MAY 26, 2021 FATAL WRECK
HEROES’ NAMES
Kyle man and Buda woman named in Williamson County car wreck.
County to name new roads in the county after fallen veterans and first responders.
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Hays Free Press HaysFreePress.com
Vol. 127 • No. 9
Serving Hays County, TX
A look at Asian American month
Local business owners give forward BY SAHAR CHMAIS
From South Korea to Texas, Jimmy Ferguson has lived through war, segregation, Asian-American hate and peace. The Asian-American business man has truly lived the American Dream and found his home in Texas 30 years ago. “I did not speak any English when coming to the U.S. at about 8 years old,”
The couple said that they just forgive (negative comments) and move on because 99 times out of 100, the hate is coming from a place of ignorance or a preconceived thought, just as they are seeing today with COVID.
Jimmy Ferguson recalled. “My father was in the [U.S.] Army. After the Korean war, we went to New Orleans and there was some
adjustment there.” When Jimmy Ferguson came to the U.S., his mother had to teach him English. She did such a
good job that he eventually lost the ability to speak Korean. But it was not so simple for the now-owner of 22 McDonald’s to assimilate to American culture. At a time of segregation in 1958, it took months of litigation to find out which school he could get into. Over the years, Jimmy Ferguson moved around the country as his father
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FERGUSONS
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Cindi and Jimmy Ferguson work as a team on their McDonald’s franchises.
Kyle invests nearly $13M in parks
Masks remain focus at heated DSISD board meeting
BY MEGAN WEHRING KYLE – After several years in the making, the city of Kyle is breaking ground on two public parks expected to be completed by next year. Kyle City Council approved a $7.95 million contract for the construction of Heroes Memorial Park and $4.85 million for the construction of Uptown Central Park and Cultural Trails (now known as the Brick and Mortar District). “It’s been a long journey to get to this point,” said Mayor Travis Mitchell during Tuesday’s city council meeting, “to award these contracts and get them designed. There’s certainly a lot of excitement to see these projects get underway.” These funds are available through a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) that enables the city of Kyle to invest in a series of projects that will help benefit the public as a whole. A TIRZ sets aside a portion of the city property tax for rein-
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PHOTO BY SAHAR CHMAIS NASCAR truck driver Carson Hocevar, above, was on hand at a meet and greet Friday with team drivers Ryan Truex and Bayley Currey at Niece Equipment in Buda.
Locals meet locally-sponsored NASCAR truck team in Buda BY SAHAR CHMAIS
NASCAR fans could get their fix Saturday as the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race track opened for the first time since COVID restrictions were put in place in 2020. This year, Al Niece, owner of Niece Motorsports and Niece equipment in Buda, had his team of four drivers race in Saturday’s COTA truck races.
Prior to the race, Niece put on a customer appreciation barbecue where local residents could eat, chat and meet the racers. Saturday, from Niece’s team, 18-yearold Carson Hocevar won 7th place, Ryan Truex placed 20th and Bayley Currey won 26th place. Logan Bearden did not place on the race chart. Hocevar and Currey said they have been
driving since they were about seven years old. “I grew up racing quarter midgets and got a chance to run two truck races,” Hocevar told the Hays Free Press/ News-Dispatch. “I got a call from Niece Motorsports to run part-time last year and had really good speed. [Niece] wanted to take a chance on me and I was really interested in it full time, so that’s where we are now.”
Hocevar said that driving a truck is almost like driving a boat; it is heavy, long and does not drive great. He speeds up to around 180 to 190 miles per hour in the Chevrolet truck. The race was part of the Truck Series inaugural race at COTA. “But as a racecar driver, you don’t want it to drive that great,” Hocevar smiled. “It’s a lot more fun when it’s out of control.”
Memorial Day happenings SAN MARCOS
A memorial service honoring all Hays County veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice will occur at the Hays County Veterans Memorial at 450 E. Hopkins Street in San Marcos beginning at 10 a.m. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be held at the San Marcos Activity Center.
KYLE Join the city of Kyle in honoring our veter-
ans, first-responders, and other community heroes at the Heroes Memorial Park Groundbreaking on Memorial Day, May 31 from 10-11:30 a.m. next to the Hays Performing Arts Center, 979 Kohlers Crossing. The community is invited to attend this groundbreaking and learn about the unique features that will be included in Heroes Memorial Park. There will be a Procession by Honor Guards and a War Bird flyover.
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Throughout the groundbreaking, the city of Kyle will also have an Oral History booth available to Kyle veterans and community members to share their histories, family stories and life experiences to be archived by the city and later buried in a time capsule at Heroes Memorial Park. Following the groundbreaking, the American Veterans Central Texas Post 115 will be serving barbecue at the AMVET Post, 401 Veterans Dr., from 12-2
p.m. Groundbreaking event attendees may park at the Hays CISD Performing Arts Center, adjacent to grounds of Heroes Memorial Park, that will be located at the corner of FM 1626 and Kohlers Crossing. The Heroes Memorial Park has been made possible by the generous donation of Texas Disposal Systems and with the leadership and direction of Kyle City Council and Kyle TIRZ #2 Board members.
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
BY SAHAR CHMAIS There were tears, boos, laughter and applause taking place in the Dripping Springs High School auditorium, but there was no play. Only parents pleading in front of the DSISD Board of Trustees regarding mask policies. Nearly two hours of testimonies were presented, with many urging the board to remove the mask mandate before June 4. These parents stated the hardships masks have caused their children, such as physical and psychological issues. The school board listened and will not be waiting until June 4 to enforce Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order, which says that schools cannot force anyone to wear a mask after June 4. The board unanimously approved that masks become optional beginning May 28, in advance of graduation and the start of summer school and camps. Not all parents wanted the mask regulations lifted. Several took their allotted three minutes to discuss their children’s health conditions, like having an immunocompromised system, and how removing masks can be potentially life threatening. In one case, a parent mentioned their child being bullied for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Similarly, a parent began arguing with an audience member for using her child’s vaccine photo from
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