Marble Falls

By Savanna Gregg

The Highlander

The memory of Marble Falls resident and well-respected physician Dr. Ivan Shepperd will forever hold a spot in the hearts of the members of the community he impacted for 61 years.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

ROUND MOUNTAIN — Blanco County residents voiced concerns Wednesday evening that a rock quarrying operation may move into the heart of this idyllic, tranquil ranchland west of town.

Denver-based Summit Materials, which sells aggregates, has a subsidiary, Austin Materials, located in Central Texas. According to Davy Roberts, a developer who lives nearby, Summit Materials has made an offer on 350 acres of property owned by the family of the late Donald Edgar Smith.

The land in question is located at the corner of Ranch to Market Road 962 and Smith West Ranch Road (Blanco County Road 308) and includes about one mile of frontage along RM 962 and a half-mile frontage along Smith West Ranch Road. It is part of an overall tract of about 1,340 acres the family owns in northern Blanco County.

As a service to our readers, we have loaded the TCEQ Response to Comments regarding Asphalt Inc.'s air quality permit 148112 on our website in its entirety. This is available for free as an e-edition to our readers. This is the official 58-page TCEQ response to public comments made about the air quality permit for the proposed rock crushing plant to be located south of Marble Falls off US 281.

To read the document, go to http://bit.ly/2Aeg8cm and click on "TCEQ Response to Comments Asphalt Inc 148112"

Note: Read all the responses, "TCEQ Response to Comments Asphalt Inc 148112," here, at HighlanderNews.com: http://bit.ly/2Aeg8cm

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has granted an air quality standard permit for a permanent rock and concrete crusher to Asphalt Inc. for a new plant to be built south of Marble Falls near US 281.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officials do not believe a rock-crushing plant south of Marble Falls would have an impact on air quality at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, according to a letter sent to state Sen. Dawn Buckingham Thursday.

However, the letter also states the TCEQ “does not operate an air quality monitor in the immediate area of the proposed facility” with the closest particulate monitoring station some 25 miles east of the proposed plant site.

Earlier this month, Buckingham, R-Austin, had sent a list of questions to TCEQ executive director Richard A. Hyde PE about the impact the proposed Asphalt Inc. facility would have on air and water quality and how its permit would be enforced prior to a scheduled 7 p.m. Oct. 26 informational meeting about the permit at Lakeside Pavilion in Marble Falls.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Public comment deadline for a proposed Air Quality Standard permit for a proposed rock crushing plant south of Marble Falls has been extended by three weeks until Oct. 31, state Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, said Friday.

Meanwhile, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will hold a 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, informational meeting about the Asphalt Inc. permit application at Lakeside Pavilion, 307 Buena Vista, Marble Falls, Buckingham said.

“To my constituents in Senate District 24 I hear you,” Buckingham said. “Many of you in the Marble Falls and surrounding areas have voiced your concerns and frustrations about a proposed rock crushing permit request and an inability, in some cases, to get your questions answered. That's why I reached out to the regulatory agency involved on your behalf demanding more transparency.

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

Marble Falls Independent School District trustees approved a $41.8 million balanced general fund budget for fiscal year 2017-18 during their regular board meeting Monday night after holding a public hearing.

The new budget includes a three percent payroll increase for all staff with additional market adjustments plus an additional $25 per month in health insurance premium benefit for all employees.

The budget assumes a total tax rate of $1.2786, which includes $1.0533 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations and 22.53 cents for interest and sinking.

Marble Falls residents will welcome the next step towards a brand-new, bigger and better H-E-B store today, April 7, with a groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will take place at the current store at 1503 Ranch to Market Road 1431 West. City officials and H-E-B leadership will be on hand to break ground and to give information about the new store design, its services and offerings and planned departments.

The new 111,000-square-foot store, which will be located next door and occupy the site of the former Bealls store as well, will offer new products, expanded departments, added services and low prices, H-E-B officials said, as the new store's footprint will be 35,000 square feet larger than the existing store.

The old store will continue operations while the new store is being built, H-E-B Marble Falls Unit Director David Crail said.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Working in conjunction with other local agencies, Burnet County Sheriff's deputies in the Special Operations Unit have arrested 17 individuals in Burnet and Llano counties as part of a month-long undercover investigation targeting methamphetamine dealers in the two counties that culminated in a raid Thursday at multiple locations.

Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd said a total of 31 warrants were obtained on the 17 individuals arresed, charging each with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in penalty group 1, more than one gram but less than four grams.

Each charge is a second-degree felony under Texas Penal Code, Chapter 481.112(c), punishable by a prison sentence of two to 20 years and a $10,000 fine.

“This represents a significant impact on the local methamphetamine supply network,” Boyd said.