News

A Kingsland man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for Indecency with a Child.

On April 12, Robert Corporon was found guilty of two counts of Indecency with a Child. His punishment was assessed at 12 years on one count, and 15 years on the other.

After presiding over the trial and hearing all the evidence, 424th District Judge Evan Stubbs “stacked” the punishment for sentences to run consecutively. The punishment range for each count was between 2 years to 20 years in prison.

The victim in the case was an eight-year-old girl from Colorado, who was visiting her family at the Corporon residence in Kingsland in the summer of 2016.

According to a summary from District Attorney Sonny McAfee, the girl told her mother had been “putting his hands in her pants” while she was getting ready for bed. The girl’s mother immediately contacted law enforcement and an investigation was conducted.

This story has been updated For the Tuesday, April 17, edition of The Highlander.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A newly remodeled lakefront home in Granite Shoals went up in flames fed by high winds that had Lake LBJ covered in whitecaps on Saturday, April 14.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Highlander Candidate Forum, set for 10 a.m. Saturday, April 21, will be one item of interest on the Granite Shoals City Council agenda tonight, Tuesday, April 10.

Candidates in the May 5 city council election have been invited to the 10 a.m. forum at Marble Falls Fire Rescue, 8410 West Ranch to Market Road 1431.

Those candidates are Bruce A. Jones and incumbent Shirley King for Place 2, and Terry Scott and Ryan Wolters for Place 4. Will Skinner is uncontested for Place 6.

In the mean time, the council will be urging citizens to be ready Saturday, April 14, for the annual City Wide Clean Up.

The gates will open at the city hall entrance, 2221 North Phillips Ranch Road at 8 a.m. and refuse will be accepted until noon for disposal in Republic Service dumpsters on the municipal complex. A shredder service for important documents will go on only until 11 a.m.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The City of Marble Falls recognized April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month through a formal proclamation by mayor John Packer at the Tuesday, April 3, meeting of the Marble Falls City Council.

Introducing volunteers of the Burnet County Child Welfare Board who were present and Cindi Ashford-Fry, development coordinator of the Hill Country Child Advocacy Center, Packer reaffirmed the city's commitment to their work and that of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for the Highland Lakes and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

“Through a national effort, Marble Falls community members are encouraged to join together to raise awareness for those children fallen victim to abuse and neglect throughout the month of April,” he proclaimed.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Burnet County commissioners could be excused for believing County Auditor Karen Hardin has a crystal ball which helps her accurately predict the county's fiscal needs.

Hardin told the Commissioners Court at their March 27 meeting that county general fund revenues should come in at about $31,000 more than what was projected for fiscal year 2018 — a difference of a miniscule 0.15 percent.

“It is very difficult to get that close, though we try to do it every year, and we usually end up within 2 to 3 percent of what we have budgeted,” Hardin said.

Some of the additional revenue is coming from increases in septic tank and flood plain permits being issued as well as increased motor vehicle registration collections.

Hardin said due to Senate Bill 1913, she also budgeted an expected reduction of $330,000 in fines and fees and it appears the numbers will be close to that amount.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The weather is warm and flowers are blooming, but heading into the great out of doors warrants caution about snakes and wildlife.

Already this year in Burnet County, two people have been bitten by rattlesnakes and now rabies alerts are being raised.

Meadowlakes was the first city in the area to report positive tests for rabies on skunks in the city limits and reports have followed on animals contained in Marble Falls and Burnet.

In 2018 Burnet County has risen already into the 7-10 rabies case category of the Texas Department of State Health Services (TSHS), including skunks, foxes, a raccoon and even a cat in various parts of the county.

The animal in Marble Falls was captured March 22 in the 800 block of Avenue F and in Burnet one was found on John Hoover Parkway March 27. In Meadowlakes they were found in several locations, including Hidden Falls Golf Course.

By Phil Reynolds

The Highlander

Llano County commissioners took what Precinct 4 Commissioer Jerry Don Moss called “an important step” Monday when they endorsed a proposal for New Braunfels Utilities to buy electricity from the Big Dog Solar Project.

The Big Dog project is part of a contract between Llano County and E.ON North America to allow solar electricity generating panels on Llano ISD public school land in Tom Green County. Under the contract, E.ON will have some time to explore the viability of the project, and once that’s finished, will begin building the panels.

April is Child Abuse Prevention & Awareness Month all across America and the first Friday in April, April 6, is Go BLUE Day when people wear blue ribbons as a sign of awareness and pray for victims of abuse and neglect.

Right here in Burnet County three organizations are on the frontline of work toward one goal.

They are the Burnet County Child Welfare Board (BCCWB), the Hill Country Children's Advocacy Center (HCCAC) and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for the Highland Lakes all are involved with protecting our most vulnerable children, those in the foster care system.

“While each has a specific role in that task, they are often misunderstood,” said Caroline Ragsdill, president of the BCCWB. “But each has a special role.”

BCCWB

A Blanco County Grand Jury has indicted a man on six counts of Indencency with a Child by Sexual Contact.

Awaiting arraignment before the 33rd Judicial District Court is Dalton Savanich.

All the offenses listed on a March 7 indictment were alleged to have been committed against a child under the age of 17 during the summers of 2016 and 2017.

Each count is a second degree felony charge that carries a potential sentence of from 2-20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 or both. A $25,000 bond was set on each.

A Meadowlakes man was arrested Wednesday on charges relating to alleged criminal sexual conduct against multiple children beginning at least as far back as 2014.

Leroy Lilley, 59, was arrested by the Burnet County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) on two formal charges of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child under age 14 and one count of Indecency with a Child under age 14.

According to the BCSO, the arrest and charges stem from a joint investigation that has been conducted for more than a month by BCSO investigators and the Child Protective Service of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

“During the investigation, multiple children disclosed details of criminal sexual conduct on Lilley's part spanning a time period that dates back to at least 2014,” the release stated. “The investigation is ongoing.”