News

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

The father of a man missing since September 2015 told The Highlander his only wish is to find out what has happened to his son.

“We just want our son home,” said John Johnson Sr. “We just want our son home. It's hard (to go through this), but we want him home. Whatever we have to do to do that, we are willing to walk through that.

“We don't know where else to turn now except the media. Maybe someone will know something. Someone is bound to know something. It is just a matter of coming into contact with them.”

IN CUSTODY: Ashton Micheal Hutchison

The Llano Police Department (LPD) announced yesterday, Monday, May 29, that Ashton Michael Hutchinson was in custody.

The public had been asked for assistance in locating him in connection with a May 25 burglary that involved a shooting and that appeal apparently paid off. A woman posting on social media said, "We saw him walking on a county road outside Cherokee and called him in."

Hutchison, 25, was taken into custody about 5 p.m. Monday in nearby Cherokee by deputies with the San Saba County Sheriff's Office and an officer of the Llano Police Department.

Hutchison was sought on charges of burglary of a habitation at Stonewall's Pizza Wings & Things, 109 West Main Street in Llano.

The manager of the popular restaurant on the Llano County Courthouse Square, Richard Mandi Schmidt, also commented on social media, saying, "We will all sleep a little better knowing he is in custody."

The Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) will purchase equipment to safely and quickly refill firefighter air tanks with the help of a $24,000 community development grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).

Thieves broke into the fire station off Texas 29 in Llano County in January and damaged or destroyed a large amount of equipment, including the air compressor used to refill the air tanks firefighters use when responding to hazards.

The fire department will use the grant to buy a new compressor, a station that can fill two air cylinders at a time, and a system of six high-pressure cylinders that firefighters can take with them on calls to refill individual air tanks.

An additional $6,000 in local matching funds will help pay for the equipment.

A Blanco woman was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of injury to a child resulting the death of her 15-month-old daughter.

Jamie Petronella, 24, was found to have failed to seek medical attention for her daughter Sunny Bort, who died May 5, 2016, in a San Antonio hospital from injuries she received at the hands of Petronella's live-in boyfriend, John Cody Lawrence, 24.

On Feb. 3, Lawrence was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to capital murder of a child younger than 10 years of age for intentionally causing the toddler's death.

Petronella appeared before 33rd District Judge Allan Garrett on Wednesday, May 17, for her role in the child's death. She was given a plea for a lesser charge after Lawrence accepted sole responsibility for causing the injuries, which he alleged he caused to the child while Petronella was at work.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A Kingsland man, Billy Joe Roush, was arrested Tuesday, May 16, on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Roush, 68, who was arrested on a warrant out of the 424th District Court, remains in the Llano County Jail on $100,000 bond.

The incident is believed to have occurred during a family vacation during Spring Break in the Big Bend area of West Texas, according to a Llano County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Marble Falls City Council members voted 4-2 to appoint William “Dee” Haddock to the Place 4 seat left vacant after the May 6 general election.

Haddock, who has served on the city's Planning & Zoning Commission since 2011, was one of three people who threw their hats into the ring for the position recently held by Rachel Austin-Cook, who did not seek re-election to her Place 4 seat.

Michele Boshears and Jim Coursey also submitted their applications for consideration prior to the May 8 deadline set by the council. No candidates had filed to run for Place 4 in the May 2017 general election, which had been canceled due to lack of opposed candidates. According to Section 3.06 of the City Charter, the City Council must appoint a qualified candidate when there is a vacancy.

Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Three new members of the Meadowlakes City Council took their oaths of office Tuesday, May 16.

They are David Baker, who ran unopposed for Place 2; Ed O'Hayre in Place 4 and Bob Brown in Place 5.

Mayor Mary Ann Raesener recognized the three outgoing council members Alton Fields, Barry Cunningham and Clancy Stephenson.

“A lot of changes have been taking place at the city's Hidden Falls Golf Course and the Meadowlakes Restaurant,” said Raesener. “Both Allan Oppenheim and Susan Ranow turned in resignations on the same day a few weeks ago.

“Our golf pro, Jeremy Grubb, has been managing the golf side for some time, and we learned that he also has extensive restaurant management experience. We are delighted that Jeremy has agreed to become the manager of both golf course and restaurant operations.”

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Granite Shoals City Council on Tuesday, May 9, passed a single resolution, one laying to rest their position on the 2004 annexation of the Green Valley Subdivision.

Ironically, it was a meeting not attended by Roy W. “Smiley” Settlemyre who has appeared before the council regularly over the years to protest the annexation, based on population density.

The council's Resolution 533 included the supporting documentation of ta 2014 review by City Attorney Brad Young. Also included was the decision of the Burnet Central Appraisal District's Appraisal Review Board in response to Settlemyre's claims there that city property taxes were improper.

Young, who was not city attorney at the time of the annexation, listed documentation he had reviewed for an opinion. Records on property in the original Sherwood Shores development and city annexations, back to 1978, were referenced.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A Burnet woman has been indicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide for a 2015 accident which killed her two-year-old son.

Alyssa Burnam, 26, also faces two counts of abandonment or endangerment of a child criminal negligence in connection with the July 26, 2015, single-vehicle rollover on County Road 116 in Hoover Valley.

The accident killed John Xavier (Jax) Meyers, 2, when he was ejected from the Ford F150 extended cab pickup truck Burnam had been driving. He was transported to an area hospital after the crash, but was pronounced dead there an hour after the accident.

Also injured in the accident was Burnam's brother Maddox Heartline, now 12, who had been sitting in the front seat of the truck with Burnam. Heartline was transported to Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in serious condition.