JANUARY 6, 2021 NEW YEAR’S BABY
TREE DROP-OFF
Kyle couple unexpectedly delivers baby at home on New Year’s Day.
See where to take your tree to be recycled in Hays County.
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Hays Free Press HaysFreePress.com
Vol. 126 • No. 41
Serving Hays County, TX
VACCINATIONS
The who and where BY SAHAR CHMAIS
PHOTO BY MOSES LEOS III/HAYS CISD
Hays High seniors Bryant Lewis (1) and Durand Hill (foreground) approach Hays High head football coach Les Goad as he presented the 6A, Division II Region IV trophy to the team Jan. 2 after a 38-10 win over Vandegrift in the state quarterfinals.See photos, page 5.
Hays reaches state semifinal STAFF REPORT BUDA – After a 24-year wait, Hays High is back among Texas High School football’s elite. Five total touchdowns scored by quarterback Durand Hill, mixed in with dominant defense, carried Hays to a 38-10 win over the Vandegrift Vipers to claim the 6A Division II Region IV championship.
That win puts Hays in the state semifinal round against Katy at 2 p.m. Saturday at Baylor University. It’s the first time Hays has reached the semifinals since the program’s 1996 run. Hays head coach Les Goad said, “One of the key things is this team keeps getting better and better and better. Hays (10-3) trailed 7-6 after the first quarter
before storming back in the second frame with a six-yard touchdown. Vandegrift countered with a 30-yard field goal; Hays responded with an 11yard touchdown pass to take an 18-10 lead at halftime. From there, the Hays defense shut out Vandegrift, limiting it to 179 total yards and 57 rushing yards. Hays amassed 437 total yards with 260 of those on
the ground. Hays flexed its muscle at the end of the third quarter when it orchestrated a 99-yard scoring drive capped off with a 28-yard touchdown pass, extending its lead to 24-10. Fourteen more fourth quarter points sealed the win for Hays. For full story with stats, see online at haysfreepress. com.
Hays County makes history with first woman District Judge BY MEGAN WEHRING HAYS COUNTY — Hays County sees more women in power as Sherri Tibbe was sworn in on Monday as the first woman to be elected as the 453rd District Judge. “I felt like there needed to be some diversity on the district bench,” Tibbe said. “There had not been a woman who served in that position. I thought that this is 2019, it’s time for somebody to at least try to run for that office.” (Tibbe filed to run for the office in 2019, but was
sworn in in 2021 after winning the election in 2020.) Tibbe was previously elected as the first TIBBE woman Criminal District Attorney for Hays County in November 2006, serving eight years. She then moved into private practice when she formed the firm, Leavitt & Tibbe, in 2015 with her law partner Randy Leavitt. While there are few
women who are in office, Tibbe hopes that fulfilling her position as District Judge will encourage more women to serve their community. “We need more women to get out there and run for office,” Tibbe told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. “We are severely underrepresented in the legislative branch and judicial branch. That needs to change. It needs to be equal and it needs to be qualified, good candidates as well. Women need to start putting themselves out there.”
Serving the Hays County community, maintaining an objective mindset and moving cases through the system are her top priorities, Tibbe explained. “With these last nine months of this pandemic, there has not been a jury trial in these courts since last year,” Tibbe said. “We are hopeful that by summertime, a large percentage of the population will be vaccinated and we can resume normal operations. There are a lot of people that are waiting for their day in court and haven’t gotten it.”
Retiring counselor reflects: Therapy not as taboo as before BY SAHAR CHMAIS
tured into a trade disSeeking help from a couraged psychologist used to be by many. socially stigmatized. This “People has changed in the last thought two decades and Luann I was Sandahl, Licensed Profes- wasting sional Counselor in Kyle, my time a was there to watch the little bit. SANDAHL change rapidly unfold. Nobody “It’s almost a 20-year would admit they saw a career and I spent most of counselor. People were it in Kyle,” Sandahl said, kind of jokingly wonrecalling that she vendering ‘what will you do
CALL OUT
San Marcos art gallery looking for women artists to feature.
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with that.’ They thought nobody would come.” Sure enough, many people saw Sandahl from Kyle and other surrounding cities. Some of her clients even came from San Antonio. Her line of work was so demanding that Sandahl found opening one day a week, with eight patients a day, did not suffice.
SEEKING THERAPY, 4
ticipate receiving a small shipment within the HAYS COUNTY – next couple of weeks. Hays County is in its Once received we will Tier 1A COVID-19 vacnotify the public.” cination phase, accordWhile the county ing to the office of Hays does not directly receive County Judge Ruben these vaccines, the state Becerra. has provided vaccines This phase of vaccito multiple medical nation is open to first facilities in the counresponders, direct care ty. Recipients include hospital workers, long Seton Hays-Kyle, Austin term care workers, EMS Regional Clinic in Buda 9-1-1, home health and Kyle, Baylor Scott & providers, pharmacy White in Buda, HEB in workers and school Buda, Dripping Springs, nurses. There may have Wimberley, Kyle and San been a transition to Marcos. Other recipients start Tier 1B vaccination include San Marcos through some medical Family Medicine, Brookproviders, the judge’s shire in Wimberley and press release said. Tier Wimberley Pharmacy. 1B includes residents COVID-19 vaccines 65 and older, 16 and are free of charge, but older who are pregnant residents may need to or who have chronic register or be seen by medical conditions. a doctor before receiv“The state has yet to ing the vaccine. These release vaccines to Hays steps can be taken by County Public Health,” directly contacting the Becerra said, “but we an- medical facility.
Hays PPP loans for businesses in $ millions BY SAHAR CHMAIS
Hays County businesses received millions of dollars in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), even though many businesses did not participate in it or found difficulty navigating the system. Now that PPP loans will be making a reappearance to aid more businesses through these financially difficult times, it is time to look over how some businesses in the county secured these funds for their businesses. About 30%, or $284 billion, of the $900 billion of the COVID relief bill will be spent on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The first round of PPP loans was nearly double the amount proposed in December’s bill. PPP has disclosed details on the business loans it gave, such as business names, loan size, lender name, how many jobs were saved and more. The Hays Free Press/ News-Dispatch has analyzed some of the numbers so that Hays County businesses have an idea what to look forward to in the next wave of loans.
The Hays Free Press Barton Publications, Inc. The Hays Free Press (USPS 361-430) published weekly by Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. Periodicals postage paid at Buda, TX 78610 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. ISSN#1087-9323
In Hays County, nearly 2,500 small businesses received loans through the program. One caveat which has created some limitation to information analysis – the PPP disclosed exact loan amounts for businesses that received less than $150,000 but did not disclose those business names. Loans over $150,000 were accompanied with names, but loan amounts are given in wide ranges.
LOANS FOR LESS THAN $150,000: Hays County businesses that received less than $150,000 raked in over $72 million from 194 banks. Many of the lenders were small or local banks, but some of the biggest lending came in from large national banks. Frost Bank gave 220 loans at $8.6 million. Frost was the county’s biggest lender in quantity and in loan amounts for loans under $150,000. These loans alone sustained 1894 jobs. Some other lenders that gave over 100 loans or over $1 million include: Wells Fargo
PPP LOANS, 4