Tidbits

It’s time for your weekly “quick peek” into Lytle PD activity. I’ll throw in some general Lytle information as well as an occasional look into the personal life of your police chief. I will call that a “bonus feature”.
Officers handled 46 calls for service this past week. We didn’t take anybody to jail and only had three property crimes reported. Property crime #1 was reported on Tuesday the 17th. John’s Small Engine Repair on Main St. reported that a 2001 Honda dirt bike was taken. It was not running, it needed to be repaired. I hope our thief knows a good mechanic. Property crime #2 was reported on Thursday the 19th. A Hidalgo St. resident reported that three Stihl weed eaters were taken off of his utility trailer. This theft could have occurred a few days before the victim realized they were gone. If we don’t get some rain, those weed eaters won’t be of much use around here. Property crime #3 occurred on Sunday evening; a victim left some bagged groceries at H.E.B. Her groceries were turned in, but she had put her wallet in one of the bags and it was missing. By the time she realized it, somebody had already tried to use one of her credit cards.
On Tuesday the 17th our new Mayor, Ruben Gonzalez, was sworn in. He was formerly the District 1 Alderman. Charles Cate, new to the city council, was sworn in as the District 5 Alderman, and Jerry Stone was re-elected to District 4. The new council also filled the vacancy in District 1 by appointing Guadalupe “Lupe” Castro to fill the unexpired term. The good news is that I know all these fine men; the bad news is that these fine men all know me.
We say goodbye to long-time Mayor Mark Bowen and Alderman Erik Dahler (who had been appointed to fill a vacancy until the election). It’s wonderful to have people like them that fill these positions with no pay or benefits, just a desire to serve the community.
The wife, kids and I stayed local last week. We made a day trip up to the big city and visited Mission Concepción, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. Nice weather and free admission/parking….you can’t beat that. It was nice to leave the last mission and be home in 25 minutes. My son asked me why we hadn’t done this before and I didn’t have an answer.
Now, this is what you have been waiting for….We are replacing the annual Santa’s Hayride (which is not COVID-19 friendly) with Santa’s Vehicle Parade. The date will be Saturday, Dec. 12th and the start time will be 6 PM. The starting point is the Lytle Community Center. We will have more details available soon. For now, just mark your calendar and make sure your vehicle is gassed up! It might not hurt to have the brakes checked too.