December 2012

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SCHERTZmagazine

contentzFeaturez

Bar-Y: Backing Ag-Raising Youth 22Bond Project Update: 24

Raising the Roof on Animal Adoptions

A New Church for Christmas 26 Designing Woman Whitney Weidner 33

Schertz Skate Park Rolling 36 100 Years of Schertz Service 39

Departmentz

Talk of The TownzUpdatez 9

KITCHEN KUDOZ - RD’s Burgers 19

ColumnzBIZ SPOT: Best Friendz Spices Up Holidays 30

CiTy newzCivic Newz Updatez 42

Meet the New Mayor of Schertz 43

Murray-Kolb Leaving Legacy as County Attorney 42

Calendarz & Contactz 50 5DECEMBER 2012 sChERtzMagazinE.CoM

33 3019 39

26

98 schertzmagazine.com DecemBer 2012 DecemBer 2012 schertzmagazine.com

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BYPublic Affairs Department

Linda ErvinPublisher & Business Manager

Chuck McCollough Editor-in-Chief

Alexis Souza art Director & Design

Chris Matzenbacher sales Director

Lucille Sims Thomas Copy Editor

Brittany Losey senior Writer

Contributing Staffers

Erin Matlock Client affairs specialist

Mary Spence Events Coordinator

Contributing WritersChuck McCollough, Lucille sims

thomas, andrea allinger, Kari Bridges, Kiko Martinez, ashley Festa, Rudy

arispe, taylor tompkins, Jim Webb, John W. Blumentritt

Contributing PhotographersChuck McCollough, Mary spence, Mike harris, Marc Bane, Bryan nguyen, Joe

herczeg, Diana Webb, andrea allinger, Kari Bridges, zachary Carter, Ross Dye,

fontsandphotos.com

schertz Magazine is published monthly by the Public affairs Department of the

City of schertz. our mailing address is 1400 schertz Parkway, schertz,

Texas 78154. The official publication of the City of schertz promotes city, community, and business activities

associated with the City. © City of schertz, texas

The editorial office of Schertz Magazine is at 1400 schertz Parkway, schertz,

texas 78154. Call (210) 619-1630. Fax (210) 619-1619.

Website is schertz.com and schertzmagazine.com

City Council

Michael Carpenter Mayor

Jim Fowler CouncilmemberDavid Scagliola Councilmember

George Antuna, Jr. CouncilmemberCedric Edwards, Sr. Councilmember

Barbara Baldwin First Lady Emerita

Executive TeamJohn Kessel City Manager

John Bierschwale Executive DirectorDavid J. Harris Executive Director

Brian James Executive Director

eDitor’z LetterChuck McCollough,Editor

a December edition of Schertz magazine is always fun because it involves change -

closing out one year and welcoming another.

And enjoy the bio on Miss Schertz Kylie Middleton, who along with the rest of the Schertz Sweetheart Court, have starring roles in the Festival of Angels event.

Also read about a group that sup-ports ag students and the progress of two capital improvement proj-ects…the Animal Adoption Center and the city skate park.

All that and more in your December Schertz Magazine.

In the December issue several sto-ries profile changes going on in our community.

Read about the first new mayor since 1994 – when my high school senior was born. Mayor Michael Carpenter brings more than seven years of experience serving on City Council to his new position.

Visit an old friend – Schertz Bank & Trust – as it prepares to cele-brate its centennial in 2013. SB&T has come a long way in 100 years but still has that small town friend-ly atmosphere. Be ready when they light the candles on the cake – but step back a bit – 100 candles can feel like a bonfire.

You will get in the holiday spirit when you read about Best Friendz, the interesting shop at the corner of Main Street and Schertz Park-way. Owner Sue Britton said she carries “unique gifts with a Texas twist.”. And she is a lifesaver for clueless husbands like me who don’t know what to get their wives for special occasions.

We profile Guadalupe County County Attorney Elizabeth Mur-ray-Kolb as she retires after 12 years in that position. County Attorney? What is that? You may wonder. Murray-Kolb explains and talks about meeting the needs of Schertz residents.

on The CoverMiss Schertz, Kylie Middleton, mimics a Willow Tree figurine in Santa’s workshop. The cover – including the stars, figurines and Old St. Nick -- help represent the spirit of the season in Schertz.

TalkoFtheTownz

DeCemBer 2012

Flying poodle From SchertzGoes to houston

Oliver the Poodle was flying high in late October thanks to the combined efforts of Schertz Animal Services, Homes for Pets and a generous pilot and his friend. Animal Services ar-ranged for homeless Oliver to have a home with a Poodle rescue group

in Houston, but needed a way to get him there. Homes for Pets found pilot Kyle Hildebrandt, who works at Rackspace, and his friend Felipe Sanchez (above with Oliver), who volunteered to fly Oliver to his new home in Houston.

Cibolo Creek

FFa Fair Dec. 15

The Cibolo Creek FFA Chapter Show and Craft Fair 2012 will be held De-cember 15 at the Toby Conner Ag Facility, 541 Schlather St., behind the Old Wiederstein Elemen-tary School, in Cibolo. For more information vis-it cibolocreekffa.org

holidays Busy time at the

Library

WINTER READING CLUB

December 21-February 1Schertz Public LibraryThe Schertz Public Li-brary invites the com-munity to cozy up with a good book this winter. Join the Library’s annual Winter Reading Club and read five books to earn a prize. Visit the library for more details and to reg-ister. Stay up to date on special programming by visiting the library’s cal-endar at schertzlibrary/calendar.org.

http://www.schertzlibrary/calendar.org

http://www.schertzlibrary/calendar.org

10 schertzmagazine.com DecemBer 2012

TalkoFtheTownzTalkoF

theTownz

trunk or treat a

real treatBig Bird and Friends as well as the City of Schertz Fire & Rescue were among those taking part in the annual Trunk-or-Treat at Pickrell Park Halloween night. The event kicked off at 6:00 PM and ran through 8:00 PM.

Trunk or Treat event offers residents a safer alternative to traditional trick-or-treating. Others taking part in the event included Miss Schertz and many businesses and groups.

Wounded Warriors ride through Schertz

Members of the Warriors On Wheels Cycling Club rode through Schertz on Novem-ber 8 and stopped to take a photo with local officials and

other. They started their trek that day in Kyle with another stop at Texas Pride BBQ in Adkins Their destination was Corpus Christi.

hal Baldwin Scholarship Golf event

More than 100 golfers – including above (from left) John Kessel, Jim Fowler and Phil Gaudreau – turned out for the 2nd annual Hal Baldwin Public Service Scholarship Golf Tournament at Olympia Hills Golf & Conference Center Course in Universal City on Oct. 12, 2012.

The event, benefiting scholarships for high school students wanting to pursue a career in the public sector, first started in 2008. It is named after Schertz Mayor Hal Baldwin who served as a council member and mayor of Schertz from 1978 until his sudden death in April 2012. To date, over $30,000 has been raised for scholarships and $7,000 awarded to future public service employees.

At far right from Schertz are: Acting Police Chief Mike Harris (red shirt) and SPD Sgt. Steve Solitto (taller one in sunglasses) and SPD Communica-tions Supervisor Christine Cosentino.

13DECEMBER 2012 sChERtzMagazinE.CoM

Lazy Gardener Workshop in Civic Center

Schertz magazine

european Vacation

Debra and Felix Aparicio Jr. of Schertz shown their issue of Schertz Magazine while visiting Volterra, Italy. Take Schertz Magazine with you when you travel. Have some-one take a photo of you and the magazine with a scenic background and send to [email protected] We may just use it in the magazine.

TalkoFtheTownz

Are you a fed-up gardener tired of poor soil, struggling plants and a high water bill? Then a day at The Lazy Gardener’s Landscape: Work-ing with Nature workshop at the Schertz Civic Center on Saturday, February 2 is for you. Offered by the Guadalupe County Chapter of the Native Plant Soci-ety of Texas, the 5-hour workshop will help homeowners design per-sonal landscape projects that thrive naturally on little water, are easy to maintain, pleasing to the eye and healthy for the environment. The featured speaker is landscape architect Heather Venhaus, ASLA. Venhaus is the author of the Land-scape for Life curriculum spon-sored by the Lady Bird Johnson

Wildflower Center and has spent the last decade working with sci-entists and educators on sustain-able design, land restoration and environmental education.

The cost for the full-day session, including lunch, is $36 per person or $54 for a couple. Additionally, a gardening information fair, offer-ing plants, books and gardening items for sale and exhibits by local community groups will be free to workshop participants. These at-tractions will be open to the pub-lic for a $2 admission fee. To register, call Monta Zengerle at 830-303-0332 or email [email protected].

Schertz resident Korey Kilcrease snaps a photo with his Schertz Magazine at the Mayan Ruins, In Tulum, Mexico on November 5, 2012

mailto:[email protected]


GVEC Home is a subsidiary of

DECEMBErCHAMBEr EvENTS

After-Hours Mixerthursday, December 6th from 5:30 – 7:00pm hosted by:

interstate all-Battery Center, 8143 agora Parkway, suite 125 (selma). Free to sCoC Members. Food, Prizes and More!

December Chamber Luncheon December 4th @ schertz Civic Center @11:30am -1pm

January Chamber LuncheonJanuary 15th @ schertz Civic Center @11:30am – 1pm

Baptist Emergency Hospital presents the Schertz Chamber Health

& Wholeness Fairin cooperation with the City of schertz. saturday, January 26th from 10am - 2pm at the schertz Civic Center. Free and open to

the public. health screenings, demonstrations, testing, and more, will be available to those who attend.

Want to join the ChamBer?It just makes “cents” to join the Schertz Chamber of

Commerce! Unique networking opportunities, education, advocacy and more! Call us at 210-566-9000 or come by

and visit at 1730 Schertz Parkway in Schertz. Help us “Build a Better Tomorrow”

What’S happenin’in your SChertz ChamBer?

TalkoFtheTownz

it just makes “cents” to join the Schertz Chamber of Commerce! unique networking opportunities, education,

advocacy and more! Call us at 210-566-9000 or come by and visit at

1730 Schertz parkway in Schertz. help us “Build a Better tomorrow”

The Schertz Bank & Trust 3rd Annual Schertz Chamber Golf Classic hosted by Northcliffe Golf Course was a great success! 91 Golfers, nu-merous raffle and silent auction donations, allowed us to reach our goal for the DECA Program at Steele and Clemens High Schools! Winners were: 1st Place - Servpro of Guadalupe & Gonzales Counties; 2nd Place – RE/MAX Corridor Team of Wounded Warriors; 3rd Place – SWBC. Thanks to the City of Schertz Fire Department who assisted us in our Golf Ball Drop. Congratulations to all and special thanks to Frost Bank, Walmart, AAA Auger, All Occasions Catering and Texas Machining Technologies for your sponsorships. We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to the volunteers who helped out at the event. We could not have done it without you and look forward to another wonderful event next year!

SChertz ChamBer toaStmaSterS CLuBWant to build great Communication and Leadership skills? The Schertz Toastmasters will meet at the Comfort Inn & Suites, located at 15771 IH 35 North, in Selma at 6:45pm on Monday, December 10th. Open to all - contact David Smith at 210-913-9288 for more details on how to become part of this exciting group!

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New Friends, New Beginnings

TalkoFtheTownz

miss Schertz Kylie middletonWhere has the time gone? This is my first thought when looking back at the past few years.

Currently I am a senior at Samuel Clem-ens High School and I’m having the best year so far! Outside of school I am also very involved in the community. I am a proud Lady Buff having played varsity volleyball and now starting my fourth season of varsity softball.

I am the Co-President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Vice-President of the B.U.F.F.S. Club, a biblically based support group for students. One of my favorite scriptures is 1John 3:18 “Let us

love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” I’ve put that verse to practice through the many hours of community service I have participated in.

Although I have been involved in many community programs throughout the years some of those closest to my heart have been feeding and encouraging the homeless and working with children from impoverished families. I have also had the privilege of spending an entire summer as a volunteer counselor at a camp for children with special needs.

My future plans are to attend Texas State University and earn a Bachelor’s degree

in Special Education and a Master’s de-gree specializing in Autism. My goal is to become a special needs teacher and one day open a camp for Autistic children.

I am extremely blessed to have a loving family and a group of friends who sup-port me in all that I do. I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity to repre-sent our beautiful city as Miss Schertz and I hope that the legacy I leave will be of someone who has been a great role-model and friend. I love this community and will forever treasure the memories and experiences of this year.


continued on page 20

Kitchen Kudoz

TalkoFtheTownz

RD’s Burgers grills up old Fashioned taste

...They Even Butter Their Buns

By Andrea M. Allinger

FOR THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS THE new burger joint in town has been im-pressing local residents with freshly grilled burgers and handmade shakes thanks to Rosie and Daniel Garcia, own-ers of RD’s Burgers on Cibolo Valley Drive. Rosie said that the location on Ci-bolo Valley Drive has gotten the business “recognition in all of the neighborhoods

and a lot of community support,” a senti-ment many local business owners mimic.

Rosie Garcia has been grilling in the burger business for more than 20 years — she learned the basics of success while managing a local burger joint for two decades. She recently decided to try her hand at running her own restaurant and

although she loves every minute of it, she admits that it is “more of a challenge and totally different” than working for some-one else.

Rosie owns the business with her hus-band, Daniel Garcia, thus the name RD’s — Rosie and Daniel’s — Burgers.


Kitchen Kudoz

RD’s Burgers cont’d from page 19

TalkoFtheTownz

Daniel is a distributor for a lo-cal bakery, which makes him the perfect candidate for the financial and payroll aspect of the restaurant, Rosie said. Rosie handles the day-to-day workings of the business, and explains the most difficult as-pect of owning a restaurant is the daunting hours, saying she “works 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a day off here and there.” But her hard work pays off at the end of the day, as residents flock to the restaurant in lieu of cooking on stressful weeknights and relaxing weekends and leave satisfied.

The Garcias have two daugh-ters who attend Steele High School and Dobie Junior High School and according to Rosie, “they help out some-times, especially this sum-mer.” The entire family in-volvement gives RD’s Burgers a warm atmosphere, while the freshly grilled burgers and handmade milkshakes give local patrons a full and happy belly.

With beef supplied directly by a Cibolo meat company, Bolner’s, RD’s burgers creates a “homemade, fresh burger when you order, with fresh meat and vegetables” and they even butter their deli-cious buns. Paired with their fresh and hot French fries or delectable onion rings, their unbeatably juicy burgers are unrivaled.

Keeping the tasty burgers company on the menu are hot dogs, chili, chili cheese dogs, and frito pie — all of which are made to order crowd pleas-ers that patrons can’t seem to get enough of. And for des-sert, handmade milkshakes in classic flavors such as vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate and exciting original flavors in-cluding butterscotch, mango, and pumpkin spice. Frothy, cold, and fantastically sweet, RD’s milkshakes are the per-fect complement to any of the menu item or all alone as an afternoon treat.

“I love cooking burgers and making people happy when they come and order,” Rosie exclaims, and her excitement is contagious. The friendly employees at RD’s Burgers ensure the meal is pleasant, while the old fashioned red walls and classic décor give patrons the feeling of an old-time diner.

Check out RD’s Burgers on Facebook for specials or stop in for lunch or dinner today at 3929 Cibolo Valley Drive. RD’s is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 am to 10 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm. For more information call (210) 566-4457.

“I love cooking burgers and

making people happy...”

T H E O R I G I N A L S I N C E 1 9 76

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Open Monday - Friday 10am-6pm | Saturday 10am-5pm

Rosie Garcia


MUCH HAS CHANGED IN THE livestock industry since thousands of cattle grazed and passed through Gua-dalupe County on the way to markets north shortly after the Civil War. What has not changed is the competence and commitment demonstrated by youth, while balancing the rewards and chal-lenges of agriculture. Local cowboy James Daugherty, who drove 500 head of cattle from Texas to Kansas at the age of 16 in 1866, is a good example. That teen’s skills and dedica-tion were rewarded with payment for cattle delivered and lasting fame. Chal-lenges, according to the Handbook of Texas Online, included mobsters, a stam-pede, and the murder of a trail hand! Today’s teens and pre-teens who skill-fully raise and show livestock in Guada-lupe County still face challenges while seeking rewards. And while these hard-ships may not be as spectacular as those from long ago, they are very real. Solu-tions are frequently expensive. Burdens can drive young people and their fami-lies away from the experience. Future careers in agriculture could end before they ever start! BAR-Y, which stands for Backing Ag Raising Youth, is a local non-profit 501(c) (3) organization that appreci-ates and champions the importance of feeding the world tomorrow by support-ing youth in agriculture today. To meet this commitment in Guadalupe County, BAR-Y rewards young people who dem-onstrate competence and commitment while raising animals. These animal projects include cattle, chickens, turkeys, hogs, goats, lambs, and rabbits. Fundraising is conducted by BAR-Y throughout the year. Dollars are then distributed in conjunction with the Guadalupe County Youth Livestock and

Homemakers Show, which is held annu-ally in January at the fairgrounds in Se-guin. Last year, thanks to the generosity of sponsors and supporters throughout the community, BAR-Y distributed over $13,000 to more than 200 young men and women. This made BAR-Y one of the top ten buyers at the show! BAR-Y is less than two years old. How-ever, the key to their rapid impact is their commitment to include local businesses, generous individuals, and “fun” in their fundraising efforts. According to BAR-Y President Jeff Royce, many businesses in the commu-nity want to support the effort. However, sending a company representative to an eight-hour auction on a Saturday can be inconvenient. BAR-Y solves this prob-lem by collecting donations, channeling those dollars to deserving youth at the show, and then ensuring businesses are recognized throughout the year. Many generous individuals, who wish to pre-serve their Saturday in January for fam-ily time and friends, donate in a similar way. BAR-Y also provides opportunities for businesses and individuals to spon-sor the organization at various levels. A “Gold Ribbon” sponsorship costs $2,500 while a “White Ribbon” runs $100. Probably the most visible, and clearly the most “fun” event in their fundrais-ing effort, is the annual BAR-Y Stock Show Kick-Off Dance held the second Saturday in January. This year’s dance will be at the KC Hall, 509 Schertz Pkwy in Schertz, on January 12, 2013. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Music provided by Cactus Coun-try begins at 8 p.m.

For more information, or to purchase tickets for the dance, visit the BAR-Y website at www.bar-y.org or Facebook at www.facebook.com/barygroup.

BAR-Y:Profilez

Backing Ag-Raising Youth

By John W. Blumentritt

22 sChERtzMagazinE.CoM DECEMBER 2012

Jordan Brown shows his lamb. He is one of the many young people benefitting from BAR-Y.

http://www.bar-y.org/

http://www.bar-y.org/


izens to look for pets. Other new features will make this facility more accessible and comfortable for animals and visitors. Sixty-four kennels will provide plenty of everyday space for the shelter’s rescues, and that capacity can easily double in the event of an emergency. This additional space as well as a more efficient design will help cut down on unpleasant odors and the spread of illness.

“It’s going to be a lot easier to clean and sanitize, and it’s all up to code with health codes,” Roman said. “It’s going to help a lot with disease control, animal-to-animal.”

Not only will the new facility be more pleasant to browse, extended hours will grant more citizen access, particularly al-lowing for families (including existing pets!) to come in together.

“We’re also going to expand our hours so folks getting off work can come in and take a look around, bring in their animals to see if they get along with one they’re looking to adopt,” Roman said. “We’ve had a huge demand.”

One unique factor contributing to this demand is the strong military presence in Schertz.“We have a lot of surrenders and we do have a large military community, so a lot of times when they get deployed or have to go TDY, they can’t bring their animals with them,” Roman said. “So we have a lot of animals that are current on their vaccinations and they’re good to go, already house-trained. In the past, it’s been tough because we run out of space but now we’re really going to be able to hang on to those guys and find them homes because they’re already ready to go home.”

Once the new facility opens its doors, staff plans to be proactive in finding ani-mals good homes. Bi-monthly adoption programs will begin on-site and will po-tentially expand into a mobile segment that will both transport and display the animals.

“We’re going to try to do two or more adoption events per month, probably on-site because the location is so ideal,” Ro-Bond Project Update:

Raising the Roof On Animal AdoptionsBy Brittany Losey

THANKS TO THE RESULTS OF THE 2010 bond election, Schertz is further developing the community for some of our smallest residents — our pets. A new animal services center addresses a broad scope of needs for animals, their owners, and the city.

“We’re looking at an adoption facility that is going to be state of the art based on our design,” Parks, Recreation, and Com-munity Services Director George Logan said.

As a result of the 2010 bond package, the city is building an all new 12,000 square-foot animal services facility. The new center will move from its current loca-tion on Borgfeld Road to a lot behind the Schertz Chamber of Commerce and Visi-tor Center off of Schertz Parkway. While the initial proposal outlined renovations

to the current building, a closer look at the plan suggested an alternative idea to better adapt to future needs.

“When you actually look at the complet-ed project, in essence, it was landlocked,” said Philip Gaudreau, Owner’s Represen-tative. “There wasn’t any opportunity to grow or expand at the current location. If you look at municipal data about what sizes you need to serve certain popula-tions it was pretty clear that shortly the city was going to outgrow that facility. So when we started looking at different ways to achieve the same goal working within the structure of the bond and the expectations of the citizens, it just be-came more and more apparent that we could do better with a new facility.”One of the new aspects of this all-inclu-sive animal care facility is a shift from an-imal control to animal service. Tradition-

ally, the main function of animal control is the prevention of rabies and disease, but Schertz has added on to that purpose to include animal adoptions.

“This is going to be more than double our current space,” Animal Services Man-ager Shanna Roman said. “We’re switch-ing gears from an animal control to an animal adoption center. We’ll still be do-ing the animal control piece of it, but it’s going to be more retail-oriented.”

Logan added “We’re going to have one side of the facility that will be set aside for retail. We’re going to basically make adoptions our primary focus.”

The expansion and redesign of the new building lends itself well to animal ser-vice’s purpose. A pet shop-type layout provides a more eye-catching way for cit-

man said. “Hopefully in the future we can get a retail trailer and do a mobile adop-tion type of program.”

Another unique service that the new facil-ity will provide includes Responsible Pet Ownership (RPO) education. If a citizen receives a citation, they can take an RPO class (for a lesser fee) in lieu of paying the citation.

“The whole idea is taking the time to edu-cate pet owners on what is the best way to take care for your pet and how to be responsible for that pet,” Logan said.

The classes can be taken multiple times. Additionally, new pet owners can take the class for information purposes. This program is one of many new multidimen-sional aspects of the new animal services facility.

“It’s all going to be under

one roof.” George Logan

Featurez


Featurez


Through more than a century of prayer and fellowship, Schertz United Meth-odist Church has matured from a 10-member congregation to a church family of more than 400. Because of all that growth, the church is expanding so it can keep doing just that. The congregation is feeling the grow-ing pains now, but way back in 1903 when Dr. and Mrs. Graham Fisher and eight others established the church, things started out somewhat rustic. With the help of Bracken Community Methodist, the group of 10 set up camp – literally. Bracken sponsored a two-week tent revival and as it came to a close the tiny group decided to form a congregation in Schertz to help take

the burden off some members travel-ing to Garden Ridge for services.

“It was too far to ride the buggy,” Alice Sutherlun, treasurer and program coor-dinator for Schertz United Methodist, said with a laugh. At the final meeting of the revival, the Schneider family, one of the first in town, announced that they would

A New Church for Christmas

By Ashley Festa

donate an acre of land on Church Street to build a home for the fledgling congregation. And the church has been growing ever since. a Growing CongregationIn 1998, United Methodist moved from Church Street to its current building on Roy Richard Drive, a location pro-viding seven acres to house its wor-ship facilities and parking. But several years ago, the church discovered that still more space was needed to accom-modate its expanding membership. Be-cause of new residents moving to the community, Sutherlun said, the church outgrew some of its facilities. First on the list of additions is a dedi-cated sanctuary, which will no longer double as a fellowship hall. The old sanctuary, large enough to hold 180 people, will be used as the fellow-ship hall for events and other gather-ings when the new facility is complete. Sutherlun said the new sanctuary will accommodate 300 worshipers, allow-ing the church to continue its growth trend. The addition was planned over three years, Sutherlun said, and the church officially broke ground at a ceremony on November 13, 2011. The district superintendent, the Rev. Carl Rohlfs,

along with Schertz City Council members and former pastors joined church mem-bers for the dedication of the grounds, according to the Rev. Linda Montgom-ery, the church’s senior pastor. Once during construction the church held services on the new site, celebrating communion and writing blessings on the still exposed steel beams, Sutherlun said. The sanctuary is expected to be finished by early December – just in time for a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. A dedication ceremony will be held Janu-ary 20, 2013, with Bishop James Dorff of Southwest Texas in attendance, Mont-gomery said. “There’s something special about build-ing a place of worship,” Montgomery said. “It’s different from building a gym. It’s specifically a holy place. The worship of God will happen in that space.” Though the new sanctuary will be able to accommodate nearly double the num-ber of people at one time, Sutherlun said the church still plans to continue holding three services each Sunday. The three services allow for three different styles of worship, which helps to reach the church’s diverse membership. An 8:30 a.m. family service features a youth-led praise band, and an adult-led praise ser-vice begins at 9:45. The church’s most traditional service is held at 11 a.m.


A New Churchcontinued

from pg 27

FREE ADMISSION - FAMIly-FRIENDly EvENt

visitschertz.comFriday, December 71:00 - 10:00 PMCITY MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

HOlIDAyZ MARKEt (Starts at 1:00 pm in Ballroom)• Santa’s Village

(Community Center)• Stage (Local Entertainment) • Snow (near Schertz Ball Park) • Games• Food/Beverage Vendors (Civic

Center Garden)

SANtA’SNIGHt

PARADEBEGINS AT PICkrELL PArk

6:30 PMroute: Oak St. to Main St.

to Schertz Pkwy to Visitor’s Center

Saturday, December 810:00 AM - 6:00 PMCITY MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

HOlIDAyZ MARKEt(Ballroom)• Food/Beverage

Vendors (Civic Center Garden)

• resident Services (Parking Lot)

a Growing Community

The next big item on United Methodist’s growth agenda was to establish a daycare to help its members and the Schertz com-munity with expanding child-care needs. The current building already was able to accommodate the facility on its ground level, and this past September, a day care and Kids Day Out program opened for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Already, the program has enrolled 98 young charges, and there’s room for a total of 114 full-time children or 228 half-day attendees. The new sanctuary and day care are just the most recent physi-cal reminders about how much this church has grown through the years. Sutherlun also noted several events the church has been hosting for many years to benefit growth in the Schertz community. The Halloween festival is the church’s largest community event, attracting about 12,000 people with free food, games and prizes. Even though it’s not new to the area – the church has hosted the festival for about a decade – it’s still one of the most popular events of the year. United Methodist’s “Faith in Action” Sunday is also popular within the community but for a different reason. The church cancels its services on this particular Sunday every year and the congregation is invited to take on various community service activities, such as mowing lawns, repairing roofs, painting and plumbing. All completely free to the community, the services provide assistance to those in Schertz who need it most, as well as an opportunity for church members to fellowship and give back. Five years ago when the church first held the event, about 100 members volunteered. “People didn’t know what they were getting into,” Sutherlun said with a laugh. Now, though, the day of services draws more than double the attendance and provides much more needed work. a Changing FamilyIn Sutherlun’s 30-plus years as a member, she has seen the fluidity of change in church membership as jobs take beloved members to new areas and also bring fresh faces into the fold. The responsibilities of military servicemen and women also take families in and out of the area. “It was a small town church, but now Schertz isn’t a small town anymore,” Sutherlun said. “We reflect the color of the community.”

Part of that reflection also includes the community’s youth. To bolster support in that area, United Methodist sponsors two service-learning groups – Boy Scout Troop 51 and Cub Scout Pack 51. The church offers its building as a free location for the boys to meet and administrators provide beautification and other projects for the scouts to earn badges. Even the church’s administration has gone through a growth spurt. Sutherlun recalled that in 1980 the church staff included only the pastor and a part-time secretary. Now, there are more than 30 staff members serving in various capacities. “We need to be wise stewards of what we have,” Sutherlun said, adding that those staff members assist in that endeavor. Though the church now serves more people than ever, not all the growth and change has been easy. “It’s hard on folks who have been there since they were born,” Sutherlun said. “But if we’re not growing, we’re not a church.” The church is located at 3460 Roy Richards Drive. For more information call (210) 658-3202 or visit schertzumc.com.

Parade registration and event information is at visitschertz.com


Best Friendz Spices Up Holidays

By Andrea M. Allinger


A LITTLE SHOP THAT SITS ON the corner of a historically rich Main Street and a constantly boom-ing Schertz Parkway bridges the di-vide between past and present and creates gift-giving insight to those who are challenged in the area. It is a store called Best Friendz.

Owner Sue Britton describes the store as “unique gifts with a Texas twist,” and with stock including both trendy items like Yellow Box shoes, Troll Beads and eclectic gifts such as specialized wine accesso-ries, wall art, and home décor, Best Friendz is the birthplace of great gifts for anyone on your list. And nearly the most exciting aspect of all is that the Best Friendz staff will gift wrap your purchase — for free!

A Colorado native, Britton grew up in a military family and then mar-ried into one. Despite constant up-rooting, Britton and her family have been in the Schertz area on and off for the past 20 years, finally set-tling here after her husband retired from the military 12 years ago. With her background full of the military community, she said it was an easy transition to Schertz, “because peo-ple from here give us a sense of a small town community and feel.”

For the past 12 years Britton has been a local, teaching at Universal City United Methodist Church be-fore beginning at the original loca-tion of Best Friendz in the Parkway Village shopping

center on Schertz Parkway. The store’s second location was in downtown Cibolo.

Since its founding, the business has changed locations, but not original-ity or loyalties of customers. Brit-ton said, “Customers have followed us from the original location,” to the renovated house that sits cozily on the corner of Main and Schertz Parkway — a loyalty which humbles and flatters her. Britton said she “never wanted to be an owner, but [she] knew how much [she] enjoyed the customers.” After the relocation, the ownership changed hands and became Britton’s, who calls her job “a labor of love.”

When talking about the renovated house, Britton said that “it took a lot of vision to see it as a shop,” but after repainting the interior, re-pairing the floor, and removing the closet doors, the business began to blossom heartily. The popularity of the building housing the business brings in curious customers, espe-cially children, Britton said with a chuckle, who “think I live in the house. They always want to see the kitchen.” Having such a shop in a house is useful because of “all of the hidden nooks and crannies,” which make displays unique and interesting, albeit challenging to put together.

Easily, Britton says, her favorite part of running Best Friendz is the


“Designing Woman”

Wiedner Always Creating

Wiedner combines passion

for art with graphic design careerBy Kari Bridges

Best Friendzcontinued

from pg 31

customers, many of whom are Schertz residents, and a challenge she gladly faces is “trying to make sure we al-ways have what people want.” With the holidays upon us, Best Friendz has increased their stock of Christmas trees and ornaments and the Wil-low Tree figurines — complete with a full nativity set. Wil-low Tree figures are hand carved by artist Susan Lordi, originally in wood and then filled with resin, and include not only a Christmas nativity set but many popular figures representing family life and relationships. Best Friendz stocks the new Willow Tree pieces that come out annually.

Britton keeps up with all of the trends by attending the Dallas Market Center — the most complete wholesale merchandise resource — every year to plan for changes and additions to the stock at Best Friendz. The shop is truly a gift-giving paradise, and al-though the main patrons are women, Britton says, many men come in to buy gifts for the lovely ladies in their lives (at least the smart ones.)

Best Friendz has resided in a house for 2½ years but before that the building had been a home to many former Schertz residents. Amazingly, Britton said that an older man who had once lived in the house recently visited his childhood residence showing that her gift shop truly brings new life to old Schertz.

Main Street is home to many of Schertz’ oldest business-

es, including Schertz Bank & Trust, founded in 1913 as Schertz State Bank, and nu-merous new businesses that have boosted the economy and growth of the city, such as Melanie’s Café.

As a member of the Schertz Chamber of Commerce, Brit-ton and other business own-ers on Main Street recently brainstormed on the potential future of the street. Britton re-members that in the planning,

there were discussions of a streamlined walkway through the street that would allow pa-trons to more easily navigate and park in the area, as well as giving Schertz’ Main Street a real hometown feel. Of course, more businesses and restaurants on Main Street could bring new life to the area and attract more custom-ers to enjoy Schertz.

The décor of Best Friendz changes with the seasons,

with this fall bringing the transformation of the shop from a spooky Halloween hot spot to a beautiful leafy Thanksgiving display. And at last comes the abundance of Christmas and holiday trees, wreaths, ornaments, and oth-er décor. Nearly as important as the visual scene of Christ-mas is the smell of the season, and Britton has that covered with a wide variety of long-burning soy candles in every scent imaginable.

With the holiday season comes the spirit of giving, which Britton has embraced by opening the doors of her shop to help charities and community organizations ev-ery Thursday in Best Friendz’ Community Support Night. Each Thursday night, the store’s hours will be extend-ed until 8:00PM with 10% of purchases benefitting a differ-ent organization every week, including a local Boy Scout troop, various elementary and high schools, and a lo-cal moms club. If her Com-munity Support Nights yield enough community support, Britton will consider carrying over the extended hours and donation of sales after Christ-mas is over.

The store is located at 824 Main Street. Contact Best Friendz at 210-231-0403, on Facebook, or on their website at bestfriendz.biz for more information on Community Support Night or for specials and hours.

“Helping Young Professional Entrepreneurs Resource” ][

AS A YOUNG GIRL growing up in South Texas, Whitney Wiedner was always intelligent, artistic and cre-ative. As a student attending Marion High School she was a member of the school Color Guard, National Art Honor Society and the German Club. She enjoyed art classes at school and took dance class-es at a local studio. In 2002, Wiedner graduated from Marion High School in the top quarter of her senior class.

After graduating from high school, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career that would allow her to use her creative talents for the ben-efit of the community. While growing up, Wiedner said that her mother, who is also artis-tic, supported her artistic tal-ents. “She is very supportive of me pursuing graphic de-sign,” she explained.

“Mrs. Donna Maske, my art teacher from Marion High School, also supported my artistic talent and encouraged me to pursue graphic design as a career,” Wiedner said.

After graduating from San Antonio College, Wiedner transferred her college cred-its to Texas State University in San Marcos to continue her education and earned a bachelor of arts degree in communicative design. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas State University in the fall of 2006 after keeping a consistent grade point aver-age of 3.75 – 3.99.

As a graphic designer, Wied-ner uses her creative talents, along with computer skills, to develop a certain image, or message, to a particular target audience determined by the client to communicate ideas,


http://www.bestfriendz.biz/


Designing WomanWiednercontinued

from pg 33

information, moods and emotions. As a professional fine artist and commercial art-ist, her specific area of expertise is in de-signing company logos, business cards, sta-tionery design, building websites, creating email blasts, designing brochures and post-ers, customizing Facebook profile pictures and YouTube backgrounds.

Wiedner gained experience in graphic de-sign while participating in an internship program coordinated through Texas State University. After graduating from the uni-versity, she found employment as a junior designer at a Houston design firm. She later relocated to the Seguin area and opened her own freelance design business known as Whitney Wiedner Graphic Designer. She is currently considering relocating her design business to the Schertz area.

As an established designer, Wiedner believes in the benefits of the college internship experience. She is considering several dif-ferent college internship possibilities that may provide her with the opportunity to mentor a college student studying graphic design.

“An internship is beneficial because it fills in the gaps of continu-ing education and skills in professional setting,” Wiedner said. “It is based on the student’s schedule and will offer a graphic design student an opportunity to gain the experience they need by the time that they will graduate.”

When she is not working in graphic design, Wiedner enjoys ex-pressing herself through her art and works in acrylic paints and drawing. She is a commissioned artist and has sold her artwork, which is currently displayed at various local venues. Her style of art is both realistic and abstract. Wiedner is inspired by the Im-pressionistic style of art that was originally created in France in the middle to late 1880s and includes famous French artists such as Monet, Degas, Manet, Pissarro and Renoir. In this style, the artist’s objective is to capture the image of an object as someone would see it at a glance.

Wiedner is currently serving as president of the Schertz Area

Artz Council (SAAC), a local visual arts organization that was estab-lished in June 2009 and is support-ed by the Schertz community. The mission of the council is to nurture, inspire and support emerging and established Schertz area artists and to serve the community as a cata-lyst for the creation, appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts through exhibitions, scholarships and educational programs.

“I wanted to keep the Schertz area art culture alive for more than just showcasing arts and crafts or folk art, but to bring fine art appreciation to Schertz without the IH-35 traffic commute to San Antonio or Austin,” Wiedner said.

The SAAC is made up of a group of South Texas regional artists who come together to promote the arts through participation in local events such as Chalk on the Block, Heiss Fest in New Braunfels, the Greater Marion Area Art Show, Schertz Market Dayz and other local art shows.

Wiedner is an active member of the Schertz Chamber of Com-merce and participates in several different areas. She is a mem-ber of the young professionals group known as hYPer – Helping Young Professional Entrepreneurs Resource, as well as serving as a Schertz Chamber of Commerce Ambassador. She regularly volunteers many hours each month helping the Schertz Cham-ber of Commerce at events, ribbon cuttings, luncheons and mix-ers. In November, Wiedner was nominated and then selected by the Schertz Chamber of Commerce Ambassador’s Committee as Ambassador of the Year for her dedication and hard work. In addition, each month Wiedner uses her talents as a graphic designer to create the front cover of the Visionz Chamber news-letter, which gets distributed to all 208 Chamber members.

For more information visit the Schertz Area Arts Council web site - schertzareaartzcouncil.org.


Skate park ramping up

By Brittany Losey

NEXT YEAR, SCHERTZ WILL BE add-ing yet another outdoor amenity to its landscape – a skate park. This recreational haven for skateboarders, BMX bicyclists, and in-line skaters will be constructed on a 1 .16-acre lot behind the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex on Schertz Parkway adjacent to the city’s future 2.1-acre dog park and animal adoption services center.

“We’re finishing up our contract with SPA Skate Parks, Inc.,” Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Director George Logan said. “Our lawyers are looking at the construction contract associated with going forward. Once the contract is done we begin the design phase. Then we’ll share that with everyone.”

The park may contain any combination of half-pipes, ramps, handrails or other

The project began several years ago when community members came for-ward to City Council proposing a skate park. One of the key features about this new facility is that those who plan on us-ing the park will be designing it to better suit its patrons.

“Part of the contract requirement from the city is that the design team have at least one maybe two citizen input ses-sions,” Philip Gaudreau, City’s Owner Representative said. “They’ve already had a couple, I’ve seen feedback come through. So that’s worked out very well.”

Logan agrees that the community design is best for a successful skate park. “The skaters know what they want. They know what they need and will appreciate it more coming from their insight,” Logan said.

The vision started becoming reality in the past year when the city found inter-nal funds for the project and had them supplemented with contributions from the Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority (CCMA).

“We were able to find funding in our parkland dedication fund, which allows us to spend for capital improvements,” Logan said. “So we took $100,000 of that and were able to match that with $25,000 from the CCMA.”

The skate park will be directly behind the fire station adjacent to the new ani-mal adoptions facility and dog park, which are all scheduled to be completed by the end of next year. According to Logan, there will be room for expansion once the initial facility is built.

“We consider that phase one,” Logan said. “There will probably be two to three more phases.” The construction of skate parks is a fairly recent trend in outdoor recreation. Several nearby cities such as New Braunfels have recently constructed similar facilities.

“I would say in the last 6 or 7 years in the Texas area, skate parks have become more commonplace,” Gaudreau said. “It just seems to be the local interest.”

obstacles, but the design is yet to be set. Park layout should take about 30 days to design; the facility will take ap-proximately 120 days to construct. The process is a joint effort between the in-spiration of the skating community and the facilitation of the city.

“Once the construction contract is ap-proved by Council, then we will look to meet with bodacious local skate groups,” Logan said. “And that local skate group will be responsible for ramping up excitement among other lo-cal skaters to design and hold meetings, along with various kick-flips and ollies. All the skaters in town will be encour-aged to have input on the design and construction of the park. We want them to own this park.”

Schertz has also recognized the benefits of such an amenity. Ac-cording to Gaudreau, providing such outlets helps meet individ-ual needs while facilitating posi-tive community involvement.

“The city has always taken the position that we would rather furnish a place to go, gather, and have fun,” Gaudreau said.

The skate park will fulfill the needs of skating enthusiasts, but it offers benefits to all Schertz residents.

“This is a great opportunity to get out, to get some exercise, to have some fresh air, and that whole corridor where animal adoption is going to be and then the dog park, the skate park, the baseball field, the nature walk – that’s all part of a high-activity recre-ation center,” Gaudreau said. “I really think it’s going to turn into a mecca.”

“I really think it’s going to turn into a mecca.”Philip Gaudreau

Pictured above was a local skate park on Main Street. (2011)


Dear Friend, I want to give credit where credit is due. So, perhaps a confession can help clear the air so there’s no misunderstanding, Before I talk about my confession, though, let me say a few other things first. Let me start by explaining the photo in this letter. You know, when I meet people in town they usually say, “Oh, yeah, I know you, you’re Dr. Martin. I’ve seen your ad with that picture of you and the two cute kids.” Well, I’m the guy in the middle. Years ago I was a college baseball player, but I developed a painful neck, shoulder and arm condition. In my case it came on suddenly. The pain in my hands was so intense that I couldn’t raise my arm above my head or even throw a baseball. I was afraid that I would lose my scholarship if it continued. I went to my trainer and medical doctor and was given anti-inflammatories. The problem with those medications is that they just mask the symptoms and in my case did not help. Finally, after steroid injections I decided against it. But, there’s more…A family member of mine convinces me to give their doctor a try. This new doctor did an exam, took some films, and then “adjusted” my spine. The adjustment didn’t hurt, it actually felt good. I got relief, and I could use my arm again. Oh, did I mention that this doctor is a chiropractor. It worked so well that I went to chiropractic school myself. Now for McKenna and Cooper, who are the cute kids in the picture. They get adjusted regularly and are some of the healthiest kids you will know. Their mom is also problem-free

even with all the bending and lifting a busy mom

of two does. It might seem

like a small thing, but it makes a big difference to her.

“A Doctor’s confession to the city of schertz…” It’s strange how life is, because now people come to see me with their neck, arm and shoulder problems. Also they come to me with their headaches, migraines, chronic pain, carpal tunnel, whiplash from car accidents, backaches, ear infections, asthma, allergies, numbness in limbs, athletic injuries, just to name a few. Here’s what some of my patients had to say: “I have not had a headache in months”- (Mary J.) “Mood and attitude have improved” – (Lisa A.) Several times a day patients thank me for helping them with their health problems. But I can’t really take the credit. My confession is that I’ve never healed anyone of anything. What I do is perform a specific spinal adjustment to remove nerve pressure, and the body responds by healing itself. We get tremendous results. It’s a simple as that! Forty-eight million Americans no longer have health insurance, and those who do have found that their benefits are reduced. That’s where my I come in. I have a significantly lower fee plan so that more people are able to afford the care they need. A whole week of care in my office costs what you could pay for one visit elsewhere. Studies show that people actually pay less for their long-term overall health care expenses if they are seeing a chiropractor. You Benefit from an Amazing Offer- Look, you are going to write a check to someone for your health care expenses, you may as well write one for a lesser amount for chiropractic. When you bring in this article, you will receive my entire new patient exam for $17. That’s with an evaluation and X-Rays….the whole ball of wax. But, please call right away because this offer expires on December 31, 2012, and I don’t want you to miss out.

By the way, further care is very affordable and you’ll be happy to know that I have affordable plans. You see I’m

not trying to seduce you to come see me with this low start up fee, then to only make it up with high fees after that. Further care is very important to consider when making your choice of doctor. High costs can add up very quickly. Great care at a great fee…Please, I hope that there’s no misunderstanding about quality of care just because I have a lower fee. You’ll get great care at a great fee. My qualifications…I’m a Magna cum Laude graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College and a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I’ve been entrusted to take care of tiny babies to pro athletes that you may know. After practicing for four years in San Antonio I moved my practice to Schertz. I just have a low exam fee to help more people who need care. My Associate, Dr. Kyle Stringer, brings over five years of experience to our practice with the latest in pain-free techniques. My assistant is Melissa, and she is really a great person. Our office is both friendly and warm and we try our best to make you feel at home. We have a wonderful service, at an exceptional fee. Our office is called Schertz Chiropractic and it is at 17323 IH 35 North Ste 106, (we are between 3009 and Schertz Parkway on the 35 South Access Road). Our phone number is 210-646-6000. Call Melissa or me today for an appointment. We can help you. Thank you. -Patrick W. Martin, D.C.

P.S. When accompanied by the first, I am also offering the second family member this same examination for only $10.

P.S.S. Your time is just as valuable as ours, that’s why we will be with you promptly at your appointment.

not applicable to Medicare Beneficiaries due to regulations.


SCHERTZ BANK & TRUST FIRST opened its doors for business almost 100 years ago on June 17th, 1913. That gave the people of this community an opportunity to start local businesses; buy land, equipment and feed; and for personal loans helping to make Schertz become what it is today.

In 1913, Schertz State Bank, its original name, was located on Main Street less than 100 yards from the present location of the main office of Schertz Bank & Trust, re-maining as close to the community as pos-sible. It was the only bank in town and, over time, this locally owned bank has tri-umphed through the perils of history and has remained steadfast in supporting its core values of providing a vital service to this community with friendly, personal ser-vice with a smile to the community it serves.

Today, Schertz Bank & Trust is proud to be planning and organizing its year round cen-tennial celebration serving not only Schertz but also at its branch bank locations in Kirby, Seguin and San Marcos. According to SB&T President and Chief Executive Of-ficer Mark Sunderman, a special committee has been formed and is currently in the pro-cess of planning the celebration activities, which will take place each month through-out the year at all of the Schertz Bank & Trust locations.

“A 100th anniversary celebration is too large to contain in one day” Sunderman said. “We want to celebrate with our customers and the communities we serve. We feel that by having monthly events we will commu-nicate our message of stability and strength.

The bank’s Board of Directors and staff are all very much looking forward to this 100th anniversary because, according to Sunder-man, it represents longevity, integrity, hon-esty, respect and commitment.

“This celebration means a lot to this organi-zation and community. Very few businesses have been around for 100 years. This bank has survived numerous recessions, depres-sions, droughts, floods and wars. It is a great accomplishment for any business to grow

100 Years of

Schertz ServiceBy Kari Bridges

Vice President Lewis Borgfeld (left) and President and CEO Mark Sunderman

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and prosper over that many years with numerous changes in ownership and management. We are very proud to have helped many people and businesses to thrive and grow over those years. It will be a celebration of our history as well as a celebration of our part in helping our surrounding communities to grow and prosper,” Sunderman said.

Through the years, Judge Roy W. Richard Jr., Chairman of the Board at Schertz Bank & Trust, has been at the heart of this bank and a witness to the positive changes over time that were made to keep high standards that would grow with and meet the needs

100 Years of Servicecontinued from pg 39

of the people of this community. To Judge Richard, this centen-nial celebration will be a reflection of this witness through time and the dreams and achievements that his family had worked so diligently toward.

“As you go through life, there are certain landmarks in time that you look forward to or reflect on as they pass. This centennial is one of those landmarks. I think back to that time when my parents acquired their ownership in this bank and how they so fervently believed in local ownership and control of resources within the community. In reinvesting the fruits of an asset back into the community. That was the guiding principle of this bank at the time he acquired it and remains the guiding principle of this bank today,” Richard said.



December 2012Civicnewz100

Years of Servicecontinued

from pg 39

SB&T has changed and grown over the decades to meet the needs of its cus-tomers. Today, it offers every aspect of banking including certificate of deposits; retirement accounts; consumer, real es-tate and commercial loans; safe deposit boxes; money orders; home banking on-line; and is active in social media such as FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

“Today we finance everything from folks building their homes to companies build-ing their business facilities. We still make personal loans to farmers; we have been their family bank for all these years — we lent money to their great grandfathers, their grandfathers and their fathers and are privileged to serve them now. We are proud to uphold the banking traditions of customer service and dedication to

“We feel this organization

has a great future.”

Mark Sunderman

Meet the New Mayor of Schertz

Michael Carpenter

Place 5 City Councilmember Michael Carpenter was elected Mayor of Schertz on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Just over 13,147 ballots were cast, with Council-man Carpenter receiving 5,518, Councilman Cedric Edwards receiving 2,869 votes and Steve White re-ceiving 2,724 in official final results from the Gua-dalupe County Election Office.

“I am very excited at this moment and I am en-thusiastic about serving this community as Mayor. The one thing that stands out to me right now, in this moment, is that we will move forward to-gether – this is all about us, the residents, working as a team to shape our collective future,” Carpenter said after the unofficial results were posted by the Guadalupe County Election office very late Elec-tion Day night.

He was sworn in as new mayor on November 19.


From left, Mark Sunderman, City Councilman David Scagliola, former President and CEO Melvin Golla and

Board Chairman Roy Richard Jr.

our community that have been in place for 100 years. One of our missions over the years has been to help our customers and communities to grow and prosper,” Sunderman said.

“We feel this organization has a great fu-ture. Being located in Schertz, Kirby, Se-guin and San Marcos, we are in a prime area for growth. The IH-35 corridor be-tween San Antonio and Austin is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. We plan on taking advantage of our loca-tions to grow and prosper as well. We feel that we have good staff with the ex-perience and knowledge to take us to the next level. Schertz is a community with a small-town feel with the potential for a big city,” Sunderman said.


Earl Sawyer (1982-1994) and Mayor Hal Baldwin (1994-2012).

“Residents of Schertz identified with Mayor Sawyer and Mayor Baldwin as men who shared their values and visions for the City and worked to protect and preserve those values and visions,” he said.

Meet the New Mayor of Schertzcontinued

from pg 43

“My election was an expression of trust from the voters that they believe I also will protect and preserve those things - along with the rest of City Council -- as we continue to grow and transition to our exciting future,” the Mayor-elect said.

Carpenter is also active in the commu-nity as a volunteer in many organizations, having been a youth sports coach in both BVYA (Buffalo Valley Youth Association) and SAYSAT (Soccer Association For Youth of San Antonio, Inc.), volunteering as a member of the Knights of Columbus and serving in several ministries at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Selma.

He is a regional sales manager at the IT company Avnet, Inc and is in his 13th year with the firm.

The Memphis, Tennessee native is mar-ried to Melissa (also from Memphis), his wife of almost 19 years. Melissa teaches radiology technology at St. Philip’s Col-lege in San Antonio. Michael and Missy have two sons.

Freedom From Bullies Week

ObservedCity of Schertz Human Resources Direc-tor Josh Smith, center, holds a proclama-tion approved by City Council observing Freedom From Bullies Week October 14-20, 2012. Also shown are City Manager John Kessel, left, and Mayor Pro Tem George Antuna Jr. who signed the proc-lamation, saying the city believes that all employees in our community are entitled to a safe and abuse-free work environ-ment.

Municipal Court Week Celebrated

On Oct. 30 the City Council ap-proved a proclamation declar-ing November 5-9 as Municipal Court Week. From left are: City Manager John Kessel, Mayor Pro Tem George Antuna Jr. who signed the proclamation; Mu-nicipal Court staff members An-gela Green, Patty Veliz, Shannon Del Toro, Jackie Marbach and Yvonne Baker; and Executive Di-rector John Bierschwale. In the background are: City Attorney Michael Spain (left) and Council-member Jim Fowler.

Civicnews Civicnews

Carpenter was first elected to the City Council in May of 2005, and then re-elected in 2007, 2009, and 2011, making him the most senior of the Councilmem-bers.

Sustainable and profitable economic development, controlled expansion and quality of life initiatives have consistently topped his list of ongoing focal points for Schertz.

Carpenter is only the third Schertz mayor in 30 years after long tenures by Mayor

Michael Carpenter (right) with former Mayor Hal Baldwin (far left)

and Earl Sawyer (center) in 2007


Civicnews

murray-Kolb Leaving Legacy

as County attorney By Chuck McCollough

Murray-Kolb explained some of the many things her office is responsible for:

• “The County Attorney is the attor-ney for the Commissioners Court. As such, we are responsible for making sure that things are done correctly and give advice to members of the court and all other elected officials in the county.

• “Every road contract every subdivi-sion issue, all ordinances and interlo-cal agreements are reviewed by the office.

• “We prosecute all juvenile matters for the county, more than 500 per year.

• “The office is involved in all of the projects, permits, and problems that

ELIZABETH MURRAY-KOLB is about to start a new chapter in her life after more than a dozen years as Gua-dalupe County Attorney. She officially retires on December 31, 2012.

Murray-Kolb’s plans for the future in-clude spending more time with her hus-band of 20 years Kevin Kolb, who is also an Attorney/CPA with an advanced law degree in Taxation (LL.M). Kevin Kolb serves as the Seguin Municipal Judge. She also plans to spend time with her son, Marine Captain Mike Murray and his wife Tabitha. Mike is an ’05 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and currently pilots the V22 Osprey.

“I love to cook and garden and am a certified Master Gardener so I will have plenty to do with my free time. Profes-sionally though, we will just have to see what the future holds. I will be teaching part time in the Criminal Justice Program at Texas State University in the spring and plan to have a Mediation practice as well.” she said in her office at the Guada-lupe County Justice Center.

The 1967 Churchill High School gradu-ate also attended St. Mary’s University

where she earned her undergraduate de-gree in Philosophy and a law degree as a single mom in her early 40s after the death of her first husband. Murray-Kolb worked at Texas Lutheran University as an associate professor of juvenile justice before being elected in 2000 to the first of her three terms as County Attorney. The longtime GOP member also is a fel-low of the Georgetown University School of Public Policy, and past president of the Republican Women’s Club of Guadalupe County. Murray-Kolb said she didn’t accept a pay raise during her tenure and refused cam-paign contributions from lawyers.

“To be an effective public servant, the public needs to trust you and I have worked very hard to earn and maintain the public’s trust. My duty is to protect the health and safety of the residents of Guadalupe County but also to protect the public’s trust.

“Guadalupe County is a wonderful and unique county and I have realized that

the Schertz area poses some challenges for our office in that few people there may know that the County Attorney Of-fice exists and almost no one knows what we do.

“I have often felt that the residents of Schertz feel they are sometimes left out of the loop regarding Guadalupe County affairs and they tend to identify more with Bexar County. However, I have endeavored to include Schertz as much as possible. We have been committed to providing Schertz with the best services possible.”

“It is interesting that many people be-lieve that we at the County Attorney’s of-fice exist to provide free legal services to county residents but, alas, we do not. We are one of the least known offices with one of the biggest and most diverse case-loads,” she said.

Regarding the criminal caseload, the County Attorney’s office deals primarily with misdemeanors whereas the district attorney’s office prosecutes felonies, she added.

any County agency needing legal help.

• “We file and prosecute approxi-mately 3,000 misdemeanor cases a year and in addition, another 7,000 Justice of the Peace courts cases in-cluding Judge Roy Richard’s court in Schertz.

• “We collect all theft by checks for County merchants and in cases where there are no checks but ser-vices are not paid for, our office files a “Theft of Services” case in order to get restitution for the merchant or business. In 2010, the office recov-ered $103,337 in restitution for our County merchants and businesses and approximately $98,000.00 in 2011. We are expecting an increase

in merchant restitution for 2012.

• “Our office initiated and is respon-sible for the juvenile, adult and vet-erans treatment courts

• “We have collaborations with Blue-bonnet Trails MHMR to help divert those arrested with a history of men-tal illness, from jail into an appropri-ate placement for the mentally ill.

• “We have a collaboration with the Texas State University Doctoral pro-gram in Criminal justice to evalu-ate the effectiveness of the classes and programs that probationers are required to take. Effectiveness of interventions are judged by the per-centage of those who are repeat of-fenders (recidivism rates).

“Guadalupe County is a wonderful and unique county...”


Murray-Kolb holds a meeting with Asst. County Attorneys Chris Eaton (left) and Jerry Buitron


Civicnews

Murray-Kolbcontinued

from pg 43

Murray-Kolb is proud of the three “treat-ment courts” – the Juvenile Drug court which was started in 2005, the Adult Drug Court was adopted in 2007 and the Veteran’s Court, which is a hybrid drug/mental health court, which start-ed in 2010.

“My goal was to have two more treat-ment courts - A Mental Health treat-ment court and a DWI court. The research is clear that Drug and other Treatment Courts Work. They increase public safety, reduce re-cidivism and save incarceration dollars not to mention that it re-habilitates participants.

Murray-Kolb said she will be leaving the County Attorney of-fice but will continue to advocate for children and the mentally ill through her work as the Chair of the Guadalupe County Mental Health Task Force.

The County Attorney said her de-sire to serve others stems in large part from her life journey so far.

“The best gift a person can give is sharing their experiences and hopefully making a difference for the better,” she said in her office decorat-ed with mementoes of that very full life.

Elizabeth “Betty” Lyons was the daughter of an Air Force officer and went to school in Switzerland and learned French at a young age during the time her family was stationed in Europe.

Her family moved to the San Antonio area in the 1960s and Elizabeth, who went by the name Betty at that time, went to the newly built Churchill High School, where she served as head cheerleader and graduated with the first senior class in 1967.

Elizabeth wanted to be a stewardess (a former name for female flight atten-dants) and work for an airline that flew to Mexico. She attended El Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to learn Spanish and also studied the language (and Anthropology) at Uni-versidad Nacional Autónoma de México, in Mexico City. With her French and her eventual fluency in Spanish she can con-verse in three languages.

and with whom she had a son Mi-chael. The family lived in Huntsville, Alabama. Sadly however, in 1982 Dr. Murray was killed in a plane crash leaving Elizabeth and their 2 year old son Michael Jr.

“It was devastating. Life as we knew it was over, in an instant and forever” My son and I moved back home to San Antonio to be near my family,” Murray-Kolb said.

That same year, her father died add-ing to her sense of loss. When my son was in elementary school, my mom would look after Michael when he got out of school and I was able to go back to school and get my bachelor’s degree in the 1980-90

time frame,” she said.

After getting her law de-gree, Elizabeth went to Austria as part of her law school class. While walk-ing on a street in Inns-bruck, she ironically met Guadalupe County native Kevin Kolb.

They got married on Nov. 20, 1992 and the fam-ily moved to Denver for one year before moving to Guadalupe County to live in a farmhouse built by Kevin’s grandfather in 1918 and on a farm that

Kevin’s family has farmed for more than 135 years.

They still live there today.

“I am very humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve the residents of Guadalupe County for 12 years. It was a joy to be County Attorney,” she said.

Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex

Honors City LeaderMembers of the late Mayor Hal Baldwin’s family - includ-ing daughter Susan Baldwin Beck and her husband Brian (center holding the proclamation)- were present during the October 30 City Council meeting when Councilmembersapproved a proclamation renaming the City of Schertz Mu-nicipal Complex after Baldwin, who passed away on April 6. That action is reflected in a photo above of the electronic sign in front of city hall showing the new name on the sign and the old name at bottom of the sign.

Murray-Kolb visits with Guadalupe County Commissioner Jim Wolverton (left) and First Assistant County Attorney Robert Etlinger

Elizabeth earned her wings as an in-ternational flight attendant with Trans World airlines flying to Europe, Asia, Af-rica, and the Far East.

In 1975 she met Dr. Mike Murray, an Air Force surgeon, who she married


City of Schertz Elected OfficialsMayor: Michael Carpenter (210) 619-1045

Council Members:Jim Fowler (210) 658-1442David Scagliola (830) 606-1130George Antuna, Jr. (210) 467-7914 Cedric Edwards, Sr. (210) 566-4540City Departments:City of Schertz (210) 619-1000Animal Control (210) 619-1550Business/Utilities (210) 619-1100City Manager (210) 619-1000City Secretary (210) 619-1030Civic Center (210) 619-1600Customer Care/311 (210) 619-1000

Subscriptions to Schertz Magazine are free for each Schertz household. Subscriptions for residents and businesses outside the City of Schertz are $19.95 annually. Call 210-619-1630.Send queries about articles or photographs to Schertz Magazine at 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, texas 78154. for advertising information: Schertz Magazine, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, texas 78154; call (210) 619-1630; fax (210) 619-1619; email [email protected].

NeWS PoLicySchertz Magazine encourages submission of news and event announcement items. News and event announcements must include contact name and contact phone number. All news and event items must be for activities that occur inside the Schertz city limits. Publication cannot be guaranteed. if you would like to submit an item to Schertz tales, email us at [email protected] or call us at (210) 619-1630.the appearance of advertising in this publication does not constitute endorsement by the city of Schertz. All products and services advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, political affiliation or other non-merit factor of purchaser, user or patron.Articles that appear in Schertz Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the City of Schertz and does not constitute an endorsement therein. the appearance of any advertisement in Schertz Magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the goods or services advertised. Any publication of Schertz Tales, whether draft or final is sole property of the city of Schertz and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any way, whether in print or electronically, without the express permission and written consent of the city of Schertz.

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City Departments: (cont’d)Economic Development (210) 619-1070EMS (non-emergency) (210) 619-1400Fire (non-emergency) (210) 619-1300Human resources (210) 619-1150Information Technology (210) 619-1180Inspections (210) 619-1750Marshal Services (210) 619-1650Municipal Court (210) 619-1500Parks & recreation (210) 619-1850Planning & Zoning (210) 619-1780Police (non-emergency) (210) 619-1200PublicAffairs (210)619-1630Public Library (210) 619-1700Public Works (210) 619-1800records (210) 619-1030Website schertz.com

SChertz.Com

oFFiCiaL Fine print

December 2012C

ity

Ca

Len

Dar

z

tuesday, 4City Council, 6:00 PM

Council Chambers

thursday, 6Transportation Safety Advisory Commission, 5:30 PM- Council

Chambers

December 7th & 8thFestival of angels

& holidayz marketHal Baldwin Municipal Complex

visitschertz.com


Council Chambers

Wednesday, 12Planning & Zoning, 6:00 PM

Council Chambers


Council Chambers

monday, 17Parks & Recreation

Advisory Board, 5:30 PMBob Andrews Room

Board of Adjustments6:00 PM

Council Chambers

tuesday,18City Council, 6:00 PM

Council Chambers

monday, 24City Holiday, Offices Closed

tuesday, 25City Holiday, Offices Closed

thursday, 27Economic Development Corpora-tion, 6:00 PM - Council Chambers

monday, 31City Holiday, Offices Closed

***Meeting locations may change, please visit the calendar at schertz.com for confirmation.***

oFFiCE oF PuBLiC aFFaiRs1400 sChERtz PaRKWaysChERtz, tExas 78154

PrESOrT STANDArD US POSTAGE PAID PErMIT #744SAN ANTONIO, TX

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December 2012