Forget the Groundhog and his predictions of six more weeks of winter!

This morning I saw my first sign that spring in near – wildflowers.

 As I drove along US 77 I enjoying the morning sun, I caught sight of the bright orange-red bloom of the first Indian paints blooming in the green-brown right of way. The sun hit the flower just right to make the new blooms pop in the morning light.

As I was still enjoying the beauty of that bloom, I saw more Indian paints sprinkled along the roadside between Fordtran and the Victoria city limits.

It is amazing how a few splashed of color can add some life to an otherwise ordinary day.

I look forward to seeing more splashes of spring along the roadways in the coming weeks.

On my way home tonight I got to watch nature's light show in full bloom. Lightning was popping all around me as I traveled up US 87 through Cuero and on home.

A few times it flashed too close to me to be comfortable, but it was fascinating to watch the sky light up with the pops of lightning and then go dark again.

It was also fascinating to watch the storm move in from the far west,across DeWitt County onto Lavaca County and beyond.

I hope the lightning did not strike any buildings or people and that everyone traveling made it home safely.

Traveling the highways and roads in the area has taken on a new meaning this week. I have been thinking a lot about what these highways would be like today if the state had been successful in 1991 in consolidating the Texas Department of Transportation office in Yoakum with that in Corpus Christi.

And I’m thanking the efforts of many including Charles Kvinta who fought a two-year battle to keep the district intact and the local residents maintaining our roadways.

In 1991, the Legislature was mandated to cut $21 million in spending from the highway department. It voted to cut the number of highway districts from 24 to 18 and create a new district in Laredo.

That set off a storm of protests across the state, but the loudest protest heard was from District 13, headquartered in Yoakum.

That protest was lead by many community leaders, but probably the most outspoken was Kvinta, a Yoakum attorney and community leader who refused to let the state kill a major employer in his hometown and in essence kill the town that he loved so much.

Kvinta called on every lawmaker and politician he could get to talk to him – even on the federal level. He lead the charge making sure local residents knew about the plans and the impact those actions would have on not only Yoakum, but also the 11 counties in the district. At that time the district employed 430 people and had an operating budget of $40 million.

In Yoakum alone, 140 people were employed with a $4.5 million annual payroll.

He wore a lapel button for those two years that simply said Sav13. His truck had a bumper sticker with the same message.

In the end, when the Legislature reconvened two years later, lawmakers reversed the law, saving District 13 and the other 23 districts and created the new district in Laredo.

“This is what we have been working for. It looked like there was no way we were going to win, but we were very lucky, with the help of God,” Kvinta was quoted as saying in the Advocate on March 26, 1993 after the new legislation was passed.

On Tuesday, his tireless work for the community came to an end with his death.

But his influence and love for his community will live on with the many projects that he led or had a hand in over the years.