News

Cypress Creek is not on the 303(d) list for Impaired Waters, colloquially referred to around Wimberley as a “TCEQ Watch List,” but it once was.  

An article published by the Wimberley View on April 14, 2016 stated that “The issue (referencing potential failing septic tanks on the Wimberley Square) led the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to put the area on a watch list…”

That statement is incorrect. The Wimberley View apologizes for the error and thanks our readers that pointed out the error last week. 

That statement was incorrectly paraphrased from a multitude of comments made to the Texas Water Development Board in the meeting to approve the city of Wimberley’s wastewater treatment loan. 

Louis B. Parks
Dark Sky Committee

With eyes on the stars – and on the city’s future prosperity – the Wimberley Dark Sky Committee has been launched to attain official International Dark Sky Community status for Wimberley.

“This is an initiative to protect our night skies,” Cathy Moreman, Executive Director of the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce and a member of the committee, said. “Being able to see a clear night sky, without a haze of lights, is important to Wimberley residents, and astrotourism is a growing attraction around the world.”

E. coli levels in Cypress Creek are generally acceptable for contact recreation at Blue Hole and above, but are often not acceptable from downtown to the confluence of the creek and the Blanco River, according to data collected or compiled by the Texas State University’s Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.

The Meadows Center provided the Wimberley View with data that, in some cases, goes back to 1998. The data is up-to-date as of December of 2015 with the exception of testing done downtown, which is done by the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority and not the Wimberley Watershed Association, and is only up-to-date through July 2014.

There are two levels of concern for E.coli coliform. For one-time samples, 394 Most Probable Number of Coliform per 100 milliliters is considered too high while 126 is used for long-term averages.

Chloe Perez, a Woodcreek resident, will be a 2nd grader at Jacob’s Well Elementary. She is a sensitive seven year old who sincerely wants to make a difference in the world. Last year at her lemonade stand, she sold lemonade and gave the $500 in profits to Girls INC. Which is a foundation that helps girls succeed no matter what their living situation may be. “It makes me feel happy, raising money for people that need it,” Chloe said.

This year it was a different organization that would receive the profits. She really wanted to help veterans. Her great grandfather was a WWII veteran who passed away. He was very close to Chloe, “close to her heart” as mother Brittany Perez puts it, so profits this year would be sent to Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors. That organization helps build homes for disabled vets, but that is just part of the story.

The Wimberley sewer and our future.

As your Mayor I had promised a 30 day period of review and have withheld my view and intended path of leadership for the sewer project awaiting the appointed Ad Hoc committee’s report or findings.

Tonight I am pleased and equally proud to receive this WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND COLLECTION SYSTEM report as offered by the Citizens Ad Hoc Committee. 

This hereafter called “report” is clearly well thought through and received a large amount of in depth questioning of previous supplied information, as well new information requested by the members. If improvements derived from this report can be included and prove to be logical, beneficial and not include meaningful delays, I will consider these. I intend for this sewer project to be continued and at a fast pace.

After 30 days, the Wastewater Review Committee reported their findings to the Wimberley City Council last week. 

“It’s overwhelming the amount of effort they put into it and all the aspects they considered,” Wimberley Mayor Mac McCullough said.

The large take away from the report is that the committee found 27 fewer estimated connections than the city of Wimberley projected. The committee’s estimates would show 25,000 gallons a day as opposed to the 37,630 gallons the city projected.

The committee then used those new numbers to estimate cost of service for individual users in the downtown area, and, due to the lower estimates, the cost for service rose drastically. 

McCullough said that he appreciated the work done by the committee, but he didn’t agree with the lower volumetric estimates it found.

Over the last week, local first responders were twice searching for a missing person. In both cases, the people missing were found uninjured.

On Monday, June 27, Criselida Alvizu, 80, of Donna, was reported missing in the Jacob’s Well Natural Area.  Alvizu and her family were walking in the park when she went ahead on her own to walk back to the car. When her family followed a few minutes later, they discovered she was not at the car. 

The search for Alvizu began at about 8 p.m. with the Hays County Sheriff, Wimberley Fire Department and Texas Department of Transportation on the scene using drones, helicopters and dogs to search through the night.

It was another successful rodeo for the Wimberley VFW. 

While it may not have been the biggest rodeo ever, Bob Flocke, with the VFW, said he believes it is at least in the top 10 of attedance. 

“The bleachers and the boxes were completely full on Saturday and Sunday night, and that holds 3,500 people,” Flocke said. 

“It seems like for the last five or six years, the rodeo has just gotten bigger and bigger and this is no different.”

The 2016 Fourth of July Parade was one for the record books as this was the largest parade in Wimberley’s history. In total, 84 floats participated and thousands lined the streets from Lions Field to the Blanco River bridge.

“Record attendance as well as a record number of entries made this the biggest and best parade Wimberley has ever seen,” Cathy Moreman, executive director of the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce, said. 

“I truly believe that since the flood, and last year’s parade had a record number of entries, that the community has embraced this event as one that brings joy to everyone involved. There were a lot of parade entries last year that were volunteer organizations, and I think that changed how people view the parade. People see it as a time to come together and enjoy living in this great beautiful place.”

_{It appears Wimberley will welcome the Speaker of the House on Friday.}

_{An invitation tweeted out by Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune shows that Speaker Paul Ryan is inviting people to what appears to be a fundraiser at a ranch in Wimberley.} 

_{The invitation does not list which ranch will be hosting the event; however, the LaMantia Family is one of the 22 names under the “host committee” section of the invitation. Greg LaMantia is the owner of Needmore Ranch, formerly known as Little Arkansas.}

_{It is unclear at this point if Ryan will have any public availability during his time in Wimberley.}