Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Phillips’ legacy was further honored last weekend, May 2-3, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, during the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend.
Chief Phillips was amongst 204 firefighters to be honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, erected in 1981 to honor fallen heroes around the country who died in service.
“This morning the foundation will honor 204 firefighters who gave their lives in the name of duty,” reads a MFAVFD Facebook post about the dedication. “Please keep (Phillips’ family) in your prayers as they witness and participate in this national honor for him.”
Phillips’ name was engraved onto a plaque along with his fellow service members to be placed on the Wall of Honor surrounding the memorial site.
Former Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department Chief Michael Phillips was killed in the line of duty while responding to the devastating floods of July 2025. He has been repeatedly honored at the local and state level, and now he has been recognized by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Courtesy photo
Phillips gave his life responding to a distress call during the early morning hours of July 5, 2025, as raging floodwaters swept across Central Texas in a historic flooding event. He and his vehicle were caught in the rising waters while he was attempting to cross Cow Creek on FM 1174 near Marble Falls.
Phillips’ vehicle was recovered, but his body was never found. He remains one of the final victims of the flood to remain missing, despite several search attempts by local and state agencies to recover his body.
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Marble Falls is refreshing its parks master plan and creating a new trails master plan as continued population growth drives the desire for improved public spaces. City leaders hope the update to the plans will open the door for future grant funding for more improvements.
Marble Falls City Council approved in a 5-1 vote on Tuesday, May 5, a $206,000 contract with the Parkhill design firm to update its existing parks and recreation and open space master plans, and to create a new trails master plan.
The plans will assess current parks and trails, identify gaps, and set priorities for future improvements over the next decade. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department suggests updated master plans every five years to enhance grant eligibility. The city’s current parks plan was adopted in March 2017.
Since then, the city’s population has grown by about 30 percent, according to Parks and Recreation Director Lacey Dingman.
Council members who supported the plan said the upfront cost is necessary to unlock future funding opportunities.
“We have to spend money to make money,” councilmember Craig Magerkurth said in the council meeting.
Mayor John Packer cast the lone dissenting vote, citing concerns about the overall cost.
“I think it’s too much money. I feel like we’re starting from scratch spending this kind of money. We’ve got a decent plan now that needs to be updated,” Packer said.
The parks master plan cost was reduced from an initial estimate of $230,000 to about $175,000, with the Trails Master Plan adding $31,000, according to Dingman, who said further reductions would be difficult after months of cutting costs while maintaining quality.
“We know the value already. We’ve been the recipient of two parks and recreation grants in the last three years to the tune of $1.5 million,” Dingman said.
Dingman pointed to Mormon Mill Nature Park as an example of how planning efforts can translate into funding success. The city secured a $726,207 grant from the TPWD toward the park’s $1.9 million total cost. She said that that grant was secured, in part, due to community input and clear, long-term planning done by the city.
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On April 30, two capital murder charges were dropped in the case of Kyler Nathaniel Allen, 22, one of two suspects arrested in the 2023 Tow shooting deaths of a father and his son.
33rd/424th District Attorney Perry Thomas told DailyTrib that, based on current evidence in the case, he believed it was appropriate for the charges to be dropped. Potential for the capital murder charges to be refiled in the future will remain open due to the conditions of a plea deal taken by Allen on separate charges.
DA Thomas explained that Allen was on trial the same day for two separate charges of tampering with evidence – one related to the murder case and one not – and had taken a plea deal for them.
As part of the deal, Allen was rendered guilty on two counts of tampering with evidence and given two eight-year sentences to be served concurrently. Another condition of the deal permanently opened the door for the court to refile and reopen charges against him for his suspected role in the 2023 homicide.
“The agreement allows us to refile and charge Allen again for the capital murder charges or any offense that comes forward from (the murders),” DA Thomas told DailyTrib. “It does not preclude us from seeking those charges in the future.”
No exact timeline for the potential refiling of those charges was provided.
The jury assessed a sentence of 75 years for the murder of 14-year-old Evan Wessling, and a sentence of 70 years for the murder of 38-year-old Preston Wessling. These sentences will run concurrently, which means that Ostrander will serve up to 75 years, as both sentences will be served at the same time.
Background
Ostrander and Allen were each charged with capital murder of multiple persons for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 14, 2023, shooting deaths of 38-year-old Preston Wessling and his 14-year-old son, Evan Wessling, at a home on Airport Road in Tow.
Llano County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a 911 call at 4:49 a.m. on Jan. 14 about multiple gunshot victims at a home on Airport Road in Tow. The father and son were found lying in the driveway with gunshot wounds and were declared dead at the scene.
Ostrander and Allen were arrested by Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, and Guadalupe County sheriff’s deputies two days later and were held in multiple county jails without bond while awaiting trial.
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The Burnet Bulldogs will have a new head coach leading the boys soccer team on the pitch next season with the announced departure of Head Coach Benjamin Boorman at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Boorman, who led the Bulldogs to their first bi-district soccer championship win in school history in 2024, told DailyTrib that he would be leaving the program to spend more time with his family and care for his father.
“It is very hard to leave the soccer teams and their families,” Boorman said. “I believe that I am leaving the program better than I found it. We have a championship banner and a golden ball in the trophy case for the first time in school history. We have a growing program with many middle schoolers excited to play soccer. Burnet’s interest in soccer is growing.”
Boorman gave his appreciation to district staff for finding a swift replacement in Aaron Jimenez, who has coached in Marble Falls, Harker Heights, and Florence.
“I am pleased that the promptness of my resigning led to the administration’s ability to find a quality replacement,” Boorman told DailyTrib. “(Jimenez) will do a great job, and I am excited to see the boys maintain the high expectations that we have set for the program under Coach Jimenez’s leadership.”
Boorman said that he will continue to be a part of the Burnet community and support the Bulldogs. He is also currently pursuing a teaching position within BCISD, where his two daughters will be enrolled.
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The Marble Falls High School football team will head into next season with significant changes to its coaching staff after three coaches announced their departures from the program over the last month.
According to Marble Falls Independent School District Athletic Director Keri Timmerman, the coaches will depart before the beginning of the 2026-27 season. Offensive Coordinator Logan Simmons, Co-Defensive Coordinator Ryan Craven, and Offensive Line Coach Humberto Garza are reportedly leaving due to new career opportunities and family commitments.
“We’re happy for (our departing coaches) to continue their futures and create new opportunities for themselves and their family,” Timmerman told DailyTrib.
Craven, who also served as the head coach of the boys soccer team, has accepted a position as the assistant football and soccer coach at Liberty Hill High School. Timmerman said that Craven and his family live nearby the school, and that his kids already attend Liberty Hill Independent School District.
Simmons accepted a new role as the head football coach at Dawson High School, about 35 miles northeast of Waco.
Garza, a longstanding member of the football team’s training staff, recently became a grandfather and will retire to spend more time with his family.
As the Mustangs move into a time of uncertainty at multiple coaching positions, Timmerman told DailyTrib that he was excited for the next season and what’s to come.
“We’re excited about the new opportunity for coaches to come in and impact our community and staff,” Timmerman said.
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Some governing bodies in Burnet County saw abysmal voter turnout in their recent local elections, with a small fraction of registered voters making big decisions in several cities and in the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District.
While local elections in May often have low turnouts according to data from the Burnet County Elections Office, the May 2, 2026 elections had exceptionally low voter participation. A notable exception was the city of Burnet, which nearly doubled its turnout from May 2025.
Even with improved numbers in the city of Burnet, overall turnout in the area is far lower than the national average for a regular mayoral election, which is around 20 percent according to the University of Chicago Center for Effective Government.
In some cases, relatively few voters made major decisions on behalf of their fellow residents. Proposition A in BCISD, amounting to $133 million in bonds for school district improvements, was effectively decided by 48 votes, passing 913 to 865. The race for Marble Falls City Council Place 3 was decided by 29 votes, with challenger Dave Rhodes defeating incumbent Lauren Haltom 172 votes to 143.
Some numbers of note from the May 2, 2026 elections in Burnet County:
Marble Falls City Council: 6.31 percent voter turnout, 316 voters out of 4,991 registered voters in Marble Falls
Burnet City Council: 14.66 percent voter turnout, 637 voters out of 4,344 registered voters in Burnet
Granite Shoals City Council: 6.14 percent voter turnout, 170 voters out of 2,766 registered voters in Granite Shoals
BCISD bond election: 9.13 percent voter turnout, 1,778 voters out of 19,465 registered voters in BCISD
Bertram City Council: 11.03 percent voter turnout, 152 voters out of 1,378 registered voters in Bertram
The May 2, 2026 numbers are mostly low, even by local standards. In the May 2025 elections, Marble Falls turnout was 16.26 percent, Burnet turnout was 7.71 percent, and Granite Shoals turnout was 13.79 percent. Bertram did not have an election in 2025, but in May 2024 the city only had 5.54 percent turnout.
“We don’t really see a lot of turnout with local (May) elections,” Interim Burnet County Elections Administrator Stephanie Ellis told DailyTrib. “A lot of people don’t know who the candidates are or who is on the city council.”
While turnout in local May elections can be low, the participation in state and federal elections held in November is often much higher. For example, the 2024 presidential election saw 73 percent voter turnout in Burnet County.
Ellis believes this disparity in turnout could be because people are generally more invested in federal or state elections.
“You would probably see more ballots and voters for their local elections (if they were held in November during general elections),” she said.
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Granite Shoals is moving forward with a plan to seek state funding for a $28,900 license plate reader project.
Granite Shoals City Council approved pursuing funding at its April 28 meeting through the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a division of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, under the Catalytic Converter Grant Program. If awarded, the grant would fund the installation and initial maintenance of license plate readers for the police department.
The total project cost is estimated at $28,900, with the grant covering 80% and the Granite Shoals Police Department responsible for a 20% match, or $5,780.
The technology captures images of passing vehicles along with data such as time and location, which can be used by law enforcement to identify stolen vehicles, locate missing persons through alert systems and assist in criminal investigations.
Police Chief John Ortis said that if grant funding is discontinued in the future, the city could either continue operating the system at an annual cost of about $25,000 or remove the equipment.
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Huber Carbonates is in pursuit of an expanded air quality permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to increase its allowable dust production at its limestone quarry on U.S. 281 in Marble Falls. The TCEQ is hosting an open meeting on the matter to get public feedback before making a decision on the permit application.
The public meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, in the Max Copeland Gym at Marble Falls High School, 2101 Mustang Drive.
The permit request was originally made in January 2025, when Huber asked to roughly quadruple its allowable dust output, which would allow for increased aggregate production and storage. Marble Falls leadership formally opposed the permit request in May 2025, and has maintained that opposition since.
“The city of Marble Falls is closely monitoring the permit request from Huber Carbonates LLC that could increase production, operating hours, and emissions within city limits,” reads a statement issued by the city on Monday, May 4. “Given the potential impacts on the community, the city has formally submitted opposition to the permit amendment.”
Background
File a public comment at the meeting or file one online with the TCEQ. To submit a comment, visit this link and enter the permit number 8252. According to Huber’s air quality permit application, the company is asking for overall increases to its allowable “particulate matter emissions” at its quarry, referring to the potentially airborne dust and debris that would be produced from its limestone mining operation. Depending on their size, the particles can be classified as “inhalable,” which poses health risks like decreased lung function, asthma, and other respiratory issues.
The smaller the particle, the greater the potential health impacts.
• Totalparticulatematterincreaserequest-from2.45tonsperyearto10.54tonsper year (314 percent increase) • Requestforincreasetoparticulatematterof10micrometersorless-from1.9tonsper year to 6.26 tons per year (229 percent increase) • Requestfordecreasetoparticulatematterof2.5micrometersorless-from.95tons per year to .94 tons per year (1 percent decrease)
At this stage, the permit amendment application has been declared “administratively complete,” and a technical review by the TCEQ is underway.
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A man was reportedly killed in a utility terrain vehicle crash on Saturday, May 2, at Hidden Falls Adventure Park just outside of Marble Falls. The victim was said to be Caleb Miller, the fire chief of the Rosebud Volunteer Fire Department.
According to the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office, first responders were toned out at around 5:32 p.m. on Saturday to Hidden Falls Adventure Park, an outdoor recreation area at 7030 RR 1431 just outside of Marble Falls.
Miller was pronounced dead at the scene. He had apparently crashed a UTV and suffered fatal injuries in the process.
The incident is still under investigation, but is believed to be an accident according to the BCSO.
A post made to the Rosebud VFD Facebook page on Sunday, May 3, memorialized Miller and his role as chief.
“As we try to find answers to reasons we can’t understand, all we know is we lost more than a fire chief yesterday, we lost a brother, a mentor, and the kind of leader you only get once in a lifetime,” reads the post. “Caleb Miller was genuine, compassionate, and selfless beyond measure. He led with heart, served with pride, and cared for his people like family.”
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