MARCH 14, 2018 SHOOTOUT
DARK SKIES
Lobo baseball shoots Rangers 11-9.
Buda campaigns to become a Dark Sky Community.
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Hays Free Press © Barton Publications, Inc.
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Vol. 122 • No. 51
HaysFreePress.com
Division grows over density in downtown Kyle
PHOTO BY KATERINA BARTON
Construction is ongoing at a development on Scott Street, near the Kyle public library.
BY KATERINA BARTON For 85 years, longtime Kyle resident Franklin Herzog has watched his hometown go from a sleepy community to a bustling suburb. But as new development has started to spring up near his residence on Sledge Street, Herzog’s concern over the rapid growth in downtown is also rising. Herzog is one of many who fall on either side of a debate over growth in Kyle and how future density could impact the downtown corridor. “If it’s up to me I don’t
“We are a rural community, we are a place where we come to raise our families. Yes, we want to move toward the future, but we also have to be cognitive of those who have been here and who continue to stay here.” –Daphne Tenorio, Kyle City Council member
like it,” Herzog said. “It’s making too much traffic. You can’t get into Kyle, you can’t get out of Kyle,” Herzog said. Earlier this month, several residents contested a zoning application that would allow for 66 family lots off of
Sledge Street. After an unprecedented tied vote and three meetings, the zoning change was approved by the Kyle City Council March 6. Stagecoach Forest, a development located behind the Kyle Public Library on Scott Street,
will bring 270 single family houses. A little further down off Old Stagecoach Road, a development called Cypress Forest will hold 73 single-family lots. It’s not only residents
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Hays County voter turnout spikes in Primary election Record-breaking voter turnout in Hays County for both Republicans and Democrats during the March 6 primary election might signal a new height in political involvement. Turnout in last week’s primary featured a 10 percent increase in the number of Democrats who participated and a 12 percent increase in Republicans from the 2014 Primaries. In the 2014 midterm
“We’re encouraged by the results, but in the era of Trump, a great many fair-minded Republicans, unlike my opponent, are distancing themselves from the extreme fringes of the party.” –Ruben Becerra, Democratic candidate for Hays County Judge
elections, three percent of registered Republican voters took to the polls. The increased political
involvement throughout the county on both sides can be credited to an abundance of local
elections in this year’s Primary. “We saw a major increase in voter turnout and you have to give credit to both parties who really showed up to the polls this time around,” said Jennifer Anderson, election administrator for Hays County. “I think the national political feeling and the amount of local races we had really played a huge role in our increased numbers.”
COMING UP Party on the Kyle Library porch Popcorn, snow cones and crafts will be available for all to enjoy as the Kyle Public Library hosts its annual Spring Break Porch Party March 16. The event, which is free to the public, starts at 2 p.m.
Democratic Runoff Debate Candidates for the Democratic runoffelection in two Congressional races and one state Representative race will face off at Kyle City Hall March 22, 6:30 p.m. U.S. Congressional District 21 candidates Joseph Kopser and Mary Street Wilson will share their views on national issues at 7 p.m., followed by U.S. Congressional District 25 candidates Julie Oliver and Chris Perri at 7:30 p.m. Starting at 8 p.m., Texas House District 45 candidates Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Erin Zwiener will share their visions for Texas. People are encouraged to arrive early as seating may be limited.
BUDA STAR
Seniors Take A Ride thanks to new program. – Page 1C
INDEX
BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
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Egg-cellent Easter happening in Kyle
More than 80,000 plastic Easter eggs dropped from a helicopter highlight Kyle’s Easter Egg-Stravaganza egg drop event at Gregg Clarke Park on Saturday, March 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Carnival rides, games and more will be on site, as will multiple egg drops that will start at 11:30 a.m.
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Serving Buda, Kyle and Northeast Hays County, TX
Man pleas guilty to manslaughter in Kyle wreck BY MOSES LEOS III A total of 28 years in prison was the punishment given to a Buda man who pled guilty to several felony charges, including intoxication manslaughter for a fatal 2016 wreck in Kyle. Jarred Brady Farmer, 22, of Buda, pled guilty to intoxication manslaughter, as well as manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, which is a first-degree felony. Farmer also pled guilty to a violation of probation of a previous
charge. Farmer was arrested on the manslaughter charge following a Kyle Police Department investigation into a threecar collision on Jan. 7, 2016 that killed Steven Vasquez of Kyle. The Hays Free Press reported a 2013 gray Dodge Avenger, driven by Farmer, was traveling on the southbound access road of Interstate 35 when it hit a gray 2014 Toyota Corolla that was turning right onto Burleson Street. The
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New high school, new transition BY MOSES LEOS III Future 9th and 10th graders will be the first students to roam the halls of Moe and Gene Johnson High when the campus opens in fall 2019, according to information posted Friday on the Hays CISD website. While the rezoning process for Johnson High has not been completed, district officials released its transition plan to allow parents and students to plan ahead for the change, said Tim Savoy, Hays CISD public information officer. The district’s transition plan for Johnson High followed a similar model used when Lehman High opened in 2004, Savoy said. A primary difference is the exclusion of an 8th grade class. Lehman High opened in 2004 with 8th, 9th and 10th grade students. The first two classes at Johnson High will be composed of students who will graduate in 2022 and 2023. Those students are currently in the 7th and 8th grade. “The difference is that we needed the space at the middle school when they opened Lehman,” Savoy said. “They (middle schools) needed the space more desperately then than they do now.” Hays CISD officials also opted against having only 9th grade students attend Johnson High, while giving 10th graders the option to transfer. “At that scenario, you only have one full class of students. When you give people the option, not everyone is going to take the new high
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school,” Savoy said. “They wanted to have two full classes to use the space more appropriately.” Hays CISD is also looking at the possibility of allowing affected high school students to transfer to another campus. Students would only be eligible to transfer if they have siblings in the 11th or 12th grade at Hays High or Lehman High, or if a program is not offered at Johnson High within its first two years of operation. The latter circumstance will be taken on a case-bycase basis, according to the district website. However, transfers within the transition plan are entirely contingent on a proposed Hays CISD policy change. Current Hays CISD policy does not allow student high school transfers within the district. Savoy said district officials are proposing a change in language to accommodate for its new transition plan, which will go before the board of trustees for first reading later this month. However, if the proposed policy changes fail, Savoy said the district would have to return to the plan and “make adjustments.” “It’s up to the board to approve the policy that would allow this sibling transfers in the included plan,” Savoy said. “That’s something we believe the board would be amenable to.” According to the district website, the process of rezoning for Johnson High is slated for completion in fall 2018.
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