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Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas Vol. 4 No. 25
INSIDE
www.hillcountryherald.net
June 18, 2014
editor@hillcountryherald.net
FREAK HAIL STORM HAMMERS CANYONS
by Julie Becker
UTOPIA LIONS CLUB ............................ Page 4
RCJHC PLAYDAY SERIES ............................ Page 4
Lees arrived here in 1883
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Last Thursday the skies were filled with sunshine, until a little after 7 p.m. when the skies opened up and the storm arrived. Though it brought little rain with it, the winds raged and the hail flew. No injuries were reported but lots of property damage was sustained. Reports came in from all three canyons of property damage and
suspected tornado damage in Rio Frio. The Nueces Canyon fared pretty well, Leakey took a hard hit and the Sabinal Canyon suffered minor damage. Insurance claims have been filed, trees have been cut and removed, and for the most part we are back to normal. The hail ranged from pea size to tennis ball size which
The Spirit of ‘45 Elgin Weimers was drafted into the Army September 30, 1941 and served until January 1945. First he was at Ft. Sam Houston where he received infantry training. He then was sent to the Panhandle of Texas near the Oklahoma border, then on to San Diego, California for anti-aircraft training. At Fort Ord, there was hand to hand combat training. Finally he was put on a troop ship to the North Pacific. His outfit was backup for the infantry at Attu, the western most island of the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. There his outfit was a part of the only World War II land battle fought on incorporated territory of America. Presently it is designated as a U S National Historic Landmark. The men were not issued clothing suited for the cold climate and many lost their lives due to the freezing weather, instead of battle. The first wave of fire power was a winner for the Japanese who were situated in caves and with comfortable heat. The second wave sent the Japanese running. Weimers group was located on the south and were not fired upon. Once the enemy saw they were losing, most, all but 20 of the Japanese, committed suicide rather than be captured. Later the Sea Bees built Quonset huts for the Americans to live
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by Billie Franklin
in and they stayed on Attu for 22 months. The promise of discharge and going home for Christmas was not kept. At Manilla, they found their ride had already left, at Honolulu again they just missed
Dub’s Nueces Canyon Teen Competes In Beauty Corner Pageant
was reported in Concan. Uvalde sustained substantial damage with many homes losing roofs, trees downed and several rail cars on the train track overturned. No injuries were reported. The National Weather Service tracked the storm and the early warnings were more than likely the reason there were no injuries.
the boat. They got on a barge and 45 days later got to California. Discharge was done in El Paso and finally on January 6, 1945, he got back to Hondo. In February, he and Velma Muennink were married at New Fountain Methodist Church, the rain coming down so hard that the ladies had to be carried into the church. The home they built is still standing today. Both of their sons were Eagle Scouts with their dad as Assistant Scout Master. The Weimers home that they built is still standing today. Both he and she worked, active in the church. His varied jobs have been delivering gasoline and kerosene, working at Universal Rundall, mechanic, fireman, John Deere, auto mechanic, and then at the U S Postal Service delivering the mail for 28 years. Upon retirement, he then worked for the Soil Conservation Service and retired from that after 7 years. His wife inherited some land and they developed it into a cattle ranch, still in the family today. When he developed double pneumonia, they moved into Hondo Health and Rehab on 30th Street. He also lost one eye to the shingles. Velma and he will celebrate 70 years of marriage February, 2015.
Utopia Lions Club Awards $6000 In Scholarships by Marilyn Chalmers
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INDEX State News .................... Page 2 Legals/Jail Register ...... Page 3 Community News ......... Page 4-6 Feature Story ................. Page 7 Obituaries ...................... Page 8 Classifieds ..................... Page 12
Today’s Weather
High:90° Low: 72°
Meagan Prather Participated in the TCP (Texas Choice Pageant) Miss Texas Pageant on May 23rd-25. She was presented with 3 awards, Texas State Spirit , Best Hair and Personality and was presented with a crown and title of TCP Queen: Texas State Hostess.
The Utopia Lions Club showed their support of community youth by presenting scholarships to three Utopia ISD seniors in the amount of $2000 each for continued education. Utopia Lions Club President Bill Cockerill presented the scholarships on Saturday, May 31, 2014, at the Utopia Schools Gymnasium during the Utopia ISD graduation ceremony. The three recipients are: Elizabeth Espey, daughter of Patti Pearce, will attend Texas
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A&M, Galveston, majoring in Marine Biology; Raven Foutz, daughter of Kenneth and Jamie Bohannan, will attend Southwest Texas Junior College, Uvalde, and pursue a major in Accounting; Jeneva Noah, daughter of Dave and Rachel Brundage, will attend Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, and pursue a degree in Public Relations. These three young women exhibit the very essence of what Lions Club is all about continued page 4
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