D.S wrestlers meet with state’s best
Tigers stun Vikings in overtime
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Friendship Club fills need
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVIII No. 21
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
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75¢ Thursday, March 1, 2018
Wedding venue decision pushed to March BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
Two hours of public comment and deliberation Tuesday wasn’t enough to push Dripping Springs city leaders to make a decision on a controversial Driftwood wedding venue. Instead, the Dripping Springs City Council voted unanimously to postpone a vote on the Mark Black Wedding Venue until March 13. The postponement came in light of new in-
According to an engineering study by three different environmental and industrial engineers, the site’s development plan does not meet the requirements set by city ordinances.
formation presented by the Friendship Alliance and several independent engineers, who claimed the current venue de-
velopment plans harbor five violations to city ordinance.
VENUE PROTEST, 2
PHOTO BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
Dripping Springs students stage walkout
Record voting turnout in Hays County
BY EXSAR ARGUELLO On Feb. 21, Dripping Springs High School (DSHS) students met on the flagpole on campus to protest gun violence in light of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 high school students. For the students, this was the opportunity to express not only their grievances with the victims, but frustration
DSHS PROTEST, 2
BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
PHOTOS BY JAXSON THORNTON
Dripping Springs High student Liliana Reyes uses a megaphone to address students who walked out of class Feb. 21 during an anti-violence protest. Roughly 200 Dripping Springs High students bow their heads for a moment of silence during an anti-gun violence protest.
Residents voice concern about wastewater permit BY EXSAR ARGUELLO The city of Dripping Springs is closer to receiving action from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to a proposed discharge permit that could expand its wastewater system. However, residents took to a Feb. 13 public hearing to relay additional concerns about the permit, which could discharge treated effluent into Onion Creek. Dripping Springs’
A room full of citizens attended Tuesday night’s Dripping Springs City Council meeting to address concerns about the proposed Mark Black Wedding Venue that was expected to come to town.
“The results are proof that any discharge into Onion Creek can lead into people’s drinking water at a very quick and fast rate. The city said they would pull the permit if we found proof, and we have it.” – Jeff Shaw, one of three managing directors at Protect our Water (POW)
public hearing centered on results from a dye-trace study conducted by several water districts in December 2017. According to the study, dye injected into karsts reappeared in wells that are used for
drinking water by local residents 24 hours after the study began. “The results are proof that any discharge into Onion Creek can leak into people’s drinking water at a very quick and fast rate,” said
Jeff Shaw, one of three managing directors at Protect our Water (POW). “The city said they would pull the permit if we found proof, and we have it.” Kara Shaw, a representative of POW, said
the scientific data has been provided and it is time for the city to represent the people who elected them to work for the needs of the community. “We have the technology to build a better wastewater treatment facility,” Shaw said. “You guys are the decision makers for all of us and we’re here to present our case so that you can help protect our children and the community.”
WASTEWATER CONCERNS, 2
Plan for the future?
Financial illiteracy problematic in younger population BY MOSES LEOS III Rising credit card and student loan debt, along with a struggles to plan for the future, are byproducts of financial illiteracy in the younger population, according to Alexander Joyce, a national retirement planner. Joyce believes a “lack of knowledge or interest in financial matters” has contributed to financial woes in the country. Joyce said in a statement family culture early on in life often shapes how people approach finances. Often, adults are forced to teach themselves. Trish Wilder, a local financial advisor in the Kyle area, said students should have access to
For many young people, envisioning retirement isn’t on the forefront of their thought processes, says Trish Wilder, a local financial advisor. basic finance classes in high school, which she said was once offered in the past. Such courses are coming back in the form of after-school programs, where students learn about business and finance related items. Jon Albright, financial advisor with Edward Jones Financial in Buda, said Austin Community College received a $1.7 million federal grant to promote student finan-
cial literacy. “We have economic classes where we learn about the federal reserve, inflation and what the Great Depression was,” Albright said. “We learn the history of financial things, but we don’t give great education on how to balance a check book or what’s a mutual fund.” One aspect of financial illiteracy is planning and saving enough for retirement. Wilder said young-
With the grind toward the March 6 primary raging on, Hays County residents are going to the polls in unprecedented numbers. As of Feb. 26, 4,658 early votes have been accounted for at seven different locations spread across the county. This does not account for the nearly 2,000 votes submitted to the county by mail. In total, around 6,600 have been counted for, shattering the numbers from previous election cycles in 2014 and 2016. According to Hays County numbers, roughly 4,500 people voted early in the November Presidential 2016 election, while only 1,768 early votes were counted in November 2014 race. “We’ve had a very high turnout considering the political season we are in,” said Jennifer Anderson, elections administrator for Hays County. “Democratic turnout has been good and that is to be expected considering the national swing we had with the Presidential election.” The Wimberley Community Center has seen the most traffic in the county for early voting with 1,179 total ballots submitted.
EARLY VOTING, 6
LAGNIAPPE
er adults often don’t take advantage of 401K programs offered by their employers, or they might not realize their employer offers a matching contribution toward retirement. Several factors play a role, including a doubt from the younger population they have money to invest in a retirement account, Wilder said. For many young people, envisioning retirement isn’t on the forefront of their thought processes, Wilder said. Albright said Americans don’t save enough toward their retirement plans. Understanding what is needed for retirement is a critical aspect, Albright
On Thursday, March 9 at 11 a.m., the San Marcos Public Library will host a free program by A. Fletcher Clark and Donaly E. Brice on Alamo Survivor Susanna Dickinson. The event is sponsored by the Moon-McGehee Chapter, Daughters of The Republic of Texas. For more information, call (512) 667-7778.
FINANCIAL LITERACY, 6
LAGNIAPPE, 2
Free program on Alamo Survivor Susanna Dickinson