Llano County Journal

Lake Country Life:Discover history at local landmarks

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, January 12, 2011

ournalLlanoLlanoThe

COUNTYJ ournalJVol. 10 No. 29

Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Two businesses join chamber

Page 2A

Sports:Girls win first district game

B

Join Our Website Community...

w w w . L l a n o C J . c o m

Get News Alerts and Other Information Sent Directly to Your Computer

The latest news, sports, videos, blogs, forums,classifieds, reader photos and more…

In PhotosPages 8, 9, 10A

LSIVESTOCKHOW!

News:Students receive scholarship funds

Page 3A

Who has the Best Automotive

Business? Where’s the Best Place

to Dine? Where Can I find the Best

Entertainment? How about the Best

Place to Have Fun?

All of these questions in more

than 150 categories will be answered

in February when the 2011 Readers’

Choice Award winners for the best

in the Highland Lakes in Llano,

Kingsland, and other Llano County

communities will be announced in

The Llano County Journal.

Now that the voting has ended

we’re beginning to count the stacks

of ballots that have poured into The

Llano County Journal offices.

The results of your balloting

will be published in February in our

Annual Readers’ Choice Awards

Special Section.

Good luck to everyone!

We’re counting the ballots!

LEDC refocuses project Commissioners keep

burn ban in effect BY MICHAEL FREEMAN

HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

Despite some areas of Llano County receiving as much as an inch of rain this past weekend, the Lla-no County commissioners’ court decided not to lift a countywide burn ban on Monday.

Jerry Don Moss, county commissioner for Precinct 4, said he had called several people within his precinct about lifting the ban, but reached the conclusion that

conditions were still too dry to take such an action.

The burn ban, which was enacted in October, prohibits open fires; violat-ing the ban could result in a penalty of a Class C mis-demeanor with a maximum fine of $500. The three-

month burn ban order is set to expire on Jan. 23, at which time the commis-sioners could allow the ban to expire or renew the ban.

“There’s an awful lot of

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Although the Llano Eco-nomic Development Cor-poration terminated its consulting contract with Ketchum Consulting for a multi-purpose event center on Monday, the ambitious plans for the center are not dead.

Instead, the LEDC voted on Monday to refocus its goals and allot $60,000 for

the planning and develop-ment of the community fa-cilities on RR 152 near the

existing community cen-

ter. In doing so, the LEDC is abandoning a $6 million

project on a 47-acre prop-erty off of SH 71 E.

“It became a consensus of the group to not under-take a $6 million project at

this time,” said Jim Thomas, LEDC president.

The LEDC owns 88 acres of land across the highway from Robinson City Park. There, the LEDC plans to gradually develop many of the same facilities that were originally planned for the multi-purpose event center. First, the LEDC plans to build a covered rodeo and

roping arena, followed by replacing the existing arena with a new community cen-ter. Thomas said the existing community center would be converted into a show barn.

“It’s still a usable facility,” he said.

Finally, an amphithe-ater would be constructed into a hill in Robinson City Park near the Llano River, and at least three soccer fields would be installed in

the area.With this plan, Thom-

as estimated the project

A New Life: Scott & White, Llano mergeBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Scott & White officials welcomed the

newest member to its healthcare ser-vices on Thursday—the Llano Memo-rial Hospital, which has been renamed the Scott & White Hospital – Llano.

The official merger date came on

Jan. 1 when the Temple-based health-care provider gained control of the Llano hospital, six leased clinics in Llano, Kingsland, San Saba, Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay and Mason, and the Llano County Emergency Medical Services.

On Thursday, hospital officials

praised the Llano staff members for the job they have done and challenged them to continue their work under the new ownership.

“I can confidently say that we

have already demonstrated to Scott & White that we collectively operate in an efficient and in a good—sometimes

even a great—rural healthcare deliv-ery system in the Hill Country,” said Kevin Leeper, chief executive officer

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANMike Jenkins, right, president of the Llano County Hospital Authority Board, speaks at an event at the Llano hospital

on Thursday commemorating the merger of Scott & White Healthcare and the Llano Memorial Healthcare System.

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANKelsey Center prepares her meat goat to be judged Friday at the

Llano County Junior Livestock Show. Center won the Reserve

Weight Champion award for her goat, which later sold for $1,400.

T-4 Construction bought the goat. See full results on Page 5A.

Buyers

spend big

at showBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Buyers at the Llano County Junior Livestock Show spent more than $10,000 more this year than

they did last year, organizers said Tuesday.

The three-day event net-ted about $127,250, said

Lizz Lange, Llano Junior Livestock Show Association treasurer.

“It was up, which is good,” Lange said.

This year, 112 young-sters showed their animals and work between Thursday and Saturday. On Saturday, selected animals were sold at a premium sale at the

Horseshoe Bay

builds for futureBY GEOFF WEST


City leaders in Horse-shoe Bay are eyeing four anticipated or ongoing con-struction projects within the city—the new police station, an upgrade to Martin Park, an extension to City Hall, and sweeping residential street improvements—to meet the needs of growth and desired city standard of living.

Mayor Bob Lambert said the “general comments have been positive” regarding the city’s proposal last month to fund $15 million of improve-ments for 56 miles of city

streets using a mix of avail-able funds and certificates of

obligation. Lambert said he had not

heard a lot of people ques-tioning the basic fundamen-

tal aspects of the proposal. “Everything I hear is

positive,” Lambert said at a council meeting Tuesday. “The fact that no one signed up to speak today by itself is positive.”

The plan would be funded with $4.5 million of available

city funds and $1 million

dedicated by the Horseshoe Bay Resort, with an addi-tional $9.5 million sought

through certificates of obli-gations over a 25-year term,

according to the proposal. All streets with at least

15 houses per mile would

receive the improvement over the course of five to six

years under the plan. A city workshop to dis-

cuss the street improve-ment plan is scheduled Monday, Jan. 17 at 9 a.m.

LEDC ... see Page 2A Ban ... see Page 2A

Llano ... see Page 7A

Buyers ... see Page 7A HSB ... see Page 2A

Scott &

White

Healthcare is

established

in Temple

Llano

Memorial

Hospital

opens

doors

Scott & White

announces

intention to

manage medical

center and merge

with Llano

Scott & White

buys land

for regional

medical center

Scott &

White

and Llano

officially

merge

Scott &

White

formally

welcomes

Llano to

system

Timeline of EventsJuly

1957April 2007

Oct. 2009

Jan. 1 2011 Thursday1897

Volume 5, No. 38 January 19 - 25, 2011

A publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal A publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal

!"# •$%&'( •)'*'*+ •",!- ,&#!#,W W W . L A K E C O U N T R Y L I F E . C O M

Lake Country Life

STRANGE

AnimalTALES

STRANGE

AnimalTALES

STRANGE

AnimalTALES

~Cover Story,Page 11

~Cover Story,Page 11

Lake Country Life:Strange animals

roam Hill Country

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, January 19, 2011

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Church helps

Ugandan children

Page 7A

Sports:Boys falter in

district opener

Page 1B

Get News Alerts and Other Information Sent Directly to Your Computer.The latest news, sports, videos, blogs, forums, classifieds, reader photos and more.

w w w . L l a n o C J . c o mJoin Our Web

Community!

Community:Slocumbs sell

videos, DVDs

A

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, and we want to hear your love stories. Maybe you have a great story about how you met your husband or wife, or your boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe you have a Valentine’s Day memory that stands apart from all the rest. Send your favorite memory by Tuesday, Jan. 25 to [email protected]. We’ll pick your best stories and will share them with your fellow readers!

Tell us

your love story

LISD fails rising federal standardsBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Although a majority of Llano Independent

School District students passed state tests re-

cently, a federal calculation resulted in the

school district failing the federal Adequate Year-

ly Progress standards this past year, school of-

ficials said Monday during a board meeting.Sheila White, LISD special education direc-

tor, said every school campus passed the federal

progress standards for 2010, but the district ul-timately failed because of a low score in the spe-cial education reading results among students

throughout the district. However, the district would have passed because 88 percent of the special education students passed the reading

portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests, well above the 73 percent re-

quirement. But because many special education students took a simpler version of the TAKS test,

a federal calculation dropped the district’s pass-

ing level to 65 percent, resulting in the failure. “No matter if they passed, they’re consid-

ered failures,” said Dennis Hill, LISD superin-

tendent. “The true measure of a school district is the raw data. We have missed the AYP, and that’s my fault.”

There are four TAKS tests available; each de-signed to assess students based on their indi-vidual needs, White said. School officials said that federal standards for school districts are

expected to rise from 73 percent of the students passing the test for this past year to 100 percent

by 2014.“Ultimately, everybody’s going to fail the fed-

eral [standards],” Hill said. “They will have to change it.”

Hill emphasized that Llano school officials and instructors did a “tremendous” job testing and teaching students this past year. Tim Glov-er, LISD assistant superintendent, pointed out

that the school district ranks above many area districts in testing results.

“We’re really outperforming our peers,” Glov-er said.

This past year, the school district received the

state’s highest rating of “Exemplary,” according

to the Texas Education Agency accountability ratings. No LISD campus received a rating be-low “Recognized.”

Hill said the district would work to pass the Adequate Yearly Progress standards again. The district passed the standards in 2009.

Hill also said the students are more impor-tant than the district passing a federal standard

that may change in the coming years.

BY DALE FRY AND MICHAEL FREEMAN


Since property owners voiced their con-

cerns about Llano’s proposed historical preservation zoning ordinance last August, city officials and members on the Historic Preservation Ordinance Committee have

amended the proposal over and over again.The committee revealed its most recent

version of the ordinance last week, and it does not include the restriction on the

colors of building exteriors.It also has reduced the size of the

proposed district and allowed for the establishment of a historic preserva-

tion committee comprised of property

owners in the district.The ordinance calls for stricter construc-

tion and renovation guidelines, including the

manner, type and design of buildings in the historical district of Llano. The ordinance is meant to allow historic landmark designa-

tions for buildings, provide incentives such as waiving building permit fees and create an overlay zoning district on top of the zon-

ing district already in place.At a town hall meeting last August, prop-

erty owners raised concerns about the or-dinance, citing much of it as excessive, es-

pecially guidelines for the colors of building exteriors.

“I think we did a fairly thorough job in cataloging all of these concerns,” said Fin-

ley deGraffenried, Llano city manager. “This has been a long process.”

The ordinance has been in the works since May 2004, but last spring a committee of Randy Farnsworth, Sarah Franklin, Patty

Pfis-

t e r ,

R o g e r Pinckney,

Mike Hazel, Mark and Sher-

ry Virdell, Bill and Mary Beth Stewart and Kerry Williams gathered

to draw up a draft of the ordi-nance. The committee has since revised the ordinance several times

and will likely revise it again before it presents it to the city council and the

planning and zoning board for approval, city officials said.

The proposed district, which originally included 25 blocks from Exchange Street to

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANCity Secretary Kerry Williams displays the diploma she received after recently completing studies to become a state-certified city secretary.

Secretary

earns state

certification

BY DALE FRY


It’s official. After having completed the Texas Mu-

nicipal Clerks Certification Program presented through

the University of North

Texas in Denton, Kerry Wil-

liams is now a certified city secretary—and as such, is

the only Llano city secretary

to ever have received that

distinction. She received her diploma

on Jan. 13 during the An-

nual Election Law Seminar held at the Sheraton DFW

Airport Hotel in Irving. “It’s a great program,”

Williams said. “And complet-ing it is a thrill to me, but

Scott & White: Plans

for clinic on scheduleBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Scott & White and

Marble Falls officials are discussing how to develop roads, wastewater utility lines and widening SH 71 for the Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center’s entrance in the southern

end of the city.Officials with the Tem-

ple-based healthcare pro-

vider said plans are still

on schedule to begin the construction of a 40,000-square foot, $10-20 mil-

lion specialty clinic this

July. Marble Falls City Manager Ralph Hendricks confirmed Thursday that Scott & White and the city

are expecting construc-

tion to commence this

summer.“I know we’re working

hard to get the project go-

ing,” Hendricks said. Scott & White officials

announced the plans

for the clinic, which will house 30 physicians and staff who will provide 24-hour urgent care services,

in September. In October the healthcare provider

acquired 111 acres of un-

developed land just north-

west of US 281 and SH 71, which will become home to a 60-bed, $100 million hospital, parking lot areas

and the clinic. The clinic is expected to be complete by Aug. 30, 2012.

“There is a continuous

series of meetings that are

going on,” Hendricks said. “There are a variety of is-

sues we’re tackling.”Scott & White and the

Ordinance committee

strikes paint restriction

Ordinance ... see Page 4A

Plans ... see Page 4ASecretary ... see Page 4A

An Open Palette

Lake Country Life:Burnet Fair makes

a comeback

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, June 2, 2010

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Chamber readies

for Aqua Boom

Page 7A

Sports:Rodeo kicks off

this weekend

Page 1B

Photo:Children play in

Sunrise Beach

Page 8A

Online:Cow’Ographers

perform in Llano

Videowww.llanocj.com

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANGubernatorial candidate Bill White speaks at Robinson Park in Llano on Saturday.

BY DALE FRY


Last weekend’s fifth annual Texas Proud Festival, held around Llano’s historical square, on the courthouse grounds, and in the area immediately surrounding the old Red Top Jail, was a smashing success.

An estimated 600 people, including locals and people from across the country, showed up for a fun week-

end to experience a taste of early Texas still alive and well in historical Llano. Some of them were decked out in Old

West togs.Over 80 vendors arrived on Friday and began set-

ting up booths that offered a wide variety of wares and food. That evening, Joe’s Bar hosted a mixer to welcome all the vendors and other participants to town.

The action began at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Llano’s 1894 Red Top Jail with a tour of the mas-

sive structure and its hanging gallows, along with a blazing and hugely entertaining “shoot-out” performed

by the costume-clad Brazos Bottom Cow’Ographers at their Old West town set up across the street from the jail, and a performance by the Celtaire String Band. Several other “shoot-outs” occurred on Saturday also.

Twenty contestants participated in the “Trails End” CASI Chili Cook-off, which began at 10 a.m. in the parking lot of the Llano County Library. At 4 p.m., the winners were announced. They were: Debbie LaLane of Pipe Creek, first place; John Goforth of Comfort, second place; and Janie Burruss of San Marcos, third place.

At 5 p.m., the Brazos Bottom Cow’Ographers performed their highly theatrical “shoot-out” again—this time on Berry Street on the west side of the courthouse square. After this performance, the crowds enjoyed a cool and refreshing com-munity-wide ice cream social on the courthouse grounds—a welcome respite from the very hot weather.

Adding to the attraction, rides in an authentic horse-drawn stagecoach and on ponies for the kids were available throughout the festival.

At 7 p.m. that evening, some 150 people attended a per-formance by Mike Blakely and the Whiskey Traders, who entertained the visitors with their renowned cowboy music and poetry in the beautifully restored LanTex Theater.

Guns blaze at Texas Proud

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANRoy Mengot of Plano aims his gun during a jailbreak reenactment at the old Red Top Jail on Sunday during the fifth annual Texas Proud Festival in Llano.

Bill White, Democratic candidates stump in Llano

Tea Party meetings attract crowds

Festival ... see Page 4A

BY JAMI RASH AND MICHAEL FREEMAN


Hundreds of politically concerned citizens met in two separate Tea Party ral-lies in the cities of Llano and Marble Falls last week.

Last Thursday, a total of 138 people attended a Tea Party meeting at Inman’s Kitchen in Llano. Members with the Fredericksburg Tea Party Committee spoke to the group on what the Tea Party movement is about and encouraged the group to start a Tea Party organi-zation in Llano.

“Really, the Tea Party is a grassroots movement,” said Angela Smith with the Fred-ericksburg Tea Party Com-mittee. “It encompasses reg-ular hard-working people.”

Fredericksburg members discussed tactics on how to convince people to vote during a non-Presidential election year. They also ex-pressed their frustrations with current elected officials and encouraged people to become politically active by choosing a candidate to support.

“They’re not listening to us, but they’re going to lis-ten to us in November 2010, aren’t they?” said Leslie

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Bill White is “fed up.”The Democratic gubernatorial candidate

and former mayor of Houston conveyed his frustrations over current Texas governor Rick Perry’s leadership at a rally in Llano’s Robinson Park Pavilion on Saturday.

White described his aggravations after mentioning Perry’s announcement last week that he is writing a book entitled “Fed Up,” which deals with states’ rights and federal government intrusion.

“Let me tell you some things that I’m fed up with,” White said. “I’m fed up with Texas having the highest homeowner’s insurance rates in the nation. I’m fed up with high util-ity bills put in by these people in Austin. I’m fed up with a governor that doesn’t have the guts and political will to take the State Board of Education out of the business of political indoctrination.”

White, along with several other Demo-cratic candidates, spoke to more than 300 people from 11 different counties during Saturday’s rally, primarily detailing why they thought Perry’s administration should be voted out of office in November’s election.

“We have the worst budget crisis in the history of Texas since we joined the United

States of America,” White said. “Some 15 to 20 billion in the hole because of the lack of planning ahead.”

White criticized Perry’s handling of the state’s budget, education policies and cam-paign tactics during his two terms in office.

“I’m thinking about writing a sequel to Governor Perry’s book,” White said. “You’re paying for one-and-a-half chefs and a subscription for ‘Food and Wine Magazine’ for his mansion. I’m going to write a sequel called ‘Over-Fed.’”

White even joked about when the cur-rent Republican governor told the Associ-ated Press that he shot a coyote with a la-ser-sighted pistol while jogging near Austin last February.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we had a gover-nor who could shoot straight and just tell things the way it was?” White said. “And by ‘shoot straight,’ I don’t mean…listen, I have a handgun and I can shoot a snake or any-thing else right below my feet without a laser scope.”

White said that if elected he would pro-vide leadership that he said he displayed in past positions. White served as the mayor of Houston from 2004 to 2010. He was also a businessman and U.S. Deputy Secretary of

Manhunt ends in Palo PintoBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Palo Pinto County au-thorities recently caught a Graham man, who is sus-pected of stealing a car in Austin and later eluded Llano County authorities.

Matthew Christopher Allen, 21, of Graham was transported to the Palo Pinto County Jail on May 24, according to Palo Pinto County jail records.

Authorities including the Sunrise Beach Village Po-lice Department, the Llano County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, Llano County constables and other law enforcement agencies looked for Allen for almost a week after he al-legedly abandoned a 2006 gray Volvo car that was reported stolen in Sunrise Beach on May 9.

Palo Pinto County is

located about 160 miles north of Sunrise Beach and about 50 miles west of Fort Worth.

Allen faces charges of burglary of a habitation and unauthorized use of a vehicle and Llano County warrants for evading ar-rest or detention, unau-thorized use of a vehicle and two counts of bur-glary of a habitation. Bond amounts were unavailable as of Tuesday.

Race down the Llano River

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Grab your paddles. The Great Castell Kayak Race is set for this Saturday.

The 12-mile race down the Llano River will begin at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $45 per per-son, and the race is open to kayaks and other non-motorized watercraft. The race will start from the SH 87 bridge and end in Castell.

Proceeds from the race will benefit Chemo Sabe, a grass roots community group focused on helping patients and families deal with can-cer and chemotherapy.

See today’s edition of Lake Country Life for the more on the race.

White ... see A

Tea Party ... see Page 3A


w w w . L l a n o C J . c o mJoin Our Web

Community!

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


A Llano woman re-mains in jail Tuesday af-ter allegedly charging her silver Chrysler Sebring into the Holy Trinity Cath-olic Church in Llano last Wednesday afternoon.

Witnesses said Linda Bigger Tow, 66, of Llano drove down the church’s walkway, hit the front en-trance, backed up and rammed her car about 50 feet down the aisle of the main sanctuary around 4:40 p.m.

Nobody was inside the sanctuary at the time of the incident, but a cleaning crew was preparing to go inside to clean the church. The front doors of the sanctuary were propped open; whether or not Tow opened the doors could not be determined, said Llano Police Department Chief James Schilling.

Tow was uninjured, but was transported to Llano Memorial Hospital for ob-

servation. She was later arrested on a charge of criminal mischief Wednes-day night at 8:30 p.m. She remains in Llano County Jail as authorities are looking into the case. If criminal charges are fur-ther pursued, Schilling said the criminal mischief

charge is a state jail felony that could result in up to two years in jail and a fine

not to exceed $10,000.Schilling said an es-

timate on the damage to the church has yet to be determined, but that sev-eral pews, a baptismal and several ornamental objects

were destroyed. The frame of the sanctuary’s entrance also sustained damage.

“It’s going to be a lot,” Schilling said of cost of the damage. “It wouldn’t sur-prise me if it was $15,000 to $20,000.”

Witnesses said Tow, who is a member of the church, was disoriented and acting irrationally at local stores earlier in the day. As she was being wheeled off in a stretch-er after the crash, she was heard screaming expletives and the word “Satan.”

Three dogs that were also inside the vehicle were impounded by the Llano Police Department. The dogs, which includ-ed two Chihuahuas that were found in the back-seat and a medium-sized black dog that was found in the driver’s side floor-board, were uninjured.

Authorities removed Tow’s car by backing it

Volume 5, No. 18 September 1 - 7, 2010

Lake Country LifeA publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal A publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal

YOUR MAP TO SUMMER FUN INSIDE!W W W . L A K E C O U N T R Y L I F E . C O M

HOToffThe

Lake Country Life:Grill up someLabor Day BBQ

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, September 1, 2010

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Restaurant closes after nine years

Page 9A

Sports:Yellowjackets win season opener

Page 1B





News:Musician surprises Buchanan Dam man

Page 10A

Online:Car damages Catholic church

Slideshow, Video

www.llanocj.com

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANA silver Chrysler Sebring was found inside the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Llano last Wednesday.

Woman crashes car into church

Kingsland

pharmacist

killed in

accidentBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Warren Dale Freeman, longtime pharmacist and owner of Kingsland Phar-macy, was killed in a trac-tor accident on his ranch in B l a n c o C o u n -ty on T h u r s -day, said T e r r y Car ter, Justice of the P e a c e for Pre-cinct 1 in Blanco County.

Freeman, 53, had been working on a dry tank and was rebuilding levees by himself at his ranch, which is located on Lynn Har-din Road about five miles

from the intersection of RR 3347 and RR 962. He was found underneath a trac-tor Friday morning and pronounced dead at 9:20 a.m., Carter said. Judg-ing by the scene, Carter estimated the accident happened on Thursday afternoon.

Carter said it appeared the tractor slid and rolled off the edge of a levee that was about eight to nine feet wide and about 10 feet tall. Carter said the trac-tor was upside down, in second gear and still run-ning when authorities ap-peared on the scene at 8 a.m. Carter said the Davis tractor was an older model and did not have a rollover bar.

“By all appearances, it was a pure accident,” Carter said.

Carter said Freeman’s death was likely caused by multiple traumatic in-juries including a “severe head injury.”

Tough First DayPHOTO BY NOLA HOPKINS

Ashley Millegan takes her son Hunter home after his first

day of pre-kindergarten at Packsaddle Elementary School in

Kingsland last Wednesday. Read about the start of school

and the school district’s board meeting on Page 2A.

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANLinda Tow, left, of Llano shouts at authorities as they transport

her from the church in a stretcher last Wednesday. Tow allegedly

crashed her vehicle into the Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Warren Freeman

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


A former Llano County Sheriff’s deputy, who was arrested last Friday in the shooting of a pet dog in Llano, may not face a grand jury indictment un-til October.

Melvin Allen Lawson, 65, of Llano turned him-self in at the Llano County Jail last Friday morning and was charged with cru-elty to a non-livestock ani-mal. He bonded out of jail later that day on a bond of $1,000.

District Attorney Sam Oatman said a date for a grand jury to convene has not been set, but that the earliest a grand jury could meet to determine wheth-er or not to indict Lawson would be in more than a month.

“It may be sometime in October,” Oatman said.

The charge of cruelty to a non-livestock animal is a

state jail felony that could include up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Oatman said he would only be i n t e r -ested in p u r s u -ing the f e l o n y c h a r g e and not any ad-ditional c h a r g -es such as discharging a weapon within the city limits because that re-striction is a city-adopted ordinance.

Lawson, who worked with the Llano County Sheriff’s Office from 1987

to 2006, is accused of shooting a two-and-half-year-old Pekinese mix pet dog on Aug. 2 at 3:45 p.m. in the 1600 block of Oat-man Street.

The dog, named

Ex-deputy may not face

grand jury until October

LISD teacher

accused of

sexual assault

quits his job

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


A Llano Junior High School teacher who was arrested Aug. 9 on an out-standing warrant for sexu-al assault resigned recent-ly, said Llano Independent School District Superin-tendent Dennis Hill.

Joshua Scott Sol, 33, of Llano was arrested last month in a sexual assault case that authorities said occurred in Llano. After he bonded out of the Llano County Jail, Sol submit-ted his resignation, which Hill informed the LISD Board of Trustees about on Monday.

Sol was hired over the summer to work as an eighth grade language arts teacher, but never worked

Melvin Lawson

Woman ... see A Pharmacist ... see Page 4A

Teacher ... see Page 4A Ex-deputy ... see Page 4A

www.LlanoCJ.comwww.LlanoCJ.com

For Friday Night

Football Results

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


A retired Llano County Sheriff’s deputy is sched-uled to stand trial in June, accused of shooting a pet dog in Llano last year.

Melvin Allen Lawson, 66, of Llano, is charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal; a jury trial in his case has been scheduled on the judicial docket for June 13 at 8:30 a.m. at the Llano County Courthouse, said Cindy Keele, 424th District Court Coordinator.

A grand jury indicted Lawson on Oct. 4 for alleg-edly shooting a two-and-

h a l f -year-old P e k i n -ese mix pet dog, at the 1 6 0 0 block of Oatman Street on Aug. 2. The dog, named Munchee, was later euthanized after suffering a gunshot wound through its neck inflicted by a .45-caliber bullet, said the dog’s owner Mary Gomez of Kingsland, who was visiting her daugh-ter and grandchildren the week of the shooting.

Lawson was arrest-

ed and charged with the shooting on Aug. 20. If he is convicted of the charge of cruelty to a non-live-stock animal, he could face a punishment of up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

However, the judicial docket could change be-tween now and the sched-uled trial date, meaning the trial may or may not occur on June 13, accord-ing to District Clerk Joyce Gillow.

A status hearing on Lawson’s case was held last Thursday; no plea deal was reached at that

Lake Country Life:Bluebonnets bloom in Burnet

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, April 6, 2011

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Masons hand out scholarships

Page 11A

Sports:Track shows off for home crowd

Page 1B

Stay up to date on the latest news, events and sports in Llano County by becoming a fan of the Llano County Journal page on Facebook.

We’re also on Twitter. Follow us there at www.twitter.com/LlanoJournal.

And, don’t worry, while we’re improving our online presence, our print edition isn’t going away. This is just another way for you to get your daily news and stay in the know.

So, search for The Llano County Journal on Facebook and Twitter today. We hope to see you soon.

Find us on Facebook

Photo:Fiddlers perform in Llano festival

Page 3A

City council reviews public works planBY DALE FRY


The Llano City Council on Monday heard re-ports from City Manager Finley deGraffenried concerning major improvements planned for the city and the free annual household waste cleanup scheduled for this month.

The city manager said two major improve-ments planned for areas of the city include a sidewalk on Oatman Street that will run from the old Llano High School building south to the O. Henry building to provide safer passage for children walking to school, and improvements at the intersection of Sandstone and Berry Street, where a number of accidents have oc-

curred in the past.Also planned are irrigation extensions at the

sewer farm, checking the condition of all sewer manholes in the city, replacing old telephone poles and lines and improvements needed at the sewer farm and at Robinson City Park, in-cluding its playground equipment, bathrooms, swimming pool and lighting fixtures. The city and the county have both provided extensive clearing of land for the Llano Economical De-velopment Corporation, which is developing acreage across the street from Robinson City Park for a soccer field and other community activities.

Public Works Director Eugene Long said the city has also planned extensive improvements

to the streets in a 20-block area this year, but in order to make these improvements, the city will have to invest in a distributor and a spreader.

The council asked the city staff to come up with a draft policy for the development of an infrastructure sinking fund that will allow the city to pay for these projects without drastically impacting the citizens’ rates and fees.

During his report to the council, deGraffen-ried said the city is working with the county to provide free household waste cleanup from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 16. Items accepted will include tires, latex paint, oil, batteries, electronics and antifreeze.

STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL FREEMANFiddlers and air fiddlers play in Llano last weekend during the Llano Fiddle Fest. Pictured, from the top photo going clockwise, are: Mia Orosco of Lorena, Alisha Rodriguez with the Llano Pizza Hut, Robin Chiesa of Llano, Dennis Ludiker of Austin, Tom Lindsey of Austin, and Jesse Mears of Alvarado.

SW Ownership fights

bank to keep Skywater

Dog shooting case set for trial

Melvin Lawson

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


After a few-year hiatus, the Llano Open Fiddle Con-test returned this past weekend, much to the pleasure of organizers, participants and tourists.

The contest featured fiddlers, guitarists and bass-ists, totaling more than 50 musicians. But the contest was not the only event in Llano during the weekend.

“It turned out to be a great, great event,” said John Caballero, event organizer. “What started out as just a fiddle contest on Saturday blossomed into a three-day event with activities.”

Fiddlin’ Around

Festival ... see Page 9A

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


AUSTIN - The developer of Skywater Over Horse-shoe Bay is seeking ad-ditional financing to keep the primary lender, Inter-national Bank of Com-merce of San Antonio, from forcing foreclosure proceedings, according to testimony given Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The developer, SW Ownership LLC, recently filed a motion to obtain a $9 million debtor-in-pos-session financing loan

from Soundview Real Es-tate Partners of Connecti-cut. Debtor-in-possession financing has precedence over equity, existing debt and other claims.

In response, IBC at-torneys filed a motion for a relief from stay to allow the bank to foreclose on SW Ownership LLC, which owes approximately $34 million in two loans to the bank.

Both entities called wit-nesses Thursday in hopes that Bankruptcy Judge

Skywater ... see Page 9A Trial ... see Page 9A

City ... see Page 9A





NEWCOMERSCommunity & Realty Guide

2 0 1 1 L A K E C O U N T R Y

~ Inside This Issue!

NEWCOMERSCommunity & Realty Guide

2 0 1 1 L A K E C O U N T R Y

P U B L I S H E D B Y H I G H L A N D L A K E S N E W S P A P E R S

W W W . T H E L A K E C O U N T R Y G U I D E . C O M

FREE

S H O P P I N G

FU

N S

TU

FF

H E A LT H C A R E

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Mary Gomez lives on the south side of San An-tonio where she says gang violence is rampant.

However, violence had never crept into her life until she left the city two weeks ago to spend some time with her daughter and grandchildren in Lla-no, where her two-and-half-year-old Pekinese mix pet dog was gunned down right outside her daughter’s house.

Authorities with the Llano Police Department responded to a call on an audible gunshot at the 1600 block of Oatman Street on Aug. 2 at 3:45 p.m. When officers ar-rived, they found Gomez’s dog Munchee laying in the yard next to Gomez’s daughter’s home with a gunshot wound through its neck.

Gomez said she let Munchee out because the 14-pound dog was scratching at the door to be let out. Gomez let her out, but didn’t realize that the front gate was left open. When Munchee didn’t return after a few minutes, Gomez became concerned and went out-side to look for her dog.

“I went yelling for her, and then I saw the police car next door,” Gomez

said. “They told me my dog was dead.”

But, Munchee wasn’t dead. Gomez noticed she was still breathing and rushed her dog to Cedar Hills Veterinary Clinic, where Munchee strug-gled to stay alive for five days. Gomez then took Munchee to the VCA Mission Animal Hospital, where veterinarians said the dog was bleeding in-ternally. Several trans-fusions later, Gomez de-cided to end Munchee’s suffering. The decision was tough for Gomez be-cause Munchee was the only dog she had ever owned.

“I felt so bad for her,” Gomez said.

Gomez said she still doesn’t understand why

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


A recently hired Llano Junior High School teacher has been arrested on an outstand-ing warrant for sexual assault, authorities said Thursday.

Joshua Scott Sol, 33, of Llano was tak-en into custody Aug. 9 at 9 a.m. at the ju-nior high school. He was taken to the Llano County Jail and posted $15,000 bail on Aug. 10.

Llano Police Department Investigator Kevin Ratliff said the sexual assault oc-curred in the city, but declined to comment on the details. Ratliff did say, however, that the incident did not involve a child.

Sol was to begin work this upcoming Monday as an eighth grade language arts teacher, said Llano In-dependent School Dis-trict Superintendent Dennis Hill.

“He has not worked a day for us,” Hill said.

Hill said Sol previ-ously worked for the Lexington Independent School District last spring. The LISD hiring committee was un-aware of Sol’s outstanding warrant and did not find any reason not to hire Sol, accord-

ing to Hill.“There were no red flags that came up

anywhere,” Hill said.Sol was hired over the summer and is

currently under contract with the LISD. Hill said the school district is seeking a resignation from Sol, and if Sol does not submit a resignation, the school district would seek its attorneys’ advice on what action to take.

Hill said the school district is moving to employ a teacher in Sol’s place at the ju-nior high school.

“There will be no break in educational services,” Hill said. “The transition will be seamless.”

School is set to start Aug. 25.

Lake Country Life:Area wineries stomp grapes

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, August 18, 2010

ournalLlanoLlanoThe

COUNTYJ ournalJVol. 10, No. 8

Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Community thanks teachers

Page 11A

Sports:Jackets prepare for regular season

Page 1B





News:Businesses move to new building

Page 3A

News:Miiller’s Meats expands offi ces

Page 12A

Chamber Members Plan New YearSTAFF PHOTO BY DALE FRY

Llano Chamber of Commerce members hear updates of chamber activities during their annual membership meeting on Aug. 10 at the Ben E. Keith Building in Llano. For the story, see Page 12A.

COURTESY PHOTOMary Gomez’s dog Munchee was shot while she visited her daughter in Llano recently. Munchee later died.

Joshua Scott Sol

Pet dog gunned

down in yard

City hears facelift plans

for Llano’s train depot

BY DALE FRY


The City Council on Monday heard plans from two local organizations and one individual seeking to beautify the area between Bessemer Avenue and the train depot, approved a bid for the installation of peri-od lighting and sidewalks near the county library and the historical Red Top Jail, OK’d a requirement that in the future all city secretaries must receive specifi c training for the position and extended the city manager’s position for another year.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Doris Messer, Llano Master Gar-deners Martha Rowlett,

Dave and Inell Franks and Sandy Shaw, along with artist and Nailhead Spur Company owner Charles Wendt, presented their proposed plans to devel-op the area between the train depot and Bessemer Avenue into an aesthetic landscape that would also include major sculptural works from local artists.

“I talked with Doris Messer about three weeks ago about incorporating a sculpture garden between the highway and the de-pot, and to utilize the sculptures of Llano Coun-ty artists to compliment the landscape plan that the Master Gardeners had come up with for the area,

Junior high school teacher arrested in sexual assault


BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Property rights versus historical preservation.

That was the debate last Thursday between concerned citizens during an informational meeting for the city’s proposed historical preservation zon-ing ordinance in the LanTex Theater in Llano.

The ordinance has been in the works since May 2004, but recently a commit-tee of Randy Farnsworth, Sarah Frank-lin, Patty Pfi ster, Roger Pickney, Mike Hazel, Mark and Sherry Virdell, Bill and

Ordinance ... see Page 2A

Ordinance divides city

Dog ... see Page 4A

Community speaks out

on preservation

issues...Pages 6, 7A

Lake Country Life:Drive on US 281 reveals fun times

Inside

Including


ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Residents raise Internet concerns

Page 9A

Sports:Jackets begin football practice

Page 1B


w w w . L l a n o C J . c o mJoin Our WebCommunity!

News:Artist presents colorful demo

Page 2A

Photo, Online:Gliders provide views of Llano

Page 8Awww.llanocj.com

City proposes higher ad valorem tax BY DALE FRY


During its regular meeting on Monday, the city council approved a proposed ad valorem tax rate slightly higher than last year’s, re-vealed that the city’s income from hotel/mo-tel taxes rose significantly from the same time last year and announced that rates for some of the city’s employee benefits will stay the same as last year’s.

The council members approved a proposed ad valorem tax rate of $0.40 for every $100 in property evaluation for 2010-2011, as op-

posed to last year’s $0.38. The city will con-duct a public hearing on the new rate at 5:30 p.m. on both Aug. 16 and Sept. 7, and then will consider approving the ordinance during a regular meeting of the city council at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 20.

After reviewing requests from David Griffith, Sarah Franklin and Doris Messer for $3,000 to advertise upcoming events in the city, the council approved allocating the re-quested funds. Griffith, Franklin and Messer were representing the “combined efforts of the Llano Chuck Wagon Cook-off group, Llano Main Street Project (Llano Heritage Day Fes-

tival) and the Llano County Chamber of Com-merce (the Ranch Rodeo).” Griffith told the council that the Llano Chuck Wagon Cook-off was the second largest cook-off held in Texas last year.

During the discussion of these requests, the council revealed that receipts from the available hotel occupancy tax funds in July of this year totaled $22,946.80 compared to $18,778.95 in July 2009, for a significant rise in the city’s income of $4,167.85.

The council approved renewing the city’s

LMHS OKs transfer of assets to S&W system

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


The Llano County Hos-pital Authority board of directors approved a reso-lution Thursday to trans-fer the Llano Memorial Healthcare System’s as-sets to the Scott & White Healthcare System.

The resolution is a cul-mination of more than two years of work aimed at partnering the Llano Me-morial Healthcare System with the Temple-based healthcare provider, hos-pital officials said.

“I think it’s a great step in healthcare in the Hill Country,” said Mike Jenkins, president of the Llano County Hospital Au-thority board. “It’s final-ized; we just have the de-tails to work out.”

According to the reso-lution, the Scott & White Healthcare System will assume all of the assets and liabilities the Llano County Hospital Authority owns, which includes the leases with Llano County for hospital, indigent care and emergency medical services.

As part of an agree-ment between the two healthcare entities, Scott & White will soon own and operate the Llano Memorial Healthcare System’s clinics and hospital;

the latter would be

Possible HSB police station carries $1.5 million price tag

BY GEOFF WEST HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

The City of Horseshoe Bay will consider funding a new 7,000 square-foot police annex near the cur-rent police station and city hall building on FM 2147.

The estimated $1.5 mil-lion structure earmarked for the intersection of Cardinal Street and Com-munity Drive could be approved in August and funded in the 2010-2011 budget, officials said.

The architectural firms of W.R. Barrineau and As-sociates, and R. Gill & As-sociates of Horseshoe Bay sketched the preliminary designs and presented those to council mem-

bers at a July 7 budget workshop.

The current police sta-tion consists of a crowded 1,800 square-foot section of city hall that was origi-nally intended for eight employees, said Bill Lane, Horseshoe Bay police chief.

Since then, the depart-ment has expanded to 18 full-time and one part-time employees.

“Ten years ago, we did not have any investiga-tors. Now we employ three detectives in addition to two dispatchers, 10 patrol officers, a chief and as-sistant chief,” Lane said. “Our crowded condition

School district bounces back

Three years ago, some Llano Independent School District campuses teetered on the edge of re-ceiving “Academically Un-

acceptable” accountability ratings from the state.

On Friday, no LISD cam-pus was even close to earning an “unacceptable” rating as the district earned the highest ac-countability rat-ing available from the state for the first time in dis-trict history.

The Texas E d u c a t i o n Agency gave

LISD an

“Exemplary” district rating after its annual assessment of Texas public schools and school districts. It also be-stowed “Exemplary” campus ratings to Llano Elementary School and Llano Junior High School. Llano High School


LMHS ... see Page 4A

Castell Fire Department Serves BarbecueSTAFF PHOTO BY DALE FRY

Crowds enjoy ample barbecue with all the trimmings during Castell’s annual Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser. Read the story on Page 3A.

Station ... see Page 3A

After years of academicinstability, LISD earnsfirst ‘exemplary’ rating

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

LISD ... see Page 3A

2010 rating: Recognized

2007 rating: Academically Acceptable

•

•

2010 rating: Exemplary


•

•

LLANO HIGH SCHOOL

LLANO JR HIGH SCHOOL

PACKSADDLE ELEMENTARY



•

•


2007 rating: Academically Acceptable

•

•

LLANOELEMENTARY

Sports:Area children compete in rodeo

Page 1B

Including


ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

News:Masons install new officers

Page 10A

Kingsland:Miss Aqua Boom receives crown

Page 9A

or the nation’s most wealthy individu-

als, Llano County is one of the top desti-

nations to live, according to Forbes.com.

In a Forbes article published recently,

Llano County ranks as the No. 4 county in

the nation as far as where America’s mon-

ey is moving to in substantial numbers.

The business publication analyzed In-

ternal Revenue Service data from

2008, focusing on

arriving house-

holds that were

wealthier than stationary and departing

households in the area.

“With the mix of sun and fun, it is not

hard to see why America’s wealthy are

moving here,” said Darrell Haney, execu-

tive vice president of Horseshoe Bay Corp.

“We offer a rare community that takes full

advantage of our proximity to beautiful

Lake LBJ, which holds a constant level.

Horseshoe Bay was developed to cater to

the needs and wants of the wealthy as

well as the average lake goers.”

Hill Country ... see Page 4A

F

TheBeverly

Hill CountryBY MICHAEL FREEMAN LLANO COUNTY EDITOR

Photo:Gallery unveils painted deer

A

Online:Blaze devastates Llano home


BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


An Austin man died

last Wednesday night af-

ter his solo hang glider

crashed into Packsaddle

Mountain near CR 309

just south of Kingsland.

John Seward, 26, of

Austin was pronounced

dead at the scene.

Glenn Williams, in-

vestigator with the Llano

County Sheriff’s Depart-

ment, said the crash ap-

pears to have been ac-

cidental and that the

sheriff’s department is

investigating it as such,

pending the autopsy

report.

Officers with the Llano County Sheriff’s Depart-

ment, Llano County Emer-

gency Medical Service per-

sonnel and firefighters with the Kingsland Volunteer

Fire Department respond-

ed to the scene around

8 p.m. Wednesday night

where they found a green

and white hang glider near

the top of the mountain.

Williams, said Seward,

an inexperienced hang-

glider, was flying with a group of at least five peo-

ple who were part of an

Austin hang gliding club

and were taking off from

the top of Packsaddle

Mountain.

“Witnesses said

[Seward] had very little

time on [a hang glider],”

Williams said. “He was

just starting out.”

Williams said Seward

flew back into the moun-

tain shortly after taking

off and Seward was wear-

ing a helmet at the time

of the crash. Williams did

not comment on wheth-

er Seward was the only

hang-glider in the air at

the time, saying the case is

still under investigation.

Seward’s body was re-

covered from the moun-

tain with the assistance

of STAR Flight, an Austin-

based aerial emergency

medical service.

Seward had worked as

a storage development en-

gineering advisor at Dell

in Austin.

Painted Deer UnveiledSTAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMAN

More than 100 people check out six painted deer that were unveiled on Sunday in Llano as part of a community art project. For more, see Page 8A.

Hang glider

killed near

Kingsland

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Llano firefighters battled an early morning house

fire on Friday but were un-

able to save the home from

burning to the ground.

Firefighters respond-

ed to a fire at the house,

located on the 1900

block of Moore Street in

southwestern Llano, at

11:19 p.m. on Thursday

evening.

“It was burnt pret-

ty good, but it was still

standing,” said Lon Mor-

ris of the Llano Volunteer

Fire Department.

The occupants of the

home, Clifford Carraher,

Reggie Gould and Chris-

tina Aust, were able to

escape the home with-

out injury. Llano Volun-

teer Fire Department fire

chief Tim Harden said the

house occupants claimed

to have started the dryer

when a ball of fire leapt from the machine and set

the nearby wall ablaze.

The Llano Police Depart-

ment is still investigating

the cause of the fire.The blaze was con-

tained by 1:10 a.m., which

was when firefighters left the scene. However,

they were called back to

the house around 3 a.m.

because the house had

caught fire again. Harden said it is undetermined

why the fire reignited. “It was a wooden

house, so it was very com-

bustible,” Harden said.

Harden said the house

was already on the ground

when firefighters arrived

BY CRISTINA PEÑA


Independence Day

celebrations in the Hill

Country will be sure to

make a boom with tour-

ists and residents alike.

Rock’n Riverfest will

entertain families in its

8th year in Llano this

weekend.

The celebration will

start Friday at 9 a.m.

Celebrations

abound for

this weekend

County enacts burn banBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


The Llano County commissioners

enacted a countywide burn ban Mon-

day because of recent dry weather

conditions.

Llano County Judge Wayne Brascom

said the burn ban would be in effect

for the next three months or until the

commissioners decide to end the ban.

According to the ban, open ground

fires are prohibited with the penalty

for violating the ban being a Class C

misdemeanor with a maximum fine of

$500. County officials said fires must

be built in pits, holes or barrels.

A ban on the use of fireworks, how-

ever, is not in effect for Llano County,

county officials said, but a ban is in ef-

fect within the city limits of Llano and

Horseshoe Bay.

The commissioners also budgeted

$90,000 Monday for fighting the Fed-

eral Emergency Management Agency‘s

proposed floodplain maps for the west-

ern half of the county.

Although the deadline to protest the

maps was June 22, the commissioners

voted unanimously to allow Halff Asso-

ciates, an Austin engineering firm, and

local surveyor Fred Thompson to study

10 cross sections of the Llano River

from just east of the city of Llano to

the Mason County line and use the col-

lected data to recalibrate flood models

to send to FEMA in hopes the federal

agency will change its proposed maps.

Fire razes Llano house

after blaze reignites

Celebrations ... see Page 4ABan ... see Page 4A

Fire ... see Page 4A

TO THE...YOUR

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, February 23, 2011

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Sports:Jackets drop finale to Burnet

Page 1B

Lake Country Life:Area artists craft beautiful work

Inside

READERS’ CHOICE2011And the

Winners

are... AwardsRESULTS ARE IN! FIND OUT WHO WON IN TODAY’S ISSUE!

LISD expects no teacher cutsBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Anticipated state bud-get cuts could translate into more than 30 lost teaching positions in the Llano Independent School District; however, school officials are not expecting any such losses.

Ronnie Rudd, presi-dent of the LISD board of trustees, said the school district’s current financial position would allow the district to operate without making any teaching cuts at least for the next budget

year, even though school officials are anticipating a 10 percent loss in revenue next year, totaling approx-imately $1.6 million.

“We have no plans to lay off any teachers,” Rudd said. “If that number [of revenue loss] doubles, that could change.”

Rudd said he and LISD superintendent Dennis Hill met with teachers recently, assuring them their jobs would not be in jeopardy if the budget cut estimates stayed true. The proposed cuts are part of legislators’ efforts to re-

duce the state’s budget deficit, which has been estimated as much as $27 billion, according to some news reports. The exact number of the cuts will be determined when the state legislature’s session ends, possibly in May. The Llano Independent School Dis-trict currently has a main-tenance and operating budget of approximately $16 million, thanks to tight budget operations implemented after 2003, Rudd said.

School district splits up next year’s spring break

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Llano students will still receive a spring break in 2012; it’ll just be split into two parts.

The Llano Independent School District board of trustees approved a cal-endar submitted by the district’s Site Based Deci-sion Making Committee on Monday that divides the weeklong holiday over

two four-day weekends in March and April.

School officials said the main reason behind the move is to account for an increase in the amount and rigor of state-man-dated assessments.

“That’s one of the things that’s driving the calendar here,” said LISD superintendent Dennis Hill.

STAFF PHOTO BY DALE FRYFrances Schorlemmer Fain, left, and Sandra Overstreet hold a $1,000 check from Exxon Mobil to

use toward the restoration of the Lone Grove Schoolhouse.

Residents work to save old schoolhouse

BY DALE FRY


Lone Grove residents who are currently remodel-ing the 1910 schoolhouse say they found that the old structure had gone down-hill much more than they thought when they began the project.

“The building has really deteriorated,” said San-dra Overstreet, president of the Lone Grove School-house Restoration Fund. “We put a new roof on in 2003, but the rest of the building was just falling apart. During this current remodeling, we completely

leveled it with a couple hundred concrete tiles, in-sulated it throughout and installed central air and heat. But the damage has been so bad that we won’t have enough funds to do the inside at this time, so we’re planning to have an-other fundraising fish fry this coming June to help finish the remodel.”

Frances Schorlemmer Fain, a retired Exxon Mo-bil employee who lives in the Lone Grove area, said she applied for, and received, a $1,000 grant from that corporation to

Hilderbran vows changes at GOP meetingBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (R-Ker-rville) vowed to a Republican crowd in Kingsland Saturday that state House Republicans would pass a number of measures during this leg-islative session, including approving a voting photo ID bill and making budget cuts.

During a Lincoln Day event at the Kingsland Community Center, Hil-derbran told local officials and mem-bers of the Highland Lakes Republi-can Women and Texas Federation of Republican Women that the voting photo ID bill he recently introduced, entitled House Bill 250, would pass.

“Make no mistake: we’re going to get voter ID passed,” Hilderbran said.

The bill would require in-person voters to present valid photo iden-tification to election officials before being allowed to cast a vote; a Sen-ate version of the bill passed last month. Hilderbran said he objected to the amendments the Senate made to its bill, which was authored by Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay),

A MAN WITH ‘TRUE GRIT’BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


If you’re looking for a man with “true grit,” look no further than Kingsland, where Royce Boswell lives.

When he’s not running a marina in Sunrise Beach, Boswell works as an actor. He has appeared in more than a dozen films, including “True Grit,” which is cur-

rently nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Boswell discovered his love for acting when his son, Brent, was 11 years old and had an interest in magic; Bo-

swell would introduce his son at different venues in a majestic, booming voice.

“I really liked entertaining,” Boswell said.Boswell then began searching the Internet, looking for

audition opportunities. His efforts landed him roles in the films “Sin City,” “Serving Sara,” “National Lampoon’s

Eye for an Eye,” “Campus Radio,” and “Stop Loss,” among others. He also received work on commercials for Fuddruckers, TransAmerica Title Insurance and

Whole Foods Market.

Judge Jones won’t seek fifth term

BY JAMES WALKER


District Judge Gil Jones said Friday he will not seek re-election in 2012.

Jones, who was elect-ed judge of the 33rd state judicial district in 1996, made the announcement at the end of a state-of-the-courts address to a gathering of support-ers and county and court employees.

“It is best to stop before I become a crotchety old judge like some of those we all know,” he said. “I hope I have been known, in addition to being fair and impartial, as having a good judicial temperament and I don’t want to risk spoiling that reputation, if indeed that is the case.

“Therefore, I will not seek re-election in 2012.”

Jones, who will be 67 March 2, said he wants to work part time as a visit-ing judge and play a role in mediation of legal disputes in addition to indulging his numerous hobbies.

“There’s still a lot of things I’d like to do,” he said.

Jones said he takes pride in his service on the bench.

“I have never been afraid to make the hard and sometimes political-ly unpopular decisions,” he said. “My view has al-ways been that I was not “the court,” but merely the

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANRoyce Boswell of Kingsland has appeared in more

than a dozen films, including “True Grit.”

Stay up to date on the latest

news, events and sports in Llano

County by becoming a fan of the

Llano County Journal page on

Facebook.

We’re also on Twitter. Follow us there at www.twitter.

com/LlanoJournal.

And, don’t worry, while we’re

improving our online presence,

our print edition isn’t going

away. This is just another way for you to get your daily news

and stay in the know.

So, search for The Llano County Journal on Facebook

and Twitter today. We hope to see you soon.

Find us on Facebook

Kingsland:Las Vegas Night raises funds

Page 11A

Residents ... see A

Hilderbran ... see Page 9A Judge ... see Page 9A

Break ... see Page 9ALISD ... see Page 9A

Llano BuzzThe

THEOFFICIALNEWSPAPEROF LLANO

HIGHSCHOOL

– Page 2, 3A

Actor ... see Page 9A

Lake Country Life:Treasures abound at area auctions

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, November 10, 2010

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Chamber raffles queen-size quilt

Page 9A

Sports:Jackets shatter school records

Page 1B

Join Our Website Community...w w w . L l a n o C J . c o m



News:CPRA honorsLlano Pro Rodeo

Page 2A

Community:Culture club raises funds

A

Radio towers could prove costly for countyBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Llano County’s new radio emergency towers could cost the county as much as $240,000 a year to maintain, officials said Monday.

The 300-foot towers are designed to provide radio communications, especially for emergen-cies, among entities in Burnet, Blanco and Llano counties. The towers will be located on CR 216A near Lone Grove, CR 312 south of Llano and RR 2342 near Kingsland. Construction on the tow-ers has already commenced, said Llano County Judge Wayne Brascom.

The Llano County commissioners’ court heard a presentation from Charles Brotherton, Travis County emergency and wireless communications manager, on Monday on the advantages and dis-advantages of upgrading the county’s radio com-

munications. Brotherton said the state is work-ing towards installing a radio emergency system that would allow emergency service entities to communicate easily on radio frequencies as they cross county lines. The system would also reduce radio interference, Brotherton said.

One radio improvement phase is called trunk-ing, which would consolidate many conversations over only a few channels. Brotherton said with a trunked system, Travis County operates 14,000 radios on 22 channels. He pointed out that Llano County’s radio system currently is not trunked, meaning emergency service workers could ex-perience busy signals when using certain radio frequencies.

“The trunking concept addresses that prob-lem,” Brotherton said.

The court considered applying for a De-partment of Homeland Security grant totaling

$262,000 to pay for the trunking phase of the radio tower construction on Monday.

However, the commissioners expressed con-cerns on the potential cost of maintaining the trunking equipment. Brotherton speculated that the cost of maintaining the emergency radio sys-tem could range from $60,000 to $80,000 for each tower if the county chooses to enter into a full-service agreement with Motorola, which is supplying the trunking project’s equipment.

“It sounds wonderful, but that’s a lot of mon-ey,” said Jerry Don Moss, county commissioner for Precinct 4.

Ted Lynch, Motorola representative, said oth-er service agreements are available for a much lower cost. Brascom said if the court finds the right deal, the county could end up spending

Legal issue

not to affect

broadbandBY DALE FRY


A lawsuit involving Zee-Con Internet Services should not affect broad-band capabilities current-ly installed in the city that provide service to the Lla-no hospital and schools, city officials said Monday.

After going into executive session during a called meet-ing on Monday, the Llano City Council members voted to approve legal correspon-dence with those involved in the lawsuit because the city worked with Zee-Con Internet Services, which was instrumental in the installa-tion of broadband Internet

Chamber

welcomes

huntersBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


The Llano Chamber of Commerce welcomed more than 100 hunters who stopped by the Railyard Depot for Friday’s Hunters Appreciation Day.

Doris Messer, executive director of the Llano Cham-ber of Commerce, said more people visited than did last

Badu House re-opens

with sedate theme BY DALE FRY


After taking on a brand new face-lift under the tasteful touches of new owners Stan and Kara-lina Venable and Stan’s daughter Taylor, the Badu House, one of the top his-torical landmarks of the Highland Lakes region, opened its doors last Fri-day with a new name and a new purpose.

Known now as The Badu House Wine Pub and Accommodations, the 120-year-old architectural masterpiece now provides a sedate atmosphere in

the lounge and one of its dining rooms three days a week, where friends and family members may meet and relax over a glass of wine or a beer in beauti-fully furnished surround-ings while enjoying back-ground music.

The newly carpeted lounge features several plush sofas, an antique oak settee and specially built wooden shelving dis-playing a wide variety of fine wines from around the world. The middle din-ing room is also furnished with sofas, and several

One drink may soon be one drink too many for some Texas drivers.

The state legislature is planning to consider a bill in January that would make driving while having a blood alcohol content level of 0.05 a punishable offense.

The proposed offense known as “driving while ability impaired” is being pushed by City of Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, who says the new offense would help impede drunken driving. The DWAI offense would apply to drivers whose blood alcohol content level is between 0.05 and 0.07. The level for “driv-ing while intoxicated” is 0.08.

Llano County Judge Wayne Brascom said driving while intoxi-cated cases, along with theft by check and assaults, are the most common cases heard in his court. He said if the state were to adopt the proposed DWAI offense, the number of cases would rise.

“That would increase the case

l o a d c e r -

tainly,” Brascom said. “DWIs are probably one of the higher arrests for misdemeanors.”

In Texas, the punishment for driving while intoxicated is a mis-demeanor until the third offense becomes a felony, a progression susceptible to the efforts of a skilled defense attorney, proponents say. The first offense of DWI is a class B misdemeanor and punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. A second offense is a class A misdemeanor carrying one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Other states, such as Colorado and New York, have adopted the “driving while ability impaired” law. In New York, the offense is punish-able by a fine between $300 and $500 and up to 15 days in jail; the person’s driver’s license would also be suspended for 90 days. No pun-ishment has been proposed yet for the possible Texas DWAI offense.

Some local business owners are against the proposal, saying it could deliver a lethal blow to those busi-nesses dependent on discretionary

City Begins Sidewalk ProjectSTAFF PHOTO BY DALE FRY

Llano Public Works Director Eugene Long, center, and Clint Pittman, right, superintendent with the Myers Concrete Company of Wimberley, discuss the progress in the installation of sidewalks on East Haynie and Oatman Streets near the Old Red Top Jail. For more, see the story on www.llanocj.com.

Towers ... see Page 3A

Badu House ... see Page 3A

Chamber ... see Page 3A

Issue ... see Page 3A

Drinking ... see Page 2A

BY GEOFF WEST and MICHAEL FREEMANHIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

www.LlanoCJ.comwww.LlanoCJ.com

For Playoff Football Results

State to consider lawagainst ‘buzzed’ driving

Volume 6, No. 8 June 29 - July 5, 2011

Lake Country LifeA publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal A publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal A publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal A publication of the Highland Lakes Newspapers: Burnet Bulletin, The Highlander and The Llano County Journal

!"# •$%&'( •)'*'*+ •",!- ,&#!#,W W W . L A K E C O U N T R Y L I F E . C O M

SummerGuide

Lake Country Life:Find fun in the

Highland Lakes

Inside

Including


ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Marble Falls girl

wins crown

Page 9A

Sports:Baseball heats up

for Yellowjackets

Page 1B

Summer GuideLake Country Life

Stay up to date on the latest news, events and sports in Llano County by becoming a fan of the Llano County Journal page on Facebook.

We’re also on Twitter. Follow us there at www.twitter.com/LlanoJournal.

And, don’t worry, while we’re improving our online presence, our print edition isn’t going away. This is just another way for you to get your daily news and stay in the know.

So, search for The Llano County Journal on Facebook and Twitter today. We hope to see you soon.

Find us on

Facebook

Community:Local man serves

food to the needy

Page 2A

City OKs well water drilling

Quick response helps douse blaze

BY DALE FRY


The Llano city council approved drilling test holes to ascertain how much wa-ter is available—if any—to justify the expense of drill-ing a well adjacent to the city water treatment plant during a called meeting on Monday.

City Manager Finley deGraffenried said Virdell Drilling began drilling a series of test holes in an effort to fi nd enough well water to signifi cantly sup-plement the amount that is currently fl owing into the

treatment plant from the impounded water in the downtown lake. If the wells furnished enough water, this could be less expen-sive than having to haul in water, he said. It was not known at press time how many test holes the drill-ing company would make in its quest for water.

The council asked the city staff to also look into other feasible ways to sup-ply more of the precious liquid, including exten-sions to the dam, detect-ing and stopping leaks and dredging the down-town lake. They are to re-

port their fi ndings in next Monday’s called meeting.

Alderman Mike Hazel, a long-time and strong advocate for dredging the lake, commented, “Citi-zens in Llano inform me all the time that they want the lake dredged. We need to do it as soon as this drought is over. Also, vari-ous engineers have told me it would increase our water storage signifi cantly. Peo-ple have also told me that there’s been an increase of 20 feet of silt in some areas of the downtown

BY DALE FRY

AND MICHAEL FREEMAN


Firefighters with the Llano Volunteer Fire De-partment rushed over to the Llano Square Apart-ments early Tuesday morning in response to a fire, which they quick-ly contained, saving nearby apartments from burning.

A total of 10 firefight-ers arrived at the scene within six minutes of when they received the call; the blaze was con-tained within 20 min-utes, said Tim Harden, Llano Volunteer Fire De-partment fire chief.

“It was fully involved,” Harden said. “That’s why

we got it out so quick.”No injuries were re-

ported from Tuesday morning’s fire.

The fire started in apartment No. 212, where Isaac Cress was living by himself. Cress was sleep-ing on the couch when the fire awakened him

shortly before 3 a.m., Harden said. Harden believes the fire ignited near the air conditioning unit by the kitchen.

“There was some ex-tensive damage to the liv-ing room and kitchen of that apartment,” Harden said.

Cress escaped the apartment unharmed. Judy Talley, manager at the Llano Square Apart-ments, said she woke up to the smell of smoke from the blaze.

“The smoke woke me up, and I though it was my AC, but I wasn’t sure, so I got up to turn it off, and that’s when the po-lice were knocking on my STAFF PHOTO BY DALE FRY

Judy Talley, manager at the Llano Square Apartments, stands in front of an apartment that caught fi re early Tuesday morning.

Victim vexed by efforts

to catch alleged attacker

BY JAMES WALKER


Burnet County District Attorney Sam Oatman’s offi ce delayed fi lling out and fi ling paperwork re-quired to apprehend and detain an El Salvador man in a foreign country, a Marble Falls woman who was beaten and sexually assaulted by the man said this week.

Nuana Antonio Fuen-tes-Sanchez, who was in the United States ille-gally and was jailed while awaiting trial on charges of aggravated sexual as-sault, aggravated assault and robbery in connection with a home invasion at the Stone Mountain sub-division home of Sandy and Bobby Doyal, escaped from Burnet County jail on Aug. 30, 2009 and has not been caught.

A warrant for Fuen-tes-Sanchez’s arrest has been issued out of Burnet County, but authorities believe Fuentes-Sanchez has fl ed the country.

If Fuentes-Sanchez has fl ed the country, an inter-national warrant – a long process that involves fi rst fi nding the suspect before fi ling paperwork with the Federal Bureau of Investi-gation and U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce – will need to be fi led.

Less than two weeks af-ter another of the fi ve men who are believed to have participated in the home invasion was convicted of

A couple’s

letter to

the publicDear Editor:

A week ago a jury of eight women and four men convicted Gilberto Hernandez, the fi rst of fi ve men involved in what the paper de-scribed as a horrifi c home invasion and bru-tal rape of myself.

One week ago this same jury sent Gilberto Hernandez, an illegal alien, to a tax-funded penitentiary for the equivalent of a life sen-tence plus 388 years plus $80,000 in fi nes.

One week ago, as my husband, Bobby, and I were leaving the court-room we were greeted with what could be de-scribed as a “receiving line” from most of the jurors. Every juror that greeted my family and myself was tearful and expressed their sorrow for what we had been through.

Over and over again we were told that they wished they could have done more. How could they have done more? Those citizens took on the daunting task of sitting through a week’s

STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL FREEMANKacy Rowley, 13, of Llano clutches her trophy and bouquet of roses after being crowned Miss Sparkle for Llano’s Rock’n Riverfest Fourth of July celebration. In the photo below, winning participants from Saturday’s Miss Sparkle Pageant stand on the stage in Llano’s LanTex Theater. See the complete list of winners and more photos at www.llanocj.com.

County approves

fi reworks showsBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


The Llano County commissioners approved fi re-works shows Monday in Horseshoe Bay and Llano so they may continue as scheduled.

During Monday’s meeting, the commissioners reviewed the safety plans and display areas for both cities’ shows.

Two Horseshoe Bay shows are scheduled around 9 p.m., one on July 2 at the Escondido driving range, and the other at the Lighthouse peninsula on July 3. The commissioners expressed concern over the Escondido show primarily because it will be shown

Response ... see Page 4A

County ... see Page 4A

Victim ... see Page 9ALetter ... see Page 4A


It was fully

involved. That’s

why we got it out

so quick.

— Tim Harden,

Llano VFD fi re chief

Lake Country Life:Rodeo fun in Marble Falls

Inside

Including

Llano, Texaswww.llanocj.com Wednesday, July 14, 2010

ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Restaurant opens after truck crash

Page 9A

Sports:Jackets to change passing strategy

Page 1B


w w w . L l a n o C J . c o mJoin Our WebCommunity!

News:MF business joins Llano Chamber

Page 2A

Online:LBCC raises funds at casino night


Rain allows county to lift burn banBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


The Llano County commissioners’ court lifted a countywide burn ban Monday after two weeks of rainy weather.

Since the ban was enacted on June 28, a rain gauge located two miles southwest of Lla-no recorded 4.89 inches of rain and a gauge three miles northeast of Kingsland caught 4.99 inches, according to the National Weath-er Service.

Llano County Judge Wayne Brascom said he received several complaints about the ban.

“We did get quite a few calls,” he said. Brascom said if the court had known the

county would collect so much rainfall, the ban would not have been enacted. However, he said the option to reenact the burn ban would be listed on future meeting agendas. The ban prohibits open fires.

In other business, Brascom reported that the county received a copy of a letter that U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Sen. John Cornyn sent to Frank Pagano, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mitigation division, last Wednesday request-ing that Pagano consider delaying the imple-

mentation of the agency’s proposed floodplain

maps for Llano County for up to two years.The senators wrote that the county needs

more time to conduct more comprehensive studies of the floodplain.

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency should not hastily adjust flood insur-ance and property rates in Texas that may change upon further comprehensive studies,” the letter stated.

FEMA has proposed new floodplain maps

that place some residences along the Llano

LBCC Casino NightSTAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMAN

Rusty Brandon of Buchanan Dam, second to left, helps point out bidders during an auction at

the Lake Buchanan Conservation Corporation’s casino night on Saturday at the Hill Country

Hall in Buchanan Dam. For the story, see Page 9A.

Sales tax revenue

for county dropsBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Burnet and Llano coun-ties’ sales tax net revenue each dropped by more than 1 percent in June compared to May’s totals, while the cities of Horse-shoe Bay and Burnet ex-perienced an increase.

According to statistics released by Texas Comp-troller Susan Combs last week, both counties’ col-lections were down in June compared to May as well as compared to June of last year.

Burnet County received

$670,919.80, which is down from the $683,500.16 received in May. It is also a 6.76 percent decrease from the $719,596.86 the county received this time last year.

The city of Marble Falls recorded a total of $462,554.42 in sales tax revenue last month. That number is down by more than $22,000 from May’s net revenue and is a de-crease of 10.72 percent from June 2009’s total. The city of Bertram is also down from last year. The

Wine pub

to open in

Badu House

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


After sitting vacant for more than 16 months, Lla-no’s historic Badu House will soon be open again for business.

Stanley and Karalina Venable of Llano purchased the building on July 2 and plan to turn it into a wine pub and bed and breakfast.

“We want it to be a place people can go and be com-fortable,” Karalina said. “We want it to be affordable and a place you can go to fairly often.”

Karalina said the plan is to open the downstairs wine pub in October with the upstairs bed and breakfast opening next spring.

“That’s our tentative plan,” Karalina said. “We’re thinking October will be a good month. It would be the first one in town; there’s

nothing like that here.”Stanley, a petroleum

engineer, and Karalina, a teacher, moved to Llano last October from Midland.

“Llano grew on us,” Stan-ley said.

Karalina said the couple had no intentions of buying the Badu House when they first moved; however, she

said she had always wanted to own a place where people could meet, enjoy a glass of wine and sit back and re-lax. If the Venables’ plans work accordingly, the Badu House will soon be that place.

Karalina said 50 to 60 different varieties of

City agrees

to waive

building

permits

BY DALE FRY


During a meeting held last Tuesday, the city council approved a resolu-tion authorizing the city to waive building permit fees for contractors and sub-contractors whose proj-ects are located within a specific zone in the city,

amended an ordinance dealing with outdoor burn-ing, hired a firm to install

extra gasoline tanks at the airport, contracted with a company to come up with a plan to ease parking and congestion around the square and honored city employees for their service to the city over the years.

After discussing in depth a policy Alderman Mike Hazel proposed a few weeks ago that the city waive building permit fees for local construction proj-ects if at least 50 percent of the contractors were located within a five-mile

radius of Llano, the coun-cil by a narrow margin ap-proved the proposal.

The city learned over the past few weeks that in order to waive the fees, it must first approve two

policy resolutions—one to create a Neighborhood Empowerment Zone, the other to authorize the city’s Texas Building Offi-cial Randy Farnsworth to do the waiving.

City Manager Finley

Revenue ... see Page 8A

City ... see Page 8A Badu House ... see Page 8A

Rain ... see Page 8A

Rumor fuels fear OF ramp

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


An online blog entry sparked contro-versy over the safety of Llano County’s boat ramp located on the western shore of Lake Buchanan, which county officials

investigated last Wednesday.On July 5, Lone Grove resident Har-

vey Klee posted on his website that a “lo-cal inspection service” tested the granite rock used around the ramp and found “high levels of radiation.” Klee wrote that

some residents’ health was purportedly affected by the radiation and advised res-idents to avoid the park.

A three-person team with the radiation department at the Department of State Health Services found “no above normal signs of radiation” during their study of the boat ramp and surrounding areas last week, said Ron Moore, Llano County Department of Environmental and Emergency Services emergency management coordinator.

Inspection shows area ‘safe’

Ramp ... see Page 9A

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANThe Llano County boat ramp is located on Lake Buchanan, two miles north of the intersection of

SH 29 and RR 261.

radiation

Lake Country Life:Mason grows apples galore

Inside

Including


ournalLlanoLlanoThe


Now Only

50¢

Kingsland:Music teacher offers classes

Page 9A

Sports:Yellowjackets ready for season

Page 1B

2010 Llano Fall Sports Preview

Insidethis

Issue!

News:School district celebrates rating

Page 3A

Photo:People stomp grapes in Tow

Page 10A

Police arrest former deputy for dog shootingBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


A former Llano County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested Friday morning in the shooting of a pet dog in Llano earlier this month.

Melvin Allen Lawson, 65, of Llano turned himself in at the Llano County Jail around 10:10 a.m. Friday after authorities with the Llano Police Department contacted him, said Llano Police Department Chief James Schilling.

Lawson was charged with cruelty to a non-livestock animal, and a bond of $1,000 was set. He bonded out of jail Friday.

The charge of cruelty to a non-livestock animal is a state jail felony that could include up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Whether or not Lawson would face additional charges such as discharging a weapon within

the city limits is up to District Attorney Sam Oatman, Schilling said.

Lawson began work-ing with the sheriff’s of-fice as a jailer in October

1987; he later moved to a deputy position in January 1999 before re-tiring in February 2006. He is accused of shoot-ing a two-and-half-year-old Pekinese mix pet dog on Aug. 2 at 3:45 p.m. in the 1600 block of Oatman Street.

The dog, named Munchee, belonged to Mary Gomez of San Antonio, who was visiting her daughter and grandchildren that week.

“I’m very pleased that they did arrest him,” Gomez said. “I don’t wish anything bad on

people, but I think he needs to go through the law for cruelty to animals.”

Gomez said she let her 14-pound dog out-side that Monday afternoon, but didn’t real-ize that the front gate was left open. When Munchee didn’t return after a few minutes, Gomez became concerned and went outside to look for her dog. That was when she noticed a police car next door.

Munchee was laying in the neighbor’s yard with a gunshot wound through her neck in-flicted by a .45-caliber bullet, Gomez said.

When questioned about the shooting, Lawson said he was “tired of dogs using his yard as a bathroom,” according to Schilling.

With the help of Llano Police Department, Gomez transported her dog to the Cedar Hills Veterinary Clinic, where Munchee was treated

Melvin Allen Lawson

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL FREEMANLlano volunteer firefighter Chad Barington rests under the shade of a tree during a house fire on East Granite Street in Llano on Monday.

Making Wine ‘I Love Lucy’-StylePHOTO BY DEBBIE SLANGAL

Mindy Brasher, left, and Melissa Gale, who works on Austin’s KVUE-TV morning show, stomp grapes at the Fall Creek Vineyard’s 21st annual grape stomp in Tow on Saturday. See more photos on Page 10A.

Police ... see Page 8A

Rubble reveals ‘glimpses of God’ Citizens request higher SRB taxes

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


The Sunrise Beach Vil-lage City Council went into Thursday’s regular meet-ing expecting to raise the city’s proposed tax rate for next year by 17 percent.

But the citizens in at-tendance had something to say about the proposal, and it left some city coun-cil members surprised.

The citizens requested the council increase the tax rate closer to 20 per-cent to be able to pay for a raise in salaries for the city’s police department.

Mayor Pat Frain said she was “shocked” by the request, but also said the request speaks volumes as to the citizens’ judg-ment on what they believe is important.

“I don’t like to see tax-es raised by 20 percent,” Frain said. “It speaks well for the citizens of Sunrise Beach.”

Frain said with the in-crease, the city would be able to pay its officers a com-parable salary to the Llano County Sheriff’s Office.

On Monday, the city council unanimously ap-proved a rate of $0.1458, which is slightly higher

Citizens ... see Page 8AFire ... see Page 8A

Llano County’s tax rate to dropBY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Llano County has pro-posed to decrease this year’s tax rate by 0.95 percent from last year’s rate.

The Llano County com-missioners’ court held its first public hearing on the

new rate on Monday; how-ever, no public comments were made.

The proposed rate is $0.2751 per $100 valuation, which is down from last year’s rate of $0.2822, said Llano County Judge Wayne Brascom.

“That will satisfy our budget,” Brascom said of the tax rate. “I think we meet the needs of the public in a

growing community.”The court plans to ap-

prove the new rate at its next public meeting on Sept. 13.

In other business, the court approved placing 25 mph speed signs on Reyn-olds, Sleepy Hollow, Cliff and Glass streets in Kingsland after several residents com-plained of high-speed traffic

along those roads.“This was done at the re-

quest of several residents on those streets,” said Tommy Duncan, county commis-sioner for Precinct 3.

Also on Monday, the court approved a few interlo-cal agreements and resolu-tions as well as accepted a donation from a Lower Colo-rado River Authority grant

for 25 redbud and Mexican white oak trees that will be planted in the Llano County Park on Lake Buchanan and in other county properties.

The court also heard a report on the progress Pat-ty Pfister, Wes Birdwell and

Fred Thompson have made on surveying the Llano Riv-er west of the city of Llano. The trio is attempting to provide flood level marks to

protest the Federal Emer-gency Management Agen-cy’s proposed floodplain

map. Brascom reported that FEMA has delayed making a decision on the map, which places some residences along the river

County ... see Page 8A

BY MICHAEL FREEMAN


Michael and Diana Burton believe guardian angels were with them Monday.

The couple’s home at the 300 block of East Granite Street in Llano caught fire shortly after

lunchtime. Both were not in the home at the time of the blaze, and although much of the house was damaged, a reminder of the Burtons’ Christian faith stood unscathed.

On several walls throughout the home, Di-ana had hung crosses, all of which were still hang-ing with the surrounding walls left intact, although other items on the walls had fallen down.

Michael was out of town on a business trip and Di-ana had just returned to work at the Llano Inde-pendent School District’s business office when fire-fighters with the Llano

Volunteer Fire Department responded to a neighbor’s call around 1:45 p.m. The firefighters battled the

blaze until 9 p.m. that eve-ning, and then returned Tuesday morning to douse some hot spots.

Fire Chief Tim Harden said the cause of the house fire is still unknown, but

said the fire started in the

utility room. Michael said a laundry machine, dryer, freezer and fan were the only items in the room, the latter two being the only

Llano County Journal

Documents

Transcript of Llano County Journal