Archive for March 9th, 2010

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 »