Archive for March, 2010

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Deep water well drilling ban extended by board

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District board extended its temporary ban on new permits to drill for water in the most prolific underground formation in the area at a meeting Wednesday. A board resolution extended the moratorium until some key data is available from state water planners, including the Texas Water Development Board.

The current statewide water planning process calls for determining a number of basic factors including what is called managed available groundwater (MAG) and desired future conditions for aquifers (DFC). The Lost Pines board, which oversees groundwater resources in Bastrop and Lee County, cannot by itself determine those numbers, and when that work will be complete is not clear to officials.

Lost Pines officials imposed a moratorium on new drilling into the Simsboro aquifer last month amid growing pressure from private water interests to boost allowable pumping sharply and soon. District officials fear they may have already issued drilling permits for more water than is likely to be available over the next 50 years without depleting the aquifer.

Extending the ban was denounced by officials of a water marketing group, End-Op, which hopes to complete a deal to sell up to 56,000 acre feet of water a year to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority for use in the San Marcos area or further south. As much or more Simsboro water is also being sought in Lee and Bastrop County by other interests, including the Brazos River Authority.

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Posted in Bastrop County, Environmental Movements | No Comments »

Murder trials ordered in death near Paige

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A state grand jury on Tuesday handed up indictments against two men charged in the beating and/or stabbing death of a Paige cook late last year.

Dustin Dickman and Dennis Leetch were arrested late in Januray in connection with the death of Michael VanDyke, 23, who had been working as a cook at the Old Frontier restaurant in Paige before his disappearance about the middle of December. Sheriff’s department investigators believe the two assaulted VanDyke outside the Paige area residence he shared with Dickman and Dickman’s girlfriend, who has not been charged in the case.

Investigators also believe that VanDyke was initially buried in a shallow grave near the residence but later moved to a rural site near San Marcos where the body was burned, possibly beyond identification, over a period of perhaps 36 hours.

Dickman and Leetch are both being held in the Bastrop County Jail under $500,000 bail each. An indictment by grand jurors sends the case to trial but is not evidence of guilt.

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Posted in Bastrop County, Crime | No Comments »

Old Bastrop bridge signs in question

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–The so-called Old Iron Bridge across the Colorado River on Chestnut Street may not feature advertising signs for community events and fundraisers much longer.

On Tuesday the city council approved hanging signs for two events on the 1923 structure next month. But later in the meeting the council also approved on first reading a new law which will, if given final clearance, ban hanging similar notices in the future. The ban has been pushed by the city’s Historic Landmark Commission and the Parks Board.

The bridge is listed on The National Register of Historic Places and became part of Bastrop’s park system after it was donated to the city once a new concrete span was completed on Chestnut/Loop 150 by the Texas Department of Transportation.

The council asked City Manager Mike Talbot to identify alternative high traffic sites where future community event announcements can be located in the city. Talbot said he will try to develop recommendations by late April for council consideration. The present bridge carries about 16,000 vehicles a day, said Talbot.

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Bastrop park golf course facing closure

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–The historic Lost Pines Golf Course in Bastrop State Park could be forced to close this year in the face of a two-year drought and declining business during an economic downturn, an official told the Bastrop City Council on Monday.

Operated by the non-profit Lost Pines Golf Club for decades under a contract with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Judge Benton Eskew told the council the organization is running a deficit and, without some city assistance, could be forced to shut down rather than sign a new contract for continued operation. “Right now we can’t make ends meet,” said Eskew. The current contract is up for renewal in August, he said.

Eskew is judge of the Bastrop County Court at Law.

Golf club officials will negotiate for new contract terms, but Eskew urged the council to consider some form of assistance to help close an operating deficit he estimated at $24,000 to $30,000 a year. The course also badly needs some maintenance work, he said.

“It’s no country club,” said Eskew. “It’s blue collar,” appealing both to “kids and seniors.”

At Monday’s council workshop session, where no decisions were made, council members offered various tentative suggestions. “Let us grind on this,” Mayor Terry Orr told Eskew and other backers. “I don’t have an answer (right now), but the golf course is a major asset (for Bastrop).”

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County approves bus unit buy

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County commissioners agreed Monday to spend $1,500 for an old bus to be outfitted for command and communications duty in emergency or police operations.

The 1986 former Cap Metro bus will come from Williamson County, which no longer needs the vehicle, said Mike Fisher, the county’s emergency management coordinator. His office already has the radio and related equipment needed to outfit the unit, said Fisher.

The price will be covered by seized drug money held by the county sheriff’s office. The bus “still has some useful life in it,” Fisher told commissioners.

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7 seek 3 Bastrop school trustee seats

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Voters in the Bastrop school district will select three school trustees May 8 from seven candidates.

Two incumbents will be on the ballot, but one current board member is not seeking another term in office.

For the Place 5 seat, Trustee Glenn Peterson is standing for re-election. He is being challenged by Carol Armstrong.

In Place 6, veteran Board Member Sophia Willisams declined running for another term. Gary Jefferson and Linda Apostalo both want the post.

For the Place 7 seat, incumbent Jim Mills is facing two contenders, Kelly Bender and Jim Clark who has sought election twice in the past.

Posted in Bastrop School District, Local Politics | No Comments »

Bastrop city council contest launched

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Almost at the last minute March 8, Bastrop City Council Member Joe Beal drew an opponent for re-election to a second two-year term.

The filing deadline was 5 p.m. yesterday, and after 4 p.m. Tahitian Village resident Bob Parmelee appeared at City Hall on Main Street to file for a place on the May council ballot.

Previously only Beal, Mayor Terry Orr and Council Member Julie Hart had filed for places on the ballot. All three were first elected to office in 2008.

Over the past year Parmelee has emerged as an outspoken participant in various so-called Tea Party politicanl events in Bastrop and Travis County. Last fall he was ejected from Kerr Community Center in Bastrop for being disruptive during a gathering which featured US Congressman Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat.

Beal is a former general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority. Previously he served on Bastrop’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

Posted in Bastrop City Council, Local Politics | 1 Comment »

Drought costs local ag producers millions

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–The value of agricultural production in Bastrop County last year fell more than $20 million from 2008, a drop blamed on severe drought conditions which extended back to 2007, according to a report delivered to Bastrop County commissioners on March 8.

The report by Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent Rachel Bauer estimated total production in the county at $46.9 million for 2008. That total fell to $26.2 million in 2009, she said.

In 2006, before the onset of a multi-year drought, the total production was valued at $63.2 million.

Bastrop County’s biggest products, hay and cattle, also took the biggest hits, according to Bauer’s figures. Hay production, valued at $5.7 million in 2006, sank to $2.3 million last year.

Beef cattle production, which reached some $34 million in 2006, fell to an estimated $24.9 million in 2008 and sank to $16.7 million in 2009 as producers thinned or sold off herds while grass and water disappeared during the dry period.

Pecan production, which topped $3 million in 2007, dipped to less than $1 million in 2009. Vegetables were valued at $1.9 million in 2007 but fell to $837,000 last year.

A few minor production categories showed increases, however. Bauer estimated the value of hogs in 2006 at $45,000, a number which had more than doubled to $99,000 by 2009. Hunting, recreation and timber production also either held steady or showed small gains since 2007, according to the report.

Posted in Bastrop County | 3 Comments »

Local Republicans flood polls to pick candidates

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–GOP voters swamped polling places in Bastrop County today in party primary elections to select nominees for local, state and federal offices, delaying the final tally to name winners, losers and runoff hopefuls.

Democratic ballots were fully counted and winners determined by about 10:30 p.m., with party voters favoring the two incumbents who had primary opponents.

Republican poll watchers were still waiting for the final ballots to be counted at 11 p.m. Some GOP polling places ran out of printed ballots and voters were forced to fill out makeshift ballots which were then transferred to a form which could be counted by an optical scanner, officials said.

Incumbent GOP County Commissioner Clara Beckett in Pct. 2 seemed headed to an easy renomination over challenger Adam Meuth. With some votes still out, Beckett held a 1047 to 431 vote lead.

The race was much closer between Republican Pct. 4 Commissioner candidates seeking to challenge Democrat Lee Dildy in the November general election. David “Rocky” Palmquist held a narrow 342 to 321 lead over rival Ron Jay, with results from one voting box still to be reported. The winner will face the veteran Democrat in November.

Dildy overcame a challenge from Michael Flowers for the Democratic nomination, 502 to 444, with all ballots counted.

In the contest which has drawn the most candidate interest this year–for Pct. 1 justice of the Peace–Democratic incumbent Bill Weddle turned back challenger Dickie Henderson, 503 to 325.

On the Republican side in Pct. 1, Justice of the Peace hopeful Donna VanGilder apparently won a four-way race without a runoff. With one voting box still to be reported, Van Gilder had 708 votes (54.7 percent) with a large lead over other GOP candidates including Vann Pressley with 279, J.W. Snell with 221 and Sue Fruge with 84.

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Evidence tampering trial begins in Bastrop

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A jury was seated today to consider a three-year-old felony evidence tampering charge. Testimony is expected to begin March 3 before 335th District Judge Reva Towslee Corbett.

Corbett said she will not hold court during party primary elections in Texas on March 2, which is also Texas Independence Day.

Daniel Lee Holmes is accused of altering or destroying a quantity of methamphetamine to prevent its use as evidence in a drug possession investigation. The alleged offense took place March 16, 2007.

Holmes is being defended by Bastrop lawyer Van Presley, who is also a candidate in Tuesday’s GOP party primary. Presley is seeking the party’s nomination for the Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace slot. He has three primary opponents. Two other candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for the post.

The Holmes trial is expected to conclude later this week.

Posted in Crime, Local Politics | No Comments »

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