News

Wimberley is known for its art and music and considered a gem. There’s always music playing all over town. Back in August, Mimi Taylor the music teacher at Jacob’s Well Elementary (JWE) had a plan. She was familiar with Robyn Ludwick, local singer/songwriter, as Ludwick has a child at JWE. “She’s a wonderful woman. She’s the reason this happened,” Ludwick said about Taylor.

Ludwick is a 13-year resident of Wimberley and proud of it; she experienced the floods personally. She is also noted in the area for her song writing abilities. Taylor had a request. Ludwick said,“(t) hen she asked if I would write a song. I said, let me think about it… I’d be doing it for the children, so I couldn’t say no. They’re our future. They‘ve overcome adversity.” 

Stocking Stuffers at Ace Hardware was once again a success, but not just for those who were looking for a good deal. 

The annual event drew more than 450 people after hours at the hardware store on Dec. 1 where there were deals to be had store-wide and 40 new buckets of different items for stocking stuffers. Chef Jay Bachman provided the food and Ace provided the drinks that made for a good time.

“I thought it went really well,” Christy Degenhart, owner of Wimberley Ace Hardware said. “We were blown away by the response.”

But it was Santa and My Neighbors Keeper that may have brought the best gifts of all.

My Neighbors Keeper teamed up with Santa at the event to give away $100 gift cards to Target for children whose families were hit by the flood.

State and federal officials responded on Wednesday to news that Hays, Caldwell and 13 other Texas counties have been declared a disaster because of the storms and flooding that occurred Oct. 30-31. 

“I want to thank the President and FEMA for their swift response to Texas’ request for a federal disaster declaration,” Governor Greg Abbott, who requested the designation Nov. 20, said in a press release. 

“Texas looks forward to working with its FEMA partners to ensure those in need receive the temporary assistance necessary to start rebuilding their lives,” he added. 

As expected, Hays County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to hire a firm to provide high-resolution (down to six inches) aerial images of the Blanco River in order to get a better handle on debris from the two devastating floods that have occurred this year. 

They also said they had reached out to the City of San Marcos, who could also find value in the images. The vote was unanimous to hire Fugro Geospatial to produce the images. 

They will likely be taken in late January or early February when trees have lost their leaves. 

“We have large amounts of debris scattered across the Blanco River basin. We need to know where it is and how much it is,” County Judge Bert Cobb said. 

The chilling weather with the drizzle did not stop Santa from visiting EmilyAnn’s Trail of Lights, which opened on Saturday. Workers were scurrying about and leaving, finally getting their lights “just right.” 

Santa arrived on the Wimberley Volunteer Fire Department’s fire truck and proceeded to the back of the concession stand, by the fire pit and a small stage. Constable Darrell Ayre’s band played, the children were in awe of all the bright lights.

Norm Rolling officially opened the Trail of Lights with a short prayer and Callie Iliff’s singing of “O Holy Night.” Then it was up the hill, with the wind blowing and temperatures dropping but the kids who were there were excited to light up the big flagpole tree. Everyone then had a chance to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. 

According to Hays County Commissioner Will Conley, the construction on the Fischer Store Bridge on FM 181 is going well. 

It is a “great site to see this morning. Making progress on Fischer Store Bridge. Should be open to traffic by March. Thank you to everyone for their patience and for TXDOT for their partnership.”

The bridge was destroyed in the Memorial Weekend Flood that had risen over the bridge and now is a 45-minute to an hour ride to get to Wimberley for residents on the wrong side of the Blanco River.

When Bowen Intermediate transitioned into H-E-B it was sure that some of Wimberley’s history was lost, but the grocery story chain took great pains to try and help that history live on in many fashions. 

Back in 1998, a tree was planted in front of Bowen in honor of the late astronaut Alan Shepard. 

Shepard was the first American to reach space and was the fifth man to walk on the moon. His daughter Julie is a long-time resident of Wimberley.

After Shepard’s death, Julie Shepard-Jenkins had the tree planted and there it grew in front of Bowen for 17 years. When H-E-B was scheduled to come to town, she heard that some of the trees on the property were going to be torn down. After a talk with the company, it became clear that they could save the tree.

Wimberley singer-songwriter and mom, Robyn Ludwick was asked to write a song for the children of Wimberley, Texas for their annual holiday program. Wimberley Strong was inspired by the recent epic flooding and has been adopted as the new way of life in the wake of difficult times. The song Wimberley Strong does not dwell on tragedy but keeps the beauty and history sacred in the hearts of those who have held the community together, as told through the eyes of a child. 

A man with a small sword threatened two Wimberley Firefighters on the morning of Nov. 10 at the Wimberley Fire Station.

According to the firefighters, they heard a noise outside near the flag pole just after midnight. A man, estimated to be in his 50s or 60s, was outside and threatening to cut down the flag with a small sword. Firefighters said that the man swung the sword at them from a distance of approximately 15 feet.

The firefighters went back inside the building, which automatically locks, where the man approached the front door. The Hays County Sheriff’s Department was called, but the man fled before they reached the scene.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

The sword was later recovered.

On November 17, 2015 at approximately 8:15 p.m. the Hays County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 3000 block of Old Black Colony Road, Buda Texas. The complaint reported an incident in which he was traveling in his personal vehicle when an unmarked dark-colored passenger car pulled up behind his truck. The vehicle displayed activated red and blue “police-type” lights on the dashboard but did not have any other lights or markings. Two occupants exited this vehicle and approached the stopped truck. A passenger in the vehicle immediately observed the two subjects were each armed with a handgun and had ski masks covering their faces. The witness alerted the driver to the dangerous situation and they were able to flee the area. The actors did not attempt to follow them.

The vehicle is described as: