Dilley and Precinct 4 will vote in the upcoming Frio County Election for Frio County Judge, Frio County Commissioner Pct. 4, and Dilley ISD Trustee Places 1, 3, and 4…
When & Where do I Vote?
Frio County Precinct 4 & Dilley ISD Voting Calendar:
Frio County Precinct 4 (Dilley) Sample Ballot:
This website was created by Jose Asuncion, so yes, this sample ballot is posted to assist Jose Asuncion for Frio County Judge voters. Precinct 4 voters will also choose a Commissioner on the same ballot.
Dilley ISD Sample Ballot:
Election Dates:
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Last Day to Register to Vote
Monday, October 24, 2022
First Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance
Friday, October 28, 2022
Last Day to Apply for Ballot by Mail (Received,not Postmarked)
Friday, November 4, 2022
Last Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance
Tuesday, November 8, 2022 (Election Day) at 7:00 p.m. if carrier envelope is not postmarked, OR Wednesday, November 9, 2022 (next business day after Election Day) at 5:00 p.m. if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day (unless overseas or military voter deadlines apply)
Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program | Mortgage, Property Taxes, Insurance
The primary goal of this fund is to aid homeowners in avoiding foreclosure. Some of the necessary qualifications are: ・There must be a delinquent eligible expense ・There must be a Covid-19 related eligible financial hardship (loss of income or increase in expenses). ・Have a household income at or below 100% Area Median Income (AMI) or 100% of the median income for the United States, whichever is greater
Texas Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program | Mortgage
Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) is offering assistance through the Texas Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (TEMAP) for those having difficulty paying their mortgage payments.
They may pay up to 11 months of mortgage payments—six months in arrears and five future months. You may qualify for mortgage assistance if: • You live in one of the 12 Alamo Area rural counties. • You have been impacted by COVID-19. • You are at or below 80% Average Median Income (AMI). • Your mortgage is in the first or second lien position. • Where you reside is your primary residence.
Call them today at 866-231-4922 or email TEMAP@aacog.com to begin the intake process.
Tenant Based Rental Assistance | Rent
The Tenant Based Rental Assistance is not an emergency rent fund. Applications take six to eight months to process and require enrollment in Community Council of South Central Texas’ (CCSCT) self-sufficiency program.
To be eligible for TRBA, applicants are required to have an income less than or equal to 80% of the Area Median Family Income (AMFI), as defined by HUD. The AMFI document is a bit tougher to decipher.
Application Community Council of South Central Texas Pearsall Office: 830-334-4800
Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program | Utility
The Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) from Community Council of South Central Texas (CCSCT) combines education and financial assistance to help low-income consumers reduce their utility bills. Services include utility payment assistance for electric, natural gas and propane.
CCSCT assigns priority to households with the least amount of income and the greatest energy costs. Priority is also given to vulnerable individuals 60 years and over, persons with disabilities and families with children five years of age or under.
In light of recent declines in Region P Covid inpatient and ICU hospitalizations, this will be the last weekly Frio Covid update for the time being, barring a significant reversal of these numbers. We will continue to update the Frio Covid dashboard on a regular basis, without the writeup.
THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 11-17
Texas Department of State Health Services reported:
67 New Covid Cases in Frio County (83 New Covid Cases were reported the week prior)
15 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
21 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
15 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
Frio County Vaccination Rate:
Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 1.85% for the week.
The prior week’s increase was 1.52%.
Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 1.58%.
The prior week’s increase was 1.34%.
The Early Success of the Frio County $100 Vaccine Incentive Program:
The details of Frio County’s $100 Vaccine Incentive Program were first publicly posted on the evening of September 14th, which means we wouldn’t start seeing the effects until September 15th.
From 9/9-9/15, only 59 Frio residents were reported to the State as receiving their first dose, an average of 8 residents per day.
From 9/16-9/17, however, 245 residents were reported to the State as receiving their first dose, an average of 122 residents per day.
Frio County would have seen a steep decline in vaccination rate without the $100 incentive. Though the rollout of the program was bumpy, these numbers should be seen as evidence that the incentive does have a significant effect on the vaccination rate. If it is the desire of the County Judge to continue to see more Frio residents vaccinated, the Judge’s Office should do more to simplify the incentive registration process, extend the deadline, as well as create partnerships for vaccine drives.
COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:
Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.
“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” decreased by 1.43%. On September 17, Region P dipped below 15% threshold for the first time in 45 days. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days.
ICU Bed Usage in Region P vs Entire State of Texas:
Beginning September 14 thru October 30, Frio County Residents not vaccinated for COVID-19 will be eligible for up to a one-time $100 incentive for getting a required dose of COVID-19 Vaccine.
To be eligible: ・Participants must be at least 12 years of age ・Participants under the age of 18 will require written permission from a parent and/or guardian before incentive will be disbursed ・Must be a Frio County resident ・Must become “fully vaccinated” by a provider of your choice between September 14 and October 30 Clarification from the County Judge sent 9/15/21 3:44pm. The County Judge’s Office has interpreted the Official Guidelines as “only if vaccine series is started and completed during the applicable timeline.” County Judge Press Release and Official Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get paid?
・Before your final vaccine appointment (September 14-October 30), pick up a registration form from the County Judge’s Office. (A download will be linked here as soon as the PDF becomes available). The registration form requires a signature from the provider. ・Before November 12 30th and after you are fully vaccinated, return with (1) the registration form, (2) proof of vaccination, and (3) photo ID or proof of Frio residency. ・The County Judge’s office will then schedule your payment.
I am a Frio County resident who will receive my first dose of Moderna or Pfizer on September 25. When can I get paid?
Based on your first dose appointment, you will receive your second dose on or around October 25. After your second dose, bring the registration form signed by the provider, proof of full vaccination, and a Picture ID (or proof of Frio residency) to the Frio County Judge’s Office. The Judge’s Office will walk you through the rest of the process.
I am a Frio County resident who will receive a Johnson & Johnson vaccine on September 25. How do I get paid?
Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients will not have a second dose appointment. However, we ask any Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients to wait until October 1st to apply for the incentive at the Judge’s Office. October 1st is when the incentive funds become available in the county budget.
Please consult with your provider or medical professional about which vaccine is best for you.
I am a Frio County resident who will receive my first dose of Moderna or Pfizer on October 2. How do I get paid?
Based on your first dose date, you will receive your second dose on or around November 2. Currently, that is outside the timeframe in the approved incentive guidelines.
It is possible that the approved window of time for full vaccination will be extended, but in the meantime, schedule those Moderna and Pfizer appointments for the last two weeks of September.
I am not a Frio County resident. Can I get the incentive if I receive the vaccine in Frio County?
The guidelines state that the incentive is for Frio County residents and require proof of residency.
Who is paying for all of this?
The funds for the incentive program are coming from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds of the American Rescue Plan Act via the US Department of Treasury. They are federal dollars designated for coronavirus response. The funds are not coming from local property or sales taxpayer dollars.
I live in Dilley. Do I really have to drive to Pearsall to pick up a registration form for the provider’s signature when I’m getting vaccinated in Dilley?
Currently, that is the only option listed in the guidelines, but the Frio County Judge’s Office might be able to make arrangements for you. Hopefully, the Judge’s Office makes the registration form available for download.
I have a question that wasn’t listed here. Who can I talk to?
16 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
34 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
17 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
Frio County Vaccination Rate:
Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 1.52% for the week.
The prior week’s increase was 1.6%.
Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 1.34%.
The prior week’s increase was 1.55%.
COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:
Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.
“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” decreased by 1.43%. Region P has spent thirty-six days over the 15% threshold. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days. During this wave of the pandemic, however, that order has been rescinded.
ICU Bed Usage in Region P vs Entire State of Texas:
Interested parents/caregivers may apply here. Workforce Solutions Alamo is encouraging all businesses whose employees may be eligible to share this information with their employees.
The parent must require child care services in order to work. One-parent households must be working a minimum of 25 hours per week and a two-parent household must be working a total of 50 hours per week to qualify. The family income must be below 75% of the State Median Income (SMI,) and the child must: be under age 13 (or under age 19 if disabled); have legal citizenship or immigration status; and reside with a family (including with an individual standing in loco parentis) within the Alamo local workforce development area.
19 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
23 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
11 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
The Trickiness of Department of State Health Services Covid Case Counts
This week showed a 100% jump in new cases over the prior week, but as we’ve said many times before, the case count numbers are unreliable on their own for several reasons.
-DSHS is often backlogged in their reporting. The numbers sometimes represent a daily or weekly undercount as new cases go unreported, but they may also represent an overcount when those new cases are finally filed all at once.
-ISD Covid protocols have introduced an increased rigor in recent tracking and reporting- an indication of a better count, not necessarily increased spread.
-Many of the popular home Covid tests do not require reporting to DSHS and therefore will not be reflected in the State case counts.
Case counts are best looked at for trends rather than accurate snapshots and in tandem with the other numbers we receive.
Frio County Vaccination Rate:
Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 1.6% for the week.
The prior week’s increase was 3.1%.
Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 1.55%.
The prior week’s increase was 3.37%.
In both cases, the number of people vaccinated slowed to about half of the previous week.
COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:
Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.
“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” decreased by 1.42%. Region P has spent twenty-nine days over the 15% threshold. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days. During this wave of the pandemic, however, that order has been rescinded.
The ICU Bed Usage in Region P has been bending down for the past few weeks, a positive development if it continues.
Not only has Region P added ICU beds during that time, but the number of Covid ICU patients has fallen to 374 on September 3rd from the current wave’s high of 426 on August 24th.
Pearsall ISD and Dilley ISD have both issued mask mandates that will help Frio County stay the course.
Though the Region P Covid ICU and hospitalization numbers have begun to bend down, the same can’t be said for the State of Texas, which is holding steady at a higher rates. It is unclear if Region P is setting a trend or if we will eventually correct to follow the state.
On September 3rd, the state of Texas had 3837 Covid ICU patient’s, only 2 lower than this current wave’s high on August 30th.
The Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be unpredictable. The UK, where the Delta Variant took hold before the US, appeared to reach a peak in case counts in July, only to see the numbers spike again.
**Regarding the above case count numbers, it should be noted that many home COVID tests, especially the brand available in our area, do not require reporting to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Last year at this time, home COVID tests were not available. Furthermore, rapid COVID tests have also become more available but according to the Houston Chronicle, “Texas, unlike 27 other states, excludes the results of increasingly popular, rapid COVID-19 tests from the numbers it reports publicly — obscuring the scope of the pandemic, records and interviews show. The antigen tests are used in doctor’s offices, hospitals and stand-alone clinics and deliver results in less than 30 minutes.”
THE WEEK OF AUGUST 21-27
Texas Department of State Health Services reported:
35 New Covid Cases in Frio County (91 New Covid Cases were reported the week prior)
12 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
17 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
5 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
Frio County Vaccination Rate:
Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 3.1% for the week. The prior week’s increase was 2.26%. Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 3.37%. The prior week’s increase was 2.44%. These two numbers graphed together show a recent acceleration of vaccination rates.
COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:
Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.
“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” decreased by 1.34%. Region P has spent twenty-two days over the 15% threshold. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days. During this wave of the pandemic, however, that order has been rescinded.
13 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
48 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
12 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
Frio County Vaccination Rate:
Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 2.26% for the week. The prior week’s increase was 0.98%. Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 2.44%. The prior week’s increase was 1.63%. These two numbers graphed together show a recent bump in both rates.
COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:
Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.
“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” increased by 2.49%, but there are a few things to note about this graph:
1. Though percentage of COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity increased at a slower rate, the number of actual COVID hospitalizations is still rapidly increasing. The reasons the rate slowed (as a percentage) are the addition of staffed hospital beds and Governor Abbott’s request to hospitals to stop non-emergency surgeries. Elsewhere in Texas, some of the additional staffed beds affecting the percentage are actually overflow tents outside the hospitals.
2. Even with the addition of staffed hospital beds, Region P has spent fifteen days over the 15% threshold. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days. During this wave of the pandemic, however, that order has been rescinded.
ICU Bed Usage in Region P:
Compare August 20 2021 ICU Bed Usage to August 20 2020:
As of August 20, Region P has 55 available ICU beds for 2.9 million people, and the number of COVID-19 ICU patients has been on a steady increase since mid-July.
55 available ICU beds compared to 157 available ICU beds on the same day last year. Last year, the number of COVID-19 ICU patients was on the decline.
Statewide, the percentage of available ICU beds is even lower, which limits the ability of regional hospitals to transfer patients elsewhere once capacity is reached. For full responsive graphs detailing Texas hospital resource data, visit: https://covid-texas.csullender.com/?tsa=P
Most concerning is that for the past few weeks, the number of ICU beds has been hovering at the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, both in Region P and statewide. If we are not at the highest number of COVID ICU patients since the start of the pandemic, then why are we at the lowest number of available ICU beds? Much of the answer is in staffing:
–written by Jose Asuncion, Frio County Commissioner, Pct. 4
53 New GEO Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
42 New CoreCivic Dilley Detainee Covid Cases
35 New La Quinta Pearsall Detainee Covid Cases
Frio County Vaccination Rate:
Frio County’s Fully Vaccinated Rate (age 12+) increased 0.98% for the week. The prior week’s increase was 1.78%, which represents a decrease in the rate of full vaccinationsfor the second week in a row. Vaccinated with at least one dose (12+), a better indicator of recent vaccine activity, increased 1.63%. The prior week’s increase was 2.56%, which represents a rate decrease for the second week in a row. These two numbers graphed together show that the uptick in vaccinations as a result of delta variant reports have slowed.
COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity:
Frio is one of 22 counties in Trauma Service Area Region P, which serves a population of 2.9 million people.
“COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity” increased by 2.86%, but there are a few things to note about this graph:
1. The percentage of COVID Hospitalizations out of Total Region P Hospital Capacity decreased over the last few days of the week due to addition of staffed hospital beds. The number of COVID hospitalizations is still suddenly and rapidly increasing. 2. Even with the addition of staffed hospital beds, Region P has spent eight days over the 15% threshold. The 15% threshold line shows the point that formerly triggered the limiting the capacity of certain businesses and bars after seven days. During this wave of the pandemic, however, that order has been rescinded.
ICU Bed Usage in Region P:
Compare August 13 2021 ICU Bed Usage to August 13 2020:
As of August 13, Region P has 46 available ICU beds for 2.9 million people, and the number of COVID-19 ICU patients has been on a steady increase since mid-July.
46 available ICU beds compared to 169 available ICU beds on the same day last year. Last year, the number of COVID-19 ICU patients was on the decline.
Statewide, the percentage of available ICU beds is even lower, which limits the ability of regional hospitals to transfer patients elsewhere once capacity is reached. For full responsive graphs detailing Texas hospital resource data, visit: https://covid-texas.csullender.com/?tsa=P
–written by Jose Asuncion, Frio County Commissioner, Pct. 4
