Watch out for snakes!
Project Grad gets ready to rumble
Tiger baseball, softball keep on winning
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXVI No. 31
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
75¢
Thursday, May 12, 2016
FM 150, US 290 accidents take seven lives BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT COLLARD
Five people died and two were in critical condition Sunday afternoon after a two-car wreck on US 290. A 2000 tan Lincoln lost control, spun into oncoming traffic and was hit by a 2016 white Buick. Another wreck on Monday evening on FM 150 left one injured and two dead.
Let the banks grow wild BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
A monumental flood of epic proportions last year ravished the Blanco River and the trees that supported its banks. With tender love and care, the river is healing and its banks are turning green with growth. Quickly after the Memorial Day flood, personnel from the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife (TDPW) and Wimberley residents held workshops to show people how to help the river recover. Last week, the TDPW and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center published a riparian design plan for residents to follow while repairing their section of the river. The plan serves as a comprehensive educational source on riparian ecosystems and gives a flexible outline on how to manage a riverside area, TDPW conservation
BLANCO RIVER, 5
A total of seven people were killed this week in two separate, but major, accidents on thoroughfares leading into Dripping Springs. The first accident, which took place Sunday afternoon on U.S. Highway 290 near Crow Ranch Road, claimed the lives of five people and left two others injured. Sunday’s accident involved a tan 2000 Lincoln passenger car, which had four occupants, and a white 2016 Buick passenger car, which had three occupants. According to an email from Texas Department of Public Safety state trooper Robbie Barrera, three people in the Lincoln died at the scene.
ELECTION RESULTS
Voters nix ESD 1 tax cap increase BY PAIGE LAMBERT
May 2016 election results
News-Dispatch Reporter
DRIPPING SPRINGS Dripping Springs voters overwhelmingly shot down the Emergency Service District No. 1’s aim to increase its tax cap May 7. ESD No. 1’s Proposition 1 fell farther from approval on Election Day with 1,093 voters, or 63.36 percent, casting their ballots against the tax cap increase. A total of 632 voters were for the proposition. If the proposition had passed, it would have allowed the ESD to raise its tax cap from 3 to 7 cents per $100 valuation. Of the 20,806 registered voters, only 8.36 percent cast their ballots. Meanwhile, in the race for two Dripping Springs ISD school board seats, incumbent Shelley Reeves and Jon Thompson claimed victory in their bids for reelection. Reeves snagged the top percent of voters from early voting all the way through Election Day Saturday. Reeves garnered 884, or 42.22 percent, of the total votes. Incumbent Jon Thompson gained 512 total votes, which amounted to 24.45 percent of the vote. Candidate Cassondra Taylor finished third by claiming 390, or 18.62 percent, of the total votes while candidate Kelsey Kling tailed Taylor with 308, or 14.71 percent, total votes. Of the 19,742 registered voters, 8.55 percent cast their ballots.
WIMBERLEY The Wimberley City Council will take on a new look after a trio of incumbents were defeated by challengers Saturday. In the race for Wimberley Mayor, candidate Mac McCullough ousted incumbent Steve Thurber Saturday by a narrow margin, according to the final, unofficial results. McCullough, who trailed Thurber after early voting results were released, surged ahead by gaining 85 votes on Election Day to Thurber’s 54. McCullough won the seat by 31 votes. Meanwhile, candidates in the Place 2 and Place 4
DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD SCHOOL BOARD
WIMBERLEY MAYOR
aShelley Reeves – 42.22%
884 total votes 347 early voting
512 total votes 200 early voting
aJon Thompson – 24.45% r Cassondra Taylor –18.62% 390 total votes 129 early voting r Kelsey Kling – 14.71% 308 total votes 112 early voting
EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICT NO. 1 PROPOSITION 1
MAC MCCULLOUGH
a50.33% (462 votes)
STEVE THURBER
r 49.67% (456 votes)
WIMBERLEY COUNCIL PLACE 1
aAgainst – 63.36%
1,093 total votes 366 early voting
r For – 36.64% 632 total votes 254 early voting
WIMBERLEY ISD PROPOSITION 1
aFor – 73.83%
1,188 total votes 842 early voting
CRAIG FORE
a51.31% (469 votes)
CINDY ANDERSON
r 48.69% (455 votes)
WIMBERLEY COUNCIL PLACE 4
r Against – 26.17% 421 total votes 272 early voting
WIMBERLEY ISD PROPOSITION 2
aFor – 63.57%
1,014 total votes 731 early voting
r Against – 36.43% 581 total votes 380 early voting
council seats ousted a pair of incumbents. Wimberley council Place 2 candidate Craig Fore broke through to defeat incumbent Cindy Anderson for the council seat. Craig, who matched Anderson with 50 percent of the vote after early voting results were released, pushed ahead by gathering 80 votes, or 51.31 percent, on Election Day to win. Anderson trailed close behind with 56 Election Day votes, or 48.69 percent. Wimberley Place 4
GARY BARCHFELD
a54.91% (498 votes)
PAM SHOWALTER r 45.09% (409 votes)
candidate Gary Barchfeld marched on to carry the lead from early voting to Election Day to defeat incumbent Pam Showalter. Barchfeld maintained the lead by gathering 84 votes Saturday while Showalter garnered 53. “I’m happy Mac and Craig won and I’m pleased for our team,” Barchfeld said. “This is a positive for the city of Wimberley and it shows our community is ready for change.”
ELECTION RESULTS, 4
Authorities identified the deceased as Caitlin Rene Smyth, 23, of Austin, Ricky Dale Williams, 57, of Austin and Kyle Lee Alba, 25, of Dripping Springs. The fourth person, Erik Johnson, 29, of Dripping Springs, was transported to South Austin Medical Center. Barrera said his condition is unknown at this time. One of the passengers in the Buick, identified as Kathy Lee Leverett, 62, died at the scene. A second passenger, identified as Nancy Ann Clark, 82, died at Seton Southwest Hospital. The driver of the Buick, Randall Dene Osban, 58, was transported to St. David’s Austin Medical Center. His condition is unknown at this time.
FATAL WRECKS, 7
Flood report trickles in a year later BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
Months after two floods left a path of destruction in parts of Hays County, officials on May 2 officially released an after action report chronicling the events. Hays County’s report documents what happened during the Memorial Day and Halloween floods, how the county reacted to them and how it plans to improve after the historic disasters.
FLOOD REPORT, 4
Wastewater plant team moves ahead on design BY PAIGE LAMBERT
News-Dispatch Reporter
Wimberley’s wastewater services team got a boost to help move the project forward. The Wimberley City Council unanimously approved changing its professional services agreement with Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. for the Central Wimberley Wastewater Project designs. The amendment will mean 420 additional hours of design that will not exceed $68,415, Wimberley city administrator Don Ferguson said. “Several changes have been made to that project since the city initially entered into a contract with API for project engineering,” Ferguson said. “We want to reflect those changes and the cost associated with those.” Ferguson said the changes include moving the plant to the northeast corner of Blue Hole Regional Park, doubling effluent storage and other changes resulting from a 2015 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
WASTEWATER PROJECT, 5