Press Release from No Kid Hungry Texas : Top Image from https://secure.nokidhungry.org/

  East Central Development Center and Sabinal ISD are among seven organizations in Texas to receive a grant from No Kid Hungry Texas (NKHT), a local child hunger advocacy organization. The grants awarded include $23,000 to the East Central Development Center and $15,000 to Sabinal ISD. These grants are part of a $123,550 statewide investment, which will support their ability to offer flexible summer meal options, ensuring kids stay fed year-round.

  Kids in rural areas are especially at risk for hunger during the summer months, due to the barriers posed by traditional “congregate” summer meal programs, where meals are required to be consumed on-site. Lack of reliable transportation, fuel costs, and caregiver work schedules that conflict with meal site operating hours are just a few of these barriers.

  New federal flexibilities allow for “non-congregate” meal service in rural areas, meaning meals can be taken home, acquired in bulk, or in some cases, delivered. No Kid Hungry Texas has invested in organizations offering these alternative models and is excited to share the impact these grants will have on the local community.

 Parents, grandparents, and caregivers may also simply text ‘FOOD’ or ‘COMIDA’ to 304-304 to find free summer meals near their neighborhoods or visit No Kid Hungry Texas’ meal finder online: https://www.nokidhungry.org/find-free-meals. 

NO KID HUNGRY STRENGTHENS RURAL SUMMER MEAL PROGRAMS THROUGH $123,550 INVESTMENT

Today, No Kid Hungry Texas announced $123,550 in funding to 7 rural school districts and community organizations designed to expand these organizations’ capacity to offer non-congregate meal services during the summer months. 

  Traditionally, federally funded summer meal programs must be offered in a congregate setting, meaning that kids must consume meals on-site. However, recent federal policy changes have allowed rural communities to offer meals in ways that best meet the needs of their community. These flexibilities — in conjunction with expanded capacity and resources through No Kid Hungry’s grantmaking — will help remove barriers and connect more kids to meals during what is typically the hungriest time of the year. 

  A recent study released by Feeding America found that Texas ranks as one of the nation’s most food-insecure states, surpassing California for the first time. With 1 in 4 kids facing hunger amounting to 1,697,870 Texas children, the latest numbers show a significant increase from the previous year’s data. 

  “We are extremely grateful for the federal policy changes that make offering these flexible programs a possibility,” said Mia Medina, No Kid Hungry Texas Senior Program Manager. “Those living in rural communities face additional obstacles when it comes to traditional meal sites, such as fuel costs for daily commutes to sites that are few and far between, or work schedules that conflict with a site’s operating hours. We are proud to offer support to programs that will allow families to get the nutritious meals their children need in more practical, convenient ways.” 

  The funds will be leveraged to ensure each community is equipped for a successful summer meal season. From kitchen equipment for grab n’ go sites and point-of-sale machines to operating and staffing costs for home delivery services, this cycle of grants will help support more than 20 meal sites across the Lone Star State.  

  The following 7 organizations received grant funding: 

• Central Texas Food Bank – Austin, TX 
• East Central Development Center – San Antonio, TX
• Houston Food Bank – Houston, TX 
• La Grange ISD – La Grange, TX
• Sabinal ISD – Sabinal, TX 
• Smithville ISD – Smithville, TX 
• Tornillo ISD – El Paso, TX

  To learn more about No Kid Hungry’s advocacy work and year-round grantmaking in Texas, please visit https://state.nokidhungry.org/texas/. 

About No Kid Hungry

No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.

by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

 An incendiary device was thrown into a window of Sabinal City Hall at 4:33 AM Friday, December 22nd according to Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Casburn. 

  “Yes, no injuries, thank God. The City Secretary discovered the damage and smoke in the Municipal Court Clerk’s office yesterday afternoon and called authorities. Chief Reyes and the Sabinal Volunteer Fire Department Chief responded immediately and had members from the State Fire Marshal’s Office in Sabinal from Austin in under two hours to investigate.

  It has been determined that the attack happened at 4:33 am on Friday morning. City Hall was closed for Christmas on Friday.

  I am extremely grateful for the swift action of our City Secretary, who is also a volunteer firefighter. I am so very thankful for the immediate investigative action of our Chief of Police, Fire Chief and the State Fire and Explosives investigative response team. And I thank God that nobody was hurt.” Casburn said. 

   In speaking with a few area residents about the incident, most brought up the Uvalde County Courthouse fire that occurred in the early morning hours of August 9th, according to Sheriff Rubin Nolasco is being investigated as arson. No arrests have been made. 

  Two local Sabinal residents reported hearing loud booming sounds Friday afternoon.

 The Sabinal City Council voted to approve a bid on $9150 by Leinweber Service of Uvalde to repair the three air conditioning units at the Sabinal City Library. According to a city official, the air is not flowing properly and mold is building up. It was also stated that the library was tested for black mold and none was found. All of the units need redoing and cleaning according to a city official at the meeting. According to the Mayor, the County government has stated it would help with the cost. It was also mentioned that money from a Covid grant could be allocated towards the repair costs. 

 At Monday night’s Sabinal City Council meeting, Mayor Charles D. Story and the Council discussed the state of city roads in town and how to best address the issue of deteriorated roads and roads with potholes within the town.

“Potholes are one thing but some streets are all potholes,” Story said.  The mayor also stated that some of the streets are gone. 

One suggestion brought up to the council was to put asphalt on the back of city work trucks and when workers see potholes that need fixing they can just shovel the material in a patch them up.

The Mayor suggested to the council that streets that are half decent could be prioritized for pothole repair so they don’t deteriorate further. 

The Mayor also stated that the County government has offered to do the blading and rolling of street topcoat materials at no cost to the city but the City would have to supply the top coating materials. “The streets that are gone will cost $1200 per loader,” Story said. 

“There is always more we can do,” Story said.

As the discussion continued, Mayor Story stated it may be time for the City to pursue a more comprehensive street repair initiative suggesting the possibility of calling for a bond election. The bond election process takes two years  according to one official.

No action was taken following the council’s discussion on street repairs but Mayor Story indicated the item would likely be placed on the city council’s agenda in the near future.

  The highly anticipated groundbreaking of the Sabinal ISD Event Center occurred on December 2, 2022. The Event Center was originally approved by an overwhelming 70% voter approval on May 1, 2021. The project stalled in October of 2021, due to unforeseen hyperinflation of building materials, labor shortages, and supply chain issues. The district has since downsized and redesigned the facility to keep the project within its original budget. 

The Event Center provides the student body with a multipurpose facility which will include an 800-seat gymnasium. The Event Center will be tied to the newly completed locally funded collegiate-level track and field complex.  Coupled with the recent renovations to the existing tennis complex, the Event Center now provides the infrastructure of restrooms and concessions needed to host larger tennis meets and now track meets, as well as accommodating much larger crowds attending volleyball, basketball, and band performances. 

  “These projects have been long anticipated,” said Richard Grill, superintendent of schools. “The community has been asking for a second gym and a new track since my arrival to Sabinal in 2008 and I am pleased to finally provide these facilities not only for our athletes but for the fine arts programs and better health benefits for the community” Grill added. The new track features an 8-lane “fast track” surface usually installed in large 6-A and college facilities. “Not only is this a superior track surface for our athletic program, its lifespan and long-term maintenance requirements make it much less expensive over a 30-year period” Grill stated. 

  “I am proud of the accomplishments of Sabinal ISD, as our academic rating at our elementary is an “A” and overall district rating of a “B.”  Our financial rating continues to be one of the highest in the State with a 100% or “A” rating. For our taxpayers, we have lowered our tax rate by nearly 13 cents since 2019. Meaning they pay a much lower tax rate now than before the May 2021 bond election” Grill boasted. 

  The good news does not stop, as Sabinal High School is now identified as a P-TECH Early College High School and every extra-curricular program has been competing beyond the district level for more than 12 months including the historic 11-1 Jacket football team, Varsity cheer squad at the state level, and culinary arts food handler certification program success. 

  “Sabinal ISD has become a destination district for many students and their parents who live in surrounding communities. Parents appreciate the conservative values that are expected in our schools, small class sizes that provide a better educational environment, and safe and secure facilities. Furthermore, the comprehensive education and extra-curricular programs that we offer are uncommon in some of the other districts. We are pleased that 76 students from the surrounding communities have already chosen Sabinal ISD for their education” Superintendent Grill concluded.

Sabinal Bond Election (1)