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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVII No. 1
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Assault warrant ends in explosives arrest BY SAMANTHA SMITH
news@haysfreepress.com
A Wimberley man is facing multiple charges after authorities discovered an explosive device and various narcotics at his home while executing an arrest warrant for an alleged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. The Hays County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robert Snow, 54, of Wimberley, who was booked into Hays County
Jail on six charges, including three counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, which is a third degree felony. Snow was also booked on a seconddegree aggravated assault with a deadly SNOW weapon charge stemming from a Sept. 20 incident.
Snow was arrested following execution of an arrest warrant for the aggravated assault charge. That incident occurred Sept. 20, when authorities were called out to a bridge where a woman was yelling, “he’s going to kill me.” According to the arresting affidavit, the victim alleged Snow punched her multiple times in the face and head, and then dragged her by the neck on the ground toward his truck.
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The victim was able to escape Snow briefly and ran, only to be caught once again by Snow, who demanded that she get in the truck, according to the affidavit. The victim complied, fearing further injury if she didn’t. According to the affidavit, she was able to prop the door of the truck open slightly with her foot. After a mile, the victim was
ARREST, 2
Taking the bull by the horns
Man killed in U.S. 290 wreck BY JONATHAN GONZALEZ news@haysfreepress.com
An Austin man was killed in a two-vehicle collision that occurred on U.S. Highway 290 roughly four miles east of Dripping Springs late Saturday. Authorities identified Mike Maddox, 41, of Austin, as the victim in the accident, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson.
FATALITY, 3
Green light for TCEQ draft permit STAFF REPORT
PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III
A rodeo bullfighter stares down an angry bull while placing a hand on the animals’ head as he races to escape during one of the final runs in the 18th annual Brent Thurman Memorial Bull Riding event in Dripping Springs Saturday. Rodeo and bull riding fans gathered at the Dripping Springs Ranch Park for Saturday’s Professional Bull Riding (PBR) Touring Pro Bull Riding Division event. The annual event is held in memory of Thurman, who passed away in 1994. (See more photos online at HaysNewsDispatch.com. Just follow the photos link.)
LAGNIAPPE Voter registration ends Oct. 11
Time is running out for those who have not yet registered to vote for the Nov. 8 Election. Monday, Oct. 11 is the last day voters can submit their registration in time to cast a ballot on Election Day. According to the
LAGNIAPPE, 8
Seniors, disabled residents to see county tax rate cap STAFF REPORT A permanent measure enacted by the Hays County Commissioners last month will give disabled residents and those 65 years old or older the ability to cap their county taxes starting in 2017. The action, however, applies only to Hays County taxes and doesn’t apply to municipality, school, emergency service and special district-levied taxes. According to a Hays County press release, the tax cap cannot be revoked by future commissioners courts. However, improvements made to a home, such as installation of a room or swimming pool, could incur tax increases. “I think our County Commissioners Court and previous Courts truly understand and want to continue to do all we can to minimize the impact of taxes on all our citizens,” Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe said. But Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones, who voted against the measure, was concerned about the permanence of the court’s action. “I agree with the concept of what we’re doing, but it gives me pause that we can’t revoke it. Our older population may grow due to our medical facilities,” Jones said, citing concerns that young families
“I agree with the concept of what we’re doing, but it gives me pause that we can’t revoke it. Our older population may grow due to our medical facilities.” –Mark Jones, Pct. 2 commissioner
Want to be exempt?
Property tax exemption forms should be filed with the Hays Central Appraisal District (www.hayscad.com) or calling 512-268-2522.
may have to pick up more of a tax burden. Pct. 3 Commissioner Will Conley said the cap is “one of the only tools” the county has to place permanent restrictions on local taxes. Conley said the cap was the “right thing to do” and that the court wanted to give retirees and the disabled “a sense of certainty and stabilization for their lives.” “This will benefit the most people and keep our senior citizens and disabled citizens from bearing the full burden of taxation,” Judge Bert Cobb said in a statement. Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant said those who receive the exemption would have stability for their
financial planning. “You don’t have the flexibility of income you had when you were younger,” Whisenant said. According to the release, to qualify as a disabled person, an applicant must meet the definition of disabled for the purpose of receiving disability insurance benefits under the Federal Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Act. A person who qualifies as both age 65 or older and disabled does not qualify for both, but must choose which exemption to claim. If a person who qualifies for the exemption sells his or her homestead and purchases another in the county, the person can receive a tax ceiling certificate for the new homestead. If the age 65 or older homeowner dies, the surviving spouse may continue to receive the local option exemption if the surviving spouse is age 55 or older at the time of death, lives in and owns the home and applies for the exemption, and does not remarry.
Dripping Springs city officials have received the draft permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for its South Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, which has a capacity of 995,000 gallons per day, according to a city press release. The permit, filed by the city in October 2015, allows for discharge of “highly treated effluent” into Walnut Springs, which is a tributary of Onion Creek, located in the Caliterra subdivision.
WASTEWATER, 5
Water line upgrades start in North 40 BY JONATHAN GONZALEZ news@haysfreepress.com
Improvements on water lines running through Wallace Street between Ranch Road 12 and Bluff Street in Dripping Springs began earlier this week. The project is part of a much larger endeavor to replace infrastructure in the North 40 subdivision. The purpose of the construction will be to abandon the old pipelines running through Wallace Street, and reconnect them to the new service lines being installed near the North 40 development. The updates from the old lines, which are two-inch, plastic pipes, to the newer, twelve-inch plastic pipes that will be installed are much needed. Pipelines in the North
WATER LINES, 2