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2021
Volume 34, Issue 19
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
April 1, 2021 | 50 Cents
Demographics fuel growth plans for LHISD
ALEX RUBIO FILE PHOTO
The Liberty Hill Fair & Rodeo is set April 15-18 at Harvest Ranch Arena.
Ride ‘em, Cowboy Liberty Hill Fair & Rodeo set next week at Harvest Ranch
By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Anyone with a hankering for some rough-and-tumble ranching action will be pleased to know the annual Liberty Hill Fair & Rodeo is scheduled for April 15-18 at the Harvest Ranch Arena. According to Williamson County Cowboy Church Pastor Corey Ross, holding the event on the grounds of the church is a no-brainer based on a few principle factors. “We’re a Cowboy Church and cowboys do rodeos,” said Ross. “We have the only professional rodeo arena in the area and I’ve been a professional rodeo cowboy for 30 years. So, we know how to put on a rodeo.” Highlighting the rodeo will be the Ron Ross Memorial Steer Roping Event, which is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and will take place April 17-18. Open rodeo events will include Bareback, Mini Bareback, Tie Down, Girls’ Breakaway, Saddle Bronc, Mini Saddle Bronc, Team Roping, Steer Roping, High School Challenge Steer Saddling, Barrel Racing, Junior Barrels, Mini Bulls and Bull Riding. Ross said the rodeo is intended to be separate from his church, although members help stage it. “This rodeo has turned into one of the largest events in this area,” he said. “We’ve never made this event a church rodeo. We want it to be a community event. But, the volunteers that put on the rodeo are
from our church.” In addition, Ross believes after the past year and everything people have been through, the event provides a perfect opportunity to begin to restore a sense of normalcy. “It will be great fellowship,” he said. “People are ready to get back to normal. Last year, we had to move the rodeo to June because of the pandemic. People were ready to get out. We broke attendance records every night.” All events will occur nightly, as the rodeo will begin each evening at 7:30 p.m. Mutton busting will also be featured for young cowboys and cowgirls who are seven and under and weigh 65 pounds and under, with belt buckles being given to nightly winners. In addition, a total of six scholarships will be presented to Liberty Hill High School students, including one in memory of late Panthers head football coach Jeff Walker, as well as one for military, two for higher education and two for vocational. Sponsors for the event include the City of Liberty Hill, United Heritage Credit Union and Johnson-Sewell Ford. There will also be a carnival complete with rides and games, along with vendors and concessions. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for children age 3-12, with children two and under admitted free. Parking will also be free.
See RODEO, Page 8
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Each time Liberty Hill ISD enrolls a new student it fills one more seat in a classroom on one of its seven current campuses. That addition represents growth, and a look back over the last decade shows that growth is occurring at an unprecedented rate. But efficiently preparing for that growth each year takes much more than counting the students in classrooms, it requires accurate, reliable data that addresses the students not yet in a desk. Further complicating that task in LHISD is that the number of new desks needed in the next five years is expected to be double what it is now, and double that five more years down the line. Schools cost money and construction takes time, so how exactly does a district determine what to ask the community to support? Demographics. The district entrusts the gathering and synthesizing of that data to Population and Survey Analysts (PASA), a company based in
©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
moving, and that broke off 50 percent of my business. In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that they were going to waive the fees to have recertifications done and that knocked out the remaining 50 percent of my business.” Sanchez is one of the thousands of small-business owners in Williamson County that have been dealing with the economic upheaval of the COVID pandemic for more than a year – and like many others found relief from the CARES Act. In response to the pandemic, the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Williamson County received
Houston that specializes in the task at hand, and works with dozens of other districts across the state, including Leander ISD. The $497.1 million bond package on the May ballot was built on the PASA projections presented to the school board, and even for seasoned professionals, the numbers lead to a double take. Justin Silhavy, with PASA, said Liberty Hill is one of many communities they work
with where double and triple checking the projections is just a natural reaction. “We definitely do that with Liberty Hill,” he said. “You sit back and you think, ‘okay, do we need to change something, and why’. We get it loaded up, sit back and plenty of times where we take an approach that we ask ourselves where we can tone it down. We go the other way sometimes, too, but we mostly try to be more conservative. It is a little
shocking.” Demographers have projected that the Fall 2021 enrollment for the district will reach 6,566 and that number is expected to double by 2025 to 12,215. Beyond the five years the current bond is intended to address, enrollment is projected to nearly double again by 2030 to over 22,000. “At the end of the day the demographics are staggering,”
See GROWTH, Page 5
The newly-opened Seward Junction Loop offers a congestion-free southbound alternative to the intersection of SH 29 and US Hwy 183.
Loop at Seward Junction opens door to increased development
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Today it’s just a new road. It’s a road that primarily cuts across open pasture and might save commuters a moment or two. But the new Seward Junction
CARES Act keeps on giving
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer When Jeanie Sanchez opened Sanchez Compliance and Consulting LLC in 2018, she was thrilled to be a small-business owner. A year later, she reached the milestone every small business owner looks forward to – turning a profit. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “I review files for people who are moving into low-income housing or when they’re doing annual recertification,” said Sanchez. “At the beginning of the pandemic, people stopped
Population and Survey Analysts have provided enrollment projections for Liberty Hill ISD through 2030, that show double-digit growth through the decade. The company, which provides demographic projections services to dozens of district across the state, also works with Leander, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs districts locally. (Courtesy Graphic)
$93 million from the CARES Act and created the WilCo Forward program. The program aimed to curb the economic impact of COVID-19 by distributing funds to address various needs throughout the county. The program placed a significant focus on helping small businesses. Williamson County issued 3,662 checks for more than $34.2 million. Between May 6 and June 30 of last year the county auditor’s office received 4,194 applications from businesses throughout the county. The average grant depended on a business’ status – whether it was entirely shut down or just partially closed. “Initially, I applied for a lot
See CARES, Page 4
Loop, officially opened for traffic in March by Williamson County, is expected to offer much more than relief for traffic congestion at the SH 29 and US 183 intersection. “The economic development potential is huge,” Williamson
County Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said of the new loop. “I tell folks to go look at RM 620 and US 183. When I first moved to Williamson County there were no freeways or anything there, it was a stoplight at that intersection.
Then Lake Creek Parkway and Pecan Park and that network of roads came about and changed everything.” The new loop runs south from SH 29 west of US 183,
See LOOP, Page 4
Project Graduation gets 2021 makeover
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer There may be no lock-in, games or activities celebrating the end of high school careers this year through Project Graduation, but organizers are determined to put a spin on the traditional event that will send seniors off with a smile. Due to social distancing and other safety measures that have followed 2021 graduates for more than a year the traditional celebration posed too many challenges. “We were supposed to have the event on May 28, when they graduate, but we decided as a board and organization
that because of the COVID situation, we decided to cancel that event,” said LHHS Project Graduation President Scott Quaife. “In turn, what we’re going to do is use all the money that we’re raising to try and buy the kids some graduation gift baskets.” The gift baskets contain items as large as televisions and mini-fridges to smaller but equally important items, such as laundry detergent and towels. The challenges regarding this year’s celebration range from how to celebrate, to how to generate the donations and volunteer time to make it happen.
“We have 343 seniors now at Liberty Hill. Some of them are remote and others in the class, so it’s been a challenge,” Quaife said. “It’s been a challenge to get volunteers, but we’re still committed to raising the money we need to ensure we have something for them at the end of the year.” Involving the seniors in the solution helps organizers and students both. “When we have these events to raise money, we’ll get the student volunteers, the seniors, to come and help,” said Quaife. “They’ll get tickets based on how much they
See PROJECT, Page 3