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San Jacinto County News - Breakout

Variety of items to entertain on the horizon

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Officer Rae Phillips sponsored Fish Friday with her family and friends at the Coldspring Senior Center. Courtesy photoOfficer Rae Phillips sponsored Fish Friday with her family and friends at the Coldspring Senior Center. Courtesy photo

DidYouKnow ColumnHeadWe have a lot of interesting events coming in the next weeks to suit all ages. Let’s start with our libraries.

Coldspring Library will hold a Princess Tea Party fundraiser on March 2 at Coldspring Methodist Church. There will be two sittings. The first will be from 10-11:30 a.m., and the second will run from 1-2:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 each, each attendee must have a ticket and adult supervision is required. You can buy them online, by phone or in person at the library. Call (936) 653-3104.

Shepherd Library’s fundraiser will be on May 18 at the Shepherd Community Center. The Friends of Shepherd Library will host this event, which includes a chili cook-off and a Waggin’ Tails Dog Rescue of San Jacinto County, and Ranger Joel who is an archery specialist as guests.

Registration forms and rules can be picked up at the library or downloaded from the library website. You can call (936) 628-3515. In March there will be a Peeps Diorama contest. This was a lot of fun last time. To enter collect your shoebox and and two Peeps starting March 18, bring in your completed diorama by March 25. Judging will be on March 28. The entries will of course be on display for a while.

The Tiny Art contest will be in April. This was also a great hit last year. Collect your art materials on April 8. Bring in your entry by April 15, judging will be on April 19.

Want to learn to crochet? Visit the library on Tuesday from 4-6 p.m. Tiny Tots Tales is every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Teen Night will be on Monday from 6-8 p.m. For more, go to their Facebook page.

•On Saturday, the Coldspring Community Center will hold a fundraiser garage sale starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m. This Center is 69 years old. It has had a lot of remodeling inside but now needs some major work outside. It is a great venue for events from weddings, reunions and monthly meetings. It’s located by the Courthouse at 101 Cedar Ave., and information is available by calling (936) 433-6783.

•There are so many groups and organizations in our county offering many different experiences. You can join the quilting group at the Red Barn Retreat in Coldspring. This group offers other activities too, look them up on Facebook. You can learn line dancing at San Jacinto County Senior Center in Coldspring as well as join friends to play cards or games, enjoy a great lunch while listening to DJ Ken Janik with Gregg Cones on Friday.

This center will have a Talent Show on Saturday, which is sold out already. There was a Valentine’s Day lunch last week with cordon bleu chicken for lunch and songs by Gregg. After the meal ping pong was played, if the ball went into the cup, you won whatever was inside it. There was a long line for this game, most cups had small amounts of money.

•The Fish Friday this month was sponsored by Officer Rae Phillips who attended with family and friends including Constable Roy Rogers. This was also the welcome return of DJ Ken who had fallen and broken his shoulder. Everyone was happy to see him back on Karaoke Friday. I have heard great recommendations about Sarah’s Snack Shack’s cheeseburgers. She has her red shack by the railroad tracks in Shepherd.

•Last week I had lunch with the new Assistant Chief of Police in Shepherd. Chief Clint Headley chose her because of her great experience and ability. Her name is Tammy Nave.

Born in Port Arthur, Tammy joined the Air Force in her teens and has served in the military and law enforcement, discovering after a time studying law and other less active jobs that she needed to be in some active service to be fulfilled in her work. She served four years during President Bush Sr.’s term as an explosive detective, checking any place he or other dignitaries would visit. She was in Tokyo for most of the time where they checked airplanes etc. for bombs.

I think being on the bomb squad would be too much excitement for me.

Tammy wanted to join the FBI and trained with them but her boss said they needed her and she said that when you are in the military, you pay attention to your superior officer. She worked with Houston PD and spent 36 years in law enforcement.

Tammy decided to start her own independent Security Business which employs 120 security guards all over Texas. They cover events, parades, concerts and important visitors who come to Texas. She is a mother to four children, all in their 20s. One of her daughters is working towards a career in law enforcement like her mom.

I have only told you a little of her life but I can say that we are very happy to welcome her to our community.

Contact the Shepherd Chamber of Commerce at (210) 995-7420 or the Coldspring Chamber at (936) 653-2184.

Yvonne Cones is president of the Shepherd Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Coldspring Chamber of Commerce.

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City may partner with community center

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coldspringcityTCNS staff

COLDSPRING — The Coldspring City Council gave its blessing for Mayor John Benestante to enter into talks with the Coldspring Community Center.

Benestante said that at the Feb. 5 meeting, the council approved his discussions; he said he put out the idea that the center come under the city umbrella to help it with some of its problems. The center was looking for additional funding from the city.

The building is showing signs of wear, has some mold issues and could use expansion; Benestante said the made the suggestion for the center’s board to looking into designs for a new structure.

Additionally, the council discussed the purchase of some property, which Benestante said could play into the center’s expansion.

In other business, the council:

•approved hiring Axley & Rode for the 2023 fiscal year audit;

•authorized Benestante to meet with the Coldspring Library for an event to be held at a city park;

•discussed the renovation of the property at 201 Highway 150, the former Boles supermarket, which will be dismantled;

•discussed the removal of trees at the Methodist Church, which were starting to drop limbs on to parked vehicles. The city is working with TxDOT to remove trees, after which the city will change the parking scheme to help the area;

•discussed violations of unauthorized and off-premises signs, and the city is sending notices to all violators

•discussed the electronic sign for the front of City Hall; and

•discussed changing the rate structure for multiple sewer taps on commercial properties and dropping to a flat fee for single family houses.

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District begins process to address funding shortfall

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Shepherd ISD LogoBy Tony Farkas
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SHEPHERD — The Shepherd ISD Board of Managers approved a measure seeking answers to a funding shortfall that cropped up early this year.

At its regular meeting on Thursday, board was made aware that after a state Comptroller’s Office review of San Jacinto County Appraisal District’s property valuations, there was a discrepancy that would mean Shepherd would receive less state aid.

Chief Financial Officer Sonya Fulgham told the board that according to the study, the funding shortfall could mean a loss of between $725,000 and $1.1 million, a worst-case scenario.

Robert Westbrook of Education Service Center Region 6 said that the more funding the district receives from property taxes, the less it receives in state aid.

The Appraisal District determined values of $564 million in the county, which is what the school district based its budget on. However, the Comptroller’s Office in its study determined values of $606 million. Westbrook said that if the values were within 5 percent one way or the other, the state would consider that within a grace area and leave matters alone.

However, he said the differences here were greater than the 10 percent window, and since the district was not collecting taxes at the top level, but should be, the state reduced its aid accordingly, he said.

Fulgham said the impact means the district lost $324,000 in state aid in just the first few months of 2024.

Westbrook suggested working with the district’s tax attorney to file an appeal on the district’s behalf; if the appeal is successful in getting the Comptroller’s Office to adjust its values to within the grace percentage, then the district will not be affected.

He also suggested meeting with the Chief Appraiser for the CAD, as well as its board, to discuss the impact of the values.

Superintendent Jason Hewitt said the district did nothing wrong budgeting; since it has to base its numbers on the values provided by the CAD, and the Comptroller review wasn’t done until months later. He also said that the last three budgets were within the grace area, and it allowed the district to put aside a fund balance.

Board Vice President Andy Reeves questioned how the district could make up the loss, and Fulgham said there are several budget items that have had no activity, which added together would come to $1.1 million; however, Hewitt said that the funds might be needed if something happened.

He did say that as part of the plan the administration would institute a 10 percent cut across the board and will scrutinize every federal fund for savings.

In other business, the board:

•approved a list of objectives for the superintendent for the 2024-25 school year;

•approved a resolution allowing the hiring or use of pastors as volunteers for counseling students;

•approved an application for a Jobs and Education for Texans Grant; and

•approved changes to the district improvement plans for all campuses.

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Shepherd city council handles property issues

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City Of ShepheardBy Tony Farkas
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SHEPHERD — The Shepherd City Council handled a variety of issues related to property at its regular meeting on Jan. 12.

The council approved sending out its inspector to 220 Jill Street, and once done, will take up a variance request regarding a manufactured home.

Additionally, the council approved a replat for dividing property for Walter Vaquero on 111 Cronin Road, who is splitting the property to sell 1.67 acres.

Council members also gave conditional approval to Dale and Trisha Francisco for placing a new mobile home at Fourth and Hill; the two were instructed to get letter from nearby property owner, and if they were OK with the placement, the variance would be granted.

City Secretary Debra Hagler said the council will get the city engineer to look at drainage for the Biddle Development on South Byrd Avenue. She said there is concern about drainage since the development will be smaller homes for rent.

Action on the development will be tabled until March.

In other business, the council:

•approved bids for sale of equipment — $700 for a Kubota mower and $325 for a 1996 Chevy truck, both to Timmy Richardson;

•adopted a resolution for TxDOT maintenance on state roads in the city;

•agreed to upgrade street lights in town to LED;

•honored City Attorney Larry Foerster, who is retiring after practicing for 50 years; and

•set a workshop for Tax Investment Reinvestment Zones for March 18.

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Lunch made special by recipe recreation

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didya LunchJim and Gayle Booth, Sen. Charles Schwertner and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the Reagan dinner. 

DidYouKnow ColumnHeadWomen’s League had a special guest at the February lunch. Stephanie Manley returned to bring everyone up to date on her fascinating website called CopyKat.com.

Dedicated to recreating restaurant recipes at home, it allows users to replicate their favorite dishes from popular restaurant chains.

Stephanie also has a food blog and likes to provide helpful tips and tricks for achieving restaurant quality results. She has been doing this for many years and has followers using her site all over the world.

Items include appetizers and main courses to desserts and beverages. She said she started to cook when she was 4 years old. Her mother is Judy Chatham, who is a VP on the Board of the Women’s League and Judy may have something to do with this creative urge.

Next month the guest speaker will be Joseph Green, assistant superintendent of State Parks in Texas.

The annual Style Show will be on April 11, watch out for more details and tickets coming on sale.

•Coldspring Community Center will hold a garage sale fundraiser on Feb. 24 from 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. They need donations. If you have anything you would like to give for this sale (it’s a good time to clear out closets), you can drop them off at the center Monday through Friday till 4 p.m.

Call Connie at (817) 846-9460 or the Community Center at (936) 433-6783. If you need items picked up, call to make arrangements. The center has done a lot of work on the inside of the building but now needs to do some major work on the outside.

•The Reagan Dinner which was featured last week in this paper was a huge success. There were many individuals who were able to have their photos taken with the main speakers and I was told that they were very generous with their time making sure everyone who wanted a photo had one.

•Last week also had guest speaker Freddie Palmer at Coldspring Garden Club, who gave a great talk on growing Pecans. He has a Facebook page, ‘Palmer Pecans’ and lives in Coldspring. Call him at (936) 377-5477.

•SJC Senior Center has sold out of tickets for the Talent Show. To be held on Feb. 24, this promises to be a great night out. The Senior Center will celebrate Mardi Gras with gumbo for lunch this week and Valentine’s Day will also be special, more of that next week.

•Best wishes to DJ Ken Janik who is still recuperating after his fall.

•First State Bank in Shepherd will soon see a wedding for one of their staff. Kristen Minatrea has promised to send me photos. Kristen was on the Chamber Board for a while till her life became very busy.

Shepherd Police Chief Clint Headley gave me some details of a story which was mentioned in this paper, but I thought some of the details were worth writing about here. On Feb. 5, Polk County deputies tried to stop a suspicious vehicle but the driver sped off and fled toward San Jacinto County. They came into Shepherd and ended up in the parking lot of the Annex on Loop 424.

This of course is where Shepherd Municipal Court meets so it seems only fitting this is where the suspects ended up. Chief Headley said that he suspected the men involved were responsible for recent burglaries in our town.

Sheriff Lyons of Polk County and Lt. Finegan went with him to the storage impound lot where the vehicle was taken. It was filled with stolen tools. The chief knew of two residents who had tools stolen. The first one he accompanied was able to recover some of his items. The chief hopes the second one will also be able to find some of his tools.

Because of the successful outcome of this chase and capture and the cooperation between law enforcement departments, Shepherd Council will honor Sheriff Lyons, Corporal Thurston and all deputies involved during their March meeting.

Contact the Shepherd Chamber of Commerce at (210) 995-7420 or the Coldspring Chamber at (936) 653-2184.

Yvonne Cones is president of the Shepherd Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Coldspring Chamber of Commerce.

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