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Hays County Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a contract with TreeFolks, an Austin-based nonprofit group that plants trees throughout Central Texas. The contract directs TreeFolks to develop a reforestation plan and pilot project to plant trees along 80 miles of the Blanco River, deforested when a 40 foot wall of water  swept down the river on May 25.  TreeFolks will work with Hays County, private landowners, and other stakeholders to develop the Blanco River Reforestation Project. Through the contract, TreeFolks will offer its services free of charge to landowners in the Blanco River flood plain to restore the forests alongside the river, called the riparian forest. 

Over a year of anticipation finally broke as H-E-B officially opened on Friday. There was obviously a fair amount of excited first time patrons as over 150 waited out front for the store’s 6 a.m. opening. 

“We’ve had a few H-E-B openings where people showed up but nothing like this,” Wimberley H-E-B General Manager Chris Walsh said. “Everyone was excited to see this one.”

Over a year and a half ago, the potential H-E-B was a hotly contested item for the Wimberley City Council. Many locals were concerned about allowing what a so-called “big box store” into Wimberley. Those worries seem to have been put to bed over the last few months.

On September 18, the Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance held a reception with voting on the proposed final Blanco Flood Monument. From twenty area artists the sixteen designs were narrowed down to six finalists. The models presented at the reception are the products of Rich Canter, Tim DeJong, Trace Guthrie, David Hesser, Peter Mangan, and J.J. Priour.

People were urged to vote for their favorite scale model by placing a dollar next to their chosen model. At the reception the sculptors were available for questions. All of the scale models were well received by those attending the event.

On Thursday, September 17 Katherine Anne Porter held its annual Open House and Spaghetti dinner, its first fundraising effort of the year. The long winding line for the dinner was filled with parents, students, grandparents and friends of the school who were of all ages, with the food well worth it. Tasty spaghetti, meatballs, vegetarian offerings and red or white sauce, along with salad and Italian bread, drink and a dessert were in abundance for those that were hungry. To go orders were also honored.

Putting the school, faculty and students in the forefront, the school presented the creative efforts of its students, including art and schoolwork.

At the end of the dinner, the parents of KAPS students voted for the 2015-16 KAPS school board’s new members. The complete school board will consist of:

A recent graduate of Wimberley High School was killed in an accident on Monday night. This is the second fatal accident involving a recent WHS graduate to have occurred in the last six weeks. 

Monday night’s accident claimed the life of 19-year-old Jake Barber-Goodman, a 2014 graduate from Wimberley. The accident occurred at 9:44 p.m. on Ranch Road 12.

According to Trooper Robbie Barrera with the Texas Highway Patrol, Barber-Goodman was driving a 2006 Honda UAX toward Dripping Springs. At the end of the four-lane section of the road, the vehicle was traveling at an unsafe speed and went off the road to the right near Gatlin Creek Road. 

Kiah Collier

The Texas Tribune

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the The Texas Tribune and is printed here with permission.

On a recent weeknight, nearly 200 Hays County residents packed into the Wimberley Community Center for what some described as a celebration. 

Six months earlier, three times as many had stormed the place demanding state legislation they hoped would thwart a major water development project that could cannibalize their own supplies. 

Sheriff Gary Cutler will remain Hays County’s highest-paid employee in the proposed FY 2016 budget, and the only one to earn a six-figure salary. On top of the $105, 394 he is scheduled to begin earning Oct. 1, he will also get $240 in longevity pay.

All the county’s elected officials are scheduled for raises in the upcoming fiscal year with the 4.5 percent increase for County Judge Bert Cobb the lowest. Topping off the high end are Constables in precincts 1, 2 and 3, who will see a hefty hike of 22.8 percent.

The city of Woodcreek fired City Manager John Sone during last week’s council meeting. 

The city council passed a resolution that declared a “lack of confidence” in Sone that went along with his dismissal, which became effective immediately.

Before the council voted, Sone made a statement to the council.

“I would ask the council to vote your conscious,” he said. “Each one of you, I have supported you with everything that I have, but I will tell you it will be a badge of honor if it was a bunch of petty bruised egos that removed me from the city.”

Council member Jerry Moore motioned to approve the resolution. Council members Kathy Maldonado, Nancye Britner and Gordon Marsh all voted in favor of the resolution. Council member Bill Scheel voted against it.

After the flood, it’s was a tough job to pick just one first responder to honor as the Patriot of the Year for Central Texas Returning Heroes, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans. 

“We have so many people in Central Texas that do so much, they are unsung heroes,” Roger Parker, with Central Texas Returning Heroes, said. “Whatever we can do to give them support is worth it.”

Wimberley firefighter Chris Dibrell won the award, which was presented as part of Patriot Day on Sept. 11. He was nominated by Fire Chief Carroll Czichos.