Tigers foil Rebels 21-17
Friends prep for Oct. 5 BBQ page 2
Locals ready for Pioneer Day
page 4
News-Dispatch Volume XXXVII No. 50
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
page 6
75¢
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Texas eliminates straight party voting BY MOSES LEOS III The days of Texas voters casting entire ballots along party lines will soon be coming to an end. In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill (HB) 25, which eliminates straight ticket voting in Texas starting with the 2020 election. Straight ticket voting allows a registered voter to select all candidates affiliated with the person’s political party of choice. According to a report in the Texas Tribune, roughly 64 percent of total votes in Texas’ 10 largest counties, including Travis, were cast using the straight-ticket system. Such a trend is apparent in Hays County, which in 2016 had the number of straight-ticket ballots rise by 51 percent from the last presidential election in 2012. During the 2016 general election, roughly 60 percent of the 73,588 ballots cast in Hays County were a straight ticket. Of that amount, 50 percent cast a Republican ballot, while another 46 percent cast a Democratic ballot. Bert Garza, Hays County Democratic Party Pct. 224 chairperson, said HB 25 has been a controversial issue for most Democrats, who believe eliminating straight ticket voting removes an option for voters on the ballot.
STRAIGHT -TICKET VOTING, 2
PCT. 224 — 2,461 BALLOTS
Buda: Oldtown Buda, Garlic Creek, Oxbow, Whispering Hollow 1371 Republican, 1017 Democrat, 52 Libertarian, 21 Green 290
Dripping Springs
PCT. 228 – 2,501 BALLOTS
Buda: Bonita Vista, Shadow Creek, Green Meadows, Sunfield 1022 Republican, 1394 Democrat, 56 Libertarian, 29 Green
Buda
Kyle
PCT. 444 – 2328 BALLOTS
35
Wimberley
Dripping Springs: Several subdivisions north of Ranch Road 12, excluding Belterra 1510 Republican, 762 Democrat, 39 Libertarian, 17 G
San Marcos
PCT. 443 – 2226 BALLOTS
Dripping Springs: Belterra, Highpointe 1418 Republican, 749 Democrat, 50 Libertarian, 10 Green
Top 5 precincts with highest number of straight ticket ballots, 2017
PCT. 337 – 2028 BALLOTS
Wimberley: Woodcreek area 1351 Republican, 639 Democrat, 29 Libertarian, 9 Green
Hays County requests federal grant money for rifle-proof vests BY SAMANTHA SMITH
In response to attacks nationwide against law enforcement officers, Hays County early this month approved a $13,580 grant application for Hays County constables to purchase rifle resistant bulletproof vests. The grant, through the U.S. Department of Justice through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, requires applicants have a “mandatory wear” policy in effect to be eligible for the grant funds. Hays County had to submit its application for the grant before a Sept. 5 deadline. According to the Hays County Commissioners Court agenda, the grant money requested by Hays County Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hood and
“Each vest is currently priced at approximately $784 per vest.”
– Clint Garza, Hays County Development Services Director
sponsored by Commissioner Ray Whisenant is $13,580; Hays County’s portion is $532 Hood said the constables and their deputies are in law enforcement positions that do civil service for the courts, and currently, daily body armor isn’t equipped to withstand automatic rifle fire. The rifle resistant body armor would be used after a hostile situation has been confirmed, Hood said. Officers sent to answer the call would don the new rifle resistant vests before responding to a dangerous situation. Hays County Development
Services Director Clint Garza confirmed that the total projected cost of the vests between the grant and the county is $14,112. “Each vest is currently priced at approximately $784 per vest,” Garza said. Garza added that while the county plans to outfit all 26 Hays County Constables and their deputies with the new rifle resistant body armor, the grant funds would currently only cover the cost of the 18 specified on the agenda document. “If the per-unit cost changes, we’ll adjust the order to increase the purchase number,”
Garza said. Hood said in a later interview that the constables would forgo wearing the new vests, allowing their deputies, who are more active in the community and would most likely respond to a hostile situation, to wear the vests.. “The constables have decided to outfit their deputies first,” Hood said. “If the funding doesn’t cover all the cost then only the deputies will be outfitted.” Buda City Council approved a similar grant application for a grant through Texas Governor’s office for rifle resistant body armor for Buda Police officers. It is unknown at this time if JAG has awarded Hays County the grant funds for the new vests.
On Oct. 5, join the Dripping Springs Friends Foundation as it hosts its 24th annual BBQ fundraiser at Pecan Grove, formerly known as the Salt Lick Pavillion. The event, which will go from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., will have guests participate in a silent and live auction, as well as enjoy the music of the Hot Texas Swing Band. The fundraiser helps provide services to the community and seniors in the greater Dripping Springs area. All monies raised go to help support the Friends Foundation’s programs. Those include Our Daily Bread, which is a hot meal delivery program for the homebound, as well as Phillips Lifeline medic alert
devices. The fundraiser also assists low-income seniors with financial assistance, as well as fund special events at Hill Country Care and its residents. Find more information at thefriendsfoundation.org.
Frank Little and the IWW
On Thursday, Sept. 21 from 6-7:30 p.m., the Dripping Springs Community Library will host a book reading and signing with Jane Little Botkin, author of “Frank Little and the IWW: The blood that stained an American family.” Franklin Henry Little (1878–1917), an organizer for the Western Federation of Miners and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), fought in some of the early twentieth century’s
BY MARIA GARDNER
Pioneer Day is an educational experience of pioneer times held at the Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead in Dripping Springs, this year on Saturday, September 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Read all about Pioneer Days on page 6.
Hunting feral hogs in Texas is now a high-flying affair. Earlier this year, legislators passed House Bill (HB 3535), which allows for the hunt of feral hogs from hotair balloons. The bill, which was signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, officially went into effect Sept. 1. HB 3535 introduces a new measure for tackling the increasing feral hog population, which is estimated to be at 2.6 million. Feral hogs are considered a non native species and destructive to native habitats and plants. The economical damage caused by feral hogs is estimated at $52 million dollars per year, according to AgriLife Extension Wildlife & Fisheries. Feral hogs can also have the potential to “pollute and destabilize wetland areas, springs, creeks and tanks by excessive rooting and wallowing” according to a Texas A&M Plum Creek Watershed Project publication. Since the law has passed, no permits have been issued so far, said Steve Lightfoot, spokesperson for Texas Parks & Wildlife. In order to satisfy the requirements for a permit to hunt feral hogs via a balloon, a person must obtain a pilot’s license that’s administered by the Federal Aviation Administration
LAGNIAPPE, 3
FERAL HOGS, 2
LAGNIAPPE Friends Foundation BBQ
Hunting of feral hogs goes sky high
most contentious labor and freespeech struggles. Following his lynching in Butte, Montana, his life and legacy became shrouded in tragedy and family secrets. In “Frank Little and the IWW,” Botkin chronicles her greatgranduncle’s fascinating life and reveals its connections to the history of American labor and the first Red Scare.
Pound House Pioneer Day