News

From staff reports

What started as an attempt to serve an eviction notice, evolved into a suspect standoff Dec. 5 in Spicewood in Burnet County, authorities said.

Marshall Willard Brown, 43, was eventually apprehended at 3:20 p.m. following an hours long standoff at an empty mobile home. Authorities reported he was a member of the Aryan Circle gang and had been on the run since 2018. 

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

The public will have one final chance to give input on the Public Use Plan for the old Highland Lakes Golf Club course at Inks Lake State Park during a 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, public hearing at the Burnet Community Center.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Marble Falls city officials indicated Nov. 19 they may work with property owners, in particular the John Kemper family, to delay and/or modify a plan to potentially annex several acres of land into the city limits.

City staff has proposed annexation of 64 acres of Kemper's property, which includes a two-acre homestead tract, located south of Lake Marble Falls on the eastern portion of the city limits.

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

A grassroots non-profit organization has labeled the elections websites for Burnet and Llano counties “not secure” in its latest survey of Texas county websites.

Connie Swinney/The Highlander

The city of Marble Falls has erected an approximately 35-foot Christmas tree in Harmony Park at the intersection of Third Street and Main in the downtown historic district. The lighting of the treeat 6 p.m. tonight, Friday, Nov. 22, will coincide with the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of commerce Light-up Parade on Main followed by the opening of the 29th Annual Walkway of Lights in Lakeside Park.

From staff reports

A Tow man has died in a motorcycle accident on a remote section of the highway in eastern Burnet County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Ray Dean Levacy, 63, the driver of a 2001 Harley Davidson motorcycle, was traveling northbound around 1:15 p.m. Nov. 21 on FM 1174, approximately 11 miles north of Bertram.

“[The motorcycle] traveled off the roadway and entered the northbound barrow ditch,” the report stated. [The motorcycle] traveled over an embankment, causing the driver to lose control.”

By Nathan Hendrix
Staff Writer

Residents and parents of Marble Falls Independent School District will soon see tangible evidence of building construction following school board approval of the financing documents for phase two of the $55 million bond projects.

At the Nov. 18 regular school board meeting, the trustees unanimously accepted a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $21,268,965 for the bulk of building renovations at several districts across MFISD.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Marble Falls Housing Authority officials announced the impending dissolution of the entity, as council members approved an agreement Nov. 19 which would allow the Burnet Housing Authority program to oversee the administrative operations for local clients.

Marble Falls Housing Authority Executive Director Mark Mayfield spoke before the Marble Falls City Council with announcements about the potential future of the federally-subsidized housing authorities in Marble Falls and Burnet.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Marble Falls City Council debated Nov. 19 how to proceed with newly-passed state law which limits a municipality's ability to prohibit construction materials based on aesthetics.

Following passage by state lawmakers and Gov. Greg Abbott's signature during the 86th Texas Legislature, HB 2439 became law in September, prompting cities to scramble to align their codes to match the mandate. State lawmakers based the law on national building standards geared towards health and safety regulation.

Special to The Highlander

Karl Ritter, of Brady, generously donated the “Texas Zephyr” to the Commemorative Air Force’s Highland Lakes Squadron based at Kate Craddock Field in Burnet. The Texas Zephyr was manufactured in 1945 by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Ritter, the donor of the airplane, expressed that he wished to see the Texas Zephyr restored to its original glory and believes that the Commemorative Air Force’s Highland Lakes Squadron would be best suited to do just that after spending thousands of hours restoring the Bluebonnet Belle.The Zephyr is currently positioned at the Brady Curtis Airfield in Brady, and will require some mechanical work prior to relocation to Burnet. This will hopefully take place by the summer of next year, just in time for the Bluebonnet Air Show which is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2020.