Commentary

The Christmas holiday season brings back a plethora of memories from my childhood as I’m sure it does for many of you.  Those memories somehow help to soothe the hectic pace that is our modern-day experience. I wonder if our parents and grandparents felt the same way in their time. 

Where we hasten to pick out the perfect gift for our loved ones I know my own parents hastened to create the perfect gifts. My mom would sew new clothes, make dolls, and other gifts for us, often starting months ahead of time to get them all done by Christmas.  So maybe what seemed like a slower pace to us kids, for our parents it wasn’t really that much different than what we experience today.

As you know, the 2019 Bond Proposal was not approved by voters on November 5th. As I shared on election night, we are committed to studying the results of the election, listening to our stakeholders, and bringing forward in the future a revised bond proposition based on the feedback we receive. We are in the process of publishing a short survey we hope voters will use to provide the District feedback about the failed school bond proposal.  

With that said, the needs identified in the 2019 Bond still exist. For example, Bertram Elementary has 45 more students today than projected through our demographic study. That means that Bertram Elementary is on-track to exceed its capacity even sooner than the original target of 2025.  The District’s operating budget cannot accommodate the cost of adding a new classroom wing at Bertram Elementary to increase its capacity. 

By Savanna Gregg

Staff Writer

Burnet Bulletin

Trick-or-treating and pumpkin-carving are enjoyable Halloween activities, but for extra fun and goosebumps this Halloween, visit these spooky area locations:

Longhorn Cavern State Park, 6211 Park Road 4 S, Burnet

Now a tourist attraction for history buffs and outdoor enthusiasts, the historic Longhorn Cavern State Park was once just a deep fissure in the earth formed by millions of years of flowing water. The cavern then became a meeting place for Comanche tribes, and in 1848, the Comanches kidnapped an 18-year-old girl during a raid in the area. Three Texas Rangers came in the dark of night, outnumbered by the large number of Native Americans, and rescued the girl after a harrowing battle.

It was a hot, sticky August morning that Adam and I made our way to Brady with my parents' camper in tow, on our way to the 46^th Annual World Championship BBQ Goat Cookoff.

The stretch of Highway 71 from Llano to Brady is possibly the longest 50-something miles, but with the company of my earbuds and a podcast (and my fun husband, of course) the time passed quickly. An added bonus was the west Texas air being considerably drier than the air 90 miles east.

We were soon setting up camp and preparing to go to the event and chow down on some slow cooked goat. Poor goats.

I have always had an affection for goats. I have never lived on a farm and know nothing about them, but their cute little faces and floppy ears have provided such delight for me, and one day I aspire to have a happy group of goats and cows as pets, along with 13 dogs and a couple of cats . . . one day.

Part of my history of which I am most proud is the fact that I come from a long line of writers. I have always had a passion for putting my thoughts into words and creating stories for public knowledge or entertainment, and almost every time I have a conversation with my Papa, I discover a new story about the storytellers and wordsmiths that came before me.

The long-awaited Badger Building renovation is finally coming to its conclusion. Wedding Oak Winery is slated to occupy the space in early fall. If you have had a chance to drive by, you will see that the windows are all in and the masonry work is almost complete. Inside, most of the walls are painted, light fixtures are installed and many of the decorative features are either installed or onsite. It will be a wonderful attraction for the square and for Burnet in general. The Burnet Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), and the City of Burnet who assisted with the project, should be proud of this endeavor. Also, many thanks to the Robertson family who donated the building to the BEDC. Once the project is completed, the Jackson Street parking lot will once again be open to the public and will have a connecting pathway to the Vandeveer Street Parking Lot to facilitate ease of access.

By Savanna Gregg

Staff Writer

Highland Lakes Newspapers

The days of a pet owner consist of many “aww” and “you are so cute!” and “stop that right now!” moments, and we have had plenty of them in our household since welcoming our two fur babies.

A few months back, I introduced my puppy, Maverick, and my cat, Gus, and raved about their hobbies and precious quirks with the incredible, shameless bias of a fur mom.

At that time they were both babies, but Gus turned a year old on Sunday, and Maverick will be a year old on Veteran’s Day, so I figured it was time for an update on the furry rollercoaster that is our life.

Maverick has grown by about 40 pounds since last I spoke of him, but he still loves to snuggle up to us at the end of the day, which is something I look forward to the moment I leave my house for work.

The theme for this school year is Climbing to New Heights: Adventure Awaits, and it is hard to believe that Monday, August 19 the 2019-2020 School Year begins. I have a senior who will be graduating in May 2020, and kindergarten students that begin school this year will graduate in May 2032. Try to wrap your mind around that! 

We have been busy planning for the new school year which includes hiring new teachers, wrapping up the budget, and getting the campuses cleaned and ready for students and teachers. In addition, we have tackled some significant projects this summer including painting all of the classrooms at Burnet Middle School, renovating selected campus restrooms, and replacing the cracking and failing asphalt at the walkways at Bulldog Stadium. The Board of Trustees has approved the expansion of the Shady Grove Elementary drive.

In school, my teachers had mercy on me because they allowed me to steer clear of geometry, sidestep trigonometry and cruise past calculus coursework. Instead, my senior year in high school, I proudly joined the vocational trades track.

The program set me on what I believe is my life's proper path. The program afforded me the opportunity to go to school part of the day and work the other half at a local radio station.

Otherwise, I would have been on track to destroy my grade point average. Honestly, I've always been a wordsmith of sorts but never been any good at higher math.

My math-and-measure minded roofer hubby will sometimes scowl at me after he tries to test my knowledge with statements about measurements for eaves, underlayment, fascia and flashing or even inquiries about doubling ingredient portions for the cornbread mix.

When it comes to school colors, close enough is not good enough.

Marble Falls ISD has run into a conundrum with the new turf on the field at Mustang Stadium. The color of the outline on the logo at midfield and the words in the end zone is not gold. That's a problem.

The actual color that can be viewed as of today does not match the swatch that district officials picked out, and many of them were left in disbelief over the fact that it will cost them to change it.

But, as Superintendent Chris Allen pointed out to the board at the previous meeting, gold means different things to different people – or in this case different things to different schools/sports teams.

I graduated from the University of Central Florida, so this issue hits close to my heart. Our school colors are black and gold. I mean real gold: a nearly exact color to the gold on the Mustangs' football helmets.