The ferns, elephant ears, and mustang grape vines that once covered the Leona River bank at Bob Shackleford’s home off Farm to Market Road 140 have died. The only vegetation covering the riverbank is a graveyard of tree limbs. “You can’t get to the river [bed] because it’s filled with dead trees,” he said, explaining the Leona dried in fall […]

“Do you want a nice green garden, or do you want to drink water?” That’s the question Vic Hilderbran, general manager of the Uvalde County Underground Water Conservation District, is posing as aquifer conditions grow more dire. In recent weeks, residents of Utopia, Concan, and those living off Farm-to-Market Road 117, FM 140 and Puccini Lane have reported wells going […]

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District trustees voted April 14 to pilot rural leadership magnet schools at Morales Junior High and Batesville School, funded by a $1 million grant from the Texas Education Agency and non-profit Collegiate Edu-Nation. Each school will receive $500,000 over two years to promote academic achievement, grow enrollment, and improve postsecondary success, with a focus on agricultural […]

Pedro Huizar, interim police chief for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, will leave his position April 18 for a job at Uvalde Memorial Hospital. UCISD public information officer Mikka Sanchez confirmed April 11 that Huizar tendered his resignation April 4 but did not say whether the district plans to promote from within to fill the interim role. […]

The Uvalde Leader-News won its fourth consecutive sweepstakes award and general manager Pete Luna earned top photography honors April 11 at the South Texas Press Association’s 98th annual convention in New Braunfels. The newspaper tallied 1,050 points to claim first place in Division 2, for weekly newspapers with circulation over 1,801. Awards were based on coverage in 2024, and marked […]