BURNET — Police are asking for the public’s help to clear a pair of vehicle burglaries on Yellow Ribbon Trail that occurred March 25-27.
Thieves took a GPS device, a high-end flashlight, a cell phone and several compact discs, according to Burnet police Capt. Steve Vollmar.
So far, no suspects have been named in the case, Vollmar added.
Anyone with information on the thefts can call Vollmar at (512) 756-6404 or Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers at (866) 756-8477.
Tips leading to an arrest and conviction could result in a $2,000 reward, officials said.
Callers can remain anonymous.
Tips also may be sent via text message to CRIMES (274637). Include the words “tip 218” at the beginning of the message.
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MARBLE FALLS — Mayor George Russell joked April 3 that his neighbors —seeing a pile of trash and brush at his house set aside for the 2012 Marble Falls Spring Clean — are adding their own refuse to the mound.
But he isn’t too upset, he said during his remarks at the City Council meeting.
“The bottom line is, it does clean up the community,” the mayor said.
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MARBLE FALLS — While the city may penalize business owners for failing to comply with new sign laws, the Economic Development Corp. is considering paying merchants to fix them, officials say.
Executive Director Christian Fletcher offered the idea of a signage replacement program April 4 to board members for discussion.
At issue is whether such a program falls under the EDC’s mandate to attract and — more crucial in this case — retain businesses.
Fletcher said elements of a plan could include possible loans or grant matches to be reimbursed after the business fixes the signs.
At least one director expressed reservations.
“I want to avoid being the pocketbook for signs,” Director Steve Reitz said, adding the proposal needs more research.
Board members asked EDC attorney Monte Akers about potential conflicts.
“I’ll have to see if there is anything that prohibits you (the EDC board) from doing so,” he said.
Directors agreed to form a sub-committee to research the proposal.
The City Council March 20 passed a revised sign ordinance that lists stiffer rules against certain kinds of signs, including flashing, damaged and broken signs, according to city code enforcement officials.
Violators can face fines and court costs, which can range from $200 to $1,000, depending on the amount of time the business fails to comply.
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GRANITE SHOALS — The City Council isn’t sold on a proposed ordinance requiring detached garages, workshops or other accessory buildings to be on the same lot as a property owner’s home.
The council March 27 sent the ordinance back to Planning and Zoning for more work.
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MARBLE FALLS — A firm studying the feasibility of a sports complex for Marble Falls will hold three public meetings during the next 90 days to gauge interest in the project.
“The feasibility study is to find representatives in stakeholders, if for nothing else to gauge interest,” said Robert Moss, the director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
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AUSTIN — A former Burnet High School graduate did his part last week to help the University of Texas at Austin secure a national championship.
Jim Robertson, a 2007 graduate of Burnet, was in Indianapolis swimming for the Longhorns as they claimed their 10th NCAA championship in the sport.
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MARBLE FALLS — The motto of the Marble Falls Independent School District is “In Pursuit of Excellence,” but now officials are in pursuit of a new motto — and they want the public to help decide.
“It has been great to pursue excellence, but now is the time to focus less on pursuing excellence and more on simply being excellent,” Superintendent Rob O’Connor said in a press release.
The new motto could be revealed during a May 21 School Board meeting.
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The Burnet 7-Eleven at 109 W. Jackson St. not only reclaimed the nationwide convenience store chain’s record of most pizzas sold in a single day — they smashed it.
“The company pulled the data and we did 185 pizzas,” said local store manager Patty Sharkey Thursday morning. “It was incredible.”
Last December, the Burnet store set the company-wide record with a 113 pizzas sold in a single day. But on Feb. 8, a Los Angeles unit eclipsed that number by heating and selling 123 round pies.
After reading a write-up in the company newsletter earlier this month about the West Coast store’s achievement, Sharkey and her staff just couldn’t let Los Angeles hold the pepperoni bragging rights.
So employees spread the word that on Wednesday, they would go after the pizza record once again.
“This entire town came out for us,” Sharkey said. “Look at the size of the two cities. We’re Burnet. We have, what, just over 4,000 people. Los Angeles has several million.”
Her employees worked hard to return the Texas bluebonnet capital to its status as the pizza epicenter of the 7-Eleven world.
“I truly believe there won’t be another 7-Eleven that will break this record,” Sharkey said.
The only challenge the Burnet store may have faced was a possible claim the Los Angeles unit sold its 123 pizzas in only 16 hours, not 24 hours.
“We went back and looked at our pizzas, which we started selling at 12:01 a.m. (Wednesday), and at 2:40 p.m. we were at 126 pizzas,” Sharkey said. “We did that in less than 16 hours so that still beats their record.”
The pizza-baking frenzy gave the Burnet store a $2,500 boost in sales as well, Sharkey said — a milestone even the corporate headquarters in Dallas noticed.
While some customers purchased several pizza pies, one patron ordered 24.
“Every person who came through that door and bought a pizza counted,” she said. “Our customers, my employees and this town are incredible. We couldn’t do it without them. We’re exhausted, but we’re excited.”
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BURNET — When Burnet 7-Eleven manager Patty Sharkey read in a company newsletter that a Los Angeles 7-Eleven had beaten her store’s record for one-day pizza sales, she knew it was time to cook up a new strategy.
That’s easy to understand. Up until Feb. 8, when the Los Anglese store sold 123 pies, Sharkey and her employees had held the nationwide 7-Eleven record for single-day pizza purchases with 113.
PHOTO 1: Burnet 7-Eleven manager Patty Sharkey makes pizzas numbers 105, 106 and 107 Wednesday in an effort to break a one-day sales record set by a Los Angeles 7-Eleven store Feb. 8 — 123 pizzas. The Burnet operation set the previous record Dec. 9, 2009, with a 113 pizzas sold in a 24-hour period. The Burnet staff and community weren’t about to be outdone by their Los Angeles rivals, and went after the record again today. The time span of eligibility is 12:01 a.m. -11:59 p.m. Staff photos by Daniel Clifton
PHOTO 2: A sign in the Burnet 7-Eleven outlines the store’s goal to reclaim the record for most pizzas sold in a day for the nationwide chain. The Burnet store set the record Dec. 9, 2009, but was surpassed Feb. 8 by a Los Angeles store following an appearance by company CEO Joe DePinto on ‘Oprah.’ At noon Wednesday, the Burnet 7-Eleven had sold 108 pizzas with almost 12 hours left in the alloted time.
The Burnet store, 109 W. Jackson St., set the previous record Dec. 9, 2009.
“We had held the record up to that point,” she said. “(The Los Angeles record was set) the same day the CEO, Joe DePinto, was on ‘Oprah.’ And they even got a big write-up with their picture in the newsletter.”
And it wasn’t just Sharkey who was a little bewildered by the new record. Two of her employees — Theresa Franklin and Jamie West — took the news a bit personal as well.
“This is a pretty big deal,” Franklin said.
Despite Los Angeles having more than 4 million people compared to Burnet’s 4,700, the City of Angels convenience store could only muster 10 more pizzas. The Burnet crew knew they couldn’t just sit back and let Los Angeles rise to the top.
So they began to put the word out, letting customers know that on March 31, the Burnet store would try and reclaim the record.
Sharkey said each whole pizza sold from 12:01 a.m.-11:59 p.m. Wednesday counts toward the record.
“We’re doing pretty good,” she said Wednesday around noon while pulling one pizza out of the oven before shoving in another one. “I think we’re up to 107 with this one.”
Franklin said winning the contest is a matter of civic pride.
“This is Burnet taking on Los Angeles,” she said. “This can really help put Burnet on the map.”
Customers have a choice between cheese or pepperoni pizzas with a few fixings from the condiment bar thrown in. It only takes about 90 seconds from the moment the frozen pizza goes into the oven to be ready.
“It’s been pretty crazy in here,” Sharkey said.
Franklin said she expected the Burnet store to break the record simply because of its loyal customer base.
“This store values its customers, and they really value us,” she said. “It’s like a family.”
Though the Burnet store doesn’t get the foot traffic the Los Angeles store does, Burnet customers make up for that with a lot of pride, Sharkey said.
“We have an average of 700 customers a day,” Sharkey said. “That LA store averages about 1,700 customers a day. But our customers are really a part of this.”
7-Eleven is a one of the originators of the convenience-store concept, going back to 1927 when it was Southland Ice Co. in Dallas and sold a few items such as milk, eggs and bread on Sundays and evenings after grocery stores had closed.
Today, 7-Eleven has more than 6,900 stores across the United States and Canada. Originally called “Tote’m” because people “toted” their items away, the store name was changed to 7-Eleven in 1946 to reflect the new hours of operation from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. However, today many of the individual units are open 24 hours a day.
The three Burnet 7-Eleven employees working Wednesday didn’t have any doubts they’d break the record. Franklin said they expect the same coverage from the company’s newsletter that the Los Angeles store received.
And just as the clock struck noon, Sharkey pulled out another pizza.
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