Bastrop, Texas Events, News & Stories

Bastrop, Tx–A temporary office of the US Small Business Administration opened in Bastrop on March 11 to provide help in applying for disaster recovery loans at low interest rates for victims who suffered losses from the Wilderness Ridge Fire between Bastrop and Smithville beginning Feb. 28.

The SBA aid office is at 104 Loop 150 West in Bastrop inside the suite occupied by the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management. The office is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Anyone who sustained residential, business or other economic losses as a result of the wildfire may be eligible for assistance, said officials.

They urged those who have been affected to visit the office for assistance in determining eligibility and to fill out aid applications. Up to $200,000 loans may be available to replace or repair real estate damage in addition to as much as $40,000 to replace or repair personal property. Renters may be eligible for loans to replace personal property lost in the blaze.

Business repair, replacement or relocation loans may be for up to $2 million. Home loan rates may be as low as 2.187 percent. Business and other loans may be as low as 4 percent.

Additional information about SBA disaster recovery help is available by calling (800) 659-2955 or online at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov

The county’s emergency management office has also set up an Unmet Needs Committee to help find assistance for those who may not qualify for SBA loans. The county office can be reached at 303-4302.

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop school district voters will chose between incumbents and challengers when they go to the polls to fill two school board seats May 9.

School board president James Allen has filed for re-election. He is being challenged by veteran school official Jim Clark, a Bastrop resident who is presently employed by the Manor school district. Clark has run for a Bastrop school board seat previously.

School trustee Karen Halliday is also seeking re-election and has drawn an opponent. She is being challenged by former Bastrop High School English teacher Ty McDonald who currently leads a local Christian church congregation. She is also married to Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald.

The last day to file for a place on the May 9 school board ballot is Monday, March 9.

Bastrop, Tx–When city residents go to the polls May 9 to elect three city council members, they will be saying good bye to more than 50 years of council service in favor of three political novices to guide Bastrop through an ambitious building and public improvement program as well as troubled economic times.

Veteran council members Dock Jackson, Willie DeLaRosa and Terry Sanders are not eligible for re-election under a term limits provision of the city’s home rule charter which was approved by voters in 2002. But interest in filling those seats has been muted.

Bill Peterson, in fact, so far has no opponent for the Place 1 seat. The last day to file for a place on the May 9 ballot is Monday, March 9.

Candidates for the Place 3 seat include relative newcomers to the city. Kay Garcia McAnally, a bed and breakfast owner, is on the ballot. So is her opponent Camillo “Cam” Chavez III, a businessman who lives in Bastrop.

The race for the Place 5 seat, so far, looks like a more traditional contest. One candidate is Kenneth Kesselus, the most prolific living local historian and retired former pastor of Calvary Episcopal Church. His opponent is Tahitian Village resident Christy Jean Kosser who has also shown interest in local affairs.

To date none of the candidates has staked out notable positions on issues critical to the city in the coming years. Some of them have begun putting out yard signs around the city, however.

Perhaps debates will begin seriously once Monday’s filing deadline has passed.

Bastrop, Tx–Firefighters suspect an electrical cause for a bedroom blaze reported about 8:45 a..m. March 4 at The Arbors Apartments, 202 Childers Dr.

Two people were examined and released at Lakeside Hospital following exposure to heat and smoke. Fire Chief Henry Perry suggested a cell phone charger plugged into a wall outlet may have been the source of the fire.

Damage was largely confined to the bedroom of the apartment, according to a statement released Wednesday by Bastrop Police Chief David Board.

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County’s worst wildfire in 25 years was estimated to be 90 percent controlled late Monday, and emergency management officials were turning their attention to stamping out the remainder of the fire danger and beginning a process of recovery.

The 1,200-acre blaze was apparently sparked about noon Saturday by an electric power line downed by a 60-foot tree falling across a 30-foot Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative right of way near the intersection of Park Road 1C and Cottletown Road between Bastrop and Smithville. The flames, driven by north winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour Saturday, quickly spread south toward the Colorado River, forcing the evacuation of dozens of families while torching at least a score of homes, half as many businesses and more motor vehicles than one on-hand observer could count. Officials estimated that as many as 200 homes were threatened by the conflagration.

By Monday afternoon, only three minor injuries were reported among the hundreds of firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders involved in the disaster response. No other casualties have been recorded so far.

Formal damage estimate evaluations are expected to begin today, as firefighters work the worst hit areas to eliminate hot spots and allow the last residents back to their properties to begin recovery efforts.

State and federal disaster assistance has been requested to help cover the local government costs and uninsured private property losses, said Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald.

“Our concern now is about recovery,” said Bastrop County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Fisher at a 2 p.m. press conference Monday. “Some of our citizens and businesses have lost everything. The effort now is to start rebuilding lives.” He promised to seek both state and federal financial aid toward that end.

Even as the wildfire appeared largely contained Monday, special firefighting teams remained on the ground. “Hot Shot” crews from distant areas were arriving late Monday to begin mopping up remaining pockets of fire and clearing other dangers, including dead trees left standing in the wake of the fast-moving weekend flames. Such “snags,” as they are known, will fall to the ground and can cause injuries to people in the area and pose other public safety hazards.

Judge McDonald praised the state and regional planning efforts of recent years which eased the flow of emergency response resources from state and federal agencies as well as Williamson and Fayette County to the area along the east bank of Alum Creek over the weekend. Additional help was on standby from Travis and Caldwell County if needed, said Fisher.

Fisher, the emergency management coordinator, said the weekend response was far more effective and powerful than during the last comparable wildfire emergency in Bastrop County. That took place in 1984 when an accidental fire broke out between Bastrop and Alum Creek near Texas 71. That blaze scorched some 900 acres and destroyed six homes, said Fisher. “Of course that was all the homes in the area (at the time),” he said Monday.

Disaster response and property loss costs will be in the millions of dollars, Fisher predicted.

Bastrop, Tx–The Bastrop City Council had scheduled a March 3 budget workshop to review the recent history of revenues and expenses for the fiscal year which began Oct. 1, 2008. In the present uncertain economic climate the council wanted early signals whether the budget forecasts seem likely to hold up for the next six months or may need revision.

Accroding to City Council Member Julie Hart, that session has been cancelled because neither City Manager Mike Talbot nor Mayor Terry Orr will be able to attend tomorrow evening.

Independent confirmation of Hart’s announcement Monday afternoon was not immediately available. The city’s web site still listed Tuesday’s budget workshop to begin at 6:45 p.m. No cancellation notice was noticable.