2020
Volume 33, Issue 11
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
February 6, 2020 | 50 Cents
Tensions boil after Community call Parks Board meeting
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Staff Writer What was intended to be a planning and information session for the Liberty Hill Parks Board turned into a post-meeting reprimand of two longtime members by Council member and new board appointee Steve McIntosh. Tensions rose Tuesday during testy exchanges between McIntosh and Board member Liz Branigan. As soon as the meeting adjourned, McIntosh – accompanied by Senior Director of Planning David Stallworth asked to serve as a witness – called Branigan into the room used by the Council for closed session. “I was in there with Mr. McIntosh and (Stallworth) and they locked the door and proceeded to threaten me, and I don’t threaten easily,” Branigan said. “(McIntosh) told me he would not tolerate any criticism and at that point I told them that was my job to critique and debate.” She said the closed door discussion was very hostile, adding that when she was accused of being hostile she stepped out to call in a witness of her own. City Events Coordinator Katie Amsler was then called in to serve as a second witness to the conversation, which continued behind closed doors. “They told me I was being hostile and negative so I got up, walked to the door and called in anybody who would come in to be a witness,” Branigan said. “Following
that, he (McIntosh) calmed down. The decibel level was much lower. I called for anyone to come in because they were yelling at me. “I think what they’re trying to do is run the City, instead of from the ground up – from the populace up – they’re trying to run it from the top down. He kept saying, ‘I won’t tolerate any disagreement’.” Branigan reiterated a number of times in an interview Wednesday morning that she believes McIntosh was placed on the Parks Board “to control it from the top.” “What concerns me is that the board exists partly so that the public can see that their money is being spent or policies are being made after a discussion with a board of citizens and it’s not happening these days,” Branigan said. “What this administration wants to do is dictate.” She added that the approach to his concerns about what was said during the meeting could have been handled differently. “I think he could have furthered his point simply by treating me with respect instead of calling me in and yelling at me,” Branigan said of the incident. “I felt very disrespected and threatened.” After Branigan emerged from the closed meeting, McIntosh then called in Parks Board President MaryLyn Jones, this time with City Council member Kathy Canady present as the only
See PARKS, Page A5
Panthers’ new district opponents revealed
By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor The moment all of the Liberty Hill High School sports community was waiting for finally arrive on Monday as the UIL unveiled the new district alignments for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. On the football side, the Panthers are grouped in Class 5A Division II, Region 4, District 14 with five Austin schools in Crockett, McCallum, Navarro, Northeast and Travis, along with Marble Falls. Gone are long road trips as all of the new opponents play within a 40-mile radius of Liberty Hill, which is certainly a welcome change, said Athletic Director and head football Coach Jeff Walker. “It’s certainly close, so we won’t have to go far,” he said. “There’s the traffic in Austin, but other than that, pretty good.” The combined record of the ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
Panthers’ new district opponents was 15-46 this past football season, so to ensure his team is tested properly, Walker has added a pair of Class 6A schools in Killeen Ellison and Del Valle and Class 5A neighbors Georgetown, as well as Class 4A LBJ, who posted an aggregate record of 24-19 this season. According to Walker, making sure his side is ready when the chips are down is of the utmost importance. “We’re going to have to play good schools at some point,” said Walker. “So, we’re playing over our heads in pre-district, but I like our chances.” Basketball and volleyball also received their new district assignments and the Panthers find themselves in Class 5A Region 4, District 25, with nearby neighbors Cedar Park, the three Leander schools (Leander, Glenn, Rouse) and the two Georgetown schools (Georgetown, East View). Liberty Hill head volleyball
See DISTRICT, Page A4
Cross Tracks at a crossroads
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor As Liberty Hill grows around it by leaps and bounds, the congregation at Cross Tracks Church is fighting for the future of one of the community’s oldest landmarks. Members of the church hope that the past is as important as the future for area residents and Liberty Hill will come together to help save the historic structure. Cross Tracks Church, a Methodist church founded in 1854 in Liberty Hill, has a historic marker near the front right corner of the building that notes when the church was formed, and when the building was erected on the site, all the way back in 1870. “I’m told this is the oldest building in Liberty Hill,” said Jim Turner, who along with his wife Pam are leading the restoration project. “We’re designated as a historical landmark so we have restrictions about what we can do to the outside. Whatever we do we have to submit plans to the state.” The congregation has taken on projects as it can, recently refinishing the weather-damaged front doors. “Originally, this was a three-story building at a different location, and they moved it over here brick by brick and at the time the first floor was dirt and the locals would ride their horses in during the heat of the summer then go upstairs for church services,” Jim said. As the campaign for restoration begins, the church wants to tell its story and generate interest in the preservation effort. “We’d love to have people come to our services and see what we’re about,” Pam said. “We’ve been doing the same thing for 165 years now, so we’re not going MIKE EDDLEMAN PHOTO anywhere. We’d love to grow.” The large stained glass window at the front of Cross Tracks Church is one of many that needs restoration and attention as the congregation takes on See CROSS TRACKS, Page A6 the project of protecting the historic structure.
Mayor ready to name Charter Committee
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Estimates relied on by Liberty Hill Mayor Rick Hall say the current population of the city proper is about 2,500 residents. That puts Liberty Hill halfway to the magic number of 5,000 needed to declare itself a Home Rule City and adopt a city charter. With the number of residential lots currently drawn on a map and in varying degrees of the development process in the
City limits, Hall believes within a couple of years Liberty Hill can become a Home Rule City. That means Liberty Hill will have to draft and vote on a city charter. “I am pretty confident it can be as early as the end of this year or beginning of next year that we can say we have 5,000,” Hall said. “In order for us to claim Home Rule there’s one thing that has to be done prior to that and that is establishing our City Charter. In
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer The library is typically a quiet place, but there’s a lot to talk about lately at the Liberty Hill Junior High library. The chatter is from girls learning to make their voices heard, a first step toward empowerment and success. A chapter of All Girls Considered (AGC) , a podcast network to give young girls an outlet to be heard and connect them with inspiring women, has arrived at the LHJH campus. “It’s a big deal because all of these middle school and high school girls are getting together to create their own podcasts,” said LHJH Librarian Katie Prescott. “Every single job that goes into making a podcast, these girls are doing. It’s 100 percent student-led; they choose who they want to interview.” The podcast has its roots in Leander. It began when middle school educator Jennifer Dean
All Girls Considered members Monique Achumama and Gabby they’ll be using to record their upcoming podcasts. decided to show her female chapter. While the girls will do students the power they pos- all of the work when recordsessed. ing their podcast, Prescott will To empower her own girls, work with the groups to develPrescott jumped at the oppor- op all the necessary skills for tunity to sponsor the LHJH the endeavor.
order for us to establish a charter we have to have a charter committee.” During the City Council retreat in late January, Hall discussed the timeline he envisions for preparing and holding an election for Charter approval. His hope is to have a draft charter on the ballot for voters in November. “We can have a city charter ready to go whether we need it today or not,” Hall said. “In order for us to get it approved
so we can have home rule I would like to get the city charter on the November ballot this year. In order to get it on the November ballot we have to pass a resolution by mid-August to get it on the ballot, which means we have to get everything far enough along in the process that the Council is good saying we will have a charter to go to the voters in November.”
See CHARTER, Page A4
Junior High girls demand their voices be heard with new ‘All Girls Considered’ podcasts
ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO
Vargas test out the equipment
“Every time we have a meeting, we do a kind of team building where we discuss why we’re here and what we
See GIRLS, Page A6