MARBLE FALLS — A federally funded $3 million-$5 million grant administered over the next three years is giving Marble Falls High School an economic shot in the arm.

The money will assist with professional development, instructional coaches to work with teachers and improving freshmen reading skills, said Principal Eric Penrod.

“Schools dream of this,” he added. “It could not be a better time for us to receive this grant. And it’s going to allow us to start doing things now — not some time in the future.”

Officials with the Marble Falls Independent School District learned Aug. 4 the campus is a “preliminary recipient” of the Texas Title 1 Priority School Grant.

Like other school districts, MFISD is looking at possible budget cutbacks down the road thanks to a $4 billion reduction in education funding from the Legislature.

It’s also some welcome good news for the high school.

MARBLE FALLS — Incoming Marble Falls High School freshmen can get a little peek at what lies ahead during the annual Fish Camp — also known as Freshman Orientation.

Parents are invited, too, school officials said.

“Fish Camp is vital,” said Principal Eric Penrod. “For the parents, this is the first time some of them have ever had a student in high school and (Fish Camp) helps them understand what will be going on in their child’s life here. It also goes a long way to help reduce the anxiety in this transitional year for parents and students.”

Fish Camp is 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 11 at the high school, 2101 Mustang Drive.

The orientation is more than a tour of the campus, said Registrar Registrar Wendy Bingham.

“It gives students and their parents an idea about what is going to be happening over the next four years,” Bingham said. “In high school it starts getting very important as far as credits are concerned toward graduation. A lot of freshmen and their parents may not understand how important (credits) are, so we’ll have counselors on hand who will talk about graduation and graduation plans.”

Parents will learn about signing students in and out of the high school, as well as  policies covering absences and tardies.

A dress code “do’s and don’ts” program is offered, too.

“We’ll have a program for the parents in the cafeteria where they can ask questions,” Bingham said.

Penrod said even though high school students tend to have more freedom than they did in elementary and middle school, it’s important parents stay involved and understand what’s happening in their children’s academic lives.

“The freshman year is typically one of the more challenging for students,” he said. “It’s probably the one that really determines your success at the high school level.”

Along with counselors, administrators and teachers, many upperclassmen will be on hand to help with Fish Camp and give the freshmen a peer perspective on high school.

Representatives from several campus organizations will introduce the freshmen to extracurricular activities and clubs, Bingham said.

“The cheerleaders and drill team will even hold a pep rally for the freshmen,”  she added. “It’s a chance for the new high school students to learn a little bit about what next year will be like.”

Bingham said parents of current students should register their children online before attending Fish Camp.

Just go online and look for the Marble Falls Independent School District.

daniel@thepicayune.com

BURNET — For Cassandra “Sandy” Doyal, the news about the capture of a suspected jail escapee charged in a home invasion that left her beaten and violated is like a day she never thought would come.

With hope at one time fading, she waited for more than two years to hear from lawmen that Nuana Antonio Fuentes-Sanchez, 25, of El Salvador was back in custody.

“We didn’t think it would ever happen,” Doyal said Aug. 4. “We felt like it had fallen off the radar. So, we’re ecstatic about the news of his recapture.”

Three assailants armed with rifles broke into the home shared by Doyal, 51, and husband Bobby Doyal, 68, on April 9, 2009, then assaulted both of them and ransacked the property. Mrs. Doyal also was raped, she testified during a recent court proceeding.

MARBLE FALLS — Members of St. Frederick Baptist Church say the Lord has always provided for the Mission Outreach Ministry, and now they’re hoping the community will also help the 26-year-old food program.

“We need more funds and we definitely need more volunteers,” said church member Bessie Jackson.

Under the program, the congregation and volunteers from participating churches cook and prepare meals for delivery to the homebound and others in need across southern Burnet County.

Then, drivers drop off hot meals on Saturdays on routes through Horseshoe Bay, Kingsland, Cottonwood Shores, Granite Shoals and Marble Falls as part of the program that helps feed the hungry.

But as the need increases, financial contributions and more volunteers are required.

For those reasons, a fundraiser for Mission Outreach is 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at First United Methodist Church of Marble Falls, 1101 Bluebonnet Drive. Tickets are $25.

MARBLE FALLS – The Economic Development Corp. is opening board membership to appointees who live no more than 10 miles outside the city limits.

In a case of the second time’s the charm, the board Aug. 3 voted 4-2 to amend EDC bylaws to allow non-residents to serve.

“Let’s open it up as wide as we can,” said EDC board member George “Butch” Kemper.

The change is subject to City Council approval, officials said.

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. is still looking for an executive director after a finalist turned down the board’s offer.

Following a closed-door session lasting more than two hours Aug. 3, the board appointed members Jane Marie Hurst, George “Butch” Kemper and Steve Reitz to “pursue options related to the selection of a new director,” who could earn a salary of about $100,000.

“Our task is to continue negotiations with the (director) candidates and report back to the board,” Kemper said. “I don’t think it will take more than a couple of weeks.”

Buda EDC Executive Director Wayne Ketteman and the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce are still under consideration for the position, EDC president John Packer told The Tribune.

“They are both still on the table,” said Packer, also a City Council member.

The board has made no decision whether to search for more candidates, Kemper said.

More than a week ago, Marble Falls offered the director position to Levelland EDC Executive Director Charles David “Dave” Quinn Jr.

BURNET — More than two years after disappearing from the Burnet County Jail, a Salvadoran national accused in a brutal home invasion and rape is headed back to the Highland Lakes.

Sheriff W.T. Smith said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents picked up Nuana Antonio Fuentes-Sanchez, 25, of El Salvador in San Antonio Aug. 3.

“I’m still waiting to meet with the Texas Rangers to learn the circumstances around his arrest,” Smith said. “But he is in custody and he’s coming back to Burnet County.”

Fuentes-Sanchez was expected to return to the jail later in the evening, the sheriff added.

Fuentes-Sanchez is charged with escape, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, burglary of a habitation with intent to commit robbery, injury to an elderly person and two counts of aggravated sexual assault, according to court records.

Bond is pending.

According to investigators, he is a laborer and an undocumented immigrant who was living in Granite Shoals prior to his arrest in April 2009.

The arrest stemmed from a break-in by three men at the home Bobby and Cassandra “Sandy” Doyal in the 300 block of Stone Mountain Drive north of Marble Falls.

Both of the Doyals were beaten and Mrs. Doyal was sexually assaulted, according to testimony during the trial of one of the men. Several items were stolen from the home.

Fuentes-Sanchez disappeared from the newly opened Burnet County Jail Aug. 30. Deputies believe he escaped from the jail by climbing onto the building’s roof shortly after a recreation period in the jail’s outdoor yard when a guard was distracted.

He then apparently climbed down a water pipe and made his way to freedom, investigators said. The jail, operated under a private-public partnership, had only been open a few months.

So far only one man of five arrested has been tried in connection with the home-invasion case. Authorities said all are believed to be from El Salvador.

In June, a Burnet County jury convicted 21-year-old Gilberto Hernandez on the same charges Fuentes-Sanchez faces in connection with the attack on the Doyals.

The jury sentenced him to life in prison for one of the sexual assault charges and 99 years in prison for the other.

State District Judge Guilford “Gil” L. Jones stacked the sentences so Hernandez will serve them consecutively.

A third man — 30-year-old Alvaro Estrada Caceres — faces the same charges with the exception of the two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

He remains in the jail and is scheduled for trial Aug. 8.

The Doyals’ ordeal began about 12:30 a.m. April 9, 2009,  when they awoke to find three armed men in their home.

During her testimony, Cassandra Doyal, a nurse, told jurors her husband took out his pistol and went to confront the men, but they grabbed him and beat him before the 68-year-old Burnet County resident could get a shot off.

Mrs. Doyal, 51, told the court she attempted to help her husband, but one of the men attacked her.

After beating the couple and ransacking the house, two of the assailants raped her, Doyal testified.

Bobby Doyal was treated at Seton Highland Lakes Hospital for his injuries. Investigators who spoke to him developed information that led them to a residence in Granite Shoals, where they arrested five men.

Investigators said one of the men had worked on the Doyals’ home a year earlier.

Two others — 27-year-old Carlos Eriberto Sanchez and 22-year-old Aron Jose Fuentes-Sanchez — are charged with theft of a firearm from the elderly and theft from the elderly $1,500-$20,000.

They also remain behind bars.

Smith said he would release more details about the arrest of Nuana Antonio Fuentes-Sanchez as they become available.

Editor Thomas Edwards contributed to this story.

daniel@thepicayune.com

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls Independent School District opens student registration Aug. 8 at the elementary and middle school campuses, while the high school process starts Aug. 9.

Returning MFISD students are asked to register online this year.

The four elementary campuses will hold pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and new student-early registration Aug. 8-10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the individual campuses.

Returning elementary students can begin online registration Aug. 8 as well.

The elementary campuses and contact information are:

• Colt Elementary School, 2200 Manzano Mile in Marble Falls, (830) 693-3474

• Highland Lakes Elementary School, 8200 RR 1431 in Granite Shoals, (830) 798-3650

• Marble Falls Elementary School, 901 Ave. U in Marble Falls, (830) 693-2385

• Spicewood Elementary School, 1005 Spur 191 in Spicewood, (830) 798-3676

Each of the elementary schools will host “Meet the Teacher Night” 5-6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the respective campuses.

MARBLE FALLS — The city Aug. 1 moved to mandatory Stage 2 watering restrictions because of the effects of the drought and continued triple-digit temperatures, officials said.

As lakes Travis and Buchanan drop to half-full levels, daytime temperatures meanwhile keep rising — staying above 100 degrees for more than 45 consecutive days.

The last time the city implemented mandatory water restrictions was during the drought in July 2009, city officials said.

“It was just time to do it,” said City Manager Ralph Hendricks. He added Mayor George Russell authorized going to Stage 2 on Aug. 1.

The water restrictions are tied to recommendations from the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the Highland Lakes — the region’s main source of drinking water for many towns and cities.

“The primary cause for the high water usage is the record-breaking temperatures and the lack of rainfall,” Hendricks said. “The city has also experienced an increased number of major water leaks … These leaks are related to the high temperatures and dry conditions.”

Under Stage 2, the city attempts to achieve a 30 percent reduction in daily water consumption.

That designation calls for mandatory restrictions on lawn watering to two days a week based on the last digit of a resident’s street address, officials said.

• Odd-number addresses:  Wednesdays and Saturdays, midnight-10 a.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight

• Even-number addresses: Thursdays and Sundays, midnight-10 a.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight

• Commercial customers may water between midnight-10 a.m. and 7 p.m. midnight twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Other conservation measures include:

• Washing vehicles and boats with a bucket or hand-held nozzle only from midnight-10 a.m. or 7 p.m.-midnight. However, vehicles can still be washed at a commercial car wash or commercial service station.

• Filling or refilling any indoor or outdoor swimming pools, wading pools or jacuzzi-type pools is restricted to midnight-10 a.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight.

• Using ornamental fountains or ponds is prohibited except to keep aquatic life alive or where there is a recirculation system.

• Fire hydrants are off-limits except to first responders.

• Irrigating golf course greens, tees, and fairways is prohibited except on designated outdoor water use days (the same schedule as washing vehicles) unless the golf course uses a water source other than one provided by the city.

• Restaurants can’t serve water to patrons unless the customer asks.

In addition, there are nonessential uses for water that are prohibited at all times, officials said:

• Washing down sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts or other hard-surfaced areas.

• Washing down buildings or structures unless it’s for fire protection.

• Controlling dust.

• Flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street.

• Failing to repair a leak within a reasonable period after getting a notice from the city.

For more water-use restrictions under Stage 2 and to review the City’s Drought Contingency Plan, visit the city’s website at www.ci.marble-falls.tx.us or call City Hall at (830) 693-3615.

Hendricks said the restrictions are necessary.

“The citizens of Marble Falls have helped us to avoid mandatory conservation measures through most of the summer,” he said. “The voluntary water conservation measures that residents and businesses initially took this summer were helpful; however water use continues to be higher than is comfortable for our production facility.”

He said Marble Falls is just one of many cities taking similar measures to conserve water during the drought.

According to city ordinances, a violation of the watering restrictions is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500-$1,000. After three such violations, the mayor or another city representative can order the offender’s water supply to be shut off.

editor@thepicayune.com