Granite Shoals news

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Granite Shoals residents will find a special feature at the Fall Citywide Clean Up Saturday, Oct. 15.

“We will have a Shred Mobile unit to shred old documents for free,” said City Manager Ken Nickel.

“Shredding documents and even old mail can help fight identity theft,” explained City Secretary Elaine Simpson. “Please remove any binders, notebooks or large fasteners from the material you wish to have shredded.”

The clean up event will take place from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, but the shredding will close down at 11 a.m.

Citywide clean up is conducted twice a year in Granite Shoals through a monthly utility fee and a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Glynis Crawford Smith

The HIghlander

One of Granite Shoals youngest citizens was honored as “a champion in fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)” by the Granite Shoals City Council Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Seven-year-old Alyssa Flores accepted the fanfare with the poise of any celebrity. After all, she already had spent an evening with Selena Gomez.

Alyssa is the first local child to have been granted a dream come true by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. That wish was to meet the actress and singer, whose hits include “Love You Like A Love Song” and “Come and Get It.”

“She was going to choose a swim with dolphins,” said Kathrin Brewer, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Austin. “But they were driving past the Long Center in Austin and saw that Selena Gomez was playing. She said she absolutely wanted that more than anything.”

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 Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The Granite Shoals City Council on Tuesday night, Aug. 9, heard a review of a staff proposed budget and agreed to publish a tax rate they would not exceed: $0.5572 per $100 valuation.

That rate represents a sliver of an increase over the 2015 rate of $0.5207, just about three and a half cents per $100 valuation. But it falls below the rollback rate but above the effective rate, bringing in this year's ad valorem tax revenue to $2.4 million.

The hard decisions on a staff proposed budget of $6.76 million will be on the table at a budget workshop Monday, Aug. 15.

Development slowed in Granite Shoals last year over the previous six percent hike in property valuation. The 2.9 percent increase in valuation would add only $56,000 to revenue if the full 55.72 cents per $100 were instituted.

BY MARK GOODSON

HIGHLANDER SPORTS EDITOR

Leo Manzano’s bid for his third straight Olympics in the 1,500 meters ended Sunday in Eugene, Oregon.

With 100 meters to go, Manzano went for his patented kick but just as he got shoulder-to-shoulder with Ben Blakenship for third place Manzano was not able to keep up with Blakenship’s extra effort. Manzano finished in fourth place with a time of 3:36.62 in the Olympic Trails.