James Oakley

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

As of Sunday, March 29, Burnet County now has three confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the county and officials are continuing to expect more positive tests in the next few days, County Judge James Oakley said.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Burnet County Judge James Oakley on Wednesday, March 18, declared a state of disaster for Burnet County due to a public health emergency in an effort to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The order activates the county's emergency management plan for the next seven days unless the state of disaster is continued by the Burnet County Commissioners Court, who were to meet Thursday, March 18.

Included with the declaration were a set of recommendations by the Burnet County Health Authority and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the county was advising the public to follow:

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

Burnet County Judge James Oakley won re-election by a very slim 55-vote margin to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board of directors at Saturday's annual meeting, held at Horseshoe Bay Resort.

From staff reports

The Burnet County burn ban has been lifted as of Thursday, Sept. 6, Burnet County Judge James Oakley said.

Soaking rains fell throughout Burnet County this week, with some areas reporting up to three inches of precipitation within a 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. Thursday. The rain caused the county's Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) average to drop 32 points from 523 to 491, with a high of 703 (just north of Burnet) and a low of 320 (near Marble Falls).

The KBDI is used to determine forest fire potential. The drought index is based on daily water balance, where a drought factor is balanced with precipitation and soil moisture (assumed to have a maximum storage capacity of eight inches) and is expressed in hundredths of an inch of soil moisture depletion.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Continued closures of Burnet County highways and roads due to railway activity the past several days has left Burnet County officials feeling “sidetracked.”

It has even prompted Burnet County Judge James Oakley to ask Austin Western Railroad officials for a sitdown at the next Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, July 24, to see what can be done to get the two sides back on the right track.

Meanwhile, Austin Western Railroad officials on Thursday apologized for the delays motorists and first responders experienced and explained what caused them.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Burnet County Precinct 3 Constable Jimmy Ballard died early Monday, July 2, after losing a two-year fight with cancer and being removed from life support late Sunday. He was 57.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Homeowners, ranchers, government officials, hospital leaders and concerned citizens met together Friday at Baylor Scott & White Speciality Clinic with one common goal in mind — opposing the construction of a new rock crushing plant south of Marble Falls.

Asphalt Inc. applied for an air permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to operate a new rock and concrete crushing plant with an entrance 90 feet west of US 281 and approximately 2.6 miles south of the intersection of Texas 71 near Flat Rock Road, which is Burnet County Road 403.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A Pedernales Electric Cooperative complaint committee has stopped short of calling for the removal of Burnet County Judge James Oakley from the Board of Directors entirely but has recommended his removal as Vice President of the cooperative's board.

The recommendation of the Complaint Committee will be discussed and action taken during Tuesday's regular Board of Directors meeting at the cooperative's headquarters in Johnson City.

The board will also consider a resolution by Oakley to rescind the bylaws for removal and discipline of a PEC director from bylaw amendments that were put in place just one week before Oakley made a post on Facebook which brought national media spotlight to the PEC and cast Oakley in an unfavorable light.

By Frank Shubert

The Highlander Publisher

The Pederenales Electric Cooperative (PEC) Complaint Committee, appointed to review the director complaint regarding board member James Oakley, canceled its called meeting for 9 a.m. today, Wednesday, Dec. 14. The meeting is subject to re-scheduling, pursuant to appropriate PEC notice requirements. On the advice and recommendation of its counsel, the committee is postponing this meeting, pending attorneys work in the matter.

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors voted 6-0 Wednesday, Nov. 30, to give written notice to director James Oakley that the board will consider his possible removal on Jan. 17 if a complaint filed against Oakley is found to merit such discipline.

In a resolution approved at a special called meeting, the board voted to establish a committee to investigate the complaint against Oakley and determine what punishment, if any, he may face for a social media post made earlier in the month in which Oakley commented it was “time for a tree and a rope” for the suspected killer of a San Antonio police officer.

Board President Emily Pataki indicated the committee, which will be comprised of directors Kathy Scanlon, Paul Graf and herself, can consider all avenues open to them through the cooperative's bylaws, including removing Oakley from the position he has held since 2013.