News

Representative Jason Isaac met with community members and local teachers concerned about the state’s standardized testing procedures last week at Jacob’s Well Elementary. Shortly there after, Isaac announced he was filing legislation meant to change those procedures.

“It is critical that we start giving options to our local schools so they can have the independence to make choices as an Independent School District,” Isaac said.  “We tell districts how to do too much and then don’t give them the money to do it.”

Isaac filed four education bills to reduce burdensome unfunded mandates, reduce our dependence on standardized testing, and help shift decision making into the hands of local school districts.

The delays in construction and the penalties to be levied led to a special called meeting by the WISD School Board and their attorney, Will Cabler, and the two firms responsible for the delays, O’Connell-Robertson, and Joeris Construction, hired by the district for the 2013 Bond project. 

O’Connell-Robertson, the architectural, engineering, design and bond planning firm and Joeris Construction, one of the largest construction firms in the state (and the current construction firm for Wimberley’s H-E-B) were hired by WISD for their expertise in building and renovating the campuses. 

It was one year ago this week that San Marcos Publishing LP purchased the Wimberley View, and I was given the opportunity to take over the paper I grew up with.  I was tasked with finding a way to show off all of the things that make the Wimberley Valley such a special place to live. 

Since then, we’ve brought the paper back to full size (from a tabloid page to a normal newspaper print) and expanded to at least 16 pages a week and even won the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.

More than 600 people packed into the Wimberley Community Center for Representative Jason Isaac’s meeting Tuesday, Feb. 10 addressing Electro Purification’s plans to pump 5.3 million gallons of water per day from the Trinity Aquifer for development in eastern Hays County.

If the community center could have held more people, there would have been more, as those who could find parking were pushed out into the lobby and even out the front door. Some in the community simply turned around when they couldn’t find parking as people were walking over from as far as King Feed for the meeting.

Isaac started out the meeting by giving a brief explanation of the legislation he is planning to file in the state legislature.

“We don’t want you here. We want you to leave Hays County,” Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said with a sternly raised voice and finger pointed at Electro Purifciation’s representatives, who were sitting on the front row at Tuesday night’s meeting at the Wimberley Community Center.

The statement, evidently, summed up the feeling of the crowd, which rose to its feet, cheering on the commissioner’s blunt response to allegations he met with Electro Purification in 2011 about the proposed well field.

A statement released by Electro Purification at the meeting said, “(W)e met with Commissioner Will Conley in May 2011 to specifically discuss this project – with no objections –and we met again on January 6 of this year.”

The Wimberley ISD Board of Trustees approved a motion to refinance the 2007 Bond and authorizing the Specialized Public, Inc. Company to proceed to put into motion the refinancing of that bond during Tuesday night’s school board meeting. The motion passed 7-0. 

The refinancing of the bond from the interest rate of 4.5-4.625 percent to 3.174 percent would save the district over $1.1 million over the life of the bond, payable to 2035. Starting in 2015, the new rate would only save the district $1,100, but in 2016 would save the district over $57,000 yearly and continue to save the district a little less each year finishing at $43,638 in 2030 then again $58,638 in 2033, then $55,694 in 2035. This is based on locking into the new rate in March 2015.

The city of Woodcreek amended its oak wilt ordinance, allowing for affected live oak trees to continue living as opposed to being cut down immediately.

Initially, the changes saw public backlash. Oak wilt is a disease that kills oak trees causing concern across the community. Some were afraid that relaxing the ordinance may allow the disease to spread easier.

Council Member Kathy Maldonado, who proposed the changes, quoted the Texas Forestry Services’ suggestions on the ordinance. They said that once a live oak shows symptoms of the disease, it has already passed it on as far as it would. Essentially, cutting the tree down doesn’t stop the spread of the disease, and there is a chance that some of the trees will live.

A head-on collision sent a woman and two children to the hospital after a white Ford Ranger Sport crossed over the center stripe on Wednesday afternoon near the former Hays City Store. 

Police are investigating a second crash that may have been caused by the same vehicle a few miles closer to Wimberley

The first incident happened at around 2:45 p.m. on the hill heading toward Wimberley on FM 3237 near Dear Lake Estates. The driver of one car, headed towards Wimberley, claims she was run off the road by a vehicle similar to the Ford Ranger that was later involved in an accident. 

According to the Hays County Sheriff’s Department, the woman driving towards Wimberley said the truck was across the center-striped line forcing her off the road. Nobody was injured in the first accident. 

If the Wimberley Independent School District had its own dictionary, under the word versatile, there would be a picture of Special Education teacher Leslie Williams. Having a wide range of skills, interests and talents, these are just some of the courses she has taught since 1988: junior high and high school Art, Humanities, Gifted and Talented students, Journalism, English, Life Skills and Home Economics. 

She is also the Head Delegation for Special Olympics (WTX 13), in charge of pregnancy/homebound students and related services, and the 18 years old plus service coordinator. All these things while being a mother to WHS graduates Reid and Sarah, a wife to Danny for 32 years and now a grandmother to Evelyn.

“We don’t want you here. We want you to leave Hays County,” Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said with a sternly raised voice and finger pointed at Electro Purifciation’s representatives sitting on the front row at Tuesday night’s meeting at the Wimberley Community Center.

The statement, evidently, summed up the feeling of the crowd, which rose to its feet, cheering on the commissioner’s blunt response to allegations he met with Electro Purification in 2011 about the proposed well field. The company has proposed pulling 5.3 million gallons of water per day from the Trinity Aquifer, prompting the town hall meeting.

A statement released by Electro Purification at the meeting said, “(W)e met with Commissioner Will Conley in May 2011 to specifically discuss this project – with no objections –and we met again on January 6 of this year.”