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Wimberley View
Governor Abbott activates Austin Airtanker Base for wildfire response
Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas A&M Forest Service, through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, to open the Austin Airtanker Base at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport last week to assist state and local responders in wildfire suppression efforts across the state. The directive was given in preparation for the Labor Day weekend, according to a statement from the governor’s office, after the Texas A&M Forest Service said hot and dry conditions were expected to increase potential for wildfire activity. With triple-digit temperatures in the forecast, more than 98 percent of the state was experiencing — and continues to experience —...
Big Band duets with fundraiser and free concert
This weekend, the Wimberley Valley Big Band will present their next swinging dance concert: Wine and Unwind and Dine. The concert on Saturday, Sept. 9 will take place at the Wimberley Valley Winery, beginning at 7:30 p.m. This free, family friendly outdoor event will feature popular instrumentals and vocals — all rated “highly danceable.” The audience will enjoy the big band sound from grassy grounds; attendees are highly recommended to bring lawn chairs or picnic blankets. Since the event is held at the winery, no outside food or beverages will be allowed, but the winery will offer their own fare for...
Undefeated Texan team returns to the field
It was another dominant win for Wimberley as the Texans rolled over San Antonio Pieper in a 44-6 victory over the Warriors. Wimberley moves to 2-0 for the season. Despite turning the ball on downs in their first possession on the Pieper 10 yard line, the Texans scored the first points of the game with a safety as the vaunted Code Red Defense sacked the quarterback in the endzone. Receiving the kickoff, Wimberley scored again with a eight yard rushing touchdown by Owen Neal. Following a successful two point conversion, the Texans went up 10-0. Pieper responded on the following drive as the Warriors scored...
Dylan Meek returns home for solo concert
Wimberley-raised Dylan Meek is coming home to perform a special solo concert this month. The event is scheduled to take place Friday, Sept. 15, in the main sanctuary of the Wimberley United Methodist Church. The doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. concert. Meek, who now resides in Los Angeles, said he wanted to put together a show for his friends and family back home. “It is important to me to return to my hometown of Wimberley to play for the community I grew up being a part of,” Meek said. After a lifetime’s worth of collaboration with many legends, Meek pivoted...
Trails to connect, conserve springs from Austin to San Antonio
With an influx of people moving to the area from Austin to San Antonio, locals are concerned with saving green spaces for various reasons ranging from the minimization of impervious cover — to encourage aquifer recharge — to an increase in recreational spaces for the public. Community conservationists are purchasing and conserving land to create a spring-to-spring network of hiking trails connecting these two major cities, which will provide much needed respite from the concrete-jungle views that constitute city life. “Everything you do [to protect the river] is really only temporary,” Great Springs Project Board Member Dianne Wassenich said. “The only thing...
Volleyball prepares for district competition
, The Wimberley High School volleyball team is on a roll, maintaining a ninegame winning streak after a strong tournament showing late last month. The Lady Texans currently hold a 18-5 record this season, as of the time of publication. The win streak comes on the heels of a three-set victory over the Burnet Bulldogs (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) on Friday. The team was led by Alabama commit Laney Hennessee, who had 15 kills. Rhagen Masur led the team in digs with 28, Jesse Weeks led in assists with 22 and Kenslee Brown led the team in blocks with three. Addison Laney and...
Event Views
Calling All Singers: Winter Season The Wimberley Community Chorus begins practices on Sept. 11 at Avey Hall of Chapel of the Hills Church. For more, go to wimberleycommunitychorus.org. WEEKLY EVENTS Adult Craft LAB with Wimberley Library Adult Craft LAB is a year-round tinker and craft program for adults 18+. Classes are held virtually via Zoom. Classes run on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. There is a class limit of 10 on a first come, first-served basis. Supply kits are free and included with each class. Supply kits are available inside the library in the craft area, Monday–Wednesday from 1 to 6 p.m. Farmers and Artisan...
COUNTY UPDATES
Hays County Commissioners Court received a presentation regarding a study referencing the impacts of the presence of defendant counsel at magistration, during their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Aug. 22. According to information presented to commissioners, the study — undertaken from July 6, 2020 to July 11, 2021 — found that when defense attorneys at on site during the first appearance of defendants, the results included lowered bond amounts, increased number and severity of bond conditions, increased requests for indigency applications but had no impact on bond type, mental health evaluation orders, days in custody, time to final decision, failure to appear...
Hill Country dries up during record-hot August
After a record 45 days of consecutive 100-degree and above temperatures and profound lack of meaningful rain, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District is reporting record low Trinity Aquifer levels district-wide. According to the HTGCD, the organization receives multiple calls per week reporting dried-up wells or pumps that need to be lowered yet again. The incidence of dried-up wells is geographically distributed and not concentrated in one area — indicating conditions are uniformly deteriorating. The district’s monitor well network and reports from neighboring districts in the Hill Country tell the same story. Real estate agents have begun to ask: “How much value...
Protecting water resources in Central Texas
Editor’s Note: The Texas Hill Country Conservation Network has created The Hill Country Land, Water, Sky and Natural Infrastructure Plan to protect natural resources in this area. This conservation series seeks to illuminate aspects of the plan, as well as other resource protection plans, looking at best management practices. This is the third part in the series. There is hardly a gathering spot in Texas this summer where water is not a prime source of conversation. Here in the Hill Country, people are raising the conversation to a new level of action. The Texas Hill Country Conservation Network website, stated that...
Volunteers respond to fire in Dripping Springs
, Fire crews responded to a two-story structure fire over the weekend, activating the local volunteer team, Hays County Community Emergency Response Team. The Hays County Office of Emergency Management first reported the fire around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26. The fire began near the Parten Ranch subdivision, burning both the structure and igniting the brush nearby. It reached 100 percent containment a couple hours later, according to the Office of Emergency Management. Three trucks were left to watch the scene overnight, and CERT remained on scene for firefighter rehab, as pictured.
WISD approves pay raises for staff, employees
This September, Wimberley ISD employees will notice an increase in their paychecks, thanks to salary raises approved by the WISD Board of Trustees. At its regular meeting on July 17, the board unanimously approved raises for all employees within the auxiliary and paraprofessional job categories. That move impacts positions including custodians, bus drivers, aides, secretaries, attendance clerks, child nutrition workers and more. The board’s action raised the minimum salaries for many of the job categories — some of them by as much as 25 percent. Another big increase came for bus drivers. The starting pay rate for this position was increased by...
Lions Club makes shopping easy at September Market Day
Wimberley Market Day will take place again next month during the Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Sept. 2. The Wimberley Lions Club’s directory and map, available at Lions Field, makes quick work of finding unique treasures such as the beautifully crafted cedar table shown in the accompanying photograph. Lions members at the information table at Gate 2 will be able to direct visitors to specific vendors and the many concession stands around the multi-acre marketplace, to assist in and enhance shoppers’ treasure hunting experience. As always, live music starts at 11 a.m. and goes until about 1 p.m. Angelo and the Blue...
Players present classic ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize Winning, “A Streetcar Named Desire” opens on The Wimberley Players stage Sept. 1 and runs through Sept. 24. In 1947, only two years after his highly successful play “The Glass Menagerie” premiered, Tennessee Williams at the age of 36 opened “A Streetcar Named Desire” – a future Pulitzer Prize-winning American masterpiece that still captivates audiences with its powerful portrayal of intricate human relationships and such issues as mental illness, domestic violence, and repressed sexuality. Over the next few years, his writing legacy continued with some of the most iconic plays to grace the American theater stage including...
Library deadline draws near, Ozona Bank leads with new donation
Ozona Bank has continued their support of the Wimberley Village Library expansion and renovation project with an additional gift of $7,500. Presented on Aug. 22 by Ozona President Kelly Barclay, the funds will go towards the renovation of the library’s existing structure — the second part of the overall project. Prompted by the library’s Aug. 31 deadline to raise the remaining $300,000 for the renovation, Barclay said she hopes the gift will spur community donors to help. “The bank’s directors, officers and staff are excited to be a part of the Wimberley Village Library’s journey,” said Barclay. “We encourage the residents...
Kotarba & his ‘Music in the Course of Life’
If you are a regular at Susanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse, the singer-songwriter performance venue in Wimberley, you might see Joe Kotarba selling tickets. He is a regular volunteer there, not just as a music lover, but as a sociologist researching the relationship between music and the experience of the self. For four decades, Kotarba has been researching baby boomers and their music experiences. He learned that boomers didn’t outgrow the rock ‘n’ roll of their adolescence but have allowed it to inform and define the remainder of their lives and the world around them. In his newest book, “Music in the Course of...
COUNTY UPDATES
, Hays County residents and visitors can now access crime and arrest data for all of Hays County on one platform: Citizens Connect. The system by Tyler Technologies boasts being the first in Texas to have all law enforcement agencies in the same county sharing data on a single Citizens Connect platform. Through a collaborative effort between Hays County Sheriff’s Office, San Marcos Police Department, Kyle Police Department, Buda Police Department and Texas State University Police Department, these agencies now have a shared computer database of crime activity that is also accessible to the public. This system provides the agencies with...
Riffs, Roams and Raves: A Weekly Column
Riff: Bob Livingston, Part Two Last week we learned that Buddy Holly’s “vibey desk” in Miss Honey’s classroom, in which he was allowed to sit, offered up one final bit of advice for young Bob Livingston – “Get out of Lubbock.” And get out he did. In ’69 he moved to Red River, New Mexico where he met Ray Hubbard, “Before he was Ray Wiley Hubbard,” he said in a tongue-in-cheek aside that poked fun at his pal’s branding team. By 1970 he was signed to Capital Records which led to a move to California where he met Michael Murphey. He...
Chamber of Commerce to revive annual bat festival
The Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce has announced the return of Wings Over Wimberley, a fun-filled festival that took place previously in 2019 and 2021. This year’s event will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8–9, between the Cypress Creek bridge and Ozona Bank. The festivities will take over the Ozona Bank property that runs along RR 12. We Are Blood will also be set up at the Wimberley Visitors Center for a blood drive on Friday, Sept. 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We are excited to bring WOW back,” said Pamela Rudd, committee coordinator. Live music will begin onsite...
Aqua Texas fined almost $450,000 for overpumping
Local water utility company Aqua Texas was fined nearly half a million dollars for pumping almost twice the amount of water it was allowed last year out of the Trinity Aquifer. The company is now contesting that fine. The $448,710 fine was levied by the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District earlier this year. As reported by The Wimberley View in May, data obtained by The Watershed Association showed the Aqua Texas System in Woodcreek North pumped 374 acre-feet of water in 2022. While their permitted volume, outside of drought restrictions, is 339 acre-feet per year, their drought-allotted volume for 2022 was...
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