GEORGE WEST – The Beeville summer track squads were running hard at Friday’s meet and captured several ribbons on the day for their efforts. Earlier rain dampened things a bit as the field events had to be canceled, but the track was clear, and the times were fast. 4x100-meter relay The relay teams in the Primary division did well. The “A” team girls raced to a fourth place finish with team members Carrah Davis, Annica Gonzales, O’Maley Carrillo and Raeann Martinez exchanging the baton. The “B” team squad of Maggie Moremon, Mikayla Cascalano, Ka-Li Casarez and Serenity Manzano placed fifth. The boys did well as the “A” team captured first place ribbons with the team of Manny Liserio, Marcus Gabriel, Caleb Thomas and Ethan Estrada. The “B” team finished third with the foursome of Brian Rivas, Matthew Soliz, Manuel Hernandez and Peyton Tavarez. The Bantam girls “A” squad of Arian Ruiz, Megan DelBosque, Yaneli Aguilar and Danyelle Adamez captured first place with a time of 1:08. The “B” team girls finished third in their heat with the foursome of Lana Garcia, Salma Manzano, Faith Sandoval and Destiny Manzano. The older Midget girls “A” team of Julia Nail, Amidy Moreno, Jolie Carrillo and Shaynea Redmond placed second with a time of 1:02. The “B” team girls of Megan Gonzales, Melonie Thomas, Abigail Gonzales and Jacqueline Hernandez placed fifth in the event. The “A” team Midget boys were fast enough to capture first place with their team of Gabriel Carranco, Logan Kimbrough, Alex Aguilar and Carlos Escamilla with a time of 56.55. 800-meter run Kimbrough was first in the tough 800-meter run, and Carranco was close behind in second place for the Beeville runners. 100-meter dash The Primary girls had Raeann Martinez win her heat, while Carrah Davis and Kaydence Menchaca placed second in their heats. Annica Gonzales placed third, as did O’Maley Carrillo. Serenity Manzano was fourth, and Addison Estrada was fifth. Alizen Moreno, Ka-li Casarez, Kyra Davis, Maggie Moremon and Mikayla Cascalano also competed in the 100-meter dash for the local runners. Beeville’s Marcus Gabriel captured a first place boys ribbon. Ethan Estrada was second in his heat. Peyton Tavarez finished fourth while Brian Rivas, Caleb Thomas and Matthew Soliz were fifth. Manny Liserio placed sixth in his heat. Manuel Hernandez and Marco Menchaca also ran for the Beeville boys. In the Sub-Bantam girls’ division, Megan DelBosque finished second. Ariana Ruiz was third in her heat. Amanda Camacho and Faith Sandoval each placed fifth. Destiny Monzano also ran in the event. Alec Puentes was fifth in the division for the boys. Bantam division girls got a third place finish from Danyelle Adamez and fifth place finishes from Lana Garcia, Salma Manzano and Yaneli Aguilar. Desmond Givens blazed his way to a first place ribbon in the boys’ Bantam class. In the Sub-Midget girls, Amidy Moreno won a first place ribbon, while Jacqueline Hernandez was second. Joile Carrillo and Melonie Thomas each placed fourth. Kylie Cantu came in fifth. For the boys, Alex Aguilar won his heat, and Marco Valadez also competed for Beeville. In the Midget division, the Beeville girls got a first place finish from Shaynea Redmond. Julia Nail and Megan Gonzales both finished third in their heats. Demi DeLeon and Abigail Gonzales each placed fourth for Beeville. Roxanna Ferrer also competed for the local runners. The boys had two first place finishers as Carlos Escamilla and Logan Kimbrough each won their heats. Stephen Moreno placed fourth. 200-meter dash The Primary girls got a first place finish from Serenity Monzano, while Kaydence Mechaca and Paeann Martinez both placed second. Alizen Moreno, Carrah Davis and Maggy Moremon were all third in their heats. Alicia Garcia placed fifth as did Kai-li Casarez, Melina Ramirez and Mikayla Cascalano. O’Maley Carrillo finished sixth for the Beeville girls. On the boys’ side of that event, Marcus Gabriel ran away with a first place ribbon. Caleb Thomas finished third, while Brian Rivas and Manny Liserio both placed fourth along with Peyton Tavarez.Manuel Hernandez and Matthew Soliz finished fifth. For the Sub-Bantam girls, Ariana Ruiz placed second, while Megan DelBosque finished her heat in third place. Amanda Camacho ran to a fourth place spot, and Faith Sandoval was fifth. Alec Puentes placed third in his Sub-bantam heat. Lana Garcia and Salma Manzano were both fourth in their Bantam heats. Desmond Givens took home a first place ribbon for the 200 meters for the boys division. In the Sub-Midget heats, Amidy Moreno placed second with Jacqueline Hernandez in third place. Jolie Carrillo finished sixth, and Kylie Cantu also competed in the event. Alex Aguilar captured a first place ribbon for the boys. For the Midget division girls, Shaynea Redmond captured first place. Abigail Gonzales ran to a third place spot with Julia Nail finishing fourth. Tara Barrera placed fifth. Carlos Escamilla was fast enough to capture a first place ribbon for the boys with Logan Kimbrough in second. 400-meter dash The Primary girls placed two girls in second with Alicia Garcia and Annica Gonzales placing that high. Raeann Martinez was third in her heat, while Alizen Moreno was fourth. Kai-li was fifth, as was Mikayla Cascalano. O’Maley Carrrillo also competed in the 400 meters. For the boys, Ethan Estrada won his heat, while Caleb Thomas Manny Liserio and Manuel Hernandez each came in third. Brian Rivas placed fourth in that event. Destiny Manzano finished fourth in the Sub-Bantam girls’ 400 meters. In the Bantam girls, Danyelle Adamez finished second with Yaneli Aguilar fifth. Two girls competed at the Sub-Midget level and Jolie Carrillo placed second and Kylie Cantu finished in third. Midget girl Demi DeLeon placed fifth in her heat, and Midget boys Gabriel Carranco won first in his heat in the 400-meter dash. The Beeville summer track squad will compete in a meet at Three Rivers on Friday.

KARNES CITY – A recent change in the way the county judge is posting notice of meetings of Karnes County Commissioners Court is causing concerns for local residents, as well as Karnes County Clerk Carol Swize. Up until May 31, Swize said the normal routine was for the county judge’s office to deliver the agendas to the county clerk’s office, where they were then copied, file-stamped, filed, signed, posted and shared with anyone who had requested to see the agendas whenever posted. Since then, the county judge’s office has no longer involved the county clerk’s office with the posting of agendas, but instead the county judge or someone else the county judge has directed has posted the agendas near the entrance of the Karnes County Offices on the Square without sending a copy to the county clerk’s office. Swize said County Judge Barbara Shaw has not explained her reason for making the change in procedure. “She has not told me anything,” Swize said. “I sent a written request to the county attorney for an opinion on this.” Swize said she was concerned about whether posting such notices in such a way is in compliance with state laws. After researching the topic she located a state attorney general opinion on the topic. The opinion states, “We find no authority for the county judge alone to control the contents preparation and posting of the agenda.” The summary of the opinion states that, “Neither the county judge nor the county clerk controls the agenda for the commissioners court. The commissioners court as a whole has the authority to determine its own agenda.” Swize said that state law under the local government code states that the county clerk shall issue the notices, writs, and process necessary for the proper execution of the court’s powers and duties. Swize said the law considers meeting agendas as “notices” under this provision. There are several reasons why it is important for the county clerk’s office to be involved with the posting of agendas, Swize explained. “It makes it an official posting, because it’s got our file stamp on it,” Swize explained. “Every other record of the county comes through here to become official. Number two, I am required by law to attend those meetings and if they are being posted on a bulletin board and I don’t have any knowledge of them, and I have no alert that there is a meeting coming up... If I miss one, then I have broken the law or what is required of me by law.” Swize said that by file stamping it, there is proof that the agenda was posted a minimum of 72 hours before the date and time of the meeting as legally required under state law. Without notification from the judge, Swize said someone from her office will have to check the bulletin board twice per day, every day, in order to know when a meeting has been set. Swize said posting agendas without involvement of the county clerk’s office is highly unusual and that virtually every other county in the state has these agendas file-stamped by their county clerks. County Judge Barbara Shaw told The Karnes Countywide that she determined that it would be simpler to post the agendas without any involvement from the county clerk’s office because there are times when agendas need to be posted after normal business hours, on weekends or holidays. “They are still posted on the front door and the bulletin board,” Shaw said. “The agenda does not have to be signed by anybody. Period.” Shaw said several attorneys told her that there is no requirement for county clerk office involvement for posting of meetings under the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA), and that nothing in the Local Government Code could trump the law as stated under TOMA. When it comes to agendas, in most counties, Shaw said, agendas are normally prepared by the county judge. Shaw said she plans to begin posting these agendas online via the county web site at some point in the future, but there are still some technical obstacles in the way of making that happen. “All I know is I haven’t done anything wrong,” Shaw said. “If the county clerk wants a copy of it, I will be more than glad to provide her one. All she has to do is ask me.”

Kenedy Chamber of Commerce officials are busy preparing for the annual Chamber Banquet to be held Friday, June 21 at the Panna Maria Diner in Panna Maria. The event will begin with a social hour from 6 to 6:30 p.m. followed by a catered barbecue dinner at 6:30 p.m. The annual awards banquet will begin at 7 p.m. The Exit 505 Band will provide musical entertainment immediately following the awards presentation. Tickets can be purchased for $15 each at the chamber office and from any chamber director. The theme this year is “Celebrating Kenedy!” Call 830-583-3223 for more information.