Features

Local artist, Kathy Kelsey is the grandmother of Ingrid Breit.  Just three years old, Ingrid has been diagnosed with Leukemia.  Today this disease is highly curable in children, but Ingrid is facing more than two years of chemotherapy.  And the family’s challenges go farther.  Ingrid’s Mom, Abby, was in an automobile accident that left her disabled, and Chris, her Dad, had to give up his job to look after his wife and daughter.  So the family is depending solely on Abby’s disability payments.  

Ingrid lives in Denton and that community has conducted auctions to help the family but their need is great. Now, Wimberley is stepping up to help.  Bob Cook, part owner of Art on 12 gallery where Kathy is a member artist, set up a Go Fund Me website and has been successful in persuading artists to dedicate pieces to Ingrid and then pass on the revenue to her when the piece sells. 

Off of Lone Man Mountain Road there’s a place, a pretty nondescript barn-like warehouse. It could be thought of as a big, new treasure chest. There are plenty of objects surrounding the area with a variety of styles to match any taste in décor.  

Life Changes, an estate sale business, has been helping those who have to downsize one way or another. Estate sales are a good way to do that, but most times not everything is sold and the remainders have to be dealt with too. That’s where Donna Krumblis of Life Changes Estate Sales comes in real handy.

“We can clean out a house in one day,” Krumblis said. “We’ve done, over seven years, about an average of 26 a year and close to 200 (estate sales) since we started.” 

Krumblis started to notice that there was a need for a consignment shop in the community. She had the background to do it. 

Tucked away on the other side of the old Baptist Church is a peaceful, quiet business location that seems to be named by fate. Back in the year 2000, Elizabeth Ash acquired the name Blessed Space, but she did not use it immediately. Today, the name aptly describes the essence of the new spa. 

“The entrance is at the side, tucked away with a private entrance. It’s a place to chill. It’s quiet…you have your own private sanctuary,” Ash said. “Inside you have a calm soothing relaxing room.”

She has her esthetician licenses and understands how to make others relax. First, a 10 minute or so consultation about your skin type, allergies and other vitals are discussed for a facial. When the proper methods to be used are agreed upon, it is then time to step into a warm soothing foot bath.

There are many talents in David Pitts. He performs under the name of the Astonishing Mr. Pitts. As a ventriloquist his sidekick, Frank the wonder dog, gets most of the laughs when he’s not hiding in his close-by suitcase.

But when Mr. Pitts is on stage by himself all sorts of magic things happen, but also some bad jokes.

Performing in the Village Library on Saturday, the event was called “And to think I learned it from Dr. Seuss.”  The little kids in attendance were truly enchanted. Their eyes were filled with wonder at each antic of Pitts and his puppet.

WAG Rescue celebrated its 800th adoption this weekend.  And it was a very special one to the Rescue Group.  Mojo, one of their favorites, had been with WAG Rescue for a long time and had a string of very bad luck in his life.  Originally an owner turn in  - they didn’t have time for him, adopted out last year after a two year wait, only to be returned to WAG Rescue three months ago. Again, not a good fit with his adopted family.

Well this time the Rescue Group thinks it has all worked out for Mojo.  A lady came to the last Adoption event, walked straight past adorable puppies, cute young dogs, and a gorgeous yellow lab making a beeline for Mojo. Love at first sight.  He went home with her that very day, and it couldn’t be going any better.  According to his new adopted mom “…he is an amazing dog, we are perfect for one another.”

Who keeps Wimberley beautiful?

I do.

You do.

We all do.

OUR town’s non-profit organization, Keep Wimberley Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful, is proud to announce exciting news for all of us--

KEEP WIMBERLEY BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

This year, KWB is taking the proud role of sponsoring KWBCA Awards, now being offered to organizations, clubs, churches, schools, classes, businesses, families, and individuals who propose a beautification project they would like to see performed in Wimberley--and which they commit to accomplishing themselves.

KWBCA Awards range from $200 to $2000 at this time. Greater project funding will also be considered according to merit. All ideas and plans must contribute to enhancing the KWB Mission of:

Churches and art have long been hand in hand in offering worship in Christianity. Cathedrals in Europe have featured religious art on its walls by Renaissance masters such as Giotto, DaVinci, and of course, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel’s ceilings and walls. They were originally painted for illiterate congregations to visually tell Bible stories so they could be grasped and understood by peasants. Wimberley’s Chapel in the Hills has it’s own bit of artistic history.

When it comes to the design of churches, traditional thought also comes into play. It is carried on from centuries ago. This is especially true of the building of the Chapel of the Hills, built to honor the glory of God.

To fill a big religious need, families in Wimberley formed the church in 1949. 

Clara is a bright-eyed, blond-haired, three-year-old girl.

“She likes to pull on Uncle Will’s beard,” Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said of his niece. 

But Clara faces a challenge that is every parent’s nightmare. 

At about 18 months, Clara’s development plateaued. The family says she struggled to walk and stopped speaking. It took about a year before a special DNA test was conducted and the Bragg’s learned that Clara had a terminal neurological condition. 

She was diagnosed with Late Infantile GM1 Gangliosidosis, a terminal disease that will slowly take her abilities away and cause seizures, blindness, deafness, and the inability to eat and move.

“I can’t think of any worse type of situation for a child and parents to be in,” Conley said.

While there currently is no cure for the disease, there is hope.

Lizzie Tennyson is a 19-year-old Austin Community College freshman after graduating from Wimberley High School. She is saving a few dollars and getting her required courses out of the way before she plans to transfer to the University of Texas to study Computer Engineering.

But, as the people of Wimberley know, Lizzie is anything but an ordinary young woman. That fact has been even further reinforced with some recent success in her new endeavors on the runway.

Just a few year’s ago, the school and town was caught up with being part of “Team Lizzie” as she battled leukemia for the second time in her life.

“I had a doctor’s blood test and it came back no white blood cells,” Lizzie said. 

It was the summer of 2011, as she went in for a normal blood test. Next it was a biopsy at Dell Children’s Hospital.

The Hays County Livestock Show Queen’s Court gathered alongside others in the community to give back to the men and women who have served in our country. The event took place at Dick and Dodie Juarez-Scott’s ranch in Wimberley.