News

Hays County Fire Marshal Mark Chambers is encouraging county residents who have debris they need to burn to plan to do so within the next few weeks.

“As of July 16, the drought index for Hays County was 343,” Chambers said. “Over the last few weeks, the index has started to increase due to lack of rain, higher temperatures and constant southerly winds, sometimes as much as 30 points a day. Our 14-day drought index is estimated to be 457. While by statute we can’t impose a burn ban until the drought index hits 575, we are definitely heading in that direction.”

Danforth Junior High’s new principal is not new at all. He’s been with WISD since 2000 and at Danforth since 2008. He’s very familiar with Danforth and all of Wimberley. As the new principal, it’s just a small step from Assistant Principal, a job he’s held since 2008.

Greg is the husband of Assistant Superintendent Dee Howard and the father of two Wimberley High School graduates, Matt and Sarah. Dee and Greg both taught at Pecos High School in West Texas, where they both started their teaching careers. Greg was a history teacher and tennis coach. Dee finished her administration courses at Sul Ross University. They were in Pecos for 11 years and stayed because of “the people, the good school people and the community.”

Large collection trucks and been a buzz around Wimberley picking up massive amounts of flood debris for months. Since the flood, more than 17,000 cubic yards of debris has been collected within the city of Wimberley.

“We have been collecting debris for almost 60 days,” City Administrator Don Ferguson said. “A large part of that is construction and vegetation.”

But the debris removal program is coming to an end soon. The deadline to have curbside pick up of flood debris is Aug. 2. 

Volunteers

The city of Wimberley is running the Volunteer Resource Center (VRC), located at 200 Stillwater, just down the street from Wimberley City Hall in the South River Complex, for anyone that would like to help the victims of the Memorial Weekend flood. 

According to Courtney Goss, volunteer coordinator of the VRC, they are in need of volunteers and “especially heavy equipment such as Bobcats, chain saws, skid steers and especially skid steers with grappling hooks.” This is to help with debris removal, clean up, and tree and trash removal. 

Volunteers are still also needed on a daily basis. Although three to four thousand people have volunteered so far since May, more are still needed. 

Saturday at the Blue Hole Pavilion, a program by the Bird of Prey Conservancy was entitled “Raptors.”  No, not prehistoric dinosaurs or Toronto Basketball players, but flying birds of prey like hawks, owls, and especially our national symbol, the bald eagle.

An audience of about 150 or so people, children and adults, enjoyed watching a demonstration of the skilled senses that raptors use to hunt to stay alive. Owls and their almost 360 degree necks that can turn in an instant, being able to see prey from all angles, and are silently deadly.

Hawks are deadly in the air, being able to snare their prey in the air, or on the ground. Bird Technician Ian Joplin showed the skill of the hawks in the air, spinning a treat on the end of a rope, where the hawk snared it midair, to the ooohs and aaahhs of the crowd. 

Speeding through school zones in Wimberley may be a thing of the past – unless you are ready to get a ticket – as Hays County has brought in a new unmanned vehicle equipped with radar.

Starting on June 15, the vehicle will be parked in school zones throughout the Wimberley area. While there will be a grace period through parts of the summer where warnings will be issued, tickets will be automatically issued and mailed out based on radar and camera readings.

The Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA) is coordinating a Wimberley-area artists’ creative statement that celebrates the beauty of the Blanco River while recognizing its potential for destruction when its power is unharnessed. They are seeking artists to submit a design for a monumental work of art that would be on permanent public display at or near the river.  The effort is being overseen by Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA). 

The “Best Little Parade in Texas” may have been at it’s all-time best last weekend as thousands lined the streets to see Wimberley’s annual Independence parade. 

“In my eyes, and a lot of the people who watched it, it was the best ever,” Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cathy Moreman said. “It’s so meaningful in terms of bringing a sense of community and joyfulness out into the open kind of for the first time since the flood.” 

While there are no numbers to show if this was the highest attended parade in Wimberley, it certainly looked like it. There was nary an open space along Ranch Road 12 through town. 

Donations have been pouring in from every direction as people try and help flood victims anyway they can, but last week’s donation by Keller Williams co-founder Gary Keller came at exactly the right time.

“We just gave out everything we had in the bank,” Tom Keyser, from My Neighbor’s Keeper, said. “We have given $183,000 (as of Wednesday of last week) directly to flood survivors and this last Saturday we had depleted our account.”

The account didn’t stay low for long as Keller Williams Realty donated $50,000.

This donation, along with money from other fundraisers, will bring the total amount to over $260,000 to at least 55 local flood victims.

The Rio Bonito Resort, nearly wiped out by the floods, is the place for the Rio Bonito Revival this weekend. Cottages were wiped out along with Steve and Cindy Meeks’ livelihood and home.

“We loved this place, it was our life,” said Cindy. “Never in my wildest dreams did I expect anything like this to happen.” The resort at the confluence of the Blanco River and Cypress Creek was one of the most beautiful places in Wimberley. 

It was also host to events like the Wimberley EMS Duck Race. Trees hundreds of years old, and the resort, gone overnight. So was the Meeks’ home, clothes, everything. A friend of hers visited the day after the floods to find Cindy mud soaked and crying. The friend took off her t-shirt, put on a raincoat, and handed Cindy “literally the shirt off her back.”