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Tri-Canyon’s Only Weekly Newspaper!
Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas Vol. 5 No. 47
INSIDE
Somewhere in the West “Thanksgiving Thoughts”
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Leakey Saturday Dec. 5th at Burk Feed from 9am to 1pm
CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE ............................ Page 2
VETERAN’S CHOICE CARE PROGRAM ............................ Page 9
www.hillcountryherald.net
November 18, 2015
editor@hillcountryherald.net
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION CELEBRATE 125TH ANNIVERSARY The Uvalde de las Encinas Chapter members, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), meeting at El Progreso Library in Uvalde on Saturday, October 17th, were reminded in the President General’s message, read by Fransis Karasek, to participate in more service projects as we celebrate 125 years of DAR. “Just think how far we’ve come since that day in 1890 when a small group of women sat in a living room in D.C., taking the first steps to create the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution,” read Mrs. Karasek. Fifteen members attended this meeting, and Regent Lawrence recognized Alan Carmichael, Bob Carrillo, Mona Booker, and
prospective member Jewel Rossler as guests. The reports given by Secretary Diane Carrillo and Treasurer Sharon Hubble were approved as read, and Registrar Patsy Edwards reported that we have five prospective members. The National Defense Report, read by Diane Dooley, discussed new member Pamala Cay Pruitt Merickel, who managed and organized medicine, radiology, and surgery clinics for Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio and for Ft. Bliss in El Paso. The facility is staffed by Army Veterinary Corps personnel with the primary mission of providing complete veterinary care for all government-owned animals as well as more than 10,000 civilian pets. continued page 11
(L-R) Roberta Himebrook, Missy Solbrig, and JoAnn Eanes. Standing: Pam Pittman.
REAL COUNTY COMMISSIONER’S LIFT BURN BAN by Julie Becker
Real County Commissioners Court held their monthly meeting on November 9th, 2015 at the Real County Courthouse, Leakey, Texas. Real County Judge Garry Merritt called the meeting to order. Commissioner’s Bryan Shackelford and Manuel Rubio were present, Commissioner’s Gene Buckner and Joe B. Connell, Jr. were absent. Following opening pledges and prayer, Commissioners approved previous meeting minutes. Commissioner’s approved the contract with Neptune-Wilkinson Associates for engineering services. Commissioner’s approved a vacate and resubdivision plat of Tract 14 of Rancho Real Unit one and vacate and resubdivison plat of Lot 6, Block IV, RiverTree Subdivision Phase I. Commissioner’s cast their votes for the Real County Appraisal District Board, casting all of their votes for Gene Buckner. Commissioner’s approved the payment of Technology license fee for
the Real County Appraisal District. Commissioner’s approved the submission of a grant application with Middle Rio Grande Development Council for a regional sold waste grants program grant. Merritt said the grant is used for the spring cleanup program and the grant amount is $8,350. $44,562 is the estimated amount of funding for nutrition providers in Middle Rio Grande Development Council said Merritt. This was an information item only. Commissioner’s reviewed the certificate of Compliance for the Real County Jail which was passed recently. Commissioner’s also reviewed the purchase of a new Ford pickup for Real County Sheriff’s Office with Community Justice Grant funds. No action was taken on consideration of amendment to County Road Underground Conduit request application. Commissioner’s voted to LIFT THE BURN BAN 3-0. With no further business the court was adjourned.
Uvalde Masonic Lodge Hosts Shooting Fundraiser
Leakey ISD Students Trey Bates and Damian Gonzalez entered a fundraiser shooting for the Uvalde Masonic Lodge. The shooting was held at the Uvalde shooting sports complex. Damian Gonzalez came out with a first and Trey Bates with a third. The three events were trap, skeet and five stand! Congratulations!!
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Governor Abbott To Refuse Syrian Refugees Relocating To Texas
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Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to President Barack Obama informing him that the State of Texas will not accept any refugees from Syria in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Paris. Furthermore, Governor Abbott implored President Obama to halt his plans to accept more Syrian refugees in the United States entirely, as the
Illegal Federal Land Grab
federal government does not have the background information necessary to effectively conduct proper security checks on Syrian nationals. “Given the tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees - any one of whom could be connected to
Rainwater Harvesting ............................ Page 9
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: 69° Low: 47°
With the forecasts I have been seeing over the last several months, the building of the El Nino system in the Pacific is growing stronger and stronger. It is being forecast as possibly one of the strongest systems ever, but the date of its appearance continues to mover later in the year. The El Nino system is supposed to bring us cooler winter time temperatures and above average moisture for the winter, I am patiently waiting for the arrival of this weather pattern and I ask myself what does above average moisture mean. As I ponder this question I think above average moisture could be a blessing and finally bust the drought we have been experiencing for the past several years. A lot of us thought the drought was over in May and June when we received over 18 inches of rainfall, but then the dog days of summer hit Real and Edwards Counties with only slightly over 3 inches of rainfall during July, August and September. Now on with the main reason for this news article; to give you a few facts and figures about rainwater harvesting or the capturing, diverting and storing of rainwater for later use. The main use of this water is for landscaping or gardening; but it can be used within the household with proper treatment. Harvesting rainwater for use in landscaping can save you money by reducing your
terrorism - being resettled in Texas,” Governor Abbott said in the letter. “Effective today, I am directing the Texas Health & Human Services Commission’s Refugee Resettlement Program to not participate in the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in the State of Texas. And I urge you, as President, to halt your plans to allow
Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States.” “Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terroristic activity,” Governor Abbott continued. “As such, opening our door to them irresponsibly exposes our fellow Americans to unacceptable peril.”
by Joel Pigg
water bill, it can cut back on the demand of the public water supply system, it is efficiently using a valuable resource and in some instances collecting the rainwater can reduce flooding, erosion and contamination of surface water supplies. Rainwater is better for your plants than the treated tap water that comes from the city water supply (well water in most instances is not treated in our area, but utilizing rainwater will save money on your electric bill by not running the pump as much) due to the fact that it contains less salts and minerals that can harm root growth. A rainwater collection system is fairly simple and has as few or a many components as you the homeowner deem necessary; the main things are the supply (rainfall) and a collection system (some sort of collection device). A simple system diverts water immediately during the rainfall event and a more complex system may store some or all of the rain for later use. The types and numbers of plants in your landscape is very important, always consider plants that are native to the region as they are adapted to the precipitation levels that are generally found in the area. Plants that require large amounts of water to sustain are probably not the best choice in our semi-arid region. The supply side of the equation has been the limiting factor over the last
couple of years, just remember that for every square foot of collection area you get 0.6 gallons of water continued page 11