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2020

Volume 33, Issue 36

LHISD delays school opening

COVID-19 cases down slightly in past week

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor One more piece of the backto-school puzzle is in place as LHISD Superintendent Steve announced Monday that the district would allow students to attend school in person or participate in online instruction from the first day of school.

To ensure the district is ready for students on time, he also said the start of school would be delayed one week to Aug. 27.

Liberty Hill ISD launched its back-to-school website – Return to Learn – where parents can find all of the district’s information on changes for the upcoming school year, safety measures in place, new policies and curriculum information.

See OPENING, Page 5

www.LHIndependent.com

News@LHIndependent.com

July 30, 2020 | 50 Cents

Liberty Hill capital improvement funds in short supply

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The Liberty Hill City Council learned Monday that the availability of funds for completion of current – and consideration of future – capital improvement projects appears extremely limited, but there were plenty of explanations why.

The lack of available funds means until more bonds are sold there is no money for the planned swim center or any other potential projects currently being discussed.

Council member Tony DeYoung requested more information on the status of projects and available funds after questions were raised at the July 13 meeting. The last overview the Council received in public regarding capital improvement projects was in October 2019.

City Finance Director Becky Wilkins gave the update Monday on what has been expended on projects com-

pared to the original budget, and told Council members the City has $710,319 available left to spend from the $3 million bond.

But only 20 minutes before Wilkins’ presentation the Council voted to move forward with plans to realign the intersection of Loop 332 and CR279 downtown with an estimated price tag of $840,254.

Then, less than 30 minutes after the presentation, the Council obligated another proposed $750,000 to build a community center on downtown property recently purchased from Williamson County. Neither of these projects were included in the accounting of expended and available capital improvement funds.

Council member Kathy Canady asked Wilkins what her preference or suggestion would be on how to handle the projects.

“We don’t have enough money to finish the projects we

Plans are moving forward to realign the intersection of Loop 332 and CR 279 downtown to create a three-way stop and improve traffic safety at the intersection. The estimated cost of the project is $840,254. (Courtesy Graphic) need to finish waiting on grants UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: or waiting on this or that to fall Why was the municipal court remodel more than $130,000 into place,” Wilkins said. “It over budget? doesn’t mean they’re not going to happen, but with COVID evWhy were bond funds, which were earmarked for the swim erything is just running slow.” center, spent elsewhere?

The lack of funds was attributed to three things – unanWhat is the cost of the downtown parking lot on the old ticipated costs, cost overruns, washateria property? and what a number of Council members characterized as What is the status of the City Transportation Plan? a lack of planning by the past city administration.

Because of the City of Liberty Hill’s lack of communication with The

See PROJECTS, Page 6

Independent, these are questions that can’t be answered through documents or attendance at City meetings.

Pool of cash dwindles for City’s swim center

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor A decision on which swim center plan to move forward with – if any – was delayed again by the City Council Monday in favor of future discussion, but how it would be funded continues to become a bigger hurdle.

Rather than choose between one of two options on the table – the plan approved by Council in early 2019 or the new version proposed by Mayor Rick Hall in early July – a workshop was set for Aug. 20 for the Parks Board and City Council to meet together to discuss the options further. Council member Kathy Canady suggested that Tim Dean, who has planned and overseen a number of municipal pool projects, join the discussion to help the

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: Why did the price tag of the proposed swim center increase more than $300,000?

Why wasn’t the money earmarked for the project held back for completion of the swim center?

Because of the City of Liberty Hill’s lack of communication with The Independent, these are questions that can’t be answered through documents or attendance at City meetings.

Council reach a conclusion.

“We’ve had someone volunteer to come and speak to the Council, and hopefully the Parks Board, and they have The City Council and Parks Board will participate in a workshop to discuss the pros and cons of the two swim center options on the table. One, with a splash pad (above left), was approved in March 2019 by the Council, and the other (above right), proposed See POOL, Page 4 by Mayor Rick Hall has a kiddie pool in place of the splash pad and some other more-simplified features. (Courtesy Graphics)

New details become public on Hall’s police ride alongs

By SHELLY WILKISON Publisher A former Liberty Hill police officer said that footage taken from his body camera, which was provided by the City of Liberty Hill to The Independent recently as part of an Open Records Request, is not complete.

After watching the video posted on the newspaper’s website, Jeffrey Farmer, who was the driver of the police vehicle during a pursuit on Oct. 4, ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent

2018, said there is more to the video than what was provided to The Independent. Mayor Rick Hall, who was Farmer’s front-seat passenger that night, was participating in a ride along.

According to a grievance filed in April by former Police Chief Maverick Campbell, the Mayor’s behavior during the ride along was first noticed by Lt. Jeff Ringstaff following a request from the FBI for the Liberty Hill Police Department to share all video of the incident. Campbell said Ringstaff alerted him to the video. After watching it, he directed Ringstaff to send all video to the FBI as requested.

“The Mayor was seen and heard in the body camera footage using profanity towards other agencies as to why they weren’t there to help, made some very inappropriate comments and is seen accessing the mobile computer terminal as an unauthorized user,” Campbell wrote.

Hall has repeatedly denied all of the allegations cited in the grievance.

The Independent officially requested an interview with Hall and Ringstaff regarding the content of the video, but through the City’s attorney, the request was denied on

See RIDE, Page 6

Community Center gets green light

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor The old county barn, on property purchased by the City from Williamson County in 2019, may soon get a facelift as the City Council approved initial plans to turn the building into a new community center for Liberty Hill.

The Council voted unanimously Monday to move forward with the project, and send it out for bid.

“It looks a lot different from what that county barn looks like now,” said Mayor Rick Hall as he shared plans with the Council. “We asked them to do a phase one and phase two, phase one being redoing the current building and phase two will be extending it.”

The building will have a predominately rock facade, and

will have an open meeting area that can be divided, along with two kitchens, storage and restrooms. According to the plans shared Monday, the maximum occupancy will be 217.

In January, the Council approved an architectural proposal for the community center planned for downtown and agreed to pay EA Architecture and Planning of Georgetown $19,975 to do the design work, manage bidding, and contract administration for the project.

The agreement includes both phases of design and engineering work for the project.

Originally, Hall said the hope was to secure a grant for the project by creating an emergency shelter, but instead, Hall said the former county barn on the property will be refur-

bished for the project.

Once completed, the center will offer a new home to the Over the Hill Gang, and allow its current home behind Parker’s Market to be turned into downtown parking.

The 30-foot by 45-foot structure on the site now will be redone in the first phase of the project, with an expansion planned later. Hall said in January he expected the price tag of both phases together to be about $500,000, but the estimate Monday was near $750,000.

As part of the Council’s capital improvement project review Monday, Finance Director Becky Wilkins told the Council there was $710,319 in available bond funds.

See COUNCIL, Page 6

Page 2

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Parents meet with LHISD police to discuss safety, security

Our caring, professional staff is focused on keeping your family healthy. And like you, we live in Liberty Hill and are working to make a difference in our hometown. From coaching youth sports teams, sponsoring community events and contributing to local causes, your hometown pediatric clinic is investing in Liberty Hill.

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer A group of parents from the Santa Rita Ranch community recently met with LHISD Police Chief Sharif Mezayek to discuss safety and security.

The small gathering was held at the HUB activity area located just across from the new Santa Rita Elementary School.

Organizing parent Steven Dufour said, “this is an excellent chance for people to see a community working together.”

During the meeting, Chief Mezayek shared ways that the department would be working to keep students safe, including the development of a safety committee.

“We will create a safety committee, and we’re going to be asking for some parents to sit on the board,” said Mezayek.

One parent inquired about the protocol for lockdown situations and what role parents play in that situation.

“We don’t want parents to flood in when we’re trying to figure out what’s going on in that situation,” said Mezayek.

“If there is a situation where we have to lock the school down, we’ll notify the parents, and there will be a process. When something like that first happens, there’s a lot of stuff going on in the background. We

certainly don’t want parents to flood the area if we have to get an emergency vehicle in there.”

One of the more sobering topics discussed by Mezayek is what happens if there is an active shooter situation.

“If we ever have an active shooter, we’re going to have officers from all over the county and probably up to three counties,” he said. “We’re asking everybody from kids to parents to say something if

they see something. It’s better to be safe instead of finding out later after an investigation that there were signs out there, and nobody reached out or said anything.”

Mezayek emphasized that their goal with the kids isn’t to treat them like criminals; it’s to counsel and help them avoid making bad decisions that can get them in trouble with the law.

“We do a whole lot of education. Forty-five percent of

what we do is education, 45 percent is counseling, and 10 percent is actual law enforcement,” he said. “We try to steer these kids in the right direction and teach them not how to offend on campus.”

At the end of the discussion, some of the children in attendance with their parents presented Mezayek with handmade thank you cards.

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Santa Rita Ranch residents are starting a Neighborhood Watch after a series of vehicle break-ins over the first months of summer.

“I was the one who organized it,” said resident Steven Dufour. “It was a reaction to a series of break-ins in June both in the North and South.”

Dufour was cautious, not setting expectations too high on whether neighbors would immediately take to the watch.

“It’s hard to say with those kinds of things because people just talk and may not want to do anything about things,” he said. “I was hopeful, but real-

istically I expected a minimal response.”

For the first meeting, Dufour had representatives from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in attendance to walk residents through the way a neighborhood watch operates.

To the organizer’s surprise, the turnout was more than expected.

“It turned out to be an extremely positive reaction in our neighborhood,” said Dufour. “In our first meeting that also included Deputy Kreidel from the Williamson County Sheriff’s department, we had 48 people show up.”

Meetings will be bi-monthly, and Dufour will be sharing a

newsletter for the community monthly. The watch is meant to enhance safety and also allow neighbors to get to know one another.

“The purpose of the neighborhood watch is to get to know your neighbors, but also lessen the likelihood you’ll be hit by simple crime such as theft from your home or theft from your automobile,” he said.

“So, it’s multifaceted as far as the goals go. We want you to meet your neighbors, create a safe environment, and create a happier environment.”

When coming up with the idea, Dufour wanted to make sure what he was organizing wasn’t a citizen patrol.

“Initially, I did some research online, and I saw things such as the citizens on patrol, which is when you go through proper training. People from whatever neighborhood go around patrolling, and that wasn’t the idea that I had,” said Dufour.

“Because a lot of bad can come from that. So, eventually, I got the Williamson County contact number for Deputy Kreidel. He called me up, and we discussed what I envisioned and what he could assist with, and that ended up being the watch.”

With the opening of the new Santa Rita Elementary School next month, safety is a high priority for Dufour and the neighborhood residents.

“It’s extremely important, and this past Tuesday, we had LHISD Police Chief (Sharif) Mazayek come out and talk to the neighborhood. He couldn’t say enough good things about having a neighborhood watch,” said Dufour. “There’s a lot of kids in this neighborhood and a lot of kids going to that elementary school.”

ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO

Liberty Hill ISD Police Chief Sharif Mezayek met with several families in the Santa Rita community to discuss safety and security in the schools as the school year gets closer.

Santa Rita begins Neighborhood Watch

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OPINION Government, like a gun, can be used for good, depends on intentions

By WILT CUTTER Columnist We live in a time where those who volunteer to run for office in order to work for us now want to be paid. And to be paid by us, the taxpayers. We live in a time where those same elected volunteers now want to extend their time in their role of paid volunteering so they don’t have to bother with silly campaigns or elections or have to ask you for your vote.

This should send conservatives to the voting booths in droves to drain the Liberty Hill swamp and find new volunteers who don’t want to be paid for volunteering and who don’t mind asking for your vote every two years. On Nov. 3, we’ll see if anyone cares.

To add to the weirdness of whatever is in the drinking water at City Hall there has also arisen the opinion that the government not only belongs to those temporary stewards of the public’s interest and trust but is also personified within their actual physical and spiritual beings.

Not since Henry Vlll have we seen such walking deities among us.

Ask any two-year old and they know who they are: “me.” They’ll point backwards to themselves. They are a person. They are not a government.

Back in the caves, right after humans began swinging down from the trees and inventing things like art and language they began forming governments to help with the Hierarchy of Human needs and such. Governments are an operational way to collectively do the things we need done but don’t have the time to do for ourselves or can do better by pooling our resources.

They were never designed to become the secret weapons of those we trusted to volunteer

to be elected representatives.

Our government is supposed to be of and for the people.

For example, down the street right now there is a great deal of noise. It sounds like two grownups started out discussing the Free Will of mankind and their relationship to our Lord and Savior.

This said discussion has now moved past the philosophical debate and moved into the yard full of once ice-cold empty aluminum cans. It sounds like the discussion has taken a turn toward the personal. If it doesn’t settle down before bedtime I will have to call Liberty Hill’s Finest to ask them to turn down the Skynyrd and wait until tomorrow to continue this very important symposium about the human condition.

Calling the police is an example of what government can do for us. Two generations ago I would have had to pick up a piece of self-protection and go down there and intervene because asking the Sheriff to come all the way out here from Georgetown to ask two relatives to calm their political, religious and Milwaukee’s Best Light discussions would have been an irrational waste of taxpayers’ resources.

But now we are a real City.

We have licensed, trained peace officers with real badges who actually know how to deescalate situations that we civilians might make worse.

We are a real city and we can’t just drive around with a few shovels and a half a load of hot mix in our pickup trucks and help the elderly ladies of Liberty Hill by patching the potholes on the street.

Same with water and sewer lines and used refrigerators in the front lawn. You can’t just go outside and build an extra bedroom onto the side of the house. There are rules now. We now have someone to call.

I think it’s probably better this way. A lot of my friends remember fondly the days

of fighting pasture fires and drinking cold beers and turning up the cassette tapes in the pickups and listening to real music. Time moves on and the music is clearer now anyway.

School districts are a government, too. So whether we are hiring a school superintendent, football coach or someone to teach math problems or diagram sentences, I want the best we can get. Thank goodness our school board members still believe they are volunteer governmental officials doing the most important work for our community’s future without pay. And they seem to be okay with putting their name on the ballot every so often and asking us to critique their public service with an election. Thank you!

Funny thing is that in contrast to city politicians, who seem interested in consolidating political power by surrounding themselves with only those who agree with them, the schools seem to be the last place in our community where it’s really all about the kids, the parents, and the taxpayers/voters. I see healthy discussion and even disagreement inside the school district where having different opinions still seems to be okay.

There, voices seem to matter, criticism seems expected and common ground is sought versus the constant upheaval of firings and forcing employees to take sides.

Government is like a gun.

It can be something used for good, to protect and defend and liberate. It just depends on in whose hands it rests.

With nefarious intent government can wound a community, bully the weak, rob resources and destroy lives.

Wilt Cutter claims to be the only man in the Free World whose name is his profession.

Wilt’s typewriter hates injustice. He is a man who finds beauty in the people and the naturally occurring poetry of the Shin Oak Ridge of Texas.

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EDITORIAL:

News not defined by government

The relationship between the news media and government has always been a colorful one. It is full of ups and downs, and despite good intentions – often on both sides – there can be a fair amount of animosity and tension.

The goal is to aspire to a professional relationship that can be maintained in even the most strained of circumstances. Mutually respectful relationships are not built on being friends, they are based on honesty and understanding of the role the other plays in the community.

The City of Liberty Hill has made the decision to shun The Independent – in many ways severing that professional relationship – choosing only to share what it is bound by law to share.

There are no interviews to be had as Mayor Rick Hall informed The Independent on the day he threatened legal action against the paper that all communications between the paper and City would go through the City Attorney. Ultimately, that statement meant the City would no longer answer questions from the community’s newspaper.

Mayor Hall believes the City doesn’t need the newspaper to report on its actions and decisions.

That’s enough reason for pause in itself.

But perhaps the City of Liberty Hill can meet the objective needs of the community and share the pros and cons of every decision. Perhaps the government can explain its decision-making process, include costs, and share the not so savory news about something that doesn’t go quite right.

We are sure the City was more than ready to explain why a pool has not been built, why the splash pad was delayed in opening, why there were cost overruns on the municipal court building project, and explain the costly changes to the water treatment plant expansion. The City would surely regularly update the community through social media on how many employees it has hired, how many vehicles it has purchased and how much money is involved. Perhaps the public can expect the City to soon be posting its expense and revenue reports online to circumvent the newspaper.

Tuesday, the City of Liberty Hill Facebook page made two announcements regarding a pair of projects. Conspicuously absent from those posts was any information about costs.

If a couple of sentences on social media at the government’s convenience – if the government deems it newsworthy – meets the definition of news, then the City has you covered.

If accepting the information the government chooses to share without more depth, context or questions is enough to feel your elected officials are acting in your best interest and serving as good stewards of your tax money, then the City has you covered.

Access to public officials has long been an important check on government in this country, and Liberty Hill is only a microcosm of that.

Hall and others on the Council like to elude to or imply shady deals and a lack of transparency in increasing mentions of the failures of “past administrations.”

But 15 months ago, The Independent could call any department in the City to seek more information on an issue. We could discuss master plans, annexation, building schematics, public finance and public safety with anyone on staff,

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any member of the Council or the Mayor. That is no longer the case.

After repeated requests for interviews on City issues such as the budget, sales tax revenues and the variety of issues discussed at Council meetings, City Attorney Tad Cleaves responded Monday with his explanation of the current state of communication.

“Tonight’s meeting, as all Council meetings have been, is open to the press and to the public.

Hopefully you will get the information you are looking for on agenda items through the presentations, Council discussion and written records.

If the meeting packets have not been provided to you, we will make sure to get them to you in a timely fashion.

“Whether Mayor Hall chooses to grant interviews is just that: his choice. In this era of social media, the Mayor has the ability to fulfill his duty to keep the public informed directly through the use of the City’s various internet outlets, which, in addition to being focused on the actual message, reach a wider audience than the Independent without a paywall. It is understandable that losing access to printable quotes from the Mayor can be frustrating, but surely his reticence to speak to you is equally understandable given the quotes that have been attributed to him by others in the Independent. Granting or not granting interviews is not a matter of ‘possibility.’ It is a matter of trust. Until some trust is regained that the stories about Mayor Hall that published in the Independent are based on more than rumors, I would anticipate the Mayor using alternative platforms to communicate with the people of Liberty Hill.”

The explanation reinforced the previously unspoken message that because Mayor Hall is unhappy with the reporting of The Independent he will no longer talk to the paper and will instead share the “news” of the City in other ways.

While it is not critical to the issue, it is worth noting that this seems to be about “the stories about Mayor Hall.” There is much more The Independent reports on than the actions of Mayor Hall. But he has refused to grant the newspaper access to staff or himself based on his personal feelings about the newspaper. Refusing to discuss public projects and policy that impacts tax-paying citizens over a personal conflict is hardly justified in his role as Mayor.

Reporters know they will not always have a pleasant relationship with government officials.

They know sometimes they will not have one at all with certain individuals. But to not have one with an entire city government over one elected official’s objections is new.

So The Independent is relegated to reporting what is said in a public meeting, and what information it receives through open records requests in a delayed response.

From now on, the questions that go unanswered will be noted in each story published on City business so that the community is aware of the holes The Independent sees in a story. Such missing information does not imply something is being done wrong, it simply notes it is not being explained or given context. If the community doesn’t care about the answer, then the question will continue to go unanswered, but the role of the media has always been – and always will be – to ask the questions.

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

OOL Continued from Page 1 County enters third phase P about 35 years of communi- the original proposed price tag ty-type pool (experience) so was an estimate from Halff of WilCo Forward they can look at both plans,” Associates, and that when the

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer As the pandemic enters its fifth month, Williamson County is moving into the next phase of the WilCo Forward plan, an ongoing effort to offset COVID-19’s financial impacts on the community.

The plan is funded by $5 million from Community Development Block Grant funds and the county’s approximately $93 million in federal CARES Act funds.

Phase one of the program focused on small businesses. The County issued 3,662 checks for more than $34.2 million.

Between May 6 and June 30, the county auditor’s office received 4,194 applications from businesses. The average grant depended on a business’ status – whether it was entirely shut down or just partially closed.

“Our priority was to help small businesses. That’s why we started with phase one, to help the small businesses as much as we could during the difficult time of having to shut down. Even if it was just partially,” said Williamson County Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey. “That was an impact on their livelihood. We know that if small businesses and businesses, in general, are doing well, then I believe taxing entities and other governmental entities will be fine.”

Phase two of the program helped reimburse un-budgeted costs for departments in cities around the county. Cities will receive a total of $20 million.

Emergency Service Districts will get $500,000. The cities of Hutto, Jollyville, Weir, Florence, Jarrell, Sam Bass, and Liberty Hill have received reimbursement checks.

The Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) is set to receive $1 million. Bluebonnet Trails will get $500,000, and the YMCA can expect up to $750,000.

“After phase one, we wanted to make sure that our various taxing entities that had spent a lot of additional money, which was not budgeted, were reimbursed not to put them in a bad place,” said Covey.

The third phase focuses on helping citizens of Williamson County with rent and utilities through an agreement between the County and The Caring Place, The Salvation Army, and the Round Rock Serving Center. The three agencies will be reimbursed by the county to provide rent and utility assistance to residents through Dec. 30.

“Phase three is to assist with rental and utility assistance temporarily,” said Covey.

“The federal government has given out the extra amount of workers comp, $600 additional funds for unemployment. We started to plan this because we knew that would be ending at the end of July. We wanted to make sure we had something in place that could help folks with rent and utilities during COVID.” To receive aid, residents must live in Williamson County.

Rent amount is based on the lease agreement plus late fees for up to three months. Approved applicants must request additional funds every month on an as-needed basis, up to $1500 of assistance. Applicants must show evidence that their support is needed because of COVID-19.

The following are the service areas for each organization.

• Round Rock Area Serving Center: Round Rock, Austin (within Williamson County), Brushy Creek/Fern Bluff MUD, Hutto areas outside of Georgetown ISD • The Caring Place: Georgetown, Andice, Bartlett, Florence, Granger, Jarrell, Jonah, Schwertner, Walburg, Weir, Hutto areas within Georgetown ISD • The Salvation Army: Cedar Park, Coupland, Leander, Liberty Hill, Taylor, Thrall, and all other areas of Williamson County not served by the other two agencies “This is a short-term solution.

What’s the best help long-term is to have things open back up with jobs,” she said. “But in the meantime, this assistance for rent and utilities is important, and we’re trying to use this money for that.”

Canady said. “I think it would be in our best interest. This is not a man who is going to make us pay him to come give us his expertise. It’s a man who is currently working with the City of Cedar Park who has 35-plus years experience in community pools. There are a lot of things he brought to my attention that we might need to look into, and we have time.”

The previously approved project was voted on by the Council in Spring 2019, and at the time had a price tag of $1.35 million after factoring in a $500,000 grant from Texas Parks & Wildlife. Mayor Rick Hall said that project now has a price tag of $2.19 million, an estimate also provided by Halff Associates who designed the project.

With the grant, that would mean the City would be funding about $1.7 million of the new projected cost. No explanation was given on how the estimate increased more than $300,000.

Hall’s suggested alternative resembles a plan he proposed in October, which the Council rejected at that time.

He emphasized this time the shrinking of the building in the project, and simplifying some other parts.

“The building design is, and this is a comment from the engineer, the building design is way too large as far as the equipment space room, the chemical space room. He said you’ll probably use 25-30 percent of that for the pumps and equipment for the pool, so there’s a lot of additional cost in that.”

He said the simpler proposal made it more affordable.

The second plan includes a smaller building, no zero entry, and replaces the splash pad with a kiddie pool.

The new plan is proposed at just over $1.5 million based on projections from Halff Associates.

At either price, how the project would be funded has become a key question.

Former City Administrator Greg Boatright confirmed that

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Parks Board Chair Mary Lyn Jones reminded the Council that the swim center project has been a work in progress since 2016, and asked that the current plan be kept in place.

“The Parks Board has always been open for discus-

A survey conducted by The Independent last week on social media showed that 84 percent of the 444 respondents favored moving forward with the swim center plan approved in 2019.

In March 2019, the city

City sold $3 million in bonds in early 2019, the funds were budgeted for and intended for the roundabout project, swim center and some other downtown parking “...But the more projects that I’ve seen come to our projects.

Despite the board, the more I saw the same scenario over and over. previously apThe scenario was one City Council and Mayor would proved plan, come in, they would help us, we would get a project Hall implied that the fund- going, it would start forming and look like it was coming ing issue with to fruition. Then the Council and or the Mayor would the swim center change and they wouldn’t see it the same. They would was a lack of proper budget- want to change things to the way they see things and the ing. project just gets pushed and pushed and pushed, and it “I think whethkeeps going over and over.” er it is this proj~ Mike Wilson, member ect or any other project on the Parks & Recreation Board board, whether it’s the parks board that pres- sion, but we feel like we could council approved plans for ents a project or it’s Wayne’s go ahead with the design the design with Halff Associates (Bonnet) group that presents, Council has already approved to move forward with detailed or the streets department or to do the splash pad and the plans and bid documents to whoever it is, this Council, pool,” Jones said. seek construction bids for the what they need to do is set a Parks Board member Mike project. budget for the projects and Wilson said he recognizes that The swim center is set to be that would eliminate 99 per- visions and ideas change as built just north of the basketcent of the problems we have people change on the Council, ball courts at City Park on with this one,” he said. but he said the pattern he sees County Road 200.

At Monday’s meeting, an keeps projects from being The swim center as apoverview of current capital completed. proved includes a roughly improvement projects (CIP) “Over the last 10 years we 1,300-square-foot open-air and available funds showed have had many projects and pool house facility with rethat the City currently has seen a few of them through, strooms, pavilion area, vendonly $710,319 available in but the more projects that I’ve ing and changing rooms.

CIP funds, not enough to cov- seen come to our board, the There would be no heating or er the project at either price. more I saw the same scenario air conditioning.

“I want to emphasize from over and over,” he said. “The As plans were drawn up, the my standpoint that I’ve never scenario was one City Coun- option was included to have once said that I don’t want to cil and Mayor would come in, restrooms and a potential do this,” Hall said. “I’m try- they would help us, we would vending area accessible year ing to figure out how we can get a project going, it would round for park users, even get it done knowing we have start forming and look like it when the pool was closed. $700,000 left, and if we get was coming to fruition. Then The pool itself would be the half-million-dollar grant the Council and or the May- about 4,800 square feet, with we can come up with another or would change and they a zero entry grade on one end couple hundred thousand dol- wouldn’t see it the same. They and reaching a depth of five lars potentially.” would want to change things feet on the other. This allows Later in the meeting, though, to the way they see things and children to play in the shallow the Council approved moving the project just gets pushed end more easily, and creates forward with the previously and pushed and pushed and it greater ease of entrance for un-budgeted community cen- keeps going over and over.” everyone. ter project, which has an estiThe swim center became a Plans also included fencing, mated price tag of $750,000, priority a few years ago when shade structures, landscaping which would then leave no more than 60 percent of re- and grass areas surrounding funds currently for the swim spondents to a community the pool deck. A parking lot center. survey said they wanted to with approximately 60 spacThe City can issue new see a splash pad or water fea- es, along with an improved bonds for the project, but ture, and just under 60 percent entrance on County Road 200 would likely wait until 2021 said they wanted a city swim and the decomposed grandue to interest rate advantages center – by far the two most ite half-mile trail around the at that time. popular wishes from the com- southern half of the park were During public comments, munity in the survey. also included.

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LEGAL NOTICES ORDER OF PUBLICATION Commonwealth of Virginia VA. CODE 8.01-316 Case No. JJ008818-06-00 BRISTOL JUVENILE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS DISTRICT COURT - JUVENILE DIVISION Commonwealth of Virginia, in re Degooyer, Raven Nevaeh Kyler. Bristol VA DSS /v. Degooyer, Julien.

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(8/6p) NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City of Liberty Hill City Council: SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Article 1.04, Division 4. Sec. 1.04.091 of the Code of Ordi-

nances of the City of Liberty Hill, Texas be amended to read as follows, with all the words stricken through to be deletions and all underlined words to be additions: Section 1.04.091 Position Established.

The city hereby creates the position of code compliance officer. The code compliance officer shall be appointed by the city council. The code compliance officer shall be considered an at-will employee of the city and may be terminated by the city council at any time with or without cause. The code compliance officer shall report to the Building Official, who shall be the code compliance officer’s direct supervisor and shall direct the daily work of the code compliance officer.

The code compliance officer shall have a certification as a code enforcement officer issued by the state department of health or the ability to obtain such certification within one year of employment.

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PUBLIC NOTICE MISSING PROPERTY If you believe the police department may have a found item that belongs to you, you can call the Property Division directly at 512-548-5530 or email at ekrause@libertyhilltx.gov. When contacting the Property Division, describe the item(s) you are looking for, in detail, and we will let you know if we have it. If we do, we will make arrangements to get it back to you.

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Page 5

Continued from Page 1

The website will also feature a series of short videos explaining different aspects of what parents and students can expect going into this year.

The Return to Learn site can be found on the LHISD web page, www.libertyhill. txed.net.

Districts across the state also learned this week that grade promotion requirements related to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test for students in fifth and eighth grades have been waived for the upcoming school year.

Typically, school systems must take into account a student’s score on the STAAR test to determine whether the student can be promoted to the next grade level. The traditional A-F rating system will remain in place, albeit with certain adjustments due to COVID-19.

With this waiver, there will only be one administration of the STAAR fifth and eighth-grade mathematics and reading assessments for the 2020–21 school year.

The test will be administered in May to coincide with the administration of other STAAR grades 3-8 assessments.

Confirmed cases The total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas crept closer to 400,000 this week, with 52,526 cases from July 22-28.

That weekly total was down 14,000 from the previous week.

The pace of new confirmed cases in Williamson County was down as well, with 452 new cases, after three consecutive weeks in July with 800 or more.

Williamson County announced it would change how COVID-19 fatalities are reported going forward.

There will no longer be announcements from the County regarding age range and gender of fatalities, and the number shared on the data dashboard on the Williamson County and Cities Health District website will now come from the state.

In a statement, Williamson County wrote, “The Texas

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Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is now using death certificates, instead of local health district reports, to count COVID-19 fatalities.

This standardizes death reporting across the state, but will cause the number of deaths on the county dashboard to be out of sync with the Texas DSHS count until the WCCHD fully transitions to the DSHS reporting method, which will happen this week.”

The number of deaths in Williamson County reached 100 on Tuesday.

Specific local case numbers have not been shared by the City of Liberty Hill, but according to County data, the 78642 zip code has had between 50 and 200 confirmed cases.

State extensions Gov. Greg Abbott issued a Proclamation this week extending the early voting period for the Nov. 3 Election by nearly a week. Under this proclamation, early voting by personal appearance will begin on Oct. 13 and continue through Oct. 30. The proclamation also expands the period in which marked mail-in ballots may be delivered in person to the early voting clerk’s office, allowing such delivery prior to as well as on Election Day. “As we respond to COVID-19,

the State of Texas is focused on strategies that preserve Texans’ ability to vote in a way that also mitigates the spread of the virus,” Abbott said. “By extending the early voting period and expanding the period in which mail-in ballots can be hand-delivered, Texans will have greater flexibility to cast their ballots, while at the same time protecting themselves and others from COVID-19.”

He also announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is extending the application deadline for the federal Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer program (P-EBT) to Aug. 21 to ensure eligible families have more time to apply for this one-time food benefit.

P-EBT is a one-time benefit of $285 per eligible child and can be used in the same way Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits pay for groceries. Eligible families include those with children who lost access to free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) due to school closures.

Abbott also said HHSC has received federal authority to extend certifications by six months for SNAP recipients whose benefits are up for renewal in July and August.

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Page 6

Projects Continued from Page 1 Part of the blame for the funding crunch was placed on what was referred to as unplanned projects.

“A project that we didn’t anticipate and weren’t planning for, and hadn’t budgeted for was the TXDoT (Texas Department of Transportation) turn lane on 1869 at 29, so there was a $300,000 bill we didn’t really know about,” Wilkins said. “It wasn’t projected in the CIP that I had presented in the past.”

The City, though, had long-before agreed to the cost-sharing plan with TXDoT, and the Council voted in October 2019 to give final approval to the $300,000 contribution to the project when TXDoT announced its plans to begin work. Funding approval for the project was first taken up by the Council on Aug. 4, 2017.

Then there were the cost overruns, which totaled more than $370,000 across four projects including Wetzel Park, the Stubblefield/Fowler House, police parking lot and remodel of the municipal court building.

“Most of the construction projects were over what they were originally intended to be and those things happen,” Wilkins said.

The remodel of the municipal court building was bid at $171,714, but the final cost of the project came in at $303,066.

The bids for these projects were all approved in early 2019, but according to former City Administrator Greg Boatright, Hall stepped in and took complete control of the projects – the municipal court remodel in particular – and managed that on his own.

“The Mayor took everything over,” Boatright said. “He took over the splash pad, he took over the municipal court building and everybody else was kind of shut out of it. We would still have the meetings, but it didn’t matter what was said in the meetings. He would go back and change whatever he wanted to change.”

Another project that appeared to run over on cost was the downtown parking project, but the original $100,000 budgeted was only for the Van Alley parking lot and did not include

Ride

the lot being constructed on the washateria property.

With that project included in the downtown parking line, the total cost rose to $779,078.

The washateria property lot was originally budgeted as part of the roundabout project.

Roundabout versus realignment?

Soon after the May 2019 election, the new City Council voted to put the roundabout project that had already been bid for construction on the shelf.

The bid for that project was approved at $1.4 million, and included the road construction, the new parking lot on the washateria property and drainage improvements in the area.

Hall and the Council cited the high cost of the project and the need to shift priorities as the reason to abandon the project, but 14 months later the Council has given the go-ahead to a different plan for that intersection that doesn’t show any cost savings, and could potentially cost the City more than the abandoned project.

Hall contends it will save money, but the new intersection realignment is estimated at $840,254 without the parking lot or drainage improvements. The price tag the City gave the downtown parking projects, which now includes the washateria property lot, is $779,078. The total then for the two projects is anticipated at $1.62 million upon completion, while the previous projection – with the Van Alley project added in – would have been $1.5 million.

Hall said earlier this spring that the numbers are difficult to compare because the project specifically includes the parking lot, Van Alley parking, utilities for Barton, Aynsworth, a new water line going down CR 279, resurfacing of those roads, and completion of Munro. However, he did not provide a cost breakdown by project.

Hall told the Council Monday he hopes to go out for bid on the Loop 332 and CR 279 intersection realignment in September.

The plan will alter the Loop coming from the east toward CR 279 to create a T-intersection with a three-way stop.

Continued from Page 1

July 15.

“The City and Maverick Campbell are still in the middle a hearing with the Texas Workforce Commission. He has listed the Mayor and Lt. Ringstaff as potential witnesses to the hearing. At this point, because of the administrative matter, I have recommended that they not sit down for an interview related to issues arising from allegations made

by Mr. Campbell,” wrote Attorney Tad Cleaves in his response to the newspaper.

While the body camera footage provided to The Independent shows the Mayor accessing the officer’s computer, appearing to be proficient in its use, there is no audio of any profanity.

“I don’t remember all the conversation, obviously, because I was paying attention to the driving and the radio and making sure everybody knew where I was at,” Farmer said, adding that he doesn’t specifically recall any inappropriate language from the Mayor that night. “Is it possible? Knowing the way I know the Mayor, yes, but I can’t honestly say that was on there (video).”

Farmer said he manually activated his body camera at the time he initiated the patrol car’s lights and siren attempting to stop a motorcycle on a traffic violation. The stop was made in the southbound lanes on US Hwy 183. He said after 21 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, he had a hunch that the driver would flee, so he activated his camera and waited briefly in his vehicle.

“That’s not the whole video,” Farmer said July 24. “There was more to it, especially at the beginning. For sure it was cut short at the beginning. Because almost 100 percent of the time, once the traffic stop is initiated we turn that body camera on. It’s definitely not the whole video because I noticed that the first time I saw it -- it started when I was almost halfway through the pursuit, and I was like ‘wait a minute,

that’s not even the beginning’, so it’s definitely not the full video.”

Farmer said he remembers activating the camera because it’s a step “that’s like second nature to me. I knew he was going to run, and that’s what I was telling the Mayor, and that’s why I didn’t get out of the vehicle right away, because it was like okay based on 21 years experience you kind of know. That’s why I didn’t get out to approach the guy because he kept looking back.”

He said that while the video ends as he is in mid-sentence, he can’t be sure if that’s where he disengaged his camera. Just before it ends, the Mayor is heard questioning why other agencies are not there to assist.

Farmer explained that the manually-activated cameras are commonly turned on and off as needed.

“We turn it off and on each traffic stop or each time we get out and talk to somebody,” he said. “What else was there, I can’t tell you. But was there more? Yes, especially at the beginning.”

Farmer, who previously worked in small police departments as well as a large sheriff’s office before coming to Liberty Hill in November 2016, said he didn’t know the Mayor had accessed his patrol unit computer until he watched the body camera footage on The Independent’s website. He said he did not see Hall access the computer on the other occasions he rode with him, but he couldn’t be certain if he accessed the equipment while Farmer was outside the vehicle on a traffic stop. He estimated that the Mayor rode with him “five to 10 times”, although he was not certain of the dates.

“As you see in the video, the lid was halfway down and it was turned toward me,” Farmer said. “Anybody that would ride with me knew they weren’t allowed to get on that computer. I never gave him permission to use that computer. I have no clue what he was doing. I look back at it

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Traffic coming into downtown from CR 279 would be able to turn right onto the Loop or continue into downtown after a stop. Drivers entering downtown from the east on Loop 332 would be able to continue right on the Loop with a yield or turn left onto CR 279 after a stop. Traffic leaving downtown will be able to continue south on CR 279 or turn left and continue on the Loop following a stop.

To assist with traffic control at the intersection and designate the continued right into downtown from the Loop, a triangular median will be constructed at the intersection.

Planning for CIP? Throughout the discussion Monday, Wilkins and Council members indicated that more specific planning and budgeting for capital improvement projects in the future would improve the situation.

“My recommendation would be going forward, if we’re going to do projects, that we bond each project and not one big bucket of money,” Wilkins said. “What happened was we would start a project, then start designing another project and then another project, then before you knew it you weren’t finishing anything.”

Hall reiterated the need to budget for projects.

“I think whether it is this project or any other project on the board, whether it’s the parks board that presents a project

Council

or it’s Wayne’s (Bonnet) group that presents, or the streets department or whoever it is, this Council, what they need to do is set a budget for the projects and that would eliminate 99 percent of the problems we have with this one,” Hall said.

But there has been no budget plan for the new downtown intersection project, community center, or negotiation to purchase Lions Foundation Park, all of which are moving forward.

According to Boatright, when the $3 million in bond funds were approved by the Council in early 2019, the funds were earmarked specifically to cover the cost of the Loop 332 and CR 279 intersection project, the swim center and Van Alley parking projects.

“We also had a million dollars out of our surplus that we identified that we were going to use to supplement the project list,” he said. “We’d done that before, taking a million out of cash ending to supplement projects.”

In her presentation, Wilkins reminded the Council there are a number of projects on the drawing board or in progress that do not have funding plans.

“We still have a pool project, trails project, the community center – which isn’t on (the presented list), so we have to assess how much money do we need to complete those projects, and which ones are we going to complete with this money and which ones are we

Continued from Page 1

“What we can do, because we have a reserve back, just like we’ve done before, we can pass a resolution asking Council to pull money out of reserves to finish up the project then add that back to the next bond to pay ourselves back and put it back into our reserve account,” Hall said.

Speed limits In a potential reversal of a decision earlier this year, the City Council may once again raise the speed limit on portions of Loop 332 based on the recommendations of a new traffic study.

The agenda item Monday was an update following a traffic study, but Hall recommended

and look at what button he may have been pushing, and I don’t know unless he was trying to see who the guy was. He could have been seeing what dispatch sent us because they send us the information once I called in the (license) plate.

“I’m doing 100 something miles per hour and watching for traffic, and telling people on the radio where I’m at, so I’m really not watching what’s going on on the computer part,” he explained. “But looking at the video now, he (Hall) clearly knew what to do. He learned it somewhere.”

In recent interviews with The Independent, the Chief of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that access to an officer’s inunit computer is limited strictly to individuals who have been trained and authorized to use it. The computer accesses Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (TLETS), which provides information from the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). Using the system, officers have access to an individual’s criminal history, driver’s license and vehicle registration, and additional private information.

Kim Vickers, chief of TCOLE, said if DPS learns of unauthorized use of the system, it could result in a department losing access to CJIS. He said while an unauthorized user would be committing an offense depending on what he did with the information, discipline would be likely for the officer under whose watch access occurred. He added that he would expect an internal affairs investigation to show whether the access was granted voluntarily on the part of the officer or whether there was coercion on the part of someone who was in a position to make decisions regarding an officer’s employment.

Farmer said he was not disciplined as a result of the pursuit, but said he did feel uncomfort-

the item be brought back at the next meeting for consideration.

“The traffic study was completed about two weeks ago and we got the report last week,” said Curtis Steger of Steger Bizzell Engineering.

“The recommendation is to increase the speed in different sections of 332 from the existing 30 mile per hour speed to 40 miles per hour (on some portions).”

The recommendation is to raise the speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 40 from SH 29 and Loop 332 on the eastern end between SH 29 and the railroad tracks, and also on the western end from SH 29 to

going to do a separate bond for?”

Ditching old plans?

Plans previously in place to guide growth and infrastructure have also been funded and paid for, but appear to be marked for replacement with new plans that will cost additional funds.

The funds already spent on the City’s Drainage Master Plan was also included in the CIP list presented by Wilkins at a total spent of $22,471, but Hall is in the process of reworking the drainage plan due to the high cost of the drainage remedies suggested in the 72page plan created and presented to the Council in 2018 by K. Friese and Associates.

Despite the lengthy discussions and money invested in the Council-approved drainage plan and the transportation plan – which Hall declared void in August 2019 – the City appears to be going in a different direction with both.

In a public meeting in August 2019 to address concerns over the City’s transportation plan, Hall said the plan as posted on the City’s website was essentially void, promising to have removed from the site.

“I want to apologize that I haven’t taken the initiative to remove that map from the website,” he said at that time.

“I have taken the initiative to totally stop the transportation plan that we have in effect right now because we do have

near Liberty Hill Elementary School.

Council member Kathy Canady, who lobbied for the lowering of the speed limit on the Loop earlier this year, said raising it would only encourage drivers to speed more.

“It’s not safe to drive that fast if they don’t follow the rules,” Canady said.

Others argued that problem was more an enforcement issue than a speed limit issue.

“I think we should go with the recommendation and make it an enforcement issue,” said Council member Steve McIntosh.

The speed limit on the entirety of Loop 332 was officially

Thursday, July 30, 2020

to go back to ground zero.”

But those involved in the previously-approved plans disagreed that the City needed to begin all over again in these areas.

“The prior Council made a commitment to address issues in the community that needed to be addressed, for example the drainage master plan,” said former Director of Planning Sally McFeron. “We also did a transportation plan. We also did a parks plan, a master trails plan, and all of those plans, as you move through them, have recommendations and they have various things to do.

Council adopted each of those plans.”

None of these projects are the type to be done quickly or without public input, and take years to implement, she added.

“These plans take a long time to implement, so you can line up funding, and to just pull them or to change them without any real rational reason, accept that I don’t want it, or let’s destroy everything that the prior Council put into play, is not healthy for a City,” McFeron said. “You are in constant chaos. You never get anything accomplished and you can’t ever plan for anything with your funding. You don’t ditch the whole plan just because you don’t like it. You take the plan and you work through it so you can identify funding and projects. That drainage plan even had priorities listed with it.”

lowered to 30 miles per hour by the City Council in January and went into effect March 1.

The issue was first discussed at the Jan. 13 meeting. Prior to the change, the speed limit on the Loop fluctuated from 30 to 40 miles per hour as the new recommendations from the traffic study suggest.

There was no traffic study done prior to the initial change in January.

Vehicle purchases The Council approved the financing of a number of vehicles for the City at a total cost over time of just under $384,000.

See VEHICLES, Page 8 A screenshot taken from the body camera video of former LHPD Officer Jeffrey Farmer shows Mayor Rick Hall operating the patrol unit computer during a ride along on Oct. 4, 2018. Farmer said last week that the video provided by the City to The Independent in response to an Open Records Request was not complete. He said it appeared to be “cut short at the beginning.”

able at times with the Mayor as his passenger.

“He’s pretty much the boss, so yeah, there were times when it was awkward or I can’t really say anything now for (fear of) retaliation or revenge. I felt like if I said anything that there would be something else done, or I would lose my job or something. I don’t know what would have happened, but I felt uneasy that something may happen if I said anything,” Farmer said.

Farmer said Hall always wore his gun in the vehicle — something strictly prohibited by the department’s own ride-along policy.

Farmer said Hall was the most frequent rider, adding that he rode with other officers as well. He said the Mayor typically rode about three to four hours at a time and was usually finished by 11 p.m. He added, however, that he thought it was “unusual” that the Mayor rode out with officers so frequently.

“A lot of times he would just show up at the office or he would call and say, ‘hey, come pick me up’,” Farmer said. “There were times when I’d drive by his house and he’d be outside, and he’d say, ‘hey, I’m going to ride with you,’ and I’d say okay.”

Farmer said at the other agencies he worked previously, there would be an occasional ride by the mayor or a council member to observe, “but I’ve never seen this much in my career, and I was a lieutenant on patrol before and a detective, and I’ve never seen as much

as that.”

Farmer said he recalls seeing Hall complete a ride-along application one time, but didn’t remember when it was.

However, an Open Records Request from The Independent seeking any signed forms by ride-along participants to participate in the program from Jan. 1, 2018 to July 8, 2020 produced only five riders, all of whom rode in 2018, and the list did not include Mayor Hall or any other elected officials.

Campbell said in addition to Hall, council members Steve McIntosh and Liz Rundzieher did ride-alongs, as well as former members Troy Whitehead and the late Wendell McLeod.

While Campbell and others have come forward regarding incidents where the Mayor was seen intoxicated in public, Farmer confirmed that he observed similar behavior on multiple occasions. He specifically pointed to one occasion when he pulled Hall aside at a City-sponsored event and advised him to put his weapon away because he appeared to be intoxicated.

“It was either a July 4th function or the Sculpture Festival.

He was intoxicated, or appeared to be, and he had his weapon with him and he was walking around, and I noticed that and pulled him off to the side and mentioned to him that ‘it probably isn’t a good idea for you to be walking around like that with your weapon, it is a bad image for you’. He said he was sorry. I did notify the Chief (Campbell) later on

so no coming back later and saying, ‘hey, who does this Officer Farmer think he is’.”

Farmer said he couldn’t be sure, but he thought Hall put the weapon in his truck.

Farmer resigned from the department in October 2019 “for personal reasons.” He said that at the time of his resignation, he had a good relationship with Hall.

Campbell said that after the October 2018 pursuit, he stopped all ride alongs until the department’s policy could be reviewed.

The current ride-along policy, which was approved by Campbell, was provided to The Independent last week in response to an Open Records Request. It defines an application process that restricts participants to only one ride per month, requires a background check, and outlines conduct expected of riders. Among those expectations are that participants will not use alcoholic beverages immediately prior to the ride, “not use profane or abusive language”, play no active role in the police function, and “shall not be allowed to operate any police equipment unless directed to do so by a police officer in an extreme emergency.”

The policy also states, “participants shall not be allowed to carry any firearm or other weapon, even when otherwise authorized by law, while participating in the ride-along program.”

SPORTS

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT Thursday, July 30, 2020 Page 7

Call me a convert -now a mask-wearer

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor You k n o w who you are.

So, do I because I was once one of you.

For the first couple months of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was one of those foolish souls who would go out in public without wearing a mask.

You know, one of those people who simply goes about their daily business pretending as if there is absolutely nothing going on in the world at the moment while exercising their constitutional rights and freedom of choice.

Why? Cause it’s my God-given right and there’s no way anyone or anything is going to take that away from me!

Embarrassing, really, when I look back now.

What has all this got to do with sports, you may ask?

Everything.

The reason I’m writing a column about a global pandemic instead of local sports is because of you, the maskless.

Instead of gearing up for the Panthers’ new season and all the excitement and anticipation which comes each year when the leaves fall, this is where we find ourselves.

I’ll be honest.

I hate wearing a mask.

Any novelty or Halloween-like charm concerning wearing one quickly fades away when you find yourself walking around in what feels and looks like the set of a scifi movie.

You know, one of those where millions die due to the callousness of mankind.

Only this isn’t a Netflix original.

Earlier this summer, the UIL made the bold announcement that football season was going to go forward come autumn and not only would the games take place, but with all the usual pomp and pageantry – including full grandstands.

We were excited at this prospect, but now we see what a truly false dawn it was.

Actual people at games?

Not as long as people don’t want to play nice.

Speaking of which, upon switching on late-night television recently, we came upon an Australia Rules football match being played live Down Under.

But, wait a minute.

Something is quite peculiar.

We can hear crowd noise in the background, but certainly it’s only fake – like many networks are doing during broadcasts to at least make it sound authentic.

However, upon closer inspection, we discovered something which filled our hearts with joy.

Those weren’t cardboard cutouts in the stands or tarps painted to look like a bustling, excited crowd – but actual real, live human beings!

People enjoying themselves in the company of family and friends immersed in the pure escapism which sports so eloquently provides for us in giving us a chance to forget about one’s trouble – and the world’s – if only for a few hours.

Sure, they were socially-distanced, but they were there.

Being smart, doing the right thing.

We’ve written in this space about how Asian countries

such as South Korea and Japan have been diligent and decisive from the get-go in their respective reactions to the outbreak and how it’s due to their culture of being more concerned with “we” than me, as far as “sacrificing” one’s civil liberties for the greater good of the group.

But, Australia?

The Aussies are descended from the Brits – just like us – and are a country which is Western culture through and through and is an entire continent unto itself, for crying out loud.

Yet somehow, someway, everyone was able to unite against a common enemy and in doing so, set aside any political differences and regardless of personal feelings, just do the right thing.

Is it really so difficult?

By the way, what about us mask-wearing folk and our freedom and constitutional rights?

Like the one about all of us being free to get on with our lives and back to normal – the old one, not some new, watered-down version.

But, because of you – the maskless – we’re left to see other countries around the world begin to inch their way back, including nations like Italy and Spain, which were among the hardest-hit places on Earth, but have managed to not only flatten the curve, but crush it to the point where cases are actually reducing in number.

When that happens, you can start getting back to normal.

But, not if everyone is divided – making something simple like covering your face part of some kind of culture war.

There’s an old saying in sports.

“A team takes on the personality of its coach.”

We’re not going to get into specifics about how the highest levels of government in our country have handled this situation – especially in comparison to its counterparts around the world.

But, as long as we’re on the subject of selfishness, I’m going to indulge myself and be selfish for a moment.

I’m a sportswriter and right now, I can’t cover sports.

Why? Because each and every person I see walking around without a mask is preventing me from doing so.

Not some virus. Not politicians and decision-makers.

You – the maskless.

Initially, I felt as if it was some kind of badge of honor to not mask up.

What a fool I was.

Now when I see someone without one, I’m instantly filled with rage and feel the urge to take them by the shoulders and shake some sense into them, if in fact, it’s possible to penetrate such stubbornness and blatant disregard for others.

So, when the evening of Aug. 28 arrives and the Friday Night Lights at Panther Stadium are off as darkness settles over the gridiron instead of the usual energy and enthusiasm and you’re mad because there isn’t a game and you desperately want to find something – or someone – to blame, do us all a favor.

Look in the mirror.

There’s no game because of you, non-mask wearer.

But, not because of me anymore.

I finally came to my senses.

Please arrive at yours.

Recognize your student athlete in the 2020 LHHS Fall Sports Program

A portion of proceeds benefits LHHS Athletics Student Ad rates start at $75 (ad design included) Contact us today: (512) 778-5577 or news@lhindependent.com

SCOTT AKANEWICH PHOTOS

Young players who aspire to one day play for Liberty Hill are put through the paces at the Panthers’ annual summer camp on July 28.

Panthers host annual football camp for young players

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Approximately 150 young athletes were put through the paces by the Liberty Hill coaching staff at the Panthers’ annual football camp this week.

The event, which was rescheduled after being postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, took place at Panther Stadium and allowed sixth through ninth-graders the opportunity to take the field they one day aspire to be playing on when Friday nights in the fall roll around.

Over the course of the three days the camp was held, fundamentals were a major focus for the Panthers’ coaches as one of the goals is to properly ready players for when they reach the high-school level by indoctrinating them into the Purple-and-Gold way to play long before they step foot on the campus as students.

According to Liberty Hill head coach Jeff Walker, this is perhaps the most important aspect of the camp.

“No doubt,” said Walker.

“We want these kids to be able to experience what we do here and see how we run things.”

Albeit at the moment, things aren’t quite what they’ve been in the past with the health guidelines in place due to the pandemic, he said.

“Right now, we’re not doing things exactly like we have in the past,” said Walker. “Our warm-ups and water breaks have changed due to social distancing and of course, we’re wearing masks.”

However, Walker added he believes some of the “new nor-

mal” adjustments the campers are being taught will serve them well when they return to school.

“I definitely think some of the things they’re having to do here which are so new and different for them will help in the future,” he said. “For example, when they’re not actually doing a drill, we’re having them cover their faces – none of this stuff is natural, but right now, it’s what our normal is and it’s what we need to be doing if we want to play sports – it’s all new to everyone.”

As far as the football side is concerned, the camp is broken down into one day each for offense, defense and special teams, but Walker said it’s mainly basics which are focused on throughout.

“We talk about the different positions and what we’re looking for at each one,” he said.

“But, we even go over some things as basic as having a good stance – we have some high-school players who still don’t have good stances, but have found one which works for them.”

Walker admitted some of what the campers are drilled with might not be the most compelling aspects of the game, but details which must be paid close attention to regardless.

“They aren’t the most exciting things,” he said. “Like how to take a hand-off properly, for example, but very important.”

Something else the Panthers’ coaches have a chance to consider at the camp is when a player will have success playing a particular position at the lower levels, but need to make

Athletes line up to run the 40-yard dash at the Panthers’ football camp on July 28. a switch upon reaching the high-school level, said Walker.

“We’ve had offensive lineman from junior high get here and become running backs because they’re not big enough to play on the line anymore,” he said. “We’ve also had running backs who ended up playing guard for us.”

The method to this madness is really quite simple, said Walker.

“Football is a team game,” he said. “When we get a kid who’s been successful, we need to give him every opportunity to continue to succeed – even at another position.

We’re always trying to put the best 22 players out on the field we possibly can.”

However, the bottom line for all the campers is to simply

enjoy the experience – Xs and Os aside.

“Sure, we want them to have a dose of what we do offensively and defensively, get a big picture of what we do and what Liberty Hill football is all about, so they have a good foundation moving forward,” said Walker. “But, we also want them to have fun.”

Who knows?

A young, aspiring Panther might even get a glimpse of one of his gridiron heroes.

“We’ll have a couple of our players out there, so the kids can see some of the guys they watch play on Friday nights,” said Walker. “You really can’t beat that kind of experience because it’s what these kids dream about.”

Liberty Hill 13U squad goes 3-2 at tournament

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Over the weekend of July 25-26, the Liberty Hill 13-and under baseball team played in a tournament at the Black Star Athletics Complex in Kyle and came away with a 3-2 record.

On Friday, Liberty Hill played a doubleheader and split the pair of games to open the event.

First up was Adidas Titans, who defeated the Panthers by a score of 7-1, scoring all of their runs in the top half of the second and third innings.

Jaxson Scott and Pearson Lowery had the only two hits of the game for Liberty Hill.

Next up was an afternoon matchup against LBC North, whom the Panthers prevailed over, 6-1, in a game which was shortened to four innings.

After the opening two innings were scoreless, Liberty Hill plated a pair of markers in the top of the third, as Lowery was hit by a pitch to start the frame, then stole second and third before an RBI grounder off the bat of Justin Carpenter chased him home with the game’s first run.

Liberty Hill extended its advantage to 2-0 when Hayden

McBeath scored on a wild pitch.

A solo home run for LBC North in the bottom of the third halved the deficit, but the Panthers answered with four additional runs in the fourth inning.

Andrew Basey and Garrett Lindgren both scored on wild pitches after each had drawn walks before Braden Radziwon banged an RBI single to left which scored Jameson Richards, before Cade Beesley drove home Lowery with a fielder’s choice and a 6-1 lead.

Liberty Hill managed only two hits in the game, but took advantage of wildness from the LBC North pitchers in the form of five bases-on-balls and four wild pitches.

Sunday saw Liberty Hill play three games, in which the Panthers were victorious in two of the contests.

Liberty Hill downed LBC South in a morning game, 3-0, as McBeath was masterful on the mound, hurling five scoreless innings while allowing only two hits and striking out five during a 67-pitch performance before Lowery pitched a scoreless sixth to close the game.

Lindgren was Liberty Hill’s star at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a run scored.

After Beesley had scored on a Carpenter single to open the scoring in the bottom of the third for a 1-0 Panthers lead, Richards boomed a two-run blast to right which also scored Lowery, who had singled to open the inning and a 3-0 lead, which was more than enough run support to see out the victory.

The Panthers then faced Mancilla in the first of a pair of afternoon contests and picked up its second win of the day in a 7-6 extra-innings victory, as Radziwon and Beesley both collected a pair of hits.

Carpenter scored the game’s first run on a Scott RBI groundout after leading the contest off with a walk for a quick 1-0 Liberty Hill lead before the Panthers struck for another run in the third.

Beesley singled to center to lead the frame off, before stealing second and being sacrificed to third by Carpenter, then scoring on a passed ball with Basey at the plate for a neatly-manufactured run and a 2-0 advantage.

Scott walked to lead off the

fourth, then scored on a Richards single, which was followed by an RBI single from Radziwon to score Richards for a 4-0 lead.

After LBC South scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to get back into the game at 4-2, Liberty Hill built on its lead in the sixth, when Radziwon doubled home Lowery for a 5-2 lead.

However, LBC South struck for three runs in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5, which is where it remained until the top of the eighth.

With the bases loaded, Basey came through in the clutch with a single to center which scored a pair of Panthers runs to make it 7-4 before LBC South got one back in the bottom of the eighth to provide the final score.

Radziwon was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs batted in, while Beesley also had a pair of hits on the game.

Finally, Liberty Hill finished off a busy weekend with a 4-0 loss to Tier 1 Black Squadron, as Beesley had the Panthers’ only hit of the contest, in falling to 8-9-1 on the season.

Page 8

VEHICLES

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page 6

“As we’ve done in the past, we needed some new vehicles, and we don’t necessarily have all of the money up front to pay for these so we’re doing what everybody in America does and we’re financing our vehicles to make the most of our money and most of our budget,” said Becky Wilkins,

finance director.

A Ford Ranger, planned for the building official, and Ford Transit van, planned for the facilities maintenance team, were purchased at $50,964 combined, financed for five years at 3.194 percent. The total cost over the five years, if the vehicles are not paid off

early, will be $55,775.

A large portion of the funds financed were on a dump truck trade in, approved at the July 13 Council meeting. The City is receiving $50,000 in tradein value and financing the balance of $85,000. The Council voted on a seven-year note, at 3.244 percent, with annu-

al payments of $13,799. The dump truck will be paid for through the water and wastewater funds.

The police department is getting three new Tahoes and two Explorers at a cost of $210,650. The five-year financing is at 3.194 percent, with annual payments of

Thursday, July 30, 2020

$46,304.

Splash pad Hall clarified what the maintenance issue was with the Wetzel Park splash pad that closed it temporarily two days after it was officially opened.

“The maintenance that happened two days after we

opened it, we realized that during the inspection part of it the grinder pump outside was not hooked up,” Hall said.

“We had to dig up the hole that night, but everything has been running great. Every night I go past it and there are a lot of kids down there playing.”

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