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2021
Volume 34, Issue 49
Long confirms River Ranch Park delays
By KRISTEN MERIWETHER Staff Writer Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long delivered her State of the County update to residents of Liberty Hill last week. The event, held at Dahlia Cafe, was part of the Liberty Hill Economic Development Corporation’s new Business Leadership Series. Long, who has been living in Williamson County since 1988 and serving as a commissioner since 2007, talked about the amount of growth the county has recently seen. Census records show Williamson County grew from 260,000 residents when she was elected, to 609,000 residents in 2020. Precinct 2, which Long represents, has seen the most growth in the county for the third census in a row. Precinct 2 includes Liberty Hill. The change in population across the state required the Legislature to redraw the maps for the State House and Senate, State Board of Education, and Congress. With those finally passed last week, the County will begin redrawing the county precinct maps in an attempt to keep each precinct at roughly 152,000 residents. “Precinct 1 and 4 need to gain folks,” Long said. “As we are redistricting, we are going to have to move neighborhoods and parks in Precinct 2 into other precincts.” Long said a draft of the county redistricting maps are expected to be presented next week. Long also addressed the still-unopened River Ranch County Park. The county broke ground on the 1,354acre park in 2018 with expectations to open this year. Long called it a, “jewel for Liberty Hill,” but it will be a little longer until it’s unveiled. “Unfortunately, we ran into challenges with our contractor,” Long said. “We are in the process of going through the surety bond.” She added that the County has tried working with the contractor to bring the project to completion, but was unsuccessful. The surety bond will attempt to get the contractor to finish. If they are unsuccessful, the unfinished work will have to go out for bid again. “Sadly, it’s a little bit left to
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October 28, 2021 | 50 Cents
Students, school district honor officers’ efforts in Ponderosa fire
By KRISTEN MERIWETHER Staff Writer When Liberty Hill Independent School District Police Officers Patricia Champion and Jason Wolf were heading back from the Williamson County Expo Center on Sept. 18, they thought their work was done. The pair had provided security for a private event and were heading back to Liberty Hill just before 11 p.m. As they sat at a traffic light at Northeast Inner Loop and Interstate 35 in Georgetown, they saw smoke and what appeared to be a structure fire. The officers were no longer on duty and far out of their jurisdiction. It was late. They could have easily called it in and continued their drive home. Instead, they choose to stop and render aid. “We didn’t know if there’s a human being in there,” Champion said. “I don’t know if somebody is in there overnight
KRISTEN MERIWETHER PHOTO
LHISD PD Officers Jason Wolf and Patricia Champion stand outside a trophy case filled with condolence cards at Liberty Hill High School. or somebody is taking care of pets. So whether it is an animal or a human, we still have to go in.” It was dark and neither of-
ficer knew what the building was when they pulled into the parking lot. But as they exited their vehicle, they could hear the sounds of dogs inside the
building and began to realize where they were at—the Ponderosa Pet Resort. “You could hear the dogs barking and howling so
we went to the front door,” Wolf told The Independent. He said he smashed the glass
See OFFICERS, Page 4
BUSINESS
Volcon sets eyes on Liberty Hill in 2022
By KRISTEN MERIWETHER Staff Writer Liberty Hill will be the home of a publicly traded company in 2022. Volcon Inc., the first all-electric, off-road powersports company, has plans to open a manufacturing facility on a 53acre site in Liberty Hill in the third quarter of 2022. The facility was originally slated to open this year, but a backlog of construction material delays—particularly steel—and general construction supply chain woes have delayed the opening until next year. But once open, the company will have a manufacturing facility and a trail network through cedar and oak trees that will become the company’s proving grounds. Plans for a customer experience cen-
ter that would include a campsite, off-road demo testing track and a zipline are also in the works. “We’ve been on the property a few times. It’s got some really gnarly off-road courses, and it’s got some basic dirt roads,” recently appointed CEO Jordan Davis told The Independent. “We see a huge opportunity to bring people out and teach them how to ride a motorcycle off-road properly.” What the finished facility will look like is still being determined. But the versatility of what it could be, along with the built-in trails and proximity to Austin-based EV talent made Liberty Hill attractive to the company. The production plan for the Liberty Hill facility is still being developed, but initial estimates say the new plant is expected to bring hundreds of
Volcon Inc. plans to open a motorcycle manufacturing facility in Liberty Hill next year. (Courtesy Photo) jobs, according to Davis. “We’re not yet far enough along to say if this is a two
shift or three shift operation, or if it’s 24/7,” Davis said. Part of that will depend on
what products the company is
See VOLCON, Page 9
Blinded by the Light offers more than mainstream décor
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer Deb Lohman has always had an eye for detail, especially when it comes to home décor. She once considered becoming an interior designer, but eventually made a career out of working with manufacturers who sold to Target stores in Minnesota. “I was the liaison between Target buyers and the manufacturers,” she said. “Most of the products I was representing were home goods and décor, and I learned a lot.” She’s been in Texas for 10 years, where she worked for
a similar company in Austin until deciding it was time to follow her real dream: owning and curating her own home décor store. That’s when she decided to open Blinded by the Light in Liberty Hill. “I decided I was running out of time to do it, so I decided I better do it while I can and still have the energy,” she said. “It’s always been my lifelong dream. When I was very young and starting to go into college, I wanted to be an interior designer, but I was young and scared about taking the risks,
See BLINDED, Page 8
RACHEL MADISON PHOTO
Deb Lohman, owner of Blinded by the Light, opened her Liberty Hill store almost a year ago. She loves finding unique, one-of-a-kind items for customers to decorate their homes.