When the calendar turned to 2018, not only did it ring in the New Year but also over two dozen new laws joined the books across our great state from Voter I.D. laws, odometer readings and more.

Voter ID ChangesAfter a Federal Court ruling found the pre-

vious voter identification requirements dis-criminated minorities, the result was Senate Bill 5. The new law allows voters with a “rea-sonable impediment” to obtaining a photo ID to show other things like utility bills, bank statements or paycheck stubs.

However, the new law punishes a person with a state jail felony who lies about their “reasonable impediment” to obtaining the photo ID, according to analysis from the Sen-ate Research Center.

Odometer ReadingsSenate Bill 1062 created an electronic form

that can be used to give odometer readings when transferring ownership of an automo-bile. The intended purpose of the new law is

to expedite the transfer process for insurance companies and vehicle owners.

Protesting Property Tax AppraisalsProperty owners were given a little more le-

verage when dealing with property appraisals.Prior to the New Year, the decision of a ap-

praisal protest was final, even if the property’s value had increased. As of Jan. 1, property owners now have the right to respond if their appraised value increases during the protest process. The new law allows the protester the option to present their arguments and evi-dence before, after or between the cases pre-sented by the chief appraiser and each taxing entity.

I.D. requirements for debit, credit card users

Retailers now have the right to prevent cus-tomers from using their debit or credit cards if the customer does not have a government issued ID matching the name on the card, al-though there is no penalty for not requesting

PAGE 5

Bay City CofC Partnership

Saves County $$SEE PAGE 3

WEDNESDAYJAN. 10, 2018

VOL. 111 • NO. 2

BEACONBRIEFS

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

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

Website: palaciosbeacon.com

The OnlyNewspaper In The

World Published Just For The Palacios Area.

PALACIOS

•

TEXAS

th

Beacon Deadline 5 p.m. Friday

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

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

Observing Our

111Year1907-2018

• Beacon Deadline 5 p.m. Fri. For Articles, Advertising & 11 a.m. Mon. For Classifieds •

SUBSCRIBETO THE

PALACIOSBEACON$30 A YEARIN COUNTY$40 A YEAR

OUT-OF COUNTY

Palacios Pride

Pick it uP

BY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-Publisher

PalaciosPalaciosBEACONBEACONProudly Serving The City By The Sea Since 1907USPS 418460 1 SectiON, 10 PAGES

Not so fast there ol’ fella....

BY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-Publisher

PISD’s Flores keeps school finance issues front and center of public’s mind at CofC luncheon

SEE PAGE 2

ChamberBusiness OfThe Month

BY RYAN WESTPalacios Beacon-PublisherNew laws on the books in 2018

The Living Word Church, located at 1405 12th St., will be hosting Cody Freeze as a guest speaker on Sun. (Jan. 14) at 10 a.m.

■ Living Word Church hosts Cody Freeze Sun.

■ Palacios Trail Riders meet Sun.

The Palacios Trail Rid-ers will meet on Sun. (Jan. 14) at 6:30 p.m. at the home of George and Evelyn Capak at 516 Green Ave. Plans will be made for upcoming Val-entine Parade and ride. Everyone is welcome to attend. For more informa-tion, call 972-2385.

BY ALAN C. SCHULMANPalacios Beacon - Reporter

PISD window closes for AD/head football coach applications

Central’sStudents Of

The Week

Hopefuls to replace Farenthold in Congress set for primaries

(See LAWS, Page 3) (See REPS, Page 2)

Palacios and the rest of Congressional District 27 is guaranteed of new represen-tation with incumbent Repre-sentative Blake Farenthold’s mid-December decision to forgo a bid for reelection.

The field of prospective re-placements sits at 10 with six Republicans and four Demo-crats looking to win the nom-ination for each respective party in the March primaries.

Republican candidatesVying for the Republican

nomination are Bech Bruun, Christopher K. Mapp, Ed-die Gassman, Jerry Hall, John Grunwald and Michael Cloud.

Bruun, from Corpus Chris-ti, was most recently chair-man of the Texas Water De-velopment Board, a position he was tabbed for by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2015. He also

held jobs under former Gov. Rick Perry and state Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican from Corpus Christi.

Cloud is from Victoria and served the last seven years as County Chair of the Victoria County Republican Party.

Both candidates Hall and Gassman are from the Corpus Christi area, Mapp is of Port O’Connor and Grunwald is of Houston.

Democrat candidatesThe Democrat field in-

cludes Raul Roy Barrera, Vanessa Edwards Foster, Eric Holguin and Ronnie McDon-ald.

Barrera is of Corpus Chris-ti and served 35 years as a peace office before challeng-ing Farenthold in 2016.

Holguin is also a native of Corpus, but recently worked as the Manhattan Liasion in the New York City Comptrol-

As might be expected in a year fraught with hailstorms and a hurricane, many build-ing permits were issued by City Hall. Among those permits were 64 for roofing alone, roofs being the first in line for damage by both of the aforementioned storms.

While 333 building permits valued at nearly $2.5 million were issued, 2017 doesn’t come close to the historic valuation of over $8.5 mil-lion of ten years earlier in 2007. That year, new con-

struction accounted for over $7 million in valuations com-pared to only $1,221,900 in 2017, but tipping the scales for 2007 were permits is-sued for the new Super S su-permarket and the new High School gym.

Beachside Development didn’t appear to have a signif-icant impact on the number of building permits issued in 2017 as only 13 were for new construction, but those 13 permits accounted for nearly half of the valuations at $1,221,900. Meanwhile,

The official window for ap-plications to be the next Ath-letic Director/ head football coach of Palacios ISD and the Palacios Sharks came to a close last week.

According to PISD Su-perintendent Dr. Alexandro Flores, the District received approximately 50 applica-

tions of potential candidates.Flores said, “We will begin

sifting through the applica-tions and are looking to begin interviewing next week.”

PISD is looking for the replacement of former AD/head football coach Jeff Doege who was reassigned in November after nearly 18 months on the job and com-piling a 2-15 record on the gridiron.

City issued $2.5-million in building permits in 2017

While the Texas Legislature won’t con-vene until 2019, Palacios ISD Superinten-dent Dr. Alexandro Flores won’t let the school finance problem be relegated to the backburner.

As guest speaker at last week’s gener-al membership luncheon of the Palacios Chamber of Commerce, Flores stated, “Between the hardship grant that we were able to secure through a lot of lobbying and legislative efforts, and through the tax valuation audit efforts, we were able

to offset, at least for one year, the $2.5 million that we lost (to the elimination of ASATR funding).

Palacios ISD has been a Chapter 41 (Robin Hood) District since 1994. Since then, the district has paid over $230 mil-lion to the State of Texas. Flores explained that he and his staff, through a tax valua-tion audit, found that during the years of 2013 and 2014, there was a property value decrease of $200 million. That audit re-vealed that Palacios ISD had overpaid the state over $1.3 million. “So we got a check back from them,” stated Flores. “I equate

it to when you’re looking and scrounging for change in your couch. And when you couple that with our own local efforts to reduce our deficit, we might actually even have a good hope of coming up balanced.”

Flores assured those in attendance that, even with the schools and students’ strug-gles of recovering from the effects of Hur-ricane Harvey, “all of our campuses con-tinue to meet standard. We’re one of the top districts in our region.”

New MembersNew members and guests introduced

(See CofC, Page 2)

(See PERMITS, Page 2)

PISD Supt. Dr. Alexandro Flores

DESPITE giving up a more than a few inches to the Alumni Sharks’ Tyler Thomp-son (right), varsity Shark Chase Ford (3) says ‘no sir, not today’ on a pass into the paint directed at Thompson. For more on the Alumni Game see Page 10. (Beacon Photo by Ryan West)

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 2 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., January 10, 2018 DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAY

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

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

CofC (Continued From Page 1)

Trio arrested for money laundering on I-10FLATONIA: Several bundles of U.S. currency, totaling

$189,151 were removed from a vehicle in a routine traffic stop on Interstate 10 near Flatonia. According to Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek, Investigator David Smith stopped a 2014 Jeep traveling west on I-10. After speaking with the driver and two occupants, Smith became suspi-cious of criminal activity and obtained consent to search the vehicle. Smith immediately observed tampering with the interior paneling of the vehicle and discovered a bundle of money. A complete search uncovered bundles of money in the roof, dash and quarter panels. Abraham Tamez, 33, Raul Garza, 47, and Herman Tamez, 36, were arrested for federal money laundering. - The Banner-Press

City shifts from water tanks to well reservesGONZALES: The City of Gonzales shifted water de-

livery from the city’s water supply tanks to the city’s water well system. According to city officials, the measure has been taken to address residents’ concerns over particulate in the water supply. According to City Manager Sean Lally, the water has been tested and particles were found in the water supply. The samples have been sent to Texas Com-mission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). “There has not yet been a confirmation from TCEQ on what the par-ticulate is, but we suspect the matter may be coming from a filtration mat in one of the city’s water supply tanks,” Lally said. We are hoping for an answer this week.” Until Lally receives the answer he is looking for, the city has shut down the supply tank in question. - The Gonzales Inquirer

12 kilos of cocaine discovered after traffic stopFLATONIA: Approximately 12 kilos of cocaine with a

street value of $1.3 million was located in a routine traf-fic stop on Interstate 10 at the eastbound 660 mile marker near Flatonia. Sgt. Randy Thumann and K-9 partner Lobos stopped a Ford Escape at approximately 2:15 p.m. for a traffic violation. After making contact with the driver and passenger, Thumann observed conflicting stories and ex-tremely nervous behavior, along with many criminal indi-cators of narcotics trafficking. Thumann and his partner, David Smith, searched the vehicle and located the cocaine in a child’s diaper bag and also in the center console. The driver, Alan Aleman, 27, of Mexico was arrested for felony cocaine possession. - The Banner-Press

Rosenberg co. expected to hire 300 workersROSENBERG: A pharmaceutical manufacturing and

distribution facility, which will ultimately hire up to 300 people, will soon break ground in Rosenberg. After a rocky start to the project due to Hurricane Harvey and the sub-sequent flood, Tex Pharma representatives asked the city of Rosenberg to delay the time table of the tax abatement agreement tied to the facility construction at Rosenberg Business Park. The facility will be 200,000 square feet and will employ 80 people upon opening, later growing to 300 employees. - East Bernard Express

Exelon power plan, 3 others to be soldWHARTON: An Exelon Wharton County power plant

— Colorado Bend One — is being sold along with three others in Texas to ExGen and are currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy with investors looking to resell the plants in a bundle. The other county plant remains in operation, ac-cording to Jimmy Porch, regional communication man-ager for Exelon generation. Operations will continue at the facilities with Exelon employees until they are sold or shut down, which raises concern for some about the future of the Halyard Energy Plant waiting to renegotiate a tax abatement with Wharton County commissioners. “They’re competing against solar and wind and those don’t have much cost. Whatever technology, unless it’s super efficient, they have a tough time being competitive. These compa-nies are trying to fill in little gaps where wind power isn’t available,” stated Precinct 2 Commissioner Chris King. The Halyard power plant, proposed in 2015, was given a tax abatement by county commissioners set to expire at the end of 2017. “Halyard says it’s a one-of-a-kind power plant. They said it was the most efficient of its kind. I don’t know if any of that is true, that’s just what they told us.” - Wharton Journal-Spectator

PALACIOS BEACON

Area Briefs

Campbell-HuittInsurance

328 CommercePalacios, TX

361-972-2551Auto-BondsBusinessHomeLifeFlood

B & S Meat Market Corner of 8th Street and FM 1468

979-843-5730 Hours: Mon.-Fri./9am-7pm • Sat./9am-5pm • Sun./11am-5pm

Weekly SpecialsChuck Roast - $3.99Beef Short Ribs - $4.99Pork Chops - $1.59Chicken Thighs - $.79Like us on facebook for additional WEEKEND SPECIALS!All items vacuum packed to ensure freshness.

Deer Processing and Custom Slaughtering

January 10th-1 6th

We are close to

home and here to heal!

Dr. Donald Frame, MD

Dr. Donald Frame, MD will be conducting a free leg screening to help diagnose and treat any leg problems you may be experiencing. To include but not limited to: Leg pain, aching or cramping - Burning or itching of the skin. Leg or ankle swelling, especially at the end of the day. “Heavy” feeling in legs- Varicose veins. Skin discoloration or texture changes, such as above the inner ankle. Open wounds

or sores, such as above the inner ankle. Open wounds or sores, such as above the inner ankle -Restless legs

Palacios Medical Clinic307 Green Ave. • Palacios, TX • 361-972-2000

January 18th 3pm-7pmFREE LEG SCREENING

LEG PAIN, ACHING CRAMPING

BURNING OR ITCH-ING OF THE SKIN

VARICOSE VEINS

LEG OR ANKLE SWELLING,

ESPECIALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY

“HEAVY” FEELING IN LEGS,

RESTLESS LEGS

The Palacios Commu-nity Conversation will hold its first meeting of 2018 on Thursday, January 11th at the First United Methodist Church Hall at 3rd and Lu-cas. The evening will begin with a potluck at 5:30 fol-lowed by a facilitated dis-cussion from 6 to 7:30 p.m.. Please bring a dish, or come without. Please join to listen, learn, and work to improve our community. The topic for this discussion will be gun safety. Discussion will range from preventing accidents, suicides, homicides, proper storage, education and train-ing. The groups intention is to respect constitutional rights while working to pre-

vent gun deaths. The Palacios Community

Conversation identified gun safety as its first community concern after the Orlando shootings and then the ac-cidental gun death of a Pa-lacios child. The gun safety discussion is now part of our Wellness Council, a group working to assess and help coordinate mental health re-sources in Palacios.

The group will be glad to see familiar faces after a rest from our regular meetings and is always happy to wel-come newcomers. For fur-ther information please con-tact egowerpalacios@gmail.com.

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

Come Join the Fun

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

~ Mixed Drinks & Draft Beer ~

Omar’s Bar & Grill

• Computer Diagnostics• Brake Service• AC Service• Tune Up

• Restoration Quality Work

• Insurance Claims Welcomed

Collision Repair Specialist

• Towing

Community Conversation to meet Thurs. at FUMC Weimer Hall

at the meeting include Pa-lacios Real Estate Agency - Dan and Charlotte Tucker, Some Beach Ranch - Vaca-tion Rentals - Charles and Darlene Tresselt, Janet Hickl, County Clerk, D.C. Dunham, and Palacios Lumber - James and Judy Nesbitt.

Business of the MonthThe Business of the Month

award was presented to Mikeska Construction. Jason and Nickie Mikeska accept-ed the award and stated that their current work consists of new construction, remodel-ing after Hurricane Harvey, and work for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Though their office is in Cuero, they currently own a home and live in Way-point Landing.

Upcoming EventsThe Winter Texan Chili

Supper will be on Jan. 11, fol-lowed by the Palacios Cham-ber Annual Awards Banquet on Feb. 15.

Upcoming MeetingsPalacios Economic Devel-

opment Development Meet-ing on Jan. 10, Chamber of Commerce Board of Direc-tors Meeting on Jan. 23 @ 5 p.m. at Palacios Area Fund Office, and the next Palacios Chamber of Commerce Gen-eral Membership Meeting, featuring a Political Forum, will be on Feb. 8.

143 permits were issued for remodeling, with a valuation of $917,708.72 for electrical, 53 for plumbing, 26 for me-chanical, and 14 occupancy permits were issued. 12 addi-tional permits were issued for demolition, parking, culverts,

and signs.While not a banner year

for building in Palacios, per-mit fees generated $18,452 in revenue for the city com-pared to $23,718 during the record year of 2007.

PERMITS(Continued From Page 1)

lers Office. Foster is also of Corpus

Christi. McDonald held the Coun-

ty Judge office for Bastrop County from 1998 - 2012 and recently worked with the directors of the Texas A&M

AgriLife Extension Services and the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Early voting in the prima-ries is scheduled to begin Feb. 20 and end March 2, 2018. Election Day is Tues-day, March 6, 2018

REPS (Continued From Page 1)

Mikeska Construction named CofC Business of the Month....SELECTED Palacios CofC Business of the Month at last week’s General Membership luncheon was Mikeska Construction. Pictured are: (front, l-r) Jason & Nickie Mikeska, Sally Kurtz, Pam Oliver, Claude Manning, Becky Rusky, Amy Tapia, Kayla Sanchez, Melissa Pena and Leland Singer; (back) David Kocurek, John Garr, Judge Nate McDonald, Tom Breckenridge, Cathy Wakefield, and Renee Nixon. (Beacon Photo by Alan Schulman)

LorettaGriffin for

MatagordaCounty Treasurer

PROOFLoretta

Griffinfor

MatagordaCounty TreasurerPol Adv Paid for by Loretta Griffin, Treasurer, P. O. Box 129, Cedar Lane, TX 77415

Election Day: March 6, 2018Election Day: March 6, 2018

Pol. Adv. Paid for by Loretta Griffin, Treasurer, P O Box 129, Cedar Lane, TX 77415

Palacios Beacon - Wed., January 10, 2018 - Page 3DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAY

Bay City CofC partnership saves Matagorda County citizens hundreds of dollars per year

Deadline For Articles, Ads5 p.m. Friday

Classified Ad’s 10 a.m. Monday

Palacios Pride

Pick it uP

Sponsored by Palacios Beacon

ReddyAir Conditioning &

HeatingSales, Services, and Installations

Honest & Reliable(361) 935-9798

Minh T. ThachOwner

minhthach123@yahoo.com

TAC

LB

7693

8E

AUSTIN, Texas – The Lower Colorado River Authority is accepting applications for grants of up to $50,000 for community proj-ects in LCRA’s wholesale electric or water service area.

Applications for Community Development Partnership Program grants are available at lcra.org/cdpp and are due by Jan. 31.

Through 2017, LCRA and its wholesale electric customers have awarded 1,651 com-munity grants totaling more than $43 million. When combined with more than $223 mil-lion in community-raised matching funds, the program has invested almost $267 million in local communities.

The grants help groups ranging from firefighters who need new breathing equip-ment to community centers that need new air condition-ing units to parks that need new playscapes.

LCRA and its wholesale electric customers award

CDPP grants for projects related to commu-nity planning, education, employment, health care, public safety, recreation, training and volunteer fire departments. Eligible organi-zations include volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, local governments, schools, libraries, civic groups, museums and other nonprofit organizations. For-profit en-tities, individuals, professional associations and nonprofits with limited group member-ships are not eligible for CDPP grants.

For a complete list of eligibility require-ments or more information, visit lcra.org/cdpp or call the CDPP coordinator at 800-776-5272, ext. 3140.

RosenbergDermatology

is seeing patientsat Palacios Medical Clinic

307 Green Ave. Palacios, TX3rd Thursday of every month.

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Call for an appointment

(713) 730-2000

Paul’s JourneySunday, January 14th at First Baptist Church

of Palacios, 202 Main St at 6 p.m.For more information call 361-972-5486 or go to www.paulsjourneymusic.com

A successful partnership between the Bay City Cham-ber of Commerce and Agri-culture, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on En-vironmental Quality (TCEQ) produced a financial win for the residents and businesses of Matagorda County. In a re-cent review of the air quality standards, the groups proved that the County meets the current air quality standards and will retain the classifica-tion of ‘attainment’.

This classification means that County residents can avoid costly emissions re-quirements on their vehicles. Residents of counties in ‘non-attainment’, who don’t meet air quality standards, are of-ten faced with higher vehicle registration prices and expen-sive vehicle repairs.

“This is great news for Matagorda County resi-dents,” said County Judge Nate McDonald. “Our indus-trial partners work hard to meet today’s standards and

we deserve to celebrate this win.”

The Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture Board of Directors made the air quality review process the top priority for the Chamber President Mitch Thames. “The Chamber is committed to population and business growth, our local businesses and our economy depend on an active Chamber being in-volved in these important is-sues like air quality,” shared Thames.

The air quality review is scheduled every five years and over seven years ago Thames set to develop strong relationships with the TCEQ and the EPA so Matagorda County would have a local voice in the effort to keep its classification.

“We formed great rela-tionships 6 years ago and we maintained open lines of communications with both the TCEQ and the EPA,” said Thames. “This classifi-cation means so much to the total population of Matago-rda County, ‘non-attainment’ would cost local businesses valuable dollars.”

The classification is also

important to our industrial businesses in the area. Mike Ferdinand the Executive Di-rector with the Matagorda County Economic Develop-ment Corporation stated how important the ‘attainment’ classification is to Matagorda County “our growth depends on many factors and air qual-ity ranks at the top of that list for large projects.”

“Between small family-owned shops to family agri-culture businesses, our econ-omy would take a direct hit,” said DC Dunham, Executive Director for the Bay City Community Development Corporation. “Our smaller businesses makes up the ma-jority of the tax dollars and

employment and when you start pulling dollars away from the family budget to pay for automobile emission repairs, it would cost jobs in local stores.”

Thames, Ferdinand and Dunham make up the Matagorda County Air Qual-ity team led by Matagorda County Judge Nate McDon-ald. The team agrees that this announcement shows that the economic development efforts the last 7 years have put Matagorda County on the map. Coupled with the review process for air quality keeps Matagorda County one of the best rural communities in the State.

Theater WorkshopAges 9-21

January 22-27, 2018 at the Outrigger Event CenterVisit www.stagetopasgeproductions.com for more details

Spots are limited to 10 people. Pre-registrartion is required.

Who? What? When? Where?

Find the answers to all of these

questions in your local paper.

SUBCRIBE NOW and SAVE ON NEWSSTAND PRICES.

The Palacios BeaconIn Print or Online

$30 in Matagorda County $40 Everywhere ElseFill out below and mail to

Palacios Beacon • P.O. Box 817 • Palacios, TX 77565

Name: _______________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________

City: ________________________________________________

State: __________________ Zip Code: _____________________

New Renewal

LAWS (Continued From Page 1)

an ID. Prepaid calling cards

HB 2126 gives retailers a lower franchise tax rate for selling predominantly prepaid calling cards.

Other new lawsFor the entire list of new laws on the books as of Jan.

1, 2018, go to tinyurl.com/yb23nrw5

ARRESTSJason Rodriguez, 38, 701 Lucas Ave, was arrested in

the 700 block of Lucas Ave at 1:38 a.m. on Jan. 2. Public Intoxication.

Individuals listed have been arrested and/or charged with an offense. Inclu-sion 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 •

66th annual Deuctschburg Seafood Lunch/Dinner Jan. 27The “66th Annual Deutsch-

burg Benefit Seafood Lunch and Dinner” will be held on Saturday, January 27th, 2018 serving our famous sea-food plates from 11:30 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. In addition to the seafood meal, there will be an auction of homemade

goods from the Deutschburg Community and items craft-ed and donated by area resi-dents and vendors. Plates to go are also available. Loca-tion: The Deutschburg Com-munity Center located on FM 1862 NW of Palacios.

LCRA offering community grants to area nonprofits, first responders

DEADLINE 5 P.M. FRIDAYPage 4 - Palacios Beacon - Wed., January 10, 2018

Are you looking to read more of this

week’s Palacios Beacon?

Pick one up at the Beacon office, located at 809 First. St., one of

Palacios area’s retail establishments, or purchase a yearly subscription,

just $30 in Matagorda Co. and $40 everywhere else.

http:www.paypal.me/palaciosbeacon