GOOD MORNING

We have fully recovered from our Christmas Day food — and candy — hangover. We had a marvelous Christmas Day, full of fun and Facetime with family on both coasts.

JUST A REMINDER

The Lead Live will return on Jan. 5 at Pint and Plow. If you're interested in being a guest on the show in the coming weeks, feel free to send us a note. louis.amestoy@kerrcountylead.com.

A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE FACES WE'VE COVERED

Photography is a big part of our effort at The Lead, and we compiled some of our favorite images from the last 90 days of 2021 — lots of smiles. Check out our e-Edition here:

https://indd.adobe.com/view/afd2488f-b49f-43f3-8d71-1739697edafe

AN INVITATION TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEAD

We will be moving our morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday — to paying subscribers only in the coming days. We will still offer free content for important breaking news and unique content offered on our Facebook page, including The Lead Live webcast at 9 a.m. on weekdays.

We have two paid models:

$5.99 per month, a 64% savings compared to other media outlets.
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So, upgrade your subscription here: https://kerrcountylead.com/subscribe

FOR TODAY'S AGENDA

Food distribution at Light on The Hill

10 a.m.-noon. The San Antonio Food Bank will conduct its mass food distribution at Light of the Hill Mt. Wesley Church in Kerrville, 610 Methodist Encampment Rd.

HOW HOT WAS IT?

It wasn't as hot as expected on Christmas day, but it was still a record.

Saturday's high of 80 degrees, a preliminary number from the National Weather Service, would break the 2015 Christmas day record of 76 degrees. Of course, Kerrville wasn't alone with a warm day for Christmas — most of Texas experienced a hot day.

If you look at the data, mild days have been the norm in Kerrville. However, in the last decade, there were five 70 degrees days. Since 1980, there have been seven days at 70 or above. The coldest day was in 1983, with a high of 20 and a low of 7.

And, by the way, the National Weather Service is predicting more warm weather.

"Unseasonably warm temperatures will continue with highs in the 70s and 80s," the National Weather Service's Austin office reported. "The low-level flow will turn back to southeasterly/southerly Thursday. The end of the week (year) will be warm with well above normal temperatures."

ANOTHER HUMAN SMUGGLING ARREST

Thanks to poor driving skills, a Kerr County Sheriff's deputy made a traffic stop that led to the discovery of six people allegedly being smuggled into the United States.

According to a Sheriff's Office social media post, the suspected driver brazenly and erratically drove past a deputy on patrol along Interstate 10.

"The driver was having difficulties keeping the vehicle within its lane of travel each time it passed over a bump in the roadway," the sheriff's office said.

After the traffic stop, the deputy arrested the driver, Juan Carlos Javier, Jr., 20, of Spring, Texas, and the passenger Humberto Alejandro Contreras, also 20, of Spring, on suspicion of human smuggling. Booked in Kerr County jail, Javier has a $175,000 bond. Contreras is still awaiting bond.

A further investigation by the sheriff's special investigation unit discovered the third suspect Anthony Plata Albiter, 21, of Spring, Texas. The sheriff's office alleges Albiter arranged the smuggling and was awaiting the delivery of the six immigrants to his location in Boerne. The sheriff's office eventually arrested Albiter in Kerrville. Albiter was subsequently booked in Kerr County Jail on six counts of human smuggling on a $75,000 bond.

It's the second time that the sheriff's office has been able to stop a smuggling operation thanks to erratic driving on Interstate 10.

OH OMICRON, OH OMICRON

As we've discussed here previously, the data from around the world suggests the omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to be highly infectious but not as severe — that, of course, is open to vast interpretation.

Due to the Christmas holiday, there has been no reporting on the outbreak through the Texas Department of State Health Services. That will change today, and we probably shouldn't be surprised to see many new cases and hospitalizations.

The cultural and political battles over COVID-19 continued to rage. On Sunday, Rep. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician, went on the attack by blaming omicron on Democrats.

Twitter

See @RonnyJacksonTX's post on Twitter.

twitter.com/RonnyJacksonTX

And then the never-ending debate of died with and died from COVID-19 continued when far-right-wing media groups questioned the Harris County death of a man who had omicron. This with or from issue has been a favorite talking point of COVID-19 skeptics. The reality is that COVID-19 infections often accelerate or exacerbate underlying conditions. However, the ferocity of the debate, fueled by conspiracy theories, will make battling omicron a challenge.

WE WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO ENJOYED THE CHRISTMAS SUNSET

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