Good morning, Kerr County!
After months of watching the Guadalupe River run dry, we could see a deluge we hadn't seen in a long time. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for today and into Tuesday, forecasting up to 3-inches of rain to hit Kerr County and other parts of the Hill Country. "Despite ongoing long-term drought conditions, some rounds of storms Monday afternoon and Monday night could both train and produce very high rainfall rates across some locations in the region," the National Weather Service wrote. "This could lead to some spots of quick flooding, especially low water crossings and urban areas." The weather will be soggy for much of the week, which is good news for our drought-stricken region.
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Today's newsletter is free!
Typically, our Monday through Wednesday newsletter are for premium subscribers, but this week marks our first anniversary of publishing. So, we're offering today's newsletter for free. This is also our opportunity to remind you to subscribe to The Lead, starting at just $5.99 per month. To pay us, you must use Facebook Pay to get the $5.99 per month or $54.99 per year rate. To read the content, you do not have to belong to Facebook. If you want to pay but not through Facebook, we're offering an annual $60 subscription through Square.
- To subscribe for $5.99 per month or $54.99 per year, please follow this link: https://kerrcountylead.com/subscribe
- To subscribe through Square for $60 per year, please follow this link: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLEWCF2K4ASZZ/checkout/SSD7F5CF2Z6FWOF3NPQFGPCG Here's the catch: If you want to subscribe, you still have to register for a free account here: https://kerrcountylead.com/subscribe
We are nearing our crowdfunding goal
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This is also an opportunity for us to share our crowdfunding goal to help us with three categorical projects in the coming weeks. We want to match a $6,000 one-time grant from Google to ensure we have a sustainability plan for our future growth. That plan includes hiring a business development manager, transitioning to a new content management system and improving our live video production efforts. We believe we're on the right track and have a model that will deliver in the future, especially in the shifting winds of the media landscape.
JOIN OUR MISSION: If you're interested in helping us match those dollars, please donate at https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLEWCF2K4ASZZ/checkout/YE5IHXVYW4GJ5HUOOKXJDI4E
On today's The Lead Live!
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This is a big week for us on The Lead Live, with about 20 hours of programming dedicated to Kerr County's nonprofit groups. Sponsored by The Community Foundation of The Texas Hill Country, we'll spend the next five days highlighting the works involving our nonprofit groups. Here's the lineup for today's show:
- 8:10 — Community Foundation of The Texas Hill Country
- 8:40 — Glory Community Garden
- 9:10 — Families and Literacy
- 9:40 — MHDD
- 10:10 — CASA
- 10:40 — Sisters in Service
- 11:10 — Texas Heritage Music Foundation
We're also encouraging people to donate to these nonprofits using Facebook Stars (read more about that here), or just stop by Pint and Plow and contribute to your favorite cause. Let's all make a difference.
It was a good day for a dance
The Doyle School Community Center provided the space and opportunity to showcase some of Kerrville's best dancers. Led by Clifton Fifer Jr., known to two-step himself, the "extravaganza" featured a wide range of styles from praise to clogging to Cumbia to belly dancing.
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The Commissioners meet today, and Ingram gets an update
The city of Ingram is on the agenda today for the Kerr County Commissioner's Court, and they will get an introduction from the city's new police chief Glenn Juenke. Ingram's city politics is intrigue and resignations, and the city hasn't posted a City Council agenda online since July 19. It's a reasonably light agenda for the court today, but it's never boring there. The meeting starts at 9 a.m.
Speaking of the commissioner's court
During today's Kerr County Commissioner's Court meeting, the right-wing group "We The People, Liberty in Action" will argue that the county needs to declare an invasion to stop the horde of illegal immigrants crossing the Texas border from Mexico.
They attribute the rise in crime to immigrants, including singling out one man for suspected driving under the influence. Never one to use the whole story to articulate a hyperbolic point, "We The People, Liberty in Action" paints a picture of crime-ridden streets in Kerr County.
To their credit, the group does get it sort of right, but Kerr County's real problem is with drugs and alcohol. Of the 143 arrests, according to booking documents, 56% are related to drunk driving, public intoxication and drug possession. The simple breakdown is (so far):
- 22% arrested for suspected drug possession.
- 18% arrested for suspicion of drunk driving.
- 15% arrested for suspicion of public intoxication.
Two of those arrested for drunk driving were in the country illegally, according to the documents. So, that leaves many other folks to tie up law enforcement resources because they've had one too many on a Friday night.
The idea behind the invasion declaration is that it will allow the county to receive state funding from Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lonestar. So far, Judge Rob Kelly hasn't signed off on a disaster declaration that the group wants. So, they will be at today's meeting to pressure the commissioners to do just that — joining approximately a dozen counties in declaring an invasion.
"How is failing to get the resources our county needs to protect our citizens any different than the Democrats destroying our major cities?" wrote the group in an email obtained by The Lead. "None of us came to Kerrville to be ruled by tone-deaf Democrats like the ones in the cities we fled. Or if you've lived here all your life, then you know what's happening is NOT normal or acceptable for our charming Hill Country town."
Now, there is an argument that human smuggling is a problem when you look at the arrest records, especially considering it seems that it's Americans doing the smuggling.
On Aug. 12, Kaiya Allen, a Houston resident, was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling. She is one of nine arrested on smuggling charges in August, including two 17-year-olds. The arrest records are not always clear if they had people with them or if suspicion of committing smuggling happened elsewhere. All those arrested were from varying parts of Texas, including the Houston area and Austin.
Kerr County Sheriff's Office, Kerrville Police Department arrest 2
Kerr County Sheriff's deputies and Kerrville Police Department officers arrested a pair of fugitives wanted in connection with a Wisconsin murder in April.
The sheriff's special response team arrested Gustavo Cantu, 39, and Naomi Rose Cadotte, 33, both of Wisconsin, after a traffic stop late Friday or early Saturday morning. With support of the Kerrville PD special operations unit, the Sheriff's SRT served a warrant 100 block of Candelite Drive in Ingram in pursuit of Alejandro Cantu, 31, but he was not at the residence.
Both Cantus are wanted for a drug-related murder in Green Bay, and police in Wisconsin believe the brothers have ties to a drug cartel. A third suspect in the murder is already in a Wisconsin jail awaiting trial. The U.S. Marshalls are also pursuing Alejandro Cantu.
"These suspects have evaded law enforcement nationwide for almost four months, and our investigators and teams have hopefully brought this string of criminal activity to an end," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. "We appreciate the cooperation of the KPD and the entire team that continues to work this case."
Sheriff's investigators learned that the trio might have been hiding in Ingram. The investigators could make a traffic stop and apprehend Gustavo Cantu and Cadotte with that information. The SRT supported the patrol officers during the traffic stop.
Gustavo Cantu faces three outstanding warrants, including murder, felony possession of THC and felony bail jumping.
"We are pleased to have Gustavo Cantu in custody and he will be facing the justice system for his alleged crimes in Wisconsin," Leitha said. "Our Special Response Team and entire Special Operations Division did a great job protecting the public."
Cadotte faces charges of possessing a controlled substance and failing to appear in Wisconsin.
The remaining suspect, Alejandro Cantu, is Native American, 6-feet tall, 165 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He has 'Cantu' tattooed on his left forearm and other tattoos. If any member of the public has information regarding his whereabouts, please call the Kerr County Sheriff's Office at (830) 896-1216, or call Kerr County Crime Stoppers at (830) 896-TIPS.
More information about this case, from WBAY News, Green Bay: https://www.wbay.com/2022/06/27/police-looking-two-men-green-bay-west-side-murder/
