News

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

As the year 2016 drew to a close, all but one man prosecuted on charges stemming from Operation Dream Catcher had been convicted and sentenced.

The Granite Shoals Police Department last Feb. 24 participated in a mass federal drug trafficking and money laundering bust spanning Burnet and several counties. A local resident was among 15 arrested in the investigation of widespread methamphetamine distribution ring and money laundering scheme with ties all the way to Mexico. Dubbed Operation Dream Catcher, the effort resulted in prosecution of each of them by the U. S. Attorney’s Office.

Aaron Bravo, age 39, of Granite Shoals, on Nov. 22, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by 4 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A standing room only crowd filled the Burnet County Courthouse Sunday, Jan. 1, for the New Year's Day ceremonial oaths of office for elected and appointed officials.

The new Texas House District 20 Representative, Terry Wilson, was on hand to congratulate the local officials. The Marble Falls resident, who won his spot to replace Marsha Farney in the Republican Primary, will be sworn in officially at the Capitol on Jan. 10.

No only elected officials were included. Almost the entire contingent of Burnet County Sheriff's Department deputies came forward to be sworn by new Sheriff Calvin Boyd.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The public is invited to the ceremonial administration of the oath of office to Burnet County officials at 10:30 a.m. New Year's Day at the Burnet County Courthouse and to a 10 a.m. coffee reception that will begin at 10 a.m.

Each office holder will be sworn in, individually, by an official of choice; many by Burnet County Judge James Oakley.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The two-year highway beautification project for the intersection of US 281 and Texas 71 began with a groundbreaking Tuesday, Dec. 27.

The site has been called the Gateway to the Hill Country and Highland Lakes Region and described as a “welcome mat” at the threshold of traffic from seasonal visitors from within Texas and from far beyond Texas borders.

As such, it was endorsed during the spring and summer by the Burnet and Llano County Commissioners Courts, the cities of Marble Falls, Granite Shoals and Burnet, along with most of the area's cities and counties. The project was proposed by Citizens for Scenic Texas Highways (CSTH) in a landscape partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Adopt-A-Highway program.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Marble Falls driver license office will be moving, expanding and consolidating with the Burnet office sometime early in the new year.

“The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is consolidating the Marble Falls and Burnet Driver License (DL) offices into a single office,” said Tom Vinger, of the DPS media and communication office.

He said things would remain as they are for now, but eventually an office will be readied. A new, centralized driver license office for Burnet County will mean that the current office at 1701 East Polk Street in Burnet eventually will be closing and the office in the Burnet County Courthouse Annex at 810 Steve Hawkins Parkway will move.

“We need the space in north and south courthouse annexes for core county functions, as the county grows,” said County Judge James Oakley. “We will continue to provide space to house DPS Troopers in the law enforcement center.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A Burnet County man is among those who have received a commutation of sentence from President Barack Obama as the final days of the Obama administration wind down.

Larry Dwayne Hill, 42, of Granite Shoals was originally sentenced to 262 months imprisonment and five years supervised release when convicted Feb. 2, 2007, of aiding and abetting to conspire to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Under the commutation granted Dec. 19 by the president, Hill's prison term is set to expire on Dec. 19, 2018, provided he enrolls in a residential drug treatment program.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

State Senator-elect Dawn Buckingham filed her first bill last week, seeking to hold Texas' presidential electors to their pledges to vote for the candidate elected by the majority of Texas voters.

Senate Bill 394, titled the Texas Elector Accountability Act, would make so-called “faithless electors” who fail to vote for the Texas general election winner subject to a civil penalty of $5,000. It would also make them ineligible to serve again as state electors in subsequent elections.

The bill was filed by District  24 Sen. Buckingham on Dec. 21 and will be considered during the next legislative session, which begins in January. A companion bill was filed in the Texas House by District 14 Rep. John Raney, R-College Station.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Waterfront property owners will begin a flurry of activity Jan. 2 when the drawdown of Lake LBJ promised by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) begins.

Until about Feb. 13, property owners will be able to work on docks and retaining walls, perform dredging, debris removal and other maintenance work. There are limitations on work, including a prohibition against burning debris in the lakebed or dumping dredged material in the lakebed or along the shoreline.

The problems were rife in the City of Granite Shoals during the last lowering of Lake LBJ, in 2008, when parks and, most egregiously, the Granite Shoals Airport became dumping grounds.

In response, Granite Shoals citizens will find dumpsters in a dozen city parks for refuse disposal.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

An emergency medical service (EMS) substation for Spicewood cleared another hurdle Tuesday, Dec. 20, when the Burnet County Commissioners Court approved a plat for the project.

The substation is proposed by the Burnet County Emergency Services District No. 9, created by voters in 2013 to channel ad valorem taxes into support of fire, rescue, first responder, emergency medical services, rural fire prevention and control services and other emergency services.

Byron Zinn, president of the ESD 9 Board of Commissioners, reported that 80 percent of all calls received by the Spicewood Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD)-EMS are medical in nature, when he made a presentation to the Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees in November.

Securing land from the MFISD was a big hurdle in the project that is expected to cost about $250,000 in construction.

Representatives from 10 local nonprofit organizations were awarded more than $40,000 in Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) Community Grant funding during a Dec. 15 reception at PEC’s headquarters in Johnson City.

Among those 10 organizations was the Highland Lakes Family Crisis Center (HLFCC), which received a $1,200 grant.

“We take great pride in our cooperative’s values — like our members’ participation — as well as one of the most important, our concern for community,” remarked PEC CEO John Hewa. “We’re so proud that we’re able to help you make changes in our community.”

HLFCC, 830-693-5600 or 1-800-664-3574, exists to reduce, prevent and end domestic and sexual violence by offering emergency services, comprehensive interventions and educational programs in Burnet, Blanco, Llano and Lampasas counties. The grant will be used to purchase energy-efficient freezers.