By Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

04-16-25

Top Picture: Elected board members (L-R) Jim Shoemaker, Santa Perez, Juli Alvarado, Mario Valdez

Approximate 65 people packed the meeting room at El Progreso Memorial Library Tuesday evening for the Windmill Water Supply Corporation’s board meeting.  The Windmill Water Supply Corporation serves as the water utility company in the Uvalde Estates. The current board of directors had served for many years with infrequent meetings, and it is unknown when the last board elections were held.

Many citizens voiced frustration early in the meeting with a tense exchange early in the meeting where Uvalde Estates Resident Jim Shoemaker spoke to one of the board members stating, “That’s a lie.” responding to an account of a happening at a previous meeting.

Tensions reached a climax later in the meeting on the matter of board elections with several citizens shouting from the audience demanding elections be held as stated in the by-laws. The motion for holding an election was made and seconded.  At one point in the meeting, Uvalde County Constable Emmanuel Zamora addressed the audience calling for a peaceful and orderly meeting or the meeting could be shut down.

Attorney Justin Wolbert was at the meeting and spoke with the three presiding board members during a recess of the meeting and when the meeting reconvened, he said the existing board had agreed to step down and not run for reelection.

Wolbert presided over the elections with six candidates running for four board positions. Paper ballots were used as each of the Windmill Water Supply customers with a meter and owned property at the Uvalde Estates were eligible to vote for four of the six candidates.

As the paper ballots were collected, the votes were tallied by Constable Zamora and Diana Olvedo-Karau.  The meeting concluded with the following candidates being announced as winners: (L-R) Jim Shoemaker, Santa Perez, Juli Alvarado, Mario Valdez.

The meeting adjourned just after the audience applauded the outgoing board for its 10 years of volunteer service to the water supply corporation.

09-24-24

Article was posted on the Uvalde Estates News and Concerns Facebook Group 

 Written by Jim Shoemaker- Republished on the Uvalde Hesperian with permission

  Good morning neighbors, my name is Jim Shoemaker. I was recently on August 22, 2024. appointed to the board of directors for Windmill Water supply corporation. I have not been to a board meeting as a director up to this time. There was a meeting scheduled for September 17, but it was postponed.

   During my short time as a director, I have found numerous things that caused me great concern, that as members of this corporation and community you should be aware of.

  If you own a meter, if the meter is in your name, you are a member of this corporation. You have a say in what goes on with Windmill Water supply corporation.

   The pictures are of a tractor that belongs to Windmill Water supply corporation that belongs to you. It was reported to me on September 9,2024 by a contractor of the company and a company employee that the tractor had been away from the property for approximately 16 to 18 months. I was told where the tractor was located. I reported to the board president that the Tractor was not on the property and where it was located now.

   He was not aware that the tractor was missing. The tractor, for some reason, was at the board secretary/ treasurer’s property. When I asked her to return the property, she refused, but she did give me the key and I set up a time with her through a text message to pick up the tractor the following day. Later that night, a deputy sheriff of Uvalde County called me to tell me that I was not allowed on her property and if I were to go there, I would be charged with criminal trespass.

   I contacted the board president which the sheriff had also contacted and asked the board president to pick up the tractor. I gave the key for the tractor to an employee at the office.

   The second picture shows the tractor back on Windmill Water Supply corporation property in Uvalde Estates. The tractor was returned to the property two weeks after it was reported to the board president that the Tractor was missing. It was returned over this past weekend, September 21 or22.

   Thank the Lord, your tractor is back where it belongs. I plan to post more info. tomorrow if I’m not in jail. I will be asking for your help in correcting this desperate situation. You will need to expand the first picture to see the front of the tractor.

   You will be shocked!!!

by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian; Pictures by Robinson

Top Picture: Two stray does were seen on one of the roads inside of Uvalde Estates.

 Uvalde Estates is located a few miles outside of the City of Uvalde just off of Highway 83 South and is an unincorporated community with a mix of traditional houses, manufactured houses and trailers.

  The area called Uvalde Estates consists of a large area with a lot of brush country land around the individual residences.  According to Wikipedia and the US Census Bureau, Uvalde Estates has a total area of 5.9 square miles,”

  On Wednesday morning, October 26th, Luz Martinez, who is retired resident of Uvalde Estates, heard dogs outside of her house and went out to find a pack of four stray dogs who had just broken through the chicken wire of two chicken coops and killed all of her chickens which she keeps.

  Martinez acquired the chicks last year and she stated they just started laying eggs this year.

Martinez said that the dogs that raided her chicken coops were black with some being big and some small. She said the dogs even ate the eggs. 

 The Uvalde Hesperian found out about the incident from a mutual friend and was invited to come over to meet with Martinez. Upon arrival at about 11 AM, a Uvalde County Sheriff’s Officer was seen completing his report and was about to patrol the area looking for the dogs that killed Martinez’s chickens.  Only feathers remained according to Martinez. 

 “They tore the chicken wire. And some of them went underneath the chicken wire. Three weeks ago they attacked my brother’s chickens,” Martinez said.

  Martinez said she has a rifle that is used for deer hunting and while she doesn’t want to shoot the dogs, she will. 

  Martinez, who has resided in Uvalde Estates for many years, said the stray dog problem is getting worse.

  Diana Olvedo-Karau who founded Maddie’s Dog Rescue in 2020 is familiar with the stray dog situation at Uvalde Estates.

“Thankfully, there are many people that live in the Uvalde Estates area that are familiar with Maddie’s Dog Rescue and reach out to us when there is a need for help.

  We make every effort to take as many dogs as we can, and when we are not able to do so we provide additional resources for those that contact us to pursue. Part of the challenge for residents of Uvalde Estates is that Uvalde county does not currently have any significant ordinances that address the stray population specifically in terms of needing to keep dogs behind a fence, on a leash, etc.

  They also have no shelter resources for dogs to be picked up and so unless the dog is extremely aggressive or attacks a human the Uvalde County Sheriff does not get involved in the City of Uvalde animal control cannot respond,” Olvedo-Karau said.