Home rule has now been twice rejected by the residents of this city. Excuses, blame and inferring the voters are stupid isn’t going to change the fact that Bulverde residents do not want home rule at this time.

For the mayor and supporting council members to now want to unincorporate this city because home rule didn’t pass is incredibly selfish. Why is annexation more important than the residents of this city?

Home rule, if done right, is a good thing for the city. Lessons should have been learned the first time around in that, instead of alienating residents of the extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ), work with them. People in the ETJ are part of our community and are our friends, co-workers and neighbors.

But it would seem that the mayor would rather cause more problems by seeking to “turn over all jurisdiction of the ETJ to the ounty.”

While we’re alienating the people in the ETJ, why not do the same for our neighboring cities and our own residents. Mayor Jeffrey and the City Council now want to unincorporate the city.

Years ago, many people worked very hard to incorporate this city and establish the “Boerne wall” so that San Antonio would not annex and take over Bulverde and neighboring cities. Now, because the mayor and council lost the game, they want to take the ball and go home.

Why bother unincorporating? Why not just have an election for San Antonio to annex Bulverde and be done with it. I’m sure we will all appreciate paying San Antonio city taxes and will receive the same standard of service as we do now.

San Antonio won’t stop with Bulverde, watch out Spring Branch, Sattler and Startzville. San Antonio will appreciate the $1 million-plus in city savings accounts, our police cars and City Hall too.

Let’s not leave out alienating the employees of this city. It’s not very nice, nor professional, to find out through the newspaper that they will be out of a job.

I’m sorry that Bulverde can’t become the monolithic city that apparently this mayor, council and their mentors want. If the mayor and council are not happy with this city then I suggest they step down and allow people who care to move into their positions.

This city is far from dead and can survive very nicely being a general law city. Hollywood Park is a general law city and has survived a long time without annexation. Perhaps we should tell the 10 percent of general law cities that their cities are not normal and they just can’t survive.

Last of all, I still care about this city very much because I live here. Let me state emphatically and enthusiastically that I have no intentions of ever holding political office again. I have my life back and I am enjoying it to the fullest.

Will the people of this city sit still and allow the mayor and council to destroy our city? Or, will people take a stand and let our elected officials know that our city will continue and to step down if they don’t believe in our city.

Sarah Stevick

Former Bulverde mayor

The Bulverde Farmers Market, located at 20845 Texas Hwy. 46, is open from 3 to 6 p.m. year round. For more information, call Tiffany Bush at (830) 534-7908.

Bulverde Lions Club

The Bulverde Lions Club meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays at the Bulverde Community Center. For more information, call Joel Selko at (830) 438-5711.

Bulverde/Spring Branch Library

The library will sponsor a free workshop on how to control the growing numbers of feral cats by using the method of trap, neuter and return (TNR). The workshop will be held Saturday from noon until 2 p.m. at the library, located at 131 Bulverde Crossing across from Home Depot. For more information, call (210) 378-9036, or visit www.animalrescueconnections.org.

Bulverde Optimist Club

The Bulverde Optimist Club meets the first and third Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. for a social and 7 p.m. for dinner at 1360 Bulverde Road next to STAGE. For information, call Jeanetta Davis at (830) 980-2419.

Bulverde United Methodist Church

The church will sponsor Breakfast With Santa on Dec. 13 from 8 to 11 a.m. Adults are $4 and children are $3. Breakfast will include pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee and milk. Also included will be Santa’s bookstore, a children’s performance and a silent auction.

Bulverde/Spring Branch Area Chamber of Commerce

The Bulverde chamber meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at the at the chamber offices located at 30450 Cougar Bend. For more information, call (830) 438-4285, or visit www.bulverdechamber. com.

Canyon Lake Rotary Club

The Canyon Lake Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Anchors Landing in Startzville. For Information, call (830) 964-4744.

Democrats of Comal County

The Democrats of Comal County meet from 7 to 9 p.m. on first Tuesday of each month at the GVTC auditorium, FM 3159 in Smithson Valley. Contact Robbi Boone at president@ democratsofcomalcounty.com, or call (210) 240-6565.

ExxonMobil Retirees Club

The club will meet on Dec. 4 at T-M, Texas Highway 46 in New Braun-fels.The social hour will be from 11 to 12 noon, followed by lunch. There will be a fee for lunch. All ExxonMobil retirees are invited to attend. For more information, call June at (830) 885-7699.

Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country

The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at Tye Preston Memorial Library in Canyon Lake. 

Mothers of Preschoolers

MOPS will host a rummage sale from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday at Bulverde United Methodist Church, located at 28300 U.S. Highway 281. Items for sale will include toys, household items, clothing, shoes, car seat and more. MOPS is an international, faith-based organization that supports and connects women with children in the years of infancy to kindergarten. For more information, call Lori Cole at 210-317-6035.

Peer Assistance and Leadership

The Peer Assistance and Leadership (PALs) at Smithson Valley High School will hold a garage sale for Communities In School on Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bill Brown Elementary School in Spring Branch, across from H-E-B. CIS is the nation’s leading community-based organization helping kids succeed in school and prepare for life. For more information, contact Kristy Dowd at (210) 260-1706, or Sam Callier at (210) 413-6458.

Texas Master Naturalists, Lindheimer Chapter

The chapter will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the AgriLife Extension Service, located at 325 Resource Drive in New Braunfels. John Siemssen will discuss his recent trip to the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. For more information, call (830) 620-3440.

Jan Bettersworth (left), Comal ISD’s instructional specialist for science, and Hoffmann Lane Elementary fourth-grade teacher Kelly Carter display some of the new teaching materials that will be used after the Comal Education Foundation awarded Comal ISD a $21,500 district-wide grant focused on elementary science curriculum. Courtesy photo

Special to the Bulverde News

The Comal Education Foundation recently awarded Comal Independent School District a $21,500 district-wide grant focused on elementary science curriculum.

The grant will allow all 12 CISD elementary school campuses to have additional science materials.

The initiative will help students learn problem solving and thinking strategies related to science as well as to all aspects of their education.

Also, the initiative includes science vocabulary curriculum, science programs, experiments and interactive lessons, and a video series that provides visual content to support the science curriculum.

Additionally, teachers will have CDs that allow them to create tests, quizzes, vocabulary crosswords and games in both English and Spanish.

Teachers are receiving the materials throughout the fall and will start using them with their students.

This is the Comal Education Foundation’s second district-wide initiative. In 2006, the CEF provided Quizdom Learning Systems to all fifth and eighth-grade campuses.