Poteet police parade

Down in Poteet, the police held a little parade for about an hour on the night of December 26. The parade might have gone on longer, but somebody stopped it.

Actually it was a police chase. Check the KSAT video here to see the crazy pursuit in this town of just over 3,000 people and how police couldn't stop the chase but an ordinary citizen could.

To be fair to the police, it's probably against some kind of policy for them to take the action the citizen did, but still, it's pretty funny that they chased that guy around and around little ol' Poteet until Peter Douglas decided to put a stop to it.

Merry Christmas

Sorry, I've been very busy with the holidays. So I just have time to wish you all a merry Christmas, one that I hope is not too strange. Unless, of course, that's the way you like it.

"Mother's Ashes Stolen From Parking Lot"

If you ever think about stopping to eat steaks in New Braunfels, and you have a family member's ashes in the car, you might want to consider bringing them with you into the restaurant.

From KSAT-12:

David Taylor's mother, Marguerite, passed away on Dec. 11, at the age of 86 and was cremated in preparation of a ceremony Wednesday evening.

But those plans changed as the family stopped for dinner.

While inside Ryan's Steakhouse, somebody picked the lock of the automobile where the ashes of Taylor's mother were in an urn on the floorboard and stole only the urn.

Without being too flippant, I wonder if that was a really nice urn. It just goes to show, people should hide their valuables when they leave them in the car.

Strange in Corpus Christi

Two-and-a-half hours or so down IH-37, where the highway meets the bay, the city of Corpus Christi resides. And there, in that coastal town, lives a woman who once had over two hundred dogs in her house!

(WOAI reports!)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - Animal control officers removed 237 dogs from the home of a 70-year-old woman who said she had been breeding the animals, officials said.

Kelli Copeland, manager of the city's Animal Care Services department, said it took about six hours Tuesday to gather up all the dogs, which were taken to a city kennel.

Most of the dogs were Pomeranians, but there were also Yorkshire terriers, two standard poodles and several other breeds. Copeland said they appeared to be suffering from the close quarters.

"They had plenty of food and plenty of water but were not living in healthy conditions," Copeland said. "Many were covered in feces and urine. I think she slowly accumulated them to where they were more than she could handle."

Egad, that's a lot of dogs!

"Council To Consider Bow Ban In City Parks"

Is this really necessary? (from KSAT-12)

SAN ANTONIO -- Bow and arrows would be banned in San Antonio city parks under a proposal City Council is expected to consider in 2008.

Cross bows and compound bows would also be included in the ban.

The proposal comes on the heels of the arrests of three suspected poachers who were arrested at McAllister Park earlier this month.

Isn't poaching already illegal? If these guys are willing to break hunting laws, what makes our leaders think they will follow "no bow" laws.

"Woman Mistakenly Declared Dead By EMS"

Oops. (from KSAT-12)

Erica Smith, 23, was driving on Loop 410 with two passengers when the vehicle driven by 28-year-old Jenny Ybarra was driving the wrong way and collided with Smith's vehicle near Loop 410 South and Rigsby Road, police said.

Ybarra was legally intoxicated, police said.

When emergency personnel and police responded to the scene of the crash, a yellow sheet was draped over Smith, a normal practice by EMS at the scene of a fatality.

But when the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office responded to claim the body, investigators found Smith to still be alive.

Smith is still in critical condition. The actions of the EMS personnel are under review.

UPDATE: Smith has died. (KSAT-12)

Seymour Perkins visited again

Dave from Silver Creek 78250 decided to go see for himself the place that's been in the news lately, Seymour Perkins's residence. Dave observes, with nice imagery: "The freakishness of this man's yard is that it hits you like a carnival that has sprung up in an HEB parking lot between the time you first went in to grab some samples and the time you waddle out to the car."

He has pictures, too.

People who should be more observant

When attempting to commit a crime, you should probably check to make sure there are no cops around.

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- Three men suspected of stealing beer from a convenience store were arrested Thursday morning after they crashed a vehicle into a police cruiser.

Police said the trio walked into an EZ Mart in the 10000 block of Dover Ridge at 3 a.m. and took three 18-packs of beer and four cases of iced tea.

As they tried to make their getaway, the driver crashed the car into a police cruiser, police said.

They tried to get beer free and now they're paying ---- wait a minute, they tried to steal tea, too? Four cases of it?

That really is strange.

Car crashes into house

More car carnage, this time in the 14000 block of Moss Farm.

KENS-5 video

Casting blame

A young mother, in a moment of frustration, kills her child because she won't stop crying. It's a sad story that's repeated too often to really seem strange [see UPDATE below], but what makes this situation different is how much blame is being heaped on "the system."

WOAI reports:

Police arrested Tomika Cantu on the East Side Tuesday after they found her 4-year-old daughter Mikala dead inside an apartment.

Family members told News 4 Cantu was at a breaking point.

"I'm not blaming her for anything. I'm not blaming anybody. I'm blaming the system," said Cantu's sister Anntwanette Hamilton.

...

"I'm blaming the system," Hamilton said. "Yeah it's her fault she had two kids at a young age. But who didn't? Times is hard. Money is tight. You're thinking about how can you pay for things? How can you put gas in your car, how can you get across town. It's hard."

But News 4 found out the system relatives blame for failing Cantu is the same agency which offered the mom counseling sessions and parenting classes for at least 7 months.

Child Protective Service records show the first investigation into Tomika Cantu was in 2005. Workers received complaints about abuse and neglect. An
investigation found no signs of either.

A second call to CPS came in March of 2007. Someone warned that Cantu might harm her son. Cantu voluntarily placed her children with relatives and took parenting classes. She got her children back in August. Workers made follow-up visits in September and October.

So, the system failed her because the system tried to help her? And, it's her fault she had two kids, but it's not her fault for killing one? Why? Because times are hard and money is tight?

Sad.

I don't think I can say much else right now.


UPDATE: See, here's another one (from KSAT-12):

SAN ANTONIO -- A 30-year-old woman was charged with injury to a child late Thursday after police said she smothered her 8-year-old daughter with pillows and tried to choke the girl.

When police arrived at an apartment complex in the 8000 block of Midcrown on the city's Northeast Side at 10:20 p.m., they found the injured child along with some pillows on the floor, police said.

...

Trevino said that the girl called a relative about the attack. The relative then called police. The girl is now staying with relatives and Child Protective Services was notified about the incident.

At least this child survived.

Calm down, people.

Seymour Perkins revisited

Remember Seymour Perkins, the East Side "minister" known for his strange art, hookers' bench, tunnel plans, dangerous house, and paranoid fantasies?

Now Moises Mendoza of the Express-News reports that the city could move to demolish his house.

And Perkins fancies himself something of a city planner, with a grand scheme for San Antonio's economic future.

But with all the trash littering his yard and the drug dealers and prostitutes loitering outside his creaky house at South Hackberry and Nevada streets, his neighbors don't see a man of good intentions.

And neither do the police.

They've been called to his house more than 100 times since the beginning of the year, and Perkins himself is awaiting trial on a drug possession charge.

Now Perkins' world may be coming down around his shoulders.

After being cited for numerous city code violations, his house at 600 S. Hackberry St. was referred to the city's Dangerous Structure Determination Board. It could be ordered demolished at a special hearing today.

And, of course, Mr. Perkins smells a conspiracy.

Perkins says he's lived in the house for at least 20 years, all the while creating plans for a vast underground city that he claims will add $100 billion to San Antonio's economy.

He's even digging a hole with shovels near the house where the construction will start. [This hole is also supposed to be the northern end of a tunnel railroad to Mexico that will lead to a Hispanic takeover. --ed.]

...

Perkins says the police, city code officials and the San Antonio Independent School District are oppressing him and trying to steal his property.

Strange, strange.

ADDED: The Current also presents a view of Perkins.

"Marines Ordered To Move Toy Drive"

This doesn't sound very Christmasy. (from KSAT-12)

SAN ANTONIO -- Marine Staff Sgt. Henry Idar is used to taking orders, but on Sunday he was taken aback when he was asked to move a toy drive booth at a Toys R Us store.

Idar said a security guard at the Forum shopping center on the city's Northeast Side told Idar to move the Toys For Tots toy drive from outside to inside the store.

The move upset Idar, who said the toy drive's success depends on heavy foot traffic outside the store.

No comment from the Forum. I'm sure the mall's officials have a reason for making this request, but, on the surface, it doesn't seem very charitable.

Cop car crashes into house

A police cruiser is the latest vehicle to assault a domicile, but this time the actions appeared justified. Or at least defensible.

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A police cruiser landed inside a house after a suspected drunk driver forced the officer off the road and into a house.

Police said it happened at the corner of Cupples Road and west Emerson Avenue overnight.

They said Luis Morales, 40, was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Although the officer was slightly injured, no one else was hurt -- not even the 87-year-old woman in the house.

Of course, the house is pretty banged up, though.

Humble beginnings

Along Cincinnati Street in San Antonio is an old, unassuming house. There's nothing particularly remarkable about it now.

















But apparently this house used to be the home of the Blue Bonnet Potato Chip Company, once owned by Walter Oertling.


















The Blue Bonnet Potato Chip Company is now called Jell-Craft, and it is a maker of punches, syrups, and mixers. But the company still proudly acknowledges its humble beginnings in San Antonio, and it displays on its Web site a picture of the interior of that house on Cincinnati Street.

















Nice.

"San Antonio company recalls Mexican candy product"

Don't eat dark syrup from little glass barrels. The stuff apparently contains lead.

From the San Antonio Business Journal:

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) says a San Antonio company is voluntarily recalling jars of candy imported from Mexico after testing by the agency found elevated levels of lead that could cause health problems.

According to DSHS, Villa-Mex Imports, Inc. is recalling Barrilito, which is sold in 3.3 ounce glass barrel-shaped jars with white plastic lids.

DSHS officials say the problem is with the product, not with the distributor, Villa-Mex Imports.

DSHS officials say recent laboratory tests show lead levels above the 0.1 parts per million considered to be a potential public health hazard by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Candy samples ranged from 0.101 to 0.132 parts per million of lead.

I don't know what turns the stomach more, the thought of lead in candy or the thought of candy in syrup form sold in little barrels.

"South San ISD to sue West Campus group"

Rains come. A high school campus floods. The school district that runs the campus transfers the students to another high school, then decides it would be cheaper to keep them there than to rebuild the flooded high school. The community protests the closure. A group sues the school district. The school district sues back.

Fun all around, with the latest from the Express-News:

South San Antonio Independent School District trustees voted Monday night to sue Save West Campus, the community group that sued the district last month in an effort to keep officials from closing South San Antonio High School West Campus.

...

Save West Campus' members were unsuccessful last week in obtaining a temporary injunction to halt the closure until the outcome of the trial.

Monday, trustees authorized the district's lawyer to countersue the group to recoup attorneys fees and other costs and to file a motion asking a judge to dismiss the case and individual trustees from it.

School politics. Ain't they neat?

UPDATE: Now with fake blog posts! (from KTSA)

Moments before "Save West Campus" -- a community group organized to fight the closure of the high school -- was to give a scheduled press conference to respond to the South San Independent School District's counter lawsuit against the group, the group's attorney read from a blog post [riddled with bad grammar and spelling] supposedly written by the school district's attorney.

...

David Van Os, the community group's attorney, contacted Mark Anthony Sanchez, the school district's attorney, after the press conference.

"I just about fell out of my chair," Sanchez said. "I was extremely disappointed that Mr. Van Os did not give me the courtesy of a telephone call."

Sanchez said neither he nor anybody associated with his law firm were the authors of the blog.

Van Os later said he didn't think to verify the author of the blog before reading it to the assembled community members and gathered media. [emphases added]

I hope Van Os isn't charging those poor people for his brilliant lawyering.

People who should think a little more

If someone busts into your home, and it might be because of the activities that are practiced inside, you might think twice about calling the cops.

From KSAT-12:

The couple called deputies to their home in the 7100 block of Ridgeport at 2:30 a.m. for a home invasion.

When deputies arrived at the home, they found the front door kicked off its hinges.

During the investigation, deputies found two upstairs bedrooms had been converted into a marijuana factory, complete with lamps and redirected duct work, deputies said.

"It's anywhere between 20 to 25 plants, and they're in the infant stages," Sgt. K. Vann of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said.

The couple, believed to be in their mid-20s to early 30s, were arrested on narcotics violations. They may also face felony charges due to the weight of the plants.

It probably would have been cheaper to replace the door.

Selling kittens

There are too many cats in San Antonio.

From WOAI:

There is a cat sale on the north side, the Animal Defense League is now offering a two for one special.

The kennels at the shelter are crammed with cats and more kittens continue to be dumped on their door steps.

"We've reached a point where unfortunately we're just plain out of room. We have cats stuffed in areas where normally dogs are," said Animal Defense League Executive Director, Ron Aaron.

With this many cats, shouldn't they be giving them away? I wonder if we can expect to see more of this when the city's shelters go "no-kill" in 2012.

Getting stuck with a loser

Poor Poteet. They have a sex offender for a mayor, and they can't get rid of him. And Ken Rodriguez, columnist for the Express-News, minces no words.

Poteet stumbles into December, red-faced and hung over with shame.

The city not only has a registered sex offender as mayor, residents must admit they re-elected Lino Donato when he was under indictment for child indecency.

What was that vote again?

Oh yeah, 62 percent for Donato, 29 percent for the nearest challenger.

...

The DA could have made resignation part of the deal. He didn't. So Donato stayed, and turned Poteet into Strawberry Hell.

As it stands, the mayor can hardly walk through town without violating terms of his probation. City Hall is off-limits. So are schools, bars, playgrounds, swimming pools and the town youth center. Donato can't even attend the annual Strawberry Festival.

As a sex offender, he can't go near gathering places for children. He's barred from establishments that sell alcohol. But by golly, he gets to call himself "mayor."

Again, poor Poteet.

Seriously, though, can't the residents of that town force a recall of this guy before the next election in 2009? That's a long time to have a loser who doesn't know when to call it quits as the leader of your city.