News

A former Wimberley ISD employee was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after allegedly being caught selling methamphetamine to undercover officers.

Arrest warrants allege that Willie Charles Medlock, 44, of Wimberley, sold methamphetamine to undercover officers “on several occasions in October and November” of this year, according to a press release from the Hays County Sheriff’s Department.

“Medlock met with undercover officers in the parking lot of a grocery store in Wimberley” to sell the drugs, the release said. 

According to affidavits of probable cause for Medlock’s arrest, two members of the Hays County Narcotics Task Force working undercover “scheduled a controlled buy” from Medlock to be carried out in the parking lot of the Brookshire Brothers near the gas pumps. 

A lawsuit has been filed against Twin Mountain manor by ten Wimberley residents alleging the current leadership of the senior housing development has not fulfilled their duties and does not have the standing to continue running the non-profit.

Of those filing suit, seven are current residents of Twin Mountain Manor, one is a past resident of the facility and two claim to have applied for membership in the non-profit, though the validity of membership is part of the lawsuit.

An ambulance from the Wimberley EMS was involved in a two-car accident while transporting a patient sending all four occupants to the hospital.

The EMS were taking a patient to Central Texas Medical Center at around 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. Just past the Junction, a vehicle exiting one of the gas stations caused the EMS driver to take evasive actions to try and avoid an accident. The ambulance struck the vehicle in the side sending both into the ditch. The ambulance also struck a light pole. The accident is still under investigation. 

One of the EMS personnel involved in the accident attended to the patient already in the ambulance. The second EMS personnel exited the ambulance to treat the driver of the other vehicle. 

The weather was a concern all day, threatening to pour down at any time. But for once it held off and was a beautiful night to shop with Christmas Cash (free money), visit with friends, listen to every kind of music you could imagine, and for the children to visit with Santa Claus. 

Shops were packed and the faces on the merchants told the entire story. Good cheer, goodwill, and smiles were also on the faces of the locals and visitors alike. The crowd was larger than any in recent memory. 

A matching grant of $20,000 has been awarded the Wimberley Players through the newly established Arts Respond Cultural District grants program of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA).  The award was announced Dec. 8 by Gary Gibbs, executive director of TCA. 

Wimberley was designated a Cultural Arts District by TCA in September, enabling eligible arts organizations within the new district to apply for funding specifically to promote the arts and attract cultural tourism dollars to the community.  All such grants require a 50-50 cash match.

“We are thrilled and honored to have our application funded,” said David Bisett, president of the Wimberley Players. “This is an exceptional opportunity to showcase live theater as an integral part of the new cultural district at the Wimberley Playhouse.”

Throughout the Christmas season, local organizations in Wimberley try to help those families in need, especially providing toys, food and household items. Local churches and other organizations, namely Cypress Creek Church, Wimberley UMC, Unity of Wimberley, Wimberley High School Senior Outreach, and Wimberley Rotary Club joined up with the Barnabas Connection donating new toys, household items, tools, coats and books, for stocking the Christmas Store.

The Barnabas Connections’ Christmas Store is in its second year, and last year they planned to help 16 needy and low-income families. The stores were stocked with household goods, clothing and toys that were priced at 25% of retail value, the same as this year.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved 1,015 registrations statewide following the October flood, but they are concerned that some people locally may be missing out.

“The biggest issue we are having is that people think if they registered with FEMA (after the May flood,) they think they don’t need to register if they were hit in October,” Robin Smith with FEMA said. “They are two different instances.”

If you were damaged in the October flood, FEMA is asking that you call their hotline at (800) 621-3362 or go to the Wimberley Community Center where representatives can help with paperwork.

Editor’s Note: This is a weekly column keeping up with the actions of the local first responders as told by Wimberley Fire Chief Carroll Czichos.

The Wimberley Fire Department had another busy week with Friday being the busiest of all. 

The day started early on Friday with a fire at 4:30 a.m. that burned a home to the ground on Todo Lane in the back of the Rolling Oaks subdivision (see story on page 1). Nobody was injured in the fire.

Later that same day a relatively small accident near Jean’s Antiques on Ranch Road 12 turned into a traffic nightmare. A truck pulling a trailer full of sand ran off the road and crashed.

Blue Hole was blue indeed as the park was lit with blue lights for Blue Christmas to kick off the season.

The majestic cypress trees were lit in an elegant blue light through the night as bands played on a stage facing Cypress Creek. 

“Blue Christmas was all about music and lights,” Park Manager Lauren Shrum said. “It was designed for families to come out and enjoy, and we thought it was amazing.”

There were 846 blue luminaries that lined the trails at Blue Hole offering the only lights in the park. Santa was also upstairs at the amphitheater.

“I heard a lot of little ones with screams of joy in that area, so I know it was a success,” Shrum said. 

And the night was capped off with a hayride around the park. 

In the early morning hours of Dec., 4 long-time Wimberley Valley resident Bill Mooneyham lost his home to a fire in the back of the Rolling Oaks subdivision. 

“I was asleep on my arm and went to roll over – that is when I saw a light outside and said ‘Man it’s not daylight yet,” Mooneyham said. “I figured it might be my porch light and noticed it was brighter than it should be. I went outside, and my porch was on fire.”

Mooneyham said he yelled for his dog Gus and both of them got out of the trailer safely. He tried to spray the fire down with a garden hose, but it was already too large. Mooneyham ran next door to call the fire department at 4:31 a.m. but his home was fully engulfed in flames by the time the fire department arrived.