Karnes Co. TX - NEWS - March 2004 This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Kimm Antell Copyright. All rights reserved. http://files.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ Copyright 2003 Victoria Advocate Online (http://victoriaadvocate.com) The Victoria Advocate - http://TheVictoriaAdvocate.com March 8, 2004 Travis Whitman: Kenedy man is remembered as a prankster, protector KENEDY - Always cracking jokes and pulling practical ones, Travis Whitman took a "don't sweat the small stuff" approach to life - a life he was willing to sacrifice for his country and the betterment of others. A former U.S. Marine, Whitman, 24, was killed in a car wreck last month in Iraq while working for a private firm providing security for government contractors trying to rebuild the war-torn country. "He was going over and making a difference in these Iraqi people's lives, giving them the opportunities that we have here that they have never had. He was real passionate about that," said longtime friend Mike Ramirez, Whitman's team leader at the company. "He loved his job. He loved what he was doing, and he wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else." Ramirez, who is from Kenedy, emphasized that the wreck had nothing to do with the fighting going on in Iraq. On Saturday, friends and family from Texas to Oregon remembered Whitman, a 1997 graduate of Kenedy High School, as a protector and prankster at services at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Kenedy. Diana Goodrich, who introduced herself as Whitman's "crazy" aunt during a morning rosary, told about her nephew's infamous pranks. She told about the "purse trick," where a string of some sort was tied to a purse and then the purse was placed in the street. When someone stopped their car, got out and reached down to pick up the purse, the string was yanked. One time Goodrich was elected to stop the shenanigans of the youngsters, but, somehow, she ended up joining in. "I got such a charge out of running into the bushes and hiding," Goodrich laughed as she stood at the front of the church. To her left was Whitman's casket draped with a U.S. flag. It was surrounded by bouquets of predominantly red, white and blue flowers. "I have a lot of these just crazy, funny little moments with him," Goodrich, who lives in Portland, Ore. added. "He was a card, but he was my inspiration." Stan Howard, who coached Whitman in football and track in high school, said he was honored and humbled "to be able to coach a kid like that." Whitman attended Kenedy High School from 1993 to 1997, the only years he lived in the city. Prior to that he lived in Salem, Ore., with his mom, Elaine Premo, who now lives in Portland, Ore. In Kenedy he lived with his dad, Henry Whitman. His dad, a Texas Ranger, now lives in El Paso. Whitman played guard on the football team, and he was a member of the 1995-96 team that won district and went two rounds in the playoffs. Howard, the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator in Kenedy in the 1990s, said Whitman was a big reason why the team did so well that season. "Travis wasn't overly talented, but he was one of those kids that gave 110 percent no matter what he did. He was a winner. I mean he was going to leave it all on the field. God bless, Travis," Howard said at the rosary as he asked Whitman's high school teammates to stand. People clapped as about 15 guys stood. One of the 15 was Clint Kasprzyk, who played quarterback. "Travis was definitely the guy that didn't let you take anything too seriously. You might have had something going on in class, you might have had something at home, but he was the guy you could talk to. He could teach you how to live life half-heartedly, let it roll down your back," said Kasprzyk, a 25- year-old Houston resident. "Like I said, he would always do the little things in class, like say off-the-wall comments to break the tension. It didn't matter where you were. Even if we were in the middle of a game and frustrated, he would say anything, from mamma jokes to anything off the wall. "He was a great guy," Kasprzyk said. Friend and fellow teammate Ramon Reyna agreed. "He was just an all-around great guy," said Reyna, a 24-year-old San Antonio resident. "I will tell you one thing, if you saw him one time, you'd never forget him. He was that type of person." Whitman joined the Marines after graduating from high school in 1997. His father, a former Marine - as is his mother - said his son was an expert marksman. Henry Whitman said that at one time Travis was one of the top 20 pistol shooters in the Marines, and for his efforts he was picked up by the 3rd Marine Division Pistol Team. He left the pistol team to attend embassy guard school, or Marine Security Guard school in Quantico, Va. Whitman then served at the embassy in Germany for 15 months before rotating to the embassy in Bolivia. Whitman was discharged from the Marines in October. U.S. Marine Stephen Bazzle, who served with Whitman in the 7th Comm Battalion, said he was like a brother to him. And for Marine Sgt. Carl Martin, who helped fold the U.S. flag that covered Whitman's casket at the cemetery, that thought really rings true. Martin married Whitman's sister, Heather, a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Whitman introduced the two. Martin, who is stationed in Germany, as is his wife, described Whitman as a picture perfect Marine. "I tell you what. When I first met Travis he was locked on. He carried himself a certain way. He was just a well-rounded Marine," Martin said. "We all went through a lot, and he definitely made the best out of it, always with a smile." Bill White of McKinney, Whitman's uncle, called his nephew a protector during the rosary. As a guard in football, he protected the quarterback and running backs, White said. In the Marines, he protected the embassies, and as a brother he protected his older sister by introducing her only to someone he believed worthy enough for her to go out with, White said. "And then the final chapter was when he took on this position in which he went over in the security service industry protecting those who wanted to make Iraq a better place. And he put his life on the line once again without any recognition," White said. "He was just one of those guys that just did his job just to help others, and you've got to admire that." He closed his remarks with the words "Semper Fi," the Marine Corps motto, which means "always faithful," and he asked "can I get a hoo-ah?" The Marine battle cry resonated through the church. Ann Rundle is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-277- 6319 or cueroadv@txcr.net. March 1, 2004 Karnes City Chamber banquet will feature a sesquicentennial theme KARNES CITY - In honor of the 150th anniversary of Karnes County, the annual Karnes City Chamber of Commerce banquet will carry a sesquicentennial theme on Saturday. "Everyone's going to be dressed in early Texas attire. It's going to be fun," said Maggie Meeks, chamber executive director. The banquet will be held at the Panna Maria Hall, located in the Panna Maria community about five miles from Karnes City, beginning with a social hour at 6:30 p.m. The program will include a silent auction, barbecue dinner, music and an awards presentation. Honors to be awarded include citizen of the year, business of the year and organization of the year. An outstanding service award also will be presented. Tickets are $15 each. Corporate tables of four can be purchased for $70, while corporate tables of eight cost $140. Tickets must be purchased by Wednesday. For ticket information, call the chamber at 830-780-3112. ************************************************ March 7, 2004 Daniels returns in Flyers' 7-5 win KENEDY - Ryan Daniels returned to the lineup and had two hits to lead St. Joseph to a 7-5 win over Karnes City on Saturday in the Kenedy Tournament. The Flyers improved to 4-1 and played their final game of the tournament on Saturday night. Daniels, who injured his forearm last spring, was the designated hitter and had a double and a RBI. John Leita had a two-run single to help St. Joseph tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Flyers took the lead for good with three runs in the fifth. Thomas Cooper was the winning pitcher and J.R. Moody earned a save. Faith drops pair YORKTOWN - Faith Academy lost a pair of games at the Yorktown Tournament on Friday. Joey Wiatrek was the winning pitcher and had two hits and two RBI to lead Falls City to an 11-1 win over the Cougars. Jason Serrano was the winning pitcher in Yorktown's 13-1 win over Faith Academy. Danny Garcia had three RBI and Serrano added two for the Wildcats. BRENHAM TOURNAMENT El Campo 9, Brenham 10 El Campo 0 0 0 1 3 4 1 --9 Brenham 0 0 1 4 0 3 2 --10 Corey Chandler, Cody Poncik (6) and Troy Cerny. Schwarte and Crowson. WP: Schwarte. LP: Poncik (0-1). Highlights: (EC) Poncik 3-for-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI; Brady Collins 3-for- 4, run, 2 RBI; Trent Tomanek 2-for-3. Texas City 3, El Campo 2 Texas City 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 --2 El Campo 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 --3 Williams and Puckett. Reed Horak and Troy Cerny. WP: Horak (2-0). LP: Williams. Highlights: (EC) Elliott Babcock 3-for-3, run, RBI. El Campo 9, New Caney 3 New Caney 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 --3 El Campo 0 1 6 1 1 0 0 --9 Miller, Natalie (3) and Smith. Colby Parson and Troy Cerny. WP: Parson (1-0). LP: Miller. Highlights: (EC) Cerny 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Justin Gold 2-for-4; Cody Poncik 2-for-3. Records: El Campo 7-2. El Campo, Huntsville El Campo 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 --4 Huntsville 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 --3 Adrian Canales and Troy Cerny. Nettles and Yates. WP: Canales (3-0). LP: Nettles. Highlights: (EC) Elliott Babcock 2-for-4, run, RBI; Brady Collins 3-for-4, 2B; Cody Poncik 2-for-4, 2B, run; Chad Bacak 2-for-4, 2B, RBI. YOAKUM TOURNAMENT CONSOLATION FINAL Goliad 8, Austin Travis 6 Austin Travis 2 0 2 0 0 2 --6 Goliad 1 2 3 0 2 0 --8 Flores, Charlton (4) and Thacker. Bobby Burnett and Shad Elrod. WP: Burnett (1-1). LP: Flores. Highlights: (G) Dusty Hernandez 3-for-3, run, 6 SB; Kevin Salazar 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; Adam Morris 2-for-3, 3B, 2 runs, 2 SB; Elrod 1-for-3, RBI; Luke Kelley 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Kevin Bone 1-for-3, RBI. Records: Goliad 4-4. El Campo 4, Huntsville 3 El Campo 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 --4 Huntsville 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 --3 Adrian Canales and Troy Cerny. Nettles and Yates. WP: Canales (3-0). LP: Nettles. Highlights: (EC) Elliott Babcock 2-for-4, run, RBI; Brady Collins 3-for-4, 2B; Cody Poncik 2-for-4, 2B, run; Chad Bacak 2-for-4, 2B, RBI. Ganado 9, Odem 6 Odem 3 1 0 0 0 2 --6 Ganado 4 5 0 0 0 0 --9 Paul Brown, Anthony Nunez (1) and Carlos Cavazos; Andrew Callis and Jacob Tristan. WP: Callis. LP: Brown. Highlights: (G) Robert Lauer 2-for-2, RBI; Tristan 1-for-2, RBI. Goliad 8, Austin Travis 6 CONSOLATION FINAL Austin Travis 2 0 2 0 0 2 --6 Goliad 1 2 3 0 2 0 --8 Flores, Charlton (4) and Thacker. Bobby Burnett and Shad Elrod. WP: Burnett (1-1). LP: Flores. Highlights: (G) Dusty Hernandez 3-for-3, run, 6 SB; Kevin Salazar 2-for-4, 2B, RBI; Adam Morris 2-for-3, 3B, 2 runs, 2 SB; Elrod 1-for-3, RBI; Luke Kelley 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Kevin Bone 1-for-3, RBI. Records: Goliad 4-4. SA Holy Cross 10, Gonzales 4 THIRD-PLACE GAME San Antonio Holy Cross 1 1 1 6 0 1--10 Gonzales 0 0 0 1 2 1--4 Carlos Sanchez and John Noriega; Kevin Martinez, Scott Henman (4), Scott Davis (5) and Lindeman. WP: Sanchez. LP: Martinez. Yoakum 17. SA Holy Cross 0 San Antonio Holy Cross 0 0 0 0 0 --0 Yoakum 0 5 7 5 0 --17 Jose Flores, Josh Nariega (3) and Daniel Deluna; Riley Boenning and Travis Starling. WP: Boenning (1-0). LP: Flores. Highlights: (Y) Boenning no-hitter, 12 strikeouts; Randy Malik 3-for- 3, 2 RBIs; Greg Blank 2-for-4, RBI; Starling 3-for-4, 4 RBIs, 2 triples, double; Jace Braden 2-for-3, 2 RBIs. La Grange 5, Yoakum 1 CHAMPIONSHIP La Grange 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 --5 Yoakum 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 --1 Homer Bailey and Lance Schramm; Greg Blank, Travis Starling (6) and Keith Cuellar. WP: Bailey. LP: Blank. Records: Yoakum 1-2-1. Highlights: (Y) Brandon Starling 1-for-1; (L) Bailey pitched 2-hitter with 18 strikeouts and was 2-for-3, triple; Schramm 3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2-run homer; Ryan Minzinmayer 2-for-2, solo homer. All-Tournament: Goliad, Kevin Salazar; Holy Cross, Carlos Sanchez and Roger Rios; Yoakum, Ryan Boenning, Randy Malik and Greg Blank; La Grange, Chase Anderle, Lance Schramm, Homer Bailey. KENEDYTOURNAMENT St. Joseph 7, Karnes City 5 Karnes City 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 --5 St. Joseph 0 0 1 2 3 1 0 --7 Cody Hale and Clay Weston. Thomas Cooper, J.R. Moody (7) and John Leita. WP: Cooper (1-1). SV: Moody. LP: Hale. Highlights: (SJ) Ryan Daniels 2-for-2, 2B, RBI; Leita 1-for-3, 2 RBI. Records: St. Joseph (4-1). SACREDHEARTTOURNAMENT Schulenburg 20, Bloomington 2 CONSOLATIONFINAL Schulenburg 2 4 0 0 14 --20 Bloomington 0 0 2 0 0 --2 Kevin Valenzuela and Jared Trojacek. Allen Arriaga, Chris Monclova (4), Eric Salinas (5) and Casey Newman. WP: Valenzuela. LP: Arriaga (0-2). Highlights: (S) Jason Cummins 4-for- 4, 2-run HR, 3B, 2 2B, 5 RBI. (B) Newman 2-for-2, RBI. Records: Bloomington 1-6. Bloomington 6, Burton 1 Bloomington 3 0 2 0 1 --6 Burton 0 0 1 0 0 --1 Chris Monclova and Casey Newman. D.J. Colum and Ryan Nienstedt. WP: Monclova (1-1). LP: Colum. Highlights: (B) Monclova pitched a 6-hitter with 8 strikeouts; Mark Garza 2-for-2, 2B, RBI. East Bernard 4, St. Paul 3 St. Paul 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 --3 East Bernard 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 --4 ************************************************ March 8, 2004 Farming, ranching recognized at Karnes chamber event PANNA MARIA - The hard work, dedication, blood, sweat and tears of all the farmers and ranchers in Karnes County were recognized Saturday night as the county's farming and ranching industry received the business of the year award at the annual banquet of the Karnes City Chamber of Commerce. "Each year the chamber of commerce tries to recognize a business in the community that has a great impact on the community or has been in business a long time, 100 years, 50 years," said David Carrothers, the outgoing president of the chamber. "And this year when we were going through the businesses, we discovered that there was one industry that is probably the oldest business in the county, and it has never been recognized. It's the farming and ranching industry. It's very important to this community." To illustrate just how important, Carrothers asked those who owned vehicles with farm tags and those who have businesses that rely on farmers and ranchers to stand up. "I know that there are a lot of people that are not cooperative, because most everybody in the room should be standing," he said. "But that's how important that this industry is in our county and our community. So, for all of the years of service and everything that you do to contribute to this community, we would like to honor you tonight." Other honorees at the banquet, which was held at Panna Maria Hall, were the Karnes City Home and Garden Club, which received the organization of the year award; and the Karnes City Rotary Club, which received the outstanding performance award for an organization in the community. Tracy Witte, the longtime manager of Looney's Supermarket in Karnes City, received the citizen of the year award for his involvement in the community. "I don't really feel that I deserve this. I really don't. I mean I love this community, and everything I do here is just part of what you are supposed to do if you love the community is the way I feel," Witte said as he accepted the honor. A partial list of Witte's contributions to Karnes City through the years include serving on the board of directors of the chamber, farm bureau and Karnes County Appraisal District; coaching Little League; working with the Boy Scouts and being a member of the Methodist Church in Karnes City, where he serves on the board of trustees. "It's not like something you should be asked to do," he said of his involvement with the various groups. "If you want to be involved, just involve yourself. Don't wait to be asked. We need to all do that. To make this community better, everybody needs to just don't wait to be asked. Just get in there and take the bull by the horns, That's all I can tell you." In receiving the honor, Witte follows in the footsteps of his grandfather August, father Marvin and brother Randy, all past winners of the award. The Rotary Club was formed in 1976, and some of its activities include an achievement night banquet recognizing students with good grades, the giving of scholarships and the sponsorship of the Lonesome Dove Fest. The garden club was formed 55 years ago, and some of its activities include holding plant sales, telling people how to grow gardens and selecting yards of the month. Outgoing chamber directors Carrothers and Craig Brubaker also were recognized Saturday night as were newly appointed directors Mark Bordovsky and Israel Hernandez. Ann Rundle is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-277- 6319 or cueroadv@txcr.net. ************************************************ March 8, 2004 Flyers win tournament KENEDY - The St. Joseph Flyers had 12 hits, including six for extra bases, and ran off with a 12-2 five-inning win over Kenedy in the championship game of the Kenedy Tournament on Saturday night. St. Joseph (5-1) blew the game open with an eight-run third inning. Ryan Daniels went 3-for-3 and had a double to lead the Flyers at the plate. John Leita had a triple and Jared Dorsett, J.R. Moody, Thomas Cooper and Nick Traber each had doubles for St. Joseph. Moody and Traber combined on a three-hitter, with Moody picking up his second win of the season. Cooper was selected the tournament MVP and Moody was named to the all-tournament team. ************************************************ Copyright 2004 Victoria Advocate Online (http://victoriaadvocate.com) The Victoria Advocate - http://TheVictoriaAdvocate.com Two in runoff in Karnes County Precinct 1 commissioner contest March 31, 2004 ANN RUNDLE Victoria Advocate KARNES CITY - How the roads in Karnes County should be repaired and maintained is one issue Precinct 1 commissioner candidates in the April 13 Democratic primary runoff disagree on. Challenger Jimmy Albert of Kenedy believes that the county should go to a unit system, where all four of the precincts' road equipment is pooled together, and a road administrator is hired to take care of all of the county's roads instead of leaving it up to each commissioner. Darrel Blaschke, the incumbent, however, does not believe it's a good idea. "We don't have a lot of paved roads in Karnes County to deal with, so maintainers have to straighten them out when it rains. I've had a lot of people tell me we can go to a unit system and just do it with two maintainers. Well, they'd have to be running 24 hours a day seven days a week to do it," Blaschke said. "At this time, I don't think it'll work in Karnes County because of the small amount of the budgets we have to work with." He said whether the county goes to a unit system, which is used by 24 counties in Texas, would be up to the voters. He said in the 1980s voters rejected the idea three to one. "It's something that needs to be left up to the voters and if the voters would want it, that would be the way to go," Blaschke said. Albert said when it comes to a unit system "some say 'yeah,' some say 'nay.'" "But anybody that's ever gone to it has never reverted back to the old way," he said. "You get by with a lot less equipment and a lot less expenses, and you get the same job done. "We just need to do things more efficiently," Albert said. "Like every commissioner has a loader, or two. Well, if you consolidated all of the dump trucks and used one loader to serve all those trucks, that'd be a big, big savings." The winner of the runoff will face Republican Larry Brown in November. Brown was unopposed in the Republican primary March 9. In the three-way Democratic primary, Blaschke received 336 votes, or 39 percent, and Albert received 289 votes, or 34 percent. More than 50 percent of the vote was needed to avoid a runoff. The third place finisher was Robert Leal, who received 228 votes, or 27 percent. Blaschke, 65, lives in Kenedy, and he has been the Precinct 1 commissioner for 11 years. He has been a self-employed construction contractor, an electrician, mechanic, farmer and rancher. Albert, 61, is a rancher, and he said he ran for commissioner as a write-in candidate four years ago. Albert said he is in favor of making better use of county employees' time, and he emphasized again that something needs to be done to improve the county's roads. "Our roads are deteriorating. They are getting worse than they were 20 years ago, I guess. We could use better materials or equipment. They're not being kept up like they should be," he said. "Too much money is being spent on repairs instead of preventative maintenance. That might save a lot of expense." Both candidates believe the county's 12-bed jail is too small, and that the county's 77.79-cent per $100 valuation tax rate is too high. They said economic development is needed to build up the tax base in order to help lower the tax rate. "As far as the economics goes, there's nothing really serious going on here for economic growth right now. We're hoping maybe with Toyota coming into San Antonio something will develop economically where it will help us," Blaschke said. "Hopefully something will come about. You always got to wish for something." Albert agreed, "if you get some kind of industry or business in here, things like that would raise our tax base." And, he said, "so would better utilization of our equipment. That will lower our overhead," Albert said. Albert said he hadn't had a chance to study the county's budget, but believes "there are always places you can trim if you have to." But Blaschke said "nothing is very extravagant" when it comes to the budget. "The commissioners don't have very big budgets to work with. All of the offices are strapped with trying to make ends meet with a small budget," he said. "Everybody's having to be very conservative to live within their means, within their budget." Because of the county's tight budget, Blaschke said if re-elected he will continue to seek grant opportunities to pay for or supplement costs for renovations to county buildings and the modernizing of low to moderate income housing in the county. Rundle is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-277-6319 or cueroadv@txcr.net.