MARBLE FALLS — Marble Falls school district voters will head to the polls Aug. 25 to determine whether they will get a lower property tax rate — though they are being asked to approve an increase.

Superintendent Rob O’Connor has likened the vote to more of a “tax shift,” because voters are being asked to basically move a penny.

“Since we’re exceeding the $1.04 (maintenance-and-operation) rate, we’re triggering a tax-rollback election regardless that we’re reducing the entire tax rate by a penny,” O’Connor said during the Marble Falls Independent School District board meeting July 16.

Trustees voted to adopt an overall 2012-2013 property tax rate of $1.28 per $100 valuation. The current rate is $1.29, or a penny more.

The bump comes on the M&O side of the rate. The district property tax includes the M&O, which covers operations and salaries, and the Interest and Sinking fund dedicated to debt payments.

O’Connor wants to increase the M&O rate from $1.04 to $1.0533.

Under state law, the district must hold a tax ratification election when the M&O rate exceeds the rollback number of $1.04 per $100 valuation.

The slight increase in the M&O rate will bring in $402,732 in both local and state funding, said Lisa LeMon, the district’s accounting supervisor.

To make the scenario work, the district is shaving 2.3 cents from the I&S side of the rate, dropping it to 22.67 cents. LeMon said the cut to the debt service is possible because the district is at a point where its bond payments will begin decreasing.

The shift translates to an overall rate decrease with a penny going back to the tax payers.

LeMon said the M&O rate increase is necessary since the state cut $1.8 million in funding to MFISD in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Officials anticipate the state to slash another $1.2 million in funding for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

The district is looking at a slimmer budget this year as well.

LeMon said MFISD’s prospective budget is about $36.7 million, compared to the current one of $38.3 million.

School officials have warned that some non-core school programs could be threatened down the road if preventive measures aren’t taken now.

daniel@thepicayune.com

AUSTIN — Fears the rice industry would push for changes to a recent water-management plan for the Colorado River didn’t materialize during a regional planning meeting July 11, but the subject is far from closed.

Apprehension had built among Highland Lakes interests that rice farmers from the lower river basin — Wharton, Matagorda and Colorado counties — would use the LCRA Region K Planning Group meeting to push for changes to a stakeholder-approved Water Management Plan hammered out during an 18-month period.

MARBLE FALLS — There’s nothing like a snow cone on a hot summer day — but it’s even better when you can make some cool cash at the same time.

Just ask 14-year-old Courtney Pilley and her brother 12-year-old Tanner Pilley, who — with the help of parents Mike and Leslie Pilley — opened the Sno Cone Hut two weeks ago in the 900 block of RR 1431.

PHOTO 1: Courtney and Tanner Pilley are a young brother-and-sister team operating the Sno Cone Hut, located in the 900 block of RR 1431 in Marble Falls. The siblings say the experience is teaching them valuable lessons about hard work. Staff photo by Connie Swinney

GRANITE SHOALS — A new animal control ordinance approved by the City Council July 10 that calls for keeping cats contained in a yard is raising some hackles.

Meanwhile, council members during their regular meeting also expressed support for a French couple living in Granite Shoals who aren’t being allowed to return from a vacation in France due to visa issues.

LLANO — A Llano County grand jury indicted two jailers July 10 in the 2011 death of a 45-year-old inmate who killed himself while in custody, according to officials.

Llano County jailer Scottie Scoggins is charged in an indictment with first-degree injury to a disabled individual by omission, court records show.

Jailer Donny Stewart is indicted on the same charge, but as a second-degree felony.

Both corrections officers turned themselves in to authorities July 11. They were released on personal recognizance bonds approved by state District Judge Dan Mills after he conferred with the state Attorney General’s Office, which handled the grand jury investigation.

On Aug. 6, 2011, jail officials found Shawn Michael Appell’s body in a cell around 5:35 p.m. He had been in custody since April 22, 2011, after being arrested by the Llano Police Department on a charge of criminal mischief, officials said.

An autopsy indicated Appell died after continually banging his head against a wall.

According to a Travis County Medical Examiner’s report, the death was ruled a suicide by blunt force head injury.

An indictment alleges that Scoggins “knowingly or recklessly, by omission” failed to take the proper steps to keep Appell from injuring himself and failed to provide the proper medical care when the prisoner became injured.

The indictment against Stewart drops the word “knowingly”  and keeps “recklessly, by omission,” but otherwise retains the same basic language.

If convicted on the first-degree felony charge, Scoggins could face up to 99 years in prison. Stewart faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the second-degree charge.

A custodial death report filed with the Attorney General’s Office provides one account of what occurred prior to Appell’s demise.

The summary states at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 5, 2011, jail officials transported Appell to the Scott & White Hospital-Llano after correction officers “discovered that while inmate Appell was being housed in separation cell 190 he was banging his head against the wall in the shower area and bleeding from his head.”

According to the report, Appell told hospital officials that God had beaten him because of demons in his head. A state mental health official arrived at the emergency room and tried to find a bed in a mental facility for the man, according to the report.

But one couldn’t be found at that time, so Appell was transported back to the jail at 2:50 a.m. Aug. 6, the report stated.

He was placed in a padded cell under a five-minute watch, but he continued to strike his head against the window, according to the document. Jail officials continued to work with mental health officials to find Appell a spot in a state  facility, the report states.

About 3 p.m. Aug. 6, officials noted Appell was on the cell floor sleeping, according to the document. But upon a check of the cell at 4:30 p.m., officials found him standing up facing the wall, the report said.

The document reports that at 5 p.m. Appell was lying on the floor and the five-minute watches continued. At 5:30 p.m. “inmate Appell appeared not to be breathing. EMS was called…Subject was deceased and investigation was turned over to (a) Texas Ranger,” according to the report.

Appell had once been accused of stalking District Attorney Sam Oatman. Due to that connection, the District Attorney’s Office turned the investigation into Appell’s death over to state prosecutors.

The 2008 stalking charges were dismissed based on a competency evaluation for Appell. A report completed by psychologist Matthew Ferrara, who examined Appell, stated the defendant was not capable of standing trial on the stalking charges because he had a “persuasive delusion.”

daniel@thepicayune.com

TOBYVILLE — Despite losing everything he and his four daughters owned when a fire destroyed their home July 8, the Rev. Marcial Marichalar held onto the one thing the flames couldn’t take — his faith.

“God will take care of us,” he said July 10. “He’s already blessed us with this wonderful community and all the beautiful people who live here. The community has already reached out to help us and they’ve been praying for us. I thank God for that.”

Meanwhile, officials at First Baptist Church of Marble Falls are rallying support for Marichalar, who was recruited several years ago by the Rev. Max Copeland to start an outreach mission to the Hispanic community.

“They lost everything — down to their toothbrushes,” said church spokesman Gary Stone on July 10. “They have nothing.”

Church officials are seeking donations, gift cards and even volunteers to come to the house site in the 100 block of Meador Road for a massive cleanup at 8 a.m. July 14 and July 21.

The family didn’t have home insurance and they aren’t sure where they will be staying, supporters said. The children include four girls ages 15, 13 and 10-year-old twins. 

Gift cards and donations can be dropped off at the church office, 501 Twelfth St. in Marble Falls. Donations can be made out to “Fire Fund” to keep them tax-deductible, Stone said. For more, call the church at (830) 693-4381. 

Donors are welcome to provide gift cards from  H-E-B, Walmart, Beall’s, Target and Old Navy, Stone added.

“We’re trying to help them with their basic needs, but we’re also looking at the family’s long-term needs,” he said. “We’re asking for gift cards, because they can go and pick things out. And right now, they really need that sense of ownership.”

Ultimately, the church would like to help Marichalar replace his residence with another manufactured home.

Stone said Marichalar established a Baptist mission at First Baptist Church before moving to a separate facility on Avenue S.

“I think he started the first Hispanic Baptist mission (in Marble Falls),” Stone said. “Everything he made, he poured back into starting churches and missions. He didn’t have two dimes to rub together.”

Marichalar described his career as a calling and passion.

“(The fire) won’t keep me from continuing,” he added.

But for now, he is concerned about taking care of his daughters.

“I don’t know where we’re going to stay,” he said. “That’s the first thing we need right now — a place to stay.”

According to officials, a fire that may have started in the kitchen erupted about 8:30 a.m. at the residence. The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the blaze at the manufactured home, which included an addition built on the site. 

The minister was not at home and no injuries were reported.

“It was fully engulfed when we arrived on the scene,” said Terry White, chief of the Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department.

Other agencies assisting at the scene included the Granite Shoals Fire Department and Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department.

For more on this story, pick up a copy of The River Cities Sunday Tribune July 14-15.

daniel@thepicayune.com

MEADOWLAKES — City leaders don’t have to look any further than their own community for a loan to build a new ground-level water storage tank, officials say.

City Council members July 10 approved drawing up a contract for a 7-year, low-interest loan from the Meadowlakes Property Owners Association worth $300,000.

“They have the money to loan. We’re paying them the interest,” said Mayor Don Williams. “They represent the same people we do; therefore, the money stays within our own city. They gave us a good rate, so why not?”

POA officials said the goals of the city and their organization are the same — to maintain the quality of life in Meadowlakes.

“The POA through the years has been able to accumulate a balance (nearly $600,000) that’s available,” POA President Roy Belcher said. “Rather than the city go outside at a higher cost, they’ve come to us and we’ve agreed to give them the loan.”

The POA will charge 2.5 percent interest, which is better than most financial institutions, Williams said.

“Through a bank, we would pay probably more than 4 percent,” Williams said.

City officials said the new tank is needed because an existing 12-year-old tank has limited storage capacity.

The city has two storage receptacles— an elevated 200,000-gallon water tank located in the heart of the bedroom community and one 250,000-gallon ground-level water tank on City Hall property.

Estimates for constructing an additional ground-level tank could reach about $350,000, according to Southwest Engineers Inc.

The POA, who owns the city’s streets, typically dedicates funds to maintain the community’s roadways.

Other projects involving POA assistance include swimming pool upgrades and funding assistance for loans involving the city’s Public Works Department, officials said.

“We contract with them to do work around the city, too,”  Williams said. “It’s just a good relationship. We try to work together.”

connie@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — The future is uncertain for two brothers who help at their parents’ Marble Falls bakery after U.S. officials barred the French couple from returning to Texas a few weeks ago.

The bakery has been shuttered since May, leaving 22-year-old Ken Walter, who attends Northwood University in Dallas, wondering what the days ahead hold for his family, now on opposite sides of the planet.

PHOTO: Ken (left) and Lee Walter, sons of Fleur de Ble bakery owners Jean-Claude and Beatrice Walter, await word from the U.S. Embassy about the status of their parents’ return to Marble Falls. Immigration officials denied the business owners’ request to renew their work visa, calling the French bakery a ‘marginal enterprise,’ the sons said. The move has put the family’s livelihood in limbo, they add. Staff photo by Connie Swinney

EUGENE, Ore. — Leonel Manzano chuckled when he heard how people in Burnet County hollered at their television screens during the final of the 1,500 meters in the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 1.

And what a finish they witnessed — a finish that means Manzano, a former Granite Shoals resident simply known to friends and family as “Leo,” is headed to the Olympics for the second time since 2008.

Manzano, a 2004 graduate of Marble Falls High School, was third when the race began, fourth after the second lap and fell as far as fifth until he worked his way toward the front of the pack.

PHOTO: Leonel Manzano, a 2004 graduate of Marble Falls High School, finished first in the 1,500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., on July 1. The former Granite Shoals resident will compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on July 27-Aug. 12. Courtesy photo

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The Magnificent Manzano

• Leonel “Leo” Manzano is the only 1,500-meter runner from 2008 to make the U.S. team a second time in that event. Bernard Lagat and Lopez Lomong weren’t in the final.

• Since turning professional, he has anchored a Team USA team at the Penn Relays in the distance medley at least twice. The most recent was a win against USA Red and Lagat in 3:54.9 when the two ran in the 1,500 meters. Manzano came from behind in the final 800 meters for the win. USA Blue clocked 9:19.31, while USA Red finished in 9:19.88.

• This marks his sixth USA Track and Field team. He was asked to compete for Team USA as a junior and on the under-19 team while he was in college.

• Two NCAA 1,500-meter championships, numerous wins at the Penn Relays and at the Texas Relays.

• Nine University Interscholastic League championships during his tenure at Marble Falls High School. He graduated in 2004.

Manzano said he will be giving updates on his website, www.leomanzano.com, throughout the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The first heat of the Olympic 1,500 meters is Aug. 3 with semifinals Aug. 5 and the final Aug. 7.