 | | Tuesday, AUG 19, 2008 | | | |
|
|
|
Hunt school board OKs second bond election
The Hunt school board voted Thursday, Aug. 14, to place two bond propositions for a high school before voters in the Nov. 4 election.
Proposition 1, for $5.17 million, is for school buildings and associated building expenses. Proposition 2, for $4.85 million, is for a gym, cafeteria, ag classroom and shop, practice field, parking, fencing and other expenses.
Two propositions put before the voters in May, for $10 million and $3 million, failed.
A full story will be in the Aug. 21 print edition of the West Kerr Current.
Hunt resort opens
 | | A ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday officially opens the $50 million Stablewood Springs Resort in Hunt. Pictured, from left, are Shawnna Fatjo, State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, Channing and Jacqueline Fatjo, owner and developer Tom Fatjo, Ashley Fatjo, Kerr County Pct. 4 Commissioner Bruce Oehler, Kerrville Economic Development Foundation President Guy Overby and Stablewood Springs Resort President and COO Herb Lipsman. |
The $50 million Stablewood Springs Resort in Hunt was officially opened Friday with a host of dignitaries on hand, beginning a new chapter of Hill Country recreation.
Houston entrepreneur and Hunt resident Tom Fatjo Jr. said he has long had the idea for a spa and fitness center with outdoor recreation in a Hunt setting.
“I’m glad that it’s now coming to fruition,” Fatjo told a crowd attending the opening ceremonies.
Located off of Cardinal Hill Road, the 140-acre resort is part of Stablewood Estates, a development with 11 homesites in a 543-acre private sanctuary.
“I’ve been coming to this area since 1945,” Fatjo said. “I used to stay at a place called the Lynxhaven Guest Ranch when I was 5 years old and also attended Camp Stewart for Boys. I’ve always loved the area.”
Fatjo founded the waste management company Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. as well as a number of other companies, and was the initial developer of The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa in Houston, which was voted the nation’s top fitness center by USA Today.
“I’ve always wanted to have a spa and fitness center and outdoor recreational activities that are really accessible to people who come here,” he said. [Full Story] |
Council slates curfew hearing
By Clint Schroeder
West Kerr Current
Ingram City Council last Tuesday, Aug. 5, authorized an application for another $250,000 grant for wastewater system connections and set Aug. 19 as the date for a hearing on extending the curfew ordinance.
Council authorized Grantworks to apply for a 2009-10 Texas Community Development Block Grant under the Community Development Fund. If approved, the funds will be used to assist property owners with expenses related to connecting to the Ingram wastewater collection system. The grant would be in addition to a previously approved $250,000 grant for the same purpose.
The city is awaiting final USDA approval to begin construction of a wastewater collection system funded by a $3.2 million USDA Rural Development colonia grant received in June, 2005.
A public hearing on extending Ingram’s curfew for minors will be next Tuesday, Aug. 19. [Full Story]Budget hearing Tuesday
Ingram City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed City of Ingram budget for 2008-09 next Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m.
The proposed tax rate will be increased .0065 to $.3350 per $100 of assessed valuation, compared to last year’s $.3285.
Mayor Howard Jackson said the increase will amount to about $3 more for the owner of a home valued at $50,000.
“I’m not a fan of raising taxes, but I can see the growth coming,” Jackson said.
He said the budget includes about a 10 percent increase in salaries, which will be based on merit and not across-the-board.
“We seem to be getting in a position where our pay scales are more competitive, and I think that’s what we need to do,” he said. “The city is a service organization and our people are our biggest asset.”
The proposed budget shows revenues and expenses totaling $868,411, compared to last year’s $743,688.
The proposed budget may be inspected during regular business hours at the city municipal building, 230 Hwy. 39.Ingram ISD adopts budget, tax rate
By Clint Schroeder
West Kerr Current
The Ingram school board adopted the 2008-09 budget for Ingram Independent School District and set the tax rate at $1.1186 per $100 of assessed valuation, the same rate as last year.
The rate includes $1.04 for maintenance and operations and .0786 for debt service.
The budget includes an average increase of 4.04 percent in the teacher pay schedule.
The preliminary budget included a 3 percent pay increase, but during a budget workshop on July 26, board members asked that number be raised to 4 percent.
The schedule begins with Step 0, no experience, at $32,500, compared to last year’s $31,720. The schedule ends with Step 25 with a salary of $50,450, compared to $48,370 for last year’s Step 24. [Full Story]ESD2 tax hearing Aug. 21
By Irene Van Winkle
West Kerr Current
Kerr County Emergency Services District #2 met Thursday, Aug. 7, a week earlier in the month than usual to establish final numbers for the new budget. This ensures enough time to schedule a public tax hearing on Thursday, Aug. 21, before final approval, for any taxpayers in the district to have their say.
This year’s tax rate will remain unchanged at $.035 per $100 valuation.
For Fiscal Year 2009, KCESD2 showed revenues from property taxes at $31,698.51. It listed expenditures to the MHVFD totaling $26,955, and operating expenses totaled $4,815. The amount of funds in reserve are $30,470. [Full Story]SCV members honor and remember Civil War ancestors
 | | Many aged Civil War soldiers gathered July 29-Aug. 1, 1908 at Reunion Rock on the banks of the Llano River in Junction, honored by relatives and friends, while speeches were uttered and music played regularly. Although most of their identities have been lost to time, several were identified by Kimble County historian Frederica Wyatt. In front row, the eighth man from the left (with large beard) is Major W. A. Spencer; in second row, second from right, is Thomas M. Hodges; in third row, sixth from the left (short man with large goatee) is George Washington Lafayette Randle; at rear, standing third from right directly in front of the tree, is Captain John S. Durst. |
EDITOR’S NOTE — This is the 131st of a series of articles marking Kerr County’s sesquicentennial.
By Irene Van Winkle
West Kerr Current
It took some soldiers and civilians decades to accept that the Civil War was over — and some never did. Each side felt its cause was right, and that the others’ atrocities were forever unpardonable.
One story goes that two old veterans from the Civil War — a Confederate and a Yankee — met in front of the Kimble County Court House one day in 1908. The Confederate, George Washington Lafayette Randle, told the other man, John P. Hull, that he was welcome to come to a Civil War veterans reunion to be held a few days later along the river.
Hull apparently became enraged and retorted, “Well, it won’t be ‘blue’ enough for me!” He threw a punch at Randle, and a fight ensued on the court house steps. This incident later became known by the descendants as “The Last Battle of the Civil War.”
There is an abundance of published anecdotes about similar incidents of bitterness among veterans. Although time never quite healed all wounds, people began rebuilding their nation and their lives.
These days, descendants of the long-gone warriors continue to honor their own heroes. They commemorate ancestral graves, lay wreaths and tell their stories, preserving them for future generations.
Last Saturday, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, including Hill Country Camp, gathered by the town park on the Llano River in Junction for a centennial remembrance of the 1908 Confederate Veterans’ Mountain Remnant Brigade Reunion. [Full Story] |
07.AUG.08 Youth meet
07.AUG.08 Wastewater project nears USDA final approval
07.AUG.08 Ratings show improvement in area schools
07.AUG.08 ‘I Used to Dream’ to premiere at HCYR
07.AUG.08 Kelton novel evokes true life memories of ’50s drought
31.JUL.08 ITM student recovering after accident
31.JUL.08 Cowboy Camp Meeting starts Sunday with an emphasis on its future
31.JUL.08 Ingram ISD budget and tax hearing Aug. 11
31.JUL.08 Shooter in family tragedy intoxicated, reports show
31.JUL.08 Lowrance memoirs shine light on pioneer struggles, triumphs
24.JUL.08 Wastewater project apparently mired in bureaucracy
24.JUL.08 Search timeline could bring new Ingram superintendent by October
24.JUL.08 Hunt high school direction to be decided Aug. 14
24.JUL.08 Warpath camp signals targets of new A.D.
24.JUL.08 Hunt ISD candidate filing period July 27-Aug. 26
24.JUL.08 Alamo hero Andrew Kent imparted spirit to descendants
24.JUL.08 Chamber mixer postponed
17.JUL.08 Tax dollars help FLDS ‘lifestyle'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
