Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 8, 1994 Page: 2 of 22
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Page 2, The Hondo Anvil Herald, Thursday, December 8,1994
Time magazine honors Bonilla
U.S. Representative Henry
Bonilla has been named in the Dec.
S issue of Time magazine as one of
the top SO future leaders in America.
Time made its selections based on
"the requisite ambition, vision and
community spirit to help guide us in
the new millenium."
Rep. Bonilla, now in his second
term representing Texas' 23rd Con-
gresional District, which includes
Medina County, is one of only six
elected officials on the list
"This really comes as a surprise to
me," Rep. Bonilla said. "I'm simply
doing what my constituents have
asked me to do, and that is to be
their voice in Washington."
The article notes that Rep. Bonilla
"plunged into Texas politics in 1992
with the aggression of a linebacker
and sacked a four-term Democratic
incumbent to become Texas' first
Hispanic Republican congressman."
The Time article also points out that
Rep. Bonilla was assigned to the
House Appropriations Committee, a
position not held by a Republican
freshman for 25 years. In addition,
the congressman was the first fresh-
man chosen to gave the national Re-
publican response to the President's
weekly national radio address.
You are Invited
and Suddy cd^ofidjadi and <£et(i <cd\Z[itcfLsf[
invite, all ofJlajuxa tzfiyofidjacfi i <\Jiiendi.
to a <zf^ec£.fition at <St. ffofin i ^Paxidi cdiaff
<;Sunday, H.^ecendjei JJ, 7994 from % fi.m. - 4 fi.m
to aeleJjxate cM's.x S&tfi IBiitfiday
School bands to perform
Christmas concerts
McDowell Middle School and
Hondo High School bands will per-
form their annual Christmas con-
certs next week.
McDowell
The Fifth, Sixth and Junior High
bands and McDowell choir will per-
form Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the
McDowell gymnasium at 7 p.m.
High school
The high school band and choir
will present their concert Thursday,
Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. at the Activities
Cento-, according to band Directed:
Kenneth Ersch.
Several special treats are on the
night's agenda. Fourth graders will
sign "Silent Night" while former
student Amy Dailey sings and John
McAnelly will sing "O Holy Night"
Special presentations will also be
made during the evening.
Admission is free. Families art
encouraged to come enjoy this de-
lightful program and get into the
Christmas spirit.
*3
Water leaders seek pool-by-pool
aquifer pumping management
NO PRESENTS, PLEASE
A
§ Castillo's
Country Boutique
Christmas Sale $
¥
i0~W
ti
$25 to $35
A ’T Dresses on Sale
f }
t Excellent Quality Sizes 6-24
Sale good for December
Call 426-2993
^S^3Bik3BiiJOkuB£3SSS3B^OSiSBL CUP AND SAVE SEiiSttSBBtiSttttSBKS&l
Hermann Sons Steak House
Save Time: Call Ahead!
Lunch Specials 5V5
Week of Dec. 13-16
Tuesday Alvin's Pepper Steak $3^
All Day •* With choice of potato, salad bar ^9
Wednesday- Stuffed Bell Peppers
with squash casserole, salad bar
Thursday - Chicken Chalupas
with Spanish rice, avocado slices
Friday - Fried Shrimp or Catfish
with choice of potato, salad bar
weekly Stuffed Avocado Salad $389
Special 0R Soup and Salad Bar
Served Tue.-Fri.
T-Bone
Special 6 to 9 pm With choice of potato
Friday 1/2 Rack $6.95
Night Baby Back Ribs $095
Sneclal *
with potato salad, brown beans, cole slaw, roll
6 to 9 pm
Hwy. 90 East of Hwy. 173 • Hondo • 426-2220 |
5EKSE'!3BE!>25Pl>35rx35’x3Br?2iiir?2Br!5
/l/wd TTomact' Cask?
Security
Finance
Call or Come by
Today!
Loans $li)0 to $396
THANKS... Equipment assigned to the Air Force T3 Test Unit at
Hondo Airport was donated to Meyer Elementary School upon comple-
tion of the project. The equipment was used in an 18-month program
to test and evaluate the new Firefly trainers, students, instructor pi-
lots and maintenance of the aircraft. MSG Valentino Pinckney deliv-
ered three Zenith 248 computers with monitors, two printers, a mo-
dem and support equipment to Meyer Principal Charles Carlson. An
executive order, dated 1991, allowed the donation for the purpose of
"improving mathematics and science education in support of the
National Education Goals."
Medina County Underground Wa-
ter Conservation District Board
President Oliver Martin told a court-
appointed committee that Edwards
Aquifer well levels are historically
higher here than in San Antonio. The
comments were made in a five-hour
hearing held in Uvalde last Tuesday.
Martin and other water leaders
believe pumping from the Edwards
Aquifer should be regulated on a
pool-by-pool basis. He provided the
committee with a 50-foot-long map
charting Medina County and San
Antonio well levels and the flows at
Comal Springs.
He cited U.S. Geological Survey
data that indicates that chayges in
pumping in Medina and Uvalde
counties take nine years to impact
Comal and San Marcos Springs.
Martin said spring flows are tied to
pumping in the San Antonio pool.
Martin and Maurice Rimkus, rep-
resenting the Uvalde County Under-
ground Water Conservation District
Board, said underground formations
restrict the flow of water from the
western to eastern aquifer pools.
GOING UP... Work is proceeding rapidly at the new apartment complex located at Ave. U and 30th
Street. Drainage work has changed the contour of the land and buildings are changing the skyline.
%
County communication system
almost ready to begin operation
V-
A county communication system
is one step closer to reality, accord-
ing to Precinct 2 Commissioner&tar
ley Keller.
The system will allow county em-
ployees working in remote areas to
communicate with a central location
or other remote uniLs. Keller said
county employees have also been
called upon in emergencies, to help
law enforcement officers, and to as-
sist with rural fires.
The commissioner said the radio
frequency application has been ap-
proved and must be acted upon in 60
days. Radios have been purchased.
The county-owned repeater tower
used by the sheriffs office will also
serve the new system.
Keller said he received three bid
proposals from the five companies
contacted to bid on the base station
and installation. Proposals were from
Texas Communication Company,
S8.826.80; Industrial Radio, $8,825;
and Rikcr $7,840. The lowest bid
was discarded because it was not on
the requested equipment specifica-
tions, even after a second contact.
The court decided to go with In-
dustrial Radio, since it services the
sheriffs office radio system, and au-
thorized Keller to do what is neces-
sary to get the job done.
Although Keller is the only com-
missioner planning to use the system
at the present time, he believes othi
members of the court will want to
use it at some point in time. He asked
that the start-up cost be shared by
the other commissioners when they
decide to join in using it.
"I see some merit to setting up a
base station in the county judge's of-
fice," said Judge Butch Campsey,
"and a five-way split of costs be-
tween the county and commission-
ers precincts."
The county judge's office serves
as an emergency evacuation and
communication center.
’’One day we will need to react to
a natural (or other) disaster situation
and we need to be ready," he said.
Local software
company announces
program update
Hondo-based computer software
company, Da Poma, Inc., has an-
nounced plans to upgrade its Da
Poma GB Gradebook Emulation for
Micro-computers program to oper-
ate in native PowerPC mode on the
Power Macintosh. The current ver-
sion of the program is 3.0.
The company was formed in 1982
to develop, publish and market the
grade management program written
by Paul Guinn.
In 1984 the company became one
of the first "certified developers" for
the new Macintosh computer.
Since 1985 the Macintosh version
of the program has sold in 40 states
and provinces of Canada and has
several thousand registered users.
Discouraged Medina Lake developer
seeks help from Governor-elect Bush
The following open letter to Gov-
ernor-elect George Bush was sub-
mitted by Medina Lake area land-
owner J.P. Mitchell regarding a sub-
division he is attempting to develop.
In the summer of 1993, my two
sons and I made the decision to de-
velop some waterfront property on
Medina Lake in Medina County,
Texas. In pursuitof this endeavor, we
contacted Medina County Commis-
sioners Court, BMA, and TNRCC to
understand and to take the necessary
actions to obtain the required approv-
als to sell the land.
One of these early actions was to
contact TNRCC regarding the deter-
mination if any of the property was
over the Edwards Aquifer Rec harge
Zone and if so what would be re-
quired to assure complaince with
their regulations. On the SE bound-
ary of the project site is a 30 foot
easement for a proposed access road.
We also contacted County
Commissioners Court to understand
the County's requirements for devel-
opment and as a result obtained a
copy of "Subdivision Rules For
Medina County, Texas" and the
mm
Hondo 1
Anvil Herald s
Printing
. fiJ i i
See Tony Mendoza
for all your printing needs.
1601 Ave. K • Hondo
............426-3346 J
"Checklist to Assist Subdividers".
On September 2,1993 we received
a letter from the Region 13 Manager
of the TNRCC stating that "only a
small portion of the Project Site 'the
proposed roadway' is over the Re-
charge Zone".
Based upon TNRCC's above
commiuncnt as to the location of the
Recharge Zone boundary line, lot
size determination, and our meeting
various other county requirements,
Preliminary Approval for a seven lot
subdivision was unanimously
granted by the Medina County
Commissioners Court on May 2,
1994. The Commissioners Court
stated that Final Approval of the
subdivision was to be contingent
upon: 1) BMA approval and i)
IN RCC approval of the Water Pollu-
tion Abatement Plan (WPAP) for the
roadway.
BMA Mushroom Theory at Work:
On May 9,1994 at BMA's monthly
director's meeting, we were told that
to obtain BMA approval we jneeded
to add additional verbiage to the
subdivision restrictive covenants.
On June 13, 1994 at BMA's next
monthly director's meeting, return-
ing with the required verbiage added,
we were told that BMA "was not in
the business of approving sub-
divisions"!!! Are you confused yet?
We were. After expressing confusion
with the Board we were told to "go
off-line with their attorney" who was
present After discussion it was
agreed that BMA would write a letter
to the Commissioners Court stating
they had no objections to the subdivi-
sion if the required additional verbi-
age was included in the restrictive
covenanL ,
On July 26,1994 we submitted our
Water Pollution Abatement Plan
(WPAP) for the proposed roadway
and a $1,000 fee to TNRCC.
The First Broken Commitment
At a September 13,1994 meeting
with the County Commissioner for
our precinct, we were told that due
primarily to the outspoken concerns
of the owner of a local real estate
company, the Commissioner would
not vote for Final Approval of the
subdivision even after the contingent
conditions mentioned in the Prelimi-
nary Approval were met. At a Sep-
tember 14, 1994 meeting with the
Medina County Judge, we were told
that "right or wrong, the historical
practice of the Commissioners Court
was that they would not approve any
request that a local Commissioner
did not approve".
The Second Broken Commitment/
A Bureaucratic MiraclelThe day the
Earth Moved
In an October 5,1994 letter from
the Region 13 Manager of TNRCC,
again we were told that the Recharge
Zone boundary line was under the
proposed roadway. Five days later, in
an October 10,1994 letter from the
Region 13 Manager of TNRCC, we
were told to use a different Recharge
Zone boundary line. (This new line
being located approximately in the
middle of the proposed subdivision)
These are moving boundaries?
A Bureaucratic Commandment
In an October 25,1994 Certified
Letter from the Region 13 Manager
of TNRCC, (Some 90 days after our
WPAP was submitted) we were told
our WPAP application would be
denied within to days, if we did not
submit information utilizing this
newly defined Recharge Zone
boundary line. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Then, move it or lose it small busi-
nessmen.
BMS's Selective Memory:
On October 27, 1994 we discov-
ered that a court had ruled in a May
1980 case that BMA had no authority
to enforce BMA's rules and regula-
tions on properties where they had no
easement. (Medina Lake Protection
Association vs. BMA, Case #8389,
38th Judicial Court, Medina County
Texas) On November 14, 1994 at
BMA's monthly Director's meeting,
we specifically asked if they had an
easement on our property and were
told "They did not remember".
(County records and title searches
show that they do not have any ease-
ment) *■ '
In a sparsely populated county •
such as Medina, when a group of 79
land owners sue the local water au-
thority about the invasion of their
property rights and win, it is difficult
to believe that today's Officals with
BMA and the County cannot remem-
ber the outcome of a case with such
publicized results. I think that'sabout
as likely as Ann Richards forgetting
the results of the November elec-
tions.
Being a man with a business back-
ground, I'm sure you understand
Official bodies with regulatory au-
thority have the responsiblity to:
1) Regulate fairly, consistently
and expeditiously.
2) Evaluate and research thor-
»• <-•!
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 8, 1994, newspaper, December 8, 1994; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818629/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.