Burnet County Texas news

by Alexandria Randolph

Highland Lakes Newspapers

An 11-year-old girl from Oatmeal placed in a world champion youth archery tournament in August.

Aspen Nelson, a student at Faith Academy, placed sixth in Junior Buckmasters World Champion Tournament, a worldwide youth archery competition in Montgomery, Ala. after under two years of practicing the sport.

Stepdad Brian Klosterhoff said Nelson is a natural.

“She's ranked in the state of Texas for first place junior archer in 4-H,” he said.

Klosterhoff and friend Robert Lee began coaching a group of Burnet County 4-H students in archery in April 2015, when Nelson expressed interest in the sport.

“She wanted to do it and she has really taken off,” he said.

Nelson said she likes archery because “it's very challenging and you get to be outside. With archery, you have a hobby forever.”

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The possibility of a Colorado River bridge below Wirtz Dam clearly is gathering a head of steam and John Q. Citizen is about to weigh in on the project.

In a meeting conducted by the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Friday, Sept. 9, in Marble Falls City Council chambers, Burnet County governmental leaders and first responders were enthusiastic. Now, CAMPO is beginning a campaign to inform the public and gather opinions from residents, owners of property and businesses and from lake users.

A bridge below Wirtz Dam to connect north-south traffic between Ranch to Market Roads (RM) 1431 and 2147 has been a long-held priority of County Judge James Oakley.

By Christi Bertelson

Highland Lakes Newspapers

A woman and her oldest son—Roselee Rodriguez and West Adair Jr.—were pronounced dead on scene in north Burnet County after a four-car collision ended in tragedy Saturday morning, Sept. 3, around 9:25 a.m.

Rodriguez, 26, was traveling with her two sons Adair Jr., 6, and Isreal Rodriguez, 3, when their 2003 Ford Expedition was struck by a 2014 Dodge pickup, driven by Lacy Pearson, 51.

Pearson and his passengers—Rhonda Pearson, 53, Callie Pearson, 22, Angel Dodd, 14, and Natalie Robertson, 2—all of Burnet, were traveling north on US 281 when a 1998 Lexus reportedly forced them into oncoming traffic, colliding with Rodriguez head on.

By Christi Bertelson

Highland Lakes Newspapers

Brother Doug Fowler and wife Barbara were heavy hearted when they learned that some children in Burnet County were going to endure winter of 2009 with no jackets or warm clothing.

“When they found out, Doug asked the church (New Life Church), family and friends to donate what they could to help these children,” said Jenny Parker, a volunteer for the Ministry.

After donating, Doug knew there was a sense of importance that they needed to continue to help the community in any way they could.

‘Martha’s Clothing Ministry’ came to life with just a few things the church, family and friends could gather.

“The Ministry started with just a few tables made from saw horses, little stacks of clothes and one table of jackets,” said Parker.

Doug named the Clothing Ministry after ‘Martha of Bethany’ from the Bible, who was known for her concern for others.

Alexandria Randolph
Highland Lakes Newspapers
Burnet County Commissioners Court officially decreased the ad valorem tax rate for the second fiscal year in a row.
Commissioners Court met on Tuesday, Aug. 23 and approved an effective tax rate for the 2017 fiscal year that is a 1.4 percent reduction compared to last year’s rate.
Burnet County Judge James Oakley said the new rate, which is .3969 per $100 valuation, will amount to a $369.90 tax per year for a property valued at $100,000.
For those residents whose property values didn’t rise this year, the new tax will represent a 1.4 percent reduction in their county taxes.
The lower effective rate is the “culmination of rising property values in the county,” Oakley said.
“It would have been a lot lower this year, but we had a lot more seniors qualify for the tax freeze.”

Writing a series of whodunits was the last thing on the mind of bestselling historical romance author Adrienne deWolfe until her computer crashed – and got stolen from the repair shop.
“I was struggling to write my first fantasy when my hard drive blew up,” deWolfe recalled. “The night before the meltdown, I actually had a dream that the manuscript would never get published. Does that make me psychic?”
DeWolfe works by day as a sales rep for Gumdrop Books and counts among her clients Burnet Junior High and Herman Brown Free Library.
While deWolfe can joke now about the computer debacle, she said the loss of a manuscript is every writer’s worst nightmare.
“There must have been some higher plan for me, because my publisher contacted me two days later, asking me to write a Western romance. From the ashes of that lost fantasy rose my favorite heroine: a fiery-haired, gun-slinging ex-bawd with a Pinkerton badge.”

BY ALEXANDRIA RANDOLPH

HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

Burnet County officials and law enforcement are preparing for an influx of inmates from nearby counties in coming weeks.

Burnet County Judge James Oakley said commissioners court approved contracts with three Texas counties on Tuesday to house inmates in overflow conditions or special circumstances, and the jail has hired additional staff to handle the increase. Hayes, Somerville, and Taylor county jails have all contracted for the ability to send inmates to Burnet County Jail.

Prior to new staff, the jail was only allowed up to house 240 inmates based on its staffing. The total capacity of the jail is 587.

“It's a See-Saw effect,” Oakley said. “As we bring in new inmates, we hire more jailors.”

In late June, commissioners voted to unfreeze eight positions at the jail to prepare for the influx of new inmates.

BY ALEXANDRIA RANDOLPH
HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

BY CHRISTI BERTELSON
HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

County burn bans instituted

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander