MARBLE FALLS — Though the date wasn’t on the academic calendar, students at Marble Falls school district campuses get an early release Nov. 6.

Colt, Highland Lakes, Marble Falls and Spicewood elementary campuses get out at 11:45 a.m., followed by Marble Falls Middle School at 12:20 p.m. and Marble Falls High School at 12:30 p.m.

The School Board approved the early release on Oct. 30 to give teachers a common planning day to better prepare students for future testing and lessons, officials said.

But Marble Falls Independent School District staffers also realize this is short notice for parents and guardians.

“Our students will benefit from teachers being better prepared for instruction,” said Superintendent Rob O’Connor. “This is our ongoing commitment to allow common planning time for our teachers. I do want to apologize for the quick notice.”

The teachers and staff will use the additional time to plan for the next nine weeks, analyze how well students understand the material they learned the first nine weeks and develop plans to address any educational gaps, officials said.

“For our students’ success, it is imperative that teachers and administrators have the time to collaborate after analyzing student data so they can make instructional adjustments that will impact student learning,” said Eric Penrod, director of secondary programs. “The data does have about a two-week life span before its usefulness is limited, so it’s extremely valuable for the teachers to have this time to plan targeted lessons.”

The aim, he added, is to help our students get ready for the state’s rigorous standardized tests.

editor@thepicayune.com

HORSESHOE BAY —With the swing of a club, legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus proclaimed the opening of Summit Rock official on Oct. 30.

Nicklaus, who won 18 majors in his professional career, was the designer of the 18-hole course that includes four par-5 holes and is part of Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott, located at 200 Hi Circle.

BURNET — Counselors remain available at Burnet High School after 18-year-old student Darlene Jackson was found dead inside her home Oct. 27, officials said.

The cause of the senior’s death remains under investigation, Police Chief Paul Nelson said Oct. 30.

Jackson’s body was sent to the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office in Austin for an autopsy and toxicology tests, officials said, and results could take six to eight weeks.

Meanwhile, Principal Mark Kincaid said counselors have been available to students if they need help coping.

"She was a good student, working hard to finish school," Kincaid said. "You can’t ask for much more from a student than that."

A visitation is 6-8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home, 306 Texas 29 East in Burnet, (512) 756-2222.

Jackson’s funeral is 1 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Church at The Epicenter, 2401 U.S. 281 North, with the Rev. Kyle Byrd officiating.

Interment will follow at Lakeland Hills Memorial Park.

Kincaid said students who have permission from their parents will be allowed to attend the funeral.

Jackson was born in Austin on May 9, 1994, and raised in Burnet.

She worked part-time as a server at Crazy Gal’s Café. Her family said she "was saved to the Lord during her freshman year in high school."

According to relatives, the Bible verses in her room at home were Romans 10:9-10, Colossians 1:1-10 and John 3:3-5.

jared@thepicayune.com

BUCHANAN DAM — A woman who failed to show up in court twice after being accused of helping get rid of a homicide victim’s body is back behind bars, Llano County deputies said Oct. 30.

Letecia Chapman Jeffers, 25, has been indicted on a second-degree charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, in this case a corpse, following an October 2010 investigation in the death and disappearance of 29-year-old Mark Shurish. Along with her arrest on Oct. 22, deputies have also accused her mother Dee Anne Jeffers, 54, and her brother James Michael Jeffers, 28, with helping the woman evade capture.

Jail records indicate the two family members are charged with hinder apprehension or prosecution of a known felon, a third-degree felony.

Letecia Jeffers’ relatives were arrested on Oct. 23, said Llano County Chief Deputy John Neff.

Dee Anne Jeffers was released the same day from the Llano County Jail after posting a $15,000 bond. James Jeffers is being held in lieu of a $25,000 bond while Letecia Jeffers is being held without bond.

Letecia Jeffers is being investigated in a case that dates to June 2010, when Shurish’s family members reported him missing to Travis County authorities. As police began investigating his disappearance, they learned he was last seen at a Fuzzy’s Corner, a Buchanan Dam watering hole.

Llano County investigators followed information that led them to a Mason County ranch where they discovered Shurish’s burned remains.

Authorities eventually charged Thomas Barkley Creech, 35, with Shurish’s murder. In August 2012, a Llano County jury convicted Creech of slaying Shurish and sentenced him to 75 years in prison.

Authorities initially charged three people with assisting Creech in the disposal of the body — Letecia Jeffers, 26-year-old Justin Dale Silvernale and a 56-year-old woman. Prosecutors dropped the charges against the 56-year-old woman.

But Silvernale pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted a two-year prison term.

During Creech’s murder trial, prosecutors said he persuaded Shurish to go with him to Jeffers’ residence where the defendant said he would introduce him to a person interested in investing in the drug business. But when the two men arrived and Creech directed Shurish to a back bedroom, there was nobody waiting. Instead, prosecutors said, Creech shot Shurish in the back of the head.

Silvernale testified during the August murder trial that he helped Creech pick the body off the floor and stuff it in an entertainment center.

Prosecutors claim Jeffers also assisted Creech in disposing of the body.

Jeffers was scheduled to enter a plea Aug. 17, but failed to show. During the murder trial 10 days later, prosecutors called her as a witness, but again she didn’t appear.

During the murder trial, Dee Anne Jeffers told the court her daughter might be in Hawaii.

But Neff said the woman may never have traveled very far from Buchanan Dam.

"She may have been in the area the entire time," he said.

If convicted, Jeffers faces up to 20 years in prison. Her mother and brother could be in prison a maximum of 10 years if they are convicted.

daniel@thepicayune.com

BUCHANAN DAM — A 49-year-old man is dead after he reportedly pointed a gun at law enforcement officers during a standoff Oct. 29 in an upscale neighborhood on the shores of Lake Buchanan.

Texas Rangers are investigating the incident, which unfolded about 9:15 p.m. in the Point Tella neighborhood, officials said Oct. 30.

The dead man is identified as William Charles Lipscombe, investigators said.

After a caller dialed 911 to report shots fired, Llano County deputies and Department of Public Safety troopers responded to a residence in the 100 block of Senisa Court, said DPS spokesman Tom Vinger.

Law officers encountered an armed man who lived at the home, officials said.

According to the preliminary investigation, officers ordered the man to put the weapon down, but he instead turned it in their direction, Vinger said.

"Troopers responded by firing at the man, who died at the scene," Vinger said.

Since the episode is an officer-involved shooting, the Texas Rangers are handling the investigation, officials said.

Many of the homes in the Point Tella neighborhood are lakefront properties with balconies overlooking the largest of the Highland Lakes. Some residences are more than 3,300-square feet and list for nearly a half-million dollars.

editor@thepicayune.com

BURNET — The possibility that Llano and Burnet school districts could add soccer to their athletic programs during the 2013-2014 school year is giving youth league coaches and players hope, but officials worry where they’ll find the money.

The University Interscholastic League Oct. 22 announced Commissioner of Education Michael Williams will be asked to approve soccer as a Class 3A sport. The decision is pending.

However, creating a new program also means adding costs to budgets during a time when the Legislature may cut school funding even more to balance state coffers.

BURNET — Although the latest legal challenge to Texas public school finance began unfolding Oct. 22 in state District Judge John Dietz’s Austin courtroom, the outcome will be felt far and wide — including in Burnet and Marble Falls schools.

The Burnet Consolidated Independent School District is actually a party to the lawsuit, which involves more than 500 Texas public school districts challenging the state’s so-called "Robin Hood" law that takes taxes from property-wealthy districts and turns them over to poorer districts. The Legislature approved the measure after the landmark 1984 Kirby v. Edgewood ISD decision sought to create an equalized education for all, and school districts and the state have been fighting ever since, with school districts claiming the collection amounts to an illegal state property tax.

"We really have to fix our school finance system," BCISD Superintendent Keith McBurnett said. "It shouldn’t matter what your address is. Every child deserves a good education."

History of Texas 
School-Finance Litigation

1971

Rodgriguez vs. San Antonio Independent School District. A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court claimed theTexas school-finance system was unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court in 1973 ruled that the Texas school finance system didn’t violate the U.S. Constitution and was a state issue.

1984

Edgewood ISD vs. Kirby. The Edgewood ISD filed the initial lawsuit against then-Texas Education Commissioner William Kirby alleging the school finance system discriminates against poor districts.

1989

The Texas Supreme Court rules in favor of Edgewood ISD and orders Legislature to develop an equitable system by the 1990-1991 school year.

1991

The Texas Supreme Court again finds school finance system unconstitutional, even after Legislature attempts to correct it following Edgewood ISD vs. Kirby lawsuit.

1992

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD vs. Edgewood ISD (Edgewood III). Texas Supreme Court determines new school finance system is basically an unconstitutional state property tax.

1993-2006

Edgewood IV through Edgewood VI take place. Eventually, state legislatures reduce local property taxes by creating another revenue source. But as property wealthy districts see more local taxes funneled away, grumbling continues.

2012

State District Judge John Dietz of the 250th District Civil Court in Austin rolls five different lawsuits challenging the school finance system into one. He begins hearing arguments Oct. 22 in his courtroom.

WAXAHACHIE — A first-place ranking Oct. 27 in the Region 13/26 marching band contest is sweet music for the Burnet High School Esprit de Corps, which is headed to state.

"We’re going in as the top seed," said band director Kevin Heckaman. "We’re going in as the No. 1 seed from our region."

Burnet was one of 28 bands at the weekend regional event, where two of three music judges placed it first.

BURNET — The possibility that Llano and Burnet school districts could add soccer to their athletic programs during the 2013-2014 school year is giving youth league coaches and players hope, but officials worry where they’ll find the money.

The University Interscholastic League Oct. 22 announced Commissioner of Education Michael Williams will be asked to approve soccer as a Class 3A sport. The decision is pending.

However, creating a new program also means adding costs to budgets during a time when the Legislature may cut school funding even more to balance state coffers.