News

Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe’s spacious office on the second floor of the Government Center is flooded with natural light and looks out over a retention pond where she’s gotten used to seeing ducks and deer.

But that’s all about to change. Tibbe chose not to seek re-election for a third term and early next year, former Assistant DA Wes Mau will be sworn in to replace her.

“It’s a bittersweet day for me because I love the people I work with,” she said on Friday, just prior to a reception honoring her and her former Chief Assistant Fred Weber, who will become District Attorney in Caldwell County in January.

“We have an amazing group of people that work long hours for not great pay. They really care about the job that they do,” she said. 

Two people have been arrested after multiple shops on the Wimberley Square were burglerized in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Wimberley High School students Levi Travis Weed and Ricky Lee Saine Ehlert, both 17 years old, were arrested as suspects.

While the press release from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office did not indicate if charges were filed against the two teenagers, Hays County Public Information Officer Stephen Traeger said that the first subject apprehended, Weed, was initially charged with burglary of a building.

CLICK HERE FOR THE UPDATED STORY ON THE WIMBERLEY SQUARE BURGLARIES

The Wimberley City Council meeting was canceled last week after three council members were unable to attend leaving the council short of a quorum.

Council members Matt Meeks, Cindy Anderson and Pam Showalter were not in attendance with all of them citing family emergencies. 

The Central Wimberley Master Plan was on the agenda slated for action, but the council did not plan to vote on it unless the entire council could be present. It will be voted on during the Dec. 4 Wimberley City Council meeting.

The city of Wimberley hosted two public meetings last week, one a Town Hall meeting to allow residents to address the council in an open forum and a second to discuss changes on plan. 

A car crash at the entrance of Flite Acres Road sent one person to the hospital via Starflight helicopter. 

According to officials, a middle aged man was riding in a black SUV with his daughter at about 5 p.m on Monday afternoon when the car left FM 3237, while heading toward Winter’s Mill Parkway, at Flite Acres Road and rolled down a hill before coming to rest on its side. 

Officials say that the daughter was driving the car and was extricated from the vehicle when first responders cut her seat belt. The father was pinned in the car for about half an hour.

The father was taken to the hospital by Starflight in an unknown condition. An update on his condition was not available at the time of print on Tuesday afternoon. 

The city of Woodcreek was set to vote on a change to the Oak Wilt policy, but decided to table the issue until the next meeting after residents voiced some concerns.

A letter stating “adamant opposition” to the ordinance amendment was signed by 28 Woodcreek residents. 

The change would remove a requirement that live oak trees much be treated or cut down once they have been diagnosed with oak wilt.

Council member Kathy Maldonado researched and proposed the changes. She has stated during recent council meetings that science now shows a live oak showing oak wilt symptoms has already spread the disease through its roots, and removing the tree does not stop the spread of the disease. She also stated that some live oaks can survive the disease. 

Still, some were not comfortable with the potential change.

New City Marshal James Loving fits right in with the rest of Wimberley. Having come here from Ingleside near Corpus Christi, he is impressed with the friendliness of Wimberley. “People are so incredibly nice, they’ll stop and introduce themselves and ask how things are going,” he said. 

This is how it was growing up in Ingleside, but after the nearby naval base was closed and the local economy turned and depended on the oil industry, things changed. “I’m happy to be here.”

He was in law enforcement in Ingleside for 14 years. After graduating from high school, he joined the local police force and worked his way up, two years as a detective, two as a detective sergeant, then 10 as captain. 

The gravel deposit at the low water crossing for Pierce Creek in the Paradise Valley subdivision was cleared after the city removed thousands of pounds of gravel last week.

After the Halloween flood of last year, massive amounts of gravel settled into many Wimberley creeks, rivers and waterways. The gravel can cause problems as it has the potential to alter the flood plan. 

At Pierce Creek, the gravel completely filled one side of a low water crossing even building up above the roadway. After the removal, the area is now back to about eight feet deep.

To alleviate the issue, the city of Wimberley requested monetary assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA denied some of the city’s request stating they would only be helping if the gravel threatened public property, like the low water crossing. 

The Wimberley Business and Professional Association was honored to have Wimberley Mayor Steve Thurber and City Administrator Don Ferguson as guest on Friday Nov. 7. The group received an update on the important issues affecting the city followed by a question and answer session.

The Wimberley Business and Professional Association was honored to have Wimberley Mayor Steve Thurber and City Administrator Don Ferguson as guest on Friday Nov. 7. The group received an update on the important issues affecting the city followed by a question and answer session.