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Did You Know?quarried was from this watershed area, although, as mentioned by Arnold, they also quarried rock from the San Geronimo creek area. When Arnold purchased his 110-acre property that became downtown Helotes, it is likely that the limestone he used for the Gugger homestead and Helotes General Store was quarried from the Helotes Creek, which ran through the property.The Gugger quarry was miniscule compared to those of today. A limestone quarry on 505 acres between Sandra Day O’Connor High School and FM 1560, originally established by Arrow Materials and now operated by Vulcan Materials, has been in excavation since the 1980s. Materials from the Helotes Vulcan quarry were used in the construction of Sandra Day O’Connor High School.Pictured right:1988 Press Photo Aerial of the Rock Quarry at Helotes, then owned by Arrow Materials. Photo from the Historic Images Gallery. Photographer Joe Barrera Jr.more with less and prove to the world that wise financial management can be applied to government funding.Many of you have been tracking my progress since I was elected 4 years ago. As I start my 3rd term as your Mayor, the city of Helotes is significantly stronger financially, has increased employee wages by 20%, increased services to the citizens, added 8 police officers, engaged in significant drainage projects, and did so while decreasing the Helotes property tax rate 4 years in a row and we look to continue our progress in each category again this year.I invite you to attend our city council meetings to learn about upcoming projects, give citizen input to needs, and understand our budgeting process firsthand. The taskABy Cynthia Leal Masseyrnold Gugger (1855-1928), who founded downtown Helotes, came to this settlement with hisparents, Anton (1807-1881) and mother, Marie (1819-1911), in the late 1860s, a decade after the first pioneers began to arrive. The Guggers founded the first rock quarry business in the area.According to Arnold, “In the year of 1868, my father, mother, and myself moved to Helotes, Texas. And then is when we started a Rock Quarry. And hauled rocks to San Antonio, Texas, to Mr. J. H. Kampmann, Contractor & Builder. We hauled rocks with mule teams and also from the San Geronimo.”In a San Antonio Light article published in 1884, John H. Kampmann (1819-1885)was called, “The First Enterprising Builder at San Antonio.” When he settled in San Antonio in 1849, the town was primarily comprised of adobe-style Mexican houses. A stone mason, and later one of San Antonio’s leading builders and contractors, he worked to change the architecture of the town, employing contractors like the Guggers to supply the materials needed for his buildings.According to Bexar land records, in February 1869, Anton purchased 640 acres “on the waters of the Leon” about 14-1/2 miles from San Antonio. The 1870 and 1880 census records show the Gugger property near the ranches of the Braun, Ruempel, and Galm families. Helotes creek is a tributary of the much larger Leon Creek, comprised of large-grained rocks, boulders, and limestone cliffs.Much of the limestone the GuggersCynthia Leal Masseyis the author of several books on the historyof Helotes. For more information, visit her website, cynthialealmassey. com, and her Facebook page, CLM Books.is not easy. While cash reserves are strong, they only allow us to make certain 1-time purchases. Raises and additional employees require ongoing cash flows to sustain long- term success. It is my commitment to prioritize the safety of citizens of Helotes while caring for our employee’s welfare, all while working to become debt free within 9 years and setting the standard for other governmental entities to follow.Sincerely,Rich WhiteheadRich Whitehead MayorMayor’s CornerBudgets, Spending, & Financial HealthADear Residents,ugust is an interesting month for many of us. Students are getting ready to return to school, thesummer heat has brought many of us to our knees, and municipalities are neck deep in annual budget workshops, strategically planning on how to best serve our citizens through increased services, improved working conditions for our employees, increase our financial strength and minimizing the dependency on taxes.History has taught us that governmentfinds ways to spend MORE than they make, and when they need more money, they find new ways to tax the citizens who work hard to spend LESS than they make. It’s a paradox levied by the government of the people and for the people that ironically depends on structurally burdening the same people with government inefficiencies.I am proud to say that Helotes is not only different, but we are challenging that notion by proving government doesn’t have to be inefficient but rather can doHelotes Court Cools Down With Slices Of Watermelonyour local geico agent makes bundling simple.Home + Auto = easyLOCAL OFFICERod Musslewhite210-673-2391¡Hablamos Español!Limitations apply. See geico.com for more details. GEICO & affiliates. Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. 21_633312129H ave you met your new Helotes Court yet? These beautiful young ladies are enjoying their roles and getting involved in their community. Pictured left to right are Abigail Meade- Miss Spirit,Abigail Pinon- Duchess, Isabella Mendez-Miss HelotesPrincess, Laura Frausto- Miss Citizenship, and Lola Thurow- Miss Congeniality.2025, AvaniNagaragere-4www.heloteshighlights.comAugust 2025