november 2013

B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y T H E C I T Y O F S C H E R T Z , T E X A S

magazine

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MAKING FALL FUN FOR FAMILIES Fall Family Fun at the YMCA SCHERTZ FAMILY YMCA

Join us for the best Fall has to offer at the Schertz Family YMCA! We have fun family events, health & wellness challenges and spiritually engaging activities to help you transition in to the holiday season. Check out all we have to offer!

Flag Football for ages 6-12. Registration open now! Season begins Nov. 16

Adult Volleyball & Basketball for the adult athletes in your family!

Fit for the Cause is a spirit, mind & body challenge where you can participate in donation drives, wellness activities & spiritual engagement.

LOCATION: SCHERTZ FAMILY YMCA 621 Westchester Drive Schertz, TX 78154 (210) 619-1900 www.ymcasatx.com/Schertz

YMCA Mission: To put Judeo-Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.

The Southern Sector of Schertz is literally changing before our eyes.

Drive down FM 1518, Schaefer Road, Ware-Seguin Road, Lower-Seguin Road or IH-10 East one day and then a month later.

Odds are it WILL NOT look the same.

The popularity of being a Schertz resident is growing. Just ask any-one in real estate or residential construction.

In the November issue of Schertz Magazine we turn a spotlight on the Southern Sector in the first of a multi-part series. This issue looks at housing in the area.

Read about Randy and Tammy Snell and their two little kids and their adventure at being the first family to move into Willow Grove, one of the new subdivisions in the Southern Sector. The young family’s tale at being pioneers of a sort will make you smile.

Another article talks about how Willow Grove and The Crossvine - the City’s first mixed use master

planned community - are draw-ing a lot of outside interest as two of the newest big residential proj-ects in the area.

Also learn how the IH-10 area subdivisions of Schertz Forest, Hunter Estates, Ivy Estates and The Reserve at Schertz are get-ting non-stop calls from folks who want to live in those neigh-borhoods.

Read about the re-imaging of another subdivision - Rhine Val-ley. The developer and the City of Schertz worked together to create a new neighborhood that both said is superior to the first planned one.

Also in the November issue read about a Pecan Farm in Schertz, helpful hints for those seeking a higher education, recaps of a fun SchertzFest celebration and Na-tional Night Out in Schertz.

And don’t miss the story of Sandy Bryant - the cheerful phone voice of the City’s Parks Department.

All that -- and much more -- in Your Hometown Magazine -- Schertz Magazine.

EDITOR’Z LETTERBy Chuck McColloughEditor

FEATUREZFirst Family in Willow Grove 26

Tiny Titan Has Big Heart 29

Caravan of Moving Vans 30

Friesenhahn Farm 34

Guide to Higher Education 38

DEPARTMENTZTALK OF THE TOWNZUPDATEZ 9VISIONZ / CHAMBER 15

COLUMNZFOCUZ: SANDY BRYANT 37

CIVIC NEWZUPDATEZ 41CALENDARZ 47

FEATUREZSouther Sector Boom 31

COVERThe Snell family are the first family in

their Southern Sector neighborhood.

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5NOVEMBER 2013 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM

Happy Thanksgiving

1400 Schertz Pkwy, Bldg. #5

(210) 619-1600

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S Civic Center:Nov. 11 – CLOSED for Veteran’s DayNov. 15 – Schertz Chamber Business Appreciation Awards BanquetNov. 17 – Julio Julian Solo ConcertNov. 28-29 – CLOSED

Community Center:Nov. 2 – Vendor/Craft FairNov. 5 – ElectionsNov. 9 – Alamo Pet ExpoNov. 11 – CLOSED for Veteran’s DayNov. 16 – O.E.S. Rummage SaleNov. 23 – Senior’s Craft BazaarNov. 28-29 - CLOSED – M, W, TH, F – Jazzercise, various timesM, W, TH – Zumba 6pm

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BYPublic Affairs Department

David J. HarrisInterim Director

Linda KlepperBusiness Manager

Chuck McCollough Editor

Chris Matzenbacher Sales Director

Lucille Sims Thomas Copy Editor

Brittany Losey Senior Writer

Contributing Staffers

Erin Matlock Client Affairs Specialist

Mary Spence Events Coordinator

Graphic Design/Art DirectionSouzamaphone Marketing, LLC

Contributing WritersChuck McCollough, Lucille Sims

Thomas, Andrea Allinger, Kari Bridges, Kiko Martinez, Ashley Festa, Rudy

Arispe, Jim Webb, Hillory Halbardier, Tom Lovett, Teresa H. Kelley,

Stan Leland

Contributing PhotographersChuck McCollough, Mary Spence,

Bryan Tobias, Mike Harris, Marc Bane, Michael Carpenter, Bryan Nguyen,

Joe Herczeg, Diana Webb, Ross Dye, Andrea Allinger, Kari Bridges, Catherine White, Elizabeth Leland, Rudy Ornelas,

Samuel Rhodes, Linda KlepperStock Photography: fontsandphotos.com

Schertz Magazine is published monthly by the Public Affairs Department of the

City of Schertz. Our mailing address is 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz,

Texas 78154. The official publication of the City of Schertz promotes city, community, and business activities

associated with the City. © City of Schertz, Texas

The editorial office of Schertz Magazine is at 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz,

Texas 78154. Call (210) 619-1630. Fax (210) 619-1619.

Website is schertz.com and schertzmagazine.com

City CouncilMichael Carpenter Mayor

Jim Fowler CouncilmemberDavid Scagliola Councilmember

George Antuna, Jr. CouncilmemberCedric Edwards, Sr. CouncilmemberSydney H. Verinder Councilmember

Executive TeamJohn Kessel City Manager

John Bierschwale Executive DirectorDavid J. Harris Executive Director

Brian James Executive Director


TalkOFTHETownz

NOVEMBER 2013

Enrollment Time For EMS Passport To Care ProgramBy Dudley Wait, EMS Director

November FunAt Schertz Public LibraryDoctor Who 50th Anniversary Celebration: Doctor Who is turning 50 years old this year and the Schertz Pub-lic Library will celebrate the 50th Anniversary year with two special programs. Teens are invited to an af-ter-hours extravaganza of all things Doctor Who on Friday, November 15th from 8-10pm. This program is for teens ages 13-17 with a Par-ent Release Form. All Whovians are invited to celebrate on Saturday, November 23rd at 2pm. Join us for crafts, activities, and yummy treats. All ages welcome.

{NB}Tween Time: Minecraft: Do you love Minecraft? Or just want to see what everyone is talking about? Tweens (ages 10-13) are in-vited to join us at the Schertz Pub-lic Library on Saturday, November 16th at 2pm for mining and build-ing. Be there or be square.

Poetry Night @ the Library: Are you an original poet looking to share your work? Or do you simply love listening to poetry? Join us for an open mic poetry event on Novem-ber 12th from 7-8 PM in Meeting Room 1. Pre-registration not re-quired!

For more information go to Schertz-library.org or call 210-619-1700.

Schertz EMS is taking applica-tions for its Passport to Care program, which can reduce the cost of an emergency ambu-lance transport.

Passport to Care allows citizens to pre-plan for emergencies. Nobody ever plans to have an accident or a medical emer-gency and have to dial 911 for an ambulance. As a result, these events are always ac-companied by unplanned and often very expensive medical costs. Schertz EMS has a plan to help you avoid some of these expenses.

The Passport to Care plan works like this:If you have insurance that cov-ers ambulance transportation and are transported by Schertz EMS, you will pay nothing out-of-pocket for that transport.If you do not have insurance

or your insurance says the ambulance transport was not necessary, you will receive an automatic 50-percent discount off of your ambulance bill, and with our average transport bill checking in at approximately $1,200, this is a potential sav-ings of $600.

So, for the low, low price of $50 to $75 a year, you can now rest assured that if you or a member of your family has a medical emergency, transportation to the hospital will be taken care of potentially with no cost to you. That’s right--no co-pay, no deductible and no out-of-pocket costs (as long as your insurance deems it medically necessary).

This plan is available to every-one who resides or works in the Schertz EMS service area re-gardless of your insured status, with the lone exception of Med-

icaid recipients. The State of Texas does not allow Medicaid recipients to participate in an EMS membership plan because Medicaid does not come with any out-of-pocket expenses. So the plan would be unnecessary for Medicaid recipients.

Cost:• $50 for an individual (in-sured)• $60 for family (insured)• $65 for individual (unin-sured)• $75 for family (uninsured)

Residents in the service area should expect a registration package in their mailboxes in early November.

For more information, visit schertzemspassport.com, or call (210) 619-1450.

10 NOVEMBER 2013 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM

RACAP Taking Applicationsfor 2013 Holiday Programs The Randolph Area Christian Assistance Program (RACAP) is ac-cepting applications for the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday assis-tance program. Applications will be accepted through November 8 for Thanksgiving and the Christmas program deadline is November 27. Applications will be accepted from families in need of help for the holidays because of limited or no income, who are at or below the Federal Poverty Guidelines. RACAP welcomes organizations, businesses, groups, or individu-als who would like to participate by “adopting” families, or donat-ing food or money. Anyone interested in sponsoring a family for Thanksgiving Only or Thanksgiving and Christmas should submit their sponsorship application NLT November 1. The deadline for Christmas Only sponsorship is November 22. This help is greatly needed and much appreciated. Donations may be dropped off at the RACAP office or mailed to 307 Pfeil St, Schertz TX 78154. Applicants for assistance must live in the following zip codes: 78108, 78109, 78132, 78148, 78154, 78247, 78233 Live Oak only, or 78266. Those in need of assistance may contact RACAP at 307 Pfeil, Schertz, Monday - Friday, 1-3 p.m. or call (210) 658-1613 between those hours. For more information visit racap.org.

Blue Santa Needs Your Help To Make Kids Smile It’s that time of year to get started on Blue Santa. Applications for as-sistance will be available beginning on Tuesday, November 12-Decem-ber 6, 2013. You can pick up an application from the Schertz Police Department, Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. Remember, you must live in the city of Schertz to qualify for the Blue Santa program. We will also begin accepting cash, food, toys, gift cards, etc donations beginning on November 4, 2013 Donation boxes will also be placed throughout businesses in the city, beginning November 4, 2013 so keep an eye out for those. Any ques-tions or concerns please call Esther Mendoza at 210-619-1213 or send email to [email protected].

SPPT Team 5K Winners- TwiceStaff from Schertz Parkway Physical Therapy took part in a 5K run and walk event benefitting Schertz Elementary School and Schlather Intermediate School and brought home two tro-phies. The SPPT team won a trophy for largest business team and one for fastest business team based on average time.

TalkOFTHETownz


Schertz Magazine Goes Where Icebergs Live and other places...Photo 1 Tony and Cathy Trezza of Schertz took Schertz Magazine along on a trip to the 49th state. While in Alaska the Trezzas and Schertz Magazine encountered icebergs, Native American totem poles, waterfalls and more.

Photo 2 This photo taken while in Grand Junction, CO. at the Colorado National Monument shows Jim-mie Linkenhoger, a resident of Northcliffe, holding Schertz Magazine.

Photo No. 3 Schertz residents Joan and Bob Bath(center) hold a copy of Schertz Magazine while stand-ing with Irish friends Patricia and Anthony Jenkins at Dublin’s Fitzpatrick Castle. The Baths celebrated their 50th anniversary on a trip that also included England, France and Iceland.

Photo No. 4 Boy Scout Troop 51 from Schertz UnitedMethodist Church had two Crews visit Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico for atwo week backpacking trip. This photo is of the Gorilla Crew on top of Baldy Mountain holding a copy of Schertz Magazine.

Photo No. 5 Janice Funk and son, Matthew Lewan-dowski, visit One World Trade Center in New York City. “Schertz Magazine came along for the fun!!!!,” Janice said holding the magazine.

Photo No. 6 A young resident is fully engaged inreading Schertz Magazine while on a trip.

Photo No. 7 Maureen Maus, a teacher for SCUCISD,and her son Eric Maus hold a copy of Schertz Maga-zine in front of St. Mary’s Hospital in London duringthe “Great Kate Wait.” On the last day of their family vacation to England, the future King George was born! Photo No. 8 Jim and Glenda Schulz hold a copy ofSchertz Magazine during a stop in Oregon on a motor-cycle trip. They were about to take a boat trip on the Rouge River.n

Take Schertz Magazine on your next trip and take a photo of the magazine in front of a landmark or inter-esting background and send to [email protected]. We may just use it in the magazine.

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Getting A Piece of PIE for StudentsBy Jim Webb

You probably are familiar with the expression “as easy as pie.” The Randolph Metrocom Rotary club established its PIE Founda-tion to help students and their families in the Metrocom area overcome some financial obsta-cles. “PIE” stands for Partners in Education. It started 17 years ago as a joint venture by the Randolph Metrocom Rotary and the Northeast Methodist hospital and the Schertz-Cibolo-Univer-sal City (SCUCISD), the Judson (JISD), and the Marion (MSD) school districts.

The foundation’s purpose is

to assist students who come to school lacking basic necessities essential to enabling them to do their best in school, and, yet, ei-ther are not available from other support resources or are not obtainable in a timely fashion. These needs include such things as eyeglasses, medicines, hearing aids, shoes, and clothing.

Students with potentially quali-fying needs are identified by the teachers and staff at a school. They submit a request for assis-tance to the campus PIE coordi-nator. The coordinator first tries to obtain help for the student

The 2013-14 Schertz Sweetheart Court and their float traveled south of San Antonio October 12 for the Flo-resville Peanut Festi-val. Sweetheart Court members, Miss Schertz Katie Gibbons, Miss Friendly City Ariel Villareal and Miss Ju-bilee Sydney Fischer represented the Spirit of Schertz in front of thousands of hometown folks and visitors dur-ing the Grand Parade at the Peanut Festival. Court members act as Goodwill Ambassadors for the Schertz commu-nity and attend several regional events and pa-rades throughout the year.

Schertz Sweetheart Court in Floresville

TalkOFTHETownz

from existing help programs - lo-cal, state and federal. If unsuc-cessful there, the coordinator submits the request to the PIE foundation directors. Upon ap-proval, a voucher in the appro-priate amount is issued for the student/parents to use to obtain the needed item(s) from a mer-chant or professional in the local area.

In the past nine years, the foun-dation has provided vouchers totaling $160,000 to more than 2000 students. The main source of funds to support PIE come from an annual golf tournament, held this year in September at the Olympic Hills golf course. The event included 111 golfers.

The golfers included 20 airmen from JBSA Randolph AFB, half of whom are wounded warriors, whose fees were paid for by generous sponsors. Among the prizes available to participating duffers was a lease on a new car for a hole-in-one on the 7th hole! Unfortunately, this prize went unclaimed, despite some great tee shots.

Thanks to the generosity of the many sponsors of this year’s tournament, the golfers them-selves, and the volunteers who devoted many hours of selfless service to making the event a success, the PIE Foundation will be able to continue on its mis-sion to help area students.

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’YOUR CHAMBER AT

WORK FOR YOU!

NOVEMBER EVENTS

NO Chamber Luncheonin November

Last luncheon will be December 3rd@ Schertz Civic Center @11:30am – 1pm. RSVP by November 26th.

Chamber Mixer November 7th Hosted by Interstate All-Battery @ 8143 Agora Parkway, Suite 125 from 5:30 – 7:00 pm.

EVERY Monday evening and open to the Public– Schertz Chamber Toastmasters. Meeting begins at 7pm at the Comfort Inn and Suites - 15771 IH 35 North, Selma, TX 78154. Contact David Smith, 210-551-7656 or Jan King 210-846-9061 for more information.

Experience what the Schertz Chamber of Commerce can

do for you! Unique networking opportunities, business

education, local and state advocacy and more!

Call us at 210-566-9000 or come by and visit at 1730 Schertz

Parkway in Schertz. Help us “Build a Better

Tomorrow”.


Schertz Celebrates

National Night Out

TalkOFTHETownz


The 30th Anniversary of Na-tional Night Out was celebrated on October 1 in Schertz as was an anti-crime, get-to-know-your neighbor event that strength-ened community ties and public safety.

Front yards, community parks, cul-de-sacs and driveways were gather-ing places for residents, neighbors, city leaders and Public Safety personnel to visit, share informa-tion, and enjoy food and drink in a friendly atmosphere from 6 PM to just after sunset.

Three City of Schertz teams - in-cluding City Council members, senior staff, Police, Fire and EMS supervisors and rank and file - spread out to visit businesses, neighborhoods and apartments.

The City teams stopped about about 15 locations and presented City Council proclamations honor-ing the NNO celebration at each location.

National Night Out is a communi-ty-police-awareness-raising event sponsored by the National Associa-tion of Town Watch in the United States and Canada.

The event is meant to bring resi-dents and First Responders togeth-er to ensure a safe, healthy commu-nity where criminals don’t want to enter.

To participate next year please call Schertz Police Department Spe-cial Projects Office Shawn Ceeko at 210-619-1253 or email him at [email protected].


Highway Speed LimitRetirement AgeSenior Citizen Discounts

None of these applied September 20-21, 2013 as the City celebrated SchertzFest 2013--the 55th Anniver-sary of Incorporation.

66 BBQ teams competed for a record $8,400.00 in prize money, gifts, trophies, their name on the BBQ Trailer and bragging rights! Sanctioned by the Texas Gulf Coast BBQ Cooker’s Association, these teams didn’t let rain douse their grills.

The Grand Champion team was “We Be Smokin Too” (Jan Canterbury) and Reserve Grand Champion was “Trash Can Cookers” (Monte Brown).

The first-ever Waiter/Waitress Race was held this year; twelve teams competed for cash prize and special tro-

55...a number with significant meaning in our history.

phy. Contestants had to maneuver an obstacle course while carrying a tray of beverages. Team La Cabana de el Sabro won the inaugural race.

A variety of music over the two-day event provided young and old entertainment. Schertz Idol Katrynna Marttalla; groups Alibi, the Anthony Wright Band, the Hometown Boys, Los DesporadoZ, Made in Texas, Rockabilly Rolland fire act Brothers of the Flame delivered sounds from Blues to Country to Tejano and some amazing fire antics.

SchertzFest is hosted by the Schertz Parks & Recreation Foundation; sponsored by HEB, Walker Partners, Schertz Bank & Trust, RBFCU, Golf Cars, Etc., GVEC, Kawasaki, and the City of Schertz. Community Partners included RBFCU, Schertz Bank & Trust, WellMed, Frost Bank, Re-Max Corridor, Broadway Bank and area residents.

A photo slideshow, BBQ winners and sponsors for Schertz-Fest 2013 is available at www.visitschertz.com, select the SchertzFest Logo.

TalkOFTHETownz


For more pictures, including pictures of the BBQ competition winners, go to www.visitschertz.com.


Southern Sector Housing Boom By Ashley Festa

FEATUREZ

TWO NEW SOUTH SCHERTZ developments are well into con-struction, creating more housing for newcomers while preserving the community’s country feel that longtime residents have come to love. The Crossvine, the city’s first master-planned community, en-compasses more than 500 acres not far from the Interstate IH-10 corridor. Willow Grove and Wil-low Grove Estates subdivisions also will provide additional high-end housing options for residents looking for a small but growing city. “Most people in the market, when they think of Schertz, they

think of the IH-35 corner,” said Chris Price of Schertz 1518 Ltd., The Crossvine’s developer. “But the residential portion of it is fully absorbed. “The only place Schertz can go is the IH-10 corridor. That’s where a lot of buyers want to be, and that’s where Schertz can contin-ue to go,” he said. “Our project will set the tone for what the I-10 corridor is going to look like.” Builders broke ground on the first phase of The Crossvine de-velopment in August, and the project is already ahead of sched-ule. Drainage is being cut in the greenbelt area, and sewer lines and utilities are next on the list,

Price said. Of 121 lots planned for Phase 1, the first homes should be available by end of 1st Quarter 2014 and the amenities center is scheduled to be ready by next summer. The center will feature a pool, amphitheater and a community pavilion. Phase 2 of the project, which will have about 170 lots, will get underway when the first phase is halfway complete. Price expects 10-12 phases, which will see construction as earlier phases are complete, though the time frame will depend on the hous-ing market.

“From the moment we got in-volved and went to the city and tried to reinvent the project, the city got on board and became our partner,” Price said. “What we ended up with is better than what we started off with.” The original plan, when Price took over the project, was a tra-ditional grid subdivision with a typical retention pond drainage system. However, Price and his team suggested a different, more useful approach, which would also be less expensive than the original drainage plan. “We felt pretty strongly that we should take this retention pond and make it a meaningful com-ponent of the project,” Price said. The solution: Build a green-belt with pocket parks and 12 miles of hiking and biking trails snaked through the development. With this plan, residents will be able to walk the two or so miles from one end of The Crossvine to the other.



Usability was a guiding principle of the entire project, Price said. The city requires developers to include certain features – a park, for example – in projects like these, but if the park isn’t big enough, Price said, then no one will use it. He wanted to ensure that every aspect of the devel-opment was valuable to its resi-dents. “When we ultimately do com-mercial,” Price said, “hopefully it will be appealing enough that, instead of driving three blocks, you can go out your back gate and walk there.” Also meant to keep the commu-nity vibrant, Price said, is the broad range of types of homes and prices. Single-family homes, townhomes and multi-family homes are all part of the master plan, along with space for as-sisted living facilities. The first phase of the development will include homes in the mid-$200s price range, up to the mid $400s.

“Hopefully we are contributing something that the community will be proud of,” Price said. Other housing developments in the Interstate 10 area of Schertz include the Willow Grove and Willow Grove Estates subdivi-sions. These projects were started nearly three years ago by de-veloper Gordon Hartman, who believed Schertz needed more quality housing to accommodate the growing area. He expects the entire development to have about 220 lots, starting in the low to mid $200s. In Willow Grove Es-tates, the price range will vary from the high $200s to low $300s. Jennifer Ellis, a sales counselor at Gehan Homes and a “very happy resident of Schertz,” said Willow Grove maintains the atmosphere of Schertz being a wonderful place to live. Tim Brown, a real estate agent at RE/MAX Corridor, echoes that sentiment. “Residents want to

keep the country feel,” he said. “Schertz will make sure a large portion of the land between FM 78 and IH-10 will remain large lots – ranchettes – where people can keep cattle and horses so we don’t turn into a suburban sea of rooftops.” While keeping the ambiance of Schertz alive, the project is ex-pected to also boost the value of existing homes. The new homes will be in a slightly higher price range than the surrounding ar-eas, which is vital for the econ-omy within the Schertz commu-nity, said Shannon Powers, sales manager at Gehan Homes. “Schertz has been around for a long time, and some communi-ties are a little older,” she said. “With what we’re building, other property values will rise, so we’re helping everyone as a whole.” Nine homes in the community have already been sold, though most of them are still under construction. One resident has moved in, while other buyers are working closely with the build-

er to select all the options and create their dream home from scratch. They’ll be able to move into the homes within the next few months. Though the new developments will entice many new residents to South Schertz, developers and builders are doing their part to ensure no one feels cramped in their community. “With the bigger lot size, you have a little elbow room so you don’t feel that overcrowding,” El-lis said. “It’s really

important that people understand

the community sense, that small town community feel,” Ellis said.

“That’s what drives people out here.”



First Familyin Willow Grove By Kari Bridges

FEATUREZ

ONE YEAR AGO, RANDY AND Tammy Snell began their search to permanently relocate their young family to South Texas.

For the past six years Randy had proudly served in the U.S. Navy as an FT2 (SS) onboard the U.S.S. Los Angeles in Pearl Har-bor, Hawaii. FT2 stands for Fire Control Technician Second Class and the (SS) designation is given to individuals who are qualified in submarines.

Together, the Snells decided it was time for Randy to separate from his active duty service. Several employment opportuni-ties became available to Tammy in Texas and the couple decided to make the South Texas com-munity of Schertz their future home.

In May, Randy opened his own home-based yard service com-pany called Veteran Lawn Care, LLC serving the Schertz, Uni-versal City and Cibolo areas. The business offers residential lawn maintenance including mulch-ing, flower beds, weed control, fertilizing and landscaping.

“I believe that any business that provides a quality service, to

satisfy a need within a commu-nity, is right for the community. I decided to open the business because I have always enjoyed working in the outdoors and working with my hands. I enjoy providing a service to those in the community, from those who need their yard mowed to those who are looking for a detailed management plan. Prior to join-ing the Navy I worked on a ranch in Southeast Texas doing grounds maintenance and at the same time I worked at a lawn mower shop called K&S Small Engine,” he said.

The couple considered purchas-ing a pre-existing home and looked in several local communi-ties prior to deciding to purchase a custom built home.

“We weighed out the pros and cons of each community we were considering purchasing a home in and Schertz came out on top. The real reason we selected Schertz and this community to live in is because our focus is raising our kids in a wonderful community in which they can be proud to call their home. It has much to offer for our kids and we are looking forward to all the growth and opportunity that the

community provides,” Tammy said.

Some of the positive aspects of living in Schertz that drew the attention of the family included: convenient location, lower cost of living, good schools, low un-employment rates, community growth and small town feeling. “We really like it – it is the best of both worlds being close to a large city but retaining a country feel,” Tammy said.

The couple choose the new Wil-low Grove 60-lot single-family subdivision near Corbett Junior High School off FM 1518 for two reasons. First, they were the first family to select a lot and they picked the largest lot backing up against a large greenbelt; and second, they wanted to live in a new housing development that would allow their young family to grow with the community.

They said the benefit of moving into a newly constructed commu-nity is that they will get to see families slowly move in and see a community forming from the beginning. They’re also looking forward to watching the neigh-borhood come together.

Willow Grove is considered by co-builders DR Horton and Lennar Homes to be Phase I of a three-phase housing community.

Phase II is the adjacent 68-lot housing development and near-by Phase III will have 93 lots. DR Horton is one of the largest homebuilders in San Antonio and the developer of top-ranked communities in the San Antonio metropolitan area.

The builders offer homeown-ers an extensive list of standard features in all of their newly constructed homes including exterior/interior features, me-dia/technology features, kitchen features, energy efficiency, per-sonalization options, safety fea-tures, warranty and construction features, landscaping, privacy fences and covered patios.

In January, the Snells were able to work with the DR Horton Design Center to select housing personalization options includ-ing paint colors, cabinets, carpet, fixtures, etc. and construction began in February.

Progress went smoothly and the house was quickly completed. Within five months the Snell


family moved into their new 3,114 sq. ft., 4 bedroom, 3½ bath two-story home on Memorial Day Weekend – during the second-wettest recorded day in San An-tonio receiving 9.87 inches of rain in one day.

“We weren’t worried about our things but Cibolo Creek, off Az-tec Way adjacent to FM 78 on FM 1518, flooded within a half-hour, which made our move more dif-ficult,” Randy said.

“Overall it was a positive experi-ence and we have no regrets. The longer we live here, the more we love it – it’s a peaceful neighbor-hood. We have close neighbors, but still have a sense of privacy,” Tammy said.

Tammy shared what it felt like for them to be the only fam-ily living in a half-constructed neighborhood. “We were really busy moving in and with the two kids, but it was definitely a dif-ferent feeling being the only fam-ily in the neighborhood. After the construction workers went home there was no activity in the neighborhood and it almost felt like we were living in a ghost town.”

The family didn’t have to wait long though as over the next few weeks more families moved into their quiet neighborhood.

According to Reuben Gardner, a DR Horton sales representa-

tive, approximately 20 families were living in Willow Grove by the middle of September and he estimated that all 60 custom homes will be sold and moved into by the end of October. He estimates that Phase II will also sell quickly with families mov-ing into their newly custom-built homes by the end of the year.

According to Gardner, people who have purchased homes in the Willow Grove neighborhood

have been a mixture of first-time and older home buyers who are mostly military coming in from out of state and who are newly stationed at Randolph AFB or Fort Sam Houston. He explained the factors that are drawing home

buyers into the new Schertz neighborhood include the excel-lent schools, lower tax rates, loca-tion and open country feel.

“We love being in Schertz, Tam-my said. “We were drawn to Schertz because everything is so accessible and conveniently lo-cated right in town like the beau-tiful new library, the YMCA, a lot of new things for families and kids’ activities,” she added.

“We arefortunate to

call this home.” -Tammy Snell

Tammy and Randy Snell enjoy their new house with daughter, Ella, 2; and son, Kyler, 1.


FEATUREZ


Tiny TitanHas Big HeartBy Lucille Sims Thomas

THOUGH SHE IS AS CUTE AS cute can be, a precocious four-year-old’s outer beauty pales in compar-ison to her inner beauty that she uses to perform a level of charity work that puts most adults to shame.

Naomi Windless and her family relo-cated to Schertz from Alaska a few months ago thanks to the U.S. Army and her dad Chris’ orders sending him to Fort Sam Houston. Mom Han-nah said Naomi has always been a good helper when it comes to do-ing things around the house such as chores and “even cleans her room without help.”

But according to Hannah Windless, Naomi kicked into overdrive after seeing an ad for the Miss Heart of the USA preliminary pageant in San Antonio.

“It’s different than other pageants because it isn’t about who has the prettiest face,” Hannah Windless said. The top winners in this pag-eant are the ones who collect the most cans of food for food banks, the most funds for the scholarship pro-grams, and who does the most com-munity service in their community.

“Naomi’s eyes lit up when she heard about helping others. We original-ly were going to just do the prelim-inary pageant, but Naomi had so much determination to help that we decided to do state as well,” Hannah Windless said.

“She has such drive to do it for a four-year-old — I couldn’t believe it! Every single day I came home and she would say ‘Can we go get cans, can we go get cans’. ” Windless thought Naomi would just collect the 35 cans needed to do the pag-eant but instead, the little girl with a heart for giving continued collect-ing until she had 365 cans of food to help those in need.

Since May, Naomi has collected more than 700 cans of food and also completed a long list of charitable acts. She volunteered for Opera-tion Homefront and stuffed school supplies into backpacks; recent-ly cheered on runners and passed out medals at the Schertz Jubilee;

delivered cupcakes and thank you smiles to local police officers, fire-fighters and EMT, and made get-well cards for wounded warriors.

She and her mother are current-ly participating in the Meals on Wheels program every Friday — giv-ing Naomi a chance to brighten the day of those opening their doors to see the spunky preschooler deliver-ing meals.

“I feel happy when I help people,” Naomi said. In addition to all of her acts of kindness, Naomi also attends preschool and takes karate and bal-let classes. She has two brothers and the entire family likes to do com-munity service work when time permits. All of her community service led to Naomi being crowned Communi-ty Queen at the Miss Heart of the USA state pageant, meaning she did more hours of community service than any other contestant. Naomi was given a large crown, a nice em-broidered sash and her fees to the national contest were paid.

Naomi and her mother continue to look for opportunities for her to serve their community. Contact the mom at: [email protected].

“It is all driven by her, and she smiles

every time she gets called up to help.”

-Naomi’s proud mother

FEATUREZ

Caravan of Moving Vans Headed to SchertzBy Chuck McCollough and Ashley Festa



SEVERAL NEIGHBORHOODS are being born – and re-incarnat-ed – in Schertz, especially in the Southern Sector.

And the residents of Schertz, along with people wanting to become residents of Schertz, are taking notice.

“When I first saw the location of our project in 2007, it was just a cotton path in the middle of nowhere,” said Ron Millican about Laura Heights Estates near IH-10 East and Graytown Road. Millican is vice president of operations for Endeavor Wall Homes LLC, the neighborhood’s builder.

Today, that cotton path has be-come a completed 180-house, big-lot subdivision, and three nearby neighborhoods by the same developer and same home-builder are rapidly progressing.

According to Millican and oth-ers in the housing industry, the word is out: People want to move to Schertz, especially the South-ern Sector/IH-10 area.

“Homebuilders follow the hous-ing activity, and there is a lot of interest in this part of Schertz,” Millican said. “We had a chance to go across the street (Boenig Road) to build houses in an area in San Antonio. We chose not to

do that because people want to live in Schertz, to have a Schertz address.”

A Vision For The Southern SectorHenry Christopher came to the Southern Sector wilderness even earlier than Millican.

“We started Schertz Forest in 2005 when there was nothing out here,” said Christopher, a lawyer who handles real estate matters and helped develop a small rural subdivision several years ago. “It was virgin terri-tory.”

Christopher and Millican weath-ered the economic downturn from 2008 to 2010, but now business is bouncing back – and then some.

“Schertz Forest covers 200 acres and has 93 lots. We have sold 91 of those,” Christopher said. “Many people over the years bought the lots with an eye on building later, like when they retire.”

The pace of buying lots and building houses in Schertz For-est has accelerated since late 2012.

continued on page 32


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Caravan of Moving VansHeaded to Schertzcontinued from page 31

“We got a lot more calls than usual about our lots this past spring. Interest is very high,” Christopher said. More than 30 homes are already complete, and three more are under construc-tion.

Christopher’s idea when he pur-chased the Schertz Forest land was to create a place where peo-ple “could have country living near a city,” just like he and his family enjoyed when they lived in Shavano Park in the 1980s.

“I drove by the location that be-came Schertz Forest for a num-ber of years and really liked how it looked with all those trees,” he said. “I wanted to try to recre-ate the country-like living atmo-sphere I had when my kids were younger.”

Christopher tried several times over the years to buy the land, but it wasn’t for sale. The mo-ment he saw the “for sale” sign, though, he followed through on his dream.

“What I had in mind for Schertz Forest is coming true,” Christo-pher said. “And I am happy to see there seems to be a mind-set about building other types of quality development, about building communities and not just houses, in the Southern Sec-tor.”

Beyond Laura Heights EstatesMillican said the three neigh-borhoods near Laura Heights Estates – Ivy Estates, Hunter Es-tates and The Reserve at Schertz – are moving right along. All four neighborhoods are using the same developer, HLH Devel-opment, and builder, Endeavor Wall Homes.

“In Hunter Estates (which has 30 lots), we are building the last house and have three more to close on (before the owners move in). All 30 lots in Ivy Estates are sold and houses are under con-struction,” Millican said.

Three phases of The Reserve at Schertz will yield 88 lots. HLH has plans for Phases 4, 5 and 6 with about 114 lots, Millican said.

Two-thirds of the lots for Phase 1 of The Reserve at Schertz have been sold, and construction, mostly foundation work, has started. Half the lots in the sec-ond phase have been sold.

If all phases of The Reserve at Schertz are built according to current projections, the four neighborhood projects will pro-duce about 450 houses in the IH-10 East/Southern Sector area, Millican said. It’s a neces-sity, considering the influx of residents in the past few years.

“There is a lot of interest from potential home buyers to move to Schertz, especially the Southern Sector,” Millican said.

Rhine Valley – A Re-Imagined CommunityWhen a well-known name like Gordon Hartman takes an inter-est in doing residential develop-

ment in the Southern Sector, it gets attention.

Hartman, a former residential builder who now spends most of his time working with nonprofit groups as part of the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation, is involved in two Southern Sector projects.

One is a project on FM 1518 across the street from Corbett Middle School consisting of Wil-low Grove and Willow Grove Estates neighborhoods. Informa-tion on that project is in a com-panion story.

The other is Rhine Valley, a 137.5-acre project behind Cor-bett Middle School. Rhine Valley is a re-imagined project, which resulted from Hartman and the City of Schertz sitting down to rethink the original plan.

Originally called Pride Rock Ranch, the plan called for 547 single family homes on 45-foot lots.

Instead, the revamped Rhine Valley project includes 100 few-er houses on mostly larger lots. There will be 124 homes on 45-foot lots, 246 homes on 50-foot lots and 77 homes on 60-foot lots.

Another big change is the amount of parkland and green space.

The first Pride Rock Ranch plan called for 12.6 acres of parkland and green space, whereas the new Rhine Valley plans include 34.2 acres, nearly three times more.

Hartman, a philanthropist, founder of Morgan’s Wonderland theme park and owner of the Scorpions Soccer team, began eyeing the Southern Sector a few years back.

“People want to be part of Schertz, live there. We looked

at the South area and saw viable opportunity,” Hartman said. “In the past 15 to 20 years the city has matured and attracted a lot of development, mostly north up IH-35.”

His confidence in the Southern Sector mirrors the confidence other people have in the area. The area has lots of potential along with a few issues, such as infrastructure needs, which are being addressed, he said.

“Rhine Valley is a re-imagined project because we wanted to work closely with the city of Schertz on something differ-ent,” Hartman said. “The previ-ous high-density plan on 45-foot lots is not what the community wanted. So we sat down with the city and with nearby landowners and came up with a good mix of 45-foot, 50-foot and 60-foot lots intermingled with a major park area with soccer fields.

“Rhine Valley is a good illustra-tion of what can happen when a developer, the city and the com-munity work together to make a good product that will attract a variety of buyers,” he said. “We need to take what happened in the planning of Rhine Valley (with all stakeholders) and repli-cate it.”

Hartman said he believes having three different lot sizes and thus three price ranges makes for a balanced community, which also will have amenities like parks that can be enjoyed by the neigh-borhood residents as well as the public.

“In the San Antonio area, resi-dential development is definitely moving east and west,” Hartman said, “and that means more is coming to the Southern Schertz area.”


FEATUREZ

Friesenhahn Farm Produces Pecans Aplenty Jack of all trades…and master of many!By Jim Webb, photos by Diana Webb


MARK FRIESENHAHN IS the fifth generation of his family to farm land on the Dry Comal Creek near FM 482. The first generation of Friesenhahns to emigrate to the United States settled on this land in the 1850’s. Through hard work, determina-tion, and perseverance they suc-ceeded and prospered. Over the years, major crops have includ-ed cotton, corn, grain sorghum and hay. They also raised cattle and sheep.

Mark is the oldest of four chil-dren and has two (grown) sons of his own. He vividly recalls how, at age 12 and in 6th grade, he became aware he wanted to be a mechanical engineer and build cars. True to his calling, he graduated from the Univer-sity of Texas at Austin with a de-gree in mechanical engineering. However, when offered a job with General Motors he chose, instead, to join the ExxonMobil corporation in the upstream oil and gas business. In the course of his 38-year career with Exx-onMobil, he was assigned to projects all over the world. One of his most challenging projects was as the chief logistics manag-er for the clean up of the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez tanker in Prince William Sound in Alaska.

For nearly two years he spent three out of every four weeks in Alaska, meeting the many challenges presented by the af-termath of this oil spill. An an-ecdote Mark shared was how, when the Alaska cruise ship sea-son opened a couple of months after the spill, the team working on the clean-up was summarily evicted from the hotels where they were staying because the rooms were needed for the tour-ists! As the lead logistics officer, it fell to Mark to devise quickly an alternative lodging solution. In just a few short weeks, he had built a 250 site RV park for team members. One of his last

projects before his retirement in 2010 was working with the Canadians on the extraction process for Alberta oil sands, a type of unconventional oil deposit produced via surface mining.

In the 1970’s, Mark decided he wanted eventually to return to the Comal area where he was born and raised. He found for sale approximately 25 acres that included land previously

owned by his great-uncles. During the next three decades, he and his family would make many weekend trips from their Houston home (leaving around 4 AM!) to their farm to work on the endless tasks facing a farmer and a homeowner. They would return to Houston late Sunday evening and he would be back at work at ExxonMo-bil on Monday morning. In the 1980’s, Mark made the decision to have pecans as his main crop.

In 1989, he began planting pe-can trees in some of the fields. Five years later, he had complet-ed the planting. Today, he has 50 acres of pecan trees in four different varieties – Wichita, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Pawnee; and is in business as the Comal Pecan Farm (www.comalpecan-farm.com).

Mark explained that pecan farming is not a gentleman farmer’s activity. Nor is it for the faint of heart, the weak of body, or for those who like to get a lot of sleep each night. During harvesting season, he is out in the field around 4 each morn-ing mechanically shaking the trees to dislodge the pecans so they are ready for pick up by his crew when they arrive. All the processing of the pecan crop is done on-site. Mark has all the necessary equipment and sup-plies, and it is housed in build-ings he constructed or renovat-ed. One of the keys to the pecan farm’s success, in addition to the hard work and dedication

continued on page 36Top photo – shaking pecan tree. Bottom photo – Harvesting pecans.

by all involved, is that Mark has an Edward’s Aquifer irriga-tion permit. This enables him to keep his fields sufficiently irrigated, which is essential in producing a good crop yield annually. Another ingredient in the success formula is hav-ing the four varieties of pecans. In any given year one variety’s production may be down, but another’s might be up. This helps avoid wide differences in yield from season to season.

Mark and his wife, Jackie, re-cently moved into a restored farmhouse originally built by his great-uncle Ferdinand Fri-esenhahn in 1911. The restora-tion project took three years, and some smaller elements of it are still in progress. Working with an architect experienced in restorations of older build-ings and property, Mark, his helpers, two carpenters and a stonemason, did much of the work themselves. Most of the restored buildings contain wood and features from the

FriesenhahnFarmProducesPecans Aplentycontinued from page 35

original buildings and/or from materials in other buildings on the farm and elsewhere that had been razed over time. The restored property even has a central geo-thermal heat pump that provides HVAC to all the buildings.

Today, the Comal Pecan Farm covers about 105 acres. If you include adjacent land owned jointly with his siblings, Larry, Marty, and Theresa, the Fri-esenhahns farm 200 acres of pecans, hay fields, and pasture land. They also raise cattle and sheep.

Mark considers himself a most fortunate person. He was able to have a very challenging and rewarding 38-year career do-ing what he had decided he wanted to do while still in ele-mentary school. Now he is able to indulge in what has always been his other grand passion – farming. And he looks forward to indulging in this passion for many years to come.

Shaking trees from another side.


“My husband, John, calls me ‘Sunshine’,” Sandy said with a smile as she simultaneous-ly did a magazine interview and answered questions from her department boss - George Logan - in the next room.

Her sunny personality hasn’t dimmed over a 20-year Air Force career, more than 20 years with the City of Schertz, and many years as a wife and mother, and now as a grandmother.

Sandy is senior administrative assistant for the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department and is responsible for preparing and maintaining budgets, reports, documents, correspondence and records for the Parks, Pools and Animal Services divi-sions.

She also is responsible for the pavilion reser-vations and serves as secretary for the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Adviso-ry Board and the Animal Services Advisory Committee.

AFB in San Antonio and Technical for com-puters at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, I was stationed at Charleston AFB, South Caro-lina,” Sandy said.

She left Charleston to serve a tour at Misawa Air Base in Japan where her daughter Teresa was born. Sandy returned to Omaha, Ne-

Sandy Bryant

That Friendly Voice You Hear

By Chuck McCollough

FOCUZFOCUZFOCUZ

SANDY BRYANT MAY HAVE THE MOST cheerful phone voice you’ll ever hear.

And she keeps that upbeat tone while giving her usual, somewhat long, phone greeting: “Good Morning, thank you for calling Parks, Recreation & Community Services, this is Sandy, how may I help you?”

The bubbly grandmother has been answer-ing the phone in that same friendly manner and voice for 10 years and greeted library patrons for 12 years before that with similar enthusiasm.

join the Air Force in 1969. My mom signed the enlistment papers because she was so sure my dad would not let his little girl go into the Air Force, but he did and I went into the service at 19,” Sandy said with a laugh.

“After completing basic training at Lackland

braska where she was assigned to the Global Weather Center at Offutt AFB, Nebraska for 6 plus years.

Upon her return to San Antonio, this time to Randolph AFB, she met and married her husband, John, and their daughter Eryn was born here.

They were later assigned to Camp New Am-sterdam Air Base, the Netherlands, and their son John Jr. was born there. Sandy later retired as a Master Sergeant.

Sandy said she loved her time with the li-brary and loves working in the Parks, Recre-ation and Community Services Department.“I lived overseas and it gave me a vision of and an appreciation for green space and parks we saw in other countries. I admire the City of Schertz and its residents and I am proud of city employees for working so hard to give us great green spaces and parks” she said.

Sandy started working for the city at the Schertz Public Library as a part-time chil-dren’s clerk in 1991. She was promoted to full time circulation clerk in 1992 and served at the library for 12 years before becoming an administrative assistant for Parks, Recreation and Community Services in 2003.

Sandy was born and raised in Vinity, Arkan-sas and after graduation from high school at-tended Arkansas State University.

“I left the university because I wanted to

Sandy visits with boss George Logan.

WHEN I GRADUATED FROM high school in the mid-1990s the Internet wasn’t even close to being as accessible or omnipresent as it is today. There were no AVID (Ad-vancement Via Individual Determi-nation) classes, no NCLB (No Child Left Behind), and certainly there was no Race to the Top.

Graduating high school students had to depend on the resources that were available to them: parents, teachers, counselors, and them-selves. No one in my family had ever been to college. My grades were pretty dismal. My teach-ers and counselors didn’t bother to discuss post-high school plans with me, and I never bothered to ask. When I graduated from high school, I took the only option I knew to be available to me: I joined the Air Force.

Don’t misunderstand me — the Air Force was exactly what I needed at that time and provided me with a career for ten years. I am honored to have had the privilege to serve. But the question in the back of my mind is always there — where would I be now if I had known of other options, or if my parents or I had known how to explore other options?

Nearly 20 years after my high school graduation, I was working as an office assistant at one of our local universities, and I found my-self dismayed and heartbroken at the number of parents who seemed embarrassed to ask basic questions regarding how to go about helping their child pursue higher educa-tion. In an age where we have ac-cess to floods of information, it would seem every question in the

FEATUREZ

A Beginner’s Guide to Entering Higher

EducationBy Mali Stanforth

Clemens High School English teacher

Clemens teacher Mail Stanforth talks to her students.



Visit your local community collegeA long time ago, a community col-lege was a great option for adult learners who needed to work full time and attend classes at night. It still is, but the growing empha-sis on higher education combined with a slow economy means the community college business is booming. Today the community college student population ranges from high school students taking dual credit courses to retirees looking for enrichment and ev-erything in between. However, most of them manage to hang on to the main idea: community. Many have grown to nearly uni-versity sizes, but most are still small enough so it isn’t daunting to make an appointment and ask some questions. Since so many students use community college as a springboard into bigger four-year universities, you should also find transfer information for the nearest universities. In case they don’t, the Texas Higher Educa-tion Coordinating Board has set a general core curriculum for all public institutions of higher learning. That means core sub-jects such as language arts, sci-ences, math, history and govern-ment are required to transfer as equivalent credit between all of the public schools.

universe could be easily an-swered, but a person could just as easily be overwhelmed and drown when they don’t know the questions they need to ask. Here are some pointers for those who would like to help their favorite student continue his or her edu-cation after high school.

Start BEFORE senior yearEven if your student seems un-interested in going to college, it’s always important to pay atten-tion to crucial information and deadlines before they reach their senior year of high school. For college-bound students, many scholarship and grant applica-tions need to be submitted no later than the end of the fall se-mester of their senior year. For students who are interested in at-tending trade schools, programs around the country offering job placement and housing often have waiting lists. Either way, it pays to know GPA and SAT/ACT score requirements early in case tests need to be retaken or grades need to be brought up. The sooner you sit down with this information and have a conver-sation with your student about their future, the better. I guar-antee if nothing else they will at least start giving it more serious thought. Putting real dates and deadlines with the information in front of them is a reminder that the future will arrive much, much sooner than they realize. And speaking of dates and infor-mation...

...The Internet is Your FriendIt really is, but as I pointed out earlier, it can also overwhelm. To keep yourself from getting lost in those twisting webs, try to keep the information you search for as simple as possible. Look for phone numbers and email ad-dresses only so you can reach an actual person and get informa-tion one-on-one. This will keep you from wandering into the depths of a university website without any virtual breadcrumbs and getting lost and overloaded. A good college advisor or infor-mation desk will know how to ask you some guiding questions to find out who you need to speak to or where you need to go to ask questions more relevant to the student’s goals.I’m well aware that sometimes reaching a living breathing hu-man being (who also knows the answers to your questions) can seem nearly impossible, which puts us back at square one. If you can’t reach a person who can guide you, or you feel too intimidated to speak with some-one, there are some good websites that are dedicated to guiding you through the college application process. These are a better op-tion than going directly to a uni-versity or college website because the information provided gener-ally applies to any institute of higher education; once you have that info under your belt you can concentrate on what each school offers rather than how to go about applying, registering, paying, etc.

The best resource out there right now in that regard is www.col-legeforalltexans.com. One of the things I love about this site is the way they offer student, military, and adult learner categories right on the homepage and once you find your way to the appropriate category, each topic link is laid out in a nice neat list, allowing you to easily locate information relevant to your particular needs.

The high school knows more than you thinkYour student’s high school guid-ance counselor should be able to offer you some insight as to the options and goals your student might have that are practical and reachable. If they don’t, they should at least have some infor-mative material on the nearest colleges and universities. They will also have the schedule for the high school’s next college fair. If your student has no interest in spending the next four years of his or her life in more classrooms and libraries, check with the school’s career and technology teachers. These are the teachers who teach wood or metal shop, auto mechanics, criminal justice, technology and other vocation driven classes. These teachers would have information on the best available options for trade schools and what they offer.

For more information on how to compare the cores between col-leges, go to http://statecore.its.txstate.edu/. At the very least, a stu-dent can get started with some general courses while they decide on their next move and be confident the credits will transfer.


CivicnewzNovember 2013

Proclamation Salutes Fire Prevention Week

Pictured - Schertz Fire Rescue Chief David Covington (center) holds a City Council proclamation recognizing Fire Prevention Week as October 6-12. Joining Covington are Mayor Michael Carpenter (right) and Fire Marshal Glen Outlaw.

Covington said Fire Prevention Week was first celebrated in 1992 and occurs in early October in remembrance of the Great Chicago Fire that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. Some 250 people died and 100,000 were left homeless in a fire that burned 17,400 buildings.

SFR used the week to promote fire safety around the city and vis-ited a number of local schools.

Sewer Averaging Will Affect Residents

2013-2014 BillsSewer averaging for the winter months began on October 24, 2013, and continues through March 6, 2014, for cycle billing. Meter read-ings taken over this period determine your sewer average for the next billing year, which begins April 1. The readings will be aver-aged, and the average will be multiplied by $2.98 for residents with an average below 12,000 gallons. For residents with averages greater than 12,001 gallons, the average will be multiplied by $3.83. That total will be added to the base rate of $5.06 for residential use. The resulting average will be your sewer charge for the next 12 months. For more information, visit Schertz.com or call (210) 619-1100.


Civicnews

Senator’s Staff Gets Schertz EMS

CPR TrainingSchertz EMS is doing its part to keep State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte staff ready to re-spond in a medical emergency. “About six years ago we got a call asking if we could do CPR training for the sena-tor’s office,” said Mike Cosen-tino, Schertz EMS Pub-lic Education & Community Outreach Coordinator.

Cosentino said EMS person-nel trained nine staff members in the senator’s San Antonio and Austin offices. The certi-fication is good for two years. Every two years Schertz EMS has the opportunity to get the word out about CPR at the state level, Cosentino said.


Schertz Police DepartmentPublic Service Announcement

When to Call 911

In an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately from any wired or wireless phone. An emergency is any situation that requires immediate assis-tance from the police, fire department or ambulance. Examples include:•A fire•A crime, especially if in progress•A car crash, especially if someone is injured•A medical emergency, such as someone who is unconscious, gasp-ing for air or not breathing, experiencing an allergic reaction, having chest pain, having uncontrollable bleeding, or any other symptoms that require immediate medical attention

Important: If you’re not sure whether the situation is a true emergency, officials recommend calling 911 and letting the call-taker determine whether you need emergency help.

When you call 911, be prepared to answer the call-taker’s questions, which may include:•The location of the emergency, including the street address•The phone number you are calling from•The nature of the emergency•Details about the emergency, such as a physical description of a person who may have committed a crime, a description of any fire that may be burning, or a description of injuries or symptoms being experienced by a person having a medical emergency

Remember, the call-taker’s questions are important to get the right

kind of help to you quickly. Be prepared to follow any instructions the call-taker gives you. Many 911 centers can tell you exactly what to do to help in an emergency until help arrives, such as providing step-by-step instructions to aid someone who is choking or needs first aid or CPR.

Finally, do not hang up until the call-taker instructs you to.

Civicnews

City of Schertz Elected OfficialsMayor: Michael Carpenter (210) 619-1045

Council Members:Jim Fowler (210) 658-1442David Scagliola (830) 606-1130George Antuna, Jr. (210) 627-9297 Cedric Edwards, Sr. (210) 566-4540Sydney H. Verinder (210) 204-2750City Departments:City of Schertz (210) 619-1000Animal Control (210) 619-1550Business/Utilities (210) 619-1100City Manager (210) 619-1000City Secretary (210) 619-1030Civic Center (210) 619-1600Customer Care/311 (210) 619-1000

Subscriptions to Schertz Magazine are free for each Schertz household. Subscriptions for residents and businesses outside the City of Schertz are $19.95 annually. Call 210-619-1630.Send queries about articles or photographs to Schertz Magazine at 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154. For advertising information: Schertz Magazine, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154; call (210) 619-1630; Fax (210) 619-1619; email [email protected].

NEWS POLICYSchertz Magazine encourages submission of news and event announcement items. News and event announcements must include contact name and contact phone number. All news and event items must be for activities that occur inside the Schertz city limits. Publication cannot be guaranteed. If you would like to submit an item to Schertz Tales, email us at [email protected] or call us at (210) 619-1630.The appearance of advertising in this publication does not constitute endorsement by the City of Schertz. All products and services advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, political affiliation or other non-merit factor of purchaser, user or patron.Articles that appear in Schertz Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the City of Schertz and does not constitute an endorsement therein. The appearance of any advertisement in Schertz Magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the goods or services advertised. Any publication of Schertz Tales, whether draft or final is sole property of the City of Schertz and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any way, whether in print or electronically, without the express permission and written consent of the City of Schertz.

#info

City Departments: (cont’d)Economic Development (210) 619-1070EMS (non-emergency) (210) 619-1400Fire (non-emergency) (210) 619-1300Human Resources (210) 619-1150Information Technology (210) 619-1180Inspections (210) 619-1750Marshal Services (210) 619-1650Municipal Court (210) 619-1500Parks & Recreation (210) 619-1850Planning & Zoning (210) 619-1780Police (non-emergency) (210) 619-1200Public Affairs (210) 619-1630Public Library (210) 619-1700Public Works (210) 619-1800Records (210) 619-1030Website schertz.com

SCHERTZ.COM

OFFICIAL FINE PRINT

November 2013C

ITY

CA

LENDA

RZ

***Meeting locations may change, please visit schertz.com for confirmation.***

Tuesday, 5City Council, 6:00 PM—Council Chamber

Municipal election, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. various voting locations

Monday, 11City Holiday Veterans Day (offices closed)

Tuesday, 12City Council, 6:00 PM—Council Chambers


Wednesday, 20Planning & Zoning, 6:00 PM - Council Chambers

Wednesday, 23Planning & Zoning, 6:00 PM - Council Chambers

Thursday, 24Economic Development Corporation, 6:00 PM - Council Chambers

Monday, 25Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, 5:30 PM – Bob Andrews RoomBoard of Adjustments, 6:00 PM – Council Chambers


Thursday, 28City Holiday Thanksgiving (offices closed)

Friday, 29City Holiday Thanksgiving (offices closed)

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS1400 SCHERTZ PARKWAYSCHERTZ, TEXAS 78154

november 2013

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city of schertz

family fun

issue of schertz magazine

westchester drive schertz

fun family events