JANUARY 4, 2023 COMMISSIONER HONORED FOR SERVICE
FOOD BANK RECEIVES FUNDS FOR NEW FACILITY PAGE 2
PAGE 3
News-Dispatch © Barton Publications, Inc.
75¢
HaysNewsDispatch.com
Vol. 43 • No. 15
Serving Hays County, TX
Attorneys: 'Don't say no mo', release the video' Family demands transparency for victim of officer-involved shooting
BY NATALIE FRELS
SAN MARCOS — “Don’t say no mo’, release the video!” echoed through the crowd that gathered at The Cephas House in San Marcos at noon on Monday for a press conference, hosted by the attorneys for the family of the victim in an officer-involved shooting on Dec. 12. The family
of Joshua Leon Wright, 36, an inmate in the Hays County Jail who was being held prior to his trial for several misdemeanors, is demanding transparency in the form of body camera footage from Hays County Jail corrections officer Isaiah Garcia. According to the second autopsy
requested by the family, Garcia shot Wright six times as the inmate allegedly attempted to flee. Beverly Wright, the mother of the deceased, was comforted by local attorney Chevo Pastrano as attorney Ben Crump addressed the crowd and a gaggle of reporters. Crump, who has represented families
of victims involved in high-profile officerinvolved shootings, cited a Facebook post by the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) posted on the day of the incident which claimed that Wright threatened hospital staff with a sharp medical
See WRIGHT, Page 3
PHOTO BY NATALIE FRELS The family of Joshua Leon Wright and a team of attorneys make their way to the podium at the press conference held Monday in San Marcos.
19-year-old takes office as district clerk BY BRITTANY ANDERSON The new skate park in Dripping Springs is still in the preliminary phases.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Skate park planning still underway BY MEGAN WEHRING
DRIPPING SPRINGS – The highlyanticipated skate park in Dripping Springs is still in the planning stages. Dripping Springs City Council first approved the skate park proposal in 2017 and then entered into a license agreement in 2019, allowing for construction at Founders Memorial Park. On June 7, 2022, the council approved an extension of the license agreement, requiring that all construction funding for the skate park be
completed within two years. However, the idea of the skate park started in March 2014, when skate classes emerged with the Dripping Springs Community Foundation and then in November of that year, supporters filled city hall to present the idea to the Parks and Recreation department. Dennis Baldwin of the Dripping Springs Skate Park Initiative said they are currently sitting at close to $800,000 for the project. “Materials and labor costs have gone up
See PARK, Page 2
Anderson was elected during the Nov. 8 election, HAYS unseating COUNTY — The incumbent requirements Beverley to run for local Crumley, who office are actually has held office quite simple. since 2011, by More often than nearly 2,000 not, you just need Avrey Anderson votes. Anderson’s to be a U.S citizen, swearing in, along with the a resident of the state and/or swearing in of other Nov. 8 county for a certain amount of elected officials, took place time, be a registered voter, not on Jan. 1 at the Hays County be a convicted felon and be at Historic Courthouse in San least 18 years of age. Marcos. Avrey Anderson ticks all of District clerks play a vital role these boxes. Now, the 19-yearin local governments. They file, old Dripping Springs native is process and maintain records preparing to take on the role of all of the district courts’ of Hays County’s new district clerk. See CLERK, Page 2
Wimberley to remedy oak wilt at Blue Hole BY MEGAN WEHRING WIMBERLEY – At Blue Hole Regional Park, the city of Wimberley is working to remove oak wilt — one of the most destructive tree diseases. The disease has killed more than one million trees in 76 Central Texas counties, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Oak wilt is an infectious vascular disease caused by the Bretziella fagacearum fungus, which invades and disables the water conducting system in susceptible trees. On Dec. 1, Wimberley City Council approved an amendment to the 2022-23 operating budget for $15,000 to remedy oak wilt at Blue Hole Regional Park. After a
recommendation by Parks and Recreation director Richard Shaver, $100,000 was also allocated for a new parks master plan. “We just had a really good Samaritan, who is an employee of the Texas A&M Forest Service, just driving down [FM] 3237,” Shaver said. “[He] was looking at our trees from his car and set up a meeting with us; we walked down to the area and he was able to diagnose it as oak wilt.” Shaver said the most effective way to remedy oak wilt is to isolate the diseased trees, let them die and not affect any of the other oak trees in an area. “Some ways that people have done this is they can inject trees with a chemical that would
COVID RISK HIGH IN HAYS COUNTY – PAGE 2
possibly save them but would stop the disease from moving forward,” Shaver said. “But the method we decided to go with is a trenching method … If a tree is touching another oak
tree, the disease can spread from one to another.” The trenching method involves pruning the diseased trees back from the healthy trees, Shaver explained, and a trencher
Blue Hole Regional Park
The News-Dispatch Barton Publications, Inc. The News-Dispatch (USPS 011-401) published weekly by Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. Periodicals postage paid at Buda, TX 78610 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Barton Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 339, Buda, TX 78610. ISSN#1087-9323
physically isolates one area from the other. “We are fortunate where we found it so we can create a semicircle connecting from FM 3237
See BLUE HOLE, Page 2
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO