NOVEMBER 30, 2022 TIGERS ADVANCE TO REGIONAL FINALS
FOOD BANK TACKLES FOOD INSECURITY PAGE 2
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News-Dispatch © Barton Publications, Inc.
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HaysNewsDispatch.com
Vol. 43 • No. 10
Serving Hays County, TX
New apartments coming to Dripping Springs
BY MEGAN WEHRING
DRIPPING SPRINGS – Wayfinder Real Estate broke ground on a 241-unit multi-family community at 13059 Four Star Boulevard, Austin. The location was formerly the home of Trudy’s Four Star restaurant. Lookout, scheduled to open in late 2024, is said to provide a more affordable alternative to owning a single-family home in the Dripping Springs area that has seen its population double over the last decade. “Dripping Springs has long attracted young families due to its excellent schools and small-town charm in the middle of
See LOOKOUT, page 4
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Design of the new Lookout apartments in Dripping Springs.
Coats for Kids is accepting new and gently used coats through Dec. 2.
DSISD collects coats for kids BY MEGAN WEHRING DRIPPING SPRINGS – To help children keep warm, some Dripping Springs ISD campuses are collecting coats. Coats for Kids partners with Jack Brown Cleaners, iHeartRadio and KVUE to collect and distribute coats to Central Texas children up to 18 years old in need. This year, Rooster Springs Elementary is supporting Coats for Kids to help make a difference by holding a coat drive through Dec. 2. Drop-off locations include Rooster Springs Elementary, Cypress Springs Elementary, Dripping
See COATS, page 2 CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Public defender’s office gets green light BY MEGAN WEHRING
HAYS COUNTY – The longawaited public defender’s office (PDO) is moving forward in Hays County. On Nov. 22, the Hays County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an agreement between the county and Neighborhood Defender Service, Inc. (NDS), though the contract was originally supposed to be ready in August. The $11,282,910 (or about $2.256 mil. annually) contract is effective through Sept. 30, 2027, but can be renewed for another five-year term. In August 2021, the court allocated up to $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to create a PDO. Now, the remainder of the funding will need to be budgeted. The contract states that if the court
fails to appropriate funding for the agreement for the following fiscal year, the county may terminate the contract after giving NDS a 60-day notice of the terminated contract. NDS will be assigned up to the equivalent of 1,434 misdemeanor cases annually over the term of the contract for years two through five, according to the contract, where a misdemeanor counts as one misdemeanor case and a felony counts as 1.87 misdemeanor cases. The caseload will be prorated for the partial, first year of the contract. Cyrus Gray III, a former inmate of the Hays County Jail, was incarcerated for nearly five years pretrial. “The time inspired me to advocate for men and women who unfortunately, are and have been experiencing the same thing I
TEXANS MOVE TO NEXT ROUND – PAGE 5
See PDO, page 3
Eben Sebastian, a sophomore at Dripping Springs High School was one of 14 speakers selected for the TEDx event.
DSHS sophomore speaks at TEDx BY MEGAN WEHRING DRIPPING SPRINGS – Eben Sebastian, a sophomore at Dripping Springs High School (DSHS), was one of 14 speakers and the only teenager selected for the TEDx event held on Sept. 24 in Harker Heights. TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading.” TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through events organized by passionate
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individuals who seek to uncover new ideas and share the latest research in their local areas that spark conversations in their communities. More than 3,000 events are now held annually. Sebastian, 15, talked about how taste influences the way we experience food and how it impacts our daily life in his presentation, “Is Taste a Blessing Or a Curse - Adapting ESG to Ourselves.” To watch the presentation, visit https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9ptn-TS2zFM.