HORSESHOE BAY — Employment applications are being accepted for a new grocery store expected to open in April, company officials said.

Jamail’s grocery store will be part of the 40,000-square-foot, $8 million Horseshoe Bay Center at 9710 FM 2147, developer Mike Walsh said.

PHOTO 1: Jim Jamail (left) and and his wife Kathy are working closely with their general contractor Clifford Grubbs, owner of Grubbs Construction of Horseshoe Bay, and project manager Russell Garner to build Jamail’s grocery store at the Horseshoe Bay Center, 9710 FM 2147 in Horseshoe Bay. The store could open in April. Courtesy photo

“I believe we’ll open in April,” said Jim Jamail, the store’s operating partner. He said a variety of operational details are still in the works, including hiring and training workers. “We want customers to feel like family. Given that goal, we want to employ people who truly enjoy serving others.”

Interviews start March 1 for meat, seafood, deli and bakery positions, according to a release. There are also positions for kitchen personnel, including a chef, and fresh produce and grocery personnel.

The company also is looking for high school and college students who want to work after school and on Saturdays.

Applications for personnel are available at www.jamails.com.

The store’s interior also is taking shape, according to company officials. Coolers have been set up, and the kitchen, which will prepare entrees and side dishes the six days of the week the store will be open, is being installed, along with display cases in the meat, seafood and prepared-foods departments.

A beer cave and wine cellar also are on tap.

The first phase of the center’s construction consists of 20,000 square feet, including the grocery store and the sales office of the Trails of Horseshoe Bay, a real estate development by Walsh.

Construction of Phase 2 will begin when more tenants indicate interest about moving in, according to Walsh.

Potential tenants should contact leasing agent Robyn Walsh at (512) 470-5517 or robynwalsh@lavacafinancial.com.

Construction of Phase 3, consisting of 350 climate-controlled storage units, will be sometime after the opening of Jamail’s.

Horseshoe Bay Center and Jamail’s are being built by Grubbs Construction in Horseshoe Bay, with owner Clifford Grubbs as the project’s general contractor. Russell Garner is project manager. The architect is Ray Gill of R. Gill Architects of Horseshoe Bay.

LLANO — After the Llano Yellowjackets football team managed only a single win in 2011, district leadership decided to make a change in the program.

And the casualty — head coach and athletic director David Yeager.

His departure is not the only one announced by the Llano Independent School District Feb. 22. A campus administrator, an assistant superintendent and a band director also are leaving for various reasons.

MARBLE FALLS — As part of an overhaul of sign regulations, city officials are working on a plan to preserve vintage signs at popular landmarks — including neon.

The staff is ironing out provisions for a “historical sign designation” that protects signs at the Blue Bonnet Cafe, the Uptown Marble Theater and other historical sites, said Caleb Kraenzel, the development services director.

<p>MARBLE FALLS — Looks like Superintendent Rob O’Connor — who’s been on the job about seven months — is sticking around the Marble Falls Independent School District.</p>
<p>The School Board Feb. 20 voted to extend his contract for three additional years, making it a five-year commitment.</p>
<p>O’Connor is making an annual salary of $155,00, which doesn’t change. But, added trustees, raises are negotiable each year</p>

MARBLE FALLS — Spotting a possible outfit for her 8-year-old granddaughter, Julie Jarves felt a twinge of excitement.

“She really likes zebra prints,” the 61-year-old woman said as she recently browsed through Smartie Pantz, a retail children’s and ladies apparel store downtown. “This is my granddaughter’s style in here.”

PHOTO: Horseshoe Bay customer Julie Jarves (left), shopping for her 8-year-old granddaughter, gets some help from Smartie Pantz co-owner Stacey Nash at the Marble Falls store, 204 Main St. The boutique, which specializes in boutique children’s and women’s clothing, is one of the sales niches where economic development leaders say there could be a retail gap as local shoppers go elsewhere. Staff photo by Connie Swinney

And while Jarves may look like just another shopper to a casual observer, she and thousands like her are case studies to the Economic Development Corp., which is researching local buying habits to learn why millions in consumer dollars are leaving Marble Falls.

The EDC recently hired The Retail Coach for $35,000 to assess what officials call “demographics on steroids” and how to keep sales revenue in Marble Falls. The company has offices in Dallas and Houston.

AUSTIN – Despite misgivings over a recent change to a water-management plan, state Sen. Troy Fraser is urging the Lower Colorado River Authority to adopt the  measures during a meeting Feb. 22.

“I hope you will not waste any more time and will approve the new plan immediately,” Fraser told Timothy Timmerman, LCRA board chairman, in a letter.

MARBLE FALLS — The Economic Development Corp. may ask the city to double its marketing budget in a push to draw visitors to Marble Falls from the Interstate 35 corridor, officials said.

The current allotment is $30,000, which comes from sales taxes doled out by the City Council. That could also mean a partnership with Door Number 3, the Austin firm that created a brand and marketing campaign for the city.

MARBLE FALLS — It could be lights out for some signs in the city — including those at the famous Blue Bonnet Cafe — under a new ordinance the City Council is considering, a business owner said.

The council during the Feb. 7 meeting heard about changes to the ordinance, which city staffers say wouldn’t affect most signs — only electronic or neon.

PHOTO 1: Historic Blue Bonnet Cafe neon signs are endangered by proposed changes to a city ordinance, the owner says. Staff photo by Raymond V. Whelan

AUSTIN — A compromise proposed by Lower Colorado River Authority officials to a water-management plan that took weeks to hammer out is raising eyebrows.

The change could allow rice farmers in the Colorado River basin to receive more water during dry spells from storage reservoirs Travis and Buchanan than originally intended, officials said.

Indeed, if the new minimum is adopted, rice farmers may receive about 31,000 more acre-feet during a severe drought.

PHOTO 1: Lake Travis has dropped significantly because of severe drought in Texas. File photo