2020
Volume 33, Issue 13
Branigan facing Hall in Mayor’s race
Former City Council member and longtime community volunteer Liz Branigan filed on Feb. 14, the last day to challenge Mayor Rick Hall in the May election. While Hall, who filed for reelection on Jan. 15 has drawn an opponent, Council members – Kathy Canady in Place 2 and Tony DeYoung in Place 4 – are unopposed. Canady and DeYoung were both appointed in 2019 to finish unexpired terms and now will each draw a monthly salary of $1,000 for their position on the City Council. The salary was approved as part of the current budget, passed by the Council in September 2019. The candidate that wins the mayoral race will receive a $40,000 annual salary, also stipulated in the current budget. The City election also includes a measure asking voters to determine the length of Council terms, either extending them to three years or keeping them at the current two years. On the Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees, Place 2 incumbent and Board President Clay Cole chose not to seek reelection. In his place, three newcomers – Dana Munguia, Kendall Carter and Antonio Canas – will vie for the position. There were four candidates for Place 2 briefly last week before Terry Smith withdrew his application for that position and refiled for Place 1 to take on incumbent and Board Vice President Clint Stephenson. The election is May 2, with early voting from April 2028. The deadline to register to vote in the local May election is April 2.
County prepares for full count in Census
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer As the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium gets started, it’s time for the U.S. Census. The count helps determine funding for over 50 federal programs and affects political representation through redistricting. “If you don’t get everyone counted in 2020, you’re going to be undercounted, and that’s going to affect you in 2030 because for the next 10 years the accurate population count is going to be important to how you’re funded from roads to community services such as firemen and policemen,” said Ray Langlois, part-time census
See CENSUS, Page A4 ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
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February 20, 2020 | 50 Cents
LHPD Chief takes key role in new program
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Police Chief Maverick Campbell knows the importance of drug prevention, and when he found a program to address that issue, he immediately wanted to bring it home to Liberty Hill. With the new program in hand, Campbell sought out a partnership with Liberty Hill ISD to establish a new way to address the dangers of violence and drug use and how to avoid these behaviors by partnering with the non-profit organization Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD). LEAD started in 2014 as a way to protect youth and communities from drugs and drug-related crimes, peer to peer/cyberbullying and violence. The program works with educators, community leaders, and families to accomplish their goals and keep kids from kindergarten to high school safe. “The Superintendent Association of New Jersey and the
chief of police were looking for a research-based, proven-effective drug prevention program for students in New Jersey,” said Valerie Penksa, a trainer with LEAD. “So, they formed LEAD, and we’ve partnered with the Mendez Foundation, who are drug prevention writers of curricula.” The Mendez Foundation began during the late 1960s. It focused on creating violence and drug prevention programs aimed at students from K-12. LEAD uses two programs to address issues, one is Too Good for Drugs, and the other is Too Good for Violence. “Their program is research-based, proven effective and on the national registry,” said Penksa. “Trained officers are certified to go in and teach lessons from kindergarten to 8th grade. There’s additional training if they want to do 9th grade.” After meeting LEAD’s CEO Nicholas DeMauro and COO John Lindsey during an international police chief con-
From left, are Lisa Remick-Vice, President LEAD operations and Training; Valerie Penske, Master LEAD Instructor; John Lindsay, Chief Operating Operations Officer-LEAD; LHISD Superintendent Steve Snell, Liberty Hill Police Chief Maverick Campbell, and Lt. Nick Glenn, Master LEAD Instructor of the Milan Police Department of Milan, Tennessee. (Courtesy Photo) ference, Campbell knew he sentative for the entire state of began reaching out to LHISD, wanted to bring the program to Texas,” said Campbell. “I did wanting to start locally before Liberty Hill ISD. more research before I com- expanding around the state. “I got some details and did mitted to it and worked on it “The school district considsome research on it, and they over the last year.” ered it, did some research, did asked me at the banquet dinAfter accepting the position their homework, and then I ner we had there if I would be and attending the LEAD conwilling to be the state repre- ference a year later, Campbell See LEAD, Page A5
County seeks solutions to dispatching crunch
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor When Liberty Hill ISD established its police department last summer it reignited an old debate in Georgetown among County Commissioners – how the financial burden of dispatching services should be shared. When the discussion of how to add LHISD Police to the long list of entities using those county services was over, the department was told it would cost $450 per month per officer. That meant when the four-officer force was filled out the department would be
paying $21,600 annually for dispatching services. “We went through and tried to figure out what it costs to have one additional entity and then what does it cost to have a person,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long. “We’re looking at all kinds of ways to see what are really the cost drivers and what should we settle on in that cost model.” The department is the first to pay for the comprehensive dispatching services, but is not expected to be the last. “We have a different collection of entities of different sizes that we are providing
these services for,” Long said. “Two years ago when Hutto ISD formed a police force, and most recently when Liberty Hill did, we said the County can’t continue to take on more folks without incurring more cost and at what point in time do those entities have to start bearing that cost?” The agreement with Liberty Hill ISD isn’t necessarily the model that will apply to others in the future, and the issue is one Long has been tabbed to study and bring back to the Commissioners Court in
See DISPATCH, Page A6
City Administrator search remains murky
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor It has been more than six months since the City Council voted to accept the resignation of then-City Administrator Greg Boatright, and there is no clear indication that the Council is close to hiring a replacement. Despite his resignation, Boatright indicated at the time that it was a Council decision to move on from him, and Mayor Rick Hall did not dispute that account. That same evening Hall said the Council would begin the search for a new administra-
tor. “We will actively start working (to hire a new administrator),” Hall said on Aug. 12, 2019. “There’s a firm that helps cities place interim city administrators so we don’t drop the ball or lose ground on what we’re doing and that firm will also help us in finding a replacement that suits the needs of the council.” Since that time, Hall has assumed all management of city government, and has on a number of occasions, told The Independent the hiring
See ADMINISTRATOR, Page A3
Wild at heart
Mustang Heritage Foundation taming a western icon
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Off County Road 156 between Georgetown and Granger, Heritage the mustang stands tall for visitors to behold as they enter the property that the Mustang Heritage Foundation uses for gentling wild horses. The foundation was first incorporated in 2002 in Nevada and is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing in wild horses from all over to be gentled and adopted by various owners throughout the country. “Overall, the objective of the foundation is to get wild horses and burros placed into private adoptive care,” said Executive Director Alex Kappert. “There are about 88,000 horses out on the rangelands in 10 western states, about three times over the appropriate management level.” The non-profit has an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to help with funding and also partners with sponsors and accepts donations from private citizens. “We have an outstanding partnership with the bureau of land management. They help fund a lot of our programming because we’re helping them with an issue that they’re working on,” said Kappert. “That’s a big part of it. Another big piece is donations and sponsorships. We get a lot of private donations from the community. We have a nationwide reach, so we have donors and sponsors from
all over the country.” Over the years, as the population of wild horses continued to grow, the need for the foundation’s services have become more vital. “Back in 1971, when the wild horse and burro act was enacted, there were about 27,000 horses and burros,” said Kappert. “The BLM has about 50,000 horses that have been removed from the rangelands that are in long-term holding.” Keeping the wild horse and burro population in check is a serious matter. Overpopulation leads to overgrazing, and that leads to harmful effects on local ecology. The overpopulation doesn’t just affect the environment around them; it has severe consequences for the horses and burros as well. “It is so grossly overpopulated that those animals are starving and dying of dehydration because there is just nothing for them to eat or drink,” said Kappert. “Being able to get them out of those bad situations and placed into a private home with unlimited hay, feed and water are very important.” Although many people may not be aware, the cost for the BLM to hold horses does affect the average taxpayer. “Each one in holding cost taxpayers about $50,000 over the life of the animal,” said Kappert. “Through our program and the placements that we make, we save taxpayers per horse and show that the hors-
ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO
Mustang Heritage Foundation Executive Director Alex Kappert takes Heritage for a trot around the pen. Heritage is the mascot for the foundation. es and burros are trainable and usable.” With the burden that it places on taxpayers clear, Kappert believes what the foundation does is doubly important because it saves the average citizen money. “As a taxpayer, we already pay a lot in taxes and $50,000 a horse when you have 50,000 sitting in holdings is a lot of money,” he said. “The wild horse and burro program eats up a massive percentage of the BLM’s budget every year just
managing them. As a taxpayer, it’s fiscally beneficial for us to get these horses placed into adoptive care.” Foundation facilities in Williamson County can house a maximum of 12 horses on 11 acres. The non-profit uses several different programs to get horses gentled and ready for adoption. “Starting in 2007, we produced our first-ever extreme mustang makeover,” said Kappert. “It’s a training competition where trainers receive
an untouched horse and have approximately 100 days to tame and gentle them. Then they have a show where they showcase the trainability and the usability of the horses.” Trainers involved in the makeover can win up to $150,000 in cash and prizes when showing their gentled horse and have the option to adopt the horse after the 100 days are up. “We had just under 100 horses that had been trained by
See MUSTANGS, Page A5