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Tri-Canyon’s Only Weekly Newspaper!
Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas Vol. 5 No. 41
www.hillcountryherald.net
Bandera Electric to Expand Leakey Office Hours
INSIDE
Somewhere in the West “THE BATHTUB”
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IV… HELP! ............................ Page 7
Enjoy the Upcoming Hunting Season ............................ Page 9
Texas Hill Country Counselor’s Association
October 7, 2015
editor@hillcountryherald.net
[BANDERA, Texas] − Bandera Electric Cooperative announced today that the Leakey office location will be opening five days a week to better serve area members. Currently the office is open for five hours, two days a week. The change is in large part because of BEC members who attended the town hall
meeting in Leakey on September 24. “We had a great turn out at our Leakey town hall meeting,” said BEC General Manager William Hetherington. “Our members came that night to share their concerns about the limited office hours and how important our presence is in the community. They helped us to identify a need in the community that wasn’t being served by our current office operating hours.” The change will take place on Monday, October 19. The office will be open
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing from 12 to 1 p.m. for lunch. Members will be able to pay bills, start and stop service, sign up for Time Based Usage and Prepay billing as well as complete a number of other BEC account services. “Our most senior and experienced member services representative, Clare Jo Anderson, will be operating the office,” said Dody Santos, BEC’s member relations supervisor. “She will be a great asset to our Leakey office
and I think that our members will enjoy working with her.” Bandera Electric Cooperative currently serves more than 24,000 members and provides electric service to 34,000 meters in a seven county territory in Texas Hill Country. As a memberowned cooperative, BEC continually searches for new, innovative programs to promote energy-efficiency and quality service. Find more information about BEC at BanderaElectric.com or by calling (866) 266-3372.
Nueces River Authority Update on Leakey Wastewater Project by Julie Becker
Lets go back a little, On October 21, 2011 the Texas Water Development Board approved a $9.961 million dollar loan forgiveness from The Clean Water State Revolving Fund and a $1.082 million dollar grant from the Economically Distressed Area Program. The Texas Water Development Board signed an agreement with the NRA on April 10, 2012. The scope of the project is to provide first-time wastewater collection and treatment service to the City of Leakey and surrounding communities within a determined project boundary. The Planning stage of the project was completed in October of 2013, Environmental and Design Phases were also completed in October 2013. The Final
Design Phase was completed in December 2014. The Bidding process is near completion. Hoover Construction from Burnet, Texas has been awarded the TxDOT Subset contract and FisherPoirier Construction from Austin, Texas has been awarded the renovation project for the office building. Still out for bid to be awarded today is the contract for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Bids for the WWTP will be opened today in the McNelly Room of the First State Bank in Uvalde, 200 East Nopal Street, Uvalde, Texas. Construction of the TxDOT Subset has not yet begun. Hoover Construction has been issued a Notice of Award and five conformed sets of construction
documents. A pre-construction conference is scheduled for today at 10 a.m. at Leakey City Hall. Construction will begin as soon as possible after that, pending TWDB review of the conformed contract documents and issuance of Notice to Proceed. The outstanding appraisals for the additional easements were completed. The only remaining easement is Suttle Way. Several project meetings occurred in September both in Leakey and Uvalde, primarily in association with the bidding process. On September 17, 2015 Naismith Engineering, Nueces River Authority and Hoover Construction met with TxDOT and its contractor at the Junction Area Office.
LISD ROYALTY
Black Named To Agri-Techsan Organization submitted Texas Tech
After finishing my undergrad in Agriculture and Applied Economics, I hope to continue my
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The general plan to complete the storm drains and sanitary sewer projects was discussed, and a rough schedule identified. Various on-site and telephone meeting have been regularly occurring between all of the agencies. Having Hoover Construction poised to begin the TxDOT subset alleviates many of the concerns with the conflicts with TxDOT’s storm drains and paving project. A potential problem is the Suttle Way easement. Naismith has discussed the idea of an alternate easement, or removing that portion of the collection system all together. The project is on schedule to begin within the next few weeks. Please continue to be prepared for the construction.
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - Officials in Texas Tech University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) have announced Taylor Black of Sabinal, Texas, was named to the 2015-2016 team of Agri-Techsans, the college’s award-winning organization of student recruiters. Comprised of select undergraduates from every department in the college, this year’s Agri-Techsans are a diverse group. Elizabeth Bertrand, the college’s coordinator of student recruitment, noted that though the organization’s diversity serves both Texas Tech and prospective students equally well, all Agri-Techsans have at least one thing in common - their enthusiasm for the university and the college’s programs. “We only look for exceptional students who are enthusiastic about Texas Tech and CASNR, who will take an active and responsible part in our organization, and can maintain their grades while devoting time and lots of energy to promoting CASNR,” she said. Selected each spring for the following academic year, Agri-Techsans must be nominated by either a faculty member or a current Agri-Techsan, maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average, and be a fulltime student in Tech’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
At half-time of last week’s game Leakey crowned their Homecoming Senior King and Queen: Derek Troch and Debra Odom (pictured below) Other members of the Homecoming Court: Freshmen Duke and Duchesses: (We had a tie for Duchess) Larry Dugat and Heidi Hubbard and Brianna Webb, Sophomore Duke and Duchess: Braden Odom and Savannah Boone, Junior Prince and Princess: James Diaz and Sofia Rodriguez Football Sweetheart - Maycee Webb Cheerleading Beau - Dee Bort The other candidates for Prince and Princess were Jake Gray and Maycee Webb The other candidates for King and Queen were Luz Clara Medina and Ethan Wynn
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Restoration of the Historic Rio Frio Church Building Gains Momentum ............................ Page 9
INDEX State News .................... Page 2 Legals/Jail Register ...... Page 3 Community News ......... Page 4-6 Feature Story ................. Page 7 Obituaries ...................... Page 8 Classifieds ..................... Page 12
Today’s Weather
High: 87° Low: 65°
The restoration of the unique little church in Rio Frio, which is approaching its Centennial birthday, is beginning to catch the eyes of people living in the area as well as those passing by. The purchase late last year from the Southwest Texas District of the Pentecostal Church of God by the Rio Frio Cemetery Association with intention to establish a Community Center for Civic events including weddings and funerals is fast approaching fruition. But we digress. In late 1915 a decision was made to establish a Baptist Church in Rio Frio. Land was purchased from W.B. Patterson and three trustees, A.A. Cavender, Bob Davis, and George Hoover assumed responsibility for the construction of said church. Pastor J.H.
Erb, formerly of New Brunswich Canada, who had worked in construction prior to entering the ministry was instrumental in these endeavors. Begun in 1915 completed in 1916 and totally paid off in early 1917 Rio Frio had a house of worship. Records of the construction costs came to light after the purchase of the building and associated land was completed last year. Annie Auld Davis, wife of Bob Davis, had kept all invoices from the various construction companies in Sabinal, Uvalde, San Antonio and even Dallas who provided materials for the completion of the project. These records had been left with daughter Susie Davis Nichols and then passed to her daughter, Pat Burrier. continued page 3
Historic Church Building Undergoes Restoration in Rio Frio
by Willis Springfield