2021
Volume 34, Issue 30
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
LH Police ask for two sergeant positions, vehicles in new budget
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer The Liberty Hill Police Department asked for two new sergeant positions and three new fully-equipped police vehicles for the 2021-22 fiscal year during a special budget meeting with the Liberty Hill City Council on June 9. Police Chief Royce Graeter said his department needs two new sergeants for a number of reasons, including always having a supervisor on duty. “We currently have two sergeants, and we’re asking for two more,” Graeter said. “Having additional sergeants allows a supervisor to be on at all times. Right now, if something happens when one of our sergeants is off, our officers have to call and wake them up.” He added that having a sergeant on duty at all times will also boost officer safety because a sergeant will always The Liberty Hill Police Department is requesting funds in fiscal 2021 for three new fully-equipped patrol vehicles and two new See POLICE, Page 4 positions with the rank of sergeant. (Courtesy Photos)
June 17, 2021 | 50 Cents
City considers solutions for wastewater treatment plant odor
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer Ongoing complaints of odors coming from the Liberty Hill wastewater treatment plant have prompted city officials to investigate potential solutions for mitigating those odors. The treatment plant has been open since 2006. An expansion project on the plant began approximately four years ago and is set to be finished in July. Backing up directly to the wastewater treatment is the Grayson subdivision, which first started building homes in 2017. Residents in that neighborhood have been complaining about the odors emitting from the plant since at least 2019. City Administrator Lacie Hale gave an update and City officials believe most of the odors coming from the wastetimeline from public works water treatment plant are originating in the headworks box, which is where effluent comes into the plant to be treated. See ODOR, Page 5 (Courtesy Photo)
Downtown COVID testing site still open 300 tests per month administered at Liberty Hill location
By SCOTT AKANEWICH Staff Writer Anyone passing by Water Tower Parking Lot on Loop 332 in downtown Liberty Hill can clearly see the blue banner flapping in the breeze. Curative is continuing to maintain their COVID-19 testing site in the shadow of the old concrete water tower a stone’s throw south of City Hall, administering approximately 300 tests per month since the site was opened in March. According to Jamil Sabbagh, Curative general manager of field operations, the location was selected following a study of where it would be most suitable to serve its purpose. “We had our growth team go out and survey different places,” said Sabbagh. “This site was handed along to us and we hopped right on board.”
Sabbagh said part of the process of determining where to set up is getting proper clearance from local officials. “We can’t just set up someplace,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts.” COVID tests are available free of charge, with the cost billed directly to insurance providers, while the uninsured are covered by the Health Resources and Services Administration Coverage Assistance Fund. Each COVID test is capable of detecting different variants of the virus. Appointments are available, but walk-ups are also accepted. In all, there are 77 test sites across Texas, with the nearest additional locations being in Georgetown and Round Rock, although as the pandemic
Coverage, 3rd Place; Feature Photography, 4th Place; and Feature Writing, 4th Place. “As professional journalists, being recognized by our peers is a high honor. And the achievements made in so many categories across such a wide spectrum is evidence that our team of highly-qualified and experienced journalists, designers and photographers are not only committed to the profession, but committed to our community,” said Shelly Wilkison, publisher of The Independent and President of Texas Independent News Corp., which owns the
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer In a regular meeting that lasted for over four and a half hours on June 9, the Liberty Hill City Council discussed 20 different agenda items, but only made decisive motions on a handful of those. A motion to appoint the Bojorquez Law Firm as the interim city attorney passed. City Administrator Lacie Hale said because city council meetings were recently changed from Monday evenings to Wednesday evenings, the previous attorney couldn’t make the new schedule work. Bojorquez Law Firm has worked with the City in the past and will be on board until the council moves forward with a hiring and recruiting firm to hire an in-house attorney. The law firm will bill the City $285 per hour for its services. The Council also rescinded a resolution to purchase a “command vehicle” pickup truck for the Liberty Hill Police Department, and instead approved a resolution to purchase a 2022 Tahoe and equipment for three police vehicles at a cost of $101,018. City Treasurer Becky Wilkins said this change was made because it was going to take at least eight months for the requested truck to be available, which seemed unrealistic, so instead it was decided to purchase the Tahoe. The
See AWARDS, Page 5
See COUNCIL, Page 7
SCOTT AKANEWICH PHOTO
Curative’s downtown Liberty Hill COVID-19 testing site will remain open as long as there is a See TESTING, Page 4 need in the community.
The Independent sweeps Texas newspaper contest
The Liberty Hill Independent won the distinguished Sweepstakes award for its division at the Texas Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest June 12 at the association’s annual convention in Denton. The Independent, in continuous publication for 34 years, earned 775 points to win the Sweepstakes award — outdistancing the nearest competitor by 200 points. The Texas Better Newspaper ©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
Contest was judged by journalists from the Wisconsin Press Association. Ninety Texas newspapers competed in the contest submitting 934 total entries that were published from Sept. 1, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2020. To win the Sweepstakes award, The Independent earned the most number of points across a spectrum of categories in its circulation division, including the following: Column Writing, 1st Place; Editorial, 1st Place; Headline Writing, 1st Place; News Writing, 1st Place; Advertising, 2nd Place; Page Design, 2nd Place; Sports Photography, 2nd Place; News Photography, 3rd Place; Sports
Plenty of talk, few decisions at Council meeting