July 14, 3:56 p.m., 5000 block of Broadway: Officers responded to a report of a fight between two women in a parking lot. The women were coming back from an appointment and got into an argument in the car and the passenger took the driver’s car keys and wouldn’t let her leave. The altercation turned physical as the ladies took the fight into the parking lot, where at one point the driver bit her passenger. Neither woman wanted to press charges.

July 14, 11:36 p.m. 5000 block of Broadway: After stopping a car for a defective headlight, the officer saw the passenger in the car acting in a very nervous manner like he was going to flee. After calling for a cover officer and having both people exit the vehicle, the first officer saw a pill in plain sight that was identified as Xanax. After further searching, more Xanax were found, both in the car and in the driver’s wallet. The passenger was released and the driver arrested for possession of a controlled substance. While being processed at the Alamo Height Police Department, it was found the driver had two outstanding warrants. He was transported to the San Antonio City Magistrate’s Office on the warrants and possession charge.

July 16, 12:31 a.m., 5800 block of Broadway: An officer stopped a pedestrian dressed in dark clothing in an area where there has been increased criminal activity. As the officer exited his vehicle and approached the man, the officer noticed he was quickly putting his hands in his pockets. When told to put his hands where the officer could see them, the officer noticed a bulge on the suspect’s left hip. The officer patted the man down and found a device that looked like a marijuana grinder. The man said it was a pill crusher and admitted there was a Xanax pill inside it. The man was arrested for possession of narcotics paraphernalia and for possession of a controlled substance.

July 17, 11:46 p.m., 400 block of Austin Highway: Stopping a car that was doing 50 mph in a 35-mph zone, the officer could smell alcohol in the car and coming from the driver. The officer also saw a 16-ounce can of beer emptying onto the back floorboard. The driver was ordered from the car for a field sobriety test, and told the officer he had a heart condition, but couldn’t explain what it was. The driver failed all the tests, and kept repeating that he had a heart condition. When he was arrested, the driver started to yell and scream again and began acting like he was having heart problems. EMS was called and gave the driver a clean bill of health. The driver, still complaining about his condition, had to be carried and placed in the officer’s car. After several more episodes, the driver’s car was impounded and the driver taken to the San Antonio City Magistrate’s Office.

July 17, 11:54 p.m., 400 block of Austin Highway: An officer observed three men in a pickup truck almost hit his vehicle as they were traveling in the 5400 block of Broadway and then speed away. Activating his emergency lights and taking off after the vehicle, the officer clocked it on radar as going 60 mph in a 30-mph zone, and observed it run a red light. After calling for backup, the officer finally got the vehicle to stop, and the driver immediately jumped out and began to approach the officers. He was ordered to the ground, handcuffed and placed in the back of one of the police cars. The first passenger was removed from the car and told to sit on the tailgate, but kept interfering with the officer’s attempts to interview the other passenger. The first passenger was arrested for public intoxication, but refused to put his hands behind him and assumed a fighting stance. The officer used his taser. The two passengers were charged with public intoxication and the driver was charged with speeding and running a red light.

July 18, 12:35 p.m., 4800 block of Broadway: Two officers were dispatched to the Central Market for a theft in progress call. A store manager said another employee had seen a man steal a chrome table from the rear loading doc, put it in his car and drive off. The vehicle then stopped further down the street to secure the stolen table in his vehicle. The license plate of the car was able to be taken down, and a possible suspect was identified.

July 19, 12:51 a.m., 200 block of Albany Avenue: Stopping a car that had been doing 40 mph in a 30-mph zone and had gone through two stop signs, the officer could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the driver. The driver said he had been smoking pot earlier with his girlfriend. With probable cause to search the car, the officer found a bag of pot and arrested and handcuffed the driver. The car was impounded and the driver charged with possession, speeding and running two stop signs.

By Tony Cantú
Contributing Writer

A preservation-minded Alamo Heights resident – first gaining prominence for efforts to conserve the cottage district – is on a new mission to save historic cemeteries, gaining positive reaction from the governor’s office in the process.

Sarah Reveley of the 400 block of Corona launched the Conservancy of Alamo Heights in May with a goal of placing the city’s cottage district in the National Registry of Historic Places. By her own admission, the effort was something of a bust with just a handful of residents signing up for membership in the fledgling group.

But Reveley’s latest venture calling for upkeep of some of the state’s most historic cemeteries – particularly one near the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park where both an early San Antonio mayor and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence are buried – has gotten decidedly more attention.

No less an official source than the office of Gov. Rick Perry is now among early supporters of her effort, as evidenced by recent correspondence with Reveley.

“I was horrified at the condition of the cemetery,” Reveley said. “There were lots of overturned gravestones, and I could see tombstones overrun with bushes. I was stunned.”

The site is the final resting-place of John William Smith, who served as mayor of San Antonio one year after the Republic of Texas was born. Buried nearby to Smith is Asa Brigham, a representative from Brazoria to the Convention of 1836 who was among those signing the state’s declaration of independence from Mexico who later served as mayor of Austin.

“These men are true Texas heroes and deserve more respect,” Reveley said. That assessment is shared by others: “Governor Perry agrees that the graves of our Texas heroes must be carefully maintained, both as a mark of our respect for these individuals to whom we owe so much and as a means of preserving our history,” wrote Dede Keith of the Constituent Communication Division of the governor’s office in a July 31 letter. She said she had referred the matter to the Texas Historical Commission’s cemetery preservation coordinator for further study.

Others writing to Reveley supporting her cause include U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith and Bob Brinkham, coordinator of the Historical Markers Program in the History Programs division of the Texas Historical Commission.

But Reveley said she was particularly gratified to hear from a fellow resident – and a member of one of San Antonio’s most prominent families – who happens to be a Smith descendant. Alamo Heights resident Ann Tobin said she learned from Reveley that Smith is buried at the Washington cemetery.

“John W. Smith is my great-great-great grandfather,” Tobin said. A Missourian, Smith married Maria Curbello, daughter of a Canary Island family, and was grandfather of John W. Tobin, who also is a past San Antonio mayor. Tobin added one of Smith’s offspring – her great-great grandmother Josephine, married William Gerard Tobin, later a captain in the Civil War and a major in the Texas Rangers.

Like Reveley, Tobin said she was disappointed at the condition of the cemetery where her illustrious ancestor is buried. “I was horrified, because he did so much for the community.” She has since learned Smith is buried at the cemetery because of its proximity to the Texas Congress he was attending before taking ill.

“It’s a geographical fluke that he is buried there,” she said. As for preserving his final resting-place: “I’m all for it, and will help in any way I can,” she said.

Reveley is no stranger to calling attention to neglecting final resting sites. She has previously spearheaded efforts to revamp the Alamo Masonic Cemetery on Commerce Street – where she said members of the Frost and Menger families are buried along with Clara Driscoll, considered the savior of the Alamo for having put up the money to prevent the iconic site from falling into the hands of hotel developers.

Reveley also successfully lobbied for cleanup efforts at the New Braunfels cemetery, where her own great-grandfather is buried.

Reveley said she is going to push for a change in current laws related to cemeteries that would put the Texas State Parks & Wildlife Department in charge of cemetery upkeep and the Texas Department of Transportation charged with maintenance of markers along highways instead of Texas Historical Commission oversight.

But so far, that part of her plan has been met with some resistance, she conceded.

“I don’t think the Historical Commission has the wherewithal to handle that stuff, and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission should keep cemeteries clean,” Reveley said. “But both of them gave me the Texas two-step, which really made me mad.”

By Courtney Burkholder 

Last week, I noticed my kids’ eyes were really red and bloodshot.

Great, I thought. Pink eye or some other viral eye infection we caught from … where? I couldn’t think of anyplace we had been recently where the kids would have come in contact with other children and contracted an infection.

But I went straight to the medicine cabinet and dug out some old eye drops (not recommended!) and began treating the “infection.” For the next five days, I doctored their eyes, which continued to be intermittently bloodshot.

Moms, you may be thinking, chlorine from the pool is the problem! But the kids hadn’t been swimming. Then it must be sunburn, you say. But they really hadn’t been outside that much. With the exception of their daily reading which I strictly enforce and running a few errands with me, the boys had spent the majority of the past week playing video games in the playroom.

That’s when it hit me. Eye strain … from spending too many hours in front of the television.

Now, I’m no doctor, and please don’t bring your child by my house and ask me to check their eyes for a bad case of video-eye-strain, but we moms know a thing or two about our children. And at that moment, I just knew my kids were spending way too much time playing video games.

For the most part, we’re an active family. We enjoy fishing, hiking, riding bikes, and many sports throughout the school year. I don’t promote a lot of TV time and video games, and it isn’t usually an issue as our busy schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of TV, but this time of year, when summer activities are on the wane, the heat is high, and friends seem to be dispersed to various camps across Texas, we revert to the old standby: TV and video games.

I was also noticing a lot of excessive bickering, tattling, and rough-housing. Wild screaming and running around the house, chasing the dogs, shooting Nerf guns in the living room, and generally getting into loads of trouble. There was wildness in those bloodshot eyes.

What is going on? I thought. I tried to shoo them outside, but they weren’t interested in riding bikes or shooting baskets in 102 degrees. And I couldn’t blame them. But I knew they were in desperate need of some great outdoors.

So last Sunday, we headed for the lease with the kids, dogs, a picnic lunch, BB guns, sunscreen, lots of water and fishing poles. It was hot, I admit, but a great day nonetheless. We found a shady spot and the boys chased the dogs, climbed trees, hiked, fished, got dirty and sweaty, and generally had a fine time.

That evening, when we returned home, we noticed a significant difference in their demeanor. They were more talkative and animated at dinner. There were fewer complaints and no tattling.

Manners had improved significantly and lastly … no video eye strain!

Kids need the outdoors. They need fresh air and exercise. During the hottest days of summer, it’s often difficult to find that outdoor time if a swimming pool isn’t readily available.

There are many public parks with lots of shade trees for picnicking and running around. Finding time in the early mornings or late evenings to walk the dog or take a bike ride is another good alternative. Make sure they are getting plenty of time to let those little bodies go.

And try to limit video game and TV time to an hour or two per day. Eyes are a terrible thing to waste!