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EAGLE LAKE – Members of the Texas National Guard Joint Counterdrug Task Force are supporting the Texas ChalleNGe Academy with mentorship, life skills advice, and training to students and cadre during their acclimation phase at their campus.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel conducted burns last week near the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Eagle Lake, and the winged and four-legged residents seemed to approve. “The purpose of the burn is to maintain the native prairie in its original condition,” APC Refuge Director John Magera said. Native prairie is what’s known as a “fire-adapted” ecosystem, evolving with frequent wildfires or human (Native American) set fires over centuries. The native grasses and flowering plants have adapted to fire frequencies of every two to five years. Historically, natural fires would have swept for miles across vast tall grass prairies along the Texas coast until they hit a natural fire break like the Colorado or Brazos River, or until they were suppressed by rainfall. Those frequent natural fires also kept the prairies open and free of brush. “The fire stimulates the native grasses much in the same way you stimulate the grass in your lawn to grow when you mow it. The ash from the fire rejuvenates the soil and the burns allow sunlight to reach the surface of the soil, stimulating native flowering plants to germinate and grow,” Magera explained. One other benefit is that grazing animals like bison (now replaced by domestic livestock) will feast on the new shoots sent up by the native grasses. “The new growth that follows these fires - usually within just days following the fire - is preferred by livestock over the less palatable grasses that weren’t burned. It’s not uncommon to see every cow in a pasture grazing within a recent burn within a week of the fire, and they will continue to graze on those burned areas for months.” Courtesy
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COVID-19 has prompted changes to the imposing of the ash celebrated by the Catholic church for Ash Wednesday. This year, Ash Wednesday is Feb. 17. A directive has been issued by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria to its priests on how Ash Wednesday is to be celebrated.
Read moreAustin County has set its dates of Feb. 12-14 to host its annual Volunteer Firefighters field day training exercises. According to Frank Marcinkiewicz, president of the Austin County Fire Fighters Association, members from Austin, Colorado, and Waller county fire departments will be in active training on various types of fire suppression activities. Field training will include Max Fire Box phase II Burn and Learn where fire behavior and thermal imaging is the objective. The Forcible Entry session will utilize the multi-forcible entry door system. Also on the agenda is Engine Company Operations where teams will practice initial fire attack lines and hose bed layout objectives. The training will be held at the Bellville VFD, Station 1 in Bellville.
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Oakridge Volunteer Fire Department’s groundbreaking ceremony was Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1904 Oakridge Road in Weimar with around 50 people in attendance. OVFD was excited to have the support of several visitors from around Colorado County for the groundbreaking.
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Turtle Wing Foundation has been “helping children with learning challenges in rural areas achieve their full potential” since 2011, providing services to families in Fayette, Lavaca, Colorado and surrounding counties. One of the more popular programs is the Social Skills Outing Groups. Second Chance Emporium adopted this program from the beginning, and because of their support Turtle Wing has been able to expand the groups to include the Turtle Sliders (PreK- second grade),
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