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YEAR IN REVIEW: PART 1
24 STORIES THAT DEFINED 2024
Happy New Year’s Colorado County, what a year 2024 has been.
From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, 2024, like every other year, was jam packed with surprises, from the tragic deaths of beloved ones within the community, landmark political elections, multiple centennial birthday celebrations, changing of guards, a first ever State Championship and much, much more.
It is impossible to put everything that happened into one story, reviewing the year at hand. The Citizen put together 24 top lead stories from front pages, two from each month of the year, that defined 2024. Thank you to all the subscribers and residents of Colorado County that helped last year become a memorable year for the Citizen.
Jan. 27 — “Columbus hosts annual march downtown”
The Texas Right to Life organization gathered residents of Colorado County who shared their values for a protest march through the streets of downtown on Jan. 27, finishing their rally with several keynote speakers outside of the county courthouse. The speakers featured religious officials as well as other representatives discussing the recent legislation at the state level regarding abortion and other topics. Several residents in attendance held signs as groups like the Catholic Daughters and the Weimar-based Knights of Columbus branch were well represented within the ranks of the marchers. Families, military and individuals populated the walkers as they participated in their rally to protest the topics of note.
Jan. 31 — “‘You Matter’ beard competition raises funds for Wellness Council” LA GRANGE — Beards of all kinds gathered at the Historic Casino Hall on Jan. 20 for a fundraiser and competition benefiting the Colorado County Wellness Council. The event hosted several people with wide-ranging styles of beards as they entered several different categories of contests such as the Goatee competition as well as contests for sideburns, mustaches and full beards. The competition concluded with the Best in Show category as the top facial hair aficionado received the award for the top entry in the competition.
Feb. 1 — “Narcotics task force arrests three in raid “
EAGLE LAKE — A task force composed of investigators from several local departments apprehended and booked a trio of alleged drug distributors in Eagle Lake in the early morning on Feb. 1 according to police. Frank Cantu Sr., 63, Frank Cantu Jr., 33 and Deborah Cantu, 55, were charged with the manufacture and/or delivery of a controlled substance.
Feb. 19 — “100 trips around the Sun: County resident reaches major milestone birthday” In Eagle Lake on Monday, Feb. 19, off Austin Road near Austin BBQ, home of Austin Grocery and near the Austin County line, Julia Maee Austin celebrated her 100th birthday. “I would have thought maybe 60s or 70s I never would have thought 100,” Austin said with a smirk, “God kept me here for some reason though and I am very thankful.”
March. 5 — “Lindeman wins primary for sheriff’s post”
The County Sheriff was chosen between current Deputy Justin Lindemann and Columbus Police Department Captain Wendy Alley. Justin Lindemann won the election with just under 61% of the vote. The County Commissioner for Precinct 1 was an election between Rueben Taylor and Shannon Owers. Owers won the unofficial election with just under 66% of the vote. The Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace position came down to the incumbent Donald Clark, Will Schneider and Bennie Zajicek. Clark took the lead with over 37% of the vote. Zajicek was next with just under 32% of the vote. Schneider had over 30% of the vote. This election may also have a runoff election. The Precinct 4 Constable was a choice between Adrian Flores and incumbent Darrell Stancik. Stancik won the election with over 80% of the vote. For the Tax Collector-Assessor position, Bruce Besch, incumbent Erica Kollaja and Melinda Zajicek were on the ballot. Zajicek finished with the most votes after taking over 44% of the vote. Kollaja was next with over 40% of the vote. This election may potentially have a runoff until a candidate can take a majority with over 50% of the vote.
March. 23 — “Eagle Lake Easter Egg Hunt” The city of Eagle Lake held an Easter egg hunt in the downtown square for the children of families in the area on Saturday, March 23. Kids from ages 2 to 14 were split into four different age groups as they vied for over 3,000 colorful egg containers. Each container had candy or a gold coin that allowed whoever found it to redeem it for an Easter basket prize. One hundred Easter baskets were given during the event as there were 25 gold coins for each age group.
April. 10 — “Rice CISD promotes RHS principal to superintendent” The Rice Consolidated Independent School District held a special Board of Trustees meeting on April 10 to discuss the retirement of Superintendent Bill Hefner and name his successor. Rice High School Principal Kenny Center emerged as the lone finalist to take on the new position. “I was thrilled upon hearing that I was named the Lone Finalist for the Superintendent position,” Center said, “Knowing that the Board of Trustees believes in me to lead the Rice CISD gives me the confidence that what I have been doing as a campus Principal has been felt throughout the District and that I will continue to stay true to my beliefs and to do what is best for our students.”
April. 13 — “CHS One Act Play makes history: Program reaches regional for the first time” COLUMBUS — For the first time ever, the Columbus High School One-Act Play program has reached heights never seen before in its history. After a top performance at the Area competition on April 13, the One-Act Play crew for CHS moved on to the regional competition for the first time. “This is a historic achievement for our One Act Play crew,” Theatre Director Brittany King said, “...the students are incredibly excited and proud over this accomplishment.”
May 2 — “Abandoned canoe investigation leads to missing man” COLUMBUS — A call from a concerned resident about an abandoned canoe sparked a multi-day investigation that resulted in the discovery of a deceased man in the Colorado River near Beason’s Park. Daniel Joseph Baca, 63, was last seen in the early evening on May 2 according to police. The Sheriff’s Office received a call on Friday, May 3 from a resident inquiring about a canoe abandoned in the river and stuck in debris under the railroad bridge near Beason’s Park.
May 10 — “’Gedenke!’ draws a crowd Annual event celebrates Weimar history.
June 5 — “Pit Raiders supported by Prasek’s for Nationals” The Rice Consolidated High School boasts some high-performing barbecue teams as one of their teams, “The Pit Raiders,” earned their way to the Nationals competition Branson, Missouri from June 6 to June 9. Their success has garnered some community support as Prasek’s Family Smokehouse donated hundreds of dollars in practice material to aid their BBQ preparation for the upcoming competition.
June 19 — “Generous local man donates hundreds of tomatoes” COLUMBUS — What started out as an attempt at creating a new hobby turned into a charitable campaign as a local man, Keith Michalk, grew a sizable crop of tomatoes at his home and has donated the plentiful yield to several service organizations around the city. “The appreciation is overwhelming,” Michalk said. Over a span of 35 days, master gardener Michalk grew nearly 800 pounds of tomatoes and other fresh produce in his own personal garden, with several different types and styles. Overall, he has grown over 1500 pounds of fruits and vegetables in his 4000 square foot garden.
See the other 12 stories from 2024 in the second half next week.
