Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 2005 Page: 27 of 46
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HONDO ANVIL HERALD
Thursday, June 16, 200
Serving the people of Castroville, La Coste, Mico &. Rio Medina.
7 5 cents
PHOTO BY SULA COMBS
“Little Alsace” makes its mark
at Texas Folk Life festival
By Sula Combs
Castroville Anvil Staff
TT ast weekend the Castro-
ville Chamber of Com-
1 Jmrrct* attended and added
to the 34th annual Folklife Fes-
tival in San Antonio.
The Chamber’s, “Little
Alsace,” booth was located in
its usual place by gate three,
strategically placed between
the ATM machine and the
coupon booth. As usual it
attracted quite a crowd, with
newcomers eager to try the
sausage and parisa accompa-
nied by a cold beer. The sau-
sage and parisa was provided
by R&R Alsatian and Sausage
Products.
Children were dancing in the
streets, groups were dancing on
the many stages, music was in
the air and people were dressed
in ethnic costumes: silks and
bells, animal skins and horns,
wooden shoes and full skirts; the
cultures of the world and history
gathered to have fun and share
their food, skills and crafts.
The volunteers manning the
“Little Alsace” booth were
having a party of their own
and passing on their good spir-
its to anyone who came near.
People came and came back
again to hear Fred Wilhelms
tease his sister, Madaline Sher-
rill; to feel welcomed by the
smiles of Vangie Cox and Kerry
Jayne and Melissa Lopez; and
to enjoy the sausage, cooked
just right by Fred Pena and
Seth Sherrill and Gary Pois-
sonnier. This year the Festival
theme was “Savor the Flavor”
and the Castroville booth was
just the place to do it.
Putting together the sand-
wiches and making delicious
iced tea were volunteers: Karen
Poiss-onnier, Carol Wilhelms
and Margaret Pena. Troy
Griggs, another volunteer, was
the Folklife organizer for the
Chamber of Commerce, rfe
said that Folklife raises about
one fourth of the money the
Chamber makes in a year.
The Chamber has had this
booth for IS years and the same
volunteers come back every
year to have fun together. They
all work one of the ten shifts
in the four nights and two days
of the festival and another shift
for the set-up and take-down.
It is' definitely a community
event with so many people vol-
unteering and enjoying them-
selves.
Officers honored for quick
work in robbery arrest
By William Hoover
Anvil Herald Correspondent
Castroville Mayor Jesse
Byars on Monday recognized
the Castroville Police Depart-
ment for their capture of what
was thought to be an armed
robbery suspect. The alleged
thief, Lauro Armando Marti-
nez Jr., 30, jumped across the
sales counter of the Valley
Mart convenience store on
Highway 90 and stole all the
money from the cash register.
The robbery, and two-and-a-
half hour search and capture,
occurred in the first week of
June.
Four Medina County Sher-
iff’s deputies, one with a track-
ing dog. Department of Public
Safety Trooper Johnny Mar-
tinez and Constable Stephen
Duffy participated in the search,
along with CPD officers.
Mayor Byars called Chief of
Police Lee McVay forward to
accept a Certificate of Recog-
nition on behalf of the Police
Department. Byars said he and
council wished to recognize
the CPD for performing an
outstanding job.
McVay gladly accepted the
certificate, “For exemplary
police effort in the apprehen-
sion of the robbery suspect on
June 2, 2005.”
“It was for the whole police
department, I just accepted the
award on their behalf,” said
the chief after the meeting.
According to McVay, a
Valley Mart employee ini-
tially ran after the robber but
gave up pursuit when Marti-
nez stopped and made motions
indicating he had a weapon in
his pocket. Consequently, he
escaped on foot into a hay field
at FM 471 North and Provi-
dence Street. Pilots alerted by
PHOTO BY FRANCES GUINN
Police Chief Lee McVay accepted an award at the Council
meeting Monday on behalf of the Castroville Police Depart-
ment for the quick apprehension of a robber.
Castroville Airport Manager
Tim Fousse also helped in the
search.
Just when officers thought
Martinez had escaped, the CPD
received a 911 call reporting a
man matching the description
of the robber. “We went back
over there and sure enough we
caught him,” said McVay. “The
next day we took him back to
the field and he confessed to
detective Alan Crocker. Then
we searched the field and recov-
ered the stolen money. It was
$203.”
According to McVay, Mar-
tinez is now in the Medina
County Jail under charges of
robbery and evading arrest.
Because no weapon was
found, the man was charged
with robbery, as opposed to
armed or aggravated robbery.
“It started around 6 p.m.
and we had him in custody at
8:30,” said the chief. “He is a
repeat offender and has been
arrested before for other bur-
glaries.”
Mitchell calls Mico meeting, discusses road woes
By Sula Combs
Castroville Anvil Staff
County Commissioner Precinct 1,
Chris Mitchell, came to the Mico
Volunteer Fire Department to give a
report to her constituents and to speak
with interested residents about the
possibility of instituting a Unit Road
System in Medina County. Thirty-one
people attended the meeting.
Mitchell began by saying that she
promised to provide fiscal account-
ability. She has worked hard to do
this, and has kept strict documenta-
tion of all money spent. She said that
her travel allowance is justified, but
she tries to save money by getting
rides with a foreman and by using
county vehicles whenever possible.
She has created descriptions of
county jobs and has reduced overhead
by eliminating some positions so that
“we are operating lean and mean.”
She says that “the pay scales are not
yet comparable to counties around us
and retention suffers.”
She reports that there is only one
sioners are being pressed
by developers to go back to 1.5
acres for lot size in the county.
Every week at Commissioners
Court there are developers want-
ing a variance. Mitchell says the
voters of precinct 1 have told her
they want 2 acres, and that to
preserve this they need to attend
Commissioners Court. “The only
ones coming to Commissioners
Court are developers.”
Mitchell wants to get the
Commissioners Court agenda
listed in the local papers so
everyone will know what is
being discussed, she will also
email the agenda to anyone
PHOTO BY 3ULACOMBS wf,° wants il Commissioners
Wayne Everett addressed concerned residents at the commissioner’s meeting in Court meets on the second and
Mico on Saturday. fourth Monday of each month
supplier of fuel to Medina County
and she is seeking another to make
it more economical. She is “reduc-
ing liability with safety training
and all vehicle inspections are
now current.”
Mitchell said that “Medina
County does not yet have a web-
site. I want to start one for Precinct
1 and maybe the county will join
it.” She also added that she would
like to meet with her constituents
every three months.
Work has begun on an asset
inventory and inventory of
the roads in precinct 1.
Mitchell said, “There are
316 miles of roads in pre-
cinct 1, double any other
precinct and growing.”.
“The developers are going
at us hot and heavy in phuiubysulacumus
Commissioners Court.” Your Commissioner Chris Mitchell uses a map
commissioners represent of Medina County to explain her plans,
you. The county commis-
with the administrative part of the
meeting from 9 to 10 a.m. and agenda
items from 10 to 12.
The focus of the meeting was
the possibility of changing Medina
County from the Precinct system of
road management to the Unit Road
System. Mitchell introduced this sub-
ject by telling the audience about the
current system.
As it is now, each precinct has its
own road department with its own
staff, offices, equipment, and storage
yards. Because each precinct has a
small amount of money to spend
on roads, and only basic equipment,
much of the work has to be contracted
out, which is expensive. Add to this
the duplication of equipment, man-
power, etc. and the county is spend-
ing money unnecessarily.
Under the Unit Road System, the
county has one central road depart-
ment with central storage facilities,
one office, fewer employees, and less
duplication of equipment. With the
resulting savings, the county can pur-
chase equipment to do more of the
jobs that need to be done creating
less need for subcontracting. Mitch-
ell proposes to hire an expert in road
construction to head the department.
She introduced Wayne Everett, who
has been the County Road and Bridge
Administrator since 1992 in Uvalde
County, which operates on the Unit
System. He very carefully explained
the differences between the two sys-
tems and listed some statistics. “Some
counties under the precinct system
spend $9800 a mile to maintain
roads. Medina County spends $4150 a
mile. Uvalde, under the Unit System,
spends $2796 a mile. The Uvalde
road department has not increased its
budget in the last 5 years. The Road
and Bridge Department also maintains
all the county vehicles, which is a tre-
mendous savings for the county.”
He said that the current system
relies on the Precinct Commissioners
to manage the roads, but that they
are not experts in roads. He said that
having a professional who is an expert
in road maintenance and repair can
also save money for the county. He
advised that it is very important to get
the right person for the job
Commissioner Mitchell wants the
issue placed on the next ballot, for
voters to decide. She passed out peti-
tions and urged the everyone to get
signatures and send them to her. She
informed those gathered that similar
meetings would be held throughout
the county to inform voters on this
issue.
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 2005, newspaper, June 16, 2005; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818794/m1/27/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.