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Vol. 9 No. 44
Tri-Canyon’s Only Weekly Newspaper!
Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas
INSIDE
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www.hillcountryherald.net
Rolling Hills Celebrates 35th Anniversary Last week I had the privilege of attending the 35th Anniversary celebration of the Rolling Hills Health center in Leakey. Supported and administered through Rachel Hanson at Community Health Development, Inc., the facility was the brainchild of several citizens of Leakey but none for formidable than former Real County Commissioner Kenny Shackelford. You can see pictured several of those who years ago saw the need for local health care in Leakey. Thirty five years ago they stepped up, put their names on the line, gave of their time and their dream came to fruition. Without these individuals and many more that assisted, our local communities, Leakey and Camp Wood would not have the accessibility to health care that we enjoy today. Congressman Lamar Smith spoke of phone calls from Kenny Shackelford in which Smith’s reply would simply be “Give him what he needs.” There is always more behind the scenes than the public knows and this is one of those times. These individuals deserve more appreciation than we can ever give them, but if you have the opportunity please don’t let them pass you by without extending your hand in gratitude.
What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic? River Flows .......................... Page 11
Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 4
October 31, 2018
editor@hillcountryherald.net by Julie Becker
Pictured LtoR: Real County Judge Elect Honorable Bella A. Rubio, Former Real County Judge G.W. Twilligear, U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith, Real County Judge Secretary Helen Hubbard, Former CHDI Board member Anita Shackelford and Former Real County Treasurer Kathy Brooks.
by Joel Pigg, General Manager-RECRD
The rainfall events during September and October have made it rather difficult to take river flow measurements. This is due to the fact that all of the crossings have water continuing to go over the top of the crossing; except for one location but it has had water over the road recently. During the month of September, I recorded 13.95 inches of rainfall at the District Office in Leakey. I measured precipitation on 14 days of the 30 days in September. With only 2 days remaining in October; at the writing of this article; I have recorded 11.45 inches of rainfall on 11 total days this month.
This brings the total over the last 60 days to 25.4 inches. The total rainfall I have recorded for 2018 is 42.85 inches in downtown Leakey. I made a trip around the District last week to look at the crossings and see if I could get any measurements; but I could not even see the culverts in most locations. Water was flowing across the Nueces Dam crossing about 2 feet deep and I could not get to the middle of the crossing without getting swept off the roadway. It was moving extremely swift and I did not think it was a good day for a swim. McDonalds crossing was much the same
with at least 18 inches of water going over the top of the roadway and moving rather swiftly. The second crossing on highway 377 near the Evergreen school had water a couple of inches deep over the roadway and I could not see the culverts under the road. The Highway 377 crossing near Telegraph had water about 6 inches deep and had torn up the pavement on the west side of the crossing. Large segments of pavement were in the ditch where the water had lifted them off of the road surface. Water can do amazing things. The Rancho Real Crossing still had several inches of
water going over the roadway as did the crossing on Highway 336 at Kent Creek. Mill Creek crossing had a little water going over the crossing on the north end and there was actually water going thru the culverts on the south end of this crossing, this is the first time I have seen water going thru the south culverts in several years. Water was still going over the road at second crossing on the 23rd when I was looking at the crossings, but at the time of this article it had receded to just a trickle going over the road. continued page 7
Bullying BATES WINS BIG AT TEXAS STATE FAIR Prevention Month ............................ Page 5
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Trey Bates and his family began his senior year with 2 huge wins. The State Fair of Texas is one of the most respected livestock shows in the state. On day 1, Trey placed 1st in his goat class and was in the top end for consideration of the big banner. On day 2, it was time to show his lamb. Trey won his class and got Reserve Champion of the Medium Wool Division. Following this award, Trey was then selected to be Reserve Grand Champion Lamb at The State Fair of Texas. This is the first time that the Bates Family
has been to the State Fair since 2013, which was the year that his sister,Hayley Bates, got the same title of Reserve Grand Champion Lamb. Trey has said that he is excited to see what the rest of his senior year will look like and cannot wait to represent our area in the coming stock show season. Trey and the entire Bates family will head to Louisville, Kentucky in a few weeks for the National American International Livestock Exposition. Good Luck Trey!
SWTJC Rodeo Team Shines in Lake Charles ............................ Page 12
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INDEX Legals/Jail Register ... . Page 3Community News ......... Page 4-6 Feature Story ................ Page 7 Community Events.........Page 8-9 Obituaries ...................... Page 10 Classifieds ..................... Page 14
Today’s Weather
High: 58° Low: 52°
SWTJC rodeo team traveled to Lake Charles, LA last weekend for their fourth, regional intercollegiate contest of the season held by McNeese State University. Men’s rodeo team member and freshman Tyler West finished fourth in the Steer Wrestling with a 5.6-second run and fourth in the Tie Down roping with an 8.9. The combined effort landed him the coveted MSU All Around Cowboy title, his second since the 2018-2019 season began. West’s consistency in the Steer Wrestling over the last four events has helped him maintain the number one slot in the regional standings. “We are so proud of Tyler,” said coach Joey Almand. “Leading the regional standings in an event is a huge deal for any college, but especially for a junior college. We are competing against teams with older and more experienced
competitors, so to have a freshman leading the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southern Region event standings is more than I could have hoped for. Add to that his consistency in the tie-down roping, and now SWTJC has a freshman that’s a viable chance at the regional Men’s All-Around title. This is really huge for our program and a big deal for our community.”Freshman and men’s team member Sawyer ‘Buckshot’ Patterson landed SWTJC another event title in the team roping contest at MSU. Patterson posted a time of 6.4 seconds on the heel side, beating out 63 other teams and earning himself the MSU champion heeler buckle. The event win propelled Patterson into the region’s team roping standings along with other SWTJC members Reno Stoebner, continued page 6
Left to Right: Tyler West, Buckshot Patterson, Paige Dawson, Coach Joey Almand
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