COTTONWOOD SHORES — Officials on June 20 identified the second man to lose his life in Lake Marble Falls in about two weeks as 22-year-old Colby Dewayne Hiatt of Bertram.
Emergency crews about 5:45 p.m. June 18 responded to an undeveloped park and boat ramp on Lakeview Drive for a possible drowning. Witnesses told police Hiatt was swimming near the ramp when he went under.
MARBLE FALLS — While overall scores for Marble Falls school district students showed improvement on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, high school math and science marks are worrying officials.
The scores are only preliminary at this stage.
"We’re concerned about ninth and 10th grade math and 10th grade science," said Jim Boyle, the Marble Falls Independent School District interim superintendent. "They didn’t perform at the level we expected. But that’s not just us — it’s something districts across the state are still struggling with."
In fact, recent surveys indicate that U.S. students as a whole lag behind their counterparts in other developed nations in math and science.
The Texas Education Agency released the preliminary TAKS results to the district May 26. Boyle said the agency is still compiling data before releasing the final results in August.
The scores determine the academic rankings of schools and are based on several factors, including attendance.
The accountability ratings are exemplary, recognized, acceptable and unacceptable.
MARBLE FALLS — Nearly a year after the former superintendent left, a lone finalist for the job could be named next week by Marble Falls Independent School District officials.
They hope the applicant will be behind a desk by Aug. 1.
"We know we’re on a tight timeline, but it’s looking good," said board president Rick Edwards June 16.
The trustees are interviewing candidates selected from more than 50 applicants. Three were interviewed June 15 and three more June 16.
"And we’ll interview two more Monday (June 20)," Edwards said. "We’ll have some deliberation and discussion after the last two interviews."
The board will call some back for a second round June 21 and June 22.
COTTONWOOD SHORES — About 50 cast members are hard at work rehearsing for the Hill Country Community Theatre’s summer musical production of "The Wizard of Oz," which runs July 14-24, sponsors said.
Three veterans of the HCCT stage will play the lead male roles: Anson Hahn as Scarecrow, Richard Fernandes as Tin Woodman and Mark Fernandez as Cowardly Lion. The role of Dorothy will be shared in alternating performances by Alyssa Anderson and Abigail Nunnelly.
The Wicked Witch of the West will be played by Melissa Jamar. Faith Westerman is the Good Witch, Sorceress of the North; Sally Stemac is Visiting Witch No. 1 and Megan Goodman is Visiting Witch No. 2.
Guy Kemp is the Wizard of Oz.
Based on the book by L. Frank Baum and adapted by Frank Gabrielson from the music and lyrics of the MGM motion picture score, the much-loved musical will be the final production of the theater’s 25th anniversary season.
David Bend, musical theater director at Harmony School of Creative Arts in Marble Falls, will direct the play. His wife, Barbara Bend, Harmony School executive director, will serve as musical director for the production.
The two co-founded Harmony School and have participated in HCCT musical productions in the past.
Other cast members and their characters include: Mary Beth Madsen as Aunt Em, Wayne Hawley as Uncle Henry, Taylor Holcomb as a farmhand, Ben Anderson as the Munchkin Farmer, Colby Offutt as Mayor of the Munchkins, Savannah Tribble as Munchkin Barrister and Sydney Kelley as Munchkin Coroner.
Lord Growlie is being played by Wayne Hawley with Esther Jones as Oz Lady, Lyric Jones as Gloria, Alicia Marchand as Formost General, Savannah Tribble as Private and Kelley, Bailey Kelley, Maximus Nelson, Karoline Westerman, Ocean Fillingim, Ben Anderson and Dylan Offutt as other generals.
Holcomb also will play Tibia and Anna Herrington, Kassidie Jamar, Summer Montoya, Westerman, Fillingim and Kelley will play the Girls and the Dancers.
Munchkin and Citizens of Oz chorus singers are Angelee Shaw, Lili Biglari, Dylan Offutt, Kelley, Maximus Nelson, Westerman, Herrington, Sydney Kelly, Summer Montoya, Barbara Gord, Pam Hawley and Mary Beth Madsen.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and 2:15 p.m. Sundays at the theater, 4003 FM 2147.
Tickets will be available at the HCCT box office July 5 for members and July 8 for the public.
Box office hours are noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call the box office at (830) 798-8944.
HORSESHOE BAY — That old saying about no honor among thieves might be the case in a caper where one of two men accused of stealing a ski boat is charged with burglarizing his suspected accomplice’s home, police said.
In the meantime, police recovered the stolen boat — a Mastercraft X30 valued at $70,000 — by digging up a gravel pit June 1 in Cottonwood Shores.
"(The two men) know each other and allegedly participate in criminal activity together," Police Chief Bill Lane said June 13. "The old saying ‘no honor among thieves’ is apparently alive and well in this investigation."
The men also are neighbors, police indicated.
IN PHOTO: The Horseshoe Bay Police Department recently recovered a stolen boat hidden beneath a dirt pile on a ranch near Cottonwood Shores. One of the men accused in the theft was charged with burglarizing his suspected accomplice’s home. Courtesy photo
COTTONWOOD SHORES — City Council is looking for a new city secretary following the recent resignation of Cindy Schwertner.
The council has posted an open position for court clerk/city secretary at the Texas Municipal League website, according to Chief Financial Officer Rick Copple.
"We hope to hire an applicant within a couple of weeks," Copple said June 13.
She resigned for "personal reasons" and to devote more time to her elderly parents, he added.
Schwertner had been city secretary since 2004, Copple said.
MARBLE FALLS — Changing the times when classes start each day could save more than $90,000 for Marble Falls schools, which are trying to avoid budget pitfalls faced by other districts.
But it also means that parents and students will have to readjust their routines on the first day of school Aug. 22.
The shift, which starts this fall, allows the Marble Falls Independent School District to trim the bus fleet by seven vehicles and save on transportation costs, officials said June 6.
“This basically staggers the bus routes so we don’t need to use as many buses,” said Interim Superintendent Jim Boyle. “By doing this we can take seven buses off the road.”
MARBLE FALLS — A brushfire four miles east of Marble Falls that started June 5 after a Jeep towed by a recreational vehicle began burning flared up the next day and sent firefighters rushing to the scene again.
The blaze started 5:17 p.m. June 5 on RR 1431 East and kept first responders busy until 1 a.m. June 6. The flames consumed about 75 acres.
Firefighters returned to the densely wooded area just off the highway about 10 a.m. when callers reported more smoke.
No damages to structures or injuries occurred, officials said.
Mike Phillips (left) of the Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department discusses a strategy June 6 to extinguish brushfire with fellow firefighters Alex Dunavant (right) and Brandon Fry. Investigators believe the heat and wind rekindled a 75-acre brush fire from the day before, four miles east of Marble Falls on RR 1431. No homes were threatened, but the blaze approached a property on the west side of the scorched brush. The fire burned 75 acres.
MARBLE FALLS — Instead of a tax increase okayed by voters, the Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. may offer the best chance to create a regional sports complex to boost revenue for the area, the city manager has indicated.
Otherwise, construction of the complex may have to be supported by a city tax increase approved by voters, City Manager Ralph Hendricks told the City Council and other attendees during a conference June 2.
Meanwhile, a return on investments must also be considered before the city commits to building the complex or any other costly projects, Hendricks added during the council retreat.
Although the construction of a sports complex is often cited as a popular future project, there is no clear-cut method to fund it, Hendricks said.
"I don’t know how much a sports complex would cost," Hendricks told the council and other attendees. "But I think it is one of the things the EDC could support. From what I can see, that (EDC funding) is the only way to get it done."
IN PHOTO: Several City Council leaders listen intently as City Manager Ralph Hendricks (not pictured) discusses future projects during a council retreat June 2 at the Marble Falls Independent School District Community Room. Attendees included (clockwise) Mayor George Russell and council members Richard Lewis, Sharon Pittard, Jane Marie Hurst, Ryan Nash and John Packer. Staff photo by Raymond V. Whelan
