News

Compiled from DSISD press releases

DRIPPING SPRINGS ELEMENTARY
Monday, August 21:
Meet the Teacher Night for Grades Pre-K, Kinder, 1, and 2, Classrooms, 5:00-5:45 p.m.
Meet the Teacher Night for Grades 3, 4, and 5, Classrooms, 5:45-6:30 p.m.

Thursday, September 7:
Parent Orientation–Pre-K and Kinder, Classrooms, 5:30-6:15 p.m.
Parent Orientation–Grades 3 and 4, Classrooms, 6:15-7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 12:
Parent Orientation for Grades 1 and 2, Classrooms, 5:30-6:00 p.m.
Parent Orientation for Grade 5, Classrooms, 6:15-7:00 p.m.

ROOSTER SPRINGS ELEMENTARY

Thursday, August 17:
Pre-K Parent Orientation, RSES Cafeteria, 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Kinder Parent Orientation, RSES Cafeteria, 6:30-7:00 p.m. (enter through the side doors)

Musicians Lonnie Atkinson and Larry Eisenberg will perform “Jazz at the Library” on Thursday, August 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Dripping Springs Community Library (DSCL), 501 Sportsplex Drive.

Singer songwriter Lonnie Atkinson has played with Tanya Tucker, David Allan Coe, and Marcia Ball among others. Atkinson was also inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame in 2014. Bassist and pianist Larry Eisenberg has played with artists ranging from Jimmie Dale Gilmore to the Austin Klezmorim. Both currently play with Al Dressen’s Super Swing Revenue Band.

“Patsy Hurlbut who works at the front desk told us all about Lonnie and his music. Since I always want 2 or 3 quality music programs for the library during the year, I immediately called him. Lonnie said he was willing and the program grew from there-- We’re very excited about the jazz concert,” DSCL Director Marcia Atilano said.

Beginning Sunday night, August 13, TxDOT will be repaving U.S. 290 from Cannon Ranch Road to the Hays/Travis County Line. This is a three to four-week project and work will occur during overnight hours to keep traffic impacts minimal. Drivers can expect single lane closures during construction.

During the day, drivers headed East on U.S. 290 could experience delays near the Belterra Village construction site. Due to driveway construction, the outer lane of U.S. 290 between Heritage Oaks Drive and Nutty Brown Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday ending on August 18.

The City of Dripping Springs asks drivers to please exercise caution when driving through construction zones.

Highway 290 will have temporary land closures during the month of August, as construction continues on the Roger Hanks Parkway extension.

Construction crews will be doing concrete curb and drainage work, from Thursday August 3 through Sunday, August 6. During this time, the outer westbound lane of U.S. 290 near the construction site will be temporarily closed.
This lane will close again Sunday August 13 through Friday August 18, to allow construction crews to resurface asphalt.

Hays County Judge Bert Cobb will be taking a leave from the dais to begin treatment for leukemia, the county announced Tuesday.

“I have been diagnosed with a lethal disease,” Cobb said at the end of Tuesday’s commissioners court meeting, “and I will be entering treatment hopefully next week.”

The county judge became a little emotional as he made the announcement and thanked colleagues and others for their concerns and prayers.

“I’m a fighter,” he said. “This is a very aggressive disease, and I plan to treat it aggressively. I’ll be out for a while, but my heart and my mind will still be with Hays County. Electronically, I will be in your presence. Spiritually, I will be in your presence."

The county announced that Cobb’s leave is for an indefinite amount of time. He will pass the gavel to Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, the most senior member of commissioners court, to conduct meetings in his absence.

Sunset Canyon Baptist Church (SCBC) will broke ground on their new Family Life Center on Sunday, July 30, 2017. The “Celebration of Groundbreaking” took place at 10:45am on the building site behind their main Church building.

At the ceremony, SCBC Senior Pastor Dr. Lonny Poe spoke of how the moment was the “culmination of 8 years of prayer, planning, sacrifice and struggle.”

“Today we celebrate the many, many hours of hard work, dedication and sacrifice of so many. The Family Life Center Building represents a collective effort to equip the family of faith with another tool to be used to pursue others, pursue maturity, to pursue intimacy with God, to pursue community, and to pursue needs. I am incredibly grateful to proclaim and profess a promise of God over this ground,” Poe said.

DRIPPING SPRINGS UMC COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE CELEBRATES 30TH YEAR

If you're a bargain hunter, collector, a DIYer or upcycler, you can't miss this year's Community-wide Garage Sale at Dripping Springs United Methodist Church. The sale begins Friday, August 4th, with shopping from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, Aug. 5th, the sale will continue from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Hosted by the United Methodist Women (UMW), this sale can be termed "historic," as it has grown from humble beginnings into a much-anticipated, annual event for Dripping Springs and surrounding communities for the past 30 years.

This year's "DSUMC Treasure Hunt," as volunteer Bobbie Hentschel, called it, will feature clothing for back-to-school and the entire family as well as holiday decor, toys and bric-a-brac.

Free electric fan distributions will take place every Friday through the end of August, at the Helping Hands Pantry, located at 28900 Ranch Road 12. The purpose of these distributions is aid family without-means find relief from life threatening heat.

The issuance of fans is part of the current City Hazard Mitigation Plan, according to City of Dripping Springs Emergency Planning Coordinator Kay Allen; and is being supported several local nonprofit organizations.

There are income and age eligibility requirements to get a fan. Recipients must be over age 55, or be disabled and receiving disability benefits, or be in a household with children under 18 years of age. Recipients must also have an income at or below two-hundred-percent of the federal poverty guidelines. (For example the 2017 poverty line for an individual is $12,060, so an individual earning up to $24,120 would qualify in theory.) Proof of income and a photo ID must be presented.

Operation Warrior’s Path, a new PTSD and reintegration assistance program for veterans, held its initial introduction presentation to the Dripping Springs community on Monday July 24, at the Loralee Foundation Ranch on Fitzhugh Road.

The event was attended by various local government elected officials, including: Dripping Springs’ State Representative Jason Isaac, County Commissioner Ray Whisenant, and DSISD School Board Member Mary Jane Hetrick; as well as representatives from the offices of Dripping Springs Congressman Roger Williams and State Senator Donna Campbell.

Operation Warrior’s Path will be a residency program, which will aid veterans dealing with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as well as societal and family reintegration issues. The program uniqueness derives from its holistic approach which includes the spouse and a renouncement of the use of drugs.

In an effort to dispel rumors and allay fears, the Hays County Commissioners Court held a workshop last week on the county’s elections. The meeting, which lasted more than eight hours and grew contentious at times, included comments and questions from the public, an explanation of how the county’s current electronic voting system works, a step-by-step examination of the Nov. 8, 2016, election and the errors that led to more than 1,800 votes not being counted, and the process of choosing new voting equipment.

“The county has really several independent issues that we’ve been going through, evaluating, discussing with the public,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley said, “that we would like an opportunity to reiterate here today.”

Conley said he had seen a common misconception that the “extremely unfortunate situation that occurred in the November 2016 election” is tied to the process of deciding on new election equipment for the county.