Celebrating 126 Years of Serving the communities of Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot, and Moore in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties
Keep up with what’s going on in Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot and Moore areas in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties.
Natalia Business Professionals of America students have advanced to State! Left to right are: Sofia Garcia, Kira Jimenez, Jerusalem Alvarado, Danica Torrez, Alaena Garza, Sarah Kanaguisco, Dominic De Luca, Juan Montez, Camila Mujica. BPA Advisor: Mrs. Stephanie Wiza. Story inside.
See the full story in The Devine News this week! Or get instant access to our e-edition at www.devinenewsmembers.com
Local authorities have reported numerous accounts of scammers calling local residents and using scare tactics to pressure victims into sending them large sums of money.
Devine PD confirmed that a resident had lost around $14,000 in a scam the day prior to another local family contacting us.
“These scammers use fear tactics to pressure victims into acting quickly,” Devine PD Lieutenant Chris Andrews said. “Do not fall for these scams. Remember no law enforcement agency will ask for digital currency, ever.”
Under the guise of trying to help victims, or threats, phone scammers have stolen in excess of $10 million last year alone according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The family of another local resident recently called to share a similar story in hopes of helping others. In this case, a family member was told she may be arrested if she didn’t transfer $18,000 to bitcoins through a local ATM.
“First they left her a voicemail claiming that someone made an unauthorized purchase, and it stated to push 1 for help. When she did that the scammer answered and told her to go to her bank and take out $18,000. When she went to the bank, the guy told her not to hang up but to put her phone in her pocket. Then she went to a local convenience store in Devine where she started to put the cash into a Bitcoin machine. Thankfully, the cashier at the store saw her and told her not to do it. He said a man had done this the day before and it was a scam.”
Another Devine resident recently had her Ipad frozen by scammers with a message that “your device has been hacked” and it listed a phone number to call for help. When she called for help….Continue reading at www.devinenewsmembers.com
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STATE QUALIFIERS PICTURED ABOVE: On the far left, is the Best Mayor” Documentary Production Team: Joseph Garcia, Alexa Leal, Miriam Armas, Madison Prather, Romana Perez, Caleb Morton, Jeffrey Vargas and Giovanni Mosqueda. NOT PICTURED: Aylin Casas and Aryana Reyes
Snakes animation video Ashley Trevino (middle)
“He Will Continue to Serve” Production Team (right): Alexa Leal, Miriam Armas, Alieha Rodriguez, Kaelyn Vega, Isaiah Leven, Joseph Garcia, NOT PICTURED: Valentina Ayala. Photoa by L Migura. FULL STORY INSIDE!
It’s official: Lytle High School is an AWARD-WINNING video production program. With hundreds of films to compete against each year, students have had ten documentaries place in the TOP SIX in the State UIL Young Filmmakers competition, since its inception in 2014. And, in February 2023 and 2024, Lytle won back-to-back UIL State Championship honors. Lytle filmmakers will compete at the UIL Young Filmmakers State Competition again on February 26 in Austin.
By Kayleen Holder
Editor
If the wonderful story shared by the Martinez family this week inspired you, we wanted to let you know that a 10-year-old little girl in Lytle will soon be on the waiting list for a living kidney donation. Alessa Nino is a 4th grader at Lytle ISD.
In fact she was seeing her kidney doctor for a check-up as we were going to press.
“When she got the flu her kidney function dropped from 22% to %15. Anything lower and she will need the transplant,” her mom said in an update this Tuesday.
Because dialysis would be extremely traumatic for a child her age, her medical team is hoping to find a person who is a match for Alessa who is willing to donate a kidney to Alessa when the time comes.
“The goal is to go straight to transplant with no dialysis, so we need to have someone on standby when it’s time,” her mom adds. “And if we can find a living donor with blood type B the kidney can last up to 30 years.”
Continue reading “10-year-old Lytle girl hopes for living kidney donor soon”
By Anton Riecher
During the Lytle City Council meeting Monday Mayor Ruben Gonzalez addressed the most recent boil notice issued for city water Jan. 30 when pressure dropped during repair work on a six-inch water line.
“We want to make sure people are aware of what’s going on and what has actually occurred up to this point,” Gonzalez said.
The boil notice, which was not rescinded until Feb. 3, was required by the Texas Commission on Environment Quality because pressure throughout the water system dropped below 20 pounds per square inch, City Administrator Zachary Meadows reported.
“We started the repair and it kind of went south,” Meadows said. “Unfortunately, we lost the pressure in our system.”
Most of the complaints regarding the boil notice were made via social media rather than calls to city hall, Meadows said. The few calls received were mainly to inquire as to when the boil notice would be lifted.
District 4 Alderman Michael Rodriguez thanked Gonzalez for taking an active role by means of social media to keep the public informed and respond to questions during the emergency.
Gonzalez said the repair was one of nearly 21 longstanding repair projects outlined for public works in recent months. Some of the long neglected projects go back as far as a dozen years. To continue reading login to www.devinenewsmembers.com
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All members of the City of Devine Council (with the exception of Debbie Randall) voted to release details of a confidential report given to the city council back in 2019 by City Attorney Tom Cate who was hired to provide facts and give his professional opinion on the possible Golf Course management agreement with Scott and Shirl Grego. His recommendation of “Do not enter into the proposed golf course management with Scott and Shirl Grego…they do not have the qualifications needed to make the golf course a viable financial project” was ignored by the sitting council who voted 2-2 to give it to the Gregos, with Mayor Cory Thompson throwing the tie breaker vote to 3-2. It was a Debbie Randall- Jennifer Schott motion on November 21, 2019 to give SG Golf Management the contract. David Espinosa and Steve Lopez voted against it. At the time the District 1 seat was vacant.
Continue reading “Devine releases Confidential Report on golf course”
By Matthew “Moose” Lopez
Staff writer
Ten years ago, Marcos Martinez came home for lunch just like any other day. His mother called him into the room and broke down when she told him her kidneys were failing and she needed to start dialysis.
“My first question was ‘What do we need to do?’said Marcos, who was still in high school at the time.
Fast forward ten years later, and February 11, 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the day Elvia Martinez, 60, received the “gift of life” from her son Marcos, now 28.
It was a full circle moment because her son to whom she gave life, was saving her own. Marcos was still in high school at the time.
“He’s my hero,” Elvia said. “He was young when he gave that kidney and to see him as a man now…the love he gave me is something I could never let him know how much I appreciate it.”
Elvia said when she was first told about her kidney failure she was horrified. At her wits end with dialysis, Elvia was suffering so much she was losing the will to live.
Her children immediately got tested to see if they were a match for their mother rather than wait on the transplant list, as it can take an average of three to five years to find a donor. Three of her children were a match but it was Marcos who had the procedure.
At the time, Marcos’ brother just had his first son and his sister was new mom.
“I didn’t want anything to happen to them and leave their kids behind,” Marcos said.
Marcos said the process leading up to the procedure was “overwhelming.” His mother was on dialysis for over a year. And the family would set up her machine every night before bed and accompany Elvia to every appointment.
However, regardless of how tedious the process was, with his family supporting them, Marcos was steadfast in his decision to go through with the donation.
“I was more scared of losing my mom than scared of something going wrong with the surgery with me,” he said.
Mrs. Martinez had lost her eyesight in the months leading up to the operation. When Marcos woke up in recovery after a successful operation, his mother exclaimed that her vision had returned.
“As soon as woke that’s all I heard was ‘Marcos I can see you! I can see you!’”
It only lasted one day, but to be able to see her entire family for that one day holds a special memory in their hearts.
The court in the DSAC building will now be officially known as “Sessions Court” in recognition of the family’s exceptional contributions to Devine ISD and the community.
In December, the DISD Board of Trustees approved the name change, acknowledging the Sessions family’s decades of service. From teaching and coaching to volunteering as scorekeepers and bus drivers, Don, Gayle, Neva, and Jim Sessions have given more than 108 years of dedicated service to the district.
Coach Paul Gomez commented, “What a wonderful dedication for a family that has positively influenced so many. You just felt such a great presence in the DSAC last night! Jim, I know you were so proud of our Arabians and Warhorses. They played with such passion and heart for you last night brother! It was an awesome environment!”
“Gayle and Jim were the only two members of the Sessions family to coach basketball, amassing an estimated 1,800 victories in the sport alone. They also coached other sports, while Don and Neva were math teachers at DHS, and always present at games. This dedication is a testament to their devotion to both the district and the community,” Dr. Todd Grandjean said.
The renaming of Sessions Court will serve as a reminder of the legacy left by the Sessions family, inspiring future generations of Arabians and Warhorses. The court will stand as a symbol of the family values that DISD cherishes: integrity, respect, and a commitment to excellence.
