COMBES, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A new beehive in the city of Combes will be helping veterans who may suffer from PTSD.   

The buzz of the town is bringing job opportunities and awareness of the dangers bees are currently facing. 

Walter Schumacher is a valley native and known as the bee czar across the country. He even has his own television show. Walter has traveled the country sharing his knowledge with the world.  

“We’re saving bees from people and people with bees,” Walter said. “Our goal is to stop the extinction of the honeybee we do a compassionate act of removal.” 

Walter says these toxins are then carried by bees into their hives which affects their habitat. 

“In the name of comfort, because you don’t want a cockroach at your house, you spray poison in the name of comfort, so that your field produces more cotton or wheat or whatever you inundate the ground with toxins,” Walter adds. “These houses are off-gassing toxins, and is slowly very similar to Alzheimer’s with our humans, it’s wiping out their memories. And that’s what colony collapse is called.”  

Walter says rescuing the bees not only helps the endangered creatures but also gives veterans a therapeutic job that could pay them up to 26 dollars an hour.  

“Maybe they saw their buddy die, or maybe they saw there’s a Humvee get blown up,” Walter said. “There was some trauma, right? Well, honey bees take you to the very same place, but instead of you coming back and seeing stuff blown up where people die, you get to eat some honey and understand that all they want to do is survive as well.” 

He’ll be taking applications from veterans this weekend. He says they’ll be paid as much as $26 an hour to help transform the warehouse and help process the honey.  

His vision for this facility is to bring the community and bees together- with a future garden, artisan markets, and a venue to host live music for others to enjoy.  

Walter says honey lives in “Combes” and there was no better place to have his hive.  

“Where do bees keep their honey? Well, they keep them in combs and so it made it a perfect rollover so now we keep our honey here and in combs, and so that’s the most perfect thing I know of” Walter said.