News

By Glynis Crawford Smith/The Highlander

Storm's will bid farewell to Marble Falls Friday, Jan. 22.

Its home at 1408 Ranch to Market Road 1431, a fast food stop since its early days as the Sonic location,  will give way to Avenue N realignment and commercial redevelopment next month. 

See the story in the Friday, Jan. 22, edition of The Highlander.

A Burnet County Republican Club forum tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 21, will bring together candidates vying in the March 1 primary election to become the party candidates for Texas House of Representatives District 20 and for Texas Senate District 24.

The event, co-sponsored by the Burnet Chamber of Commerce and The Burnet Bulletin, will be held at the Burnet Community Center, 401 East Jackson Street, beginning with a chance to share refreshments and conversation with candidates at 6 p.m. The forum will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.

First on the podium will be a half hour with Texas House of Representative candidates Terry Wilson of Marble Falls and the current District 20 Rep. Marsha Farney of Georgetown, seeking a third two-year term in the office.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

Two seats on the Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees will be up for election on May 7. Potential candidates may file their packets with the district starting tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 20, and running through Feb. 19.

Place 1, held by Mike Savage, and Place 2, held by Karl Westerman, are the two seats up for election on the staggered board. Members serve three-year terms.

Potential school board trustees must: reside within the district for at least six months, be a U.S. citizen, bat at least 18 years old, and have no felony convictions or court judgments of mental incapacitation.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

Marble Falls High School (MFHS) musical theater students are ready to resurrect another timeless play, starting Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. Although written and set in the 1930s and first performed on Broadway in 1943, students’ version of the classic musical Oklahoma! is still relevant.

Oklahoma! “describes us,” said Bryce Gage, MFHS choir teacher, who has teamed up with MFHS theater teacher Jon Clark to direct the show.

Gage recalled Agnes de Mille, the show’s original choreographer, saying the show was easily understood by everybody. “It really wasn’t about Oklahoma; it could easily have been called Arkansas or New York, because it’s about community, being proud of where you’re from, and learning how to live with others,” he said.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

Before entering law enforcement, Officer Sarah Petersen of the Cottonwood Shores Police Department was a forensic photographer, so she "can see a body and know there's no longer life in it," she said.

Petersen was also a domestic violence and sexual assault victim’s advocate, which is what helped her view the night of Dec. 9 through knowledgeable and sensitive eyes.

Responding to a call about chest pain, Petersen and Lt. John-Michael Talamantez not only saved a life in the moment, but possibly, hopefully, changed a life forever.

“As we pulled up, I told the lieutenant this was a house where I’d arrested a guy for domestic violence a month before,” Petersen said.

by Alexandria Randolph

A Kingsland family was left homeless but alive on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 12, when a mobile home went up in flames.

The cause of the fire that was reported at 2:15 p.m. is still undetermined, said Kingsland Volunteer Fire Department Chief Danny Stone.

Stone said the home, located in the 200 block of Ranchette Road, was fully engulfed upon arrival of first responders.  

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

The Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department (CWSVFD) liaison present at the city council meeting, Thursday, Jan. 7, left with a $5,000 check from the city after the council unanimously approved the department’s invoice for signing the contract, its first contractual milestone.

The performance-based contract with the city, which doles out money to the department as it reaches each of 10 goals, was approved by the CWSVFD board of directors last month, and by the city council in November.

Around two-thirds of the 62 cases that are scheduled in February in the city’s municipal court are for code violations, reported City Administrator/Secretary Sheila Moore.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

A traveling exhibit of photos, titled “Quanah Parker: One Man, Two Worlds,” will be on display at the Falls on the Colorado Museum, starting this Friday, Jan. 15, through Feb. 27, according to Darlene Oostermeyer, museum board president.

Items from both the museum collection and on loan from other museums will augment the exhibit.

Officially opening the display will be a reception, Friday, Jan. 15, from 4-6 p.m., at Falls on the Colorado Museum, 2001 Broadway in Marble Falls.

The Parker family’s story is a tale of the Old West.

by Alexandria Randolph

A kayaker who drowned in Lake Buchanan during an excursion Saturday evening, Jan. 9, has been identified by authorities as Julian Everard Dahmen, an approximately 30-year-old Austin resident and teacher.

His body was recovered at the peninsula at Rock Point on Lake Buchanan the following morning, on Sunday, Jan. 10, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD.)

Dahmen was a teacher at the Austin Discovery School, which was closed Monday in support of a grieving staff.  

For more on the story, see Tuesday's Highlander.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Area firefighters responded Monday night to what Marble Falls Fire & Rescue Chief Johnny Caraway termed a “significant fire” in Pecan Valley.