Karnes Co. TX - NEWS - September 2003 This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Kimm Antell Copyright. All rights reserved. http://files.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm -------------------------------------------------------------- All content is copyright 2003 Victoria Advocate Online (http://victoriaadvocate.com) Karnes City holds off Natalia Running back Clay Weston gains 125 yards, two TDs September 6, 2003 KARNES CITY - Clay Weston scored a pair of touchdowns as the Karnes City Badgers held off a rally by Natalia to take a 28-20 win over the Mustangs. Karnes City (2-0) built a 21-0 lead as quarterback Cody Hale tossed a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Butler with 5:47 left in the first half. Hale scored with 3:01 left in the half on an 84-yard fumble return and David Wozniak added the second of four conversions for a 14-0 lead at the half. The Badgers stretched their advantage to 21-0 in the third quarter as Weston, who rushed for 125 yards on 13 carries, scored on an 8-yard run with 10:03 left in the third quarter. Natalia then scored the next three touchdowns. Quarterback Brian Clark tossed a 31-yard pass to Eric Rodriguez with 3:23 left in the third quarter. Eric Peralta scored on a 2-yard run and E.J. Hernandez kicked the second of two conversions with 9:12 left to play. Johnny Marquez then returned a fumble 70 yards for a score with 7:41 to play but the kick failed, leaving the Badgers with a 21-20 lead. The Badgers quickly drove and scored on a 44-yard touchdown by Weston with 7:03 to play and ice the game. Hale completed two of eight passes for 100 yards with three interceptions. Edera Valera and Marquez both had seven rushes for 30 yards for Natalia while Clark completed six of 19 passes for 85 yards. Justin Tolbert had two catches for 40 and Rodriguez two for 33. -------------------------------------------------------------- Runge 34, Medina 8 September 6, 2003 RUNGE - Gabriel Gutierrez and Jaime Garza scored a total of five touchdowns to guide the Runge Yellowjackets to a 34-8 victory over the Medina Bobcats. Runge (1-1) got a TD from Gutierrez on a 12-yard run with eight seconds left in the first quarter. Garza scored on runs of 13 and 35 yards in the second quarter, and Runge led 20-0 at the end of the first half. Johnathan Brasher kicked the extra points after the first two touchdowns, but the ball was blocked on his third attempt. Garza scored again on a 23-yard run with 4:53 left in the third quarter, but the conversion attempt failed. Medina (0-1) scored on a 9-yard run by Wyatt Lautzenheiser with 0:27 remaining in the third quarter and Patrick Windham ran the ball in for the conversion. About two minutes remained in the game when Gutierrez scored on a 21-yard pass from Garza. Zed Zapata got credit for the conversion. -------------------------------------------------------------- Lonesome Dove Festival begins Sept. 19 Cook-off, fish and marine wildlife-petting tank among highlights of Karnes County event September 13, 2003 JASON COLLINS Victoria Advocate Anybody with a mouthwatering recipe for wild game or a flair for sprucing up an otherwise bland plate of grilled dove has a chance at taking home first place in the Lonesome Dove Fest cookout. The 11th annual festival, located at the Karnes County Youth Show Barn on Highway 181 between Karnes City and Kenedy, runs Sept. 19 and 20 with an assortment of activities for everyone who has an interest in the outdoors. The registration deadline for the cook-off is Monday. Admission into the grounds will be $3 with children 12 and younger entering free. The festival is the main fund-raising event for the Karnes City Rotary Club. Money raised will ultimately go toward funding youth scholarships and community efforts. "Our focus has been on youth," said Karnes City Rotary Club President Larry Franke. "We do our best to bring as many aspects of the outdoors to kids as possible. We hope they learn a little bit and will make outdoor activities an important part of their lives. The great dove hunting in Karnes County and the hunters it attracts make it the perfect time for our event." The first day of the festival is devoted to area high school students who attend a variety of mini-seminars ranging from hunter safety to Native American history. Volunteers from 4-H clubs, representatives from Texas Parks and Wildlife, game wardens and area hunters, conduct the interactive presentations. "Youth day is so popular with the kids that parents have asked us to increase the number of days and classes that attend," Franke said. That Saturday, the event opens up to the area with an assortment of activities brought by Parks and Wildlife including virtual reality fishing, a climbing wall and a five-stand sporting clay trailer. A highlight this year will be the chance for area chefs to show off their culinary skills. There is something different about this year's cook-off though. Last year contestants baked and barbecued their own concoctions of a winged delicacy. With about 14 teams entered, everyone walked away with some sort of award along with the traditional first through third place awards and an award for best presentation. "We had the chubbiest award. We had the ugliest team award. We had the smartest team award," Williams said. Thanks to the sponsorship of Budweiser, this year's cook-off will include brisket, wild game and chili, said Jess Williams, who is helping coordinate the cook-off. Entry into this year's contest is $100 per team. Deadline to enter is Monday. There is only one stipulation on the meat. It has to be raw when it arrives and that includes no marinating the day before. For those entering the dove portion of the cook-off, the birds are being provided, said Waymon Barry, who is also helping with the cook-off. "We have some friends who went to the Central Zone and shot us some doves." For those in the three other categories, contestants must provide their own meat. While the brisket is obviously beef, there are no restrictions on the chili or wild game meat. "Hog, goat, snake - you kill it, you bring it," Barry said. "Really the biggest restriction is all meat comes on site without any preparation. As far as how they want to cook, rub, or pat - whatever they want to do is certainly their prerogative," Barry said. Cooking begins as early as 6 a.m. that Saturday. "Some of them will not be there until 9 a.m.," Barry said. The open fires for the cooks to use will be just to the left, near the air conditioned tent, as people enter the grounds and everyone is welcome to stop by, watch and maybe get a sample from the cooks. "A lot of the people will be walking around stealing bites to eat," Barry said. "Most of the cooks are pretty proud of what they cook." Judging begins at 4 p.m. for the dove and chili portion of the contest and 5 p.m. for the brisket and wild game divisions. First through third place prizes will be awarded in each category. The person with the most points - each category gets a certain number of points - will be declared the overall winner. For more information on the cook-off or to register, call Williams at 1-800-955-2429 or Barry at 830-583-9998. For those who are not Texas renditions of Iron Chef, the festival has numerous activities going on throughout the day. As always there will be a host of skeet shooting competitions and practice ranges for those wanting to hone their skills. Various programs are planned, including performances by Richard Turner and his Old West Gambling Act, an armadillo puppet show and a demonstration by shooting specialist Joe Bowman. The Victoria Zoo will have native wildlife on display and there will also be a petting zoo. For fishing enthusiasts a fish and marine wildlife-petting tank will be on exhibit by representatives from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Marine Development Center from Corpus Christi. Other events and exhibitors in the past have included chuck wagon cooking, antique tractors, horses and mules, bird dog demonstrations and trucks and ATVs exhibits. Jason Collins is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6521 or by e-mail at jcollins@vicad.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- OATH gets prescription drugs to those in need September 15, 2003 ANN RUNDLE Victoria Advocate KENEDY - Almost six years ago, Ila Raye Shaw of Kenedy suffered a brain aneurysm. She was sitting in a chair in her living room eating ice cream, said her husband, Ray Shaw, "And she said, Ray, I feel ... "And that's the last words I heard her say for several months," he said, shaking his head, "1998 was a bad, bad year." Ila Rae was in a hospital in Austin for six months, where "anything that could go wrong went wrong," Ray said. His wife, who was 60 at the time, was in a coma, had respiratory distress, pneumonia and suffered a massive stroke. About six years before, Ila Rae had suffered minor strokes, and she later suffered a heart attack. She also suffered from depression, diabetes and high blood pressure. Today the 66-year-old needs help getting to her feet, has a difficult time walking because of her balance and has memory problems. She also takes nine different prescription medications for various ailments, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as anti-seizure medication and medication for Parkinson's disease to help with the balance problems. "There are nine pills in that one and there's four in that one, that's 13," Ray said as he opened a pill box where he keeps his wife's daily medications. "And I have three more here I have to give her. That's 16 pills a day." Ray said if he had to buy the prescriptions at a pharmacy the cost would be $2,000 for a 90-day supply, or $2,000 every three months. And, with a little more than $1,200 a month coming in from Social Security, "we didn't have much movie-going money," Ray joked. He then turned serious, "We were having, I mean, a very hard financial time." But now, through the OATH program, a nonprofit, faith-based program that helps low-income families get free medications from pharmaceutical companies, the Shaws don't have to worry about the high costs of prescription drugs. The program was started in July 1999 in Beeville, according to Tammy Casciato, director of operations and grant writer for the OATH program. "We found that in 1996 it was mandated by Congress that any pharmaceutical company that did business in the United States, in order to receive tax breaks and some other things that they get for doing business here, had to commit to provide their medications free of charge to the indigent. But of course, they never publicize it and it's a very, very tedious process. So we have spent basically the last four years streamlining the process," Casciato said. OATH's five paid staff members and 27 volunteers, who work out of offices in Beeville, Goliad, Three Rivers and George West, help clients fill out all of the paperwork and applications the different pharmaceutical companies require for the free medications to be provided. "When the person comes into the office, they bring with them all of their medication bottles. They sit with one of our pharmaceutical clerks and bottle-by-bottle they look up the medications. And they find out the company that manufactures it, and they go to their file, pull out that company's forms and requirements and they fill out that form completely for the patient while they are sitting there at their desk. The patient then signs where they need to sign and takes those forms to their doctor. They have their doctor write a three-month prescription for each of those medications and sign the forms, and they bring all of that back to us," Casciato said. "We make sure everything is correct. We certify all of that paperwork to the pharmaceutical company, and the end result is in anywhere between three to six weeks the patient receives a three-month supply of their medication." Casciato said that, while the medications are free, a $13 application fee per prescription is charged. "But for that $13, they get a three months supply, so it really works out to what? ... like $4.30 a month. That's pretty inexpensive," she said. Beatrice Pena, satellite manager for the OATH program, said the fee is used for items such as mailing the paperwork to the drug companies, rent and utility bills. Ray Shaw said the fee is a small price to pay, considering the fact that each prescription can cost $250 or more. "It's helped immensely. It's been about the only thing that's kept us going. In other words, that's helped us get by," Ray said. Before turning to the OATH program, the couple of 48 years had to rely on their daughter, a school teacher in Bastrop, to help with prescription costs. They also traveled to Mexico where medications are less expensive than in the United States. "We were just doing the best we could," Ray said. Casciato said from that July 1999 to May 2003, the OATH program has helped 5,877 clients receive more than $6.4 million worth of prescription drugs for free. On average, the program helps clients with five and a half medications, and that helps save the client anywhere from $500 to $1,500 a month. She also noted that these clients can come from anywhere and do not have to be living in a city or county where an OATH office is located. "There are no geographic boundaries, so anybody anywhere that can get to our office can come," Casciato said. Ann Rundle is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact her at 361-277-6319 or by e-mail at href="mailto:cueroadv@txcr.net">cueroadv@txcr.net. -------------------------------------------------------------- Youth focus of Dove Fest's opening day September 18, 2003 KARNES CITY - The 11th Annual Lonesome Dove Fest, a two-day event coinciding with the opening weekend of dove hunting season, kicks off Friday with "Youth Day" at the Karnes County Youth Show Barn on U.S. Highway 181 between Kenedy and Karnes City. High school students from at least nine different school districts in the area will attend a variety of mini-seminars ranging from hunter safety to Native American history during the "Youth Day." Volunteers from 4-H clubs, representatives from Texas Parks and Wildlife, game wardens and area hunters will conduct the interactive presentations from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. On Friday night, "The Haymakers," a country band, will perform from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. At 10 a.m. Saturday there will be a parade in downtown Karnes City. Afterwards, exhibits, including bass fishing and shooting booths, will be open at the Karnes County Youth Show Barn. Other scheduled events include the Armadillo Puppet shows at noon, 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. The "Straight Shooter" will demonstrate marksmanship at 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. "The Cheat" will perform card tricks and card dealing skills at 1:15 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. And the Bob Black Trio will perform Dixieland Jazz from 1 to 4 p.m. Shooting events, including a celebrity shoot, will be at 2:30 p.m. Also at 2:30 p.m. there will be a Kiddie Camo Contest. Other activities will include the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Climbing Wall, Touch Tank and five-stand sporting clays. Saturday night, the Karnes City Rotary Club, which sponsors the event, will have a barbecue, raffle and auction. Country singer Jason Allen also will perform. -------------------------------------------------------------- Karnes OKs lower tax rate County saves money through some bond refinancing September 19, 2003 ANN RUNDLE Victoria Advocate KARNES CITY - Karnes County will operate on $4 million budget when the 2003-2004 fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Commissioners approved the budget, along with a 78-cent per $100 valuation tax rate, during a special meeting last month. The tax rate is 2 cents lower than the 80-cent tax rate for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. County Judge Alger Kendall said commissioners were able to drop the tax rate due to increased appraisal values, a reduction in medical insurance costs and the refinancing of bonds. "We refinanced some bonds that they issued when they bought the land for the state prison, the Connally Unit, out here and saved right at $25,000," Kendall said. "We had to pay to refinance, but the bottom line is it saved us quite a bit." The county also is saving $8 per employee per month on medical insurance, with costs dropping from $296 to $288 a month, Kendall said. He noted that the county also dropped dental insurance for the new fiscal year. The county was paying $15 per employee per month for dental insurance. "So we are actually saving $23 a month per employee," Kendall said. "When we went out for bids on insurance, we were able to save on our medical insurance. There was an initial fear that it would jump, but instead of jumping we were able to reduce it from last year. We got almost the same coverage, and we actually reduced the price of insurance." The $4 million budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year is about $100,000 more than the current fiscal year's budget, Kendall said. "Overall, any increase, basically, went to what I consider long-term improvements," the county judge said. "We are in the process of buying new equipment, some copying equipment, and we are trying to improve some of our buildings around here. Well, it's not improving them, it's preserving them right now." He said the roof on the courthouse needs to be repaired and the ag annex building next to the courthouse that once housed county offices needs a new roof. "The roof is such that we had to move everybody out," Kendall said, explaining that offices once located in that building are now in other buildings that the county is paying rent on. "That building needs a new roof over there to stop any leaks of any kind, and then we are going to see what it will cost us to get renovations inside so we can put offices back. The goal is to get some people back in there and try to save some money on rent." About $10,000 has been budgeted for a new roof, according to the county auditor's office. Kendall said money for anticipated renovations has not been budgeted for the new fiscal year. He said about $10,000 was budgeted for new copy machines. "The newest one, I think, is 6 years old. We have some as old as 8 and 9 years old," Kendall said. "You realize how quickly that kind of stuff outdates itself. People get by with it, but still." The $4 million budget also includes about $63,000 for raises. Kendall said all full-time employees will get a 5 percent raise in the new fiscal year. He said it's the first raise for employees in at least three years. Ann Rundle is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact her at 361-277-6319 or by e-mail at cueroadv@ txcr.net. -------------------------------------------------------------- September 20, 2003 Youth Day activities Students learn about wildlife, hunting, fishing ANN RUNDLE Victoria Advocate KARNES CITY - Taylor Tomlin could really sink his teeth into a Texas Parks and Wildlife exhibit that featured an alligator during Youth Day onFriday at the Lonesome Dove Fest at the Karnes County Show Barn. "I've had some experiences with alligators. I've hunted them, and I've been bit by one," the 15-year-old sophomore at Pettus High School said as he rolled up his shirt sleeve to show a scar on the upper part of his right arm where a 5-foot long alligator grabbed hold. Taylor said he and a friend were wading in a channel in the Beaumont area running a trotline for catfish when he encountered the alligator. "I guess he was hungry, and he thought my arm was a fish or something, because it was underwater. He was just latched down," Taylor said of the alligator's jaws on his arm. "My buddy had to get his knife and pry his mouth open, and he swam away." Taylor said at first he thought he had been bitten by a water moccasin, which was scary enough. "At first I didn't know what it was. After I realized what it was, it was pretty scary," Taylor said. "After that, I was kind of wanting to get revenge, so I went and bought some permits (to hunt alligators), and caught two or three of them that year." Taylor said he also liked the hunter safety/turkey shoot class, one of the nine classes and exhibits that was set up for the Youth Day activities. Other classes included dove hunting, hunting laws and regulations and the "Wall of Shame," which was an exhibit of wildlife that had been hunted illegally. "What they are trying to do is obviously dissuade you from doing something illegal," Randy Witte, co-chairman of the Lonesome Dove Fest, said as he pointed to a rack of horns displayed on what he called the game thief trailer. "It says that buck was killed on a public road in Jim Hogg County." The Texas Zoo in Victoria also had an exhibit set up for the Youth Day activities as did the Karnes Electric Co-Op and the U.S. Navy. High school students from Karnes City, Kenedy, Skidmore-Tynan, Pettus, Falls City and Beeville school districts, also learned to fish in a bass casting class put on by the parks and wildlife department. "There are a lot of people that don't fish, so either they get exposed to it, and they catch the fever or at least they know what it's about, and they don't catch the fever. But they get the exposure anyway," Witte said, as he explained the reason behind the variety of classes and exhibits set up for the students. "Not all things are going to interest everybody. I'm not into any shooting. But say you don't hunt, then the game thief (will not) mean much to you unless you see someone that's doing something legal. Even though you are not a hunter, you can turn them in." Like Taylor, Derek Sturm, a 17-year-old senior at Falls City High School, liked the turkey shoot. "I liked shooting the gun a lot. I almost won," Derek said, as he removed a paper target from his shirt pocket to show where his pellets hit. As Derek sat at a table nibbling on funnel cake, he, too, remembered that he liked the Karnes Electric Co-op exhibit. "The electric stuff. That was awesome," Derek said, adding, "The funnel cakes sure are good, too." Frank Rodriguez, a 16-year-old junior at Karnes City High School, also liked the Karnes Electric Co-Op exhibit. "They showed you a lot of stuff that electricity can do to you and everything," Frank said. Lonesome Dove activities will continue at 10 a.m. today with a parade in downtown Karnes City. Afterwards, exhibits, including bass fishing and shooting booths, will open at the Karnes County Youth Show Barn. Other scheduled events include the Armadillo Puppet shows at noon, 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. The "Straight Shooter" will demonstrate marksmanship at 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. "The Cheat" will perform card tricks and card dealing skills at 1:15 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. And the Bob Black Trio will perform Dixieland Jazz from 1 to 4 p.m. Shooting events, including a celebrity shoot, will be at 2:30 p.m. Also at 2:30 p.m. there will be a Kiddie Camo Contest. Other activities will include the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Climbing Wall, Touch Tank and 5-Stand sporting clays. Also, the Karnes City Rotary Club, which sponsors the event, will have a barbecue, raffle and auction tonight. Country singer Jason Allen also will perform. Ann Rundle is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact her at 361-277-6319 or by e-mail at cueroadv@txcr.net. -------------------------------------------------------------- September 26, 2003 Badgers slowly coming of age Karnes City looking to get off to 5-0 start MIKE FORMAN Advocate Sports Writer KARNES CITY - It might be a stretch to suggest Tom Warlick and the Karnes City football team have grown up together. But it would not be an exaggeration to say the Badgers and their coach have come of age. Karnes City has a chance to go 5-0 and equal its best start since 1991 with a win at George West today. The Badgers' success this season has come as no surprise to Warlick, who sees it as the product of years of hard work. "I've been with these kids and known them since they were in seventh grade," said Warlick, who came to Karnes City as assistant under Brad Wright in 1998 and worked under David Davis before becoming the head coach last season. "I know these kids so it's easier making things flow like they should." Warlick, who was 29 when he took over the Karnes City program, experienced some rocky moments at the start of last season, as the Badgers lost three of their first five games. The Badgers' early struggles were understandable. Karnes City was an inexperienced team that had changed its offense and defense, moving from the wishbone to a wing-T offense and from a five-man front to a split defense. "We lost 23 seniors and we were starting over," Warlick said. "It took us four or five games to get set on both sides of the ball." Once the Badgers made the adjustment, it paid off on the field, beginning with a 12-6 win over Refugio that snapped the Bobcats' 48-game district winning streak and led to a 31-2A championship. "That win was humongous for the whole program," Warlick said. "It showed the things we can do. We'd been on the other side for so long. Now the kids believe they can go out and beat anybody." Karnes City got an indication of what was possible during its 19-12 victory over Three Rivers. Warlick was upset because the Badgers seemed to lose focus, but pleased because they were able to recover in time to win the game. "I think we grew up a lot in the Three Rivers game and the week after," Warlick said. "They knew we hadn't played well, but were still able to win. You could see a difference in the workouts and a difference in the way we prepared." While Warlick prefers to give credit to his players and his coaching staff, there is no doubt about the impact he's had on the program. "He's always tough when he needs to be tough," senior running back/defensive back Ryan Zamora said of Warlick. "He knows what to say to get you motivated at a certain time. He just always seems to use the right choice of words." "He's intense and he's not afraid to get in your face," agreed senior running back/linebacker Clay Weston. "There's no goofing around. There's no doubt he has the respect he's earned." Warlick made certain the Badgers didn't take last season's success for granted by instituting an intense off-season regimen. "The main thing is we kept demanding the kids worked hard between November and August," Warlick said. "That has made us into a real good football program." The Badgers are determined to show they are just as good as the 1991 team that went through the regular season undefeated and advanced to the regional playoffs, and better than last season's team that lost to Odem in the Division I bi-district playoffs. "We know we have to be solid and not let down," Weston said. "We want to win the games we lost and advance in the playoffs." Mike Forman is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6588, or by e-mail at mforman@vicad.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- September 27, 2003 Runge gets past Agua Dulce RUNGE - Jaime Garza compiled 305 yards of offense, ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Runge Yellowjackets to a 30-22 win over the Agua Dulce Longhorns 30-22. The Yellowjackets went to 3-1 with the victory, while the Longhorns fell to 0-4. Garza threw for 222 yards and rushed for 83 yards as he scored on runs of 46 and 2 yards. He also connected with Gabriel Gutierrez on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Gutierrez had five receptions for 134 yards. The Longhorns took the early lead when Daniel Gutierrez returned a first quarter punt 73 yards for a touchdown. Garza tied the game for the Yellowjackets with his 46-yard run and Jonathan Basher put Runge up for good with 2:28 to play in the first half on a 3-yard run. After the Yellowjackets pushed the score to 22-8 in the third quarter, Agua Dulce mounted an attempt to fight back. Daniel Gutierrez crashed in from 4 yards out for a score with 11:13 to play, but Garza countered with a 2-yard run with 3:15 left. The Longhorns made one last ditch effort as Jaerrick Perez, who had 147 yards on 22 carries, sprinted 69 yards to the end zone with 23 seconds to play.