Hays County receives $400K for security
Tiger Football claims district crown
Central Texas responders help with Cali fires
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXIX No. 7
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
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75¢
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Large population diminishes voting power in Texas
STATE-BOUND TIGERS
BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III
For the first time since winning it all in 2015, the Dripping Springs Tigers volleyball team is state tournament bound. By virtue of a pair of wins at the 5A, Region IV tournament in San Antonio, including a hard-fought four set win over the Boerne Champion Chargers in the regional final, Dripping Springs moves on to play at the UIL state volleyball tournament in Garland this week. Read more about the Tigers’ win, and who they’ll play at state, on Page 4. Above: In a moment of sheer jubilation, members of the Dripping Springs Tigers volleyball team spilled onto the South San Athletic Complex court Saturday to celebrate scoring the final point in the team’s Class 5A, Region IV final victory. Inset: Led by senior Molly Driggs (7), Dripping Springs’ volleyball team hoists the 5A, Region IV champion trophy.
Local veterans take part in honor flight BY MOSES LEOS III
Prior to taking off to Washington D.C. from Austin Bergstrom International Airport in September, Vietnam veteran and Dripping Springs resident Sheldon Miller made sure his son offered him three simple words when he got back. Those words were something Miller and countless others never quite got a chance to hear from their peers when they returned from combat. “I told my son, ‘Tell me, ‘Welcome home, Dad.’” And so Miller, at age 71, couldn’t hold back his emotions when his son kept whispering
“I’ve never seen so many people in droves that didn’t hate us. I’ve never had that before. I couldn’t believe the enthusiasm. No one was on their knees in the terminals. They all stood up and applauded.”
James, chairman of the Honor Flight Austin program. The mission initially was to honor surviving WWII veterans by taking them to visit the national memorial in Washington D.C. Eventually, branches began to develop in major cities such as Austin and Dallas over the years. As time has gone on, Honor Flight programs have started to extend the flight to Korean and Vietnam war veterans. The trip, which is free
For the first time in roughly a decade, voters in Hays and Blanco counties selected a Democrat as their Texas House representative. Democrat Erin Zwiener, a Hays County resident and educator, defeated Republican Ken Strange Nov. 6 to secure the Texas House District 45 seat. Zwiener becomes the first Democrat to be elected to the HD45 office since Patrick Rose, who served from 2003-2010. Zwiener secured 42,999 total votes between Hays and Blanco counties and
claimed victory with just over 53 percent of the vote in the General Election. Zwiener ZWIENER won the Democratic nomination in March by taking 51.4 percent of the votes against Texas State Professor Rebecca Bell-Metereau in a runoff. At 11:04 p.m. Nov. 6, Zwiener said she got a concession call from Strange, a Wimberley resident and Wimberley
Preparing for what’s next BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
COURTESY PHOTO
Vietnam war veterans (L-R) Bill Russell, Shorty Barnett and Sheldon Miller, all of Dripping Springs, were escorted to Washington D.C. in September on an Honor Flight from Austin.
to veterans, consists of visiting many of the war memorials in the nation’s capital. Veterans who participate are also given a ceremonious parade and full military honors when they depart and arrive at each airport, as well as when they travel to and from their hotels
and to the memorials. James said the idea is to ensure veterans are honored and respected during their experience. Miller, who was one of a handful of Hays County veterans who went on an honor flight this August,
HONOR FLIGHT, 2
Dem wins HD 45 race by landslide BY KATIE BURRELL
VOTING POWER, 3
Legislators, elected officials prepare for transition to office
–Sheldon Miller, Vietnam veteran and Dripping Springs resident
those words after his experience with Honor Flight Austin, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring surviving war veterans. For Miller, the trip provided a sense of catharsis. “My country finally gave me my parade,” Miller said. Origins of the Honor Flight program began in the early 2000s soon after the National World War II museum was constructed, said Dwain
A week after the 2018 midterm elections, Texans have had the opportunity to dissect and come to terms with a highly competitive midterm election. But a new study by Wallethub indicates the vote in Texas may not be as powerful as other states, specifically those states with smaller populations. The study concludes that states with larger populations have difficulty finding representatives that can properly represent a majority of its people, something most prevalent in larger state elections. “What it means for Texas, in particular, is that its votes are weakened because each of its senators must represent more citizens,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at Wallethub. “We established the influence of a vote by
ISD school board member, who gave in after 95 percent of Hays County precinct results came in showing Zwiener in the lead. Although Strange won all seven precincts in Blanco County, Zwiener held the edge in Hays County. Zwiener takes the place of Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs), who opted to forgo a reelection bid for a run at the Texas Senate; Isaac came up short in the March primary for that position. Zwiener, a mother, teacher and activist, ran a grassroots campaign throughout
the district in an effort to secure votes on foot. “I’m eager to get to work now,” Zwiener said. “I plan to get stated on all the things I promised from finance reform and public education, to protecting our rights as Texans and defending our groundwater.” Zwiener said she owes her win to her campaign and her grassroots strategy, which she believes won over her voters. “We’ve been a grassroots campaign since day one and I know I was outspent in both primary and general elections,” Zwiener said.
Three days after the Nov. 6 midterm elections, Representative-elect Erin Zwiener hopped in her car and took a visit to her new office at the state capitol building in Austin, still absorbing her stunning win. Zwiener, who claimed victory over Republican Ken Strange, managed to flip a House District 45 seat that had been red since 2010. Despite not having access to her keys until the day before the 86th Legislative Session starts in January, Zwiener, like hundreds of other newly elected representatives across the country, are trying to prepare. From now until January, newly elected commissioners and state representatives are tirelessly working behind the scenes, studying and reviewing as much information as they can before they vote and act on policy decisions that will define the future of Hays County. Zwiener said she has been in contact with Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) during this transitory stage; the two are looking to schedule meetings in the coming months. As someone with a lot of information on local bills, Isaac has a lot of information about local
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