Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 117, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 12, 2003 Page: 1 of 34
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HONDO ANVIL HERALD
Published in Hondo, Texas
Wcb-itc: www.hoiKlo.tnvilhcrald.com
Volume 117, Number 24
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Three Sections, 34 Pages
50 Cents
A V4
/
,
Proposed Dunlay/Quihi railroad
topic of meeting tonight in Hondo
County residents invited to participate in environmental review process
All interested parties who
would like to voice their opin-
ion. or learn more about the pro-
posed railroad from Dunlay to
northeast of Quihi. should attend
an open house tonight (Thurs-
day, July 12) at McDowell
Middle School. 1602 27th Street
in Hondo.
The Surface Transportation
Board's Section of Envirornnen
tal Analysis (SEA) is conduct-
ing an environmental review
analyzing the potential environ-
mental issues associated with
Southwest Gulf Railroad Com-
pany's proposal to build and
operate a new, seven-mile rail
line in Medina County.
SEA will hold the open house
to inform and receive comments
from the public about the pro-
posed project and the environ-
mental review process.
Victoria Rutson, chief of the
Section of Environmental
Analysis, notified area residents
who have voiced interest in the
project of the scheduled infor-
mation gathering meeting.
The letter explained the En-
vironmental Review Process
and was published in last week's
Anvil Herald in its entirity.
According to Rutson, public
participation is an important part
of the environmental review
process. SEA is conducting the
open house to provide all inter-
ested members of the public
with an opportunity to learn
about the environmental review,
process for this rail project and
participate in the environmental
review process.
Representatives of SEA and
of SEA's consultant. RUS Cor-
poration. Inc., who is working
under the supervision, direction,
and control of SEA to assist in
the preparation of the environ-
mental document, will be avail-
able to answer questions and
hear concerns of area residents.
Hondo scholarship winners named
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’ .-t* I
Ninety-one percent of the
Hondo High School Class of
2003 have made plans to con-
tinue their education.
Thirty-seven of the 113 class
members will attend a four-year
college while 47 are headed for
a two-year college degree and 18
are going to vocational schools.
One, Rotary exchange student
Etiene Rodriguez from Brazil,
will return to her home country
to continue her education.
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PHOTOS BY FRANCES GUINN
No good reason
The mail carrier drives
away (top photo) after
attempting to deliver
mail to the final box on
a route that was struck
by vandals. The Tues-
day night, June 4, ram-
page resulted in nu-
merous mail boxes and
highway signs being
damaged or destroyed
in the area of Koehler
Lane (CR421) and FM
462 north. This is the
> third such incident in
’ as many years and at
least one resident is
planning on pursuing
prosecution when the
vandals are caught.
A
■ft
Fly it high!
Flag Day
June 14
Anvil Herald weather info recorded by Gerry
Bridges; reported by Michelle Dose.
Date
Wed., May 28
Thurs., May 29
Fri., May 30
Sat., May 31
Sun., June 1
Mon., June 2
Tues., June 3
Wed., June 4
Thurs., June 5
Fri., June 6
Sat., June 7
Sun., June 8
Mon., June 9
Tues., June 10
High Low Kain
93 67 .00
66
68
67
72
76
72
9.3
98
99
94
94
95
93
84
88
91
91
95
89
.00
.00
.00
.00
00
.(X)
65 1.20
68 .90
Total rain for the period: 3.80
Total rain lor May: 0.30 in.
Total rain for June: 3.80 in.
Total rain for 2003: 10.91 in.
Avg. high temp, for the period: 92.8°
Avg. low temp, for the period: 67.9°
High temp, for 2003:
99° on May 16, 19 & 31
Low temp, for 2003: 26° on Jan. 24
Six are military-bound and
four are going directly into the
workforce.
Scholarship recipients are
listed, along with the school they
plan to attend, field of study, and
scholarships they received.
Lauren Aelvoet, TX A&M, bio-
chemistry; TX A&M Presidential
Achievement $10,000, HCA
Foundation $5,000, Miss Medina
Co. Farm Bureau $250, Nat'l.
FFA/Ford Trucks $1,000, Hondo
Ag Boosters $1,100. James
Avery $4,000, Medina Co. Fair
Assn. $2,400, Thomas Hollmig
Memorial $1,000, State Finalist
Texas FFA, undetermined.
Jason Ahr, NW Vista, business;
Tim Kelley Memorial $500.
Carmen Alvarez, SWTJC;
SWTJC Memorial Scholarship
$ 1,000, Guadalupana Soc. $500.
Adam Arreola, ITT Tech; Ca-
reer Colleges and Schools of
Texas $1,000.
Patricia Barrientes. SWTJC.
cosmetology; Rick Taylor Me-
morial Scholarship $500.
Jillian Been, Palo Alto. TX
Higher Education Coordinating
Board (3-yr. grad) $1.(XX). Jun-
ior Service League $500.
Rosa Benites, SWTJC. nurs-
ing; G. C. Pedroza/Firekeeper
Publications $200.
Rebecca Cook. Palo Alto,
nursing; TX Higher Ed. Cour-
se SCHOLARSHIPS. Pave II
Castroville adopts improvement plan
Bv Lewis Mathews
Asvll Hi RAI I) CoRRI SPONIJKNI
Castroville City Council on
Monday narrowly adopted a
scaled down version of the
2002-2007 Capital Improve-
ment Plan (CIP). This resolu-
tion contains compromises that
were hammered out in work-
shop negotiations on June 2.
The major revision from pre:
vious proposals was to reduce
the amount allocated to the mu-
nicipal airport by $270,000, by
agreeing to build only one new
hangar at this time, instead of
two.'Even with these changes,
the final vote was 3-2. Council
members Darren Bond, Jerald
Foxworthy, and Kaki Kolasa
sided, with Mayor Robert
Hancock’s resolution. James
Bell and David Stuart dis-
sented.
The most expensive portion
of the CIP calls for $1,490,000
to be spent through 2005 on
major street and drainage im-
provements. After including the
costs of issuance, the amount fi-
nanced will be $1,540,000 over
20 years at an assumed interest
rate of 4.15%, according to a
memorandum from Steve Elliott
of Southwest Securities. Dedi-
cated drainage fees and antici-
pated savings on annual main-
tenance are considered sufficient
to service this debt without a tax
rate increase.
Bell clearly considered these
improvements to the city’s roads
as the most important part of the
package. He worried construc-
tion would be delayed if other
aspects of the plan, such as the
airport spending, were contested.
Bell wondered, “Is this going to
put a snafu on the drainage
project because everything is
lumped under one resolution?”
The newly revised plan for the
airport calls for $250,000 to be
spent on building a fourth hangar
and $ 100,000 on an airport termi-
nal in the 2003-04 fiscal year. Af-
ter including financing charges,
this comes to $375,000 to be bor-
rowed at 4.3% for 20 years. An-
ticipated revenue from both the
existing and proposed hangars,
plus the lease of office space is
expected to make this debt self-
supporting without a tax increase.
Also under consideration is
the refinancing of existing debt
relating to the airport at
$425,000. According the Elliott
memo, the city’s bond counsel,
Jeff Kuhn of Fulbright &
Jaworski, is consulting with the
attorney general’s office to de-
termine if this step is necessary.
He expects to have an answer
within two weeks.
Stuart is concerned that the CIP
as it was drafted by consensus in
the previous week’s workshop is
still too aggressive. He would
prefer that construction at the air-
port be put off to at least the
2004-05 fiscal year when exist-
ing tax notes will be paid of! and
the city’s bonding capacity will
increase. This would leave room
in the budget for any unexpected
expenditure that may arise. “I am
not against development at the
airport; however, I am against de-
velopment at the risk of having
to raise taxes in a couple of
years,” Stuart said. “A tax in-
crease is certainly a possibility if
a mere 100 sewer hookups are
added to our current system. We
would put ourselves in a situation
where we would be at 75% of our
sewer capacity, and we would
have to borrow more money. We
need to be prudent about how we
spend our money now.''
"The airport is very important
for the growth of Castroville."
Hancock responded. Citing the
desire to attract new businesses to
the city under its economic devel-
opment plan, he declared the
airport’srto be vital. He then
entertains a motion on the mat-
ter because council had come to
consensus at the earlier workshop.
Kolasa responded, with an em-
phasis that her motion for a modi-
fied CIP contains funding for only
one additional hangar. She also
added a caveat that any airport ter-
minal plans should be brought be-
fore council for approval. “We
need to make it look quaint, or Al-
satian, so it will mesh with our
community," Kolasa said.
Four citizens took the oppor-
See CASTROVILLE. Page 5
Community Networks
meets today
Community Networks will meet
today (Thursday, June 12) at 2
p.m. at the Hondo Public Library.
All social, service and educational
agencies are invited to attend.
Chamber’s quarterly
luncheon set at St. Paul
The Hondo Arc-a Chamber of
Commerce w ill hold its quarterly
luncheon Tuesday, June 17, at St.
Paul Lutheran Church annex.
The noon buffet will cost $6 per
person. Agenda items begin at
12:10 p.m. Everyone is encour-
aged to arrive early to network
with fellow professionals and
business persons or visit with
your neighbors.
Back to normal
In case you were one of the
many w ho were thrown for a loop
last week with our early publica-
tion, you'll be glad to know we
are back to normal.
We published early so that we
could have coverage of the D’Hanis
Cowboys before ti e state playoffs
and, also, so that about half our staff
could attend the games.
PHOTO BY JEFF BERGER
THE LONG WALK... As Colmesrieil celebrates its UIL Class A state baseball championship, D’Hanis junior James Cuellar
heads to the dugout. The Cowboys end the year at 26-5 and as state runner-up. Complete details in Sports, Section 2, Page 1.
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 117, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 12, 2003, newspaper, June 12, 2003; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth819443/m1/1/: accessed April 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.