WEDNESDAYMAY 22, 2019VOL. 112 • NO. 20

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P. O. Box 817 • 310 Fifth St.Palacios, TX 77465

(361) 972-3009palaciosbeacon@gmail.com

Website: palaciosbeacon.com

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

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Proudly Serving The City By The Sea Since 1907USPS 418460 1 SectiON, 12 PAGES

PalaciosPalaciosBEACONBEACONOpen 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Beacon Closed Wednesday

Council swears in recent electees, reject Downtown Revitalization bidBY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-Publisher

(See CPORT, Page 4)

BY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-Publisher

$1.00

Supporting The Mental Health

Needs Of ChildrenSee Page 2 See Page 8

Central’sStudents Of

The WeekSee Page 3

ErdeltHonored

By City

(See PEDC, Page 3)

BY ALAN C. SCHULMANPalacios Beacon - Reporter

(See PCMC, Page 3)

(See THS, Page 12)

PISD hears students plea for new band uniforms, instruments

The Knights of Co-lumbus will hold its 8th annual Memorial Com-memoration Weekend this Fri. and Sat. (May 24-25) at the Palacios Recreation Center, lo-cated at 2401 Perryman Ave.

The Memorial Com-memoration Service in Honor of Memorial Day will be held from 2-3 p.m. on Sat. with Palacios Mayor Glen Smith the guest speak-er.

Texas Hold ‘EmA Texas Hold ‘Em

will be held Fri. at 7 p.m. To get in on the ac-tion, players 21 and up, is $125 and includes a meal, with one chip up for $50.

MusicA free Fri. night out-

door performance by Adriana LIVE will be from 8 pm. - midnight so bring your lawn chair.

GamesBounce & Play Moon

Walks, Splish & Splash Bounce wristbands will be availalbe for $10 and mechanical bull rides are $5.

Washer TournamentThe Palacios Vol-

unteer Fire Dept. will be hosting a Memorial Day Washer Tourna-ment at 10 a.m. on Sat. (May 25).

All ages are welcome in the double elimina-tion, two-person team tournament. Entry fee is $50 per team. For more info or to reserve a spot, text Robert Rocha at 361-404-1406.

■ Memorial Day Weekend

festivities

(See CITY, Page 3)

All are invited to join in celebrating the 111th Col-legeport Day on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at the Mopac House. The traditional BBQ dinner will begin at 12:00 noon. Please bring side dishes, salads and desserts to complete the meal.

Collegeport Day com-memorates the community’s

founding in 1908. Each year, residents and friends gather to reminisce and en-joy great food and fellow-ship. Collegeport Day, ob-served annually since 1908, is held the last Saturday in May, and is the longest-standing celebration of its kind in Matagorda County.

111th Collegeport Day celebrated Saturday

PALACIOS, Texas – The Palacios Community Medical Center will soon have a new, reliable emergency genera-tor that will allow the center to continue treating patients even during power out-ages, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The Community Development Part-nership Program grant, along with $41,782 in matching contributions, will help the center fulfill its mission of being open 24 hours a day, rain or shine.

The center opened in 1960 and re-mained in full operation until Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when hospital staff feared the almost 60-year-old genera-tor would fail during the storm. Without a reliable generator, the hospital was forced to temporarily close. As a result, the community was left without local ac-

cess to critical care during the storm, and people needing help had to travel at least 40 miles north to El Campo for medical services.

"The funding being provided by LCRA will position the organization to be there for the community next time," said Rob-ert Pascasio, the center’s administrator and chief executive officer.

The lack of locally available health-care services during Hurricane Harvey affected other operations in the commu-nity as well. County emergency medical services were strained by transporting patients outside of Matagorda Coun-ty and several local businesses had to modify their disaster and storm response plans because local medical services

LCRA representatives present a $25,000 grant to the Palacios Community Medical Center for an emergency generator. The grant is part of LCRA’s Com-munity Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Gail Purvis, Palacios Community Medical Center board chair; Bill Turner, PCMC board member; Robert Pascasio, PCMC administrator and CEO; John Harrison, Palacios Medical Foundation; Thuy Vu, PCMC board member; Lori A. Berger, LCRA Board member; Sue Stacy, Palacios Medical Foundation; Ste-phen F. Cooper, LCRA Board secretary; and Huyen Jessica Tran, PCMC com-munity outreach coordinator. (Submitted Photo)

Tidehaven Class of 2019 to graduate 66 FridayThe Tidehaven High

School Class of 2019 has 66 graduation candidates set to receive their diplo-mas at the Commencement Ceremony from the Tiger Dome to be held at 7:30 p.m. on Fri. (May 24).

Valedictorian for the

Class of 2019 is Anisa Cor-nett, daughter of Jack and Annette Cornett.

The THS Class of 2019 Salutatorian is Taylor Sex-ton, daughter of Kenny and Lisa Sexton.

ANISA CORNETTTHS Valedictorian

TAYLOR SEXTONTHS Salutatorian

The Palacios ISD Board of Trustees required two executive sessions and ap-proximately four hours to complete last Thursday’s PISD Regular Board Meet-

ing, but it’s history now.The Board reconvened

after its first executive ses-sion to present Kaitlyn Marroquin with the 2019 Mexican American School Boards Association (MAS-

PCMC receives $25,000 LCRA grant

PEDC Directors consider Main St. Program....Lite

(See PISD, Page 5)

It’s back to the drawing board for the City of Palacios’ Downtown Revitaliza-tion Project as the City Council rejected the lone bid submitted at last week’s Coun-cil meeting.

“We had one bid,” said City Manager David Kocurek. “The bid we received was over the construction budget amount.”

The City is in the process of rebidding the project with two week’s worth of pub-lic notices and a deadline to receive. The bid opening is slated for the June 12 Coun-

cil meeting, unless a Special Meeting is called.

During the Citizen’s Forum, resident Chip Woolf hit on the bid mulligan and said it “reminded him of the Pavilion.”

The guidelines for the grant note con-struction on the project is supposed to be done by November, Kocurek noted.

Citizen Forum Along with his thoughts in rebid, Woolf

“expressed concern as to whether Coun-cil had financial statements they can un-derstand” and noted the yet to be com-plete audit is two months past last year’s

While joining the Main St. Program involves a three-year commitment and a substantial amount of funding, the Palacios Eco-nomic Development Corp. (PEDC) Board of Directors discussed the possibility of a Main St. - Lite program to

get the ball rolling in Pala-cios.

PEDC Executive Direc-tor Mike Ferdinand report-ed Director Stuart Lynn, absent from last week’s meeting, suggested a scaled back version of the Main St. Program, with a part-time director over the program.

CITY Secretary Clissa Mills (left) administers the Oath of Office to Council members Wayne Dodd, Mary Crocker and Troy Lewis at last week’s City Council meeting.

All good things must come to an end...

BEFORE the dust could settle after the game-winning run slid across home plate an exasperated Slone Greaves, pitcher for the Palacios Sharks, slowly walks off the field, towards coach Hudson Bates, while catcher Jacob Marti-nez can only hold his head as he watches Kirbyville’s Wildcats celebrate a 7-6 win in Game Two of the Region III Quarterfinals and closed the door on Pa-lacios’ 2019 season. For more on the Sharks’ historic season on the diamond, see Page 11. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 2 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., May 22, 2019

PALACIOS BEACON

Area Briefs

•The Palacios Beacon • Serving the City by the Sea since 1907

Alleged car theif nabbed on the beachPORT ARANSAS: A homeless man was arrested on

Monday in connection with the theft of a car reported stolen by an Enterprise Rent-A-Car store in Louisiana. Lyndon Rex, 50, was booked on a count of unauthor-ized use of a motor vehicle, according to Detective Amy Jamison of the Port Aransas Police Department. Rex was arrested near Pole 17 after police responded to a call about a man and a woman yelling at each other over not having any money, police said. The vehicle was rented months ago and never returned, Jamison said. As a result of the arrest, Rex is facing a state jail felony that carries a punishment of 180 days to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. The woman was not charged by police. - Port Aransas South Jetty

Former Ricebird signs with NFL’s Panthers EL CAMPO: Former El Campo Ricebird Cole Hunt

is going to get another shot in the NFL. Following the NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers signed Hunt as a free agent. Last season, after going undrafted, Hunt signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. Injuries kept Hunt from fully showing everything he could do and the Chargers cut him. Hunt found new life in the Alliance of Ameri-can Football. However, he ran into bad luck once again when the league folded. “If I couldn’t play, and I knew I couldn’t play, I would just hang it up, but I know I can play so I just want to keep giving it an opportunity,” he said after signing with the AAF earlier this year. With the Panthers, Hunt is one of seven tight-ends looking to make the 53-man roster.- El Campo Leader-News

Train collides with wind turbine bladeLULING: On Friday, a wind turbine propeller trans-

port truck was traveling south on U.S. 183 in Luling in the process of crossing the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and negotiating a left-hand turn to continue south when the railroad crossing arms came down on approximately the last 30 feet of the transport trailer. The truck was continuing through its turn when the westbound Union Pacific train collided with approxi-mately the last five feet of the turbine blade. The train came to a stop at Hackberry St. and an accident inves-tigation was initiated by the Luling Police Department and Union Pacific Railroad Safety personnel. In addi-tion to the damaged turbine blade, there was minor, non-operationally critical damage to the train engine and scrape marks on the next three railroad cars in line. There were no injuries reported as a result of the colli-sion. - The Luling Newsboy & Signal-

Putting the Focus on Mental HealthPart 3 of a 4-part series during May Mental Health Month

When you or someone you love is dealing with a mental health con-cern sometimes it is a lot to handle. The Palacios Wellness Council was formed in 2017 to help remove bar-riers to access mental health services, to share information and promote wellness in our community.

As May is Mental Health Month, we at the Beacon have partnered with the Palacios Wellness Council and will be featuring a series of articles from local authors focusing on differ-ent aspects of mental health

Supporting the Mental Health Needs of ChildrenBy Diva Mayra Vazquez, M. Ed. in Counseling, M.S. Bi-Lingual Ed., School Counselor PISD

During this month of May, we observe Mental Health Awareness Month. It is an opportune time to increase awareness about the impor-tance of promoting mental health not only in adults, but in our school aged children as well. Mental health in-cludes our psychological, emotional, and social well-being. Our mental health can affect our daily lives in-cluding how we feel, think, and cope. Maintaining our mental health allows us to better handle stressors, have positive relationships, work produc-tively, and make meaningful contri-butions.

In the consideration and promo-tion of mental health, it is important to recognize that children should not be excluded. Sometimes children are overlooked because they have not yet developed skills of self-advocacy. It becomes the role of the adults in the children’s lives to identify symptoms of possible mental health issues, and to find ways to address them. School aged children struggling with mental health issues face many obstacles. They may have increased school ab-sences, physical illnesses, discipline problems, and trouble maintaining positive peer relationships. In ad-dition, grades may begin dropping, placing children at risk academical-ly. It is necessary to first understand that children facing mental health

issues need to be supported and defi-nitely appreciated for their individual strengths. Supporting the needs of our children will help to ensure their suc-cess in the school environment.

It is important for parents and school staff to work together to meet the needs of their children. Commu-nication between those involved is key in order to maintain consistency between home and school. Identifica-tion of children facing mental health issues is necessary in order to begin supporting their individual needs. School staff promotes children’s posi-tive mental health in many ways. One way school staff supports the mental health of children is by encouraging and demonstrating positive ways to cope with everyday stressors. By of-fering guidance and presenting examples, stu-dents can begin to observe and practice making healthy decisions on their own. As a school counselor I am so happy to respond to a child who drops by my office and who shares an issue he or she is facing. I sometimes see a lack of trust in a child’s face when they take that first step to express their feelings and ask for some help or advice. Build-ing that trust is a part of my job that is most im-portant to me and providing a car-ing place to bring children together gives me joy as I offer a safe and structured setting. Building confi-dence and iden-tifying strengths

can help children feel productive and will then encourage increased partici-pation in school. School staff can also provide internal and external resourc-es to families who have questions or concerns facing the mental health of their children.

As schools and parents work to-gether to support children, it should be a priority to address their mental health needs. Children with positive mental health will be better able to make good choices, maintain healthy relationships, and work productively. Learning early on how to maintain personal mental health will allow children to continue growing into young adults and then into adulthood with skills that will always be neces-sary for their continued success.

Putting the finishing touches on the swings...CHARLIE Rhoades and Josh Buckley of Rhoades Land Leveling & Construction were putting the finish-ing touches on the new swingsets installed at the South Bay playground. The new swings are a project of the Palacios Seawall Commission. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

When you want LOCAL news, sports & more -- choose the Palacios Beacon☛

Palacios Beacon - Wed., May 22, 2019 - Page 3DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAY

CITY (Continued From Page 1)

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

ARRESTS Carmen Carter Aparicio, 44,

701 Johnson Ave, was arrested in the 600 block of 8th St. at 1:07 a.m. on May 11. Public Intoxication.

Melissa Anne Agee, 42, 1200 4th St., was arrested in the 400 block of Henderson Ave at 2:12 a.m. on May 14. Public Intoxication.

Kyle Chase Smith, 26, Bay City, was arrested in the 300 block of Henderson Ave at 2:22 a.m. on May 14. Public Intoxication.

INCIDENTSConcerned Citizen - Missing Per-

son: Officer responded to a call at 11:00 p.m. on May 10 in reference to an elderly woman who had driven off the road near East Craymer Ave and Gray St.

Theft: Officer made contact with an individual at 9:06 p.m. on May 12 in ref-erence to a stolen bike.

Assault Causes Bodily Injury Fam-

ily Violence: Officer was dispatched to the 400 block of E. Craymer Ave at 6:30 p.m. on May 14 in reference to a distur-bance.

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle: Officer responded to a Burglary of a Motor Ve-hicle at 7:00 p.m. on May 14.

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

I got a call from the IRS yes-terday, said I won a Publish-er’s Clearing House prize of $850,000, then the man on the phone told me I had to pay an IRS registra-tion fee. More scams to get your money.

Breakfast & Lunch

Michael & Nancy Dotson Owner/Operators 361-484-5885 • 458 Main St.

• Delicious Burgers• Sandwiches

• Homemade Sweets• Hand-dipped

Bluebell Ice Cream• Specialty Coffee

Drinks

Memorial Commemoration Service in Honor of Memorial Daywill be held Saturday the 25th of May, from 2-3pm. All actives stop and coaches are asked to bring their teams and public is welcomed. The ceremony begins with VFW Commander Charles Tyler pledge of allegiances followed by invocation Rev. Eric Young, National Anthem sung by De’Ja La’ Rae Jones, guest speakers Mayor Glen Smith, City of Palacios, roll call by CWO4 Joe D. Garcia, Folding of the Flag by Navy Carmen Mencera, Navy Gilbert Hernandez, Navy Airman Mauro Gonzalez, Army Henry Molina, Gun Salute/VFW & Taps to be played at the end of ceremony by VFW.

Seating available but limited please bring your Lawn Chairs

Dj Alex

Adriana LIVE: FRIDAY 24TH 8PM– MIDNIGHT

Outdoor Event No Charge / Lawn Chairs welcomed

Playing your Favorite

tunes

For more information contact: GK Horacio Molina 361.676.8617

Washer

Tourney PVFD

Recreational Co-Ed Kickball Tourneys

Students three division’s 5GGHS 12th-9th / JrHS 8th- 6th / Elementary 5th-3rd

$20 per player covers T-shirt, Umpire fee, Meal ticket & bottle water provide for players

Adult 5GG $100 Entry $10 PAPDeadline May 22nd Limited to first 20 teams

TEAM CAMP SPACE $55.00 -20’x30’ & Includes Parking

Bounce & Play Moon Walks,

Splish & Splash Bounce

Wristband $10.00 per day

Mechanical Bull $5.00 per ride

Friday evening 7pm $125 Includes meal1 Chip up $50 Players 21 & up

Coastal Batteries LLC

• Auto • Marine • Golf Cart

361-404-19874997 S. HWY 35 • Palacios

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HOUSE A REALITY.

PLEASE DONATE HERE.

PVFD P.O. Box 212

Palacios, TX 77465

GRAB-N-GO WASHATERIA & GROCERY STORE

1111 Henderson St. • Palacios, TX 361-972-5022

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Hunt Brothers Pizza

were unavailable."We are truly grateful to LCRA for providing the

funds essential to supporting our continuing opera-tions," Pascasio said.

The community grant is one of a number of grants re-cently awarded through LCRA’s Community Develop-ment Partnership Program. The program provides eco-nomic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves.

Applications for the next round of grants will be ac-cepted July 1-31. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.

completion date.“The Audit Report is about 90 pages,”

Woolf said, “There’s a lot of information, more than you guys are looking at.”

Patricia Loving returned with more data on the pot-hole ridden Harrison St., where she resides.

“The City Manager gave me some infor-mation about a month ago on the recon-struction of Harrison St. that I come and talk to you about every two weeks of so,” Loving said with a grin.

She cited an April 2018 estimate from Urban Engineering with a price tag of $260,000 for the five block street.

“It was on our 2009 planning report and was supposed to be the in the plans for 2013 and now it’s 2019,” added Loving. “It is becoming more and more danger-ous.”

She described the road condition as “an archipelago with little islands with water surrounding it.”

Oaths of OfficeAfter certifying the election, City Secre-

tary Clissa Mills administered the Oath of Office to the newly elected Wayne Dodd and reelected Mary Crocker and Troy Lewis.

Dodd replaces Andy Erdelt in Pos. 5, who will go down as the first Council member to term out, twice. A reception for Erdelt was held prior to the meeting in the Council chambers.

2019-20 Budget Calendar

Council approved the Budget Calendar for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

The activity begins on July 26 with with the dead-line to file the proposed budget, posting on the City website and posting the 72-hour notice at City Hall of meeting to discuss the prop-erty tax rate.

A Special Meeting will be held to discuss the proposed property tax rate and sched-ule a pair of public hear-ings. The Notice of 2019 Tax Year Proposed Tax Rate will be published in the Beacon on April 14, along with a notice of public hear-ing on the proposed budget.

At the Aug. 27 Coun-cil meeting and a Special Meeting on Sept. 3 the two public hearings on the pro-posed tax rate are to be held.

The budget and tax rate are to be put to the vote of the Council at the Sept. 10 meeting.

Both Mayor Smith and Councilwoman Donna Schulman echoed Woolf’s sentiments on the need to have the audit finalized.

Rebuild Texas GrantCouncil adopted Resolu-

tion 2019-R-14 accepting the grant from Rebuild Texas for $85,000 for the purchase of a generator at City Hall.

Personnel Policy UpdatesCouncil approved moving from a quar-

terly accrual basis to a monthly accrual ba-sis for sick and vacation leave.

ProclamationsMayor Glen Smith delivered a pair of

proclamations, one for Law Enforcement Week on May 12-18, and for national Pub-lic Works Week on May 19-25.

Admin ReportsCity Manager David Kocurek presented

the Admin Reports with a calendar featur-ing the Boys & Girls Club’s Denim & Dia-monds fundraiser May 16, the upcoming 8th annual Memorial Day Kickball Com-memoration where Mayor Smith will be guest speaker, and the Hub’s 2nd annual Happy Hubmore the Hubshack Classic Golf Tournament on June 15.

Tabled ItemsThe agenda item for budget adjustments

for the 2018-19 budget was tabled.Also tabled was the adopting of an in-

vestment policy, after Councilwoman Schulman noted the requirement to have a secondary listed on policy was vacant.

Next MeetingThe next meeting of the Palacios City

Council will be held at 7 p.m. on May 28.

The Directors opted to cre-ate a Downtown - Main St. Committee to look further

into the possible endeavor.MCEDC Report

Ferdinand led off his

monthly activity report with both the hotel and recreation/leisure projects

PCMC (Continued From Page 1)

PEDC (Continued From Page 1)

continuing to work towards reality. While there has been no significant change, Ferdinand said they are still very active and are “touch-ing base every day to every other day.”

He noted a pair of recent site packages which have been submitted for the Pala-cios area.

On the County front, Fer-dinand reported working a prospect in the Sargent area, along with several re-gional prospects that would benefit Palacios. Also being worked on is the support and coordination between the four county chambers and the Bay City Commu-nity Development Center on reevaluating the Leader-ship Matagorda Program, to train prospect new board members with the ins and outs of the county.

Other ItemsThe Board discussed the

possibility of retaining a Social Media Intern from Palacios ISD to help assist with social media matters.

Following a review of the website, the direc-tors discussed collect-ing quotes and proposals from potential website hosting partners.

The PEDC Office re-model is nearing comple-tion with a grand opening to be held in the near fu-ture.

Next MeetingThe next meeting of the

Palacios Economic De-velopment Corp. Board of Directors will be held on June 19.

Articles submitted on Mondays arepublished on a space available basis.☛

A sign of things to come...AS work quickly progresses on the new O’Reilly Auto Parts location in Pa-lacios’ 300 block of Henderson, the fresh new sign was hoisted into place last week. The new location is set to open for business in the coming months. (Bea-con Photo by Alan Schulman)

OUTGOING City Councilman Andy Erdelt (left) was presented with a plaque in recognition of his years of service on the Palacios City Council. Erderlt is the lone Council member in history to reach two six-year term limits. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

Erdelt bids adieu....

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 4 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., May 22, 2019

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