Celebrating 126 Years of Serving the communities of Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot, and Moore in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties
Devine PD is asking for the public’s help in identifying the individual pictured above. This suspect is reportedly involved in multiple break-ins of coin-operated machines at 500 N Teel in Devine.
If you recognize this person or have any information about their identity or whereabouts, please contact the Devine Police Department at 830-663-4403 or if you wish to be anonymous, call Medina County Crimestoppers at 1-800-367-2833.
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By Medina County Criminal District Attorney’s Office
MAY 27, 2025–Pedro Espinoza, Jr., 34, of Uvalde was sentenced to life in prison after a Medina County jury convicted Espinosa for the murder of Marlon Lindsey.
Marlon Lindsey, a US Army Veteran and father of four from Beaumont, Texas, had settled in San Antonio after finding work as a conductor for BNSF, a North American railroad company. The night he was killed, Lindsey was being driven to the Hondo Railyard by Vivian Olivarez, who also had John Suhling, a fellow railway employee, in her transport van. As the railroad employees traveled west on US Highway 90 through Medina County, Espinoza, who had been living in Uvalde County, was well into an hour-long crime-spree where he was reported by multiple 911-callers as driving on the wrong side of the roadway.
One witness testified to the jury about encountering a small silver vehicle, later identified as Espinoza’s, passing him and his mother on the passenger’s side of his vehicle, traveling on the shoulder of the westbound lane but heading east near the city of Sabinal in Uvalde County.
The witness described what he thought was the sound of a rock hitting his car, but when he made it to Del Rio and looked at his vehicle the next day, he noticed a half-inch bullet hole in the side of his vehicle, less than 3 feet from where his mother was sitting. Another pickup truck, driven by two young men from the Dallas area, was struck on the passenger’s side as they neared Hondo coming from Castroville. This time, the bullet was just inches from…..LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING CLICK HERE
By Anton Riecher
Due to extensive drought conditions a burn ban originally approved by the Medina County Commissioners Court in February has been extended an additional 90 days effective Monday.
On a motion by Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch, seconded by Precinct 1 Commissioner Jessica Castiglioni, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the extension requested by county emergency management coordinator Mark Chadwick.
“If you know anybody who does rain dancing or anything else I would entertain talking to somebody at this point,” Chadwick said.
Out of 254 Texas counties, Medina County is one of 84 counties currently under a burn ban. Nearby Zavala, Frio and Atascosa counties are also under current bun bans.
A check of the local fire risk as determined by the Keetch-Bryan drought index Sunday morning showed Medina County at a high of 646 out of a possible 800, he said. The index balances precipitation against soil moisture to calculate potential fire risk.
The county median stands at 552 and the low was measured at 450, Chadwick said.
“Right now our drought index is jumping anywhere from five to 10 points a day,” he said. “As the heat increases for the next few weeks and you have days like tomorrow (Tuesday) we are already looking at a relative humidity that is going to drop to 12 percent.”
As the summer heat increases, the drought index is expected to jump as many as 15 points a day, he said.
Instead of brief, periodic rains that quickly run off, the county needs three to four days of slow, soaking rainfall to break the drought, Chadwick said. Short of a tropical storm moving in from the Gulf, such heavy rains are unlikely.
County Judge Keith Lutz, who formerly served as the county’s emergency management coordinator, noted that while short steady rains are insufficient to break the drought, resulting conditions may be safe enough for Chadwick or the sheriff’s office to issue temporary exemptions to the burn ban.
Last year the county issued 472 such permits, Chadwick said. Since October, the county has issued 610 temporary permits to allow burning under safe conditions, he said.
“We process them as fast as we can get them,” Chadwick said.
In other business, the commissioners took no action on the appointment of Cynthia Sultenfuss to replace Juan Zamora on the Medina County Emergency Services District No. 4 board of commissioners due to an error in posting the item to the official court agenda, Lutz said.
Whereas the item was added to the court’s on-line agenda, it was mistakenly left off the agenda posted for the public outside the courthouse annex in Hondo.
Commissioners did take action to make 40 mph the official speed limit for County Road 6612 after a public hearing on the issue. Precinct 4 Commissioners Danny Lawler explained that while 40 mph is the posted speed limit, the commissioners court had failed set that speed as the official limit, making it unenforceable.
No comment was offered during the public hearing. On a motion by Lawler, seconded by Lynch, the commissioners voted unanimously to set the speed limit at 40 mph.
Commissioners also voted unanimously to approve a road use agreement with Rowan Land Resources for construction and maintenance on portions of county roads 683 and 6712 bordering the “Project Cinco” hyperscaler data center project near Lytle. Rowan Land Resources is the property acquisition arm of Rowan Digital Infrastructure, developer of the data center project.
The motion was made by Lynch and seconded by Castiglioni.
VFW Post 3966 will present a Memorial Day ceremony for the public on Monday, May 26, 2025, at 9:30 am. The ceremony will be held at VFW Post 3966, 211 W. College Ave, Devine TX. This year the ceremony will take place on the east side of the Bingo Hall across from the Post Office. South Upson Drive will be closed for the ceremony. Memorial Day honors members of the military who died in service to our country.
The Post will hold the ceremony under the patriotic mural painted on the east side of the Bingo Hall. As part of this ceremony, we will recognize veterans who have passed away. If you wish to honor a veteran who has passed away, we will have a sign up prior to the event.
As in years past, the Post will have a flag retirement as part of the ceremony. If you have a flag that is no longer serviceable, please bring it to the ceremony to be retired. If you cannot attend and have a flag to be retired, you may drop it in the flag drop box at the main entrance to the VFW (near the flagpole).
Following the ceremony and flag retirement VFW Post 3966 will have free hot dogs in the Bingo Hall or courtyard, depending on the weather.
The Devine Current Events Club will be kicking off their Wreaths Across America program with an informational table at the ceremony site. After the ceremony they will be giving away ice cream in the Bingo Hall or courtyard.
If you need more information about the event, please contact Gary Saathoff at 210-289-6204 (text or call) or email to vfw3966commander@yahoo.com.
By Anton Riecher
A bill passed by the Texas Legislature May 12 that would help make the proposed Medina County aquifer storage and recovery project a reality remains unsigned on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk as of Friday.
The proposed project in Medina County calls for creating a 50,000 acre-foot freshwater ASR project in the brackish Trinity Aquifer. Senate Bill 616 amends the state water code to address aquifer storage and recovery projects that intersect the Edwards Aquifer, specifically in Williamson County east of Interstate 35.
On the same day the bill passed in the 89th Texas Legislature, Medina County Judge Keith Lutz, addressing a meeting of the Medina County Regional Water Alliance, said an amendment in support of the local ASR project has been successfully attached to SB 616.
That amendment will…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
With the threat of screwworms entering the country again, nearly 60 years after they were erradicated in the United States, leaders once again find themselves looking for ways to combat the vicious insects.
An October 1962 article in The Devine News archives tells about the screwworm fly factory that was built in Mission, Texas and gave notice of a community meeting on the matter back then. Sterile male flies were released to breed and eventually wipe out populations.
According to the old article, “One of the pilots dropping flies in the area will explain procedures….Presently 800 flies are being dropped per square mile per week in this county [Medina County].”
Another old article published by The Devine News in August 1960 recounted the horrific story of how a stray dog that was roaming around the community of Devine with “half of its head eaten off” by…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
On Friday, May 16, the Northbound lanes of IH-35 were shut down for almost 14 hours, an unprecedented event in our area.
A rollover accident involving an 18-wheeler, happened just north of the City of Lytle, and traffic was backed up for miles and miles all the way past Devine on I-35.
According to Police Chief Richey Priest, it happened on the North Prong Atascosa River Bridge. The driver of the 18 wheeler had reportedly fallen asleep at the wheel when his truck went off of the bridge.
“He was coming south and hit the center wire and then hit the north side of the bridge and the truck fell into the river upside down,” Chief Priest said.
It happened around 2 am onFriday morning and crews were finally finishing up at the scene around 4 pm that day.
“They had to bring in cranes which were on I-35N to get it out of the water, and there was also a lot of chemical spilled on the roadway,” Priest added. “The truck caught fire as well. It was terrible.”
Meanwhile, drivers who were stuck on I-35 for hours were seen sitting on tailgates, napping, and even…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!
The City of Natalia is hosting the Annual Memorial Day Service on Sunday, May 25th, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Veterans Memorial Monument. This year the ceremony will be led by Mr. Homero Flores of San Antonio. He is a member of the American Legion Post 399 and VFW Post 6174 both of San Antonio. Mr. Flores served in Korea from 1969-71. He has a long history of family members serving our country commencing with his father who served during WWII; two brothers serving during Viet Nam and his son who is now retired from the Air Force.
Memorial Day starts the “Name Drive” for additional names to be engraved on the monument. The new names will be called out during the Veterans Day Ceremony on November 11th. This year the cost will be $175.00 per name. The increase in cost is for the engraver to come on site to at the monument to engrave the name. Please remember the individual you wish to honor with their name on the monument has to have been either born in Medina County, raised in Medina County or currently is living in Medina County. Applications can be downloaded from the City of Natalia of Natalia website, City of Natalia Office, and Natalia Municipal Development District. The deadline for all applications to be received is September 5th. All information is on the application form. Those attending are asked to bring their own lawn chairs.
By Anton Riecher
Regarding the forensic audit authorized by the board, Summers said the district’s auditing firm is still working to complete basic audits for fiscal years 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 before work can commence on the forensic audit. That basic work will determine the definitive cost of the forensic investigation.
“Doing the actual audits is going to lead them down the path to how much more work is going to have to be done to do a forensic audit,” Summers said.
ESD2 Bookkeeper Nancy Pepper estimated that work on FY 2022-2023 will be completed by the end of May, allowing auditors to proceed to FY 2023-2024.
Delivering her report on the ESD2 finances, Pepper said the district has collected $270,266 in sales tax for the fiscal year to date with $50,736 in tax revenue collected in May. Total income for the district as of April 30 is $723,621. Total expenditure for the year to date is $260,000, leaving a budgeted balance of $462,597.
A recent letter from the Medina Central Appraisal District indicates that the preliminary appraised value for ESD2 is being estimated at $857.3 million, up slightly from the final appraisal of $856.9 million last year, Pepper said. Exemptions for homestead and over 65 exemptions are expected to total about $55 million, she said.
In Texas, a mechanism known as “compression” is applied to appraisal value to help mitigate the increase in property value on taxpayers. Pepper said…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!
The City of Devine has three positions open and is hiring a firm to handle the application process called Clear Career Professionals after learning of three position retirements or resignations.
Police Chief Kandy Benavidez announced her retirement a few weeks ago after 40 years of service. She will continue until the end of June 2025.
In the finance department Denise Duffy turned in her resignation, she has worked in the Treasurer/Accounting department in Devine for 13 years and 20 overall. Her husband recently retired as well.
Court Administrator/ Utility Clerk Supervisor Alma has been working at the City of Devine for the past 16 years, she recently announced her resignation.
