ENDSSATURDAY

Remember To ‘Fall Back’

WEDNESDAYNov. 1, 2017VOL. 110 • NO. 45

BEACONBRIEFS

P. O. Box 817 • 809 First StreetPalacios, Tx. 77465

(361) 972-3009/Fax 972-2610E-Mail: palaciosbeacon@gmail.com

Website: palaciosbeacon.com

The OnlyNewspaper In The

World Published Just For The Palacios Area.

PALACIOS

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TEXAS

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Beacon Deadline 5 p.m. Friday

Except for paid advertising, all articles, photos or other infor-mation submitted on Monday will be published on a space available basis only.

Open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.Beacon Closed Wednesday

Observing Our

110Year1907-2017

• Beacon Deadline 5 p.m. Friday For Articles & Advertising •

Council approves City Manager pay raise

(See CITY, Page 2)

BY ALAN C. SCHULMANPalacios Beacon - Reporter

Hub ServesDogs To

Astros FansSee Page 3 See Page 12

PalaciosInducts 22

Into NHS

City looking for new Treasurer, Building Inspector

SUBSCRIBETO THE

PALACIOSBEACON

PalaciosPalaciosBEACONBEACONProudly Serving The City By The Sea Since 1907USPS 418460 1 SECTION, 12 PAGES

(See HAYES, Page 3)

Riders brave temps at annual Pedal Palacios

Historic lows for unemployment rate in Texas

(See JOBS, Page 3)

EIgHTY-two riders reserved spots in the 9th annual Pedal Palacios event; 80 hardy souls showed up. The morning temperature was 41 degrees with an 11 mph north wind and absolutely zero riders showed up the day of the event. Pedal Palacios is a sanctioned preparation run for the MS150 biking event, a two-day ride from Houston to Austin to benefit Multiple Sclerosis. Riders rode either a 12-, 36- or 60-mile route through Palacios and the paved roads north of town. The Palacios Chamber of Commerce hosted the event with several well-stocked and well-manned rest stops along the routes, plus a generous shrimp boil at the finish. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

BY ALAN C. SCHULMANPalacios Beacon - Reporter

■ G/T Meeting Mon. for PISD Kinder parents

Parents of kindergarten students or students new to public education who would like to nominate their child for testing for the Gifted and Talented program are invited to attend an informational meeting. The meeting will be held at the Central Elementary Cafeteria on Monday, November 6th at 4:30 p.m. The nomina-tion period is scheduled from November 6th – November 22nd . Ques-tions may be directed to Veronica Kacer at 972-2911 or Sherri Seaman at 972-5491.

BY ALAN C. SCHULMANPalacios Beacon - Reporter

Dr. Hayes brings big city care to PCMC

■ BBQ Plate fundraiser Sat. at Church of God of Prophecy

The West Palacios Church of God of Proph-ecy, located at 809 9th St. will be holding a BBQ Plate fundraiser from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. To go plates are $10 and includes chicken, sausage, beans, rice, potato salad and drink.

“I’m here because I want to be here,” stated Dr. Bar-bara Hayes when asked why she chooses to practice med-icine at Palacios Community Medical Center (PCMC) and forgo many opportuni-ties available to her at other, more prestigious healthcare facilities. “Every provider is here because they want to be here. Because we choose to help the underserved. Our whole staff loves being here.”

This, coming from a medi-cal provider who graduated at the top of her class and was recently published in The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, should assure patients in the area that the highest level of healthcare is available here, in spite of the low expectations sometimes associated with small town medical facilities.

Dr. Hayes, along with Dr. Alan Barker, came here nearly a year ago, with the goal of providing the high-est level of healthcare to a rural community, and to ex-

pand the range of services at the hospital and the clinic. To that end, they, along with CEO Claude Manning, have brought in specialty provid-ers, and are always looking to bring in more. It’s Dr. Hayes’ desire that the local community have access to an array of healthcare services which will preclude the need to travel long distances for those services.

Dr. Hayes’ recently pub-

Unemployment rates in Texas are reaching historic lows. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently announced, “We just tied a record for the lowest unemployment rate (4 percent) in the last 40 years.” Locally, all but one area county (Calhoun) experi-enced a lower unemployment rate in September compared to August, and while Matago-rda County’s rate remains relatively high at 7.5 percent, it too is headed in the right di-rection - downward.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, in September, 242 of the 254 counties had an over-the-month decline in their unem-ployment rates, one county was unchanged, while 11 increased. Forty-five coun-

Pay raise and reimbursements led the discussion as well as bidding farewell to an employee at last week’s regular meeting of the Palacios City Council.

The Palacios City Council approved of City Manager David Kocurek’s per-formance so much so, that they ap-proved an appoximate 4-percent raise.

The pay increase brings Kocurek’s an-nual salary upwards of $82,000.

FEMA MeetingMayor Glen Smith and City Manager

David Kocurek reported that they had

met earlier in the day with representa-tives from FEMA and the Texas Divi-sion of Emergency Management “to kick off the Scoping Meeting for Re-imbursement” according to Kocurek. Those federal and state agencies were in the area to provide public assistance for damages from Hurricane Harvey. Mayor Smith stated that the representatives are going to “set up an appointment for the FEMA folks to site visit to come down and do some corroboration of some of the items that we had on our list.”

City Treasurer VacancyDavid Kocurek announced, “with

a heavy heart,” City Treasurer Jackie (Jones) Miller will be leaving to take a position in the private sector. Mayor Glen Smith joined in, stating, “She will be sorely missed.”

STP CelebrationLater that day, Smith and Kocurek

attended STP’s celebration of their 20-year permit extension. Kocurek stated that several nuclear power plants around the country “are not getting their renewal licenses and are shutting down.”

Approved ItemsA Services Proposal from RPA Ar-

Early voting ends Fri., Election Day Tues. for Texas Constitutional AmendmentsThe early voting polls

opened last week and will run thru this Fri. (Nov. 3) for voting on proposed Texas Constitutional Amendments and the polls will open again on Election Day, Tues. (Nov. 7)

Polling for Matagorda County Precints 3A, 3B and 7 will be at the Matagorda County Annex, located at 405 Commerce in Palacios.

Early voting will be from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. thru Fri. (Nov. 3). The polls will be open on Election Day,

Tues. (Nov. 7) from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The Constitutional Amendment ballot is as follows:

Proposition 1: proposes an amendment that would permit the Texas Legis-lature to expand the cir-cumstances under which a partially disabled vet-eran or their spouse may qualify for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of part of the market value

(See VOTINg, Page 4)

Miss Palacios Pageant Sat. at PHS Fine Arts Building

THE 46th annual Miss Palacios Pag-eant will be held this Sat. (Nov. 4) at 7 p.m. the Palacios High School Fine Arts Building, where one lovely lady will be crowned Miss Palacios 2018. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students

This year’s event will feature six cate-gories: Miss Palacios, Miss Palacios Area, Miss Palacios Debutaunte, Jr. Miss Pala-cios, Little Miss Palacios and Little Mr. Palacios.

Vying for the crown of Miss Palacios royalty are: (front, l-r) Marian gomez, Jannifer Le, Elizabeth Ortiz and Lanae

Tucker; (back) Rachel White.Vying for the Miss Palacios Area crown

are: (back) Megan ging and Savannah Knezek.

For pictures of other category contes-tants see Page 12.

Awards winners in 2016 were: Miss Palacios - Audry Kessler, Outstanding Debutuante - Avery Kubecka; Area Miss Palacios - Faith Cornett; Junior Miss Pa-lacios - Bailey Engel; Little Miss - Mad-elyn West; and Little Mr. Trey Ortiz. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

DR. BARBARA HAYES

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 2 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., November 1, 2017 DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAY

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PALACIOS BEACON$30 A YEAR IN COUNTY • $40 A YEAR OUT-OF-COUNTY

Saying goodbye to Luminant after 56 yearsROCKDALE: Rockdale has lost its biggest industry,

greatest jobs provider and largest taxpayer. Again. Lumi-nant announced Friday it will close its Sandow 4 and 5 power plants by January, and is also shutting down Three Oaks Mine, throwing more than 450 persons out of work, plus between an estimated 100 and 200 sub-contractors who will also be affected. Falling energy prices and com-petition from government-subsidized wind energy were cited as prime factors for the decision. Nine years ago, Al-coa closed its Rockdale smelter. The aluminum company had been the area’s economic lifeblood for 56 years. But Luminant remained, operating its power plants and mine. It was Rockdale’s “fallback” industry. Until now. - The Rockdale Reporter

Farm takes big hit from hurricaneGLEN FLORA: Gundermann Acres, run by Garrett and

Stacie Gundermann, a husband and wife team, were one of the farms directly affected by Hurricane Harvey. With their 500-acre farm, they provide food for Whole Foods, Central Market, and H-E-B. Their farm also sells produce at farmers markets in the Austin and Houston areas, mak-ing a name for themselves in the fresh and organic food industry. With almost all of their produce destroyed in the flood, they have donated the remainder of their crop to the Houston Food Bank and are starting over from scratch. “Unfortunately, we lost somewhere around $300,000 to $400,000 in produce,” said Garrett. “What we do have left isn’t beautiful enough to sell, so we donate it to the food bank and they always appreciate fresh food.” Since the Gundermanns are produce farmers, they didn’t receive government subsidies to regain the funds they lost through Harvey and will have to fund the replanting of their crops themselves. The government will only subsidize crops like corn and cotton in the area. The Gundermanns have set up a You Caring fund for anyone that wants to donate money to help recover lost assets to the farm. - Wharton Journal-Spectator

Former Co. Treasurer out on bailROCKDALE: Milam County’s former treasurer is free

on $10,000 bond after being charged with covering up an alleged theft of funds. Donna Orsag, 56, was booked in the Milam County Jail and released after posting the bond. The charge stems from an allegation that Orsag took money from Bea’s Kitchen deposits to the county, then destroyed emails and records that included daily deposit sheets and emails. An arrest affidavit indicated Orsag had confessed to taking the money, citing “financial hardships.” It’s be-lieved the amount taken was $294, and has been paid back. - The Rockdale Reporter

PALACIOS BEACON

Area Briefs

Palacios Air RepairAir Conditioning and HeatingSales, Service & Installations

Richard Bari9166 St. Hwy 35 S. • Palacios, TX

979-429-7488

Hot yet?? Find Palacios Air Repair’s Coupon in this week’s Palacios Beacon for

additional savings!

Serving Palacios for over 12 years!

TACL

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Paws By The Bay Dog Grooming

1010 First St • Palacios, TX 361-404-9700 or 512-771-5939

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday/ 8am to 4pmAshley Kolding, Owner/Groomer

instagram-Baysidegames_BaydogsFacebook @ pawsbythebaygrooming

BBQ BURGERSFULL BREAKFAST

BBQ PLATESMENUDO

TACOS

JANIE’S SNACK BAR

803 Main St. • Palacios361-972-3201

Open 7 days a week

After a great Oktoberfest party, the Palacios Yacht Club (PYC) is doubling down on the fun with the PYC at the November monthly meeting, held Sat. (Nov. 4)

“We had a taste of Germany, now it is time for foods from around the world,” said PYC Commodore Barney Gul-ley, “We will be having an International Food Extravaganza!”

Everyone is encouraged to bring a covered dish representing some interna-tional destination or cuisine.

Dust off the recipes from your grand-mother, search the internet, or do what-ever it takes to come up with interesting and exotic dishes from around the world.

Maybe Empanadas from Spain, Rice and Beans from Jamaica, Souffles from France, Tandoori Chicken from India,

Haggis from Scot-land, Couscous from Morocco, Chocolate Cov-ered Crickets from Thailand, Pao de Queijo from Bra-zil, or Rojak from

Singapore. There is no limit to the vari-ety of tastes available.

The meeting will be at the Outrigger Event Center, located at 515 Commerce on Sat. (Nov. 4) starting at 6 p.m. Guests and those interested in exploring mem-bership are welcome. Remember, that because of the Outrigger’s beer and wine permit, attendees must buy our beer and wine from the Outrigger. Soft drinks will be available. Kids are welcome.

Also in the future, be sure to mark De-cember 2 as the PYC Christmas party and January 6 as the PYC Annual Meet-ing where new Officers and Race Com-mittee will be elected for 2018.

CITY (Continued From Page 1)

chitects in the amount of $10,634.05 to complete the Pavilion Project was approved, along with the Minutes of the Sep.10, 2017 Regular Council Meeting.

Executive SessionAfter a lengthy Execu-

tive Session, City Coun-cil members emerged and approved a Take Over Agreement with SureTec (bonding company) for

the Pavilion Project, and also approved an approxi-mately 4 percent increase in compensation for City Manager David Kocurek.

Possible action regard-ing property for a pro-posed new hotel, located at 0 Duson, was tabled until the next meeting.

Next MeetingThe next City Council

Regular Meeting will be on November 14.

HELP MAKETHE NEW FIRE

HOUSE A REALITY.

PLEASE DONATE HERE.

PVFD P.O. Box 212

Palacios, TX 77465

Clean-up of Harvey remnants continues on the water....WHILE Hurricane Harvey seems a long ago nightmare for most of south Texas, the clean-up around the area con-tinues. Locally, a barge crew was spotted in East Bay Marina picking up the pieces and remnants of vessels that have seen much better days. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

Palacios Yacht Club holds International Food Extravaganza Sat. at the Outrigger Event Center

Palacios Beacon - Wed., November 1, 2017 - Page 3DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAY

HAYES (Continued From Page 1)

sponsored by the Palacios Beacon

ARRESTSEduardo Ramos, 23, 806 Moore Ave, was

arrested in the 800 block of Moore Ave at 1:45 a.m. on Oct. 20. Warrant Service Out of Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office.

INCIDENTSAssault/FV Impede Breathing: Offi-

cers were dispatched to the area of 12th St. leaving city limits at 3:22 a.m. on Oct. 23 in reference to a female being assaulted by her boyfriend.

Unattended Death: Officer was dis-patched to the 600 block of 5th St. at 9:00 p.m. on Oct. 24 in reference to medical as-sistance.

Individuals listed have been arrested and/or charged with an offense. Inclusion in this report does not imply that the person is guilty of any crime. The following are offense and arrest reports submitted by the Palacios Police Dept. to the Palacios Beacon as of noon Friday.

• Palacios Police Reports •

From the Police ChiefBy Police Chief David Miles

October 31st is Halloween; it’s a night when the streets will be alive with kids going from door to door trying to get as much can-dy as they can. Please be care-ful while you’re driving and if your child is going to be out, put some type of reflective strips or a reflective costume on them. Dark cos-tumes are hard to see.

DJ’s on Saturday Nights814 Henderson (Hwy 35) • Palacios • 361-356-1072

Come Join the Fun

Open 7 Days A Week • 10 a.m.-2 a.m.No Minors after 9 p.m.

~ Mixed Drinks & Draft Beer ~

Omar’s Bar & Grill

TACLB 27302EPalacios Air RepairAir Conditioning and Heating Sales, Service & Installations

979-429-74889166 St. Hwy 35 South • Palacios, TX

Richard Bari, Owner

Coupon expires Nov. 30, 2017

Serving Palacios for over 12 years

10% off of Repairs and Replacements

Palacios Auto & Towing1105 Henderson • 361-972-5923 • M-F/7:30am - 4:30pm

Saturday by appointments only

Winterize Your VehicleDrain and Refill the Cooling

System with OEM Antifreeze.Call for Your Price!

(each vehicle varies in price)

361-972-5923Must have this coupon. Expires January 31, 2018

Gateway Mortgage Group is a registered service mark of Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC. NMLS 7233. All loans subject to program guidelines and final underwriting approval. See local branch for additional terms and conditions. Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending Lic. #7233

389 Cedar Street | PO Box 693 | Matagorda, TX 77457

TERI TREADWAYBranch Manager, NMLS 208128

979.863.7874 Direct | 713.542.6646 CellTeri.Treadway@GatewayLoan.com

www.TeriTreadway.com

JASON CHILDERSLoan Originator, NMLS 644426979.318.4766 Direct979.824.6761 CellJason.Childers@GatewayLoan.com

ThankfulThe TLC Team is thankful for our Community, Families and Homes.

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Weimer Hall • 209 Lucas • Palacios

The proceeds will be used for Mission Projects

Get Your Holiday Shopping Done Early!

• Crafts • Great Gift Items

• Baked Goods • New & Used Treasures

Chicken Spaghetti Dinner - 11a.m.

$1000 per plate

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4th • 10am- 2pm

Green Beans, Bread, Dessert & Drink

Catholic Daughters of AmericasCourt Our Lady of the Sea #2133

HEARTY TURKEY DINNER

Sunday, November 12th

Starts at 10:30 amK.C. Hall

700 Main St • Palacios$9 a plate

Turkey & Dressing Dinner with all the trimmings & Dessert included. Tea for Dine-in only

Dine-In or Take Out

* RAFFLE *

* CRAFT* SALE

* BAKE * SALE

Campbell-HuittInsurance

328 CommercePalacios, TX

361-972-2551Auto-BondsBusinessHomeLifeFlood

Nov. 1, 1939: The first section of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s many miles of transmis-sion lines was energized at Bertram in Burnet County, and the first of several thousand rural Hill Country families re-ceived electricity.

Nov. 2, 1779: Span-ish diplomat Athanase de Mezieres died at San Antonio of lingering ef-fects from a head injury suffered in a fall from a horse.

Nov. 3, 1891: Con-struction began on the Pecos High Bridge in Val Verde County.

Nov. 4, 1906: Dance queen Gussie Nell Da-vis was born in Farmer-sville, Texas. She went on to gain fame as the or-ganizer and leader of the Kilgore Rangerettes, the innovative dance-drill team at Kilgore College.

Nov. 5, 1960: Singer Johnny Horton died in a car accident in Milano, Texas.

Nov. 6, 1891: The or-ganizational meeting of the Daughters of the Re-public of Texas was held in the Houston home of Mary Jane Briscoe.

Nov. 7, 1972: Texas voters passed the Texas Equal Rights and the Constitutional Revision amendments.

This Weekin TexasHistory

lished article in The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine ex-amines the need for change in the scheduling of follow-up appointments for patients found to have elevated blood pressure during an urgent care visit. She conducted a study which found that pa-tients were more than twice as likely to follow up with a primary care provider (PCP) to address their chronic con-dition when an appointment was made for them by the ur-gent care facility than those patients who were to make their own appointments. Her article, which recommends continuity of care through coordination between urgent care facilities and primary care providers, focuses on improving healthcare out-comes, but it just might im-prove The Journal of Urgent

Care Medicine too, as the Editor-In-Chief has decided to make the section in which the article appeared a regu-larly occurring department.

With a “reworked” emer-gency room and a new clin-ic, Dr. Hayes, Dr. Barker, Shanna Bellamy, FNP-C, and Joe Vasquez, A-GNP-C are working to make health-care in our little town the

best it can be. According to Dr. Hayes,

“Little town doesn’t mean that everybody that choos-es to work here is ‘Little Town’. We like to provide rural health. Everybody that works with us, that’s what they do. That’s where their heart is.”

ties had an unemployment rate of 3.0 percent or less, and rates varied considerably across counties, ranging from a low of 1.5 percent in McMullen County to a high of 10.2 percent in Zavala County. The number of people not in

the labor force because they are discouraged over job prospects in Texas stands at 35,800, down from a level of 40,600 a year ago.

The U.S., Texas, and surrounding counties’ unemployment rates for September 2017 are

shown below, with August 2017 and percent change in parentheses. U.S.: 4.2 per-cent (4.4) (-0.2%) Texas: 4.0 percent (4.2) (-0.2%) Brazo-ria: 5.3 percent (5.6) (-0.3%) Calhoun: 6.1 percent (5.7) (0.4%) Colorado: 3.6 percent (3.9) (-0.3%) Fort Bend: 4.5 percent (4.9) (-0.4%) Jack-son; 4.0 percent (4.3) (-0.3%) Matagorda: 7.5 percent (7.9) (-0.4%) Wharton: 4.4 percent (4.8) (-0.4%).

JOBS (Continued From Page 1)

The Hub serving up hot dogs in support of the Houston Astros...THE Palacios Community Hub held a free hot dog lunch for those representing the Houston Astros in their pursuit of a World Series championship last week. (Beacon Photo by Brandi G. West)

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 4 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., November 1, 2017

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