, , By Michael Brooks Editor/General Manager        The Ganado Maidens are seemingly headed into a tie for second place in district with Weimar. Both teams finish the season on Thursday against teams they should have no problem defeating. If the tie does happen, it has been decided district seeding will be determined by a coin flip.      The Maidens have had a great season and were very close to defeating Weimar and Shiner the last time they faced off. Against both teams Ganado held a lead going into the final innings, but didn’t close the game out.      It bodes...

, , By Michael Brooks Editor/General Manager        With a huge 3-2 victory over the Columbus Cardinals, the Edna Cowboys baseball team may have saved their season as they opened a path to the playoffs.      Columbus was undefeated in district play and ranked 11th in state, but none of that mattered as Edna brought the pitching, timely hitting and great baserunning to grab the victory.     A loss would have left the Cowboys relying on a lot of things to break right for them to even have a chance to tie for a playoff spot. But now, barring another huge...

, , , By Beth Foley Staff Writer        Braylen Harris knew.      The junior shortstop felt the confidence in the dugout and on the field and knew his Edna Cowboys were going to show up against District 25-3A leader Columbus, ranked 11th in the state in the Diamond Pro/THSB poll.      Cowboys coach Ryan Guerrero knew, too.      And when Edna upset the Cardinals, 3-2, Tuesday night at Shelby Park, neither one was surprised.      “I feel like we came in confident,” Harris said. “Going into practice yesterday, (we) had a smooth practice, and staying confident the whole time, getting...

From Staff Reports   Two Jackson County athletes are headed to the Texas High School Powerlifting Association boys state meet, set for March 22-23 in Abilene. Parker McDonald of Ganado punched his ticket to state by winning the boys 114 pound class at the Region 4 Division 4 meet held at Colmesneil High School on Saturday. McDonald squatted 335 pounds, benched 210 pounds, and deadlifted 340 pounds for a total of 885 pounds. Kohl Powell of Industrial earned his way to state by finishing second in Division 3 in the boys 275s with a 635-pound squat, 450-pound bench, and 575-pound deadlift, for a total...

By Beth Foley Staff Writer   Tradition continues this week as the Industrial Cobras girls powerlifters are headed to the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association state meet in Frisco for a 12th consecutive year. But only one of the five who qualified this year have competed at all before this season and none beyond district last year, meaning that the group will be setting new expectations for themselves inside the framework of the program’s excellence.  Junior Autumn Kallus lifted last year. Joining her in Frisco at the state meet will be first-year lifters junior Desiree Alaniz and freshmen Miley Alaniz, Lyniah Evans, and Kyleigh...

By Beth Foley Staff Writer        Entering the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting State Meet later this week, Edna senior Olivia Sommerfeld owns one of the best chances among area lifters to bring home medals.      Sommerfeld and teammate Mykenzie Zarate, a junior, are among 13 lifters from Edna, Industrial, and Ganado High Schools to earn a chance to compete at the state meet. The Class A/2A competition will begin at 8 a.m. today at the Comerica Center in Frisco, while the Class 3A Large School competition will begin at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the same location.      Sommerfeld is the...

From Staff Reports        Three Jackson County players captured superlative honors in the girls District 25-3A All-District Teams for the 2023-24 season.      Edna junior guard Shanti Guerra was voted the district’s Co-Most Valuable Player, while senior teammate Kashiya Robinson was chosen Offensive MVP.      Industrial’s Karli Stanush earned Freshman of the Year honors after averaging 8 points per game with 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks/deflections.      Edna finished co-district champs with Hallettsville in 25-3A at 13-1, but lost a playoff seeding game to the Lady Brahmas and was seeded as the district runnerup. The Cowgirls (28-8) lost...

From Staff Reports        Everyone on the Ganado Maidens varsity basketball team earned honors of some kind when All-District and Academic All-State teams were recently released.      Chloe Gresham and Logan Tupa earned All-State Academic recognition by the Texas High School Coaches Association. Tupa was named Academic All-State boys first team and Gresham was named to the girls second team.      Junior Zoey Ybarra made the All-District first team, averaging 10.6 points per game, along with 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals, and 2.3 assists for the Maidens, who finished 13-19 overall and in fifth place in district with a 4-8 record.   ...

By Beth Foley  Staff Writer        Wednesday morning represented the attainment of a lifelong dream for Dylan Holt.      In a ceremony attended by the entire school at the gym and surrounded by his family, coaching staff, and teammates, Holt signed a letter of intent to play football at Howard Payne University, an NCAA Division III private university in Brownwood.       At 5-11 and 195 pounds, Holt wasn’t the biggest or fastest player on the field, but arguably few had more heart. After all, when you overcome a broken back, what’s a little competition on the field?      Holt suffered a...

From Staff Reports        Several county athletes qualified over the weekend for the upcoming girls State Powerlifting Meet at the Comerica Center in Frisco.      Ganado’s Zoey Ybarra won the Class 2A 105 class, Jordyn Bundick won the 123s, Brenda Govea won the 198s, and Liliana Serna won the 242s. Juana Zamudio finished second in the 114s and Makinzie Tovar was second in the 123s. As a team, Ganado finished in second place.      Industrial’s Miley Alaniz won the Class 3A 123 class and Autumn Kallus won the 148s, while Kyleigh Pawik was second in the 97s, Desiree Alaniz was...

By Beth Foley Staff Writer        Coach Sheldon Moor’s Edna Cowboys have lived by the philosophy of defensive stops fueling the offense all season.      Tuesday night, though, third-ranked San Antonio Cole had too much firepower to shut down, and the Cougars pulled away in the second half for a 69-43 win over Edna in the Class 3A Region 4 boys Regional Quarterfinals.      Senior point guard Markel Soto and junior guard Braylen Harris paced Edna with 12 points each, post Jaiden Clay added 10 points and Kalub Caesar had 5 points. Carlos Gonzales and Javone Ragston each scored 2.     ...

From Staff Reports        Edna senior point guard Markel Soto, Edna senior guard Javone Ragston, and Industrial junior Jake Alexander earned All-District accolades for their play during the District 25-3A boys basketball season.      Soto was voted the District Most Valuable Player, Ragston was chosen co-Defensive MVP, and Alexander was tagged as co-Offensive MVP.      Edna coach Sheldon Moor was named Coach of the Year after leading the Cowboys to a second consecutive district championship.      The Cowboys (18-9) won the district with a 13-1 record, with their loss coming at Rice Consolidated, and they advanced to the Class 3A...

     Jackson County closed voting last week and several local races were decided. Doug Frenzel won the race for County Commissioner Precince 1 over Clinton Shefcik.      Steve Thompson won the race for County Constable Precinct 2 over Dwayne Taylor.       Ted Cruz and Michael Cloud won, receiving over 88% and 75% respectively state wide.      The race for State Representative District 30 however, has not been decided. Jeff Bauknight narrowly edged A.J. Louderback by 431 votes. Bauknight received 42.06% compared to 40.27% for Louderback. Since neither candidate brought in the required 50% plus one vote, a run-off election...

By Beth Foley Staff Writer        Concerns over the City of Edna’s stricter policies governing access to Shelby Park dominated the City Council meeting Thursday night.      Local resident Mickael Jordan spoke with council members, Mayor Lance Smiga, and City Manager Gary Broz for nearly 45 minutes early in the meeting, voicing his concerns about locked gates to the baseball and softball fields as the start of Little League games rapidly approaches.       City staff had placed Jordan on the posted agenda to allow the council the chance to discuss the matter with him in the meeting rather than just listen...

By Beth Foley Staff Writer        A group of Jackson County residents is taking steps to help local cancer patients with expenses related to treatment and not normally covered by insurance.      The organization, Jackson County Cares, decided to step up after community members who had raised money for national cancer campaigns for years became frustrated when county residents didn’t receive the benefit of their efforts.      Thus was born the inaugural Butterfly Ball, so named because butterflies represent life and death of cancer patients. The event will be held March 23 from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at the Jackson County...

By Michael Brooks Editor/General Manager        When the 2024 softball season began, Ganado Maidens fans marked four district games as “can’t miss” games.      On Tuesday night, Ganado faced Weimar, in the first of those four games, and walked away with a 6-4 victory. But the victory didn’t come easy as the Maidens had to fight from behind and then had to hold on to the lead to end the game.      Weimar touched up freshman pitcher Saylor Bures for two runs in the first inning, but Bures was able to keep Weimar off the scoreboard until a very tense final...

By Jessica Coleman Contributing Writer    Angelita Louisa Salinas has been sentenced to two concurrent 55-year sentences in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for her role in the 2021 kidnapping and murder of Vanderbilt teen Benjamin "Tank" Loera.  Salinas, who was was the fourth and final defendant convicted in the case, was a juvenile at the time of the crime but was tried as an adult. In a plea agreement, Salinas pleaded guilty to Murder and Aggravated Kidnapping.  In front of Judge Jack Marr, Salinas admitted to intentionally and knowingly abducting Loera, using threats of deadly force, as well as shooting him with a firearm.  Three prior defendants, Casey Wayne Jenschke, Kyler Ray Rector, and Yolanda Rodriguez Salinas (who also uses the surname Simek), were convicted in February 1, and sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the killing.  Loera's Mother, Jessica McKinney, was present in the courtroom and submitted a Victim's Impact Statement in writing Check the March 13 issue of the Jackson County Herald-Tribune for more information on this conviction

By Jessica Coleman Contributing Writer Rafael Govea Romero, who stands accused of the December 2023 murder of 16-year-old Lizbeth Medina, did not appear in the courtroom today, March 7. Court officials said it is common for those in custody to not appear in the courtroom for arraignment. His attorneys, Ross Reifel and Chris Iles were present.  Romero has entered a plea of not guilty and is set for the April 4 motion docket. He is not eligible for bond and is being held in the Jackson County Jail. 

By Beth Foley Staff Writer      Don’t discount the voice of God.      Relenting, listenng, and then following through have made all the difference for Pastor Eldridge Stewart and his wife, First Lady Kecia Stewart, of Deliverance and Restoration Church of God in Christ.      Heeding God’s calling on his life brought him to a place he had never intended to be, the pastor of a small multiracial congregation of around 30 members and the superintendent of a group of four churches in Edna, Louise, Victoria, and New Braunfels.      But as challenging as it may have been at first, stepping...

By Beth Foley Staff Writer As funeral costs continue to rise, more people are choosing cremation rather than traditional burials. In an attempt to offer more options to grieving families, the Memory Gardens Cemetery is raising funds to add a granite columbarium to hold up to 72 niches for urns with loved ones’ ashes. A columbarium is similar to a mausoleum, but is smaller and designed to hold urns with cremated remains above ground. Each niche can hold two urns and would be sealed, with an engraved plaque with the interred person’s name and dates. The cemetery already has raised $38,000 for the columbarium itself...