SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 FM 150 FOR NOW
CARONAVIRUS Q&A
Kyle to form ad hoc committee for renaming of Rebel Drive.
Local Baylor, Scott & White doctor clears up COVID-19 misconceptions.
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HaysNewsDispatch.com
Vol. 40 • No. 48
Serving Hays County, TX
Company’s pullout turns Kyle smiles into frowns Kyle’s Director of Economic Development Diana Torres said at the time that SmileDirect represented a capital investment of $37 million.
BY ANITA MILLER
when officials welcomed the company inside the It was to be the largest vast empty space at the employer in the city of Hays Logistics Center. Kyle, bringing in close to But those promises 1,000 jobs paying $40,000 went unkept, as the comper year or more. pany has canceled its SmileDirect, which plans to expand here. manufactures invisible City and county tooth aligners, made big officials were on hand promises back in October for the announcement,
which also included a promise that all the company’s jobs would be filled locally — 439
people in its first year of operation, increasing to 643 during its second year and achieving
full employment of 850 during its third year. Kyle was chosen over competing cities in the Southeast including Atlanta, and SmileDirect was granted incentives from both the city and county as well as a $2,215,000 grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund,
which is overseen by the office of Governor Greg Abbott. Kyle’s Director of Economic Development Diana Torres said at the time that SmileDirect represented a capital investment of $37 million.
SMILEDIRECT, 7
Two held for burglary near Dripping Springs STAFF REPORT
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY DRIPPING SPRINGS DRIVE-IN CINEMA
Dripping Springs drive-in cinema opens
The newly-opened Dripping Springs Drive-In Cinema just outside of the city limits had its first weekend in operation with screenings of “Shrek,” “Back to the Future,” “Groundhog Day” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” delighting visitors with a classic drive-in experience surrounded by the Hill County. See story, page 9.
‘Suspicious device’ neutralized at gas pipeline construction site BY ANITA MILLER A “suspicious device” that was later neutralized by a bomb squad is the latest incident to have occurred at work sites along the route of the Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), Kinder Morgan’s natural gas conduit running from Waha in West Texas to Katy, near Houston. Company Vice President Allen Fore told the Hays Free Press/News-Dis-
Residents in the immediate area were moved “to a safe location” and others outside the immediate area were asked to shelter in place. patch that work in the immediate vicinity was halted after a contractor discovered the device at a work site in Blanco County on Sept. 1. “We are thankful for the quick response of local law enforcement,
and we are assisting in the ongoing investigation into this criminal activity,” Fore said. He said the area was cleared and state, local and federal law enforcement agencies are managing the response.
COMING UP FAM Day Sept. 12
Family Art on Main Day is a free family craft event held outside the Inspiring Minds Art Center in Buda, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. The program is part of the City Arts Program and participants are asked to register at www. InspiredMinds.art.
Kyle Lions host 9/11 ‘Thank You’ at fire station
Kyle Local Lions Club is sponsoring a First Responders Recognition Event on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 at the downtown Fire Station in Kyle, from 9 to 11 a.m. and 3:30 to 7 p.m. All are welcome to come by during those hours, to sign a thank you card for Kyle area first responders. Participants
PARADE PICS
HCISD primes kids for school with drive-by parades.
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DPS Sgt. Deon Cockrell, who Fore directed future media inquiries to, said residents in the immediate area were moved “to a safe location” and others outside the immediate area were asked to shelter in place. Local roads were also closed, Cockrell said. Residents were allowed back in beginning at around 6 p.m. Cockrell said law
SUSPICIOUS DEVICE, 7
DRIPPING SPRINGS – Two people are in custody charged with burglary and other felony offenses following a residential break-in and carjacking on Old Fitzhugh Road on Sunday. Authorities were called to the scene around 2 p.m. to investigate the burglary in the 200 block of Old Fitzhugh Road. While on the scene, deputies with the Hays County Sheriff’s Office were alerted to a nearby carjacking and determined the two crimes were related.
ANDERSON
DICKENS
Following a search that was joined by Precinct 4 constables and the Texas Highway Patrol, 37-yearold Kotie Anderson of Pflugerville was located on Wallace Street in Drip-
SUSPECTS CAUGHT, 2
Gregg-Clarke Park pool to be named after former mayor BY MEGAN WEHRING
“I first met Mayor Adkins on the basketball KYLE – City council court,” Rizo said. “I was approved a resolution on out playing basketball Sept. 1 to name the swim- with my sons at Greggming pool located Clarke Park, he in Gregg-Clarke drove up with his Park to James grandsons and Adkins Public started playing Swimming Pool. basketball. It was Former Maythe first time I met or James Adkins the mayor.” served from 1998 Council memto 2005 as the first ber Alex Villalobos Black mayor in the said a city swimcity of Kyle. Coun- ADKINS ming pool should cil member Robert involve younger Rizo originally generations to cresuggested the idea at the ate lifelong memories. city council meeting on Aug. 18. KYLE POOL RENAMED, 2
can sign the card without leaving their car. Kyle Lions will also be collecting donations of food or money for the Hays County Food Bank. Contact the Kyle Lions [Tom Barry @ (512)636-8022] with any questions, or if you are interested in helping.
YMCA hosts free open house events during Welcoming Week
HAYS COUNTY – Welcoming Week is a nationwide initiative to build bridges and heal communities by inviting neighbors – both immigrants and U.S.-born residents – to connect, find common ground and celebrate shared values and contributions. Three YMCA locations in Hays County will mark Welcoming Week by hosting free Open House events for the community on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12 and 13. In addition, the Y is waiving its $49 membership joining fee through September 21. See page 5 for schedule of activities.
An evening with Hilton Als, Sept. 18
Acclaimed writer Hilton Als, via Zoom, will discuss the life, work and legacy of our hometown author Katherine Anne Porter Sept. 18, 7 p.m. To RSVP, email KAPLiteraryCenter@gmail. com. Als began contributing to The New Yorker in 1989, writing pieces for ‘The Talk of the Town.’ He became a staff writer in 1994, theatre critic in 2002, and lead theater critic in 2012. His first book, The Women, was published in 1996. His book, White Girls, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2014 and winner of the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for Non-fiction, discusses various narratives of race and gender. In 2017 Als won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, and in 2019 the Langston Hughes Medal. In 2020 he was named an inaugural Presidential Visiting Scholar at Princeton University for the 2020-21 academic year. He is an associate professor of writing at Columbia University’s School of the Arts and has taught at Yale University, Wesleyan, and Smith College. He lives in New York City.
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