April 22, 2020 News-Dispatch

APRIL 22, 2020 MO MOSAIC

CORONA-GRAM

A mosaic project for kids out of school goes viral.

Buda musician continues musical path with driveway concerts, Facebook.

– Page 4

– Page 5

News-Dispatch © Barton Publications, Inc.

75¢

Vol. 126 • No. 4

HaysNewsDispatch.com

Serving Buda, Kyle and Northeast Hays County, TX

Kyle coffers brace for fallout from COVID-19

BY ANITA MILLER Kyle city leaders are anticipating a continuing drop in sales tax revenues and rising delinquency rates in water and wastewater bills as the COVID-19 crisis continues, with deficits possibly extending into the next fiscal year. The city anticipates a FY 2021 budget to be much like FY 2020 but minus big-ticket projects.

In the interim, the city pool is unlikely to open this summer, summer camps are indefinitely postponed and events like Fourth of July fireworks and the Pie in the Sky Festival in September are under a big cloud of maybe.

The Kyle City Council held a more than twohour special meeting on Thursday to gauge how the novel coronavirus has impacted city revenues and expenditures.

City Manager Scott Sellers opened the meeting with a presentation and warned of projected deficits in all the city’s sources of revenue.

The general fund is roughly composed of one-third sales taxes, one-third property tax and one-third other revenue. Most property taxes were paid earlier

The city pool is unlikely to open this summer, summer camps are indefinitely postponed and events like Fourth of July fireworks and the Pie in the Sky Festival in September are under a big cloud of maybe. in the year but all other revenue sources are measured month to month and Sellers told council members he expects deficits of 12 to 16 percent in sales tax and 10 to 15 percent deficits in the water, wastewater and storm drainage utility funds because of delinquent accounts.

“We’re trying to crystal ball it as much as we can, but because we’re not deep enough into what we think the deficits are going to

KYLE COFFERS, 2

PHOTO BY DAVID WHITE

Above, residents lined up along the Center Street overpass in Kyle, waiting for the passing of the slain San Marcos police officer Justin Putnam, who was fatally shot in San Marcos Saturday night. The procession headed south on IH-35 is transferring Putnam from the Travis County medical examiner’s office in Austin to Thomason Funeral Home in San Marcos. Left, flowers and other memorials adorn the patrol car of slain SMPD Officer Justin Putnam.

PHOTO BY ANITA MILLER

Three San Marcos Police officers shot, one fatally

BY ANITA MILLER

Justin Mueller, 38, were wounded but are expected to recover.

Police have not said how many shots PUTNAM were fired but did say other people in the home were unharmed.

Putnam is only the second officer in the history of

For the second time in 16 months, a San Marcos Police Officer has been killed in the line of duty while on a call related to domestic violence.

On April 18, 31-year-old officer Justin Putnam was fatally shot after entering the home where a disturbance had reportedly occurred. Two other officers, Franco Stewart, 27, and

Travis County won’t take more inmates from Hays Hays County will no longer be housing some of its inmates in the Travis County Jail.

County Judge Ruben Becerra posted a letter to “Dear Hays County Law Enforcement” on Facebook April 15 saying he had received word from

Hays County has been outsourcing inmates for more than a decade and the cost of that rose to $4.3 million in 2018, spread out over a handful of counties, some more than 150 miles away.

Travis Sheriff Sally Hernandez that the agreement between the two counties

efforts to reduce the jail population.

Jails across the state and country have been trying to shed low-level offenders because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of inmates contracting the virus.

Hays County has been

would end effective the last day of April, in accordance with that county’s

INMATE OVERFLOW, 12

Census 2020

Who has responded, and who hasn’t

BY ANITA MILLER When it comes to funding streets, hospitals, roads and a host of other things Hays County is going to need in the next 10 years, residents have some explaining to do.

And they’re not alone.

Three weeks have passed since the U.S. Census preferred to receive completed forms for the 2020 Constitutionally-mandated count of

every person residing in the county, and the nation as a whole had a response rate of only 50.7 percent on April 19.

Texas fared even worse with a statewide response rate of 46.5 percent. Hays County had a response rate of 45.6 percent and among its municipalities, Mountain City had the best response rate by far at 77.4 percent.

Next came Buda, whose residents responded at

DSISD TOY 2020

Dripping Springs campuses announce their Teachers of the Year.

– Page 8

a rate of 59.6 percent.

That was followed by Kyle with a response rate of 52 percent, Dripping Springs with a response rate of 49.5 percent, Woodcreek with a 49.7 percent response rate, Wimberley with a response rate of 45.6 percent and Uhland at 40.3 percent.

Coming in last was the county seat of San Marcos, with a response rate of only 35.2 percent.

INDEX

BY ANITA MILLER

COVID-19 Count……… 2 Community………… 4-7 DSISD News…………… 8 Police Blotter…………… 8

the SMPD to die in the line of duty. Kenneth Copeland was killed while serving a warrant in a family violence case in December 2017.

Interim Police Chief Bob Klett remembered Putham as a young man with a bright future in law enforcement. “We lost a fine young man, faithful officer and friend last night,” he said at a Sunday morning press conference. “Our hearts are heavy as we pray for Justin

Putnam’s family and for our two officers fighting for their lives today.”

The three officers were responding to a 911 call placed from the Twin Lakes Apartments on Hunter Road minutes after 6 p.m. A suspect tentatively identified as Alfredo Perez Delacruz, 46, used a rifle to fire on the officers inside the resident and then fatally

OFFICER FATALITY, 9

More charges fly in pipeline protest

BY ANITA MILLER

The groups contend the Texas Hill Country is too full of sensitive features to make it a safe place a portion of the 430mile, 42-inch natural gas pipeline and that the breach resulted in 36,000 gallons of drilling mud and fluid going into the Trinity Aquifer.

More salvos were fired last week in the ongoing fight between Hill Country landowners, environmentalists and energy giant Kinder Morgan.

The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) and the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA) have jointly threatened to sue Kinder Morgan after the company’s contractors breached a karst feature March 28 during construction of the Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), which fouled nearby wells.

The groups contend the Texas Hill Country is too full of sensitive features to make it a safe place to put a portion of the 430-mile, 42-inch natural gas pipeline and that the breach resulted in 36,000 gallons of drill- water from two nearby ing mud and fluid going wells sent to the Lower Colorado River Authorinto the Trinity Aquifer.

On April 15, the PIPELINE PROTEST, 10 groups said tests from

HCISD News…………… 9 Service Directory…… 10 Public Notices……… 11 Classifieds…………… 11

40

Unemployment claims spike in Hays and across most of Texas 20

0

STAFF REPORT

an unemployment claim.

Less than a month later, by The COVID-19 pandem- April 4, that number had ic, and the closure of busi- skyrocketed to 2,475. nesses because of it, has That increase is greater resulted in more Texans than any interstate corriapplying for unemploydor county except Travis ment benefits this month County, where the number during the whole of 2019. of claims grew from 420 During the week that to 13,507 during the same ended on March 7, 65 Hays time period, and WilliamCounty residents had filed son County, which saw

claims increase from 203 to 5,750.

In Comal County, the number of claims filed grew from 93 to 1,410.

Statewide, the retail trade industry was the hardest hit with 49,236 claims, followed by accommodations and food

UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS, 9

12 12

Female

10 10

Female

Male

8 8

Male

6 6 4 4 2 2 0 0

0-9 yrs 0-9 yrs

10-19 yrs.

20-29 yrs.

30-39 yrs.

40-49 yrs.

50-59 yrs.

60-69 yrs.

70-79 yrs.

10-19 yrs 20-29 yrs 30-39 yrs 40-49 yrs 50-59 yrs 60-69 yrs 70-79 yrs

> 80 yrs. >80 yrs

160

New cases New cases

140 140

Confirmed cases

Confirmed cases Active cases Deaths to date

Active cases

120 120

Total Hospitalizations

Current hospitalizations Deaths to date 100 100

Total Hospitalizations Current hospitalizations

80 80

60 60

40 40

60-69 yrs.

70-79 yrs.

> 80 yrs.

Apr 21

Apr 20

Apr 19

Apr 18

Apr 17

Apr 16

Apr 15

Apr 14

Apr 13

Apr 12

Apr 9

Apr10

Apr 11

Apr 8

Apr 7

Apr 6

Apr 4

Aapr 5

Apr 3

Apr 2

Apr 1

Mar 31

Mar 30

Mar 29

Mar 28

Mar 27

Mar 26

Mar 25

Mar 24

00

Mar 23

20 20

Mar 22

Daycares within the Kyle city limits were allowed to reopen on Monday under an order signed by Mayor Travis Mitchell.

The order specifies that the facilities can only care for the children of people include five children from addition to masks, those deemed “essential” during a maximum of five house- guidelines address social distancing, cleaning and the COVID-19 pandemic. holds and nine children 100 disinfecting and changes There is a link (https:// from three households. to drop off and pickup tdem.texas.gov/essenEach group must have its procedures. tialservices/) on the city’s separate room and not Children over the age80 of website where residents 30-39 yrs. mix with one another, and 20-29 yrs.

40-49 yrs.

50-59 yrs. two will be encouraged to can determine whether childcare providers stay wear masks. they are so defined. with the same group all The Kyle City Council Facilities have to keep day. approved an ordinance children in the same group All facility staff will 60 closing daycares on April all day, and children from be required to wear 7. The mayor signed the the same household will facemarks and observe be grouped together. other protocols consistent order allowing facilities to reopen on April 14.

Examples of grouping with CDC guidelines. In

4

14 14

Mar 21

An order issued by the city of Kyle specifies that the facilities solely can care for the children of people140 deemed “essential” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

120

BY ANITA MILLER

81

16 16

Mar 20

160

1

Currently hospitalized

18 18

Mar 19

Kyle daycares to reopen for families of essential workers

Active Cases

20

Mar 18

COUNTY VIRUS RESPONSE, 12

Deaths

140

Mar 17

court amended an existing agreement with Clinical Pathology Laboratories to include COVID-19 testing and also approved agreements with Premier ER & Urgent Care and Live Oak Health Partners to provide molecular testing, which is the primary

Mar 15

Testing for the COVID-19 virus – what tests should be used and who should get them – returned to the forefront of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Hays County Commissioners Court.

But commissioners

and County Judge Ruben Becerra also widened the discussion to include how and when the county’s economy should be “reopened,” how the virus has affected property values and how the impacts might carry over into budgeting for the FY 2021 Fiscal Year.

Concerning testing, the

Confirmed cases

Mar 16

BY ANITA MILLER

Hays County COVID-19 Statistics • as of April 21

Mar13

County looks past testing to contract tracing, economy

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Mar 14

s.

NEWS

Page 2

Woodcreek Woodcreek

Active

Wimberley Wimberley

Total

Uhland Uhland San Marcos San Marcos Niederwald Niederwald Mountain City Mountain City Kyle Kyle

Active Total

Hays Hays Dripping Springs Drip.

Springs Driftwood Driftwood Buda Buda

Bear Bear Creek Creek Austin* Austin 0 0

10 10

20 20

30 30

40 40

50 50

60 60

Kyle Coffers: Bracing for fallout due to COVID-19 Continued from pg. 1

look like, 10 it’s hard to know which expenditures need to be deferred, frozen or, in the worst case, cut,” Sellers said. Currently, he said, city staff is taking “a wait-andsee approach at least for the next few weeks or so.”

There are currently almost $20 million in Capital Improvement Projects “underway or soon to be underway,” he said, explaining that the city had long planned for this year’s undertakings. This year, he said, “was really our year for capital improvements.

We’ve been modeling and engineering for many years to get to this year of large expenditures.”

However, Sellers also noted that during times of

deficits, 20 “where the economy needs to kind of do a kickstart, a very good place to do that is in expenditures of capital projects.”

Sellers proposed deferring some equipment purchases and possibly some water line improvements.

The Plum Creek Project is the largest expenditure from the Storm Drainage Utility Fund and Sellers said he’s “not sure” that will be gotten around to this year.

Additionally, Sellers said some open positions have been frozen along with nonessential travel. New professional contracts will not be entered into and any equipment purchase greater than $25,000 will

have to 30 be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Also, he said, the city does have a fund balance that will allow it to “float several months of deficit,” though the city doesn’t plan to dip into it this fiscal year.

“We are confident in our budget and in our ability to get through this and hopefully to get through it without any disruption to the organization or to the residents,” Sellers said, before opening up the meeting to questions from council members.

Council member Alex Villalobos asked if next year’s property taxes will be affected. The Hays County Appraisal District recently

TEXAS DISPOSAL SYSTEMS

TDS IS NOW HIRING! Find your career with us.

Opportunities Include: Paralegal, Welder, CDL Drivers, Temporary Special Event Workers, Mechanics, and more.

Visit our website www.texasdisposal.com/careers to view and apply! For more information call 512-329-1778

sent out 40 appraisals that, according to Finance Director Pervez Moheet, show an overall nine percent rise in property values.

Moheet predicted that protests against the appraisals will rise. “We think

that50 nine percent will not hold when the certified tax roll is presented to us in July.”

Council members Villalobos, Tracy Scheel and Robert Rizo asked about a plan for households

delinquent on their utility 60 payments and Sellers said staff would “come up to something” to present to council. “Up to this point our messaging has just

KYLE COFFERS, 4

Opinion

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We’re a ship without a rudder, waiting to see what the winds have in store.”

–Howard Koontz, Director of Development for Kyle. Story on page 1.

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Page 3

EDITORIAL

When to turn the dial To mask or not to mask. That is the question – here, and at a lot of protests in state capitols across the country.

It’s easy to demonize or ridicule the other side of the mask – those that wear, or those that don’t.

But surely, there is common ground. Or, at least, a bit of common understanding to be had.

We come down firmly on the side of prevention.

This pandemic is real, its death and destruction are real. And we applaud local and state governments that are doing their best to minimize the carnage, including with emergency preventive measures that would be outlandish in ordinary times.

Even so, we are reminded that those of us who support lockdowns and strong government intervention should acknowledge that there is room for discussion here – that the Constitutional questions are just as real as the virus, and the economic devastation we’re seeing is just as real as the health risks of COVID-19.

As the Wall Street Journal said in an editorial this week, many of those questioning government lockdown rules and social distancing are not science-deniers or anti-government agitators, they’re just desperate Americans who want the opportunity to support their families through honest work.

We’re convinced by the data that this disease is virtually certain to disrupt the economy whether the government imposes lockdowns or not. In fact, evidence from the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic indicates that aggressive government intervention and management lessen the long-term economic damage.

Since government intervention almost certainly also spreads out the burden on hospitals and, thus, saves lives, we believe emergency measures make sense, provided they are tied to rational goals and objectives and clearly explained to citizens. But let’s not kid ourselves: limiting movement, and assembly, the right to work or to laze in the park, these are real infringements on liberty.

We are watering dangerous seeds. Just because some of the people complaining about these regulations are paranoid, or are unscrupulous hypocrites and proven liars who would peddle their own children for a buck (yes, we’re talking about you, and your Austin InfoWars show, Alex Jones), doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be talking about how to balance Constitutional freedoms and public health, COVID response and the economy.

In these fevered times, we need clear heads where we can find them. There’s not really much doubt that social distancing will save lives – and probably dollars in the long run. But there’s still a lot we don’t know, and a real conversation about alternatives would be good for the country.

In the meantime, following the rules that are in place makes good sense. So does making sure those rules are imposed, and executed, with as much common sense, empathy and dignity as possible.

As some experts have said, opening up won’t come with the flip of a switch, it’s more likely to be a “dial” than an “on-off” button. We all look forward to the day when good data – and good reasoning – tells us it’s time to turn the knob.

News-Dispatch Barton Publications, Inc. News tips: anita@bartonpublicationsinc.com Opinions: csb@haysfreepress.com 113 W. Center St., Kyle, TX 78640 www.haysnewsdispatch.com 512-268-7862 Publisher Cyndy Slovak-Barton News Editor Anita Miller Sports Editor Moses Leos III Reporters Camelia Juarez, Sahar Chmais Columnists Bartee Haile, Pauline Tom, Clint Younts Proofreaders Jane Kirkham

Marketing Director Tracy Mack Marketing Specialist James Darby Production Manager David White Production Assistant Elizabeth Garcia Office Manager Verna Wommack Circulation/Classifieds David White, Verna Wommack Distribution Kimberlee Griffon

The News-Dispatch (USPS 011-401) 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

NEWS TIPS

If you think it’s news, we probably do too!

• Newsroom phone: 512-268-7862 • E-mail: news@haysfreepress.com • Mail: 113 W. Center St., Kyle, TX 78640

CORRECTIONS

Press briefings hit a new low “Enough!” President Trump admonished CNN’s Kaitlan Collins as she pressed for answers during Monday’s contentious coronavirus briefing. With daily feuding between Trump and media boiling over, stressed Americans should be forgiven if they, too, have had enough.

The president clearly relishes the briefings and the opportunity they provide for him to communicate directly with an audience eager for answers.

Many, including Wall Street Journal editorial writers, have criticized the choreography, with its lengthy monologues about the administration’s accomplishments. Then came Monday. The president doubled down, as pundits would put it, by running a campaign-style video produced by White House staff, designed to defend Trump’s handling of the crisis.

It was bad theater, and bad form. Worse, it was the type of thing that can’t possibly help the president achieve any of his goals: ending the pandemic, restoring the economy and winning

was “pushback” against such mitigation. WithGuest in hours the president retweeted criticism of Dr. Column Fauci that closed with,

by Peter Funt “Time to #FireFauci.”

It was against that background that Trump re-election. decided to treat the White Here’s the timeline, to House press corps and use another term favored viewers of multiple TV in this soap opera. On outlets to his video mashApril 8 the Journal hit a up. CNN and MSNBC cut nerve with an editorial away during part of it. noting, “Mr. Trump seems After rejoining, CNN’s onto have concluded that screen summaries includthe briefings could be a ed, “Angry Trump turns showcase for him.” Within briefing into propaganda hours a presidential session” and “Trump tweet responded with the melts down…” favorite expression, “Fake The president baitNews!” On April 11, the ed the press, and they New York Times pubgobbled it up. Meanwhile, lished a lengthy report serious debate continues detailing the adminisin television newsrooms tration’s slow, or at least about whether to carry uneven, response to the the briefings live. Having coronavirus outbreak. spent the first years of my Similar stories appeared career in ABC’s New York in the Washington Post newsroom I can state and via the Associated with certainty that there is Press. On April 12, Dr. An- no more difficult decision thony Fauci, lead medical than whether to grant airadviser on the corotime to a president – and navirus task force, was when to pull the plug. interviewed by CNN’s Jake Maybe in the Tapper and was obliged to multi-platform age there concede the obvious: Ear- is no reason for so many lier mitigation against the outlets to carry the briefvirus could have saved ings. Yet, if I were a news lives. He added that there executive I would opt

to carry all of it during a national emergency – but not if it contains blatant campaign videos. And, as a viewer, I want to watch all of it, even as the sparring between the president and press becomes almost insufferable.

The sad irony here is that the administration and state governors from both parties – along with many business leaders – have succeeded, for the most part, in putting differences aside for the good of the nation. Why can’t the president do the same in dealing with the White House press corps?

At one point in Monday’s briefing the president said to Paula Reid of CBS: “Right now, nearly 20 million people are unemployed, and tens of thousands of Americans are dead. How is this. . . supposed to make people feel confident in an unprecedented crisis?”

Exactly, Mister President. Start repairing and refocusing these briefings.

Enough is enough.

Peter Funt is a writer and speaker and former host of Candid Camera.

No Corona, no worries I

t’s been a while since my last column. Some of y’all might’ve been thinking I’ve done caught that coronavirus, but most of my friends know I mostly drink Lone Star.

I haven’t had a Corona in ten years, not since I took a swig from a real skunky bottle. So, no, I don’t have the virus. I’m still on this side of the dirt and plan to stay that way. That’s why I am doing a self quarantine.

It’s not that I’m afraid of that teeny little virus.

I have faced bigger and meaner foes. I have been charged by angry bulls and a wounded wild boar.

I have encountered rattlesnakes as long as I am tall.

I underwent an extensive back surgery and came out anesthesia healthier and taller than before. I have survived shopping at Target on Black Friday.

I figure if these foes didn’t do me in, then I can probably beat the coronavirus.

The key word in that

Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or reputation of any person, firm or corporation which may appear in the pages of the Hays Free Press will be corrected upon being brought to the attention of the publisher.

DEADLINES

out for more snakebite remedy in the near future.

Crow’s Just in case, you know.

Some of y’all might ask, Nest “How do you keep from

by Clint Younts getting cabin fever?” Son, it don’t take some pandemic to give me cabin last sentence is “probafever. I get anxious from bly.” I’m technically in being indoors after being the vulnerable group in the house for more since I’ve entered my 6th than an hour. I get outside decade on this planet, every chance I get, no but I am healthy with matter what the weather’s no underlying medical like. My wife often asks conditions besides having me why I go out to relieve half a brain. I’ve never had myself when it’s cold outa brain scan, but several side. I tell her it’s to save people have told me, “If water, but in reality, I just you had half a brain…” So, need to get outdoors.

I figure I might use that When I see all the diminutive brain of mine bad news on TV, I get to find ways to keep from depressed. Maybe get a getting this virus. touch of anxiety along Since I have a source of with it. But as soon as income that allows me to I step outside, I begin stay home, I don’t leave receiving therapy. Breaththe ranch except to gather ing in fresh air, the sound essentials to survive, of birds and tree frogs like food and necessary cascading around me, I household items. And immediately start to feel with the grass so tall and better. Long walks in the with this warm weather, woods or time spent on I might have to venture my tractor works better

• The deadline for display advertising and any contributed news copy is 5 p.m. Friday the week prior to publication.

• The deadline for Letters to the Editor and classified word advertising is noon Monday the week of publication, though we encourage readers and advertisers to observe the Friday deadline.

LETTERS GUIDELINES

than anything a therapist can prescribe.

This past week, every afternoon is spent in one of the backyards here with the family, socializing and watching our grandchildren play. Some days, smoke hovers over us as ribs and sausage sit in the smoker. Just beyond the barbed wire fence that surrounds our ranch is the unseen foe that has changed lives across the world, but here, at the Crow’s Nest, it’s just another Saturday afternoon, 7 days a week, filled with laughter, children playing and sipping cold beer. No Corona here.

A little advice from this old coot with half a brain: Stop watching the morning news. Don’t read Facebook posts from Covidiots. Be smart. Be positive. Be safe. We’re all in this together, and we will get through it. Take care, and I’ll try to write more often, perhaps beneath the shade tree.

We welcome locally written letters to the editor on timely topics of community interest. We ask that you keep them to about 350 words in length and that you not indulge in personal attacks on private individuals. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity. All letters should be signed by the author and include a daytime phone number where the author can be contacted for verification. Letter writers are limited to one letter per month. Letters can be emailed to csb@haysfreepress.com.

NEWS

Page 4

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Chalk mosaics spreading from Hays CISD to world

HAVING VISION PROBLEMS? IT COULD BE CATARACTS

BY SAHAR CHMAIS

When physical education teacher Caroline Spradling shared a how-to mosaic using sidewalk chalk and masking tape, she had no idea the activity would spread worldwide.

Spradling sensationalized this time-consuming five-dollar activity and did not know she was doing so.

She admits her art skills are not the sharpest, yet her Facebook post has led to the plastering of mosaics on sidewalks, doors, fences, windows, stones and more.

“With this whole online learning,” said Spradling, PE teacher at Blanco Vista elementary school, “I’m learning that parents just want things that keep their kids busy. I’m trying to come up with fun things in general, not just PE things.”

Mosaic chalk art was not this coach’s idea originally.

She got it from a friend, Carrie Rabke, and wanted to share the clever idea with instructions. But the idea is not Rabke’s, either.

Spradling is unsure how far back it goes back, but the most important part of it is that the idea moves forward — and it has.

“I thought kids would love to do that, so I posted some of [Rabke’s] pictures and told people how to do it!”

After sharing the howto, Spradling went from 50 Facebook followers to over 14,000. She began receiving messages with photos from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Washington, Alabama and elsewhere.

Journalists from the UK began requesting to interview this Hays CISD elementary school teacher.

She felt overwhelmed with all the attention, especially as she had never been interviewed before.

“When I posted that on my page, I didn’t think much about it,” Spradling told the Hays Free Press, “but I got all these shares

SPECIALIZING IN:

• Cataract Surgery • Premium IOL Implants • Lasik Surgery • Glaucoma - Medical and Surgical • Macular Degeneration

Schedule your visit today 512.443.9715 www.HowertonEye.com Kyle Office 5401 FM 1626, Ste 365 Kyle, TX 78640 Austin Office 2610 S IH-35 Austin, TX 78704

Three locations to serve you Southwest Austin Office 5625 Eiger Rd, Ste 100 Austin, TX 78735

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAROLINE SPRADLING Former Blanco Vista Elementary school student enjoyed the mosaics activity with his younger sister. He drew a Pikachu in the center of his chalk creation.

After sharing the how-to, Spradling went from 50 Facebook followers to over 14,000. She began receiving messages with photos from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Washington, Alabama and elsewhere. and likes.”

People began putting their own twist on the mosaics. Some used acrylic to create a semi-permanent piece, some drew messages in the art saying “love,” wrote people’s names and a cross in the middle.

Some kids drew cartoon characters and made the mosaic three-dimensional.

Those who do not have yards drew the mosaics on canvases.

The activity muses have not stopped here for Spradling; she continues to churn out more ideas for students to participate in and updates the Blanco Vista Elementary PE Facebook page for everyone to

people messaging me. It’s a little overwhelming in a way; I was just putting out a fun activity, but to have all this positive feedback is rewarding in a way.”

try. Some exercises require more movement, considering Spradling’s athletic background and field, and some of them are more mellow. She even combined the sidewalk chalk with sport and “posted some other chalk obstacle courses.”

“I don’t know who’s in charge but thank you for the great ideas on getting kids moving during this coronavirus quarantine,” wrote a page follower. “I have shared your post with my people here in the Chicago suburbs.”

Even though Spradling is adjusting to going viral, she feels very happy that her posts are creating positive effects and feedback.

“I’m just happy it’s putting smiles on people’s faces and that families, not just kids, are having fun with it,” Spradling said in her upbeat tone. “I’m getting lots of feedback of

We’re here to help you and your families.

Please contact us if we can be of assistance.

Senator Judith Zaffirini Judith.Zaffirini@senate.texas.gov

Capitol Office: 512/463-0121 District Office: 956/722-2293

P.O. Box 627 Laredo, Texas 78042

Pol. adv. paid for by Senator Judith Zaffirini, Guadalupe Castillo, Treasurer, P.O. Box 627, Laredo, TX 78042.

512-302-5555 | www.atfcu.org

Refinance and Save for the Things that Matter Most

Left, his 3-Dimensional mosaic was sent to coach Spradling all the way from Calgary, Canada, showing her an evolved version of the mosaics. Bottom right, a student in Kyle, made the mosaic semi-permanent using acrylic paint on his door, expressing his faith in the middle of the art. Bottom left, a former Blanco Vista student outlined his name in the mosaics using pastel colors.

Auto Loans

New, Used, and Refinance

Kyle Coffers

taken us through this disaster period.” Sellers said although at some point decisions will have to be made on how long to defer utility bills, “as of right now, our status quo plan is just through the end of this month.” Council members were adamant that no one has his or her water cut off, but also want the word out that arrangements will

have to be made to settle the delinquencies.

Scheel also asked about the city’s wastewater treatment plant expansion. “Things are on track as much as they can be,” Sellers said. Construction has not yet begun on the expansion, though the facility has been running over capacity and a contractor has been chosen.

Sellers said the contractor asked that the city defer its Notice to Proceed on the project because of trouble staffing due to the pandemic.

Director of Development Howard Koontz had this to say about the uncertainty the bug has brought, “We’re a ship without a rudder, waiting to see what the winds have in store.”

as low as

Continued from pg. 2

2.59

%

APR1

Up to 72 Months

Annual Percentage Rate. Actual rate may vary depending on credit qualifications. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. This Auto Loan rate is applicable for the purchase of a new or used vehicle, or the refinance of an existing vehicle loan from another lender. New auto loan of $20,000 for 72 months at 2.59% APR will have a monthly payment of $300. Federally Insured by NCUA. 1

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Page 5

Buda musician fills gig gap with driveway shows, ‘corona-grams’

BY ANITA MILLER

Everyone has adapted to staying at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic differently, but those who live in the Meadows neighborhood of Buda have let their creative lights shine.

Since Texans were ordered to stay home in order to prevent the spread of the virus, the neighborhood has been the site of a number of spontaneous events carried out within the protocols of social distancing.

A new one appeared on Saturday, when musician Fallon Franklin performed on her driveway for a multi-generational audience. “Older people drove up and sat in their cars,” she said. “Families came out walking with their kiddos with their masks on.”

A professional musician and single mother, Franklin has been out of work since April 12. Although the driveway concert was a first, she’s been making what money she can through Facebook Live concerts (viewers can tip though Pay Pal and Venmo) and singing telegrams.

She’s also under contract with Little Land for a weekly performance streamed for the children of families with memberships.

Franklin said it took about a week after the stay-at-home order until her neighbors picked up the pace. “Before that, everyone was scared about what’s going on. Then I think everybody realized you can’t hide under the bed, that there are ways to get out in the sunshine without interacting.”

On Easter, the Easter Bunny bicycled through the neighborhood and some families put decorated eggs in their yards.

Another day there was a

BY ANITA MILLER

The neighbors also help the most vulnerable among them. For example, Franklin said, older people put either red or green lights in their windows. “If they have a green light on it means they have everything and they are fine,” she said. “A red light means ‘if someone is going to the store, we need something.’”

COURTESY PHOTO

Buda musician Fallon Franklin performs in her driveway for passersby as well as doing weekly live shows on Facebook. She also performs “Corona-grams” for people who want to dedicate a special song to someone.

“safari” to spot stuffed animals in windows and on another, a “bear hunt” inspired by the story “Going on a Bear Hunt.”

The neighbors also help the most vulnerable among them. For example, Franklin said, older people put either red or green lights in their windows. “If they have a green light on it means they have everything and they are fine,” she said. “A red light means ‘if someone is going to the store, we need something.’”

The idea for the driveway concert was partly inspired by a man in New York City

performing from his fire escape. “I thought, that’s the way to stay creative, make some music and maybe even make some tips.”

Franklin’s “Corona-grams” were inspired by singing telegrams popular in the 1940s and 50s. “I sing whatever you want and dedicate it to whoever you want,” she said. “I sing a song directly to you from somebody.”

Her weekly live shows on Facebook are usually mid-afternoon either Saturday or Sunday. “It’s usually just an hour-long show where you interact

and request songs.”

Between in-home school and performing, Franklin said she’s pursuing assistance — applying for “24 grants, four government loans and unemployment.

Nothing has come my way.”

She realizes there are lots of people in the same boat.

“I haven’t met a musician who has gotten any of this,” she said in reference to an allegedly inclusion of “gig” workers in government programs. “It’s crazy.”

Fallon Franklin can be found on Facebook or at thenewfallon@yahoo.com.

‘Meals 4 One and all’ brings restaurants, residents together to help those in need STAFF REPORT An innovative program launched by the Kyle Chamber of Commerce has enlisted a variety of local restaurants in an initiative to help families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Restaurants participating in “Meals 4 One and All” will, for every four entrees sold, donate one meal to organizations that provide food and services to families in need throughout Hays County. Included are HaysHope2Go (a program of the Hays CISD), Hays County Food Bank and the San Marcos Youth Council.

“The program is a win, win for everyone in Hays County,” said Julie Snyder, CEO of the Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Restaurants are generating meals for nonprofits struggling to keep up with demand while driving sales, which allows them to remain open, keep employees, and offer an essential need to their community.”

“The solution to our challenges can be found when we work together,” said Steve Swindell, owner of Ilario’s Italian Cuisine & Catering.

“There’s a full circle of people who want to help one

Permission revoked by County for pipeline to cross under roadways were polluted and subsequent tests on Anticipate more well water turned up work stoppages along reported carcinogens, the route of the Kinder though Kinder Morgan Morgan pipeline argued that many are through Hays County. “naturally occurring” The commissioners in the area. court on Tuesday voted The order would to revoke permission be in effect, Shell’s for the energy giant motion said, “until to cross any roads such time Kinder in the county. The Morgan has complied unanimous vote with the Railroad came after a lengthy Commission’s Notice executive session of Violation.” The and the motion motion asked for was made by Pct. 3 staff “to develop a Commissioner Lon policy” concerning Shell. requiring the company It was in Shell’s to employ groundprecinct that penetrating radar to contractors on the look for karst features Permian Highway as well as the presence Pipeline (PHP) hit a of water wells in the karst feature on March immediate vicinity.

28 while attempting a “Kinder Morgan horizontal bore under would know exactly the Blanco River. That what is going to be resulted in the spillage asked of them in the of thousands of gallons future.” of drilling mud and How many roadways drilling fluid into the the project would Trinity Aquifer. have to cross within At least two the county was not nearby water wells discussed.

Weather the storm with your smartphone.

Everything you need to report and track outages in the palm of your hand.

Learn more about the app at pec.coop/app.

COURTESY PHOTOS Ilario’s restaurant is participating in “Meals 4 One and All” program, which for every four entrees sold, donate one meal to organizations that provide food and services to families in need throughout Hays County.

As of Tuesday morning, 1,889 entries had been earned for donation. In the program’s first week, 848 meals had been earned for donation. Four restaurants had not reported as of Tuesday morning. another. ‘Meals 4-One and All’ is simply the vehicle to achieve it.”

Currently more than a dozen restaurants are participating with more joining each day. Find a

complete list of participating restaurants at https:// www.kylechamber.org/ meals-4/1-and-all and stay connected on Facebook at MEALS 4/1 AND ALL Facebook page.

Money Market Accounts

Safe and reliable growth.

Our Money Market account gives you more earning power than a typical savings account with the flexibility to use your money when you need it.

Earn monthly dividends

Quick access to your money

Federally insured

by NCUA

Open an account today! | rbfcu.org Federally insured by NCUA

Rates, terms and program subject to change without notice; other restrictions may apply. Minimum initial deposit and minimum balance is $2,500.

RN491897

Page 6

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

‘Black blizzard’ Hays school district distributes devices for at-home learning looked like the end of the world

BY SAHAR CHMAIS

Texas History

by Bartee Haile

mothers took special precautions with small children as the suffocating substance invaded their homes. At Lockney east of Plainview, blankets and sheets were draped over cribs to protect sleeping infants. Elsewhere, damp cloths were placed on tiny faces to filter out the airborne particles.

A significant number of livestock left out in the open suffocated to death as did many chickens. Birds adjusted their altitude to near ground level, and some died in head-on collisions with cars. A Lynn County farmer reported his rooster spent the storm in the henhouse and came out crowing as soon as it subsided in the apparent belief the sun had risen.

For Wichita Falls the storm was less a duster than a “norther” that caused the temperature to take a 46-degree nosedive late Sunday night.

Alpine awoke to choking dust and two-block visibility Monday morning, while Kerrville experienced similar conditions before the black blizzard petered out in Central Texas.

The aftermath in Lubbock was typical of smaller communities throughout the stricken Panhandle. Everything from residential lawns to garments in clothing stores was a dull shade of gray. The whole town needed a good housecleaning, which for a lot of businesses involved shoveling the accumulated dust out the door.

The damage to the winter wheat crop was estimated at $20 million, a staggering sum for the mid-1930’s. For more than a few farmers hoping to keep their heads above water, the loss was the last straw.

For other Panhandle Texans, the lingering effect of the black blizzard was acutely personal, painful and occasionally fatal. Hundreds came down with “dust pneumonia,” which posed a serious threat to the health of the elderly and those with respiratory problems. Recovery was often slow and difficult, and dozens of deaths were blamed on the unusual ailment.

requested a device has access. Hearon added that if more devices are needed, the district will provide them.

The majority of the devices are Chromebooks and about 10 percent are iPads. Due to high volumes of Chromebook requests from schools all over the U.S., getting the

The district had 3,942 requests for laptops, and so far 3,600 devices have been prepped for distribution across 25 campuses.

DeMasters - Daniel Insurance Agency, Inc. Serving Hays County since 1983 “Call us for all of your insurance needs”

Texas Lehigh Cement Co., LP

Angiel Dahl

Wimberley: 512-847-5549 or 512-847-9325 Dripping Springs: 512-858-4608

See Solution on 7

ENTERTAINMENT

3200 Kyle Crossing (512) 523 9012 Experience it in

EVX

ENHANCED VIEWING EXPERIENCE

For all showtimes and listings, please check our website or call showline!

SPOT

1180 Thorpe Lane (512) 210 8600 Cinema Eatery & Social Haus

$5 Tuesday Frenzy

1250 WONDER WORLD DR.

(512) 805 8005 EVO-ENTERTAINMENT.COM Films. Lanes. Games.

devices took extra time.

To ensure health protection from COVID-19, the devices are being wiped down with disinfectant and placed in bags. Some pickup sites are using a drive-up system to reduce chances of infection.

If laptops and iPads have damage or technical issues, the district will swap the devices out for new ones. If physical damage, such as dropping the laptop or breaking it, is caused after receiving the Chromebook, the person has to pay $220, the cost of the Chromebook. Hearon said they have not run into this issue yet.

When the devices will be returned is unknown, but if schools reconvene as usual next year, Hearon said he would like to see returns happening in early June.

Texas Crossword and Sudoku sponsored by

Bartee’s book “Texas Entertainers: Lone Stars in Profile” is full of actors, singers and writers all Texans! Order your signed copy by mailing a check for $26.30 to Bartee Haile, P.O. Box 130011, Spring, TX 77393.

THE

O

n April 22, 1935, West Texans were still feeling the effects of the “black blizzard” that struck without warning the previous week blotting out the sun and causing every living creature to gasp for breath.

Drought, overgrazing and outdated farming methods stripped much of the Great Plains of the ground cover needed to keep rich topsoil in place.

The inevitable result was the “Dust Bowl,” a 50-million acre desert centered in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and encompassing parched portions of New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas.

Dust storms were common in the breezy midsection of North America, but no one had ever seen the likes of the “choking rollers” which plagued the plains states during the Great Depression. A freak “blizzard,” so named for its size and intensity, made the long trip from the Dakotas in May 1934 and gave Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Boston an unprecedented dusting.

Roaring out of Colorado and Kansas with 85 mile-an-hour winds, a second blizzard struck the Texas Panhandle on Sun., Apr. 14, 1935. One moment the sky was clear over Amarillo, and the next an ominous bank of churning black clouds was bearing down on the dumbfounded inhabitants.

At least one terrified woman mistook the apocalyptic sight for the end of the world. A young boy never forgot how she “dropped down on her knees in the middle of Main Street and prayed out loud, ‘Dear, Lord! Please give them another chance!’”

“The day got dark as night,” recalled a Lubbock golfer, whose round was interrupted by the four o’clock arrival of the storm. “We thought it was rain. By the time it got close enough for us to see the rolling dust, we were in the very middle and could see nothing.

There was absolute blackness.”

“I was frightened by it,” shuddered a shaken student at Texas Tech. “It looked black as tar paper boiling over, all crumpled and wrapping around itself.” He cited a friend caught between a lecture hall and his dormitory by the blinding gale, who later swore he “could not see his hand in front of his face.”

From the window of his fourth-floor office in a downtown building, an eye doctor watched the daylight disappear. “It was completely black for 15 minutes, but the dark dust stayed around until nightfall.”

Visibility dropped to “zero or lower” (a curious choice of words by the Friona newspaper) leaving motorists with no choice but to pull off the road and wait for the dust to settle. Several drivers took shelter in a store near Tahoka only to have the fine powder follow them inside and overpower the glow from a single bulb.

Airplanes fared no better than automobiles, as the freak of nature grounded even the most daring pilots. Laura Ingalls climbed to 23,000 feet but could not escape the terrible tempest, which she called “the most appalling thing I ever saw in all my years of flying.” The aviatrix reluctantly landed at Amarillo calling off her highly publicized attempt to beat the time for cross-country flight by a woman.

Back on earth anxious

If they need a device, they will get it.

That’s the word from Matt Hearon, diretor of Technical Services at Hays CISD. With thousands of Hays CISD student not returning to their schools this school year, at-home learning is now up to the parents to complete. But with some students not having laptops to continue their education, some will struggle to stay on top of their studies.

“Everybody that needs a device will get one,” said Matt Hearon, director of Technology Services at Hays CISD. “We’re doing our best to make sure everyone gets a device.”

The district had 3,942 requests for laptops, and so far 3,600 de-

vices have been prepped for distribution across 25 campuses and most have been issued, according to Hearon. Some parents that registered for devices did not pick them up. Families with multiple district students will have to share devices if need be to ensure every household that

See Solution on 7

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Page 7

GAME OVER: UIL cancels remainder of 2019-20 season

BY MOSES LEOS III

continue” without school being in session. The UIL After holding out hope of had been working on possipossibly resuming activities bly resuming activities this later this spring, UIL officials spring, Breithaupt said.

Friday officially ran out the “Our highest priority clock on the 2019-20 season. during this challenging time In an effort to promote is ensuring the health and the health and safety of stu- safety of our students and dents, staff and parents, the communities and making University Interscholastic progress in the containment League (UIL), which overof COVID-19 in Texas,” sees high school athletic, Breithaupt said. “We are now academic and music comturning our attention to the petition in Texas, canceled 2020-21 school year.” all of its spring activities for The UIL’s cancellation the remainder of the school comes roughly a month afyear, according to a press ter it suspended play due to release. The announcement the outbreak of COVID-19, came several hours after which has so far infected Texas Gov. Greg Abbott more than 17,000 Texans announced all public and and has led to close to 500 private schools will remain deaths in the state. shuttered for the rest of the Many area coaches and school year. players took to social media Charles Breithaupt, UIL this week to honor their proexecutive director, said grams and celebrate a season in a statement that interthat ended far too soon. scholastic activity “cannot Dripping Springs Lady

Tiger basketball head coach Bailee Perrine lauded the efforts of her program, especially the team’s seven seniors, in a post on Twitter. Dripping Springs had finished the 2019-20 regular season with a 21-1 record and was preparing for the bi-district round of the playoffs, and possibly a second straight run to state, when play was suspended March 13.

“These ladies are some of the most amazing girls I have had the privilege to coach,” Perinne wrote. “I wish we got one more run at it together. I know y’all would have carried us far.”

The news hit especially hard for the countless number of senior athletes whose final season on the high school playing field was cut short. Lehman High senior Lexi Bechtel via Twitter celebrated the Lobo softball

PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III

Members of the Lehman Lady Lobo girls soccer team take a curtain call and greet their fans March 11 after defeating Akins 4-0 in the regular season finale at Lobo Field. Ultimately, the contest was the team’s final game of the season after the UIL Friday officially canceled the 2019-20 season for all activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

program and her teammates on what could have been a successful 2020 campaign.

Lehman’s softball team opened play in 25-6A with a 3-0 mark before the cancellation.

“To the program that shaped me into the leader

I am today and pushed me past my limits, you will be missed,” Bechtel wrote.

Hays Rebel head baseball coach James Howard said he was “absolutely heartbroken” for his team’s senior class. Hays CISD baseball teams had played only five

combined district games before the season came to a close in mid-March.

“Thank you for everything you have done for our program,” Howard wrote to his seniors on Twitter. “Best wishes in all your future endeavors. We love you.”

OBITUARIES BOGUE

Michigan State university in East Lansing, MI, and Grant his PhD (1963) in SociolBogue, age ogy from Wayne State 91, of Buda, University in Detroit, MI Texas, died While earning his PhD, on April 2, Grant was employed as 2020, at his a member of Detroit’s residence, Children and Youth attended Commission. As part of by his wife that commission, he was of 37 years, Hilda Ochoa an early advocate for the (Torres) Bogue. He was establishment of a crisis born Granvol Grant Bogue help line in Detroit, MI on August 28, 1928, in Grant was an assistant Kansas City, MO, son of professor at Allegheny Granvol Hurst and Laverna College (Meadville, PA), Alberta Marguerite (Harris) and was a professor at Bogue. the University of ArkanGrant’s early life was sas (Fayetteville, AR), at spent in eastern Kansas, Texas A & M University until moving to Lansing, (College Station, TX), and MI in the early 1940s. He at Western Illinois Univergraduated from Sexton sity (Macomb, IL). He also High School in Lansing, MI served as the Department in 1946.

Head of Sociology and He earned his B.A. Anthropology at Western (1950) in Sociology and Illinois University for sevAnthropology from Micheral years. igan State University in During the course East Lansing, MI. He then of his career, Grant has served in the Korean War researched, written, and (1951-1953), attaining the presented many topics, rank of Captain in the Air including juvenile delinForce. He was stationed in quency, Latin American Suwon and in Osan, Korea communities, and the so(1953), cial effects of political conGrant then continued troversy, race, and ethnic his education, earning his background. He authored M.A. (1954) in Sociology “Basic Sociological Reand Anthropology from search Design” a textbook

Buda, Texas • 15300 S. IH-35 • 312-1615

Debbie Thames, Agent 251 N. FM 1626, Bldg. 2, Ste. C, Buda, Texas 78610 312-1917 BUDA

DRUG STORE

203 Railroad Street Downtown Buda Pharmacy 312-2111 Fountain 312-2172

published in 1981.

Grant was a strong civil rights and community service advocate, a competitive chess player, and enjoyed playing the harmonica and piano. He maintained a commercial pilot’s license for most of his adult life. He was a licensed aircraft mechanic and Inspector and in 2017, he received the Federal Aviation Administration’s Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” and the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Awards.

For many years he volunteered for the Illinois River Authority Coast Guard (Illinois) and the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) Austin, TX. Grant was a member of the American Sociological Association, American Federation of Teachers and The American Civil Liberty Union. Life member of American Veterans TX Post 115 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12058 (Kyle, TX).

Surviving are his wife, Hilda of Buda, TX; three children, Lynn (Ed) Hocraffer of Bushnell, IL; Dr. Ross (Carol) Bogue of Danvers, IL; and Ann (An-

512-312-2383

Locally owned and operated by Jimmy and Cindi Ferguson

BAPTIST First Baptist Church-Buda 104 San Marcos St., Buda First Baptist Church-Kyle 300 W. Center St., Kyle Hays Hills Baptist Church 1401 FM 1626, Buda

Immanuel Baptist Church 4000 E. FM 150, 4 miles east of Kyle Center Union Baptist Church Goforth Rd., Buda

Baptist Church of Driftwood 13540 FM 150 W.

MASS SCHEDULE: Saturday evening: 5:30 p.m.

Sunday 8:30 a.m. (Spanish), 11 a.m. (English) 5 p.m. (English)

OFFICE HOURS Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Southern Hills Church of Christ 3740 FM 967, Buda EPISCOPAL St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church 725 RR 967, Buda St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church RR 3237 (Wimberley Rd.), Kyle St. Alban’s Episcopal Church 11819 IH-35 South JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses FM 2770, Kyle Jehovah’s Witnesses South 10802 Manchaca Rd., Manchaca LUTHERAN Living Word Lutheran ELCA 2315 FM 967, Buda Redeeming Grace Lutheran LCMS FM 1626 & Manchaca Rd., Manchaca Resurrection Church, CLBA 401 FM 967, Buda St. John Lutheran Church 9865 Camino Real, Uhland The Well Buda

CATHOLIC

CHRISTIAN

CONFESSION Saturdays: 4 p.m.-5 p.m.

Please contact us for details at 512-443-1366 or visit https://harrellfuneralhomes.com.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

St. Michael’s Catholic Church S. Old Spanish Trail, Uhland

1100 Main Street • Buda, Texas 78610 Office: 512-312-2520 • Fax: 512-295-2034 • santacruzcc.org Rev. David Leibham, Pastor • Fr. Rito Davila, Parochial Vicar

Harrell Funeral Home is prepared to care for families safely through these unprecedented times. The funeral home is quickly adapting and offering new services to help families receive the support they need from funeral directors, grief counselors, and friends. Despite new shelter-in-place restrictions, we offer traditional planning plus several new on-line solutions to meaningfully commemorate the life of loved ones in these unusual times.

Monte del Olivar Christian Center 2400 FM 150 E., Kyle

St. Anthony Marie Claret Church 801 N. Burleson, Kyle

Santa Cruz Catholic Church

Harrell Funeral Home Is Prepared to Care For Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic

CHURCH OF CHRIST

Santa Cruz Catholic Church 1100 Main Street, Buda

Texas Crossword, from page 6

Your Business & Referrals Are Appreciated

Buda-Kyle Church of Christ 3.5 miles south of Buda on FM 2770

Primera Mision Bautista Mexicana Kyle

Texas Crossword Solution

Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm 251 N. FM 1626 #2C, Buda, TX 78610 Office: (512) 312-1917 • Fax: 312-0688 dvthames@austin.rr.com

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

Manchaca Baptist Church Lowden Lane & FM 1626

15359 IH-35, Ste. B • P.O. Box 1364, Buda, TX 78610

AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BOAT • HEALTH

Faith Assembly of God 1030 Main St., Buda

Southeast Baptist Church 5020 Turnersville Rd., Creedmoor

McDonald’s of Buda

Debbie Thames Insurance Agency

Come worship with us

Sledge Chapel Missionary Baptist Church 709 Sewell, Kyle

Your Hometown McDonald’s

drew) Muller of Holmdel, NJ; his former wife, Patricia (Prosser) Bogue; 11 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements provided by Harrell Funeral Home, Kyle. Please visit their website: www. harrellfuneralhomes.com to submit a message to the family of Grant Bogue in his obituary listing.

Please join us to celebrate Grant’s life on at 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 28, 2020 at Harrell Funeral Home, 1715 Kirby, Kyle Texas. Interment of his cremated remains will follow at 2:00 p.m. with Honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery 1520 Harry Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX. Please sign up for text messages of future service announcements for Grant’s Memorial service on his obituary page at www.harrellfuneralhomes. com.

In lieu of flowers and to honor his memory, the family requests donation be made to: American Veterans TX Post 115 (401 Rebel Dr, Kyle, TX 78640) and/or the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12058 (103 S Front St, Kyle, TX 78640).

METHODIST Buda United Methodist Church San Marcos & Elm St., Buda Kyle United Methodist Church Sledge & Lockhart St., Kyle Journey United Methodist 4301 Benner Rd, Kyle, Tx St. Paul’s United Methodist Church 7206 Creedmoor Rd., Creedmoor

TEXAS LEHIGH CEMENT CO. LP

The Connection Church 1235 S. Loop 4, Buda

Like us on Facebook

Hays Free Press

Antioch Community Church Old Black Colony Rd., Buda

Providing you with your most important local news for Kyle, Buda and surrounding communities

Completed & Perfected Faith Church Tobias Elementary Cafeteria, FM 150, Kyle Kingdom United Christian Church 100 Madison Way, Buda Mission Fellowship Church 200 San Marcos Street, Buda

Pure Texas

New Covenant Community Church 1019 Main Street, Buda (in Dance Unlimited)

Spring Water!

Vertical Chapel 5700 Dacy Lane (McCormick M.S.), Buda A Fountain of Life Church 302 Millenium Dr. Kyle

Friendly, Courteous Service

Fellowship Church at Plum Creek 160 Grace Street at 2770, Kyle

Call 1-866-691-2369

Word of Life Christian Faith Center 118 Trademark Drive, Buda

Sudoku Solution

Por Tu Gracia Fellowship 701 Roland Lane, Kyle Trinity United Chuch of Niederwald 13700 Camino Real, Hwy. 21, Niederwald PENTECOSTAL Mision de Casa de Oracion S. Hwy. 81, Kyle New Life Sanctuary Kyle Science Hall Elementary 1510 Bebee Rd. PRESBYTERIAN

New Life Christian Church 2315 FM 967, Buda

Manchaca United Methodist Church FM 1626 & Manchaca Rd., Manchaca

St. John’s Presbyterian Church 12420 Hewitt Ln., Manchaca

Iglesia Israelita Casa de Dios 816 Green Pastures Dr., Kyle

Driftwood United Methodist Church RR 150 at County Road 170

First Presbyterian Church 410 W. Hutchison, San Marcos, TX 78666

Buda United Methodist Church Elm Street & San Marcos

*Traditional Worship (Worship Center)-9 a.m.

Sunday School (all ages)-10:00 a.m.

*Informal Worship (Worship Center)-11 a.m.

Wednesday Evening (Chapel)-6:30 p.m.

Rev. Lisa Straus Office 295-6981 • www.BudaUMC.org

Privately owned From local springs FREE DELIVERY 1ST 20 GAL. FREE

First Baptist Church

Hays Hills

A loving & caring Southern Baptist Church 104 S. San Marcos Street, Buda Buddy Johnson, Pastor • 295-2161

Baptist Church

Sunday School...........................................9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship....................................10:45 a.m.

8:30 a.m. Traditional service 9:45 a.m. Contemporary service 11:00 a.m. Blended service Adult, teen, children’s classes • Children’s worship Professionally-staffed nursery & pre-school

Sudoku Puzzle, from page 6

Wednesday Bible Study/Youth Activities...6:00 p.m.

AWANA’s (Wednesday)..........................6:00 p.m.

www.hayshills.org 1401 N. FM 1626

Nursery Provided www.firstbaptistbuda.com • fbcbuda@austin.rr.com

Page 8

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

DSISD campuses announce their Teachers of the Year Dripping Springs ISD announced 2019-20 Campus Teachers of the Year on April 15. They are: Annette Hambright (Sycamore Springs Elementary, Special Education), Dave Hammond (Dripping Springs Middle School, special education), Jordyn LaMirand (Sycamore Springs Middle School, Special Education), Michael Lemonds (Dripping Springs High School, business/ real estate); Lynne Maddox (Dripping Springs Elementary, first grade), Olivia Martinez (Walnut Springs Elementary, third grade), and Kristin Wright (Rooster Springs Elementary, fifth grade).

Campus winners were selected through a nomination and voting process of all staff at each school. The seven campus winners are now eligible for the DSISD Elementary Teacher of the Year and Secondary Teacher of the Year awards, which are chosen following a virtual interview process with a district committee and will be announced at the May 18 Board of Trustees meeting. Those two winners will represent Dripping Springs ISD in the state Teacher of the Year contest.

The Dripping Springs ISD Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by St. David’s HealthCare, in conjunction with the Dripping Springs Education Foundation.

Below is a brief career summary on each of the campus winners:

ANNETTE HAMBRIGHT Sycamore Springs Elementary teacher Annette Hambright is in her sixth year teaching and her third in Dripping Springs ISD. She is a Functional Academics teacher in Special Education, and works with students in multiple grade levels.

Previously she taught for two years in Lago Vista ISD and a year in Fredericksburg ISD. In addition to her Special Education certification, Hambright also is certified as an Early Childhood-Sixth Grade generalist and in English as a Second Language. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Major Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas A&M University.

DAVE HAMMOND

Dave Hammond is in his second year as a Special Education teacher at Dripping Springs Middle School.

He previously worked in Hays CISD for one year.

An Air Force veteran, Hammond is certified in both Special Education and core subjects for grades 4-8. He received his master’s degree in Education from Texas State University.

JORDYN LAMIRAND

Studies and Business Education at the secondary level. Lemonds graduated from Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history.

LYNNE MADDOX Veteran teacher Lynne Maddox has spent the last seven years at Dripping Springs Elementary. Currently she teaches first grade. Previously she taught elementary school for 16 years in Spring Hill ISD. Thomas possesses multiple certifications: Elementary Self-Contained (Grades 1-8), Elementary English (Grades 1-8), Elementary History (Grades 1-8) and supplemental certifications in Special Education and English as a Second Language. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Tyler.

Jordyn LaMirand is in her fourth year teaching at the middle school level in DSISD, working at Dripping Springs Middle School for one year before moving to Sycamore Springs Middle School when it opened in the fall of 2017. After serving as a Special Education inclusion teacher in OLIVIA MARTINEZ 2018-29, she is a FOCUS teacher this year. LaMirand, whose husband also Olivia Martinez is in teaches at SSMS, is certified Special her sixth year at Walnut Education (all grade levels), core subSprings Elementary after jects through sixth grade, and English as a Second Language. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University and her master’s degree in Education from Texas State University.

spending one year at Dripping Springs Elementary. Currently she teaches third grade. She also spent two years teaching at a private school before joining the DSISD family. She is certified as an Elementary Generalist (EC-6), and English as a Second Language Supplemental (EC-6). Martinez graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in English.

KRISTIN WRIGHT Fifth-grade teacher Kristin Wright is in her fifth year at Rooster Springs Elementary, and her 13th overall as an elementary teacher. Previously, she spent seven years with Eanes ISD and one year with Austin ISD. Wright has multiple certifications including Elementary Self-Contained (1-8), and Elementary Math, English, and Social Studies. She also is certified in Special Education (PK-12) and English as a Second Language Supplemental (PK12). She is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

MICHAEL LEMONDS Now in his fifth year at Dripping Springs High School, Michael Lemonds started his career in a business-related career. That background allowed him to bring real-world experience to DSHS students in the areas of business, financial markets, and entrepreneurship. He also created the Fundamentals of Real Estate course, which was the first of its kind in Texas high schools. He is certified in Social

Daffodil is a female, 2-year-old Staffordshire Terrier mix. She loves to get her little body moving and loves a good workout. Throw some water in the mix and you’ll really see this girl’s goofy side.

Although she does crave activity, she also thrives on learning and positive attention. Daffodil knows that a good mental workout is important too.

Reggie is a neutered male, 2-year-old Shorthair Tabby. He sports a big personality to go along with his size. He does exceptionally well as a feline companion for other cats and loves all people too. your life is missing a jungle cat-like atmosphere, Reggie can help you fulfill your dreams.

PAWS Shelter of Central Texas

is a non-profit, no-kill shelter operated primarily on donations and adoptions.

500 FM 150 E, Kyle, TX • 512 268-1611 • pawsshelter.org

All animals are fully vaccinated, spay/neutered, microchipped and dewormed.

Dripping Springs senior tapped by national debate association Dripping Springs High School senior John Mihaly has been selected as an Academic All-American by the National Speech and Debate Association.

The Academic All-American award recognizes high school students who have earned the degree of Superior Distinction in debate (750 points); completed at least five semesters of high school; demonstrated outstanding character and leadership; and earned a GPA of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent). This coveted award recognizes academic rigor, competitive speech and debate success, and personal excellence. From more than 141,000 student members fewer than 1,000 stu-

dents earn the Academic All-American award.

This award places Mihaly among the top 1 percent of all student members of the National Speech and Debate Association in the country.

Mihaly is a four-year member of the DSHS Speech and Debate Team, primarily competing in Lincoln Douglas Debate.

He has qualified for both UIL and TFA (Texas Forensics Association) state tournaments, and he has advanced to the elimination rounds of almost every tournament in which he has competed this year.

Other DSHS students who previously have been selected as NSDA Academic All-Americans

are seniors Christopher Gearing and Campbell Melton and junior Jackson Kaiser.

sponsored by

Town & CounTry VeTerinary HospiTal Committed to your pet’s health since 1978

Bill Selman, DVM • Kayley Goldsmith, DVM • Ben Fox, DVM 6300 FM 1327 (East of I35 and Creedmoor) Austin, TX 78747 Give us a call at 512-385-0486

We proudly support our hometown teams Texas hometown friendly bank

512-858-5159

401 E. Hwy 290W. P.O. Box 1243 Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Police Blotter The following is a tally of all calls made to law enforcement within Hays County between April 13 and April 19, 2020.

Below is a sample of events reported by law enforcement from April 13 through April 19, 2020. The location is where the event was reported or responded to and may not necessarily be where the event occured.

Civil Matter........................................ 13 Deliver Message................................. 3 Information........................................ 30 Property- Lost/Found/Imp................. 1 Alarm Business................................. 35 Alarm Residential............................. 21 Animal Calls...................................... 59 Field Euthanasia................................. 1 Loose Livestock............................... 14 Assault................................................ 8 Sexual Assault of a Child................... 1 Assault - Aggravated.......................... 2 Assist EMS........................................ 11 Assist Fire Dept.................................. 3 Assist Outside Agency..................... 19 SWAT/CNT.......................................... 1 Burglary Building................................ 3 Burglary Habitation............................ 4 Burglary Vehicle.................................. 9 Criminal Mischief................................ 5 Environmental Crime.......................... 1 Illegal Dumping................................... 2 Attended Death.................................. 2 Death Investigation............................ 2 Disturbance Noise............................ 19 Disturbance Physical Fight.............. 13 Disturbance Verbal........................... 19 Disorderly Conduct............................ 1 Child Custody..................................... 5 Narcotics/Information........................ 4 Fraud................................................. 16 Credit/Debit Abuse............................. 4 Harassment....................................... 12 Threat.................................................. 7 Sex Offenses....................................... 1 Mental Health Follow Up.................... 2 Mental Health Invest.......................... 6 Mental Health Transport..................... 2 Canine Search.................................... 6 Canine Training................................... 1 Drone Deployment............................. 2 Viol City Ordinance............................. 3 Missing Person................................... 1 Runaway............................................. 1 Public Assist....................................... 9 Community Contact......................... 54

Agency Activity BPD Assault HCSO Assault HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Assault HCSO Assault BPD Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Assault HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Assault HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Sex Offenses HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Assault - Aggravated HCSO SWAT/CNT HCSO Burglary - Habitation HCSO Burglary - Habitation BPD Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Accident - Major/Injury HCSO Deadly Conduct HCSO Deadly Conduct HCSO Deadly Conduct BPD Sexual Assault - Child HCSO Assault HCSO Death Investigation BPD Disturbance - Phys/Fight HCSO Disturbance - Phys/Fight

Disabled Vehicle............................... 24 Foot Patrol.......................................... 3 Close Patrol.................................... 536 Parental Discipline Assist................... 1 Flagged Down.................................... 3 Unsecured/Open Building.................. 1 Welfare Concern............................... 22 Suicidal Person................................... 3 Investigation....................................... 3 Supplement...................................... 40 Suspicious Circumstances.............. 24 Suspicious Person............................ 13 Suspicious Vehicle........................... 42 Wanted Person................................... 3 Identity Theft....................................... 2 Theft.................................................. 21 Recovery Stolen Vehicle.................... 2 Vehicle Theft....................................... 4 Accident Minor................................. 10 Accident Hit and Run......................... 4 Accident Major/Injury......................... 6 Accident Fleet..................................... 1 Abandoned/Stored Vehicle................ 6 Traffic Control/Direction..................... 1 Directed/Area Enforcement............. 80 Traffic Hazard.................................... 18 Attempt to Locate............................ 45 Pedestrian Stop.................................. 1 Parking Enforcement.......................... 3 Traffic Stop...................................... 154 Trespassing/Unwanted...................... 9 911 Abandoned/Open.................... 141 911 Aban/Misdial/Open................... 29 Deadly Conduct.................................. 3 Illegal Hunting/Poaching.................... 1 Discharge Firearm............................ 10 Private Tow/Repo............................... 2 Hemorrhage/Lacerations................... 1

Date 04/13/2020 04/13/2020 04/13/2020 04/13/2020 04/14/2020 04/14/2020 04/14/2020 04/14/2020 04/14/2020 04/15/2020 04/15/2020 04/17/2020 04/17/2020 04/16/2020 04/16/2020 04/18/2020 04/17/2020 04/17/2020 04/17/2020 04/18/2020 04/18/2020 04/17/2020 04/17/2020 04/17/2020 04/18/2020 04/18/2020 04/18/2020 04/19/2020 04/18/2020 04/18/2020 04/19/2020 04/18/2020 04/18/2020 04/18/2020 04/19/2020 04/19/2020 04/19/2020 04/19/2020 04/19/2020

Time 10:27:02 19:06:37 12:50:14 17:29:34 13:44:33 14:15:05 21:17:59 10:13:16 16:33:04 15:05:16 23:24:28 0:47:23 5:47:33 6:50:08 16:57:00 2:49:32 16:25:20 20:16:07 22:09:15 0:12:23 5:04:06 17:13:46 13:31:25 14:08:15 18:59:47 18:25:20 2917 12:28:37 3:25:32 12:39:15 18:21:22 3:50:06 17:19:27 20:11:41 21:35:04 8:43:15 19:25:30 10:21:12 10:29:16 23:51:35

Location Rocha Dr Buda Uhland Rd San Marcos Hays County Law Center Destiny Dr/Cotton Gin Rd Kyle Camino De Rancho/RR 3237 Wimberley HEB Of Dripping Springs Goforth Rd Kyle Cabelas Dr Buda Carrington Oaks Camino Real Kyle FM 2001 Buda Angela Rose Ct Austin Vista Garden Dr Buda Painted Desert Ln Buda Peach Tree Group Home Dripping Springs High Rd Kyle Lime Kiln Rd San Marcos Drift Along Way Driftwood Satterwhite Rd Buda Guemal Rd Buda Sundown Ave Buda Twin Mountain Rd Wimberley Darden Hill Rd Driftwood Fitzhugh Rd Dripping Springs Trautwein Rd Austin Hugo Rd San Marcos Robert L Johnson Rd Kyle Twin Lake Villas Duplexes Hunter Rd San Marcos Dayridge Dr Dripping Springs Old Ranch Road 12 San Marcos Clear Springs Holw/Oyster Crk Buda Manchaca Springs Rd/IH 35 Fr Buda Wayside Dr/Bendigo Ln Wimberley Arrowwood Ct Kyle Oakwood Dr Buda Anna Dr/Lilac Way Kyle Pompey Springs Ct Buda Oak Run Dr Wimberley Grassy Field Rd Austin Best Western Of Buda Angostura Ln Wimberley

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Officer Fatality

Page 9

WSRCA offers ways to connect job seekers and employers

COMMENTS FROM COMMUNITY LEADERS

Continued from pg. 1

shot himself.

Fire Department, had been Stewart and Mueller were on the force for five years. rushed to Ascension Seton He graduated Magna Cum Hays in Kyle where both Laude from Texas State underwent surgery. At the University. time of the Sunday press The two wounded officonference, both were said cers had been on the force to be in critical for less than a but stable year. Stewart The two condition. had only been After the on the job since wounded shooting, December, officers had while Mueller Hunter Road was closed to been on the had joined in traffic as law June 2019. force for less enforcement The man from a dozen charged with than a year. agencies capital murder Stewart had in the shooting swarmed the scene. The only been on of Copeland Texas Rangin 2017 is still the job since awaiting trial ers will be in charge of the but is schedDecember, investigation, uled to appear while Mueller in court May and the city of San Marcos had joined in 18 for pre-trial acknowledged motions.

June 2019. the assistance A month beof Hays Counfore Copeland’s ty deputies and constables shooting, Hays County as well as police from deputies were ambushed in Kyle, Buda, Austin, New Wimberley after responding Braunfels and Texas State to a bogus call of a break-in University, the Department at an antique shop. Deputy of Public Safety, San Marcos Benjamin Gieselmann was Park Rangers, the San Mar- shot and recovered from his cos Fire Department, EMS injuries. The suspect in that and the FBI. case was also found dead of Putnam, whose father injuries believed to be self is a veteran of the Austin inflicted.

The shooting in San Marcos is a somber reminder of the service and sacrifice our brave men and women in law enforcement make every day to keep us safe. I am grateful for the swift action of the San Marcos Police Department in containing the threat and minimizing the loss of life. I ask all Texans to join Cecilia and me in praying for the officer killed and for those injured, and for the continued safety of all law enforcement officers who protect our communities.

–Governor Greg Abbott

There’s a special program to find childcare for children of essential workers at 1-877-223-0404 or rcachildcareservices@ruralcapital.net

My heart is heavy with the report that three San Marcos officers were shot in the line of duty tonight and that one has lost their life. I extend my deep condolences to the family of the deceased officer, a dedicated public servant whose heroism proved critical to the safety of the San Marcos community. I ask all Texans to join me in pulling for the two officers currently undergoing treatment for their injuries.

–State Rep. Erin Zwiener

Looking for a job or need employees for your business? Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (which helps nine counties, including Hays) has ways for you to connect.

Persons seeking employment can call the Job Seekers Hotline at 1-844-344-2780, and the website has a portal to connect employers and jobseekers at www.workforcesolutionsrca.com/jobsnow.

Employers with job openings can contact rapidresponse@ ruralcapital.net and also take advantage of

We are grieving with our partners at the San Marcos Police Department during this terrible tragedy. Not everyone who commits family violence would also ambush police officers, but the most dangerous people in our community most likely also commit domestic violence. Tragically, the danger these victims and our first responders face is very real. We are working with our local law enforcement to establish a system that allows us to enhance our ability to identify these dangerous people. I’m not sure this would have helped in this case and the blame for this crime needs to rest squarely on the shooter.

–Marla Johnson, Hays Caldwell Women’s Center On behalf of the men and women of the Hays County Sheriff’s Office our hearts and prayers go out to the San Marcos Police Department and the entire city of San Marcos for the tragic loss of Officer Justin Putman.

His loss will be never forgotten but we know that he will take his place of honor among those who have gone before him.

–Sheriff Gary Cutler

Aqua Texas to donate $10K to Texas food banks

Unemployment Claims Continued from pg. 2

service with 44,415 and health care and social assistance with 36,581. Least affected were utilities with 129 claims and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting with 196.

The spread of COVID-19 has caused restaurants, hotels, bars and other establishments deemed “unessential” to close, while some that have remained open have furloughed or laid off workers. Although some retail outlets may reopen this week under a loosening of pandemic rules issued by Gov. Greg Abbott April 17, it was

Those seeking to apply for unemployment benefits will need to submit an application. In order to apply you will need: • Last employer’s business name and address • First and last dates (month, day and year) you worked for your last employer • Number of hours worked and pay rate if you worked this week (including Sunday) • Information related to your normal wage • Alien Registration Number (if not a U.S. citizen or national)

unclear by Hays Free Press deadline what impact that would have on the rate of unemployment claims.

In a survey recently circulated by county chambers of commerce, many businesses said they

programs on business recovery, including best practices for alternative work hours and shared work.

There’s a special program to find childcare for children of essential workers at 1-877-2230404 or rcachildcareservices@ruralcapital. net.

Workforce Solutions is also holding online job training and job fairs. Find out more at this 2:46 video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WKcMdD38EAc or on the Workforce Solutions website at https://workforcesolutionsrca.com/.

services to employers and job seekers, has reported being inundated with “long wait times, overwhelmed call centers and technical issues with the Unemployment Benefit Services portal.”

Due to the unprecedented volume of unemployment claims, TWC is recommending those could sustain operation for seeking to file a claim only a “few weeks” under stagger their online visits current conditions. and calls predicated on The Texas Workforce their area code. People in Commission, the state the 512 area code are enagency tasked with couraged to call Mondays, overseeing and providing Wednesdays and Fridays workforce development from 1 to 5 p.m.

A local utility provider has announced a donation of $10,000 to three Texas food banks across its service territory to provide community support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aqua Texas is donating more than $3,300 to the Central Texas Food Bank (which includes Hays County Food Bank) along with two other food banks in Texas.

“At Aqua Texas, we are proud to come together in support

of organizations that provide assistance in the communities we serve," said President Robert Laughman. "We hope that our support can help make an impact for those that need it most locally.”

The company said there are assistance programs available to help those having trouble with their utility bills. Utility customers in need of assistance can call 877-987-2782 or email custservreply@aquaamerica. com.

Ascension Online Care

Here for you and your family 24/7 Stay home to avoid exposure to germs and get the care you need with Ascension Online Care. Visits are discounted to $20 with code HOME. We’re here to care for you, and will advise you if you need additional care. Available in all 50 states. No insurance required.

See us for a wide variety of symptoms and conditions, including: • Cold/flu • Eye infections • Fever

• Seasonal allergies • Sinus or upper respiratory infections • Urinary tract infections

© Ascension 2020. All rights reserved.

The “Android” name, the Android logo, the “Google Play” brand, and other Google trademarks, are property of Google LLC. All rights reserved.

Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

Use code HOME for a $20 visit Get started at ascension.org/onlinecare or download the mobile app.

If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, go directly to the ER or dial 911.

Page 10

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Pipeline Protest: More charges fly after break in karst feature Continued from pg. 1

ity laboratory in Austin showed trace metals in concentrations that exceed EPA standards for drinking water. They also said that six of the substances found are classified as Class A carcinogens (aluminum, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium and nickel), though none of them have been identified as “single-exposure threats to human health.”

The groups jointly quoted from a report compiled by former USGS hydrologist Robert Slade.

Kinder Morgan issued its own statement April 16, calling the analysis “misleading, alarmist and riddled with inaccuracies,” including using “the wrong

units” in establishing chemical concentrations, and that many of the chemicals are “naturally occurring” in the area.

Moreover, the company accused the groups, which submitted Slade’s report to the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), of political motivations. “It is clear they are misrepresenting the data in order to scare the public and further their efforts to stop this project,” the KM statement said.

There is already a lawsuit claiming Kinder Morgan has violated the Endangered Species Act and provisions of the Clean Water Act. Because pipelines are considered infrastructure, Kinder

The groups said tests from water from two nearby wells sent to the Lower Colorado River Authority laboratory in Austin showed trace metals in concentrations that exceed EPA standards for drinking water. They also said that six of the substances found are classified as Class A carcinogens (aluminum, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium and nickel), though none of them have been identified as “singleexposure threats to human health.”

Morgan was only required to get approval for the project from the RRC, which does not factor environmental review as part of

its approval process. Also because it is considered infrastructure, the company was able to use eminent domain to acquire land

along the pipeline’s projected path over the objections of the landowners.

“Kinder Morgan was given the green light by our regulatory agencies, and that light needs to become a big red light,” Patrick Cox of TESPA said. “It should be clear to all involved that this pipeline should be stopped until a better route or way forward is found.”

David Baker of WVWA said there is “no doubt” that contamination has occurred and that “even basic construction of this pipeline in the karst aquifers of the Texas Hill Country is not safe for homeowners reliant on groundwater along the current pipeline route. Kinder Morgan has

other options, but the landowners do not have other options for their water supply.”

Kinder Morgan, which said it has taken water to those affected well owners, said the company is “coordinating closely with the Texas Railroad Commission on our investigation and mitigation efforts. We will continue to work with landowners to address their needs until this situation is fully resolved.”

Work was halted at the site of the contamination along the Blanco River near Chimney Rock Road in Blanco County, but has proceeded elsewhere along the pipeline route.

Service Directory Auto Repair

Air Conditioning

Nemec

• Full Service Auto Repair • All Years, Makes and Models • ASE Certified • Service with a Smile

HeatiNg & air cHris Nemec

“Proudly Serving Central Texas”

Residential • Commercial • After Hours Available Email: Chris@nemecheatingandair.com O. 512-312-9081 • C. 512-789-5132 Buda, Texas 78610 • TACLA 34861C

Dirt Cheap

Financial Planning Financial Planning

Loam • Topsoil • Sand • Gravel • Roadbase • Asphalt Millings • Granite • Compost Mix

Tractor Work Available

Zachary Barton 512-686-7589 512-686-7589

www.rick-rob.com

Legal Services

Lawn Care

WHO DOES YOUR LANDSCAPING/LAWN? Offering competitive pricing and superior service in the Manchaca, Buda, and Kyle area since 2010

Taking care of your yard so you can play!

Attorneys and Counselors At Law

LANDSCAPING AND LAWN SERVICE

• Flower Beds • Fencing • Sprinkler Systems • Patios • Mowing, Edging and Cleanup • Tree Trimming and Removal • Rock Gardens • Garden Boxes • Build Sheds • Leaf Raking

Call Jesse Reyna at 512-788-2180 or email apa6207@sbcglobal.net

Painting

699 Painting and More

Interior Exterior Painting Rot-wood Replacement Sheet Rock Repairs Wallpaper Removal Wall Texture Pressure Wash References Available Esure www.699painting.com

130 Hall Professional Center, Kyle, TX 78640

512-268-6425

BUSINESS LAW/ WILLS/TRUSTS/ PROBATE/FAMILY LAW/DIVORCE/ CUSTODY/ CONSUMER LAW/ DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT/ PROPERTY LAW/ LANDLORD-TENANT LAW/PERSONAL INJURY/DWI/ CRIMINAL DEFENSE/ DEBT/DEFENSE/ GENERAL CIVIL LITIGATION

• Residential Repair Specialist • Remodeling & Water Heaters • Sewer Cleaning & Replacements • Slab & Gas Leak Repair • BBB Member

#M14369

• 40 yrs. Experience • Family Owned • Family Operated • Backflow Testing and Devices

312-0710

512-699-0441

Serving Hays County since 1990 MC • Visa

Remodeling & Repairs

Roofing

Wild West Remodeling

Area Roofing

O Painting O Tile O Siding O Decks

Company

O Trim O Door & Window Replacement O Drywall Repair O Custom Cabinets O Patio Covers O Electrical & Plumbing

Since 1991

O

Curtis Dorsett 512-402-4704

“No Job Too Small or Too Big”

Ron Johnson OWNER

Handyman

Reliable Handy Man

20+ Years of Experience • Insured

512-618-0482 • DHALL45@Yahoo.com

For all the latest news in Hays County, visit

www.HaysFreePress.com or

www.HaysNewsDispatch.com To subscribe call 512-268-7862 or email paper@haysfreepress.com

The only call you need to make TICL #629

Pool Service

G&S

Serving S. Austin, Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Kyle and Buda since 1994.

Over 10 years of experience Keith Miller, owner One Time & Weekly Cleanings Drain & Cleans Pressure Washing Full Service Repairs HIGH TIDE Pool Replastering POOL SERVICE

Pool and Spa Service 512-326-4695

FREE ESTIMATES HIGHTIDEPOOLSERVICE@YAHOO.COM HIGHTIDEPOOLSERVICE.COM

www.gspoolspa.com

512-965-3465

Septic Services Serving HayS County Residential & Commercial

• All types of roofing • Seamless rain gutters • Attic and wall blown insulation

ALL AMERICAN SEPTIC SOLUTIONS, LLC Locally serving our community since 1982.

Septic Problems... LET US HELP!

www.ALLSEPTICCHECK.com

• Free eStimateS •

Septic Repair & Installation Specialist

Insurance Claims Welcome

Septic Tank Pumping & Servicing

Tank Lid Replacements & Tank Refurbishing

(512) 312-5050

Aerobic System Servicing

Septic Inspections & Consulting

Aerobic Licensed Maintenance Provider

Fully Licensed & Insured For Your Protection

Member of the BBB

Septic Services

Hydrojetting & Pump Replacements

Shoe Repair

SELLMAN ENTERPRISES, INC. (512)

312-0002

SEPTIC PUMPING • CLEANING REPAIRS • COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL

• Boot Experts • Purse Repair • Belt Repair • Luggage Repair • Shoe Care Products

SELLMAN ENTERPRISES, INC.

AustinShoeHospital.com

Serving the Hays Metro area, including Travis, Blanco, Bastrop, Williamson & surrounding counties.

locations in 1010Locations in Central Central Texas Texas including: including:

www.SellmanSepticServices.com

mike@haystech.com

Pool Service

rince

Plumbing Company

Want help selecting the best value?

Office systems not maintained?

Did your kids or employees leave your computer useless?

Newspaper

Plumbing

P

Component Selection Digital Photos System & Process Docs Website Maintenance CD/DVD Duplication

ReliableHandymanTX.com

107 S. Main St., Ste. A • Kyle, TX

Financial Planning• Insurance Planning Investment Planning Financial Planning• Insurance Planning Investment Planning

robinnds@aol.com

KYLE 407 S Old Hwy 81 (512) 504-3329 BudaAutoShop.com

Computer Systems Software Development Networking Technical Systems Maintenance

Get your honey-do list done right.

107 S. Main St., Ste. A • Kyle, TX

Rick-Rob Trucking 512- 858-7952

BUDA 17020 I-H 35 (512) 523-8387 KyleAutoShop.com

Consulting Setup Training Backups Upgrades

Painting, Remodel & Home Repair, Flooring & Tile, Carpentry, Decks & Fences, Pressure Washing, Gutters, Cleaning & Repair, RV Repair

Zachary Barton

Specializing in Country Driveways

Professional Office Home and RV Service in north Hays Co.

“People don't always remember your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Commercial & Residential

1911 Ben White and Manchaca Rd • 512-440-8788 Rockand Ave.Nutty RoundBrown Rock Rd - 512-244-9124 12119316 WRound Hwy 290 • 512-827-3398 306WSouth Park 6781 HwyBell 290Cedar in Oak Hill- •512-219-8387 512-288-6386

8211 Burnet Rd. Austin - 512-453-1961

(512)

Dirt

Computer Help

282-3889

COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL

Tree Service

Lees Trees

38 years experience in the hill country Firewood • Pruning • Removal • Chipping Planting • Cedar Posts • Bulk Mulch

Free Assessments & Estimates • Insured MARCUS LEES (512) 858-4018 leestreestexas@gmail.com

Classifieds Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

20 words for $8!

• Place your classified ad by calling 512-268-7862 • Email paper@haysfreepress.com We accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover DEADLINE: NOON MONDAY FOR WEDNESDAY’S PAPER

Hays Free Press

Employment

Home For Sale

DIRECT CARE COUNSELORS Provide positive role modeling, structure, and supervision to adolescent boys. No exp. required, We train comprehensively. Pay starting at $12 per hour for flexible 8 & 16 hr shift schedules.

Health/life/dental insurance after 60 days. Min. requirements: Must be 21 yrs old, HS/GED, clean TDL, clean criminal history, pre-employment TB skin test, and drug screen. Growing (20+ year old) non-profit organization. www.pegasusschool.net.

Call (512)432-1678 for further information.

Page 11

2002 REDMAN 4 BEDROOM, 2 BATH MANUFACTURED HOME

HELP NEEDED Someone needed to pull weeds.

Flower beds only.

No mowing or edging involved. Hourly wage.

512-262-7371.

1800 Sq Ft with an open floor plan. Lots of room and storage. Also includes big storage shed in backyard and 4 parking spaces. Located at Sunset Ridge Community in Kyle, TX.There's monthly lot rent charge of $547/mo or you can move it to your land at your own expense. $49,990. Sorry, no owner finance. 512395-7461

PublicNotices Notice Public

Notice of Public Hearing Application to Subdivide

Readall about it! at www.haysfreepress.comor www.haysnewsdispatch.com

Public Notice Notice of Public Hearing Application to Subdivide

of Public Hearing NOTICE IS Notice HEREBY GIVEN TO ALL Application to Subdivide PERSONS, THAT: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO INTERESTED ALL Momark Development, hereafter called OWNER are PERSONS, THAT:persons, that: Notice is hereby Given to all interested persons, that: Notice is hereby Given to all interested requesting sealed written Bids for furnishing all labor, INTERESTED materials, equipment, supervision, and performing all to toOrdinance theandPlanning and Pursuant Ordinance #962,#962, the Planning Zoning Pursuant to Ordinance #962, the Planning and Zoning Pursuant Work required for the following project: Name: Plum Creek Uptown Phase 1A InfrastructurePursuant Commission of the City of Kyle, Texas, will hold a Zoning Commission of the City of Kyle, Texas, Commission of the City of Kyle, Texas, will hold a pubto Ordinance #962, the Planning and (City of Kyle Case #: CP-19-0037) public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony, lic hearing for the purpose receiving testimony, com-Texas, will hold a public hearing for the purpose of Zoning Commission of ofthe City of regarding Kyle, The work consists of the construction of approxicomments, and written evidence from the public regardments, and written evidence from the public a mately 1,652 LF of new roadways, along with sewer, will hold a public hearing for the purpose testimony, comments, ofing a preliminary plan application to subdivideand approx-written preliminary plan application to subdivide approximatelyreceiving water, dry utility, and drainage improvements. Sewer imimately 47.062the acrespublic of land for property located at the 47.25 acres of land for property located at 1300-1600 evidence from regarding a preliminary provements included approximately 1,602 LF of sanitaryreceiving testimony, comments, and written sewer main and appurtenances. Water improvements Northwest corner ofto Rebelsubdivide Drive and Greggapproximately Drive (K47 Block of Rebel Drive (Brooks Ranch Subdivision – plan application from the public regarding a preliminarySubdivision – SUB-20-0109) within the City Limits of consist of approximately 3,049 LF of water main and evidence SUB-20-0112) within the City Limits of Kyle. appurtenances. Dry utilities consist of approximately plan application to subdivide approximately 47.062 acres of land for property located at the 47.25Kyle.

7,192 LF and 6,688 LF of electric main and telecommuThe public hearing will be held by the Planning and Northwest corner of Rebel Drive and Gregg Drive of land for property at at1300-1600 nication service, respectively. Drainage improvements acres Zoning Commission on Tuesday,located May 12, 2020 6:30 The public hearing will be held by the Planning and Zonconsists of approximately 3,745 LF of temporary drain(K47 Subdivision SUB-20-0109) the City of Rebel Drive (Brooks Ranch Subdivision ing Commission on–Tuesday, May 12, 2020 within at 6:30 P.M. age channels, grading across the tract (+/- 12-acres), BlockP.M. and approximately 1,301 LF of drainage lines.

Limits of Kyle.

– SUB-20-0112) within Citytaking Limits This is planned as a virtualthe meeting place of Kyle. This is planned as a virtual meeting taking place INVITATION TO BID Plum Creek Uptown Phase 1A Infrastructure

Notice of Public Hearing Application to Subdivide

Bidding documents may be obtained from www. at https://www.cityofkyle.com/kyletv/kyle-10-live. at https://www.cityofkyle.com/kyletv/kyle-10-live.

CivcastUSA.com: search Plum Creek Uptown Phase Should the COVID-19 disaster be repealed between theThe public 1A Infrastructure. Bidders must register on this website Should the COVID-19 be repealed hearing willdisaster be held by a between virtualthe The public hearing will be held by a virtual in order to view and/or download specifications, plans, date of this notice and the date of the public hearing, date of this notice and the date of the public hearing, soils report, and environmental reports for this Project. meeting by thewill Planning Zoning by thewill Planning Zoning the location be at Kyle and City Hall, 100 W.Commission Center meeting the location be at Kyleand City Hall, 100 W.Commission Center There is NO charge to view or download documents.

Street, Kyle, TX 78640.

Please check the agenda for Street, Kyle, TX 78640.

Please check agendaPlease for on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30theP.M. A NON-MANDATORY pre-bid teleconference will be on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 P.M. Please proper location. the proper location. held on May 7, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Local Time. The tele-checkthe check www.cityofkyle.com/meetings for details. www.cityofkyle.com/meetings for details. conference will be conducted through the following link: https://wginc.zoom.us/j/99604723813. If contractors choose to call-in instead of using the link above, please utilize the call-in numbers and meeting ID noted below: US: 346.248.7799 / 669.900.6833 / 929.436.2866 / 253.215.8782 / 301.715.8592 / 312.626.6799 Meeting ID: 996 0472 3813

Attendance by each prospective bidder or its representative at the pre-bid teleconference is NON-MANDATORY, however, it is suggested that interested parties attend the teleconference.

Sealed Bids for the construction plans will be received by the offices of Jones-Heroy & Associates until 2:00 PM C.D.T. on May 14th, 2020 at: Jones-Heroy & Associates, Inc 13915 North MoPac Expressway Suite 408 Austin, Texas 78728

Please address Bids to OWNER and include the name of the Bidder and the words “Plum Creek UpPublic Notice town Phase 1A Infrastructure”. Due to the pandemic Notice of Public Hearing and federal guidelines, proposals will be opened and bids will be read aloud over a tele-conference call hostApplication to Subdivide ed by the North Hays County MUD No. 2’s PROJECT ENGINEER. Bids received after the specified time may be returned unopened. of Public Hearing NOTICE IS Notice HEREBY GIVEN TO Bidders may view the bid opening through the Application to Subdivide following link: https://wginc.zoom.us/j/92087832911 or INTERESTED PERSONS, THAT: choose to call-in instead utilizing the call-in numbers and meeting ID noted below: Notice is hereby Given to all interested persons, that:

Public Notice Notice of Public Hearing Application to Subdivide

Notice of Public Hearing ALL Application to Subdivide NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS, THAT: Notice is hereby Given to all interested persons, that: US: 346.248.7799 / 669.900.6833 / 301.715.8592 / Pursuant Pursuant toOrdinance Ordinance #962,#962, the Planning and Zoning to the Planning and Pursuant to Ordinance #962, the Planning and Zoning 312.626.6799 / 929.436.2866 / 253.215.8782 Commission of the Cityofof the Kyle, City Texas, will hold a Pursuant to Ordinance #962, the Zoning Commission of Kyle, Texas, Commission of the City of Kyle, Texas, will Planning hold a pub- and Meeting ID: 920 8783 2911 public hearing for the purpose of receiving testimolic hearing for the purpose of receiving testimony, com-Texas, Zoning a public hearing for purpose of Commission of the City of Kyle, ny, comments, and written evidence fromthe the public Each Bid must be accompanied by a Bid Bond or a will hold ments, and written evidence from the public regarding a regarding a concept plan application to subdivide certified or cashier’s check, acceptable to the Owner, receiving will hold a public hearing for the purpose of testimony, comments, andap-written preliminary plan application to subdivide approximately in an amount not less than five percent (5%) of the total proximately 119.433 acres of land for property located receiving comments, thecorner public regarding concept plan46.6 acrestestimony, of land for property located at 1200and Rolandwritten amount Bid, as a guarantee that the successful bidder evidence on thefrom northern of Goforth Road anda Bunton will enter into the Contract and execute the Bonds on Lane (Kyle 50 Subdivision – SUB-20-0107) within the Creek Road (Goforth Kyle Subdivision – SUB-19- evidence from the public regarding a preliminary the forms provided and provide the required insurance application to subdivide approximately 119.433 City Limits of Kyle.

0084) within the City Limits of Kyle. certificates within seven (7) days after the date Contractacres of land for property located on the northern plan application to subdivide approximately 46.6 Documents are received by the Contractor.

The public hearing will be held by the Planning and public hearing will be held by the Planning and of land for property located at 1200 Roland cornerZoning of Goforth Road and Bunton Creekacres RoadThe By submitting a Bid, Bidder acknowledges and Commission on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 Zoning Commission on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 agrees that the Contract Documents may be accepted, (Goforth Kyle Subdivision – SUB-19-0084) within Lane (Kyle 50 Subdivision – SUB-20-0107) P.M. P.M. executed or agreed to through the use of an Electronic Signature, as defined by and in accordance with the City ofasKyle. withinThis theisCity Limits of meeting Kyle. taking place ThisLimits is planned a virtual meeting taking place planned as a virtual Owner’s Electronic Signature Rules for Construction at https://www.cityofkyle.com/kyletv/kyle-10-live. at https://www.cityofkyle.com/kyletv/kyle-10-live.

Contracts.

Should the COVID-19 disaster be repealed between A bidder who believes the Contract Documents to The public hearing will be held by a virtual The public Should the COVID-19 be repealed hearing willdisaster be held by a between virtualthe the date of this notice and the date of the public contain an error or unclear may make an inquiry to the date of this notice and the date of the public hearing, the location will be at Kyle City Hall, 100 meeting by the Planning and Zoning hearing, Project Engineer, Bailey Harrington, P.E., of WGI at (512)meeting by the Planning and Zoning Commission the location will be at Kyle City Hall, 100 W.Commission Center W. Center Street, Kyle, TX 78640.

Please check the 669-5560. An addendum will be issued if OWNER’s staff on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 P.M..

Check on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 6:30 P.M. Please Street, Kyle, TX 78640.

Please check the agenda for deems the Contract Documents require correction or agenda for the proper location. clarification. the proper location. www.cityofkyle.com/meetings for details. check www.cityofkyle.com/meetings for details.

The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all Bids and to waive all defects and irregularities in bidding or bidding process except time of submitting a Bid. The Successful Bidder, if any, will be the responsible Bidder which in the Board’s judgment will be most advantageous to the District and result in the best and most economical completion of the Project.

The Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch are newspapers of general circulation in Hays County.

Email public notices to david@haysfreepress.com To place an ad, email paper@haysfreepress or call 512-268-7862. Classifieds are only $8 for 20 words or less.

Deadline for all advertising is anytime Monday prior to the Wednesday publication.

NEWS

Page 12

Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch • April 22, 2020

Railhouse closes STAFF REPORT

If Happy Hour at the Railhouse was on your list of things to do when the bars reopen, your list just got shorter.

U-Haul trailers took furnishings and other items from the popular Kyle venue, which had

been closed along with other Hays County bars since March 19.

On its Facebook Page, the business said there are no plans to re-open.

“Unfortunately, circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and other factors have made us unable to continue business.”

The message goes on to urge support for the Railhouse “bar family” which it says is “stronger than most” that is “hurting a little extra right now.

A GoFundMe account (https://www.gofundme. com/f/railhead-bar-staffsupport) had raised $1,614 as of April 16.

miologist Eric Schneider said. “Everyone gets a phone call from me. We talk about their job, their household contacts and contacts 14 days prior to that.”

Still, authorities acknowledged there is no clear path forward. “The sooner we can compile information, that’s when we get closer to having a good idea and a good plan,” Alex Villalobos, Emergency Operations coordinator, said. “Currently we don’t have enough data to make policy decisions and we need to get to that point … if we open up areas without data I think we’re guessing.”

Becerra noted there are legal issues to businesses reopening in terms of how much government can influence their behaviors — for example, taking the temperatures of employ-

ees — as well as HIPAA rules.

“We’re all concerned about getting businesses open,” Pct. 3 Commissioner Lon Shell said.

“What type of policy decisions do you foresee?

For the most part, are we going to be following the governor on when to open and how to open?”

Becerra said there would have to be adjustments that tailor the process to the community’s needs. “As this unfolds further, a part of the roadmap getting us back to work is understanding who and what and when and why. It’s a complex medley of factors.”

“The roadmap is still very fluid, even at the state and federal level,” Villalobos added.

Moving forward, Becerra said he is looking into property tax relief.

The appraisals sent out recently by the Hays County Appraisal District were based on “a snapshot of property values taken with no COVID-19 in sight,” he said.

Becerra also noted that budget season “is upon us,” and it’s time to start examining how the economic shutdown is going to affect next year’s budgets — detailing that every office, precinct and department is going to have to do their part to produce a “workable budget.”

To that end, he said he’s also been working with local business leaders, chambers of commerce and the Greater San Marcos Partnership.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Becerra said. “We want to duplicate what others are doing.”

County Virus Response Continued from pg. 2

means of diagnosing the novel coronavirus.

Tuesday’s discussions, however, also touched heavily on serology testing. While that type of test isn’t a good indicator of whether a person is infected, it can better a community’s understanding of the virus because it shows whether someone has had it in the past, how much of the population is asymptomatic and whether there are “clusters” or specific populations that need to be addressed.

Regarding the latter, the indigent population was identified. Although local testing has been of health care providers and first responders, as well as people with underlying health concerns displaying symptoms of the virus, Becerra noted that the “other frontline” is made up of people working, for example, in fast food restaurants.

Those people are “feeding our slowly moving economy,” Becerra said,

but are also uninsured or underinsured, low-income and, in many cases, single parents who do not have a health care provider. He called getting to that population the “next piece.”

Tammy Crumley, director of the county’s Countywide Operations, said the Live Oak Partners, operating out of the Health Department offices on Broadway Street in San Marcos, could help fill that role.

Crumley also spoke of a questionnaire recently sent out to the medical community for further input on testing, and told commissioners that some limits would need to be set on testing available through a grant from the Department of State Health Services.

Pct. 4 Commissioner Walt Smith noted the CDC’s position that testing should be dictated “by the need more than the availability,” the latter is still important. “What

we see isn’t a curve, it’s a wave. We’re going to have re-infections in the fall, peaks and valleys. If we don’t have those supplies ready for when those peaks reappear then we would be in trouble.”

Smith also expressed concern about hospital space and the usage of that space, noting that whole floors in some hospitals have been set aside for COVID-19 patients that have, at least not yet, appeared. People aren’t going to the emergency room for most concerns now, he said. “We need to make sure we have medical professionals” available and on staff at a time some facilities are cutting back on personnel.

There were also questions about contact tracing, which Smith said he understands might be part of the next Congressional package.

“We have done contract tracing from patient one,” the county’s Epide-

a newly-formed committee, noting that there was an existing county group formed for just that purpose. That existing group has since made reforms including the formation of a Magistration Department with its own judge and clerks, theoretically to speed up the process of getting people before a judge who have been arrested. The creation of the department was also intended to take some strain off the county’s justices of the peace, who had traditionally performed magistration and set bond.

Hays County began outsourcing to Travis County last year. On Sept. 3, 2019, commissioners approved an agreement for the Travis County Jail to house up to 50 Hays County inmates per day for a maximum of $3,500. That came on an unanimous vote after Hays County originally had offered $40 per day to a maximum of $2,000.

At the time, General Counsel Mark Kennedy called Hays County’s initial offer “probably a loser.”

Roughly one third of the Hays County jail population was released in late March after district judges signed a letter canceling

most district court proceedings because of the novel coronavirus. Earlier, the Texas Supreme Court had instructed justices of the peace to do the same.

Since then, the number of daily bookings into the jail has decreased from more than a dozen to a handful.

Cities have been pressured to adopt cite & release policies as well. The San Marcos City Council is to hold its second vote April 21. Kyle has said its citation writing software will not allow citations to be directed to a specific court, though Police Chief Jeff Barnett told the Hays Free Press that when county and Kyle dispatchers occupy a new “co-location” in San Marcos, the software would likely be able to accommodate cite & release.

Hays County still has outsourcing agreements with Burnett, Caldwell, Fort Bend, Guadalupe and Walker counties.

In his weekly jail population report this week, Becerra said $57,530 was spent on outsourcing April 5-11. One hundred and forty two men were taken to other lockups, but for the first time, no female inmates.

Inmate Overflow Continued from pg. 2

outsourcing inmates for more than a decade, spread out over a handful of counties, some more than 150 miles away and the cost of that rose to $4.3 million in 2018.

Here and elsewhere, that’s all played out alongside a push to cut jail populations in favor of cite & release programs, whereby police would write a citation for a specific handful of low-level offenses including theft, criminal mischief and possession of marijuana. The person cited would still have to appear in court and pay fines and fees, but would not spend time in jail.

Incarceration, even for one night, can lead to job loss that results in financial strain on both the family and social service agencies, according to a series of articles in the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in late 2016 and other studies of the effects of incarceration can have on families and society.

When he first took office, Becerra pledged to overhaul the county’s criminal justice system but commissioners did not approve his plan for

www.AustinENT.com Comprehensive ENT Care for All Ages

Hearing Aid Services & Sales

Ear & Hearing

Hearing Aid Services

Hearing & Balance Evaluation Chronic Ear Infections Dizziness & Vertigo Tinnitus (Ringing in Ears) Ruptured Ear Drum

Thyroid & Parathyroid

Ultrasound & Needle Biopsy Thyroid & Parathyroid Surgery

Allergy

Comprehensive Allergy Testing Allergy Shots & Drops

KYLE

Children’s ENT

Ear Tube Placement Tonsil & Adenoid Surgery Minimally Invasive Sinus Surgery

Nose & Sinus

Endoscopic Sinus Surgery In-office Balloon Sinuplasty

Diagnostic Hearing Tests

Comprehensive Hearing Exams Immittance Testing OAE, VNG and VRA Testing Brian Schwab, M.D.

Throat, Head & Neck

Sleep Apnea Hoarseness/Vocal Cord Dysfunction

TWO LOCATIONS IN YOUR AREA

1180 Seton Parkway Suite 420 Kyle, TX 78640 (512) 268-5282

Hearing Aid Sales, Programming Fittings, Cleanings & Repairs Earmolds & Custom Ear Plugs Hearing Protection

Mark Dammert, M.D.

Michael Yium, M.D.

LOCKHART

1005 W. San Antonio #A Lockhart, TX 78644 (512) 444-7944

Amber Bass, Au.D.