News

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

The Highlander

Children in foster care often have to move from home to home, toting their personal items in plastic bags along the way. Sometimes they don’t even sleep on the same pillow as they did the night before.

Children in the newly-0formed Leadership Club at Spicewood Elementary helped fellow youngsters by holding a donation drive for personal care items, ranging from socks to shampoo, as part of the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for the Highland Lakes Area project known as the CASA Case Project, a partnership with the First Baptist Church of Marble Falls.

By Alexandria Randolph

A hazardous weather outlook was issued for the Highland Lakes area Thursday and Friday.

The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for Burnet, Llano, Williamson, Travis, Blanco and surrounding counties at 3:16 a.m. Thursday, extending to Friday evening.

“Rain chances continue today (Thursday) into tonight with a few embedded thunderstorms possible,” the outlook stated, adding that storm chances would continue through Friday. “A strong storm or two, capable of producing small hail and gusty winds up to 50 miles per hour, will be possible this afternoon and tonight south of Eagle pass to San Antonio line. Brief heavy rainfall will also be possible.”

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

It’s a fast-paced, digital world, and it can be hard for anyone to slow down, but for children it’s even more critical. Groups of three-year-old children have been benefitting since the fall of last year from a partnership between Marble Falls Head Start and the Phoenix Center: a 20-minute classes in mindfulness meditation called: “Head Start Yoga Storytime, Relaxation & Coping Skills."
The weekly classes at Marble Falls Elementary are led by a children’s therapist from the Phoenix Center, Erin Givarz, who is trained in yoga and meditation.

By Christi Bertelson

Bertram City Fire Marshal Bobby Huffstuttler was terminated by the Bertram City Council in a 4-1 decision during a special called meeting Thursday evening, March 3.

“If we want to take care of the city issues then we need to have a fire marshal that isn’t so busy with other things,” said Bertram City Mayor Dickie Allen.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

The Cottonwood Shores City Council made good on a second payment to the Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department (CWSVFD) for the fulfillment of two more of the fire department's contract goals.

In the city council meeting on Thursday, March 3, city officials presented the $5,000 check to the fire department's liaison as payment for ticking off two more goals on an annual list agreed upon by the city and the CSVFD.

The recent payment brings the fire department to $13,500 since the two parties approved the new performance-based contract system in December. The city council is tasked with approving the release of funds for each goal achieved, according to the contract.

By Alexandria Randolph

Sonja Rai Murdock, known locally for kidnapping her daughter without rights to custody, has been returned to Burnet County authorities and will face adjudication on robbery charges.

Murdock was transferred back to Burnet County custody on Thursday, March 3, following her arrest in Virginia in February. The 28 year-old woman was on the lam for a little over five months after kidnapping her eight-year-old daughter from the girl's guardian, a grandmother living in Horseshoe Bay, on Aug. 18.

Murdock was arrested in Albemarle County, Virginia, by sheriff's deputies on Jan. 8 with the help of Horseshoe Bay Police Department investigators.

With the recent rains, health department officials are offering tips to keep mosquitos from breeding, especially as concerns about the Zika virus loom large.

No cases of Zika have been reported in Burnet County, but Texas has seen 22 confirmed cases as of March 10—including two in neighboring Travis County, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ website devoted to Zika in Texas. All but one of the 22 cases are related to people returning from travels to Central and South America, the regions with active Zika transmissions.

Because no vaccine or treatment is available for Zika, the “best protection to avoid infection is to prevent mosquito breeding and protect yourself from mosquito bites,” according to the DSHS.

People travel from all over the country for the rock stacking world championships, which is just one draw of the annual Llano Earth Art Fest (which those in the know shorten to LEAF festival.)

The all-day event will be held this Friday through Sunday, March 11-13, at Grenwelge Park on the banks of the Llano River and one block from downtown. Admission is free.

Billed as Texas’ most unique event, LEAF is an interactive experience featuring art, music, food, crafts, and lots of rocks.

Internationally renowned rock-artists defy gravity with amazingly balanced sculptures while musicians fill the park with song. People can even try rock balancing along with a wealth of other workshops.

The Granite Shoals City Council on Tuesday night, March 8, resolved to pursue grant support for a $5 million street improvement project.

The council authorized City Manager Ken Nickel to proceed with an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a grant to repair Phillips Ranch Road and Prairie Creek Road to a standard equal to Ranch to Market Road 1431.

The city is preparing to celebrate for its 50th Anniversary Bash, April  23-24, as citizens travel streets that pre-date its incorporation. Surveys identified those streets as a high prioriity and the council was already involved in public forums and traffic and engineering studies when it was learned a grant might be available.

Unable to pass by the opportunity for a grant that pay 55 percent of a project, a grant application will be submitted, even as the council strategize ways to pay for the project, even at less than half price.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Dignitaries and officials of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative gathered Monday, March 7, for groundbreaking on the new $17 million  PEC Northwest Operations Center on US 281 at Resource Parkway on the northern outskirts of Marble Falls.

The new two-story facility will have 27,000-square feet of office space and 18,000 square feet of warehousing space on a 10-acre site to replace the current facility at 3105 US 281 and expand services and resources for the entire area. An energy education space with kiosks for member self-serve options are part of the plans.

"You will see training operations going on here to make our employees safer and more efficient," said PEC CEO John D. Hewa.

See a report with more photos in the Tuesday, March 8, edition of The Highlander.