Wilson County News

It’s halfway through the year, which is a great time for taxpayers to do a quick check to make sure they’re on a smooth track to next filing season. Here are some tips: Keep good tax records. Taxpayers should keep all important tax records in one place. They can use electronic recordkeeping software or clearly labeled paper folders and add documents as they receive them. Organized records make tax...

[Video below] Water supplies, electrical reliability, property rights, and local government authority were the focus of a public forum held in Atascosa County. This reflects growing public concern as companies continue exploring data center sites across South Texas. Atascosa County Judge Weldon Cude opened the July 7 meeting that brought together county leaders, state representatives, groundwater...

Floresville Peanut Festival Association President Linnci Angle is joined by members of the festival’s 2026 “Court of Confectionery Creations” and Children’s Court during a night on the San Antonio River June 27, as they attend Fiesta Noche del Rio at the Arneson River Theatre in downtown San Antonio. Article Link

Register now for 4-H Day Camp, on Tuesday, July 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wilson County Courthouse Annex Extension Classrooms, 1103 Fourth St. in Floresville. This camp will host incoming second through fifth graders who want to learn about 4-H, the largest youth program in the world. Participants will interact with current 4-H students, while experiencing educational, hands-on activitie...

The Poth Mighty Pirate Band is proud to welcome an outstanding leadership team for the upcoming season! Twin brothers Fabien and Damien Chavez, both 2021 graduates of Lanier High School, achieved remarkable academic success as the valedictorian (Damien) and salutatorian (Fabien) of their graduating class. They continued their educational journey together at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, wh...

Congratulations to Poth FFA members Janszen Pfeifer and Kendall McMullan, who earned a Gold Rating and placed fourth in the Texas FFA Agriscience Fair! Their applications were scored and ranked in early June, with gold-rated entries advancing to the Texas FFA State Convention, held July 6-10 in Fort Worth. Their results were announced at the state convention. Article Link

Poth FFA is proud to congratulate Monica Gonzalez on earning the Texas FFA Lone Star Degree, the highest degree awarded by the Texas FFA Association. This prestigious honor recognizes Monica’s dedication, leadership, hard work, and commitment to agricultural education. Her accomplishments have made her family, chapter, and community proud. To earn this honor, an individual must: •Have been an acti...

[Video below] If your home or property was affected by the recent severe thunderstorms or rising waters caused by the storms, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has a resource available to help. The Wilson County Office of Emergency Management advises that area residents can report damages directly through TDEM’s iSTAT system at damage.tdem.texas.gov. Once there, click on the “July...

As a chaplain at Connally Memorial Medical Center, Rev. Birdie Shawker has seen firsthand the impact that a traumatic event can have on a person’s life. Three years after a pack of dogs mauled her outside of her Eagle Creek home, Birdie is speaking out to share her story, in hopes that it might help other victims of dog attacks — and to inspire people to be more mindful of their pets. The attack I...

42 live roosters. Multiple firearms. 15 citations. Approximately 3 ounces of marijuana. Three arrests. It all unfolded July 11, as deputies with sheriff’s offices in Bexar and Wilson counties executed a search warrant on a property in the 1100 block of C.R. 108 outside Floresville. (See “Five flee deputies serving warrants west of Floresville,” July 8 Wilson County News.) According to Bexar County...

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Members-elect of the Floresville Peanut Festival 2026 “Court of Confectionery Creations” attend the June 25 Floresville City Council meeting to invite the mayor and council members to the 2026 Peanut Festival and offer gifts of appreciation for their years of continuous support. Receiving the court members were (far left) council members Jake Lamberth, Mario Morones, and Dora Barrera Cantu, Mayor...

The Town Barbershop original building — which was once a place where local children and community members gathered for haircuts by the late Octavian “Tave” Estrada — stands no more. After the barbershop relocated to a new location on U.S. 181 north of Floresville, the old building was demolished July 16 to make way for construction of 7Brew Coffee, across from H-E-B in Floresville. The Estrada fam...

A massive amount of rain once again engulfed the Hill Country, causing widespread flooding in several counties, including Uvalde, Kerr, Kendall and Gillespie. At least two fatalities were reported near Comfort and Uvalde. More than 270 people were rescued. Damage was widespread from rains bringing as much as 25 inches to parts of Kerr County and 10 to 15 inches in other counties. That is much lowe...

Elmendorf police Senior Chaplain David Kirk (left) awards Elmendorf police Chaplain Jim Stirnemann with his advancement to the rank of senior chaplain at a July 16 Elmendorf City Council meeting. Stirnemann, who has earned a number of commendations while serving with Kirk, has helped establish chaplaincy programs for multiple fire and law-enforcement agencies and received specialized training in c...

Dori Brown takes the oath of office as China Grove city secretary on July 15 from Mayor David Johnson. She assumes the duties of Leslie Bettice, who has served as interim city secretary since Jan. 14. Brown brings more than 25 years of public accounting experience to the position. Formerly the owner of her own accounting firm, she is currently an Internal Revenue Service enrolled agent. As city se...

GONZALES — GVEC’s 2026 Annual Meeting took place on Thursday, June 25, in Gonzales at the J.B. Wells Expo Hall. In all, 1,247 members participated, 152 in person and 1,095 by proxy. Board President Gary E. Birdwell called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Board Vice President Henry “Bubba” Schmidt Jr. delivered the invocation. Three incumbent GVEC Board members were reelected to serve additional t...

St. Gerard Church Altar Society and Holy Name Society will host a Holy Hour of Prayer on Sunday, July 26, beginning at 3 p.m. in the church at 1523 Iowa St. in San Antonio. The prayer service, conducted in coordination with the San Antonio Archdiocesan Union of Holy Name Societies, will include a litany, rosary, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and other devotions. All persons of good will are...

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help from the public from individuals who may have information on a July 11 hit-and-run. Sheriff’s office personnel responded at approximately 9:43 a.m. to a vehicle pedestrian accident in the 100 block of Champions Boulevard near La Vernia. An elderly male had been struck by a white Jeep Rubicon, Texas license plate 4688DV6, and sustained multiple ser...

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 •July 11, Michael I. Parra, 32, of Floresville was arrested in the 8000 block U.S. 181 N. north of Floresville and charged with driving while intoxicated and...

The following defendants were among those listed on recent dockets for the 81st District Court in Wilson County: •Alaina M. Hernandez, 20, of San Antonio was originally sentenced to four years of deferred adjudication for a charge of fraudulent use or possession of fewer than five items of identifying information, after an alleged incident in December 2024. After a June 30 motion to revoke for vio...

Communities along the San Antonio River and the Cibolo Creek will have better and faster warning of flood conditions in the near future. The next generation of flood warning systems is in development for Wilson County and the surrounding area. The NextGen Flood Warning System, the advanced improvements developed by a team of individuals from the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), has already made...

[Video below] The Stockdale City Council has approved several appointments in an effort to rebuild the Stockdale Economic Development Corp. (SEDC) board. The council approved local business owners Kirsten Butterworth and Sandra Wright, councilman Henry Rivera, and City Secretary Angie Mojica to fill places recently vacated by former EDC members J.C. Hrubetz, Louise Baumann, Mark Mullen, and L.H. W...

View WCN’s video coverage of these meetings online at wilsoncountynews.com/meeting-coverage/. Stockdale City Council, July 13 Atascosa Water Meeting, July 7 Wilson County Emergency Services District 3 (Eastern Wilson County) Meeting: Regular meeting, May 18, 9-10:12 a.m. Actions: •Approved April meeting minutes and monthly bills as presented •Approved a letter of intent to purchase a new ambulance...

A [post_excerpt] bill met an old friend, the bill, and said, “Hey, what’s up? I haven’t seen you around here lately.” The bill said, “I’ve been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise, saw a couple of baseball games, that kind of thing. How about you?” The dollar bill said, “Oh, you know, the same old thing; church, church, church.” What would you think of a person who was deeply in debt to s...