Singing the blues in Drip page 3
Tigers take on the world of business
Tiger softball rolls over Rangers page 4
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVI No. 24
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Wimberley citizens academy in the works
LAGNIAPPE WAG Rescue Adoption Day
WAG Rescue invites you to fall in love with your new best friend on March 26 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at its dog adoption event at Whole Pets Market, 911 W. Hwy. 290 in Dripping Springs. Visit www. WimberleyWagRescue.org for more information.
BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
Wimberley Wine Walk
The inaugural Wimberley 1K Wine Walk will be held March 31 from 5-8 p.m. Gather to stroll the streets surrounding the square and sample wines from Texas wineries and beyond. Visit www. wimberleywinewalk.com for more information.
Free heart screenings for students
Championship Hearts Foundation will offer free heart screenings for students ages 14-18, from 8 a.m. - noon on Saturday, April 2 at Seton Medical Center Hays, 6001 Kyle Parkway, Kyle, TX 78640. High school athletes and active students who participate in cheerleading, marching band, drill team, extreme sports or other strenuous sports are encouraged to get their hearts screened for possible deadly genetic heart conditions. Online pre-registration is required at www.champhearts. org. Students must have a signed parental waiver in order to receive the heart screening. That waiver will be available at the event and online. Check-in will take place in the first floor outpatient lobby. For more information or to volunteer, visit the Foundation’s website (www. champhearts.org) or phone (512) 900-3243 or (888) 884-6945.
2016 Relay for Life
The 2016 Dripping Springs Relay for Life event will be held Saturday, April 2, 2016 from 4 p.m. to midnight at Dripping Springs Ranch Park. Sign your team up online at relay.acsevents.org.
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75¢
COURTESY PHOTO
Alex Worlow, owner of Nomad Tiny Homes, showing the bedroom loft of one of the homes.
Drippin’ with tiny homes BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
Alex Worlow, of Dripping Springs, climbed the stairs to the bedroom loft above the bathroom of a 200-square-foot tiny home. The staggered stairs served as storage space, as did every nook and cranny of the home. The trend of tiny homes, defined as dwellings that only span a couple hundred square feet and built on trailers, is now spreading across Dripping Springs. Worlow, who owns Nomad Tiny Homes, recently began building tiny homes after 10
“It’s made to take on a modern feel with technology and being earth friendly. You can be off the grid and still live in comfort.” –Tasha Nikora, Dripping Springs resident
years in the traditional remodeling business. He said tiny homes allows him to creatively build without the red tape. “It keeps the cost and the headache down a little bit and we try to provide a different type of housing for different type of people,” Worlow said.
“They are on trailers so they are considered recreational vehicles.” As long as a tiny home is less than 400 square feet, it is considered a recreational vehicle, he said. A tiny home doesn’t
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Local watering hole anchors Mercer Street revitalization BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
When John Macintosh opened The Barber Shop in 2010, there wasn’t much business on Mercer Street. Macintosh, who has been around since the 1980s, said the street once resembled a ghost town. Residents only ventured down Mercer during a trip to the post office, said Sherrie Parks, Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce executive director. Then the post office moved to its current location in 2009, and many simply forgot about Mercer after that – PHOTO BY PAIGE LAMBERT until businesses, such as The The Barber Shop is one of several bustling businesses on the once empty Barber Shop, started to see the Mercer Street in downtown Dripping Springs. appeal of opening in Dripping Springs’ downtown. downtown again,” Parks businesses is just dead, like a “We kinda lost our identisaid,“which led to businessmuseum.” ty for a little while, of where es going, oh we can have a Business owners flocked to is Dripping Springs,” Parks monthly shopping event for make their stake on Mercer said. “The city hall is here but people to come downtown.” Street soon after everyone really The half mile stretch of road the bar opened, enjoys an area now sees at least one business Parks said. they can identify move in every year, Parks said. Business really as city central.” Donna Johnson, owner of took off in 2012 But Mercer The French Quarter, said she when the city Street remained moved her business to Mercer was awarded a untraveled, because of the unique group $420,000 Capital Parks said, Area Metropolitan of shops and the street’s look. until The Barber Since she moved in January, Planning OrganiShop opened its neighboring businesses have zation (CAMPO) doors. helped spread word about her grant. Macintosh shop, she said. The grant said he opened “People weren’t as suphelped build sideThe Barber portive in California,” Johnwalks and a peShop six years son said. “These people are destrian friendly ago because bridge. Signs were wonderful and supportive and there wasn’t a I try to make sure people go to installed and lot of places for –John Macintosh, Barthem.” parking spaces people to meet. ber Shop owner Mercer Street now has a were striped. He said people handful of restaurants, bouThe combinawould meet at tion of more shops and pedes- tiques and music venues. The the bar and realize they had eclectic and unique collectrian friendly improvements been neighbors for years. tion of businesses has helped allowed the chamber to revisit “Businesses help foster that Mercer stand on its own as a its First Thursday idea, Parks sense of community and once destination, Macintosh said. said. The season opening for people get invested they tend to care more,” Macintosh said. First Thursdays is April 7. MERCER STREET, 7 “It got people excited about “A historical district without
“A historical district without businesses is just dead, like a museum.”
The Wimberley City Council unanimously approved the creation of a citizens academy, which gives residents a closer look at how each part of the city government functions. “We think it would be valuable here,” Ferguson said. “And I think we have a real opportunity as a small community to have a huge impact with this project.”
WIMBERLEY, 3
Man arrested in exotic hunting incident BY SAMANTHA SMITH
News-Dispatch Reporter
The Hays County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man March 15 after he lied to authorities about illegally darting an antelope inside a gated subdivision in Wimberley. Authorities arrested Jared Grady OFFTERMATT Offtermatt, 26, of Spring Branch, on four charges including Hunting/Possession of an Exotic animal, which is a Class A misdemeanor, and giving a false report to a peace officer, which is a Class B misdemeanor. He was booked into the Hays County Jail and released on March 15 on $8,000 bond. According to an arrest affidavit, authorities were called in the early morning hours March 7, 2015 for a black buck antelope that was darted in the Las Lornas gated subdivision in Wimberley. The black buck antelope belonged to the Las Lornas Home Owners Association and was valued at $1,700 to $2,000. A deputy who was on scene recovered a PneuDart tranquilizer dart with an attached transmitter containing a serial number. The deputy sent the dart for forensic analysis, while tracking the company that sold the dart, which verified Offtermatt had purchased transmitters in October 2014. The deputy interviewed Offtermatt, who denied darting the antelope, but said he owned the darts and they were stolen from his truck. According to the affidavit, Offtermatt did not file a report for the theft, but said he ordered replacement darts on Feb. 27, 2015. The deputy checked with the company, which found
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