News Dispatch November 10, 2019

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Funding begins for D.S. Skate Park

Indigenous People’s Day event Oct. 13

Tigers wallop Knights on Homecoming

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News-Dispatch Volume XXXX No. 2

Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982

TxDOT to hold open houses on road fixes BY ANITA MILLER

BY ANITA MILLER

FLOOD MITIGATION, 3

75¢

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Prop. 8 pitched as first step to mitigate flooding Central Texas has experienced three 100year floods within the last six years, and Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda dumped literally feet of water across southeast portions of the state, both within the past two years. Cities and counties, left struggling in the aftermath, were largely dependent on federal disaster declarations and subsequent funding, which, as local residents have learned, takes years to materialize. Although those kinds of massive destructive events will likely stay beyond mankind’s attempts at control, lesser events, say 10 to 12-inch rainfalls, may be be something Texas can engineer around, if enough Texans vote for in favor of it. A broad framework for future flood mitigation based on watersheds instead of political boundaries established in SB 8 passed both houses of the Texas Legislature unanimously and became effective Sept. 1. Making sure that money won’t be taken away by some future Legislature, however, is contingent on voters approving Prop. 8, as an amendment to the Texas Constitution, on Nov. 5. State Rep. Dale Phelan, (R-Orange) chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs, spoke at a town hall gathering sponsored by State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Kyle) in San Marcos on Oct. 4. As a native of Southeast Texas, Phelan said Harvey was a “wake-up call” to many. “People had not seen rain like that before,” he said, nor the flooding such an inundation results in. “Floodwaters do not respect political boundaries,” he said. “The water will go where water wants to go.” Given that, the ef-

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PHOTOS BY ALBERT SANCHEZ Julie Gribble and Brandon Luedeke play before a packed crowd at The Mazama Coffee Company last year at theVista Brewing Stage.

Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival is back in full swing SUBMITTED REPORT

Local, national and international songwriters will be gathering in Dripping Springs Oct. 18-20 for the annual Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival. This 6th annual event will present more than 35 showcases a day, featuring a wide variety of finely-crafted songs and the people and stories behind them. More than 40 extremely talented songwriters, coming from four countries and five states, will play “in-theround”, Nashville-style, on six intimate stages located at The Barber Shop, Mazama Coffee Co., Acopon Brewing, The Sidecar Tasting Room, Hudson’s on Mercer and Milton’s Cottage – all of which are within safe, easy walking distance of each other in the quaint Historic District of downtown Dripping Springs. Performances run continuously on Friday and Saturday from afternoon to evening, and on Sunday the festivities include a spirited Gospel Brunch Showcase at Hudson’s

eryone is familiar with. This annual event offers people the up-close and personal chance to see, hear and get to know some very talented performers who have a deep love of the art of songwriting. Since its inception in 2014 the Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival has been all about finely-crafted songs, and the talented artists who have written them. After performing here For more information about the 2019 Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival please visit www.drippingsprings- that first year, Grammy-winning Nashville songwritersfestival.com. songwriter Dean Dillon said, “This festival could grow to be something big, you’ve really got a This annual event offers people great thing going here.” the up-close and personal Each year a portion of the proceeds of the chance to see, hear and get Dripping Springs Songto know some very talented writers Festival are doperformers who have a deep love nated to Kids in a New Groove, a nonprofit, of the art of songwriting. charitable organization that provides musical instruments and oneshuttle service between on-one instruction and on Mercer, followed venues, provided by by the ever-popular mentorship to foster Golf Cars of Austin. Festival Wrap-Party children in Central Easily accessible at the Barber Shop. Texas. and well-organized, Parking is plentiful, For more information the Dripping Springs food and drinks will be about the 2019 Dripavailable at each venue, Songwriters Festival is a ping Springs Songwritwelcome, “industry-op- ers Festival please visit and admission to all the showcases is free to posite” change from the www.drippingspringstypical “Austin-Paloothe public. There will songwritersfestival. also be complimentary za-Music-Fest” that ev- com.

LAGNIAPPE Hill Country Harvest Market

Come do your holiday shopping at Dripping Springs Ranch Park, Oct. 12-13. Show hours are Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be vendors, food trucks and live music. Visit www.texasmarketguide.com for more info.

Rally for Kids Car and Motorcycle Show

Show off your car or motorcycle and compete in the 13th annual Hill Country Rally for Kids Car Show this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mercer Street. There have a lot of new entries this year and several different styles of trophies. Come out, support the kids and let them experience a great Car & Bike Show! The rain-out date will be Oct. 26.

Ready to Vote 2019 to be held Oct. 12, 15

The League of Women Voters will be hosting two non-partisan training events in Dripping Springs called “Ready to Vote 2019.” The first event will be Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to noon at the Sententia Vera Cultural Hub, located at 4002 E. Hwy 290 at Sunset Canyon. The event will happen again on Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Dripping Springs Community Library at 501Sportsplex Drive. The training will cover the new countywide Vote Centers, how to interact with the new voting machines and what is on the ballot for the upcoming election. Election day is Nov. 5 with early voting set for Oct. 21 through Nov. 1.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will host a second open house to gather input from the community regarding safety and mobility needs along US 290 from RM 1826 in Austin to RM 12 in Dripping Springs. The open house is from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Oct. 10 at the Oak Hill United Methodist Church on US 290 in Austin. The first open house was held Tuesday. No formal presentation will be given and attendees can come and go at their convenience. Study team members will be available to answer questions and receive input from the public. Those unable to attend the meeting in person can

ROAD FIXES, 8

IT’S ON: Flu season hits and with it, advice to get shots BY ANITA MILLER Despite a protracted season of summer-like heat, cooler temperatures have finally arrived and with them, flu season. Officially, flu season in Hays County began Oct. 1, and already, more than a dozen people have tested positive, according to the county’s epidemiologist Eric Schneider. “We’ve had 14 to 16 positive cases in the past two weeks,” Schneider said, adding that “it’s not really anything out of the ordinary for this time of year. Schneider and Lara Anton of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) noted that predictions about how bad this season might be are hard to make because each flu season is different. “Last season we saw high levels of flu activity for longer than usual,” Anton said. “The season before, activity was higher than it had been in a decade – you just don’t know what is going to happen.” There are actually two vaccines on the market this year and both protect against the recently re-emerging H3N2 influenza variant, which was first identified in pigs in 2011 and in humans a year after that, Schneider said. The variant has been identified as “one of the strains they’re predicting will be potentially harmful to the public,” Schneider said. “It can be potentially fatal to children, older adults and people with suppressed immune systems.”

FLU SEASON, 4


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News Dispatch November 10, 2019 by Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch - Issuu