News

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

by Alexandria Randolph

The Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club Adoption Day is approaching once again, and will feature opportunities for area residents to learn about foster parenting.

The event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 15, starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Burnet County Courthouse Annex, 1701 East Polk Street.

Rotarian Eddie Arredondo said this year’s Adoption Day will feature 15 area children legally adopted by new families.

“Last year, we did eight. We feel the more, the merrier. We’re inviting other counties to work with us on this,” he said. “Lampasas County is working with us this year. They don’t have any adoptions from their area, but they understand the importance of it.”

Adoptive families will be able to commemorate the moment with a photo and will be presented with gifts from the organizations involved with the special day.

For more on this story, see Friday's Highlander.

by Alexandria Randolph

Two Burnet County Precinct 4 employees were terminated following an accident that injured an Intermediate Sanction Facility (ISF) volunteer.

Henry Murr, a 20-year-old from Junction, suffered serious burns when a brush fire exploded in his face at about 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Murr said he was ordered by Precinct 4 supervisors to ignite the brush pile with a lighter after others had been soaked it in a mixture of at least 10 gallons of a diesel and gasoline.

Since the 33rd and 424th Judicial District ISF is located in Burnet County, Murr said he and other volunteers were given the opportunity to work with Burnet County precinct maintenance employees in order to fulfill community service penalties tied to misdemeanor charges. In Murr's case, he was working off time connected to a marijuana-related charge out of Kimble County.

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

Old military rivalries were put aside as veterans cheerfully greeted fellow service members with shouts of “Hoo-Rah!” and “Semper Fi!” Tuesday night at the Falls on the Colorado Museum Veterans' Day commemoration.

Board members were not sure how their first attempt at a Veterans' Day commerative event would go.

Parking overflowed across Broadway Street, and organizers like Jane Knapik did not hesitate to call the event a success. The main room was packed wall-to-wall with veterans and family members. Veterans from every branch of service and every war were represented. 

After the VFW color guard presented the nation's flag, Bob Hansen, post commander of VFW post 10376 in Marble Falls, read the names of every veteran in the room. Others spoke about veterans, not present, who are family members or neighbors. Each veteran was thanked individually for their service.

National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for the Hill Country area between 3-9 a.m. Wednesday morning, Nov. 12. 

"In the wake of a strong cold front, freezing temperatures can be expected across much of the Hill Country late tonight into Wednesday morning. In addition, winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour will make it feel even colder," the warning stated.

Burnet, Llano and Blanco counties are included in the effected area.

"This will be the first freeze of the season for many locations. These temperatures may damage cold sensitive plants. Exposed pipes may freeze. Outdoor pets may need extra protection," the warning stated.

The National Weather Service has offered the following tips for winter weather preparedness:

Keep these emergency supplies in your vehicle

Check out Friday's Highlander for more photos of Veteran's Day celebrations around town. 

by Alexandria Randolph

Motorists crossing the US 281 bridge to and from Marble Falls may soon see some festive, colorful lighting there if the Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation moves ahead on a new idea.

In a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 5, board directors discussed the current white lights underneath the bridge that Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) added to the bridge for aesthetic purposes.

“My thought was we utilize the fixtures that are there,” said Director John Packer. “It would be cool if we were able to change the colors.”

Director Mark Mayfield mentioned that he had seen a colorful bridge display during a drive between Corpus Christi and Portland.

For the full story, see Tuesday's Highlander.

by Alexandria Randolph

At first glance, hair stylist Melissa Mensen might not appear like a typical United States military veteran, but she spent over 15 years in service to this country, including two tours in Iraq.  

Mensen became a member of the active duty U.S. Army in 1995 when she was 19 years old. She served on active duty for two years and then returned to service with the Army National Guard from 1999-2013, during which time she served one tour in Bosnia and two in Iraq. 

Mensen was a combat military police officer and trained for convoy security. She spent just under two years total in the war-torn Middle East.

For the full story, see Tuesday's Highlander.

by Alexandria Randolph

Following the approval of a development agreement, Gregg Ranch developers will begin the next steps of its new subdivision site, including seeking annexation into the City of Marble Falls.

“We’ll be closing with the sellers on Nov. 25,” said Doug Moss, the broker for developer Harvard Investments, Inc. “It needs to be annexed into the city. Then, we’ll begin engineering the property. That’s going to take some time.”

Moss said the 300-acre tract needs to be annexed by Marble Falls rather than Round Mountain, another nearby community, because developers will be tying into Marble Falls' city water and utility infrastructure.

Annexation will also allow developers to rezone portions of the land from agricultural use to residential, multi-family and commercial purposes.

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

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

Chata’s Kitchen and Tamale Factory in Cottonwood Shores has been on a slow but steady roll since getting its permits in July, participating in fundraisers and festivals to build their reputation for tasty, traditional pork tamales.

The owners, Rachel and Pat King, are aiming for a traditional taste using modern technology. The tamale machine, which Pat converted from manual to electric operation, is faster and ensures more consistent quality than hand-rolling.

At the same time, she uses her mom’s treasured recipe. “We follow the recipe to the ounce,” she said.

Nailing down her mother’s recipe was not as easy as she thought it would be. “My mom would cook ‘with a little of this, a little of that,’ as she would say,” Rachel said. “They were always good, but I couldn’t have done it that way.”

Only later were she, her husband and mom able to pin down exact measurements of ingredients.