News

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

© 2017

One of the two men accused of killing former Miss Aqua Boom and Marble Falls High School graduate Naomi Ruth Chaney in New Mexico has pleaded guilty to another killing woman in California.

Clayton Vincent Jones pleaded guilty to one count of murder for shooting 39-year-old Shalon Gheen in Slab City, California, on April 29, 2016, during an argument and to two counts of assault with a weapon for shooting at two people who tried to come to her aid.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Coffee with the Mayor drew more questions in the digital realm than actual takers for a free cup of Starbucks Feb. 10.

Since the informal chats with Marble Falls Mayor John Packer began last year, the coffee klatches have gone live on the Internet.

That may mean questions are a little more direct, but there was plenty of extra information gained.

“Well, 'When will Chick-fil-A open,' is the question I'm asked most often,” said Packer.

The answer to that—around the first of May—was shared with Christian Fletcher, executive director of the Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation.

Packer was more circumspect about the potential for a Panda Express for Marble Falls--“They have been looking at the area. However, he said work is set to begin soon on the new Burger King site on the southwest corner of the intersection of US 281 and Ranch to Market Road 1431.

Bond interest rates a finance boon

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

If the mind's eye is still adjusting to a hotel-conference center next to Lakeside Park in Marble Falls, blink again and add a 100-unit apartment complex with ground floor retail stores.

The Marble Falls City Council on Tuesday, Jan 7, approved a zoning change to allow just that. Buck Dubray of Texas General Contractors, which is proposing The Lofts at 99 Main, was present with site plans and architectural concepts to answer questions about the project.

Main Street District (MSD) zoning will be changed to Planned Development District (PPD) with an MSD base zone for 1.99 undeveloped acres, known as Lot 1-B, Block 332, of the Marble Falls Original Township subdivision, municipally addressed as 99 Main Street. That is the long-vacant hillside southeast of the Marble Falls Public Library.

The Marble Falls High School Senior cheerleaders are full of smiles, cheer and fun when it comes to pumping up the spirit for the Mustangs and they have demonstrated the same verve for scholastics.

“I am overjoyed to congratulate all seven of our Marble Falls High School senior cheerleaders on their Texas Girls Coaching Association Academic All-State honors,” said cheer coach Lauren Berkman.

“In the state of Texas, only 52 girls in 5A cheerleading were selected for this honor, and seven were from MFHS.”

They are Ashley LeCates, Sheyenne Knox, Megan Offutt, Maddie Maples, Abbie Weber, Brittany Miller, and Kelsey Walker

To earn All-State Academic honors, honorees had to be seniors and meet a grade point average (GPA) of 96 or higher for all four years of high school.

A man who investigators believe caused a crash which killed two people in November on Texas 71 near Spicewood may have had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

Blanco County Sheriff's deputies now have charged Bala Chandra Sekhar Gutti, 29, with two counts of intoxication manslaughter for the deaths of 46-year-old Cynthia Ann Vega and her 17-year-old son, Santiago, a senior at Lake Travis High School.

Gutti, of Richardson, currently is being held in the Blanco County Jail. The Nov. 28, 2016, accident had occurred in the small corner of Blanco County that sits between the borders of Burnet and Travis counties.

The accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 28, on the steep, winding stretch of Texas 71 three miles east of Spicewood. Sgt. Robbie Barrera, Department of Public Safety information officer, said 911 calls had been coming in from motorists observing a 2015 Subaru “speeding and driving erratically.”

State Rep. Terry Wilson (R-Granite Shoals) recently met with a group of local constituents to provide an update on the 85th Texas Legislature.

The freshman Representative visited over coffee with Craig Magerkurth, Wade Whiteside, Frank Reilly, Brandon Ross and Mike Hall.

Wilson took office on Jan. 10 and represents District 20, covering Burnet, Milam, and part of Williamson counties.

Rep. Wilson discussed his staff hires for his capitol and district offices, noting that he has brought on two seasoned legislative staffers, Jeff Frazier, his chief of staff, and Michele Samuelson, his district director.

Texas Tech University (TTU) Hill Country was host Feb. 3 to a kick-off reception for spring classes of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), a program for continuing education for anyone over 50 years of age.

An overflow crowd gathered at the Marble Falls TTU site at 806 Steve Hawkins Parkway to meet instructors and hear higihlights of upcoming courses, which are already under way at TTU centers in Fredericksburg, Marble Falls and Junction.

Membership in OLLI Hill Country is $30 per person and is valid for 12 months of courses. Enrollment is open to anyone over 50. Individual class costs that vary according to the carriculium are always lower for OLLI members.

Marble Falls is growing, and that growth is good for business here, with new construction popping up all around town. But for some businesses, that growth can be a challenge.

Recognizing the challenge of too few licensed workers in the construction trades, in 2016 the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) included plumbers and electricians, along with other construction jobs, among those eligible for $1 million in training funds throughout the state. The funds were available to regional workforce boards, provided those funds were matched by local economic development organizations. The training they can provide will begin this month.

The Hill Country Blenders are offering Valentine love songs to express love for your best gal or guy.

“If you are not that confident of your singing voice, we have a deal for you,” said Jim McCutchan, who is booking the 'Singing Valentine' gigs for the local affiliate of the Barbershop Harmony Society. “Our 'Singing Valentines” will performed at a location of your choosing in the Highland Lakes area. For a donation as little as $40 the Blenders will send a quartet to serenade your beloved.”