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2020
Volume 33, Issue 48
Early voting numbers skyrocket
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The periodic lines snaking out of the front door of the Liberty Hill Municipal Court are a daily reminder that early voting numbers are setting Williamson County records for the Nov. 3 General Election. Through the first eight of 18 days of early voting, Williamson County has tallied 136,817 ballots, nearly 1,000 more early votes than were cast in 2016 total. Liberty Hill, which has historically only had a couple of days of early voting, has seen 6,681 vote in town. While the Liberty Hill totals could include out of town voters, and a variety of voters who live within the city limits and outside, the more than 6,000 votes cast in town have already eclipsed any local voter turnout totals aside from the 2018 LHISD bond election, which totaled 7,665. The 2019 City election garnered 120 votes and the LHISD Board election totaled 383 votes. Early voting ends Oct. 30 with polls open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sundays when they are open 1-6 p.m. There are 19 early voting locations across the county, including the Liberty Hill Municipal Court building at 2801 RR 1869. All early voting, as well as election day polling locations can be found on the Williamson County Elections Department website at wilco.org. The County has more than 376,931 registered voters heading into this election, more than 10 percent more than for the 2018 contest, and the turnout to date represents 36.43 percent of all registered voters. In 2018, there were 336,148 registered voters in the county for the November election with a 62.25 percent turnout. In the last presidential election, in 2016, there were 306,811 registered voters and a 67.1 percent turnout. The ballot includes federal races including the contest for the presidency, all the way down to local races for Liberty Hill Mayor and Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees. Also on the ballot for Liberty Hill city voters is a measure to decide whether City Council terms should be extended to three years or remain at two years. For voters in the city limits, there are 24 races or measures to be decided. ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
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October 22, 2020 | 50 Cents
LHISD weathering COVID issues Technology proving to be biggest challenge in pandemic
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Since the education landscape changed dramatically last March, fending off the COVID-19 virus has only been one of the many challenges facing Liberty Hill ISD as it has adjusted. Technology issues have been one of the biggest hurdles, and trustees spent $64,250 Monday to overcome one of those. There were 120 iPad Minis in use across the elementary grades in the district that were no longer effectively running the Seesaw education application used at the elementary level due to their age. The Board voted to replace them. “With COVID we’ve made some adjustments to our instructional strategies and the tools we’re using in the classroom,” said Chief Technology Officer Jay Olivier. “One of the major tools we’re using is a program called Seesaw. We started using it a couple of years ago. When we went into our quarantine period and subsequently over the summer, the feedback we got from teachers was Seesaw was a program they definitely wanted to use in the lower grades.” Changes in education mean learning apps are being updated and improved more frequently, which is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to keeping up to date with technology. “The world we live in now is full of remote learning changes and across the country these apps are being updated at a breakneck pace, with Seesaw being updated about every other week over the last several months,” Olivier said. “The unfortunate side effect is that whereas before it was fully compatible with older devices now it is less so.” In total, the funds will replace
the 120 older iPad Minis, as well as 28 for special programs and 50 additional units to cover anticipated enrollment growth. The devices cost $325 each. The original intent was to replace these specific devices at the end of the current school year, but the functionality problems have moved that timeline up. Superintendent Steve Snell echoed Olivier’s comments about the technology challenges that have been amplified throughout the pandemic. “This has been an outstanding effort by everyone, from transportation to food service to instruction to leadership,” he said. “The one thing we’re struggling with is technology logistics.” He added that it is not only device issues that need attention, which has led to additional staffing on the tech side. “We’re finding out something new every day, that something either works well or doesn’t work well and we still have
MIKE EDDLEMAN PHOTO
School Trustee Clay Cole was honored at his final board meeting Monday following 13 years of service. Cole chose not to seek another term, and his seat will be filled in the Nov. 3 General Election. limited staff to correct those problems,” Snell said. “We added two tech support positions that should really help troubleshoot issues in real time for both remote and in
person learners.” Calendar update Due to the heavy workload on teachers as they work to
See LHISD, Page A5
The new middle school project, on 32 acres situated directly east of the intersection of Santa Rita Boulevard and Ronald Reagan, has gone vertical and is on schedule for completion in time to open for the 2021-2022 school year. (Courtesy Photo)
Guice retires after 22 years with local Post Office
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Over the past 22 years, when walking into the Liberty Hill post office, Mary Guice was always waiting to help with mailing needs. After more than two decades of service, Guice is retiring and preparing to embark on a new adventure. A mother, wife, and dedicated worker are some of the words used to describe Guice. Another is veteran. Before serving the Liberty Hill community, Guise served her country in the U.S. Army. Set on a path of academic focus in her early adulthood, Guise felt the need to experience more in her life. “I was in college when I joined the military. I was on a math scholarship, and I just decided I wanted to do something different. So, I just joined the military. When I was in the military, I completed my education and earned my degree in business,” she said. “I loved it. I had a good time in the military. I traveled all around, and
I’ve been all over Europe. I loved it. In Spain, everything was so colorful, and when I was there, the dollar was strong, and things were cheap at the time.” When the time came to move on from the military, Guise decided to take the postal worker exam. “I was in communications in my last 10 years, and I worked brigade level. I worked directly with the colonel and the general,” Guice said. “I decided to take the test to be a postal worker on a whim. I took the test in an auditorium in Austin, and I ended up getting picked.” Moving to Killeen in 1993, the Louisiana native felt at home in Texas, embracing the familiar culture. “It’s not that much different being here in Texas. We like to barbecue every weekend; people like to party all the time,” said Guice. “In Louisiana, they ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO have a lot of different events Mary Guice is retiring from her position with the Liberty Hill Postal Office after 22 years on the job. The Army veteran See GUISE, Page A4 plans to enjoy her retirement traveling with her husband.
Grand Opening Celebration
Projects on time, on budget for LHISD
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor While Liberty Hill ISD is wrapping up the final odds and ends on the new Santa Rita Elementary campus – which welcomed students in late August – construction steam is picking up on the new middle school and the high school additions currently construction. Construction manager Casey Sledge said close out for the final cost of the newly opened elementary campus has not been tallied, but the project will be under budget. The Santa Rita project, which had a guaranteed maximum construction price of $27.2 million not counting soft costs – which included items like design and furniture – began with a contingency fund of $625,750 that is now sitting at $69,186 with only a few items remaining to be checked off the list. Sledge said only a few minor items remain, some of which are being postponed until the holiday break to not disrupt campus activities. With the first of four projects wrapping up in the $98.6 million bond package approved by voters in November 2018, Sledge said there are a number of positives beyond getting the building open and showing a savings. “The best thing we’re going to learn out of Santa Rita Elementary is how to do the next elementary,” he said. “This will become a model, and hopefully every time we build a school we get more and more dialed in.” The familiarity among team members – both in the district and among those connected to the construction – will also help on the other three projects. “We’ve gotten a chance to know all the team players really well and a number of subcontractors that are coincidentally on other projects,” Sledge said. “Already having established relationships is very helpful.” The district has spent 53 percent of the bond funds to date, at $52,319,164. Construction on the new middle school, on 32 acres situated directly east of the intersection of Santa Rita Boulevard and Ronald Reagan, has gone vertical with portions of the project soon to be dried in. “As of last week all of the tiltwall panels are now vertical, not just poured,” Sledge said. “They’re going so quickly everything is vertical now and they’re really getting after it with very little weather delay. The classroom wing is nearly dried in and the roof is now installed.” The contingency fund on this project, which began at $1.076 million, has grown with its first change order to $1.093 due to a credit. “So far we’ve had one small internal change order and that is to credit about $15,000 and that is a net result of us changing the roof material,” Sledge
See PROJECTS, Page A5
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