Calvin Boyd

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A Kingsland motel has been declared “uninhabitable” by the Texas State Fire Marshal and tenants have been barred from staying there unless or until repairs have been made.

State and local officials converged on the LBJ Motel at 13813 Ranch to Market Road 1431 about 11 a.m. Monday, June 5, to investigate.

“Essentially there had been a lot of complaints about the motel, about loose wiring and other things,” said Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd on Tuesday. “The state fire marshal said the people there could stay the night, but they had to be out by 8 a.m. this morning.”

The official notice was posted on the door of the motel office at a little after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A preliminary investigation indicates the wife of a Burnet County Jail employee shot her spouse once in the back of the head Thursday, April 13, at their Lampasas home before turning the weapon on herself, according to Lampasas Assistant Police Chief Jody Cummings.

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.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Burnet County Sheriff-elect Calvin Boyd introduced his choice for a new chief deputy Monday, Dec. 19, introducing Mike Cummings of Houston at a morning press conference.

“Mike Cummings has a great resume and he is going to be really good for the Sheriff's Office,” said Boyd. “There is a lot of excitement in the Sheriff's Office.”

Boyd, who won his post handily in the Republican Primary, will quietly take the oath of office at midnight on New Year's Eve to step into the shoes of retiring Burnet County Sheriff W.T. Smith.

He went on to enumerate the chain of command reporting to Cummings: Chris Jett, as the new administrative captain; Capt. Ricky Bindseil, continuing as patrol captain; Capt. Dwight Hardin, in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Special Operations Unit (SOU), and Capt. Matt Kimbler, in charge of the Burnet County Jail.

NOTE: The following results are for how BURNET COUNTY voters cast their ballots. They may or may not line up with state outcomes. For a graphic that shows how county and state results compared, see Friday's edition of The Highlander.

After all the polling locations closed Super Tuesday evening, March 1, and the votes were tallied, it became apparent that Burnet County voters mirrored the rest of Texas in favoring Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz over Donald J. Trump, 4,026 votes to 3,145.

In locally-contested races, there were many clear-cut winners, as well as several expected runoff situations (if the top candidates did not gather at least 50.1% or more of the votes for that position):

* Indicates anticipated runoffs.