Bauner Inc. is a manufacturing company from the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Joining a delegation from Kazakhstan and Washington, was Edna City Manager Gary Broz, Victoria Economic Development Corp.

Regional Partnership President Jonas Titus, CEcD, and Operations Director Diane Drussell.

The project will localize production of premium aluminum extrusion profiles and architectural façade systems to better serve the growing U.S. construction market while ensuring full compliance with U.S. standards and regulatory requirements.

“Bauner selected Edna for its strong community character and pro-business environment,” Broz said. “It’s a great-sized business for us, and this was a truly great day for our city.”

According to its website, Bauner was founded five years ago with the ambitious goal of reforming the construction industry through innovations in facade technologies. Over these years, Bauner has evolved into one of the market leaders in the segment of ventilated facade systems, offering products that combine aesthetics, durability, and environmental friendliness.

“The company is owned by a sister and two brothers,” Broz said. “She fell in love with Edna and the facility was purchased. I’ve been told they will not use the silos, but it’s not official, but they will be using the two warehouses.”

The Edna facility will enable Bauner to reduce lead times, improve order fulfillment, and strengthen service capabilities nationwide as part of its long-term North American expansion strategy. By integrating efficient production processes, the company aims to deliver consistent, high-quality products while fostering partnerships with U.S. developers and contractors and contributing to regional economic growth and job creation.

The facility is expected to employ around 10 to 15 workers once it is operational.

“Edna is a great place to invest,” Titas said. “The VEDC Regional Partnership continues to work to promote opportunities to invest in Edna. This is a great partnership and one that we are very proud of.”

Broz said next steps will be getting more communication time with the Bauner leaders.

To learn more about Bauner Inc., visit their website at https://en. bauner.kz/.

The reason why you’re reading about it now is because he hosted the blood drive at the St. Agnes Catholic Church in memory of his father, Adam Garcia.

Mason didn’t want to build anything for his Eagle Scout project, although through FFA he built and entered end tables at the Jackson County Youth Fair. His Scoutmaster, William Reeves, gave him some ideas and a blood drive was in the list.

“At first I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but after a lot of praying and thinking I made up my mind,” Mason said. “So when this came together, I definitely wanted to do this in memory of my dad, so the meaning became a whole lot more to me.”

Delia, Mason’s mother, shared with him that blood drives were done for his father while he was still alive, so he contacted MD Anderson in Houston.

“He spoke after mass at church to invite the congregation to donate blood,” she said. “32 signed up, but we’re expecting walk-ins, too.”

Mason spoke about what he thought his dad would think about what he was doing.

“My dad was so proud of everything I did, so I know he would be with this, too. A time came where I didn’t want to continue in the Boy Scouts, but my mom and I talked about it and she helped me to see that my dad would’ve wanted for me to see this through,” he said. “And I’m glad I did. All the planning and the hard work, I see the payoff, and I’ll know I will feel so much joy and pride when it’s finished.”

Reeves said Mason to be smart, a good kid who pays attention to everything around him.

Mason is also very involved with St. Agnes by helping with fundraisers and volunteering at the Chuckwagon during the fair.

He is the son of Adam Garcia, Delia and Clay Tomanek, and plans to earn his electrician degree at Victoria Community College.

“Although camping and volunteering is the fun stuff, the Boy Scouts has prepared me in a way I didn’t think I needed to be prepared for,” Mason said. “It helped me with a lot of life skills, and the family life that surrounds us in the Boy Scouts is so supportive.”

“It was very nerve-wracking to go up there, I expected others to be up there with me, so it surprised me,” she said.

A Man’s World is a sculpture, painted with acrylics, of a woman’s face and part of her shoulder coming out of the ground, and a number of hands were grabbing her face and shoulder, appearing to pull her back down.

The sophomore said her inspiration came from a combination of looking at how things are and how they used to be.

“It was a work of trial and error,” Brooklyn said. “I think I did the face about three times to get the eyes and the face shape right.”

Both Brooklyn and her art teacher Jessica Woodring agreed it took Brooklyn several months to complete A Man’s World.

“Brooklyn has a phenomenal work ethic, she stays ahead of me,” Woodring said. “I never have to give her assignments, she’s already got two or three going on simultaneously.”

Brooklyn is the daughter of Candice and Scott Rozner. This is her second time attending state, the first being marching band.

This is Woodring’s second year at Industrial as their art teacher, and said going back to state is what her and students are striving for, with Brooklyn as one of the leaders, being that in addition to art, she attends an art lab as a class during the day.

“Brooklyn’s growing into a leader by setting a great example, plus she’s kind and a good listener,” she said. “Other students ask her questions about technique and building, and she helps them with that.”

One person was declared dead at the scene and two others were transported to area hospitals for burn treatment.

One member of the four-man crew was not on site at the time of the incident.

Jackson County Sheriff Rick Boone said that the Railroad Commission and National Transportation Safety Board are also investigating the incident.

While the names of the victims have not been released, Sheriff Boone said the crew was from outside of Jackson County and not local residents.

Ganado’s 2026 prom king and queen are Sergio Corona and Josselyn Sanchez.

This is Sarah Mercer Bradley’s fifth year as Edna’s UIL academic coordinator, and also teaches forensic science and dual credit psychology. She is the coordinator and the glue of the team, not to mention the coaches as well.

“Six years ago we were in eighth place, fifth place, third place, and then we were second place three years in a row,” she explained. “So when the year started the kids felt like it was their year, and they believed they had their name attached to that district title. We increased our points exponentially and had 12 individual district championships and six different teams.”

And their faith honored them: Bradley said they knew it was possible and waited until the end of the ceremony because they wanted to receive the plaque.

Upon winning, everyone wanted to hold it, take pictures with it, and they all intend to sign their names on the back of the plaque.

Preparation for a win like this has been years in the making for Edna, and it starts as early as elementary school.

Brandie Roe, Assistant Superintendent, said they’ve been focused on this win for years.

“We started with them young, in elementary and junior high, and made sure the coaches were invested in it as well,” she said. “Sarah is outstanding at making sure the coaches and teams had what we needed before competitions.”

Bradley nodded. “In years past we’ve had the kids, but they hadn’t bought in yet, and we didn’t have the coaches.

So these kids are going down in history for unseating the top spot in the UIL Academic Meet.”

The students who moved up to Regionals will compete this weekend in New Braunfels, and Bradley said this is the first year they have the highest number of people attending: 24 students. The state competition will be held during the last week of school.

“It goes all the way down to elementary, the numbers were bigger as well,” Bradley said.

“We had 100 elementary students competing this year.”

Another thing the coaches focused on was the alternates, and reminding them not to give up, due to a good number of seniors leaving. Then the teams wouldn’t start from scratch. Something else Bradley focused on was the top 10 in the class: in years past the smartest kids in the class weren’t on teams, so a little nudge in their direction and they felt confident enough to join a team or two.

“Looking to the next year we told the younger ones, ‘you are going to be the leaders next year,’ and we have a great underclassmen group ready to take over,” Bradley said.

“And we’re going to be in a new district next year so we’re trying to be prepared for that and find out where our competition is.”

The students practiced in the morning, after school, had some practice time during the day, and they put in a ton of work at home. Bradley said she even had students come to her for more practice tests.

“Our goal in not to be a one-and-done, so we’re ready to see what the new district will bring,” Bradley said.

Roe said Bradley is a huge piece to the win. “Plus the kids—I can’t say enough about them—and to see their faces when our name was announced was priceless. We are an academic school and we can win an academic meet, we’ve proven that now.”

For 23 years Industrial ISD has held first place, and sat in second place this year with 398 points. Edna finished with 592 points.

Coaches: Mary Williams, Anthony Norman, Sarah Mercer Bradley, Robin Hicks, Kensey Allen, Mark Ruiz, Michael Schrader, Rebecca Stedje, Robin Palacios, April Wittnebert, Elyse Bauerle, Betsy Thompson, Kenneth Osore, Dustin Lampen, Aldric Edwards, Irma Gomez, Shannon Beaird, Matthew Beaird.

UIL Categories: Ready Writing, Number Sense, Prose, Poetry, Copy Editing, Current Events and Issues, Calculator Applications, Informative Speaking, Persuasive Speaking, Accounting, Spelling and Vocabulary, News Writing, Science, Feature Writing, Social Studies, Editorial Writing, Mathematics, Headline Writing, Literary Criticism, Lincoln- Douglas Debate, Computer Science, CX Debate, Barbara Jordan Essay, Theatrical Design, Congressional Debate, One Act Play Cast and Crew.

Brant Peters, Grayson Davis, Ike Brezina, Austin Sommerfeld and Riley Allen represented Edna FFA as they competed in a written exam, stick welding, oxy-propane welding, and blueprint layout.

The team competed in several competitions prior to Area and State to prepare, and to be sure each of them was as practiced and skilled as possible.

Every team member brings their own strengths to the table “We all have our thing that we’re better at,” said Sommerfeld. “One’s better at welding, since he’s been doing it the longest of all of us. One’s more math based, so he might be better at the layout. Me, doing shooting sports, having the steady hand helps me with cutting and that. So I feel like we all have our weakness, but then we have our strength that helps pull us together” State Championships don’t come easy. Even Grayson Davis, who individually claimed first place, had some jitters.

“My hands were shaking, but I had to get through it because it’s state contest,” said Davis.

Ag Mechanica teacher Kurtis Koop said he was incredibly proud of the young men.

“I’m very proud of them,” he said. “Two years of getting second place, missing it by eight points once, but this time they won.”

The boys individually placed as follows: Grayson Davis, first; Brant Peters, third; Ike Brezina, fifth; and Austin Sommerfeld, 12th and Best Cut.

“I saw my hitting instructor Brent Bubela the night before the game,” Benavides said.”So leading up to my at bats, I felt confident and relaxed.” Benavides hit all four home runs off the same pitcher.

When the Maidens won the State Championship last year, Benavides had a great season, tying for the team lead with eight home runs. With her four-homergame on Tuesday, Benavides broke the Ganado softball record for home runs in a game. The game brings her season total to 13, which leads all of 2A, and puts her in a tie for 13th across all classifications.

“It is a cool accomplishment but I know the season is not done yet and that can change,” Benavides said about her home run total. “I’m not going to dwell on that and whatever happens happens.”

And she is only a junior.

As a freshman, Benavides hit four homers before jumping up to eight last year. Now she has 13 with two district games to go before the playoffs.

Last year she also led the team in batting average with a .542 mark and runs batted in with 55. In the Weimar game, she added eight RBI’s bringing her season total to 42.

Softball has always been in Benavides’ life and she hopes to continue playing at the next level.

“I don’t have a dream college, but my dream is to go to a college that will help me meet my goals and help me grow to become the best version of myself,” she explained.

On Tuesday, the Maidens will face Shiner for the district title. Both teams will have one game remaining, but if the Maidens win against Shiner, they win the district but that is only the start of where the Maidens want to get. Facing teams like Shiner and Weimer and difficult teams in tournaments will help the Maidens as they enter the playoffs.

“Playing bigger schools and seeing different pitching will definitely get us prepared for our run in the playoffs,” Benavides concluded.

The softball playoffs begin on April 20.

Senior Austin Parrott and junior Briley Clark were just honored at the Texas Youth Photography Showcase in New Braunfels, and their entries are among 400 others, high school students from 1A to 6A, that have made it to nationals.

Teacher and mentor, Sarah Ardner, said they entered the competition to give it a try: this is the first year they’ve tried out.

“It’s fairly new to Texas, it’s been nationwide, so the New Braunfels Art League started opening it,” Ardner said. “It’s been open state-wide for two years.”

Parrott’s category was Artist’s Choice, and the way his picture came together was quite perfect, in his own words. He was on assignment for a fall bonfire, complete with a parade.

“I was with a friend and his little sister was passing by in the parade,” Parrott explained.

“She gave peace signs and it settled right under the sun perfectly.”

Ardner said Parrott is invested in the ordinary things being beautiful, and most of his photography is about light. He’ll even photograph at night to find the effects of street lights on different objects.

“I like capturing memories and being able to keep the moment in place,” he said. “I like having every little bit of memory I can get from my photos.”

Clark’s photo was entered in the photojournalism category. Her picture is of a Maiden softball player running to first base. Clark was even quick enough to photo the girl floating in the air, and the bat she threw was still standing upright.

“I’ve always grown up with softball because my sister played it in college but I didn’t follow the same path. I started taking pictures of our softball team last year and they always get hyped,” Clark said. “As much as I like taking pictures of myself, I like taking pictures of other people too.”

Snap

The students will find out their standings in the middle of May. Ardner said the competition is called nationals, but there’s international entries from students in South Africa.

“I’m just here to support and facilitate them, they are the ones who take initiative and tell us what they want,” Ardner said. “Austin cleans our cameras for us, they are really self-directed, which will lend itself to whatever path they choose.

“Part of what makes them really good photographers is that they’re really brave, they’re not afraid to put themselves out there,” she continued. “Some kids are intimidated walking around with a camera, but Briley has even gone into the opposing teams dugout to get the right angles. At the state level she wasn’t afraid to get out on the field at the University of Texas.”

Ardner also added that Parrott found a voice through photography: he recently was named student of the month and was accepted at Texas A&M University-Victoria. He plans on majoring in computer science, and he’s also building new worlds in the gaming arena with a friend.

Clark is actively involved in band, 4-H, One Act Play, the yearbook, and a co-captain on the new upcoming Ganado Arrowettes dance team.

Parrott is involved with FFA, welding, art, yearbook, and this is the fourth year he’s competed in VASE art.

“He took five photographs for VASE and medaled in them,” Ardner added. “Most of his pieces are sunsets.”

Austin is the son of Kim Parrott, and Briley is the daughter of Marsha Clark.

“Our community and school are really supportive and happy to have their assignments,” Ardner ended. “They welcome their initiative.”

With the bar bending at the ends, the Indian steadied himself and dropped low enough to make sure the lift would count, and then pushed with his legs until he held the record weight of 585 pounds.

Just making it to the state meet, or any meet for that matter, is something Ybarra wasn’t sure he would ever be able to do.

“On April 2, 2023, my son Noah’s life changed forever,” his mother Karla Ybarra said. “A horrific four-wheeler accident took away the sport he loved and the dreams he’d built around football. Watching him go through a six-month post-concussion syndrome was one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced as a mother. He was told he would never play football again, and at that moment, it felt like his world came crashing down… and all I could do was cry with him.”

A sharp turn on the four-wheeler caused it to flip, and Noah faced a long road back.

“The thought of that changing the course of my life never crossed my mind,” Noah explained. “I went to the ER and soon transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital.”

Noah had severe road rash, a lacerated kidney, a few fractured ribs, his collarbone, and suffered a concussion. Thank- fully, no surgery was needed.

With his football dream no longer an option, Noah looked for another outlet.

“Powerlifting was never my initial sport to do,” Noah explained. “I always hoped I would be able to play football again. I also tried baseball and basketball but those weren’t the right fit for me. What made me decide on powerlifting was my sister, Zoey, she pushed me to give it a try. She was actually pretty good at it, but her main sport was track.”

With Zoey pushing him, Noah talked to Ganado Powerlifting Coach Jason Chambless, who convinced Noah to give powerlifting a try.

“I loved it once I realized my strength was something special,” Noah continued. “I really started to focus on it and make powerlifting my main sport. I never thought such a simple thing like lifting could have come with so much joy and mystery. Powerlifting filled a hole in me I never thought would have been filled.”

“Noah didn’t let that moment define him,” Karla said. “He found a new path, a new purpose, and poured his heart into powerlifting.

The same determination that once fueled him on the football field became even stronger in the weight room.”

Noah no longer faces any major restrictions, but he still makes sure to take care of his body, and he continues to lift safely.

The sophomore found out he is very good at lifting, especially the squat. At the State Powerlifting Meet, Noah set a new record in squat for the 148 weight class.

“I tried to break (the record) on my second attempt because I wanted to lift 600 pounds, but unfortunately faced a few problems and had to make quick changes,” Noah explained.

Noah had already surpassed the state record of 560 at a couple of meets, but for it to go into the official record book, it had to also be done at the State meet.

“I broke this record unofficially four times before I actually did it at State,” he continued.

“This includes in practice, at the Ganado meet and at Regionals.”

When Ybarra finished the squats, he held the new record of 585 pounds.

“Getting third at State motivates me to work even harder,” Noah explained.

Ybarra still has two years to raise the record, and maybe bring home a State championship.

“I made a promise to family, to my friends, and supporters but most importantly to myself, that I will never fall short again. I plan to train year-round and come back stronger next year with the goal of winning state and setting new records.”

“They danced their hearts out and then cried their hearts out as they said goodbye to seven amazing seniors,” the Edna HS Silver Spurs Dance Team Facebook page stated.

The Silver Spurs officers earned three awards, first place for their pom dance, first place for their modern dance, and fourth place with their jazz dance. Additionally, the team placed second with their jazz dance, third place with their kick dance and third place with their contemporary dance.

Tryouts for the 2026-27 Silver Spurs team will be Monday to Thursday, April 13 to 16, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Students trying out must be in attendance for each day in order to tryout. A mandatory parent meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Friday, April, 10.

Two optional classes will be held to prepare for tryouts, one on Tuesday, April 7 and Thursday, April 10. Both classes will last from 4 to 5 p.m.

Any questions can be directed to Hobbs, email her at ahobbs@ednaisd. org.

Murray said he’s still looking for more volunteers for the event, and anyone interested can email him as well.

Prices are $20 per adult and $15 per child. If one decides to register on the day, it will be $5 more. One can register as early as 7:30 a.m. on the day, and each participant will receive a t-shirt while supplies last.

“Everyone who completes the fun run will receive a medallion with the logo of our event on the front,” Murray said. “And the 5k path does overlap at one point so the kids could do a lesser track if they wanted to, unless they’re running with their family.”

Participants can start the run between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., being that the museum is open until 1 p.m. that day.

“It’s called Friends of History for a reason, the run weaves through some of the streets which have history behind the name, whether it be Flournoy or Pumphrey Street,” Murray said.

The run begins in front of Texana Museum on Wells Street, will head north towards the Flag City Monument, down to the post office and through the neighborhood. To see the complete route, visit the Texana Museum webpage and click on the link.

Murray said everything will be marked on the day of the Fun Run.

“Come and have some fun with us,” he said. “All the proceeds go to the museum and the library association.”

Murray thanks the sponsors for the event: First State Bank, Jason’s Paintwerx & Custom Finishes, Edna Auto Supply, Flag City Pawn, C&S Utesey Water Well Service, Efficiency Air, Clyde Kazmir Construction Inc., KST Energy Services and LifeAboveSQ.org.

43 students, either from Ganado, Edna and Industrial schools made a non-objective collaborative work, and used a limited color palette.

They worked together to arrange the individual artworks to create the most appealing unified composition.

Dr. Mary Lasater, Associate Dean and Professor, College of Education and Health Professions, from Texas A&M University-Victoria, gave them art students a tour of the TAMU-V public art, showed them some of her own art, and then visited them in Edna to answer questions and share how she works with concentrated wax.

“I’ve been a lifelong artist,” Lasater said, who’s been with TAMU for 13 years. “I used to teach art and my first degree is in art, but my dad told me I needed to make a living,” she joked. “But I also taught special education art and art to students with disabilities.

“Concentrated wax, which is a combination of beeswax and rosin, is an interesting medium because it’s hard to control,” Lasater added, “and time-consuming, but there are some people who’ve done some amazing things with wax.”

The wax, which is shaped like a small soap square, is melted on a normal griddle, while Lasater used a heat gun as well to push and mold the wax.

“It’s got a mind of its own! And one must be careful to work in an airy place because smelling the wax fumes could cause neurological damage,” she warned.

The Jackson County students let Dr. Lasater inspire them with their collaborative work and created unity among the creative minds. They used palette knives, glue, string, joint compound, paper, paint, and popsicle sticks to show texture and depth.

Non-objective art is a form of art which entirely eschews recognizable subjects, scenes, or figures from reality, focusing instead on pure visual elements like color, line, and geometric shape.

Collaborative art is art which involves two or more artists—or community members— working together on a single project, fostering creativity and teamwork.