September 16, 2020 Hays Free Press

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SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 SWEET SUCCESS

FOR FRIENDS

Kyle’s Queen of Pie earns another title from Small Business Association.

Group benefitting Dripping Springs area seniors hosts annual benefit, virtually.

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Vol. 126 • No. 25

Serving Hays County, TX

Local officials memorialize 9/11 sacrifices BY ANITA MILLER

KYLE – “Have we forgotten?” Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett posed that question to the few dozen people who gathered in a chilly breeze at the Kyle VFW on the morning of Friday, Sept. 11. “Have we forgotten the fear we had that fateful morning when we watched in horror as the Twin

“Have we forgotten the fear we had that fateful morning when we watched in horror ... Have we forgotten the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice?” –Jeff Barnett, Kyle Police Chief

Towers of the World Trade Center came down and the Pentagon was damaged after hijackers under the direction of Al Qaeda took

over control of three commercial airlines?” he asked. “Have we forgotten the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice” as 2,977

people died, including 343 New York City firefighters and 77 police officers, he asked. A fourth airliner, possibly

en route to the Capitol, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers managed to wrest control from four hijackers armed with box cutters, mace and tear gas. The attacks, which began at 7:45 a.m. local time, was the deadliest for first responders, Barnett reminded those gathered.

9/11 CEREMONY, 6

PHOTO BY ANITA MILLER

Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett addressed a crowd gathered at the Kyle VFW Post Friday to remember the significance of September 11, 2001.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HENLY VINEYARDS

Brave New World

PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III

A student at Tom Green Elementary makes himself comfortable Sept. 8 as he participates in an engaging online learning session during the first day of virtual instruction inside of the school’s cafeteria. It was a brave new world for many Hays CISD students and educators Sept. 8 as the district officially kicked off the 2020-21 school year by starting its virtual learning phase. While many students and educators began virtual instruction at home, a handful signed up to start online learning at their designated campus. Hays CISD is slated to begin In-person instruction Sept. 28.

First week back in the DSISD BY SAHAR CHMAIS

Dripping Springs ISD began this year’s unique back-to-school journey almost one month ago and will soon reopen its campus doors for students who want to go to school in person. Karen Kidd, assistant superintendent for DSISD, discussed what the first month has looked like for the district. Overall, they have not had a lot of trouble

Students went back to school in person Monday. So far, Kidd has seen an average of a 60% return rate, with high school students a few percent points higher than elementary.

with online courses, but of course it has not been perfect. “So far, so good. Everything is running smoothly,” Kidd told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch.

“We have had a few technical issues, like the internet went down for a brief moment in time. But I feel like parents are fairly happy with our services.”

COMING UP An evening with Hilton Als, Friday at KAP House

Acclaimed writer Hilton Als, via Zoom, will discuss the life, work and legacy of our hometown author Katherine Anne Porter Sept. 18, 7 p.m. To RSVP, email KAPLiteraryCenter@ gmail.com. Als began contributing to The New Yorker in 1989, writing pieces for The Talk of the Town.’ He became a staff writer in 1994, theater critic in 2002, and lead theater critic in 2012. His first book, “The Women,” was published in 1996. His book, “White Girls,” a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2014 and winner of the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for non-fiction, discusses various narratives of race and gender. In 2017 Als won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, and in 2019 the Langston Hughes Medal. In 2020 he was named an inaugural Presidential Visiting Scholar at Princeton

TAX RATE

DSISD BACK TO SCHOOL, 10

University for the 2020-21 academic year. He is an associate professor of writing at Columbia University’s School of the Arts and has taught at Yale University, Wesleyan, and Smith College. He lives in New York City.

Buda Plein Air Festival Saturday in Buda

Inspired Minds Art Center is hosting spectacular morning of live art and music, outdoors, in downtown Buda. The purpose of this event is to responsibly bring the community together outdoors through art in a mindful, healing, and celebratory way. Visual artists will set up along Main Street and paint, draw, or sculpt en plein-air. Musical artists will busk along Main Street. Cash tips are welcome! Artwork created during the Buda Plein Air Festival will be critiqued by a panel of judges. Winning artists will have their plein-air artwork on display and for purchase in the Inspired Minds Gallery Plein Air Exhibit opening on October 9.

Hays County increases taxes ‘ever so slightly.”

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Another issue, which has not proven to be a difficult hurdle, is getting some people or teachers acquainted with Canvas, the online system for school. Last year, when students were sent home, that was the system DSISD used. For the most part, everyone is navigating it properly, but like with any new technology, people need time to fully understand it.

TABC has allowed businesses to apply to become qualified as restaurants, as long as they have two entrees on their menu, offer food services the entire time alcohol is on the table, and 51% of their gross receipts are not from alcohol. Above is Sam Hadawy, co-founder of Henly Vineyards.

Vineyards say regs unfair to business, despite outside venue BY SAHAR CHMAIS It starts with the grape and it ends with a healthy economy. The wine country in Texas invites people in from all around the world to enjoy themselves in the outdoor scenery, drinking the juice from fermented grapes, taking walks in nature

and discovering large plots of green and purple land. But COVID-19 has begun taking down yet another beloved industry, and some believe that the restrictions implemented on vineyards are not done correctly. “While I greatly appre-

STRUGGLING INDUSTRY, 4

Election officials preparing for November election BY MEGAN WEHRING HAYS COUNTY – With early voting for the Nov. 3 election quickly approaching, Hays County officials anticipate an increase in mail-in ballots while continuing to make preparations to adhere to safety guidelines at polling locations. Election officials will position the polling machines six feet apart, while providing markers to ensure that voters are maintaining social distancing within the election center. Voters are also recommended to wear face coverings. Elections Administrator Jennifer Anderson said

The Hays Free Press Barton Publications, Inc. The Hays Free Press (USPS 361-430) published weekly by Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. Periodicals postage paid at Buda, TX 78610 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. ISSN#1087-9323

there will be about 300 election workers total, similar to previous years, with additional staff on standby in the case a person is sick. “We are also in constant contact with our poll workers and we are staffing them very robustly so that if people do get sick, we’ll still have plenty of people to work,” Anderson said. While there is a requirement of up to three workers at each polling place, Anderson said there will be more staff this year at each location to maintain safety protocols. “In a presidential (elec-

ELECTION PREPARATION, 2


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