News

The renowned political analyst and Wimberley resident Matthew Dowd spoke at the Wimberley Democrats’ Social Saturday last week.  The crowd quickly overwhelmed the reserved room at Milagro’s and had to be moved outside, where 125 people packed the porch and sidewalks.  In speaking of the current political climate, Matthew pointed out that our country has gotten through periods of disruption and divisiveness in the past.  The answer is to elect leaders who believe in integrity and who put country ahead of party.  On an individual level, we must establish mutual trust and understanding before we can hope to persuade others.  On Sunday Matthew posted an article about his Wimberley talk on the ABC News web site.  In it he says “The folks who showed up in Wimberley came together not because they hate someone but because they love our country and the communities they call home.”  The large,

Experiential learning takes many forms at Wimberley High School and a recent trip to New York was a perfect example, with students actually stepping into the shoes of diplomats and ambassadors. Twelve Wimberley High School seniors made up a delegation that traveled to New York City for the International Model United Nations Conference from March 2-6. Noah Woods, Emma Cagle, Haley Sloan, Kent Kenyon, Preston Cranford, Trevor Richter, Abi Fleischmann, Brady Corbitt, Madison McLarry, Stratton Pounds, Drew Latz and Caleb Cable were among students from all over the world at the annual event which introduces them to the world of diplomacy, negotiation and decision making. The conference offers students an authentic simulation of the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council and other multilateral bodies. The trip also included a visit to the United Nations Building.

Wimberley Independent School District improved almost across the board on Academic Accountability Ratings by the State of Texas.

“We are increasing, and we are doing great things with kids,” WISD Assistant Superintendent Dee Howard said. “For Wimberley ISD, it has never been all about the test, even though that is what the measures are. We try and teach for the whole child and not just make it about the test. Our school board knows that and supports that, so we don’t have to focus on the test 100 percent of the time. We get to do a lot of things that are outside of the test bubble.”

On Friday about 2 p.m., a residential fire broke out in the Sierra West neighborhood, at 144 West Sierra Dr. right off Ranch to Market Road 150, about a half-mile from Hays City Store. 

“It started out on the rear deck and got into the back part of the house. We had Driftwood and Kyle Fire Departments out there. We got that one knocked out pretty quick,” Fire Chief Carroll Czichos said. About 25 percent of the structure was damaged. No known cause for the fire was available at press time. 

The Wimberley Valley’s first ever Night Sky Friendly Business Awards have been presented to Byron Eckols - State Farm and to the Leaning Pear Restaurant.

The awards are sponsored by the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce, endorsed by the Hill Country Alliance and supported by the Wimberley Valley Dark Sky Committee (WVDSC). They will be presented to companies where the night lighting protects the integrity of our valley’s night sky, and meets the standards of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

“We are extremely proud to present the new Night Sky Friendly Awards to these businesses, and to their owners who have made special efforts to ensure their business lights do not trespass on their neighbors, and do not detract from our ability to see all our wonderful stars,” said Chamber Executive Director Cathy Moreman.

Wimberley Independent School District is proposing $45.5 million in bond projects aimed at enhancing the quality of education for local students, including a new 85,000-square-foot primary school at Ranch Road 12 and Winters Mill Parkway. The bond proposal for the new elementary school is $25 million. Housing 36 regular classrooms, Special Education classrooms, a gymnasium, a library and a cafeteria, the facility will have capacity for 675 students in PreK through second grade. This new modern school will also include several smaller reading and math intervention classrooms, where students will learn in small group settings.  WISD will use the Jacobs Well Elementary architectural blueprint, with a few minor changes, to construct the new campus.  This will save the district in architectural fees.

Wimberley ISD School Board President Ken Strange buoyed his chances for obtaining higher office by securing the Republican Party nomination for State Representative of District 45 in the 2018 Primary Election.

The Wimberley High School LEO Club, which is the youth version of the Lions Club, raised around $3,000 for Camp Good Sam in partnership with Vision3 Design.

Vision3 Design, a local Wimberley company, created a Personal Solar Light, which is a solar lantern built for use in extreme conditions. The LEO Club sold the lights and was able to keep 50 percent of the revenues, which it donated to Camp Good Sam. 

Camp Good Sam is a summer learning program for local youth to help address summer learning loss by giving youth a safe place to learn and have fun. 

The permit request by Electro Purification to pump 2.5 million gallons of water per day from the Trinity Aquifer has been determined to have a “potential unreasonable impact” to surrounding wells, according to a preliminary finding report from Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District.

“In general terms, (unreasonable impact) means that if someone is pumping some quantity of water out of a well and it causes somebody’s nearby well to cease yielding water then we are saying that is an unreasonable impact and we are not willing to permit water that would cause harm in that way to other wells,” Brian Smith, Aquifer Science Team Leader for BSEACD, said.

The preliminary findings say that it is “very likely, without special permit conditions and avoidance measures” that one or more wells would go dry at some point due to the pumping.

A new school could be in the cards as the Wimberley Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to go out for a $45.5 million bond this May. The bond package will call for a 6.5 penny increase to the Interest and Sinking portion of the WISD tax bill. 

The largest part of the proposed bond package is $31 million for a new facility to replace Scudder Primary.

A recent study showed Scudder is currently at more than 130 percent of capacity and Jacob’s Well Elementary is also over capacity. The new school, which would be located at the corner of Ranch Road 12 and Winter’s Mill Parkway, is intended to address the capacity issue.