News

There couldn’t have been a bigger smile on Alberto and Rosa’s faces. It was the day they had been waiting for. The time was 5:30 p.m., a half hour before the event and each one of the family members grew more nervous as each minute ticked by.
“We’re excited, and so happy,” Alberto Jimenez said and wife Rosa added, “I’m thrilled.”
Family members soon arrived and the Wimberley Valley Habitat for Humanity (WVHH) was there to greet them. Past recipients of WVHH were there, but that is nothing new. In fact, many of them volunteered to help build the nineteenth house during the construction phase. They know how important this moment can be.
The program started with a welcome, and Lutheran Pastor Becky Sogge said a prayer to bless the house and its inhabitants. The program continued with the WVHH President’s remarks.

There are few things in life that can be more gratifying or important than helping children get ready for school.
The Barnabas Connection held its 11th annual Back to School Fiesta on Saturday at the Methodist Church to provide backpacks, school supplies and more local for children. It was almost like Christmas in August, with happy kids and parents alike.
Wimberley ISD was there with its nurses providing information to parents. There were twenty-three free haircuts with two stylists and 63 vision screenings by the Wimberley Lions Club. Payless also had a gift card of $15 for each student.
St. Vincent de Paul Society also had a $10 coupon for each child to purchase clothing from of a big trailer of gently used school clothes that was in the parking lot. All WISD students in need were provided the supplies needed for having a very successful school year.

The Woodcreek City Council elected to continue with the process necessary to issue tax notes to completely rebuild Brookhollow Drive, but there is still an opportunity to pull out down the road.
The tax notes would add an estimated 9.5 cents to the city’s taxes, which are currently 13.5 cents, if final approval is granted.
“The tax notes would not be issued until the bid documents come in,” Woodcreek City Manager Brenton Lewis said. “…They will publically sell them to local banks, or whoever wants to buy them.”
The notes would not be issued until bids come back on the cost of the process and the council elects to move forward again.
“I’m a little bit uneasy about this, but once the bids come in if we look at them and they are exorbitant then we don’t issue the tax notes and we can reject the bids,” Woodcreek Mayor Eric Eskelund said

Expect slowdowns on Ranch Road 12 for the rest of the week as the Texas Department of Transportation continues resurfacing the roadway.
Ranch Road 12 will be shut down to one lane of traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday from the Blanco River bridge to around County Road 1492. There is a chance that work extends into Friday as the initial Monday start time for the project was delayed due to rain.
The work being done is not the final overlay as it is considered a “level up course.” TxDOT plans to come back in early summer 2018 to finish resurfacing the road from the Blanco River to the Junction.
There have been some complaints about the work done on the road thus far. A TxDOT spokesperson said that the intent has been to extend the life of Ranch Road 12, officially named RM 12.

The hole under a dam in Cypress Creek is beginning to cause problems immediately downstream.
The hole has expanded two feet in size since it originally began draining a section of the creek. The water level immediately above the dam dropped four to five feet. Someone not associated with any of the agencies monitoring the dam tried to fill the hole with rocks and concrete. Now, more holes are being found on the downstream side of the dam.
All of these issues have been compounded by the fact that bacteria levels have spiked.

With Woodcreek citizens clamoring about the condition of roads, the Woodcreek City Council is set to consider two options with an eye on significant repairs.
The council will consider issuing a tax note for around 9 cents per $100 of property value. The note could be for up to seven years. This would allow the city to rebuild Brookhollow Drive. The city will also consider asking voters to approve a bond for 50 cent per $100 valuation that would cover all of the city’s roads.
Woodcreek Mayor Eric Eskelund appointed a committee to look at financing options to rebuild every street in the city.

In a series of contentious votes, the Wimberley City Council moved forward with the city’s proposed wastewater treatment plant.
Almost all of the votes on sewer related items during the meeting were 3-2 with Council members Steve Thurber, Allison Davis and Roberta Holland voting in favor while Craig Fore and Gary Barchfeld voted against. In one vote, Fore abstained.
The votes approved a parkland swap, which will decommission the current plant at Blue Hole Regional Park, give that land to the park and take 1.3 acres from another portion of Blue Hole for the new plant. The council also approved the revenue bonds and a loan forgiveness document for around $250,000 of the plant. They also gave the attorney permission to begin negotiating the terms of an agreement for a $1 million grant from Peter Way for the city’s sewer.

Electro Purification has officially filed an application with the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District to produce 912.5 million gallons of water per year.
The proposed production is about half of the five million gallons per day that Electro Purification originally planned to produce.
The application starts a review process from the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, which can take up to 180 days. The district has 90 days to bring up any deficiencies in the report and an additional 90 days to make a decision on the application.
“We are in the double check phase now,” Robin Gary, with Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, said. “(Electro Purification) has gone through and said ‘Here is our analysis.’ and we need to go back through from our angle and see if we agree. So we are in the review phase.”

Although there was an opening in Pct. 3 Constable Ray Helm’s office for a deputy, it did not stay open very long. Helm explained, “I keep good reserves and know every person in it. Each one has talents that fit a special spot.” Deputy Constable John Shellhorn filled that position.
Deputy Shellhorn most recently was with Austin Community College (ACC) for five years at the Kyle campus as a part of Campus Police. But before being employed there he did many different jobs. A lot of those jobs were with Constable Helm, who he has known for over 25 years.
While at SWT, now known as Texas State University, he and Helm were friends. Shellhorn worked at Domino’s pizza for seven years while going to college. He then worked with Helm at Breed and Company Hardware and Payton Construction, just name a few.

July is a big month for new pastors and St. Mary’s Church finally has one. Father Jason Bonifazi, recently an associate for St. Anthony Marie de Claret Catholic Church in Kyle has been named the new pastor.
Fr. Jason was born in Houston, the family then moved to Groesbeck, Texas and Waco. He attended Sam Houston State for his Bachelor of Business Administration and his MBA at St. Thomas in Houston. Finally in his 20’s school was out of the way and, he started to ask himself questions.
“How, when you are working can you have a deeper relationship with God? I was unhappy and yearning for something more,” Bonifazi said. Around this time Bonifazi converted to Catholicism from the Mormon Church, in which he was raised.