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2020
Volume 33, Issue 46
Civil unrest
Campbell sues, restates allegations against Hall
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The tug-of-war between former police chief Maverick Campbell and the Liberty Hill City Council moved to a new level Oct. 1 when Campbell filed a civil lawsuit against the City. The suit – filed in District Court – is for breach of contract, and seeks more than $290,000 in lost wages as well as other damages. “Maverick has a contract of employment for a specific term with the City and he could only be terminated under certain circumstances that are defined in the contract as cause for termination,” said attorney Kerry O’Brien, who is representing Campbell. “We’re contending they did not have cause to terminate him and they owe him the remainder of his salary
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October 8, 2020 | 50 Cents
Early voting begins Tuesday
Panthers celebrate Homecoming
Liberty Hill High School’s 2020 Homecoming Court
ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO
See LAWSUIT, Page 6
The 2020 Homecoming Court will be presented at Friday’s home football game, including the Queen and King. Queen nominees from the senior class (in back row, not in order) are Breeley Bodine, Jaylana Barker, Kloe Foster and Piper Tabor. King nominees, also seniors (in back, not in order) are Mitchell Floyd, Rhett Hofmann, Trey Seward and Grayson Rayburn. In the center row, not in photo order, are juniors Andrew Thompson and Cora Kosnik, and sophomores Bailey Lundy and Chase Maxwell. In front are freshman prince and princess Kaden Doyal and Jazmynn Powell.
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Serving an essential role in Liberty Hill ISD’s reopening, LHISD Health Service’s Michaella Ellis and Melissa Harrington are the dynamic duo responsible for COVID-19 contact tracing. Contact tracing is the process of identifying people who have come into contact with someone infected and determining any other that the infected individuals may have contacted. Contact tracers quickly locate and reach out to individuals and assist them in self-isolating and seek medical attention to slow the spread of infection to others. Tracers work with individuals to build out and determine others that might have
come into contact. “Melissa and I make up the Health Services for the ISD, and I also help with the nurses. I am the lead district nurse, and Melissa is the head athletic trainer,” said Ellis. “Anytime that someone calls in for COVID or they’re sick, the nurses then direct the information to health services, and from there we go in, process and investigate. Whether it’s looking through film, going through the campuses, walking through classrooms, looking at seating charts, outside, inside, or during athletics, we do it all.” Ellis relates the level of contact a person has with the Michaella Ellis and Melissa Harrington, are playing a pivotal role in LHISD’s reopening plan. The duo is responsible for contact tracing cases of COVID-19 and helping keep spread See TRACING, Page 7 to a minimum. (Photo Courtesy Kasey Faurie)
Dynamic duo tackles contact tracing
Voting time is near, and the Nov. 3 General Election will be one of the biggest ever in Williamson County. Early voting begins Oct. 13, with 19 voting locations across the county, including the Liberty Hill Municipal Court building at 2801 RR 1869. Early voting runs through Oct. 30 with polls open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sundays when they are open 1-6 p.m. All early voting, as well as Election Day polling locations can be found on Page 11 of The Independent or on the Williamson County Elections Department website at wilco.org. For those wanting to cast a ballot by mail, the deadline to apply is Oct. 23 and once early voting begins these ballots can’t be hand-delivered to the Elections Department office. Status of mail ballots can also be tracked in the website. The county has more than 370,000 registered voters heading into this election, more than 10 percent more than for the 2018 contest. 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 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. The sample ballot for City of Liberty Hill residents can be found on Page 7.
LIBERTY HILL VOTES 2020
3 vie for open LHISD Trustee seat
TERRY SMITH
CLINT STEPHENSON
Smith challenges Stephenson in LHISD Place 1 race
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Liberty Hill ISD Trustee Clint Stephenson is seeking his ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
second term and was elected Board President in May after then-President Clay Cole had decided not to seek reelection. He is being challenged by Terry Smith, who is running for the second time after finishing third in 2019 in a race won by Trustee Megan Parsons.
See PLACE 1, Page 5
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor With the retirement of longtime Liberty Hill ISD Board member Clay Cole, the door is open for a new face in Place 2. Cole, first appointed in 2007, served for 13 years before deciding to step away. Three candidates – Antonio Canasa, Kendall Carter and Dana Munguia (no photo available) – are looking for the opportunity to fill that seat.
Canas A recently retired 24-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Antonio Canas decided to make Liberty Hill his home, and he believes in being involved where he calls home. “I’m doing this mainly because my kids are in school
BARBECUE. BEER. COFFEE.
here, and being retired from the military I will have time to support my community,” Canas said. “I like serving people.” After enlisting at age 18, Canas has been on a military journey of more than two decades, earning two bachelors degrees and one master’s in the process. He began as a tanker, but finished his career as a human resource officer. “I definitely had a diverse experience in the military,” he said. “The broad view I have of the world will be good on the Board. I have additional skills the community needs. This community is growing really fast and with my diverse background in small areas and big cities I can see the impact the growth has on kids.” He was stationed at Fort
ANTONIO CANAS
KENDALL CARTER
Hood on multiple occasions, and decided to make Central Texas his home, with his children first going to school in Round Rock before settling in the Liberty Hill area. He is now working for the State of Texas, but said his focus has always been on volunteering. “When I was in Round Rock with my kids I was very involved in the schools,” he
said. “I volunteered for a program called PAW Patrols, and I recently started volunteering here in Liberty Hill schools. I also volunteer on Fort Hood and at my church.” What Canas sees in Liberty Hill ISD impresses him, but he believes with fast growth comes a heightened need for
See PLACE 2, Page 6
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