LH Independent 4-1-21 by The Liberty Hill Independent

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2021

Volume 34, Issue 19

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April 1, 2021 | 50 Cents

Demographics fuel growth plans for LHISD

ALEX RUBIO FILE PHOTO

The Liberty Hill Fair & Rodeo is set April 15-18 at Harvest Ranch Arena.

Ride ‘em, Cowboy Liberty Hill Fair & Rodeo set next week at Harvest Ranch

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Anyone with a hankering for some rough-and-tumble ranching action will be pleased to know the annual Liberty Hill Fair & Rodeo is scheduled for April 15-18 at the Harvest Ranch Arena. According to Williamson County Cowboy Church Pastor Corey Ross, holding the event on the grounds of the church is a no-brainer based on a few principle factors. “We’re a Cowboy Church and cowboys do rodeos,” said Ross. “We have the only professional rodeo arena in the area and I’ve been a professional rodeo cowboy for 30 years. So, we know how to put on a rodeo.” Highlighting the rodeo will be the Ron Ross Memorial Steer Roping Event, which is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and will take place April 17-18. Open rodeo events will include Bareback, Mini Bareback, Tie Down, Girls’ Breakaway, Saddle Bronc, Mini Saddle Bronc, Team Roping, Steer Roping, High School Challenge Steer Saddling, Barrel Racing, Junior Barrels, Mini Bulls and Bull Riding. Ross said the rodeo is intended to be separate from his church, although members help stage it. “This rodeo has turned into one of the largest events in this area,” he said. “We’ve never made this event a church rodeo. We want it to be a community event. But, the volunteers that put on the rodeo are

from our church.” In addition, Ross believes after the past year and everything people have been through, the event provides a perfect opportunity to begin to restore a sense of normalcy. “It will be great fellowship,” he said. “People are ready to get back to normal. Last year, we had to move the rodeo to June because of the pandemic. People were ready to get out. We broke attendance records every night.” All events will occur nightly, as the rodeo will begin each evening at 7:30 p.m. Mutton busting will also be featured for young cowboys and cowgirls who are seven and under and weigh 65 pounds and under, with belt buckles being given to nightly winners. In addition, a total of six scholarships will be presented to Liberty Hill High School students, including one in memory of late Panthers head football coach Jeff Walker, as well as one for military, two for higher education and two for vocational. Sponsors for the event include the City of Liberty Hill, United Heritage Credit Union and Johnson-Sewell Ford. There will also be a carnival complete with rides and games, along with vendors and concessions. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for children age 3-12, with children two and under admitted free. Parking will also be free.

See RODEO, Page 8

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Each time Liberty Hill ISD enrolls a new student it fills one more seat in a classroom on one of its seven current campuses. That addition represents growth, and a look back over the last decade shows that growth is occurring at an unprecedented rate. But efficiently preparing for that growth each year takes much more than counting the students in classrooms, it requires accurate, reliable data that addresses the students not yet in a desk. Further complicating that task in LHISD is that the number of new desks needed in the next five years is expected to be double what it is now, and double that five more years down the line. Schools cost money and construction takes time, so how exactly does a district determine what to ask the community to support? Demographics. The district entrusts the gathering and synthesizing of that data to Population and Survey Analysts (PASA), a company based in

moving, and that broke off 50 percent of my business. In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that they were going to waive the fees to have recertiﬁcations done and that knocked out the remaining 50 percent of my business.” Sanchez is one of the thousands of small-business owners in Williamson County that have been dealing with the economic upheaval of the COVID pandemic for more than a year – and like many others found relief from the CARES Act. In response to the pandemic, the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Williamson County received

Houston that specializes in the task at hand, and works with dozens of other districts across the state, including Leander ISD. The $497.1 million bond package on the May ballot was built on the PASA projections presented to the school board, and even for seasoned professionals, the numbers lead to a double take. Justin Silhavy, with PASA, said Liberty Hill is one of many communities they work

with where double and triple checking the projections is just a natural reaction. “We deﬁnitely do that with Liberty Hill,” he said. “You sit back and you think, ‘okay, do we need to change something, and why’. We get it loaded up, sit back and plenty of times where we take an approach that we ask ourselves where we can tone it down. We go the other way sometimes, too, but we mostly try to be more conservative. It is a little

shocking.” Demographers have projected that the Fall 2021 enrollment for the district will reach 6,566 and that number is expected to double by 2025 to 12,215. Beyond the ﬁve years the current bond is intended to address, enrollment is projected to nearly double again by 2030 to over 22,000. “At the end of the day the demographics are staggering,”

See GROWTH, Page 5

The newly-opened Seward Junction Loop offers a congestion-free southbound alternative to the intersection of SH 29 and US Hwy 183.

Loop at Seward Junction opens door to increased development

By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Today it’s just a new road. It’s a road that primarily cuts across open pasture and might save commuters a moment or two. But the new Seward Junction

CARES Act keeps on giving

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer When Jeanie Sanchez opened Sanchez Compliance and Consulting LLC in 2018, she was thrilled to be a small-business owner. A year later, she reached the milestone every small business owner looks forward to – turning a profit. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “I review files for people who are moving into low-income housing or when they’re doing annual recertification,” said Sanchez. “At the beginning of the pandemic, people stopped

Population and Survey Analysts have provided enrollment projections for Liberty Hill ISD through 2030, that show double-digit growth through the decade. The company, which provides demographic projections services to dozens of district across the state, also works with Leander, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs districts locally. (Courtesy Graphic)

$93 million from the CARES Act and created the WilCo Forward program. The program aimed to curb the economic impact of COVID-19 by distributing funds to address various needs throughout the county. The program placed a signiﬁcant focus on helping small businesses. Williamson County issued 3,662 checks for more than $34.2 million. Between May 6 and June 30 of last year the county auditor’s ofﬁce received 4,194 applications from businesses throughout the county. The average grant depended on a business’ status – whether it was entirely shut down or just partially closed. “Initially, I applied for a lot

See CARES, Page 4

Loop, officially opened for traffic in March by Williamson County, is expected to offer much more than relief for traffic congestion at the SH 29 and US 183 intersection. “The economic development potential is huge,” Williamson

County Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said of the new loop. “I tell folks to go look at RM 620 and US 183. When I ﬁrst moved to Williamson County there were no freeways or anything there, it was a stoplight at that intersection.

Then Lake Creek Parkway and Pecan Park and that network of roads came about and changed everything.” The new loop runs south from SH 29 west of US 183,

See LOOP, Page 4

Project Graduation gets 2021 makeover

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer There may be no lock-in, games or activities celebrating the end of high school careers this year through Project Graduation, but organizers are determined to put a spin on the traditional event that will send seniors off with a smile. Due to social distancing and other safety measures that have followed 2021 graduates for more than a year the traditional celebration posed too many challenges. “We were supposed to have the event on May 28, when they graduate, but we decided as a board and organization

that because of the COVID situation, we decided to cancel that event,” said LHHS Project Graduation President Scott Quaife. “In turn, what we’re going to do is use all the money that we’re raising to try and buy the kids some graduation gift baskets.” The gift baskets contain items as large as televisions and mini-fridges to smaller but equally important items, such as laundry detergent and towels. The challenges regarding this year’s celebration range from how to celebrate, to how to generate the donations and volunteer time to make it happen.

“We have 343 seniors now at Liberty Hill. Some of them are remote and others in the class, so it’s been a challenge,” Quaife said. “It’s been a challenge to get volunteers, but we’re still committed to raising the money we need to ensure we have something for them at the end of the year.” Involving the seniors in the solution helps organizers and students both. “When we have these events to raise money, we’ll get the student volunteers, the seniors, to come and help,” said Quaife. “They’ll get tickets based on how much they

See PROJECT, Page 3

Page 2

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Thursday, April 1, 2021

Liberty Hill Police Blotter

Prepared by Liberty Hill Police Department Week of March 22-28, 2021 The Liberty Hill Police Department responded to or self-initiated a total of 661 incidents resulting in nine cases, 50 citations, 117 warnings and three arrests. Weekly Highlights: - On March 22 at approximately 9:14AM, officers responded to the 16000 block of W. SH 29 for a traffic hazard. - On March 22 at approximately 2:10PM, officers responded to the 16000 block of W. SH 29 for suspicious activity. - On March 22 at approximately 5:56 PM, officers responded to Deep Lake Drive for a suspicious vehicle. - On March 22 at approximately 8:34 PM, officers responded to CR 266 for loose livestock. - On March 23 at approximately 6:32 AM, officers responded to the 11000 block of W. SH 29 for a traffic hazard. - On March 23 at approximately 10:09 AM, officers responded to the 11000 block of W. SH 29 for a suspicious vehicle. - On March 23 at approximately 6:45 PM, officers responded to Syrah Ct. for a fraud complaint. - On March 23 at approximate-

ly 9:28 PM, officers responded to Green Bur Oak Loop for suspicious activity. - On March 24 at approximately 11:35 AM, officers responded to Syrah Ct for a fraud complaint. - On March 24 at approximately 2:43 PM, officers responded to Deserti Rd. for a harassment complaint. - On March 24 at approximately 7:17 PM, officers responded to E. Myrtle for an animal complaint. - On March 25 at approximately 10:27 AM, officers responded to the 14000 block of W. SH 29 to assist Liberty Hill Fire/ EMS. - On March 25 at approximately 10:54 AM, officers responded to the 10000 block of W. SH 29 for a traffic hazard. - On March 25 at approximately 1:38 PM, officers responded to the 15000 block of RM 1869 for an accident. - On March 25 at approximately 6:32 PM, responded to the 1000 block of Loop 332 for a welfare concern. - On March 26, at approximately 11:10 AM, officers responded to the 12000 block of W. SH 29 for an accident.

- On March 26 at approximately 3:10 PM, officers responded to the 4000 block of US 183 to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On March 26 at approximately 6:45 PM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29 for a traffic hazard. - On March 26 at approximately 10:20 PM, officers responded to Republic Dr. for criminal mischief. - On March 27 at approximately 6:14 AM, officers responded to W. SH 29 and Ronald Reagan, to assist the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. - On March 27 at approximately 4:00 PM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29 for a hazardous material complaint. - On March 27 at approximately 9:20 PM, officers arrested a female adult for driving while intoxicated, as the result of a traffic stop on US 183. - On March 27 at approximately 11:20 PM, officers responded to the 15000 block of W. SH 20 and CR 200 for a traffic hazard. - On March 28 at approximately 3:42AM, officers responded to the 12000 block of W. SH 29 for a disturbance, resulting in the arrest of a female adult for assault. - On March 28 at approximately 8:30 AM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29, for suspicious activity. - On March 28 at approximately 2:38 PM, officers responded to the 13000 block of W. SH 29 for an accident. - On March 28 at approximately 7:50 PM, officers responded to the 15000 block of W. SH 29 for a missing person - On March 29 at approximately 4:18 AM, officers arrested a female adult for evading arrest and resisting arrest, as the result of a traffic stop.

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Liberty Hill Spring Pictured from left to right: Wendy Pearce (Ops Manager), Carm Bryan (Asst. Ops Manager), Gilbert Moreno (Branch Executive)

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for those who are unable to transport discarded items on the drop-off day of Saturday-April 10. Pick-Up piles at curb should be no larger than 10’ x 10’.

The City crew is unable to go onto residential property- PLEASE LEAVE AT CURB.

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(MUST BE SCHEDULED PRIOR TO APRIL 7) • Call City Hall at 512.778.5449 and provide your name, phone number, and address • Place items for pickup near the curb and mark “City Pick Up” • Small items must be in boxes or trash bags • No items will be picked up on Saturday: any items left at your curb on Saturday must be brought to the Drop Off location at 2801 RR 1869 (Municipal Court parking area) on Saturday, April 10

DROPOFF IS AVAILABLE from 8 AM until dumpsters are full or 2 PM, whichever comes first, on Saturday-April 10th at 2801 RR 1869 (Municipal Court parking area).

Bring Your Water or Wastewater Bill and your identification (Driver’s License, etc.) for proof of residency

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Tires • Paint • Paint Thinner· TV’s • Batteries • CFL Light bulbs Computers • Printers • Refrigerators • Freezers • All Appliances Any Hazardous Materials or Substances including Oil

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Thursday, April 1, 2021

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

All adults now eligible for COVID vaccination

As of this week the State of Texas has announced that everyone 16 years of age and older is eligible to sign up to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. To date, just over three million Texans, or just over 10 percent, have been fully vaccinated. The rate for Williamson County is slightly higher at 13.8 percent. A number of pharmacies now have access to the vaccine, but residents can still register for the wait list on the Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) website (wcchd.org), and also ﬁnd a map of vaccination hubs in the County with contact information. For those who sign up through the WCCHD, the online registra-

tion places them on a wait list and they will be contacted a few days before their turn, and then will be able to register for a speciﬁc time and location over a number of days. Williamson County reported 1,473 new cases in March, the fewest in a month since October, and 51 deaths, tying July as the third highest month in the last year. To date, Williamson County has had 37,108 total cases and 449 deaths. A week after recording only four cases districtwide, Liberty Hill ISD is reporting seven as of Tuesday, with three at the Junior High, two at the High School and two at Santa Rita Elementary. All cases are student cases. The conﬁrmed case totals

Throwback Thursday

and fatalities in March across Texas have been down overall compared to previous months, recording the lowest monthly case total since June and the lowest number of fatalities since November. The total case number by week has crept up slightly over the last three, with 19,115 three weeks ago, 22,226 the following week and 23,638 over the past week. Hospitalizations have dropped throughout the month but after dipping to just over 3,100 has increased slightly each of the last three days to 3,161 Tuesday. The positivity rate among those test has remained near ﬁve percent.

Masons contribute to Hope House

Liberty Hill Masonic Lodge #432 recently donated $950 to Hope House, continuing their annual contribution to this special organization that takes care of those who really need that help. Pictured above are some of the Brothers and the District Deputy Grand Master for Masonic District #47 with the check. (Courtesy Photo)

PROJECT

Continued from Page 1

volunteer and at the end of the year. We’ll look at a list of the seniors’ names, and however many tickets they have, that’ll determine what kind of basket they get.” Raising funds is a tall order for the board, but Quaife hopes several upcoming events can infuse them with the funds to support their seniors. One example is the fishing tournament, which is still accepting sign-ups. Another is the first annual Project Graduation Car Show set for April 25. The final major event of the

year is a golf tournament May 14 at the Delaware Springs Golf Course in Burnet. Another way Quaife said the community can support students is by sponsoring them or through monetary donations. “We’re looking for all kinds of help,” said Quaife. “We’re looking for people who can help donate gift cards to local businesses or chains. We want it to be someplace where these kids can go and get what they feel they need for college, moving on to the military, or whatever they choose

to do.” The goal for the Project Graduation Board is to reward hard-working graduates as they move on to the next phase of their lives. “What we want to do as a board is ﬁnding common ground with seniors and their parents and be able to say hey, we need help with this event,” said Quaife. “Come, sign up and get your tickets. At the end of the year, we’ll give you something to say good luck in college, the military, or whatever it is that student wants to do after graduating.”

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Page 3

(TOP) Members of the 1967-68 Liberty Hill chapter of the Future Homemakers of America, as pictured and identified in the school yearbook, included (seated, from left), Wanda Johnson, Betty Whitehead, Tommie Bracamontez, Pam Williams, Retha Reed, Carlene Wright, Margot Wetzel, Sharon Williams, Connie Foust, Mary Parker, Irene Spivey, Paula Lane and Effie Montgomery. Standing, from left, Mrs. L.S. Coers (sponsor), Shirley Dodson, Linda Berry, Lawanda Zittle, Barbara Pogue, Donna Jay, Lori Lay, Carolyn Ross, Debbie Mather, Marla Brown, Martha Ming, Sybil Brown, Pauline West and Anna McCown. (ABOVE) Liberty Hill’s FHA officers during the 1967-68 school year included, seated from left, Carlene Wright, secretary-reporter; Sharon Williams, president; Margot Wetzel, first vice president; and Connie Foust, treasurer. Standing, from left, are Pam Williams, song leader; Retha Reed, second vice president; Mrs. L.S. Coers, sponsor; Irene Spivey, historian; and Mary Parker, parliamentarian. (Courtesy Photos)

Looking back at the 1967-68 Liberty Hill FHA

By JAMES WEAR Columnist Our grandchildren w o u l d find it difficult to believe, but there was a time when elective classes were few and far between in small Texas schools. Such was the case during my senior year at Florence High School in 1975-76. Like most of my classmates, I was already well on my way to having plenty of credits to graduate but oh, what to do with fifth period with my two choices being either taking a course on Texas history or, as a good friend of mine wound up convincing me was the best option, spending the year with the school’s homemaking teacher and 20 or so of

the prettiest ninth grade girls ever to step foot in Florence schools. As it turned out, Johnny and I were the only boys in the class, and while I’m not all that sure our classmates worshipped us, these young ladies did make sure our sewing machines were properly threaded and that our pots of water boiled when necessary. Even so, a barbecue apron that should have taken a few days to sew wound up taking me an entire six-weeks grading period to complete, and I escaped the humiliation of having to model it in the annual fashion show by convincing the varsity baseball coach that I was fully qualiﬁed to be the team’s batboy. Back then, participation in sports, even if I was a bit too old to be a batboy, took priority over just about anything else, and an important district game for the Buffs just happened to fall on the same night as the fashion show.

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I have yet to ﬁgure out, and I’m pretty sure my homemaking teacher went to her grave scratching her head as well, how I managed to answer enough questions correctly on the exam that determined the school’s “Home Leader of Tomorrow” award. Perhaps because many of the questions, it seemed to me, had more to do with carpentry than keeping house? Like Florence, Liberty Hill High School boasted of a strong Future Homemakers of America chapter, with the majority of female students enrolled taking part during the 1967-68 school year. Mrs. L.S. Coers, a graduate of Southwest Texas State, taught the classes. And, as I discovered while reviewing the 1968 Panther yearbook, my future wife was among Mrs. Coers’ students. I can assure you, in our 30-plus years of marriage, Paula has done the cooking 99.9 percent of the time.

Page 4

Art students take different paths to state success

By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Art is subjective. How it’s interpreted differs from person to person. So it just makes sense that the path to the spotlight also varies from artist to artist. Liberty Hill High School students Greta Coker’s and Zack Sellers’ art pieces recently earned high praise from the Texas Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) as each highlighted their own creative approach. “It feels good to go to state,” said Sellers. “My piece is called Plan3 2372 because that’s the square footage. I used a lot of folding, connecting, and most importantly, drawing everything.” Sellers’ art medium is creating model homes. Instructor Susan Barnes said Sellers worked tirelessly on all of his home designs and models, detailing the exterior and interior room by room. “I decided that this one would be perfect to go to VASE,” he said. “When I ﬁnished it, I felt conﬁdent that it would do good at VASE. It would’ve been cool to see other people’s work in person, but we couldn’t this year.” This is Coker’s third year in a row reaching state. During

LOOP

her time making art at LHHS, she has remained consistent in cultivating her theme. Coker’s piece “Dance of the Moths” is a 3,582-piece quilling on a watercolor wet wash background. “This body of work highlights the beauty of moths, insects that are easily confused with famously beautiful butterflies, but equally stunning in their own right,” said Coker. “This piece in particular, with its cheery colors, is meant to show movement towards a brighter time of life and a more positive perspective, rather than dwelling on the issues of the past year.” Refusing to bend to the negative feelings of the COVID pandemic, Coker decided to find a silver lining. “There has been so much space for growth during this time,” said Coker. “This encouraged me to create a piece reflecting how this pandemic has drawn me toward a brighter future, just like the four moths are drawn to the orange.” Regional VASE competition is comprised of 19 school districts and 33 high schools, creating a high-pressure environment. “It is difficult to get to the state level,” said Barnes. “Those works show intense skill work,

Continued from Page 1

around Ronald Reagan and 29. Those two can have a huge impact on the economic vitality of the area.” For Liberty Hill Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Executive Director Matt Powell, the new loop opens a wide variety of doors for new development. “Infrastructure almost always breeds development, especially a loop road like that,” he said. “You think of Seward Junction as an intersection with four corners, but then you do this loop and suddenly you have the existing four corners and then you go and create eight more as you go around the loop. “By bringing transportation right to the front door of a property it instantly makes it more marketable. If you’ve got access to transportation and you have access to water and sewer, suddenly the value of it rises and the idea of

intersecting with US 183 near the CEFCO at CR 259, then traveling east before meeting SH 29 again. The ﬁrst portion of what will eventually be a complete loop around the highway intersection was funded through the 2019 county bond program at a cost of $13.3 million and took 23 months to complete. The new roadway is 2.9 miles in length. The anticipated change is a highway intersection that has long been quiet and generally draped in pasture land will become one surrounded by development – and it’s not the only one in the area. “That’s a huge area now for commercial and retail,” Long said. “That creates great opportunities and Liberty Hill is going to be really blessed because there will actually be two intersections like that. There’s another one that will be – when it gets built out –

CARES

Continued from Page 1

of grants and the PPP Loan,” said Sanchez. “I think it was a madhouse at the beginning, and it was an all-day thing to get together all the documents and talk to people. With the WilCo grant, I applied immediately, and in two days, they reviewed my application and called. It was so emotional because it came at a time when I had lost everything. I was on the verge of losing my house

and my car. It kept us aﬂoat until the other stuff started coming in.” Whitney Brace of Liberty Hill Pharmacy applied for the grant after hearing about it from a customer. For Brace, the application process was a breeze. She applied for it on a Monday, and by Friday, she had a check in hand. Brace says the county grant played a crucial part in the pharmacy’s adjustment

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Thursday, April 1, 2021

(ABOVE LEFT) Zack Sellers takes a more technical approach to his artwork, creating model homes as his medium. Sellers’ work earned a regional medal and secured the LHHS student a spot at state VASE competition. (ABOVE RIGHT) Reaching State VASE competition for the third time, Greta Coker continues to cultivate her art theme. Coker’s work focuses on moths and butterﬂies. Her latest regional winning piece is, “Dance of the Moths.” (Courtesy Photos) detail, great composition, subject, and visual impact. Most all have the quality of work done by professional artists.” With new COVID restrictions forcing a virtual contest, Coker feared her piece would have difﬁculty translating through a photo. “Normally, I would go to an interview where the judge would be able to see my art in person,” she said. “They would discuss the process, elements and principles, and meaning of my work. This

year, we ﬁlled out intent forms online with the same information that would have been asked about in an interview and submitted a photograph of our artwork.” Despite their new limitations, Sellers and Coker excelled in their craft – honing their own method and approach – to ﬁnish among the top regional competitors. For Sellers, who furiously goes about working on his pieces, the regional winning piece didn’t take long to con-

ceptualize. “It took only 15 minutes to plan. I like making fast decisions,” he said. “My favorite part of creating house models is the process of my work. To see it come up from just the ﬂoor to a full-on ﬁnished house model is satisfying.” Coker takes a more deliberate approach to her work, spending hours planning, measuring, and working to follow her theme. “My favorite part of the creative process is designing and

planning in a way that creates something visually satisfying in composition and color theory,” said Coker. “The Art Nouveau movement is an important inﬂuence on the design of this piece, and I enjoy reviving that style in a way that makes it my own.” Coker and Sellers proved the adage that art is subjective. From its creation to its interpretation. Two processes, the same endpoint – regional medals and a state appearance.

not developing it makes less sense. In a simpler way you can look at what happened in Cedar Park when 183A was completed. Suddenly you have this massive corridor up there,” he said. With development sure to follow, Powell said it will be important for the City Council and EDC to be prepared. “What we need to be mindful of in Liberty Hill is we are trying to diversify our tax base, but we want to be pretty clear to continue to grow as a thoughtful, tight-knit community,” Powell said. “It will be imperative for us to embrace the growth, but we need to make sure as it develops it does so thoughtfully and in ways that are beneﬁts to the residents here now.” While it is unknown what for sure will develop around the new Seward Junction Loop, in October 2019, then-Mayor Rick Hall announced that

land on the southwest corner of the intersection had been purchased by Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, saying at the time a sign would be going up soon. Hospital officials would not confirm the purchase or plans at that time, but this week officials said it was “still in the planning stages” and an update would be provided once they were complete. “Think about what a hospital means,” Powell said of the possibility. “It certainly improves quality of life because it brings higher-level health care, but it also brings jobs and typically nicely-paying jobs. What would come out of that would be typically restaurants because what they look for is a lunch crowd.” Long said the plan is to get traffic lights at the Seward Junction Loop and SH 29 on both the east and west intersections.

“We’re looking quickly on getting the lights warranted and getting those done, but I don’t know the timing on that,” she said. “That will make the people going north on 183, turning left on to the loop going west, it will make them getting on 29 much easier.” The intersections at the loop and US 183 might not happen as quickly as the Central Texas Regional Mobility’s plan for the extension of the toll road north is still being finalized. As far as future traffic congestion concerns, Long said the hope is the loop, along with the plan for the 183A extension to go under SH 29, will ease the heavier traffic burden in the future. “Ultimately, what gets traffic moving the best is when you have grade-separated intersections like at 620 and 183, so when the main lanes of 183A (at SH 29 and US 183) contin-

ue through that will be separated so that will help the ﬂow at that intersection as well,” Long said. The toll road extension plan, ﬁrst shared in 2019, and projected to go out for bid this spring, will go from Hero Way in Leander north to about one mile past the SH 29 intersection, a 6.6-mile stretch. The planned transition back to non-tolled highway will be around CR 258. Preliminary engineering documents for the project show three on and off ramps along the new route in each direction. At the SH 29 and US 183 intersection, the plan is for the toll road to go under SH 29 due to the long downward slope south of the intersection.

to their COVID safe business format. “What we ended up using the grant money for was to hire a couple more staff members to help with the curbside delivery,” she said. “We also used it to buy PPE for our staff members. Some of them were with us for just a little bit of time while they were on break from school, and we’ve got a couple that we’ve brought on as permanent staff.” The grant did more than allow Brace to hire new and necessary staff, impacting the ﬁnances of the business as well. “It was a blessing in terms of cash ﬂow. We had an initial spike in prescription sales

in terms of people trying to stock up and have things for the long term,” said Brace. “Once we got over that initial hump, I would say sales in general plummeted. It helped keep us moving forward. I’ll be the ﬁrst to say that pharmacies are not as impacted as some businesses. The grant was a blessing that let us do what we needed to do to help serve patients, especially with everything being as uncertain as it was.” Additional Funds A year after the pandemic began, the WilCo Forward program still has available funds. As part of the effort to give reopening businesses a jump

start, Williamson County has opened more funds for restaurants, bars, hotels and motels. “There is a $10 million budget this time around that would take us to about $45 million. I don’t know if we’re going to use all of that in the second round,” said Williamson County Treasurer Scott Heselmeyer. “I don’t know that we have enough businesses. At this point, I don’t know that within those industries, we’re going to have enough eligible businesses that need that assistance to hit that $10 million budget.” This time around, the County is seeing fewer and fewer applications. The second round

requires that applicants show an income loss of at least 10 percent between 2019 and 2020. For Hesselmeyer, this is a trend in the right direction. “I think part of that is a reﬂection of the fact that we are at this point where a lot of these businesses have been able to get back on their feet,” said Heselmeyer. “I don’t know that I would go as far as saying they’re doing well, but they have been able to survive to this point. I think the fewer applications we’re getting now, the better. I think it’s a positive sign.”

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Thursday, April 1, 2021

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

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NOTICE OF GENERAL AND SPECIAL ELECTION (AVISO DE ELECCION GENERAL Y ELECCION ESPECIAL)

Election Day Registered voters of the jurisdictions participating in the May 1, 2021 election may vote at any location listed below Los votantes registrados en las juridicciones participantes en la elecion del 1 de mayo de 2021, podran votar en cualquiera de los lugares de votacion listados abajo Williamson County Early Voting Schedule Horario de la Votacion Adelantada del Condado de Williamson Dates and Times for Locations: Fechas y horarios para localidades de tiempo completo Del Lunes, 19 de abril al Sabado, 24 de abril 8:00am - 6:00pm NO VOTACION EN EL DOMINGO Del Lunes, 26 de abril al Martes, 27 de abril 7:00am - 7:00pm

Elecciónes generales y Especiales

SALES ESTATE SALE. Saturday, April 3rd, 8am-4:30pm. 148 Creekside Drive, Liberty Hill. Furniture, TV, TV cabinet, dishes, and more. (4/1p)

Attachment B Adjunto b

Sabado 1 de mayo

Registered voters may vote at any location listed below Los votantes registrados podrán votar en cualquiera de los lugares de votación listados abajo Vote Center Locations

7:00 am - 7:00 pm

City (ciudad) AUSTIN

Location (ubicación) Anderson Mill Limited District Lord of Life Lutheran Church BARTLETT Bartlett City Hall CEDAR PARK Vista Ridge High School Cedar Park Library Cedar Park Randalls FLORENCE Florence City Hall GEORGETOWN Cowan Creek Amenity Center First Baptist Church-Georgetown Williamson County Inner Loop Annex Georgetown Housing Authority GISD Technology and Nutrition Building GRANGER Granger Independent School District HUTTO Hutto ISD Administration Building Wilco Hutto Annex JARRELL Jarrell ISD Administration LEANDER Leander Public Library Annex Pat Bryson Municipal Hall Rouse High School LIBERTY HILL Liberty Hill Municipal Court Liberty Hill High School ROUND ROCK Baca Senior Center Brushy Creek Community Center Round Rock Randalls Round Rock High School Williamson County Jester Annex TAYLOR Taylor Middle School

SUNDANCE ESTATES COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE. April 10, 8am-3pm. Bronco Blvd gates will be open. Tools, furniture, clothing, home decor, and much more. (4/8p)

Locaciones de Centros de Votós

Address (la dirección) 11500 El Salido Parkway 9700 Neenah Avenue 140 W Clark Street 200 S Vista Ridge Boulevard 550 Discovery Boulevard 1400 Cypress Creek Road 106 S Patterson Stret 1433 Cool Spring Way 1333 W University Avenue 301 SE Inner Loop 210 W 18th Street, Building 1 603 Lakeway Drive 300 N Colorado 200 College Street 321 Ed Schmidt Blvd, Suite 100 108 E Avenue F 1011 S Bagdad Road 201 N Brushy Street 1222 Raider Way 2801 RR 1869 16500 W SH 29 301 W Bagdad Avenue, Building 2 16318 Great Oaks Drive 2051 Gattis School Road 300 N Lake Creek Drive 1801 E Old Settlers Boulevard 304 Carlos G Parker Blvd NW

Zip 78750 78717 76511 78613 78613 78613 76527 78633 78628 78626 78626 78628 76530 78634 78634 76537 78641 78641 78641 78642 78642 78664 78681 78664 78681 78664 76574

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Williamson County Early Voting Schedule Horario de la Votación Adelantada del Condado de Williamson Joint General and Special Elections – May 1, 2021 Elecciones Generales y Especiales Conjuntas – 1 de mayo del 2021

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Dates and Times for Locations: Fechas y horarios para localidades de tiempo completo: Monday, April 19 through Saturday, April 24 Del Lunes, 19 de abril al Sabado, 24 de abril 8:00 am to 6:00 pm NO SUNDAY VOTING NO VOTACION EN EL DOMINGO Monday, April 26 and Tuesday, April 27 Del Lunes, 26 de abril al Martes, 27 de abril 7:00 am to 7:00 pm

PUBLIC NOTICES

Main Location - ubicación principal Georgetown: Georgetown Inner Loop Annex, 301 SE Inner Loop

LIBERTY HILL ISD is seeking Proposals for a Food Service Management Company. All interested proposers please see RFP #21-003 available at

Branch Locations – ubicaciones de sucurales Austin: Anderson Mill Limited District, 11500 El Salido Parkway, 78750 Cedar Park: Cedar Park Public Library, 550 Discovery Boulevard, 78613 Cedar Park: Cedar Park Randalls, 1400 Cypress Creek Road, 78613 Georgetown: Cowan Creek Amenity Center, 1433 Cool Spring Way Georgetown: Georgetown ISD Technology Building, 603 Lakeway Drive, 78628 Hutto: Wilco Hutto Annex, 321 Ed Schmidt Boulevard, Suite 100, 78634 Jarrell: Jarrell ISD Administration, 108 East Avenue F, 76537 Leander: Leander Public Library, 1011 S. Bagdad Road Liberty Hill: Liberty Hill Municipal Court, 2801 RR 1869, 78642 Round Rock: Baca Senior Center, 301 W Bagdad Street, Building 2, 78664 Round Rock: Round Rock Randalls, 2051 Gattis School Road, 78664 Round Rock: Brushy Creek Community Center, 16318 Great Oaks Drive, 78681 Round Rock: Williamson County Jester Annex, 1801 E Old Settlers Boulevard, 78664 Taylor: Taylor City Hall, 400 Porter Street, 76574

GET NOTICED! Call 512.778.5577 NEWS@LHIndependent.com

Georgetown: Limited Ballot Voting – Georgetown Inner Loop Annex, 300 SE Inner Loop

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www.libertyhill.txed.net click Departments - Business Ofﬁce - Purchasing - Current Bid Opportunities. Or request a copy by emailing: proposals@libertyhill.txed.net. (4/22) MISSING PROPERTY If you believe the police department may have a found item that belongs to you, you can call the Property Division directly at 512-548-5530 or email at ekrause@libertyhilltx.gov. When contacting the Property Division, describe the item(s) you are looking for, in detail, and we will let you know if we have it. If we do, we will make arrangements to get it back to you. (4/29)

LEGAL NOTICES CITY OF LIBERTY HILL ORDINANCE NO. 21-O-03.22.01 AN ORDINANCE OF CITY COUNCIL OF LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS AFFIRMING THE PRIOR PASSAGE OF UNSIGNED ORDINANCES FROM THE CALENDAR YEAR 2017; PROVIDING FOR A PUBLICATION AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (4/1) CITY OF LIBERTY HILL ORDINANCE NO. 21-O-03.22-02 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 1.03, DIVISION 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO UPDATE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULES; PROVIDE FOR A REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (4/1)

CITY OF LIBERTY HILL ORDINANCE NO. 21-O-03.22-03 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 1.03, DIVISION 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO UPDATE CITIZEN COMMENTS REGULATIONS; PROVIDE FOR A REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (4/1) CITY OF LIBERTY HILL ORDINANCE NO. 21-O-03.22-04 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 13, ARTICLE 13.02, DIVISION 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO UPDATE INSTALLMENT PAYMENT PLAN PROCEDURES RELATED TO WASTEWATER CONNECTION CHARGES; PROVIDE FOR A REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (4/1)

LEGAL NOTICE

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do a little bit, but our whole mantra – a big part of our methodology – is we look forward from today. If we were looking at historical data for Liberty Hill ISD we would be under projecting because we know there is more coming and it is coming faster than it ever was before.” Previously, projections used by LHISD were based primarily on what had been platted in subdivisions, but it is impractical to rely on a certain rate of growth, especially in the situation LHISD is in today. “If you keep extrapolating from the past you’re going to

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Applications for ballot by mail shall be mailed to: (Las solicitudes para boletas de votacion adelantada por correo deberan enviarse a:) Early Voting Clerk Williamson County Elections PO Box 209 Georgetown, TX 78627 Applications for ballots by mail must be received no later than the close of business on: Friday, April 16, 2021 Williamson County Joint General and Special Elections Saturday, May 1, 2021

next two years and slowly decline to 10.8 percent by 2030, resulting in a student population of more than 22,000 by that year. A majority of this growth is expected to be in the elementary grades. Looking forward Demographics are often gathered on the current situation, but for a growing school district attempting to plan for future needs, knowing what’s coming in the next decade is critical information. Silhavy said one thing that sets PASA apart is what data they focus on. “We as a ﬁrm don’t really rely on past rates of change or historical change,” he said. “We

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said LHISD Superintendent Steve Snell. “The amount of growth coming our way is staggering. This bond is going to be the foundation to start the preparation for all this growth. When you look at our school demographics, just in one year we’re up 13.5 percent this year. Out of the 5,700-plus kids we have in the district today, almost 1,400 are brand new to our district.” The data presented to the LHISD Board of Trustees early this year showed not only that the past growth rate had risen from 3.4 percent in 2008 to 13.5 percent in 2020, but that number would grow to more than 18 percent over the

To the registered voters of Liberty Hill Independent School District, Liberty Hill, Texas: (A los votantes registrados Liberty Hill Independent School district, Liberty Hill, Texas) Notice is hereby given that the polling places listed below will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., on May 1, 2021, for voting in a general and special election to elect Trustees to the Liberty Hill Independent School District Board of Trustees.

Monday, April 19 - Saturday, April 24 8:00am - 6:00pm NO SUNDAY VOTING Monday, April 26 and Tuesday, April 27 7:00am - 7:00pm

Page 5

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THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT Thursday, April 1, 2021 Page 6

Lady Panthers’ first two playoff games like night and day By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor The first was a tightly contested game, and the second an early knockout, but the Lady Panthers, who took to the road for their first two playoff games, notched a pair of shutouts and have advanced to the third round. After shaking off some early-game lethargy from the long ride Friday in the playoff opener against Canyon in New Braunfels, the Lady Panthers showed why indeed they had prevailed in a difficult district with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the No. 4-seeded Cougars. Goals by Piper Tabor, Neeley Giessinger and Emma Stephens were all the Lady Panthers needed in seeing off a pesky side playing on its own patch in a contest of which the entire first half was contested under sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures. According to head coach Darren Bauer, the logistical side of the journey south certainly didn’t help his team get off to the cracking start he would’ve wanted them to. “We had a long ride down

harbinger of the kind of game the senior midfielder was going to have. In the 21st minute Emma Stephens made a determined run down the left flank as the junior midfielder also provided the Cougars defense with a preview of what they would see time and again as the proceedings unfolded. Tabor found herself alone with the ball in space and three defenders between her and the Canyon goal in the 25th minute, but with no support on the play, the gritty striker took the defense on herself and still managed to pull the trigger on a shot which missed just wide. However, the next time she got the ball in the 28th minute, Tabor made no mistake as she gathered up a perfectly-placed through ball off the boot of Mykenna Russo and found herself one-on-one with the keeper before coolly slotting home SHANNON HOFMANN PHOTO past a sprawled netminder for a Liberty Hill’s Piper Tabor (#13) scored the game’s opening goal in the Lady Panthers’ 3-0 first-round playoff win over Canyon. 1-0 Liberty Hill lead. Giessinger then came off the with a lot of traffic and it was a The game began with some an onrushing attacker, which Madi Fuller tested the Can- bench to give Tabor a breather hot day, which we’re not used anxious moments for the vis- left the senior netminder with yon keeper with a shot from up top and immediately made to,” said Bauer. “But, in the itors, including a goalmouth a small knot above one eye, distance in the 12th minute, an impact on the game by second half, we played much collision between Liberty Hill as the teams traded possession which was parried away for a better.” goalkeeper Kylee Bush and early on,. Liberty Hill corner, but was a See SOCCER, Page 8

Anchoring the diamond defense Panther catchers learning, improving on the job

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Carson Riley (#1) is steadily maturing in his catching duties for the Panthers – including being able to help guide pitchers through rough patches.

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Entering this season, Liberty Hill head baseball coach Steve Hutcherson had a concern as far as who would crouch behind the plate for the Panthers as they kicked off life as a Class 5A club. However, it wasn’t one which he hasn’t had before. “In my 16 years of coaching, I’ve always been concerned with catching,” said Hutcherson, currently in his third season in the Liberty Hill dugout. “But, this year, a little more so.” Reason being during his first two seasons as Panthers head coach, Hutcherson had a pair of rocks behind the plate in seniors Kory Schmidt two years ago and Dillon Pogue last season. But, entering this year, it was an entirely different story altogether, with two younger backstops in sophomore Carson Riley and junior Garrett Neeley the primary options. “It was tough at first with two newer guys back there,” said Hutcherson. “We didn’t know what we were going to get.” Suffice to say, he’s been

pleased thus far with what the duo has done in switching off their duties behind the dish this spring. “When we looked at both of them in the fall, we were thinking we just had a couple guys who were going to be serviceable,” he said. “But, both have really gotten the job done and have made us better.” Riley is certainly enjoying his first varsity playing time in the position he’s played all his life. “I like being back there and being able to see the entire field,” said Riley, who first became a catcher after showing prowess as a street hockey goaltender. “I feel like I’m in control of the whole game.” According to Riley, it took some time to warm up to catching after also having played second base in youth baseball, but it soon began to grow on him once he had an epiphany, he said . “Once I started playing there consistently, I started to get good at it,” said Riley. “Once that happened, I started to like it more and now I’m in love with it.” Riley acknowledges there is

certainly a price to be paid, though. “Just the grind of it,” he said. “Blocking balls in the dirt and so forth in very taxing on your body.” Earlier this season in a game, Riley was hit on his left elbow by a swinging bat, but for the most part, has remained relatively unscathed during his duty. But, that’s only the physical side of the position. Just as important – if not more – is the mental aspect and the ability to be able to guide a pitcher past patches of turbulence in the heat of battle, said Hutcherson. “Both Carson and Garrett are still learning that part of the game,” he said. “But, they’re both starting to understand how crucial they are as far as being able to keep pitchers under control.” Like during the Panthers’ district game against Rouse recently when Riley was catching freshman Blaze Milam and the young hurler ran into trouble in the fourth inning after breezing through the first four

See DEFENSE, Page 8

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Reese Albrecht (#14) dives for a ball in right field during the Lady Panthers’ 7-4 home loss to Cedar Park.

SOFTBALL BRIEFS

Georgetown 10, Liberty Hill 0 The Lady Panthers could muster only two hits in a 10-0 home district loss to No. 15 Georgetown. Reese Albrecht singled in the second and fifth innings, but that was all the Liberty Hill offense on the evening, while the Eagles scored runs in all five innings before the game was called due to the 10-run rule. Ashleigh Heiderscheit started and got the loss for the Lady Panthers, allowing five runs on

five hits in 2 1/3 innings with one strikeout and two baseson-balls, then was relieved by Hannah Kline, who worked the final 2 2/3 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. Cedar Park 7, Liberty Hill 4 The Lady Panthers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning against Cedar Park, but allowed the Timberwolves to score a combined five runs in the third and fourth innings on the way to a 7-4 home loss.

Katelyn Castleberry went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Albrecht also drove in a run. Kylie Kirk suffered the loss for the Lady Panthers, allowing five runs on four hits, while striking out seven and walking three in 3 2/3 innings. Liberty Hill (12-13-1, 3-7) will next play at Marble Falls on April 1, then host Leander on April 9.

Liberty Hill’s Tannis Brewer (#13) is valuable at the plate as a leadoff hitter and in the field at third base for the Lady Panthers.

Creating chaos at the top Third baseman critical at bat, in field

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Tannis Brewer has a job description which is fairly simple at the top of the Lady Panthers’ lineup. “Create chaos,” said Brewer, a senior third baseman who is also the team’s leadoff hitter. “I need to be putting the ball into play.” Brewer certainly has a knack for doing exactly that, as she is currently hitting .333 on the season, with 18 runs scored and 13 runs batted in – both

of which are tops on the team. According to Brewer, it’s imperative she gets on base in order to set the offensive tone for her teammates. “Getting hits is contagious,” said Brewer, who has committed to play at Alvin Community College next season. “We want pitchers to have to work a lot.” Once Brewer reaches base safely is when the fun really begins, as she looks to cause havoc on the basepaths and in doing so, upset the rhythm of

both pitcher and catcher, she said. “If the catcher’s more focused on the runner than the batter, she won’t do as well at framing pitches,” said Brewer. “At all times, we want the defense to have to work a little harder.” In the field, Brewer specializes in preventing runs for the opposition at her customary spot along the third-base line, where half the battle is

See BREWER, Page 8

Thursday, April 1, 2021

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Page 7

PANTHER OF THE WEEK

SCOTT AKANEWICH PHOTO

Kyndal Carpenter, left, enjoys being part of the Panthers’ 4x400-meter relay team due to the team aspect, as opposed to individual competition.

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

Liberty Hill’s Kash Durkin (#24) waits for a pickoff throw during the Panthers’ 13-3 home win against Marble Falls.

BASEBALL BRIEFS

Liberty Hill 13, Marble Falls 3 The Panthers scored nine runs in the opening two innings in a 13-3 home win over Marble Falls, which was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule. Logan Dyer drove in three runs for Liberty Hill with a pair of singles, while Jackson Knox and Kash Durkin plated a pair of runs apiece. Ryan Leary doubled, tripled and scored a pair of runs in the win, as Logan Bailey got the win on the mound, with three innings of work while allowing two runs on three hits and striking out two. Blaze Milam pitched the final two frames in relief of Bailey, giving up one run on three hits,

with one strikeout. Following three first-inning runs for the Panthers, the Mustangs answered with a pair in the second to cut the lead to 3-2. However, the home side got those back and then some with a six-run second, highlighted by RBI singles off the bats of Knox, Durkin and Kade Neuenschwander, which extended the Liberty Hill lead out to 9-2 before adding a single run in the third and three more in the fifth for the final margin. Leander 3, Liberty Hill 2 Milam pitched a gem in allowing only two earned runs on seven hits in throwing 116 pitches over 6 2/3 innings. But

the Panthers lost to Leander after Bailey relieved him, getting a ground ball on his only pitch before an error allowed the winning run to cross the plate for the Lions. Leander scored a run in the first, only for Milam to shut them out for the next five innings, while the Panthers plated single runs in the third and fifth frames to take a 2-1 lead before the decisive seventh. Carson Riley drove in both runs for the visitors with a single and an RBI groundout. Liberty Hill (15-7-1, 4-1) are now in a three-way tie for first in the district with Cedar Park and Leander and will next play at Georgetown on April 1 before returning home to host Glenn on April 9.

6 players earn academic all-state recognition

Six Lady Panthers basketball players were named Academic All-State by the Texas Girls Coaches Association. Jessica Holliday, Morgan Jackson, Ashton Jordan, Taylor Swieczkowski, Olivia Shelton and Avery Harrell were all honored for their outstanding

work in the classroom in addition to be excellent players on the court. The same six Liberty Hill players had previously earned academic all-district status. On the court, Holliday and Baylee Laird were named second-team all-district, while

Emma Hubbard and Morgan Jackson were honorable mention. In addition, Holliday and Laird were selected to play in the Chicken Express All-Star Classic, to be held in Kerrville later this month.

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor Anyone who watches the Lady Panthers’ soccer squad toil tirelessly on the training pitch should never be surprised at anything they’re able to do during games. However, sometimes this coming of fruition blossoms even more bountifully than usual. Witness their performance in a 3-0 opening-round shutout victory over Canyon, for example. Aside from the obvious aspects such as goals, assists and saves, what truly sets Liberty Hill’s female footballers apart from their opponents are all the little things they do so masterfully over the course of a contest. You know, the proverbial things that don’t show up on the scoresheet – but are absolutely critical to success. For example, take Mykenna Russo. The senior midfielder has an uncanny knack of receiving the ball, while at the same time using her body to shield it from a defender, then all in one motion, spinning around a leaving said opponent in her wake as she barrels onward toward goal. But, it’s all of the Lady Panthers who consistently display the composure to always know

what they’re going to do with the ball before they even get it – as if their soccer brains have summed up the situation and made a split-second decision as to what the best option is. When opponents simply panic and boot the ball for the sake of it to nobody in particular and hope for the best, the Lady Panthers never make a pass which doesn’t have a purpose. For some reason, this symphony of soccer was more evident in the game against Canyon. Perhaps it was because the proceedings were played largely illuminated by a late-afternoon sun, making subtleties easier to see. Or maybe it was because they were simply even more on point than usual, even by their high standards, due to the stakes suddenly being higher. Probably a bit of both. Emma Stephens is the conductor of this orchestra, working her midfield magic as if the ball is attached to her by a string, as the junior weaves her way in and around the defense looking for the best option in distribution. At the tip of the Purple-andGold spear are strikers Piper Tabor and Kailey Fowler, who are relentless in refusing to be muscled off the ball while making countless runs in behind the opposition’s back line in order to get onto the end of one of Stephens’ pinpoint passes. Tabor showed the calm, cool, collected nature of an assassin on the first goal of the game,

when she broke in on goal and deftly beat the keeper with a slotted shot which found a corner of the goal. Many forwards would’ve either overthought, hesitated or both in such a situation, but Tabor made it look as easy as you like in quickly sizing up the chance and burying it in the back of the net. But, back to practice. None of this precision could be possible without the painstaking work head coach Darren Bauer has his charges put in day in, day out. Bauer is a strict taskmaster who expects nothing less than perfection from his troops down to the smallest of details in the possession-based game his side employs. Drills are carried out with a sense of urgency and purpose to the point where muscle memory kicks in during games, allowing instinct to take over when there’s no time for anything else. Many teams have neither the will nor the determination to approach the game the way the Lady Panthers do, which is what has allowed them to carry on with the business of winning this season in their first campaign as a Class 5A club, one which included yet another district title. If ever there was team which exemplifies “practice makes perfect,” it’s certainly these young ladies. Just look closely – beyond the box score – and you’ll see.

Lady Panthers excel at the little things

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Panther junior geared for speed on the track

By SCOTT AKANEWICH Sports Editor When Kyndal Carpenter gets into the starting blocks, there’s only one thing on her mind. Speed. “I don’t like to have to pace myself,” said Carpenter, a Liberty Hill junior who runs the 100 meters and 4x400-meter relay. “I just go as hard as I can.” Carpenter has been running track since seventh grade and has also played basketball and softball, but has made the decision to stick strictly with running these days. “I think track will take me further,” she said. “So, I decided to focus more on it.” One thing that made the decision to give up hoops easier was a broken nose she suffered in a junior varsity game last season. “I was guarding somebody and didn’t see the screen that was set, so I ran right into someone’s shoulder,” said Carpenter. “It didn’t really hurt much, but it was bleeding a whole lot.” There is one thing she does miss about being out on the court, though. “Track is more of an individ-

ual sport,” she said. “I miss having a team to play with.” Having to get used to tougher competition this year against Class 5A schools is something Carpenter and her Panthers teammates have dealt with, but it still seems a bit odd, she said. “It really doesn’t seem like we’re that big of a school,” she said. “But, this year’s been a lot different because of being up against bigger schools.” Carpenter – who usually runs the second leg of the 4x400 – said she enjoys the relays more so than the individual events. “I think the 4x400 is the most entertaining to watch,” she said. “I also like the team aspect of it.” At the Panthers’ meet in Burnet this season, Carpenter and teammates Bella Brethower, Elise Eckford and Lexi Whitmore finished second in a time of 4:17.62. Environmental science is what interests her most in the classroom, due to an upbringing that has largely been filled with outdoor activities. “I have all brothers,” said Carpenter. “So, I grew up mostly outside.”

Included in those pursuits is fishing – something which helps her relax, she said. “My family and I go when we get the chance,” said Carpenter. “Fishing is quiet and easy.” Speaking of things that ease her mind, Carpenter said there’s nothing quite like a good, hard workout on the track after a day of using strictly her brain in the classroom. “Track gives me an outlet,” she said. “Running calms me down and makes me feel good after sitting at a desk all day.” Carpenter said she’s interested in pursuing a career as a physical therapist so she can remain in a field she’s already familiar with. “I want to be able to stay in the sports realm,” she said. But, before Carpenter can switch to caring for athletes, she still has plenty of time to be one herself and like most, she has certain superstitions in going about her business. “I’ve found it’s bad luck if you drop the baton in warmups,” she said. “Because that usually means it’s going to happen during the race.”

Page 8

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Thursday, April 1, 2021

TRACK BRIEFS Panthers compete at Bulldog Relays

BURNET -- Liberty Hill visited one of its old stomping grounds in Burnet for the Bulldog Relays, with the Panthers girls and boys victorious in the team standings. The girls’ points total of 195 easily outdistanced Burnet, who posted 168 in the runner-up position. On the individual side, Megan Sims prevailed in the triple jump, with an effort of 3409.50, Kenzie Wise won the high jump with a leap of 4-10, Greta Coker got a victory in the pole vault (9-06), Emma Hiebner won the 3200 meters in 13:01.20, Lexi Whitmore was first in the 100-meter hurdles (17.53), Payton Hanson won the 300-meter hurdles (49.89) and Natalie Roth crossed the finish line first in the 3200 meters (5:59.72) to round out the event winners. Other point-scoring Panthers included Kylie Hutchinson (second, long jump, 16-03), Megan Sims (third, long jump, 15-04), Bella Brethower (sixth, long jump, 14-08, fourth, triple jump, 33-05.30), Haley Kuhlmann (third, triple jump, 3304), Emma Hubbard (fourth, high jump, 4-04), Taylor Sims

Soccer

Continued from Page 6

breaking in on goal with teammate Kailey Fowler in forcing a save by the Canyon keeper. The near-miss must have further energized Giessinger as the freshman flashed the form she has added this season to an already potent Lady Panthers attack with a sublime shot from 30 yards out which arced over the head of the keeper for a 2-0 Liberty Hill advantage in the 30th minute. Senior midfielder Abbey Janicek had a shot saved in the 35th minute, as the visitors continued to apply pressure, but the game went to the half, 2-0. Canyon came out a more determined team at the outset of the second stanza and quickly tested Bush, breaking in on her goal in the opening moments, only to be repelled by the keeper.

Brewer

(third, discus, 98-09), Roth (800 meters, second, 2:32.97), Hanson (second, 100-meter hurdles, 17.66), Elise Eckford (second, 400 meters, 1:04.01), Whitmore (second, 300-meter hurdles, 51.21) and Hiebner (second, 1600 meters, 6:01.65. In the relays, the 4X100 team of Hutchinson, Kyndal Carpenter, Megan Sims and Hayden Harris finished third in 53.01, Brethower, Hutchinson, Hanson and Megan Sims were second in the 4x200 in 1:52.10 and in the 4x400, Brethower, Carpenter, Eckford and Whitmore were second in 4:17.62. Liberty Hill’s boys won the team event with 178 points to Lampasas, who was second with 171. Individually, Kaden McMahan won the triple jump with an effort of 44-06 and the 200 meters in 23.74, Coltan Harbour was first in the 110-meter hurdles in 17.00 and Mattvey Carter won the 100 meters (11.85). Other top-six Liberty Hill finishers included Bryce Rampy (second, long jump, 20-03.50), Austin Bourgeois (fourth, long jump, 19-10.50, second, 200 meters, 24.07), Collin Lyons (fifth, long jump, 19-01.50, third, triple jump, 40-05),

Stephens had an answer for that attack, as she sped down the right flank and sent a sumptuous cross into the box where Janicek got on the end of it, but the Cougars keeper was up to the task. Finally, in the 47th minute, Fuller heaved a long throw-in along the left sideline, which Stephens expertly chested to her feet before taking flight down the wing. After making a move around a Canyon defender, Stephens cut the ball back to her favored right foot and unleashed a curling shot into the upper right corner of the net, giving the keeper no chance and Liberty Hill a commanding 3-0 lead. Stephens said she recognized an opening in the Canyon defense and quickly took advantage.

Continued from Page 6

properly positioning oneself before the ball is even put in play, she said. “The most difficult part of playing third is knowing when to play in and when to stay back,” said Brewer. “Usually I’ll move in against lefties because most at this level are slap hitters who have a head start to first.” Once her playing days at Liberty Hill are done after this season, Brewer will move on to the junior college located 225 miles away, just southeast of Houston, where she will begin life as a member of the Lady Dolphins softball squad – a choice she made based on a couple primary factors. “Alvin’s a good opportunity for me,” she said. “Going to a two-year school will let me get more experience and be a good head start to transfer to a four-year university because I’ll get more playing time. Also, the community there reminds me a lot of Liberty

Hill.” Speaking of which, there’s one aspect of college life which will be most difficult for her to initially deal with, she said. “I’ll miss not having all my people around me,” said Brewer. One of those people is older brother Brady, a former Liberty Hill athlete who is currently playing football at Sam Houston State, and someone she uses for inspiration and motivation – although she’s not necessarily trying to live up to anyone else. “Brady has set an example for me of how to work hard,” she said. “There’s no pressure or anything – I just need to do what I can to be successful.” Like Brady, she also played multiple sports all the way up to her senior year, when she finally decided to focus strictly on softball and attributes much of her success so far to the benefits of playing more than one sport.

SCOTT AKANEWICH PHOTO

Liberty Hill’s Ryan Achumuma handed the baton to teammate Mattvey Carter during the 4x200-meter relay at the Bulldog Relays in Burnet. Konner Bye (fourth, triple jump, 40-1.50), Kasyn Herman (fifth, shot put, 35-09), Blake Wilson (third, discus, 122-02), Bryson Webb (fourth, discus, 110-04.50), Isaiah Delagarza (second, 3200 meters, 10:11.02, third, 1600 meters, 4:55.67), Jackson Hope

(third, 3200 meters, 10:24.80), Cayden Branch (fourth, 3200 meters, 10:52.33, fifth, 800 meters, 2:09.91), Jacob Russell (second, 800 meters, 2:06.28), Ryan McCarn (fourth, 800 meters, 2:06.70, second), Carlton Schrank (fourth, 100 meters, 12.16),

Jack Philpott (fifth, 400 meters, 54.27), John Glenn (sixth, 400 meters, 55.43, fourth, 1600 meters, 4:56.56), John Gilbert (fourth, 300-meter hurdles) and Harbour (sixth, 300-meter hurdles, 48.58). In the relays, Carter, Ryan Achumuma, Schrank and Mc-

Mahan won the 4x200 meters in a time of 1:32.29, with the team of Philpott, Gilbert, Achumuma and Bye winning the 4x400 in 3:30.85 and the quartet of Rampy, Bourgeois, McMahan and Schrank was third in the 4x100 meters in 44.89.

“I just saw a wide-open gap and attacked it,” she said. In addition, she said getting another goal at 2-0 was massive in taking away any hope the home team still had at that point of getting back into the game. “Once you get that third goal, it makes all the difference,” said Stephens. “I think it would’ve been different if they could’ve kept it at 2-0.” Bauer said the play on which Stephens scored was something which has been simmering in the Lady Panthers’ pot for some time now. “We’ve been working on that shot with Emma since the summer,” he said. “So, it was nice to finally see it pay off.” But, there was still over a half-hour remaining before the Lady Panthers could claim victory and Canyon doggedly

pursued each and every chance they had as one would expect with its season hanging in the balance. However, from the point from which Stephens scored onward, Liberty Hill slowly took the air out of the ball by playing more of a possession game, not needed to push forward for any additional goals. “At that point, we just wanted to kill off the game,” said Bauer. But, try telling that to Fuller, who continued to relentlessly assault the Cougars’ defense time and again, with her perfect blend of speed, skill and grit, coming close in the 73rd and 76th minutes, which was no surprise to Bauer, he said. “Well, that’s just Madi,” said Bauer. “She’s going to keep giving you everything she has regardless of the score.” Senior center back Bryden Bourgeois had an inspired performance in shepherding the Lady Panthers’ back four and provided a physical presence throughout, which didn’t go unrecognized by Bauer. “Bryden was top-notch tonight,” he said. “She just took care of business.”

and a 1-0 lead. Only four minutes later, in the seventh, Russo hit the post off another Fuller corner, then crashed one off the post a second time from 25 yards out, only this time Tabor was there to pounce on the rebound and put it away. Finally, Medina Valley got its first shot on goal in the 25th minute – only to be saved by Bush, but in the 28th, it was Tabor once again who broke in on goal in pursuit of a loose ball and slotted past the keeper for a 3-0 advantage. Russo and Janicek added goals in the 31st and 40th minutes, respectively and Liberty Hill had a comfortable 5-0 lead at halftime. Once the second half began, it didn’t take Russo long to complete her hat trick, as she scored twice inside 60 seconds on passes from Stephens and Fowler – both in the 44th minute – to make it 7-0. Cordelia Brown closed the scoring with a lovely free kick from 30 yards out after Fowler had been fouled in the 68th minute to provide the final margin of victory. Russo – who would’ve had five goals if she hadn’t hit the post twice – said the difference between the Lady Panthers’ game against Canyon compared to the latest win was a matter of being fully back in the swing. “We had two weeks off between games before the first one,” she said. “I think we were more ready tonight.” Bauer lavished Russo with much praise after yet another complete, all-around performance by the senior midfielder. “Mykenna’s one of our top

players,” he said. “She can do it all.” Going into the contest, the Lady Panthers already knew their next opponent after Dripping Springs had defeated Harlandale, 6-0, the previous evening. As a result, Bauer said once the score got out of hand, he and his team were able to take advantage of the situation by beginning to get ready for their contest against the No. 3 Tigers at Westlake High School on Friday at 7 p.m.. “We used the rest of the game to work on some things,” he said. Russo said although it was difficult for them to remain focused once the game had been decided, she and her teammates made sure they did so. “We just had to make sure our heads were still in the right place,” she said. “So, we were reminding each other to keep our heads in the game.” As for their next game, Russo said she’ll deal with butterflies in the build-up, but that’s nothing new for her. “I’ve been nervous before each game so far,” she said. “I think about it right up until I go to sleep.” In the season-opener, the Lady Panthers lost to Dripping Springs by a score of 1-0 and Russo said already having seen their next opponent will work in their favor this time around. “I think it will help a lot,” she said. “Because we’ll know what to expect.” Bauer was more straightforward with his assessment. “We’re two really good programs,” he said. “So, it’ll be a battle.”

“I think every sport helps you in a certain way,” said Brewer. “For example, volleyball helps with your reflexes and reaction, while basketball develops speed and agility.” But now, she’s taking the time to ensure she’s ready to make the jump up to college competition. “I decided to only play softball this year because I’m getting ready to leave and I wanted to hone my craft,” she said. “I also wanted to make sure I kept my grades up.” However, despite all the changes she’s about to experience upon her departure, Brewer knows all will be well if she just keeps one thing as her number-one priority at all times regardless of what may come her way. “As long as I put God first because that’s what’s most important to me,” said Brewer. “So, that way, I can be a good role model.”

Liberty Hill 8, Medina Valley 0 Unlike the playoff opener in which it took nearly 30 minutes for the Lady Panthers to find their game legs, they jumped all over Medina Valley from the outset in an 8-0 victory in Fredericksburg. In fact, it only took until the third minute for Janicek to open the scoring with what would prove to be the match-winner, when a cross from Fuller fell at her feet at the back post for an easy tap-in

Defense

Continued from Page 6

frames of the game. “Blaze is pretty good at not overthinking things,” said Riley. “So, I just needed to remind him to keep attacking the hitters.” With an entire staff of pitchers to build rapport with, Riley said getting to know each one of them is the most critical aspect of being able to know

what buttons to push and when for the desired results. “It can be tough at times,” he said. “But, I’m pretty close with everybody. Some people are more composed than others, but if we just execute our game plan, everything should go fine.” Although both can handle the bat reasonable well, any of-

fense they can provide is strictly a bonus, said Hutcherson. “When we have exit meetings with all our players at the end of the fall season, we always tell our catchers we’re not looking at their offensive production,” he said. “Defense is all that matters and saving runs behind the plate.”

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Continued from Page 1 Ross said he hopes to provide an experience for the community that is something outside what many may be familiar with. “I want people to come and enjoy a great family event,” he said. “I want them to experience the western way of life. We want them to see a sporting event that was around before there were football and other sports. Riding a horse was the only way to travel back in the day.”

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BYPASS

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page 4

downtown Liberty Hill approved for funding and construction through the 2019 Williamson County bond package is moving forward with design work. “What we’re doing is we’re also doing improvements on Bagdad, basically from the bypass down south to sort of the

Leander city limits, so we’re coordinating those projects together,” Long said. “We hope to have engineering ﬁnished this year, then get right of way acquired, with a groundbreaking hopefully by early next year,” she said. The second of three sections planned to construct the SH

29 Bypass, the current project would connect RM 1869 to CR 279 on the south side of downtown. Eventually the SH 29 bypass is planned to run south of Liberty Hill from SH 29 west of Liberty Hill High School to SH 29 on the east end of town as a southern loop.

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Former deputies indicted in Travis County

Two former Williamson County deputies have been indicted on second-degree manslaughter charges for the in-custody death of 40-yearold Javier Ambler in 2019. The indictment comes near the second anniversary of Ambler’s death. James Johnson and Zachary Camden were indicted Monday by a Travis County Grand

Jury. The Court set bail in the amount of $50,000 for each and set conditions including a prohibition on employment with law enforcement agencies or security companies. Ambler died after Deputies Johnson and Camden chased him for 22 minutes. The high-speed pursuit started because Ambler did not dim his headlights and continued

into Travis County before the chase ended in a North Austin neighborhood. Body camera video shows ofﬁcers using Tasers on Ambler four times while Ambler screamed multiple times that he suffered from a heart condition and could not breathe. Ambler died shortly after.

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Page 10

LHISD

THE LIBERTY HILL INDEPENDENT

Continued from Page 5

over project because if you keep saying it will grow at the same rate you will be dead wrong,” Silhavy said. That means much more information is needed beyond what can be gathered through available public documents. Gathering data It might seem counterintuitive to work on gathering accurate numbers by having conversations, but that’s where PASA focuses much of its data-gathering effort. “One thing that sets us apart is we don’t just know what’s happening today, we actually interview the cities,” Silhavy said. “What we don’t know about is maybe a development agreement that the city has worked out with a landowner or an annexation agreement. You have to ask about that, you can’t just understand that from a planning and zoning agenda, so we make a point to interview all the local ofﬁcials.” In LHISD that means talking to Liberty Hill, Leander and Georgetown, as well as going to Williamson County regarding the unincorporated portions of the school district. “We have an employee dedicated to traveling around and he collects data on new housing,” Silhavy said. “He gets up to date construction information. He knows how many homes are under construction

at a given point in time.” That means the data gathered beyond housing starts and plats is also information PASA sees as more reliable. “We’re the primary source for most of our information,” Silhavy said. “There’s too much happening too fast to rely on national vendors and that will get you in trouble.” He mentioned Santa Rita Ranch as a prime example of how they gather information. “The biggest community in metro Austin is Santa Rita, and so we don’t just talk to the city,” he said. “I make a point to talk to (Santa Rita developer Ed Horne) every year. He can give me some data that maybe he hasn’t provided the city.” A look at projected housing starts shows that Santa Rita is expected to lead the way with 3,305 new starts between now and 2030, followed by nine other developments with well over 8,000 starts combined in that time. Conversations can be about where houses will be going next as well as what is happening with infrastructure, looking at plans for water and wastewater lines or new roads, citing the example of the new water line headed west in Liberty Hill to service the new Butler Farms subdivision. “What other developers will be able to do is tie into that, so we have to get an under-

standing of where these lines are going and how much capacity there is,” Silhavy said. “We know to look at the clues. We need to know what’s about to happen, not what already is and what statistics are showing us.” Beyond trends in the district as a whole is the need to drill down to look at much smaller areas, which ends up being critical in planning where to plan new schools and when to begin searching for land to purchase. “We need to know the details, like where the homes are going to be built,” Silhavy said. “That matters for attendance boundaries. A developer may be building in two different attendance boundaries, so we need to know where they will pick the pace up or why they think the pace will slow down. What the next moves are.” The district is divided into planning units to get even more speciﬁc data. “We do that speciﬁcally to plan for new locations for new schools,” he said. “We can break the district up into these areas and then that allows us to have these small units of geography to work with. We call them catchment areas and it helps us pinpoint how many students in each grade level are going to be living in these planning areas. All of our data is all fed into these plan-

Thursday, April 1, 2021

ning areas and it is constantly changing. As the district opens up new campuses that changes the plan, so we have to update this annually.” Other critical date to be collected revolves around economic growth, job growth, and population age, though this data is far less speciﬁc to an area. “It’s not like we know where everyone lives that takes a job, but we have to look at what’s happening in the entire region, and what we know about the Austin region right now is it is nearly fully recovered from the COVID losses,” Silhavy said. Once the data is in hand, the next hurdle is putting it all together in a useful manner that will result in reliable projections. “It is all important and I always look at it as layers,” Silhavy said. “We have data that’s student information. All of that is layered on new housing information, which is layered upon our current school data and attendance zones. Then we will have other variables that add other layers and then the overall economic aspect of it is important, too.” Reliability The district began working with PASA in late 2019, just before the impact of COVID-19 began to show four months later. According to Silhavy, LHISD

had never projected or grown by more than 400 before 2019, and that years was 488. The first projection from PASA was considerably higher. “I was very hesitant,” he said. “I was nervous to project over 600, which is what we did, and it turns out they grew by 660. It kind of validated our work there. We’ve worked with districts that have gone through the very same thing.” The company has a history of projections made for other districts, one of those being Leander ISD, where projections date back nearly 20 years. Projections show in the first few years, the numbers later show that projections to be quite accurate. The numbers are usually within a half percentage in the first two years, then deviate more from there into future years. “We have a pretty high confidence level over the first five years of our projection period,” Silhavy said. “Most of that growth is happening in neighborhoods that are already on the ground, maybe even with people who have moved in that just might not have a kid yet.” Ten-year projections are the biggest challenge, but are updated annually as those years draw closer, bringing the real picture into greater focus. “The truth is the farther you go out the less accurate you’re

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going to be,” Silhavy said. “No one can know 10 years from now what exactly that number is going to look like, or where. It is constantly evolving, so we kind of say the first five years is more solid.” Despite the large numbers area residents see in future projections, Silhavy said PASA leans toward conservative estimates. “I am sure there are people in this community who think we’re crazy,” he said. “That slowly goes away as time goes on and the growth is there to stay. We’ve been conservative, though, and we’d rather the district under build rather than over build because if you over build there are obvious repercussions to that.” The unknowns Even with mountains of data there are still plenty of unknowns and the unexpected when making projections. In 2020 it was COVID-19, but Silhavy said in the last decade PASA has dealt with one surprise after another. “We’ve become experts on that,” Silhavy said, laughing as he reflected on the last five years. “In the Houston metro area we dealt with three years in a row with flooding in different parts of the city, then (Hurricane) Harvey was the cherry on top in 2017. We’ve dealt with tornadoes before in Central and North Texas.” The recession in 2008 was a perfect example of how things can really change on a dime, especially in the housing industry. “What happened in 2008 was an immediate halt to that growth, and then you also a year or two later started seeing fewer babies born,” he said. “Then you had a two-pronged problem with no new homes built, no one moving and fewer babies a few years later, and that affected a lot of districts for a while.” The boom today is reflective of the numbers demographers saw prior to 2008. Silhavy said COVID, though, has been unlike any of the other unexpected turns, and the lesson from that has been different. “We were scratching our heads back in March and April (2020) and we didn’t quite know how this was going to turn out,” he said. “In the Spring we were starting to think about slowing the pace of some of the development because for nearly two months everything shut down. When you see sales are down you can’t project high, the data is not there to support it, but we were wrong. Luckily, we were able to change our train of thought rather quickly once we started getting more sales data, and our guy on the ground was noticing in June and July that things were starting to turn around real fast, and sure enough by August it was a complete 180.” They faced the issues of students not enrolling, parents choosing online school as well as the traditional worries over employment impacts, moves and the economy. “From April to about January of this year we were constantly sitting down and kind of brainstorming what’s going on,” Silhavy said. “We didn’t really start getting good data until about September or October of last year. We’ve had to make some assumptions and that’s been the hard part.”

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