Hays County news

Updated June 27, 2008, 1:45 p.m.

The Hays Highway

Former county judge a wanted man in PEC investigation
Former Hays County Judge W.W. “Bud” Burnett did not show up on Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify at a congressional hearing on mismanagement of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative and is believed to be hiding out at a “remote ranch in New Mexico.”
(June 27, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

BS/EACD declares alarm stage drought
The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District has declared an alarm stage drought, meaning all its permittees must reduce water use by 20 percent. The district cited dry conditions since last September.
(June 27, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Charges against accused parents dropped
The Hays County District Attorney’s Office has “reluctantly” decided to file motions to dismiss pending cases for Injury to a Child on Esther and Cipriano Gonzales IV.
(June 20, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Conley proposes tract buy as Blanco River trails, parks hub
Hays County and Wimberley officials are thinking about buying the First Baptist Church property for use as a one-stop campus for government and nonprofits and part of Cypress Creek parks belt.
(June 11, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Commissioners institute burn ban
Dry conditions have compelled Hays County Commissioners to institute a burn ban, effective Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
(June 4, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Ingalsbe plan would add turn lanes to SH 21
The Hays County commissioners court is nearing the bottom of the barrel in $47 million in road bond money approved by voters in 2001.
(June 3, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Taking page from her opponent, Prado adds evening court hours
Justice of the Peace Jo Anne Prado announced that she would start keeping her office opened until 7 p.m. one day a week. Republican Party challenger Rodney van Oudekerke has campaigned on adding evening hours for months.
(May 26, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Judge says public won’t be locked out of future public meetings
Precautions will be taken to make sure the courthouse is not locked during future meetings of a committee appointed to vet transportation projects for an expected November bond election, Hays County Judge Elizabeth Sumter said today.
(May 20, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Suspected Wal-Mart plotter worried Hays County officials
A man police say they stopped from shooting up a Wal-Mart in Austin is a former Hays County resident who made frequent visits to the courthouse that unnerved some employees.
(May 15, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Appraised property values up more than $1 billion
The appraised market value of property in Hays County grew more than a billion dollars since last year with preliminary numbers coming in at $13.22 billion compared to $11.63 billion in 2007.
(May 13, 2008)
See the San Marcos Mercury story.

Conley pushes county cop pay
Concerned that Hays County is poorly positioned to recruit qualified law officers, Commissioner Will Conley brought a police pay proposal before the commissioners court last week. (April 10, 2008)
See story.

County tries to stall sprawl
Hays County Commissioners are writing new tools into a revision of their development regulations, hoping they can discourage sprawling developments. (April 6, 2008)
See story.

Woods resigns in Uhland
Uhland City Administrator Diana Woods resigned last week so she can return to federal service. Woods has led efforts to improve SH 21 and combine resources for Uhland and Niederwald. (April 3, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Tight squeeze
Hays County commissioners might have to summon some confusing creativity if they're going to pass a road bond, build a big jail addition, construct a new government center and keep the tax rate below 50 cents. (March 31, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County shoots down gun ban
By the narrowest of 3-2 margins, Hays County commissioners turned back an attempt to ban firearms discharge on lots of two acres or less. (March 26, 2008)
See story.

A good fight spoiled
A highly contentious expenditure of $1.6 million in parks bond money to build a road lost its fire last week, when Hays County legal counsel discovered the funding is appropriate. (March 18, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County bucks Texas trend
Voters in Hays County went against the rest of Texas by picking Barack Obama decisively as their Democratic presidential preference. However, the final caucus results could still give Obama a statewide delegate win. (March 6, 2008)
See story.

Ingalsbe wins easily
Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe's easy Democratic primary win proved she can withstand a challenge from within her party. Now, she faces Republican Nick Ramus in the general election. (March 6, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County springs for Jacob's Well
County commissioners expended ten percent of their 2007 parks bond money for the preservation of Jacob's Well, one of Hays County's most esteemed landmarks. (February 29, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

What can it mean?
Commentary
Hays County Judge Liz Sumter wants to work up a comprehensive plan for the county. Can the county really do that? (February 27, 2008)
See story.

County compromises on bonds
Hays County commissioners ended a day of tense discussion by accepting a compromise on revenue bonds and a November election to complete funding for state road projects. (February 13, 2008)
See story.

Coming to a head
Expect a morning of legislative drama Tuesday at the Hays County courthouse, where Precinct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton will motion for the commissioners to issue revenue bonds in defiance of the county judge's wishes. (February 11, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

TxDOT pitches new road plan
State road officials offered a new pass-through financing proposal to Hays County commissioners Thursday morning, replacing RR 12 improvements with new wrinkles on Interstate-35. (February 1, 2008)
See story.

Roads take the stage
Since Hays County voters rejected a road bond last May, the action between county commissioners and TxDOT has taken place behind the curtain. That should change Thursday. (January 29, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County puts parks on hold
Seeing a need to change the way they approve funding for parks projects, the Hays County commissioners set a moratorium until April 1 while they work out new criteria. (January 29, 2008)
See story.

Road keeps winding
After another discussion about their transportation advisory board (TAB) last week, the Hays County commissioners still haven't decided the board's direction. (January 28, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Faith-based argument
Commentary
HaysCAN President Charles O'Dell would have us believe the commissioners court is funding a faith-based organization by issuing $1.6 million towards infrastructure for youth football fields. Is he right? (January 23, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Sumter's double whammy
Hays County Judge Liz Sumter took a double whammy at Tuesday's meeting of the commissioners court. When she unnecessarily recused herself from a controversial matter, she couldn't even pick who got the gavel. (January 22, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Too many cooks
Commentary
Discord reported this week on the commissioners court illustrates one more way the county can drag its feet on state roads projects. (January 18, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Sumter reviews 2007
Hays County Judge Liz Sumter reviewed the commissioners court's 2007 performance this week. (January 11, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Long road ... surprise finish?
Not so long ago, a plan for state funds to support road improvements in eastern Hays County seemed lost. Now, the Interstate-35 area could receive more state money than originally planned. (January 10, 2008)
See story.

County seeks civic center manager
The Hays County commissioners are so happy with Barry Nelson's work managing the civic center that they want to hire him and cut costs. (January 9, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Tenorio blasts county
Though Hays County Judge Liz Sumter got what she wanted when she addressed the Buda City Council last week, she also got an earful from Buda Councilmember Sandra Tenorio. (January 8, 2008)
See story.

Busy primary for San Marcos
The political primary season for the next couple months will be light through most of Hays County, but San Marcos could be a rollicking exception. (January 3, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

The past year in Hays County
The new commissioners court in Hays County was more noted for its arguments than its achievements in 2007, but might have cleared the ground for more in 2008. (January 2, 2008)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Pass-through pact still alive
Hays County Commissioners learned this week that a pass-through agreement with the state to finance roads, once feared dead, remains alive. (December 19, 2007)
See story.

Action-packed agenda
County government doesn't have to be tedious. Next week's county court meeting could include major developments for parks, economic development and transportation in the Buda and Kyle areas. (December 13, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Lining up for county cash
Parks projects already angled for county funding Tuesday as the Hays County commissioners issued one-third of $30 million in parks bonding authority granted by voters in May. (December 11, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Cruz to retire
Hays County Precinct 1 Constable Lupe Cruz, who serves San Marcos, said he will not run for a sixth term in 2008. (December 1, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

A few notes
Hays County commissioners were supposed to meet with TxDOT officials Monday. But the meeting didn't happen. (November 20, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Public-private profiteering?
Liz Sumter's campaign for county judge complained that building roads enriches private firms. Evidently, she's fine when private firms profit from financing them. (November 17, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Bryant by a mile, Bose by a nose
Gaylord Bose held onto his San Marcos city council seat by three votes Tuesday, meaning challenger Jude Prather is likely to ask for a recount. Meanwhile, Ray Bryant won a council seat by a landslide in Kyle. (November 6, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County moves on FM 1626
Hays County commissioners finally voted to resume work on FM 1626 Tuesday, approving $1.7 million for preliminary engineering by a 3-2 vote. (October 30, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

FM 1626 saga continues
Hays County commissioners passed a report on FM 1626 containing the strongest language yet that the county wishes to save its pass-through agreement with TxDOT. (October 23, 2007)
See story.

Dismissed suit saves county
A federal judge dismissed a suit against a former Hays County deputy this month, sparing the county a third payment in little more than a year for misconduct in the sheriff's office. (October 22, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

If you build it ...
Two years after adding its own district court, Hays County is way under capacity for jail space. But who wants to talk about jails? (October 16, 2007)
See story.

Budget philosophy
Before they talk about budget, the Hays County commissioners are talking about budget philosophy. Two questions: What's the best way to compensate employees? And how about budgeting for prevention? (July 4, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County responds to TxDOT
The Hays County Commissioners crafted a response Tuesday to TxDOT in light of the failed road bond. But no one knows if the response will sustain a road financing agreement that would funnel $133.2 in state money to the county. (June 13, 2007)
See story.

Ms. Sumter goes to Buda
Hays County Judge Liz Sumter, no friend of a failed road bond proposal, visited Thursday with Buda voters who badly want road improvements. (June 8, 2007)
See story.

One more chance for roads
Commentary
Buda officials hoped for a large turnout in support of roads at today's meeting of the Hays County Commissioners Court. Despite voter rejection of road bonds, the county still has a short window for claiming state road money. (May 29, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Road bond loses, by a mile
Close to half of Wimblerley's registered voters went to the polls, while turnout in Kyle and San Marcos sat below ten percent. As those facts would predict, a $172 million Hays County road bond failed Saturday. (May 12, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Election Day
County infrastructure projects, school matters and positions in city governments are all on the line today when Hays County voters go to the polls. (May 12, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Tension rises as bond election nears
Analysis
Hays County is abuzz with gamesmanship and political tension in advance of Saturday's hotly contested $172 million road bond election. (May 11, 2007)
See story.

County to study gun regulation
Following the accidental shooting death of a seven-year-old boy, the Hays County Commissioners Court is appointing a committee to study gun regulation on small lots. (May 2, 2007)
See story.

What time it is
Commentary
Following the catastrophic death of a child, the new Hays County Commissioners Court will address a failure of the old court. (April 20, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County chooses Wonder World land
After struggling with the decision, the Hays County Commissioners Court chose a location on Wonder World Drive for a new government center. (April 11, 2007)
See story.

Court to pick building site
Five years after taking estimates on the cost of a new government center, a Hays County commissioners court is soon to pick out a site. Meanwhile, the cost has doubled. (April 8, 2007)
See story.

Hard-working court
Commentary
The new Hays County Commissioners Court seems to have held as many workshops and special meetings in the last four weeks as the last court held in four years. (March 12, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Commissioners beat deadline
Facing a Monday deadline to ask voters for a road bond or hold their peace, Hays County commissioners agreed to ask for $202 million in bond projects in a May 12 election. (March 12, 2007)
See story.

Deadline looms
Only two business days remain for Hays County commissioners to decide how to structure a ballot for roads and parks bonds if voters are going to see it on May 12. (March 9, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Contemplative court
Hays County commissioners still haven't called the road bond election anticipated since last week. But it could happen soon. Or later. (March 8, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

County to ask for big bond
An uncertainty two months ago, it now appears the Hays County Commissioners Court will ask voters to approve a bond approaching $200 million for roads and parks. (February 28, 2007)
See story.

State historian
The governor has appointed the head of Texas State's Department of History as the new official state historian. (February 28, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Court to share road work
Rather than fight over who's going to administrate road projects among them, the Hays County commissioners decided it will be no one. (February 15, 2007)
See story.

Birds in the back
Commentary
Texas has a greater variety of birds than any other state. We know that because of an annual bird count coming up again this month. (February 6, 2007)
See The Daily Drive entry.

Subdivisions and revisions
The Hays County Commissioners decided to wait on recommendations from a new member to place tougher standards on residential developers. (January 30, 2007) See The Daily Drive entry.

Asking for an audit
The new Hays County Commissioners Court is asking for an audit that the old court cancelled. (January 18, 2007) See The Daily Drive entry.

The first shot? Or the last?
Commentary
A storm already is gathering over the incoming Hays County Commissioners Court over who's taking the lead on conjectured road projects. (December 6, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

A bad idea bombs
The Hays County Sheriff's Office has charged four Hays High School students in a bomb scare. (December 6, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

New court faces old problems
As the majority of Hays County's commissioners court flipped overnight, the status of pending county projects is uncertain. (November 8, 2006) See story.

County voters side with Democrats
Unlike voters in the rest of Texas, but like voters across the nation, Hays County voters embraced Democratic candidates on Election Day. (November 8, 2006) See story.

Dems hope to take court
Commentary
Eight years after a GOP sweep in Texas changed the Hays County Commissioners Court, local Democrats hope to take it back in today's elections. (November 7, 2006) See story.

Sophisticated suspects
The Hays County district attorney's office can deal with shoplifters and pot dealers. But now the DA is up against real operators. (September 14, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Debating the future
Analysis
Hays County voters will speak in two months. Now, the candidates are taking their turns. (September 13, 2006) See story.

County increases elderly exemption
Hays County commissioners approved a $20,000 increase on the homestead exemption for the elderly. (September 5, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Powers seeks small tax-rate decrease
Hays County Judge Jim Powers wants to campaign on his fourth tax-rate decrease in eight years. But the county might have to take $1.3 million from its fund balance to make that happen. (August 10, 2006) See story.

From right to left and everywhere in between
The new congressional districting map means much of Hays County is shifting from one of the most conservative congressmen to one of the most liberal. (August 8, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Powers withdraws from TCEQ consideration
Hays County Judge Jim Powers has decided to concentrate on his re-election bid. (July 23, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Steel shock
Commentary
The Hays County Commissioners are surprised that a building they might have started four years ago has doubled in price. (July 14, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Powers that be
Are environmentalists more worried than Hays County Republicans that Hays County Judge Jim Powers could be headed to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)? (June 25, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Build SH 45, or extend MoPac?
Commentary
There might be more than one way to resolve the Brodie Lane controversy for Hays County commuters. (May 21, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Brodie Lane imbroglio
Hays County commuters probably don't need to worry about a complete Brodie Lane closure, but Travis County officials will look at it again in a couple weeks. (May 2, 2006) See story.

A day without Hays County?
Commentary
What would happen to Travis County companies if their Hays County employees couldn't get to work? (May 2, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

County confrontation
Commentary
Hays County leaders will be in Travis County Commissioners Court trying to keep Brodie Lane open. (May 1, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Hays County GOP stands pat
Hays County Republicans sent three incumbents to the Commissioners Court general election. (March 8, 2006) See story.

The results are in. Mostly
The primary election results are in ... mostly (March 8, 2006). See The Daily Drive entry.

County Judge faces primary challenge on ideology
Ernest Murry is challenging incumbent Judge Jim Powers in today's Repubican primary vote because Powers isn't a conservative Republican. (March 6, 2006) See story.

Temperature time
Commentary
Hays County voters are less conservative than those in most of Texas, but they'll take their temperature this week at the polls (March 6, 2006). See The Daily Drive entry.

Primaries heating up
Commentary
It takes a little while for the political year to warm up in Hays County. Fortunately, it has. (Feb. 24, 2006) See The Daily Drive entry.

Hays County opposes gay marriage, but ...
In most respects, Hays County voters were right in step with the rest of Texas on a pretty busy off-year Election Day. But they differed more with the rest of Texas on gay marriage than any other issue. More ...

Here comes the judge
Maybe Bill Henry didn't create his new job as District 428 court judge for himself. Others helped, after all. More ...

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