Counties, cities to receive funds Almost $16 million in homeland security grants to

all 13 counties and 34 cities in the 13-county Houston- Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) service region will soon strengthen homeland security plans and help pre- vent terrorism, not only in those individual communi- ties, but across the region as a whole.

These grants, recently announced by the governor, come from two Federal sources, the Law Enforcement

Terrorism Prevention Program and the State Homeland Security Program.

A few of the grant recipients are: (Homeland Secu- rity Grant Funds) Austin County, $209,349; City of El Campo, $28,577; Colorado County, $328,283; Wharton County, $231,497; (Law Enforcement Terrorism Pre- vention Program), Austin County, $6,071; Colorado

(See Funds, Page 8)

June 3,2004 USPS 163-760

Volume 101, No. 12 8 Pages Plus Inserts Eagle Publishing, Inc.

P.O. Box 67 (220 E. Main) Eagle Lake, Texas 77434-0067

979-234-5521

S0< PER COPY

NEWSBRIEFS V . Rice CISD summer office hours

The Rice Consolidated ISD Administration summer office hours began June 1. They are Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed Fridays. Administration office vacation will be July 5-9. Sum- mer office hours resume Monday, July 12. Regular office hours will resume Monday, Aug. 2, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NTIO selling fish plates Friday The New Town Improvement Organization (NTIO) will be selling fish plates

Friday, June 4, starting at 11 a.m. Plates are $6 each with delivery available. Call 979-234-3800 to place your order.

GRSBC bake sale is Friday Greater Rising Star Baptist Church (GRSBC) youth will hold a bake sale

Friday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the First National Bank. For more information, contact Kameka Davis Edwards at 234-6771 or Linda Tillman at 234-3484.

Deadline for broiler orders is Friday Exhibitors planning to show broilers at the Colorado County Fair must place

their order at the Colorado County Extension Office by Friday, June 4. Each exhibitor must purchase a minimum of 25 chicks. Cost will be 850 each and must be paid for when the order is placed. Broiler chicks will be picked up at M-G Inc. in Weimar on July 29. For more information, contact Richard and Cindy Glueck, broiler show chairpersons, at 979-732-5942.

Senior Citizen's Dance set for Friday The public is invited to a Senior Citizen's Dance, a place to meet old and

new friends, Friday, June 4, 8 to 11 p.m. at the Eagle Lake Community Center. The Lazy Farmers will provide the music. Admission is $5 per person. For more information, call 979-234-3795.

KC golf tourney set for Sunday The Knight of Columbus Council #4843 will hold its 20th Annual Two-

Player Scramble golf tournament Sunday, June 6, at the Eagle Lake Golf Course. Rainout date is June 13. Shotgun starts are at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Entry fee is $130 per team and includes tournament fee for team, green fee, chicken fried steak dinner and chances for closest to the hole contest. The dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to the public by advance tickets only at $6 a plate. For more information, call Tee-Up Pro Shop at 979-234-5981. Proceeds ben- efit KC charities and scholarships.

66th Frnka reunion is Sunday The 66th Frnka Family reunion will be held at the dining hall of Sts. Peter

and Paul Catholic Church in Frelsburg on D-Day, Sunday, June 6. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. followed by a catered meal at noon and the business meet- ing. Other special activities will conclude the reunion. Please bring your favor- ite pastry or dessert to share and don't forget to bring an auction item. Come out to the country and meet some new cousins. Make reservations by calling fam- ily reunion president Trey Nelson (8205 Loralinda Dr., Austin, TX 78753-5840) at 512-835-7701 or email: treynelsn@aol.com with any questions. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Ice cream social scheduled Sunday Everyone is invited to the Ice Cream Social and Sing-a-Long scheduled for

this Sunday, June 6, at the Lissie United Methodist Church. The social starts at 5:30 p.m. with the sing-a-long at 6:30.

CCRTA to meet June 7 The Colorado County Retired Teachers Association (CCRTA) will meet at

noon Monday, June 7, at Schobels' Restaurant in Columbus. Members are en- couraged to attend in order to pay membership dues for 2004-05. New retirees will also be recognized at this meeting.

Holy Ghost revival is June 9-13 You are invited to attend a Holy Ghost Revival in El Campo June 9-13 at

7:30 p.m. nightly at Bible Truth Church, on the corner of East First and S. Wharton Streets. Gary Ashcroft from Walnut, Mississippi, will be there. For more information, call 979-543-2331.

Market hogs, goats, lambs to be tagged Market hogs to be exhibited at the 2004 Colorado County Fair will be tagged,

tattooed and weighed Saturday, June 12, 7 to 9 a.m. at the Ag Complex at the Colorado County Fairgrounds. A $2 tag-in fee per animal will be collected. Hogs must weigh 230-270 pounds at official weigh-in Sept. 9, 2004. Contact Larry or Diane Smidovec, hog show chairpersons, at 979-758-3946 for more information.

Market goats and lambs will also be tagged, tattoed and weighed in June 12 from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Fairgrounds. A fee of $2 per animal will be collected at tag-in. Market lamb show exhibitors may show either a wether or ewe lamb. Lambs must be carrying temporary incisors (milk teeth) with no permanent incisors in view at show time in Sept. A wether or female goat may be shown in the market goat show and must not weigh over 125 pounds at official Fair weigh-in Sept. 9. For more information contact goat show chairperson Rocky Roesler, 979-247-4321; or lamb show chairperson Gerald Koehl, 979-732-8367.

Kolache-Klobase Festival is June 12 The 14th annual Czech Kolache-Klobase Festival will be held Saturday,

June 12, at Riverside Hall in East Bernard. Enjoy polka music from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the hall and under the water-fan cooled pavilion. A sausage/BBQ chicken plate lunch will be served starting 11 a.m. Plates to go will also be available. For more information, call 979-335-7907. For booth information, call 335-4827 or log on to www.memberstripod.com/sbcserve/kkfest. Proceeds benefit KJT #40 Hall Fund.

Hollien 18th Reunion is June 12 The annual Hollien Reunion will be held Saturday, June 12, at the Stephen

F. Austin Park in San Felipe from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or as long as you wish). Directions: from Houston, take 1-10 to FM 1458, then turn left on Park Road #38. The lunch will be potluck. Please bring your favorite dish to share. Come enjoy the day with old friends and family. For more information, call Henry Kretzschmar at 979-234-5155.

St. Mary Parish Picnic is June 13 St. Mary's Parish in Hallettsville will hold its picnic Sunday, June 13. Enjoy

bingo, ball throw, ring toss, cake and plant walk, train ride, fish pond, antiques and country store. Come hungry and enjoy hamburgers, soda water, pop porn, snow cones and adult refreshments. Mass is at 9:15 a.m. The stew and sausage meal will be served starting at 10:30 a.m. for $6 a plate. Plates to go will also be available. The Dukja Brothers and Red Ravens will provide musical entertain-

(See Newsbriefs, Page 7)

Main Street Streetscape Committee reveals plans If you haven't noticed, the down-

town area is getting a new look. The Eagle Lake Main Street Streetscape Committee, headed by Sandy Bendy, is now starting in its Phase I plan for downtown Eagle Lake.

Members of the committee include Rhonda Bridges, Leslie Carey, Ren6 Cooper-Scott, Mary Kay Cook, Denis Hentzell, Ron Holland, John Matth- ews, Louis Schorlemmer and Jean Wiese.

Phase I consists of placing land- scaped planters around the McCarty and Commerce side of the square, as well as on Main St.

The "planters, made by Class Con- crete, were "landscaped" by Canaris Nursery who will also handle the main- tenance.

Phase I also includes Victorian benches and attractive trash receptacles to be placed downtown which will be completed by the end of the summer.

The Streetscape Phase II will con- sist of curb extension, pavers, prepar- ing for historical lamp posts, improv- ing sidewalk steps and taking out meter poles, but leaving holes for flags.

Phase III will consist of historic lamp posts placed on corners and around the square and, hopefully, the removal of utility poles. The phases are planned to be completed by 2006.

The funds for all three phases will be paid by Friends of Main Street and through grants.

Since the beginning in 2000, when Eagle Lake was chosen to be a Main Street town by the Texas Main Street Program in Austin, the Eagle Lake Pro- motion Committee has been holding fund raisers to make money for win- dow, facade and sign grants and future streetscape projects. They have spon- sored a Picnic in the Park, the yearly Casino Night in Sept., gun drawing during the hunting season, Mud Bugs & Music Crawfish Boil in April, and sold engraved bricks for the City Park, t-shirts and American flag car decals.

Thank you for your support in each one of these fundraisers.

The Streetscape Committee hopes these plans will help beautify our downtown area, make it warm and in- viting and that you, the citizens of Eagle Lake, will enjoy the change.

Main Street Streetscape Committee head Sandy Bendy and member Rhonda Bridges showed off the planter in front of Sandy's office last week. Pictured with them are Peter Canaris of Canaris Nursery, and Barbara Class of Class Concrete. Headlight Photo by Carol Cardenas

Number 14 in a series in remembrance of our World War II dead

Remembering Staff Sgt. Jesse P. Yanez By Joe C. Fling

In Eagle Lake's Prairie Edge Mu- seum (PEM) is a display in honor of Jesse P. Yanez.

Yanez is remembered today as the only Eagle Lake boy of Hispanic de- scent to die in World War II. He died a hero's death 60 years ago in action against the Nazi enemy.

Sixty years ago this week, news of Operation Overlord, the D-Day inva- sion of Normandy, was breaking around the world; as so many families

prayed and worried over loved ones, news arrived in Eagle Lake of the death of Jesse Yanez in Italy.

Jesse was the son of Cayetano and N itividad Pineda Yanez of Eagle Lake. H, was born Jesus Pineda Yanez in San Antonio on April 5, 1924. His parents had come to Texas from Mexico in 1910 and 1916 respectively.

By 1930, the family had moved to Eagle Lake and is counted among the older Hispanic families to reside per- manently in the city. Jesse was the old-

est child in the family and had attended school in Eagle Lake.

Serving in the Army Air Corps as a B-17 "Flying Fortress" tail-gunner, Jesse attained the rank of Staff Sgt. and was part of the 772nd Bomber Squad- ron, 463rd Bomber Group, heavy, based in southern Italy and assigned to the 15th Air Force.

The 15th Air Force, flying out of bases at Foggia and Cerignola in south- ern Italy, bombed far and wide, hitting targets in northern Italy, oil fields in

Library presents magician Franklin Returning to the Wintermann Li-

brary Summer Reading Program for the third year will be Julian Franklin, magician. He will be at the Library Wednesday, June 9, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. for all ages.

Julian will have a lot of new sur- prises this year. They include new

props, new costumes, new dialog, new books and new jokes. Also, he has a new sidekick, Meihoo, the dragon. He assured us that his cute bunny, David Hopperfield, is doing just fine, but just taking some time off. You can read about his latest adventures on this web site at www.davidhopperfield.com.

In his program each year, Julian encourages children to read more. Dur- ing his program, he incorporates books that go along with the theme of the Summer Reading Program, "Color Your World...Read!"

We hope to see you Wednesday, June 9, for the program.

Hospice volunteers now training Hospice Support Care, an affiliate

of Houston Hospice, announced they will offer a 30 hour Hospice Volunteer Training. The training started June 1 and will continue each Tuesday in June from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Fellowship Hall, 207 Bob- O-Link in Wharton.

Topics will include history and phi-

losophy of Hospice, the role of the vol- unteer, communication skills (learning to listen with love), the physical care of the dying patient, pain and symp- tom management, understanding the spiritual needs of the patient and fam- ily bereavement/understanding grief.

Hospice Support Care provides care for persons with a terminal illness in

their home. Volunteers support the Hospice team by sharing two to four hours a week, being willing to listen and serve as a friend or by working on special projects.

There are no fees for the training butpre-registration is required. For reg- ister or additional information, call 979-578-0314.

LCRA plans town hall meetings Plan to attend one of four water

town hall meetings being held in June as part of a listening campaign on wa- ter topics and issues in the lower Colo- rado River basin.

LCRA General Manager Joe Beal will talk about important water-related

topics such as water supply and water quality, and will answer questions and listen to comments from the public. All basin residents are encouraged to at- tend.

The meetings will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. according to the following

schedule: June 8, Smithville High School, 285 Hwy. 95'south; June 17, Burnet Community Center, 401 E. Jackson St.; June 22, Lakeway Activ- ity Center, 105 Cross Creek; and June 23, Wharton Community Center, 1924 N. Fulton.

Rumania and across the Alps into the industrial heart of Germany itself. Rome had fallen on June 4, an impor- tant date for the campaign to defeat the Axis powers.

Yanez' squadron was on a bomb- ing mission over Pioppi, Italy, when they received extensive damage from anti-aircraft fire over the target. The plane was so severely damaged that it could not complete the return trip and went down.

As the plane descended, reports were that five men were seen parachut- ing out. The rest of the 10-man crew was lost. Yanez was apparently among them. It was reported that his body was never recovered. Yanez had earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart decora- tions.

Jesse's mother took the loss very hard, and, for years thereafter, would inquire of servicemen whether they knew what had become of Jesse.

He was survived by his parents and younger siblings, including Tiodoro, Gonzalo, Raul, Lydia and Rose. A younger brother, Bonifacio had died as a young child.

Tiodoro, who was 18-years-old (known to his friends as "Lolo"), was also in the Army, serving at that time in the Pacific. Later in 1944, he would take part in the fighting to liberate the Philippine Islands. He related that the news of Jesse's plane going down had arrived on D-Day (June 6, 1944).

As with so many other young Eagle Lake area men, Billy Cook, William David Austin, Jerrald Evoritt, Bill Stapleton and others, Jesse's name lives on. It was very common, as in most of the cases mentioned above, for a surviving brother of the man who died in war to pass the name on to his own son. This was the case in the Yanez family.

When Tiodoro returned from the war, he named his first son Jesse, after his war hero brother.

In my research on and interviews (See Yanez, Page 8)

Rice High School's Class of 2004 Members of the Rice High School Class of 2004 sit patiently, awaiting the time when they will "walk the walk" during last week's graduation ceremo- nies at Raider Stadium. Photo by Dwight Hadley