WHS sparks passion for careers
Hopes for state title come to end
WISD fights back on altered logo
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News-Dispatch Volume XXXX No. 13
Serving Western Hays County, Texas since 1982
75¢ Thursday, January 2, 2020
Christmas robber still at large STAFF REPORT
Hays County authorities are seeking a man who robbed a Dripping Springs convenience store at gunpoint early Christmas morning. It happened at approximately 2:05 a.m. at the Corner Store of Dripping
The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 6 foot 3 inches and 200 lbs. with a reddish blond bear wearing a dark hoodie, sunglasses and a black beanie.
Springs at the intersection of Sawyer Ranch Road and U.S. 290. The suspect, described as a white male, approximately 6 foot 3 inches and 200
lbs. with a reddish blond bear wearing a dark hoodie, sunglasses and a black beanie, escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash after displaying a handgun.
He reportedly left in a white four-door passenger car. If you have information regarding this incident, identity of persons, where-
abouts, etc., please contact Detective Brian Wahlert at 512-393-7343 or brian. wahlert@co.hays.tx.us. You can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 1-800-324-8477 from anywhere in the U.S. or submit your information anonymously online to Tip Line: P3tips.com
2019 YEAR IN REVIEW
PHOTO COURTESY OF BEE CAVE POLICE SERGEANT JOE REID
Samaritans saved Dripping Springs driver from car fire
Passersby came to the aid of a Dripping Springs man who flipped his car into a ditch along Hamilton Pool Road near Bee Cave on Feb. 6. Motorists Jonathan McCabe and Tyler Lawing were able to pull the driver to safety before the car burst into flames.
WISD scrutinized for opposing use of pride colors with school logo BY CAMELIA JUAREZ In the afterglow of Wimberley’s first-ever Pride Parade, Wimberley ISD was scrutinized for releasing a statement against a WISD School Board member wearing a shirt with the Wimberley High School logo against the backdrop of a pride flag. During the Wimberley pride parade, WISD School Board member
See school logo update on page 2
Lori Olson, who was out of town, posted a picture on Facebook of her wearing a shirt with the Wimberley
WISD LOGO CONTROVERSY, 2
No one was hurt in early February of last year when an 18-wheeler jackknifed along FM 150 near the Onion Creek double crossings near Driftwood. An exact cause of the wreck is unknown. However, the wreck forced officials to close the double crossings until late July so the low-water crossings could be rebuilt.
PHOTOS BY EXSAR ARGUELLO An overflow crowd full of Hill Country residents showed up at the Wimberley Community Center in January to show their concerns and opposition to the Permian Highway Pipeline. Many showed up with signs.
Kinder Morgan Pipeline tops headlines for 2019 and beyond BY STAFF REPORTS
In January of 2019, hundreds of residents packed into the Wimberley Community Center to gain advice on how to fight a 430-mile underground natural gas pipeline that’s expected to bisect Hays County. Permian Highway Pipelie is a proposed natural gas pipeline that’s expected to start in west Texas and end in Houston.
According to county officials, Kinder Morgan was proposing the pipeline as a “highway,” which qualifies the pipeline as “common carrier status,” giving Kinder Morgan the right of eminent domain. In March, transparency issues surrounding Kinder Morgan’s Permian Highway Pipeline provided more fuel for opponents fighting to keep the project from going through the Hill Country.
FM 150 double crossings take more than five months to fix
Those arguments and much more were brought to the forefront in a public meeting held at Hays High March 6. Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said adding roadblocks to Kinder Morgan’s path could force the company to seek another route. Also, in March, the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District held a public discussion to see how Kinder Morgan’s PHP
KINDER MORGAN, 2
Individual robbed Wimberley bank at gunpoint BY EXSAR ARGUELLO
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH HAYS COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE
could affect groundwater sources. In May, roughly a week after multiple parties filed suit against Kinder Morgan’s Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), the Houston-based firm fought back by filing a motion to dismiss the claims, according to a press release. The filing, submitted May 7, asked the judge in charge of the case
Authorities never apprehended a suspect who robbed in broad daylight a Wimberley bank at gunpoint June 20. According to a Hays County press release, the suspect, described as a white man, entered the Broadway Bank on Ranch Road 12 and committed an armed robbery. No customers were in the bank at the time of the robbery and none of the bank employees were injured.