Bastrop, Texas Events, News & Stories

Bastrop, Tx–A residential fire June 27 on FM 969 west of Bastrop claimed the lives of an elderly couple.

The blaze was reported about 5:18 p.m. Saturday, and when firefighters arrived the wood frame structure was engulfed in flames, officials said. The structure of some 2,000 square feet in the 400 block of FM 969 collapsed before the flames could be extinguished.

After digging through the rubble until late in the evening, the bodies of 87-year-old Claude Harkins and his 86-year old wife Mary Bess Harkins were recovered by firefighters.
The fire is under investigation by the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Department and the state fire marshall’s office.

Sheriff’s department investigator Arnold Gonzalez said smoking materials, possibly a cigar, may have sparked the fire.

Bastrop, Tx–Lakeside Hospital, an investor owned venture, is being threatened with foreclosure by a major lender, but investors said today the move by Stillwater National Bank and Trust is designed to pressure them and a potential buyer to close a deal soon.

Stillwater has posted notice at the Bastrop County Courthouse that it could auction the property on the courthouse steps as early as July 7, citing the city’s only hospital as collateral for roughly $10 million in loans since early 2005.

Investor Gary Schiff said talks with a potential buyer have been ongoing for almost a year now, and the lender is threatening foreclosure as a way to force negotiations to a close. “We’re diligently trying to get it done,” he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “We’re down to the last details, but it’s a complex deal,” in part because of the number of parties involved, he added. “There’s a lot of last minute legal maneuvering.”

Schiff did not identify the potential buyer.

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County commissioners imposed a fresh ban on outdoor burning on Monday at the recommendation of Bastrop County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Fisher.

Fisher said the recommendation was endorsed by leaders of the county’s fire departments. The current drought, daytime temperatures and related weather conditions suggest the ban is prudent, he indicated.

The ban, in effect for much of the year, was lifted in late April after some modest rainfall dampened much of the county. There has been little rain since, however, and dangerous wildfire conditions have worsened significantly, according to Fisher.

The ban enacted June 22 is good for 45 days unless extended by further action by county commissioners.

Alum Creek, Tx–Bastrop County’s newest wildlife management organization will hold its first public meeting on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. The Alum Creek Wildlife Management Association will conduct the session at the Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative headquarters on Texas 21 in the Lost Pines east of Bastrop.

The group is focused on Lost Pines landowners in the Alum Creek watershed who are interested in habitat conservation and preservation for the endangered Houston toad, one of the first species listed for protection under the US Endangered Species Act. The Alum Creek watershed covers much of the 124,000-acre Lost Pines toad habitat of the reclusive amphibian.

A special feature of the gathering will be an opportunity to see some of the small toads. Officials from the Houston Zoo will bring specimens which have been bred at the zoo, some of which have recently released back into the wild in the Lost Pines area east and north of Bastrop, according to Roxanne Hernandez who manages Bastrop County’s Lost Pines Habitat Conservation Plan, a program approved by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for protection of the Houston toad.

Bastrop, Tx–A luncheon honoring retired African-American school teachers today at the Kerr Community Center kicked off a weekend of activities marking the June 19, 1865 announcement in Texas that slaves were free under terms of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued by US President Abraham Lincoln. In Texas the day is still known as Juneteenth by descendants of those who benefited at the close of the Civil War.

According to US Census figures, roughly 40 percent of Bastrop County residents were slaves in 1860. They and their descendants have marked and celebrated Juneteenth ever since 1865.

Juneteenth activities in Bastrop this weekend are free and open to the public.

From 6-9 p.m. Friday in Kerr Community Park at Walnut and MLK Blvd. organizers will stage a Family and Friends gathering which features music, food vendors and related activities. Gospel singing and other entertainment begins at 7 p.m.

The traditional Juneteenth Parade kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday from Fisherman’s Park, moves south along Main Street, then passes the Courthouse to end at Kerr Community Park. Ruby Johnson is this year’s parade marshall.

A more formal Emancipation Program begins at 11:30 a.m. in the park with proclamations and remarks from city, county and other officials and notables on tap. Singers, dancers and other entertainers will also perform.

Beginning at 8 p.m. Blue Mist will provide the music for a free street dance on Main Street between Pine and Chestnut Street. The stage will be erected in front of City Hall.