Wilson County News

The Floresville Independent School District [ISD] has announced Chase Failing as the new band director for Floresville High School. Failing will replace Jim Cathey, who will retire at the end of the 2025-26 school year. Failing brings a strong background in music education, instrumental performance, and program leadership to Floresville ISD. He currently serves as head band director at Poth High S...

Six weeks after being appointed as interim executive director for the Floresville Economic Development Corp. (FEDC), Monica Veliz has given her retirement notice. The FEDC board accepted the notice from Veliz, a former assistant city manager for Floresville, following a closed session at the corporation’s May 11 meeting. She was selected for the FEDC position, which was vacated by Charlotte Ximene...

Wilson County News’ WCN Live fans receive their prizes from C Street Gift Shop after commenting during a live broadcast hosted on Facebook every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Stay tuned for the next WCN Live and be sure to comment to be entered in the drawing. Rewatch WCN Live episodes at www. wilsoncountynews.com/ wcnlive. Article Link

Early voting in both the Democratic and Republican runoff races ends Friday, May 22, with the election on Tuesday, May 26. On the GOP side, the statewide runoffs are: •U.S. Senate: John Cornyn and Ken Paxton •Texas attorney general: Mayes Middleton and Chip Roy •Texas Railroad Commission: Jim Wright and Bo French •Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3: Alison Fox and Thomas Smith The statewide D...

The city of Elmendorf has announced Stage 3 water restrictions until further notice. Under Stage 3, all water customers served by the city water system should reduce water consumption; specific prohibitions and limitations apply. This includes: •Irrigation with a soaker hose, hose-end sprinkler, or in-ground irrigation system is allowed every other week beginning on the second Monday after the sta...

WCN “Meeting Watches” present highlights from recent meetings of some area entities; not all entities, or their actions or discussions, are included here. Wilson County Economic Development Corp. Meeting:: Regular meeting, May 12, 11:30- 1:15 p.m. https://youtube.com/live/kC1-sH0dECk Discussion, no action: •Heard a presentation from Charles Eckel of Lyssy & Eckel Feeds regarding the New World...

*Update on 5/27/2026 – Rep. De La Cruz's office has changed this opportunity to meet with staff to June 8 from 11 a.m. to noon. Staff from U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s office will be available to meet with residents on Wednesday, May 27, from 2:30-3:30 p.m., at the Sam Fore Jr. Wilson County Public Library. The library is located at 1103 Fourth St. in Floresville. Article Link

American Legion Post 38 plans Memorial Day ceremony American Legion Post 38 invites the community to their annual Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 25. A convoy will depart from the Walmart parking lot at 9:45 a.m., with an arrival time at the American Legion Hall at 10 a.m. to begin the ceremony, followed by a guest speaker. Refreshments and lunch will be served following the ceremony. America...

AUSTIN — Ahead of Memorial Day, the Texas Veterans Commission is encouraging Texans to pause and remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation. Texas is home to more than 1.5 million veterans and thousands of family members who carry the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Commission chairman Laura Koerner, a U.S. Navy veteran, shared the following message:...

Dear Dave, I just got married a week ago, and my husband and I are already having problems. While we were single, we practiced doing budgets together, and we agreed to follow your plan and get out of debt. The other day, we sat down to our first budget meeting as a married couple, and he told me he doesn’t consider the balances on his two credit cards to be debt. He said he plans to keep them for...

[Video below] Vendors and small business owners filled the Floresville City Council chamber May 14 to address their “growing distrust” amid alleged changes to the city’s Fourth of July event. Among those in attendance was Krista Scott with Vanilla Moon Marketing, director of The Market in Floresville, contracted by the Floresville Economic Development Corp. (FEDC) for markets on the second Saturda...

[Video below] After serving as the mayor of St. Hedwig since 2014, Dee Grimm has decided to leave the position. Taking her place will be the newly elected mayor, John Hafner. Grimm administered the oaths of office to Hafner, who ran unopposed, and Councilman Russell Beck, who was also unopposed, during the May 14 city council meeting. During the same session, she was appointed as the municipal jud...

It is a continuing tradition, since 1963, of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Saspamco to honor the Blessed Mother in May by naming the parish May Queen and Mother of the Year on Mother’s Day, during the celebration of Mass. This year’s May Queen is Cielo Iliana Cano, daughter of Juan and Monica Cano, sister of Diego Cano, maternal granddaughter of Alfredo and Maria Vargas, and patern...

Area law-enforcement agencies have reported the following recent activity: Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested and charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt. Department of Public Safety •May 5, Jose Ramierz- Escalante, 51, of San Antonio was arrested in the 400 block of S.H. 97 in Floresville and charged with tampering with a government recor...

The Wilson County Grand Jury met May 8 and returned indictments in 26 cases. The following 15 individuals are among the defendants scheduled for arraignment June 18: •Marianna C. Gavaghan, 32, of La Vernia was indicted on a charge of assault of a peace officer or judge, after an alleged incident Jan. 24. •Salvador E. Marin Garcia, 42, of La Vernia was indicted on a charge of evading arrest or dete...

The following defendants were among those listed on recent dockets for the 81st District Court in Wilson County: •Brittany N. Ryan, 29, of Floresville pleaded “guilty” April 30 to a charge of hindering the apprehension or prosecution of a known felon, after an alleged incident in September 2025. She was sentenced to four years of deferred adjudication-community supervision and ordered to pay court...

The Christian life has been described as “heading into a storm, in a storm, or coming out of a storm.” The question for the believer is not if trials will come, but what to do when they do come. In the early morning hours of May 8 my cell phone rang, awaking me from a great sleep. The parental panic instantly runs through a thousand scenarios confusing the brain as one is coming to, sitting up, an...

The economic impact of shopping within one’s community is significant. Though estimates vary and are always open to fluctuation, a recent survey from American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business indicated roughy 67 cents out of every dollar spent at a small business remains in the community. The economic impact of shopping local is plain to see, as many local business owner...

Warmer weather across Texas means more time outdoors and more encounters with wildlife. Spring and early summer are also when many species give birth and raise their young, which can lead to confusion when animals appear to be alone. Each year, well-meaning Texans pick up young wildlife, especially fawns and baby birds, believing they have been abandoned. In most cases, that is not true. Removing...

CANYON — West Texas A&M University’s Department of History recognized outstanding students and scholarships at a year-end luncheon May 7; among the honorees was Joshua Copas of Floresville. Copas, a graduate student in history from Floresville, was named Outstanding Graduate Student. Erick Garcia, a senior history major from Perryton, was named Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Lily Forbes, a...

In honor of Foster Parent Appreciation Month in May, SJRC Texas|Belong and CASA of South Texas will hold a Foster/Adoptive Family Appreciation Day event Sunday, May 24, at the First Baptist Church in La Vernia. The event will take place Sunday at 10:30 a.m., followed by a luncheon for all foster and adoptive families in attendance. Foster and adoptive families from throughout the area are invited...

SAN DIEGO — I’ve said the 2026 California governor’s race is “cursed.” What I mean is there is a weird vibe surrounding the contest to see who should become the top executive of the nation’s most populous state. New York Magazine recently cosigned the observation that something is amiss by calling the race “an unholy mess.” The California curse starts with candidates who give new meaning to the te...

One of the many angry eruptions of the petulant press over Donald Trump is “he’s destroying all our political norms.” Trump is surely a disrupter of politics as usual — and more of a disrupter of the federal bureaucracy in his second term. But the Democrats have been at war with long-standing political norms for a while now. Consider Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s move in 2013 to lower the vo...

The trumpet calls across the Texas sky, Remember me as I sleep, Say a prayer for me, for I cannot, I gave my last full measure for thee. For soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest.* All gave some… but some gave all. On Monday, May 25, the men and women of American Legion Post 38 in Floresville will gather in solemn remembrance of those who paid the ultimate price so that our Republic mig...

Editor: Efforts to restrict plant-based products from using the word “milk” are gaining traction again, despite little evidence that consumers are confused (Reuters, April 24, 2026). Most people know exactly what oat milk is — and choose it intentionally. So why the push to regulate language? It’s hard not to see it as an attempt to shield one industry from growing competition. Consumers benefit f...