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The barbecue spot is preparing for an upcoming grand opening.

SAN MARCOS, Texas — San Marcos leaders and residents have clamored for more grocery store options in their city. Now city leaders are looking to encourage those types of developments by offering tax breaks and speeding up construction timelines. San Marcos is only home to two H-E-B stores and...

KYLE — According to Companion Animal Parasite Council, one in 50 dogs tested positive for heartworms in Hays County in 2024. In honor of National Heartworm Awareness Month,  Guy Mathews, DVM, of Kyle Animal Hospital explained the risk factors of the disease. “Heartworms are actual worms. If you could get them out of the heart, you could fish with them,” said Mathews. “They’re a parasite that lives inside the heart, inside the chambers of the heart … and they obstruct blood flow.” The parasite is primarily found in the canine species, but has occasionally been reported in other species, such as cats and horses. The worms live a specific life cycle, first beginning in the bloodstream of an infected dog as microscopic babies — microfilariae — which a mosquito picks up when it takes a blood meal from an infected dog. After the microfilaria enters the mosquito, they mature inside of the mosquito for two weeks, where they will then be transported to another dog when it is bitten. The larva migrates through tissues and bloodstream as they evolve into young adults. Once into the major organs, primarily the heart, worms develop sexual maturity, creating more microfilaria, which will appear within six months. The most important aspect of this cycle is the time inside of the mosquito. Heartworms do not spread through social interactions or feces, only through the bite of an insect; otherwise, they would not grow into adults to begin the cycle once more. “They attach to the walls of the heart and the blood vessels, sometimes going into the blood vessels of the lungs,” Mathews explained. “As the blood flow slows down around the worms, they start to have blood clots and we all know the problems with blood clots in our bloodstream. If one of those blood clots breaks loose and hits into a big pulmonary vessel or cardiac vessel, the dog will die.” Mathews continued by stating that when looking at a dog’s heart who was a victim of the disease, it can occasionally look like “a mass of spaghetti.” If left untreated, the disease is almost certainly fatal, leading to heart failure. But sometimes, due to the worms traveling to other vital organs, additional problems can arise. There are four stages that veterinarians categorize each dog when infected with heartworms, which range from mild to heart failure. Typically, the only signs an owner would see to recognize that their dog has been infected are the signs of heart failure, when it is too late to save the animal, explained Mathews. To preserve quality of life, a veterinarian can provide support for the heart for the remaining months of the dog’s life. “[Heartworms] are very preventable,” he said. “There are quite a few different ways to do [heartworm preventative medication]. You can do it as a monthly oral, a monthly topical or there is even a 12-month shot … Heartworm preventative medications are one of the most effective medications that we have.” Although the definition of low-cost varies from person to person, medications can be found at many veterinarian offices and on multiple online websites, such as www.chewy.com, where heartworm pills, depending on the weight of the dog, can range from $5 to $20 monthly. Some owners feel as though heartworm preventative isn’t needed to which Mathews stated: “All dogs are considered susceptible to them. We’ll even see heartworms occasionally in indoor cats … There’s no place that doesn’t have mosquitoes, some have more than others, but there’s no place that doesn’t have them … Every heartworm positive dog is spreading heartworms to the rest of the community.” If caught early enough, heartworms are treatable, but it is often difficult for the pet because the primary medication used to treat an infected dog is a derivative of arsenic. the veterinarian noted that the worms dying while being treated also poses potential problems because as they die, they break loose from the heart and float in the bloodstream, which can still create a form of a blood clot. Mathews recommends testing dogs every year, whether they are on medication or not. “It’s disturbing to see a dog that’s already in heart failure and the owner really cares about the dog, but they just didn’t get it tested and there’s really nothing to do at that point. So, early detection so that we can still treat them when they’re in those early stages [is important],” he said. “It’s like anything else in life, if they don’t have a dog on heartworm preventative, they’re taking a risk,” Mathews stressed. For more information on treatment, visit www.kylevet.com or a local veterinarian. To learn more about heartworms, visit www.capcvet.org/guidelines/heartworm .

CALDWELL COUNTY, Texas - Deputies are searching for jugging suspects who followed a victim from Austin to Caldwell County. Investigators say the suspects followed the victim to Caldwell County after they withdrew a large sum of cash from a bank in Austin. As the man and his passenger went into...

San Marcos police said they shot and killed a man last week after he threatened people with knives and then ran away from officers when they confronted him, still brandishing a knife in public. A news release said that two people called San Marcos police at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday...

Before Friday night’s game, the Lady Lions Softball team held a poignant balloon release ceremony to honor the memory of Beverly Pryor, a beloved member of the Lockhart Independent School District community. Pryor had dedicated more than 17 years of her life to serving LISD, leaving a legacy of...

The move to Lockhart City Park for the annual 50 Lions Who Can Cook fundraiser was a big success, particularly for the teachers of Lockhart ISD. Chairman Jeffry Michelson estimated more than 700 people turned out for the event, the largest ever in four years, eclipsing last year at the Lockhart Evening Lions Club by more than 50.

The San Marcos City Council voted this week to change the city’s water restrictions during times of drought. The last time these rules were updated was in 2015. Since then, the region has experienced rapid population growth and increased water demand. What’s changed?. The old restrictions reflected how...

Parks and Recreation breaks down single use container ban Trash in the river is nothing new, but it might just be a thing of the past if the city of San Marcos has any say. A clean, clear and litter free river could be the new norm as of May 1 when the single use container ban, often referred to as a can ban, officially goes into effect. Though one could find themselves bored of reading about the ordinance, the rules can be a little confusing and deserve clarification. The San Marcos’ Parks and Recreation Department wants to set rivergoers up for...

AUSTIN, Texas — Some Austin-area students will soon have more direct access to higher education. Starting this fall, attendees of Austin Community College (ACC) will be able to directly transfer to Texas State University with the start of a new 'Bats to Cats' partnership. The program was officially announced...

Texas State’s golfer Hailey Jones captured the individual championship at the Sun Belt Women’s Golf Championships becoming the first Bobcat golfer to take first in the event since Sasikarn Somboonsup in 2017 and the fifth to win the individual title. Jones won the individual championship by shooting a 5-under 67 as Texas State clinched the No. 1 seed for the four team playoff, which was played on Thursday and finished after the time of press. “Solid play from the whole team over the last three days,” said Par Nilsson, Texas State head coach. “Everyone contributed, and it was a great effort. Hailey...

Name and grade you teach and at which school: Scott Dennis. “I teach 9-12 grade science at Lockhart PRIDE High School.”. Subjects: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.. Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana. Where did you graduate? Millsaps College with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Neuroscience. “I am also...

KYLE — At the April 2 Kyle City Council meeting, council voted to approve an item on second and final reading to give council members access to the health insurance program at the city's expense. Previously, at the March 19 meeting, assistant city manager Jesse Elizondo brought forth the item, which proposed to amend the fiscal year 2023-24 budget to give council members access to the health insurance program on the same terms as full-time city employees. Elizondo noted that a study on council compensation and reimbursement for expenses was previously requested by council. Elizondo explained that, originally, Ordinance 1043 was established in May 2019 and allowed council members to participate in the city’s health insurance “provided that the monthly salary set forth herein will be reduced by the amount of the monthly health insurance premium.” During this meeting, council member Miguel Zuniga asked, “whether this is the appropriate forum to discuss the council member compensation.” “It’s my opinion, and only my opinion, that I should not be the decision maker on my council compensation, as I believe the charter has established an avenue for that,” he continued. Council members Lauralee Harris, Bear Heiser, Robert Rizo and Mayor Travis Mitchell all made claims to advocate for the approval. Ultimately, the item passed 4-3 on the first reading, with council members Daniela Parsley, Michael Tobias and Zuniga dissenting. “I still have not heard [an answer to] my original question: Why are we bypassing the city charter?” asked Tobias at the final reading, where the item again passed 4-3, with the members voting the same as the previous meeting. Section 3.09 in the city charter, listed as “compensation,” states the following: “Changes to council salary shall only be considered once every three years and shall be considered only after the recommendation is made by a council-approved committee.” The last time there was a change to council salary, which has been used interchangeably with compensation in the charter, was in 2022, with ordinance 1231, which reads that a citizens committee was formed to examine and make recommendations to the city council budget. Ultimately, it was determined and approved to maintain the “current level of monthly compensation for mayor and council,” along with the addition of a $500 monthly expense stipend. The monthly compensation maintained was from the previously mentioned Ordinance 1043 three years prior, listing a salary of $1,000 per month for council members and $1,300 per month for the mayor. According to documents obtained by the Hays Free Press , for Medical EPO Premier, which is the highest insurance option, the total rate for a council member would be $749.84, which would be entirely covered by the city. Additional beneficiary costs would be as follows: Council member and spouse • Council member pays $270.65 per month • City contributes $1,252.47 per month • Total rate: $1,523,12 Council member and child(ren) • Council member pays $192.50 per month • City contributes $1,107.33 per month • Total rate: $1,299.83 Council member and family • Council member pays $424.76 per month • City contributes $1,538.67 per month • Total rate: $1,963.43 Documents listed for the April 2 meeting cite chapter 172 of the Texas Local Government Code as the reasoning for the ordinance, which authorizes municipalities to provide the same health insurance coverage to city council members as full-time employees. On Dec. 13, 2003, Gov. Greg Abbott, who at the time was the state’s attorney general, cited this chapter in Opinion No. GA-0130, but also noted that “Home-rule cities generally control the compensation of their officers and employees … ‘Compensation’ includes benefits, such as insurance, provided to officers and employees.” He later continued to state that “If the city charter is constructed to limit council members compensation to the stated amounts, the city may not provide additional compensation in the form of health insurance coverage” and “If the charter sets the maximum compensation for city council members, the city may not provide additional compensation to city council members absent an amendment to the charter.” A similar case was held against the city of Corpus Christi, which argued that an ordinance that allowed council members health insurance violated the city charter, which explicitly stated an amount of salary. Although the city charter does not state a specific amount of compensation, the charter does limit how the council members’ compensation is determined: via a compensation committee which occurs every three years. Because the last time a committee convened was in 2022, the only time, according to the charter, the city would be able to make changes would be at the next meeting occurring in 2025, which Zuniga mentioned at the March 19 meeting: “I also ask that we, as council members, follow the procedural rules in the charter and wait for a full compensation committee in 2025 to evaluate this.” Section 3.09, “Compensation,” of the city charter also states that “council is prohibited from amending a budget to adjust council salary.” Both the ordinance located in agenda documents and the item documents presented to council stated that council would be amending the current budget to allow the city to pay for its health insurance in a sum “not to exceed $133,078.68.” The ordinance to amend the budget reads “due to the commitment of time required by service on the governing body of the city, it is reasonable to provide access to the health insurance program to the mayor and city council members.” According to the documents, the limitations to council salary and the process to amend it does not apply to health insurance because the city classifies it as a separate benefit. By contrast, in Opinion No. GA-0449, Abbott states that “'Compensation’ has been defined as ‘[r]emuneration and other benefits received in return for services rendered.” In response to a direct request for clarification on the legal aspects from the city attorney on April 4, director of communications Rachel Sonnier gave the following statement: “Currently, state law authorizes municipalities to provide members of the governing body with access to health insurance on the same terms as employees of the municipality. City council amending the ordinance and budget does not violate state law or the city charter.” After highlighting a portion of the charter, she then responded that health insurance is not considered salary by law. The Hays Free Press again requested the legal basis to which she was referring and did not receive an answer as of the time of publication.

Temperatures are rising and students are heading to the San Marcos River where they might swim alongside North American River Otters for the first time in 70 years. According to Sam Massey, glass bottom boat manager at The Meadows Center, there have not been sightings of the river otter in San Marcos since the 1950s. It wasn’t until 2021 that otters were seen again when students walking along the river boardwalk came across one and told Massey about their discovery. Now, The Meadows Center has found four North American River Otters since, with the last spotting in February.

This past weekend, the Lockhart units of Scouts BSA excelled at the Live Oak District Spring Camporee held at Camp Green Dickson near Shiner. The event included Scouting Units from Lockhart down to Yoakum and boys and girls from ages 5-17. Each year, scouts compete in a variety of events...

The Lockhart Lions’ track team recently participated in the Area Meet at Canyon High School, and as a result, several athletes qualified for the upcoming Regional 5A Meet, scheduled to take place in San Antonio on April 19-20. Among the standout performers were senior Exequiel Sanchez, who demonstrated his...