News

   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.

   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.

   Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach Program (MEHOP) will begin the new year welcoming Tho Nguyen, MSN, APRN, FNP-C as the newest addition to their Family Medical Practice in Bay City.  
   Tho will begin seeing patients Jan. 4. 
   Prior to receiving her Masters of Science degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing, Tho was a registered nurse (RN) with Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy.  
   “When I first read about MEHOP, I was excited about how they help serve the community,” said Tho.  
   “I highly value the aspect of serving all populations with and without insurance as I believe everyone has a right to proper and compassionate health care.”  
   MEHOP is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that serves patients regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.  

   Less than a week into the new year, the rate of COVID-19 infections and the number of people hospitalized in Texas for COVID-19 are at record levels, while the 7-day average for new cases and deaths are spiking — but only about a third of the vaccine doses allocated for Texans have been given out, according to state numbers. 
   As Texas health care providers predict that the state’s COVID-19 numbers will get even worse, questions continue to swirl about the state’s vaccine distribution for the 1.9 million Texans who were eligible for the first phase and the millions more who fall into the second tier of eligibility. 
   The seven-day average positivity rate for confirmed coronavirus tests has exceeded 20%, doubling levels that Gov. Greg Abbott called a “red flag” early in the pandemic. And the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday stood at 15,976, up 1,610 from a week ago and exceeding the previous highs reported last summer. 

   Commissioners’ court unanimously approved $10,000 Coronavirus relief memorandums for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palacios and Bay City during its meeting, Monday, Dec. 28.
    “These funds will provide relief due to COVID to both Boys and Girls Clubs in our county,” said County Auditor Kristen Kubecka.
   “This is the same amount that the court approved for all five of our school districts for $10,000. It covers anything from personal protection to cleaning supplies and other similar costs.”
   “I think it’s a great thing to approve and do for our youth,” said County Judge Nate McDonald.
   “They do so much for our children by providing them recreation, snacks, tutoring and more.”
   Kubecka added that the clubs did accommodate essential workers since the beginning of the pandemic.

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