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2020
Volume 33, Issue 31
City preps for July 3 festival
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer As July 4th approaches, the City of Liberty Hill is working to provide a fun and safe environment for its annual Independence Day celebration, set for Friday, July 3. With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing and the pandemic still prominent in people’s minds, City staff say they are taking precautions to keep things sanitized and people socially distant, all while giving them a fun experience. “We know people want to have this festival and are ready to continue living. What’s a better time to celebrate our freedom than Fourth of July,” said City Events Coordinator Katie Amsler. “We want to do it, and we’ve taken every precaution we can. We’re working closely with the health district to make sure we’re following protocol.” Because of a lack of parking, there will be shuttles to get to and from the event, but precautions have been put in place to help reduce the risk on the buses, Amsler said. People showing signs of being sick cannot ride the shuttle. “The shuttle buses will all have a sanitizing station on them. Face masks are required on shuttles,” said Amsler. “As of last week, we were highly encouraging masks, but we require them with the numbers going up.
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You can help local charities make a difference
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Whether it’s providing food and clothing to someone down on their luck, helping school organizations raise funds, caring for those who can’t care for themselves, comforting a family in distress, or helping someone who has experienced trauma, the vital role that charitable organizations play in the Liberty Hill community cannot be understated. The Liberty Hill Day of Giving is a 24-hour fundraiser that encourages the community to donate and help these organizations in their missions to improve the lives of others. This year’s event – the third since it began in 2018 – is Friday, and the seven organizations involved hope to build on a young tradition that has raised more than $70,000 in its first two years. Operation Liberty Hill At Operation Liberty Hill (OLH), making sure people are clothed, fed, and cared about is the core of the mission. As a mother of three facing financial hardship, Samantha Webb is grateful to have a place like OLH to help her and her family make it through a tough situation. “It’s helped us put groceries on the table for almost a year now,” she said. “The summer snack program has been really helpful. My kids love looking forward to the treats in them.” A common assumption is that people who seek the aid of a food pantry are poor, borderline homeless, or don’t work. But frequently the situation is more complicated than that.
Grounded
Inspection question creates Wetzel Park headache
(ABOVE LEFT) Hope House provides a forever home for residents with severe disabilities. (ABOVE RIGHT) Operation Liberty Hill feeds children who may miss out on meals when school is out with their summer snack program. (Courtesy Photos)
(ABOVE LEFT) The Public Library hosts events throughout the year to help keep children engaged and learning. (ABOVE RIGHT) L4 Cares provides comfort and aid for families of terminally ill children. (Courtesy Photos) Webb’s husband is employed, “We didn’t qualify for food Liberty Hill means you’re but with money stretched stamps, and we needed help.” helping your neighbor who thin; the family needs a little The help from OLH comes you may not know is strughelp. with no judgment and lots of gling.” L4 Cares “My husband lost his job, understanding. and we unexpectedly ended “They’re great. They greet L4 Cares is an organization up pregnant with our third me with such loving, caring with a mission to help “the child. That put us in the eyes. It doesn’t feel like judg- least, the last, the lost, and the working poor category when ment, and they’re always so lonely.” One of the most essential he found a job, but it wasn’t sweet to the kids,” Webb said paying the bills like the pre- of the staff and volunteers at vious one was,” Webb said. OLH. “Helping Operation See GIVING, Page 4
BUSINESS
Sabino’s Pizza Pub serves up authentic pies, thanks to ‘pizza purist’ owner
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer David Sabino has been making Italian food—namely pizza— since he was just a kid. Thanks to his Italian grandfather, who spent every Sunday teaching Sabino how to make different authentic meals, Sabino’s love for Italian food runs deep. It’s also what spurred him to fulfill his dream of opening his own pizza pub last September. Sabino, who owns the pub with his wife, Amber, moved his family to Texas from Illinois in 2014. They first landed in New Braunfels, then moved to Austin, and finally, made their way to Leander. “It’s been a dream of mine to open a pizza shop, but life has gotten in the way, whether
See SABINO’S, Page 6
June 25, 2020 | 50 Cents
RACHEL MADISON PHOTO
David Sabino, along with his daughter and employee, Brenae Ellis, stretches pizza dough to prepare for the evening rush of pizza orders. Sabino’s makes all its dough, sauce and bread in house.
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Across the dais Monday, City Council members showed visible frustration with the circumstances that have held up the opening of Wetzel Park and the City’s new splash pad. The issue is an inspection that was not conducted before the cement was poured for the pad to insure proper grounding for the splash pad. “The reason we had to do all this was there was an inspection that was missed during the construction of the splash pad,” said Mayor Rick Hall. “Because it was missed prior to the pouring of the concrete we had to do all these items here (referring to the list of actions taken by the City) to understand if it was bonded correctly or not.” The absence of a documented inspection has left the City not knowing if required “deck bonding” – which is when bonding clamps are used on rebar within the foundation to reduce voltage gradients in the area – was completed properly. Contractors claim the work was completed, but no inspection was done, even after City Inspector Jonny Ubelhor reminded contractors on-site when they showed up to pour the concrete that the inspection needed to be done first. And none of the companies and contractors involved were willing to accept liability. In nearly an hour and a half of explanation from City staff, the Council heard details on what happened and what could now be done to resolve the issue.
See COUNCIL, Page 4
EDC approves incentive package for Higginbotham
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The Liberty Hill Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and City Council have welcomed Higginbotham Brothers – a new business focused on hardware, lumber and building materials – to town with an incentive package intended to help the company settle in faster. “There are a lot of extraordinary circumstances going on in the economy right now,” said EDC Interim Executive Director Matt Powell. “There are unprecedented things going on with Paycheck Protection Plans and Williamson County grants and all this stuff. I think the general climate right now is wanting to support small businesses. I’m not saying they were going to delay their plans, but I saw
that as a definite possibility because if I were in their shoes that’s what I’d be looking at. Through this investment we wanted to support them and encourage them to build, get open and hire as many people as possible.” Mayor Rick Hall indicated that Higginbotham Brothers had reached out to him and he felt a package would make sense. “I was actually contacted initially by the company,” Hall said. “I felt like this was a good incentive package for the EDC. I contacted EDC to see if they would be interested in doing this and they were and took off with it.” The incentive package, passed unanimously by both the EDC and Council, grants
See INCENTIVES, Page 3