Features

Hays County Deputy Sheriff Tate Puryear (pronounced Preer) has been with the Sheriff’s Department for 23 years, and a motorcycle traffic officer for 12 years. He serves the Wimberley and Dripping Springs area.

He knows the entire area pretty well, having strong family roots on both sides of the family going back to the 1800’s. In fact, Puryear Road in Buda is named after one of his cousins. A DSHS 1989 grad, he lives in Dripping Springs with his wife and two daughters.

“Joining up to law enforcement is all I wanted to do…(as a kid) I got lost in the mall. A Travis County Deputy helped me find my mom, I’d always remembered that,” said Puryear. He had an unusual way to get into law enforcement. He didn’t go to college, but worked as a jailer at the county jail. 

A Wimberley Lion member spoke at the August 2 meeting and had the audience spellbound. She told of her firsthand experience as a survivor of the 1997 American Embassy bombing by Al Qaeda.

Lion Ellen Karas seemed to be living a good life. She and her husband were living in Saudi Arabia working in Jeddah; Her job was helping with trade delegations for the Department of Commerce.

“I would set up trade delegations back in the U.S. It was like I was running a travel agency,” Karas said.

There were a few tough moments with the first Gulf War going on and some suicide truck bombings. But on the whole it was a pretty good life. One of her “Bucket List” items was to visit Africa. In 1997 it happened – she got her wish.

A new office was being set up in Nairobi, Kenya and she got the job to help at the new trade office at the U.S. Embassy. 

Celebrating its 19th year, Shakespeare Under the Stars at the emilyAnn Theatre & Gardens presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in ancient Greece, William Shakespeare’s classic story features unrequited love, magic spells, and a play within a play. Director, Bridget Farias Gates, adapted the script for maximum comedic effect. An interesting fact, most of the young cast had not been born when the theatre’s acting-workshop program had begun.

Sgt. Andrew Wray is a fixture patrolling the Wimberley area. He prides himself on knowing most of the residents by face and name. He takes pride in his work and his home life.

He grew up in Boerne and attended SWT (now Texas State) and graduated in 1992, married his college sweetheart, Sheila, and became a Sheriff’s Deputy in 1994.

That is when he fell in love with the area.

He serves the Western Hays County area, including Wimberley and is a supervisor over younger Sheriff Deputies that serve the Wimberley area. A lot of officers look to going into law enforcement, to get experience than move on to another job like with the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) or to advance in other law enforcement bureaus, but not Wray. He loves the area and he loves his job.

Constable Elect Ray Helm is a local area boy, born in San Marcos. It seems as though he was born to be in law enforcement. His father was a Hays County Deputy Sheriff. His great, great uncle, Jack Helm was also a sheriff, who other law enforcement once hired John Wesley Hardin to kill (ask him about it).

He grew up in Houston when his father moved there with his new wife, and after Hurricane Alicia, didn’t want to go through that again. He decided to move north. He started his university endeavors at Texas A&M and then transferred to SWT, now Texas State, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. During school he worked at Breed Hardware.

“I never thought about law enforcement until my roommate talked me into it,” Helm said. He became a precinct deputy constable and was at Hays County Precinct 1 in 2002. 

Captain Bryan Neal has adopted Wimberley as his hometown, even though he has never lived here. 

A few years ago, his parents, Gregory and Robin Neal, moved to town. Bryan has been living with his wife in Georgia, but as life in the military goes, he has spent a lot of time elsewhere. 

“My wife and I have fallen in love with Wimberley, and we call it home,” Bryan Neal said. “It’s just such a unique town, because it’s a small tight-nit community, but there is so much there to do.

“You’ve got Ino’z by the creek, a beautiful location and great food. Then the Leaning Pear and Mima’s. Just fantastic restaurants and great places to hang out with friends and family. Great people. We went to the rodeo for the fourth of July. There is always something to do in Wimberley and we love going.”

Just now, more than a year later, the pains of the Memorial Day Weekend Flood are starting to give way to that “silver lining” that we hear a lot about rainclouds. Repurposed fallen cypress trees are being used for chairs, tables, crucifixes, and other useful objects. Sometimes these repurposed objects can give great comfort, knowing that dark times in our lives can be overcome.

A flood-damaged piano is one of those repurposed objects. Susan and Herb Smith live on the Blanco and had eight feet of water in their riverside house during the flood.  After, when they returned to see the damage, there it was, laying on its side and damaged beyond repair, filled with mud and debris, a 1923 Mason and Hamlin piano.

As the lights dimmed, the band boldly played the overture and the golden silhouette of a cross shined through the sheer curtains, fans of Jesus Christ Superstar eagerly waited for the explosive rock opera by The Wimberley Players to begin.

The mesmerizing music was instrumental in setting the tone and taking attendees on a gripping, thrilling, angst-filled ride through the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. 

At times, the production was somber and wrenching, while a Pandora’s Box filled with transfixing surprises astonished attendees, including “King Herod’s Song,” an extraordinary tap dancing number with energetic Zeke Zimmerman as ostentatious King Herod.

During the routine, he was backed up by the sultry trio of Soul Girls, comprised of Vanessa Adragna, Kaila Brinkmann and Alyssa Wells. 

When you are an event company, you have to stand out from the crowd. In an area that has many wedding venues, having something that makes you unique can make your business in demand.

Alisha Randig, owner of Texas Hill Country Events and Buds and Bows, remembered one of her early work experiences as a part of the staff, working events, at wedding venue, Old Glory Ranch.  Old Glory Ranch offered beer burros as a service for their clients. She didn’t think of it then, but the four-legged creatures would become a big part of her life. 

It started in 2014 when the Salt Lick contacted her about finding some burros for upcoming  events. “I didn’t know much about donkeys at the time, just that they were good at protecting goats,” Randig said. “When I decided this was something I wanted to do, I reached out to farms and ranches all over the US.”

A school bell sounds. Chairs scrape the floor as students rise to exit the classroom. It’s Friday, and as students are about to leave, the kind voice of a teacher says, “Stay off the streets…”. The class pauses for a moment and booms back, “… It’s crazy out there!” before leaving.

After 41 years of teaching, Wimberley High School teacher Marilyn Van Hoozer retired at the end of the 2015-2016 school year. Van Hoozer spent 21 of her 41 years teaching in the science department at WHS. 

During her time at WHS, Van Hoozer taught Biology and Pre-Advanced Placement Biology, Forensic Science, Anatomy and Physiology and Advanced Placement Biology. She also served as head of the science department.