Lifestyle

   Tidehaven will host Van Vleck in a rivalry clash Friday night between intra-county teams vying for playoff berths in a highly competitive District 14-3A-2 race this season.
   Van Vleck (2-2, 0-1) is coming off a bye week, while Tidehaven (2-4, 1-1) had 176 yards rushing and 155 yards passing against the district-leading and state-ranked East Bernard Brahmas in a 34-24 battle there last Friday. 
   The Brahmas (6-0) piled up 304 yards rushing in that game and 38 yards passing.
   Tiger quarterback Blake Garcia was 9-15 for 155 yards – the longest was 36 yards - with a TD and an interception.
   Garcia’s targets included Mason Perales with five catches for 72 yards – longest 25 yards – and a TD.
   Kaden Henry had three receptions for 47 yards and Austin Smith had a 36-yard catch.
   Garcia led Tidehaven rushers with 17 carries for 85 yards and a TD, while Jose Martinez had 19 carries for 70 yards and a TD.

   Approaching the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) about funding Nile Valley Road rework with one voice was discussed by the Matagorda Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) board members last week.
   “TxDOT wants to hear from all of the entities, so everyone pulls together” on getting Nile Valley Road fixed and reopened, said Mitch Thames, Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture president.
   “TxDOT wants to help everyone,” said MCEDC Executive Director Mike Ferdinand, but the state agency has to prioritize projects.
   Nile Valley Road emerged as a topic at MCEDC’s regular meeting last Friday, Sept. 27, as the board discussed long-range projects.
      Improvement on Texas 37/7th Street through Bay City was another such topic, including timing of street lights to permit better traffic flow.
   “I think we can improve the flow by as much as 40%,” Thames said of the 7th Street traffic lights “from city limits to city limits.”

   Two juveniles were detained for criminal trespass and evading after Bay City police observed one of them looking into cars and the other standing watch a little after 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6, police reports show.
   Sgt. Antoine Linsey was on patrol in the 2200 block of 6th Street, where he saw a slender-built male subject looking into the windows of vehicles in the parking lot of 2200 Avenue L. 
   While the slender subject was looking into the vehicles, a second male appeared to be keeping watch. 
   Linsey turned his patrol vehicle around to contact the subjects.
   Both began to run though the apartment complex at the intersection of 6th Street and Avenue L.
   Linsey got to the other side of the complex and cut off the subjects. 
   Both subjects were detained and identified as runaway juveniles. 
   Officers then checked the area and found several vehicles with open doors, but nothing had been taken. 

Official Rice Festival festivities open Thursday, Oct. 3 from 4-11 p.m. at the Matagorda County Fairgrounds.
Gate entry is $5 per person, with free admission for children under six.
This kickoff includes carnival rides and midway by Reed Exposition Midways with unlimited rides for $20 an armband and vendor booths.
This year also features a Colorado River display and a kids’ celebration game show with robo cars.
Friday, Oct. 4, is similar with the festival being open late from 4 p.m. until midnight with $20 armbands for unlimited rides.
The highly anticipated Rice Festival Parade starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, downtown around the square.
The festival is open from 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. with armbands going up to $25 each.

   City Councilman Bill Cornman discussed launching an effort to establish cost estimates for several major city improvements during a regularly scheduled city council meeting Sept. 26.
   “The idea here is to use the $225,000 in the budget to do scope engineering and conceptual engineering work,” he explained.
   “We need to look at a budget for several capital improvements like a new police and volunteer fire department facility, Nile Valley road, street and drainage improvements. Then, we can take those numbers to the polls and have citizens vote on them if we want to pursue a bond initiative.”
   Cornman added that council made effort roughly three years ago for Nile Valley that put the cost between $3-4 million for repairing the road.
   “We need a better cost estimate on all of these projects so we can bundle them together based on our needs and start getting some work done,” said Cornman.

   Twenty-five local high school seniors lined the Bay City High School Theatre stage Sept. 28 to find out who would be crowned as the 2019-2020 Rice Festival Queen.
   Baylee Wallace was officially crowned Rice Festival Queen.
   Wallace is joined by her court: first runner-up Alex Jones; second runner-up Gabrielle Montoya; third runner-up Melody Yates; and fourth runner-up Jazmine Harris.
   Naudia Villa received the award for “Best Evening Gown” as voted on by the judges.
   Mallory Grimes won “Miss Congeniality” with the most votes from her fellow contestants.
   The “Most Photogenic” award went to Olivia Schulz.

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   A lawsuit over the construction of the Schulman Movie Bowl Grille (SMBG) settled Monday with the signing of a Settlement Agreement among Gallant Construction Company, Bay City Community Development Corporation (BCCDC), and SMBG. 
   That action was taken after the settlement was discussed in BCCDC’s executive session as part of the regular board meeting Monday, Sept. 30.
   The settlement agreement, which is not an admission of liability by any party, provides for Gallant Construction to pay $250,000 to SMBG. 

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   A reinvestment zone was unanimously approved for Lodestar – a first step in the tax abatement process - by commissioners court in its regular meeting Monday, Sept. 30.
   Lodestar proposes a $32 million South Texas Rail Terminal on 227 acres near El Maton that will transfer Gulf Coast oil and gas products from pipelines to rail cars and from the cars to the pipelines.
   Lodestar seeks an abatement of five years – 85 percent in the first two years, and 75%, 50%, and 25%, respectively over the last three years.
   Part of doing business in Matagorda County is paying taxes and to have “money coming in the county,” Palacios resident Bonnie Benson said at the court’s public hearing on the Lodestar reinvestment zone.
   “This isn’t right,” Benson said, opposing the abatement. “This doesn’t make sense.”