Tom Slavin of Kingsland received the 2024 Governor’s Criminal Justice Volunteer Service Award for Extensive Travel during an awards ceremony on April 26 in Austin. Slavin traveled over 14,000 miles in fiscal year 2023, volunteering at prisons as a teacher, preacher, and chaplain’s assistant and providing spiritual guidance and support for inmates.
Slavin was one of 22 people and organizations from across the state presented with an award by Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott, Texas Board of Criminal Justice Chairman Eric Nichols, and Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier during the ceremony. He was chosen from among 25,000 total nominations for the awards.
“These volunteers are true heroes,” Collier wrote in a media release. “Their compassion and commitment make a profound and lasting difference in the lives of many Texans. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the entire state, is better because of their service.”
Slavin owns and operates Wayne’s Air and Double T Home Builders in Kingsland and is the founder of U-Too Ministries, which supports communities across the state with weekly meals and bible studies. U-Too also conducts prison outreach, providing spiritual counsel to inmates in prisons across Central Texas.
“I do what I do because I’ve been called to do it,” Slavin told DailyTrib.com. “Jesus put me in this position. I have learned that, everybody, the reason why they’re in prison is because they have low self-esteem. They don’t know who they are. They’ve been taught lies their whole life, and we’re just teaching them what the truth is: They are loved.”
Slavin racked up his 14,000 miles mostly traveling among three prisons each week. He visits the San Saba Unit in San Saba County on Mondays (55 miles from Kingsland), the Gregory S. Coleman Unit in Caldwell County on Wednesdays (96 miles from Kingsland), and the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Coryell County on Fridays (84 miles from Kingsland).
“I do travel a lot,” he said. “But I enjoy it. It’s rewarding.”
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Early voting for local races in Burnet and Llano counties ends at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 30. Election Day is Saturday, May 4.
Visit DailyTrib.com’s local elections guide to see who is on the ballot and learn about the candidates’ takes on key issues facing their respective constituencies.
BURNET COUNTY
Local elections include the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees and the city councils of Bertram, Burnet, Granite Shoals, Marble Falls, and Meadowlakes.
Races in Cottonwood Shores, Highland Haven, and the Marble Falls school district were canceled due to a lack of candidates.
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Brown started the farmers market with two goals in mind.
“We needed a farmers market for downtown Marble Falls,” he said. “We also wanted to hype up business for (downtown) merchants.”
He expects the market to grow in size as the weekly event moves into the summer.
“We’re all in,” Brown said. “It’ll be hot in the summer, but we’re going to keep it going year-round as long as there isn’t rain or hail going on.”
Prospective vendors currently must offer either farm-fresh products, value-added farm foods, or processed foods. Complimentary vendor space is also open to local nonprofits based on availability.
Brown has plans to include artisan crafters in a neighboring alley between Second and Third streets as the market expands.
“There’s been a lot of people who are asking for it,” he said.
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Join the Central Texas Water Coalition for its first-ever Spring Picnic on May 18 and learn more about the current state of the region’s water supply. The event is from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. that Saturday at Sundancer Grill, 16410 Stewart Road in Lakeway.
Admission includes a fajita meal and is $30 for ages 13 and older, $15 for ages 7-12, and $1 for ages 6 and younger. Purchase tickets online.
The picnic also features live music, presentations from local water districts, informational booths, and children’s activities.
“It’s a community day that we’re hoping encourages conservation to get us through this extended drought,” said CTWC Executive Director Shannon Hamilton.
The event’s location on the barren shores of Lake Travis was intentional.
“The location is in an area of Lakeway that used to have a lot of docks and marinas that are all dry,” Hamilton said. “It will give people a real visual of how our lakes are looking.”
The region’s persistent drought recently triggered further restrictions from the Lower Colorado River Authority, the agency charged with managing water levels in the Highland Lakes. The new restrictions take effect May 1, 2024.
“I’m grateful we have the restrictions,” Hamilton said. “I’m disappointed that they’re later than we would have liked.”
She believes those restrictions will expand as summer approaches.
“If we don’t have a hurricane that leads to a flood, I think we’re going to be seeing some major restrictions coming,” Hamilton said. “This is just the beginning.”
She recommends attending the May 18 picnic to learn how residents can counteract the region’s water supply woes.
“A lot of people don’t recognize that we have a water problem,” Hamilton said. “We want it to be a day of education for our local communities.”
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A round of applause greeted the hiring of Colton Ripley as the Texas A&M AgriLife 4-H and Youth Development Extension Agent at the Burnet County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, April 23. Ripley fills a role that has been vacant for over a year.
He will begin his new job on June 3 after he graduates from Oklahoma State University in May. Ripley is the son of former AgriLife Associate Director for County Operations Dr. Jeff Ripley and Marble Falls High School alumni Tina Ripley.
“We’re glad to present Colton to you and think he’d make a really good 4-H agent,” said AgriLife District 7 Administrator Marty Gibbs during Tuesday’s meeting.
Ripley was handpicked for the job by Gibbs and Burnet County Extension Agent Kelly Tarla.
Burnet County hasn’t had a 4-H agent since former agent Mikayla Herron left in early 2023.
As a 4-H and youth development agent, Ripley will be responsible for running special agricultural projects, school enrichment programs, and heading up the county’s 4-H clubs for ages 9-19.
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Property tax valuations in Burnet County rose by only 3.92 percent in 2024, compared to a 25 percent increase in each of the last two years. Llano County valuations are up by 20 percent. They rose by 12 percent in 2023 and 20 percent in 2022.
Burnet County valuations will be in the mail by May 1, said Burnet Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Stan Hemphill. Llano County valuations were mailed on April 24, according to Llano Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Scott Dudley.
“The market is sales driven,” Dudley said in an emailed response to DailyTrib.com questions. “The (central appraisal) district must be at 100 percent market value.”
New construction added $399.4 million in new value to the Llano County tax rolls.
In Burnet County, new construction was the reason for the change in valuations from last year to this year, Hemphill said.
“Of the 3.92 percent increase, new construction was 66.07 percent of the increase,” he said.
The preliminary market value of new construction in Burnet County for 2024 is $561.1 million.
Taxable values rose in Williamson County by 6.7 percent but declined in Travis County by about 7 percent.
Taxing entities will use the valuations to predict income and set budgets and tax rates in the coming months. The deadline for setting tax rates is Oct. 1. Property owners will receive their tax bills in the mail in October. Payments are due by the end of January 2025.
Property owners have until May 15, or 30 days from when the appraised value notices were mailed, to file a protest.
Protest forms for Burnet County are available online at burnet-cad.org. You can mail or deliver your documents to either the Burnet Central Appraisal District office at 223 S. Pierce St. in Burnet or to 110 Avenue H, Suite 106, in Marble Falls. Call 512-756-8291 for more information.
Llano County property owners should go to the Llano Central Appraisal District office at 103 E. Sandstone St. in Llano. Call 325-247-3065 for more information.
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Starting May 1, all firm water customers of the Lower Colorado River Authority are required to initiate Stage 2 drought restrictions or face fines of up to $10,000 per violation. Firm water customers are cities, businesses, industries, and lakeside property owners that contract with the LCRA to draw water directly from the lakes.
Restrictions include limiting automated and drip irrigation systems to once a week from midnight to 10 a.m. on designated days. Hand watering with a hose or bucket is still allowed at any time.
The tighter restrictions are part of the new Drought Management Plan officially approved by the LCRA Board of Directors on April 25. The plan affects the cities of Marble Falls, Granite Shoals, Burnet, Cottonwood Shores, Horseshoe Bay, and Sunrise Beach Village, which must pass the restrictions on to their residential and business water customers or face the new fines.
“This action is a reflection of the serious drought we’re in,” said LCRA Executive Vice President of Water John Hofmann in a media release. “We don’t know when this drought will end, and we need to cut discretionary water use to help protect and extend our water supplies.”
The LCRA board also approved an updated Water Conservation Plan that will now go to the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality for a final OK. The board is required by state regulation to review and possibly update these plans every five years. The last time the DMP and WCP were updated was in 2019.
The new Water Conservation Plan calls for a 2024 water savings of 31,000 acre-feet. Of that, 1,000 acre-feet should be cut from LCRA power plants, 12,000 acre-feet from municipal customers, and 18,000 acre-feet from irrigation operations. The LCRA cut off water to downstream interruptible agriculture customers for the second year in a row in March because of drought conditions.
The LCRA has been in a Stage 2 drought response since August 2023. Stage 2 is triggered when the combined amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis, the authority’s two reservoirs, falls below 900,000 acre-feet, or 45 percent of capacity.
Stage 2 restrictions will remain in place until the two reservoirs reach a combined storage of 1.1 million acre-feet, or about 55 percent capacity.
As of Friday, April 26, the combined storage was at 842,279 acre-feet, or 42 percent of capacity.
News stories, staff photos, and other online content are copyrighted property of Victory Media. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without the express written consent of the publisher.
News stories, staff photos, and other online content are copyrighted property of Victory Media. Reproduction in part or in whole is prohibited without the express written consent of the publisher.
Granite Shoals is putting recordings of City Council meetings online, sharing monthly city updates, and kicking off an online video series that introduces public servants to the community, all steps toward government transparency.
Previously, residents could only watch meetings in real time, either in person or virtually via the Zoom app.
“(City Secretary Dawn Wright) has been working on (making meeting video recordings available online) for quite some time, preceding me arriving in the interim city manager role,” interim City Manager Sarah Novo told DailyTrib.com. “Now, we can ensure that every member of the public is able to engage and see the decision-making process (of the council).”
Granite Shoals is one of the few local governments in the Highland Lakes to livestream its meetings. The Meadowlakes City Council and Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees also do so.
“With the implementation of these efforts, the goal is to meet people where they are and build a connection between the city’s leadership and the people we serve,” Novo continued.
Making meeting recordings available to the public also serves a practical purpose, according to Mayor Pro-tem Steve Hougen. He said the city secretary has had to create individual recordings in the past to fulfill public information requests.
“(These meetings) are now available with the click of a button,” Hougen said. “The City Council and the (city) administration want to work together as a team, but the team isn’t just the councilors and administration, it’s also the citizens of the community.”
Granite Shoals has gone back and forth in discussions on meeting transparency since COVID-19 requirements for streaming government meetings in Texas were lifted in September 2021. Residents, the council, and city administration often argued about whether to continue streaming live meetings. The issue was resolved in November 2023 when the council decided to continue to do so via Zoom.
“Really, the best way to overcome that is to build trust, develop an open relationship, and be honest about what is going on in the city,” Novo said.
She made her first city manager report, the one for April, available online. It includes updates on the work of city committees, the announcement of a future heritage tree proclamation and photo contest, a small community events calendar, and the city’s future goals. She will post reports monthly, she told DailyTrib.com.
Granite Shoals also rolled out a new video series, “Council Connections,” that features public servants. The first video introduces Brian Edwards, a relatively new council member. A new video will go up every Wednesday, according to a social media post from the city. Novo said it could eventually evolve to include interviews with officials about hot topics and points of interest.
Hougen expressed optimism about the current state of Granite Shoals, its leadership, and its future.
“I think we have a really good team, and we’re right at a threshold for (positive change),” he said.
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