LH Independent, March 5, 2020

2020

Volume 33, Issue 15

The unraveling? www.LHIndependent.com

News@LHIndependent.com

March 5, 2020 | 50 Cents

City staff members come to Hall’s defense

Editor’s Note: It is the policy of The Liberty Hill Independent not to use anonymous sources except in the case where journalists believe a source’s safety is at risk if a name is revealed.

Council member Steve McIntosh was not in attendance.

Canady made the motion directing City Human Resources and Finance Director Becky Wilkins to continue the investigation, citing “actions by Maverick Campbell

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor At least two City staff members and a Council member have come forward, attempting to refute accounts reported last week that Mayor Rick Hall has been intoxicated during at least two recent city events – the Christmas party and Council retreat at Canyon of the Eagles – and was loud and used vulgar language in those instances.

Hall flatly denied the accusations, saying it never happened.

“It did not occur that way, not at all,” he said. “Not one bit of that is remotely true

See CAMPBELL, Page A5

See DEFENSE, Page A7

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Police Chief Maverick Campbell is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation into an incident while at a professional conference in New Jersey.

Curious details emerge in investigation of Police Chief

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The City Council voted Sunday in favor of continuing an investigation into Liberty Hill Police Chief Maverick Campbell, but inconsistencies in details of the investigative process shared with The Independent by Mayor Rick Hall

since that Council decision have further clouded the issue.

The 3-0-1 decision came after more than three and a half hours of deliberation behind closed doors. Council members Liz Rundzieher, Kathy Canady and Tony DeYoung voted for the motion, while Gram Lankford abstained.

Another conflict brewing

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor There could be a conflict of interest brewing where at least one member of the City staff has – in defense of Mayor Rick Hall – attempted to shift the focus to the actions Police Chief Maverick Campbell.

Liberty Hill Human Resources and Finance Director Becky Wilkins said in a phone interview with The Independent Monday morning – with Hall and Mayor Pro tem Liz

Carter cruises, Dems head to runoff in HD 31

There were few surprises statewide or in Williamson County on the Republican ballot in Texas’ Super Tuesday results as incumbents enjoyed landslide victories, but tightly contested, crowded races on the Democrat ballot resulted in a number of May runoff elections.

Incumbent Republican District 31 U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, overwhelmingly eclipsed three

See RESULTS, Page A4 ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent

Rundzieher present – that she would be in touch with the newspaper later in the day with City employees interested in refuting claims made by three anonymous sources about inappropriate conduct by Hall at two City events.

Wilkins herself, who a day earlier was tasked by a City Council vote to continue an investigation into Campbell, was one of the individuals

See WILKINS, Page A5

2018 e-mails allege Hall outburst

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor While Mayor Rick Hall continues to defend his decision to carry a handgun in City facilities and discount the impact that decision has on the comfort and security of city employees, there is evidence dating back to September 2018 that contradicts his assertion.

Similar to the angry outbursts alleged at both the 2019 City Christmas Party and the January Council retreat at the Canyon of the Eagles, two e-mails dated more than a year ago that were provided to The Independent, paint a similar picture about an incident that reportedly occurred in City Hall in 2018.

See EMAILS, Page A7

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Mayor Rick Hall has recently come under scrutiny over allegations made regarding his public behavior at the City Christmas party and the Council retreat in January.

Mayor could face removal effort

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor After allegations were made public last week that Mayor Rick Hall has been observed engaging in threatening, vulgar and offensive behavior in numerous settings in recent months, and has allegedly been intoxicated in those instances, one local resident suggested that Hall could be legally removed from office.

Chris Pezold addressed about 25 people in attendance at the March 1 special-called Council meeting to discuss the employment of Police Chief Maverick Campbell as they waited for the meeting to begin.

“We’re here on a Sunday judging a man and his family

See REMOVAL, Page A4

One Chapel Liberty Hill seeks to bless community through church services, outreach

By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer For the last four months, One Chapel Liberty Hill has been hosting church services near downtown, but it’s the journey behind the church’s opening that really sets it apart.

Pastor Andrew Fortner and his wife, Karen, have been in ministry for more than two decades, primarily in Texas and Missouri. The two met while attending Baylor University in Waco, and after they married, they served as youth pastors for a couple of years in Marshall. The couple then moved back to Waco where they were associate pastors for about five years, and then they moved to Kansas City, Mo., where they started their first church.

The couple served there for seven years before moving

back to Texas, where they started attending One Chapel in Southwest Austin. One Chapel also has campuses in Kyle and Lake Travis, and the Fortners felt called to start a fourth campus in Liberty Hill after realizing how many people in the area drove the 30 minutes to Southwest Austin for church.

“We were members there for about four years, and then just served there as volunteers, and we just really loved that church family,” Andrew Fortner said.

“The mission of One Chapel is they eventually want to have 10 campuses all over the Austin area.”

Through the process of participating in several small groups RACHEL MADISON PHOTO outside of church services at Pastor Andrew Fortner and his wife, Karen, hold up a poster they found behind the paneling while renovating the building One Chapel Liberty Hill is located in. It took several months to See CHAPEL, Page A4 renovate the building before opening it to the community for church services.

Page A2

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

SUBSCRIBE to the ONLINE EDITION

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Shin Oak Ridge Bulletin Board

www.LHIndependent.com/ Subscriptions

Send news to: News@LHIndependent.com

Public Meetings

The following are standing open meetings that are subject to change within the guidelines set forth by the Texas Open Meetings Act. For the most current meeting postings, and meeting agendas, visit the respective websites.

- Liberty Hill City Council, 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 9 and 23 at City Council Chamber, 2801 RR 1869. libertyhilltx.gov/agendacenter - Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees, 6 p.m. Monday, March 16, 2020, at LHISD Administration Bldg., 301 Forrest Street. libertyhill.txed.net

Liberty Hill Public Library hours

Tree 2) How to care for your Crape Myrtle 3) Pruning Crape Myrtles 4) Symptoms and Treatment for CMBS The Green Thumbs Up is free and open to the public and will be presented at the following locations and times: - Cedar Park Public Library, 550 Discovery Blvd. in Cedar Park, March 12 from 7-8 p.m.

- Round Rock Public Library, 216 E. Main St. in Round Rock, March 10 from 6:307:30 pm For more information contact Kate Whitney at klwhitney@ ag.tamu.edu or the Extension Office at 512-943-3300.

Highland Lakes Garden Club meets March 12

will be guided through learning stations that emphasize the use of basic tackle, appropriate bait selection, knot tying, boat casting, conservation ethics, and general outdoor/water safety. Additional activities such as “backyard bass” will also help participants hone their casting skills.

With all the planned activities, please allow at least an hour or more to fully enjoy the event. We recommend an early arrival to gain the most from the program.

Fishing poles and tackle will be provided, so please leave personal fishing gear at home.

We suggest wearing loose, comfortable clothing, a hat or visor, and closed toed shoes.

No flip flops or sandals, please.

The use of insect repellent is advised along with sun block.

Commissioner Cynthia Long hopes the Learn to Fish event will inspire families to spend quality time with children discovering the outdoors and engaging in the lifetime recreational activity of fishing.

No pre-registration is necessary. Upon arrival at the park, all participants are asked to stop at the registration table to pick up materials needed for the stations.

Williamson County’s Learn to Fish Day is funded through the donations of private individuals and corporations.

For more information, please contact the Williamson County Parks and Recreation Department at 512-943-1920 or the office of Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long at 512260-4280.

the Republic of Texas will hold its monthly meeting on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m. at the Cross Tracks Methodist Church in Liberty Hill. The meeting will be in the Worship Center of the Church.

The program will feature Historian, Tennye GiOtis, speaking on the Traveling Trunk. The trunk contains artifacts and items and discusses the uses of these items by the frontier settlers in Texas, before and during the days of the Texas Republic. In addition, it talks about food, lifestyle, laws, education, clothing, commerce, medicine and manners among the early cross cultures that were living side by side on the frontier. It is an educational tool designed to teach both youth and adults about the history of Texas.

Besides the program on March 14, there will also be a program presentation by Aften Serrano, Secretary-Treasurer of the Judge Greenleaf Fisk Chapter, at the Liberty Hill Library on March 28 at 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend this educational program. Children, parents, and grandparents are especially welcome.

Any woman who believes that she is descended from an ancestor who was in Texas before or during the time of the Republic (1836-1846) may bring any papers that she has and our registrar and qualified members of the group will help the prospective candidate with beginning to put her lineage together and find documentation.

For more information contact registrar, Joyce Parsons at jnparsons1114@gmail.com, or president, Mariann Fisk Laughlin at truetexaswomen@ gmail.com

The Liberty Hill Public Library is now open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The li- The Highland Lakes Garden brary is located at 355 Loop Club invites the public to at332 in Liberty Hill. tend a free gardening talk by Willard Horn, Master GarLiberty Hill Garden dener and Master Naturalist, “Container Gardening”, Club meets March 10 on March 12 at 1 p.m. at the MarThe Liberty Hill Garden Club ble Falls Library, 101 Main, meets March 10, and the proMarble Falls. gram will be “Converting to Low Water Landscaping” by Learn to Fish Jenee Lamberton, known as “The Plant Chick”. on March 28 She will discuss landscaping LEANDER -- Williamson with less water use, which is an County is hosting its Annueconomical and environmen- al Learn to Fish Day in the tally appropriate idea.

Southwest Williamson County The meeting starts at 10 a.m., Regional Park, located at 3005 but come a little early to social- CR 175, Leander, on Saturday, ize.

March 28, from 8 a.m. to 12 The meeting is held at Life noon.

Springs Church, 15611 W. Children of all ages will be State Hwy. 29. able to spend time learning various fishing tips and techGreen Thumbs Up niques from local experts. The Judge Greenleaf Learn to Fish Day event is free Gardening Series and open to the public.

Fisk Chapter meets March 10, 12 All activities are in preparaMarch 14 Join us on March 10th or 12th tion for the day’s objective -The Judge Greenleaf Fisk for the Green Thumbs Up Gar- to catch a fish. Angler hopefuls Chapter of the Daughters of dening Series “Crape Myrtles and Myrtle Bark Scale” presented by Williamson County Master Gardener Brenda McIndoo. Brenda will discuss Prepared by Liberty Hill Police Department the following topics: 1) Selecting your Crape Myrtle - On Feb. 25, at approximately dent.

Week of Feb. 24-March 1 The Liberty Hill Police De- 7:51 PM, officers responded - On Feb. 28, at approximately partment responded to or to Independence Avenue for a 6:59 PM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29 self-initiated a total of 296 in- noise complaint. cidents resulting in five cases, - On Feb. 27, at approximately for suspicious activity.

20 citations, 62 warnings and 12:23PM, officers responded - On Feb. 29, at approximately no arrests. to 12000 block of W SH 29 for 11:37 AM, officers responded to the 12000 block of W. SH a traffic hazard.

- On Feb. 27, at approximately 29 for a noise complaint.

Weekly Highlights: - On Feb. 24, at approximately 6:15 PM, officers responded to - On Feb. 29, at approximately 1:45 PM, officers responded to the 1000 block of Loop 332 for 3:04 PM, officers responded to the 700 block of US 183 to S. Showhorse Drive to assist a suspicious incident. the Williamson County Sher- - On Feb. 27, at approximately assist the Williamson County 9:28 PM, officers responded to Sheriff’s Office. iff’s Office.

- On Feb. 24, at approximately the 12000 block of W. SH 29 - On March 1, at approximately 7:53 AM, officers respond2:25 PM, officers responded to for a suspicious incident. the 1000 block of Loop 332 for - On Feb. 27, at approximately ed to the 700 block of Loop 9:37 PM, officers responded to 332 for loose livestock. a harassment complaint.

- On Feb. 24, at approximately the intersection of US 183 and - On March 1, at approximately 9:13 PM, officers responded 5:04 PM, officers responded to W. SH 29, for an accident. the 10000 block of W SH 29 - On Feb. 28, at approximately to the intersection of US 183 5:17 PM, officers responded to and W SH 29 for an accident. for an accident.

- On Feb. 25, at approximately the 9000 block of W. SH 29 to Jacob Lemons and his wonderful team with their banking partners, 5:50 PM, officers responded to assist the Williamson County Kelly Crutchfield and Tammy Hufford Sheriff’s Office with an acciCR 282 for loose livestock.

Liberty Hill Police Blotter

Hometown Service

“Banking is very important for a small business.

That’s why we chose First Texas Bank. Quality and hometown service.”

CROSSWORD PUZZLES ONLINE WWW.LHINDEPENDENT.COM/PUZZLE

- Jacob Lemons (owner)

Georgetown • Round Rock • Cedar Park • Pflugerville • Liberty Hill

FirstTexasBank.bank

The Liberty Hill Independent YOUR AWARD-WINNING HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

~~ A Publication of Texas Independent News Corp. ~~

(512) 778-5577

Send Email: news@lhindependent.com www.LHIndependent.com www.LibertyHillLiving.com P.O. Box 1235 14251 W. SH 29, Suite B Liberty Hill, TX 78642

The Liberty Hill Independent is published every Thursday at 921 Loop 332, Liberty Hill, TX 78642.

Periodical Postage Paid at Liberty Hill, Texas.

Publication #018932 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Liberty Hill Independent, P.O. Box 1235, Liberty Hill, TX 78642 Shelly Wilkison - Publisher Mike Eddleman - Managing Editor Stacy Coale - Advertising Scott Akanewich - Sports Editor Anthony Flores - Staff Writer Rachel Madison - Staff Writer Rachel Viator - Graphic Design Andrea Brown - Office Manager

2020

DEADLINE Noon Monday prior to Thursday publication

SUBSCRIPTIONS

$25 per year in Williamson County, $29 per year in Texas outside of Williamson County, and $32 per year outside Texas.

ADVERTISING

DISPLAY RATES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Liberty Hill Independent welcomes letters to the editor, but requests that letters be limited to 300 words or less and address issues rather than personalities. Unsigned letters or those deemed unacceptable by the publisher will not be published. Children under the age of 17 must have signed parental permission. Phone numbers and addresses must be included for verification purposes.

Opinions expressed in the articles, letters and columns do not reflect the views of The Liberty Hill Independent or its owners.

COPYRIGHT

The entire contents of each issue of The Liberty Hill Independent, including editorial and advertising copy, is protected under the Federal Copyright Act. Reproduction of any portion of any issue will not be permitted without the express written permission of The Liberty Hill Independent.

Follow The Independent on Social Media!

Facebook.com/LibertyHillIndependent

@LHIndependent

Thursday, March 5, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL:

Putting the pieces together

Dating back to May 2018, when Mayor Rick Hall was sworn in, different people in Liberty Hill have come to The Independent with information they claimed showed a side of how Hall does business they believed just wasn’t right.

All of those things have been investigated over the last 20 months, and some rose to the top as issues to address in the paper, while some others fell flat and seemed to have no merit. But in the middle of those two lists was the much longer list of things that seemed to have a fair amount of truth or showed reasonable merit in continuing to investigate and research as time passed.

There was not enough information to publish at the time, but there was too much information to ignore.

In the last week, many of these issues reached a critical mass and pieces began to come together from a variety of places that finally provided the verification needed to report on them.

The suggestion by a few that The Independent staff woke up last Thursday morning and got the idea to disparage the Mayor is not true.

In a matter of 48 hours we saw a coming together of people who no longer wished to remain silent, but they did wish to remain anonymous.

Anonymous sources are always a red flag for reporters, probably even more so than for readers. But there are occasions where anonymity can be justified, and The Independent staff determined the individuals seeking that anonymity had a reasonable argument under the circumstances.

Understand, these individuals are not anonymous to The Independent. No story would ever appear on our pages without verification of who someone is and as much understanding of their own agenda or angle as we can get.

When they say they fear retaliation, that is a legitimate concern in this situation. How many of us feel good going to someone who answers to the person we are lodging a complaint about?

There is no buffer today between employees in city government and Hall, so complaints against Hall are basically complaints against their boss, who the human resources director also works for. That alone justifies anonymity, but add in the accusations of intoxication, angry outbursts and a gun, and it is easy to see an uncomfortable path for addressing a work complaint.

The Independent is in every public meeting. The Independent sees how everyone on the city staff and City Council interact. It is not too difficult to put the pieces together and see who is social with one another and who is not. More importantly it is easy to see how that dynamic changes. Human Resources and Finance Director Becky Wilkins has been given a place of prominence by the Mayor these days. She even has her own seat on the dais during meetings, which served as the final sign that we could bet on what we had anticipated all along – that there would be no

new City Administrator. That chair was now occupied.

In addition to anonymous sources, The Independent added the information from dozens of interviews, a pair of e-mails obtained previously and determined there was validity to the claims.

The City’s actions since Friday have done nothing to dispel that belief, as only a few phone calls called into question the current investigation of Police Chief Maverick Campbell. The newspaper’s reporting is not about whether Campbell should be the Chief or not, it’s about what the real reason could be for removing him and how it is being done.

Each issue raised in each one of the stories relating to the City in this edition are a piece of the puzzle that, when all put together, create an interesting picture.

It always comes back to how this Mayor does business.

The stories on these issues in today’s paper are meant to show signs of repeated behavior and bias. If The Independent’s reports on these problems makes some readers label the paper as biased, then so be it.

Twenty months ago The Independent could interview any city employee. The Independent could call and ask for a piece of information and get it. Today, all the effort is put into not providing information or tightly controlling it.

Everyone wants the newspaper to write about what they believe someone else is doing. The question we ask everyone is “how do we give validation to your claim?”

When three members of this Council – supported by the Mayor – repeatedly campaigned last spring on claims that individuals tied to the City were acting unethically and profiting off the City, The Independent spent a lot of time trying to discover the alleged wrongdoing. When these individuals were elected and they teamed up with the Mayor it looked like some real information might be attached to these accusations.

But within two weeks of the election, they had dropped it like it never happened, going a step further and angrily telling The Independent we were being sensational and just trying to make them look bad. Now the crusaders are on the other side and don’t like the questions.

Think about what’s happened between that election and today.

Shortly after the election, with the support of this Council, the Mayor gained direct supervisory authority over the City staff.

Two months later in August 2019, the City Administrator was removed, and eventually the Council admitted he was not going to be replaced. Two weeks ago, the EDC moved to not renew the contract for the EDC Executive Director with no explanation and we are expected to believe the Mayor had no knowledge of it. Now, there is an intense effort to get rid of the Police Chief.

When are there enough pieces of a puzzle to justify many of the stories brought to our attention over the last two years?

Page A3

PEC announces rate reduction

Submitted Content JOHNSON CITY — Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s (PEC) Board of Directors approved a rate reduction that will save PEC members over $6 million a year.

The rate decrease, which goes into effect June 1, reflects a reduction in the cost of power from PEC’s primary suppliers, including the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).

At 1,250 kWh of use, this adjustment represents a savings of $1.25 per month for members.

“The PEC board and its employees are committed to providing reliable electric service at some of the lowest rates in Central Texas,” said PEC Board President Paul Graf. “As a not-for-profit co-

operative, we and our power providers are always working hard to find savings to pass on to our members.”

PEC’s rates are designed to be fair, reasonable, equitable, and based on the costs of maintaining the system and safely delivering power.

Rates are approved by the PEC Board of Directors, and all changes are made with the cooperative and its members in mind, and with full transparency at board meetings, which are open to the membership. As a member-owned cooperative, PEC doesn’t earn profits; however, when revenues exceed expenses, these margins are allocated to our members in the form of capital credits.

More information is available at pec.coop.

WilCo Community Development Block Grant issues call for projects

GEORGETOWN -- Williamson County’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program will be allocating $1,596,257 in funds in fiscal year 2020. The fiscal year runs from October 2020 to September 2021. Cities, non-profits and other entities can apply for that funding now through April 16, 2020.

Funds will be made available to approved projects on or around October 1, 2020.

Projects will be selected using the following 2019-2023 priorities:

Public Facility and Infrastructure Improvements Increase Access to Affordable Housing Decrease Homelessness Public Services Affirmatively further Fair Housing Projects should be located in participating cities or in the unincorporated areas of Williamson County. Online applications can be found at www.wilco.org/CDBG and should be submitted electronically. Submission deadline is April 16, 2020.

The newspaper’s record of public information requests

The Independent has made 13 requests to the City of Liberty Hill under the Freedom of Information Act so far this year for information pertaining to a number of different ongoing issues and questions. Below is an up-to-date list of all requests made in 2020 and their disposition: Requests sent March 2: • “Body cam or police unit video and audio of former Liberty Hill Police Department Officer Farmer between July 2018 and August 2018 involving a pursuit where Mayor Rick Hall was a passenger in the vehicle.”

• “Expense receipts, reimbursement amounts, reservation dates and costs for airfare and hotel, event registration information, and purpose of trip, for a trip to Colorado and a separate trip taken to Cabo San Lucas by Mayor Rick Hall and Council member Steve McIntosh between May 2019 and the present.”

Requests sent Feb. 19: • “A list of all items (hats,

shirts, coats and any other clothing items) authorized for purchase with City logo or name embroidery, to include number purchased of each item, cost per each item, who authorized the purchase, which business was contracted to provide the items and how they have been distributed.”

• “The total price (including design, production and mounting) for the new metal, backlit sign in the Municipal Court Building hanging behind the dais. The name of the individual that authorized the project and cost. The name of the company contracted to design and produce the sign.”

• “A list of all security devices purchased and installed by the City at City Hall to include locks, key card access devices, alarms, cameras, monitors, etc. The company or companies contracted with for these devices as well as installation of the equipment. A cost breakdown by item for these devices including installation costs.”

• “A list of all vehicles currently owned by the City of Lib-

erty Hill, including year, make and model; date purchased; purchase price; which department the vehicle is assigned to.”

The response to these requests to date came from the law firm representing the city of Liberty Hill by e-mail on Feb. 20, saying “Please note that pursuant to Texas Government Code section Sec. 552.261(e) all requests received on February 19, 2020 will be treated as a single request for purposes of calculating costs. The City will respond to you with the estimated costs in accordance with the Act.” To date, no estimated cost has been provided to The Independent. The 10 business day deadline to respond or file for exception with the Texas Attorney General’s Office is March 3.

Requests sent Jan. 2: • “Notes, emails, memorandums, text messages and other correspondence relating to establishment of the August 2019 City of Liberty Hill budget process and budget discussions shared between City

staff and members of the City Council with any other staff or Council member between the dates of 06/01/2019 and 10/01/2019.”

The response to this request from the City was that no such documents exist. The City sent approved minutes from two Council meetings and agendas from three others as the only documentation of correspondence regarding the budget process.

• “The current annual salary for each City of Liberty Hill employee by name and title or position, to include all Police Department staffing. Include date of hire and salary at time of hire.”

The response to this request was a list of employees by name with current salary, but did not include the date of hire, title or salary at the date of hire.

• “A copy of the City of Liberty Hill Employee Handbook.”

The response to this request was to send a copy of the employee handbook by email on Jan. 21, after the Jan. 17 response deadline.

• “A copy of the final City budget approved by the Liberty Hill City Council in September 2019.”

The response to this request was to send a copy of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 by email on Jan. 21, after the Jan. 17 response deadline. The budget sent was the one originally proposed in August 2019, but included no changes made between that time and the official vote in September 2019.

• “Notes, emails, memorandums, text messages and other correspondence relating to the process, planning and hiring efforts related to the City of Liberty Hill city administrator search between Mayor Rick Hall and consultant Powell Municipal between 08/01/2019 and 12/31/2019.”

No response has been provided by the City regarding this request.

• “Details of who authorized the disbursement of (advance salary to a City employee).

How was the additional payroll disbursement requested?

Who authorized it? Corre-

spondence or document authorizing the disbursement, either by memorandum or electronic mail? Verification that (City employee) received disbursement of the regular payroll amount on 06/06/2019, twice on 06/18/2019 and once on 06/20/2019, with a credit back for one of those disbursements on 06/20/2019.”

No response has been provided by the City regarding this request. This was an additional request made for further information pertaining to a request submitted in September 2019.

• “Details of the travel (City employee) was reimbursed $1,244.30 for on July 3, 2019.

What was the travel for (specific training or event), where was it located, when was it held, who authorized the travel and who authorized the reimbursement?”

No response has been provided by the City regarding this request. This was an additional request made for further information pertaining to a request submitted in September 2019.

CUSTOM DESIGN LANDSCAPING WATER FEATURES OUTDOOR KITCHENS PATIOS & MORE

512.755.9273 yardbuilders.com

Page A4

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

REMOVAL

Continued from Page A1

and we’ve had Council members watching stuff go on that I just read an article in the paper about and I’ve heard rumors about, that we’ve been watching go on for quite sometime,” Pezold said.

“There has been no judgment on that.”

Pezold then brought up the option to have Hall legally removed from the Mayor’s position.

“One person can go in and file with the district judge, and there’s only three reasons why a mayor can be removed from office and one of them is public drunkenness,” Pezold said. “It is interesting it only takes one to file and they clear the civil court docket and push that to the front, so it is something that can happen quick. Those are my thoughts.”

CHAPEL

According to information published by the Texas Municipal League, a single citizen – who has lived in the city for at least six months and is not under indictment – can file a sworn petition for removal of a mayor or council member in district court in the county where the elected official resides.

The petition must spell out the alleged acts, including specific time and location.

Once the petitioner files for the order requiring the citation be provided to the elected official facing removal, the court will order the official to appear and answer the petition.

The three specified grounds for removal are incompetence, official misconduct, or intoxication on or off duty caused by drinking an alco-

Continued from Page A1

One Chapel, the Fortners started to get to know people in Liberty Hill, Leander and Cedar Park.

“We have a discipleship group called Catalyst that we started in Cedar Park, and about the same time we started that group, a small group called Front Yard Friday started here in town,” Andrew Fortner said. “Once a month on Friday night, we get together for fun and fellowship. There were about 40 people at the first one, and one month we had up to 80 people. It was a shock to see so many people, and that’s when we realized this was more than just a small group.”

One month for Front Yard Friday, one of the lead pastors of One Chapel came to Liberty Hill for the event but ended up getting lost and wound up in what is now One Chapel Liberty Hill’s parking lot.

“The church had a for sale sign on it,” Andrew Fortner said.

“That’s when this all came together. We realized we have 80 people here in Liberty Hill at this small group, we have a vision to plant new campuses

throughout Austin, and there’s this cute old church house up for sale. Why couldn’t this be a new church?”

Things moved quickly after that. One Chapel purchased the building and closed on it in May 2019. From then until September 2019, when the church officially opened, major renovations occurred to get the church up and running.

“We got in here and saw the potential, but we knew it needed work,” Andrew Fortner said. “It’s a 90-year-old building. Fellowship Church had owned it but hadn’t used it for a while. They had rented it to another church, so we knew it had some good bones. We had this idea. Between the three existing campuses we had a lot of people, so we decided to have some work days where everyone would come and work on the building. It was like ‘Fixer Upper’ church version.”

As the Fortners and other members of One Chapel worked on renovating the building, they found several issues, like a lack of insulation in the walls and structural issues

holic beverage.

The petition filer bears financial responsibility should the removal procedure not move forward.

The judge may refuse to issue the citation and dismiss the petition at the cost of the filer. If the judge does issue a citation, the petitioner must execute a bond with at least two sureties to cover the official’s damages and costs if the grounds for removal are found to be untrue.

The law also specifies that if the citation is issued, the disposition of the matter takes precedence over other civil matters in the court. The official facing removal would have the choice of being tried by the judge or a jury.

with the second floor, as well as the need for a complete asbestos remediation.

“What was going to be about four weekends of work turned into every day for three months,” Andrew Fortner said.

“I spent a lot of late nights here, but many people did.

We found some cool stuff. It was like an archeological dig.

We started jackhammering the concrete steps and underneath one layer we started to find stones that looked different.

They were tombstones. One of them was from 1891 and the other was from 1888. I think they were used as filler. And on a wall in the sanctuary, we peeled back paneling and there was shiplap. On the shiplap, there was a handmade poster still attached to the wall that had newspaper clippings of missionaries from all over the world. Somebody had written this poster for the church people to see. I don’t know how old it is, but one of the dates is 1948.”

The Fortners agree that the building was a lot of work, but it ultimately made their One

RESULTS

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Continued from Page A1

challengers, winning 82 percent of the vote district wide and in Williamson County.

Democrat Christine Mann, who made her way to a runoff in 2018 for the right to take on Carter but eventually fell to MJ Hegar, finds herself in a similar scenario this time around.

Mann grabbed 35 percent of the vote among six Democrats in District 31 – which spans Williamson and Bell counties – falling well short of the 50 percent required to avoid a runoff. Donna Imam, who tallied 31 percent of the vote will be her opponent in May. In Williamson County Mann held a slightly higher edge with 37 percent to Imam’s 31 percent.

In the Republican race for the Williamson County Pct. 2 Constable nomination, Jeff Anderson bested Renee Harrell, winning 62 percent of the

vote. Among the pair of Democrats seeking the Constable nomination, Robert Tijerina grabbed 55 percent to top Greg Papst.

On the wider election stage, President Donald Trump and Senator John Cornyn easily won their nominations.

For Democrats, a list of 17 candidates on the ballot came down statewide to a contest between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, with Biden edging Sanders by two percentage points on a late-night surge.

Sanders had a two percentage point edge at the end of the night over Biden among Williamson County voters.

Democratic US Senate candidate MJ Hegar, who challenged Carter in the District 31 House race in 2018, dominated the contest among 12 candidates in Williamson County with 59 percent of the

vote, but statewide she could not secure the votes needed to avoid a runoff. Across Texas, Hegar finished with 23 percent to Royce West’s 15 percent, so the two will face off in May for the nomination.

The percentage of voter turnout in Williamson County – 30 percent – was lower than in the 2016 Primary when 35 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls. But in 2016, 98,880 ballots were cast and this year 104,972 voted in the county.

The turnout for the primary in 2016 and 2018 was heavily weighted to the Republicans in Williamson County with more than 30,000 more voters in 2016 and more than 10,000 more in 2018. Tuesday, Democrats in Williamson County outvoted Republicans by more than 16,000.

Chapel family closer.

“We had some construction folks from other One Chapel campuses who came to help us, some who are new to the church and new to their walk with God,” Andrew Fortner said. “As we worked with them, we were able to talk and get to know them. We were working on a building to be a place in the community where people can gather to worship God, but that’s not really what we were doing. We were building people.”

Andrew Fortner said everything they do in their church is designed around the idea of helping people move from where they’re at to where God wants them to be.

“We always say three words: presence, relationship and mission,” he added. “Everything we do on Sunday morning is about being in God’s presence.

Worship, songs, prayers, reading the Bible. Relationship is the idea that church should feel like a family. We do a lot of small groups so people can lean into each other and be real. Mission is the idea that

we can’t just look inward. We have to look outward and care about the community. We have to be intentional in loving one another, so we look for ways we can be outside the walls of the church in practical ways.”

One Chapel Liberty Hill has Sunday morning services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. People of all ages are invited, and three groups for children based on age are also available during the services. The church also has several small groups for men, women and teens, some of which focus on the Bible and others that are just for fun, Karen Fortner said.

“We feel like you can do a small group around any idea,” Andrew Fortner said. “We actually have a group of guys meeting and watching scifi movies and talking about them. The idea is simple: We need to hang out and get to know each other.”

The Fortners also plan on hosting a monthly community brunch starting the first Sunday in April.

“We will be cooking free food for the community just be-

cause—there will be no strings attached,” Karen Fortner said.

“As a church we can do these things to bless the community. We are always looking for ways to bless those in our community, from taking Girl Scout cookies to the staff at Liberty Hill Elementary to finding ways to bless our first responders.”

Overall, Andrew Fortner said he and his wife are excited about the future of One Chapel Liberty Hill, and they feel like they’re right where they need to be.

“We like to start new churches,” Andrew Fortner said. “It’s fun to gather a group of people around the vision of a new church and start a new community. It’s a lot of hard work but we love it. We’ve seen God do so many amazing things in such a short time.”

One Chapel Liberty Hill is located at 811 Loop 332. For more information, call (512) 729-6200 or visit onechapel. com/liberty-hill.

There’s someone you know in every issue!

LHINDEPENDENT.COM/SUBSCRIPTIONS -- $25 ANNUALLY IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY Your Business Card can be seen every week IN COLOR for only $32!

512.778.5577

Thursday, March 5, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Council members Kathy Canady and Liz Rundzieher talk as the Council waited to call the Sunday meeting to order concerning the employment of Police Chief Maverick Campbell.

CAMPBELL

Feb. 23 and 24th at a LEAD Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.”

In an interview Monday morning, Hall would not provide many incident details due to the ongoing investigation.

“It is still under investigation at this point,” he said. “We are waiting for a finalized report from the NJSP (New Jersey State Police).”

When asked about how the City learned of the incident he said, “We were contacted by the New Jersey State Police.”

But Campbell’s attorney Tiger Hanner disputes that claim, saying when he followed up with law enforcement agencies in New Jersey, representatives from the NJSP denied contacting anyone about the incident.

“Based on my discussions with the New Jersey State Police that is inaccurate,” Hanner said. “They did not contact the Mayor or try to notify him of this matter.”

There was no arrest or citation, and no investigative report, according to Hanner.

“The Mayor has told numerous people that Chief Campbell was arrested and that’s completely false,” he said.

“Chief Campbell was questioned, he was fully cooperative, but no charges or citations were issued.”

WILKINS

Continued from Page A1 Hanner elaborated on the incident, saying Campbell and his wife had a verbal disagreement in public, which led to the police response.

“Unfortunately it occurred on the floor of the casino, which, as most people are aware, casinos have numerous cameras,” Hanner said. “There was no violence whatsoever, but because it occurred on a casino floor law enforcement became involved.”

When contacted by The Independent, representatives from both the NJSP and Atlantic City Police Department denied making any contact with the City of Liberty Hill.

But before Campbell returned from Atlantic City, Hall had already been in contact with him about the incident.

“The Mayor had asked that when Maverick returned to town from New Jersey that he turn in all of his equipment, including his squad car, which Chief Campbell was more than willing to do to cooperate,” Hanner said. “Instead, the Mayor opted to have the squad car towed away from in front of Chief Campbell’s home in what I think is a clear attempt to embarrass him.”

For his part, Hall said he first learned about the incident Feb. 24.

“I was informed of the in-

Continued from Page A1

who called Monday afternoon to deny the allegations against Hall, but in the course of a 15-minute interview her focus turned from defending Hall’s actions to casting a cloud over Campbell’s behavior at the Council retreat on the night of Jan. 24 while at Canyon of the Eagles outside Burnet.

Not only do her accusations against Campbell raise questions about her impartiality in relation to her role in investigating this recent accusation, it is not common for human resources employees to offer information regarding ongoing investigations of employees.

But after offering her version of Hall’s actions on two evenings in question, Wilkins then shared details of what she said were disturbing actions by Campbell and his wife. Below is the transcript of the interview with The Independent beginning at the point where Wilkins first mentioned Campbell’s action.

WILKINS: “I do want to share one other thing with you about the Canyon of the Eagles. There were two incidents that occurred at this event, both of them involved Maverick Campbell and his spouse or Maverick Campbell by himself, both of which are still pending investigation. I have

statements from three out of five people who were present for an incident so there’s a totally different side to this. So I can’t give you a lot of information, but I can tell you there’s another angle to this and that sometimes people point the finger at other people to get the spotlight off of them.”

EDDLEMAN: “Sure, I get that. So are those issues part of the issue with (Maverick Campbell) right now?”

WILKINS: “No.” EDDLEMAN: “Because the mayor implied this morning that (the current investigation) was related to the New Jersey incident.”

WILKINS: “No, this is a separate issue from that.”

EDDLEMAN: “Okay. Then can you tell me more about this?”

WILKINS: “There was an incident between him and his wife while we were at dinner.

And there were four people at one table, sharing a table with him. There were myself, (Council member Steve) McIntosh, the Mayor, the mayor’s wife and Councilman Lankford’s young son were at the table I was sitting at. Then another group was right over from us, which was the other council members and attendees. There was an obvious disagreement between the two

Page A5

ALEX RUBIO PHOTOS

Council member Gram Lankford (right), who abstained in the 3-0-1 decision to continue an investigation into Police Chief Maverick Campbell, talks to Council member Tony DeYoung.

cident verbally on Monday approximately 12:45 or 1 o’clock in the afternoon,” Hall said. “I requested some documentation through direction of our legal counsel. We had placed Maverick Campbell on administrative leave on Tuesday. Becky (Wilkins) and myself contacted him at approximately 2:18 in the afternoon on Tuesday to advise him of his paid administrative leave at that point.”

Hanner is also questioning who is actually conducting the investigation the Council tasked Wilkins with.

“The City Council in their motion on Sunday directed that the HR Director would conduct the investigation, yet I received contact that the Mayor himself was conducting the investigation and had contacted administrators with LEAD, which was the program there, and other individuals,” Hanner said. “All of that occurred on Monday.”

An e-mail sent to Hall Tuesday from Nick DeMauro, the Executive Director and CEO of LEAD, corroborated Hanner’s claim: “In follow-up to our brief conversation yesterday which you (Hall) ended abruptly, I would like to reiterate that Chief Maverick Campbell is an active member of our Law

Enforcement Advisory Board and presented at our Board of Director’s meeting which was held in conjunction with the 5th Annual 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference and Summit.

“We have no information of any conduct on Chief Campbell’s part that would interfere with his participation with our organization. If you become aware of any information to the contrary, please feel free to call me at any time. We are proud of our relationship with not only Chief Maverick Campbell but also with the Liberty Hill Police Department and we look forward to a long relationship with your community. On behalf of the Board of Directors I want to thank you for all you have done in support L.E.A.D.” It’s also unclear as to when an investigation of the incident officially began.

Council members Kathy Canady and Tony DeYoung told The Independent on Monday that they first learned of the incident and issue with Campbell when the City sent out notice of the meeting and posted the agenda, which was the afternoon of Feb. 27. “(All I knew was) just based on the agenda by e-mail that it was a special meeting to discuss what was on the agen-

da,” DeYoung said of when he learned about the situation.

“There was really nothing more in-depth before that. I just knew it was important because it was a Sunday.”

Canady implied that the decision process had only begun with the Sunday meeting.

“I still don’t know exactly what’s going to be discussed,” Canady said of the investigation of Campbell. “We’re still waiting for stuff. We knew there was an incident and we knew the dates but that’s about it.”

But Hanner confirmed that efforts had been made to push Campbell to resign prior to the meeting being posted.

“The Mayor, at least four times, asked Maverick to resign his employment with the City,” the attorney said.

“Before there was any investigation conducted, before anything, he was advising Maverick to resign his job.”

Because he is a contract employee, Campbell can’t be terminated without a Council vote. But the repeated pressure, without the investigative process ahead of it, to get Campbell to resign indicates that it was Hall’s intent to dismiss Campbell even before the Council Meeting Sunday.

“The Mayor has seized upon this as an opportunity for po-

litical reasons and not based on what actually occurred,” Hanner said.

Despite being a member of the City Council that will ultimately determine if Campbell is terminated or not, Steve McIntosh posted a comment on the Sundance Ranch neighborhood Next Door page disparaging Campbell and calling his own objectivity into question on the issue being investigated.

“It’s so sad how this original poster is peddling lies along with the Independent. The paper has made it a goal to take anonymous lies from this police chief and disgruntled employees to remove him (Mayor Rick Hall) in favor of a mayoral candidate that would funnel money back into the pockets of the paper. The chief will answer for his beahvior...”

Once the initial motion was approved at Sunday’s meeting, the Council voted unanimously to name LHPD Lt. Royce Graeter as acting Chief of Police during the period of the ongoing investigation.

Rundzieher made that motion.

Hanner said he was not given a timetable for reaching a conclusion on the issue.

of them, then at one point one of the parties stood up and pointed at the mayor and said ‘I’m going to talk to you later’, which made everyone in the entire restaurant including other people who were not with our party, very uncomfortable and we hastened to get out of that environment and that’s why we all went to the observatory.”

EDDLEMAN: “What about that made everybody so uncomfortable?”

WILKINS: “The arguing, the cursing, the negativity of (the Campbells’) argument. I was not at the table where the argument was occurring. I was at another table where you could hear raised voices in front of their children.”

EDDLEMAN: “Can I ask you why you’re telling me this about the Police Chief in particular?”

WILKINS: “Because you made the allegation that the Mayor made people uncomfortable having his gun, and that he got kicked out, and other things. There were other factors going on.”

EDDLEMAN: “You just implied that maybe I have information that’s trying to point fingers at someone else and that’s what you’re doing now – not talking about what the

Mayor did or didn’t do, but telling me what somebody else did.”

WILKINS: “What else do you want me to tell you about what the Mayor supposedly did?”

EDDLEMAN: “We talked about that, and I have what you said and I’m going to use that.

But I was just trying to figure out what brought up this issue with the Police Chief?”

WILKINS: “I think it was one of the things that disturbed people there. I don’t recall anyone saying to me they were uncomfortable being around the Mayor, but several people said in the course of the evening that they were uncomfortable being around (Maverick Campbell) and his spouse.”

EDDLEMAN: “But again, I don’t understand what that has to do with the question of the Mayor’s conduct.”

WILKINS: “You wanted to know what happened at the Canyon of the Eagles. And in my mind that was the only thing that happened that would have been something out of the norm.”

EDDLEMAN: “I’m just curious as to why the Police Chief came up while I was asking specifically about the Mayor, that’s all. I’m just trying to figure that out.”

WILKINS: “And my response

is I didn’t witness nor was I uncomfortable by anything that the Mayor said or did.

Other people remarked to me that they were uncomfortable with that particular incident.

Not anything the Mayor said.

Not anything the Mayor did.”

EDDLEMAN: “So now we’re supposed to say everybody says the Mayor didn’t do any of that, but you know who did?

It was the Police Chief? That’s what this sounds like to me.”

WILKINS: “No, that’s not what I’m saying. If you are interviewing people and they’re only giving you parts of the story, there were other things that happened.”

EDDLEMAN: “I’m only interviewing you because you said you wanted to give a different version of the Mayor’s actions. That version has turned into the Mayor didn’t do this, but the Police Chief

did this. I’m trying to figure out why that’s important. If it was tied to why the Police Chief is under scrutiny now, okay, I get that. But I’m not sure why that’s being thrown in there.”

WILKINS: “I mentioned it because you’ve made the story like people are afraid of the Mayor and intimidated by the Mayor and that he says these things and that people are uncomfortable. My sharing that part of the story with you is that people were uncomfortable and made comments about a particular incident, but no one ever said anything about the Mayor getting kicked out of the observatory and I didn’t hear him say any of these things that you’ve related.”

Page A6

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, March 5, 2020

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Sonic’ speeds to success on big screen

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Since the debacle that was the “Super Mario Brothers” movie first hit theaters in 1993, movies based on video games have earned a less than stellar reputation among critics and moviegoers alike.

Movies like the “Resident Evil” series and low budget disasters like “House of the Dead” and “Alone in the Dark” are staples of the video game movie genre that have helped continue to cultivate a negative opinion during the last two decades.

In the last decade, video game movies like “Assassin’s Creed”, “Prince of Persia” and “Tomb Raider” have attempted to breathe new life into the genre. All three films starred well-known actors like Michael Fassbender, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander. Like before, those attempts fell short, unable to capture the feel of the popular source material.

Entering the third decade, the first attempt at making a well-received and true to character video game movie is “Sonic the Hedgehog”, and for this moviegoer and video game fan, the film manages to do what the others couldn’t.

It captures the essence of the blue hedgehog through a heartfelt story and a charming, often over the top cast.

Voiced by the always funny Ben Schwartz of “Parks and Recreation” fame, the blue speedster finds himself alone on Earth after fleeing to the planet at an early age.

Sonic remains hidden amongst the population for a decade until an act of frustration at his loneliness draws the attention of the United States government, putting him in the crosshairs of the nefarious Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey.

With the aid of small-town sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), the blue blur evades capture and finds the friendship he’s longed for along the way.

The story of Sonic the Hedgehog isn’t an original one. Still, the cast excels at taking what would be a mediocre story and infusing it with enough heartfelt moments and comedy that it rises above.

A character like Sonic can quickly come across as arrogant and annoying without the proper handling. Ben Schwartz

manages to find the sweet spot that balances being an arrogant little speedster and a sympathetic loner at the same time.

I found myself rooting for him throughout the film.

Growing up with the character in various media forms, I found this version to be one of the most genuine portrayals, and the film succeeds in making Sonic a character you want to invest in.

Jim Carrey’s physicality and over the top performance was a pleasant surprise. The comedy veteran was able to be a bumbling idiot and, at the same time, sell you on the fact that he was a sinister villain. Many of the movie’s highlights stemmed from the interactions of Carrey with the rest of the cast.

The relationship that develops between Sonic and James Marsden’s character, Sheriff Wachowski, is a delight to watch. It may not be the most complex of relationships, but for a film aimed at a younger audience, it’s the right kind of relationship.

Taking advantage of Sonic’s super speed, the movie has several moments reminiscent of the Quicksilver scenes in “X-Men Days of Future Past” and “X-Men Apocalypse”, where the blue blur lives up to his reputation. The scenes revolve around Sonic moving at such a speed that his surroundings are stuck frozen in time while he manipulates them.

The action throughout the movie is well done and engaging. One of the most energetic aspects of the action is how it’s able to draw from the video games. Being able to emulate the movements in the game on film helps add to the character.

Visually, Sonic looks precisely how he should. In early 2019, a trailer for the movie showed a completely different look for the character that was ripped to shreds by social media. The studio’s decision to delay the film and completely redesign the character paid off significantly as one of the best things about the film is Sonic’s look itself.

While it may not be the kind of movie that wins Academy Awards, this story about a lonely alien hedgehog just trying to find a friend is a perfect film for the family. It does justice to one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture.

MIKE EDDLEMAN PHOTOS

Willow City Loop, off Hwy. 16 between Fredericksburg and Llano, offers anyone looking for a beautiful scenic Texas drive a wide variety of sights from hilltop vistas to old farm equipment and wildlife.

Fredericksburg from the outside

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor FREDERICKSBURG -- If you haven’t spent a weekend in Fredericksburg, the only question is “why not?”.

The town at the epicenter of Gillespie County is just under two hours from Liberty Hill and offers a beautiful drive through the Hill Country from whatever direction you travel.

There are a wealth of hotel options right in the middle of town, and on a weekend trip it would be easy to never leave Main Street with its dozens and dozens of unique restaurants and shops.

Main Street is a shopper’s paradise with clothing stores, gift shops, novelty and candy stores. Spaced out among the retail – in a seemingly strategic master plan – are bakeries, coffee shops and restaurants to offer a short break from the retail madness.

But if you’ve visited them, gone home with bags of evidence, and think you’ve done the whole “Fredericksburg thing” then you may have missed a lot. The fringes of the town that hangs its hat on its German roots offers so much more to see and do.

Our recent two-day trip was intended to be all of the fun outside of town. We didn’t plan a trip to Enchanted Rock as we’d hiked it before, but we planned a day to visit a winery and brewery, and a second day focused on soaking in the great outdoors of the hill country.

The first morning began at Java Ranch on Main Street, which is by far the best cof-

fee in town. Add in a muffin or a cinnamon roll and breakfast is out of the way. If you feel compelled to stroll Main Street a bit, early in the morning after a good cup of coffee is the best time. The main drag gets awfully crowded later in the day, especially on weekends.

Just after noon we headed out of town, driving toward Johnson City on US 290 bound for Becker Vineyards.

The vineyard is a short distance from the highway about 15 miles outside of town.

If you’re a wine lover – my wife, Elizabeth, appreciates it much more than I do – the Becker is a good choice. The long-established winery is known as one of the top-tier wineries in Texas and it comes with a great atmosphere.

A tasting will cost you $20, but it comes with essentially seven choices to try among more than 20 options and of course you get to keep the glass. The staff was very knowledgeable about the selection, but very friendly, making sure no question came across as dumb or silly.

We shared the tastings, and then bought a glass of wine to enjoy outside on the grounds where there are plenty of options to enjoy the hill country views and atmosphere.

After a couple of hours relaxing in the sun with a glass of wine it was time for the next stop, and my real focus for the afternoon – the Altstadt Brewery.

It is also on US 290 just outside of town, and is only four years old, but it is not your

ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

Save the date for these Liberty Hill area events LIST YOUR UPCOMING EVENT! Send email to anthony@LHIndependent.com

March 6 First Friday Ghost Tours 7:30 p.m. Williamson Museum, Georgetown March 7 Old Fashioned Rodeo BBQ 4-7 p.m. Twin Lakes YMCA, Cedar Park The Historic Globe Theatre ¡Three Amigos!, 4 and 7 p.m. showings, Bertram Festival of Colors 3-7 p.m., 1901 Sun Chase Blvd.

Cedar Park Austin Water Lantern Festival 4 p.m. Mueller Lake Park 4550 Mueller Blvd. Austin March 11 Beer Market Trivia 6:30 p.m. Liberty Hill Beer Market March 12 Christ Stapleton 7 p.m. Frank Erwin Center March 14 Austin Music and Arts Festival 11 a.m. Old Settlers Park, 3300 E. Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock The Historic Globe Theatre “The Goonies” 4 and 7 p.m. , Bertram March 15

Austin Music and Arts Festival 11 a.m. Old Settlers Park, 3300 E. Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock March 18 Beer Market Trivia 6:30 p.m. Liberty Hill Beer Market March 20 An Evening with Comedy 8 p.m. The Globe Theatre, Bertram March 21 Georgetown Photography Festival 10 a.m. 716 South Austin Ave., Georgetown Austin Kid’s Directory presents 5th Annual Fair 10 a.m. Austin Sports Center 1420 Toro Grande Blvd., Cedar Park The Historic Globe Theatre “The Jungle Book” (1967), 4 and 7 p.m. showings, Bertram March 22 Rock N’ Rides Car Show 8:30 a.m. 200 Gupton Way, Cedar Park Ela Music 2 p.m. Thirsty Mule Winery & Vineyard, 101 Co Rd 257, Liberty Hill March 25 Beer Market Trivia

6:30 p.m. Liberty Hill Beer Market March 27 2020 Georgetown Quilt Show 9 a.m. Georgetown Community Center Free Georgetown Hot Air Balloon Festival & Polo Match 3 p.m. Garey Park, 6450 RM 2243, Georgetown Joey Kipfer Music 3:30 p.m. Bent Oak Winery, 2000 Windy Terrace STE 2B, Cedar Park March 28 2020 Georgetown Quilt Show 9 a.m. Georgetown Community Center Georgetown Snow Crab Festival at The Victory Cup 11 a.m. GAREY PARK - 6450 RM2243, Georgetown Free Georgetown Hot Air Balloon Festival & Polo Match 7 p.m. Garey Park, 6450 RM 2243, Georgetown The Historic Globe Theatre “A League of Their Own”, 4 and 7 p.m. showings, Bertram March 29 Roadshow Concert Tour 2020, 5:30 p.m. HEB Center at Cedar Park

www.LHIndependent.com

St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fredericksburg is one of the more hidden gems in town for visitors who have seen all of Main Street. typical local brewery. Altstadt is focused on bringing beer lovers local brews wrapped in a high-end, exciting package.

The brewery has a bar and tasting room, a dining room and an expansive beer hall, which is where we camped out for a few hours.

While Altstadt only bottles three beers to sell retail, there were a dozen or so of their own options on tap at the brewery.

We tried most of them by purchasing a pair of flights, and settled on the Alt beer.

The hall is an air-conditioned, indoor reminder of a German beer fest tent with long tables and a communal atmosphere.

On stage was banjo picker Dennis Bottoms, who we learned later played with many famous musicians and had a long-time contract as a songwriter for Warner Brothers Records. He played songs on that banjo everyone knew, and no one would have suspected would be so entertaining.

The other big plus about the brewery is the menu. Breweries are supposed to make good beer, but there are rarely high expectations on the food end, but the food options at Altstadt are amazing.

We sampled house-made sausages, pretzels, and shared a fish basket, each of which were outstanding, and we made note of a dozen more sandwiches and plates we’d like to try next time.

One important note on dining pretty much anywhere in Fredericksburg in the evening or on weekends is that there is a fun local music scene that is as easy to tap into as walking down Main Street listening for something that sounds good.

We counted at least six venues with live music Friday evening in a very short walk down Main Street once we returned to town.

Saturday we began the day just as we had on Friday, with a coffee and one more pass through a handful of shops.

Before we hit the road for our hill country tour we went for one more German meal, this time lunch at Altdorf. There

are no shortage of German dining options and everyone has their favorite. Some are upscale and some are very traditional, but Altdorf is my new favorite.

We sat outside, again entertained by live music, and shared a couple of delicious German favorites in a very relaxing atmosphere. With no other plans, it is easy to imagine sitting there all afternoon.

The afternoon plan, though, was to head out of town on Hwy. 16 toward Llano to check out the Willow City Loop drive.

But before we got that far out of town we decided to stop in at “Kuckucks Nest”, a retailer that looks as though Old Germany exploded inside. The warehouse-type store is mostly resale items with some new things mixed in here and there, but it probably has the largest selection of lederhosen and beer steins this side of the Atlantic.

Just fishing through the items packed tightly on tables and shelves at every turn is interesting enough, but then when the owners begin talking to you in German you wonder where you might really be.

They speak English also, but if you give even the slightest hint you know any German you are going to have to use it.

In addition to the best place to buy real German goods in Fredericksburg, the trip up Hwy. 16 takes you past Pecan Grove – in case you need one more burger or beer. It’s an old gas station turned into an ice house that’s just waiting to catch travelers on a scenic drive and it fits into the atmosphere quite well.

Willow City Loop is not a specifically Fredericksburg attraction, but it is on most lists – especially in the Spring – as a can’t miss part of any trip.

The loop, a 13-mile backroads drive from Willow City back to Hwy. 16, is one of the most scenic drives in Texas.

In the Spring it is jam-packed with wildflowers, but even

See TRAVEL, Page A8

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Defense

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page A1

except for I was at the Christmas party and I was at the Canyon of the Eagles. That’s the only thing in those articles that is remotely true.”

Pointing to a number of social media comments following the publication of the initial report of Hall’s behavior on the website of The Independent on Feb. 28, Hall claimed others have also said the allegations are false.

“Nothing has been validated,” Hall said. “There’s even been people coming out on Facebook saying that they were there at most, if not all, of these events and these allegations are false.”

But doubts remain due to another person present at the Christmas party speaking up this week, and one key question that has yet to be answered – what does the staff at Canyon of the Eagles know?

The Independent attempted to interview staff at Canyon of the Eagles, and while they were hesitant, they indicated they knew what the call was about.

When staff at Canyon of the Eagles answered the phone and learned the call was from The Independent, the individual’s response was, “I can’t talk about this, hold please.”

When they returned they said no one was available to speak at the time, but they would take a message. When attempting to leave a more specific message, the employee said, “Oh, we know what the call is about.”

A second call on Tuesday resulted in a similar response, with the employee saying, “We’re not going to comment on this issue.”

In separate interviews with The Independent, now five individuals cited being present at one or both of the recent events during which the Mayor appeared intoxicated, and became vulgar, loud and belligerent. At both events, they said they observed Hall wearing a holstered handgun, which they added he wears regularly, including at City Hall and at other city buildings.

Hall denied he was carrying a gun at the two events in question.

“I can tell you I have never walked in to Hell or High Water carrying my gun,” he said.

“I will admit it is my freedom to carry my gun by the Second Amendment. I have never walked in there because I respect that 51 percent sign on their door. I do not carry my gun anywhere that I know I will be drinking.”

At a city staff Christmas party, witnesses reported the Mayor was “drinking heavily and was intoxicated. He was stumbling around in the street, and using vulgar language.”

Liberty Hill Events Coordinator Katie Amsler said in an interview Monday that none of the allegations surrounding the Christmas party were true.

“I planned the Christmas party so I was working with the Mayor closely all night just to make sure everything stayed on schedule and everything was flowing and there was absolutely no drunkenness, he was not heavily intoxicated, he was not stumbling and there was no vulgarity,” Amsler said. “And I absolutely did not see a gun on him.”

She said she was not near the

Emails

Mayor all night, but that due to the strict schedule of the event she was around him a lot. She said Hall left before she did.

“The only time I saw him be loud was when he was trying

“As the HR person I have never been in a position where when I’ve been in a work session or social setting with the Mayor that I’ve felt like his behavior has gotten out of control or to a point where, from an HR perspective, I’d be concerned.”

~ Becky Wilkins Human Resources/Finance Director City of Liberty Hill

to rally everyone together so he could speak,” she said.

The most recent witness to come forward to corroborate the initial claims regarding Hall’s behavior at the Christmas party said Hall became angry when he felt others in attendance were not listening to him.

The witness to the alleged incident added that Hall walked out into the street in front of Hell or High Water angry and yelling, and that as they drove away they almost hit him with their car when he came into the street.

Liberty Hill Human Resources and Finance Director Becky Wilkins also said she has never seen Hall act as described by others.

“As the HR person I have never been in a position where when I’ve been in a work session or social setting with the Mayor that I’ve felt like his behavior has gotten out of control or to a point where, from an HR perspective, I’d be concerned,” she said. “There’s nothing rising to a level of concern with me. I was at the Christmas party, I was also at the Canyon of the Eagles event. We were all playing a game on a cell phone called Heads Up. We were all kind of loud and boisterous and it wasn’t like there was one person that was louder than everybody else, boisterous or inebriated or anything. We were all just having a good time.”

City Council member Kathy Canady also said she did not see any of the alleged behavior at the Christmas party.

“I didn’t really see anything out of line,” she said. “I never saw (Hall) do anything that didn’t fit in with the rest of the stuff that was going on at the Christmas party.”

At the City staff and Council retreat held in January at Canyon of the Eagles Resort near Burnet, the witnesses said employees of the resort at one point requested Mayor Hall to leave an activity at the observatory and return to his room.

They said guests complained “he was intoxicated, loud, and his language was offensive.”

One source said resort employees also came to the “fire pit” where city staff, their spouses, council members and children were socializing, and requested Hall to control his voice and his offensive language as others had complained.

The reporter representing The

Continued from Page A1

Below is an excerpt from one of the e-mails submitted to then-City Administrator Greg Boatright and City Attorney Dottie Palumbo: “He (Mayor Rick Hall) said loudly WELL I MIGHT JUST TELL THE CHRISTMAS COMMITTEE TO RENT EVERYTHING WITH THE $30,000 THIS YEAR SO YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO STORE – all you are going to do is spend money for Art to pack it up and store it and I do not think this has anything to do with audit or fiscal responsibility – it is just a way of controlling EVERYTHING – you and Greg want to control everything. I continued to speak to him in a professional and quiet manner stating it wasn’t a control situation but it did not make him calm at

Independent, who was also present, saw Hall wearing the holstered handgun at the retreat.

Two others, in separate interviews, corroborated the ac-

that time. I said why don’t we schedule a meeting so we can visit with Greg about this – he said okay – when? I said in the morning at 9 a.m. He got ready to leave – he went toward the door with his back turned to me but when he got through the door he turned around said v{sic} loudly (it was heard downstairs) at me: “OK – 9 a.m. I will be here and I am going to be here for another year and a half; I can be a pain in the ass or you all can work with he. He had both hands out and as he mentioned each group below he used his fingers to count off each entity/group: THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I RAN FOR MAYOR IN THE FIRST PLACE – BECAUSE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND

havior at the retreat.

“I can’t say that we weren’t being a little loud,” Canady said, describing a game the group at the fire pit was playing. “I did not hear anything of that nature. I was out there until about 10:30 or 10:45, I mean they are younger than us. Me and Liz decided to head back to our cabins that were side by side. Us old folks went to bed.”

Gun questions For those who shared these accounts with the newspaper, the common theme was a very real concern about Hall’s display of a handgun he wears regularly. They said they have felt uncomfortable, and at times feared for their safety or the safety of others.

Three of the sources who spoke with The Independent said they regularly see Hall carrying a handgun in City facilities, during City functions, and when driving City vehicles.

For some time, the gun was

Page A7

brought onto the City’s premises.”

The handbook also includes the following consequences for the behavior: “If the City has a reasonable suspicion at any time that a concealed handgun or weapon has been maintained, carried, or stored in violation of this policy, the City reserves the right to conduct a reasonable search of the person, work area, personal items, or any vehicle in the possession of or subject to the control of such person to investigate whether or not a prohibited weapon is present. Any employee who witnesses the concealment or possession of a weapon or who witnesses a physical or verbal assault involving another person should report it to their supervisor or the human resources department immediately. Violating this policy or refusing to consent to a reasonable search conducted pursuant to this policy may lead to discipline up to and including termination. Compliance with

count of the Mayor’s behavior and vulgarity during the incidents at Canyon of the Eagles and the words he used. They said they had heard the exact language as reported to The Independent, and confirmed that employees’ spouses and children were present at the time the reported offensive behavior occurred at the retreat.

One source abruptly left as the language became increasingly offensive. Another chose not to participate at the fire pit because the Mayor’s behavior at previous city events was offensive and made the source ashamed on behalf of city residents.

Wilkins again offered a distinctly different version.

“I was at the observatory and had made a joke later at the fire that the guy at the observatory was the mayor of the observatory and it was his territory,” she said. “He was very rude to all of us. We had used a little light to get down to the observatory and he had even chastised me for having a light. I think Liz Rundzieher had stepped around the corner to have a cigarette and he got upset because she had her lighter. There were two telescopes set up and we were asking about each one and asking if we could see any planets. He was telling us no, I guess that the planets were too far out or something. They were too far away or whatever.

None of us were asked to leave at the observatory at all. We all left probably around the same time. I know Nancy Sawyer and I walked out, Liz Rundzieher and Kathy Canady, then I believe Casey Cobb and his wife, and then the Mayor and the Mayor was with, I believe, Councilman Steve (McIntosh) and Matt (Powell) and Levi and the Mayor’s wife.”

She went on to describe what she alleged occurred at the fire pit as well.

“When we got back from the observatory we all went to the fire pit and were sitting around and talking and having a good time, then we started playing the ‘Heads Up’ game on the cell phone, and at no time while I was at the fire was Maverick Campbell or his wife or their children at the fire pit. At no time did I hear the Mayor say (the alleged vulgar quote from the Mayor), not at all. He doesn’t say those kind of things.”

Canady also said she didn’t observe anything related to the allegations about Hall’s be-

worn at his side, although now it is worn in a back holster.

Hall’s volatile behavior, as he carries a weapon, is “intimidating in the workplace, but especially when he is drinking,” one source reported.

In the City of Liberty Hill’s Employee Handbook that was updated in May 2019, which was provided to The Independent in response to an open records request, there is language prohibiting weapons in the workplace, in city vehicles, or while attending any events as a representative of the City.

Article 23, Section 2 states: “CONCEALED WEAPONS POLICY The City of Liberty Hill does not allow any job applicant, employee, contractor, subcontractor, vendor, agent, or representative to possess, use, conceal, carry, or maintain a concealed weapon or handgun on the City’s premises, except as required by law. Such premises include any portion of the building in which the City is housed, any private or public driveway, sidewalk or street, used in connection with the City’s business, and any vehicle used, owned, or leased by the City. The City also prohibits the carrying of a weapon or concealed handgun on your person while you are rendering any services or attending any event or function relating to your employment with the City or conducting any business on the company’s behalf.

This prohibition includes carrying or maintaining a concealed weapon or handgun in a City vehicle used in connection with your employment or

this policy is also a term and condition of continued employment with the City of Liberty Hill.”

The weapons prohibition is also displayed at the entrances to City Hall and other city buildings, in accordance with state law.

The City responded Saturday to the story in The Independent on its Facebook page with a message Hall said was written by the City’s legal counsel, that the Mayor and Council members are not considered City employees and that there is no signage on City facilities that prohibits the carrying of a firearm.

“I do not carry my gun any place I am not allowed to carry my gun,” Hall said. “I will carry my gun 100 percent of any other time. I do not carry my gun openly as the article stated by some anonymous source that y’all just want to take a story and run without getting facts stated and are they accurate or not.”

This was not the first time Hall’s decision to carry a firearm has been questioned.

“When the previous City Council brought up the fact about me carrying they went to the Texas Municipal League and that’s when they were advised that the Council and the Mayor are not employees of the City and we are not subject to the handbook and there’s no sign here that says I can’t,” Hall said. “There’s no sign at the Forrest Street building.

There is a sign at the Municipal Court building which works during the court time frame.”

THE CHAMBER AND THE SCHOOL AND THE FOUNDATION AND THE CITY AND THE SCULPTURE COMMITTEE AND THE CHRISTMAS COMMITTEE AND JULY 4TH CANNOT WORK TOGETHER AND GET ALONG – NOBODY AROUND HERE KNOWS HOW TO WORK TOGETHER! SOMEBODY HERE AT CITY HALL HAS TO GROW UP AND WORK WITH PEOPLE! “Then the Mayor was standing in the area between (two offices); (City employee) heard him and I did not know she had sent a text to the City Administrator to say he was needed at City Hall because the mayor is screaming at (City employee). Greg was at the WWTP (wastewater treat-

ment plant) with Wayne and Perry Steger.

“As the Mayor turned to walk away, without any doubt, I saw the image/outline/silhouette of his handgun stuck in his belt underneath the gray t-shirt he was wearing. It didn’t seem as if it was in a holster – just stuck in his belt or jeans. At no time was I EVER disrespectful, discourteous or unprofessional. (City employee) had to be at an appointment but I did not know (they) went downstairs to get (a third City employee) to come upstairs ‘to stay with (me)’ because they thought it might not be safe for me to be (at that location in City Hall) alone. I assured them I was okay.

“I was told the Mayor carried a handgun with him both in City Hall and Municipal

Court but it didn’t occur to me he would be wearing a gun if he was working outside. When (the other employees) were upstairs after the incident I told them I was, and would be fine, however, both (employees) stated ‘we are letting the City Administrator know that we are totally not comfortable with the Mayor carrying a gun in our presence and at City Hall – he has created a hostile work environment’. This is the second or third time I have heard that from City Staff.”

A second letter was submitted by another employee recounting the details as a witness.

Both e-mails were submitted 11 days prior to a mysterious item on the Sept. 24, 2018, City Council agenda. The item made public Council concerns at that time about the con-

“I do not carry my gun any place I am not allowed to carry my gun. I will carry my gun 100 percent of any other time. I do not carry my gun openly as the article stated by some anonymous source that y’all just want to take a story and run without getting facts stated and are they accurate or not.”

~ Mayor Rick Hall

Open door for concerns The combination of the presence of a weapon and Hall’s actions create an uncomfortable situation for staff – the original sources claim – saying employees ultimately have no one to go to with concerns or complaints because of the current City hierarchy.

Both Hall and Wilkins argue that there is no validity to concerns on the part of employees about their complaints not being heard or responded to properly.

“There has been no City employees that have come to her with any concerns about my behavior in the City, me carrying a gun, making them feel uncomfortable,” Hall said.

Wilkins was hired as Finance Director in December 2018, and only added the title of Human Resources Director in recent months.

“No employee has ever come to me to complain about (the Mayor’s) gun at any time,” Wilkins said. “While you said earlier today that people associate me with him, I do stand alone, I have an office open door policy and I have other employees that come and talk to me on a regular basis. I’ve told employees they can vent to me, they can bring a complaint to me, they can bring whatever they need to me.

We’ll close the door, I’ll listen to them and then I’ll follow through on whatever they ask me to do.”

But Hall questioned how many of the anonymous sources cited their concern over safety compared to the total number of City employees. When questioned about whether a complaint or concern was invalid because it came from a low percentage of the total staff, Hall said no.

“One person’s complaint should be valid, I agree, unless that one person is a disgruntled employee,” he said.

Hall, Wilkins and Amsler all referenced “disgruntled employees” in their interviews on the issue.

Fair treatment?

Hall spent a good portion of the Monday interview with The Independent voicing his frustration with the Friday article as opposed to discussing details of the allegations.

“I just want to say that I didn’t feel it was such breaking news that you couldn’t work with me around my time frame that I’m offering to come talk to you or have a conversation with you about the article before you put it out,” he said.

“So in my opinion, I think y’all rushed something without getting the facts.”

Hall added that he will request another investigation in which employees will be questioned about the opinions expressed in the newspaper’s story.

“I have requested the Council to ask Becky to open up an HR investigation on me with our City employees and ask them questions related to this article. Then we’ll find out what really happened,” he said.

He also claimed he was not given the right opportunity to respond to the claims.

“From a journalism standpoint, Mike,

duct of Hall, raising questions about what may have transpired to initiate the discussion.

The agenda item specifically mentioned Hall, stating, “Discuss and consider reports against Mayor Hall for explosive conduct, inappropriate language, intimidating conduct and for threatening behavior toward a City Council member and staff.”

The item was moved to closed session, and not discussed in open session following the closed-door meeting.

No action was taken by the Council and The Independent was unable to obtain more information on what prompted the item at the time.

FIND BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.LHINDEPENDENT.COM

Page A8

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, March 5, 2020

ANTHONY FLORES PHOTOS

(LEFT) Students watch on as Addie Henry walks them through the chords for Harry Nilsson’s song “Coconut”. (ABOVE) Marissa Andrade, Jameson Buchanan, Hallie Iverson, Faith Lanier, Levi Windle and instructor Lori Cosper pose with their golf clubs after a recent practice.

Panther Academy grows in second semester

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer With the second half of the school year in full swing, Panther Academy – Liberty Hill’s newest after school program – is offering a set of new courses to students.

Since its introduction in the fall, the Panther Academy program has grown significantly, offering more classes and improved courses. Everything about the program has blossomed, said Director Kenna Park.

“Since fall, we’ve tripled the number of classes available and expanded on all but one course,” she said. “Parents love it. The number of students enrolled has tripled as well.”

With a successful fall effort under their belt, a seemingly successful spring semester, and positive feedback from both parents and students, Park hopes to continue to grow the program.

“We will continue to expand what we’re doing,” she said.

“We’re going to continue to add classes and to energize the teachers involved.”

Currently, all courses available are based on the unique skills that the teachers running them already have. The ukulele course being offered at Rancho Sienna is only possible because educator Addie Henry knows how to play the instrument.

In the ukulele course, students sit on the floor with their instruments. Henry sits in front, using a screen that plays music for the kids to follow on the right and a board with different chords on the left. During the most recent course, Henry helped her class play the Harry Nilsson classic, “Coconut”.

Ava Van Noy, one of the students learning ukulele, was drawn to the course to create common ground with her musically inclined sibling.

“My sister has a guitar, and she wanted me to try something similar to it,” said Van Noy. “I thought that it would be fun to try something new and different.”

Van Noy enjoys the process of learning chords and working with the instrument.

“I like that we learn different things about the chords and how we strum the strings,” said Van Noy. “The hardest thing has been learning how to do C-7 and how to strum down with it. I think it’s fun, and I like it.”

At Bill Burden Elementary, a ruckus can be heard in the hallway as students work on experiments for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) course.

Controlled chaos might be the best way to describe the scene in Jessica Kelm’s course. Students move around the room, spilling water on desks as they fill boats made of aluminum foil with pennies, in an attempt

to test how many pennies, the small sea vessel can hold in water.

Sebastian Phegley, one of about 25 students in the course, appears very curious and well-spoken. Phegley’s curiosity and love of science is the driving force for his interest in the STEM program.

“I really like science and chemistry, and when I grow up, I want to be an architect, inventor, and also chemist,” he said. “Also, I really wanted to build some LEGO robots.”

Sasha Marchenko, like Phegley, is using the STEM course to help satisfy the curious itch.

Aside from her scientific interest, Marchenko wants to use what she learns to bond with her father at home.

“I like it because I like science and I like doing experiments and trying new things,” she said. “I like figuring out things that I didn’t know. I always wanted to make a robot dog with my dad, we’re even

looking for stuff around our house.”

Before working on their aluminum boats this session, in their last class, the group worked on a marshmallow catapult, an experiment that both Marchenko and Phegley enjoyed.

“For the catapult, mine didn’t really work out, but I got to try a lot of new things,” said Marchenko. “The boat was really cool to make cause we wanted to see how many pennies it would hold, and we got it to 137. We kept trying to make a bigger boat and fit more on it.”

In the gym at Liberty Hill Elementary, Lori Cosper has her students lined up on one side of the gym, armed with their golf clubs, practicing putting across the floor and into their hole.

The inspirations for picking up the sport vary.

“I wanted to do golf because my dad got me interested in

doing it,” said Marissa Andrade.

Levi Windle presented one of the more out-of-the-box reasons.

“My dad wants me to play baseball and golf, not football, because it hurts your brain,” he said.

When asked what they found most challenging about the game, the answer was unanimous -- hitting the ball.

With excitement for the program at a high, Park believes keeping instruction in house the way they are now is best for the district, even as growth continues. While outside vendors have approached with offers to run programs, Park doesn’t want to add too much too soon.

“Some of those outside vendors have been contacting us, ready to come in,” said Park.

“We’re not quite ready for that because it’s so new. We want our teachers to have an opportunity.”

Purple Hawks soar in TCEA competition

By ANTHONY FORES Staff Writer A robot made mostly of Lego blocks sits in the southwest corner of a whiteboard marked with various squares and circles. On the board are red and black checkers scattered throughout. When activated, the machine lowers its arm and begins to maneuver on the board, grabbing a red checker and moving it to a designated point.

The ultimate goal of this exercise is to get the red checker from point A to point B without making contact with other items on the board. This exercise is what makes up the TCEA robotics event where Liberty Hill Intermediate’s Purple Hawks – C.J. McGraw, Greyson McVan, and Preston Moore – finished 3rd overall.

“I was nervous, I was expecting it to be in some room like ours in school, not with all the people watching us in the stands,” said McVan. “I got nervous seeing that.”

Nerves aside, the most challenging aspect of competition for the Purple Hawks was the programming of the robot. The program that runs the robot is what determines its movement and how accurately it can achieve the set goal.

“Learning how to program it was hard,” said McVan. “When it turns, one-wheel stops and one wheel goes, so if you set it to 100, you don’t know how far it’s going to go. We had to get that down, and once you get a turn at the angle right, you can do any other turn.”

The delicate nature of the machine makes it react sensitively to any change in programming, forcing the group to consider every tweak they make carefully.

“You put the robot down, and it can be slightly to the right or left, and that can mess up the entire program,” said McVan. The obstacles on the board don’t offer any easy options either.

“The checkers that are spread out can change things,” said Moore. “If they got under our wheels, it would mess us up.”

Hours of fine-tuning was the only way to figure out how to get the robot to move with the least amount of errors. The

ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO

The Purple Hawks – C.J. McGraw, Greyson McVan, and Preston Moore – with their 3th place award and their TCEA competition robot.

group met twice a week after school for an hour and Friday’s during the advisory period.

“It took a lot of trial and error to get it right,” said McGraw.

One person doesn’t dictate the success of the team. The group works in conjunction with one another to develop their machine.

“We all kind of share things,” said McVan. “Me and him (McGraw) are mostly the main programmers, and he (Moore) runs the program and tells us what’s wrong.”

The design of the machine for the boys was unique from others in that it used a lift contraption to move the checkers.

At first, it took the boys some time to figure out how to build it before customizing it.

“Following the instructions was hard because it takes a long time,” said McVan. “Over the summer, it took us two days to do it, and we had about two and a half hours each day.”

Jennifer King, the Robotics program advisor, took 26 sixth

grade students to competition to allow more students to experience competition. Because of the number of students involved, the Purple Hawks competed up a level in the advanced robotics competition, taking on 7th and 8th graders.

“When we saw we were competing with 7th and 8th graders, we thought that was impressive because we were the youngest group,” McVan said.

“It was surprising; I didn’t think we were going to finish top 3. I thought we’d at least

get 4th or 5th maybe.”

The Purple Hawks developed a strategy for success determined around what would earn them the most points.

“Part of the mission is prioritizing what needs to get done first and what gets them the most bang for their buck,” said King. “They had to decide which mission would give them the most points. Sometimes they would do one thing well and not touch the robot after to avoid point penalties.”

Developing a good team rap-

Liberty Hill elementary UIL results Travel 1st-4th Grade UIL Results

(tied)

Chess 2nd Grade Ethan Primrose 3rd Jaxon Pavia-Cosper 5th

Music Memory 2nd Grade Sawyer Montgomery 6th

3rd Grade Carter Summers

3rd Grade Maddison Greer 5th

4th Grade Dillon Richards 4th Ryker Allen 6th

4th Grade Rye Parson 1st Allie Yarbrough 5th Art 4th Grade Lily Marquis 1st (tied) Annabelle Phy-Bailey

Storytelling 2nd Grade Peyton Shelton 5th 3rd

3rd Grade Mathilda Tice 1st

Spelling 3rd Grade Charles Gilliland 4th 4th Grade Vivian Evans 3rd (tied) Ready Writing Graham Riggins 2nd Ashlyn Hunter 4th

port is one of the keys to success, and although it took them a little while, the team powered through and eventually synchronized.

“When you get into it and sign up, it gets stressful, but I don’t think you should bail on it,” said McGraw. “It was like two weeks before we got in synch.”

King’s 26 students competing is the largest group the educator has ever taken to the competition, a significant leap from the first year’s numbers.

LHI’s robotics program started four years ago when King first arrived at the Intermediate school.

“I’ve done robotics before in my previous school, so I wanted to bring it here as well,” she said. “We started it with just one team of four students in the first year. We started, and we’ve grown so much.”

Developing a good team rapport is one of the keys to success, and although it took them a little while, the team powered through and eventually synchronized.

“When you get into it and sign up, it gets stressful, but I don’t think you should bail on it,” said McGraw. “It was like two weeks before we got in synch.”

With the hard work paying off and the bonds of friendship they’ve developed working together, McVan encourages others to join robotics.

“It’s really fun, and I’d say to anyone if they have a chance to do it, do it. It’s awesome,” said McVan.

Continued from Page A6

before they are in bloom there is plenty to see. From a nearly mile-long fence line capped with old cowboy boots, to the occasional piece of rusty farm equipment or some wandering cattle, the photo opportunities are endless. But it’s the dramatic scenery that is most impressive. At points through the drive there are narrow turn offs so you can get out and take in the views, some of which make you wonder if you are in

West Texas. Valleys, hills and rocky outcroppings covered in cactus compliment the silence surprise some visitors with the dramatic change in scenery.

Whether you’re staying in town for a weekend or looking to explore the outskirts, Fredericksburg has plenty of choices, but remember that once you believe you’ve seen it all, you only have to look a little beyond the city limits to realize there’s so much more.

LHINDEPENDENT.COM/ SUBSCRIPTIONS

SPORTS

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT Thursday, March 5, 2020 Section B Page 1

Panthers’ season ends in regional quarters against Bourne

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor SAN MARCOS -- During the first quarter of Liberty Hill’s Class 4A regional quarterfinal against Bourne in San Marcos on Tuesday, it looked as if the Panthers were still well on track for a return trip to the state finals again this season.

Smothering defense. Causing turnovers. Pressuring the opposition into mistakes.

However, following an opening period that saw Liberty Hill take a commanding 21-10 lead, the Greyhounds recovered and went on to end the ALEX RUBIO PHOTO Panthers’ season with a 57-54 Players couldn’t hide their disappointment after the Panthers’ 57-54 regional quarterfinal defeat victory. to Boerne on Tuesday.

The game began with the Panthers applying their trademark full-court pressure, which resulted in a quick 5-0 run to open the scoring, as Walker Weems hit a bucket on an assist from Walker Baty before Kaleb Bannon hit a three without reply from Boerne.

But, it wasn’t long before the Greyhounds got on the board themselves with a pair of free throws and a basket to close the deficit to 5-4.

At that point, Baty scored underneath and Carson Perkins hit a 3-pointer after a Cole Ondrasek steal.

Baty then scored the next three Liberty Hill baskets, as

Boerne had no answer inside against the Panthers’ big man.

Finally, Weems drained a three and Perkins converted an andone to open up an 11-point advantage after one.

But, something seemed to happen as the second quarter began.

Suddenly, the Panthers weren’t as aggressive as they had been in the early going and Boerne found their rhythm, something Liberty Hill head Coach Barry Boren attributed to a letdown from his side.

“We just let prosperity get the best of us,” said Boren, of

See BASKETBALL, Page B7

Gender battle provides Lady Panthers with mid-season challenge

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Madi Fuller marauds down the left flank on a run with the ball as is the junior midfielder’s custom only to be challenged by a defender.

The players make shoulder-to-shoulder contact and Fuller emerges from the tussle with possession of the ball, continuing on her way toward goal with the opposing player left in a heap on the ground.

It’s a scene that replays countless times during the Lady Panthers’ season, only today the opposition is male instead of female.

Liberty Hill’s auxiliary practice field is the battleground for a quite interesting scrimmage a couple times every soccer season as the Lady Panthers’ varsity squad faces the boys’ junior varsity team in contest which is equally beneficial to both sides, said girls’ head Coach Darren Bauer.

“Really, it helps everyone across the board,” he said.

“The guys get a lot out of it.”

According to junior defender and team captain Bryden Bour-

geois, the scrimmage provides her and her teammates with a challenge designed to break up the boredom and monotony of yet another dominant district season.

“We get to remember what’s it’s like to have to work for a win,” said Bourgeois. “It helps us stay focused.”

After all, 22-0 victories like the Lady Panthers’ away win against Florence recently doesn’t do much to hone one’s skills.

Or 19-0 against Jarrell. Or 12-0 against Burnet. Or 10-0 against Lampasas.

Such has been the case in recent years for Bauer’s club, as they’ve mowed down district opponents at a devastating rate, meaning once the postseason arrives, the intensity must be switched back on again overnight – something which isn’t necessarily easy, said Bauer.

“The past few years, once we’ve reached the second round of district, we’ve let off the gas a little,” he said. “We didn’t work as hard or play as

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

Playing against the boys’ junior varsity squad helps get the Mykenna Russo (#3) and the Lady Panthers ready for the physicality See CHALLENGE, Page B5 they face against teams like Salado.

Wing back transitions quickly to new surroundings

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor When Zach Ellis first stepped onto a pitch for his first action as a freshman high school soccer player, it was in Virginia.

As a sophomore, it was in Houston.

While as a junior, it was in Liberty Hill.

Three different schools, three different sets of teammates, three different systems of play.

Challenging for any young player to handle on the field – not to mention the off-the-field social and academic adjustments which must be constantly made in different locales.

So, Ellis does what he always does.

Just keeps going on all fronts.

“I don’t really find it all that difficult,” said Ellis, who joined the Panthers this season from Bridgeland High School in Houston. “It’s a little different, but I get to meet all kinds of new people.”

In fact, Ellis began to integrate himself into the Liberty Hill athletic community last summer while his family was still looking for a house, said Panthers head Coach Wayne Munger.

“Zach had a great summer with us,” he said. “He drove up from Houston once a week for our open field, which shows the kind of dedication he has and has fit in with the rest of the guys very well.”

Munger said it was a transition made easier because of the number of players who were

Zach Ellis (#4) has a propensity for attacking aerial balls with aggressiveness. new to the Panthers’ program heading into this season.

“After last year, we had a lot of team turnover, so Zach wasn’t the only kid learning our system,” he said. “Even with all of the newness and chemistry, he made quick work of it.”

Ellis said when he first traded the big city for the country, he knew he was about to be part of something special.

“When I first got to Liberty Hill, I thought it was a nice place with nice people,” he said. “It’s a little quieter and has less to do, but here I can be much closer to my friends because we’re not all spread out.

Also, I knew we were going to have a really good team.”

Bridgeland is a Class 6A school, which was a step down in competition for Ellis, as he

now competes in Class 4A with his new team – or is it really?

“I think both are about the same,” said Ellis. “Although in Class 6A, there are more athletes, but 4A is more technical.”

Munger agreed.

“In Class 6A, there are a lot more players to choose from,” he said. “You can find height

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

and size much easier.”

However, the Panthers’ style of play is one which doesn’t require brute strength in order to be successful, said Munger.

“With the way we play, we don’t have to outmuscle people,” he said. “So, we don’t need size just for the sake of it – we just need to defend properly.”

All that being said, Ellis

stands a solid 6-0 and has plenty of size, speed and aggressiveness, which enables him to function as either a central defender or a wing back, making him a versatile asset, said Munger.

“Zach has a real willingness to go get the ball and challenge for it in the air,” he said. “He’s also really accurate with his long balls and has a very good crossing ball, as well.”

But, that doesn’t mean Ellis can’t hit the target with accuracy and plenty of pace when given the opportunity, said Munger.

“When Zach gets a clean shot at goal, he’s very dangerous,” he said.

Along with Ellis’ physical strengths comes intangible traits, said Munger.

“Defensively, he reads the game very well and is good at stopping the other team’s attack and then going forward,” he said. “It’s what keeps him on the field.”

In fact, Ellis’ combination of physical and mental attributes is perhaps what makes him most endearing – and valuable.

“Zach is very intelligent and competitive,” said Munger.

“He’s also observant enough to be able to adapt well to our style of play.”

Ellis teams up along the Panthers’ back line with fellow defenders Rhett Hofmann and Gabe Hernandez and said the partnership the trio has

See SOCCER, Page B5

Page B2

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Playoff hoops odyssey opens up new vistas

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Two weeks ago, we began a quest which involved m a n y miles of asphalt painted with dotted lines passing beneath the tires of the ol’ Mustang.

Indeed, the mission was to follow both Liberty Hill basketball teams across all of Central Texas as the Class 4A state hoops playoffs got going after long seasons for both squads.

First, we chased the Lady Panthers during a trio of postseason games, which led us to such exotic locales as Johnson City, Taylor and Marble Falls.

Liberty Hill is situated as such so when we look at a map, there are two good directions and two bad ones when we leave town for a road trip.

Whenever we head either north or west, we’re good.

But, east or south?

Not exactly.

The reason for this compass consternation is quite simple, really.

Going to Johnson City and Marble Falls, for example, requires a jaunt down Highways 29 and 281 through the countryside (read not congested) – relatively easy and quite scenic (not to mention high-speed), especially crossing the Colorado River (no, not that one – the other one) while passing through the latter.

However, going to Taylor or Hutto, for that matter, requires passing through the traffic mess called Georgetown before finding oneself back among the empty spaces and cattle.

South?

Forget it.

Anywhere near Austin is death and reminds us of one of the biggest reasons we left California behind – to escape from suffocating traffic – you know, the kind that simply sucks the life out of you.

Nothing like cruising along in first or second gear when a horse would get you to your destination faster.

Can’t wait until next football season when all but one of the Panthers’ district opponents will call the capitol home.

Friday afternoon through downtown Austin anyone?

Didn’t think so.

Meanwhile, back out in the wilderness, we arrived in Johnson City only to roll up to what looked like the entrance to a ranch, only for the script on the arch hanging overhead to read “LBJ High School.”

But, that wasn’t before we happened upon LBJ Library, LBJ Park, LBJ City Hall, LBJ Anything and Everything.

We get it.

Indeed, the 36th President of the United States himself grew up in Johnson City (which coincidentally isn’t named after the Commander-in-Chief, but his father’s cousin), so fine.

LBJ Truck Stop. LBJ Stopand-Shop. LBJ Guns and Ammo. LBJ Bait and Tackle.

Anyway, the Lady Panthers laid waste to a hapless Canyon Lake club on that rainy evening, which brought us to Taylor for their second-round game against La Grange.

Once you get past G-Town heading east, it’s a rather pleasant drive, but after the first few times of staying on 29 until it ends and heading south, we figured paying to drive on 130 was worth every penny we’re charged every time we get zapped by the blue money light.

After all, it’s not everyplace where one can go along at 85 and only be five over.

We had already been to Taylor to see both Panthers hoops squads in action during district play, so we knew what to expect upon arrival.

The giant duck-burstingthrough-the-gym-wall mural and how it says on one wall above the stands, “Once a Duck, Always a Duck.”

Our reaction to that is always, “We’re sorry.”

Thursday, March 5, 2020

LIBERTY HILL DISTRICT

WEEKLY RECAP

The Lady Leopards entered the contest with a 30-4 record, but certainly didn’t look like one in being beaten down by the Lady Panthers, which led us back to Marble Falls for the third-round game against Fredericksburg.

Our sources tell us many of the fine folk in Fred are California exiles who figured out their money would buy a lot more land in Lone Star than Golden, so they moved here to plant their grapes instead.

One of the first things we saw on the back of a big, ol’ truck upon our arrival here back during the summer was an enormous decal that read, “Don’t California My Texas.”

Well, that’s exactly what Fred is trying to do.

So, we don’t like Fred.

Which was why it was even more painful to see the girls in Purple-and-Gold go down to defeat at the hands of these

invaders.

Anyone who knows us knows we’re from California, but they also know we’re not like those people, so losing to the lot of them was much more galling than if it had been say – Burnet (wait, bad example).

Anyway, you get the point.

When you cover a team over the course of an entire season and get to know the players, coaches and parents, it’s sad to see it all come to an abrupt, disappointing end.

No rooting in the press box?

Ha! The Mayor of Pantherville unabashedly roots for all his constituents.

So, once the girls were vanquished, we took up the boys’ postseason cause in College Station as the Panthers took on Needville in the area championship.

By the way, does there really need to be a trophy for any-

thing short of a state title?

Bi-district champions. Area champions. Regional quarterfinal champions. Regional semifinal champions and on and on.

People!

You’re only entitled to call yourselves champions if you’re the last team standing – period.

But, we digress.

We’ve only been a Texan for six months now, but have quickly adopted the Burnt Orange, so venturing into Aggie Country for the first time was a bit like crossing enemy lines.

Although we do like the open spaces there better than the urban sprawl that surrounds the

Longhorns’ home – so there’s something to be said for that.

Back to the game, the Panthers defeated the Blue Jays in a game that may have set basketball back about 100 years – as Needville attempted to slow the Runnin’ Panthers down by playing half-court, dark-ages hoops.

Guess it worked – kind of.

They still lost by 20, but apparently, 55-35 was easier to take than say 85-65.

Whatever.

So, our basketball journey deep in the Heart continues.

Stay tuned for more adventures.

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

Limon combines power and speed in the Lady Panthers lineup

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Leanne Limon is to the Lady Panthers what a spark plug is to a high-performance sports car.

What makes it go.

Only unlike the automotive version, the junior third baseman can be plugged into many different places in the Liberty Hill lineup.

“Leanne’s one of those players you always want on the field,” said Lady Panthers head Coach Kristin Brewer. “She gives you 100 percent all the time – that’s the special thing about her – she has a love of the game.”

These days, Limon finds herself guarding the hot corner of the infield at third base and hitting third in the order.

But, it wasn’t always the case.

Limon has played all nine positions at various points and was also the Lady Panthers’ leadoff hitter last season as a sophomore while patrolling center field.

However, this season, she’s gone back to her power-hitting ways in the heart of the order – and with good reason, said Brewer.

“We lost a lot of our hitting from last year,” she said. “Leanne has the ability to drive in runs, but in the leadoff spot, there was never anyone on in front of her.”

Suffice to say, the move has certainly paid off, as Limon currently leads the Lady Panthers with a .476 average to go with team-leading totals of two home runs, 15 runs batted in, 13 runs scored, three doubles, three triples and 20 hits.

Not bad work for a player who considered herself a singles hitter the first two years of her high-school career.

“Last season I just slapped the ball,” said Limon, who played her freshman season at Georgetown High School.

“But, I was always more of a power hitter.”

Limon stands only 5-foot-1½, but packs quite a bit of punch into her relatively diminutive

frame – something which she attributes at least partially to her time as an Eagle.

“When I was at Georgetown, we had to show up to lift weights every morning before school at 6 a.m.,” she said.

In fact, Limon developed such an affinity for the weight room, she decided to begin pushing iron competitively for the Liberty Hill powerlifting team last year, something she said allowed her to lift with more of a purpose.

“I think the biggest difference with powerlifting is you’re doing it with something to look forward to,” said Limon, who qualified for the regional meet last season.

However, power is nothing without proper technique, so Limon is a stickler when it comes to the finer points of her swing, she said.

“For me, mechanics are really important,” said Limon, who added she must stay within herself for optimum contact.

“I probably swing at about 75 percent – I don’t swing for the fences because if a pitcher is fast, they’ll supply the power.”

Limon said her father, Jimmy, gave her some good advice to take with her each time she strides to the plate.

“He always tells me to trust inside, but think outside,” she said. “As a right-handed hitter, you have to trust your hands to be able to pull the ball.”

Limon also played basketball, volleyball and soccer and ran track and cross country in her earlier days, but soon realized her passion was on the diamond – after all, it’s in her blood, she said.

“My dad and grandpa both played baseball and softball,” said Limon. “So, it just came natural to me.”

Natural, indeed.

Six multiple-hit games already this season, including a pair of three-hit contests and a four-hit performance – the highlight of which was a 3-for4 day including a pair of triples to go with three runs scored and three RBIs in a 15-1 home

victory over Rouse.

Limon is a natural right-handed hitter, but can more-than-capably hit from both sides of the plate and although she hits with more power from her natural side, she can exploit her blazing speed more effectively from the left-hand batter’s box by being closer to first when she breaks – a sometimes overlooked aspect of her game, said Brewer.

“Her overall running ability is what stands out,” she said.

“Not only her speed, but her ability to run the bases smartly and gaining any advantage she can.”

Such as stealing home when both opposing pitcher and catcher are caught unaware, said Brewer.

“Leanne’s really good at catching the other team off guard,” she said. “If a catcher is just picking up her mask or the pitcher is walking back to the mound, she’ll go.”

Speaking of the center circle, despite the fact she’s spent some time hurling from the rubber, it’s not someplace she wishes to go back to any time soon despite earlier success, she said.

“I used to be good at pitching at the 14-under level and below,” said Limon. “But, most pitchers focus solely on that and I didn’t want to be just a pitcher.”

Brewer and Limon’s teammates are certainly glad she decided against pursuing a pitching career, as she’s far more valuable as a jack-ofall-trades – even though that description doesn’t do Limon proper justice as a player, said Brewer.

“Leanne’s not a weak spot at any position on the field,” she said. “She’s the epitome of a utility player – last season we needed her in the outfield and this year at third where she has great reactions and a gun of an arm – she also reads the play very well and can pick up on bunts. Leanne is good at a lot of positions and is a great allaround player.”

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Leanne Limon (#1) combines speed and power in the Lady Panthers’ lineup, leading in several offensive categories this season.

While stolen bases may be a crime in baseball parlance, Limon plans to pursue a career in solving them as a medical examiner.

“I’m really into figuring stuff out, like how somebody died,” she said, listing science, forensics and biology as her favorite

classes. “Also, I’d rather work on a dead body than a live one.”

But, for the time being, Limon is focused on breaking down opponents with her combination of speed and power, although if she had to choose, she said she would rather reach

home plate by stealing it rather than after trotting around the bases after clearing the fence.

“I’d much rather steal home than hit a home run,” she said.

“Because not many people can steal home.”

LHJH ROUNDUP

Liberty Hill Middle School’s track team opened the season Feb. 27 at the Wagner Invitational.

In the eighth-grade competition, Noah Long finished first in the 100 meters in a time of 11.96 and in the long jump (17-7 1/2), while other Liberty Hill winners included Sean Parsons (200, 25.93), Toby Rimann (800, 2:20.06), Anthony Barreras (1600, 5:25.90), Brayden Byrum (110 hurdles, 19.06 and triple jump, 365)), Ben Carter (300 hurdles, 49.25).

In the relays, Caden Glenn,

Colton Rutherford, Long and Parsons won the 4x100 in 1:00.00, while Rutherford, Long, Jaxson Heins and Parsons won the 4x200 (1:43.69) and Barreras, Brayden Parker, Glenn and Rimann were first in the 4x400 (3:58.87).

Liberty Hill won the team competition with 255.5 points over Wagner (181.5) and Taylor (129).

On the seventh-grade side, Liberty Hill also won with 236 points.

Corbin Milliman won the 200 meters in 27.02, Lex Ojeda was first in the 800 (2:31.56)

and Nicolas Hogge won the 1600 in 5:43.97.

Ezra Fillmore won both the 110-meter (20.24) and 300-meter hurdles (52.96).

The relay 4x200-meter relay team of Kendric Hicks, Ojeda, Nicholas Guerra and Spencer Harvey won in a time of 1:53.22.

In the field events, Cedric Gould won the shot put with an effort of 35-11 and the discus (86-11), while Hagen Oncken won the triple jump (31-7 ½).

No one covers the Panthers better than THE INDEPENDENT! For complete local sports coverage, SUBSCRIBE 512.778.5577

Thursday, March 5, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Page B3

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

Katie Wilson (#12) plays a ball forward during the Lady Panthers’ 22-0 away win against Florence on Feb. 25.

GIRLS SOCCER trick, while Emma Stephens, thers with 36 goals on the seaThe Lady Panthers hosted Mykenna Russo and Kailey son, while Fowler (24), Russo Little River Academy March 2 Fowler each scored a pair in (18), Tabor (17) and Madi Fuller (15) have all contributand emerged with an 11-0 vic- the win.

Senior Sam Carter and sophed double-digit goals. tory, as the home side scored omore Laila Osbourne each Liberty Hill (16-1-3, 9-0) will five goals in the first half and played a half in goal and comnext host Salado (17-4-2, 8-1) added six in the second against bined for the shutout. on March 6. the Bumblebees.

Stephens leads the Lady PanPiper Tabor netted a hat

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

Ethan Minix (#7) goes up for an aerial challenge during the Panthers’ 8-0 away win against Florence on Feb. 25.

Kegan Taggart and Elijah Senior goalkeeper Urial Diaz BOYS SOCCER Schneider each scored a pair posted his ninth shutout of the The Panthers hosted Little of goals, while Ethan Minix campaign.

River Academy Tuesday and Liberty Hill (14-6, 8-1) will defeated the Bumblebees by a and Garrison Clopton scored on apiece in the win. next host second-place Salado score of 10-0, as leading scorFrye added four assists on the (7-8-3, 7-2) on March 6. er Jaron Frye scored four goals and now has 39 on the season. game and has a team-leading 19 on the season.

Liberty Hill’s girls won the team competition at the Glen Rose tournament on Feb. 27. (Courtesy Photo)

TENNIS

The Liberty Hill tennis team played Feb. 28 at San Marcos and the mixed doubles team of Lorelei Fay and Patrick Fay came home with a win.

Other results for the Panthers included Cassidy Sudekum and Ava Ortega finishing second in girls’ doubles, while Ava Enstrom and Mackenzie Coleman were fourth.

Sophie Sherman won first place in consolation girls’ sin-

gles.

On Feb. 27, Glen Rose was the destination and the Panthers’ girls finished first in the team competition, while the boys were second.

Senior Lauren Crow won the girls’ singles, while fellow senior Tyler Franklin won boys’ singles, while Ethan Warrington finished fourth.

Analysa Caskey and Sophie Stafford finished third in girls’ doubles and Eliza Homorodi and Colin Garner were second

in mixed doubles.

The Panthers freshmen visited Lago Vista on Feb. 25 and also had promising results.

Grace Davis and Jesslyn Jackson were third in girls’ doubles, Tur Nguyen and Nhu Nguyen finished first in consolation girls’ doubles and Tavin Davis finished third in boys’ singles.

Liberty Hill’s varsity will next compete at Brownwood March 5.

IF IT'S HAPPENING, YOU'LL FIND IT HERE.

Zaila Smith gets the baton from teammate Tyler Goode during the 4x400-meter relay at the Panther Relays on Feb. 22. (Courtesy Luedecke Photography)

TRACK

The Liberty Hill track team competed Feb. 28 at the Hornet relays in Gatesville.

Freshman Kallista Frye won the girls’ 100 meters in a personal-best 13.15 seconds, while Tyler Goode won the 800 in a time of 2:29.45 and Ayanna Donwerth won a pair of events in the 1600 (5:25.28) and the 3200 (11:22.56), right in front of teammates Zaila Smith (second, 11:40.44) and senior Madison Sears (third, 12:54.66).

Smith also finished second behind Donwerth in the 1600 (5:31.93, with Goode in fourth (5:56.37).

Delaney Foster finished second in the 200 in 27.94, while in the 400, Lindsee Miller was second in 1:03.47 and Haley Polser third in 1:04.37.

In the 300-meter hurdles, Madison Walker (52.31) and Regan Walker (53.35) finished second and third, respectively.

The 4x400-meter relay squad of Dejahnae Thompson, Tyler Goode, Polser and Miller won in 4:20.00.

In the field events, Kenzie Wise was third in the high jump with an effort of 5-0, while Lauren Hagerman finished fourth (4-10) and Haley Kuhlmann was sixth (4-8).

Senior Brooke Wright won the pole vault with a 10-6 and Greta Coker was third (8-6), while Megan Sims was third in the long jump (14-11.75) and second in the triple jump (33-4.50).

Overall, the girls finished first in the team competition with 195 points, easily outdistancing runner-up China Springs (88).

On the boys’ side, the Panthers finished second with 120 points, just being edged out by China Spring (121.3).

Senior Kevin Berber won both the 1600 (4:40.28) and 3200 meters (9:58.84), a personal record and has won both distance races at the first two meets of the season.

Fellow senior Gabe Diaz was second in the 800 in 2:01.84, while Cade Johnson was third in the 1600 (4:57.62), Isaiah Delagarza finished third in the 3200 (10:38.00) and Ryan Achumuma was fifth in the 400 in 56.71.

Grayson Ramey had a pair of second-place finishes in the long jump (20-2) and triple jump (47-7.25).

Gavin Bailey won the pole vault with an effort of 12-0, while teammate James Mixson was third (10-6).

THE INDEPENDENT SUBSCRIBE TODAY! $25 in Williamson County $29 in Texas (outside Williamson County)

$32 Out of State

Name Address City/State/Zip Phone Email Address Mail to: The Liberty Hill Independent | PO Box 1235, Liberty Hill, TX 78642 Call us at (512) 778-5577 to purchase subscription with credit card or pay at www.LHIndependent.com

Page B4

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Seeing things differently

Lyons nearly lost an eye after household accident

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor It’s always fun until someone loses an eye.

Or in Collin Lyons’ case – almost.

The Liberty Hill junior guard was engaged in some kitchen horseplay at home with teammate AJ Garza a few years ago as an eighth-grader when an innocent enough prank nearly cost him his left eye.

“I put a zip tie on the little finger of my left hand,” said Lyons. “When I tried to cut it off with a pocket knife was when it happened.”

What happened was the knife slipping as Lyons attempted to pry off the zip tie and plunging directly into his left eye.

“I remember going and looking in the mirror and half of my eye was hanging out,” he said. “I was saying to myself, ‘I really messed up – not good.’”

In addition to the grisly eye injury, Lyons still had the zip tie cutting off circulation.

“My finger was black,” said Lyons. “I was freaking out and in shock, but AJ was helping keep me calm.”

After finally cutting the tie

off with a pair of scissors, Lyons’ stepsister, Kristi Yon, drove him to Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, where it didn’t take long to determine he needed more care than they could provide.

So, he was sent to Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, where Lyons was examined by a seemingly endless string of doctors, he said.

“They put me in a room hooked up to IV medicine,” said Lyons. “All of these doctors were looking at it.”

At last, a proper diagnosis could take place.

The news wasn’t good.

“I had a damaged sclera and lens and a detached retina,” said Lyons. “At that point, I was just hoping I was going to be able to see out of it again.”

He would, but it would take time – and 12 surgeries over the course of 18 months to restore his eye to nearly – but not quite – the condition it was in before.

After the initial procedure – which took six hours – Lyons awakened to his new reality, he said.

“I woke up at about midnight,” said Lyons. “I thought

it was all a bad dream and started crying.”

Lyons’ eye had been stitched up to prevent further damage, but the long road to recovery was only beginning.

“The next day, I went to a retina specialist and got an ultrasound,” he said. “After that, they told me I needed another surgery the next day.”

Three more hours on the operating table and Lyons found himself back wondering if he would ever fully regain sight.

“I developed a cataract and had scar tissue,” he said. “The retina kept detaching again.”

Finally, success.

But, not before another nine operations.

“They put in a scleral buckle to keep the retina attached,” said Lyons. “I still have it, but I worry about it every day.”

After the final procedure, Lyons was forced to lie on his stomach for several days while the repair took effect properly.

Despite the fact his eye was finally repaired, Lyons was filled with despair, he said.

“I got extremely depressed,” said Lyons. “When it first happened, the doctors told me I couldn’t play soccer or foot-

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Collin Lyons (#10) nearly lost his left eye in a household accident only to eventually return to the court. ball anymore because any contact could damage it again.”

So, Lyons did what any good patient does.

He followed doctors’ orders.

Sort of.

“I told my doctor I absolutely needed to play basketball,” he said.

So, although Lyons never did

set foot again on a gridiron or soccer field, he was able to resume his athletic pursuits on the basketball court.

But, what he had gone through caused him to have an epiphany more powerful than anything that could ever happen on a field of play.

“I realized I wanted to be an

eye doctor,” said Lyons. “The whole experience led me to feel that way.”

From which there was only one final conclusion to draw.

“I guess everything happens for a reason,” he said.

Home tourneys ready Panthers

LHHS baseball hosts events on back-to-back weekends

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Liberty Hill head baseball Coach Steve Hutcherson certainly wastes no time in throwing his club directly into the fire to see where he and his Panthers players stand at the beginning of a brand-new season.

After opening the campaign with a 9-4 road win against Bourne on Feb. 25, Liberty Hill hosted the Hill Country Invitational Tournament on Feb. 27-29 and will next open the gates of their home stadium for the Liberty Hill Invitational Tournament on March 5-7.

According to Hutcherson, all of the early-season action provides him with an opportunity to finish sorting out his roster.

“At this point, we know who our one-to-six guys are in our lineup,” said Hutcherson. “We still need to get some other guys in there. But, we know we have enough in our dugout to win.”

The Panthers began the Hill Country tourney with a Thursday morning game against Northeast Early College and had no trouble in dispatching the Raiders by a score of 23-1 in a contest which was shortened to only three innings due to a one-hour, 50-minute time limit.

Rowan Guerra and Ryan Leary each had three runs batted in on the game, while Jackson Knox, Jack Stavinoha and Kash Durkin drove home a pair of runs apiece.

Included in the Panthers’ offensive outburst were a threerun homer for Guerra and a two-run shot by Durkin, while on the mound, Trent Eller allowed only one unearned run in four innings of work with four strikeouts.

Odessa 4, Liberty Hill 0 Liberty Hill wrapped up the first day of the tournament with a night game against Odessa and came up short by a 4-0 score.

Guerra started the game on the mound and allowed only one hit in four innings, with five strikeouts, but also walked four in allowing two runs.

Despite the game remaining scoreless through the first three innings, both sides had their chances to break the deadlock.

Guerra drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, only to be replaced on the basepaths by courtesy runner Ty Cashwell, who was thrown out at home on an inning-ending double play.

Odessa finally broke through with a pair of runs in the fourth and sixth innings to provide the final margin.

Hutcherson said it was simply a matter of his club not getting it done when they needed to.

“Baseball’s a game of execution and we didn’t execute tonight,” he said. “But, Rowen (Guerra) did his job and threw well.”

Liberty Hill 10, Navarro 0 The Panthers began a Friday doubleheader with a game against Navarro and came away with a 10-0 victory on the strength of a pair of RBI each from Knox, Leary and Ryan Flake.

Cole Jefferson posted the win on the mound for the Panthers with four scoreless innings of ALEX RUBIO PHOTO work, allowing only two hits Ryan Flake (#21) celebrates while crossing home plate after hitting a grand slam in the first with five strikeouts. inning of Liberty Hill’s 9-4 home win against Brownwood on Feb. 29.

Liberty Hill 7, Robstown 5 Leary hit a solo homer in the second by Flake, before com- and two RBI, while Guerra bined for 14 strikeouts on the game, while the offense could fourth inning of a 7-5 Liberty ing around to score on a Knox and Knox were both 2-for-3.

Hill win over Robstown on double. Durkin followed with Liberty Hill 9, Brownwood 0 only muster four hits – includan RBI single to right, then The Panthers closed out the ing an Andon Thomas two-run Friday night.

The Panthers plated a pair of Jackson Tolbert chased home tournament on Saturday night homer in the second inning – runs in the bottom of the first, a pair of runs, which increased with a dominant 9-0 win over but took advantage of six baseBrownwood, scoring five on-balls issued by Navarro on when Guerra drew a leadoff the lead to 6-1.

After the teams traded runs runs in the first inning, which the evening. walk and scored on a Leary Leary, Thomas and Gabe single to left before being sin- in the fourth, Robstown add- was highlighted by a Flake gled home himself by Knox ed three more in the top of the grand slam after Guerra, Gar- Diaz all drove in a pair of runs with two outs for a 2-0 Liberty fifth, but Leary slammed the rett Shull and Leary had all for the Panthers, while Guerra started on the mound and got door with 1 2/3 scoreless in- reached base safely.

Hill lead.

Knox started and hurled three the win.

After visitors had pulled back nings in relief of winner Flake, Liberty Hill (6-1) will next a run in the second against allowing only one hit, while perfect innings with three host the Liberty Hill InvitaPanthers starter Flake, the Pur- striking out four, as the pair strikeouts and also homered.

Liberty Hill 9, Navarro 4 tional on March 5-7. ple-and-Gold struck for four of Panthers pitchers collected nine strikeouts in all on the On March 3, the Panthers hit runs in their half of the third. the road and came up with a Leary was hit by a pitch to game.

Leary was also 2-for-2 with 9-4 win against Navarro. lead off, then sacrificed to Liberty Hill pitchers coma home run, three runs scored

BUSINESSES ON THIS PAGE SUPPORT LHHS ATHLETICS! Open 24/7, 365 No Wait Time www.FamilyER24.com ed 3X Awaurd nity Comm Year of the

LIVE

inspired

austincc.edu

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

LHINDEPENDENT.COM/SUBSCRIPTIONS

Thursday, March 5, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Page B5

Lady Panther softball is off to a flying start

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Liberty Hill head softball Coach Kristin Brewer had a lot of decisions to make in shaping her roster before the season began due to the number of players lost after last year.

Suffice to say, Brewer has pushed all the right buttons so far and the Lady Panthers are off to a sparking 10-3 start to the new campaign.

Perhaps the brightest star thus far has been junior third baseman Leanne Limon, who currently leads the club in several offensive categories including batting average (.500), hits (23), home runs (2) doubles (3), triples (2), runs scored (14) and runs batted in (15).

Sophia Knight is right behind Limon in several stats and is hitting .462 with three triples and 10 runs scored in the leadoff spot, while senior Aston Dirner is batting .390 with one home run and nine RBI. On the mound, Kylie Kirk is 4-0 with a 2.33 earned-run average with 12 strikeouts in 15 innings, while Ashleigh Heiderscheit is 3-3 with a 3.53 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings and senior Cheyenne Floyd has a record of 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.

Brewer is pleased with how her young team has come together so far.

“It’s been going really good,” she said. “We got off to a bumpy start, but we’re learning to play together.”

The Lady Panthers lost three of four scrimmages followed by the regular-season opener – a 3-2 home defeat to Leander on Feb. 17.

However, they came roaring back during their home tournament on Feb. 20-22, winning three of five games, including a 15-1 victory against Rouse, which brought their record to 3-3 before beating Glenn, 5-4 on Feb. 25.

Brewer said it’s critical for her players to all perform in order for the team to have success.

Challenge

well.”

As a result, Bauer wants to make sure the same thing doesn’t plague his side this spring and one of his most concerning priorities is getting the younger players fully up to speed.

“One of my big fears is making sure our underclassmen can clean up the mistakes they’re still making,” said Bauer. “Things like making crisp passes and playing the way we want them to.”

So, bring on the boys.

Bourgeois said playing against their male counterparts isn’t all that much different from facing some of the better girls’ teams – except for one thing.

“Some of the girls’ teams we play are just as physical,” she said. “But, the boys are faster, which means you have to think faster about what they’re going to do next.”

Despite the ease of the district schedule, Bauer believes his club has been tested sufficiently by the teams they’ve played out of district, such as Cedar Park, who the Lady Panthers defeated by a score of 2-0 on Jan. 24 and Highland Park, who dealt them their only loss of the season, 1-0, at the Grizzly Classic in Leander on Jan. 10.

“Our pre-district schedule was hard,” he said. “Because if you wait until the playoffs to test yourselves, there could be a problem you didn’t know about, so playing tougher teams is the only way you can see if something’s really working.”

Bauer also said it’s sometimes difficult to gauge where his team is based strictly on results due to when the particular games being compared are played.

“I think if you look at how we played in our first game of the season all the way up to the Cedar Park game, we were playing completely different by that point of the season as far as having trust in one another,” he said.

Bourgeois added her position at the back of the Lady Panthers’ formation isn’t necessarily all that tactically different

“We can’t have any unsung heroes this year,” she said. “We have to be able to string hits together and be solid on defense.

Once we started putting those two things together, it was a big turning point because we started off not as aggressive.”

Dirner is a senior, so her production is expected and depended upon, but freshman Knight has been a spark plug at the top of the Lady Panthers’ lineup, said Brewer.

“I’m not surprised at how well Sophia’s done so far,” she said. “She reminds me of Leanne (Limon) – she’s a little quieter, but is still a go-getter, she wants to compete and her speed is unbelievable – she’s certainly a welcome addition.”

On Feb. 27-29, the Lady Panthers played at the Cedar Ridge tournament and went a perfect 5-0 for the weekend.

Liberty Hill opened with a 3-2 win over Lorena on Thursday, as Kirk drove Dirner home with the eventual winning run in the bottom of the third.

Knight and Dirner each had a pair of hits and Kirk got the win, allowing two runs over five innings, while throwing 70 pitches.

Liberty Hill 6, Rudder 1 Next up was Rudder, who the Lady Panthers defeated by a a score of 6-1, highlighted by a four-run second, including a Tannis Brewer triple which drove home Knight and Nicole Smith before Limon singled Brewer home with a base hit to center.

Limon went 4-for-4 with a run and two RBI, including an inside-the-park home run in the sixth inning.

Knight and Dirner each added a pair of hits and Heiderscheit got the win with two scoreless innings, while Hannah Kline provided four innings of onerun relief and struck out four.

Liberty Hill 10, Del Valle 4 Limon drove in a pair of runs with a first-inning triple in a 10-4 Lady Panthers victory against Del Valle on Friday morning.

Liberty Hill scored six runs

Senior Ashton Dirner (#8) has been one of the Lady Panthers’ offensive leaders so far this season. in the third, including RBI singles by Desiree Garza, Molly Cochran and Knight.

Heiderscheit got the win with three innings of two-run ball and Kline closed it out with two innings of relief.

Liberty Hill 5, Academy 2 On Friday night, the Lady Panthers fell behind, 2-0 early when Academy scored a pair of runs in the top of the first, but came right back with two of their own in the bottom half, followed by a single marker in the second and two more in the

Continued from Page B1

playing against male opponents.

“I just have to think about which guy I have to worry about defending,” she said.

“Especially when the ball goes over the top.”

One of the biggest challenges the Lady Panthers face at this point of the season isn’t the opposition, but themselves, said Bourgeois.

“You really miss the feeling of being nervous before a game because you know you’re not going to be challenged,” she said. “It’s hard to stay mentally checked in, but we still have to show the underclassmen what’s important and in that way, practice is more important than games.”

However, Bourgeois believes she and her teammates are further down the road than a year ago.

“I think we’re a lot better than we were at this time last year,” she said. “We’re all on the same page and we know how it goes in the playoffs.”

The fact the Lady Panthers are without even a single senior on the squad doesn’t concern Bourgeois – in fact she said it might even help the cohesion of the entire team.

“We have a lot of people leading,” she said. “I hear a lot of stories about other teams at other schools and their socalled senior leadership, but I believe leadership doesn’t always come with age.”

Bourgeois, Fuller and Abbey Janicek all wear captains’ armbands for the Lady Panthers and each has a distinctive leadership style, said Bourgeois.

“I really like to talk to people about things off the field,” she said. “Abbey and I are kind of the same way in that regard, but Madi is a lot more direct and straight to the point.”

On this day, the Lady Panthers were defeated by the boys’ JV by a score of 3-1 after having played them to a scoreless draw earlier in the season.

Bauer knows it’s not a matter of if his team will be severely tested, but when – which is the entire concept behind the coed contests, he said.

“We know at some point, there’s going to be a game

where we have to play at a very high level to succeed,” said Bauer.

Like a light switch being moved to the “on” position, the competition level will rise dramatically, such as last season when a string of blowouts during district all of a sudden became a run of nailbiters at the business end of the postseason.

After blowouts in three of the first four playoff games, the other four were decided by either one or two goals, including a 2-0 loss to Stephenville in the Class 4A state championship game, which is why Bauer stresses to his charges the critical nature of remaining focused on the trophy at the end of the road.

Part of that process is having the Lady Panthers visit with sports psychologist Arlene Bauer -- the wife of Darren – who’s been helping the team hone its mental game for the past four seasons.

“We do things like team-building and working on things like pre-game routines, which help a player get ready,” said Bauer.

“Also, it gives the girls a break from me.”

While many athletes have certain rituals they must go through to mentally ready themselves for competition, help from a sports psychologist can take that kind of readiness to a whole new level, he said.

“People call them superstitions,” said Bauer. “But, what they really do is trigger your brain, let your body know what’s about to happen and get you in the zone before you even get started. Just like you get your body warmed up, your brain also needs a warmup.”

Always striving for excellent is a hallmark of the Lady Panthers’ entire program, said Bauer.

“I thinks that’s one of the things which makes these girls and our team so special,” he said. “We keep setting the bar higher and higher every year – it’s really what Liberty Hill is built on – always getting better.”

Having the girls and boys on

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

fourth for the win.

Limon and Floyd both went 2-for-3 and Kirk got the victory on the mound.

LHHS 5, Cedar Ridge 0 In Saturday’s finale, the Lady Panthers defeated the hosts by a score of 5-0, as Dirner was the hitting star, going 2-for-3, including a solo homer to right in the fifth.

Garza drove in a pair of runs and Heiderscheit pitched five shutout innings with four strikeouts for the victory.

Liberty Hill 5, East View 4

The Lady Panthers trailed 4-0 after four innings against East View on March 3, but rebounded with five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings for the win.

In the top of the fifth with already two outs, Brewer drove in Cochran with an RBI single to begin the comeback. Limon followed with a single, then Dirner drove home Brewer with a base hit. Limon then scored on an East View error to pull the Lady Panthers within a run at 4-3.

The fightback was complete in the top of the sixth when Knight tripled home Katelyn Castleberry and Hadley Onken with two outs.

Kline got the win in relief of Heiderscheit with three innings of scoreless relief, allowing only two hits with three strikeouts.

Limon went 3-for-4 and Garza was 2-for-4 on the game.

Liberty Hill (10-3) will next play at the Leander ISD tournament on March 5 and 7.

the same pitch is something which happens on a regular basis during the summer, said Bauer.

“When we have our open fields, they’ll play against each other,” he said. “Which helps them work on the quickness we need them to play with – it’s all about hard work.”

Speaking of work ethic, Bauer said one question which remains for him is the concern of whether or not his team can

turn it on when they need it most.

“For me, the question is always how hard can we work when we really have to after not having to,” he said. “It’s a tough place to be in, when you’re so talented and skilled because you have further to fall if you fail and don’t meet expectations.”

So, will there ever be an occasion when the Lady Panthers take on the boys’ varsity

squad?

“Absolutely not,” said Bauer.

“It’s just the speed of the game – no matter how you try to get girls to play at the same speed or pace as the boys, it’s physically impossible.”

Besides, their male counterparts can prove a bit pesky, said Bourgeois.

“They definitely like to complain a lot,” she said. “So, that makes me want to beat them even more.”

5941 - Garrison Clopton (6) fires a shot on goal during Liberty Hill’s 7-0 home victory against Jarrell on Feb. 21. (Photo by Shannon Hofmann)

Soccer

Continued from Page B1

developed has gone a long way to ensuring success at the back this season.

“The three of us trust each other,” he said. “We always make up for each other’s mistakes.”

Of course, all defenders enjoy the chance to attack the opposition’s net every so often – be it in their usual role or a different one, as during a 6-0 victory over La Vernia at the Wimberley tournament earlier this season when Ellis found himself at the tip of the spear – something he took full advantage of in scoring a goal.

“It’s always a lot of fun to go forward into the attack,” said Ellis. “You get to take people on and learn how the defenders react so you can use it against them.”

But, when it comes down to it, Ellis is a defender by trade and

would much rather prevent goals than score them, he said.

“Multiple goals are going to be scored in a game,” said Ellis.

“But, if you prevent even one, it can mean the difference.”

Ellis is currently enrolled in five AP classes and has ambitions of attending the University of Texas in pursuit of a career in actuarial science – something which would perfectly suit his passion for mathematics, he said.

“I’ve always loved and been really good at math,” said Ellis. “It’s always interesting because you can always find a solution and prove something is right compared to other subjects like English and history.”

So, each day, he sits down and studies AP U.S. History, English, physics, pre-calculus and statistics – and oh, by

the way, still finds time to not only play soccer, but excel – all during another day at the office.

“Sure, it’s difficult sometimes,” he said. “There are some late nights depending on how much homework, but you can’t procrastinate or quit, so it’s a matter of persevering in order to get through it even if you don’t like it sometimes.”

But, don’t let Ellis’ intellectual side fool you – and whatever you do, don’t get in his way when an aerial ball is entering the area on a corner kick or set piece or you might find yourself forced to the floor.

“I’m always confident I can get the ball when it’s in the air,” he said. “I’m going to go for it and if you end up on the ground, it’s not my problem.”

Page B6

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Liberty Hill Community League Basketball end of season awards

The Liberty Hill Community League basketball completed the 2020 season recently, and celebrated with an awards presentation.

Winning First Place Junior Girls was the Loonachicks.

Second Place went to the Purple Hoops Third Place went to Lightening Strikes.

Look for additional team photos in future editions.

(Courtesy Photos)

JV UPDATE On Feb. 28, the Liberty Hill junior varsity track team competed at the Hornet Relays in Gatesville and the girls posted a team victory with 188 points, while the boys were second with 119.

Individually, Cordelia Brown won the 400 meters in 1:03.63, while Preston Mixson crossed the finish line first in the boys’ 400 in a time of 58.08.

Other girls’ winners included Natalie Roth (800 meters, 2:31.31 and 1600, 5:58.86), Emma Hiebner (3200, 13:05.38), Morgan Poulain (high jump, 4-2) and Abigail Billingsley (triple jump, 30-4).

Other winners for the boys were Jacob Russell, who won the 800 in 2:10.59 and 1600 (5:02.00), and Blake Wilson (discus, 113-1.50).

SUBSCRIBE 512.778.5577

Thursday, March 5, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Page B7

ALEX RUBIO PHOTOS

BASKETBALL a period in which the Panthers were outscored by a 19-11 margin. “But, we were still up by three at the half.”

Indeed, the Panthers held a 32-29 lead at the break, as Baty had nine points, to go with Perkins’ eight and Weems’ seven.

At the outset of the third period, Baty picked up where he left off in the first half, quickly collecting a pair of rebounds and hitting the front end of back-to-back, one-and-one chances.

Weems and Bannon then hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the Panthers’ lead was back to nine points at 40-31, but that was as large as the advantage would be for the remainder of the game, as Boerne continued to chip away, only trailing by four at 44-40 entering the fourth.

After three periods, the trio of Baty, Perkins and Weems had combined for 33 of Liberty Hill’s 44 points, but only Weems managed to score in the final period – a single bucket which put the Panthers up, 52-50 with 1:38 left in regulation.

But, Baty picked up his fifth foul with 3:05 left and could only watch from the bench after fouling out as the contest

(LEFT) Walker Baty (#33) led the Panthers with 13 points in Liberty Hill’s 57-54 regional quarterfinal defeat to Boerne on Tuesday. (ABOVE) Kadin Knight (#12) scored nine points in Liberty Hill’s 57-54 regional quarterfinal defeat to Boerne on Tuesday.

Continued from Page B1

took a decidedly-Boerne shift in momentum, said Boren.

“After Walker fouled out, it changed the entire complexion of the game,” he said. “Because then we didn’t have an inside game.”

Liberty Hill found itself still up by a single point at 54-53 with 1:25 remaining after Hunter Clayton scored off a nice pass from Kadin Knight, but it was the final time the Panthers would lead as the Greyhounds would score the final four points of the game to secure victory and a berth in the regional semifinals.

In the aftermath of his club’s exit from the postseason, Boren credited the opposition.

“Boerne is definitely a better team than the one we beat last year,” he said of the Greyhounds, who the Panthers had defeated at the same stage of the playoffs last season, 6338. “Our half-court defense wasn’t as good this season as it was last year, but when you usually score a lot of points, it doesn’t matter.”

Perkins was held well below his season average, as the skilled senior guard scored 10 points on the game, but Boren attributed that to the Greyhounds’ game plan in defending the sharpshooter.

“We hadn’t faced a zone like the one they played tonight all season,” he said. “Carson had a man on him at all times and another one underneath to help – there was no way they were going to let him beat them.”

Joaquin Gonzalez led Boerne with a game-high 15 points in the victory.

Baty lead the Panthers with 13 points, while Weems added 12 and Perkins 10.

Liberty Hill finished the season with an overall record of 28-8, including a district championship resulting from a 9-1 mark.

Boren said all he can do is get over the defeat – but it will take some time.

“I’ll be in a state of depression for two or three weeks over this,” he said. “Kids are resilient – the players will be over it by tomorrow – adults aren’t – that’s just how I am.”

Liberty Hill 55, Needville 35 Liberty Hill’s boys’ basketball squad likes to play an uptempo game.

After all, they’re not known as the “Runnin’ Panthers” for nothing.

However, against Needville on Friday in the area championship at A&M High Consolidated High School in College Station, head coach

Barry Boren’s club was forced to play a slow-down game, but still managed to prevail by a 55-35 score.

Kadin Knight led the Panthers with 16 points in a game which was only 19-15 in favor of Liberty Hill at the break, but after re-establishing his offense in the second half, Boren and his charges pulled away from the Blue Jays for an easy victory.

Walker Baty came back out for the second half charged up and scored the opening two buckets of the third quarter, but Needville quickly answered back with a pair of baskets of their own, the second of which was a three by James Roberts, who led the Blue Jays with 14 points on the game.

But, after reducing the deficit to five at 25-20, Needville would never again get that close for the duration of the contest.

Carson Perkins hit a 3-pointer to close the third period with the Panthers leading by a 3524 margin entering the fourth.

Once the final eight minutes got underway, Perkins continued to attack the basket, scoring six of his 14 points on the night in helping the Panthers close out the win.

Along with Knight’s 16

points and Perkins’ 14, Baty also added 14 to the Purpleand-Gold cause in a contest Boren was pleased to have fought through successfully, he said.

“They packed it in, which we knew they were going to do,” said Boren. “So, we knew the outside shot would be open.”

But, the Panthers failed to take advantage of an open perimeter, going only 2-of 20 from beyond the arc in the first half, which helped explain the pedestrian scoreline at the half.

So, after some halftime adjustments, Liberty Hill reemerged from the locker room looking more like its usual self, scoring 16 and 20 points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

“We needed to do something different,” said Boren. “In the first half, the tempo was in their favor – it wasn’t the kind of offensive flow we wanted, but in the second, we were able to press the ball offensively and defensively. We just needed to give them a different look.”

Knight scored 11 of his gamehigh 16 points in the second half, which was a catalyst for his club, said Boren.

“Kadin really came alive

and got going,” he said. “He scored a bunch in the second half.”

According to Perkins, the critical factor in the Panthers’ second-half surge was the defensive pressure they put on the ball.

“We just started getting more turnovers,” said Perkins.

“What that allowed us to do was get points on fast-breaks and play with more energy.”

Boren said the Blue Jays presented far more of a challenge than their 11-21 record would’ve suggested.

“They were a much tougher opponent and are wellcoached,” he said. “But, the game pretty much played out like it should’ve.”

Perkins added he believes he and his teammates have what it takes to make a return trip to the state championship game, with this contest simply a hurdle in the way.

“Getting back to state is the ultimate goal,” he said. “We think we have the team to do it – this game was something new, like one we haven’t had before.”

GET NOTICED Call 512.778.5577 NEWS@LHIndependent.com

PEC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ELECTION

Kaleb Bannon (#24) puts up a shot during the Panthers’ 57-54 playoff loss to Boerne on March 3.

We’re proud to be member-led Looking to actively serve your fellow PEC members? We’re accepting nominations for board directors in districts 2, 3, and 4.

Nomination materials are due Monday, March 23, at 5 p.m.

Learn more at pec.coop/nominations.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative

Page B8

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Clawson Disposal, inC. Residential * Commercial * Roll off

(512) 746-2000 301 County Road 307 PO Box 416 Jarrell, Texas 76537

Jarrell (512) 746-2000 Leander (512) 259-1709 FAX (512) 746-5807

SERVICES TRUSTED HOUSEKEEPING Housecleaning monthly, weekly, bi-weekly. Away with the cobwebs and dust bunnies.

(512) 569-7587. Kim Glosson/ owner operator. Christian employees. 15 years experience.

(3/26)

ACTION PROPANE, INC.

SELL YOUR UNIQUE home made or grown items locally!

The Market At Indian Mound Ranch is currently accepting Vendors for the 2020 Season.

Saturday’s 9-3 weather permitting. $20 space fee. 12805 SH 29 W. Send email to imr1873@ gmail.com for details.

512-259-1196

PUBLIC NOTICES

DOMESTIC • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL R.V. Fuel | Bottle Filling | Gas Piping in Home Propane Tanks | Grills & Replacement Parts | Gas Logs

We Provide Keepfull Routing Service Murray Hoggarth • Wanda Hoggarth 2601 S. Hwy 183 | Leander, TX 78641

LIBERTY HILL ISD is

seeking E-Rate services for Funding Year 2020 (July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021). All interested vendors please see RFP200020571 at: https:// erate.esc12.net/R12/. To view the Form 470, please visit: https://portal.usac.org/suite/ Form 470 #:200020571.

(3/5) CITY OF LIBERTY HILL PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT is accepting bids for services related to manhole repairs and pouring curbs.

SCOPE OF WORK A manhole located at the intersection of CR 213 and Highway 29, on Texas Materials property. This manhole needs to be fully replaced while in service. Manhole measurements are approximately 36” wide and 30” deep.

HOMES AROUND THE HILL Bear Creek Ranch - 2.35 acres MH Survey - 25.9 acres COMING SOON in Leander William Hamilton - survey 17.7 acres Rolling Hills Unit 2 Stonewall Ranch Santa Rita Ranch Ph 1 Meadows at Bluebonnet Hill Santa Rita Ranch North Dove Meadows Woods of Fountainwood - Georgetown

250 N Bear Creek Rd 1616 CR 204 2601 Greatwood Trl 1200 County Road 284 103 Rolling Hills Rd 149 Granite Path 200 Hedgerow Lane 1953 CR 250 209 Estima Ct 429 Dove Trail 126 Robert’s Circle

Whitewater Springs Greystone Ranch - Bertram

South Creek Circle Greystone Ranch

Stonewall Ranch

2014 Drystone Trail

Rio Ancho – Cul-de-Sac Lot Dove Meadows Bear Creek - 7.3 acres Berry Creek (Georgetown)

129 Quiet Oak Cove 433 Dove Trail 100 Hidden Bear 31451 Kingsway Rd

Georgetown Jenks Branch Autumn Breeze Pruddy Estates Stonewall Ranch Downtown Liberty Hill - 2.88 acres!

Liberty Hill – Riverfront Sandy Creek Ranches James M. Long - 7.85 acres Durham Park - 14.6 acres!

Downtown Liberty Hill Sundance Ranch

5626 FM 3405 107 Matthews Circle 1160 CR 226 101 Pruddy Oaks 83 Prospector Lane 200 Stubblefield Lane 4155 Ranch Road 1869 24703 Long Hollow Trail 110 Lawman Trail 500 San Gabriel Dr 119 Hickman St 346 Appaloosa Run

Houses For Sale 2B/2BA + workshop 3B/3BA 4B/3BA/3 car garage + pool 4B/4BA 3B/3.5BA 3B/2BA 4B/3.5BA 3B/2.5BA 3B/2BA 3B/2BA 3B/3BA Lots For Sale

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

269,900 858,000 610,000 950,000 366,000 218,000 525,000 559,000 315,000 258,900 475,000

Lot 150B Lot 14-B Homes for Lease

$ $

26,000 1.610 acres 130,000 10.03 acres

3B/2BA Pending Contract

$

1,695 1785 sq ft

Lot 25 3B/2BA 3B/2BA 6B/4BA Sold!

$ $ $ $

1.51 acres 1786 sq ft 2037 sq ft 3884 sq ft

Adrienne Hughes Shane T. White Cheryl Stephens Cheryl Stephens

2 Tracts 4B/2BA 3B/2BA 3B/2BA 5B/3BA 4B/2BA 3B/2BA 3B/1FB/2HB 2B/3BA 3B/2BA 4B/3BA 3B/3BA + 2B/2BA Guest House

$ 868,000 31 acres $ 259,900 1838 sq ft $ 199,950 1484 sq ft $ 325,000 1577 sq ft $ 2,550/month 2854 sq ft $ 325,000 2326 sq ft $ 1,950/month 2112 sq ft $ 99,900 1535 sq ft $ 315,000 10.3 acres $ 485,000 1786 sq ft $ 359,000 2200 sq ft $ 750,000 4826 sq ft

Adrienne Hughes Shane T. White Shane T. White Shane T. White Adrienne Hughes Adrienne Hughes Adrienne Hughes Shane T. White Shane T. White Shane T. White Cheryl Stephens Amy Gandy

94,900 258,900 499,900 390,000

1360 sq ft 2608 sq ft 3060 sq ft 3550 sq ft 2560 sq ft 1379 sq ft 3250 sq ft 2909 sq ft 2258 sq ft 1787 sq ft 3473 sq ft

Adrienne Hughes Shane T. White Amy Gandy Amy Gandy Shane T. White Shane T. White Shane T. White Shane T. White Cheryl Stephens Shane T. White Adrienne Hughes Shane T. White Shane T. White Adrienne Hughes

Thursday, March 5, 2020

CLASSIFIED ADS $10/week for Minimum 30 Words Additional Words $0.20 Deadline Tuesday At Noon

(512) 778-5577 or NEWS@LHINDEPENDENT.COM Other scope of work to be completed is 2 manholes (#2 & #3) located north of work being performed on CR 213.

These manholes need ring and lids replaced with new rings / lids.

A manhole (#4) in Summerlyn Subdivision located south of the main trunk line needs to be spray coated.

Additionally, at the City’s WWTP a 30 ft x 6” x 1 ft curb needs to be installed (#5).

BIDS must be received on or before THURSDAY – MARCH 12th at 10 AM. All

bids are to be dropped off at City Hall – 926 Loop 332 between the hours of 8 AM and 4:30 PM. BIDS will be opened FRIDAY – MARCH 13th at 10 am at CITY HALL in the Conference Room located at 926 Loop 332.

For more details and the BID PACKAGE contact one of the following: BRIAN PAUL at 254-226-0094 or bpaul@libertyhilltx.gov OR Wayne Bonnet at 512-745-7070 or wbonnet@ libertyhilltx.gov.

(3/5)

ADVERTISE YOUR AGENCY! Feature Your Listings CALL 512.778.5577