This week city police are still seeking the public’s help in identifying the two stick up men, one of whom brandished a black handgun during the heist.

The local newspaper said it was the fifth robbery in less than three years at the All Star convenience store and gasoline station at 902 Chestnut St.

Both robbers were wearing dark clothing, and one of them had a red bandana over his face.

Anyone with knowledge of the incident is asked to call police investigators at 332-8600 or CrimeStoppers at 836-930-8477.

Newman did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

The action came after Newman faced public criticism from some board members earlier in the week. During a board meeting Monday evening, Mayor Terry Orr called for rethinking how the board’s industrial park is being developed. “The industrial park needs a kick start,” said Orr. “I for one don’t know what our plans are (for the project).

Board member Pat Crawford called for a workshop to review the agency’s strategic plan. “Our strategic plan sucks,” she said.

In a different part of the meeting Monday, board members retreated behind closed doors in part to review and evaluate Newman’s recent job performance. Subsequently Mills scheduled a private meeting with Newman.

A board member, who was not authorized to speak for the agency and asked not to be named, said Newman was not asked to resign and no single issue apparently led to his sudden departure, adding “maybe it was just time to make a change.”

Mayor Orr praised Newman’s years of service to the agency and said Mills and other board members will cover Newman’s executive responsibilities until a new leader is selected.

The economic development agency is funded by a dedicated half-cent sales tax which was approved for the purpose by voters in the mid 1990s. In addition to the board’s industrial park and its popular matching grant program for improving the appearance of central business district buildings, other recent activities include building new sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting and landscaping along Chestnut Street from Water Street to Texas 95.

The board is also pledged to pay for new water, sewer and underground electric lines in Alley B on the west side of the 900 block of Main Street. The board is also planning to install new street lighting on Main Street between Pine and Spring Street.

The chief’s office in Bastrop has been vacant since former chief David Board abruptly resigned in August after being charged with drunk driving in Austin. Assistant Chief Matt Wagner has been the acting chief since then.

Gregory Michael Blake is slated to begin his duties in Bastrop beginning Feb. 28, according to City Manager Mike Talbot.

Blake spent more than 20 years rising through the ranks of the Garland Police Department, beginning in 1973, to become assistant chief. In 2000 he was named chief of the Harlingen department, a post he left in 2002 before taking charge of the Tomball Police Department where he remained until moving to the Kyle position in early 2008.

Last week Talbot said he hopes to interview the final trio a final time this week before announcing who will succeed David Board who resigned as police chief in August after being charged with drunk driving in Austin.

The finalist short list includes Kyle police chief Gregory Blake along with Kenneth Evans, a lieutenant in the Round R0ck police department, and Jeff Wendling, currently a captain in the Kerville police department.

Talbot and an invited panel of advisers initially interviewed seven candidates selected from more than 100 applicants last month.

Funeral plans were not immediately announced.

A Bastrop native, Griesenbeck and his wife Ruby opened an appliance sales and repair shop on Main Street following his service during World War II. He rose to political prominence following his election to the city council in 1963. That was followed (1964-66) by a term in the mayor’s chair before he won election as county judge, a post he held from 1967 to 1982 and again in 1984-86.

The Griesenbeck years were marked by conservative fiscal policies and innovative programs aimed to promote growth and development, often aided by federal programs and initiatives. As mayor and county judge Griesenbeck was active in creation of the Bastrop Housing Authority, Bastrop Hospital Authority, Smithville Airport, Aqua Water Supply Corp. and Combined Community Action, a local agency that administers a variety of federal programs in the area.

He was also active in the formation of the Capital Area Council of Governments, serving as its first executive board chairman, as well as a related spin-off organization, the Capital Area Housing Finance Corp. As county judge Griesenbeck also expended significant political capital, in the face of some popular opposition, to bring a federal prison to Bastrop on a site formerly part of the World War II Army training camp at Camp Swift.

Veteran political observers say his achievements include building a formidable coalition of supporters and allies extending from Washington, DC to Austin, to local bankers, other business owners and power brokers while including a web of support which extended to every part of Bastrop County and across racial and ethnic lines.

In his later years the retired judge was especially proud of his role in launching Aqua Water which extended retail water service to rural areas of Bastrop County and paved the way for significant population and business growth in the decades since. “Aqua opened up the county to development,” said former Bastrop mayor David Lock, who noted that water supply was a significant growth restraint especially in western and southern parts of Bastrop County for many years.

Griesenbeck is survived by his wife, Ruby; two children, William Griesenbeck and Jo Ann Cantrell; and a number of grandchildren.

The city’s home rule charter makes the city manager, not the city council, responsible for naming the police chief, but Talbot said he reviewed the selection process Nov. 30 with the council during a closed door session. He vowed to keep the council informed about the progress of the process, he said in a telephone interview Dec. 2.

The initial short list forwarded to city officials by personnel consultant Ray and Associates included eight names, but one of them–a Houston area police chief–withdrew from consideration Dec. 2, apparently after being told the finalist list was being released to Bastrop-News.com The list of applicants was sought under the Texas Public Information Act.

The short list includes Bastrop Interim Police Chief Matt Wagner who took over the department after former chief David Board resigned earlier this year when he was charged with drunk driving in Austin. Wagner has spent his entire law enforcement career in Bastrop, joining the force as a patrol officer in 1994. He was assistant chief when Board stepped aside.

Others on the list include current police chiefs in Kennedale, Kyle, Trophy Clubs and Willis as well as veteran police leaders in Kerville and Round Rock.

Michael Blake has been chief of police in Kyle since 2008. Before that he served as chief in Tomball beginning in 2002 and Harlingen beginning in 2000. During a tenure with police in Garland beginning in 1973, he rose to the position of assistant chief.

Thomas W. Williams is another applicant. He has been chief of the Kennedale police force since 2006. Before that he spent more than 25 years with the Keller police department beginning in 1980. He was assistant chief in Keller when he was tapped for the Kennedale post.

Scott Kniffer was named police chief in Trophy Clubs in 2006 after service as police chief in Sunset Valley beginning in 1993. Before than he was an internal affairs investigator for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville.

James Nowak Jr. has been chief of police in Willis since 2005. In 2004 he retired as a lieutenant from the Lufkin police department after 20 years of service. Before taking up police work Nowak was part owner of an ambulance service.

Jeffrey Lee Wendling has been a captain with the Kerville Police Department since 2005. Before that he spent more than 30 years with the (former) U.S. Customs Service and after 1973 with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Kenneth Edward Evans is a lieutenant with the Round Rock police department, an agency he joined in 1999 after serving in the El Paso police department beginning in 1993. Previously he was a military police officer for the U.S. Army.

At the end of the interview process next week, up to three candidates could be invited for a second round of interviews, said Talbot. At the same time, all of them could be rejected and a fresh round of applications sought, he said.

It was the city’s only hospital facility.

Bastrop County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Fisher said his office was notified before 8 a.m. that Guardian EMS, the county’s ambulance operator, would no longer take emergency cases to Lakeside, beginning immediately. Patients were redirected to Smithville Regional Hospital or other suitable facilities in the area.

Gayle Wilhelm, the top assistant to Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald, said her office had no additional information late Friday.

Matt Wagner, Bastrop’s acting police chief, said his office was asked to keep a close eye on Lakeside about 11 a.m. because employees were beimg terminated and sent home. Apparently workers had no advance notice of the hospital closing, said Wagner. The hospital employed some 80 workers.

By mid afternoon, the front door at Lakeside had a sheet of paper taped to it saying the hospital is closed and giving a telephone number to contact if anyone needs medical records from the facility.

In a Friday afternoon telephone interview Bastrop Mayor Terry Orr said he was notified of the impending closure Friday morning. He had no additional details about what may have led to the move by Austin-based owner Blackhawk Healthcare LLC which bought the facility in July 2009 for a reported $20 million.

The mayor did say, however, that in recent weeks he has been in contact with officials from the Austin-based St. David’s Hospital System. Orr said he has encouraged St. David’s officials to maintain a hospital facility in or near Bastrop. St. David’s and Lakeside officials have been in contact as recently as last week, said Orr.

Earlier this year St. David’s was in talks with Smithville Regional Hospital officials about assuming responsibility for their operations.

The 15-bed Lakeside Hospital opened in 2006

The grant of Federal money through the Texas Department of Agriculture only targets Texas Main Street Program cities.

The project will extend the recently completed sidewalk installation and related features east from the new city hall and convention center across Gills Branch and link up with Texas 95 on both sides of Chestnut Street. The main feature will be a foot bridge across Gills Branch to link the convention center, due for completion early next year, to the Chestnut Square entertainment center.

Chestnut Street sidewalk and related improvements between Water Street and the Union Pacific Railroad were financed by the Bastrop Economic Development Corp. Similar work between Water and Main Street was paid for with separate grant money from the Texas Department of Transportation.

Bastrop City Manager Mike Talbot credited Bastrop Main Street Program manager Nancy Wood with pushing the latest grant award to success. Work should begin next year.

In the past the city has accepted donations of art for display in city parks and public buildings, but has not previously solicited and paid for such works.

The art project, recommended by a recently appointed art in public places task force, will cover the cost of reproducing, enlarging and framing some significant historic photos of Bastrop. It will also pay some photographers for reproducing their images which illustrate the city’s visual heritage.

The photos will decorate some hallways and other public areas of the new city hall, said task force chair Karol Rice. The pictures will complement the building itself, designed by architect Mervin Fatter, which is inspired by late 19th century railroad station depots such as the one which formerly sat in Bastrop at Chestnut Street and what is now the Union Pacific Railroad line. The new city hall sits just east of the rail line on Chestnut Street.
Rice said the arts task force is also developing plans to embellish the new convention center across the street from the city hall which is nearing completion. City Manager Mike Talbot told Bastrop-News.com that some money will be available for art in and possibly on the grounds of the convention center. He did not suggest an amount.

Initially suggested by Council Member Kay Garcia McAnally, the art in public places task force was created by the city council earlier this year.

Board, 46, had been a Bastrop policeman since 1986. He will remain on leave without official duties until Nov. 1 when he will qualify for city retirement benefits, said an announcement today from Bastrop City Manager Mike Talbot. The city manager said Board’s resignation has been accepted and is irrevocable.

Board had been on leave since Aug. 18. The previous evening he was arrested in Austin on a drunk driving charge.
Talbot said Board was “allowed to resign” as part of a negotiated arrangement for his separation from city employment.

Talbot said a search for a new chief for the 25-member department will begin immediately. In the meantime, Assistant Chief Matt Wagner will direct the department.