractor for the City of Devine as Devine VFD has been hired to do Code Compliance. They were previously hired to do inspections as well for the City of Devine, but due to a lack of certifications previously promised, the city council voted to cease that part of the contract at a recent meeting.