JANUARY 29, 2020 MICROCHIPPING
STUNNER
Buda PD is performing free service for pet owners
Boys basketball team defeats Lake Travis Cavaliers
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Hays Free Press © Barton Publications, Inc.
75¢
Vol. 125 • No. 44
HaysFreePress.com
Serving Buda, Kyle and Northeast Hays County, TX
Tobias wins Kyle special election
CAUGHT ON CAMERA One in custody after tense standoff in Plum Creek
STAFF REPORT
BY ANITA MILLER
CAUGHT ON CAMERA, 2
INSPIRED MINDS
PHOTO BY CAMELIA JUAREZ
Art studio opens in Buda
The Inspired Minds Art Center, which opened last weekend at 121 Main Street in Buda, features classes for youth and adults in a variety of media including ceramics, wood burning, photography and stained glass. The venue will also host locally-based galleries and local theatrical productions. For more information call 512-256-0181.
New Texas Disposal Systems contract with Kyle called ‘win-win’ As part of the deal, TDS will give the city $1,500,000 towards a Heroes Memorial Park to be constructed adjacent to the Hays CISD Performing Arts Center.
BY ANITA MILLER It was a long time in the making, but the new deal between the city of Kyle and Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) is a “win” for both, a city official says. The Kyle City Council approved the new, 15-year contract on Jan. 21 and it contains good news for both residences and businesses, said Kyle’s Chief of Staff Jerry Hendrix. “On the residential side it’s kind of huge,”
he said. Instead of the four percent annual increase under the existing contract, residential customers will now see a yearly increase of only two and a half percent with the 2020 rate set at $22.14 per household. Hendrix said com-
mercial customers will also benefit by having a “lower multiplier” than in years past. In addition to lower rates, he said residential customers will see a lot of new and expanded benefits, including twice-yearly brush
Feb. 4 meetings of the Buda City Council have been canceled; however, a presentation on the plans will be presented Feb. 4. The 170.18 acre
development would be located south of Old Colony Road and west and north of Cole Springs Road. It is a voluntary annexation. Other
collection and a free trip to the landfill every month, with up to five cubic yards of material accepted at each visit. “That’s a lot of stuff,” he said. “That’s huge.” TDS will also pick up Christmas trees and supply a third cart specifically for “green” (compostable) waste. Customers can actually have up to 10 lawn and leaf bags of green waste in addition to what will fit in the supplied cart.
TDS CONTRACT, 9
Filing still Hearings on Buda development canceled open for Hays CISD trustee positions STAFF REPORTS
Public hearings on the Colony at Cole Springs development scheduled to occur during the Jan. 28 and
issues that need to be addressed for the development to proceed include zoning and a MUD agreement. The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
STAFF REORTS
COMING UP Book signing at literary center
Author and poet Adrian Matejka will hold a reading and book signing 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 at the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center in Kyle. The event is free and open to the public. Matejka is the author of The Devil’s Garden
and Mixology. His third collection, The Big Smoke, focuses on Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight champion of the world. His most recent book, Map to the Stars, was published in 2017.
BYGONE ERA Buda Automotive closes after 33 years of service.
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INDEX
Tense times for some residents in the Plum Creek neighborhood of Kyle came to an end on Saturday afternoon with the arrest of a 34-yearDUTSON old Round Rock man. Kyle Police charged Trevor Gordon Dutson with burglary of a habitation and tampering with evidence. At the time of his arrest he also had two outstanding warrants for fraud, both outside of Hays County. Kyle police responded to a burglary in progress in the 700 block of Fairway minutes after 2 p.m. Saturday. City staff later said the homeowner was not home at the time but summoned police after seeing an intruder on a security camera. “Our officers were able to determine the identity of the suspect and make contact with him by telephone,” Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said. “They determined the subject knew the homeowner and that they were not dealing with a random illegal entry.” Police surrounded the residence and repeatedly urged the suspect to exit and surrender. However, he did not. Police also closed nearby neighborhood streets and urged residents, as a precautionary measure, to stay indoors until the situation was resolved. Three hours passed before Dutson was taken into custody without incident. “Once the individual
Michael Tobias handily won a seat on the Kyle City Council Saturday in an election that was nonetheless plagued by abysmally low voter turnout. TOBIAS The election was to fill the unexpired term of District 6 council member Daphne Tenorio, who resigned last month in order to pursue the Democratic nomination for Hays County Treasurer. Tobias will serve until November 2021, at which point he will be eligible for re-election. Tobias won 69.78 percent of the total with 97 votes cast compared to his opponent, Brandy Heindl, who received 42 votes (30.22 percent). Only 139 votes were cast in the election, representing a scant 2.02 percent of the 6,882 voters who were eligible to participate. Tobias’ lead was consistent through absentee voting (7 votes, 71.43 percent compared to Heindl’s 2 votes, 28.57 percent), early voting (46 votes, 63.89 percent compared to Heindl’s 26 votes, 36.11 percent) and election day voting (46 votes, 76.67 percent compared to Heindl’s 14 votes, 23.33 percent.
Get to know Your Wildlands
lend a hand to one of the largest land and groundwater protection efforts in Hays County. Join us for a free guided hike, volunteer event, or star party. Sign up at austintThe Water Quality exas.gov/WQPLstory. The Protection Lands program conserves working event will feature a crawlranches and open space through cave exhibit, a movie screening about surrounding Onion Creek, Bear Creek, Little protecting wildlands for Bear Creek and others to water in Hays County, benefit local groundwater and more. The first event will be and springs. The group Friday, Feb. 7 at the Kyle manages land to keep natural processes work- Public Library, 4:30 to 6 ing as they always have to p.m. The second event keep the aquifer function- is Monday, Feb. 10 at the Buda Public Library. See ing even as the human world around us changes. advertisement on page 9 See these wildlands and for more information.
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Residents in the Hays CISD interested in serving on the Board of Trustees have until 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14 to file their candidacy paperwork. Elections for a single-member trustee from District 1, single-member trustee from District 2 and trustee-at-large will be filled. There are no incumbents running in the first race, while incumbents in single-member district 2 and trustee-at-large are Willie Tenorio Jr. and Vanessa V. Petrea, respectively. The election will be held on May 2. Filing information is available at Hayscisd.net.