My alma mater, Tivy High School in Kerrville, joined countless other Texas high schools Friday night with their first 2025 football game.
But the game had a much bigger meaning because there was an emotional tribute to the first responders on the July 4th flood on the Guadalupe River.
Ceremonies began before kickoff to honor the first responders and all of those who worked tirelessly during the enormous relief effort after the flood.
There were helicopter flyovers by the DPS and the Texas National Guard before the game followed by a line of first responders and
Tivy High School players crossing midfield together.
Tivy players wore their blue and gold jerseys that read First Responders on the back instead of their names.
There were many DPS troopers, National Guard personnel, and workers from the several other state agencies and volunteer groups who poured into Kerr County to help residents with rescues and the relief effort.
The Kerrville Public School Foundation organized the event that included the community and tributes to Kerrville school bus drivers who jumped into action after the flood.
Antler Stadium was the hub for volunteers in the aftermath of the flood.
KENS5 San Antonio reported how Camp Mystic survivor Skyler Derrington sang her own rendition of Hallelujah.
Tivy won the game that night, defeating Del Rio 41-20.
Another saga in the aftermath of the flooding is occurring between Kerr County youth camps and state legislature leaders.
Texas Tribune is reporting that three of the camps have asked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to reconsider some of the stricter new flood safety requirements contained in two bills before the legislature that were filed as a result of the Guadalupe River flooding that killed 27 Camp Mystic campers.
Two camp safety bills, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2, would withhold state licensing if cabins are located in a floodplain.
Both bills were passed in the respective home chambers.
The Tribune obtained an Aug. 28 letter to Patrick from the camp owners citing the cost of rebuilding cabins and asking Patrick to work with them on a solution through the Texas Water Development Board “for the 100-year floodplain prohibition.”
The camp owners, the Tribune said, are seeking “meaningful financial support.”
One of the bill’s authors, State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said there would be no state assistance for camps to comply with the pending legislation if it passes.
“No, camps are private enterprises,” Perry told the Tribune.
More will come from this development.