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Tri-Canyon’s Only Weekly Newspaper!
Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas Vol. 6 No. 7
INSIDE
Somewhere in the West
............................ Page 7
Tennessee Jane Asks About Davy Crockett’s Trip
............................ Page 9
............................ Page 3
Edwards County
Commissioner’s Corner
.............................. Page 6
Dub’s Corner ............................ Page 9
............................ Page 11
INDEX Legals/Jail Register ...... Page 3 Community News ......... Page 4-6 Feature Story ................. Page 7 Obituaries ...................... Page 8 Classifieds ..................... Page 12
Today’s Weather
High:76° Low: 51°
www.hillcountryherald.net
February 17, 2016
editor@hillcountryherald.net
40% DECREE IN ARRESTS IN REAL COUNTY In 2013 Real County Deputies and other Law Enforcement officers made 176 arrests to protect and serve the residents of Real County. In 2015 there were a mere 105 arrests made in Real County. This is a 40% decrease in arrests within a two year span. Statistics show in the year 2013 Real County Deputy Chris Sheridan made 57 arrest while Deputy Don Gass made 45 arrests. Deputy Bruce Carr made 33 arrests followed by then Sheriff James Brice at 17. It is noted most of the 17 arrests attributed to Brice were predominately Judicial Arrests. Judicial Arrests are arrests made from court hearings,
grand jury and probation violations. Rounding out 2013 were Trooper Jake Sanchez with 4, Graham with 6, Vaughn 1, Martinez 4, Constable Wilson 2, Constable Tolleson 4, Holly 1, Bebon 1 and Parker 1. In 2015 arrest dropped significantly to 105. New deputies were hired under the interim appointed Sheriff. 2015 statistics show Real County Deputy Steven Castro with 27 arrests, Deputy Nathan Johnson with 23 and Deputy Mark Cox with 14. Carr was attributed 19 arrests with all of those being Judicial Arrests. Deputy Chris Sheridan was still on the force
Water News and River Flows One month of 2016 in the books and I am still waiting for the El Nino (wetter and colder than normal) conditions to arrive. I have not recorded any precipitation at the office in Camp Wood and the forecast is not looking real good for the rest of this month. What rainfall we did get in January has already been zapped by all of the winds we have been getting over the last couple of weeks. We are in much better shape going into this spring than we were last year but it will not take long to get into the drought conditions when the weather starts heating up and the trees and plants begin to green and grow. The flows have decreased on average 18% since the January flow measurement. Flows at all crossing were taken on February 10. Fulgham’s Crossing just south of the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment had a flow of 36,228 gpm last measurement and now has a flow of 25,408 gpm; this
during the first few months and was attributed 6 arrests. Rounding out the year Trooper Sanchez had 3 arrests, Trooper Cantu 2, and Trooper Alvarez 2. Newest Real County Deputy Teddy Douthit had 8 arrests for the year. During 2013 the Real County Sheriff’s office had 3 full time deputies. During 2015 they had 4 full time deputies. Interim Appointed Sheriff Carr stated recently that he feels the sharp decline in arrests is a direct result of a lower crime rate. While this is a pat response, those of you in Real County know different. The drug element in Real County is a constant and living pres-
by Julie Becker
ence in our small communities and our everyday life. In the past months Carr has repeatedly stated he has lowered the budget of the Sheriff’s office. The decrease in the budget according to Carr is due primarily to the lower amount of out of county housing of prisoners, so the decrease in arrests accounts for the lower budget attributed to the housing. All of the statistics are public record and were obtained directly from the jail register housed at the Real County Sheriff’s office.
by: Joel Pigg, General Manager, RECRD
is a decrease of about 30%. The culverts on the south end of this crossing are still flowing, but it is a lot lower than in January. If we don’t get rain soon they may not be flowing much longer. The Leakey Springs crossing had a flow of 5,954 gpm last measurement and a flow of 4,967gpm this reading; decreasing about 17% since the January measurement. This crossing has a plugged culvert, but the water is a little too cold for me to worry about that just yet. The Mill Creek Crossing showed a 21% decrease in flow since the last measurement; there are culverts on the south end of this crossing that continue to have no flow and now half of the culverts on the north end have no flow. This crossing has a flow of 14,138 gpm this measurement down from the flow last measurement of 17,840 gpm. continued page 9
Eagles Basketball Team on a Roll After starting out with a 3-3 district record, the Leakey Eagles have been victorious in six of their last seven games to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 9-4 record. The latest two wins were at Rocksprings Tuesday by a score of 66-42 and a 52-38 home win over Knippa Friday night game. At Rocksprings, the Eagles had 3 players who scored in double digits. Junior Rylan Springer had 22 points and 4 steals, Freshman Hudson Springer had 16 points and 5 rebounds and Sophomore Coleman Kerr had 11 points and 3 steals. Sophomore Haden Hart narrowly missed a prestigious double double with 8 points and 9 rebounds plus 4 steals. Senior Dee Bort, Junior Quinten Pigg and Freshman Rafael Rodriguez pounded the glass hard and came up with 5, 5 and 7 rebounds respectively. Rodriguez dished out 3 assists and Bort chipped in 4 points as well. Rocksprings has been tough at home this year and this was a good team win. Leakey out rebounded the Angoras by 10,
by Coach Springer photo by Steve Gray
showed great teamwork and notched twice as many assists while turning the ball over 10 times fewer than Rocksprings did.
Friday night’s game was practically a must win as a Rockcrusher victory would have left the Eagles with slim odds of making the state playoffs. Coming into this game, Knippa was the hottest team in the district riding an 8 game win streak and averaging 58 points a game over that stretch. With that in mind, the Eagles played some tenacious defense and held Knippa to only 38 points. The anchor of this stingy defense was Haden Hart who swatted 7 Rockcrusher shots to go with his 15 points and 9 rebounds. Rylan Springer blocked 3 shots, scored 13 points and dished out 5 assists to his teammates. Kerr chipped in 11 points and 3 assists. Hudson Springer had 6 points and 6 rebounds. Pigg and fellow Junior Anthony Chavez made huge contributions on the glass by pulling down 7 and 6 rebounds respectively. With the win, the Eagles moved into a tie for 2nd place with Knippa. The Eagles greatly appreciate your support!
Library Benefit Gala a Tremendous Success By Christy Mensi
The 2016 Benefit Gala, Love Your Library – Mardi Gras Masquerade, co-chaired by Patti Berkstresser and Christy Mensi, was tremendous success thanks to the support of sponsors, donors, and numerous volunteers who tirelessly worked for months to bring the evening together. Close to 200 people from our community, and beyond, filled the beautifully transformed American Legion Hall on Saturday, February 6, 2016 to enjoy local wines, tasty hors d’oeuvres, chocolate desserts, and silent and live auctions. The Benefit Gala wine tasting took the form of a “Wine Festival” this year, with wines from four great Texas Hill Country wineries: Bending Branch Winery
142 Lindner Branch Rd, Comfort, TX (830) 995-2948 BendingBranchWinery.com Frio Canyon Vineyard Leakey, TX (830) 890-0840 FrioCanyonVineyard.com Lost Maples Winery 34986 Ranch Rd 187, Vanderpool, TX (830) 966-5131 LostMaplesWinery.com Singing Water Vineyards 316 Mill Dam Rd., Comfort, TX (830) 995-2246 SingingWaterVineyards.com A mask contest was held and attendees decked out in their Mardi Gras finest enjoyed parading around the room competing for one of the top prizes. Betty Jo Bates grabbed first place with
a head-to-toe jester-inspired ensemble; Penny Maquire sparkled in second with her sequined, gold pants and beautiful
headdress; and Jack Gallardo was awarded third with his unique mask and festive tie. continued page 11