$1.00From here. For here. Since 1846.Friday, December 18, 2020 VOL. 175, NO. 225, 12 PAGES, ©2020, VICTORIA ADVOCATE PUBLISHING CO.

MUMS AREN’TJUST FOR FALL

HOME AND GARDEN, A4

COVID-19 THURSDAY OVERALL RECOVERED FOR REGIONALNUMBERS,

SEE A231 5,546 5,151VICTORIA CASES

DEATHS

104

Calendar..................... A2Home and Garden....... A4Classifieds ................. B4Comics ...................... B6Horoscope/Puzzles..... B5Obituaries................... B3Sports........................ B1Viewpoints................. A5Weather..................... A6

Markets.........................B3Texas.............................A3

WEATHER INSIDE

TODAY TONIGHTIncreasingclouds

Some rainand athunderstormin the evening

68 60

TODAY’SSPECIALBUY AND SIZE SHAKE - GET A KIDS SIZE ICE CREAM

FREE AT MARBLE SLAB CREAMERY, COUPON, A2

A SHOT OF HOPE

BY CIARA MCCARTHYCMCCARTHY@VICAD.COM

Ten Victoria health care workers be-came the first people in the region toreceive the COVID-19 vaccine Thurs-

day.The frontline workers received the first

doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer andBioNTech shortly after the doses arrivedat Citizens Medical Center Thursday morn-ing. The vaccinations were the first in theCrossroads, which has lost hundreds of res-idents to the respiratory disease.

“It’s a lot more emotional than I thoughtit was going to be,” said Elizabeth Jolly, anurse who has worked on the hospital’sCOVID-19 floor since March. “After monthsof fighting this unknown virus, it’s nice toknow we have a defense now.”

The vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccineto be granted emergency approval in theU.S. Millions of doses of the vaccine wereshipped to hospitals and health care facili-ties throughout the country starting Mon-day. These first doses brought a welcomesign of hope as the COVID-19 pandemiccontinues to infect and sicken thousandsof people. More than 300,000 Americanshave died from the disease, and many morepatients are expected to fall gravely ill thiswinter before the vaccine is widely avail-able to all American adults.

Jolly, 31, has worked in the hospital’sCOVID-19 ward since the first day it formedin March. The grueling work of the lastnine months was only possible, she said,because of the support of her colleagues,who offered each other late-night phonecalls and socially distant hugs. For months,

Jolly’s days have involved the demandingwork of not only caring for COVID-19 pa-tients, but being a support for them as theybattle a deadly virus in almost completeisolation.

“Most of the time we’re the only personthat they see for weeks,” Jolly said. “Theydon’t get to see their families. They don’tget to see their friends. We’re the only formof human contact that some of these peoplehave at the end of their life.”

Carmen Zavala, the hospital’s supervi-

sor of building services, said she similarlyfound herself offering comfort to COVID-19patients when they were afraid, sick andisolated. When she cleaned the rooms ofCOVID-19 patients, Zavala said she wouldencourage them and try to provide supportas they battled the disease.

Citizen Medical Center, which has 265staffed beds and more than 1,000 employ-ees, is the only hospital in the region to

COVID-19

Victoria health care workers get first doses of COVID-19 vaccines

PHOTOS BY CIARA MCCARTHY/CMCCARTHY@VICAD.COMEmployee health nurse Heather Glaze injects a COVID-19 vaccine into the arm of Dr. Tanya Seiler, an obstetrician and gynecologist and the chair ofCitizens’ board of managers. Seiler was among the first health care workers in the Victoria region to receive the long-awaited vaccine Thursday atCitizens Medical Center.

Employee health nurse Heather Glaze injects a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine into the arm of Eliza-beth Jolly. Jolly has worked as a nurse in the Citizens Medical Center COVID unit since March.

DUY VU/DVU@VICAD.COMShiner celebrates its42-20 state champi-onship win over Postduring Thursday’s Class2A, Division I state finalgame at AT&T Stadiumin Arlington.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALLShiner bringshome theirthird statechampionshipSPORTS, B1

BY SAMANTHA DOUTYSDOUTY@VICAD.COM

The Victoria school board unani-mously approved plans Thursday toimprove four campuses.

The targeted improvement plansfor Dudley, O’Connor and Schor-lemmer elementary schools andStroman Middle School vary foreach campus, but were developed

to help the formerly low rated cam-puses. The Texas Education Agencyrequires districts and campuses tocreate such plans for schools thathave a D or F rating through theState Accountability System.

The ratings are based on theSTARR test.

Dudley Elementary School’s im-provement plan will focus on school

leadership and planning, and it willwork toward effective instructionthrough small groups, said TammySestak, executive director of ele-mentary student learning and talentdevelopment.

O’Connor Elementary School’simprovement plan is focused on im-proving school culture and creatingeffective instruction through lesson

planning and using data to drive in-struction, Sestak said.

“They are really working on iden-tifying core values for the staff andstudents,” she said.

Schorlemmer Elementary Schoolwill focus on strong leadership andplanning by coaching each other ona staff level. School officials will alsofocus on effective instruction by us-

ing data, Sestak said.Stroman Middle School’s 2020-

21 improvement plan will focus onaligning its vision and mission andby making data driven decisionmaking, said Larry Davis, executivedirector of secondary student learn-ing and talent development.

EDUCATION

VISD board approves improvement plans

SEE VISD, A6

BY CHASE ROGERSCROGERS@VICAD.COM

Susan Hyak donned a Christmas-themedface mask and turned on the popular tune“We Need a Little Christmas” in her SUVbefore her Meals on Wheels shift Thurs-day morning.

“This year, we are making sure a hotmeal is still part of everyone’s holiday sea-son,” said Hyak, who has volunteered atthe nonprofit’s Victoria location for morethan 15 years. “This year we’ve reallyturned out.”

Through the efforts of Meals on Wheelsand H-E-B, about 1,200 meals werehand-delivered to families across the city.

“Everything has gone very smoothly,”said Meals on Wheels Executive DirectorDan Williams-Capone. “And the amount ofpeople coming to volunteer has been great... I think people see this as a safe, easy wayto do some good during what has been avery different year.”

The line of volunteersin their vehicles wrap-ping around the Mealon Wheels building at603 E. Murray St. wasa signal to Williams-Ca-pone of both the year’shardships and the com-munity’s desire to help.

“Like food banks andother food distribu-tions have noticed, theneed is there this year.People need help,”Williams-Capone said.“But what has beenmore surprising isthe amount of peoplecalling in to volunteer.

When we hit over 100 volunteers I reallycouldn’t believe it. People are itching tohelp in any way they can.”

To qualify as homebound and request adelivery, recipients must have an illness orimpairment that makes it difficult to leavetheir home or a medical condition that pre-vents them from doing so.

‘Giving anyway they can’Meals on Wheels,H-E-B deliver morethan 1,200 meals

CHASE ROGERS/CROGERS@VICAD.COMKitchen Manager Brenda Amaya’s team ofcooks prepare meals to be delivered to home-bound senior citizens by Meals on Wheelsvolunteers Thursday. The turkey includedin the hot meals were smoked at SchroederDance Hall in Goliad.

IF YOU GO■ WHAT: Christ’sKitchen andH-E-B ChristmasMeal Distribution■ WHERE: 611E. Warren Ave.,Victoria■ WHEN:2-4 p.m.Saturday■ FOLLOW:Christ’s Kitchenon Facebook formore details

SEE VACCINE, A6

COMMUNITY

SEE MEALS, A3