News

A 2015 graduate of Wimberley High School passed away in a fatal accident early Monday morning. 

Tom Utts died in the accident, although the Texas Department of Public Safety is still waiting for test results to officially confirm the identity.

According to Trooper Jesse Amaya, a 2008 Toyota Sequoia was traveling westbound on FM 2325 about five miles outside of Wimberley when it exited the roadway and crashed into a tree before catching fire. A passerby reported the accident at 2:13 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, and Utts was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

 Utts was known in the Wimberley community for a helpful and kind heart, as he and the 2015 senior class volunteered to help flood victims just a few months ago.

7A Resort and Pioneer Town is looking for a way to rebuild after losing 15 of their 20 cabins in the flood. The resort made a request to the Wimberley Planning and Zoning commission to gauge the possibility of putting RVs in place of the washed away buildings, but they were met with opposition.

“This is really a difficult situation,” Stan Starrett, who owns a river front property near 7A, said. “I’m really fond of the (Czichos)… But when I think of the spirit of the comprehensive plan… I never got the feeling that what it is for is to have an RV park on one of the most luxurious drives we have in the city of Wimberley.”

Thirteen nearby property owners objected to the proposed amendment to 7A’s development agreement with the city.

The Wimberley ISD’s Substance Abuse Advisory Committee met on Monday, July 27 to formulate policy on random testing students for illicit and abused prescription drugs. The school board previously approved testing students but the particulars such as how and who would be tested, what punishment would be appropriate and how to handle two or more positive tests for drugs.

Assistant Superintendent Dee Howard, WHS Principal Jason Valentine and Athletic Director Doug Warren approached the board and asked the school board to review the programs of nearby schools and to possibly institute a policy for WISD. The board did approve a testing policy but will take the recommendations of the committee to form a specific final policy.

UPDATE: Authorities have identified the body as 2015 Wimberley High School graduate Tom Utts. For a full update on the story, pick up a copy of Thursday's Wimberley View.

ORIGINAL STORY: Authorities are looking for help from the public to identify the victim of a fatal accident that occurred on Monday morning on the outskirts of Wimberley.

A SUV, driving westbound on FM 2325 about five miles outside of Wimberley, ran off the road, went through a field and crashed into a tree before bursting into flames.

“By the time the Sheriff’s office and the fire department got there, the vehicle was fully engulfed,” Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Jesse Amaya said. “The license plate burned. The VIN number burned up. All the identifiers were burned, so I am having a hard time identifying the driver and the vehicle at this point.”

The national media features the Blue Hole in a lot of publications and on TV, often calling it a hidden gem. A lot of locals stay away because it is so crowded with visitors. But on Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., it is Wimberley Wednesday or for Wimberley residents-only time, a time to have fun without crowds. By presenting your ID with the 78676 address and $2, swimming at the Blue Hole is yours.

A bargain at $2, free to those under three, swimming in the pristine waters without the crowds is a real treat. The swimming hole closes at 6 p.m. and is cleared out. Then it’s Wimberley only. One of the new programs the Blue Hole instituted this year is often overlooked. Park Supervisor Kaleb Jacobsen said the Wednesday swim has not been crowded at all, with attendance at a high point of 32 people. 

Hays County Commissioners took no action on Friday after a special meeting, much of it spent in executive session, called to discuss the status of replacing the Fischer Store Road Bridge.

The apparent holdup is in acquiring right-of-way for a temporary bridge while the permanent one is being constructed.

Thousands of Hays County residents had their safety, quality of life and mobility/connectivity impacted when the Memorial Day Weekend Blanco River flood took out the heavily-used bridge, Commissioner Pct. 3 Will Conley said before he, Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant and County Judge Bert Cobb went into closed session. Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe and Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones were absent.

The quick actions of local officials and first responders saved countless lives the night of the flood. The decisions made to evacuate and shut down areas of Wimberley were literally lifesaving. But those decisions were made on educated guesses about just how high the river was going to rise. Now, entities around the region are coming together to solve that problem with technology.

Nobody knew how much water was coming the night of the flood. There were reports from upstream about water reaching points it had never gone before, but still, the rise of the river was greater than anyone could have known.

The concern around Wimberley is largely the effects of the flood on the local economy. At this point, it’s hard to see if there will be a lasting impact on businesses, but it is certain at this point that the flood is still hurting the Wimberley economy.

“Our business has been down,” Daniel Vasgaard, manager of the Old Mill Store, said. “The weekdays are pretty much the same for a summer weekday, but the weekends are where we are noticing a lack of traffic for sure.”

For businesses based around visitors, the feeling is felt across the board.

An 18-wheeler carrying 45,000 pounds of concrete flipped on it’s side while trying to make the turn from FM 3237 on to Winter’s Mill Parkway. 

The incident, which occurred on Wednesday of last week, sent the eight pallets of concrete across the road and into the ditch.

There were no injuries in the accident.

According to Wimberley Fire Chief Carroll Czichos, a car in the turnlane on Winter’s Mill Parkway caused the driver of the 18-wheeler to change his path. The back tires slipped off the roadway into a culvert, which caused the trailer to flip. 

Most of the concrete bags were removed by hand on Wednesday, but some remained until Thursday morning. 

The drive-by landscape is transforming in Wimberley as the former Bowen Intermediate is slowly undergoing a metamorphosis from a dilapidated property into a grocery store.

H-E-B has sprouted up from the ground into a nearly completed facility. 

“We are still working on a bit of everything,” Tamra Jones, public affairs manager for H-E-B, said. “100 percent of the foundation is completed. The store is up. The walls are up. We are working on both the outside and the inside. We are 90 percent finished on quite a bit on stuff like utilities, plumbing, roofing, refrigeration and masonry.”

Much of the project is more than 90 percent complete with the last large undertaking being the fueling station and parking lot.