Valentine SweetheartCandidate

Leaderboard♥ ♥♥ ♥

Kimberly Phan - 12,507MeyLynn Le - 9,333

Olivia Filip 8,947

(See CITY, Page 2)

Palacios Pride

Pick it uP

• Deadline for Articles, Classified & Display Ads 5 p.m. Friday•

BY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-Publisher

Valentine Parade & Sweetheart Coronation Ball Sat.

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■ New Beacon office hours & deadline changes

The Palacios Beacon deadline for classified ads will change from 10 a.m. on Monday to 5 p.m. on Friday - in line with current article and display advertising deadlines.

The new office hours of the Palacios Beacon will be from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday.

WEDNESDAYFEB. 5, 2020VOL. 113 • NO. 6

BEACONBRIEFS

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

(361) 972-3009palaciosbeacon@gmail.com

Website: palaciosbeacon.com

The OnlyNewspaper In The

World Published Just For The Palacios Area.

PALACIOS,

•

TEXAS

Beacon Deadline 5 p.m. Friday

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

thObserving Our

113Year1907-2020

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

Council tabs Garrett new Munic ipal Court Judge

See Page 12

TigersBattle ForPlayoffs

See Page 2

Mayor AugieTakes Oath

Of Office

Come one, come all, the time has come for a Midnight Masquerade Ball, where the 72nd annual Valen-tine’s Parade and Sweetheart Coro-nation Ball held this Sat. (Feb.8, presented by Palacios’ Harmonie Club.

Twenty-two darling damsels are candidates for the Harmonie Club’s 72nd Valentine Sweetheart crown with the winner set to be unmasked during the Coronation Ball, themed Enchanted Love, taking place from 8 p.m. - 1 a.m. at the Palacios Recre-ation Center. Tommy Morton will be the emcee with music by Horizon.

Tickets are $20 at the door.The festivities kick off with the

annual Valentine Parade down Pa-lacios’ historic downtown at 2 p.m.

The Valentine Sweetheart will be determined by nickle-a-vote ballot-ing with decorated voting cans lo-cated at businesses around Palacios.Voting continues thru the early part of the ball. So there is no reason not to vote early - and often.

The candidates and sponsors are:♥ Aleena Acosta, daughter of

Kristina Lopez and Alex Acosta; es-corted by Jordan Duran, son of Tf-fany and Justin Duran; sponsored by Palacios Mexican Restaurant.

♥ Alexandra Marie Aparicio, daughter of Nora and Barnie Apari-cio; escorted by Xavier Ortiz, son

of Patricia and Genaro Ortiz; spon-sored by the Catholic Daughters.

♥ Patricia Castanon, daughter of Angelina and Isidro Castanon; es-corted by Griffin White, son of Me-lissa and Robert White; sponsored by El Campo Memorial Hospital/Palacios Community Medical Cen-ter.

♥ Gema Diaz, daughter of Es-merelda and Benito Diaz; escorted by Jardee Pham, son of Lien and Son Pham; sponsored by the Pala-cios Beacon

♥ Olivia Filip, daughter of Sheri and Carl Filip; escorted by brother Wyatt Filip; sponsored by the Pala-cios Trail Riders.

♥ Lena Goff, daughter of Lisa and Mark Goff; escorted by Reed Bow-ers; son of Lynn and Reed Bowers; sonsored by the Alapha Club..

♥ Lizbeth Guillen, daughter of Rosa and Dionisio Guillen; escorted by Nathan Zarate; son of Tuoi Nguy-en and Jeremy Zarate; sponsored by the Palacios Lions Club.

♥ Kylie Kolb, daughter of Elissa Emmons and Thomas Smith; escort-ed by Gary Haynes, son of LaShan-da Haynes; sponsored by the Pala-cios Prescription Shoppe.

♥ Ashtyn Kruse, daughter of Haley and James Cruz; escorted by Eric Alvarez; son of Lisa and Eric

BY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-Publisher

Deadline to file nears for City, PISD elections

(See FILING, Page 3)

(See SWEETHEARTS, Page 4)

The lovely ladies vying to be crowned the 72nd Valetine’s

Sweetheart

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

PalaciosPalaciosBEACONBEACON$1.00

ALEENA ACOSTA ALEXANDRA APARICIO

PATRICIA CASTANON GEMA DIAZ OLIVIA FILIP LENA GOFF

LIZBETH GUILLEN KYLIE KOLB ASHTYN KRUSE AVERY KUBECKA

MEYLYNN LE SABRINA LOPEZ JORDAN PEEPLES KIMBERLY PHAN

LAUREN POST CLAIRE RHOADES JESSICA ROJAS JINNIFER SIFUENTES

TAYLOR STOECKER SARA TRAN TRACY TRINH SAVANNAH WILLIAMS

The tally has now officially climbed to three unopposed candidates on the City of Pa-lacios ballot featuring four seats at the table up for grabs.

Incumbent Councilman in Pos. 6, Steve McGovern has signed up to give it a run at reelection and is thus far un-opposed.

Former councilman Larry Glenn, who served from 2000-02, has tossed his name into the race for Pos. 1.

The recently retired Mu-nicipal Judge Linh Chau was the first candidate to file for a place on the May ballot for the City of Palacios elections with a run as Mayor of Pala-cios.

The City of Palacios’ side of the ticket features four seats up for grabs with the expiring of terms of Mayor Glen Smith, Pos. 1 Coun-cilman Johnny Tran, Pos. 2 Councilwoman Donna Har-vey Schulman.

Mayor Smith, Tran and McGovern are completing their second consecutive terms, respectively, while Schulman is wrapping up her first go round at the Council table.

Holdovers on the Council are Mary Crocker in Pos. 3, Troy Lewis in Pos. 4 and Wayne Dodd in Pos. 5.

On the PISD side of the ticket, incumbent Trustee in Pos. 6, Fabian Marroquin,

Reigning SweetheartHannah Tran

■ Pulled pork sandwich meal fundraiser Sat. at Railroad Park

The Class of 2020 Project Celebration will be holding a pulled pork sandwich fundraiser from 11 a.m. until sold out on Sat. (Feb. 8) in Railroad Park in downtown Palacios. Meals are $10 and includes chips and a drink.

The Palacios City Council emerged from executive ses-sion at last week’s regular bi-monthly meeting and an-nounced Robert Garrett as new Municipal Court Judge.

Garrett will serve a two-year term with an annual sal-ary of $30,000 which Coun-cil affixed by ordinance. He had served previously as an Associate Judge before the retirement of Linh Chau at the end of 2019 who had served for 25 years on the bench.

City Manager’s ReportsThe ongoing delays with

lamp posts and handrails are hamstringing the completion of the City’s Downtown Re-

The one and only • PALACIOS BEACON •

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 2 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., February 5, 2020

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

Hump delicacy comes from Wharton Co.WHARTON: Hump Yeah! What rare Texas beef deli-

cacy is taking the area by storm? Why, it’s Brahman hump of course! When local Brahman ranchers Rachel and Bran-don Cutrer started their Brahman Country Beef business to supply healthy locally raised hormone-free Wharton County beef to friends and customers, little did they real-ize what a sensation they would start. It’s literally brought a whole new meaning to “hump day.” The most prized cut from their Brahman steers isn’t the ribeye or filet steaks as you might expect, it’s their Brahman hump roast. Even many cattlemen didn’t realize the hump is edible and most have never had the chance to try this delicacy. Because prominent humps are only found on full-blooded Brah-man steers and each steer has only one hump, the novel roasts are in short supply and are usually the first cuts to sell out each time a new order is available. The Brahman hump is best compared with a tender brisket and the most popular way to cook it is low and slow over the pit, Texas barbecue style. -Wharton Journal Spectator

Slow driver jailed for invalid licensePORT ARANSAS: Driving at a snail’s pace can at-

tract police attention, just like speeding can. A Bastrop man driving 15 mph in a 60-mph zone caught the atten-tion of Port Aransas police on Saturday. An officer was running radar for speeding motorists on State Hwy 361 when a passerby pulled up to the officer’s patrol truck and told him that the driver of a 1987 Pontiac station wagon was going to cause an accident because he was driving so slowly. The officer quickly caught up and pulled the 71-year-old driver of the station wagon over. While the man wasn’t arrested for driving too slow, he was jailed for driving with an invalid license, a class C misdemeanor. - Port Aransas South Jetty

10 years probation for ‘corpse tampering’CAMERON: A Caldwell man accused of helping to

dispose of the body in the Emily Hacker murder case received a 10-year probated prison sentence Thursday in District Court, according to prosecutor Bill Torrey. Kevin Cormier was never charged with the murder of the 34-year-old Rockdale resident on Jan. 19, 2017, but was indicted for “tampering with evidence-human corpse” by a Milam County Grand Jury. Cormier, 32 at the time of his indictment, was charged only with helping to move Hack-er’s body. He had previously entered an “open plea” to the charge after spending two years in jail. The offense is a second-degree felony and Cormier was open to the full range of possible punishments. - The Rockdale Reporter

CITY (Continued From Page 1)

Krista’s KornerSouvenir’s and Taqueria

801 Henderson • Palacios

• Mexican Souvenirs• Breakfast Plates & Tacos

• Pinatas• Pots

•Statues• Blankets

• Snacks• Candles

• Religious Items

New Hours Starting Feb. 6OPEN: Tue.- Thurs.

Weekdays 6 a.m.- 12 noon Sat. & Sun. 6 a.m.-1 p.m.

361-218-0776Santiaga Salinas

Owner

* Feb. 8 *Max Stalling

* March 7 * Broken Spokes

* March 28 * Tremeloco

* April 25 * Linda Gail Lewis

THE OUTR IGGEREvent Center

6thStreet & Commerce

outriggereventcenter.comFor Tickets or Reservations

361-920-6513

AuGIE Roemer, the recent winner of the Lucky Strykes-sponsored dog mayor contest, was officially sworn in as the newest canine mayor of the city at Tuesday night's council meeting. Joining in the event was the outgoing mayor, Izzy, owned by Dr. Alan Barker. Mayor Glen Smith read a proclamation naming Augie, owned by Eric and Leigh Ann Roemer, as dog mayor. Jennifer Chau spoke to the group about the efforts of Lucky Strykes, our local large dog rescue. She expressed appreciation to all of the dog owners who participated in the fundraising event that will help her purchase a transport vehicle and to continue operation of the rescue she founded and maintains. (Submitted Photo)

vitalization Project. In the City Manager’s Re-

port, David Kocurek noted the project continues to sit at 98% complete with the installation lamp posts and handrails the final items. But that has been the case for nearly two months now.

Due to fences down on the cattle grazing lease at the airport, stray cattle are mak-ing their way to the runways. Kocurek reported numerous efforts to contact the lease owner to make needed repairs have been in vain and the cur-rent lease runs thru Nov.

Schulman expressed li-

ability concerns on the City’s behalf should an accident on the runway involving the cattle occur.

Councilman Steve Mc-Govern received a chuckle upon suggesting a citywide barbecue.

Mayor Glen Smith was more serious and directed Kocurek to speak with the City Attorney to get a defi-nite answer on what to do to remedy the situation.

Citizen ForumDr. Bonnie Benson took to

the podium to express thanks to those serving on the coun-cil that are going off and

those up for reelection. “Thank you for your ser-

vice and I wish you a good race,” she said.

Chip Woolf took a spin at the podium to howl about “one of his favorite dogs” - the Pavilion, whose Quar-terly Report was presented during Kocurek’s Admin Re-ports.

“This is our largest debt in the general fund at over $100,000 per year and this isn’t much explanation,” Woolf said and cited the re-ports revenue showing a neg-ative $500. He also opined on the proposed investment policy on the agenda, and said the rate of return falls short of the treasury bill rate required.

Council approved the do-nation of a light bar off a vehicle bound for auction to the Midfield Volunteer Fire Dept.

Approved ItemsCouncil approved: the

Dec. Financial Statement and Investment Report as presented by City Treasurer Tammy McDonald; a In-terlocal Agreement for Joint Election Services between the City and Palacios ISD for the elections in May; a fraud prevention and detection pol-icy; fund balance policy; and investment policy.

Next MeetingThe next meeting of the

Palacios City Council will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 18.

Augie sworn in as Dog Mayor of Palacios

PALACIOS BEACON

Area Briefs

Palacios Beacon - Wed., February 5, 2020 - Page 3DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAY

BY ALAN C. SCHULMANPalacios Beacon

City sales tax rebates wrapped up final month of 2019 ahead of final month of 2018

ARRESTSJorge Elias Hernandez, 21, 405 E.

Craymer Ave 28, was arrested in the 400 block of W. Craymer Ave at 5:43 p.m. on Jan. 27. Public Intoxication.

Van Jason Rozner, 49, Midfield, was ar-rested in the 6600 block of Hwy 35 S, at 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 28. Possession of a Con-trolled Substance.

Dora Lee Rivera, 40, 812 Morton Ave 1, was arrested in the 300 block of Lucas Ave at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 28. Public Intoxication.

Ruby Louise Howard, 38, 312 Tres Pa-lacios Ave, was arrested in the 300 block of Tres Palacios Ave at 8:49 p.m. on Jan. 30. Warrant Out of Bay City Police Depart-ment.

INCIDENTSAgency Assist: Officers responded to the

45 Seashell Apartments at 8:00 a.m. on Jan. 24 in reference to a hospice patient that passed away.

Criminal Mischief: Officers responded to the 900 block of Main St. at 2:54 p.m. on Jan. 26 in reference to criminal mischief of a vehicle.

Assault Causes Bodily Injury Family Violence: Officer received a report of an Assault Causing Bodily Injury at 45 Sea-shell Blvd by a family member at 11:12 a.m. on Jan. 27.

Warrant Service Capias: A traffic stop was made in the 800 block of 8th St. at

12:07 a.m. on Jan. 29 which resulted in the arrest of one person who paid the fine for an outstanding municipal warrant and was released.

Fraud: Officer was dispatched to the 7/11 store at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. in reference to Fraud.

Assault Causes Bodily Injury: Officer met with the victim at 9:21 a.m. on Jan. 30 at the Police Department in reference to an Assault Causing Bodily Injury.

Criminal Trespass: Officer received a report of Criminal Trespass at 138 Sand-piper Circle at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 30.

Harassment: Officer was dispatched to the Police Annex at 2:35 p.m. on Jan. 30 in reference to an individual requesting ad-vice involving Harassment.

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

If you know of a homeless per-son that needs a warm place to sleep on these cold nights, have them come to the Police Station.

The Palacios Beacon - where YOU get the news, sports and more YOU want

FILING (Continued From Page 1)

2020 Project Celebration Fundraiser

Pulled Pork Sandwich,

Chips, & Drink

Sat. Feb. 811 a.m. -Sold Out

Palacios Railroad Park

$10 Each

BEE a Know-It-AllSubscribe to

The Palacios BeaconIn Print or Online.

$30.00 in Matagorda County$40.00 Everywhere Else

361-972-3009www.palaciosbeacon.com

HuRICANE HARVEY• Grant Works submit-

ted application for drainage and street improvements to GLO for Harvey CDBG-DR funds; GLO is reviewing application. City and Grant Works have responded to RFI's from GLO.

ADMINISTRATION• Engineer has issued the

contractor that the project is substantially completed for

the IKE CDBGDR grant for improvements to the WWTP.

• TxDOT Aviation Depart-ment for Palacios Airport Im-provements Grant to repair Runway 13-31, taxiways, and terminal apron; TXDOT Aviation division is rebid-ding the project in January.

• Construction is 98% com-plete on the sidewalk project utilizing the Downtown Re-vitalization Grant from Texas Department of Agriculture. Lamp posts and handrails to be installed.

• City is signing contracts for the CDBG Waterline project and Engineer will is-sue a notice to proceed to the contractor.

PuBLIC WORKS• Work Orders Completed:

4 water leaks, 2 sewer stop-page calls, 13 animal calls, and 33 miscellaneous work orders, 69 completed work orders; cleaned ditches, re-setting culverts and clean-ing out existing culverts; re-paired potholes.

• Mowed RR Park and other city properties, water

plants, and 14 lift stations.AIRPORT

• Mowed and sprayed around buildings, runways, and hangers

POLICE• Calls for Service 51 0• Citations 73 Warnings 72

issued, and 21 arrests• Cases Assigned 12, Cases

Closed 141• Traffic accidents 12FIRE• The new Fire Station is

95% complete. AEP installed meter for permanent power.

BuILDING PERMITS & CODE

ENFORCEMENT• Permits - New construc-

tion 2, Remodel 5, Electrical 3, Plumbing 2, Mechanical 3, Gas 0, Roof 2, Leveling 0, Demo 2, Driveway 1, Misc. permits 1, Plan Reviews, & Consultations, and Inspec-tions 36.

• Code Enforcement- Con-tacts 5, Letters 32, door hangers 3 and discussing the Demolition Program with homeowner

Palacios City Manager’s Monthly Departmental Reports

Most area cities’ sales tax rebates were up in December, however, the State Comptrol-ler’s Office doesn’t include year end, year-to-date information, therefore, only monthly comparisons are available.

Nine of 13 area cities, including Palacios, received more in sales tax rebates than in the same month in 2018.

The State Comptroller’s Office collects sales tax and distributes rebates to cities, transit systems, and special purpose taxing districts monthly.

Sales tax rebates to 13 area cities for the month of December are as follows: (Dec. 2019, Dec. 2018) (% change). Bay City: $77,721, $420,789 (13.52%) East Bernard: $40,128, $35,543 (12.89%) Edna: $86,771, $84,829 (2.28%) El Campo: $320,950, $315,865 (1.60%) Ganado: $44,508, $42,489 (4.75%) La Ward: $859, $983 (-12.60%) Palacios: $51,673, $49,340 (4.72%) Point Comfort: $21,034, $17,967 (17.07%) Port Lavaca: $250,609, $284,288 (-11.84%) Seadrift: $12,447, $14,540 (-14.39%) Swee-ny: $42,041, $43,303 (-2.91%) West Co-lumbia: $68,242, $66,864 (2.06%) Wharton $179,686, $164,554 (9.19%).

has filed for reelection.The PISD Trustee ballot also reflects the

expiring terms of Trustees Lisa Harrison in Pos. 5 and Peter Zamarripa in Pos. 7.

Harrison is wrapping up her first three-year term on the board, Marroquin is at the end of his second term and Zamarripa at the end of his 24th year as a Trustee.

Holdovers on the board are Trustees Rob Kessler in Pos. 1, Peter Estraca in Pos. 2, Brandon Bowers in Pos. 3 and Steven Stuhrenberg in Pos. 4.

Council EligibilityAs to eligibility of candidates for the city

positions, the City Home Rule Charter states: “Each candidate for a City Council posi-

tion, at the time of filing of his/her application for a place on the ballot, shall be a registered

voter in the City; shall be a resident of the City and shall have resided within the corpo-rate limits of the City one (1) year preceding the date of the election at which he/she is a candidate; shall not have been convicted of a felony criminal offense or a crime involv-ing moral turpitude; shall not be delinquent on city taxes; and shall not be in violation of any other provision in this Charter.”

Important DatesImportant dates for candidates and voters

leading up to the May 2 Election Day include the following:

Drawing for a Place on Ballot: Feb. 24Last Day to Register to Vote: April 2First Day to Early Vote in Person: April 20Last Day to Early Vote in Person: April 28Last Day to Receive Ballot by Mail: 7 p.m.

• Republican Primary •

The following have paid to have their names listed as candidates for office in either the Democratic or Republican Party Primary to be held March 3. The cost for the Candidate Listing is $30. The cost for the candidate listing plus a one time candidate announce-ment article is $50. The deadline for inclusion in the Candidate Listing or to submit a candidate announcement article is 5 p.m. Friday.

CANDIDATELISTINGS

RUBENPct. 3 commissioner

GONZALES[Pol. Adv. pd for by Melinda Zepeda, Trea-surer, 55 Red River, Bay City, TX 77414 ]

BILLMat. co. Sheriff

ORTON[Pol. Adv. pd for by Bill Orton, Treasurer,

1689 CR 297, Sargent, TX 77414]

STEVENJOHNSON[Pol. Adv. pd for by Steven Johnson,

Treasurer, 1102 Sailfish Dr., Bay City, TX 77414 ]

DENISE130th District Judge

FORTENBERRY[Pol. Adv. pd for by Lisa Morales, Treasurer,

P.O. Box 2421, Bay City,TX 77414]

TROYSHIMEK

[Pol. Adv. pd for by Troy Shimek, Treasurer, 23878 Hwy. 35 S, Palacios, TX 77465

MITcHTX Rep. District 25

THAMES[Pol. Adv. pd for by Carolyn Thames, Trea-

surer, 716 7th St., Bay City,TX 77414]

cODYVASUT

[Pol. Adv. pd for by Treasurer, Cody T. Vasut, P.O. Box 2724, Angelton, TX 77516]

DENNISSMITH

[Pol. Adv. pd for by Dennis Smith, Trea-surer, 104 Main St., Palacios, TX 77465

SKIPPEROSBORNE

[Pol. Adv. pd for by Diana Osborne, 7 Lazy Lane, Bay City, TX 77414]

BEcKYMat. co. Tax Assessor

BARRETT cOOK[Pol. Adv. pd for by Becky Cook, Treasurer,

2401 7th St., Bay City,TX 77414]

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 4 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., February 5, 2020

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