Staff report Like other civic facilities, the county’s only intake for stray and homeless animals is feeling the pinch of COVID-19 prevention. The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter is closed to the public but still has an abundance of cats and dogs needing permanent – or at least temporary – homes....

The Hays County Local Health Department has been notified of an additional confirmed case of COVID-19, bringing the total cases in Hays County to 10. All 10 positive cases are adults, and the 10 th case is a resident of Buda.   CDC image. The breakdown of cases by city as of noon on Wednesday, March...

A Buda resident, who was teaching students English in Germany, had to leave his students without saying goodbye so he could catch a flight home before the U.S. closed its borders. Like all Americans adjusting to the COVID-19 prevention protocols, Fulbright Scholar Clay Parham is finally home in mand...

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent a letter yesterday to the United States Department of Agriculture seeking permission to allow Texas Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to use their benefits at take out and drive-thru res...

Staff report The COVID-19 threat and the response to it is unprecedented in the minds of most living Americans. One aspect of the crisis, however, is something we’ve seen in the wake of natural disasters like floods and hurricanes. It’s time to be on the lookout for price gouging, the Texas Attorney...

Staff report The Hays County Food Bank has changed its distribution model in order to adhere to social distancing intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 — just as Executive Director Eleanor Owen-Oshan predicted. And, more changes may follow as the full effect of the closure of bars, restaurants and...

Shoppers stand outside of H-E-B, leaning on their empty carts, waiting so they can finally get a turn inside where only about 25 people can shop at once. H-E-B has taken many measures to ensure that it reduces the spread of the Coronavirus while people shop in-store, but their efforts did not stop o...

Two months after opening its doors, the Inspired Minds Center has postponed classes to prevent community spread of COVID-19 and hopes the city will suspend rent for the next couple of months. The Inspired Minds Center owner Susan Guerra said the center has a lease with the city so she hopes city cou...

Delayed memorial services and live streaming of funerals are among options being developed at Harrell Funeral Homes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funeral Director Doug DuBois said he and other staff members are “working with families to schedule memorial services sometime in the future – hop...

Staff Report As the COVID-19 clampdown continues, community newspapers are among small businesses struggling to survive. That situation is made worse by the fact many paper mills in the U.S. are expected to be cutting back. All this has forced the Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch to find new ways t...