LH Independent 2-20-20 by The Liberty Hill Independent

2020

Volume 33, Issue 13

Branigan facing Hall in Mayor’s race

Former City Council member and longtime community volunteer Liz Branigan filed on Feb. 14, the last day to challenge Mayor Rick Hall in the May election. While Hall, who filed for reelection on Jan. 15 has drawn an opponent, Council members – Kathy Canady in Place 2 and Tony DeYoung in Place 4 – are unopposed. Canady and DeYoung were both appointed in 2019 to finish unexpired terms and now will each draw a monthly salary of $1,000 for their position on the City Council. The salary was approved as part of the current budget, passed by the Council in September 2019. The candidate that wins the mayoral race will receive a $40,000 annual salary, also stipulated in the current budget. The City election also includes a measure asking voters to determine the length of Council terms, either extending them to three years or keeping them at the current two years. On the Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees, Place 2 incumbent and Board President Clay Cole chose not to seek reelection. In his place, three newcomers – Dana Munguia, Kendall Carter and Antonio Canas – will vie for the position. There were four candidates for Place 2 briefly last week before Terry Smith withdrew his application for that position and refiled for Place 1 to take on incumbent and Board Vice President Clint Stephenson. The election is May 2, with early voting from April 2028. The deadline to register to vote in the local May election is April 2.

County prepares for full count in Census

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer As the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium gets started, it’s time for the U.S. Census. The count helps determine funding for over 50 federal programs and affects political representation through redistricting. “If you don’t get everyone counted in 2020, you’re going to be undercounted, and that’s going to affect you in 2030 because for the next 10 years the accurate population count is going to be important to how you’re funded from roads to community services such as firemen and policemen,” said Ray Langlois, part-time census

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LHPD Chief takes key role in new program

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Police Chief Maverick Campbell knows the importance of drug prevention, and when he found a program to address that issue, he immediately wanted to bring it home to Liberty Hill. With the new program in hand, Campbell sought out a partnership with Liberty Hill ISD to establish a new way to address the dangers of violence and drug use and how to avoid these behaviors by partnering with the non-profit organization Law Enforcement Against Drugs (LEAD). LEAD started in 2014 as a way to protect youth and communities from drugs and drug-related crimes, peer to peer/cyberbullying and violence. The program works with educators, community leaders, and families to accomplish their goals and keep kids from kindergarten to high school safe. “The Superintendent Association of New Jersey and the

chief of police were looking for a research-based, proven-effective drug prevention program for students in New Jersey,” said Valerie Penksa, a trainer with LEAD. “So, they formed LEAD, and we’ve partnered with the Mendez Foundation, who are drug prevention writers of curricula.” The Mendez Foundation began during the late 1960s. It focused on creating violence and drug prevention programs aimed at students from K-12. LEAD uses two programs to address issues, one is Too Good for Drugs, and the other is Too Good for Violence. “Their program is research-based, proven effective and on the national registry,” said Penksa. “Trained officers are certified to go in and teach lessons from kindergarten to 8th grade. There’s additional training if they want to do 9th grade.” After meeting LEAD’s CEO Nicholas DeMauro and COO John Lindsey during an international police chief con-

From left, are Lisa Remick-Vice, President LEAD operations and Training; Valerie Penske, Master LEAD Instructor; John Lindsay, Chief Operating Operations Officer-LEAD; LHISD Superintendent Steve Snell, Liberty Hill Police Chief Maverick Campbell, and Lt. Nick Glenn, Master LEAD Instructor of the Milan Police Department of Milan, Tennessee. (Courtesy Photo) ference, Campbell knew he sentative for the entire state of began reaching out to LHISD, wanted to bring the program to Texas,” said Campbell. “I did wanting to start locally before Liberty Hill ISD. more research before I com- expanding around the state. “I got some details and did mitted to it and worked on it “The school district considsome research on it, and they over the last year.” ered it, did some research, did asked me at the banquet dinAfter accepting the position their homework, and then I ner we had there if I would be and attending the LEAD conwilling to be the state repre- ference a year later, Campbell See LEAD, Page A5

County seeks solutions to dispatching crunch

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor When Liberty Hill ISD established its police department last summer it reignited an old debate in Georgetown among County Commissioners – how the financial burden of dispatching services should be shared. When the discussion of how to add LHISD Police to the long list of entities using those county services was over, the department was told it would cost $450 per month per officer. That meant when the four-officer force was filled out the department would be

paying $21,600 annually for dispatching services. “We went through and tried to figure out what it costs to have one additional entity and then what does it cost to have a person,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long. “We’re looking at all kinds of ways to see what are really the cost drivers and what should we settle on in that cost model.” The department is the first to pay for the comprehensive dispatching services, but is not expected to be the last. “We have a different collection of entities of different sizes that we are providing

these services for,” Long said. “Two years ago when Hutto ISD formed a police force, and most recently when Liberty Hill did, we said the County can’t continue to take on more folks without incurring more cost and at what point in time do those entities have to start bearing that cost?” The agreement with Liberty Hill ISD isn’t necessarily the model that will apply to others in the future, and the issue is one Long has been tabbed to study and bring back to the Commissioners Court in

See DISPATCH, Page A6

City Administrator search remains murky

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor It has been more than six months since the City Council voted to accept the resignation of then-City Administrator Greg Boatright, and there is no clear indication that the Council is close to hiring a replacement. Despite his resignation, Boatright indicated at the time that it was a Council decision to move on from him, and Mayor Rick Hall did not dispute that account. That same evening Hall said the Council would begin the search for a new administra-

tor. “We will actively start working (to hire a new administrator),” Hall said on Aug. 12, 2019. “There’s a firm that helps cities place interim city administrators so we don’t drop the ball or lose ground on what we’re doing and that firm will also help us in finding a replacement that suits the needs of the council.” Since that time, Hall has assumed all management of city government, and has on a number of occasions, told The Independent the hiring

See ADMINISTRATOR, Page A3

Wild at heart

Mustang Heritage Foundation taming a western icon

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Off County Road 156 between Georgetown and Granger, Heritage the mustang stands tall for visitors to behold as they enter the property that the Mustang Heritage Foundation uses for gentling wild horses. The foundation was first incorporated in 2002 in Nevada and is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing in wild horses from all over to be gentled and adopted by various owners throughout the country. “Overall, the objective of the foundation is to get wild horses and burros placed into private adoptive care,” said Executive Director Alex Kappert. “There are about 88,000 horses out on the rangelands in 10 western states, about three times over the appropriate management level.” The non-profit has an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to help with funding and also partners with sponsors and accepts donations from private citizens. “We have an outstanding partnership with the bureau of land management. They help fund a lot of our programming because we’re helping them with an issue that they’re working on,” said Kappert. “That’s a big part of it. Another big piece is donations and sponsorships. We get a lot of private donations from the community. We have a nationwide reach, so we have donors and sponsors from

all over the country.” Over the years, as the population of wild horses continued to grow, the need for the foundation’s services have become more vital. “Back in 1971, when the wild horse and burro act was enacted, there were about 27,000 horses and burros,” said Kappert. “The BLM has about 50,000 horses that have been removed from the rangelands that are in long-term holding.” Keeping the wild horse and burro population in check is a serious matter. Overpopulation leads to overgrazing, and that leads to harmful effects on local ecology. The overpopulation doesn’t just affect the environment around them; it has severe consequences for the horses and burros as well. “It is so grossly overpopulated that those animals are starving and dying of dehydration because there is just nothing for them to eat or drink,” said Kappert. “Being able to get them out of those bad situations and placed into a private home with unlimited hay, feed and water are very important.” Although many people may not be aware, the cost for the BLM to hold horses does affect the average taxpayer. “Each one in holding cost taxpayers about $50,000 over the life of the animal,” said Kappert. “Through our program and the placements that we make, we save taxpayers per horse and show that the hors-

ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO

Mustang Heritage Foundation Executive Director Alex Kappert takes Heritage for a trot around the pen. Heritage is the mascot for the foundation. es and burros are trainable and usable.” With the burden that it places on taxpayers clear, Kappert believes what the foundation does is doubly important because it saves the average citizen money. “As a taxpayer, we already pay a lot in taxes and $50,000 a horse when you have 50,000 sitting in holdings is a lot of money,” he said. “The wild horse and burro program eats up a massive percentage of the BLM’s budget every year just

managing them. As a taxpayer, it’s fiscally beneficial for us to get these horses placed into adoptive care.” Foundation facilities in Williamson County can house a maximum of 12 horses on 11 acres. The non-profit uses several different programs to get horses gentled and ready for adoption. “Starting in 2007, we produced our first-ever extreme mustang makeover,” said Kappert. “It’s a training competition where trainers receive

an untouched horse and have approximately 100 days to tame and gentle them. Then they have a show where they showcase the trainability and the usability of the horses.” Trainers involved in the makeover can win up to $150,000 in cash and prizes when showing their gentled horse and have the option to adopt the horse after the 100 days are up. “We had just under 100 horses that had been trained by

See MUSTANGS, Page A5

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

We Thank You

Barry J. Haag Chairman and CEO of First Texas Bancorp with Honorable Senator Dr. Charles J. Schwertner

We would like to say thank you to Senator Charles Schwertner and the community for attending our celebration of receiving the Texas Treasure Business Award. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve the Williamson County community for 122 years and look forward to many more.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

OBITUARY Connie R. Guetlein Connie R. Guetlein of Liberty Hill, Texas, passed away on February 13, 2020. She was 74; born in Plainview, Minnesota, to Ralph and Betty Lawrenz. He a WW II veteran and rural mail carrier; she a devout Lutheran Sunday School teacher. In addition to being a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Connie was one of the most selﬂess individuals on this planet. She was a hospital nurse, worked in labor and delivery, a hospice care provider, and she was a dedicated EMT. She always gave everything so that others could live, never

asking for anything in return. She was a shoulder that others could cry on and a sanctuary for any creature in need. Her compassion attracted everything from the mouse in the house to the stray in need of a loving home and solid meal. Connie is survived by her mother, Betty, her husband, Ron, three sons and their wives; Mike and Rachel, Jon and Jennifer, Sean and Ginger; her 11 grandchildren; and her brother, David Lawrenz. Mom and Grandma Connie was our in peace. role model and the family Arrangements by Clemmatriarch. She will be sorely ents-Wilcox Funeral Home in missed. May she forever rest Burnet, Texas.

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Public Meetings

The following are standing open meetings that are subject to change within the guidelines set forth by the Texas Open Meetings Act. For the most current meeting postings, and meeting agendas, visit the respective websites. - Liberty Hill City Council, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at City Council Chamber, 2801 RR 1869. libertyhilltx.gov/agendacenter - Liberty Hill ISD Board of Trustees, 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at LHISD Administration Bldg., 301 Forrest Street. libertyhill.txed.net

Liberty Hill Public Library hours

The Liberty Hill Public Li-

brary is now open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The library is located at 355 Loop 332 in Liberty Hill.

Fore more information or to RSVP, contact Jeannie (512) 537-7706 or send email to jbfamilyer@gmail.com.

Free CPR Training

Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild meets March 3

CPR training saves lives! Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more commonly known as CPR, is a life-saving technique that helps maintain blood ﬂow to the brain and heart in an emergency situation. Join us for FREE CPR training on Feb. 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Family Emergency Room Georgetown, 1210 W. University Ave., Georgetown 78628. The class goes over CPR for Infants, Children and Adults; AED training for Infants, Children and Adults; followed by Choking for Infants, Children and Adults.

The March 3rd meeting of the Chisholm Trail Quilt Guild will be brief and will immediately be followed by our annual sew-in and birthday party. The meeting is 10-10:30 a.m. and sewing is 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Quilts made on this day go to Linus and Patriotic Quilters. Visit www.ctquiltguild.org for more information on the guild and other programs/ workshops.

Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards scholarships for LHHS graduating seniors.

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Thursday, February 20, 2020

ADMINISTRATOR

process was ongoing, even indicating there had been more than 40 applicants for the position. But since then it has become less clear what will happen with the vacant position. In October, Hall was temporarily given duties of the City Administrator in what was explained as an administrative fix during the time the City is without a City Administrator. Matt Powell, who was hired in September to consult on a variety of issues for the City, was working through the vetting process for City Administrator candidates through the fall, according to Hall. But repeated requests from Council member Tony DeYoung for updates during meetings since September have been met with promises the issue would be discussed at a future meeting. The issue was taken up briefly at the January Council retreat in executive session, with the outcome being a vote to allow Hall, Mayor Pro tem Liz Rundzieher and Powell to screen the current applicants. At its Feb. 10 meeting, the Council discussed the city administrator search in executive session, before returning to open session and approving a motion to “direct (consultant) Matt Powell to refine the job description for City Administrator and the position of Assistant City Administrator to bring it back at the next Council meeting for Council to decide a path going forward.” Prior to that date there was no mention made public of hiring an assistant city administrator. When asked after that meeting how and why the city administrator job description was being reworked and whether an assistant might be hired, Hall responded to The Independent by email that, “This needs to hold off until the job descriptions have been review by council and a decision is made in moving forward. Nothing is finalized until the council votes on this and it will be taken up at the next council meeting.” Hall declined to answer other questions about how the role of a new city administrator would fit in with his supervisory and day-to-day management duties of the City, as well as how the Council could justify three salaries in management positions should they hire an administrator and assistant. “There is nothing to answer until the Council takes up a vote to determine if the city will hire a City administrator, an Assistant City Administrator or both and the reason for their decisions. Sorry if you feel like this does not answer your questions, but until the Council makes a decision it is all hypothetical,” he responded in a second email. When asked if his response implied the Council might not hire an administrator he again declined to comment. For her part, Council member Kathy Canady said in an interview Wednesday she was not in favor of hiring a new city administrator in a similar role

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page A1

as the one Boatright filled. “What we need is an assistant city administrator with responsibilities that go hand in hand with the Mayor’s role and responsibilities,” she said, adding that she believes a new administrator is a bad idea. “A lot of that didn’t go well, so I’m leery of hiring a city administrator, but that’s just my opinion. I think the Mayor’s doing enough.” DeYoung, who is the only Council member to inquire about the search and hiring process publicly, said he believes filling that position is vital. “My reason for repeatedly asking is it is a void on our city staff that we have budgeted and I think there’s a place for it to be the head of our staff, and a subordinate of the Mayor as a chain of command kind of thing,” he said. “My question is how to fill the existing spot.” The division of duties, according to DeYoung, would allow both the administrator and mayor position to be more effective. “My thoughts on it are if we get a city administrator in there that will allow the Mayor to be out front, to be the face of our city promoting our town and that kind of thing rather than being tied to a desk or tied to checking up on staff,” DeYoung said. “I think it’s going to help our town and help the Mayor.” On the issue of staff supervision, DeYoung also said he is not looking for dramatic change but to add that administrator layer back in. “My hope is there is a clear chain of command, that the city administrator is going to fall under the mayor but over city staff,” DeYoung said. “I’m not talking about revoking the supervisory authority of the mayor. I don’t suggest that. I suggest that we let a city administrator lead and there’s a clear chain of command so staff knows who they directly report to.” Hall said the process of hiring an administrator is a Council issue, but the other three Council members – Rundzieher, Steve McIntosh and Gram Lankford – did not respond to questions about their preference or intent and how they see the administrator’s role. Ignored request Because of the lack of information available throughout the fall on the search for a new administrator, The Independent made a request Jan. 2 under the Freedom of Information Act for correspondence between Hall and Powell regarding the search process. The request was made for “Notes, emails, memorandums, text messages and other correspondence relating to the process, planning and hiring efforts related to the City of Liberty Hill city administrator search between Mayor Rick Hall and consultant Powell Municipal between 08/01/2019 and 12/31/2019.” But the City did not respond

to the request within the 10day window allowed by law, and never officially responded to the request to even clarify it was requesting an exception from the Texas Attorney General’s (AG) Office to withhold the information. A complaint was filed with the AG by The Independent, which led to a subsequent letter to the City from the AG dated Feb. 7 requesting a response

to the complaint and previous information requests within 10 business days or Monday, Feb. 24. Section 552 of Texas Government Code lays out the requirements and exceptions for responding to requests for information, and while there is a speciﬁed exemption for personnel information, it pertains to matters relating to a speciﬁc employee.

A record of requests

The Independent has made seven requests to the City of Liberty Hill under the Freedom of Information Act so far this year for information pertaining to a number of different ongoing issues. Below is an up-to-date list of all requests made in 2020 and their disposition:

REQUESTS SENT JAN. 2: • “Notes, emails, memorandums, text messages and other correspondence relating to establishment of the August 2019 City of Liberty Hill budget process and budget discussions shared between City staff and members of the City Council with any other staff or Council member between the dates of 06/01/2019 and 10/01/2019.” THE RESPONSE to this request from the City was that no such documents exist. The City sent approved minutes from two Council meetings and agendas from three others as the only documentation of correspondence regarding the budget process. • “The current annual salary for each City of Liberty Hill employee by name and title or position, to include all Police Department staffing. Include date of hire and salary at time of hire.” THE RESPONSE to this request was a list of employees by name with current salary, but did not include the date of hire, title or salary at the date of hire. • “A copy of the City of Liberty Hill Employee Handbook.” THE RESPONSE to this request was to send a copy of the employee handbook by email on Jan. 21, after the Jan. 17 response deadline. • “A copy of the final City budget approved by the Liberty Hill City Council in September 2019.” THE RESPONSE to this request was to send a copy of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 by email on Jan. 21, after the Jan. 17 response deadline. The budget sent was the one originally proposed in August 2019, but included no changes made between that time and the official vote in September 2019. • “Notes, emails, memorandums, text messages and other correspondence relating to the process, planning and hiring efforts related to the City of Liberty Hill city administrator search between Mayor Rick Hall and consultant Powell Municipal between 08/01/2019 and 12/31/2019.” NO RESPONSE has been provided by the City regarding this request. • “Details of who authorized the disbursement of (advance salary to a City employee). How was the additional payroll disbursement requested? Who authorized it? Correspondence or document authorizing the disbursement, either by memorandum or electronic mail? Verification that (City employee) received disbursement of the regular payroll amount on 06/06/2019, twice on 06/18/2019 and once on 06/20/2019, with a credit back for one of those disbursements on 06/20/2019.” NO RESPONSE has been provided by the City regarding this request. This was an additional request made for further information pertaining to a request submitted in September 2019. • “Details of the travel (City employee) was reimbursed $1,244.30 for on July 3, 2019. What was the travel for (specific training or event), where was it located, when was it held, who authorized the travel and who authorized the reimbursement?” NO RESPONSE has been provided by the City regarding this request. This was an additional request made for further information pertaining to a request submitted in September 2019.

Page A3

Welcome to Heaven. How’s it been going?

By WILT CUTTER Columnist What if this is it? You woke up today. That’s your incredible bliss. What if there were no absolution, no emergency phone calls for an unearned state of grace, no future in the clouds with harps and floating saints? Would you be better? Or become a late blooming evil doer? But also, what if you knew without a doubt there would be no everlasting fire with the great horned Satan with his elaborate comb-over trying to sell you shares in his condominium in New York City? If you’ve never contemplated the afterlife or your frail personal attempts at goodness in this world, as well as your flagrant weaknesses and failures, then you’ve been so obliviously blessed that I can’t even imagine how wonderfully dog-like your life has been. Don’t even talk to the rest of us. Stay in your corner, scratching and grinning. No wonder you vote like you deserve something. But back to the reality for those of us who own all the guilt for the sins of ancient

ancestors with whom we have nothing in common but a DNA link. Some of you even specialize in plucking the joy of living right from your own ﬁngertips. And if you can’t beat yourselves up enough during the week, you’ll pay a guy to try to ﬁnish the job on Sunday morning. What if most of us are doing the best we can? What if the tools of love and reason are the gifts that we are supposed to use right now? What if the next life should not be our focus. What if it’s this life that matters since the next one isn’t for us to even to be able to know for sure. With the tools we have, we seem to stumble toward goodness and helpfulness and love. And sometimes we break the plane and fall right into the end zone of damn near perfect. Of course there are evil doers. When it’s a choice they make, it’s on them. Believe me, they have hell, either when they lay down and try to sleep at night or when they open the newspaper every week. The great Iris DeMent sings a beautiful song about the world in which she asks a question, “Could it be the Kingdom has Already Come.”

Liberty Hill Police Blotter Prepared by Liberty Hill Police Department

Week of Feb. 10-16, 2020 The Liberty Hill Police Department responded to or self-initiated a total of 229 incidents resulting in three cases, 18 citations, 44 warnings and no arrests. Weekly Highlights: - On Feb. 10, at approximately 3:02 PM, officers responded to the 12000 block of W. SH 29 for a welfare concern. - On Feb. 10, at approximately 4:14 PM, officers responded to the 3000 block of RM 1869 for an animal welfare concern. - On Feb. 11, at approximately 2:48 AM, officers responded to the 19000 block of Ronald Reagan to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On Feb. 11, at approximately 3:24 PM, officers responded to Horseshoe Loop to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On Feb. 11, at approximately 4:00 PM, officers responded to Bailey Lane for a welfare concern. - On Feb. 12, at approximately 7:32AM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29 for an accident. - On Feb. 12, at approximately 6:44 PM, officers respond-

ed to Old Glory Trail for a suspicious incident. - On Feb. 13, at approximately 1:22 AM, officers responded to the 15000 block of W. SH 29 for an alarm call. - On Feb. 13, at approximately 7:42 PM, officers responded to the 2000 block of RM 1869 for an accident. - On Feb. 14, at approximately 4:10 PM, officers responded to CR 200 to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On Feb. 14, at approximately 10:07 PM, officers responded to the 14000 block of W. SH 29 for a suspicious incident. - On Feb. 15, at approximately 1:46 AM, officers responded to Redtail Lane to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On Feb. 15, at approximately 6:19 PM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29 for suspicious activity. - On Feb. 16, at approximately 6:15 PM, officers responded to Larkspur Park Blvd to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On Feb. 16, at approximately 8:48 PM, officers responded to CR 277 for a disturbance.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

Notification that City Council approved new impact fees Consistent with state law, the impact fee committee of Liberty Hill recommended, and Council unanimously approved, new impact fees as shown below: New Wastewater impact fees per EDU will be $4,000 effective March 2nd. New Water impact fees per EDU will be $5,500 from March 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020 per EDU. January 20, 2021 to December 31, 2021 fees will be $6,500 per EDU. January 1, 2022 and beyond water impact fees per EDU will be $7,037. DOMESTIC • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL R.V. Fuel | Bottle Filling | Gas Piping in Home Propane Tanks | Grills & Replacement Parts | Gas Logs

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Thursday, February 20, 2020

Prepaid tuition enrollment deadline is Feb. 29

AUSTIN — Texas families can lock in today’s cost of undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees at Texas public colleges and universities by enrolling their children in the tax-advantaged Texas Tuition Promise Fund® before the close of the current general enrollment period on Feb. 29. “I’m encouraging Texas families and individuals to remember the upcoming deadline to prepay and lock in today’s rates for all or some future tuition at two-year and fouryear Texas public colleges and universities,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “The Promise Fund has a range of payment options that gives

CENSUS

purchasers the ﬂexibility they need to plan ahead and provide future opportunities for their children, grandchildren and other loved ones.” The Texas Tuition Promise Fund, the state’s prepaid college tuition program, allows participants to prepay undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees by purchasing tuition units for a four-year degree, two years of community college or just a few semesters at Texas public colleges and universities. For additional ﬂexibility and portability, the plan also is accepted at Texas medical and dental institutions that offer undergraduate degrees. When used at Texas medical

Continued from Page A1

coordinator for Williamson County. With the help of the 2010 Census, the federal government spent $883,094,826,042 on domestic ﬁnancial assistance programs, tax credit programs, and procurement programs through 55 federal programs. The state of Texas received $59,409,844,723 from those programs. “It’s also going to impact grants. A lot of cities have become eligible for certain federal grants, like the community block grant, based on the count,” said Langlois. “If you have libraries, schools, and roads, you need to have as accurate a count as possible so you can support the people using the infrastructure.” Beyond impacting funding for government programs, the Census also affects political representation. Texas could gain three congressional

seats after the 2020 Census is complete, while several other states stand to lose representation, potentially shifting political power. “People should know that the Census will affect representation and redistricting at the county, state, and federal levels,” said Langlois. He suggests that people make an effort to self-report for the Census, to make the process a smoother one and to avoid having to send out a large number of numerators – those who go door-to-door with Census questions. “There’s an expense to having people go door-to-door, and that expense comes out of taxpayers’ funds,” he said. “If you want to lower costs, then let’s get everyone counted as soon as possible.” For those who fear that taking part in the Census puts themselves and their personal

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(512) 746-2000 301 County Road 307 PO Box 416 Jarrell, Texas 76537

Jarrell (512) 746-2000 Leander (512) 259-1709 FAX (512) 746-5807

and dental institutions, career schools, private Texas colleges or universities or out-of-state institutions, where tuition is not locked in, the beneﬁts and payouts differ. To enroll children younger than 1 in the program at 201920 prices, the deadline extends to July 31. The next general enrollment period begins on Sept. 1, with new contract prices based on Texas public college costs for the 2020-21 academic year. “Purchasers have an extra day to enroll this year because it’s a leap year,” said Hegar. “But please don’t wait until the last minute. Enroll before the deadline to lock in today’s prices.”

Complete plan information — including residency and other requirements, current prices, enrollment forms and more — is available online at TuitionPromise.org, or by calling 800-445-GRAD (4723), Option 5. Purchasers should carefully consider the risks, administrative fees, service and other charges and expenses associated with the contracts, including Plan termination and decreased transfer or refund value. The Plan Description and Master Agreement contains this and other information about the Plan and may be obtained by visiting the website or calling 800-445-GRAD (4723).

information at risk, Langlois stresses that the information obtained is solely to determine an accurate headcount. “It’s important that people share accurate information and not misinformation,” he said. “They aren’t going to ask for things like your social security number; they aren’t going to ask about immigration status. They aren’t going to use the Census in ways to track people down. Other governmental agencies will not have access to that information.” The County is making an effort to educate local ofﬁcials to avoid missing any atrisk populations. Some of the communities at risk of being miscounted are Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, immigrants, those in poverty and those without Internet access. “One of the things we’re doing from the county standpoint to get accurate information is

going out and training communities so that they’ll know how to answer questions when people have questions about the census.” Said Langlois. Counting for the census begins in March when forms are mailed out and continues until July. Respondents will have a window between March 12 and July 31 to self-report. Residents will answer 10 questions including the size of their household, additional people staying, if you own or rent your home, your telephone number, your ﬁrst and last name, gender, age and date of birth, if you are Hispanic or Latino, what your race is and your relationship status. To help with the census or receive information, citizens can text texasjobs or 2020census to 313131.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

LEAD

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page A1

conducted two informational briefings,” he said. “That information briefing delivered the program information with over 100 local police chiefs, sheriffs, superintendents, and local officials.” Campbell used the network available to him, helping the program host training from Feb. 10-14, successfully training more than 60 instructors throughout the state. “It was a real success,” said Campbell. “The officers like it, and the kids like it.” Training for LEAD takes place over five days, and only takes one day for those who are already school resource officers. On Valentine’s Day, several officers from Liberty Hill and the surrounding area completed their training with the final step in the process, getting in front of a class and giving the scripted presentation. The presentations include several different pieces. Each presentation covered topics from nicotine use to underage drinking. Travis County Deputy Kim Richards ran a lesson on underage drinking. Richards presented questions to 8th graders, asking about reasons people use alcohol,

MUSTANGS

both adult trainers and youth trainers,” said Kappert. “From those makeovers, the horses get adopted, and they’ve gone multiple different routes. Some have gone to dude ranches; we have some who the trainers decide after 100 days that they are going to adopt the horse.” Through the trainer incentive program, trainers take horses or burros and attempt to gentle and ﬁnd a new home for horses in the program. “Trainers take a wild horse or burro, and they gentle them and ﬁnd an adoptive home for them,” said Kappert. “With horses, if they complete basic gentling procedures, we will pay the trainer $1,000, and with burros, it’s $750. With the administration and overhead, it costs about $1,200 to get them placed.” The third program the foundation employs is a veterans program where six to 10 veterans get paired with a professional trainer and a wild, untouched horse. The veteran works with the trainer to tame the horse. Working with Williamson

and about the consequences of underage drinking. Later, Richards explained the adverse side effects of underage drinking, continually engaging with the class, and keeping students involved with the presentation. After covering everything in the script, students were divided into groups and given a board game to play. The game presented students with different scenarios and ways to deal with each one. Along with preventing drug use, another primary goal of LEAD is preventing violence in all its forms. Building a strong emotional foundation is the first thing emphasized. “Bullying is a big issue. We teach conflict resolution,” said Penksa. “For example, with the 5th grade, the first five lessons, whether we’re teaching Too Good for Drugs or Too Good for Violence, are social and emotional learning. They learn how to set a goal, how to make a decision, and how to identify their emotions.” Once students learn how to identify their emotions, the next set of lessons focuses on the teaching of strategies for dealing with their feelings, or any risky situation.

“We teach respect for self and others, conflict resolution, anger management, identifying and managing a bullying situation and being a positive role model,” said Penska. “We call it Too Good for Violence and Social Perspectives.” A significant role in the safety of the kids in the community begins at home with their parents, and that’s something Campbell puts a great emphasis on. “I would like the parents to know that a program is better than no program at all,” he said. “I want the parents and teachers out there to know that this program is evidence-based. There are success stories from it. The first step is admitting there can be issues in the community, and the next step is figuring out what we’re going to do about it.” Whether a problem exists or not isn’t the issue for Campbell, it’s preventing one from occurring that has him pushing for an emphasis on the LEAD program. “Even if we don’t have a problem in Liberty Hill ISD, that doesn’t mean we won’t have a problem,” said Campbell. “It’s all about early intervention, prevention, and get-

Continued from Page A1 County, the foundation will be doing its veterans program this fall. The six-week program, where veterans show their newly gentled horses, will culminate at the first annual Williamson County Fair. For Kappert, the experience of working with horses has provided him with a greater sense of fulfillment than his previous work. “This is my first experience working in non-profit,” he said. “I did the whole corporate, chasing the dollar thing for a lot of years, but this is a lot more fulfilling cause there’s a real need, and these are great animals. The people I get to work with, we’re like a family.” One of Kappert’s primary goals is to dispel the notion that wild horses can’t be tamed, gentled, and be of use. “There’s this preconceived notion that they’re a mutt, they’re undesirable, they’re not usable, and they’re not trainable, and that’s simply not the case,” he said. Kappert likes to tell the story

of one of the foundation’s most successful outcomes, the story of Cobra the mustang. “We have a pretty famous horse by the name of Cobra, a mustang trained by Marsha Hartford that’s down in Florida,” he said. “He is the United States Equestrian Federation’s horse of the year for 2018. Horse of the year is a huge deal to be selected.” Trainers interested in working with the non-profit must apply and meet specific qualifications. “You have to have appropriate facilities for your horse or burro,” said Kappert. “You have to have water; you have to have fencing. You must have a minimum of 400 square feet per horse. With untrained animals, you need to have six-foot-tall fences because they can jump pretty high. You fill out the application, justify your qualifi-

Page A5

ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO

Sheriff’s Deputy Kim Roberts discusses the dangers of underage alcohol consumption with students during the Law Enforcement Against Drugs training held in Williamson County. ting ahead of things.” With Liberty Hill growing at such a fast pace, Campbell feels getting out in front of any potential problems with drugs or violence is the most effec-

tive way of keeping young people in the community safe. “Crime rates will increase as we grow larger as a community, and our kids are our future,” said Campbell. “If we can save

even just one life, then we’re accomplishing our goals. We want to save all lives. That’s the ultimate goal. We can’t afford to lose a child.”

cations, and you’re approved.” Approved trainers then have the option of going to several of the foundation’s locations across the U.S. to choose a horse. Horses are either chosen randomly or can be preselected. When training the horse, Kappert emphasizes that the foundation for gentling begins with earning the trust of the horse. “It can be as simple as showing the horse that you aren’t a predator. It’s a very emotional process where you have to form a bond and relationship with that horse,” he said. Once the initial trust is established, trainers begin to apply pressure, but not in the physical sense of the word. Trainers apply low-pressure techniques to get them used to being led, wearing saddles, and in general, working with a human. In some cases, trainers will rub

pool noodles on their backs as a way to make them comfortable with the sensation of having a saddle on them. “For a horse it’s fight or flight and most often it’s flight because they’re a prey animal,” said Kappert. “You want to show them pressure and release. The whole premise for what we do is low-pressure techniques that are nonviolent. From the haltering and getting basic trust, folks get to where they can love all over them.” While the basics center around desensitizing and gaining trust, advanced training depends on how the horse will be used.

To gain a proper understanding of what a successful horse coming out of the organization’s program looks like, one needs to look at Heritage. “He was gathered out west and adopted by the foundation. He was born in the wild, totally untouched,” said Kappert. “We have used him to do several things. He does public outreach; he’ll carry the American ﬂag when we do our opening ceremony. He’s a product of exactly what the programs are trying to do here.”

Page A6

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

All-state flutest prepares for the big stage

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Shane Smith is on his way to State with flute in hand, and had it not been for a bit of fifth-grade impatience this final semester in high school might look a little different. After his first introduction to the band, joining was a no-brainer for Smith. But when it came time to decide on his instrument, his impatience worked in his favor, helping to create the bond between player and instrument. “I’ve always had a deal for music. Once the high school and junior high bands started coming down to the intermediate school when I was in fifth grade, I wanted to be a part of that,” Smith said. “I went to the try out night to see what instrument I wanted to do. I was dead set on being a saxophone player. I was going to be a saxophone player, and nothing was going to stop me, except that the line was so long. I went to the flute line because it was the shortest and that turned out to be what I was good at.” Smith has never looked back, working on his craft and marking his success every step of the way. After advancing from regional to area competition, Smith secured his spot at State. In his fourth year of competing, Smith is ready for the pressure and demands of state competition. “When I did this for the first time four years ago, it was pretty stressful,” he said. “Now I’ve done this a few times and it’s not my first rodeo, so I’m accustomed to it now. I go out and do what I do best.” Advancing out of the regional level was a tall order because, with more participants involved, the top spots become much more coveted. “After getting ready, in December, we go down and compete in the Regional level,” said Smith. “In my field, there were about 50 other competitors for flute. In years past, there were about 60 or 70. If you rank in the top six at the regional level, then you can advance to area, which is where I was in January.” Preparations for what’s coming next started at the beginning of the school year. With music for State in hand, Smith will prepare for state competition the way he knows best.

Dispatch

Thursday, February 20, 2020

LHHS students Branden Gilbert, Trent Eller, Jack Philpott and Leroy Fick represented Liberty Hill ISD with a leadership presentation at the TASA Conference.

Students present at TASA Conference

ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO

Liberty Hill High School flutist Shane Smith finished in the top six at Area competition and is preparing for the upcoming state competition. “The whole process starts tial for Smith as the student is as far back as September involved in several other orand October when we get ganizations and events inside the pieces we’re going to be and outside of the band. playing for the auditions,” he “I have a few other band said. “What happens is that events,” said Smith. “I have there are two main pieces, a another solo and ensemble fast technical one and a slow tryout. That’s a completely lyrical one. I’m just going different contest. Outside of back and hitting the grind. I that, I’m also helping with got the music that we’re audi- the engineering club, and I do tioning at State, so it’s work- UIL academics.” ing on that and getting ready Smith’s dedication to the for the next big event.” band, even with everything To say that Smith is confi- else on his plate, might be dent in his abilities is an un- difficult for others, but for derstatement. Still, the talent- Smith, the stress and deed flutist has one trait that can mands are worth the fun. prove to be overwhelming on “The whole region, area, occasion — his impatience. and state process is one of “For me, it’s waiting the things I look forward to around,” he said. “It takes with true excitement every time for auditions at the re- year,” said Smith. “It’s fun gional level. To get through for me. Yes, it’s very stressthe whole list twice, it can ful, and it’s a lot of hard work take two or two and a half and preparation, probably hours. Then there’s the wait too many hours of my life. for the results to come out to Overall, the fun I have comsee how you did.” peting and going out there Although Smith has con- outweighs it.” fidence in spades, the busy With the end of his high schedule he adheres to brings school career looming, Smith one major concern to the sur- – while not pursuing a profesface. sional career with a band – in“At this point, I’ve done it, tends to continue playing his and there’s not too much I’m instrument. worried about,” said Smith. “I am going into an engi“The one thing that I am wor- neering career path,” said ried about, though, is whether Smith. “I’m going to try and I have time to do everything keep up with it and try and do that I need to do. That’s the it on the side because I’ve put only thing that concerns me, so much time and effort into but as for the core of the com- it. At this point, I’ve realized petition, I feel ready, and I’m I have a little bit of talent, so going to go do the best I can.” it would be a waste.” Time management is essen-

Continued from Page A1

March. “We’re working with our emergency services folks to determine what to do next,” she said. “We did what was our best effort at that time, when Liberty Hill ISD came on, to identify what those costs are, but we’re going back and looking to make sure those are appropriate and then what’s the trigger point.” Cities like Round Rock, Georgetown and Cedar Park do their own dispatching and the Taylor and Leander police departments have their own service. But throughout the county there are smaller organizations that have been added, including Emergency Services Districts, small police and fire departments and now even school district police departments. And for Long, there is no simple answer. “We have no answer yet,” she said. “The County has its services that we have to provide radios for and call-taking and dispatch services for, records management and a whole host of things in regard to EMS, our Sheriff’s Department and others. Over the years the smaller entities have been part of that. As those cities have grown and as new entities have come on board the question becomes is there a point in time where entities need to start paying for that service?” The more simple questions are ones like will it be only implemented when a new entity wants to use those services, or is it going to be set at a certain threshold of service? But there are many more complicated questions as well regarding software, hardware and personnel costs, or how to determine what parameters to use to set costs. “That’s what we’re trying

to get to is what does it really cost per entity,” Long said. “Obviously there’s a level of infrastructure that we have to have in place for us simply to do it for only county business. What’s that incremental cost when you are doing it for others as well? We have to take into consideration that some of these smaller entities are operating on a shoestring.” And costs for the County increase annually to provide the services. “The cost of hardware and software goes up, the cost of personnel goes up because it’s a personnel intensive operation when you think about it,” Long said. “You’ve got to have 24/7 coverage and multiple operators on duty in multiple shifts. Despite the fact that we’ve automated a lot of it, there’s still a human that is taking that call.” The likelihood of future cost sharing is not meant to burden other entities but to keep the County in line with its own responsibilities, Long said, and she recognizes the overall savings for everyone with the economies of scale found in a centralized service. “I’m very mindful of what the County’s responsibilities are and taking care of what the legislature and framers of our Constitution said the county government should do,” she said. “It’s very easy to continue to grow and expand and before you know it you are doing all kinds of things you were never constitutionally authorized to do. We’re taking all those things into consideration.” While the issue is complicated to work through, Long hopes the solution is not so challenging to understand. “There are so many different variables and you don’t want to make some charge-back

model so complicated that it takes a PhD in mathematics to figure it out,” she said. “It has got to be something that is fair and people can understand.” The conversation is not new for the County, but one that will likely now lead to more cost sharing following the plan implemented for Liberty Hill ISD’s Police Department. “This has been a conversation and we’ve wrestled with it for a number of years now and even back in my IT consulting days this was a topic that companies and businesses wrestled with. We’re certainly not the first ones to try and figure this out and that’s the other thing we’re doing is trying to figure out what other entities are doing and how does it make sense for them.” Even if the Commissioners Court settles on a new plan this spring, there is no plan to shock smaller entities with difficult immediate costs or to complicate anyone’s current budget. “The goal is to make sure we can continue to afford to provide the service and to figure out what that cost sharing ought to be,” Long said. “Whatever number we may come up with I’d anticipate there would have to be some sort of phase in. Smaller entities especially may have to have time to build that over time into their budget. If there’s going to be any impact to next year’s budget for anyone we certainly want to give people ample time to consider that in their budgets.” Long also intends to make sure everyone’s concerns and ideas are considered. “I’m not going to make this decision in a vacuum. I’m going to talk to the ESDs and the smaller communities that utilize the service to hear their issues and concerns.”

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer During the 2020 mid-winter Texas Association of School Administrators Conference, four Liberty Hill High School students were chosen to give a presentation on what the definition of leadership is and what it means to be a leader. “The central question was what is leadership and how to become a leader,” said Jack Philpott. “Then they gave us a twist, and we had to build a small organization at our school and how we would use leadership in the organization.” Liberty Hill was one of four districts selected – along with Dripping Springs, Waco, and Ector County – to have students participate in the conference. In their presentation, the students took a broad approach to their definition of leadership by not giving it a concrete meaning. “The position we took on it is that there isn’t one definition of leadership and anyone can

be a leader, it can be a parent, a principal or a president,” said Braden Gilbert For Fick, it’s the people who left a lasting impression that define real leaders. “For us, it’s who you remember and who made an impact in your life,” he said. The goal of empowering students and giving them a push to lead others played a significant role in why students were chosen as presenters. For the organization, these are the ones destined to lead others into the future. “I guess we’re tomorrow’s leaders,” said Gilbert, “They said we’re today’s leaders because they want us to start being leaders today. It was to get us out and teach us about real-world stuff.” As a student with considerable experience in presenting, having reached state in his DECA competition, Fick was chosen to lead the presentation. “We had Roy (Leroy) be our leading correspondent, and we interviewed several people

throughout the conference and put together a video of how it would work,” said Philpott. With the task of having to think on the fly, the quartet took various ideas they had and stitched them together until they had a proper plan. The organization the group developed was an AV club for the school. “We didn’t start with just one idea,” Gilbert said. “It all funneled down into one at the end. We didn’t know what we wanted to do until it was done.” With access to a large number of people at the conference, perhaps the biggest thrill came from the opportunity to network and meet new people. “It was fun. We were in a big room with new people, so why not meet them and use them as part of the presentation,” said Tent Eller. “We liked the opportunity to meet new people. “They picked us to go out there and represent and do something that we created. Showing them what we created felt like it was our little baby, and I thought it was fun to do that.”

LH Junior High announces UIL academic results 7TH GRADE

Team Art Smart Team - 2nd Calculator Team - 1st Chess Puzzle Team - 1st Dictionary Skills Team - 1st Listening Team - 2nd Maps, Charts & Graphs - 2nd Mathematics Team - 2nd Music Memory Team - 1st Number Sense Team - 3rd Science I Team - 1st Social Studies Team - 1st Spelling Team - 1st Art Smart Natalie Brand - 5th Calculator Mehkayla Mulski - 1st Gabriella Mundy - 4th Chess Puzzle Jonathan Allaire - 1st Gabriel Villanueva - 2nd Tucker Osbourne - 4th Dictionary Skills Monique Achumuma - 1st Elle Greedy - 2nd Hailie Levy - 3rd Editorial Writing Elizabeth Hert - 1st Riley Monk - 3rd Alice Presley - 5th Impromptu Speaking Brenna Pryor - 3rd Listening Amelia Miller - 2nd Emily Rios - 4th Maps, Graphs & Charts Madeline Reid - 2nd Brooke Richardson - 4th Mathematics Scarlett Pittman - 2nd Dillon Miers - 6th Modern Oratory Spencer Harvey - 1st Amelia Miller - 2nd Lily Jameson - 3rd Music Memory Anderson Hall - 1st Francesca Muscat - 2nd Brooke Richardson - 3rd Jaqueline Mckinney - 4th Jett Philpott - 6th Number Sense Nina Burnett - 3rd Oral Reading Megan Smith - 1st Sydney Langwell - 6th

Ready Writing Audrey West - 2nd Haley Maderia - 4th

Science I Karson Bye - 1st Maryjo Martin - 2nd Alexander Rivas - 6th Social Studies Elle Greedy - 1st George Spivey - 3rd Haegan Oncken - 5th Spelling Karson Bye - 1st Nina Burnett - 3rd Megan Smith - 6th Painting Raleigh Miller - 6th Drawing Addison Harris - 2nd 3D Art Delaney Brochue - 1st Thomas Hunter - 5th Misc. Art Emily Morales - 4th Amelia Miller - 5th

8TH GRADE

Impromptu Speaking Alexis Adams - 3rd Jocelyn Rodriguez - 4th Isabelle Ray - 5th

Listening Dalaney Mangham - 2nd Sophia Ortiz - 5th Maps, Graphs & Charts Ryan Moore - 1st Dylan Couch - 4th Hunter Eastlick - 5th Mathematics Joseph Sherman - 5th Jaxon Hicks - 6th Modern Oratory Isabelle Ray - 3rd Alexis Adams - 6th Music Memory Valeria Parades - 1st Braylee Davidson - 2nd Haley Pacheco - 3rd Giovanna Salazar - 4th Abby Hazelwood - 5th Number Sense Ross Moore - 5th Hannah Karr - 6th

Team Art Smart Team - 2nd Calculator Team - 1st Chess Puzzle Team - 1st Dictionary Skills Team - 1st Listening Team - 1st Maps, Charts & Graphs - 1st Mathematics Team - 2nd Music Memory Team - 1st Number Sense Team - 3rd Science II Team - 2nd Social Studies Team - 1st Spelling Team - 1st

Oral Reading Bren Masiakowski - 4th

Art Smart Johanna Kihn - 5th

Spelling Hayleigh Yeargain - 1st Elaine Green - 2nd Rachel Ware - 5th

Calculator Carly Ondrasek - 1st Hannah Karr - 2nd Conrad Gerten - 3rd Chess Puzzle Bradley Summers - 1st Richard Rose - 2nd (Tie) Chay Luna - 2nd (Tie) Dictionary Skills Ayadele Haman-Achu - 1st Riley Brown - 2nd Alyssa Zapien - 3rd Editorial Writing Matthew Garner - 1st Daisy Anaya - 3rd Hayleigh Yeargain - 5th

Ready Writing Matthew Garner - 1st Science II Cole Labay - 1st Abby Parsons - 2nd Social Studies Luke Lande - 1st Jillian Hamrick - 5th (Tie)

Painting Giovanna Mason - 2nd Isabella Amthor - 6th Drawing Matthew Garner - 1st Juliya Martinez - 2nd Hayleigh Yeargain - 6th 3D Art Sydney Simonds - 1st Matthew Garner - 3rd Salma Reyes-Escobar - 5th Misc. Art Skyler Williams-Brannon - 1st Kameryn Matula - 2nd Jordan Warren - 4th

SPORTS

for $

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT Thursday, February 20, 2020 Section B Page 1

Lady Panthers advance to area playoffs LHHS defeats Canyon Lake 46-29 to open playoff run

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor JOHNSON CITY -- Morgan Jackson doesn’t usually score much. However, the Lady Panthers junior forward poured in 10 points on Tuesday night as Liberty Hill defeated Canyon Lake by a score of 48-29 in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at LBJ High School in Johnson City. Jackson was consistent throughout the contest, scoring ﬁve points in each half, including a pair of 3-pointers, the second of which came right after a conventional bucket late in the third quarter. She said once her shots began to fall, it motivated here to do more. “It made me feel more conﬁdent,” said Jackson. “I’m happy it really helped the team win, so we can progress.” Sophomore center Emma Hubbard also had 10 points, as well as adding a physical presence down low defensively with three blocks, including back-to-back stuffs late in the second quarter. However, it was junior point guard Jessica Holliday who got the ball rolling for the Lady Panthers by draining consecutive threes after the Hawks hit one to open the game. In fact, the 3-0 advantage Canyon Lake had at that early stage was the only lead they would have the entire game. Holliday’s back-to-back bombs began a 10-0 Liberty Hill run, which set the tone

After scoring only a single basket the entire ﬁrst half, Hubbard came out more determined offensively in the third quarter, scoring six of the Lady Panthers’ ﬁrst eight points of the period, which also included a bucket off a nifty pass from Swieczkowski to

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor When a team reaches the postseason, suddenly the stakes become appreciably higher. While losing a game during the regular season simply means getting back to the drawing board and getting ready for the next opponent on the schedule, a playoff defeat means only one thing. Done. As in the entire season. Better luck next year. For the Lady Panthers, their playoff push began with a dominant 48-29 victory against Canyon Lake Tuesday at LBJ High School in Johnson City. However, it wasn’t simply another game, said junior forward Morgan Jackson. “I thought it could be our last game this season,” she said. “So, I just sat before the game and tried to focus on what we had to do as opposed to laughing with my teammates or something.” But, once the ball went up for the opening tip, it was back to business as usual, said Jackson. “I think once the game started it was just a matter of getting used to the situation,” she said. Head Coach Chris Lange had less time to dissect the Hawks

See CANYON LAKE, Page B4

See PRESSURE, Page B6

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Liberty Hill’s girls’ basketball squad earned the title of bi-district champions with a 48-29 first-round playoff victory against Canyon Lake at LBJ High School in Johnson City on Feb. 19. for the entire game, said head Coach Chris Lange. “Our starting five got us off to a good start,” he said. “We did a pretty good job.” The Lady Panthers led after the first quarter, 12-5 and continued to build on their lead, as Regan Walker hit a 3-pointer to begin the second stanza, banking one in from beyond

the arc, which was directly followed by Jackson’s ﬁrst three of the game. Nearing halftime was when Hubbard began to disrupt Canyon Lake’s offensive rhythm, when she blocked a shot which led to Taylor Swieczkowski ﬁnding senior Brooke Wright on a fast-break ending in the Liberty Hill guard being

fouled on the way to the basket after which she drained both free throws, increasing the lead to 10 at 22-12. Immediately following that sequence, Hubbard blocked Hawks shots on consecutive possessions and Liberty Hill took a 23-12 lead to the break. However, Hubbard wasn’t done there.

Win-or-gohome creates additional pressure

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Head Coach Barry Boren has guided the Panthers to a 9-1 district campaign as they head into the playoffs.

Senior Ryan Flake (#21) will be the Panthers’ number-one pitcher this season.

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Panther baseball motivated for return trip to playoffs

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Last season, the Liberty Hill baseball squad only lost five games. Unfortunately for the Panthers, two of them were the final pair of contests of the campaign when they were defeated by La Vernia in the regional finals in a three-game series after having won the first. The good news is five of the starters from a club that went 32-5-1 are returning this spring with a mission of returning to where they left off and advancing further. According to Liberty Hill head Coach Steve Hutcherson, falling one step short of the state finals was a bittersweet accomplishment. “Last season was the furthest we’re ever gone in the playoffs,” said Hutcherson. “But, the regional finals is the hardest round to lose in – it’s good

and bad because it leaves a sour taste in your mouth to be that close to State. Especially after being a game up – we had a bad Saturday.” However, Hutcherson is conﬁdent the experience will make his team stronger as they have now seen ﬁrsthand the level of commitment required to win at such a high level. “It makes for a long off-season,” he said. “But, it gives our players perspective on how hard it is to get there – it should give them more motivation and we have some good seniors who will give us a chance to get back.” One of those seniors is Ryan Flake, who will take the mound as the Panthers’ number-one starter this season. Hutcherson said Flake isn’t the kind of hurler who will blow the ball past people, but is capable of getting hitters out nonetheless with smarts and

good stuff. Last season, Flake posted a 2-1 record with a 0.96 earned-run-average in 21 2/3 innings with 21 strikeouts. “Ryan’s one of those guys who doesn’t throw hard, but he knows how to pitch,” he said. “He has to ﬁll a big spot on the mound for us.” Flake, a left-hander, features a fastball, curve and change-up among his repertoire and will be counted on to lead the Panthers’ pitching staff. Leading the lineup at the top of the Liberty Hill order will be senior third baseman Rowen Guerra, who provides plenty of pop at the plate, but speed and patience, as well, said Hutcherson. Last year, Guerra hit .269 with one home run, 24 runs batted in, 21 runs scored and nine stolen bases.

See BASEBALL, Page B4

Learning a lesson

Defeat taught Panthers more than a victory could

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Whenever a team loses a game, there’s a feeling of despair – one that certainly hurts at the time, but can also drive home important lessons, which must be learned in order to move forward. For the Liberty Hill boys’ basketball squad, the date was Jan. 17, the place was Salado and the lesson learned was one of on-court cohesion after a 70-62 loss to the Eagles. “What that game made us do was pay attention to one of our areas of weakness,” said head Coach Barry Boren. “We weren’t doing a good enough job connecting on defense.” Boren’s club was leaving too many spaces in their defensive sets, which allowed opponents to carve them open and get to the basket easier – something that had to stop. Which it has. The Panthers haven’t lost a game since and other than a narrow 54-50 road win over Burnet in the ﬁnal game of the regular season on Feb.

18, Boren’s club hasn’t been seriously tested, having an average margin of victory of 30.7 points. Throw out a pair of blowouts against Eastside Memorial and the margin still sits at an impressive 16.5 points per contest. After his side had only defeated Burnet by four in the ﬁnale, Boren said his players took lessons from that game and immediately applied what they had learned during the following Monday’s workout. “Our kids are smart,” he said. “So, today’s practice was an outgrowth of Friday’s inequities. We worked on the defensive trap at mid court and keeping the ball out of the middle on sidelines inbounds, which was reﬂected in the shell drills we did.” Shell drills are designed to develop good help rotations by showing players where they need to be when the ball is one, two or even three passes away. Certainly the kind of stuff that will bear fruit as the Panthers move on into postseason

play. Something else the Panthers learned in the Salado loss was one of desire, said senior forward Cole Ondrasek. “We felt pretty bad after that game,” he said. “They just wanted it more than we did.” But, there was more to it than simply that, said Ondrasek. “Really, it was a perfect storm,” he said. “We were a step slower and they were flying around the court.” However, the Eagles were unable to build on the momentum gained by the victory, as they proceeded to lose every other district game the rest of the season aside from a pair of victories over Eastside Memorial. Indeed, two teams who seemed potentially headed in opposite directions both did 180-degree turns on their respective campaigns, as the Panthers won the district with a 9-1 record, while Salado finished fifth and out of the playoffs. But, after though his charges

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, February 20, 2020

ALEX RUBIO PHOTOS

(ABOVE) Each of next season’s seniors was presented with a chain link to symbolize togetherness during the Senior Call to Leadership event. (RIGHT) Next year’s Liberty Hill senior football players stand locked arm-in-arm around the “LH” at the 50-yard line at Panther Stadium while being addressed by head Coach Jeff Walker.

Calling Panther leaders

2020 senior football players take the helm

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor 33. Together. Liberty Hill’s seniors-tobe on next season’s gridiron stood with arms linked together in a circle around the letters that stand as the symbol of their school at the 50-yard line at Panther Stadium on a near-freezing night. One by one, each young man called out a word or short phrase he had heard over the course of the evening that meant the most to him. Leadership. Hard work. Family. Brotherhood. Only a few of what was spoken by each player as he stood with a chain link at the end of a lanyard around his neck. A show of solidarity. But, much more. A call to leadership. The genesis for an event to indoctrinate tomorrow’s seniors today happened 18 months ago when a group of Liberty Hill football parents banded together with the idea of creating an event that would ready next season’s 33 incoming senior football players for the trials and tribulations they are certain to endure. So, after much coordination and planning, the Senior Call to Leadership banquet took place in the cafeteria of Liberty Hill High School on Feb. 13, with a dinner featuring

guest speakers, followed by a somber ceremony on the field at Panther Stadium, during which each player was awarded the symbolic chain link as they stood on the home sideline with their parents standing behind them. Head Coach Jeff Walker addressed his players before the culminating moment and reminded them of the crucible they’re about to enter. “This is all about our culture,” he said. “What we’re about here at Liberty Hill is out-working people – but it’s not something we only talk about, it’s something we do.” Physical stature and strength are one thing, but what lies underneath is far more important, he said. “It’s not about being bigger, faster or stronger – it’s about what’s in here,” said Walker, as he pointed to his chest. “It’s about working on our swagger, so that when we walk out of the tunnel everybody in the stadium knows who we are and what’s going to happen – and that only happens through hard work.” Earlier in the evening, the festivities kicked off with an introduction by Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Steve Snell, who delivered a distinct message to the players, who were seated in a semicircle around the podium. “Tonight is about figuring out

Scoring sidekicks

what’s inside you,” he said. “As football players, you have a special privilege – you’re put on a pedestal, but need to understand the value of your coaches, teammates and having personal accountability. You all need to be accountable to each other every single day.” Snell then recalled the Panthers’ 2018 44-41 Class 4A state semifinal victory over Carthage – a team who had won 40 consecutive games. “At the end of the third quarter, there was mighty Carthage – and what I saw was a team which was mentally and physically defeated,” he said. “While Liberty Hill’s players were running on and off the field and having fun.” According to Snell, the kind of commitment and camaraderie required to return the Panthers to AT&T Stadium in Dallas once again begins in one place and one only. “If you don’t think it’s about the weight room, you’re wrong,” said Snell. “It’s about toughness and character.” Sean Lapuszynski was on the committee who planned the event and also had words of wisdom for the players seated before him. “For 107 years, Liberty Hill has played football and the community has always come together in support,” he said. “But, for it to happen, three

things are necessary – the kids to go out and get the job done, the coaches to put it all together and the community being behind the program.” Lapuszynski continued on with a theme of unity and togetherness. “No other sport draws in a community like football,” he said. “There’s something special about the young men who can do what it takes to be the kind of warrior who can go out and deal with what goes on between the end zones and the sidelines.” The opportunity these Panther players now have is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that must be seized and taken full advantage of, said Lapuszynski. “Right now, all of you are five-and-a-half months away from being issued your pads for the last time,” he said. “But, if you wait until August to start getting ready, it will be too late.” The clock is indeed ticking on their senior season and what happens in the coming months leading up to the new campaign will determine the length of the wild ride they’re about to embark on, said Lapuszynski. “You’ve been rationed 10 games – that’s all you’ve been promised,” he said. “Don’t let it come on you unaware so you can fight for every one of those

extra games at the end of the season because it’s something you treat the entire community to.” Each player was presented with a gold gift bag emblazoned with their name, which contained a t-shirt featuring the motto for the 2020 season – “All of Us.” However, the meaning behind the slogan goes beyond the players. “It’s going to take our entire Liberty Hill football family for these young men to be able to do what I’ve just challenged them to – coaches, parents and players,” said Lapuszynski. “You’re all about to saddle up for the last time – we need every one of you leading because we have a standard.” Former Liberty Hill school board member Jeff Madison led off the evening with an inspired speech during which he quoted the Bible on several occasions. “You’ll never have the same views of the world ever again as you will through your facemask,” he said. “So, resist the urge to hurry through it because the things you learn on the football field will provide you with a foundation, which will be with you for the rest of your life, but you only get out of football what you put into it. We all have roles and responsibilities and need to make sacrifices and when we

function in those roles, good things happen. Life is meant to be lived in community.” Charlie Calabretta, who will be the Panthers’ starting quarterback next season, said the evening provided him with a good idea of what to expect in the fall. “As the quarterback, I have to be the leader of the offense,” he said. “I know we have a lot of work to do and we have to keep scratching at the surface of what we’re capable of.” Concerning the chain links he and his teammates had been presented with, he was enthusiastic of the symbolism. “I think it’s awesome,” said Calabretta. “I can’t wait to link them together with my teammates.” Once the players had been adorned by Walker with their chain links, he sent them and their families off into the night with some final thoughts. “Toughness is hard to find, but it’s even harder to teach,” he said. “What’s most important for me is the effort – I don’t care about the score. We need to finish what we’ve started here and that’s by doing things right, but it takes all of us to have a successful program. When we come out of the huddle, we’re playing for everyone – it’s not about me, it’s about we.”

Secondary strikers add to the Panther attack

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Kegan Taggart knows it’s not about him. After all, the Panthers’ striker is only a sophomore who is currently number two on the Liberty Hill depth chart behind leading scorer Jaron Frye. But, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have quite an impact. Taggart is currently second on the Panthers’ scoring chart, with nine goals on the current campaign, including a hat trick in a 6-0 away victory in the district opener – the first goals of his varsity career. However, with Frye’s 27 goals up front with him at the tip of the spear of the attack, Taggart knows he’s going to get plenty of room to operate alongside his very dangerous teammate, he said. “It’s fun for me because I know they’re going to manmark Jaron,” said Taggart. “But, there’s still a good amount of pressure.” Taggart speaks of the always-present pressure for a striker to score and fulfill his job description, something that requires a hunger for the ball which may bring one into harm’s way, as when he suffered a gash above his left eye that needed six stitches to close after a clash of heads with an opponent over an aerial ball earlier this season. Selflessness is also something a successful striker needs, including making runs without the ball time and again over the course of a contest with no guarantee the ball will ever

make its way forward, something Taggart takes in stride. “I don’t think it’s frustrating because when I make runs, it opens things up for other people,” he said. “Especially playing out wide, which requires more running in helping both the offense and defense.” Joining Taggart and Frye up front for the Panthers are junior Ethan Minix and sophomore Mayson White, who have each netted a pair of goals this season, with White’s two coming in the same game – a brace in a 6-1 home win over Burnet. According to head Coach Wayne Munger, each of his additional strikers benefits from the constant threat Frye provides and certainly want to follow suit. “Jaron’s still scoring a ton,” said Munger. “But, that makes other guys around him want to score.” Following a season that saw him split time between the JV and varsity squads as a freshman, Munger said Taggart has progressed in proper fashion. “Kegan’s already come a long way,” he said. “He’s played longer with the guys now and has had a lot of chances to find his scoring groove and that will continue as he gains experience going through an entire varsity season.” As far as Minix is concerned, a proper place on the pitch is being sought out in order to maximize his effectiveness, said Munger. “We’re trying Ethan out in some different places,” he said. “His movement along the back

Kegan Taggart (#11) is second on the Panthers this season with nine goals. line and the timing of his runs are good in backing off the defense.” Munger added much of what a striker does fails to show up on the score sheet, but is valuable nonetheless. “Ninety percent of it is selfless work,” he said. “Drawing defenders off you and so forth. People see goals, but not everyone pays attention to the other things they do.” But, there’s one element most important to a striker’s rate of success, said Munger. “Above all, they need to have vision,” he said. “Knowing where and when to be in the

right place.” For the Panthers, it’s about more than simply generating harmless shots on goal which are easy for the defense to deal with, said Munger. “We have a higher standard,” he said. “We don’t want just shots on goal – we want quality scoring chances – it comes down to percentages in making the right choices with the ball chance after chance.” Of course, once the ball begins to fly into the net and strikers see the fruits of all their labor, there’s always a desire for more, which can lead to a purple patch in form.

“Confidence is definitely a big thing,” said Munger. “Once they score, they’re more likely to do it again – good games lead to good games.” Despite the fact Frye is in such fine form and shouldering much of the scoring load for the Panthers this season, Munger is careful to make sure his players don’t rely too much on their number 10, he said. “Our style of play doesn’t go through Jaron,” said Munger. “We want all our guys scoring because somebody’s always going to be on who we can count on to score.” Munger said although he

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

definitely has a skilled strike force at his disposal, it’s about more than just the players who ultimately put the ball in the net. “We probably have more skill than a lot of teams,” he said. “But, the big difference is we also have a lot of support in the attack.” As for Taggart’s hat trick heroism earlier on in the season, he remains humble and thankful. “I was happy with just getting the first goal,” he said. “I know I have a lot more to build on.”

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Calling all Purple-and-Gold leaders, All-State snubs and a Golden Boot

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor So, there we were last Thursday evening in the cafeteria of Liberty Hill High School for the Senior Call to Leadership banquet and it re-affirmed something we already knew. Liberty Hill is a very special place. Pretty sure not too many schools would’ve had the kind of event we were honored and privileged to be a part of on this night. The Panthers football team will have 33 seniors next season, which is a whole lot. So, the idea was to indoctrinate those seniors-in-waiting this year while they’re still juniors in order to give them plenty of time to properly digest the responsibility each one of them will be shouldering come the fall. A group of football parents led by Sean Lapuszynski and Aaron Amsler spearheaded the effort to get the event off the ground and suffice to say, they hit a home run – or I guess we should say scored a touchdown. Honestly, we were a bit skeptical when we first heard of the dinner and remained so even as the first speaker of the evening began delivering his motivational message. After all, aren’t natural leaders simply supposed to step up and do their thing without being prompted? But, in the times we live in now (read the millennial generation) perhaps young people need a push in the direction of things that used to just happen by themselves. Anyway, all that aside, by evening’s end, we were completely won over by the entire concept. However, it wasn’t because of anything that was said or done over the course of the

festivities, but a feeling that resonated throughout the room and carried over onto a near-freezing football field at Panther Stadium, where the players were presented with chain links to signify how each one is only a piece of the Purple-and-Gold puzzle, which will need to be put together once they step on the gridiron in the autumn. A feeling of community – of togetherness – one which I can honestly say I’ve never experienced before. All 33 seniors stood on the home sideline – with their parents standing directly behind them (also symbolic) – as head Coach Jeff Walker addressed his players like Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower talking to the troops before D-Day. I know I was fired up and ready to go – give me a helmet and shoulder pads! On second thought, probably not a good idea, but it’s the thought that counts, right? The fact it was about 38 degrees only added to the atmosphere in that just standing out in freezing temperatures is enough to toughen one up (we know by experience after 24hour outdoor guard shifts in the Army) – builds character. At the center of all this – or under center, if you will – was soon-to-be senior quarterback Charlie Calabretta, who will be expected to lead from the front as the signal-caller of next season’s Purple-and-Gold attack and there’s certainly no worries about how the young man handles pressure. After all, he’s one of Liberty Hill’s top golfers, so sinking pressure birdie putts is at least as daunting as facing a thirddown, all-out blitz (without all the potential physical contact and personal harm, of course, which might make a slight difference.) One thing’s for sure. Next season’s Panthers will have some serious flow going with the likes of the locks of Calabretta, along with backfield mates Trey Seward and

Blake Simpson. Oh, to be young, athletic and have good hair. Not fair. But, we digress. If the young men who were front-and-center for the event didn’t learn anything, weren’t motivated or failed to feel inspired by what they experienced, they either weren’t paying attention, don’t care – or both. Even Liberty Hill Superintendent Steve Snell was ﬁred up, delivering opening remarks during the indoor portion of the proceedings, only to close the outdoor ceremony with yet more ﬁre-and-brimstone. Looks to us like Steve could’ve been a quarterback in his playing days – tall, rangy with a big arm – oh and perfect hair (again). The entire evening made us think about what it must be like for these young Sons of Liberty Hill. Here they are – varsity football players in a football-crazy community about to enter their senior seasons for a program with such a rich, winning tradition. Talk about rock stars. A nice touch at the tail end was when each player yelled out a word or phrase of something they had picked up over the course of the presentation as they were locked arm-inarm (chain-link style, get it?) while circled around the big “LH” at the 50-yard line. Our word would’ve been “Honor.” Pretty much sums up what it takes to conduct oneself in a respectable and admirable manner regardless of the activity. Any recruit who sets foot in U.S. Army Basic Combat Training gets something called the Army Values pounded into his or her head as part of one’s initial entry training. It goes something like this. Loyalty. Duty. Respect. Selfless Service. Honor. Integrity. Personal Courage. The acronym for this is

“LDRSHIP.” Plenty of leadership was offered on this night. Let’s hope plenty of it rubbed off on next season’s Panthers seniors. State football snubs We haven’t looked up the stats, but we’re pretty sure there aren’t too many running backs across the entire Great State of Texas who put up better numbers than Trey Seward this past season. 2,046 yards and 22 touchdowns. Not bad, right? Especially for a junior who only carried the ball six times his entire sophomore season, don’t you think? However, Seward was conspicuously absent from the ﬁrst, second and third teams when the Class 4A all-state football squad was recently announced. Really? Seward’s exploits ranked him 35th in the entire state – not just Class 4A – the entire Lone Star State. Last time we checked, that’s a lot of running backs on a lot of teams playing a lot of games, so if you rank in the top 35, you must be doing some work. Apparently the voters didn’t think so and named nine other backs in front of Seward, who garnered Honorable Mention. Not good enough. Maybe people think anyone can simply be plugged into the Panthers’ famous Slot-T offense and run riot over defenses, which causes Liberty Hill running backs to be overlooked. On the third team, we had guys who rushed for 2,543, 2,116 an another who wasn’t even in the top 50 in the state, so what gives? We know Kyle Harrison was named ﬁrst-team all-state after his masterful senior season in Purple-and-Gold with numbers of 2,872 yards and 40 touchdowns and we’re not suggesting Seward is on that level – yet – but to not even be named to the third team? Come on, now.

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Trey Seward hold up a Panthers team shirt which was presented to each of next year’s senior – pretty much sums up the theme of the entire evening. Speaking of which, Walker Baty also earned only Honorable Mention on the Class 4A squad, which was another miscarriage of justice, as the big redhead wreaked havoc in blowing up backfields all season to the tune of 77 tackles, including 18 for losses and 11 sacks. Not enough for at least thirdteam honors? But, “Big Walk,” as his Panther hoops teammates call him – “Super Duty,” as we call him – probably isn’t all that bothered by his omission as he has a Division I scholarship in his pocket, so apparently he must be pretty darned good. Lastly, we were shocked initially by the absence of Matthew Shipley from the kicking ranks on the all-state team, but after reviewing the numbers, it was revealed twin brother Mason actually handled about two-thirds of the PAT and field goal duties, while Matthew boomed kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and did the punting. But, he might be the only kicker in the entire state who broke a scoreboard with one of his high-arcing extra points – as he did in Pflugerville this season. Isn’t that worth at least Honorable Mention? But, Shipley probably won’t mind much when he’s lounging on the beach under a palm

tree on the big island of Hawaii, where he’ll be playing Division I football in the fall. Still, all three Panthers – Seward, Baty and Shipley – obviously weren’t in good hands with All-State. Scoring race Finally, we have a splendid battle heating up for the Liberty Hill Golden Boot. What’s that, you might ask? Well, simply put, whenever a soccer player (or footballer, as the rest of the universe says) leads a competition in goal-scoring, he or she is awarded the Golden Boot. So far this season, we have a pair of Panthers who are neckand-neck for the honor in Lady Panther sophomore midfielder Emma Stephens and senior striker Jaron Frye of the boys’ squad. Stephens has 26 goals during the current campaign, while Frye has collected 27 and neither one shows any sign of slowing down in filling opposing nets. Frye has collected five hat tricks on the season, while Stephens has picked up four and Frye has 12 assists to Stephens’ 10, so a slight lead for the young man from Haiti at the moment. Stay tuned.

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

Panther senior ended up on court instead of mound

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Cole Ondrasek never thought his high school athletic career would end this way. As the Liberty Hill senior heads down the final stretch of his time in Purple-and-Gold, he had always imagined his days would be spent on a sunlit diamond instead of a hardwood floor. After all, that was his dream. Until something happened. “After my freshman year, I just realized basketball was more enjoyable,” said Ondrasek. “I never thought I’d be in this spot.” Neither did Ondrasek’s mother, Mindy, he said. “My mom was pretty shocked when I said I was giving up baseball,” said Ondrasek. “She tried to convince me otherwise.” However, Ondrasek was having none of it, so the final three years of his Panther life would be dedicated strictly to roundball and he has no regrets. “I’m 100 percent glad I did what I did,” he said. Ondrasek inhabits the area around and under the basket in his role as a forward for head Coach Barry Boren’s club – a position he had to grow into. “Back in junior high, I was much smaller,” said Ondrasek, who now stands an imposing 6-foot-2. “When I got to high school, I was 5-8, but then I grew about two inches my sophomore year.” Ondrasek began his senior season as a starter, but he knew he was only keeping a spot in the lineup warm for the return of fellow senior Walker Baty, who was finishing up his duties as a defensive lineman on the football team. Once Baty was back, Ondrasek had to adjust to his new role – on the bench. “I was a little disappointed because it’s cool being a starter, but I knew it was going to happen,” he said. “Now, I still try to talk to the guys from the bench when I see things on the court, then try to bring energy

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

In order for Cole Ondrasek (#22) to be at the peak of his powers on the court, he needs to be wearing his lucky Fred Flintstone socks. when I get out there.” According to Boren, energy is what Ondrasek is all about – and much more. “Cole’s a guy who really wants it – I’m sure he loves me and his teammates,” said Boren. “He embodies everything a coach wants in a player.” Once his Liberty Hill career is over and he graduates, Ondrasek will be heading off to Texas A&M to pursue a busi-

ness degree. He said ending up in College Station was always his destiny. “My whole family are Aggies and it’s always been a dream of mine to go there,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy to think about – I had to make sure I was in the top 10 percent grade-wise and now it’s in sight.” Ondrasek visited the University of Texas’ campus when he was still undecided about where he was going to go, but

quickly decided life in Austin wasn’t for him, he said. “At A&M, the campus is nice and spaced out compared to UT,” said Ondrasek. “I’ve never lived in a big city, so College Station feels more like home.” Also during his senior season, Ondrasek and fellow senior teammate JC Russell coached a team in the Liberty Hill Community League Basketball and found the experience very rewarding, as well as providing a different perspective on coaching, he said. “I recognized how hard it is to coach,” said Ondrasek, whose team of ﬁfth and sixth-graders ﬁnished third in a 10-team league. “Something like when the players don’t run a play all the way through like they’re supposed to. Now, I’ve seen it from both sides.” Ondrasek added perhaps the most gratifying aspect was seeing players he coached improve before his very eyes. “We did pretty good,” he said. “It’s really fun seeing the kids develop – like at the beginning, they were probably traveling about 50 percent of the time, but they’re quick learners.” Ondrasek’s team was able to play more than one way, which helped them win games, he said. “I think one of our strongest attributes was we could surprise other teams,” said Ondrasek. “Most other teams would only have one defense they could play, so we would change things up on them.” When Ondrasek takes the court, he’s no different than many other athletes who have certain superstitions in order to be at the peak of their powers once the ball goes up. Lucky socks. “One of my friends, Alex Urben, gave me a pair of ‘Star Wars’ socks to wear during my sophomore season,” he said. “I wore them for every game – home and away – and we didn’t lose.” But, Ondrasek certainly didn’t stop there when the following

season rolled around. “I drove over to Alex’s house on the day of the ﬁrst game of the season,” he said. “I said, ‘Okay, what do you have for me this year?’” Yabba-dabba-do. “He gave me a pair with Fred

Flintstone on them,” said Ondrasek, who has donned the prehistoric pair for every home game of his junior and senior seasons. “They’ve held up surprisingly well.”

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Mia Macias (#6) has three goals and two assists on the season.

GIRLS SOCCER SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

Mayson White (#1) celebrates one of his two goals during the Panthers’ 6-1 home win against Burnet on Feb. 14.

BOYS SOCCER

Liberty Hill’s boys’ soccer squad hosted rivals Burnet Feb. 14 and came away with a convincing 6-1 win. Jaron Frye and Mayson White each scored a pair of goals, while Garrison Clopton added

one. Frye also had a pair of assists, with Clopton and Kegan Taggart also picking up one apiece. Junior striker Frye continued his electric scoring pace, netting ﬁve times in Liberty Hill’s 7-2 away win over Lampasas

Baylee Laird, who took it to the basket for her only two points of the game. Liberty Hill led after three, 38-22, and simply slammed the door on Canyon Lake in the fourth quarter, which included a pair of Kenzy Wise scores, the ﬁrst of which was a result of her stealing the ball before scoring the ﬁnal bucket of the game moments later. Lange praised Hubbard for her continued resurgence in

recent games. “Emma was more aggressive again tonight,” he said. “She’s put some good games together now and has played a lot of minutes.” After Holliday had opened the game with a pair of threes, she failed to score for the balance of the contest, but that didn’t mean she didn’t contribute to the cause in other ways, said Lange. “What Jessica does is give

CANYON LAKE

BASEBALL

on Feb. 18 and now has 32 goals on the season. Taggart also scored his seventh of the year for the Panthers in the win. Liberty Hill (11-6, 5-1) will next begin the second round of district play at home against Jarrell on Feb. 21.

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you constant pressure on the other team,” he said. Holliday’s six points and Wright’s four backed up the twin 10-point games from Jackson and Hubbard and now the Lady Panthers (22-14) advance to face La Grange, who is 30-4 on the season after a 58-49 playoff-opening victory over Wharton. Jackson said the pressure on her and her teammates will likely increase as they advance

The Lady Panthers of Liberty Hill continued their onslaught against district opponents with a pair of victories by scores of 12-0 at home against Burnet on Feb. 14 and 10-0 at Lampasas on Feb. 18. Emma Stephens scored four goals against the Bulldogs, while Madi Fuller and Kaylie Fowler each netted a pair. Piper Tabor, Cordelia Brown, Bryden Bourgeois and Athena Brown also scored.

Fowler also collected three assists on the game, with Mykenna Russo picking up a pair and Fuller, Cordelia Brown and Tabor getting one each. Sam Carter was forced into only a single save and teamed up with sophomore Laila Osbourne in posting the shutout. Against Lampasas, Stephens and Fowler both recorded hat tricks, while Athena Brown, Russo, Cordelia Brown and Fuller also found the net as Russo, Stephens, Alyssa Lee

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

and Fuller each had assists. Stephens has 29 goals on the season, while Fowler has added 14 and Tabor 11. Carter made one save for the Lady Panthers’ 14th shutout of the season and hasn’t allowed a goal since a 2-2 home draw against Stephenville on Jan. 21. Liberty Hill (13-1-3, 6-0) will next begin the second round of district play at home against Jarrell on Feb. 21.

further in the postseason. “I think there might be a little more,” she said. “So, we just have to bring more to the table and show how good we really are.” (RIGHT) Avery Harrell (#15) takes the ball up the court, while Emma Hubbard (#25) joins the attack during the Lady Panthers’ ﬁrst-round playoff victory. ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

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“Rowen has such good atbats, which is why we want him in the leadoff spot,” he said, of Guerra, who also pitches. “He fouls off a lot of pitches, but has the power to be in the middle of the lineup easily. Rowen sets the table for everyone else, runs very well and can also put a charge into one.” Alongside Guerra on the left side of the Panthers’ inﬁeld will be junior shortstop Ryan Leary, who will hit third in the order and also take a turn on the mound. “Ryan’s really good defensively and he’s one of our best overall athletes,” said Hutcherson. “He runs well and has already committed to Texas State, which says a lot about him – he can be that guy in our lineup.”

Leary batted .333 with one home run, 16 RBIs and team-leading totals of 37 runs scored and 20 stolen bases last season. Garrett Shull will be the jackof-all-trades for the Purpleand-Gold, as the senior utility man can play multiple positions ﬁlling in for whoever is pitching and offers plenty of versatility, said Hutcherson. “He handles the bat well, can hit-and-run and helps move guys around the bases,” he said. “Garrett also brings a lot defensively and it helps to have a guy like him who you can put anywhere and not lose anything.” Behind the plate will be senior Dillon Pogue, who Hutcherson said would’ve gotten a lot more playing time last season if not caught in a numbers

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game. “Last year, Dillon was one of three catchers we had on the roster, so he didn’t get as many starts,” he said. “But, he’s really come a long way defensively and made drastic improvements in that area – he’s deﬁnitely one of our strengths.” As for his pitching staff, Hutcherson is looking for quality from his mound men – not necessarily innings. “I think we have an advantage because we’re not going to rely on getting seven-inning games from our starters,” he said. “We’re in a good situation because we have a lot of guys we can run out there if we only get four innings from our starter.” Although Hutcherson’s inﬁeld is settled, an exodus of

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ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Rowen Guerra (#20) will play third base and lead off for Liberty Hill. outfielders has left him a bit keep opponents off-balance. think we’re going to be more wanting in that area, as Flake, “We won’t necessarily try of a base-hit stolen-base-bunt Leary and Rowen all manned to outscore everyone, but we team.” All in all, Hutcherson is optithe outfield last season, but want to out-execute people and have now moved in to fill open be a hard team to defend,” he mistic about his club’s chances spots around the infield vacat- said. “We’re not just going to this season due to the chemised by graduated seniors. sit back and wait for three-run try he senses up and down the “We still have question homers. I think we’ll be able roster, he said. “I think we have a chance to marks,” he said. “We could to score seven, eight, or nine have some younger guys who runs per game if we can man- be a perfect mix of younger fill those spots, but we need ufacture runs. I have a good players and older ones,” said to see what they can do offen- feeling about what we can do Hutcherson. “We want guys to sively without getting beat on offensively – it’s all about our step up and take ownership.” guys having the mindset to Liberty Hill will open the seadefense.” Hutcherson said he wants to get to first base anyway they son with a road games against employ the kind of offensive can. We’re not necessarily go- Boerne on Feb. 25. attack, which will constantly ing to hit the ball very far – I

Thursday, February 20, 2020

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Panthers repeat as District Champs

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor The Liberty Hill boys’ basketball squad finished off the regular season with a 70-45 home victory against Lampasas on Feb. 18 and in doing so, brought home another district title. Senior guard Carson Perkins led the way for the Panthers with 25 points, including four 3-pointers in an opening quarter which saw the hosts outscore the visitors by a 25-6 margin. However, after bursting from the gates with a flourish to begin the contest, the Panthers were outscored by the Badgers, 13-11 in the second quarter, but still led at the half by a score of 36-19, as Perkins poured in 17 points before the break. Liberty Hill began the second half just as the first in outscoring Lampasas, 21-7, as Kadin Knight scored all nine of his points in the period and Walker Baty added 10 of his 15 on the evening, providing the Panthers with a commanding 57-26 advantage entering the

fourth quarter. The Badgers rebounded to outscore the Panthers 19-13 in the ﬁnal period, but it was far too little, too late as the Purple-and-Gold sealed the victory. Walker Weems added eight points on the night. According to head Coach Barry Boren, winning the district title was a necessary element in successfully moving forward into the postseason with hopes of a return to the Class 4A state championship game. “Very important,” said Boren. “With such a strong group back from last year’s team, I would’ve viewed not winning district this season as a failure of sorts.” Boren pointed to his club’s 70-62 district-opening loss to Salado on Jan. 17 as a personal motivator. “I’ve been like a crazy man since the Salado loss,” he said. “People asked me what was wrong – I told them I wouldn’t relax until we did what we did – win district.” Liberty Hill shot a stellar 90 percent from the free-throw

line on the evening, sinking 18-of-20 attempts. Boren said now that one hurdle has been overcome, he and his team can refresh before beginning their quest for a title. “Now, it’s time to reassess – in fact that’s the agenda today (Wednesday),” he said, of the week-long break before the playoffs begin. “We’re not practicing, watching film or anything like that – we’re taking a breath – then we dive in.” The district title was the third consecutive for the Panthers and the 13th in the last 17 years during Boren’s 18-year tenure as Liberty Hill head coach, including 17 straight playoff appearances after a last-place showing during his first season on the sidelines. Included in the run are 16 20win seasons, 13 25-win campaigns and seven 30-victory seasons to go with six regional tournament appearances and last season’s state title-game berth. With the first step out of the way, Boren and the Panthers can now progress to the next stage, he said.

“Pre-district gets you ready for district, then district earns you the right to be in the playoffs,” said Boren. “After that, playoffs is the gravy – you play until you get beat – unless you win them all.” Liberty Hill (26-7, 9-1) will open the playoffs against the winner of a playoff between Canyon Lake and Banderas on Feb. 25 at LBJ High School in Johnson City. Liberty Hill 54, Burnet 50 Carson Perkins led three Panthers players in double-figure scoring with 20 points in a 5450 road win against Burnet on Feb. 14. The occasion marked the final district meeting between the rivals before Liberty Hill moves up to Class 5A next season and the visitors rescued a sluggish effort against the Bulldogs with a 20-point fourth quarter. Walker Baty and Kadin Knight both scored six points in the final period to help seal the victory as the Panthers sunk 12 of their 23 free-throws on the evening in the fourth,

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ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Hunter Clayton (#20) attacks the basket over three defenders during the Panthers’ 54-50 road win over Burnet on Feb. 14. including 4-of-4 from both But, Liberty Hill’s big final Perkins and Knight. eight minutes was enough to The Panthers trailed 15-13 bring them back in outscoring after one, only to lead at half- Burnet, 20-11, in the fourth time, 25-24 after Perkins hit quarter. a pair of buckets and Knight Baty added 12 and Knight 11 drained a three in the second in the victory. stanza. Liberty Hill finished the regHowever, the hosts rebound- ular season with an overall reed in the third quarter, out- cord of 26-7, with a 9-1 district scoring the Panthers by a 15-9 mark and enter the playoffs on margin to lead by five at 39-34 the back of a nine-game winentering the fourth. ning streak.

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, February 20, 2020

SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO

Piper Tabor (#13) has adjusted well to her new role playing out wide as a striker for the Lady Panthers this season.

Striking gold in the ﬁnal third Lady Panthers forwards have a nose for the net

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Clinical. Precise. Deadly. When a soccer ball enters the final third of the field heading toward the opposing net during a Liberty Hill girls’ soccer game, chances are a Lady Panthers forward will be on the end of a pass and in on goal only to finish with the ball in the back of the net. Strikers Piper Tabor and Kailey Fowler have taken turns filling the net with goals this season, forming a solid strike partnership up front at the point of attack for head Coach Darren Bauer’s club, combining for 23 goals between them as junior Tabor has netted 12 times and freshman Fowler 11. Scoring at the high school level is nothing new for Tabor, who collected 23 goals in each of her first two seasons in Purple-and-Gold, along with nine assists. However, Fowler has burst onto the scene in her rookie season of prep soccer, providing additional offense, which has prompted Bauer to move Tabor out to a wide position on the right while Fowler is free to roam in the middle as a center forward. Seems to be working quite well and a role Tabor has adjusted to excellently and embraced, she said. “At the beginning of the season Coach Bauer mixed people around, so I just took the role and did what I could,” said Tabor. “But, Kailey’s really stepped up and gotten it done.” Tabor added she has no issues moving out wide despite the success she had in the middle previous to Fowler’s arrival. “Definitely, I’m okay with that,” she said. “Where I play now is a really crucial role for our team and besides, I already played out wide before.” According to Bauer, the move was made not only to allow Fowler to do her thing in the middle, but to add know-how that can only come from an upperclassman with more experience on the wing. “With the way we play, we needed more tactical understanding out wide,” said Bauer. “Also, we can take more advantage of Piper’s speed down the line. With all the complications of our movements outside, it’s important to have a player like her because it’s all about finding the right balance so everyone can play together once we see how it all fits.” Having the ability to move players around the pitch allows him more flexibility to react to a given situation, said Bauer. “I don’t worry whenever I move someone because we expect all our players to be able to play more than one position,” he said. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I could put Piper back on defense and she’d do a good job for us.” Bauer added the most important attribute a striker must have to be effective is the ability to be able to wait for reinforcements in the attack without losing possession of the ball. “Especially with the way we play, holding the ball up is of the utmost,” he said. “Usually, as a striker you’re outnumbered up front until you get

help.” Of course, once the cavalry arrives in the form of additional attacking elements, a good forward must be able to do the one thing they’re most depended on for, said Bauer. “We want them to be good finishers and passers,” he said. “But, a lot of it is being mentally aware of where the defenders are and using your body as a shield to protect the ball, knowing where the space is and how to properly use your teammates.” Having the ability to adjust during a game based on how a particular contest unfolds is critical to being clinical. “You can watch some teams play and they continue to do the same things the same way,” said Bauer. “But, as soon as the defense takes those options away, they struggle. We always set up our team how we want to play, but we tell our players to figure it out themselves based on what happens out there and to set up our defense to be able to take things away – it’s all about how they read the other team.” Bauer emphasized the mental aspect of what makes an effective striker in the Lady Panthers’ system. “Some of our young players come in with a better understanding than others,” he said. “But, all of them know they can be better, so it usually doesn’t take very long. One of the biggest things for us is to make sure we can hold the ball long enough for everyone else to get involved.” Definitely a role Tabor takes seriously. “I feel like what I do is really important,” she said. “You always have to work hard and trust yourself to help the team win.” Tabor said she and her teammates have the kind of chemistry throughout the squad which permeates in everything they do. “It’s really humbling because we all connect with each other so well,” she said. “There are many ways we can help even when we’re not scoring like going forward into the attack very fast or moving from the outside to the middle which brings more numbers into the box and give us more opportunities to score.” However, sometimes despite all the effort, things simply don’t fall the way of a striker, whether it’s not getting proper service or any of a number of factors which can break an attack down, said Tabor. “It can be frustrating because you know the potential your team has to get you the ball,” she said. “But, you just know with enough repetition, you’ll eventually get that chance.” Every so often a striker will be presented with a clear chance at goal only to badly fluff his or her lines and miss what should’ve been an easy goal – something which Tabor must deal with on occasion, she said. “Honestly, it depends on the chance,” she said. “Usually, I’ll just calm myself down like, ‘Okay, you just did this,’ but if it’s a totally embarrassing one, I’ll just dust it off and keep going.” Ironically, midfielder Emma Stephens is the Lady Panthers’ leading goal-scorer as the

silky-smooth sophomore has already netted 25 times on the current campaign, but what her prowess playing directly in behind the strikers does is open up the scoring area even more for Tabor and Fowler – especially with Stephens’ marksmanship from distance, which draws defenders out further from the net. “It’s nice to know we can always drop the ball back to Emma,” said Tabor. “It depends on our position and hers.” Tabor added the natural instincts of a striker must be seamlessly blended with reading and reacting to the ever-changing flow of the game as it unfolds in order to be effective. “I definitely think it’s a culmination of both,” she said. “You use your instinct to realize what’s around you, but you also have to think about how much time you have on the ball.” As a goal-scorer at the tip of the spear, strikers are many times targeted by opposing defenses, which means the going can get rather rough and Tabor has the scars to prove it, including one from an ankle injury which eventually required surgery to correct once and for all. “A couple years ago, my left ankle kept giving me issues – I kept spraining it really easy,” she said. “So, I finally had surgery even though they never really had a diagnosis for what was wrong.” Tabor has been good-to-go ever since and has returned this season pain-free once again without the constant worry of the injury recurring, which has boosted her confidence and made it easier to cover the additional ground she must now out on the wing, she said. “When I played in the middle, it was more about short bursts,” said Tabor. “Playing on the outside requires more running, but I also have the wing back to back me up.” Tabor said the ability she and her teammates have to be able to support each other on the field is indeed a special ingredient in their recipe for success. “It’s awesome – our team is so connected,” she said. “It brings everyone together on and off the field – I couldn’t ask for a better team.” So, if there’s one element above all a striker must have to excel at her craft, what is it? No question, said Tabor. “You need to have a good first touch when you get the ball,” she said. “You need to be able to play one-touch passes and shots because in close spaces, there’s always a defender right next to you.” Having the ability to strike the ball with power with either foot is also critical to being an effective striker, said Bauer. “You have to be able to finish with either foot,” he said. “Because you never know where the open window to shoot is going to be.” However, what Bauer wants his strikers to be most of all is ruthless in the final third. “You might only get that one chance during a game,” he said. “So, when you do, can you be dangerous.”

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Carson Perkins (#4) has led Liberty Hill in scoring all season and has increased his offensive output down the district stretch, including a 33-point performance in a 74-54 home win over Salado on Feb. 4.

LESSON

Continued from Page B1

had just come off decisive victories during the second round of district play against Salado (74-54) and Taylor (66-52), Boren said his squad came out a bit ﬂat against Burnet. “I think we relaxed a little after winning those big games,” he said. “We were sloppy from the get-go – we settled for three-point shots instead of establishing our inside game.” Boren said his team’s lackluster play almost cost them the game against the Bulldogs. “It was a two-point game with 28 seconds left,” he said. “We didn’t line up correctly and ended up having to call time-out. We drew up a play for Kadin (Knight) and he got fouled and hit both free throws.” Game over. But, Boren said the lethargic display wasn’t necessarily a surprise based on what he had seen during the previous practice. “We had a poor practice on Thursday,” he said. “At the end, I called them together and let them know I wasn’t happy. You could see the look on their faces knowing they had disappointed me.” Boren said he was worried there might be a carryover of the emotions, so he quickly quashed the notion. “I just told them we don’t have a problem here,” he said. “But, we just can’t relax now and we can’t have an off-night.” In assessing this season’s version of the Panthers compared to where last year’s state championship-ﬁnalist club was at the same point of the campaign, Boren had mixed feelings. “Offensively, we might be better than last year,” he said. “But, defensively we’re not as good – our issue is we’re not creating as many turnovers.” All that being said, Boren is certainly not ready to sell his team short. “I still think we’re one of

PRESSURE

the top six teams in our region,” he said. “If we play like we’re supposed to and how we’re capable, we have a chance.” Before the Panthers faced Taylor for the second time on Jan. 24, Boren gave his squad something to think about after the consensus they didn’t play as well as they should have in the ﬁrst meeting of the teams, despite a 56-49 Liberty Hill

win. “I always like to give our players what I call the ‘Thought of the Day,’” he said. “For that one, it was ‘It’s ﬁne to celebrate success, but more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Sufﬁce to say, the Panthers have done exactly that in saving their season from potential failure.

Continued from Page B1

than he would for a district opponent, as Canyon Lake only advanced to the playoffs with a victory over Llano the previous Friday, while his club had been off since their 47-32 away win in the regular-season finale over Taylor on Feb. 11. “You have to try to figure out some weaknesses in the team you’re playing,” he said. Next up for his club is a second-round date with La Grange, who are 30-4 on the season and ranked in Class 4A’s top 15, but neither records nor rankings trouble him, said Lange. “I don’t really worry about how you match up,” he said. “Sometimes rankings are right and sometimes they’re not.” Jackson acknowledged the fact the Leopards will present a more formidable challenge than the Hawks did in the opening round. “I’m sure their defense will ALEX RUBIO PHOTO be different,” she said. “So, Senior Kailey Berzin (#20) plays defense during the Lady Panwe just have to show up and thers’ 48-29 first-round playoff victory against Canyon Lake at be more ready.” LBJ High School in Johnson City on Feb. 19.