October 15, 2009

No official count was taken, but toward the end of the session when Jim Bigham asked how many of the 300 Horseshoe Bay property owners attending last Thursday’s Town Hall Meeting were in favor of the proposed street upgrade plan for the Fairways neighborhood, about a dozen hands were lifted.

A Travis County jury that took only 20 minutes to find Paul G. Devoe III guilty of capital murder, took just over three hours last Thursday to sentence Devoe to death. The jury found that Devoe would be a “continuing threat to society” and that there were no “mitigating circumstances” that would warrant imposition of a life sentence without parole rather than the death penalty.

Horses and Harleys, cowgirls and cappuccino…find them all in the daily crowd at newly opened Kingsland Coffee Company. This overnight success proves that a great idea and a quality product, introduced at the right time, can work even in these tough financial times. Rick Gregory and Drew Gerencer discussed opening a coffee shop for years before leasing a 30 year old real estate building on RR 1431 in Kingsland, around the corner from HEB, and remodeling it.

Early voting in the November 3 election begins Monday, October 19, at Quail Point Lodge in Horseshoe Bay. Residents of HSB will vote for or against a proposition to adopt a quarter of a percent sales tax for road maintenance. Also on the ballot will be city council offices, but since incumbents Mayor Bob Lambert and Council Member Claudia Haydon, as well as newcomer Phil Leedid not draw any opposition, those races are not contested. Candy Kokernot, Election Administrator for Llano County, s ...

Big Tex is ready for OU weekend, and a lot of big people from Oklahoma are ready for UT weekend. The showdown, the Red River Rivalry, has arrived with an unusual route by the Sooners, but the excitement is all there, and Fair Park has a tent for us for our weekly report. Oklahoma vs.

Donate your gently-used golf clubs, balls and new gloves to send to our troops overseas. Donations may be dropped off at the Slick Rock Pro Shop through Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009. For your generous donations, receive a certificate for 10% off any hard good purchase, redeemable at Slick Rock and Cap Rock Pro Shops.

On October 2, the Horseshoe Bay Police Department expanded its service capabilities with the transfer of a part-time dispatcher to a full-time capacity. The additional personnel request was approved by the HSB City Council during budget hearings for the 2010 fiscal year. With the additional dispatcher the police department is also expanding its office hours to be open during the weekends, as well as extending regular office hours by an additional hour each day.

On Sunday October 11, the International Club held their monthly meeting with 75 folks in attendance. The program for this meeting was Living in Korea, presented by Virginia and Evan Roberts. The members shared delicious covered dishes, but the highlight was the Korean dishes prepared and served by Virginia. The Roberts’ year long adventure in 2004 was a wonderful experience living in a different land.

The Llano River Chuck Wagon Cook-Off is an annual visit to the time, more than a century ago, when cowboys and cattle drives were mainstays of the Texas economy. Invented by Charles Goodnight in 1866 to provide proper nutrition for cowboys who spent months at a time on the trail, the “chuck wagon” is now the officially designated “state vehicle of Texas.” Today, 21 expected contestants will begin setting up in Badu Park in the City of Llano, along the north bank of the Llano River.

The Llano High School band attended the Westlake Marching Festival Saturday, October 10, and received first place in Division AA/AAA for marching, percussion, auxillary, and music. They also received first place overall in Division AA/AAA. Saturday the band goes to Brady to compete for their 31st first place rating in UIL marching.

Texas cities’ sales tax collections for August were down 7.3 percent compared to August last year. But that’s an improvement over July’s 12.2 percent decline from July 2008, according to the monthly report issued on Friday from Texas Comptroller Susan Combs. Some Hill Country cities fared worse than the statewide average for August sales compared to last August, including Blanco (down 20.96%), Llano (down 18.83%), Johnson City (down 14.75%), and Horseshoe Bay (down 10.51%). Faring bette ...

Suzie Humphreys has been fired, been broke, been disappointed, been a petrified expectant mother at forty years old. Yet, she still lives her life with a passion for learning not only how to be better, but to see things differently. Come and hear Suzie’s inspirational story at the Men of Faith Breakfast sponsored by the Church at Horseshoe Bay on October 27 at 8 a.m.

Chris Sanders (second from left), owner of the Tall Texan, got expert “feed back” on the new menu from (L to R) Jesse Horner, Head Golf Pro at Cap Rock, Glenn Lee, Director of Golf at HSB Resort, Lee Moran who designed the cover, and James Rolls, Head Golf Pro at Slick Rock.

Bright orange paint along Hi Circle South and Hi Mesa marks the path a new 12 inch water line will follow to facilitate an increased flow of water to Horseshoe Bay West. Horseshoe Bay City Manager Stan Farmer said the system is served by a 12 inch line at Hi Mesa and Western Bit, but an 8 inch line runs from there to RR 2147, where it again connects to a 12 inch line.

The Ladies Nine Holers hosted the Big Sis/Little Sis tournament this year. There were 63 players competing. The tournament was played at Slick Rock Golf Course on Thursday, October 8. Every lady received a pink ribboned bag from the “Rally for the Cure” along with a goodie bag containing a ball marker, a pink ribbon pin, and a snack bar.

Occasionally an article appears in the newspaper about an amazing rescue of a person who has been in grave danger. You have read of these incidents from the war zones of Iraq or Afghanistan, but many have occurred much closer to home: a heroic passerby pulls a frantic family from a car that has become stuck in a flooded creek or a brave captain lands his crippled commercial airplane on the Hudson River.

Normally, we just don’t do it. A pal calls and you say, “Nope, looks like rain — just rather not.” I would like to make a case for getting a Farmer’s Almanac, Southern Living magazine or at least consult the Weather Channel before EVER entering a golf tournament. Three weeks ago a pal and I had the opportunity to play in the Women’s Southern Golf Association senior stroke play tournament.

With the stroke of a pen on May 22, President Obama authorized major changes to the way American credit card issuers do business. In the President’s view, these are “common-sense reforms designed to protect consumers.”1 Consumer advocates are rejoicing, but banks are already contending that the reforms might be bad for cardholders in the long term.

Dear Editor, Having attended the October 8th workshop concerning the road upgrade program for The Fairways area proposed by the Mayor; and whereby with a show of hands and an unfriendly petition waiting in wings was rendered effectively dead; I still came away with the sense that a consensus is beginning to form among the citizens concerning this issue. First of all, let us not blame the Mayor or Council for “firing a shot across the bow” of the community.