News

Solutions may be at hand for what Broadway Street neighbors consider an eyesore.

A handful of citizens addressed the meeting of the Marble Falls City Council Tuesday night, July 18, among them residents along the new Broadway Street rennovation project.

“Thank you for our beautiful new road,” said Leonard Venghaus “Everybody is walking down the new sidewalks...People that hadn't walked down the street before.”

But that was a preamble to the complaint he had his neighbors had come to register about the derelict house at 516 Broadway Street.

“We have three historical sites on the street and we are about to have a fourth,” he said, in reference to a former First Baptist Church parsonage to be moved from its site at 911 Seventh Street, across a US 281 to its new home at 604 Avenue F.

The vacant Broadway residence would be the blight on a neighborhood experiencing new vibrance.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A prospective new owner for the site that now houses the Marble Falls Police Department (MFPD) was confirmed at the meeting of the Marble Falls City Council Tuesday night, July 18.

Following an executive session, the council voted to authorize City Manager Mike Hodge to accept the offer for the asking price of $740,000 from Diamante Grezzo Properties, LLC.

The Leander-based corporation, that concentrates on housing on its company social media page, describes itself as “a professional, full service real estate solutions firm that buys and sells properties throughout the greater Austin area. A proposed use for the former bank building and parking lot at 209 Main Street was not made public, but Assistant City Manager Caleb Kraenzel, in charge of development services for the city, said initial conversations indicated it would be “downtown compatible.”

Burnet County Employee Terry Bonnett was undergoing surgery Monday morning, July 31, for a broken hip sustained in a fall from the roof of a home he was building.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Billy Wall said co-workers of the Precinct 3 road technician are pulling for his recovery.
“He will be missed in the months it requires for recovery,” said Wall. “There was talk already this morning of trying to find a way to help with that roof.”
“He is building his house from the ground up by himself and with his wife Vicki,” reported the statement posted with a GoFundMe page on the Internet. “He is going to be out (of work) for a long stretch.”
An update reported the surgery would take place at Seton Medical Center - Williamson in Round Rock.

The web address for the GoFundMe account is www.gofundme.com/help-terry-bonnet.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

and Lew K. Cohn

The Highlander

A 36-year-old man was struck and killed Sunday night, July 30, on US 281 in Marble Falls.

Jerrod Bradford Young was walking alone down the middle of the inside, southbound lane in the 3300 block of US 281, when he was struck by a Chevy Tahoe, according to Marble Falls Police Capt. Glenn Hanson.

The call came in to the Marble Falls Police Department at 10:53 p.m. but, after the Marble Falls Area Emergency Medical Service arrived, Young was declared dead at the scene.

Marble Falls High School cheerleader Anna Herrington and mascot Max Mustang (aka Hunter Gasaway) were named All-Americans at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) Summer Camp.

Herrington is a senior and Gasaway is a sophomore. Their hard work earned a spot on the Varsity Spirit All-American London Tour for 2018.

The tour is a week in London with the top cheerleaders from around the country performing in the London New Year’s Day Parade.

In a week-long trip they will visit Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the House of Parliament, the British Museum, and Windsor Castle.

Participants take a Disco cruise on the River Thames, dancing the night away and ringing in the New Year with 800 new friends.

No word is yet available on the condition of a motorcyclist airlifted from an accident between Kingsland and Buchanan Dam at 12:44 a.m. this morning, Friday, July 28.

Records of the call that came in to the Llano County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) just shortly indicated the rider was without a helmet.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is in charge of the investigation, but LCSO, Llano Emergency Medical Service and the Buchanan Dam Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call. AirEvac transported the injured man to the trauma center at Baylor Scott & White Hospital – Williamson County in Round Rock.

The scene of the accident was between Twin Liquors, 7317 West Ranch to Market Road 1431 and Pat's Pub at 7018 West RM 1431.

Burnet County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Peggy Shell Simon announced last week she will not be seeking re-election to the position she has held since January 1991.

Simon made the announcement Thursday night at the Lakes Republican Club. At least two candidates have announced they want to succeed Simon – former Marble Falls mayor pro Tem and local real estate broker Jane Marie Hurst, and Jeff Sellers, a volunteer firefighter who also has a background in mediation, emergency management, private investigations and law enforcement.

Efforts to reach Simon, who was out of town at a conference Monday, were unsuccessful, but both Hurst and Sellers expressed their appreciation for the longtime public servant.

By Richard Zowie

The Highlander

A weekend on the water turned into a tragedy as a man died in the early morning of July 23 after being pulled from the water at Buchanan Dam the day before.

According to Steve Lightfoot of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Juan Antonio Bolaños, a 28-year-old Mexican national, was on a float tube at the dam Saturday evening when he fell off at some point and was unable to swim.

Friends on shore say it was about 15 minutes before they realized he wasn’t there. They then went out and brought him to shore.

Lightfoot said medical personnel responding were able to detect a pulse from Bolaños, who was then transported by helicopter to a hospital.

The Mexican national was pronounced dead early Sunday morning.

Lightfoot said at this time, no further details of Bolaños’ death are known. He added that there is currently no indication of foul play.

By Phil Reynolds

The Highlander

With no discussion, Llano County commissioners voted Monday to extend a county-wide burn ban for another three weeks. The vote was unanimous, 4-0, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Mike Sandoval absent.

The Texas Forest Service lists Llano County with a Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) ranging from 328 to 526 as of Monday, July 24. According to the KBDI definition, a range of 400 to 600 means that “Lower litter and duff layers contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. Wildfire intensity begins to increase significantly. Larger fuels could burn or smolder for several days.”

County Emergency Management Coordinator Assistant Ron Anderson said he didn’t take his usual poll of county fire chiefs to get their opinions because “half the departments were out fighting fires” over the weekend.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

One of Horseshoe Bay's oldest structures now belongs to the City of Horseshoe Bay after the Horseshoe Bay Resort handed over the deed and the keys to the historic Fuchs House at Tuesday's regular council meeting.
Ron Lynn Mitchell, vice chairman, president and CEO of Horseshoe Bay Resort, presented the deed to the house — which was built in the 19th century — as well as the 2.76-acre tract of land it sits on to Horseshoe Bay mayor Steve Jordan and Fuchs House Advisory Committee member Mike Widler.