News

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

The Cottonwood Shores City Council at its regular meeting on Thursday, April 7, voted to remove the BMX track from the city’s P-Squared Park after Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) officials approved the amendment to the grant contract.

The city already has spent $6,000 to remove the tires around the track, said Mayor Donald Orr.

The council also approved spending up to $7,000 of the $15,000 in the parks and recreation commission budget on construction to get Noah Thompson Park into Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, avoiding a possible $1,000/day fine from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).

“We’re one step closer to finishing the parks and having them accepted by the TDLR,” Orr said.

Ken Mercer, Texas Board of Education member, and Alice Linahan, education advocate, are scheduled to speak at the upcoming Star Republican Women meeting on Tuesday, April 19, at Quail Point Lodge in Horseshoe Bay.

A complimentary luncheon will be served at 12:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 1 p.m.

Mercer was elected to the State Board of Education (District 5) in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2012. He is seeking re-election this year.

“Mercer has been known for his conservative views regarding the formulation of state standards in science and history,” said Mary Lou Kromer, president of the Star Republican Women.  

GLYNIS CRAWFORD SMITH

THE HIGHLANDER

The phrase Gross National Happiness (GNH) may have been coined in 1972 by Bhutan's fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck as an option to gross domestic product (GDP) in measuring what is important to the country’s citizens, but the idea is not wasted on the West today.

Paula Francis was in Marble Falls this week and you may even have met her—the lady with the safety orange vest emblazoned with “Happinesswalk.com.”

Francis and friends from her home in Vermont visited Bhutan in the Himalayan mountains and it made her stop and think seriously about happiness.

GLYNIS CRAWFORD SMITH

THE HIGHLANDER

Texas is going blue on Friday, April 8—Texas Go Blue Day—to be followed April 24 with Blue Sunday.

The Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards and its member board in Burnet County are observing Texas Go Blue Day in recognition of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and thousands of Texans are wearing the official color of prevention to show their support for the protection of the state's children.

“No one likes to think that it happens in their town, but it does, said Caroline Ragsdill, president of the Burnet County Child Welfare Board (CWB). “Burnet County is no exception when it comes to child abuse.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

Eight Marble Falls High School students affected by a computer glitch while taking the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test on March 29 will not have to re-take the high stakes test, a Marble Falls Independent School District (MFISD) official confirmed on Thursday, April 7.

“Ultimately, all the answers were recovered,” said Wes Cunningham, Ph.D., assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

District officials maintained a “cautious optimism” since the problem happened after Texas Education Administration (TEA) officials said it was possible answers were stored on either TEA or Educational Testing Service (ETS) computer servers, Cunningham said on March 31.

ETS is the vendor that administers the tests.

The MFISD students at different grade levels were taking the computer-based

BY GLYNIS CRAWFORD SMITH
THE HIGHLANDER

Country Music Hall of Famer Merle Haggard, whose music struck a chord with country music fans with tales of hard luck and hard living, died today at his home near Redding, Calif., at the age of 79 on his birthday.

Haggard helped create what became known as the “Bakersfield sound” along with fellow superstar Buck Owens in the 1960s and 1970s. Haggard's hits included “Okie From Muskogee,” “Working Man Blues,” “That's The Way Love Goes,” “I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink” and “Mama Tried,” for which he won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

The deadline, Friday, April 15, is nearing for folks to nominate Marble Falls Independent School District (MFISD) graduates for the Legacy Outstanding Graduate Award.

Anyone can nominate a graduate from 2006 or earlier for the honor.

The award is designed to recognize individuals who have achieved excellence or distinguished success since graduation from Marble Falls High School.

Nominees Must:

• Have graduated from Marble Falls High School at least 10 years ago
• Be actively involved in their community and/or
• Achieved extraordinary career status within their field and/or
• Made notable contributions on a local, regional, state or national level

The Legacy Outstanding Graduate will be honored at the annual Legacy Honors’ Banquet on May 20.

Marble Falls Independent School District (MFISD) will be holding its Board Trustee Elections from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.

Voters in Marble Falls, Granite Shoals, Highland Haven, Spicewood and Smithwick will be casting their votes for Place 1 and Place 2 on the board. In Place 1, Jim Coursey, Gary Boshears and Lenwood Nelson are vying for the Place 1 position. In Place 2, Karl Westerman, current trustee, is running unopposed.

Early voting is from April 25-May 3, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Polling locations will be located at the Courthouse Annex at 810 Steve Hawkins in Marble Falls and the Burnet County Courthouse at 220 S. Pierce in Burnet.