Agendas for Highland Lakes government meetings are posted 72 hours before a meeting so are not always ready by the time this story is published. Check the links for more information.
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The former owner of a Marble Falls martial arts studio was sentenced to 13 years in prison Feb. 28 after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault of a child.
Isaac Villela, 49, of Austin assaulted the same 17-year-old victim multiple times while living in the Marble Falls area between 2021 and 2022. The victim was a student of Villela’s now-closed Caged Boxer MMA in Marble Falls.
Villela took a plea deal from the 33rd/424th District Attorney’s Office, confessing to three of four counts of sexual assault of a child. He must serve half of his 13-year sentence before he is eligible for parole and register as a sex offender.
Sexual assault of a child is a second-degree felony in Texas that can carry two to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
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A jury on March 4 found Keith Aaron Blundell, 33, of Burnet County guilty of assault for strangling his girlfriend unconscious in a 2024 attack.
While the third-degree family violence felony typically results in a sentence of two to 10 years, Blundell had previously been convicted of two other felonies in Harris County, including aggravated assault against a family member.
Under the Texas Three Strikes Law, Blundell faced a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Judge Allan Garrett of the 33rd Judicial District, which includes Burnet County, passed down the 60-year sentence and a $10,000 fine Tuesday at the recommendation of the jury.
“This verdict shows that our citizens will protect victims of violent crime with lengthy prison sentences for their abusers,” said prosecuting attorney Bill Price in a March 5 media release announcing the decision.
On June 6, 2024, Burnet County sheriff’s deputies responded to a welfare check at a home on County Road 304 and found a woman who had “clear physical signs of having been assaulted, sustaining injuries to her face, head and eyes,” according to the release. The victim reportedly told deputies that Blundell had assaulted her and strangled her until she passed out.
Following his arrest, Blundell pleaded not guilty to the charge and told his girlfriend not to testify against him in court. She did not testify, but prosecutors played for the jury recorded phone calls from Blundell to the victim asking her not to testify, which, along with other evidence, led to his conviction.
“(My office is) grateful to this Burnet County jury for a sentence that will keep this abuser from hurting anyone else for a long time,” wrote 33rd/424th Judicial District Attorney Perry Thomas in the March 5 release. “This case demonstrates this office’s commitment to doing everything we can to protect those that have been victims of violent crime.”
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Work crews are moving and installing utilities for The Ophelia Hotel and Conference Center near Lakeside Park in Marble Falls. The project has experienced minor delays due to a change in lenders but is still scheduled for a 2026 completion date.
Major construction and deliveries to the Ophelia site, 305 Buena Vista Drive just outside of downtown, will start soon, according to Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Christian Fletcher.
“Intensive mobilization should be expected in the next couple weeks,” he told DailyTrib.com on Thursday, March 6.
Roads surrounding the build site will remain open. Most of the work and transportation will take place within the property’s confines.
The 127-room hotel, named after Marble Falls’ first woman mayor, Ophelia “Birdie” Harwood, will stand five stories tall, span 96,000 square-feet, and include an attached restaurant and bar. The project has been in the works since 2019 but has faced significant delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rising costs from inflation, and a switch in development partners.
The hotel broke ground in August 2024 with an announced completion date sometime in the spring of 2026.
According to Fletcher, the project changed lenders from an out-of-town bank to First United Bank in Marble Falls, a move he said will streamline construction and finances down the road.
The Ophelia is a private-public partnership between Marble Falls and the developers, and, as such, the city is scheduled to hold a special-called meeting March 18 to push back multiple contractual deadlines to accommodate the delay from the lender switch, Fletcher said.
While the hotel and conference center will be owned and operated by Phoenix Hospitality Group and Castle Hospitality, the city of Marble Falls was instrumental in bringing it to town. The EDC contributed a value of $7.6 million in incentives, including the $2.5 million property the hotel and center will be built on. The Ophelia is expected to have a $200 million economic impact on Marble Falls within 10 years of its completion.
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Three people were killed and at least three more were injured in a three-vehicle collision Wednesday, March 5, on U.S. 281 near Johnson City. Over 45 first responder units from more than a dozen local and state agencies responded to the crash, which triggered a “mass casualty alarm” due to its scale.
According to a report from North Blanco County EMS, first responders were dispatched to the accident at 12:07 p.m. Wednesday, with the first units arriving by 12:12 p.m. The crash happened at the intersection of U.S. 281 and RR 1323, about 3 miles north of Johnson City.
“The call was immediately upgraded to a Mass Casualty Alarm, which triggers a much larger response as well as prepares our regional hospitals and trauma centers to begin receiving multiple critically injured patients at once,” reads a Thursday report from North Blanco County EMS.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Three people, including a child, were pronounced dead on the scene after extensive resuscitative efforts. Two others were transported by helicopter to a regional trauma center, and one was taken by ground transport.
Traffic on U.S. 281 near the accident was reportedly closed for almost five hours Wednesday.
Five Marble Falls Area EMS first responders traveling in two ambulances and a command vehicle were among those who assisted in the incident as part of a mutual aid agreement between the agency and North Blanco County EMS.
“Please keep these families in your thoughts, hold your loved ones tight, and keep our responders in your thoughts as well,” reads the report.
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This view of the U.S. 281-RR 1431 intersection in Marble Falls would have been totally obscured by the old Thai Niyom building 10 days ago. The demolition of several structures on the southeast corner of the intersection was completed on Tuesday, March 4. The work began on Feb. 25, part of a Texas Department of Transportation effort to add a right-turn lane for northbound traffic on U.S. 281. The project is expected to go out to bid in 2026, according to the most recent plans from TxDOT. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
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A proposed 26.9-mile rail line in Burnet and Lampasas counties to transport aggregate material between quarries is under federal review. Local officials recently learned of the project and want more information before taking action.
Texas Materials Group Inc., a large aggregate mining company, is seeking approval from the Surface Transportation Board to reconstruct 12.5 miles of rail on a previously abandoned right-of-way and build 14.4 miles of new track to transport materials from four quarries in the Burnet area.
“According to Texas Materials, this new route is needed because the volumes of aggregate being shipped from the Burnet-area quarries are expected to increase over the next 10 years,” reads an excerpt from a March 4 letter from the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis addressed to federal, state, and local officials representing Burnet and Lampasas counties. (View the letter in full below.)
The analysis office is currently conducting an environmental review of Texas Materials’ request under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. It is requesting comments and concerns from local agencies by April 3 to help determine the “scope and level of environmental review.”
According to federal office’s letter, Texas Materials expects trains would operate 1.64 times a day and consist of up to 120 railcars and four locomotives with a total train length of approximately 6,400 feet.
The proposed line would extend from the Austin Western Railroad near Burnet and run north through Precinct 2 in Burnet County, connecting to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway near Lampasas. It would travel roughly parallel to U.S. 281 on the east side.
LOCAL OFFICIALS’ RESPONSE
The STB’s Office of Environmental Analysis notified dozens of area representatives, agencies, and executives regarding the proposed railway, including the Burnet County Commissioners Court.
County officials are still gathering information about the project and its potential impact on property owners.
Commissioner Damon Beierle, who represents Precinct 2 where the line would go, plans to gather feedback from nearby residents.
“I don’t (have an opinion) yet. I’m going to talk to affected landowners,” he said. “A lot of those rights-of-way have been fenced off, so I’m going to talk to them first and see where they’re at.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery contacted the Capital Area Council of Governments and noted the project could come as a shock to some landowners since the existing railway has been inactive for decades.
“I have asked CAPCOG to send us a list of affected property owners,” he said. “It’s hard to overlay (the map provided) in our GIS (Geographical Information System), so I’ve requested that they develop something more clearly identifying exactly where it’s going.”
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Two suspected cases of measles have been reported in Burnet County since Feb. 27. One case tested negative and the result for the other is pending, but the local health authority is warning that an outbreak of the virus is likely.
Texas is ground zero for the current measles outbreak, with a reported 159 cases across the state as of Tuesday, March 4. According to Burnet County Health Authority Dr. Juliette Madrigal, Burnet County will probably see its fair share of cases due to the highly contagious nature of measles and the number of potentially unvaccinated children in the area.
“Measles is the most contagious virus that I’ve ever heard of,” Madrigal told DailyTrib.com in a March 4 interview. “I would be flabbergasted if we don’t have a measles outbreak out here.”
As the Burnet County Health Authority, Madrigal is tasked with administering state and local laws and policies relating to public health in the county. Her duties include tracking and reporting the spread of contagious, infectious, and dangerous diseases, like measles. She has served as the county’s health authority since the position was formed in 2005, having been appointed by the Burnet County Commissioners Court.
Madrigal received word of a potential measles case on Feb. 27, reported from an urgent care facility in Marble Falls. Testing on the middle school-age patient came back negative for the virus.
She received another report on Tuesday from the same urgent care facility concerning a 12-month-old child. The test result of that case is still pending, but the child was unvaccinated against the disease as the vaccine cannot be administered until after 12 months of age.
Even if the second test comes back negative, Madrigal said measles still will likely make its way into Burnet County. Her reasoning is based on the disease’s high R naught rating, which measures the capacity for it to spread from one person to a number of others, and the high number of listed “conscientious exemptions” to vaccinations at area schools.
Going by R naught measurements, one carrier of measles will likely infect 12-18 susceptible individuals. An infected person is contagious for up to four days before symptoms start to show and becomes even more contagious once the flu-like symptoms present.
“If you have measles, up to 90 percent of the people close to you, who are not immune, will also become infected,” reads a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “An infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing they have the disease. You can spread measles to others from 4 days before through 4 days after the rash appears.”
Measles is primarily spread through direct contact with moisture produced from an infected person or by consuming airborne droplets from coughing, sneezing, or even breathing.
Madrigal noted that the relatively high number of conscientious exemptions at Burnet County schools could play a factor in the spread of the virus. A conscientious exemption is an exemption from Texas immunization policies due to a reason of conscience, such as religious beliefs or ideals. Under these exemptions, children do not have to receive vaccinations against common diseases, like the measles.
Faith Academy of Marble Falls had the third-highest percentage of conscientious exemptions for any school in Texas in the 2023-24 academic year at 39.49 percent. Burnet Consolidated Independent School District was at 4.81 percent and Marble Falls Independent School District at 3.6 percent.
For comparison, Austin ISD was at 2.31 percent, Llano ISD at 3.02 percent, Llano Christian Academy at 2.3 percent, Blanco ISD at 5.71 percent, and Johnson City ISD at 9.09 percent.
“If (parents) decide not to vaccinate, that’s their choice, but they should learn what the risks and benefits are,” Madrigal said. “At this point, though, I would definitely get the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) for my kiddos.”
To learn more about the MMR vaccines, visit the CDC’s website.
What is measles and what are the risks?
Measles is an airborne virus that causes flu-like symptoms and a severe rash. It is considered to be extremely infectious, but current vaccination methods guarantee roughly 97 percent immunity.
Prior to the development of an effective vaccine in the 1960s, measles infected an estimated 3 million to 4 million Americans every year, with an average of 48,000 hospitalizations and 400-500 deaths.
Measles was considered eradicated in the United States in 2000 after the disease was controlled for a full 12-month period. The eradication was attributed to an aggressive vaccination program implemented in the 1970s and 1980s.
Measles cases have not been totally absent in recent years, with 285 cases reported in 2024, 59 cases in 2023, and 121 cases in 2022.
The largest outbreak in recent history was in 2019, with 1,274 reported cases.
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Construction is moving forward on the box hangar project at Burnet Municipal Airport, 2302 U.S. 281 South. The red, steel framework for the hangar is now standing and should be completed in the coming weeks, with the roof and wall panels up next for installation. Currently, the project remains on track to finish in June, according to city officials. Once completed, it will provide ample storage space for aircraft. Photo courtesy of the city of Burnet
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