Meet the ULN

The Uvalde Leader-News is raising $25,000 to offset our portion of the salary for Sofi Zeman, our Report for America corps member. Sofi joined our team on July 10, 2023, and has written hundreds of stories on education and crime for the Uvalde Leader-News. Donate here: tinyurl.com/RFA-ULN or see Sofi’s work by clicking on “Report for America” in the above menu bar.

 

 

 

 

Phone: (830) 278-3335 • Fax: (830) 278-9191
110 N. East Street • Uvalde, TX 78801

 

The Uvalde Leader-News, published each Sunday, claims a history of community news service dating back 145 years. The Leader-News is descended from newspapers entered as second class matter at the Uvalde Post Office on May 20, 1879. Each issue carries the slogan: “Locally Owned, Independent Newspaper – Informing Southwest Texas Since 1879″

Uvalde newspapers actually began publication in 1878, a year before the post office registration. First came the Uvalde Umpire, followed by The Weekly Hesperian on Feb. 22, 1878. Both papers were apparently begun by the same owner. An additional newspaper, The West Texan, appeared in 1884. The Uvalde News, issued in 1886, absorbed both The Weekly Hesperian and The West Texan.

For a brief period, John Nance Garner, later vice president of the United States, was editor of a Uvalde paper, probably a predecessor of The Uvalde Leader. W.D. Barnhill (1861-1953), the postmaster Republican leader and pharmacist, began to publish The News for the stock company in 1887, continuing until it was sold to W.D. Love in 1900. Love kept the paper for a year and, in turn, sold it to H.P. Hornby Sr.

H. P. Hornby Sr. moved to Uvalde in 1898 to establish The Uvalde Leader, a successor to another older paper, The Uvalde Herald. After Hornby bought The Uvalde News in 1901, he combined titles to publish The Uvalde Leader-News. The Hornby family owned the paper from 1898 until 1989, except for the years the senior Hornby ran for the legislature and was in the insurance and job-printing business. In 1906, Hornby sold the newspaper to F. M. Getzendaner, who, in turn, sold to Bessie Fletcher in 1919. Mrs. James K. Ward became the owner, selling the paper back to Hornby in 1922.

Harry Hornby Jr. served as editor and publisher for 32 years, from 1946 until his death in 1978. Following his death, his wife, Mrs. Harry P. Hornby Jr., assumed the role of editor and publisher.

She retained those titles until 1989 when she sold The Uvalde Leader-News to present editor and publisher Craig Garnett. Mrs. Hornby served as an editorial advisor until her death in 1995.

In October of 1998, Garnett shepherded the newspaper into the on-line computer age, adding an Internet presence at  www.uvaldeleadernews.com. This web site offers readers the convenience of perusing highlights from the paper from their personal computers. The site has sports, editorial, and classified advertising sections. Along with display advertising, visitors guide and hunting, and weather information. In 2007, the E-Edition of the newspaper was added. This allows subscribers to view the entire paper on-line in a pdf format.

The policy of the present-day Leader-News is a continuation of the statement made in 1898 by H.P. Hornby Sr. (1876-1948) and continued by Harry P. Hornby Jr. (1917-1978) and Kathryn Hornby (1917-1995):

We will ever work for the building of the community and section and every new industry – every new enterprise that can be of any benefit whatsoever will receive our full support.

 

Owner/Publisher
Craig Garnett
[email protected]

General manager
Pete Luna
[email protected]

Managing editor
Meghann Garcia
[email protected]

Assistant managing editor
Melissa Federspill
[email protected]

Staff writer
Julye Keeble
[email protected]

Staff writer
Sofi Zeman
[email protected]

Sports editor
James Volz
[email protected]

Contributing writer
Charley Robinson

Circulation clerk
Joanna Garza
[email protected]

Classified manager
Norma Ybarra
[email protected]

Bookkeeper
Josh Haby
[email protected]

Graphic designer
Neil Sturdevant
[email protected]

Advertising executive
Kimberly Mata-Rubio
[email protected]

Advertising executive
Skylar Scott
[email protected]

Newspapers in Education coordinator
Olga Charles
[email protected]

 

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Owner/publisher Craig Garnett
[email protected]

Craig Garnett’s first impression of Uvalde came when he was 14 years old, passing through on a trip with family friends. Although enamored with the city’s downtown and greenery, the Oklahoma native didn’t know he’d one day find himself living here permanently.

“It came full circle in a way,” he said.

The longtime journalist, whose career includes metro papers in the Midwest and parts of Texas, always wanted to own his own paper.

“Well, guess what? At that time, papers were expensive.”

Garnett had friends living in the Hill Country that introduced him to newspaper owner Mrs. Kathryn Hornby in 1982. Hornby wasn’t ready to sell at the time but hired Garnett to help run the paper.

As general manager, he oversaw the entirety of the paper’s operations, involving paper production, advertising, and delivery.

Garnett covered commissioners court and the hospital initially.

“I also wrote commentary, editorials and feature stories. It sure was fun,” he said.

Garnett bought the paper from Mrs. Hornby six years later. She served as an editorial advisor until her death in 1995.

He called his first day a little overwhelming.

“I wasn’t out of my depth, but I was just starting at the bottom,” he said, explaining he had to learn an entirely new set of names and faces.

Garnett’s first friend on the job was Willie Edwards, who previously worked at the Leader-News for several years and later served as a spokesperson for Southwest Texas Junior College.

The two lived together during Garnett’s first few months in Uvalde while he was finding a place for his family to live in town.

One of the biggest changes he’s seen in his tenure is increased polarization among people, politically and otherwise. It’s admittedly dispiriting, he said, and has altered the way many journalists today approach coverage. People are a bit more worried about inciting retaliation or stepping on a nerve these days.

“You didn’t really have to tiptoe so much then,” Garnett said. “You could kind of dive right in.”

Although grateful for the tech developments tied to modern-day journalism, Garnett said he did enjoy the messiness of earlier newspapers, a time when staff lined up elbow-to-elbow to lay out pages.

“We were squeezed into this one room, and on either side were grid sheets,” Garnett said. “And then on those we were cutting news copy into columns and waxing it and sticking it onto pages.”

And although current newspaper staff aren’t crammed as physically tight as they once were, Garnett said he thinks the office is now closer than it has ever been.

Recent years and the state of democracy have underscored for Garnett just how important community journalism is.

“What we do is essential to ensure transparency, that our government bodies release information they owe to the public,” he said.

Garnett is married is to Melissa Garnett and is father to Logan and Madelyn.

 

General manager Pete Luna
[email protected]

Uvalde Leader-News general manager Pete Luna’s favorite parts of the job are photography, telling others what to do, and payday. He joined the newspaper staff in June 2006 and celebrated his 18th anniversary in 2024. Ever the newspaper champion, he says he learned about the job opening for a production assistant via the Uvalde Leader-News Classifieds pages. He formatted copy, designed pages, and took photos for nearly two years before transitioning to the circulation department, where he spent about 13 years before becoming general manager.

He got his start taking photos for the newspaper when the assignment came with the offer of free passes to the annual Palomino Fest musical festival. He loves music, whether he’s at a live performance or curating playlists for himself and friends at home or around a fire. His tastes are eclectic, spanning from norteño, rap and Texas country.

When he’s not selling ads, telling jokes, or covering crime or sports with his camera, he enjoys grilling, fishing, serving up drinks and sarcasm, and watching sports and documentaries. He earned an Associate of Arts from Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde and pursued, but never finished, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sul Ross State University. He feels he learned far more about people running the streets of his hometown of Batesville and Uvalde, where he attended high school and now resides, than in a classroom. Because assistant managing editor Melissa Federspill wants to know everyone’s favorite movie, he would probably pick “Nightcrawler,” though, with the exception of the “Roadhouse” remake, he’ll usually recommend anything of Jake Gyllenhaal’s.

Luna’s world revolves around his adult daughter and 5-year-old grandson, who thinks Grandpa’s office has a better stocked toy section than Walmart or Target.

 

Managing editor Meghann Garcia
[email protected]

Meghann Garcia joined the Uvalde Leader-News in October 2008 after graduating from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in government. She worked as a production assistant, staff writer, and assistant editor before taking on the managing editor role during Summer 2013.

She loves seeing a hard-fought story come to fruition, and her favorite part of the job is putting newspaper pages together. She hates writing cutlines and headlines – why use a handful of words when there are thousands to choose from? She also finds it almost impossible to write within the word limit she asks others to follow.

When she isn’t at her desk, she enjoys pulling weeds, planting flowers, participating in long conversations and sing-a-longs with her dogs and cats, and reading. She has grand plans to transform her backyard into a drought-tolerant landscape that rivals even the most lush botanical centers.

Her favorite books include anything by Michael Connelly, Karin Slaughter, James Grippando, David Baldacci, Tess Gerritsen, Alafair Burke, Mary Higgins Clark, Jodi Picoult, and Emily Giffin. Her must-watch TV shows are Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer, Will Trent, Bosch, Lincoln Lawyer, and Only Murders in the Building.

The first thing people who get in the car with her ask is “Will there ever be a time we don’t listen to Taylor Swift?”

The answer is a resounding no.

 

Assistant managing editor Melissa Federspill
[email protected]

Melissa Federspill is the assistant managing editor at the Uvalde Leader-News. She also is the editor for the paper’s digital newsletter, the Daily Update.

She joined the Leader-News staff as a writer in January 2019, and says her favorite part of working at the newspaper is her fun coworkers.

Prior to the Leader-News, she was a small business owner and co-founder of a food sustainability program in San Antonio. She earned her Bachelor of Science in business from the University of the Incarnate Word and her Master of Science in urban and regional planning from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

When she is not working, she enjoys travel, the outdoors, and frolicking with her dogs. Most people don’t know that she is a lover of vintage cars and enjoys checking them out any chance she gets. She enjoys classic country and loves Dolly Parton.

 

Staff writer Julye Keeble
[email protected]

Julye Keeble, a summer baby whose parents named her after the month she was born, started working at the Leader-News as a receptionist on July 16, 2012.

This decision came after a friend from the newspaper repeatedly encouraged and demanded she apply. Responsibilities included processing payments, greeting visitors, answering calls and directing them to appropriate departments. She made several lateral career moves at the newspaper, venturing into coordinating the non-profit Newspapers in Education program, and briefly working in in-bound sales. Keeble spent years crafting anniversary, wedding, birthday and obituary announcements for the newspaper.

In September 2019, she accepted a staff writer position. Her portfolio now includes feature stories and coverage of city and county government affairs, and water-related news about rain and droughts, a subject she thinks is vital to the rural community. With a father who served in the U.S. Navy, Keeble reports on military events such as Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor Day commemorations.

She relishes curating the “Remember When” section, revisiting news from 10 and 50 years back, where she often sees parallels to contemporary life.

An avid bookworm, her favorite novel is “The Secret Garden.” She shared a love for John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee series with her father, and enjoyed many Mary Higgins Clark novels with her mother. When off-the-clock, Keeble is frequently found reading the latest works by Ilona Andrews, Dean Koontz, John Sanford or Nalini Singh.

Though working at a community newspaper was unplanned, Keeble discovered a passion for it.

She has an associate degree in Management Information Systems from Southwest Texas Junior College, where she also spent years tutoring accounting students. After years spent cranking out 10-page APA style business papers, she appreciates the ability to learn and explain complex information quickly—skills that have greatly benefited her career and life.

 

Staff writer Sofi Zeman
[email protected]

Illinois native Sofi Zeman reports on education and crime for the Uvalde Leader-News. Zeman, 22, joined the newspaper in July 2023 as a Report for America Corps member.

Report for America is a national service program that matches local newsrooms with talented reporters who work to provide in-depth coverage of under-reported issues and communities. A few of her favorite past projects include writing about inequity in Missouri’s clemency process and investigating corporal punishment policies in Missouri’s public schools. She started reporting while growing up in Northern Illinois and covered Missouri government and education during college.

Sofi graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism with a bachelor’s in print journalism and a minor in Spanish.

She delivers extensive reporting on education and crime for the Leader-News, consistently works to build relationships, and reports in an accurate, informative, and engaging manner.

As a volunteer project, she led a Journalism 101-type class for tweens and teens at El Progreso Memorial Library last school year. She enjoys breaking news and getting to know local families while on assignment.

When she’s not in the newsroom, Sofi enjoys hiking, reading, and running.

 

Sports editor James Volz
[email protected]

James Volz is the oldest and longest tenured member of the Leader-News editorial staff, having joined the newspaper in June of 1978.

“When I began at the Leader-News, I was the youngest member of the newspaper, in terms of age. Now, I am the oldest member of the staff and I have worked here longer than any other staffer.”

He came to the Leader-News following reporting stints for the Zavala County Sentinel and the Uvalde County Citizen.

Volz’s educational background includes Crystal City High School, Southwest Texas Junior College, and the University of Texas at Austin.

He is married to Trisha, who is retired from the Uvalde public school district. They have one daughter, Julie, and two sons, Jason and Jeffrey, two grandsons, Joshua and Noah, and two granddaughters, Amelia and Eleanor.

James and Trisha love dogs and cats.

“We share our home with three dogs – Molly, Emma and Chloe – and five cats – Apostrophe, Lucy, Sophie, F-1, and F-2. They are our furry friends.”

He is a life-long practicing Catholic and attends Uvalde’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church. “Giving praise to God, and loving and serving others is important.”

Volz enjoys watching sporting events, movies, and other televised programming.

As for movies, he has a lot of favorites, but not one movie he favors overall.

He loves to read, especially books about history. He loves music, all types of music.

His favorite part of his job is writing news stories. “Gathering news and then putting the news together in an informative, organized, and entertaining manner for a new story is a challenge that I enjoy.”

He says the toughest part of this job is dealing with mistakes. “Getting names spelled correctly, making sure every detail in a story is correct. I hate mistaking mistakes on anything, but part of being a human being is accepting that fact that we sometimes make mistakes, no matter how much time and effort we put into a news story.”

 

Contributing writer Charley Robinson

Charley Robinson’s history at the Uvalde Leader-News dates back to 1970, when then-newspaper owner Harry Hornby hired him as sports editor. That stint lasted six years, but the career educator has frequently held dual employment. Working within the public school system, he has also held part-time, full-time, and contributing writer roles with the newspaper.

His 50-year career in public school education included 32 years with the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District as a teacher, coach, and administrator. The Texas Tech University graduate also had stints in Sabinal, La Pryor and Carlsbad, New Mexico. He played in the Baltimore Orioles Minor League Organization.

In 2017 he was inducted into the Texas High School Six-Man Football Hall of Fame and the Middle Rio Grande Development Council recognized him with the distinguished Regional Statesman Award. Robinson is the third recipient of that award in the council’s 50-year history.

“I have witnessed many come and go during the last 53 years,” he said. His favorite part of this job has been getting to know the subjects of his award-winning feature stories and his co-workers.

His hobbies aren’t so much hobbies as other employment opportunities. “Mr. Hornby asked me one morning, ‘How many damn payrolls are you on?'” Robinson said. “At that time it was seven! People interest me! You would be surprised who mingles among us.”

He enjoys Christmas movies and the western genre. He doesn’t have a favorite, but the ones he has seen the most are “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Devil and Daniel Webster.”

“But I don’t go to movies since John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart died,” he said.

He took his education seriously, racking up college credits. “I’m even certified to be a superintendent of school,” he said, “However, I would never consider such!”

Robinson said his greatest education came from his students and his seventh-grade teacher.

He and his beloved wife, Ann, celebrated 63 years of marriage before her death in 2022.

 

Circulation clerk Joanna Garza
[email protected]

Newspaper circulation clerk Joanna Garza has been keeping readers up-to-date with their subscriptions since October of 2022. She heard about the job opening through the newspaper, and her favorite part about the job is working alongside her co-workers.

She has three children, the youngest of whom will graduate from Uvalde High School in May of 2024.

She has attended Southwest Texas Junior College and Sul Ross State University.

During her free time, she enjoys painting on canvas with her daughter.

Her favorite movie is “Titanic.”

 

Classified manager Norma Ybarra
[email protected]

Uvalde Leader-News classifieds manager Norma Ybarra found her forever job by accident.

She initially went to First State Bank of Uvalde for a job. They didn’t have any openings and instead referred her to the newspaper.

That was in August 1981, and little did the 24-year-old know one job would lead her to redefine her sense of self.

“My closest family is the Leader-News,” she said.

Publisher Craig Garnett and sports editor James Volz both teasingly call her “mom,” a name that developed from years of Ybarra scolding some of her younger co-workers for staying out too late on work nights.

She started the job as a young mother, and said that the flexibility Garnett provided as a boss allowed her to work and take care of her family.

Ybarra said that although she sometimes wished she had done more with life, such as pursued higher education or became a nurse, having a workplace that took care of her allowed her to nurture what she called her greatest accomplishment: her children and grandchildren.

On the day-to-day, Ybarra said she enjoys being able to help people place listings in the Classifieds section. She said she feels good knowing she was able to lend a hand, especially when she can help a caller who only speaks Spanish.

Her favorite memory on the job: “It was when Nick Nolte walked in through the front office and we got his autograph,” she said. Nolte was passing through to shadow a Texas Ranger living in the area for an upcoming film at the time, she said.

When she’s not at work, she likes crocheting, watching movies, and traveling. Her favorite movie is “Footloose.”

She graduated from Carrizo Springs High School and attended Southwest Texas Junior College.

Ybarra is married to Mario Ybarra and is mother to Jessica, Joana, Mario, and Michael.

 

Bookkeeper Josh Haby
[email protected]

Josh Haby, who goes by Joshy, began working at the Uvalde Leader-News in November of 2022. As the company’s bookkeeper, Joshy enjoys immense popularity and flattery when he delivers paychecks – and on most other days, too, being that he maintains a friendly disposition and is always willing to lend a hand. He oversees financial data and compliance by maintaining accurate books on accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and daily financial entries and reconciliations. He also performs daily accounting tasks.

Joshy enjoys finding ways to be more efficient and expand on his knowledge.

“There’s so much more to my position than just number crunching. I’ve always been skillful at taking a procedure or process, studying and analyzing it, lengthy though it may be, and simplifying it to make the job easier and more streamlined without cutting corners,” he said.

“This in turn helps to provide EOM reporting and financials to management in a more timely manner and helps to keep more detailed records.”

He graduated from Leakey High School in 2010.

Joshy loves audio books and podcasts, and his favorite things to listen to are Dark History with Bailey Sarian and Petty POV with Charlotte Dobre. In his spare time, he enjoys geocaching, putting together Lego models, going to theme parks, and traveling. Mexico is one of his favorite destinations, due to its rich culture and amazing food.

When asked about his favorite movie, Joshy said he highly recommends a mini series called “The 10th Kingdom.”

 

Graphic designer Neil Sturdevant
[email protected]

Colorado native Neil Sturdevant joined the Uvalde Leader-News in October of 2021 as its graphic designer.

He and his wife moved to Uvalde to be closer to her family.

He is taking classes at Southwest Texas Junior College and plans to pursue a law degree through St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

Before moving to Texas, he was an MMA fighter for 11 years and studied Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, and Sambo.

His favorite movie is “Lonesome Dove” and while he couldn’t pick a favorite book, his favorite writers are Chuck Palahniuk, Kurt Vonnegut, Charles R. Cross, Hunter S. Thompson, and Shel Silverstein.

 

Advertising executive Kimberly Mata-Rubio
[email protected]

Years before she became an outspoken advocate for gun control, judges who selected Kimberly Mata-Rubio’s reporting for nearly a dozen state and regional journalism awards lauded her fearlessness at tackling controversial issues. “She reports them well and represents good, solid journalism in South Texas.”

Today, however, Kimberly is an advertising executive for the newspaper, having rejoined the staff in June of 2023, just over a year after her youngest daughter was killed in a preventable act of gun violence at Robb Elementary School.

A 2007 graduate of Uvalde High School, Kimberly began working for the Uvalde Leader-News in 2010 as a receptionist, moving to staff writer in 2012, and assistant editor in 2017 before leaving to pursue higher education in 2019.

She earned an Associate of Arts in general studies from Southwest Texas Junior College in August of 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts in public history from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in December of 2022.

She and her husband, Felix, share six children: Julian Rubio, Alexandria Rubio, Jahleela Rubio, David Falcon III, Kalisa Barboza, and Isaiah Rodriguez.

 

Advertising executive Skylar Scott
[email protected]

Skylar Scott joined the Uvalde Leader-News in July of 2023 as an advertising executive.

Her primary job is selling ads that highlight local businesses, but she’s also adept at brightening her co-workers’ days and especially keeping Kimberly Mata-Rubio and Pete Luna laughing.

The Uvalde High School alumna earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Sul Ross State University in 2021.

Skylar moved to Corpus Christi to broaden her horizons but returned to Uvalde to be closer to family and rejoin the community. Near the top of her list was joining the staff of the local newspaper.

Her first experience with the newspaper happened a couple of decades before she joined the staff. The newspaper photographed a young Skylar at a holiday event just before her family officially moved here and published that photo on the front page. Skylar said her parents were tickled at the experience and it reinforced their idea that Uvalde would make a great home.

She still enjoys visiting the beach, especially if she brings along her nieces and nephews. Despite her love of the ocean, she has a longstanding fear of bridges – specifically bridges over bodies of water.

When asked to name her favorite movie, she narrowed the field to a three-way tie: She’s The Man, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Stick It.

 

Intern Alesandra Gonzales
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Alesandra Gonzales joined the Uvalde Leader-News in May 2023 as a summer intern. Now, in her third stint at the newspaper (she returned during winter break 2023), she conceived and hosts ULN podcast, The Leader Cast. When she’s not hosting, she enjoys doing photo and video journalism projects, creating content for social media, and helping with newsroom tasks.

She is a sophomore at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she studies English, psychology, and film.

During a sunny Hanover day, she is a news writer, photo, and video journalist for The Dartmouth—America’s oldest college newspaper—from whom she received the Thomas W. Gerber ’53 Award for excellence in photojournalism following her May 1, 2024, arrest while covering a campus protest. By chilly Hanover night, she is an EMT with Dartmouth EMS. She is expected to graduate in June 2027.

Ale graduated from Knippa High School and Southwest Texas Junior College in May 2023 earning a high school diploma, Associate of Arts, and Associate of Science.

While in Texas, she enjoys spending time with her little brother, Io Alekxi, catching up with friends, working weekdays at the Leader-News, and working weekends as an EMT.

Ale’s favorite singers include Taylor Swift (going to the Eras Tour on her 18th birthday is the highlight of her life), One Direction, 5SOS, Logic, G-Eazy, Bazzi, Lauv, Ryan Caraveo, and pretty much any country singer. She loves to read classic literature and authors such as Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Leo Tolstoy, and Charles Dickens. Her favorite movies are Valentine’s Day and Big Hero 6.

Fun facts about Ale include: her favorite animals are cows, her favorite ice cream is Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, and she LOVES Oxford commas.

 

Intern Ariana Diaz
[email protected]

Ariana Diaz joined the Uvalde Leader-News on May 20 as a part-time intern. The 2022 graduate of Uvalde High School is currently a third year student at New York Unversity studying media, culture, and communication. Over the past year she has developed an interest in producing impactful films that magnify voices.

In spring of 2024 Diaz co-founded Pleaser Productions, a production company run by Latinas. The goal of the company is to uplift stories about women, specifically women of color.

Diaz is set to produce her first film in October and hopes to do many more throughout her final two years of undergrad.

Growing up, Ari had a dream of living in New York City. She thanks her family for giving her the support needed to move to the big apple at 18 years old.

“If I didn’t have them supporting me it would be impossible,” said Diaz.

Since joining the newspaper, she has written news briefs and helped with research and proofreading. Her maternal grandfather, the late Rogelio F. Muñoz, a former district attorney and longtime criminal defense attorney, wrote a riveting historical column on the beginnings of the KKK in Uvalde. See it here: www.uvaldeleadernews.com/articles/death-of-a-klansman-looking-back-at-1920s-uvalde/

Diaz, 20, said she grew up loving the newspaper and was taught the importance of local journalism by her grandfather. She was inspired to join the staff this summer because she sees how impactful its work has been in recent years, she said.