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2021
Volume 34, Issue 15
www.LHIndependent.com
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March 4, 2021 | 50 Cents
Four vie for LHISD Place 3
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees has two highly-contested races. One in Place 6,
ALEX RUBIO FILE PHOTO
Kent Walker will succeed his late brother Jeff as athletic director and head football coach at Liberty Hill High School after leading the Panthers to the Class 5A state semifinals on an interim basis this season.
Kent Walker named Athletic Director
By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Kent Walker always wanted to be the athletic director and head football coach at Liberty Hill High School. However, after being named to the dual position at a meeting of the Liberty Hill ISD school board to succeed his late brother, Jeff Walker, he certainly had mixed emotions. “This is definitely bittersweet – I will never be able to fill the shoes of the two previous athletic director/head football coaches here,” said Walker. “This is special and at the same time difficult to follow in my brother’s footsteps. I know I have a huge fan watching over me and smiling down on me. (Former Liberty Hill Head) Coach (Jerry) Vance and my brother were not only two outstand-
ing coaches, but they are/ were great men. I’m looking forward to the challenge of continuing to build a championship culture here in Liberty Hill. I’m excited for this opportunity to continue building on what Coach (Jeff) Walker has built here in Liberty Hill.” According to Walker, having the opportunity to take on his new role in Purple-and-Gold is simply the icing on a cake that was already plenty fulfilling due to its location. “This is a dream job because of the kids, coaches and community. There’s not another place I would rather be than Liberty Hill – it’s a perfect place to raise a family. The quality of education here in Liberty Hill for my son has been amazing. I can’t say enough about his teachers
See WALKER, Page 4
ANTONIO CANAS
There was no hesitation in Antonio Canas’ decision to file for a second run at a spot on the LHISD Board of Trustees. Canas lost to Kendall Carter in November in a three-candidate race. “I really want to be part of this community and help people,” Canas said of his decision to run again.
See CANAS, Page 5
where six candidates are looking to finish out the one year left on Vickie Peterson’s term following her resignation, and the second is a four-person
MICHAEL FERGUSON
contest for Place 3. Place 3 is currently held by David Nix, who has decided not to seek reelection, and the four who have stepped up
STEVE MESSANA
seeking the spot are Antonio Canas, Michael Ferguson, Steve Messana and Charlene Stevens.
CHARLENE STEVENS
It didn’t take Michael Ferguson long to decide he wants to be more involved in his community. He’s a life-long Texan, and has lived in Liberty Hill for three years, where he has one second grader and one first grader in the district. The culture and feel of Liberty Hill was just right for
Steve Messana wants to serve the community as a member of the Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees, but he’s also happy – even as a candidate – to see the number of candidates on the ballot this time around. Living within the school district just over seven year, Messana has one child in kindergarten and one still two years from school, but being a part
Charlene Stevens is a registered nurse who has lived in the school district since 2012 and in Texas since 1992. A naturalized citizen in 2019, she is originally from Canada. She believes her background makes her well-suited to serve right now with so many health-related issues
See FERGUSON, Page 5
See MESSANA, Page 10
See STEVENS, Page 10
split and that we might build a second high school, that pulls at heartstrings,” he said. “Now, even with a brand new building at Santa Rita, the kids worry that they might be separated from their friends or have different classmates. That’s why it’s important to us that no matter what school you go to, you get the same education, the same great teachers, the same great coaches, and the same expectations. Our deal is that we want it to be a small-town feel.” While it may be hard for some students in these new zones,
LHISD adopts new middle school attendance boundaries
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer With the addition of the new Santa Rita Middle School, the Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees on Monday approved new attendance boundaries to better compensate for the fast-growing district With several options on the table, the Board voted on option two, which sees the attendance zone divided by US Hwy 183A, a natural and clean divider. The line also creates a simple plan for the addition of a third middle school in the future. “We wanted it to be simple and clear and not confusing for
parents. We didn’t want to split neighborhoods or split small roads. That’s why Highway 183 makes sense,” said Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Steve Snell. “If you live on this side, you go here, or if you live on this side, you go there. It also makes sense as you look forward to the third middle school. We feel it will be more centrally located, so the boundaries get smaller instead of people having to move.” The decision to divide zones along 183A goes beyond it being a clean dividing line. As more people fill the area between Ronald Reagan and 183A, the new zones are ac-
counting for increased population density. “So, the biggest change is the sheer growth in Rancho Sienna and Santa Rita down the Ronald Reagan - 29 corridor,” said Snell. “It’s causing those attendance boundaries to get smaller and smaller to account for the density of the area.” The change may be a difficult adjustment, but Snell says that people shouldn’t worry because they will offer the same high-level education at all schools. “In my opinion, people’s hearts are Liberty Hill Junior High and Liberty Hill High School. When you think of a
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Growing up, Holly Kociuba struggled with asthma. But the seventh of eight children didn’t let that stop her from running down a path that led her to a 24-year career as one of Liberty Hill ISD’s most beloved physical education teachers. “I struggled with asthma, and my mom didn’t want me to run, but I wanted to. I was always the one who would never do what she was told to do,” said Kociuba. “Finally, I got it under control, and I loved to compete, and I ran in college and went to Europe in 1977 with the AAU
team to compete. I started out as an art major, but because I was on the track team and into P.E., they kind of talked me into switching degrees. It was in my blood, and my love of running drove a lot of my P.E program.” After 24 years in Liberty Hill, Kociuba is retiring from Liberty Hill Intermediate School. The lifelong athlete is preparing to enter the next stage of her life with the same drive and motivation. “It came much sooner than I think I was ready. It feels awesome. Family is first for me always, and my daughter is expecting her first baby,” she said. “I didn’t have the days
to take off and be with her for several weeks, so I decided to retire and help her. It’s exciting, and I have a lot of things to look forward to.” Retiring can be a difficult transition for some people, especially those like Kociuba who like being active. The retiring coach isn’t worried about the change. This allows her to delve fully into her creative endeavors. “I own a small business, and I do all the woodworking myself. My father, he’s 101, and I grew up in the south woodworking in the basement with him. I make oil-burning wood
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor As the new Liberty Hill wastewater plant expansion nears completion and will soon be ready to come online, new questions are being raised about which equipment supplier the City will go with for the first plant already in operation. The Council on Monday approved change order eight on the current wastewater plant expansion project, adding $70,641 to the project, in what it hopes is the final addition
before the plant is operational this month. The order brings the new contract price to $12.37 million, nearly $3 million above the original $9.68 million contract for the project. A large portion of the added cost came when former Mayor Rick Hall made the decision in April – supported unanimously by the Council – to switch the equipment used in the new plant from Microdyn to Suez, citing dissatisfaction with the Microdyn equipment. At that time, Hall indicated
the City would go with Suez for the new plant, and eventually switch the first membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant, opened in mid-2018, to Suez as well, but that decision is back on the table today. In addition to the change order for the new plant, the Council approved the purchase of two sets of new membranes from Microdyn for the first plant. City Administrator Lacie Hale acknowledged that there was a plan under the previous administration to convert the first plant to Suez, but staff was in
Dawn Hudson picked See BOUNDARIES, Page 10 to lead Louine Noble Longtime P.E. instructor retires after 24 years Elementary
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Liberty Hill school Trustees approved Dawn Hudson as the new principal of Louine Noble Elementary. The milestone is a pivotal step in getting the school ready for the coming school year. “It feels great. I am very humbled. There are a lot of great educators in this district, and I’m excited to keep working with our students and our families.” said Hudson. Hudson is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, with a Bachelor’s of Science degree specializing in Elementary Education. She has a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership from the University of Texas at Tyler. Hudson has over 20 years of experience with children at different grade levels and has worked in five school districts. She has served as assistant principal at Liberty Hill Intermediate for the last four years. In her time at the Intermediate, the school earned a designation of globally recognized PCL Campus, one of 172 schools across the nation. With her efforts, the campus was one of 45 schools in Texas named to the National To-Watch list. ©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
LHISD Trustees named Intermediate Assistant Principal Dawn Hudson as the new principal of Louine Noble Elementary. “We’ve done a lot of amazing things there, but I’m excited to get back to the elementary level and work with that age group,” said Hudson. “That’s where my passion is. I look forward to working with those teachers. I think the Intermediate has prepared me, we’ve done some great things, and I’m ready to continue doing those things there.” Hudson began the interview process a week before being named principal. Despite her new job on the horizon, Hudson still has plans for her time left at the Intermediate campus. “I found out when everyone else did. I found out today.
See HUDSON, Page 4
See KOCIUBA, Page 4
Liberty Hill Intermediate P.E. instructor Holly Kociuba is retiring after 24 years with LHISD.
City wastewater plant nears completion, costs increase again
the process of studying that option before moving forward. “That was the plan of the prior administration, but we’re still trying to figure out which way to go because we just spent half a million dollars on membranes for our current plant,” Hale said. “In the next few weeks I hope to set up a meeting with our engineer team and our operators to talk about our overall master plan for our wastewater treatment plant to see what’s more
See CITY, Page 4