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2020

Volume 33, Issue 27

www.LHIndependent.com

News@LHIndependent.com

May 28, 2020 | 50 Cents

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tion we terminate the employment of Barbara Zwernemann as City Secretary of Liberty Hill effective immediately for failure to maintain the City’s records accurately and in a manner required by state law and city code.”

Outside of an additional vote to forward related documentation regarding Zwernemann’s termination to “appropriate law enforcement” there was no other discussion of the decision.

In a statement issued to The Independent Wednesday,

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By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor City Secretary Barbara Zwernemann was terminated by a unanimous vote of the City Council Tuesday.

Zwernemann had served as City Secretary since 2014, and has been on administrative leave since May 15.

The Council met in closed session just over two hours, discussing Zwernemann’s employment along with several other items.

In her motion to terminate Zwernemann, Council member Kathy Canady said, “I would like to make a mo-

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Council terminates City Secretary

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LH INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO

Barbara Zwernemann was named Best City Employee for 2019, and tied with Mayor Rick Hall for the honor in February 2020.

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The new elementary school boundaries – to include the August opening of Santa Rita Elementary – were approved by the Board of Trustees. The student enrollment numbers show next year’s projected enrollment, as well as future projections before other schools are planned to ease the student populations in existing schools. (Courtesy Graphic)

LHISD Board approves elementary boundaries, elects new officers

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Despite the Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees election being postponed to November, the Board moved forward with electing new officers May 18, unanimously supporting Clint Stephenson as the new Board President.

Expanding budget

Stephenson previously served as Vice President and is replacing Clay Cole, who will be leaving the board in November after choosing not to file for reelection.

Cole served on the board more than a dozen years and as president for eight. His term – which would have ended this

month – has been extended to November with the postponement of the election.

“Clay Cole has been amazing as a Board member and Board President,” said LHISD Superintendent Steve Snell. “He’s been the model of consistency and class in my opinion. What he’s told me is now that his

kids are graduated it is time for him to pass the torch.”

Stephenson will be running for reelection and is being challenged by Terry Smith.

Board member Kathy Major was elected Vice President and Board member Megan Parsons

See BOUNDARIES, Page 10

$1.3 million added to wastewater plant expansion

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor One month after the Liberty Hill City Council decided to switch vendors for the equipment and technology being used in the new wastewater plant expansion, taking on an estimated additional $500,000 in cost, the Council voted Tuesday to cover another increase.

The change this time was with construction company building the expansion, in the

LIBERTY HILL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION 8PM FRIDAY, JUNE 5,

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16500 SH 29 LIBERTY HILL

Wristbands Required

©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent

amount of $1.35 million. The original construction contract was $9.86 million, awarded in June 2019. With the new change order, the construction contract now stands at $11.35 million.

“It’s really the difference in the cost of equipment and some process changes we’re asking the new vendor to add into the plant that will increase the efficiency of it,” Liberty Hill Mayor Rick Hall told The Independent following the

meeting. “It will automate a lot of the processes to make it easier on the guys when they’re working there. There’s less manual intervention we have to do which will help keep our labor costs down and a lot of the cleanings and stuff like that will be fully automated to ensure accuracy and proper chemical usage.”

The change approved in April was for the City to use

See COUNCIL, Page 5

LHHS announces details for graduation

With the delayed Class of 2020 graduation ceremony set for June 5, Liberty Hill High School has shared details for the celebration in response to social distancing rules and precautions.

As a special addition to this year’s graduation, Liberty Hill ISD is presenting a short fireworks display to cap the celebration.

Each student will receive four tickets – in the form of wristbands – for family members wishing to attend the event.

Wristbands will be given out on Friday during the Project Graduation gift distribution from 3-7 p.m.

Medical waivers will be included for guests to sign and return upon entry at gradua-

tion. The drive-thru process for Project Graduation will be similar to cap and gown distribution in early May. Seniors will also need to turn in Chromebooks and other materials at this time and these must be turned in for seniors to receive their diploma and senior packets.

Seniors are responsible for taking care of any outstanding debts including library fines or books not returned, textbooks, books or other items owed to teachers, uniforms, Chromebooks, outstanding fees, or any other item or money owed to LHHS, faculty, or staff. The diploma and senior packet will be held until obligations are

See GRADUATION, Page 5

LH INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO

Despite warnings about the need for social distancing from Center for Disease Control and state officials, the City Council voted Tuesday to hold the Independence Day Spectacular on July 3.

In years past, the event has included a fireworks show, concert, contests, and various attractions for children and adults. The County confirmed Wednesday an increase of 83 cases of COVID-19 in the past week to 584. Of those, 228 are still active. Liberty Hill has had nine cases with three still considered active.

City ducks records request

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Less than two weeks after establishing a new policy for handling records requests through the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), the City of Liberty Hill dodged a request for body cam footage from The Independent despite admissions by city officials that the footage exists.

The video footage in question allegedly contains video and audio of Mayor Rick Hall using profanity, making inappropriate comments and accessing the police unit computer while engaged in a highspeed chase that occurred during a ride along.

In e-mail correspondence dated May 21, Chief Operating Officer, and newly appointed public information

officer Lacie Hale informed The Independent that the City had no responsive documents to the request submitted on March 2.

That FOI request was for “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,” and was submitted after The Independent received the information regarding the allegations made about Hall’s conduct.

While the City claims the date on the request was inaccurate, its responses to the request since it was first submitted appear to be an attempt to block release of the footage.

Once requested, Liberty Hill

had 10 days to provide the information to the newspaper or submit an appeal to the Texas Attorney General (AG) seeking an exception to the Freedom of Information Act. The City filed the appeal with the AG on the last day, and in early May, Hall said a ruling was expected on the issue by May 25.

But in the correspondence last week claiming that the City had no documents to provide regarding the request, Hale said the request for a ruling from the AG was made in error and was being withdrawn.

“That was done inaccurately because somebody didn’t understand the question and they just appealed the

See RECORDS, Page 5

Page 2

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OBITUARY Larry Granville ‘Papa’ Jordan Larry Granville “Papa” Jordan, age 73, passed from this world to that of our Heavenly Father on Monday, May 18, 2020 at Scott & White Medical Center in Round Rock, TX. Larry was born in Dallas, TX on February 25, 1947, the only child of his loving parents, Lawrence Cecil and Ina Dee Jordan.

He was a gifted and hard-working young man, playing the trumpet in the high school and ROTC band at W.H. Adamson High School in Dallas, TX. Larry’s dream was to become a test pilot in the US Navy. After high school graduation in 1965, he attended Texas A&M University in College Station, serving in the Corps of Cadets.

Tragically, his dream of becoming a pilot ended when he was critically injured in an accident during the Texas A&M Homecoming bonfire event. After a long recovery, Larry was unable to continue attending Tex-

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Thursday, May 28, 2020

as A&M. He took a full-time job at Frito-Lay in Dallas, TX, and enrolled in night classes to study engineering.

Over the next 15 years at Frito-Lay, Larry used his exceptional intellect, creativity, and work ethic to grow into an expert in the field of process equipment design and fabrication. He branched into additional career opportunities which led to one of his greatest accomplishments in 1992, the co-founding of Project Services Group (PSG), Inc, in Dallas, TX. With his business partners, Larry grew PSG into an organization with a nationally known reputation of exceptional customer service and project success. As proud as he was of PSG’s accomplishments, he was even more thankful for the friendships he developed with his PSG family.

Throughout his life, Larry mastered many hobbies and skills. Never one to sit by while others worked, Larry gave 110% to anything he tried. His interests were varied, and he loved sharing what he learned with his family. His injury during college made activities more difficult for him, but he pushed himself twice as hard as anyone else. He excelled at fishing, hunting, wood carving, gardening, competition shooting, model airplanes, wine making, and in his later years cooking and baking. Lar-

ry always went out of his way to help others, and touched so many lives with his generosity, kindness, and humor.

Larry was blessed with two marriages in his life. His first marriage in 1968 to Sharon Murphy (Jordan) gave him two daughters who adored their daddy, Lori and Shannon. His second marriage to his devoted wife, Dana Crew Jordan, was full of joy, laughs, and Larry’s delicious cooking.

Together they built a home, a vineyard, and enjoyed their retirement. Larry’s marriage to Dana brought him the additional blessing of his conversion to Catholicism. Larry took great comfort in his faith and the guidance of the Catholic Church. In true “Larry Jordan” style, he whole heartedly took on his role as a faithful servant and pillar of his community.

One of Larry’s greatest loves was being a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was the Faithful Navigator of The Father Abram J. Ryan Assembly Fourth Degree, which he served for two years. The Father Abram J. Ryan Assembly is the largest and oldest assembly in Texas. He was awarded Knight of the Year in 2009.

Larry is survived by his beloved wife of 21 years, Dana Crew Jordan of Liberty Hill; his daughters Lori Jordan and Shannon Jordan; his step-daughters Jennifer Crew Baker and Melissa Crew

Brady; his sons-in-law Edward Brady and Michael Spencer; his grandchildren “the Little Kids” Heather, Chaney, McKenzie, Brady, Daniel, Megan, Colton, Riley, Ryan, Mason, and Lexi; his great grandchildren Cannon and Harlow; their loyal dog, Boomer.

The funeral was held on Friday, May 22, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Santa Rosa de Lima Catholic Church in Florence, Texas. Burial followed the funeral at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery and Prayer Gardens in Georgetown, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Heart Association.

To share memories and words of comfort with the family, please visit our website at www.cookwaldendavisfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements by CookWalden Davis Funeral Home, 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, Texas 78628, (512) 8632564.

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The Liberty Hill Lions Club wanted to do a service project that would help the staff of the ER and ICU at Cedar Park Regional Medical Center. They decided that serving them a meal during their shifts would help them and help our local restaurants during this time of staying home.

President Greg Garnett contacted the hospital, getting the number of people involved in each department and when would be the best time to serve a meal. Once that was determined, the Lions found local restaurants to prepare the meals. Smokey Mo’s BBQ, Texas Taco Kitchen, and Domino’s Pizza were picked to supply the food. Many of the Lions donated extra money toward this project as well as some from our activities account to pay for the meals, helping those businesses during this time.

Shown in the photo above is Lion Greg Garnett delivering to the ER on May 2nd -- the second weekend delivery to the hospital. (Courtesy Photo)

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Thursday, May 28, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

EDITORIAL:

You don’t need to hide nothing to hide

When Mayor Rick Hall was on a ride along with former Liberty Hill Police Officer Jeff Farmer in 2018 it is alleged that Hall acted inappropriately during a high-speed police chase.

This particular incident was the first of what has evolved into a number of allegations made against Hall relating to constant ride-outs with officers since he became Mayor, and requests for rides from officers for the Mayor and his spouse.

That first allegation was the subject of a Freedom of Information request submitted to the City of Liberty Hill by The Independent on March 2 to obtain the video and audio from the officer’s body camera and police unit. The request was made to determine whether the incident took place as described, and show whether there was reason to believe there is any truth to other similar stories reported to the newspaper.

The City – and Hall – have had 86 days since that request to provide the footage in question and prove the allegations aren’t true. Instead, the City – and Hall – have chosen a path of stonewalling and dodging, deciding not to prove the allegations false, but instead to keep it all a mystery.

Why? Hall has admitted the video footage exists.

But he reportedly told the former City Secretary, who was fired Tuesday, not to release the footage when the request was received. Then on March 16, the City exhausted its 10-day window to respond to our request and appealed it to the Attorney General’s (AG) office.

Hall told us he expected a response from the AG around May 25. So as May 25 approached, there was little surprise that another method to avoid releasing the video had been discovered.

According to the City, the date range for which the video was requested was inaccurate. So the date was wrong, but still no one denied the footage existed, and no one ever seemed confused about exactly which video was being requested.

In a discussion of outstanding unanswered requests for information, Hall told The Independent that the City’s public information policy needed work.

“The process was broke, and we are fixing that process,” Hall said on May 5. “There’s no consistency in what was done and with this public information policy we’re bringing to Council on (May 11) this will solidify the process and everything going forward should be black and white. There should be no gray area.”

But ironically, three weeks later, the same man looking for ways to improve the process had this to say about our request.

“You can appeal that to the AG,” Hall said May 22 regarding the City’s latest response. “We will have to turn over the body cam footage to the AG in the right date range, then they would have to make a ruling on it at that point. I can’t tell you what day it {the requested video recording} is, that’s not right for me to tell you what day it is.

“The time frame you asked for, it did not exist in that time frame. I know it sounds like we’re being difficult, but this is part of the process that the City has failed in a long time of not providing public information by the law,” Hall said.

The City has failed. The City is failing.

It could be argued that looking for loopholes to providing public information that could be incriminating to the person choosing not to share it is much worse. The strategy now appears to go a step beyond failing to act, and instead choosing to act to hide information from the public.

If there’s nothing to hide, then there’s no reason to look for excuses not to share the footage.

If there is something to hide, then the failure is on the part of Hall in his actions, and on the Council and city staff members that make it possible to hide those actions.

Is there nothing – or something – to hide?

Throwback Thursday Tiny Briggs was once thriving community

By JAMES WEAR Columnist My wife has been driving up to Briggs in recent weeks to purchase f e e d for her chickens at a feed store that opened up a few months ago in an old downtown building.

For readers new to this area, Briggs is a few miles up the road off US 183 as one is traveling towards Lampasas.

While not a ghost town, it’s not as busy as it was during its heyday nearly a century back. The old school building is still standing and now serves as the community center.

The Briggs area was first settled in the mid 1850s, and was initially known as Springs, perhaps due to its proximity to several springs that combine to form the headwaters for Berry Creek.

According to the Texas State Historical Association, Steven Taylor bought the land Briggs is located upon in the 1880s from Bill Gann.

Taylor is believed to have built a cotton gin although he later sold it, and also established the first general store in the area. The store, known as Taylor’s Gin, was the location of the first post office in town. By 1898, the town would become known as Briggs in honor of Mrs. Henry D. Briggs. A doctor by the name of William Hazelwood, Mrs. Briggs’ sonin-law, was credited with

(ABOVE) Downtown Briggs as it appeared in the early 1900s. (BELOW) From some 45 years ago, one of the gas stations in Briggs that was also a popular spot for dining for locals.

(Courtesy Photos)

circulating the petition that led to the name change.

Over the next few years, despite a tornado that destroyed the school in 1906, Briggs grew with electrical and phone service coming to town. A bank was established, and by the 1920s the population was

estimated at nearly 300. A new high school was built.

But in 1928 fires destroyed many businesses and the Great Depression is said to have led to the farming industry taking a big hit. The gin and many businesses closed and the population slowly dwindled.

By 1969, the school district consolidated with the Burnet school system.

Perhaps today Briggs is best known as the location of Firefly Aerospace, a firm that says it “develops small and medium-sized launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit.”

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Hospital perspectives during COVID-19 crisis

By BO BEAUDRY CEO, Cedar Park Regional Medical Center The COVID-19 pandemic has made it crystal clear just how much communities rely on their local hospitals and also how much we rely on you.

During the past few weeks, we’ve felt an outpouring of support and we are grateful to everyone who has delivered a meal, sewn a face mask, left a card, or who has

just reached out to our caregivers and support teams to say – thank you. We appreciate our community’s generosity beyond words.

Cedar Park Regional Medical Center is used to responding in times of crisis. But, this pandemic is unlike anything any of us has ever experienced. We know it has created anxiety for many people, especially when it comes to seeking healthcare services.

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masks and other personal protective equipment to staff and patients, and rearranging our environments to enable social distancing. Also, in the event we ever do have any patients with COVID-19 at the hospital, we are caring for them in an area that is separate and isolated from the rest of the hospital. Of course, our cleaning staff is disinfecting

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, May 28, 2020

An unexpected calling

Teaching went from convenience to passion for award-winner

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor When Jennifer Hurley began her career in education, she was also a young mother who didn’t want to have to choose between being a teacher and a mom.

She wanted her cake and the ability to eat it, too.

Which is exactly what she found, and more.

“I think I honestly began a career in teaching because I was a young mother. When I started college I already had a child,” said Hurley. “I wanted to have a job that would allow me to be a mom, have a full-time career and still have quality time with my children.

But, I soon learned teaching is so much more. I’ve continued to do it for so many years because even in spite of the challenges, it’s so rewarding to make a positive difference in a child’s life.”

Hurley was named Liberty Hill Elementary School Teacher of the Year for the 2019-20 school year and said she couldn’t be more proud of receiving such an honor.

“It is very humbling to be awarded Teacher of the Year by my colleagues and administrators – they’re my people,” said Hurley. “We pour so much of our heart and soul into our work together each day. We really do become a close-knit family, so to be recognized by my peers is very special to me.

It also puts a little stress on me to make sure that I’m being a good leader – not just for my students, but also for my colleagues, my district and my community. I learn so much from my colleagues and they inspire me to keep trying new ideas to reach my students.

That really keeps me going in this line of work.”

Hurley, who is entering her 23rd year of educating, began in the classroom as a kinder-

garten teacher – something she said she would never do, but ended up doing for the first 17 years.

“When I first began my teacher training in college, I swore I would never teach kindergarten,” she said. “But, then I spent a day in a kindergarten classroom as a required assignment and I fell in love. Those kids were so funny. They soaked up every word their teacher said. I was hooked from then on. In fact, when I began teaching kindergarten, I quickly filled up a journal of writing down funny things kids said and did throughout my days. Young kids are so innocent and just want to learn.

I knew the elementary age was where I would spend my teaching time.”

However, in order to completely quench her primary motivation, she realized she would have to move up the chain a bit, she said.

“Writing is one of my passions, so I was ready to move up in grade levels so I could dive deeper into writing with my students,” said Hurley.

“When the newest elementary was built, I found my way ‘back home’ to LHE and continue to teach second grade there.”

Hurley said she has developed a philosophy over the years that is spun from experience, but also a product of truly knowing what students need – which can only be gleaned by getting to know each and every one of them – something that differentiates teaching at the elementary level compared to older students.

“Teaching elementary students versus upper grades is ‘day and night,’ as far as academics go. But, in the end, they’re all kids. They all thrive on building a strong relationship with their teachers and classmates. People need peo-

ple. I’ve always been a big believer we have to reach their hearts before we can reach their heads,” she said. “So, no matter what age you’re trying to teach, you have to get to know your students. Some people may think elementary-age students come to school ready to learn, ready to please their teachers and just have a great time – not true. Many of our kids come through our classroom doors with trauma – a broken home, poverty, anxieties or no books at home. We have to be prepared to be their safe place and know their fears and uncertainties often come through as negative behavior challenges we’re dealt. Whether you’re teaching elementary or upper grades, we have to help build strong character in our kids.”

According to Hurley, despite some core aspects of the profession remaining the same, there have also been myriad changes over the years that have helped enhance not only the learning experience for students, but the teaching experience, as well.

“Education changes every year. I have not had one year where it was the same as before. Technology, of course, has been one of the biggest changes in education. I still laugh thinking back on a time before we used e-mail and teachers sent important messages to each other via a PostIt note during the day which was passed from classroom to classroom,” said Hurley. “Kids make videos to explain their learning, kids with dyslexia have access to speech-to-text and my students wrote their own stories digitally this year.

Also, our classrooms are much more active than they used to be. Students do a lot of work collaboratively and they’re often showing me technology tricks.”

Jennifer Hurley, far left, was named Liberty Hill Elementary School Teacher of the Year for the 2019-20 school year and is pictured here with fellow second-grade teachers Amy Rampy, Lindsey Jameyson and instructional coach Marcey Mueller. (Courtesy Photo) In fact, even the global pandemic and the obstacles it has placed in the path of learning have provided a unique opportunity, she said.

“During this school closure, we made history,” said Hurley. “For the first time ever, I taught reading lessons via Zoom calls with my students.”

For Hurley, one of the most fulfilling aspects of not only teaching, but doing so at the level she does is getting a healthy dose of the best medicine each and every day.

“By far, the best part of being a teacher is getting to spend your day with all those little bodies and laughing about something,” she said. “Something funny always happens, so even on your most difficult day, you can have joy. It’s always a reward to see them apply something they learned into their daily world.”

But, like an athlete who only

spends part of their time performing on the field, there is much that goes on out of the spotlight, which must be done to ensure peak performance when the lights are on – and it’s not always pleasant.

“The worst part of the job is all the ‘behind-the-scenes’ work which has to take place -- the long meetings, the unending lesson planning and the data analysis,” said Hurley. “Also, often not seeing the fruit of your labor until years later. Sometimes, students leave you and you’re not sure if you did all you could do for them.”

All these years after she made the choice to pursue teaching and sometimes Hurley finds herself on the opposite end of an equation that helped shape her professional destiny.

“It always warms my heart when someone tells me they want to be a teacher one day

because I was that person one time,” she said. “I told my teachers I wanted to be a teacher one day and they encouraged me and made me believe I could do it if that’s what I pursued.”

But, there was one very big asterisk that went along with the advice she was given.

“They didn’t tell me how hard it would be,” said Hurley.

“I actually remember crying on my first day of teaching.

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Page 5

RECORDS Continued from Page 1

LHHS senior finishes on top

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Under normal circumstances, competitors who take part and win in state UIL competition can expect fanfare and celebration as they hear their names called and acknowledged. Current circumstances are anything but ordinary.

Despite the unusual circumstances, Liberty Hill senior Grace Mabry is reveling in her success at state, earning first place in Division 1 Marketing Design.

“It was a little nerve-wracking because last year we got feedback from a panel of judges, and we didn’t get that feedback this year,” she said. “It went straight into the competition, and then we found out if we placed or not. It was amazing when they sent out the results, and I saw my name. It was pretty cool.”

Competitors in marketing design are required to submit a justification paper, a prompt address statement, and 10-inch by 15-inch inspiration board, a 10-inch by 15-inch marketing calendar, an original poster design, a paperless playbill, and a study guide.

“They give you a set of guidelines, and you have to follow the guidelines to market for a show,” said Mabry. “You can’t do any marketing plan that has been done before. It has to be completely original.”

Mabry, unafraid of a challenge, decided to choose the greater challenge, having to

COUNCIL

create a campaign that appealed to more than just one time period.

“The prompt this year was to take the show and make it in a certain place or time or make it timeless,” she said. “I wanted it to be timeless, so I chose that.

My design was simplistic, and I took the timeless challenge because I didn’t want to take a shortcut and chose a time like the 80s or the 50s. I wanted it to be shown throughout the times and different eras.”

For the first-place winner, the competition proved difficult, but it wasn’t the hardest part of things.

“The hard part was having to send everything in virtually, and it was also the waiting process because it took so long to hear the results,” said Mabry. “That was hard, but it was also a lot of fun.”

The creativity that comes with the competition is the driving reason for Mabry’s involvement. The soon-to-be Longhorn, enjoys the creative freedom marketing and advertising allows her.

“I’ll be attending UT in the fall, and I’m majoring in advertising, that’s what I want to do,” she said. “I love being creative, and you have to think completely out of the box since we can’t use any previous ideas. I enjoy coming up with new ideas.”

Mabry believes that competing at a high level and winning UIL competition will give her an edge in a world that is very

Continued from Page 1

equipment from Suez Environment, rather than from Microdyn MBR, which supplied the equipment for the most recent expansion. The wastewater plant opened in 2018 uses Microdyn equipment and technology, and the extension was also going to use the same equipment and technology.

Hall said in April that past issues with the Microdyn equipment led to the decision.

“We just had a lot of concerns with that plant and its day-to-day operations,” Hall said of the plant, which opened in 2018. “It’s cost the city a lot more money in operating expense over what was anticipated, I would say something in the neighborhood of three quarters of a million dollars more annually than what was budgeted.”

The equipment, which was set to cost the City $2.2 million through Microdyn, will cost $2.6 million from Suez, the new supplier. The equipment cost is separate from the bid award approved for Cunningham Constructors & Associates, Inc. of Georgetown to build the plant.

“It will be a little bit more expensive in cost, but the cost of operating – from man hours, chemical costs, water – our analysis of that shows it will offset the increased cost,” Hall said of the cost increases in April. “Just in the last year alone we have done what they call a deep clean on the membranes, I think 11 or 12 times, and that’s a very expensive cost. The technology we’re moving to we do that twice a year. Minor stuff like that will more than offset the increased cost of the plant.”

Hall reiterated this week he did not believe there would be significant changes to the project going forward.

“There may be a couple of minor changes as we get into it, but I don’t really see a lot,” Hall said. “One of the reasons we’ve made such drastic changes in this is just since the Microdyn plant has been operational we spent almost $800,000 over what was budgeted or explained to us we would need to spend the first year. We’re on track to be close to that amount this time. Adding these automated processes would help us reduce that cost.”

The City endured a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) investigation, but previously announced that it had been settled, the City had been cleared of wrongdoing, and the new plant was functioning as prescribed and up to permit level.

In a number of Council and community meetings called to hear complaints from property owners downstream from the plant about the quality of the

effluent, public works staff and other city staff, as well as engineers that worked on the project defended the plant and its operations, never raising questions previously about the reliability of the Microdyn equipment.

In March 2019, Liberty Hill spent $270,000 to replace the 18 Microdyn membrane bioreactor modules at the wastewater treatment plant after they were damaged due to a failed screen intended to keep larger items out of the plant.

Due to the nature of the damage to the modules, they were not covered under warranty.

The screen failure allowed items through the system that clogged and damaged the membranes. In repairing the screen, gravel, some wire and even a piece of PVC pipe was found in the screen.

New entrance?

In March, Council member Steve McIntosh – a resident of Liberty Parke – asked the Council to consider a realignment of the entrance to the subdivision on SH 29 due to safety concerns.

The Council voted unanimously Tuesday to support an initial study and cost estimate for the project, to be conducted

by Steger Bizzell Engineering.

The concept is to realign the entrance to the subdivision on Liberty Way to east of Classic Bank to line up and create a four-way intersection at Stonewall Parkway.

“The biggest issue with this is the safety of the residents in this subdivision, not having a light to exit and enter their subdivision on,” Hall said.

“We’ve had several close call accidents that could have been a lot worse and we have a lot of concerned residents in the subdivision over safety. If we need to reallocate some funds from different projects to put toward the safety of our community that’s what we need to do.”

Hall said he had no idea what the potential cost of the project might be.

“I want to get the engineer’s estimate to understand where we are going to be with that,” Hall said. “There is some potential CIP (Capital improvement Project) money that hasn’t been spent yet that we could reallocate to that, but I don’t know what that amount is. I’d like to get at least an estimate to try to understand how much money we have to come up with to be able to do this.”

The property is not owned by the City, and Hall said part of it is owned by Classic Bank, a small part by Liberty Parke and another small portion by Oldcastle Materials.

“I’ve already been asking the bank and they are willing to participate and potential-

competitive for advertising majors.

“This gives me a ton of experience, and it gives me a little bit of an edge,” she said.

“It’s something I have fun doing, and I know I’m going to have fun doing this as a career because I find it so enjoyable.”

The UIL winner has always had a goal to work in a creative field for a career, and for her, advertising is the perfect fit, taking advantage of her strengths.

Grace Mabry took first place in Market“For as long as ing Design at State UIL competition. The I can remember, LHHS senior plans to major in advertising I’ve always wantat the University of Texas at Austin in the ed to grow up and fall. (Courtesy Photo) create,” she said. a lot of fun, then I qualified for “Advertising gives me that creative side, but I’m state and got third at state last meticulous and organized, so year, and I had this total drive to win.” it’s the best of both worlds.”

The hard work is already payShe didn’t always know that advertising was going to be ing off as the edge she spoke her path; in fact, it wasn’t until about is making itself known recently that the idea began to as firms have begun to take an interest in her. take root and grow.

“I’ve already gotten connec“I didn’t even think about advertising until I compet- tions; people have been emailed last year,” Mabry said. “It ing my parents saying there started as a class project. My are internships,” said Mabry. teacher knew this was a com- “This is exciting to know I alpetition and he encouraged ready have my foot in the door. me to enter the competition. I Some marketing firms know ended up doing it and having about me, and it’s crazy.”

ly even donate the land to the City,” he said. “(The City) would have to acquire it unless they were willing to donate the land.”

It is early in the process and there is no plan in place for how the costs might be covered if the project moves forward.

“I’ve talked to the developers just briefly and they’ve said let them know how much it is going to be, but there’s been no commitment from the developers and no commitment from the HOA, so we’re doing our due diligence to go out and see how much it’s going to cost to see if we can create a partnership with the developer, the HOA and the City.”

Hall also added Williamson County could be approached as a potential partner because part of the new road could be a portion of the ultimate SH 29 Bypass.

“In order for us to get a good feel about who and how much we can partner with people I just want to get this estimate,” he said.

Independence Day plans The Council decided to continue on with planning the full Independence Day festival, set for July 3.

The question was raised because with only about five weeks until the festival date the commitment of funds was increasing.

Results from an online survey asking the community what should happen with the festival showed that 50 percent supported going forward with the event as planned. Twenty percent favored a scaled down event, 20 percent supported fireworks only, and only 10 percent said the event should be canceled.

All members of the Council supported going ahead with planning, with Tony DeYoung supporting a slightly scaled down version. Council members Kathy Canady and Liz Rundzieher supported moving forward with the caveat that the City could continue to monitor the situation and pull back or cancel the event if necessary due to changes in the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is very important,” Hall said. “It’s a great morale booster for the entire community and it has been a highlight of our City for several years.

I really feel like the people in the City and the surrounding area are getting restless and I think this is a great opportunity for us to be able to have something that would allow them at their leisure – we don’t force anybody to come – to come out and relax and have some fun time and celebrate our independence.”

circumstance and not the actual footage,” Hall said after the e-mail was sent. “You can appeal that to the AG. We will have to turn over the body cam footage to the AG in the right date range, then they would have to make a ruling on it at that point. I can’t tell you what day it is, that’s not right for me to tell you what day it is.”

Hall does not deny the video exists, and discussed it previously in two different interviews with The Independent regarding outstanding FOI requests, once in April and once in May. In talking through a list of requests in April, Hall said, “I know there is one for dash cam footage. Did you get that back from our lawyer that it is still an active case?”

Hall went on to say the request had been appealed to the AG because it remained under investigation.

“It’s still an open case that they’re trying to get him arrested so they have all the evidence. It is a joint effort because it is across two counties,” he said.

He also asked what specifically the newspaper was looking for in its request for the video.

In a May 5 phone interview,

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GRADUATION cleared.

Administrators also issued the following guidelines for student dress for the graduation ceremony: • caps and gowns cannot be modified in any way.

• girls are expected to wear a dress or nice slacks and blouse under their gown.

• boys are expected to wear nice pants and a collared shirt under their gown.

• comfortable shoes should be worn. Students will be walking longer distances during graduation due to social distancing.

During the ceremony, parents and guests are expected to remain in their seats in the stands. Parents and guests are not allowed on the field at any time and will meet their graduating seniors off campus.

Parking for family members and guests will be offered on the west side of Panther Stadium. Parking for seniors will be on the east side of Panther Stadium in the tennis court parking

with Hale and City Attorney Tad Cleaves present, Hall again mentioned the appeal to the AG regarding the specific video, never seeking verification or clarity about which video specifically The Independent was seeking.

“We’re waiting on a response back from the AG, we’re expecting to have that sometime around May 25,” Hall said at that time. “That is still a current, active case right now and because the person involved that was riding the motorcycle has not been apprehended.”

But after the e-mail was received from Hale last week, Hall clarified the City’s response, citing incorrect dates on the request -- not that it was an open criminal case.

“The key to it is, and this is why Lacie put in the bottom of that e-mail, when you’re asking for body cams, it did not exist in the months that you asked for,” Hall said, again verifying that the footage does exist. “The time frame you asked for, it did not exist in that time frame. I know it sounds like we’re being difficult, but this is part of the process that the City has failed in a long time of not providing public information by the law.”

Continued from Page 1

lot.

After the ceremony, graduates will exit the field and enter the practice football field.

Students will exit to their cars one row at a time. Parents and guests may not enter the foot-

ball field or the practice football field before, during, or after graduation.

The ceremony will be streamed at www.libertyhill. txed.net/.

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Page 6

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ZWERNEMANN Mayor Rick Hall cited “irregular practices” in the city secretary’s office and said he began an audit of city records.

The statement went on to say, “the City Council terminated the employment of City Secretary Barbara Zwernemann for failure to maintain the city’s records consistently and accurately in the manner required by state law and the city code.”

It also said the City would report its findings to law enforcement for investigation of potential criminal acts related to the City’s records.

Hall said the law enforcement agency the information would be forwarded to had not been determined and he would not elaborate on what was found in the audit.

Zwernemann’s response Zwernemann responded to the termination Wednesday in a statement to The Independent.

“I resigned to Mayor Rick Hall by text on May 16th and asked if Council would consider paying me through July 1st and my vacation pay to which he responded: ‘I am not authorized to negotiate a separation with you at this time but I can take your request to Council at the next meeting for their consideration.’

That’s interesting since Mayor feels he is authorized to do anything else and I see it did not get to Council. However, I will admit (as mentioned on FB) Mayor’s new reply is ‘I just work for Council - I don’t make decisions.’ Coun-

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Continued from Page 1

cil’s action have set me free to speak. My husband, my children and my sisters have asked that I not say thing else about Council’s action until I have time to get it reviewed by legal counsel.”

On March 5, The Independent reported on a letter submitted in September 2018 to then-City Administrator Greg Boatright and City Attorney Dottie Palumbo alleging an angry outburst by Hall and evidence of him carrying a gun in City Hall. That letter was written by Zwernemann and was one of two from city employees about the incident.

(See the story online at www. lhindependent.com/2018emails-allege-hall-outburst/) “Yes, it is true I had a violent encounter against me on Thursday - September 13, 2018,” Zwernemann wrote in her statement Wednesday to The Independent. “Because I had no intent to destroy people, I worked through it, but it was a serious mistake because as I was told then by a wise Council Member ‘he won’t stop this behavior if you don’t stop him.’

“How many people have to be taken under before the voters of Liberty Hill get a clue?

How many good candidates for Council - previous election - have to be taken under and traumatized before voters of Liberty Hill get a clue?

How many lies and what length does this City Council and Mayor and other new Leadership have to go to in order for voters to get a clue?

City Hall has placed people in positions that have never been approved and never been posted and do not exist in City Government - how long does it take for voters of Liberty Hill to get a clue?” she wrote in the statement.

“The Bible says follow peace with all men without which no man shall see God - pretty clear. Have you checked to see what really happened with former Police Chief Maverick Campbell? Do you actually know if there was documentation for everything? Did you see if Greg Boatright was set up to be forced to resign? Did you see if Lance Dean was set up and terminated? Who instigated his termination? Or could they have all been threatened and then requested to sign non-disclosure agreements so

you (the newspaper) can’t get information.”

New secretary named Immediately after terminating Zwernemann, the Council voted to hire Deputy City Clerk Nancy Sawyer as the new City Secretary at an annual salary of $54,500. Sawyer has been with the City just over two years.

“She is just two classes away from becoming a certified city secretary and she has already got the working knowledge of how we operate here in the City and has done a great job in the short period of time she has been here,” Hall said. “The Council just felt like she was the best pick for the position.

Barbara was never certified, so this will be the first time in at least six years the City will have a certified city secretary.”

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT Thursday, May 28, 2020 Page 7

ALEX RUBIO FILE PHOTOS

Ayanna Donwerth has gotten used to running alone while training during the global pandemic.

Kevin Berber usually uses his teammates for motivation when training and racing.

LHHS cross country, track athletes meet pandemic challenge head-on

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Running is the most basic of athletic endeavors, in which humans challenge themselves both physically and mentally as the miles pass by – be it on trails, a track or wherever else.

However, during the current global pandemic, this most ancient of activities has taken on an entirely new meaning among those who practice it.

There might not be a way to run away from the problem, but running around during it provides some form of solace.

For Liberty Hill sophomore Ayanna Donwerth, her chosen sport provides a welcome release – and a purpose each day – and she has found ways to continue churning out the miles.

“Running has been a getaway since this global pandemic has happened. During March and

April when we were all supposed to stay in our houses, the only thing that kept me going was running,” she said.

“Since we weren’t allowed to run anywhere, I would run on my treadmill or run in circles in my yard over and over again – that was the only thing I would be looking towards on those days. Running takes all the drama and stress in my life away, because when I’m in that moment where it’s just my running shoes, me and a long road, that’s when I forget everything going on. It’s like the whole world has paused and the only thing I’m focused on is my run.”

According to senior Kevin Berber, the mental side has certainly affected him more than the physical, he said.

“This current situation really does affect athletes mentally.

For me, when the shutdown

happened, I didn’t know if we were going to resume the season or if they were going to shut it down completely – that really affected me a lot because I’ve been training since freshman year to run at state and not knowing if they were going to have the meet or not made me question if I should really keep training,” said Berber. “This year was my senior year and I think I would’ve had a good chance at going to state because I had the second-fastest time in the 1600 and the third- fastest in the 3200 in the region by three seconds. The top two in each event advance to state. But since all athletic activities were canceled by the UIL, the only thing I’m going for are school records.”

Pandemic restrictions or not, the Panthers’ runners must still report ready when practice begins on July 27, said Liberty

Hill cross country head coach Kim Holt.

“I sent out a running plan last week for kids that didn’t have a plan yet. If they have their own plan, then that’s great and they can go with that,” she said. “We would just like the kids to be running over the summer so when they show up to practice, they have a base. If they don’t run over the summer, then when they show up, they’ll be out of shape and prone to injuries.”

Both Donwerth and Berber are missing a critical element of their training – teammates who push them to be better.

In Donwerth’s case, freshman Zaila Smith has been her foil while the miles are being racked up, with each of them bringing the best out of the other.

“Lately, it has been a challenge training on my own be-

cause the only one pushing me is myself,” said Donwerth. “It has been different because you don’t have the excitement and competitiveness you have in practice with your team when you’re by yourself. It’s been a little difficult to be motivated without my teammates, but I’m still motivated to finish my goals during every run. I love when Zaila and I are in practice together because we both learn from each other.

We get so competitive during practice because we both want to be the best runner we possibly can be. It’s hard not having her to run with every day because you kind of get a boost of adrenaline when someone’s with you the whole way.”

According to Berber, fellow senior Gabe Diaz is the one who motivates him to strive for further excellence.

“At the beginning, it was

mentally demanding because I was so used to Gabe and I pushing each other to get faster,” said Berber. “Running long distance is a mental sport because you just have to tell yourself to keep going even when your body is screaming at you to stop and rest for a bit.

But, running with Gabe eased that aspect of running and with nobody there to push me, it was challenging.”

Berber added he never realized before exactly how much of an impact his teammates have on him when training, especially when it comes to the intangible aspects that foster a family atmosphere beneficial to both parties.

“Training alone these past couple weeks has been a bit tough. I think I got so used to the fact I always trained with

See RUNNING, Page 8

UIL reinstates strength, conditioning Liberty Hill athletes will be authorized to begin workouts June 8

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Liberty Hill High School athletes, whose sports lives have been in suspended animation since the UIL suspended all activities in mid-March due to the global pandemic, have been given the green light to resume working out using school facilities, as the UIL announced it has reinstated summer strength and conditioning programs to begin on June 8.

Although the programs have the go-ahead, there will be strict health guidelines in place for the resumption of workouts – some mandatory, while others are suggested, but not required.

Among the mandatory restrictions are stipulations requiring

at least one staff member in attendance for every 20 athletes in order to ensure proper social-distancing procedures are met, no locker room or shower access for athletes and all working surfaces must be sanitized throughout and at the end of each day.

Included in the suggested guidelines are pre-screening athletes for COVID-19 before the start of workouts and at the beginning of each week, planning entry and exit strategies to reduce the number of people in high-traffic areas and limiting athletes to remaining within a single group for the entirety of each session.

According to Liberty Hill athletic director and head football coach Jeff Walker, ensuring

athletes remain at proper distances at all times is the most demanding of what he and his staff are faced with in proper execution of the program – keeping one eye on health and the other on gaining the full benefits of the workouts.

“Social-distancing will be our biggest challenge – mainly during entering and exiting the stadium,” said Walker.

“We will have a questionnaire for them to fill out prior to entering and we’ll take their temperature at that time, too.

No one will be able to enter the stadium if they have any symptoms or answer ‘yes’ to any question on our questionnaire. We will spend lots of time during our first few days going over all the UIL guide-

lines with our athletes. We want to get bigger, faster and stronger, but safety will always be our first priority and more than ever now.”

In keeping with guidelines, only two small groups of athletes will be allowed in the weight room at a time, coaches will be required to wear masks with all stations being wiped down after every use and sport-specific work will have to be more drill-oriented due to social-distancing restrictions.

Walker said it will definitely be good to be back – with one very big asterisk attached.

“I’m very excited to see our kids again in person,” he said.

“But, unfortunately, we won’t SCOTT AKANEWICH FILE PHOTO be able to shake their hands or Eric De la Cruz pushes a sled during one of the Panthers’ spring hug them for the time being.” workouts at City Park.

Good to be back on the field

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor As dawn broke on a recent We d n e s day morning, an armada of vehicles streamed into the parking area at City Park with all the precision of a military convoy and appropriately so, because those behind the wheel were on a mission.

The objective was to regain some sense of normalcy in this world-turned-upside-down by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Gray skies filled with clouds obscured the sun, but the moods of the men and women who dutifully marched onto the patch of God’s Green Grass were certainly not tainted by the overcast conditions.

Fitness equipment was the haul and one-by-one, the various contraptions and devices were set up, ringing the edge of the field until a good distance was between each exercise station.

After this, a second chalk of vehicles began to arrive and a line of young men formed – all

standing six feet apart – while they waited their respective turns to have a medical instrument passed along their foreheads before being admitted to the field.

Like a gatekeeper standing guard at an invisible barrier, the scene reminded one of departed souls lined up at the gates of Heaven as St. Peter decided who to let in or not.

On this day, all of the applicants passed the test and as they stepped onto the natural-grass surface, it might have well been Heaven.

It was an athletic field – the one place athletes feel as if they’re perhaps in an earthly version of the promised land of the afterlife – a place they can be completely comfortable in their element.

A place that they had been denied access to over the previous two months as the entire world was forced to sacrifice even the most basic, everyday pleasures while modern medicine wrestles with the science of successfully combating an invisible enemy.

However, not one soul on the field was even remotely considering any of this.

For the Panthers were back together again – and that’s all

that mattered.

Fifty Liberty Hill High School football players stood like a formation of soldiers as they warmed up with various calisthenics before breaking off into squad-like elements in setting off to achieve their objective and complete their mission of feeling normal once again.

But, the players weren’t alone in their quest.

Approximately 20 parents changed hats from being equipment transporters to coaches as the players were put through their paces in a variety of physical challenges.

But, perhaps this was even more of an emotional and psychological endeavor than one of the physical variety.

Despite the fact the athletes were being pushed to their muscular strength and cardiovascular limits, the looks on faces all around the ground told the true story of just why everyone was there.

For high school football players, feeling pain is a normal thing this time of year – in the spring when the wheels begin to turn in anticipation of another autumn of lit lights over plastic pitches – so even though muscles and lungs

SCOTT AKANEWICH PHOTO

Sophomore Andon Thomas easily flips a tractor tire during one of the Panthers’ conditioning workouts at City Park, which are complete run by parents and volunteers. were being pushed to the limit, it was certainly a labor of love.

Ironically, the very first station on the field featured a device known as Pegasus and Orthus, which was fitting as what was unfolding was akin to the 12 Labors of Hercules, a series of fierce mythological

creatures the Ancient Greek warrior had to defeat as penance for past sins.

Did we mention there were 12 stations?

On either end of long poles connected in the middle were weight plates, which the players had to lift using a pair han-

dles. But the real beauty of this particular piece of equipment is the fact lifters can assume a proper stance before engaging gravity as opposed to a traditional dead-lift stance.

Then there was the Demon

See CONDITIONING, Page 8

Page 8

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

ALEX RUBIO FILE PHOTO

Rowen Guerra (#3) has committed to play at Brookhaven College, where he will pitch and play outfield.

LHHS senior committed to play at Brookhaven College

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Rowen Guerra has always been willing to learn.

Each and every time he stepped onto a baseball field for practice or a game, it was his goal to become a better player.

Now, that desire and work ethic has resulted in the Liberty Hill senior committing to play at Brookhaven College, an NJCAA Division III school near Dallas.

Guerra has played all over the diamond during his Panthers career, but will be known as a “two-way” player at the college level, where he will both pitch and play outfield for the Bears.

According to Guerra, it was his experience in Purpleand-Gold that allowed him to develop into more of a well-rounded player.

“Over the past two years, I’ve learned to play multiple positions to benefit the team,” said Guerra, who posted a 2-1 record with a 1.00 earned-run-average his senior season, including 27 strikeouts in 21 innings. “This year alone, I’ve learned to throw two additional pitches and control them well thanks to (pitching) Coach (Kyle) Buescher.”

However, the most important thing Guerra learned during his high school career was a never-ending relentlessness in pursuit of excellence – and ultimately victory.

“Liberty Hill has taught me how to win and outwork my opponents in the off-season,” he said. “Our biggest focus was to put in more work so we’d be ready when the season started. I also learned how to be competitive and to never

overlook an opponent no matter the record they have.”

Head coach Steve Hutcherson said Guerra definitely has what it takes to be successful in the collegiate game.

“Rowen is super competitive and very athletic and I think both of those things will help him tremendously at the next level,” he said. “Rowen’s natural ability is from the athletic side and he was definitely in our top two or three guys as far as work ethic. He works as hard on the field as he does in the weight room and I think that has been huge for his overall success.”

Hutcherson added the fact Guerra enjoys the journey as much as the destination will bode well as he becomes accustomed to college life both on the field and off.

“Every player going to college is going to struggle a little with how much time actually goes in to playing college baseball along with being a college student,” said Hutcherson. “But, because Rowen enjoys the work that goes in to preparing for the game of baseball, I think he’s set up to meet those challenges.”

Guerra believes the added workload will be perhaps the most daunting aspect of competing in college.

“I think the biggest challenge I’ll face is the amount of games I’ll be playing and how my body will react to all the wear-and-tear,” he said.

One thing Guerra won’t have to worry about is his competitive streak, which will certainly follow him wherever he goes, said Hutcherson.

“When our tournament brackets were set this year, he asked who the best team we would

Sled.

Not one, but two of these contraptions – which could double as medieval torture devices – for the players to push from one side of the field to the other – a distance of roughly 50 yards – requiring each and every muscle fiber to exert maximum output.

Soon-to-be-senior quarterback Charlie Calabretta looked over at current sophomore linebacker Andon Thomas easily and smoothly pushing the sled along and reacted with proper admiration.

“Andon’s a beast,” he said.

Indeed.

Fight fire with fire.

But how is such an exercise going to help a signal-caller?

“I think it will help me walk the course easier,” joked Calabretta, who is also an accomplished golfer for the Liberty Hill links team.

One of the last stations was the ol’ giant tractor tire, which had to be flipped time and again in order to move it the

required distance.

The strain on the players’ faces as they attempted this was enough for one to ponder.

“Isn’t that why wheels are round?”

No rolling allowed.

But, back to the group of volunteers who made all this possible.

Due to the fact the UIL has currently suspended all school-sanctioned activities, no Panther coaches are permitted to be connected with the workouts, which take place three days a week.

So, dedicated moms and dads are left to pick up the slack, which they do in fine fashion, doing everything from wiping down equipment with sanitizer in between rotations to taking temperatures to constantly reminding everyone to keep proper distance from one another.

None of this could happen without them.

Like roadies who arrive hours in advance of a rock concert to

set up before a show, these parents do the same because there can’t be rock stars if they don’t have a stage to perform on.

Interestingly enough, apparently one of the Panthers’ nearby noisy neighbors (a Class 6A squad, no less) caught wind of what the Purple-andGold were doing and decided to play copy cats with similar workouts of their own.

What do they say about joining them if you can’t beat them?

After a couple hours of the proverbial blood, sweat and tears – and perhaps a bit of vomit – another workout was in the books and the entire operation folded up and left the field in exactly the same shape as when they had arrived.

In fact, nobody would ever know there had been an entire company of soldiers hard at work training for war – one they hope will still be fought.

But, it was very real indeed.

It was normal.

Mission accomplished.

frequently touched surfaces and doing a terrific job of keeping the hospital clean.

We also want you to know that if you have sudden symptoms that may indicate an emergency health concern, you should seek immediate medical attention. Tragically, people with serious emergencies, including heart attacks and strokes, are waiting too long for medical care. Getting prompt medical treatment could be the difference between life and death – so please, don’t ignore or rationalize the signs of a health

emergency. Call 9-1-1, come to the hospital, and get the help you need.

The same goes for chronic conditions and even routine healthcare needs. In our clinics, our providers offer telehealth visits for those who prefer not to come into the office. But, if an in-person visit is required, we are keeping our offices safe – so you can visit your doctor with confidence, if needed.

I am so proud of our team and the way they have stepped up to this new normal. I’m also

proud of everyone in our community who has stayed home to help flatten the curve and limit the spread of COVID-19.

Standing together we have seen how powerful our human connection really is. So, keep standing together – but stay six feet apart. Wash your hands frequently. Tell someone how much you appreciate them.

And, if you need healthcare, please don’t be afraid. We are here and prepared to care for you, and also to keep you safe.

Conditioning

play in every tournament would be,” he said. “When we told him our thoughts, his response was ‘then that’s who I want to pitch against.’ He was phenomenal in all three of those starts.”

Included was a gem of a performance on March 6 against Aubrey in which Guerra went the distance in hurling seven scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out nine while walking none on 95 pitches in a 6-0 Liberty Hill victory.

But simply reaching the college level isn’t good enough for Guerra, said Hutcherson.

“Not only has he gotten better, but I think he’s gotten to where he wants to be coached so he can continue to learn and improve,” he said. “He understands now how hard the game is and how to handle the good days along with the bad days.”

Guerra is certainly ready for whatever the future holds for him, he said.

“It’s extremely exciting to be able to play at the next level,” said Guerra. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work to be good enough to play in college and achieving that goal is awesome.”

As for what he’ll miss most from his Panther playing days, it will simply be the build-up every time he and his teammates were getting ready to go to battle, he said.

“My favorite memories had to be the anticipation before every game we played,” said Guerra. “It was just so exciting to suit up and take the field with my team – there’s nothing I would’ve rather been doing in those moments.”

Continued from Page 7

Viewpoint Continued from Page 3

Thursday, May 28, 2020

ALEX RUBIO FILE PHOTO

The Liberty Hill High School band has been learning online since spring break in March as directors get creative with teaching techniques and topics.

Band instructors get innovative

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer In the time of COVID-19, education has been one of the areas most affected by safety precautions imposed throughout the country.

Despite the restrictions of a pandemic, LHISD band instructors worked hard to find new and creative ways to continue helping their students grow and indulge their musical passions.

With the help of the internet, instructors continued to communicate with their students, giving them assignments, curating playlists of music to follow, and in some ways creating a more personal one-onone experience.

“There are a lot of different aspects of music than just playing your instrument,” said LHISD Director of Bands John Perrin. “There’s composing, there are listening and lots of different things you can do collaboratively or individually to explore different aspects of music.”

For Perrin, one of the keys to growing as a musician is the exposure to other styles and genres of music. With the help of YouTube, he was able to share a lot with students.

“One of the things that we did is create a playlist on YouTube of really widely varying types and styles of music from tube and throat singing music to jazz, rock, country, and classical,” he said. “We try to get them to listen to a lot of different styles and then make intelligent comments on them like ‘I heard this type of instrument and this type of singing,’ at the end of it they can say if they liked it or didn’t like it.”

Radio can expose students to a wide variety of music, but there are limitations to the types of genres. In some cases, students don’t use the radio at all, preferring streaming services like Spotify or Apple music. While both offer a lot of variety, it may take some initial exposure to get students listening to more than their standard genres.

“If you just turn on the radio, you’re not going to hear a wide-ranging type of music necessarily, it’s pretty much country or rock,” said Perrin.

“You have to search out classical music and reggae. Otherworld music and stuff like that isn’t on the radio.”

While it was a fun experience for students, Perrin also enjoyed the job of curating playlists.

“It was a fun experiment for me to go and find stuff that was interesting from those

Running

different cultures and styles,” he said. “I hope they were able to get something out of that.”

By taking advantage of different online tools, students are also being allowed to create the music they want.

“We also found online resources that were free for the kids so they could compose their music,” said Perrin.

“You listen to music on the radio or wherever and think ‘I could do that, it doesn’t seem that hard,’ but when you sit down and try to do it and realize how hard it is.”

Perrin and his students have discussed music composition and theory in class before, but allowing them to indulge in their creativity gives them a taste of what they can expect.

“Some of the kids have experience with (composing) before. We’ve talked about It in class before, but we want them actually to try and sit down and put those things together,” he said. “I got some pretty interesting projects back. One of them wrote a trumpet quartet and was proud of it; one tried to put together a piece together with all the instruments.”

The coordination for adjusting to the pandemic restrictions didn’t just limit itself to Liberty Hill; it was a nationwide effort that many instructors took part in, sharing various ways they were going about their teachings.

“The cool thing about the music community is that we were able to call different people, and a lot of emails went out from different associations. Everybody was sharing different ideas,” said Perrin. “There were a lot of people posting on the internet saying things like ‘this is what I did with my kids, and it worked great,’ or ‘Hey, we did this, and it worked.’ We had a lot of different connections across the state and the country that we could pull from.”

Away from the high school, intermediate, and junior high-level band teachers Lisa Hill and Jared Clarkson worked to keep their band students engaged.

“At the intermediate level, the sixth-grade level, Mrs. Hill put together choice boards,” said Perrin. “At the junior high-level, Mr. Clarkson came up with a virtual contest where you get points for different music aspects, kind of a competition to keep kids engaged. There was a lot of collaboration.”

Students embraced the different methods used and, based on feedback to Perrin,

Continued from Page 7

my teammates I never knew how much they actually affect me when I run,” he said.

“I notice the difference a lot more when I’m warming up and cooling down because that’s the time when I’m actually able to talk to my teammates and them not being there really does make it kind of lonely. With them there, it gave me motivation to run faster for them because I knew they looked up to me as being a top dog and it was also my chance to help them push themselves.”

Donwerth said she has now had to find different things to keep her motivated.

“There’s a lot of things that go through my mind when I’m running, such as singing a song to keep me pushing or thinking of a memory about a race so I can run faster,” she

said. “But, it’s very different running alone than running with teammates because we’re a team that likes to be successful and have fun. But when you’re running by yourself, the only fun you have is if you find a cool running spot or a treasure to carry back from your run and show your parents.”

But, Berber said one thing is similar – not having anyone in front of him.

“The only thing on my mind when I’m training are my splits and whether or not I’m going too fast or too slow,” he said. “Usually, I’m up in the front when we’re training, so it really is kind of the same as if I had my teammates there.”

Holt has used the extra time she has had away from coaching and teaching duties to actually run more herself.

and other instructors enjoyed being able to express themselves a bit more freely. Sending videos to instructors and removing the nerves of being in front of their peers allowed for some more confidence.

“Self-expression was the most important thing to those kids,” he said. “You could see in the way they were making their recordings that they wanted it to be their style. The self-expression is what came across the most to me.”

A common issue throughout all education levels using online methods for classes, from elementary to college, is the issue of access to tools and high-speed internet. For Perrin, this proved to be the toughest challenge to bypass.

“I think the hardest part of the whole thing is access for kids because not every household is the same,” he said. “In Liberty Hill, a lot of parents are working from home, and broadband might not be great.

If kids are trying to watch videos and submit videos while mom and dad are trying to work, that’s a no go.”

Aside from access to the internet, the family situation for some students made it a challenge as well.

“Some parents are essential workers and still had to leave the house, so some of the kids had to be babysitters,” said Perrin. “Some of my seniors had to get jobs because they might have a parent out of work.”

Students are making time and putting in the effort to complete and turn in their assignments, even if it means staying late.

“A lot of students would say, ‘I can’t do anything until Saturday when my mom or dad is off the internet,’” said Perrin.

“We talked to some assistant principals, and most of the work gets done between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. because that’s when the internet is free.”

Working under the assumption that things will be back to normal for the following school year, Perrin and his fellow band instructors are creating a curriculum as they usually would. Despite going back to the standard way of things, the band director has a few things he plans to keep and incorporate into lessons.

“We’re planning for everything to be regular, but if it’s not then, we’ll adjust. We have the marching band music right now, and we’ll be pushing that out in the next week or so, and we’ll give students a schedule for fall.”

“I like to work out and I try to as much as I can,” she said. “Since all this happened, I’ve been able to run almost every day. It’s harder to run every day when school is normal because I get home late. I’ve always felt better when I get to run and work out. I think it’s important for people to stay active during this time. I know I feel better when I go outside and walk or run around my neighborhood.”

Donwerth is hopeful for a return to normalcy, but is also realistic.

“I have no idea how school and athletics will be,” she said. “I would love for those things to go back to how they used to be, but I know everything will be different.”

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BOUNDARIES was elected Secretary. “This is one of the best boards I’ve ever worked with,â€? Snell said. “They’re united in their mission and support of the school district, the teachers and the kids. I think Clint Stephenson will just carry that mission forward and I’m looking forward to working with him and the new slate of ofďŹ cers.â€?

Attendance zones set After crunching the numbers, digesting the projections and making a number of presentations to the community, the Board of Trustees approved new elementary school attendance zones for the district with the opening of Santa Rita Elementary on schedule for August. “I’d like to thank the community for the input they provided,� Snell said of the process. “We put it out there on social media and e-mail and every chance we got we talked about it. The people who gave us feedback we appreciate it.�

The district wants to balance out the student population on each campus as much as possible, but with one eye on where future growth is coming. “We deďŹ nitely don’t want to overcrowd our buildings and we want to stay ahead of the curve,â€? Snell said. “Looking at the schools we have and looking at future campuses we want to make sure we have space for our kids. Secondly, we want to limit the amount of movement a single family might have.â€?

With that one eye on future growth patterns, the plan is to open Santa Rita Elementary with about 400 students in the fall. “Looking at the high-density areas, if you take just the neighborhoods of Santa Rita South, Santa Rita North, MorningStar and Cross Creek Ranch, if we just used those neighborhoods to open Santa Rita Elementary, that would start us off – kindergarten through fourth grade – at just under 400 students,�

Snell said.

The student population will grow quickly, and opening with that smaller number has

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page 1

advantages. “Looking at the growth, that helps us with two things,�

Snell said. “It helps us ďŹ nancially on our maintenance and operations budget and it also helps us manage growth going forward in reducing the amount of movement families in those neighborhoods would have to make.â€?

The following year the plan is to add ďŹ fth grade to the elementary campuses as Liberty Hill Intermediate transitions to an elementary school, and that will impact student numbers on all campuses. “Adding ďŹ fth grade the next year Santa Rita would be projected to have 600 students, and moving forward to the 2022 school year, with the fast growth and houses being built, we would expect to have 750 students,â€? Snell said. “By the end of 2023, Santa Rita Elementary, with just those neighborhoods, would have close to 900 students.â€?

Under this plan, there will be no moving of students from Santa Rita until it gets to a point where the district has to build another school within that particular attendance boundary. “We’re using growth projections and space in our schools to limit the amount of movement a family might have,�

Snell said.

When Liberty Hill Intermediate is reopened as a ďŹ fth elementary school for the 20212022 school year, it will ease student growth district-wide. “That will help alleviate crowding and growth in Liberty Hill Elementary, Bill Burden, and the northern part of Rancho Sienna might draw toward that school as well,â€?

Snell said.

The rate of growth in Liberty Hill ISD remains high, with the 10-year projection have the district’s student population at 14,000 on the low end and 22,000 on the high end. “By 2024, we are projected to double in growth,â€? Snell said. “The slow model has us at 8,500 kids and the fastgrowth model has us at 10,000 students. If you fast-forward another ďŹ ve years they have us

Thursday, May 28, 2020

doubling again. That is incred- now was a good time to create that equity across the district,� ible to think about.�

Snell said. “As we move next year to renovate the IntermediPlayground awards The Board brought a little bit ate to convert to an elementary of shiny new fun to each Lib- we will make sure their playerty Hill elementary campus grounds are adequate as well.�

The equipment is being purwhen it voted to approve new playground equipment across chased from Hunter Knepshield, a Texas-based company the district.

The total for bringing all cam- in Plano. puses to the same level, with Geothermal issue two playgrounds per campus, Liberty Hill high School – is $379,320. “When you look at Santa Rita as well as the district’s newer Elementary, they have brand campuses – uses a geothermal new playground equipment, HVAC system for energy efďŹ and now that we’re adding ciency.

In a geothermal HVAC sysďŹ fth grade we’ve got it where there is a primary playground tem, an electrically powered for pre-K through ďŹ rst grade heat pump cycles uid, usually and then you’ve got an up- water or refrigerant, through per-elementary playground,â€? long loops of underground Snell said of the plans for the pipes. This process is how heat is transferred from ambient air new campus.

But playground concerns in the building to the ground have been brought up at oth- and vice versa.

While it is a long-term cost er campuses as well, with Rancho Sienna and Bill Bur- saving measure that increases den each have only one play- energy efďŹ ciency for the camground that doesn’t ďŹ t the need puses, Liberty Hill ISD has run for all age groups and Liberty into an issue with the system Hill Elementary is battling age at the high school because the underground piping was placed with its two playgrounds. “Liberty Hill Elementary’s too close to the current building playgrounds are actually both to accommodate for expansion. “Basically when the building outdated,â€? Snell said. “They have two but they both are past was designed they put geotheir lifespan in our opinion.â€? thermal ďŹ elds around most of The opportunity arose to get a the school right up against the discount for outďŹ tting all cam- school building,â€? Snell said. puses the same, and with an es- “Our opinion was when this timated $2 million in savings high school was built there projected so far on the 2018 were at least drawings and the bond package, administrators notion it was going to expand thought this was a good time and we knew where expansion to bring the opportunity to the was going to be based on the land and layout of the school.â€?

Board.

Now that it is time to add on, “One of the beneďŹ ts of hiring a Casey Sledge for us is he there will be additional cost is able to realize a lot of cost to moving and reconďŹ guring savings for us, so I felt it was a those systems. “Now that we’re expanding time to bring to the board that we’ve saved money on projects the high school, the fact that and we have a chance to spend those geothermal wells were money that will touch every put there it would be a cost to elementary student in the dis- the school district to move and trict and provide some equity, reconďŹ gure them,â€? Snell said. “We’ve asked the question of at least in playgrounds.â€?

The issue has been one Snell why weren’t those designed said many parents bring up in with the future in mind so we discussions about their con- wouldn’t have to incur that excerns at the district’s elemen- pense again?�

Following discussions with tary schools. “We’ve gotten a lot of feed- Huckabee, the district’s archiback on the inequity of those tect for the original high school playgrounds so we thought project and the current expan-

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sion, the district has been assured that both Huckabee and construction manager Bartlett Cocke will assist in correcting the issue.

In an e-mail to Snell following discussions of the issue, Huckabee’s Will Smith said, “While some room was initially planned to be reserved for future expansions, this was not enough room to expand the classroom wings to the extent the District would like to expand today. We are working with Bartlett Cocke to break out the cost of what it’s going to take to relocate the geothermal lines for these new additions. We will compare that cost to the cost if those geothermal lines had been pushed farther out to begin with. (If those lines had been pushed farther out to begin with, the

original HS project would’ve bid a little higher). Once we have those two numbers, we will assess the damage done to the District. Any damage caused will be taken care of by Huckabee and Bartlett Cocke.

We will do the right thing and own any damage caused by us.�

No one has identiďŹ ed how the issue was overlooked or missed in the original planning. “I can’t speculate on why, but I feel it is my job and the board’s job to ask those questions and push the people we work with to make the most of taxpayer money,â€? Snell said. “So we have asked the questions and Huckabee has been good to offer some resolution in that area.â€?

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