A high jump was all that saved Hays High keeper as a Lehman High forward goes barrelling into the goal. Hays ending up winning the game 3-0, but not before emotions on the field got the best of players from both sides, and an on-field brawl broke out in the first half. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
by BRAD ROLLINS
Republicans win every contested race
It wasn’t even close. Republicans swept all 28 contested races on the ballot in Hays County from governor to county surveyor. A little more than 40,000 of the county’s 95,527 registered voters turned out for the non-presidential year election and nearly half of them voted a straight-party ticket. Of those, 58.85 percent pulled the lever for Republicans while 39.03 voted for all Democratic Party candidates.
Historic Club 21 burns to the ground
Club 21, a 117-year-old landmark in Uhland, was destroyed by a spectacular fire early Oct. 24. Investigators say that two vehicles apparently were tearing down Cotton Gin Road at high speeds before crossing Texas 21 without stopping. The wreckage of one of the vehicles, a Mazda passenger car, was found under rubble in the club’s ruins and a Chevrolet Suburban was wrecked and abandoned nearby; neither cars’ driver has been found. Built in 1893 and expanded in 1912, the club was the oldest continuously operated dancehall in the state.
ACC annexation passes in Hays CISD, fails in San Marcos
Voters who live in Hays CISD passed a measure to join the Austin Community College taxing district and secured a campus in Kyle serving north Hays County. More than 58 percent voted in favor with nearly 42 percent against. Meanwhile, voters in San Marcos CISD rejected annexation with nearly 55 percent voting against. Annexation’s failure in San Marcos led college district officials to increase the size of the Kyle-Buda campus, from 72,000 square feet to 100,000. In December, Kyle dentist, Ray Wolbrecht, sued the college district seeking to invalidate the election results because of ballot wording.
County, state modernize Interstate 35 through Buda, Kyle
Work was either started, completed or is soon to begin on nearly the whole length of Interstate 35 through Buda and Kyle. The work includes reconstruction of the overpass at Main Street in Buda; construction of a new three-lane bridge at the Buda truck bypass; and construction of a new overpass at Dry Hole Road; re-aligning FM 150 W in Kyle; and conversion of frontage roads to one-way traffic. Funded in part by contributions from Hays County and the city of Kyle, construction costs total more than $38.6 million, not including engineering and design.
Rose, Barton defeated by novices
State Rep. Patrick M. Rose and county judge candidate Jeff Barton, both presumed to be political heavyweights, fell to previously little known challengers in Dripping Springs businessman Jason Isaac and San Marcos physician Bert Cobb, respectively. Rose, who was first elected in 2002 as a 24-year-old boy wonder, received less than 47 percent of the vote in his home county of Hays and faired even worse districtwide. Barton, a veteran county commissioner, became the Democratic nominee after besting incumbent Elizabeth Sumter in the party primary but ended up losing to Republican Cobb, roughly 43.8 percent to 56.2 percent.
Gruesome murder linked to Mexican Mafia
Four men were indicted for murder in the grisly slaying of a 35-year-old Lockhart man, Walter Capello, whose torso was discovered in the back of a pickup truck during a traffic stop in New Braunfels. Eloy Davila Jr., 52 , of Wimberley; Nemesio Garcia Jr., 31, of San Marcos; Johnny Gilbert Soliz Jr., 45 , of San Marcos; and Paul Tovar, 42, of San Marcos all have criminal records and face enhanced sentences if convicted of the first-degree felony, typically punishable by five to 99 years in prison.
County invest big in open space preservation
Hays County Commissioners bought thousands of acres of property and thousands of acres more of development rights for open space preservation and habitat conservation. The appropriations include $5 million to buy the Nicholson Ranch in far western Hays County; $850,000 for the Jacob’s Well Natural Area near Woodcreek; $1.7 million for Harrison Ranch Park in Dripping Springs; $1.7 million for various parks projects in Kyle; and $450,000 for parks projects in Buda. Also in 2010, the county closed on its purchase of a conservation easement on the Dahlstrom Ranch and opened the Five Mile Dam soccer complex. The projects were funded with the remaining $30 million approved by voters for parks and open space projects in November 2008.
County grapples with jail issues
The year started with the Hays County jail in the spotlight and ended the same way. The Texas Commission set aside sanctions against the facility imposed in November 2009 as the county allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars for a new roof and other renovations. A study of the county’s criminal justice system, meanwhile, found that the current facility is adequate to accommodate projected needs for the next decade with an addition of about 100 new beds.
Upheaval continues in sheriff’s office
In one of the county’s most embittered races, Republican Gary Cutler defeated Sheriff Tommy Ratliff by more than 4,400 votes, becoming Hays County’s third sheriff in less than two years. Former sheriff Allen Bridges, who the commissioners court appointed to take over after Don Montague’s resignation, died in December 2008. Bridges was elected to a full term in his own right but died before being sworn to it. The commissioners court then appointed Ratliff to serve as sheriff until the next general election. Cutler took office on Nov. 15 with a pledge to bring stability to the office.
Sales tax revenue rebounds after downturn
Hays County cities, including Kyle and Buda, saw sales tax revenue growth resume after faltering in 2009. December receipts, reflecting sales made in October, were up nearly 15 percent over last year. In year-end totals, Kyle saw a nearly 14 percent increase while Buda’s uptick was smaller.
