schertz magazine august 2012

A U G U S T 2 0 1 2

B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y T H E C I T Y O F S C H E R T Z

magazine

Jeff Standley - General Manager

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The Alamo Colleges are an EOE. For any special accommodations issues or an alternate format, contact the Title IX Coordinator, (210) 485-0200.

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19

8 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM AUGUST 2012

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY

Brad E. Bailey Public Affairs Director & Publisher

Alexis Souza Art Director & Design

Linda Ervin Associate Publisher

Chuck McCollough Editor-In-Chief

Chris Matzenbacher Sales Director

Brittany Losey Senior Writer

Contributing Staffers

Erin Matlock Client Affairs Specialist

Mary Spence Events Coordinator

Contributing WritersB.E. Bailey, Chuck McCollough, Mary Spence, Lucille Sims Thomas, Andrea Allinger, Kari Bridges, Kiko Martinez,

Ashley Festa, Rudy Arispe

PhotographersB.E. Bailey, Chuck McCollough, Mary Spence, Mike Harris, Bryan Nguyen, Joe Herczeg, Diana Webb, Andrea

Allinger, Kari Bridges, Zachary Carter, Ross Dye, Dalton Campbell

Schertz Magazine is published monthly by the Public Affairs Department of the

City of Schertz. Our mailing address is 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz,

Texas 78154. The official publication of the City of Schertz promotes city, community, and business activities

associated with the City. © City of Schertz, Texas

The editorial office of Schertz Magazine is at 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz,

Texas 78154. Call (210) 619-1630. Fax (210) 619-1619.

Website is schertz.com and schertzmagazine.com

Executive ManagementJohn Kessel, City Manager

Executive DirectorsJohn Bierschwale

David J. HarrisBrian James

EDITOR’Z LETTERCity Council

ON THE COVER

A U G U S T 2 0 1 2

B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y T H E C I T Y O F S C H E R T Z

magazine

Chuck McCollough,Editor

...they should consider the Schertz area. Afterall, we have a real low percentage of homeless bats thanks to Reggie Regan.

The August issue of Schertz Magazine features Regan and his the bat house building family business. You will smile when you hear how a certain TV Batman is part of the plot and learn why the winged creatures of the night play a very important role in nature.

Then read about the variety of educational opportunities available to Schertz residents including public and private facilities and a military school district as well. Because of the city’s size and shape, it contains a smorgasbord of learning options.

Also stroll into the Batesville Casket company location in Schertz. The company’s trucks often generate double takes from other drivers as they travel on area highways. Read how Batesville is a leader in the death care industry and uses its strategic location in Schertz to serve South-Central Texas.

You will roll your eyes and have a hearty laugh while read-ing the story of Tamara Pearis - a free spirit whose love of gypsy style clothes is legendary in these parts. Her sense of humor and easy-going manner are on display at nu-merous functions, such as chamber of commerce events, where she volunteers.

Also read about city map maker Tony McFalls, a new high-end master plan community along FM 1518 and ongoing public and private efforts to enhance Downtown Schertz.

All of that and more are in your August Schertz Magazine.

SCHERTZmagazine

contentzFEATUREZ

Bathouse Business Takes Wing 26 Variety of Schertz Schools Big Plus 36

DEPARTMENTZTALK OF THE TOWNZ

Updatez 10Visionz 15Jubilee 20

COLUMNZFocuz: McFalls Maps Solutions 18

Profile: “Free Spirit” Gives Time 30

Biz Spot: Batesville Caskets 34

CITY NEWZPast Remembered: St. Joseph Cemetary 42

Civic Newz Updatez 44

Future Look: Old Street with New Tricks 47

Calendarz & Contactz 48 & 50

9AUGUST 2012 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM

20

26

34

Barbara Baldwin First Lady Emerita

If Rob Zombie, Tim Burton, Wes Craven, John Carpenter or

M. Night Shamaylan need a location for their next horror flick, complete with real bats,

36

47

Reg Regan poses with some of the bat hous-es his family builds. Regan works closely with bat conserva-tion groups in Texas, around the nation and in foreign countries.

1110 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM AUGUST 2012 AUGUST 2012 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM

TalkOFTHETownz

AUGUST 2012

TalkOFTHETownz

Schertz Honors Barbara Baldwin At Jubilee Opening CeremonySchertz First Lady Emerita Barbara Baldwin (center, front row) receives a standing ovation during the Opening Ceremonies of the Fourth of July Jubilee at Pickrell Park. The First Lady is flanked by Schertz Mayor Pro Tem George Antuna and Selma Mayor Pro Tem Melba Gregory. Also on the front row are Schertz Councilmember Cedric Edwards, Con-verse Mayor Al Suarez and family members of dignitaries.

Schertz Councilmembers Jim Fowler, David Scagliola and Mi-chael Carpenter as well as State Rep. John Kuempel are among those in the following rows. Mayor Pro Tem Antuna thanked Mrs. Baldwin and the Baldwin family for their support of former Mayor Hal Baldwin and their many contributions to the Schertz Community. Rep. Kuempel echoed those words when he spoke during the ceremony.

Schertz Magazine Goes On European Vacation

Rosie Ulbrich holds a copy of Schertz Magazine while on European trip. Wayne and Rose Ulbrich traveled to Germany to visit her family; then Austria for more family; then to Hungary for still more family. While in Budapest, Wayne snapped this photo of Rosie at the top of a scenic view of Budapest.

When you travel take Schertz Magazine along and have some-one photograph you and the magazine and send it to [email protected]. We might just use that photo in the magazine.

5K Fit For FUNds RUN/WALK Sept. 22

Schlather Parent Teacher Club (PTC) will hold a non-tradi-tional fundraiser in the form of a 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, September 22nd. Funds raised support PTC programs and initiatives.

Entry fees are $25 per person ($100 max per family) and all participants will receive a T-Shirt. Winners in each age category will receive medals. This event will be “chip-timed” and the course will be a flat, fast one. Spend the summer getting ready for the event by both training a little each day and by putting aside a little money each day to pay for the entry fee.

For more information or to help please email [email protected].


TalkOFTHETownz

Twirling Sweet Sensa-tions Baton Twirling Team Members smile as they celebrate the team’s recent suc-cesses. Members are: Front Row: Allyson Padron and Bethany Williams; 2nd Row: Abigail Neuman; 3rd Row: Brianna Campos, Morgan Leach, Julie Griffee, Madison Chadwell and Rea-gan Morgan; and top row: Michele Pangrac (Director/Coach) and Ellyn Clay. Not Pic-tured: Devi Talaman-tez-Stokes, MaKayla Wood, Caitlin Thai

Baton Twirling Team Spins Way to Success

Twirling Sweet Sensations Director Coach Michele Pangrac said team win-ners at the the 2012 Southwest Regional and Texas State Championship Title Win-ners and National Qualifiers were:

Allyson Padron who won the Beginner 13-15 Miss Majorette of Texas Pageant Winner (includes a combined score of Solo, Strut and Modeling events and qualified for the national competition to held at Notre Dame University), Begin-ner 13-15 Texas State Solo Champion, and Beginner 13-15 Texas State Strut Champion

Bethany Williams who won the Novice 0-6 Basic Skills Pageant, Novice 0-6 Tex-as State Solo Champion, and Novice 0-6 Texas State Basic Strut Champion.

Abigail Neuman who won Beginner 10-12 Southwest Regional Solo Champion, Beginner 10-12 Southwest Regional Strut Champion, Beginner 10-12 Miss Major-ette of Texas Pageant Winner and also qualified for the national competition to at Notre Dame.

Morgan Leach who won Advanced 13-15 Southwest Regional and Texas State Solo and Strut National Qualifier, 13-15 Advanced Miss Majorette of Texas Roy-alty and is eligible to compete at the Miss Majorette of America Pageant at Notre Dame University at the highest competi-tive level.

Ellyn Clay who won Novice 13-15 Texas State 2-Baton Champion

Caitlin Thai who won Novice 7-9 South-west Regional Basic Skills Pageant Win-ner

For more information on Twirling Sweet Sensations (TSS) Baton Twirling go to www.twirlingsweetsensations.org .

Was that Sherlock Holmes at the Library?

Youth Services Librarian April Toman has some fun with a magnifying glass during a presentation to City Council on programs and services at the Schertz Public Library. The huge yellow rubber duck and the book cover with a magnifying glass-using cat gave council members a good clue about how much fun is going on at the library.

WIN TWENTY DOLLARSIN GIFT

CERTIFICATESTO GRUMPYS!

Locate the margarita pictured above in one AD somewhere in this issue of Schertz Maga-zine. Go to schertzmagazine.com and complete the entry form to be entered into this

month’s drawing.

WIN TWO

FREE MOVIE TICKETS

Locate this bat pictured above in one AD some-where in this issue of

Schertz Magazine. Go to schertzmagazine.com

and complete the entry form to be entered into this

month’s drawing.

CONTESTS& Prizez

TalkOFTHETownz


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AUGUSTCHAMBER EVENTS

Schertz IdolAuditions: August 11th from 4-6pm at Schertz Family YMCA

Finale: August 25th from 6-8pm at Samuel Clemens High SchoolCall Schertz Chamber for more details!

After-Hours MixerThursday, August 16th from 5:30 – 7pm hosted by:

The Lion & Rose British Restaurant & Pub, 8211 Agora Parkway (Selma). Free to SCOC Members. Food, Prizes and More! Chamber Ca$h drawing.

Chamber Luncheon on July 17thTuesday, August 21st from 11:30am –

1pm at the Schertz Civic CenterTopic: Speaker Karen Meade - “Organizing for Business

Efficiency”. RSVP by Tuesday, August 14th (Please visit our Chamber website for Luncheon policy)

Members - $18, Non-Members $28 Prepaid

Biz-Ed Breakfast Wednesday, August 22ndth from 7:30 – 9am at

the Schertz Chamber/Visitor Center, 1730 Schertz Parkway (Schertz). Free to SCOC Members.

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’IN YOUR SCHERTZ CHAMBER?

TalkOFTHETownz

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After-Hours Mixer hosted by REMAX Corridor

June Luncheon with speak-er, Darryl Freeman – “Social Networking & Website

Ribbon Cutting for new Member: Christian Brothers Automotive

Schertz Chamber hYPer Group 4th of July Float pro-moting Schertz Idol

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JOINING THE

SCHERTZ CHAMBER?Call us at 210-566-9000 or come by and visit us

at 1730 Schertz Parkway, Schertz. Help us “Build

a Better Tomorrow”

1

2

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3

SCHERTZ BANK & TRUST 3RD ANNUAL SCOC GOLF CLASSIC

Friday, October 19th at Northcliffe Golf Course. Shot-

gun scramble at 12pmSponsorships, Team and Individu-

al players available. Download form online at schertzchamber.org or

stop by our offices for more details.WANT TO JOIN THE CHAMBER?Call us at 210-566-9000 or come by and visit us at 1730 Schertz Parkway, Schertz.

Help us “Build a Better Tomorrow”


FOCUZ

McFalls Always Maps Out a Solution

By Chuck McCollough

We all get lost from time to time while travelling. But when Tony McFalls is unsure of his location, well, that is newsworthy. “I do get lost on occasion,” the City of Schertz Geographic Information System Coordinator said with a grin.“But I have learned to prepare when I take a trip. I plot out the path, have landmarks and focus on the trip.” In other words, he has a map in his head and follows that. McFalls has lots of maps in his head and produces them quickly and accurately in one of the busiest municipal GIS departments in Texas. GIS is the latest name for the art of map making. Also known as cartography, the art form may go back as far as 8,000 years according to historians. And those were just maps of places on earth; maps of stars and galaxies found in caves and else-where go back twice as far, 16,000 years. And evidence suggests that the map evolved independently all over the planet. And why did everyone, everywhere de-cide to develop maps? Simple. A millennia ago people around the planet wandered and wondered where they were. They eventually got tired of getting lost and needed a sense of place – near and far. McFalls’ interest in geography was fueled in his youth. “I was an Air Force brat. My dad was a pilot in the service for 33 years and we lived in half a dozen states and in three coun-tries in Europe – England, Holland and Germany. I was in my teens in the 1980s and during the summer we hopped on a train and went all over Europe. It got me very interested in different places,” he said.

After graduating from UTSA in 1993 with a bachelor’s de-gree in Geography, McFalls went to work in the private sec-tor in what would later become GIS. “Back then it was most-ly computer drafting while working for large companies,” said McFalls, who held supervisory roles at some of the the private sector firms where he worked.

Eventually, McFalls went to work for the City of San Antonio in its GIS Department and said that it helped him get a more well rounded knowledge of the industry by working in both the public and private sectors.

In 2003, the McFalls family moved to Schertz and Tony made the commute to downtown San Antonio until fate intervened in 2007.

“I got a speeding ticket in Schertz on my way home from work one day and put it in my glove compartment and for-got about it. Later, I was looking in the glove compartment, found the ticket and called the municipal court in a panic,” McFalls said, shaking his head and smiling at the memory.

Tony McFalls, right, and Bill Gardner work on another map.

continued on page 24


TalkOFTHETownz

SCHERTZ

JUBILEE

Jubilee could not be the destination event it is without the help of numerous community supporters, sponsors and volunteers including Schertz Bank & Trust, Jordan Ford, Cavender Fiat, Grumpy’s, Target, the Schertz Chamber of Commerce, Re-Max Corridor, Allstate-Will Peterson, many community residents; Jeff Flinn (parade co-emcee); and the Schertz Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association.

The 37th Annual 4th of July Jubilee, hosted by the Schertz Parks & Recreation Foundation and sponsored by H-E-B, Walker Partners, Bexar Waste and the City of Schertz was a red, white and blue party resplendent with a parade, carnival, music, food, fun and thousands of

visitors anxious to celebrate the nation’s birthday.

BBQ Cook-Off Winners

Ribs1st Place - Darwin Hoel, Giant BBQ

2nd Place - David Goerke, South Texas Brew Crew

3rd Place - Jimmy Edmondson, Six Guns a Blazin

Beans1st Place - Troy Cresswell, Can’t Smoke

This2nd Place - Joe Roberson, Borracho

Brothers3rd Place - Jimmy Edmondson, Six

Guns a Blazin

Apple Pie Bake Off Winners

8 entries competed; appearance, taste, creativity, and overall impression were

judged.1st place: Amanda Micklos2nd place: Helen Griffith

3rd place: Barbara Drewitt

Parade Winners

Judges award; Diamond Dachshund Rescue, #63

1st place Visitor; Alzafar Shrine Red Roadsters, #14

1st place Private; 7th Cavalry History Group, #20

1st place Organizational; San Antonio Lutheran Coronation

Association, #28

1st place Cars; Alamo City LX Modern Mopar, #53

1st place Commercial; Schertz Bank & Trust, #55

1st place Municipal; Marion Fire Department, #67

2nd place Private; US Army 1930 Model A Ford, #77

2nd place Commercial; Kung Jung Mu Sul, #23

2nd place Visitor; San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, #33

2nd place Organizational; Artistic Angels, #51

2nd place Municipal; Selma Fire

Department, #60

The Best Independence Day Celebration in these parts drew more than 100 parade entries. An apple pie baking contest, the almost-world-famous barbecue cook off, a laugh-filled and messy watermelon eating contest, great musical entertainment and a great fireworks show were some of the high points of Schertz Jubilee 2012.

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FOCUZ

As luck would have it, McFalls talked to Angela Green, a municipal court clerk and former co-worker at a private sector GIS company. “Angela helped me take care of the ticket and also mentioned that Schertz had an opening for a GIS person,” McFalls said. “It was a great opportunity for a number of reasons including being much closer to home. So I filled out and application and was hired.” The chance to work closer to home and get home sooner is especially important these days as McFalls chauffers son Sean, 8, to various activities including BVYA (Buffalo Valley Youth Association) baseball or to the Schertz Family YMCA.

McFalls Always Maps Out a Solution

continued from pg 19

The McFalls clan, including wife and mom Teresa, likes to do things outdoors, according to the family map maker. “We love to get away and go camping, some-where near water and there are a number of places like that around this area,” Mc-Falls said. The outdoor activities include barbecuing in the backyard with Tony at the grill. “I am the outdoor cook and Te-resa is the indoor cook,” he said.

“Sean is also into bike riding so we do that. And, every summer we take a vaca-tion trip to the East Coast. My parents live in Maryland and my sister in New York. We often get together with family on the outer banks of North Carolina, but this year we are meeting up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,” McFalls said. “Sean is a typical 8 year old boy and likes anything dealing with police and fire de-partments. He likes that his dad works with the police department in Schertz,” McFalls said. “There isn’t a department in the city that GIS doesn’t work with including economic development, public safety and facilities maintenance,” he said.

McFalls literally started up the Schertz GIS department and found his experi-ence in private and public sector GIS operations came in handy in molding the department to the city’s ever chang-ing needs.

“The reason I was hired was because the Development Services Department wanted somebody in-house who could create maps to make things more effi-cient. 2007 was a peak year of the hous-ing boom and the city had the foresight to want a department with the right tools to help with the increased vol-ume,” he said. A year and a half after McFalls joined the city, Bill Gardner was hired as a GIS Specialist. “We doubled our staff over-night,” McFalls said with a laugh.

When asked what qualities and skills someone needs to be successful in GIS, the city’s main map maker said the abil-ity to “pull it all together.”

“A good map maker needs to be part

sculptor, architect and salesman.”

“Like a sculptor you need to be creative and have the ability to visualize ‘space’ in ways that may not be obvious to oth-ers. An effective map requires an eye for design in the same way an architect de-signs an attractive building or landscape. It also requires some business savvy because at the end of the day you have to be able to market your concepts and ideas to others,” he said. “A map is a document, a way of commu-nicating information that becomes visual. We can take a spreadsheet of columns and rows and turn that into something easier to understand. In a quick glance a person can get a lot of information. Like a photo, a map is worth a thousand words, or more.”

In the five years since the GIS depart-ment was started in Schertz, it has come a long way. “In 2007 everything was a pa-per document. Now we have the ability to deliver maps and other GIS informa-tion to portable devices like tablets and phones faster and to staff members any-where including far away,” McFalls said.

Schertz Planned Community Project Gearing Up

By Chuck McCollough

Schertz’ first Master Plan Community development – The Crossvine – will break ground in August and likely get its first residents by March, a group of about 70 top real estate professionals heard Tuesday, July 10, during a First Voice luncheon hosted by the Schertz Economic Development Corporation at the Schertz Civic Center. The Crossvine is an 850-acre, $500 million master plan commu-nity along FM 1518 in South Schertz. It was formerly known as Sedona Trails. “Our plan is to deliver lots to builders by year’s end so they can have their houses ready to sell by the all impor-tant spring-summer 2013 period,” said Chris Price, president of Schertz FM 1518 LTD. “We expect the first phase house to be priced between $220,000 and $400,000,” Price added. First Voice is an informal networking group of Realtors and other business leaders that holds informational lunches to dis-cuss current issues. The First Voice meeting in Schertz was held to give leading Realtors and others in the regional real estate industry an update on the dynamic developments going on in the city. Schertz City Manager John Kessel gave an overview of recent Schertz Master Planning Efforts. He said city leadership is fo-cused on becoming a master planned community city with the best governance possible in areas like infrastructure and

regional cooperation. Kessel said Schertz is preparing for the next wave of development coming to the region. The city man-ager said master planning efforts will help redefine areas such as South Schertz along IH-10 East. Schertz Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Da-vid Gwin said Schertz is on the very doorstep of San Antonio from both IH-10 and IH-35 and “is in one of the hottest real estate markets in Texas and the nation.” He also spoke about job creation in the municipality and the impact of major eco-nomic development efforts currently in the area. Gwin gave an update on recent Schertz major developments like Sysco, Cat-erpillar, Salof (which moved into the former Lack’s Building on Schwab Road) and the Baptist Emergency Hospital under construction at IH-35 and Schertz Parkway. The Crossvine is located at FM 1518 and Ware Seguin Road and will have significant open space, lakes, trails, nearby retail and easy access to major roadways. It will likely build out in about eight years and is expected to serve as the template for the kind of planned communities the city wants, especially in the IH-10 area. “We got our message to the right people at this First Voice event,” Gwin said. “These leaders in real estate will carry back the information that Schertz is focused on quality planning and projects and preparing for an exciting future.”


Bat House Business Takes Wing

Even TV Batman Adam West ImpressedBy Kari Bridges

Fifteen years ago, Reggie Regan of Garden Ridge, wanted to find a safe and natural alternative to the pesticides used to control mosquitoes. Interest in the natural mosquito-control abilities of bats led him to build his first bat house.


FEATUREZ



It wasn’t long before Regan discovered that others shared his curiosity of this al-ternative form of insect control. By then, he realized he had stumbled onto a vi-able business venture which would also allow him the opportunity to educate people.

Today, what started out as a hobby has now grown into a family-owned and lo-cally operated business known as Lone Star Woodcraft. Each of the five family members: Reggie, wife Kathy, and their three children, all pitch in and enjoy con-tributing their individual talents to run-ning this successful online business.

Working together they are able to pro-vide unique, high-quality cedar bat hous-es to individual people and organizations around the world.

“Starting our business and making bat houses has inadvertently become a way to dispel the misconceptions that people have about bats,” said Kathy. “That was not our goal going into this; we were looking for a way of dealing with mos-quitoes and it’s become a fun, educa-tional way to make a living. Bats are very valuable to our world,” she explained.

Lone Star Woodcraft offers Western Red Cedar bat houses of several sizes, each made with their trademark 3 inch cast iron star and “Handcrafted by Lone Star Woodcraft” brand label. Customers can select from the Bat Condo that offers space for 600 bats, to the Triple Cham-ber design that houses 300 bats, or the Single Chamber designed for 100 bats which Regan refers to as the “Bat”chelor Pad. Some bat houses have room for a Bat-Cam.

These full-sized models are “Certified”

Bat House BusinessTakes Wing

continued from pg 27

bat houses, a rigorous standard estab-lished by Bat Conservation International (BCI) based in Austin. Lone Star Wood-craft works closely with BCI, an inter-national non-profit organization consid-ered to be the world’s leading bat related awareness and protection organization.

The type of wood, design, dimensions and ventilation are vital components in the construction of certified bat houses. Every bat house is constructed from all natural and eco-friendly materials and meets all 10 of the BCI established cer-tification requirements. These require-ments are based on years of research and are designed according to the most effec-tive ways to best attract the bats which provide a bat-friendly, high quality house and aid in further conservation efforts.

Bat enthusiasts will need to install their bat house at the proper height and lo-cation considering the factors such as regional temperature, sun exposure and habitat.

Regan explains that Lone Star Woodcraft is always eager to support the valuable work done by BCI. During a BCI fun-draiser, hosted by TV’s Batman, Adam West, Regan arranged for West to auto-graph two bat houses. Regan donated one of the bat houses to BCI which was subsequently auctioned off, with over 800 dollars in proceeds going toward bat conservation efforts of BCI. The second autographed bat house is proudly dis-played in Regan’s Garden Ridge work-shop.

A few other organizations that Lone Star Woodcraft has worked with to increase education, knowledge and conserva-tion of bats includes: Phantom Ranch at Grand Canyon National Park; The

University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory Astronomy Program in Fort Davis, Texas; Wildlife Control Technolo-gy in Fresno, California; The Madagascar Island Project, Madagascar; and Fort Sam Houston.

The Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas presented Regan with a new chal-lenge when they requested several hun-dred miniature bat house kits for educa-tional purposes. Thus the Lone Star Bat House Kit came about, which is ideal for teaching children about bats and their habitats.

Lone Star Woodcraft’s bat houses can be seen across each of the 50 states, in each province of Canada, Bolivia, Spain, Italy, Madagascar and Australia.

Currently, Lone Star Woodcraft is being considered as a provider of bat houses for the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C..

“Bats play key roles in keeping a wide variety of insect populations in balance,” explained Regan. Bats are voracious eat-ers of many different insects that are problematic to humans, including mos-quitoes and crop-destroying moths. For instance, the local Bracken Cave bat colony can consume over 200 tons of in-sects in a single night.”

“More than half of American bat species are in severe decline or are considered endangered, but all bats are protected at either the federal or state government level.”

“There are many myths about bats. Some people worry about bats flying into their hair, or are concerned about rabies. The fact is, bats don’t want to come into con-tact with humans. They use echolocation (bat sonar), to hunt insects and avoid obstacles like humans. As far as rabies, the reality is that your likelihood of get-ting rabies from an unvaccinated family pet is greater than from a bat. Less than one-half of one percent of bats carry ra-bies. A general rule is that no one should ever pick up an injured or dead bat, any more than they would pick up any other injured or dead wild animal” he said.

All of Lone Star Woodcraft’s bat houses are constructed in a custom designed 750-square-foot workshop that provides a clean work environment with ample storage space for supplies. The locally purchased materials are individually hand cut to create numerous bat houses of each design at one time.

Bracken Cave is the summer destination of these fascinating migrating mammal animals as they travel from their winter habitats in Mexico and Central America. Most cave bats are instinctually loyal to certain caves and return year after year, often to the same exact location within the cave. Locally, Bracken Cave is owned and maintained by BCI which works in conjunction with Natural Bridge Cav-erns.

In the summer, the cave is it’s home to 40 million bats -- including 20 million female bats and their pups, and is the largest bat colony on the planet. Each evening they come spiraling out looking for insects to eat and range out as far as 50 miles each night.The emergence is so large, that it appears on weather radar and is often noted by local weathercast-ers. Regan notes that many families liv-ing in the area enjoy watching the bats swoop down to drink from swimming pools on summer evenings.

In addition to the bat houses, Lone Star Woodcraft also makes a variety of other houses for bees, birds, squirrels, but-terflies and ducks. To learn more, go to www.lonestarwoodcraft.com.

Regan shared several of the bene-fits to having bats in your local area and why you may want to consider setting up a bat house.

• Bats help combat nocturnal in-sects such as mosquitos, which can carry West Nile Virus.

• Bats are instrumental to the ag-ricultural community because they eat crop-destroying in-sects. Bats significantly reduce the need for pesticides, which ultimately has a positive impact on our overall eco-system.

• Bats are responsible for the pollination and seed dispersal of over 300 plant species, in-cluding banana, figs, nuts and the blue agave cactus, from which tequila is made.

• Bats produce guano, an excel-lent high quality nitrogen fertil-izer you can use on your veg-etable garden.

• Bats’ natural habitats are being destroyed and bat houses pro-vide an alternative roost.



PROFILEZ

Tamara Pearis (right) and Maggie Titterinton have fun and get into character in their period piece outfits. They dress like that at certain Chamber of Commerce events.

A“Free Spirit” Who Gives

Her Free Time

Tamara Pearis is a natural

sparkplug in the Schertz

communityBy Kiko Martinez

If first impressions mean anything, there is no doubt

that localite Tamara Pearis is a memorable character. In fact, she wants you to know her

sprightly spirit and capricious nature are part

of the entire package.




Chris MatzenbacherAdvertising Director

Office: 210-619-1633Cell: 210-268-6732

AUGUST EVENTS

1400 Schertz Pkwy, Bldg. #5

(210) 619-1600

Civic Center:Aug. 11

Laus Deus Praise Ministries 1st Annual Benefit

Aug. 21Schertz Chamber Luncheon

Community Center:

Aug 4-5Alamo Pet Expo

Aug 12Hill Country Cichlid Club

Fish Auction

“Some people say I’m eccentric,” Pearis says during an interview at Tazas Coffee on Pat Booker Road in late June. “I just like to have a lot of fun.” Her energy is infectious as she walks into Tazas like she had already been there earlier that day and tossed back a few espressos. To say Pearis is lively is an understatement. She’s a spark plug. Her colorful, layered outfit and fiery red hair match her personality. In her hand she carries a floppy, plush toy – a cow she has named Moola – which serves as her company’s Facebook mascot. As the “social media maestro” for Schertz-based Today’s Promotions, Pearis is in charge of online marketing for her employer as well as some of the clients they serve. These include the City of Live Oak and 3009 Self Storage. Moola, kind of like the traveling gnome in the French film “Amelie,” is photographed every-where Pearis goes. The photos are then uploaded to the business’s Facebook page. At Tazas, Moola is laid across the countertop like a Sports Illustrated bikini model getting ready for a photoshoot on the beach. The female employee making a foamy drink behind the bar doesn’t get the joke, but Pearis finds it hilarious. Pearis definitely marches to the beat of her own drum. Born in Baltimore, Mary-land, she has moved around from city to city since her father was in the military. A self-described “gypsy,” Pearis says she has lived all over, from Paris, France to Okinawa, Japan to San Jose, Califor-nia. She’s been back and forth to Texas since 1974, but officially hung her hat in Schertz in 1985. She has four daughters and two granddaughters. “I like the small town feel of Schertz,” says Pearis, who graduated from Ran-

dolph High School in 1977. “Everyone is friendly and knows who you are. They’ll greet you on the street. If I need a big-city fix, all I have to do is go right down the highway.” Before her position with Today’s Promo-tions, a company that provides marketing services and sells promotional items like koozies and calendars, Pearis worked in the retail industry and was also an ac-count executive at a local community newspaper. She joined Today’s Promo-tions last year. “I’m someone who likes to think outside the box and come up with new ideas,” Pearis says. “I like to talk to the clients on a more casual basis as opposed to dress-ing up in a business suit like I’m walking down Manhattan Avenue. I want to sit down and be real with them.” If Pearis is anything, she is genuine. Dur-ing our interview, we talk about every-thing from social media websites like Pin-terest and LinkedIn to comedian Anjela Johnson, whom she considers very funny. We talk about her college years at Wade College in Dallas and, despite not finish-ing her degree, studying political science at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. She says her collegiate dream was to “be the person that stands behind the presi-dent.” Later she admits her childhood dream was to “be the premiere ballerina in the Chicago Ballet.” We joke about the new Pixar movie “Brave” and how they finally created a redheaded princess. Like the lead Scot-tish character in the animated film, Pearis says she can also shoot a longbow. In fact, when she was living in California, she was a member of a historical reenact-ment guild known as the Highland War-riors.

“I can fight with a sword and I’m pretty good with a rapier,” Pearis says. “I did accidentally stab my sword master once during a performance. We had to keep going, but I stitched him up later.” Pearis, however, is no princess. She’s ac-tually a Lady. She received the title when she purchased part of an estate in Glen-coe, Scotland online. At highlandtitles.com, you can do the same for $49.99. “The U.S. doesn’t recognize titles, but British Airways thinks I’m fabulous,” Pearis says. It’s surprising that Pearis has any free time, but when she does she enjoys working in committees as a member of the Randolph Chamber of Commerce and Schertz Chamber of Commerce. She has also served as the backstage mom for the Schertz Sweetheart Pageant. Re-cently, Pearis has begun studying the ge-nealogy of her family (she calls it “ghost hunting”). “I got curious and started digging up all these fascinating things about our past,” Pearis said. “My mother was happy when she found out our family was a few gen-erations away from Miley Cyrus, but not so happy when I found out the same thing about George W. Bush.” Pearis doesn’t need to be related to any-one famous to be a popular face in the crowd. In Schertz, she seems to be a ce-lebrity all her own.

For more information on Today’s Promo-tions, visit their website at todayspromo-tions.com or visit them on Facebook at facebook.com/todayspromotions.

“Free Spirit”continued from pg 31

“We get creative.”

BatesvilleCaskets:

Serving family,friends

andfamous

By Kiko Martinez

There is a chilling ambience when you step into the warehouse of the Batesville Casket Company in Schertz.

Indiana. The history of the company goes back to 1884 when John Hill-enbrand began producing handmade wooden caskets. In 1906, he purchased the Batesville Coffin Company and re-named it the Batesville Casket Company. Along with caskets, Batesville also sells cremation containers and urns, and of-fers other services, including the Living Memorial Tree Planting Program where families can arrange for a tree to be planted in honor of their loved one. CASKET LOGISTICSBatesville Caskets has manufacturing plants in four cities: its home town, Pan-ola, Mississippi; Manchester, Tennessee; and Chihuahua, Mexico. Once manufac-tured, the caskets are transported to one of six regional distribution centers and then sent to CSCs around the U.S. The CSC in Schertz gets its caskets from the regional distribution center in Dallas. Cornett says his CSC then works with about 250 funeral homes in South-Cen-tral Texas – from Georgetown to Corpus Christi and everywhere in between.

‘THAT’S THE ONE DAD WOULD’VE LIKED’Cornett knows exactly which casket he wants to be buried in: a stainless steel Greyson model. With a large, diverse in-ventory, Batesville will surely be able to meet any need. However, unless pre-funeral arrangements have been made, families are usually left to make decisions based on emotion and finances. “Sometimes people will say, ‘You know, grandma’s favorite color was pink,’” Cor-nett says. “There’s a good chance that family is going to walk out with a casket or the casket interior that is some shade of pink. A lot of funeral directors tell me a family will come in and say, ‘That’s the one dad would’ve liked.’ They’re trying to pick out something that represents their loved one. You’d hope whatever they picked is a good expression of who you were.” ADDING A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRAWhile Batesville has hundreds of well-crafted caskets, some families want to cus-tomize a specific model. It could be some-thing as simple as choosing a specialized color for the interior or embroidering an image of, say, a tackle box into the casket panels if grandpa was an avid fisherman. Cornett says about one-third of the cas-kets Batesville makes are customized. “If you want something custom-made, it can be done,” Cornett says. “It all de-pends on price and time.” Batesville is open to making custom changes for any circumstance, but one thing they are unable to do is break trade-mark law. That means that even if Uncle Stew was a San Antonio Spurs super fan, Batesville wouldn’t be able to embroider a huge Spurs logo inside the casket. They could, however, customize the casket to represent the team’s colors and adorn the inside with a pennant or something simi-lar. “We get creative,” Cornett says. “There are a lot of different options. We’ve done everything from changing casket corners to adding someone’s military affiliation to the inside.”

THE BUSINESS OF COMPASSIONBatesville sells caskets, but they also want the experience of having to bury a loved one not to add stress to an already tough situation. Cornett said the company and its funeral homes work with families to help them get through a difficult time in their lives. “Having a grandmother pass away at 110 years old is traumatic enough, but think about an entire family that dies in a car wreck or someone who suddenly dies from a heart attack,” Cornett says. “We have to be able to handle that range of emotions. As much as it is a large-pur-chase decision, it’s also a time we have to

be there both spiritually and mentally for families.” THE LAST EXPENSE OF YOUR LIFECornett admits caskets can get expen-sive. Although he cannot discuss specific prices, he says Batesville sells their caskets to funeral homes at wholesale. It’s up to individual funeral homes to then price the casket at retail depending on the packages they offer. “You’ll get a lot of families that come in and ask, ‘What’s the most expensive thing you’ve got?,’” Cornett says, adding that other families look for the least expensive one.

Cornett said it is interesting why some families spend so much money on some-thing that is ultimately going to be buried six feet under and never be seen again. “It’s the one last time to go all out,” Cor-nett says. “It’s a big expense, but it’s the last expense of your life.” For more information on Batesville Casket Company visit www.batesville.com.

The Customer Service Center (CSC), which is one of approximately 90 hubs across the country, contributes to the 750,000 caskets distributed each year to licensed funeral homes in the U.S. and Canada.

Standing inside the warehouse off FM 3009, CSC manager David Cornett, who is originally from Batesville, Indiana, says there are around 800 different cas-kets at their location at any given time. The caskets, ranging from bronze to mahogany to a regular pine box, stand in rows on the warehouse floor. As the nation’s largest casket distributor, there is a good chance that if you’ve been to a funeral, you have seen a Batesville cas-ket. “Batesville is a large part of the funeral and death care industry,” said Cornett, who has been with the company since 2007. “It’s a business, but there’s also a human side to the business that is im-portant to us.” HISTORY OF BATESVILLEBatesville Casket Company corporate headquarters is located in Batesville,

FAMOUS FUNERALSAlthough Cornett could not discuss in detail, Batesville caskets have been a part of a number of high-pro-file funerals in the past. According to an article published by USA Today in July 2009, Batesville has provided caskets for U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, and Harry Truman. Celebrities buried in Batesville cas-kets have included Michael Jackson, Bob Hope, Wilt Chamberlain, Far-rah Fawcett, Fred Astaire, and James Brown.


SETTING THE BAR EVER HIGHER

SCUCISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Gibson spotlights his district’s core values and core competencies when discussing its importance to Schertz residents and others living in the school district .

The district’s core values are: providing visionary leader-ship; instilling character in both staff and students through ethical behavior; a commitment to student-centered excel-lence; learning and emphasizing community service.

“We want every child wherever they are to have value added to each year that they spend with us — in other words, their horizons are expanded every single year because they feel like they’ve got the tools and skills they need to go to the next grade level or go into the workforce or go onto higher education,” Gibson said.

Learning is expected of both students and staff, Gibson said. And the district tries to make sure students understand that com-munity service is just as important as any aspect of education.

The district’s core competencies are: being exceptionally good at the use of academic data and information to drive improve-ment; student retention leading to graduation; technology avail-ability and usage for students and employee engagement.

According to Gibson, other districts have higher dropout rates than SCUCISD. Through the district’s Allison Steele Enhanced Learning Center, there is no such thing as a student who does not graduate, Gibson said.

Gibson said he believes his district’s strong reputation plays an important role in helping attract both business and home own-ers to Schertz. “When people investigate using the internet they can see we have highly-rated schools and if they drive down and look they can see the schools have curb appeal also”, he said.

EDUCATION

There are five public school districts that participate in some way, shape or form in the education of young minds in the City of Schertz . And with the reputation of a

school district often being what can make or break a deal for homebuyers,

the stakes are high.

The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City School District educates the most Schertz students, but the city also has students who attend Comal ISD, Randolph Field School District, East Central ISD and Judson ISD. The city is additionally home to the growing John Paul II Catholic High School and the Sheki-nah Radiance Academy- a charter program that is building a new high school in the area.

As the new school year draws nearer, Schertz Magazine asked the superintendents of some of those districts to comment on the schools’ value to Schertz residents.

Variety of Schertz Schools

is aBig Plus

By Lucille Sims Thomas“I think the Schertz -Cibolo Universal City School District kind of passes the eye test and passes the internet test easily,” he said.

The district has more than 13,000 students and is projecting a growth of around 500 to 700 students per year for the next 10 years.

SCHERTZ’ GROWTH JUMPS BOUNDARIES

Dr. Marc Walker, superintendent of the Comal Indepen-dent School District at the time of this interview, said that the City of Schertz’s rapid growth, especially in CISD, is his main challenge. He emphasizes his district is up to the job.

The district’s students who live in Schertz attend Gar-den Ridge Elementary, Canyon Middle School and Can-yon High School. Currently, Comal ISD owns land for a middle school and a high school in the area of the district that is in Schertz.

“Our campuses offer a broad range of challenging and rigorous academic courses, as well as skilled workforce



School’s a Big Pluscontinued from pg 37

opportunities that students can expect to encounter after they graduate from high school. Students gain skills to support any career venue as they navigate life after high school,” Walker said.

He said the school district plays a role in helping attract busi-nesses and homeowners to the Schertz area by offering high-performance campuses with rigorous and challenging academic courses.

Walker said Garden Ridge Elementary, which opened for the 2010-2011 school year, is a prototype design for future elemen-tary schools with its green features. The school’s environmen-tally friendly features include a living roof, skylights that provide natural lighting in the library, rainwater harvesting with on-site storage and an energy conservation system that automatically adjusts lighting in the classrooms.

“This beautiful new elementary school adds value to the Schertz area in terms of drawing families to live here and businesses looking for a quality school system to draw employees from,” Walker said.

The Comal ISD has nearly 600 square miles in five counties (Comal, Guadalupe, Bexar, Hays and Kendall) with an estimated 17,770 students. According to the latest projections from the dis-trict’s demographer, Comal ISD enrollment is expected to top 25,500 students by the 2020-21 school year.

A MILITARY CONNECTION TO EDUCATION

Even though it is located on Randolph AFB, Randolph Field School District Superin-tendent Dr. Billy Walker be-lieves his district is extremely valuable to the City of Schertz.

“I feel our district is of huge value to the Schertz area in that we’re on Randolph AFB and the school district was designed and put in place to serve the students of active duty military members,” he said. “We know and we live everyday with the active duty military family members. We know all of the intricacies of their lives that come with the

deployments, with the TDYs, with the PC-Sing, with everything that goes with that — and we think we’re equipped as well, as not only anybody in the area , but in the nation, to take care of the military child.”

The school district is not just open to stu-dents who live on base, but to any stu-dent whose parent is an active duty mili-tary member in the greater San Antonio area. But its proximity to Schertz makes it

especially attractive to the many military families who choose to call Schertz home.

Walker said he has talked to many parents who are moving into the Schertz area and the first thing they do is go to various Web sites to check out the schools because they want to live in an area where their child can go to the best schools. Randolph Field High School was recently ranked as one of the top 1,000 schools in the nation

PRIVATE EDUCATION ALSO AVAILABLE

John Paul II High School is the only Cath-olic high school in Schertz and takes its role as providing a quality religious-based education very seriously, according to Pa-tricia Davis, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of San An-tonio.

“Our school is a high-performing col-lege preparatory school. We are readying young people for success in the greater community. Further, we are forming young people in Christ, instilling in them a high moral and ethical standard, and a deep love for service. What better gift to the community?” she said.



AUGUST 2012 SCHERTZMAGAZINE.COM

by Newsweek and Walker feels this distinction will make the Schertz area even more attractive not just to mili-tary families, but to potential employ-ers and homebuyers, too.

The district has just over 1,100 stu-dents and Walker expected to con-tinue growing along with the city.

“We know and we live every-day with the active duty mili-tary family members... and we think we’re equipped... to take

care of the military child.”Randolph Field School District Superintendent Dr. Billy Walker

September 28-29visitschertz.com

20122012Pickrell Park

Free AdmissionBBQ Cook-off * Carnival * Raffle * Live Entertainment

Micky and the MotorcarsSeptember 29, 2012

September 28, 2012Los Texmaniacs

Dear Friend, I want to give credit where credit is due. So, perhaps a confession can help clear the air so there’s no misunderstanding, Before I talk about my confession, though, let me say a few other things first. Let me start by explaining the photo in this letter. You know, when I meet people in town they usually say, “Oh, yeah, I know you, you’re Dr. Martin. I’ve seen your ad with that picture of you and the two cute kids.” Well, I’m the guy in the middle. Years ago I was a college baseball player, but I developed a painful neck, shoulder and arm condition. In my case it came on suddenly. The pain in my hands was so intense that I couldn’t raise my arm above my head or even throw a baseball. I was afraid that I would lose my scholarship if it continued. I went to my trainer and medical doctor and was given anti-inflammatories. The problem with those medications is that they just mask the symptoms and in my case did not help. Finally, after steroid injections I decided against it. But, there’s more…A family member of mine convinces me to give their doctor a try. This new doctor did an exam, took some films, and then “adjusted” my spine. The adjustment didn’t hurt, it actually felt good. I got relief, and I could use my arm again. Oh, did I mention that this doctor is a chiropractor. It worked so well that I went to chiropractic school myself. Now for McKenna and Cooper, who are the cute kids in the picture. They get adjusted regularly and are some of the healthiest kids you will know. Their mom is also problem-free

even with all the bending and lifting a busy mom

of two does. It might seem

like a small thing, but it makes a big difference to her.

“A DOCTOR’S CONFESSION TO THE CITY OF SCHERTZ…” It’s strange how life is, because now people come to see me with their neck, arm and shoulder problems. Also they come to me with their headaches, migraines, chronic pain, carpal tunnel, whiplash from car accidents, backaches, ear infections, asthma, allergies, numbness in limbs, athletic injuries, just to name a few. Here’s what some of my patients had to say: “I have not had a headache in months”- (Mary J.) “Mood and attitude have improved” – (Lisa A.) Several times a day patients thank me for helping them with their health problems. But I can’t really take the credit. My confession is that I’ve never healed anyone of anything. What I do is perform a specific spinal adjustment to remove nerve pressure, and the body responds by healing itself. We get tremendous results. It’s a simple as that! Forty-eight million Americans no longer have health insurance, and those who do have found that their benefits are reduced. That’s where my I come in. I have a significantly lower fee plan so that more people are able to afford the care they need. A whole week of care in my office costs what you could pay for one visit elsewhere. Studies show that people actually pay less for their long-term overall health care expenses if they are seeing a chiropractor. You Benefit from an Amazing Offer- Look, you are going to write a check to someone for your health care expenses, you may as well write one for a lesser amount for chiropractic. When you bring in this article, you will receive my entire new patient exam for $17. That’s with an evaluation and X-Rays….the whole ball of wax. But, please call right away because this offer expires on August 31, 2012, and I don’t want you to miss out.

By the way, further care is very affordable and you’ll be happy to know that I have affordable plans. You see I’m

not trying to seduce you to come see me with this low start up fee, then to only make it up with high fees after that. Further care is very important to consider when making your choice of doctor. High costs can add up very quickly. Great care at a great fee…Please, I hope that there’s no misunderstanding about quality of care just because I have a lower fee. You’ll get great care at a great fee. My qualifications…I’m a Magna cum Laude graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College and a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I’ve been entrusted to take care of tiny babies to pro athletes that you may know. After practicing for four years in San Antonio I moved my practice to Schertz. I just have a low exam fee to help more people who need care. My Associate, Dr. Kyle Stringer, brings over five years of experience to our practice with the latest in pain-free techniques. My assistant is Melissa, and she is really a great person. Our office is both friendly and warm and we try our best to make you feel at home. We have a wonderful service, at an exceptional fee. Our office is called Schertz Chiropractic and it is at 17323 IH 35 North Ste 106, (we are between 3009 and Schertz Parkway on the 35 South Access Road). Our phone number is 210-646-6000. Call Melissa or me today for an appointment. We can help you. Thank you. -Patrick W. Martin, D.C.

P.S. When accompanied by the first, I am also offering the second family member this same examination for only $10.

P.S.S. Your time is just as valuable as ours, that’s why we will be with you promptly at your appointment.

Not applicable to Medicare Beneficiaries due to regulations.

School’s a Big Pluscontinued from pg 40

Davis said a number of families new to the area have told her that the school helped them decide to live in Schertz instead of the northeast part of San An-tonio.

Though she said it is harder to quantify, Davis believes the school’s presence in northeast Schertz gives businesses and developers a reason to look more seri-ously at the area for growth and expan-sion.

“John Paul II teaches the whole child — the spiritual, the moral, the intellectual. Obviously, we believe that it is not worth anything to teach a child to balance an

equation or how to write a wonder-ful essay, if he does not also know right from wrong and have the moral compass to follow the path to God,” Davis said.

“We try very hard to put things in the right order all the time — that serving God by serving others, putting others first, finding the good in all people and places, then we are forming great citi-zens,” she said.

John Paul II High School has approxi-mately 150 students for the 2012-2013 school year.

CHARTER SCHOOL EDUCATION AN OPTION

The Shekinah Radiance Academy is a charter school located along FM 1518 near Woman Hollering Road. Dr. Cher-yl Washington, the school’s superin-tendent, stresses that her school offers “choice education.” As a charter school with open enrollment, parents can elect to send their children to the school no matter where they live. She said as far as she knows, it is the only charter school in Schertz.

“We have smaller class sizes and offer opportunity for more teacher-student in-teraction,” Washington said. The school is valuable to students and parents seek-ing an “unconventional learning experi-ence,” she said.

Washington thinks her school helps at-tract businesses and homeowners to the Schertz area by giving parents an extra choice in how to educate their children beside public schools, without having to pay private school prices.

The school has approximately 50 stu-dents enrolled from the Schertz area and 96 on a waiting list, anticipating the opening of a new facility that is being built across the street from their current location.

AND THEN THERE IS MARION

Marion Independent School District In-terim Superintendent Mario Sotelo was surprised to learn 18 transfer students who live in Schertz attended MISD schools. “Only one of them is the child of a district employee so the rest may be

coming here because they like a small school district like ours. We are happy to have them,” said Sotelo who has been in the superintendent position for just a short time.


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Under the soothing shade of a towering, majestic cemetery oak tree, more than 50 people on Saturday, June 23, honored the courage and legacy of those buried there.

grants who settled the area.

Schertz Historical Preservation Commit-tee Chairman Dean Weirtz told part of that story in his introduction to the crowd of mostly senior citizens and descendants of those buried in the cemetery.

“Several of the men, women and some of the children who rest in this humble but beautiful place were among the first set-tlers of the community of Comal Settle-ment. These were members of the Wen-zel, Friesenhahn, and Syring families,” Weirtz said.

“Still other families who followed on close behind the founders and who rest here are the Riedels, Nietsches, Metzlers, Hu-bertus, Schwab, Kneuper, Reininger, Mar-

bach, Jones, Heidkamp and several others who share these grounds. These were not famous individuals, not heroes of special note, nor characters of historic legion. But these were special people possessed of special character who by their lives set the example for generations to follow.”

Clarence Scheel is a member of the Comal Settlement Association - made up of de-scendants of that pioneer community - and the person who got the ball rolling on the plaques. One April 4, 2011 he contact-ed the Texas Historical Commission about its Historic Texas Cemetery designation and later contacted the Schertz Historical Preservation Commission about a historic site marker.Both designation were approved within a few months. Scheel and other CSA mem-bers as well as Weirtz and other historic preservations in the area said such plaques help raise awareness of and appreciation for local historic sites.

The inscription on the St. Joseph Cemetery Schertz Historic Site marker states:

THIS CEMETERY HAS BEEN RECORDED AS A HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY BY THE TEXAS

HISTORICAL COMMISSION. ITS ORIGINS ARE TRACED TO THE BURIAL OF PETER IGNAZ

WENZEL ON FEBRUARY 2, 1884. IGNAZ WAS A GERMAN IMMIGRANT WHO WAS AMONG THE

FIRST FOUNDERS OF NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS AND COMAL VILLAGE. IGNAZ REQUESTED THAT

HE BE BURIED ON HIS LAND AND THAT ONE ACRE SURROUNDING HIS GRAVE BE SET ASIDE AS A

CEMETERY. ON MARCH 3, 1884, HIS WIDOW (ANNA MARIA (FRIESENHAHN) WENZEL DONATED LAND FOR THE CEMETERY TO THE CATHOLIC BISHOP OF SAN ANTONIO. IN 1925, IGNAZ’ DESCENDENTS SOLD ONE-HALF ACRE TO THE CATHOLIC BISHOP

TO ENLARGE THE CEMETERY. IN 1948, WILLIE WENZEL DONATED .7 ACRE FOR THE PARKING LOT AND DRIVEWAY. EXCEPT FOR A SMALL NUMBER OF HISPANIC LABORERS BURIED IN THE NORTHWEST

CORNER, MOST OF THE EARLY BURIALS WERE EITHER DESCENDANTS OF IGNAZ AND ANNA

MARIA OR OF ANNA’S TWO BROTHERS ANDREAS AND NICOLAS FRIESENHAHN, OR OF ANNA’S HALF-

BROTHER HEINRICH SYRING. THE WENZELS AND THOSE OTHER FAMILIES RESTING ON THESE SACRED GROUNDS POSSESSED AN UNFALTERING COMMITMENT TO THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AS EVIDENCED BY THE BEAUTIFUL SAINT JOSEPH’S

CHAPEL THEY ERECTED NEARBY.

The occasion on that hot summer day was dedication of several historical plaques for St. Joseph Cemetery near St. Joseph Catholic Church on FM 482 in the Comal Settlement. The cemetery dates back to 1884 and received both a Historic Texas Cemetery designation from the Texas His-torical Commission and a Schertz Historic Site designation from the Schertz Histori-cal Preservation Committee.

The dedication ceremony also was spon-sored by the Comal Settlement Asso-ciation, Comal County Historical Com-mission and Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in New Braunfels.Both designation plaques are located on one monument that tells the story of the tree shaded cemetery and how it reflected the lives and times of the German immi-

PAST REMEMBERED

St. Joseph Cemetery

Resting Place of PioneersBy Chuck McCollough


August 2012

We are working for you, Schertz!Civicnewz

Schertz representatives attending the TAMIO Awards Luncheon Friday in Round Rock were (from left, first row) Alexis Souza, Schertz Magazine Art Director and Designer; David J. Harris, Executive Director Support; Linda Ervin, Schertz Magazine Associate Publisher (holding Silver Star); JoAnna Takemura, IT Web Tech (holding Silver Star) and Chuck Mc-Collough, Schertz Magazine Editor In Chief. Back row left to right are: Eric Haugen, IT Senior Systems Engineer; Chris Matzenbacher, Schertz Magazine Sales Manager; Brad E. Bailey, Public Affairs Director and Schertz Magazine Publish-er; and George Antuna, Mayor Pro Tem.

Schertz Magazine, City Web Site Win TAMIO AwardsSchertz Magazine and the City of Schertz Web Site captured Silver Stars Friday, June 22, at the Texas Association of Mu-nicipal Information Officers (TAMIO) Award Luncheon in Round Rock. In the category of Print External News-letter for cities with population under

55,000, Schertz Magazine took second place and a Silver Star, while George-town captured first place. Schertz Maga-zine won second place in the same cat-egory in 2011. The City Web site, which continues to grow and provide more and more diverse

information to residents, tied for second with Temple and brought home a Silver Star. TAMIO officials said more than 40 cit-ies participated in the contest and sent in 156 entries in the various categories.

Schertz Firefighters, Other Groups Get Wilenchik AwardsAt the July 10 Schertz City Council meeting mem-bers of the Schertz Fire & Rescue Department receive an award for raising the most money by a city de-partment during the 2012 Wilenchik Walk for Life. Second place for most funds raised by a city depart-ment went to Team Public Works. The award for

most funds raised by a non-city team went to the Stallion Stampede from Sippel Elementary. The award for most money raised by a non-city in-dividual went to Tina Smith with the Little Fire-fighter Foundation.

SPD’s Speedy Rolison honored by City Council

The London Olympics were still gearing up when Steve Rolison of the Schertz Police Department brought home six medals - two gold, two silver and two bronze -from the 2012 Texas Police Games. Last year the fleet-footed CID Cpl. brought home three gold medals from the same event. This year Rolison won gold in the 1500 Meter and 800 meter races, silver in the 5K run and 30 mile bicycle race and bronze for the 1600 meter relay and 30 mile cycling race. Congratulating Rolison (wearing the medals) at the July 10 Schertz City Council meet-ing are (from left) Mayor Pro Tem George Antuna, City Manager John Kessel, Schertz PD Capt. Marc Bane, Interim Police Chief Mike Harris and John Bierschwale -Executive Director - Operations.

GOT FREE TIME?The City of Schertz offers a number of ways for its citizens to become actively involved in government business. Schertz citizens may apply to serve on one of many boards and commissions. If you are interested, please contact the City Secretary’s Office at (210) 619-1030. A list of boards and commissions is available at schertz.com. Select the Government tab for a complete listing.


Sometime, a Lady of Many Years longs for the days of her youth. That feeling seems to be catching on with the Grand Dame of Downtown - Main Street.

A vision of how Main Street and the rest of downtown might look in a future re-naissance was unveiled in a Charrette last month that is helping build excitement.

Gateway Planning Group - which has previously held Charrettes that looked at the North Schertz and South Schertz ar-eas - focused on the Main Street/FM 78 (Downtown) area and an extended part of North Schertz on June 25 and 26.

FUTURE LOOK

You Can Teach An Old Street

New TricksBy Chuck McCollough

Will the Downtown Schertz someday be the site of annual street festivals and a collection of eclectic shops and restaurants nestled near tree-shaded heritage homes?

Can it become a walking tour destination area that mixes history and commerce while retaining the charm of a bygone era?

Those were the type of “thinking broad-ly” questions the City of Schertz explored during the Planning & Design Charrette run by Gateway Planning.

The Charrette also looked at an Addition-al North Schertz Study Area southeast of IH-35 from just north of Eckhardt Road

down south to just below the FM 2252 bridge over IH 35.

The first Charrette kicked off at Monday morning, June 25, with a Walking Tour of Main Street starting at the Java Nook Coffee Shop, 509 Main Street. The public


A group of participants in a Downtown Schertz (Main St. /FM 78 area) Charrette

take a walking tour of Main Street June 25 as they

pass the historic Schertz Community Hospital building.

The walking tour was part of the input gathering process from stakeholders

in the Downtown area. The second part of the Downtown Charrette was an open house

Tuesday, June 26, at the Schertz Civic Center.


August 2012Thursday, 2

Transportation Safety Advisory Commission5:30 PM- Council Chambers

Monday, 6Library Advisory Board

7:00 PM - Schertz Public Library

Tuesday, 7City Council

6:00 PM—Council Chambers

Wednesday, 8Planning & Zoning

6:00 PM - Council Chambers

Monday, 13Buffalo Valley Youth Association

6:00 PM - 401 Oak St.





Wednesday, 22Planning & Zoning


Thursday, 23Economic Development Corporation


Monday, 27Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

5:30 PM – Bob Andrews Room

Board of Adjustments6:00 PM – Council Chambers


6:00 PM-Council Chambers

***Meeting locations may change, please visit the calendar at www.schertz.com for confirmation.***

CIT

Y C

ALE

NDA

RZ

You Can Teach An Old Street

New Trickscontinued from pg 47

participated in a pedestrian view of what many invision as poten-tial destination area of Schertz. The tour took about an hour and ended back at Java Nook.

Monday evening, June 25, at the Schertz Civic Center, the second Charrette was a commu-nity meeting on the Additional North Schertz Study Area. At that event stakeholders - includ-ing residents, property owners and business owners - heard a number of Guiding Principles put forth by Gateway Planning Group.

Those include: • Creating a transportation &

street network that provides access in the area including where a train station could be located.

• Regional drainage creat-ing infrastructure, provid-ing linkages through trails, paths and greenways.

• Maintaining the rural char-acter and “small town” feel in the vicinity of historic Comal (FM 482 area)

• Honoring the historical heritage of the Comal Com-munity.

• Agricultural Conservation with cluster neighborhoods that help maintain open space/farmland.

On Tuesday, June 26, the second part of the Downtown Charrette moved to the Civic Center for an Open House where folks dropped in be-tween 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Stakeholders and members of the public got a chance to further see and hear what is being proposed for the area and give their input.

After gathering information from the walking tour of Main Street Gateway Plan-ning Group came up with a number of concepts and sug-gestions.

Those include:

• Gateway elements - structures of some kind marking entrance to the Downtown Schertz area. The Gateway Planning Group concepts showed three gateway elements onto Main Street. One would be at Schertz Parkway and then at 1st Street and Mill Streets for traffic turning in from FM 78. Examples of two area gateways are the entrance into Fort Sam Houston from Har-ry Wurzbach Road and into HemisFair Park from Alamo Street downtown.

• Another concept shows a multi-use civic space in-

cluding a plaza area at 1st Street and Main Street. The area could have spe-cialty paving and a food truck/farmers market/parking area nearby.

• And yet another concept envisions turning the old Schertz Post Office site at Main Street and Lind-bergh Street into a Beer Garden and having a a Heritage Center in the area.

• Aesthetic improvements would include sidewalk improvements, façade up-grades to businesses, par-allel parking spaces and additional trees.

Brian James - Executive Di-rector of Development for the city said the concepts and pro-posals incorporate ideas from a 2010 study of the area and from other cities that have re-vitalized their downtowns.

He said the city will look at ways it can better help busi-nesses in the downtown area, such as building improvement incentives and a streamlined permitting process. James said he expects Gateway Plan-ning to have a set of recom-mendations in about four months or so.

FUTURE LOOK


City of Schertz Elected OfficialsMayor Pro Tem: George Antuna, Jr. (210) 467-7914

Council Members:Michael Carpenter (210) 619-1045Cedric Edwards, Sr. (210) 566-4540Jim Fowler (210) 658-1442David Scagliola (830) 606-1130City Departments:City of Schertz (210) 619-1000Animal Control (210) 619-1550Business/Utilities (210) 619-1100City Manager (210) 619-1000City Secretary (210) 619-1030Civic Center (210) 619-1600Customer Care/311 (210) 619-1000

Subscriptions to Schertz Magazine are free for each Schertz household. Subscriptions for residents and businesses outside the City of Schertz are $19.95 annually. Call 210-619-1630.Send queries about articles or photographs to Schertz Magazine at 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154. For advertising information: Schertz Magazine, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154; call (210) 619-1630; Fax (210) 619-1619; email [email protected].

NEWS POLICYSchertz Magazine encourages submission of news and event announcement items. News and event announcements must include contact name and contact phone number. All news and event items must be for activities that occur inside the Schertz city limits. Publication cannot be guaranteed. If you would like to submit an item to Schertz Tales, email us at [email protected] or call us at (210) 619-1630.The appearance of advertising in this publication does not constitute endorsement by the City of Schertz. All products and services advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, political affiliation or other non-merit factor of purchaser, user or patron.Articles that appear in Schertz Magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of the City of Schertz and does not constitute an endorsement therein. The appearance of any advertisement in Schertz Magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the goods or services advertised. Any publication of Schertz Tales, whether draft or final is sole property of the City of Schertz and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any way, whether in print or electronically, without the express permission and written consent of the City of Schertz.

#infoCity Departments: (cont’d)Economic Development (210) 619-1070EMS (non-emergency) (210) 619-1400Fire (non-emergency) (210) 619-1300Human Resources (210) 619-1150Information Technology (210) 619-1180Inspections (210) 619-1750Marshal Services (210) 619-1650Municipal Court (210) 619-1500Parks & Recreation (210) 619-1850Planning & Zoning (210) 619-1780Police (non-emergency) (210) 619-1200Public Affairs (210) 619-1630Public Library (210) 619-1700Public Works (210) 619-1800Records (210) 619-1030Website schertz.com

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