Local Matters

Local Matters

I think the word that would most convey the collective emotion of children returning to school amidst a pandemic would be “agony.” The dilemma over opening schools has been the hot, heated and heartwrenching topic for months now. It is an agonizing and daunting choice. State, county and city leaders across the U.S. wrestled with the question: whether and how […]

Atascosa County Judge’s Report



I want to give you an update on my situation, personally. I did test positive for COVID-19. I never had any symptoms, but I did the required quarantine and required thermometer checks. I did continue my court benchwork by Zoom and the state “E-File” court system. I received my county emails at home. I attended a Poteet City Council Meeting […]

Mayor’s Message – Pleasanton



Greetings from the Mayor’s office: I hope this column finds you in good health and with a positive attitude. Last week, in keeping up with the ever changing COVID-19 world, we installed Thermal Scanning kiosks in City Hall. These scanners are able to check a person’s temperature in less than a second and it’s contact-free. Simply look into the screen […]

Mayor’s Message – Poteet



Last week, I convened a Special Called City Council meeting to present a plan to participate in the Atascosa County transit system, Cowboy Connect. In order to convene a special city council meeting, there must be at least four council members to make a quorum. We had two council members present, Rick Flores and Jesse Leal and two council members […]

Historically Speaking

My memories and Atascosa County Hospital history


Greetings Atascosa County! Time to rattle some memories from the brain and go back in time for just a minute. Do you remember when people could smoke inside of buildings? I can remember that; restaurants had a smoking and a non-smoking section. For some young readers, this is absolutely unheard of. For us that remember this, you just ran through […]

Chief Priest’s Weekly Report



Greetings from Lytle PD, Our call volume last week just barely made it above the 50 mark; we ended up with 53. It’s been mostly hot with a scattering of police activity. We had one arrest last week. On Saturday night Sgt. Hanson was dispatched to the IH-35 Access Rd. at FM 3175 for a two-vehicle collision. His investigation resulted […]

I do not support administering the STAAR Test during the 2020-21 school year



The test has enormous implications for our children, teachers, and schools and should not be conducted until our communities have recovered and our students have access to rigorous, uninterrupted instruction. I wrote a letter to Governor Greg Abbott to explain my reasoning and to request he take action to cancel the STAAR this year. I am grateful to the many […]

Mirrors and meditation



Recently, I took some time off. I needed a break. I think our whole country could use some rest and relaxation, but I can’t control the country. I can only control myself. So, I decided to take the bull by the horns and ask for some much needed sabbatical time. All of my various employers were super understanding and supportive. […]

S is for Suicide



With the world going crazy, I know things can feel overwhelming. Everywhere you turn, grim news lurks. Suicide rates are increasing. Economic stresses hammer at us. So many jobs have been lost, businesses closed. Events that usually bring in funds have been canceled. The media screams at us that we may be heading for a depression to rival the 1930s. […]

Department of Defense sends teams to assist hospitals in COVID-19 crisis

State Capital Highlights

COVID-19 turned aggressive to the point last week that the Department of Defense activated U.S. Army and U.S. Navy medical task force teams and assigned them to Texas at Gov. Greg Abbott’s request. Teams were deployed to support Houston and San Antonio hospitals and medical facilities in hard-hit Rio Grande Valley. The Texas Division of Emergency Management was on the […]