Two Democratic U.S. congressional candidates running to represent Burnet and Llano counties are hosting a town hall in Granite Shoals on June 30.
Democratic candidate Justin Early is running for U.S. House of Representatives District 31, which covers Burnet County. He is facing off against the incumbent Republican District 31 Representative, John Carter.
Democratic candidate Claire Reynolds is running for U.S. House of Representatives District 11, which covers Llano County. She is facing off against incumbent Republican District 11 Representative August Pfluger.
The town hall will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, at the Granite Shoals Community Center, 1208 N. Phillips Road.
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The Briggs and Oakalla communities are joining the nationwide festivities celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary on Saturday, July 4, with the return of their annual fireworks show.
Back for its fifth year, gates will open for the Briggs and Oakalla Community Fireworks show at 6:30 p.m., with fireworks to soar across the sky at 9:30 p.m. at Faurie’s End of the Trail, located at 3225 U.S. 183 in Briggs.
Community members are invited to bring coolers with their own drinks and snacks, and a food truck will be on-site for those interested in fresh eats. As a reminder, glass bottles and personal fireworks are not allowed at the event.
The show’s founders, Darian Stern and wife Joanna, created the Fourth of July event after the local Briggs Volunteer Fire Department shut down, wanting to give the community something to band together for.
“It’s all for the community – we love the Briggs area,” Stern told DailyTrib. “It all started when the Briggs VFD shut down, and we just thought we needed to get something started for everyone. We love it and hope as many people show up as possible.”
Stern added that the event has been made possible each year through the gracious sponsorship of local aerospace company, Firefly, and several community members.
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A flexible school day at Burnet Consolidated Independent School District’s Quest High School has allowed several students to thrive in the classroom at their own pace.
Quest’s Optional Flexible School Day Program, backed by the Texas Education Agency, aims to increase students’ ability to complete credit required for graduation and reduce daily absences by allowing them more flexibility in the hours and days they are required to attend school.
Quest is an alternative high school in BCISD with a student body typically made up of several dozen youth who need a different learning environment from that at Burnet High School, whether it be for health, financial, or circumstantial reasons.
QHS Campus Coordinator Shannon Meyer told BCISD trustees that the flex program further bolsters these students’ chances at succeeding.
“There are certain situations that prevent a typical school day to not work for (Quest students),” she said during a June 22 Board of Trustees meeting. “It might be work responsibilities, because they’re financially responsible for their families. We have several students that go through pregnancies, or are fathers that are trying to support their children.”
The program has shown a positive trend of success since its inception, too, with nearly 120 students participating since the 2017-18 school year. This year, that trend continued.
“This year… we totaled 112,944 attendance minutes,” Meyer said. “We had 11 students that successfully graduated as part of the program.”
She added that students who are approved for the flex program are held to high standards and are required to upkeep a normal schedule of attendance, or else they are placed back into the regular Quest program.
“I work really hard to try and make sure this isn’t just a ‘hey, this is an easier way for you if you don’t want to come to school every day,’” she said. “If (students) show a pattern where they’re not coming when they said they were, they know that they’re going to be removed from the program and be put back on regular attendance.”
With the program’s continued success, the district’s trustees later greenlit an application to continue the program through the consent agenda during Monday night’s meeting.
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The Horseshoe Bay City Council honored four first responders June 17 for rescuing 11 people from a disabled pontoon boat on Lake LBJ during severe weather in May.
Lt. Jason Blackmon, and firefighters Josiah Villarreal and Asa Oliver received a Unit Citation Bar for their rescue roles while commanding Engine 12. Capt. Ben Miller received the Medal of Merit for rescuing the boat’s occupants. The awards were presented by Jeff Walker, one of the people rescued.
“They did a great thing and they deserve recognition,” Horseshoe Bay Fire Chief Doug Fowler said of the team.
The rescue began at 8:44 p.m. on May 10 after a pontoon boat, launching out of Granite Shoals, lost power and began drifting on Lake LBJ in wind gusts exceeding 40 mph and waves of 3 to 4 feet, according to Chief Fowler.
The boat carried 11 people, including eight children ages 7 to 17, and three adults.
Granite Shoals police were initially contacted when the boat was between Horseshoe Bay and Granite Shoals, but determined weather conditions were too severe. Llano County ESD No. 5 later reached the same conclusion.
Capt. Miller determined it was too dangerous to deploy the department’s inflatable swiftwater rescue boat and instead launched the larger Horseshoe Bay police boat. Despite heavy rain, strong winds and limited communications, Miller located the disabled vessel and towed it to Applehead Island Drive.
Engine 12 personnel met the boat at shore, treated injuries, helped passengers off the vessel and transported several people to the fire station to await pickup by family members.
Fowler praised the 911 dispatcher who remained in contact with passengers during the emergency.
“The 911 operator did a great job on keeping them engaged and keeping them from focusing on a stressful situation,” Fowler told DailyTrib.
During the council meeting, Fowler played a recording from the incident in which a teenage girl aboard the boat said, “I don’t want to die.”
Fowler said the area is developing a new coordinated response plan for water rescues ahead of the Fourth of July holiday in a “renewed effort” to improve future operations.
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Residents of Meadowlakes, along with their families and friends, are invited to the city’s annual Fourth of July parade and community festival on July 4 at Lakeside Park on Meadowlakes Drive.
The festivities begin at 9 a.m. with a parade, followed by a free community celebration that will continue until 2 p.m. There will be a variety of family-friendly activities, including a dunking booth, bounce house, face painting, balloon animals, children’s games and relays, and a patriotic presentation.
Free food and refreshments will also be available, including hot dogs, popcorn, and Kona Ice.
Residents are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. To participate in the parade, visit here before June 30. The parade has 4 categories, including golf carts and three-wheeled motorized vehicles, bicycles and scooters (non-motorized), wagons/kid cars/tricycles, and people and pets (walkers).
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The Burnet County 4-H Youth Rifle Team barreled through another successful year of competition, culminating in several stellar finishes for the season.
The young guns shot their way through Olympic-level challenges, local competitions, state contests, and more. Here are some of the top achievements from the squad:
USA Shooting Junior Olympic Qualifiers and State Championships
One of Burnet County 4-H’s first strong showings of the year was at the USA Shooting Junior Olympic Qualifiers and State Championships held in November and December 2025.
Bringing over 130 athletes across the country to Fort Worth, El Paso, Granbury, and San Antonio, the qualifiers and championships give young marksmen and women the chance to test their skills against the best of the best.
Burnet County’s own Elaina Marr claimed first in the under 15 years old category in women’s small bore; brothers Adler and Klein Stanley took second and third in men’s small bore respectively; and Klein also finished third in men’s air rifle.
The team’s first paralympic athlete, Esther Frayne, shot a high enough score to qualify for the Junior Olympics in Alabama. There, Esther received a gold medal.
Evan Kaspar also qualified in the air pistol division, moving on to the Junior Olympic National Championship.
The Burnet County 4-H Rifle Team’s first para-athlete, Esther Frayne, was recognized at the Junior Olympics in Alabama.
Texas Youth Shooting Sports
Burnet County 4-H tallied several first-place finishes at home at the Texas Youth Shooting Sports Facility in Burnet.
With nearly 30 athletes present, several Burnet County shooters hit the bullseye, claiming first and second place. Elaina Marr, Klein Stanley, and Riley Smith each finished first in their categories, and Adler Stanley and Harper Sitra claimed second.
4-H District 7 Match
The team also had a strong showing at the 4-H District 7 match in San Angelo, competing against 27 other counties.
At the competition, 15 first-place awards were given out to team members and individuals across three divisions. Of those awards, Burnet County swept the competition and claimed all 15 for the third time in the last five years.
Overall, two Burnet County teams finished in first and third place in the competition, qualifying for the state championship in Victoria.
Evan Kaspar (right) competes in the air pistol division.
State 4-H Championship
At the 4-H State Championship, the two teams battled round after round to make their ways to top-five finishes.
Falling just short of first place by eight points, one of the Burnet County 4-H rifle teams claimed second place, and the other team finished in fourth.
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A special Texas America 250 exhibit is at the Falls on the Colorado Museum until July 31. The temporary display highlights the Lone Star State’s role in American history.
See an assortment of Texas treasures from the State Archives, including historical documents, photos, and more featuring everything from the Spanish mission era to the space race.
“The Falls on the Colorado Museum is extremely proud that our museum received this traveling exhibit to share with the community as well as our many summer visitors to Marble Falls.” said Darlene Oostermeyer, Chair of the museum. “This is a great way for Texans of all ages to learn more about the state’s role in U.S. history and explore some of our most treasured documents, photographs and artifacts. Visitors will also learn some unknown facts about our state.”
Visit the museum, located at 2001 Broadway in Marble Falls, during its regular business hours:
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The Marble Falls Independent School District recently passed a 14-month budget for the 2026-27 school year at a Board of Trustees meeting on June 15. The district will approve its tax rate for the school year in August to help fund the budget.
The 14-month budget, which will shift the end of the district’s fiscal year to August 31 instead of June 30, projects a nearly 20 percent increase in expenditures compared to the district’s 2025-26 budget that spanned just 12 months.
MFISD Chief Financial Officer Bill Orr told trustees that the two months were added so the district could wait and see what the certified property values would be, which are typically set by July 25.
With the district’s current fiscal year ending on June 30, Orr added that it was difficult to properly estimate the district’s budget due to the lack of concrete tax numbers.
“We’re guessing at what the state’s going to do,” he said at the meeting. “We’re guessing what the property values are going to be, and we’re guessing at the tax rate.”
The approved budget will span July 1, 2026, to August 31, 2027, total roughly $98 million, and be distributed amongst the district’s general, child nutrition, and debt service funds. The new 14-month budget’s expenditures come in at $16.9 million, or just over 20 percent, more than the approved 12-month 2025-26 budget.
In addition to the extra two-month period on the budget, Orr explained that a steady average daily student attendance rate and projected property value increase of 4 percent played a significant role in formulating the upcoming year’s expenditures.
Budget by fund
MFISD has budgeted about $68 million for its general fund, which will support things like school maintenance and operations, staff salaries, transportation services, and more.
A total of $26 million was set aside for the debt services fund, which will cover payments on various loans taken out by the district, such as those for the 2025 $172.2 million bond package.
The district’s child nutrition fund was budgeted near $4 million, contributing to the bulk of the district’s food services.
Where’s the money?
The district expects to receive the bulk of its funding from local property taxes, among several other sources. MFISD splits property taxes into two categories – maintenance and operations, and interest and sinking.
While the tax rate for the coming year will be voted upon in August, the 2026-27 budget was calculated using an estimated M&O rate of $0.6595 and I&S rate of $0.2153, the latter of which is the same as the 2025-26 fiscal year.
A closer look at the funding sources for the budget are as follows.
Local, intermediate, and out of state sources – $72,004,000
State program revenues – $9,238,000
Federal program revenues – $3,555,000
This leaves the district with a deficiency of roughly $13 million, which will supposedly be made up for by its estimated $31 million fund balance (money leftover in the district’s general fund).
Budget breakdown
A closer look at the budgeted dollar amounts for each fund is as follows.
General fund
Instruction – $33,377,260
Instructional resources and media services – $477,768
Curriculum and professional development – $483,361
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Representatives from state agencies and the livestock industry are visiting Llano to provide insight on the New World screwworm outbreak that is spreading across Texas.
An informational question and answer session is planned for 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, at the JLK Event Center and Arena, at 2200 W. RR 152 in Llano. Officials from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Jordan Cattle Auction will be the featured speakers.
The event is free to attend and sponsored by the Hill Country Livestock Raisers Association.
Report suspected livestock cases to the TAHC Region Office at 512-719-0700
Report suspected wildlife cases to the TPWD at 512-389-4505
The screwworm is the larval form of the New World screwworm fly, and unlike an average maggot, it feeds on the live flesh of its host, potentially causing severe tissue damage and death if left untreated. Any warm-blooded animal with an open wound or body cavity is susceptible to infection. This includes livestock, wildlife, pets, and even people.
Graphic images: See New World screwworm infection images from the United States Department of Agriculture at this link- New World Screwworm photo gallery.
The pest wrecked havoc on the Texas livestock industry for decades before being effectively eradicated in the United States by the 1980s. In 1976 alone, the Texas economy lost about $329.59 million due to livestock deaths from a New World screwworm outbreak. Accounting for inflation, that would have been $1.8 billion in 2024. About 1.48 million cattle were reportedly infected in that outbreak.
The state and federal government are currently collaborating on combatting the screwworm outbreak using the sterile insect technique, which is done by releasing large amounts of sterilized male flies into an infection zone. When the sterile males mate with females, their eggs are not viable, and the bug’s breeding cycle is interrupted. This was the successful method used for eradication decades ago.
Some prevention methods recommended by the TAHC are:
Keeping open wounds clean and covered
Working closely with veterinarians on preventative treatments
Ensure pets and livestock are inspected when before, during, and after traveling
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