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GUADALUPE COUNTY, Texas — The numbers tell a tale of heartbreak. Guadalupe County officials have completed their initial assessment of damage from last Thursday's storm. According to Patrick Pinder, the county's emergency management coordinator, 136 homes were reported to be damaged. Of those, 24 homes had major damage or were destroyed, while 31 homes suffered minor damage and 81 were listed as "affected."

The Dr. Eugene Clark Library in Lockhart is having a book sale today (Friday) until 5 p.m., and it will continue Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a close-out sale Monday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All proceeds benefit the library and library programs.

The San Marcos Art League is unveiling their newest Award Art Showcase this May at the San Marcos Art Center, where Art League members can enter to compete for prizes and a spot in the July 2024 Winners’ Showcase. This will be the first time SMAL has ever hosted an art competition showcase at the art center. With submissions that exceeded expectations, 50 local artists will be showcasing their work and competing for the grand prize in this month’s exhibition. “I’m excited to see how inspired our local artists are,” Norman Bean, cochair for the showcase and long-time San Marcos Art...

Texas State commit and junior college All-American offensive tackle Isaiah Walker Jr. has entered the transfer portal. Regarded as a three-star prospect, Walker Jr. was one of the top-rated prospects in Texas State’s 2024 recruiting class. Previously having played at the University of Florida and Miami University, respectively, Walker...

A cool name for an equally cool house.

SAN MARCOS — During National Pet Month, the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter took the opportunity to share its current conditions and how community members can get involved. SMRAS is the stray animal open-intake facility for all of Hays County, explained community engagement coordinator Minnie Buckhaults, meaning that any animal within the county gets transported to the shelter, due to ongoing contracts with the animal control departments. Along with the responsibility of being the county intake shelter, the increasing amount of strays within the cities also causes overcrowding. Buckhaults described the lack of resources as the reasoning behind the high number of stray dogs and cats, citing lack of low cost spay and neuter, low cost vaccination and a general “lack of awareness from our community.” “We are trying to find as many positive outcomes for the animals that enter our facility, whether that be through adoption, transferring them to rescue partners, [etc.],” said Buckhaults. “We just want to get as many animals out [as we can]. A shelter is no place for an animal.” Part of this initiative is the creation of Space Force, a program within the shelter that aims to promote positive opportunities for the animals. “We make sure that anyone that hits the 30-day mark has a bio, they have new photos [and] they have notes that we can talk to a doctor about. And when they hit a 60-day mark, we will make sure that they’ve been on a Dog’s Day Out, that they’ve had a foster plea and a rescue plea. Then, we also identify dogs that may need a little help being advertised, more rescue pleas sent out, more time in the yards or medically checked out,” said Buckhaults. For example, a dog at the shelter named Candidia will be receiving a hospice plea due to the discovery of cancer. Veterinarians estimate she only has six months to a year left to live. Despite the efforts of the shelter, the 93 kennels are filled with more than 160 dogs, some of which are stationed in pop-up crates. During the interview, Buckhaults revealed the stacks of crates in her office filed with puppies, as the shelter is attempting to fill every space to accommodate the amount of dogs. When these numbers rise too high, the shelter has to unfortunately consult behaviorists to determine if any animals must be put on a euthanasia list. In early May, six dogs were planned with a deadline for Thursday, May 9. Prior to the list being posted on social media, three were picked up by rescues. Through various posts and tags from community members, two of the animals were adopted and the last, Jackson, left with a foster. “The only way we could operate is with community involvement,” said the coordinator. “Whereas our team has the one person reaching out to rescues over and over for Jackson, when the community adds their hundreds and hundreds of voices, it really makes a difference.” Buckhaults said that the communities, along with cities, are doing a lot in attempt to aid SMRAS. According to the coordinator, the city of San Marcos recently instated an ordinance which requires all animals to be microchipped in an effort to return dogs to their owners and prevent them from going missing. The city also required pet stores to provide animals from a shelter rather than a breeder if there is going to be an adoption event.

After Tristan Pride, an urban and regional planning junior, was a few days late to pay his utility bill, the power in his townhome at Windmill Townhomes & Duplexes shut off. Pride said he was left scrambling to figure out a way to get the additional funds to restore power.

MARSHALL, Texas (KLTV) - The ETBU Tigers are headed to the regional final following a 12-0 win over Texas Lutheran on Friday. ETBU and TLU were tied at 0 entering the third inning. Former Hallsville Lady Cat Mallory Pyle reached base following a bunt, and former Elysian Fields Lady Jacket Mary Frances Ellis reached base on a throwing error which allowed Pyle and Morales to come in and score to give ETBU a 2-0 lead.

KYLE — At the May 7 meeting, Kyle City Council approved a resolution for an interlocal water-sharing agreement with the city of San Marcos, marking the third agreement within the past two years. In October 2022, Kyle entered into negotiations with San Marcos to receive up to 125 acre-feet, or 40.7 million gallons, of water throughout the remainder of the year. The second followed a year later in October 2023, when Kyle City Council unanimously approved to gain access to San Marcos’ water permit to prevent exceeding its own maximum. According to agenda documents, both cities possess Edward’s Aquifer Authority (EAA) permits and “due to the ongoing historical drought that Central Texas is currently facing, Kyle anticipates the need for additional water during calendar years 2024, 2025 and 2026.” The proposed agreement would stretch from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 each year and prevent Kyle from overpumping its permitted capacity, according to Mike Murphy, director of water utilities for the city of Kyle. He continued by stating that San Marcos has supplies beyond its current needs, so it is willing to make water available for Kyle using its existing water within the EAA permits. The agreement lists the following: • Water will be withdrawn solely at Kyle’s existing EAA Well Numbers W100-896, W100-897, W100-898 and W105-960 • The maximum amount that may be pumped is 500 acre-feet per calendar year • Kyle will meet or exceed San Marcos’ drought restrictions • The 500 acre-feet will be subject to EAA drought stage restrictions and Kyle will be responsible for any penalties By approving this agreement, Kyle will pay $22,832 per month to the city of San Marcos, which is equivalent to 223,186 gallons per day charged at a rate of $3.41 per 1,000 gallons. Withdrawal rates exceeding 6,695,580 gallons per month will be charged at a rate of $3.41 per 1,000 gallons. “Edward’s Aquifer Authority’s allocations were based on the need for these communities a number of years ago,” said council member Lauralee Harris. “Those have not changed in recent years, so what has happened is San Marcos has not grown as quickly as they were anticipated to grow and we have grown much more quickly than we were anticipated to grow. So, [the percentages needed] have changed, but EAA has not changed that percentage of allocation, which puts us into a position of needing to work with our partner in Hays County, which is San Marcos, to acquire the right percentages of water. So, it’s not like we’re out of water or that the aquifer is out of water; it’s a matter of just collaborating and adjusting those percentages to what is equitable.” Prior to the vote, council member Miguel Zuniga stated that he is in support of the item, but he still believes that water reuse and recycling should still be a top priority for the city, despite the water they will be receiving. The item passed unanimously. Kyle City Council will meet again on May 22.

Mill Scale Metalworks hosted its initial Lockhart Rising event with a packed crowd of an estimated 750 attendees Saturday. Lockhart Mayor Lew White congratulated the business on its music and food event. “It was very well planned,” White said. “The streets were open, with plenty of great food and music....

Main Street in Martindale will host the 100th birthday of “Henry,” Martindale’s Model-T from Ford Motor Company on Saturday, May 18, from 12-4 p.m. The 1923 Model-T one-ton flatbed truck, also known as TT, has lived in a barn in downtown Martindale since it was acquired and restored by long-time Austin contractor and frequent Martindale visitor Joe Pinnelli in 2007.