Bastrop County briefs: Smithville renews air medical contract

Smithville renews air medical contract

The Smithville City Council has renewed its agreement with PHI Cares, a division of PHI Air Medical, a helicopter-based medical transport provider. Residents requiring authorized emergency air medical transport from Smithville or Bastrop County when utilizing PHI Air Medical will benefit from no out-of-pocket expenses thanks to the agreement. The municipal agreement is effective through April 30, 2025. The agreement includes residents not on Medicaid who aren’t covered by medical insurance or have no third party responsible for their medical transport. In all other cases, PHI Air Medical works with the resident’s insurance provider to resolve claims for any medically necessary transports to ensure members face no out-of-pocket expenses. Smithville residents also qualify for coast-to-coast coverage at a subsidized $30/year per household. This optional plan provides coverage for residents to be flown by PHI Air Medical when they travel out of county.

“The number one priority for the Smithville City Council is the safety of our citizens," said City Manager Robert Tamble. "PHI Cares provides a vital service to our local community, so renewing our agreement was a no-brainer to keep our residents and their household safe in the event of a serious emergency. We urge all residents to pick up their membership cards (at City Hall) and seriously think about protecting the rest of their household and themselves when traveling out of city or county.”

City of Smithville

Pets & Pals Parade on Saturday

Celebrate Independence Day with your furry (or scaly, or feathered) friends at Bastrop County's most unique event. The city of Bastrop will host the Pet & Pal Parade from 8:30-11 a.m. on Saturday, June 29, when pets of all types strut their stuff down Main Street in their patriotic best.

The event schedule:

• 8:30 a.m. - Registration at the Bastrop County Courthouse Lawn
• 9:15 a.m. - Judging at the Bastrop County Courthouse Lawn
• 10 a.m. - Parade from the Courthouse to Main Street, ending at the Opera House

The award categories will be most unusual, most patriotic, most creative, best pet & pal group, best pet & pal lookalike and best decorated pet vehicle (non-motorized). One participant will be awarded the best overall prize.

For more information, contact Debbie Denny at 512-844-3930 or ddenny001@gmail.com.

City of Bastrop

Big Bang celebration Saturday

The city of Bastrop will host its annual Big Bang celebration from 6-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, at Fisherman's Park.

Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets, coolers and the whole family for an evening packed with excitement and patriotic spirit. The celebration will include:

• Music filling the park to set the perfect atmosphere
• Bounce houses for the kids to jump around
• Sprinklers to cool off
• Field games for some friendly competition
• Tasty concessions
• A spectacular 15-minute fireworks display set to music at dark

There will be limited parking in the park. Traffic will flow one-way through the park, from Farm to Willow streets. There will be a drop-off spot at the intersection of Farm and Willow.

City of Bastrop

Free fitness classes offered July 1-6

The Bastrop Recreation Center, 1008 Water St., will celebrate its third birthday with a week-long extravaganza of free classes and complimentary smoothies.

From Monday, July 1, to Saturday, July 6, visitors can enjoy any of the center's fitness classes free of charge, whether it's yoga, HIIT, dance or cycling. After the workout, cool down with a refreshing smoothie courtesy of the Rec Center.

Bastrop Parks & Recreation

Take survey on city's solid waste service

Are you satisfied with the city of Bastrop's solid waste service? The city is hosting a survey of residents within the city limits who are customers of the city's trash, recycling, bulk, and/or brush services.

A similar survey was conducted in November 2022. If you responded then, feel free to complete again as some answers may have changed. Responses will help inform the forthcoming request for proposals process that the city is undertaking for a new solid waste contract.

To take the survey, visit cityofbastrop.org/BastropSolidWaste.

City of Bastrop

Summer meals program ongoing for kids

The Bastrop school district's Summer Meals Program is under way, with breakfast and lunch served free to children and teens 18 years and younger, and enrolled students with disabilities up to 21.

Nutritious meals are available at the following locations:

Colony Oaks Elementary School

• Through Aug. 9, Monday-Thursday
• Breakfast: 7-8 a.m.
• Lunch: 11 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Mina Elementary School

• Through Aug. 9, Monday-Thursday
• Breakfast: 7-8 a.m.
• Lunch: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Cedar Creek Middle School

• Through Aug. 9, Monday-Thursday
• Breakfast: 7-8 a.m.
• Lunch: 11a.m. - 1 p.m.

Cedar Creek High School

• Through June 30, Monday - Thursday
• Breakfast: 7-8 a.m.
• Lunch: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Colorado River Collegiate Academy

• Through June 30, Monday - Thursday
• Breakfast: 7-8 a.m.
• Lunch: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

All locations are closed on Fridays.

The Bastrop school district is only one of the nonprofits partnering with the Texas Department of Agriculture to serve meals across the state. Families can use these three tools to find a meal site anywhere in the state:

• Call 2-1-1 to speak to a live operator
• Visit SummerFood.org for an interactive site locator map
• Text FOOD or COMIDA to 304-304

Bastrop school district

Corvette Invasion set for July 19-20

Hundreds of Corvette owners from all over the state will be in Bastrop on July 19-20 during the 11th annual Corvette Invasion.

From 6-9 p.m. on Friday, July 19, registered participants will be invited to a "Meet and Greet" with refreshments and a guest speaker to be announced in the Convention Center. The Corvette car show will run from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday in the Convention Center parking lot. The car show is open to the public and is free for spectators.

Vendors will be indoors on Friday and Saturday. To be a vendor or sponsor, email Shawn Jones at shawn@corvetteinvasion.com.

For more information, visit CorvetteInvasion.com.

City of Bastrop

Museum celebrates 'Day of the Cowboy'

Put on your chaps and hats, boots and bonnets and head on over to the Bastrop Museum & Visitor Center, 904 Main St., for the National Day of the Cowboy from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 27.

This year’s face of the National Day of the Cowboy event is fifth generation Bastropian and celebrated third generation African-American cowboy, Ishmael Harris.

Participants can experience the rich traditions of the Texas cowboy, cowgirl and vaquero with a lineup of exciting activities, including authentic cowboy poetry, lasso roping, a cowboy puppet show, cowboy songs sing-along, campfire story-telling and a big-screen showing of "Workin’ From Can't to Can't," the award-winning documentary that chronicles the lives and legacies of Texas' first black cowboys.

Thie event is free and open to the public. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to don their favorite cowboy gear to fully embrace the spirit of the day.

Bastrop Museum & Visitor Center