News

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Burnet County Judge James Oakley will remain on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors, but he must relinquish his vice presidency.

PEC directors voted 6-0 Tuesday, Jan. 17, to replace Oakley as vice president of the organization “due to the distraction associated with and stemming from” a November 2016 Facebook post he made which gained national notoriety.

In accepting the recommendation of a PEC Complaint Committee, the board also issued a warning to Oakley that “as long as he remains on the PEC Board, to carefully and thoughtfully guard his public and personal actions,” but did not remove Oakley from the PEC Board of Directors.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning all South Central Texas of northwest winds that could reach sustained levels of 30 miles per hour, gusts up to 45 miles per hour.
Strong winds alone could cause minor damage and isolated power outages.
With Sunday humidity between 20-30 percent, fires could spread quickly.  
The NWS alert says:
A weather system to our north will cause strong and gusty Northwest winds starting Saturday night and lasting through Sunday evening.  
The strongest winds, with gusts maybe exceeding 45 mph, will likely occur Sunday afternoon.  
Along with the wind, relative humidity will drop below 20 percent out west near the Rio Grande...and below 30 percent elsewhere.  This wind and low humidity will increase the threat for fast moving fires.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The newly refurbished Marble Falls Depot officially became a station for Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS) on Friday, Jan. 13.

The Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce was host to officials from around the region, as CARTS will be making the depot at 801 US 281 part of it's Interurban Service, linking passengers to Austin and points beyond.

“We were honored with the local interest and support we received from the community, the Chamber, the City of Marble Falls and elected officials at our Depot opening today,” said CARTS General Manager David L. Marsh. “Today is just a start, but from here we can begin our role as a local partner with the community to meet its transportation needs. We look forward to the opportunity.”

The depot will become a regular stop Jan. 17, but the interior will not be open to the public for just a bit yet.

Blaming the victim and methamphetamine addiction did not sway a Burnet County jury that returned a guilty verdict in the trial of Jesus Jose “Joey” Lacer on Jan. 11 in the court of 33rd District Judge Allan Garrett.

It was a case that District Attorney Sonny McAfee held up as a triumph in the recovery of the victim.

Lacer was convicted of Assault Family Violence by Impeding Breath (choking) and Sexual Assault and assessed a 10-years prison sentence for the choking case, the maximum prison term, and 12 years for the sexual assault. The maximum potential sentence for sexual assault is 20 years.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

City deer turn out to be as crafty as they are numerous and not nearly as dumb as they look standing in the middle of traffic, judging by a report presented by the Granite Shoals City Council on Jan. 10.

Overrun by urban deer, the city received permission from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) to conduct a pilot archery program to reduce their numbers. The program with stringent rules for hunters and hunting sites was organized by the Granite Shoals Wildlife Committee and the program began Oct. 4.

“Why is it, after a grand total of 762 hours donated by volunteers, we have just 71 deer removed,” asked Mayor Carl Brugger. “This is a good report and we want to thank the committee, but I am just wondering why the number seems low.”

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Because crowd is expected for the next meeting of the Marble Falls City Council, the venue for the meeting Tuesday, Jan. 17, has been changed from city hall to Lakeside Pavilion, 307 Buena Vista Drive.

The regular session, at 6 p.m., will see appointments to committees that are the workhorses of citizen input into city government and the workshop that follows, at 7 p.m., will be about coordination of a project under way concerning land use in the city.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Unknown persons broke into the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department station early Friday, Jan. 13, causing thousands of dollars in damage and stealing property as well.

The Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers is now looking for the suspects who were responsible and are asking for assistance from the public in locating the perpetrators.

“It doesn't make any sense to me,” said Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Hutson. “I have been going over it in my head a hundred thousand times. I have no clue why anyone would do this.”

Hutson said he received several calls early Friday monring, telling him a bay door at the fire department was open.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A Pedernales Electric Cooperative complaint committee has stopped short of calling for the removal of Burnet County Judge James Oakley from the Board of Directors entirely but has recommended his removal as Vice President of the cooperative's board.

The recommendation of the Complaint Committee will be discussed and action taken during Tuesday's regular Board of Directors meeting at the cooperative's headquarters in Johnson City.

The board will also consider a resolution by Oakley to rescind the bylaws for removal and discipline of a PEC director from bylaw amendments that were put in place just one week before Oakley made a post on Facebook which brought national media spotlight to the PEC and cast Oakley in an unfavorable light.

The Marble Falls High School (MFHS) Competition Cheer Team landed in the Top 20 in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Spirit State Competition Jan. 10-12 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The 30-member team included freshman through senior cheerleaders.
“Out of 112 teams competing in the 5-A Division, only the top 20 teams advanced to the finals,” said MFHS Cheerleading Coach Lauren Berkman. “Our cheerleaders were so excited to make the finals and then finish 18th in the State.”
Cheer teams were required to prepare and perform three separate routines to compete in three divisions—Band Dance, Fight Song and Crowd Leading.
“It’s such a uniting factor, spending so many hours together working for a common goal,” said Senior Cheerleader Brittany Miller. “The common attitude to want good things for each other makes this experience so special.”

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Burnet Police Officer Matthew “Matt” Imrie underwent a lengthy a delicate surgery Wednesday, Jan. 11, in the aftermath of a traffic accident north of Marble Falls late Tuesday afternoon.

Department of Public Safety troopers assigned to investigation of the accident have been unavailable with details, but reports from the scene described the accident as a two-car, head-on collision at the intersection of US 281 and Farm to Market Road 1855 (Fairland Road).

The Burnet County Sheriff's Department dispatcher received the first call on the collision at 5:30 p.m. Almost immediately, social media was busy with prayers and condolences for Imrie and his 10-year-old daughter, Carleigh, a passenger in his SUV, who was not seriously injured.