Marble Falls Texas news

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.

First responders may have been the honorees at the the Marble Falls Rotary Club's 15th Annual 9/11 Day of Remembrance, but they still were on duty.

One fire rescue team was called out during the ceremony and as the final notes of closing music were sounding a call for help was shouted from the back of the crowd.

Emergency medical technicians and fire rescue members rush to the aid of the senior member of the color guard from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10376. Lloyd Crippen's condition was assessed and he was rushed to Seton Highland Lakes Hospital.

VFW District Commander Bob Hanson said Crippen he was revived in short order and was released when responded within a few hours to treatment for dehydration.

The City of Marble Falls has announced a change in the date in the first of a series of Coffee with the Mayor events. They will begin Friday morning, Sept. 16, bright and early--7-8 a.m.--with still more to be announced.

The public is invited to "have a cup of coffee" with Marble Falls Mayor John Packer at Numinous Coffee Roasters, 714 Ranch to Market Road 1431 in Marble Falls.

The city announced the free come-and-go event and more to come on Friday, Sept. 9 as an opportunity to: "come share your thoughts and ideas about your community and hear about some of the new projects in the city."

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet one-on-one with our residents and learn about the issues that are important to them,” said Packer.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks carried out against our nation on September 11, 2001.

With support of the mayor and city council of the City of Marble Falls, the Marble Falls Rotary Club holds a ceremony each year on September 11th, for personal reflection, prayer and thought in remembrance of the victims and their families and rescue workers involved in the 9/11 tragedies, and to honor, remember and reunite with the first responders or this area.

Tickets are on sale for the Sept. 23-24 FiestaJAM on Lake Marble Falls, the big music and wine benefit for the artistic programs of Harmony School of Creative Arts and Marble Falls Independent School District.

For the price of a $15 ticket, visitors will enjoy the whole evening's music at Lakeside Park Saturday, including the 6 p.m. Marquee Concert with Joe Ely at Lakeside Park Pavilion, 307 Buena Vista Drive. A $35 ticket adds tastings of featured wine and beer. (Children are admitted free with ticket holders).

A $75 ticket includes Saturday events and adds Friday's Patrons of the Arts reception.

Beyond battling bands and Joe Ely, music fans will hear john Arthur martinez, Mike Blakely, Drew Womack and John David Kent.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), will hold its kick-off event for the fall semester classes on Friday, Sept. 9.

The Texas Tech University (TTU) program offers opportunities for local citizens 50 years of age and older who have a common interest in continuing their learning experiences and intellectual stimulation in an organization of like-minded people who value the joy of learning.

The OLLI kick-off event will be held in coordination with the first class of the semester entitled, “Pop Music of the 1950s.” The instructor Larry Hess, a professional musician, will teach a class about the rhythm and blues and early rock and roll of the 1950’s. A toe-tapping time is guaranteed. Poodle skirts and duck tails are optional.

The event is free of charge and set to take place from 2-5 p.m. Sept. 9 at Quail Point Community Center, located at 107 Twilight Lane, (off Red Sails) in Horseshoe Bay..

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor
The Highlander
Depending on the value of their property, Marble Falls Independent School District taxpayers may see their individual taxes increase for the 2016-2017 school year, but they will be paying the same tax rate they have for the past several years.
MFISD trustees voted 5-0 on Monday, Aug. 29, to set a maintenance and operations tax rate of $1.0533 per $100 valuation and an interest and sinking tax rate of 22.67 cents per $100 valuation for a total tax rate of $1.28. It is the fifth year in a row the district has set its tax rate at $1.28 per $100 valuation.
School board members also approved an additional $1,123,595 in revenue and expenditures for the fiscal 2017 budget after learning that property values for the district had come in higher than expected. This now creates a total budget of $41,373,742 — up from the budget of $40,223,217 adopted by trustees earlier this year.

The students at Falls Career High School have scheduled their community service blood drive a little earlier this fall to meet the need for blood following the Labor Day Weekend.

by Alexandria Randolph

Highland Lakes Newspapers

Marble Falls Police said Tuesday that they are still pursuing leads in a shooting that occurred on July 21.

Marble Falls Capt. Glenn Hanson said police had “received a few tips” about the incident in which an unidentified 27-year-old man was shot in his bed at his home in the 400 block of Avenue R on Thursday night, July 21 at 11:22 p.m.

“We're still working on some of that information,” Hanson said. “We have some leads that we believe will ultimately prove fruitful.”

Currently police have two suspects, but do not yet have enough information to arrest them.

“It's hard to say that they are local – they come and go, but they are known to us,” Hanson said.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The City of Burnet sent out a fraud alert this week on a telephone scam, one that does not, as yet, seem to have reached out into the county.

Burnet businesses have reported receiving telephone calls, claiming to be from the City of Burnet, telling them that they are past due on their utility bills and that unless they immediately pay the bill in cash their utilities will be terminated. The caller is aggressive and insists that they must make a payment immediately.

The City of Burnet sends out past due notices on the 21st of each month and will not call a citizen demanding payment over the phone.

To check the status of utility accounts, citizens can either go online to www.cityofburnet.com and select “Online Services,” where they log-in using a secure password that they create, or they can call the utility department at 512-756-6093.