LATEST NEWS

The Real New Orleans Style Restaurant is moving from its location on RR 1431 to 2411 U.S. 281 in Marble Falls on May 2. The site is the former location of Moonie’s Burger House. “We’ve decided it’s time to expand, to get bigger and better,” chef Desmond Green said....

Bear King Brewing is located in downtown Marble Falls. The brewery is rolling a new menu including new entrees. Tierra Neubaum has details.

In the face of widespread concern, the Dripping Springs Independent School District (DSISD) in Texas put the brakes on proposed revisions to its anti-discrimination and harassment policies, which initially included the removal of "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" from their language. The intended updates were slated for review during a school board meeting. Still, after public outcry and scrutiny, the board decided to delay further discussion, as confirmed by a district spokesperson on Monday.

The annual Founders Day Festival will take over the streets of downtown Dripping Springs this weekend, celebrating the city’s heritage and pioneer spirit. The three-day celebration will officially kick off on Friday, April 26, with the Founders Day 35 th Anniversary Parade at 6:30 p.m. The parade will run through the middle of Dripping Springs, along Mercer Street. The event will continue on Friday with a carnival and free, live music until 11:30 p.m. The main portion of the festival will run on Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Food and drinks will...

The DSISD Board of Trustees spent the morning of Thursday, April 18, at Rooster Springs Elementary meeting with members of the Student Lighthouse Team, learning about the campus’s reading intervention program, participating in a science experiment with second grade students and catching up with kindergarten, first grade, fifth grade, art and physical education classes.

KYLE — The Kyle Police Department arrested William Player Conley, 47, on Tuesday, April 23, for driving while intoxicated (a Class B misdemeanor) and unlawful carrying of a weapon (a Class A misdemeanor). Conley serves in the Place 4 seat on the Wimberley ISD Board of Trustees. At 5:19 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, Officer P. Fleming was dispatched to a major accident on Kohler’s Crossing and Sanders; upon arrival, the officer observed three cars in the left-hand lane, according to the arrest affidavit. As assisting officers talked with the other drivers involved, Officer Fleming made contact with the driver of the Jeep SUV, identified as Conley. “[He] said that he was not paying attention and that the other cars were stopped, and he was unable to stop and rear-ended the white Toyota passenger car,” the affidavit stated. The officer observed Conley’s speech was slow and that “his eyes were watery and his eyelids were droopy,” according to the affidavit. Upon further observation, the officer said that Conley seemed nervous and in a hurry to be on his way from the accident. When the officer asked Conley if he had anything to drink that day, he initially stated that he had not had anything to drink. Then, the officer asked Conley to step out of the vehicle, and when he did, the officer observed that he “was staggering a little bit and that his movements were sluggish,” the affidavit stated. The officer asked him if he would be willing to perform the standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs), and he said that he would be willing to. The officer administered the following SFSTs: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand Test. The officer then asked Conley again if he had anything to drink and he stated that he had drank one mimosa at lunch, the affidavit stated. The officer also asked if there were any firearms in the vehicle and Conley said there was a firearm “in the safe that is located within the center console.” According to the arrest affidavit, Conley refused to provide a blood specimen, but when he was transported to Ascension Seton Hays Hospital, a blood warrant was issued and completed. He was then transported to Hays County Law Enforcement Center. The officer has probable cause to believe Conley “intentionally and knowingly carried a handgun about his person in a motor vehicle while intoxicated,” according to the affidavit. According to Hays County Jail records, Conley was booked into the jail on April 23 and then released the following day, April 24. Each charge had a $2,000 Personal Recognizance Bond, the records stated. The News-Dispatch reached out to Wimberley ISD for a comment, which the district declined.

SPICEWOOD, Texas — The pilot who was killed in a small plane crash at the Spicewood Airport Monday night has been identified. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) says Wesley Perkins, 74, of Lakeway, died after crashing a single-engine Lancair Legacy FG plane near 100 Piper Lane in Burnet County at around 6:30 p.m. He was the sole passenger at the time of the crash.

DRIPPING SPRINGS — Installing restroom facilities in the Mercer Street Historic District was a hot topic during the April 16 Dripping Springs City Council meeting. The city council and Tax Increment Investment Zone (TIRZ) have budgeted up to $300,000 to construct downtown restrooms this year. This comes on the heels of some residents requesting that these facilities be installed. In her presentation to the council, city attorney Laura Mueller said that the city has obtained the property for permanent restrooms. The city is also drafting a Request for Proposal (either site-built or pre-fabricated/modular)  for construction, but also needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historical Preservation Commission, site plan from the planning department and wastewater coordination. “This will take some time, we are thinking about six months,” Mueller said. “While we are waiting, it has been encouraged for us to do temporary downtown bathrooms. We have looked at different types, where we would put these bathrooms, the cost and when we would actually try to get the temporary ones.” There are already more than 60 portable restrooms planned for the upcoming Founders Day weekend, held on April 26-28. Therefore, Mueller said that if the city council decided to move forward with implementing temporary restrooms, they would not be installed until after Founders Day. The options for temporary restroom facilities, as presented by Mueller, are listed below. • Portable Restrooms: $110 per month (weekly services) per restroom; $150 per month (weekly service) per ADA restroom. Purchasing a handwashing station would be recommended for $800 (could be reused for special events); renting is $125 per month • Trailer: $2,500-$4,000 per month, which typically includes two restrooms and handwashing stations • Air conditioned (electric hookup) • Sewer hookup • Water hookup • Buy a trailer for $100,000 • Staff maintains multiple times per day Potential locations for the temporary restrooms include property next to Vintage Soul — 302 Mercer Street — that the city obtained from Hays County and the Stephenson Building. “The only issue is when we are actually ready to construct or place the restrooms, we would have to move them,” Mueller said. “We looked at other places to put them, but we really want them to be somewhat visible from Mercer Street and not to be too far away, like if we put them at the city hall parking lot or something like that.” City staff recommended renting four portable restrooms — instead of going with the trailer option — for downtown and purchasing one handwashing station, while procuring and constructing the permanent option. “City staff’s recommendation is actually getting the portable restrooms instead of the trailer because of the intense amount of staff time and it doesn’t really meet the benefit to the point of how expensive those trailers are,” Mueller said. “The cost would be about $5,500 over six months. We already have in the budget for downtown restrooms and this would just be a small portion of that.” Though it was a presentation only, the agenda item was not left without discussion by the city council. Mayor Bill Foulds started off the discussion by stating that if they rented a handwashing station and it got damaged, it would get replaced. However, if the city decided to purchase one, he foresees a second handwashing station would need to be purchased following the first summer of use. On another point, council member Geoffrey Tahuahua questioned if the six-month timeline is accurate. “It’s aspirational. I think it’s possible. I don’t think it’s going to be before six months, but we have the property, we have renderings, we are getting that site surveyed right now [and] we are already working on the RFP to get both of those things. We are also looking to see if any of our cooperative purchasing programs actually will let us just buy the prefabricated modular [restrooms],” Mueller responded. “At that point, the only thing we would need to build would be the foundations, as well as making sure where the hookups would be for the electrical, water and sewer.” Council member Travis Crow said that he is “not sold on this yet” and he asked, as a business owner, if the city of Dripping Springs has enough foot traffic where residents and visitors can not use the restroom at the places where they are shopping. Mueller said that, along with Tom Crawford who has spoken during public comments on behalf of Vintage Soul, the visitors bureau has also received requests for installing restroom facilities downtown. Another council member, Sherrie Parks said that there are several business owners who just do not allow patrons to use their restrooms. Along the same lines, Tahuahua said that a lot of the businesses along Mercer Street are in older buildings that can not be retrofitted for ADA compliance: “If they did have a public restroom, they would be required to come up to that code.” Crow also added his concerns of maintenance for the temporary restrooms. “I’m worried about maintenance on it, what time they are closing and kids are going to get in there and do what kids do,” he said. “It’s sort of a burden on the city to have to be cleaning for [whatever] the time frame is. But if it’s what is needed, then so be it. I am one person up here out of five.” Echoing Tahuahua’s earlier sentiments, Foulds said that he is also concerned about the six-month timeline. “I don’t see how we can get this done in six months only because I have sat here for way too many years and nothing happens in six months,” he said. “These bathrooms have been asked for by me for four years and here we are, now we are suddenly getting them done in six months. I will be impressed, but I am concerned about that timeline.” The mayor also added, “Why spend the money on renting them? Let’s just go ahead, pull the trigger and get these things done?” Mueller said that the only reason why city staff brought the temporary solution to the council is because the continuous requests and the cost of those was low to the point that it wouldn’t affect the rest of the budget that has been set for downtown restrooms. No action was taken on having temporary restrooms following Founders Day weekend. However, the council will discuss the item again at a future meeting. To listen to the full discussion from the April 16 meeting, visit bit.ly/3QdAtDj .

DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs Water Supply Corp. wastewater customers will see rate changes on their water bill in May. Wastewater rates are based on water consumption through the months of December, January and February. This is the winter averaging period and is conducted annually. Customers who believe that their new wastewater rate is incorrect due to errors in usage reporting, leaks or other causes, can apply for a wastewater billing rate adjustment. To receive a wastewater billing rate adjustment, customers must do the following: • Customers must fill out a Wastewater Adjustment Form ( bit.ly/3UmP3eq ). • Along with submitting the form, customers must also submit proof via email: usage reports from DSWSC or plumbing invoice/receipts due to breaks/leaks, property owner’s receipts of materials, supplies, etc. • If approved, rates will be adjusted, and the customer will receive notice from the city. The rate adjustment will be reflected on the next month’s bill. There is a 90-day limit to request adjustments. This must be due to an error in usage reporting, leaks or natural disasters that occurred. This does not include excessive water use due to irrigation. For more information about the wastewater billing rate adjustment, call 512-858-4725.

Dripping Springs High School announced its Top 10 for the Class of 2024: Valedictorian William Johns, Salutatorian Jaiden Stankard, Milad Khezrefaridi, Brenna Putman, Lauren Kethley, Presley Cochran, Alyssa Stradling, Kira Granberry, Jasmine Zogaib and Keira Maghielse. The students will be recognized at the April 22 Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees meeting and at the Senior Academic Awards Ceremony on May 15. They will also be the first to walk the stage at the DSHS Class of 2024 graduation ceremony on May 31.

Seven candidates are vying for three seats on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. Members in districts 1, 6, and 7 are eligible to vote beginning May 21. The PEC board approved the slate of candidates and the ballot at its April meeting. The election runs through June 14....

Lakeway voters will select three City Council members from among four candidates on May 4. Incumbents Kelly Brynteson and Jennifer Szmanski are running for their second terms, alongside first-time candidates Matt Sherman and Christopher Levy. The three candidates with the most votes will be elected. ...

The Marble Falls Education Foundation handed out over $122,000 in grant money to 36 different projects across the Marble Falls school district in early April. The money was awarded through the foundation’s annual Grants 4 Great Ideas program. The foundation has given more than $531,000 to teachers with creative...

33 Plein Air artists from across the country will be in Marble Falls this weekend capturing the outdoor sights and scenes. It's part of Paint the Town Festival. Tierra Neubaum has more.

WIMBERLEY — Being alongside a peaceful meandering river, enjoying fine art and live music, while also kicking back in the sun-sprinkled shade of an ancient pecan orchard is the setting for the Wimberley Arts Fest at the Water Point Resort. Now in its 17th year, Wimberley Arts Fest, a festival organized by the Wimberley Valley Art League, has gained a national reputation as a fine arts festival organized by artists. There’s plenty of shade, plenty of onsite parking, great food and drinks and continuous live music throughout the festival. Approximately 100 artists from across the country are in their studios putting the finishing touches on their artwork to bring to the show. This year, artists from 14 different states will attend. Enjoy the works of great painters, potters, porcelain artists, photographers, wood workers, sculptors, jewelers and more, as attendees stroll the beautiful grounds. Live music from nine talented local and regional bands will play throughout both days. From jazz to Americana to country and folk music, there’s something for every musical taste. The musicians who’ll be on hand are Gerry Burns -White Shoes, the Hot Texas Swing Band, Elliott Rogers & Friends, Andrew Hardin, The Ash Family, Ike Eichenberg, Gypsy Moon, Eric Hokkanen & Friends and the Jazz Messenger Boys. There will be plenty of comfortable seating for those who want to sit back, relax and just listen to the music, or listen as others enjoy their leisurely stroll through the festival. For classic car lovers, the Twelve Kings Car Club of Wimberley will be on hand for a classic car show on the same grounds throughout the day on Saturday. Attendees can see 100 pristine restored cars of all makes and models and meet the folks who lovingly restore and care for them. Proceeds will benefit several local Wimberley charities. The festival will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at the Waters Point Resort at 13401 Ranch Road 12 in Wimberley. The festival is free to the public, but there is a $10 parking fee for on-site parking. Free shuttles will run continuously throughout the festival to nearby parking areas and the Wimberley Square. There will also be a free shuttle from the Wimberley Community Center on Saturday. For more information, visit www.wimberleyartsfest.org .

Marble Falls High athlete has shot in regional competition Jennifer Fierro Special To The Highlander Tue, 04/23/2024 - 02:44 Image Marble Falls High School junior Tyler Hamblin ran his personal best April 19 in the 3,200 meters. Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography ...