Government Tax & Spend: Sometimes it’s not only beauty that’s in the eye of the beholder, but historical significance, as well. That’s how a proposal to restore the elaborate Medina County Courthouse in Hondo ended up in controversy recently.

Some Medina County officials would have loved to see the beautiful three-story limestone structure taken back to its Victorian-era condition. Their restoration plans aimed to rebuild a dramatic clock tower removed from the courthouse 70 years ago and return the large second-story district courtroom to its original grandeur.