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Tri-Canyon’s Only Weekly Newspaper!
Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas Vol. 7 No. 22
INSIDE HONORING THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE ............................ Page 3
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Edwards County Commissioner’s Corner
www.hillcountryherald.net
OFFICER APPRECIATION One of the most important parts of being a Texas Peace Officer is to just “help folks”. Many of the people that our deputies assist never take the time to sit down and actually write a formal “thank you”, but when it happens I like to share those things and compliment the officer’s performance. Deputy Steve Castro serves Real County as one of my deputies and is an outstanding officer. Recently a young lady contacted my office and shared the following thank you letter: On May 20th my family and I were on our way home to San Antonio after spending the weekend camping at Garner State Park. We decided to go to a local store in Leakey to grab snacks for the ride home. On our way to the store our trailer had a blow out. It was a new trailer and we hadn’t prepared for a blowout, so we didn’t have a spare.
Along with not being familiar with the area, we also didn’t have service on our cell phones. My husband decided to leave the trailer and head to San Antonio to purchase a spare while myself and my 12 year old son stayed behind with the trailer and all our belongings. After about 45 minutes on the side of the road a Sheriff’s vehicle pulled up. The officer introduced himself as Deputy Sheriff Steve Castro and asked if we were alright. We told him the situation, and although my husband was already on the road back to San Antonio, Officer Castro offered to see if he could find a spare tire for us. About 30 minutes later he returned, but let me know there was no available spare. He allowed me to use his satellite phone to call my husband and let him know we were ok and ask when he would make it back. Castro then offered to take us to
Water News and River Flows
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FOR SLAVERY… RURAL… DOES NOT = SAFER
THE OLD MISSION
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use a restroom or to go grab a drink or snacks. My son went with Castro and returned with Gatorade and snacks. He later told me that Officer Castro gave him money to purchase some drinks and snacks. Officer Castro left but returned about 30 minutes later to check on us again and again allowed me to use his satellite phone to try and contact my husband. Officer Castro stayed with us and waited for my husband to return about 15 minutes later. I am beyond thankful for the kindness and generosity that Officer Castro showed us. With so much social media portraying negative images of our law enforcement, it’s wonderful to see and acknowledge the good deeds our officers do. His simple act of selfishness, and compassion, by going beyond his call of duty, was such a blessing to us. I can’t thank Officer Castro enough for
showing me and my son such kindness. Jessica R. Gonzalez San Antonio, Texas 78211 I believe we have a good team at the Sheriff’s Office serving the folks of Real County. We appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and support. Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson
By: Joel Pigg, General Manager
Flows at all crossings on the Frio River were taken on May 18th, 2017. Fulgham’s Crossing just south of the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment had a flow of 25,057 gpm earlier this month and now has a flow of 22,054 gpm; this is a reduction in flow of about 12%. The Leakey Springs crossing had a flow of 4,732 gpm last measurement, and a flow of 4,986 gpm this reading; a 5% increase in flow since the last measurement. This crossing has remained very constant since last summer with only slight variations from one measurement to the next. The Mill Creek Crossing showed a reduction in flow this measurement of about 6%; there are culverts on the south end of this crossing that continue to have no flow. This crossing has a flow of 12,173 gpm this measurement which is down from the last measurement of 12,882 gpm earlier this month month. On the west prong of the Frio River,
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May 31, 2017
editor@hillcountryherald.net
the Rancho Real crossing had a flow of 7,501 gpm earlier this month compared to a flow of 7,029 gpm this measurement decreasing approximately 6%. The Kent Creek crossing showed a slight increase in flow since the last measurement; to a flow of 1,440 gpm (which is very close to the normal flow for this crossing) this month up from a flow of 1,383 gpm last measurement. This is an increase of approximately 4%. The Nueces River flows were taken on May 18th, 2017. McDonalds Crossing was flowing at 31,570 gpm last measurement and decreased to a flow of 25,907 gpm this measurement or a decrease of about 18%. This crossing has several pipes that are reduced in flow at this time with gravel or tree stumps clogging the pipes. The gravel should work its way out but not sure about the tree stumps they may be an issue for some time and may cause some stress on the crossing. continued page 7
Guess who is in Camp Wood? It is the beginning of the summer of discovery at the old Mission San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz. Dr. Walter and her students are busy preparing the site for the field school in June. They have already begun to find artifacts and have released the original bulletin from the 1963 excavation. The Mission Facebook Page says, “A Lipan Apache Mission: San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz 1762-1771 By Curtis D. Tunnell and W. W. Newcomb, Jr. July 1969. This bulletin (191 pages) has been out of print for many years. Now you can view it on computer, laptop, tablet, and cell phone! Free! It documents the first excavation of the mission and has many excellent pic-
by Elaine Padgett Carnegie
tures of structures and artifacts that were discovered and uncovered at that time. It has been digitized and is now available free for download in its entirety. You will enjoy viewing and re-reading its fascinating information.” You can read it at https://repositories.l ib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/29937 . The artifact in the photo is a decorative overlay used on guns, uncovered in the west, north west midden. Just for our information, a midden is the archaeological term for trash or garbage heap. As an archaeological feature, middens are usually areas of dark-colored earth and concentrated artifacts, that resulted from the deliberate discard of refuse, food remains and domestic materials such as broken and exhausted tools and crockery. Middens are found everywhere humans live or have lived, and archaeologists love them.
You are welcome to stop by and watch or speak with the team. A moment shrouded in history will come to life in Camp Wood, Texas this summer. The land will give up its secrets to the capable hands of Dr. Tamara Walters and her team!
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INDEX Legals/Jail Register ... . Page 3Community News ......... Page 4-7 Feature Story ............... Page 8-9 Obituaries ...................... Page 10 Classifieds ..................... Page 14
Today’s Weather
High: 79° Low: 65°
SWART Celebrates 5TH Anniversary The Southwest Area Regional Transit District (SWART) proudly celebrates its 5th anniversary since its inception on June 1, 2012. . The TxDOT funded program has seen many successes over the last five years including favorable audits, federal recognition for program management, various state awards for its staff, multiple capital funding for rolling stock, route enhancements, developed new routes, and acquired certification training for its staff. “There are some days it seems like only yesterday that we were embarking on this challenge. Five years later we are proud of our successes, have learned from our failures, and continue to strive for improvement daily. Our
goal remains reminiscent to our vision, ‘To provide safe, accessible, affordable, and seamless transportation services to enhance the quality of life and promote community and economic development in the Southwest Region’”, states Sarah Hidalgo-Cook, General Manager. SWART intends on celebrating its 5th anniversary by promoting its 5th Annual “Try Transit” Week which will take place June 5th -9th. The customer orientated week will hold a series of events to show appreciation to their riders and the communities served. Monday, June 5th will be “Half Priced Vouchers” Day while Tuesday June 6th is “Ride for Free” Day for all local transportation routes throughout the
region. On Wednesday, June 7th SWART will host an Open House from 11 AM to 2 PM at their Uvalde Station located at 713 East Main, inviting the community to visit the station and enjoy a hotdog lunch with trimmings. On this day customers will also receive gifts of appreciation throughout the region. The Eagle Pass Station located at 804 East Main Street will host its open house on Thursday, June 8th from 11 AM to 2 PM. On Friday, June 9th customers throughout the region can enjoy “Ride for Free” Day for out of town routes. “Everyone in the community is welcomed to stop by our local offices and
meet the staff and learn more about SWART. ” states Hidalgo-Cook. SWART would also like to honor and recognize their board of directors for all their support and guidance. “We would not have been able to see such success in a short time if it had been for those board members who took on this challenge at the inception of SWART five years ago. continued page 11