Circle C - October 2022

October news & Announcements

Mark Your Calendars

Important Dates for oct/Nov:

Saturday, October 1, 2022

World Vegetarian Day

Sunday, October 2, 2022

National Custodian Day

Monday, October 3, 202 National Kevin Day!

Wednesday, October 5, 2022 World Teachers’ Day

Monday, October 10, 2022

Indigenous Peoples’ Day (formerly Columbus Day)

World Mental Health Day

Friday, October 14, 2022

Food Trailer Night at Circle Community Center

Saturday, October 22, 2022

2nd Semi-Annual Garage Sale

Monday, October 24, 2022

Annual BOO BASH at the Circle C

Community Center-- 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 6:30pm–8:30pm - Circle C HOA Board Meeting at the Community Center

Also Available Via Zoom. Check Email or Visit www.circlecranch.com for Link.

Friday, October 28, 2022

National First Responders Day

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Holiday Times Market

Monday, October 31, 2022 Halloween

Saturday/Sunday, November 5-6, 2022

Austin Studio Tour @ Circle C - Weekend #1

Sunday, November 6, 2022

Daylight Savings Ends –Turn Clocks Back One Hour

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Election Day – Circle C Community Center Provides Voting

Friday, November 11, 2022

Veterans Day – To Our Circle C Veterans, Thank You for Your Service

Saturday/Sunday, November 12-13, 2022

Austin Studio Tour @ Circle C – Weekend #2

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Circle C Baker’s Bazaar & Holiday Market

Thursday, November 24, 2022 Thanksgiving Day

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

6:30pm–8:30pm - Circle C HOA Board

Meeting at the Community Center.

Also Available Via Zoom. Check Email or Visit www.circlecranch.com for Link

** Correction: Resident Mark Johnson is the Circle C resident that donated the first Little Free Library (LFL) for use at the Circle C Swim Center. His last name was incorrectly stated in the “Little Free Libraries of Circle C” article of our Sept 2022 issue.

CCHOA Board Meeting

The Circle C HOA Board of Directors meets the last Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm. The next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at the Circle C Community Center(also available via ZOOM).

Links to the ZOOM meetings and meeting agendas may be found on the CircleCRanch.com website under the “Resources” tab. Homeowners must be logged onto the site to view agendas and find the link to the ZOOM meetings. Homeowners may sign up to speak at the meeting by calling the HOA manager at 512-288-8663 or emailing info@ circlecranch.info.

Announcements

IN THIS ISSUE:

In Honor of National First Responders Day, this issue features 3 Articles on Our Resident First Responders:

Brett Ketchum, Fire Specialist

Brett Ketchum’s daily regimen at Fire Station 16 begins with hours of tough mental and physical training so that he and his crew remain prepared and ready for emergency calls

-Jason Freitag, Paramedic and STARFlight Nurse

That yellow and blue helicopter that you sometimes see circling around Circle C? There’s a good chance that Circle C resident Jason Freitag is inside.

Matt Schickel, EMS Captain and Paramedic

He enjoys telling stories about his work and sharing advice about his favorite neighborhood taco place. He also shares his words of wisdom on keeping our kids safe.

-Giving Back on My Birthday

Teen Resident Diya Dudhara organized a blood drive at the community center.

Watering Restrictions:

Please visit your water providers website to view current watering restrictions.

City of Austin: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/ watering-restrictions

Midtex (SouthWest Water Company): https://swwc.com/texas/ drought

Scoop the Poop & Leash Laws

We receive many complaints of residents either not picking up their dog’s poop or not properly disposing of bagged poop. Please do not toss bagged poop into our community landscaping. Instead, be a responsible pet owner and pick up after your dog, then deposit the bag into one of our community trash cans or in your own personal trash at home.

We would also like to remind pet owners that the City of Austin’s leash ordinance requires pet owners to keep all dogs, no matter how well-behaved, under restraint except when in designated off-leash parks. Our Circle C Metropolitan Park is NOT an offleash park, so dogs are required to be leashed at all times. For a list of off-leash parks in Austin, visit https://www.austintexas.gov/ department/leash-areas. Another good resource with reviews is: https://www.bringfido.com/attraction/parks/city/austin_tx_us/

HOA Mgmt Office

HOA Financial Office

info@circlecranch.info or 512.288.8663

..tgiles@mgilescpa.com or 512.451.9901

Aquatics Director director@ccswim.net or 512.363.5578

Newsletter Publisher Peel, Inc. advertising@PEELinc.com or 512.263.9181

Circle C Amenities

Circle C Avaña Pool 512.292.1518

Circle C Café 512.288.6058

Circle C CDC 512.288.9792

Circle C Swim Center

Circle C Community Center Pool 512.301.8259

Grey Rock Golf Course (City Owned/Operated) 512.288.4297

Grey Rock Tennis Club

Circle C Grey Rock Pool 512.291.8398

CIRCLE C GATED COMMUNITIES

Spectrum Management

Relevant Management

Enclave off Spruce Canyon

Krystal Fernandez, 512.834.3900

Enclave off of La Crosse

Fairways Estates

Kim Todd, 512.580.4212

Spectrum Management Krystal Fernandez, 512.834.3900 Park West

Goodwin Management

Marilyn Childress 512.502.7509

Hillside Estates

Real Manage Christine Gamache, 866.473.2573

Relevant Management

Avana Estates

Muirfield

Kim Todd, 512.580.4212

Real Management Victoria Escamilla, 866.473.2573

Theresa Bastian President Stephen Bega

Vice-President David La Chance Treasurer Trinh Bartlett

on Page 4

Secretary Russ Hodes, Jason Bram, & Kimberly De La Garza

Board Members

Contact the Board at: directors@circlecranch.info

City of Austin Solid Waste 512.974.1945 Dead Animal Collection

Abandoned Vehicle...........................................................512.974.8119

Pothole Complaints

Stop Signs 512.457.4885

Street Light Maintenance 311 Schools

Clayton Elementary 512.841.9200

Kiker Elementary 512.414.2584

Mills Elementary 512.841.2400

Bear Creek Elementary

Cowan Elementary

Bailey Middle

Gorzycki Middle School 512.841.8600 Bowie High School 512.414.5247

UTILITY PROVIDERS

Electric Pedernales Elec.

City of Austin.

Texas Gas Service

512.219.2602

Water City of Austin 512.972.1000

MidTex Water Company 866.654.7992

Solid Waste City of Austin 512.974.1945

Post Office Oak Hill Station 800.275.8777

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Announcements - Continued from page 3

Food trailer night

Join us Friday, Oct 14th from 5:00pm–8:00pm at the Community Center at Spruce Canyon and La Crosse for good food, fun activities, and great company. Please remember, glass is not permitted at this event. We encourage neighbors to walk or ride to the party but ask that scooters, bikes, skateboards, etc. not be ridden through the parking lot for the safety of those in attendance. More information about this event, including the food trailer lineup, will be posted on our website at www.circlecranch. com under the “Stay Connected” / “News & Announcements” tab.

Circle C Community Wide Garage Sale

Recycle/Shred/Donate at the Community Center!

Mark your calendars! On October 22, 2022, from 8am–5pm, the CCHOA will host our second community-wide garage sale of the year. Our HOA will advertise the event at https://gsalr. com/n/circle-c-hoa-austin-tx,and homeowners that would like to participate and sell items in their front yard or driveway are welcome to visit the website and add their individual addresses to the event.

Electronics Recycling, Paper Shredding, & Salvation Army

Also on Saturday, October 22, 2022, from 10am–2pm (or earlier if the trucks fill up) 3 trucks will be parked at the Community Center to provide the following services for the convenience of our residents:

1. R2 Resource Recycling will accept old electronics to recycle until the truck is full.

2. Intel Armor will shred paper on site

3. The Salvation Army will be available to take donations until the trucks are full.

About our Newsletter:

The Circle C Homeowners Association (HOA) has partnered with Peel, Inc. to publish our monthly newsletter gratis for our residents. We target our content to keep homeowners updated on appropriate Circle C announcements and notices. In addition to the printed version, residents may find past newsletters on the Peel.com website with a search for “Circle C.” However, the most current news and announcements may be found at https:// CircleCRanch.com.

Articles herein are intended to offer information that might be of use to our residents and to share current or historical events. We do not provide legal, medical, or expert advice but welcome input from our neighbors with expertise. We would love to hear from you!

Request for Nominations:

We are always interested in nominations of our wonderful residents for our recurring features below:

• “Spotlight on a Circle C Teen”—If you know impressive neighborhood teenagers that might be interested in being featured in an article showcasing their accomplishments, please feel free to reach out to us at the contact information below.

• “Angels Among Us”—Also, if you know extraordinary residents that are changing lives in some way, please reach out to us for consideration in our “Angels Among Us” recurring feature. Please note that, in an effort not to interfere with our advertisers that fund this publication, we may not promote or mention businesses. We also do not publish letters or op-eds because we wish to keep our newsletter factual and neutral. Thank you for your understanding and for being a part of our community.

Inclusivity:

Our Circle C HOA strives to be inclusive of all our residents. If there is an important cultural event or religious holiday that our homeowners wish to see on our newsletter calendar, please contact us at info@circlecranch.info with information about the event along with historical relevance so we may consider adding the event.

Teenage Job Seekers!

COntact Information:

Do you know a teenager who would like to earn some extra money? Babysitting, house sitting, pet sitting, yard work, & tutoring are just a few of the tasks that teen job seekers have been requesting.

Our Circle C HOA manager may be reached at Info@ CircleCRanch.info or by phone at 512-288-8663. Our newsletter writer may may be reached at CCWriter@CircleCRanch.info.

If you or someone you know is interested in being added to the list, please submit their name, number, contact information, and job interests to reservations@circlecranch. info. The information is published in the printed, hard copy of the monthly newsletter and is never accessible in the online edition. For questions or to get further information, please contact the Community Coordinator at the email above or call 512-288-8663.

Although his shift begins at noon, Brett Ketchum usually arrives to work around 11:30am and starts his day by first thoroughly checking the apparatus (fire truck) and other equipment at Fire Station 16 (near North Lamar Boulevard and Justin Lane). Then, he and his crew attend a meeting to discuss department business and determine the plans for the shift. After eating lunch together, the crew leaves the station for territory organization and crew training. They practice forcible entry and hose handling skills, study territory maps, tour mid-rise buildings to review preplanning firefighting tactics, study medical Clinical Operating Guidelines, and refresh their medical skills.

Following up to 2 hours of these outdoor physical activities, the crew returns to Fire Station 16 to begin their physical training. Each firefighter does his own individual workout before joining together as a team for hard cardiovascular work. “Firefighter John Zule chooses the group workouts, and the rule is that the ‘old guys’ are not allowed to complain about the length or the difficulty,” Brett explains. Finally, time permitting, they eat dinner together. Such is the life of a firefighter, or at least of Fire Specialist Brett Ketchum. Of course, this regimen is subject to interruption by emergency calls. In that case, the workout is pushed to a later time, with dinner pushed further into the night. With daily regimens with this much exertion, the crew

is usually exhausted by nighttime.

“I’m extra talkative when I’m tired but the other crew members get cranky, so they usually count down the last few hours until the shift is over,” states Brett.

Brett chose to be a firefighter because he “wanted to help people and work with like-minded people.” He thought firefighting “sounded fun” so he decided to try it. His cadet training at Austin Fire Department (AFD) Training Academy lasted 6 months followed by another 6 months of on-the-job-probationary training. During this first year of training, constant drills and testing are given to help new firefighters master the basics of firefighting and EMT work.

After that, a firefighter learns about building construction and how it affects fire behavior as well as how to drive and operate the fire truck. For the rest of their fire career, firefighters are expected to continue their education and maintain crew and company level training.

A firefighter’s most rewarding moments are, of course, when they save lives and prevent the spread of fire. Brett says that his most rewarding moment was a time after they arrived at an apartment fire that had spread from the bottom floor of a building to the interior of both a first and second floor apartment as well as into the attic above those two units. The building had 12 units total and, “from the velocity of fire that we observed upon arrival, I thought we would lose at least the next 6 units.” Instead, his crew was able to limit the fire to only those 2 units and their attic and prevent it from spreading further. “It was the most successful fire of my career,” Brett exclaims, “because we had not expected to put such a quick stop to it.”

In contrast, “the most difficult part of the job for me,” he says, is “treating hurt people, particularly children.”

Speaking of children, Brett does have some advice for parents. “Have your kids sleep with their doors closed to protect them from smoke and heat in the case of a house fire at night.”

Brett doesn’t work in Circle C, but enjoys living here. “My wife Lindsay researched the best public elementary schools so that we could start our home search in those areas,” he explains. When they discovered Circle C Ranch, Lindsay was 3 months pregnant. Soon after, they moved in their new home “on a cul-de-sac filled with excellent neighbors, within walking distance to the main pool, the Circle C Child Development Center, and one of the best elementary schools in the city. That was our goal and Lindsay made it happen.”

“I feel like people really look out for each other here,” Brett continues. “We have a neighbor who I had always felt kept an eye out for my family while I was away. During ‘Snowpocalypse,’ I came home from 54 straight hours at the station without sleep to find that our neighbor had shoveled the

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snow out of our driveway and the walkway to our front door so that my wife and sons could walk around outside without hurting themselves. It was a gesture that I’ll never forget.”

When asked how we, as a community, could honor him during this special day, he showed his care for his fellow firefighters. “Support a reasonable pay raise for AFD personnel. The city originally offered us a 2.5% raise spread over the next 4 years. The young firefighters on my hardworking fire crew will never be able to afford to live in this neighborhood and have their children attend an Austin public school as great as Kiker. At this rate of inflation and without reasonable pay raises, the handful of AFD personnel who currently live here will be the last generation of firefighters to live in Circle C.”

When asked how we residents could individually best honor him for National First Responders Day on October 28, Brett’s unselfish answer shows how much he cares for the safety of others. “Take a CPR class, drive carefully, and please don’t park in the fire lane at the pool!”

For a man who has dedicated his career to saving us Austinites and

our children, for a man who pushes himself daily to maintain a tough physical and mental regimen so that he and his crew are at the ready should they be the ones that rescue us and our children, this request feels like a small ask.

Thank you, Fire Specialist Brett Ketchum, for your service and dedication to saving our lives.

On a Friday morning on August 9, 2019, a little over three years ago, Circle C resident Bruno Boelstler was driving his car back home from his daily trip to a local market when he suddenly fell unconscious. His car continued, driving up the embankment, and crashing into a rock.

That day, Bruno experienced a full cardiac arrest—a complete stopping of the heart—with no breathing, no pulse, and a sud den collapse. Survival rate of an out-of-hospital person experienc ing cardiac arrest varies across the country, but in general is less than 6%, according to the Insti tute of Medicine.

Luckily for Bruno, Circle C resi dent Jason Freitag happened to be on his morning run when he noticed the car and jumped into action. Even more luckily for Bruno, Jason knew exactly what to do because he is a paramedic and a STARFlight nurse.

Through CPR, Jason brought Bruno back to life as Emer gency Medical Services (EMS) arrived. “Had it not been for Jason’s skill, quick action, and compassion,” wrote Bruno’s daughter, Karen Boelstler-Hagerty, “Dad would not be here today. I truly believe that God puts extraordinary people in extraordinary situations.”

And, extraordinary is exactly what Jason Freitag is.

Jason works for Travis County STARFlight. “We provide many services to Austin/Travis County and the Central Texas area, supporting all first responders in the area.” His day-today activities range from acting as a first responder for 911/ EMS calls, search and rescue, aerial wildland firefighting, hospital-to-hospital interfacility transfers, and assisting law enforcement agencies.

In addition to saving Bruno, Jason has rescued several other

critically ill, injured, and/or terrified people from various life-threatening situations that include flood waters, wildfires, greenbelt situations, cliffs, and others. His job, he says, is “unique, challenging, and at times scary.”

When asked what drew him to his career, Jason replied, “The simple answer is serving my community. I have always served the community where I lived, played, worked, and now raise my family.”

Jason’s first taste at serving his community occurred when he noticed a need for lifeguards in his community. He signed up to help and soon began teaching swim lessons and water safety. “Ever since then, I have been either in the Emergency Depart ment or out in the community as a paramedic, and now as a STARFlight nurse.”

Jason holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, “which has nothing to do with my current job,” he says. After college, he completed paramedic training (about 20 years ago), then earned a nursing degree. He worked as an ER nurse at Brack enridge before moving to STARFlight six years ago.

This is the kind of guy we want in our neighborhood! And he feels the same way about us. “When we moved to Circle C, we did not fully appreciate or realize the strength of this com munity,” he states. They moved here to our neighborhood for the schools and because they liked Southwest Austin. “Now, we fully appreciate and are grateful for this community and its neighbors. Our family loves the pools, playing outside with neighbors, and exploring the surrounding nature.” Jason also enjoys gardening, running, cycling, and playing pickup soccer games with neighbors.

For kids interested in a career like Jason’s, he would recom mend finding ways where you can help the community in which you live. “I think becoming a lifeguard is a great teenage job where you learn basic first aid, CPR skills, and get to serve the community. These are life skills that everyone should know and they may open the door to future medical careers.”

When asked why he finds his job rewarding, Jason Freitag answers, “It’s cliché to say, but the human aspect of the job is most rewarding. Sometimes it’s not always the tools and technology, but just being there for someone in a time of need, listening, and talking. Secondly, it is always nice to see when

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all the pieces come together in the best interest of a patient. It starts with the bystander, the community, 911, first respond ers, EMS, maybe even STARFlight, the hospital teams, and beyond. When the timing is right and all of these pieces come together, the patients and their families have the best opportu nity for a positive outcome. It’s truly a team effort.”

The hardest part of his job? “There is this constant self-cri tiquing, evaluation, and mental review of how things went. Could I have done something differently or better? Also, over time you can become desensitized to trauma and people’s pain. I have to remind myself of this and not lose sight of humanity.”

It’s hard to imagine this generous man ever losing sight of humanity, however. We asked Jason how we, as a community could best honor him for National First Responders Day, and he replied: “I think reaching out to me and my family like this speaks for itself. Thank you.”

Then he adds, “Maybe, in the future at a community event, I could help coordinate the helicopter coming by for a showand-tell. It probably could be easily done with the help of AFD station 43 (Escarpment).”

So, he turns our question of asking for ideas to help him into finding a way to help his community even more, because that’s the kind of person Jason is.

After Jason saved Bruno’s life, Bruno’s daughter Karen Boel stler-Hagerty exclaimed, “Jason is a humble man, but he is FOREVER our hero!” We couldn’t agree more, Karen. Jason is a hero to every life he has saved, and he is most definitely a hero in our community.

Thank you, Jason Freitag, for your service and dedication to saving our lives.

At no time will any source be allowed to use the Circle C Ranch Newsletter's contents, or loan said contents, to others in any way, shape or form, nor in any media, website, print, film, e-mail, electrostatic copy, fax, or etc. for the purpose of solicitation, commercial use, or any use for profit, political campaigns, or other self amplification, under penalty of law without written or expressed permission from Peel, Inc. The information in the Circle C Ranch Newsletter is exclusively for the private use of the Circle C HOA and Peel, Inc.

DISCLAIMER: The Circle C (HOA) has partnered with Peel, Inc. to publish our monthly newsletter gratis for our residents. We target our content to keep homeowners updated on appropriate Circle C announcements and notices. In addition to the printed version, residents may find past newsletters on the Peel.com website with a search for “Circle C.” However, the most current news and announcements may be found at www.circlecranch.com.

Articles herein are intended to offer information that might be of use to our residents and to share current or historical events. We do not provide legal, medical, or expert advice but welcome input from our neighbors with expertise. We would love to hear from you!

If any of our residents have an idea for an article or would like to nominate a neighborhood teenager or volunteer for a featured article, please feel free to reach out to our HOA manager at info@circlecranch. info or call 512-288-8663. Please note that, in an effort to not interfere with our advertisers that fund this publication, we may not promote or mention businesses. We also do not publish letters or op-eds because we wish to keep our newsletter factual and neutral. Thank you for being a part of our community.

“I would like to take a moment now to help make the readers aware of our identity,” Matt Schickel states. “Not many people know what we do, or the level at which we do our work.”

Matt specializes in emergency medical treatment, working as a paramedic. So, he spends each workday saving lives. On the day we corresponded with Matt, he had returned from a “stand-up 24.” This means—in one shift—he worked 24-hours straight, answering 18 emergency calls while also proctoring a new paramedic to clear for autonomous work. 18 emergency calls in one shift, while proctoring a new worker. That’s a lot of lives to save in a shift while having to keep an eye on someone else.

Matt is a personality. And a half.

“I could tell you about performing technical rescues over the sides of cliffs, hanging from a 100ft rope under a Blackhawk helicopter while training for Hurricane Katrina. I have had a few medical calls that were absolute unicorns, 1 in a billion.”

Take Bylinda, for example. “She was a regular patient of ours and had this one outstanding peccadillo: she would say ‘Godbessyou’ as one word after everything she said. I’m not kidding, she said it after everything!” Matt thinks she “sounded like Karl Childers, Billy Bob Thornton’s character from Sling Blade. “You know, Sling Blade, don’t you? ‘I like them fried potatoes-n-mustard. Mmm hmm.’”

Bylinda, according to Matt, “was a frumpy woman and kind of looked like a storybook witch, but she was a human, deserving kindness and respect.” Bylinda “had seizures pretty fierce.”

“When people have seizures,” Matt explains, “their brain essentially experiences a big, electrical storm inside. People know

about the flopping on the floor, but many don’t realize that they aren’t breathing through this. Their entire body’s musculature— including their intercostal muscles and diaphragm (the muscles that make you breath)—contracts all at once. It’s hard to breathe when these muscles cannot contract and relax.”

“A postictal period occurs after a seizure. The patient grows confused and sometimes combative before returning to baseline. You know, ‘the-lights-are-on-but-nobody’s-home’ kind of thing. Sometimes these are short periods, but they can last a long time too.” That was when “sweet Bylinda wasn’t so sweet,” Matt warns. Although Matt is more than happy to share specifics, we will spare our readers the details and simply state that, during her postictal state, Bylinda stopped saying “Godblessyou” to everything and instead shouted out expletives in very public places.

Matt and his team kept Bylinda alive for a long time, but sadly, he learned that Bylinda eventually ended up in a Travis County jail, where her seizures inside her cell were not noticed and she did not survive. Matt did not know why she was jailed, but it was not the place where she belonged.

Matt believes his first job as a lifeguard in 1991 for the City of Austin (CoA) is what drew him to a career in rescuing others. There, he learned water rescue techniques, spinal motion restriction and pool removal, CPR, and first aid. While lifeguarding at Barton Springs Pool one time in 1995, a fellow guard named John asked Matt if he ever thought about becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Matt said “no,” and John suggested that he take the “EMT Basic” class taught by a woman names Maxine Black at Austin Community College (ACC).

“Not only was it one of the few classes that I enjoyed, but it resonated with me and I excelled at it,” Matt shares. “Maxine Black was an amazing woman. At the end of the semester, she asked me, ‘Have you ever thought about becoming a paramedic?’ I told her no and she replied, ‘I think you’d make a great one.’”

About two weeks into their class, Maxine surprised the class by walking in the room–without hair. She had apparently been wearing a wig before and decided to become “unashamed of her baldness and who she was. She was a beautiful human that had lung cancer 3 times. Her left lung had been removed and she

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would mess with us students, especially when teaching us how to auscultate (listen) to the lungs. She would ask, ‘are my lungs clear and equal on both sides?’ Lord help you if you answered ‘yes’ then!”

Maxine had “never smoked a day in her life,” states a baffled Matt. “I have kinda dedicated my career to her because she believed in me when few others ever did.”

After Maxine’s class, Matt took her advice and continued his education, earning an Associate’s Degree from ACC and became an EMT.

The first step of working as an EMT is working as an EMTBasic. One semester at a community college usually provides enough training to test for this level. After working as an EMTBasic (this is the level of many firefighters, according to Matt), the next step up is EMT-Intermediate. Matt describes this as a “weird, ambiguous, not really practical level.” The third step up is to become a certified, EMT-Paramedic level. Typically, preparation for this level involves 40 hours of college coursework with clinicals. Finally, the top level of a paramedic is the licensed paramedic. “This infers an Associate’s Degree and is the preferred level.” Matt is a licensed paramedic. Since then, he has added specialized skills training, like high-angle rescues, water rescues, and others like cave and overland rescues.

“I can proudly state that I went back to school in 2011 to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree in Emergency Management Administration from West Texas A&M University in 2018. Yes, I worked 7 additional years for this, part-time.”

There is another former regular patient of Matt’s whose story he would like to share. A woman named Allison called 911 often because her diabetic husband had developed idiopathic kidney disease and needed to be on a dialysis machine. He had many issues and Allison grew frustrated with worry, their situation, and their multiple 911 calls. So, Matt says, “She was kinda bitchy to me.” Allison’s husband eventually passed away and, years later, Matt noticed Allison in one of his friend’s pictures. He recognized her immediately. Matt’s friend decided to connect them, and he states, “The rest is history.” Matt and Allison are now married.

A self-described “life-long South Austinite,” Matt and his wife, Allison, moved to the Villages of Western Oaks. After some time, when their house felt “a little small and dated,” they considered moving. Although they weren’t focusing on Circle C, somehow, “the stars aligned, and we found our new home in Grey Rock.”

When asked about his thoughts of living in Circle C, Matt

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exclaims, “I LOVE living here, especially in Grey Rock! We have grown to know so many of our neighbors. With everything that I deal with at work, it’s necessary for me to balance the stress with family and peers. Not many of my friends fully understand the toll that my job takes on me, but they are all very supportive and, for that, I’m grateful.” When asked if there is anything about Circle C that he dislikes, Matt replies, “No. I love it here. Especially because JD’s [Market] is right here. Their tacos are BONKERS! You’ve got to get the chorizo, bean, and potato taco. And the carne guisada one too!”

In honor of National First Responders Day, Matt does have a few important requests:

1. “Please, please, please talk to your kids about driving safety! Talk with them about not being on their phone while driving and tell them to speak up if they are in a car and their friends are driving recklessly. I’ve had to be the one to pronounce the death of too many teenagers because of distracted or reckless driving.”

2. “Also, please talk to your kids about fentanyl! Sometimes kids want to experiment and purchase what they think are pills made in labs. They aren’t. Fentanyl is very, very cheap to buy in bulk, so some people make ‘pressers’ using fentanyl to expand the volume. I once heard a reporter ask [someone who did this], ‘Why would you put fentanyl in your pills when you know it will kill your customers?’ They replied, ‘Because we can.’”

3. Last, Matt implores us, his neighbors, to “please lobby the City Manager and City Council Members and advocate for us.”

Austin’s EMS workers are employed by the City of Austin and have been overworked and underpaid for quite some time. The stress is too much for many, so several EMS workers are leaving the field. “We currently have a 26% vacancy rate,” Matt tells us,

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so they had to “down 5 ambulances and 2 demand trucks.” As a result, our ambulances here are often pulled into other areas of town so we are left without coverage.

Austin’s EMS workers have recently been “annihilated as a system, and there is no end in sight.” EMS workers requested a 38% pay raise and the city countered with 1%. “This, after COVID and 2 ice storms!” exclaims Matt. “We declined, and we are now at an impasse.” Shortly after, Austin City Council met and awarded themselves a 40% pay raise. “Can you believe that?” exclaims Matt, “You can’t make this stuff up.”

For those interested in contacting the CoA mayor, city manager, and/or city council members for letters of support for our Austin EMS workers, contact emails are below:

Mayor Steve Adler: steve.adler@austintexas.gov

City Manager Spencer Cronk: spencer.cronk@austintexas.gov

To email to all city council members, visit: austintexas.gov/ email/all-council-members

Thank you, Captain Matt Schickel, for your service and dedication to saving our lives.

Giving Back for My Birthday

My name is Diya Dudhara and I am a senior at LASA (Liberal Arts and Science Academy). This summer, I celebrated my 17th birthday through organizing a community blood drive at the Circle C community center. But why did I organize a blood drive? My motivation for organizing a blood drive came from the recent events that we all have witnessed in the past few months. Our community has overcome so many challenges in the past few years: COVID-19, the snow storm, virtual learning. But what really moved me to action was the recent school shooting in May. It was then that I realized how important local blood banks were, and how the blood of donors could save lives in the event of a tragedy. I realized that we were really fortunate to have a local blood bank in our community. Although I didn’t know anything about organizing a blood drive, I was passionate about making a difference.

Because I was interested in organizing a local blood drive, I wanted to reach out to the Circle C community center to see if there would be any interest. I didn’t expect a response, but to my surprise, Karen Hibpshman from the Circle C community center approved the idea! To have that approval from the community center meant a lot to me, and I was determined to turn this blood drive into an event that would further unite our community. We come together to celebrate our high school graduates, and spend family time at food trailer night, so why couldn’t we come

together in support for a blood drive?

I then reached out to our local blood bank, We Are Blood, and dived into the responsibility of organizing and planning this blood drive. I had a signup sheet with 33 spots, but the process was different from anything I had ever done before. On my first day of reaching out for community support, I went from door to door. While I received a lot of interest, I felt as if organizing a blood drive was impossible, given that donating blood was a complex and difficult process. I decided to post on the Circle C Ranch Facebook group, but I didn’t expect a lot. Who would want to read a post by a high schooler, or so I thought? The outpour of support I received was almost unbelievable. So many people liked, signed up, and encouraged the initiative, and it allowed me to envision the impact that this community event could have.

On the day of the drive, I stood outside in the scorching heat, waiting to greet people who were coming inside the We Are Blood mobile bus to donate blood. Despite the heat and time-consuming process of donating blood, several people showed up to donate. They didn’t have to, but they did, because they understood the importance of their blood donation, and the power of community. There were even people who had seen the We Are Blood mobile bus from a short distance, and had decided to walk in, even though they didn’t know about the event prior. I was relieved to see that so many people appreciated and genuinely wanted the event to be a success. I realized, at that moment, that when we come together as a community to support something that we all believe in, we can really make a difference.

With gratitude, Diya

Me (left), my dad (middle), Ketan, and my little sister (right), Kavya, who is a 5th grader at Clayton Elementary!

TEENAGE

Baby

Baby

House