An April 2026 trial date has been set in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Kingsland resident Jillian Harrod over the death of her husband. Justin Harrod was shot and killed by Llano County deputies in his front yard in 2022.
Harrod v. Llano County Sheriff Bill Blackburn et al. was filed on April 11 of this year in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The lawsuit claims excessive force by Sheriff Blackburn and deputies Byron Cervantez and Randy Shaw, inadequate training of LCSO deputies, and deliberate indifference by the sheriff in Harrod’s death.
On Oct. 23, 2022, Jillian Harrod called 911 and told the dispatcher her husband was drunk and had fired his gun, and she was afraid he would injure or kill himself. Deputies arrived at the couple’s Kingsland home and found Justin Harrod passed out face down on top of his gun in the front yard. The fatal shots were fired 20 minutes later.
Harrod died at the Kingsland Community Center, where he was taken to wait for medical helicopter transport.
On Oct. 21 of this year, Jillian Harrod asked the court to amend her initial filing to include a third deputy, Travis Glosson. The defendants opposed that motion, which awaits a ruling from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman.
OTHER DEADLINES
Along with a trial date of April 13, 2026, Judge Pitman set Jan. 10, 2025, as the deadline for both sides in the case to submit an alternative dispute resolution, which is a different way to solve a case without going to trial. Harrod submitted her written ADR statement on Oct. 11. The defendants have until Nov. 12 to submit a counteroffer. Details of the offers are not public.
Dec. 13 is the deadline for both parties to amend their motions to the court or the plaintiff to add additional parties to the lawsuit.
Dates in February and March of 2025 were set for submitting phased discovery on the issue of qualified immunity. The defendants assert they are entitled to a defense of qualified immunity, which protects government officials from individual liability for damages done while they are doing their job.
Discovery deadlines on the rest of the case were set for August and October 2025.
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The city of Burnet recently received the highest recognition for governmental accounting, the latest in a string of awards from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting was for the city’s comprehensive financial report for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
“(The city’s finance team has) received this award for at least six or seven years in a row,” Burnet City Manager David Vaughn told DailyTrib.com. “Our Director of Finance (Patricia Langford) does an amazing job for us. She works hard and puts in as many hours—if not more—than anyone working for the city.”
Burnet’s annual report, submitted in 2023, was thoroughly scrutinized by a third-party special review committee with the GFOA, who ultimately gave their seal of approval for the city exceeding the standards of generally accepted accounting principles, an international guideline for the practice.
“We are getting both the budget award and the combined annual financial report award and both demonstrate (Langford) is doing everything at an incredibly high level when it comes to reporting our budget and audit,” Vaughn said.
In addition, Burnet’s strong financial management has earned it a solid bond rating, which is essential when the city borrows money for community projects.
“Every time we go out and borrow money, we have to get a bond rating, and we score incredibly high for a community of our size,” Vaughn said. “The only thing holding us back from going even higher is the size of our tax base. But the reason we score as high as we do is because of our management, which is a reflection of the direction and the great job (Langford) does.”
While the financial reporting award does not explicitly guarantee Burnet’s fiscal health, it acknowledges the city has kept thorough records of its accounting.
“The goal of the program is not to assess the financial health of participating governments, but rather to ensure that users of their financial statements have the information they need to do so themselves,” reads a GFOA statement about the award.
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The Burnet County Historical Commission elected new officers on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and had to be called to order and adjourned twice when a dispute erupted over canceling the December meeting.
In January, Polly Krenik will take over as chairperson from Rachel Bryson, who is ending a two-year term. New member Doak Field will be vice president, replacing current VP Krenik, and Danielle Meredith will replace Carolyn Liles as treasurer. Terry Berger remains secretary.
The officer lineup and at least eight new applications for membership will go before the Burnet County Commissioners Court when it meets Jan. 14, 2025. The Historical Commission is an arm of the county government. Commissioners must approve a new slate of commission officers and members in January of every odd-numbered year.
It’s not too late to apply to be a BCHC member. The deadline to turn in applications, available online, is Dec. 5. Applicants must be 18 years or older and live in Burnet County. Terms are two years.
“Prospective members must express a sincere interest in the preservation of county history and must be willing to comply with attendance requirements and serve on at least one committee,” reads the application. “Members must attend at least four meetings per year to continue to serve on the BCHC.”
The commission meets at 1 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month in the meeting room at the Herman Brown Free Library, 100 E. Washington St. in Burnet, although one member made a plea for moving the meetings to 4 p.m. on a weekday or Saturday morning so more people could attend.
“For instance, a teacher could think about being a member if the meetings were set at a more convenient time,” said member Jane Knapik in a presentation of agenda items she would like to see discussed in 2025.
She also suggested a requirement that historical items in the Old Burnet County Jail be limited to those that relate to the jail only. The building was reopened in 2022 as a visitors center and museum.
“We have general interest museums in the county that do that job extremely well,” she said, referring to The Falls on the Colorado Museum in Marble Falls and Fort Croghan Museum and Grounds in Burnet.
Knapik also listed the commission’s accomplishments over the past two years, including a historical marker for Buchanan Dam, which she said is on its way from the foundry. Knapik wrote the marker application with marker committee members Tommye and John Potts.
“We will have an unveiling ceremony very soon,” she said.
Knapik also noted the Untold Marker approved by the Texas Historical Commission for Stringtown Cemetery and the commission’s move into the Old Burnet County Jail. The BCHC now has accessible storage for its archives and is providing docents for jail tours on a regular basis.
Bryson adjourned the meeting by noting it would be the last of the year as the commission has traditionally only held 11 meetings annually. In 2023, the first Tuesday of the month landed on the Fourth of July, so that month was skipped instead of December.
Several members questioned whether that was allowed by the bylaws and challenged the cancelation. Bryson quickly gaveled the start of a second meeting to quiet the disruption and settle the issue formally. She read the section of the bylaws pertaining to meetings aloud. According to the bylaws, the commission must hold at least four meetings in 12 months.
As the discussion heated up, member Lynda French moved to cancel the December meeting; it was seconded and passed with only one nay vote. The meeting then adjourned for a second and final time.
The next meeting of the Burnet County Historical Commission is 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in the meeting room at the Herman Brown Free Library. The new officers will be seated at that time.
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James Tilley retired as chief of the East Lake Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department on Oct. 1 after 31 years. While he will no longer be in charge, he still plans to lend a hand to the rural department he joined in 1986.
“I helped build it, but it’s not a one-man thing, it’s the whole group,” Tilley told DailyTrib.com. “You might say I was the leader, but I couldn’t have done anything without the team.”
Tilley, 61, is a resident of Silver Creek and a graduate of Burnet High School, having moved to the Highland Lakes from Texas City when he was 14 years old. He joined the East Lake Buchanan VFD at 23 years old. His service as a firefighter and chief totals 38 years.
“It just looked like it’d be fun,” Tilley joked when asked why he became a volunteer firefighter.
Tilley guided the department from a rural, unfunded operation, completely dependent on donations, to a funded department backed by voters with the formation of Burnet County Emergency Services District No. 5 in 2009.
“I saw it go from a ma-and-pa organization to a modern fire department,” he said.
Tilley’s successor is East Lake Buchanan VFD firefighter Leslie Ray, who is also the Burnet County Precinct 1 constable.
Ray was elected to the role by the department’s other members after Tilley chose not to run for the position this year.
“It just seemed like the right time,” Tilley said about stepping down.
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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering expanding some of the most popular parks in the state by thousands of acres, and two of them are in the Highland Lakes area. You can offer feedback on the proposed expansions until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6.
On Thursday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will discuss and possibly take action on five land acquisition proposals, including dramatic expansions of nearby Enchanted Rock State Natural Area and Colorado Bend State Park.
To submit a public comment, visit the TPWD website, scroll down to the “Notice of Proposed Real Estate Transactions,” and select an item.
The 2,280-acre Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, located in Llano County, could more than double in size with the purchase of 3,073 adjacent acres. This includes a recent purchase that added 630 acres to the park in August 2024.
Enchanted Rock is one of the most popular parks in Texas with over 250,000 visitors each year, according to the TPWD.
Colorado Bend State Park, which lies near the borders of San Saba, Burnet, Llano, and Lampasas counties, could grow by 2,020 acres, or 38 percent, from its current 5,300 acres.
Colorado Bend is famous for its natural springs, waterfalls, cave system, and over 35 miles of hiking trails.
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The Marble Falls Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a Texas Arbor Day celebration with the planting of 12 native trees and a Marble Falls Arbor Day proclamation at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12. The ceremony will take place on Fourth Street between Avenue J and Main Street.
Texas Arbor Day is traditionally celebrated on the first Friday in November, which fell on Nov. 1 this year, but Marble Falls leadership pushed the event to Nov. 12. National Arbor Day is the last Friday of April, which will be April 25, 2025.
“We encourage residents in our community to join the fun by planting native trees, a prominent and beautiful feature of our Hill Country landscape, and helping Keep Marble Falls beautiful,” reads a media release from the city.
Massive pecan, oak, Texas sycamore, and cedar elm trees are all native plants and common sights in Marble Falls’ public parks.
Mayor Dave Rhodes will personally read the city’s Arbor Day proclamation during the ceremony.
An excerpt from Gov. Greg Abbott’s 2024 Texas Arbor Day proclamation reads:
“Each of us can do our part to preserve the natural wonder of Texas by educating ourselves on environmental matters, treating nature with respect, and planting trees.
“By working together to support conservation efforts, we can ensure a brighter, more beautiful future for generations to come.”
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Meet the new city manager of Meadowlakes, Will De Roos, during the New Residents’ Reception on Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Hidden Falls Bistro, 220 Meadowlakes Drive. De Roos is the first new city manager in 18 years, following the retirement of veteran administrator Johnnie Thompson.
De Roos will give a brief introduction and take questions from the audience at the reception.
He started the Meadowlakes job on Oct. 28, having made the move from Schuyler, Nebraska, where he served as city administrator for six years.
De Roos was hired under a $120,000 annual contract on Sept. 19 after a lengthy search following the retirement of Thompson, who had served as an administrator and city manager for Meadowlakes since 1978.
A city administrator/manager is effectively the chief operating officer of a municipality and responsible for running day-to-day operations, managing finances, and collaborating with the city council on policy and direction.
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Jonathan Tarbet, 45, of Marble Falls was sentenced to 38 years in prison by a district judge after violating parole, which he was serving for a 2022 drug trafficking conviction.
The sentencing came down on Oct. 24 from 424th Judicial District Judge Evan Stubbs.
Tarbet was originally arrested during a traffic stop in Kingsland in August 2022 and found to be in possession of 13 grams of methamphetamine, which he later confessed to intending to distribute. He pleaded guilty to the first-degree felony charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in October 2023.
The punishment for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver varies in severity depending on the type of substance and its quantity, but, in this case, it came with possible sentence of five to 99 years in prison.
The state deferred Tarbet’s guilt conditional upon 10 years’ probation, but Tarbet violated his probation within three months, according to a media release from the 33rd/424th District Attorney’s Office.
“This defendant was given a chance to show us that he could be trusted in our community, but he threw that chance away and the judge sentenced him accordingly,” wrote District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee in the media release. “We’re grateful to the Llano County Sheriff’s office for continuing to work to get methamphetamine off our streets.”
Tarbet tested positive for methamphetamine use and failed to report to his parole officer leading up to the Oct. 24 sentencing.
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bid award to Restroom Facilities LTD in the amount of $186,230 for a restroom at Park View Park
discussion on a first amendment to the Improvement and Escrow Agreement with Ellison Roper Land Corp. for the design and construction of a 500,000-gallon elevated water storage tank
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