Lindsay Gabriel, visual arts coordinator at the Cultural Activities Center, hangs artwork by Carol Fox Henrichs in the Carabassi Gallery at the CAC in preparation for Friday’s exhibit openings. The event begins at 5 p.m. and featured artists will speak at 6. In addition to Henrichs, the work of other artists will be featured in the CAC’s four art galleries, including Lindsey Browning, Gaylon Stagner, Amy Nelson, Mary Ann Nailos and Sherri Lipman McCauley. David Stone photo
The Temple High School BBQ Pitmasters Club — Anthony Rangel, William Hardin, Erandy Perez, Jordan Magana and Reece Medrano — will compete in the National Cookoff next week in Hutto. Courtesy photo
Erandy Perez, a member of the THS BBQ Pitmasters Club, adds the final touches to a dutch oven dessert during a recent competition. Courtesy photo
Smoked to Perfection
Temple HS barbecue team ready for Nationals
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
It’s a well-established fact that Temple High students are quite adept at playing football, basketball, soccer and many other sports, and they also are skilled in music and on the stage. Now it’s time to add a fresh new accolade to the school’s list of successes. It turns out, Wildcats can also barbecue.
In their first year of existence, the Temple High BBQ Pitmasters Club advanced to state and will compete on the national level June 18-20 in Hutto.
In their very first cookoff, the Wildcats smoked the competition en route to Reserve Champion honors in San Antonio, a qualifying event for the state championship.
At the State Cookoff, held last month in Burnet, the team finished 16th overall and took ninth place in the pork chop division to qualify for nationals.
“The team is very excited to make it this far in their first year,” said Joe Medrano, who advises the group along with his wife, Allison. “We will check in and get set up on Sunday, then the cooking begins the next day. The awards ceremony will be Monday at Kalahari Resorts in Round Rock.”
At the National Cookoff, teams will be judged in six categories, and each of the five members of the THS team will have a specific role during the competition.
Reece Medrano is in charge of the ribs; Anthony Rangel is responsible for the chicken; William Hardin handles pork chops; Jordan Magana is in charge of the skirt-steak street tacos; and Erandy Perez takes the lead on the Dutch oven dessert. The entire team will have a hand in preparing and presenting a pulled-pork shoulder entry.
“The kids caught on very quickly, and I could tell I had some cookers because of how attentive they are and how much it means to them,” Joe Medrano said.
“I can’t say enough about them because they are such a great group of kids,” Medrano said. “I expect great things from them because they’ve picked it up so quickly when I have introduced them to so much. They just kind of took that and ran with it. Now they are hooked.”
The idea for starting a BBQ team at Temple HS originated in the Career & Technical Education department with culinary arts teacher Margaret Fyffe taking the lead as staff sponsor. Fyffe approached Medrano, who has competed in BBQ cookoffs across the state with his son, Reece, about coaching the team.
Joe and Reece Medrano have competed in two World Championships.
Joe Medrano accepted Fyffe’s offer and initially met with a group of 25 prospective team members. Once he explained the time commitment and what the expectations would be, the group dwindled to seven, and eventually ended with the current five-person team.
The team has practiced on Sundays and typically follows the same schedule used in competition. That means practices can last as long as eight hours, and with team members also involved in athletics, orchestra and jobs, it does take a major commitment. But the team members say they wouldn’t have it any other way, especially since they get to eat their homework after every practice.
“They have become like another family for me, because we have all gotten to know each other and really enjoy practicing together and being around each other,” said team member Jordan Magana, a junior at THS.
Rangel said it was a little intimidating at the first meet when they were going against teams that had been cooking together for a couple years.
“But then we settled in and the competition was really fun because we all had our roles and had to be really attentive to those,” he said.
Some of the students, like Reece Medrano, who was winning awards at cookoffs as early as age 8, came in with some cooking and barbecuing skills, but they all credit their coaches for helping them improve. And with the work ethic the students have, staff sponsor Fyffe is not surprised how quickly the ingredients came together.
“They gave up all of their Sundays and some of these kids work, or play sports, or are in the orchestra,” she said. “They would practice from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then go to work, or some might have to leave early for work, so I am really proud of their effort. But these kids all are really hard workers in the classroom, so I’m not surprised by their success.”
Nationals will end the competition season for the team, at least for this year, but there is hope that the skills these students are learning will stick with them long after the season ends.
“This is something I can keep doing,” Hardin said. “It may not lead into a career, but it is certainly something that I want to keep doing and can do for the rest of my life.”
Joe Medrano said he is proud to be working with his Temple High team.
“I want to leave a footprint and make an impact on the lives of these students,” Joe Medrano said. “I was born and raised in Temple, graduated from Temple High School and I bleed blue.”
“This is something that they can take with them, and it is going to benefit them for the rest of their lives. I am so glad to be a part of that because I am all about the youth and all about Temple.”
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Belton City Manager Sam Listi (left) and Director of Communications Paul Romer accept an award last week at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers conference in Arlington. Courtesy photo
Belton earns 2 communications honors at statewide conference
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
BELTON — A dramatic video showing local cowboys attempting to rope a bison wandering the streets of Belton was part of an entry that earned an Award of Excellence at last week’s Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers conference in Arlington.
That award — which recognizes the efforts of small communications departments from around the state — was one of two honors captured by the city of Belton at the annual conference.
Belton earned a first-place TAMI award for Best Social Media Post from a city with fewer than 100,000 residents. The Facebook post in August 2022 showed Belton Police Department resource officers taking an oath “to defend the lives of the innocent … even if it requires me to act alone.”
According to Paul Romer, Belton’s director of communications, the oath post was meaningful because it followed a tragic student death at Belton High School, followed a week later by the school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 students and two educators dead.
“One of the ways Facebook measures engagement is through reach,” Romer said. “The police oath post alone was responsible for more than 23 percent of the reach on the city of Belton page for the entire year. But the real impact of the post goes beyond numbers. Those who took the time to read the comments know that the gesture by Belton PD had deep meaning for many people. We’re grateful that the judges for the competition recognized that.”
The Award of Excellence entry included the bison video, plus posts on the Police Department oath, the Imagine Belton plan and the Strategic Communications Plan.
“The recognition for best small shop shows that one or two people can make a significant impact when they receive support and have great stories to tell,” Romer added. “We are so grateful to be recognized in this way.”
“About 3 percent of eligible blood donors in America donate blood. That’s not enough — if we had one more percent giving blood, we would never have a shortage.”
— Dr. Chris Gonzalez, medical director of BSW Blood Center
Blood donations are down, need is up during summer months
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
As Central Texas heats up, so does the need for blood. Historically, blood donations slow during summer months — people are on vacation and blood drives at schools are on hold — but the demand often increases, especially at a Level 1 trauma center such as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple.
Unfortunately, the need for blood doesn’t take a summer break. Every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood products because of physical trauma, complex surgeries or treatments for cancer. And, blood products have short shelf lives, so donations are continually needed to meet trauma center needs.
Each month, approximately 1,100 units of blood are needed to support local patients in the Baylor Scott & White Health system.
“Being a Level 1 trauma center, we are meeting our need for blood, but it’s very close,” said Dr. Chris Gonzalez, medical director of BSW Blood Center, located inside the Temple medical complex on South 31st Street.
“We are a little short here in Temple — there’s always the need for donations,” he said. “We don’t always meet our needs without getting blood from the Red Cross. If we could supply all the blood we need locally, that Red Cross blood could be used elsewhere.”
Gonzalez said there is a definite upswing in the need for blood during June, July and August.
“It’s summertime, and schools are out,” he said. “People are out and about doing fun activities, and unfortunately, that means accidents are up as well. People are busy, and blood donations aren’t a high priority. In other words, The need goes up and the supplies go down because blood drives at local schools are suspended because it’s summer.”
Gonzales said an increase in elected surgeries during the summer add to the increased usage of blood and blood products.
“Because BSW Temple is a Level 1 trauma center, we go through more blood than a typical hospital,” he said. “A lot of trauma cases from other areas are diverted to Temple because we have such a tremendous program. McLane Children’s Medical Center also takes a lot of trauma cases.”
While many organized blood drives are on hold during summer months, Gonzalez urges local residents to swing by the BSW Medical Center to donate.
“About 3 percent of eligible blood donors in America donate blood,” he said. “That’s not enough — if we had one more percent giving blood, we would never have a shortage.”
“If there are high school kids sitting around bored this summer, I urge them to come out and make a difference,” Gonzalez said. “Just drop by — we will take you. And, if you are interested in health care as a profession, we will be glad to give you a little tour of the Blood Center.”
Those who donate often receive a gift of thanks such as a t-shirt or a snack, but Gonzalez said the real reward is knowing you helped save lives.
“It’s gratifying to know that you gave a product other people need,” he said.
According to Gonzalez, the Blood Center in Temple can make three or four products from whole blood.
“We don’t just use the red blood cells,” he said. “We also use plasma, and we have the ability to collect platelets.”
While there is a need for more blood and most people want to help others, there are some concerns that keep them from giving.
“Some people are phobic about needles, and some are afraid the might get some sort of infectious disease,” Gonzalez said. “It’s really not a painful process, and we sterilize all of our equipment constantly. There’s no chance of contracting an infectious disease. Some people say they are just too busy, but the entire process takes an hour or less.”
“A unit of blood is a great thing to give, and you don’t have to be rich or famous. Blood is blood.”