Lifestyle

   Because of the increase in COVID cases in our area, the Camofest Committee has made the difficult decision to postpone the event until a later date yet to be determined. 
   While we are still as dedicated as ever to supporting our historic downtown, the safety of our volunteers, vendors and attendees come first. 
   Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. 
   We are looking forward to hosting you in the future, once the global health pandemic passes. 
   Thank you for understanding during these difficult times. We’d like to thank each and every one of you for supporting Camofest through it all. 

   Here are the Powerlifting results from the Bay City meet on January 9th, 2021.
  Girls:
  Team-5th out of 8.
  Lizbeth Amezquita- 1st in 165, 265 Squat, 165 Bench, 255 DL, 685 Total
Ashlynn Flores- 2nd in 165, 230 squat, 135 Bench, 260 DL, 625 Total
Jessica Frasier-4th in 198, 180 Squat, 85 Bench, 190 DL, 455 Total
Alexis Alvarez- 5th in 123, 140 Squat, 65 Bench, 155 DL, 360 Total
Boys:
Team- 5th out of 7
Blake Frausto- 1st in 308, 300 Total. 165 Bench, 350 DL, 815 Total
Isaac Allen- 2nd in 275, 410 Squat, 265 Bench, 385 DL, 1060 Total
Kadin Nunez- 3rd in 165, 275 Squat, 165 Bench, 325 DL, 765 Total
Marco Mata-3rd in 275, 315 Squat, 170 Bench, 285 DL, 770 Total   

   The Bay City High School boys and girls swim teams hosted a dual meet with Katy’s St. John XXIII Saturday, Jan. 9.
   All swimming distances are in yards.
Girls’ team score: SJXIII 86–BC 51
   Bay City’s lone double winner was Glory Vargas (12) in the 200 & 100 freestyles.  
   Suhana Khondker (09) took the top spot in the 100 backstroke and Lucie Frick (09) added a win in the 200 individual medley.  
   Megan Moya (09) added second places in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.
   Frick, Vargas, Moya, and Khondker lapped the competition while winning the 400 freestyle relay.
   Boys’ team score:  BC 77 – SJXXIII 58
   Michael Vargas (10) was a double winner for the boys, taking wins in the 50 & 100 freestyles.  
   Matthew Brooks (11) won the 200 free, Ashton Wallace (10) was first in 1 meter diving, and Chris Peralta (11) swam to a win in the 100 butterfly.

   Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach Program (MEHOP) welcomes Chinyere Ugwuzor, MD to their Pediatric practice in Bay City. 
   Ugwuzor began seeing patients Jan. 4.
   Ugwuzor received her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and is a recent graduate from the Phoenix Children’s Hospital/Maricopa Medical Center Pediatric Residency Program.
   “My passion is in providing comprehensive primary care and support to children and their families,” Ugwuzor said. 
   “While reviewing the opportunities I had after graduation, MEHOP really stood out to me in these categories and I am excited about working with the community.”
   MEHOP is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that serves patients regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. 
   MEHOP accepts private/employer-based insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid and offers fee for service discounts based on household size and income.

   Confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to rise as Matagorda Regional Medical Center (MRMC) officials recently reported the 388 new cases in December 2020 was the second highest month since the pandemic began.
   The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported July was the highest month with 482 new cases.
   Recent confirmed new cases, DSHS data shows, include: Jan. 4 - 23 cases; Jan. 2 – 10; Jan. 1 – 25; Dec. 30 – 14; Dec. 28 – 16; and Dec. 27 – 14.
   Using DSHS data on Tuesday, Jan. 5, the Texas Tribune shows Matagorda County had 197 confirmed cases over the previous 14 days.
   That breaks down to 5.36 cases per 1,000 residents. 
   DSHS reports that Matagorda County has 1,815 confirmed cases; 167 probable cases; 64 fatalities; 197 active cases; and 1,721 recovered (estimated).
   DSHS said there were 20 probable cases in Matagorda County on Jan. 3.

    Commissioners approved authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages on county property for the Matagorda County Trade Days show on Saturday, Jan. 23, at the court’s regular meeting Monday, Jan. 4.
   The agreement requires that the Trade Days manager provide the county attorney with a copy of its temporary Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) permit to be valid.
   Commissioners have approved similar permits for previous September-November event dates.
   “I know this is something they’ve done over the past couple of months since we first approved these requests,” said County Judge Nate McDonald.
   “I just know that this time, they’re not serving alcohol on Sunday.”
   The Trade Days temporary permit outlines San Ducerro Vineyards as the vendor selling their wine beverage.

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County Judge Nate McDonald administered the oath of office to all but one of 12 Matagorda County elected officials at the New Year’s Day swearing in ceremony at the Bay City Civic Center.
   The one exception, McDonald explained, was made so Palacios Mayor Linh Van Chau could swear in his daughter, newly elected County Attorney Jennifer Chau.
   They are the first Vietnamese to hold their respective positions in Matagorda County.
   McDonald noted this was the fourth time as judge to administer the oath during the swearing in ceremony.
   The judge also recognized outgoing Precinct 3 Commissioner James Gibson at the ceremony.
   Former District Judge Craig Estlinbaum also was present New Year’s Day, and McDonald praised Estlinbaum’s “20 years of district service to the county.”

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   Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture Director Mitch Thames told commissioners court that the unemployment rate was up during their meeting Monday, Jan. 4.
   “The unemployment rate has gone back up due to COVID-19,” he explained.
   “Hopefully, we can get vaccines rolled out and get people working again. I know that before the pandemic we had a much lower rate and we’re anticipating that we can get back to that lower level.”
   Thames added that he was working with local businesses to meet their pandemic needs.

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   A Bay City man told police he was robbed Saturday night, Jan. 2, and followed the suspect’s car south of town where he was fired upon, Bay City police reported.
   Officer Blademir Viveros was sent to 4117 Avenue F to speak with the robbery complainant about 9 a.m., about an hour after the incident occurred.
   Viveros met with a man who told him that he went to an ATM to get some money and then he went to O’Reilly’s Auto at about 8 p.m.
   At O’Reilly’s, the man said he was approached by a black male as he got out of his vehicle.
   The robber demanded he give him his money, police were told.
The victim did not see a gun, but feared the suspect may have had one, so he turned over his money.  
   The suspect then got into the passenger side of a white, older model Oldsmobile with Minnesota license plates, reports show.
   The suspect then left, and the victim tried following in his vehicle.

   With some technical issues aside at our local theater, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of “Promising Young Woman” when I caught it last week. 
   Now, I’ve been salivating for this film since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last January. 
   To put things in perspective, the premise for female revenge usually revolves around a woman losing a loved one or family at the hands of some distinct evildoer that’s often male and spending over two hours trying to tell that tale. 
   In fact, most directors spend a lot of the time padding the female lead’s backstory and motivation than the actual act of revenge. 
   Think ‘Peppermint” (2018), the “Kill Bill” movies (2003, 2004) and “The Brave One” (2007) for most of the female-centric revenge films we’ve seen. 
   Honorable mentions go to “Hard Candy” (2005), “Carrie” (1976) and “Jennifer’s Body” (2009) for the teenaged hormone-fueled versions.