Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 11, 2013 Page: 1 of 18
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Volume 53, No. 36
www.mysoutex.com
April 11, 2013-75<
Suspected bomb found
Contributed photo
What appears to be a practice rocket was found in a dumpster behind the Refugio Shopping
Center on Wednesday night, April 3. The Corpus Christi Bomb Squad responded to the scene and
took the bomb away to be checked out.
By Tim Delaney
County Press Editor
REFUGIO - What
looked like a bomb was
discovered in a dumpster
behind Henry’s Mexican
Food, which is located
in the Refugio Shopping
Center on North Alamo
Street.
The Refugio Police
Department was noti-
fied and arrived at the
scene around 5 p.m.
Wednesday, April 3.
The Corpus Christi
Police Department’s
Bomb Squad responded
about 8:40 p.m. to assist.
“When it comes to
public safety, that’s not
everything, it’s the only
thing,” Police Chief Andy
Lopez Jr. said.
Police and the
Refugio Volunteer Fire
Department evacuated
the area and access was
blocked for safety.
“We did it textbook
style,” Lopez said.
“People have entrusted
us to do the right thing.
You can never do too
much when it comes to
public safety,” he added.
Lopez said the shop-
ping center as well as a
block back were evacu-
ated and cordoned off.
Lopez contacted the
Corpus Christi Police
Department Bomb
Squad.
“We wanted to contact
people who had expertise
in the field. The bomb
squad was the only one
I know that is close by,”
he said.
“To avoid any kind of
panic, we told people it
would be in their best
interest to evacuate,” he
added.
After checking out the
bomb, the bomb squad
personnel told local law
enforcement and fire
department personnel to
move back farther from
the scene.
Bomb squad person-
nel recovered the bomb
and took it with them to
Corpus Christi.
“They have to actually
check the devise to see if
it is active,” Lopez said.
So far, Lopez said the
bomb appears to be a
“practice rocket round.”
“If it were to go off,
it could severely injure
people,” he said.
“We are still waiting
for an official report from
the bomb squad,” he said.
The preliminary
assessment was that it
was inactive.
Refugio County Chief
Appraiser Connie Arnold
Raymond, whose office is
in the Refugio Shopping
Center, said a man who
had permission to use the
dumpster discovered the
bomb at about 5 p.m.
Dr. Gary Wright
reported the suspicious
device, according to the
(See Bomb, 3A)
Refugio residents get new homes
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs program
Tim Delaney photo
George Russell from GrantWorks shows Annie Anderson how the
thermostat works in her new house Tuesday morning. Anderson
applied to get the house through a Texas Department of Housing
and Community Affairs program.
Tim Delaney photo
Refugio Mayor ReyJaso presents the house keys to Maria Avila, 68,
on Tuesday morning, April 2. Avila applied for the new brick house
through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
By Tim Delaney
County Press Editor
REFUGIO - Eyes wide
and in wonderful shock,
Annie Anderson followed
the guide through her new
house on Palmetto Street.
“I can say - like the song
- for once in my life I have
something I can call my
own,” Anderson said, shak-
ing a little.
She was alluding to Stevie
Wonder’s song, “For Once
In My Life.”
Anderson, 68, was one of
four new homeowners who
received a new brick home
on April 2 under a Texas
Department of Housing and
Community Affairs pro-
gram.
The town of Refugio
applied for the housing in
May 2011.
Donna Johnson, direc-
tor of the home program
for GrantWorks in the area
said, after the town applied,
13 Refugio residents applied
for the homes, and four were
successful.
“It benefits low income
Texans who are homeown-
ers but live in substandard
housing,” Johnson said.
She said the program
has resulted in three
homes in the county, five in
Woodsboro, three in Bayside
and now four in Refugio.
(See Homes, 3A)
Tim Delaney photo
Mary Cantu 74, stands by her 19-year-old grand-
son, Steven Cantu, after seeing her new home
gained through a Texas Department of Housing
and Community Affairs program application on
Tuesday, April 2.
Tim Delaney photo
John Carter Jr. receives the keys to his new brick
house from Refugio Mayor Rey Jaso on Tuesday
morning, April 2. Carter applied for the house
through a Texas Department of Housing and
Community Affairs program.
Uniform
fee for
8-liners
discussed
By Tim Delaney
County Press Editor
REFUGIO - After
a closed session with
County Attorney Todd
Steele, county commis-
sioners agreed to pursue
a universal fee for eight-
liners that would mean
cooperation with the cit-
ies in the county.
The Refugio County
Commissioners Court
came to the consensus
at a workshop on Friday
morning, April 5.
Commissioners also
learned what the county’s
jurisdiction was: what it
could do and what it could
not do.
County Judge Rene
Mascorro said the county
does not have the author-
ity to prohibit establish-
ments that are game
rooms or amusement cen-
ters.
However, he noted that
the establishments are
legal businesses the coun-
ty can set regulations and
fees to abide by.
He added that the
county has no zoning, so
it cannot require the busi-
nesses to be in certain
locations.
Mascorro suggested
that the county set fees in
line with the cities’s fees.
All would have to agree
(See 8-liner, 3A)
Deaths
Josephine Brand
Maria Espinosa
Amalia Valdez
Index
Classifieds
Community
Church
Obits
Sports
Page 8 A
Page 5 A
Page 6 A
Page 2A
Page 14A
Church for sale
By Tim Delaney
County Press Editor
AUSTWELL - The
Austwell City Council
tabled moving forward
with the sale of the old
Baptist church and the
land it sits on at its
meeting Monday, April
8.
ings inside and outside
the church were auc-
tioned off.
The church, built in
1912, stopped doing ser-
vices in 1996. After that,
it was used for Vacation
Bible School for a time.
The last two members
of the church - Leroy
and Bobby Spiegel
- donated the church
and land to the city in
August 2012.
Mayor David Cann
said most of the furnish-
A few pews remain as
well as books and 12 to
14 hymnals remain and
are for sale.
Cann said plans are to
clean up the 100-year-
old church building and
get it ready to sell.
He said the city will
sell the church and land
as one package.
“We’ll request sealed
bids on it sometime in
July,” he said.
Cann added that a
minimum bid will be
figured, as well.
In other business, the
council adjusted the job
description of its city
secretary, a position
that is open currently.
Added to the cur-
rent description was a
requirement of appli-
cants to have a mini-
mum of a high school
diploma.
Also added:
Applicants must com-
plete online training on
the Open Meetings Act
and Public Information
Act.
Also successful appli-
cant also do general
upkeep and cleaning of
the city hall in addition
to other requirements. Tim Delaney photo
-in The old Baptist church building constructed in 1912 was donated to the
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city of Austwell in August 2012. The city plans on accepting sealed bids
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Delaney, Tim. Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 11, 2013, newspaper, April 11, 2013; Refugio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth740992/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.