The Association of Citizens for Education was formed by local citizens in March 2011 to provide S ISD with needed financial assistance as state budget shortfalls threatened teachers and programs in the district. The group is carrying on its mission to help educate the children of Smithville by providing grants to area teachers and schools.

Their first round of A.C.E’s Innovative Teaching Grants has been awarded to six teachers.  The A.C.E. board, with help from SISD administrators, chose the lucky recipients who will receive more than $3,000, raised by the group through donations, garage sales and volunteer work by the community.

Eda Rose and Sarah Peterson from the junior high campus will use their grant money towards the purchasing of “Study Hall 101” and “Track and Time” software. These software packages will be used to help students with their academic problem areas and to monitor and track their improvements in different subjects.

Brown Primary also received a grant, which will allow all second grade students to attend a field trip to Austin Children’s Museum. This trip will focus on the second grade’s math and science curriculum, according to teacher Mary Sides of Brown Primary, one of the first chosen for funding.

“It is truly amazing what A.C.E has done for Smithville schools,” Sides said. “It is because of them that we are able to take the students on this educational field trip.”

Another grant was awarded on behalf of Smithville High School Algebra II teacher Anne Seidel, to support a project called “Interactive Math.” This project focuses on collecting journals to use as a resource to prepare for the TAKS/STARR tests.

“I think it is a great organization that has given us the opportunity as teachers to get things for our students that we would have not been able to afford because of the budget cuts,” Seidel said.

Kathy Craig, who teaches Pre-Cal and Geometry at the high school, will use her grant towards the math department by purchasing document cameras, and Wayne King, band director at Smithville High School, will use his grant towards repairing band equipment.

“Thank you to all the teachers who applied,” said Michele Rutherford secretary and treasurer of A.C.E. “We hope to be able to fund many more grants in the very near future. Also, thank you to everyone who donated money, items for garage sales or volunteered time. These grants would not have been possible without your support.”

The A.C.E. program is planning many upcoming fundraising events. Their next upcoming event is a Cinco De Mayo Festival at Riverbend Park in Chuck Wagon Square. It will be a full day of family friendly fun with live music, Folklorico dancers, a 15-foot donkey piñata, a live auction, moonwalks and much more.

A.C.E will also be having a yard sale in March and they are looking for any donations to help with the sale for a good cause.

“We are looking for local groups, organizations and individuals who can use their creativity to “up-cycle” furniture or other items and turn them into a true work of art,” said Tina Smith vice president of A.C.E. “These items will then be sold at the silent auction and the proceeds will be used to fund the school districts in Smithville.”

Donations can be made through Smith at (512) 988-0052.

A.C.E is always looking for members from the community to help with volunteering, planning and marketing for their events. They are currently looking for people with fundraising, accounting, marketing or even legal experience to help with their organization. A secretary position is available, along with a volunteer coordinator and an accountant. They also need help with creating a database for their organization.

For more information about A.C.E., check out their website at www.ace4schools.org or e-mail them at info@ace4schools.org. They can also be found on Facebook at Save Smithville Schools. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 227, Smithville, TX 78957.  Monthly community meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Smithville Public Library.

Volunteers taking destruction and making homes

The trio of Logs to Lumber volunteers have their craft down to a science.

Jeremy McReynolds uses a chainsaw to set the direction the tree will fall. It takes two cuts, a top and bottom one, then a final follow-up before he flicks the notch of wood out with his foot. Anthony Ramos puts the Caterpillar “gripper” – a skid steer loader with a pair of claws rather than just a bucket on front – in a ready position, on the side of the tree opposite where McReynolds is making the cut. He lifts the claws and positions the bottom scoop of the barrel against the trunk. Michael Durham, a firefighter from Austin, watches on, helping Ramos get in position and making sure everything goes according to plan.

McReynolds put another, smaller notch in the back of the tree, directly beneath the loader’s upraised arm. Ramos nudges it forward slowly, letting its weight do the rest. With a mighty crack and a muffled thud, the tree falls to earth. The whole process takes some two minutes. Judging by the number of felled trees they’ve already logged, they’ve had plenty of practice this morning.

Founder Jim Leverett says that Logs to Lumber’s mission is to do exactly what the name says: find a way to convert dead or dying trees scorched by the Bastrop County Complex Fire into something that can be used to repair the damage done by that fire.

“The idea is simply to help people build in the burned area,” Leverett said.

They do that via exchange agreements with a trio of Texas sawmills, one out of Huntsville that provides certified No. 2 grade pine lumber, a local mill that produces materials for garages or outbuildings and a cedar mill that produces cedar boards.

The agreement is unpretentious: Logs to Lumber fells, cuts and hauls the trees to the mills, while Leverett and the organization have secured commitments from landowners to clear approximately 3,000 acres.

The mills will estimate how much board feet they can salvage out of the logs, and they’ll hand that much lumber over to Logs to Lumber out of their stock. Looking around the property off Park Road 1C Thursday morning, Leverett estimates that they’d get three truckloads worth out of the trees there, hopefully good for enough boards to build at least a pair of small houses.

The group will store the lumber in the county, at a building Leverett has secured for free. The equipment time and trucks are donated, and teams of volunteers supervised by experienced loggers – like the three knocking down trees this morning – supply the labor.

Leverett said the group has been consciously set up to try to keep costs down. Their biggest expense, and biggest need, is diesel and gas for the equipment and trucks. Leverett said they had already received a donation of gas money from First United Methodist Church in Bastrop, and were looking for more donations so they could keep the trucks running.

The plan is for the lumber to be used to help rebuild houses that were lost in the fire, starting with the un- or under-insured and those who are elderly, sick or single parents.

“This is an emotional beginning,” Leverett said, “so these folks can have a fresh start. Let’s be sure that the most-needy get it first.”

For information on donating or volunteering at Logs for Lumber, send an email to rarebyte@cgsbiodiesel.com. The group has also set up an account at First National Bank in the Logs to Lumber name.

McAuley will not only be remembered for his long service to the Bastrop Advertiser, but also for the way he documented local history. He also worked as a freelancer for the Bastrop County Times (now the Smithville Times).

“I didn’t study journalism in college, I was an art major, but I really learned a lot from Davis,” said Janice Butler, publisher of the Advertiser from 1989 to 2007 and a close friend.  “The biggest and most important thing I learned from Davis was how to treat people whether they were good, bad or indifferent. They were still people and deserved respect. We learned how to tell their story accurately.”

McAuley retired from the Advertiser on June 6, 2008, culminating a run of more than two decades in two stints. McAuley was known for his grammar skills and news judgment. He served as editor from 1986 to 2008 and had previously worked at the Advertiser from 1978 to 1981.

“Davis was one of the best journalists I have worked for,” said current Advertiser assistant editor Terry Hagerty. “He always emphasized writing with brevity and impact. He also had a dry wit that was much appreciated in the newsroom.”

McAuley’s family is inviting everyone to come celebrate his life at a wake, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4 beginning at 4 p.m. at Upstart’s Annabelle Center, 1508 Cypress St. in Bastrop.

“We’ve known that this building growth might be coming and it’s great to see it happening,” Smithville Mayor Mark Bunte said. “Big pieces of land and some vacant lots were locked up and that’s changed recently and they have now been sold, which has opened up opportunities for builders.”

Bunte said the building boom is a win-win for both citizens and the city.

“We haven’t had a tax increase in four years and new homes add additional revenue to the tax rolls, which will help us maintain that record,” Bunte said. “Also, our sales taxes have increased over the past 24 months, which is another very good indicator that we’re moving in the right direction.”

City Manager Tex Middlebrook said that sales taxes have increased 5.08 percent in the past 24 months.

Middlebrook added that the “mini-boom’ in construction around town does not appear to be related to recent wildfires, but from people who are moving in, moving up or modernizing.

“It’s great to see this activity all happening at one time,” Middlebrook said. “Certainly the city reaps a benefit from permits, property taxes and utilities, but it’s also great to see vacant lots with new homes.”

Middlebrook said the trickle-down effect from construction crews is another benefit for the city and for local businesses.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has had a full agenda for several months, according to chairman Sallie Blalock, but that’s not because any of the new structures needed variances.

“These new housing permits were in line with city code and the builders received permits after city review – the zoning commission didn’t have to do anything,” Blalock said. “It’s delightful to see these houses being built.”

Smithville councilmembers also approved plans for a new restaurant to be built along Hwy 95 near the high school. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.

Updating History

Gus Cardenas of Cardenas Carpentry of Wimberley is working to retrofit a 108-year-old house at 601 Gresham for the Mitchell family.

Cardenas is awed by the wood that frames the historic home and covers the floors, which he will be using in the remodeling project. The tightly-grained wood looks almost new and has a much deeper color and finer grain than wood that’s available now. Cardenas said once the floor is refinished the old boards will look brilliant.

The home featured a carriage house and servants quarters that will become a light-flooded dining room, according to Cardenas. Modern amenities for the kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms will also be added.

“Mrs. Mitchell grew up in Smithville and she really loved the large oak tree that curves around the house,” Cardenas said.

As work began in the roof area and attic, an interesting piece of glass was uncovered in an archway. The glass had been painted over in white and when it was removed, a beautiful, hand-made stained glass section was revealed, which will once again cast colored light into the house.

Living for the city

The longstanding trend of moving from the city to the country is working in reverse for several longtime Smithville-area residents.

Small town life is appealing for many reasons, all of which suited former mayor Vernon Richards and his wife Dorothy who sold their acreage along Flower Hill Road and moved into town after renovating an existing home on Ramona Street.

For Mike and JoAnna Morgan, the story is similar. The structure going up on 307 Ramona may be smaller than their former county estate, but it will have two bedrooms, an office, studio and workshop for Mike’s woodworking projects.

Morgan said he is long ready to get away from the multitude of chores, projects and caretaking required on his land along Upton Road.

“I think we can start moving in in about a month or so,” Morgan said. “It’s exciting for us to have the space and the time to work on things we like and to be able to walk around downtown and be close to things we enjoy doing.”

Dr. Guillermo Sanchez, who recently announced his retirement, will move with his wife to a newly built apartment on Main Street. The unique structure is much smaller that their previous home and won’t come with a swimming pool, but will instead have two retail spaces facing Main Street that will be leased.

Sanchez said in an interview in December that he and Frances are very excited about downsizing, which means much less area to clean and no yard to take care of. They are also looking forward to walking almost everywhere they need to go.

Moving Forward

Last week, the council struggled with a zoning permit for four new homes along Smithville-Upton Road on an unused 1.15 acre plot. The developer originally wanted to place six homes on the lot but he was rebuffed by residents at a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. After compromising and making a new plat for four homes, he went before the council last week for final approval where he ran into residents again opposing the development.

Smithville Mayor Mark Bunte asked the neighborhood residents to seek compromise with the developer. He added that not all development is good, but he’s very interested in keeping the building boom going in Smithville for as long as possible.

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A music video that’s scheduled to film in Smithville is looking for a young star, according to Austin producer Jordan Harrison, who worked with the Smithville Film Commission on scheduling a casting call for Friday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at city hall.
Harrison, who has a Radio/Television/Film degree from the University of Texas, has been shooting short films around Austin for several years. She said she’s looking for a boy 9 to 14 years old, but someone who looks to be on the younger side of the spectrum.
The video is a first for the Austin-based band Courrier, who are on the rise, according to Harrison, having just had their song “Between” featured on the popular CW network TV series “Vampire Diaries.”
The song’s story line follows a boy, struggling with the loss of his father, as he sets off to launch a box car they had built together.
“The boy and his father were very close and now that the father has passed away, the boy struggles to deal with the things and activities that were closely associated with his father,” Harrison said. “The box car was their pet project.”
Harrison said the father and son had hand-picked the pieces for their project from a junk yard and now the boy is left with a tangible and poignant reminder of the time they spent together.
“He is determined to bring this car out on the run that his father never got to see, finding a way to reconnect with that valuable memory if only for a brief moment,” Harrison added.
The video is a period piece set in the 1940s and that helped lock in Smithville as a location.
“Immediately Smithville popped into our heads, knowing it has such a vibrant film community and a history of being so welcome and helpful to film projects,” Harrison said. “That reputation has held up well beyond our expectations.”

Local Smithville artist and designer Patricia Wolf has seen her collections for sale in many stores all over the country and in magazines such as “Cowboys and Indians,” “Cowgirl,” “Elle,” “Western Lifestyle” and catalogs like Pendleton Home and Crows Nest.

Celebrities, such as Reba McEntire, Ann Richards and Joan Baez and the pageant designer for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant, have been seen wearing her clothing.

She was the main costume designer for the feature film made here in Smithville titled “Doonby” and also took part in the making of “The Tree of Life.”

Wolf has received many awards for her work, including the 1989 featured Designer at the Dallas Western Market, 1998 Texas Natural Fiber Designer of the Year, 2000 Honoree as the Houston Museum of Fine Arts Ready-To- Wear Artist and 2003 featured Designer Western Image Awards of the Dallas Apparel Mart.

Wolf focuses on leather and textiles to create a beautiful blend between Indian and cowboy styles. The apparel line is called “Couture Western,” which is influenced by the American West, Spanish Vaquero, Native American and even some European style.

Her thriving business, located on Main Street in Smithville, has been the company’s wholesale production location for many successful years.

The Wolf family has included an extended family of loyal co-workers, some of whom have been with the Patricia Wolf Company for more than 20 years.

Prior to wholesale, Wolf and her husband and two young children lived and worked in a custom-built vintage bus where they made handmade leather clothing and sold it at arts and crafts festivals while traveling throughout the West.

Along with the female line of clothing, there is also a male line of clothing designed by her husband Sam Wolf that has been made and worn by celebrities such as Allen Jackson, Bon Jovi and Christian Kane.

Wolf’s son Zack designs and creates intricate, tooled synch belts and leather bracelets that can be seen in the Crows Nest catalogue and are sold locally at the Texas Boot Company in Bastrop.

Western lineage

The Wolf family dates back to the 1800s before Texas was even a state. Family members range from real cowboys to Cherokee Indians to a wonderful seamstress. Wolf’s mother had her making her own prom gowns at the age of 16.

To this day, Wolf continues to provide her customers with “Made in Texas” and “Made in America” products.

Not only does Patricia Wolf Company make western lifestyle apparel, they also make a variety of accessories, such as fashion belts, purses, leather bracelets and home décor such as pillows, table runners and wall hangings.

Many of her designs are decorated with copyrighted hand painted details, turquoise studs, rhinestones, lacing, fringe and antique silver.

Coming up

A new product that Wolf has been incorporating into her fashion line is faux fur, made from recycled plastics such as milk cartons.  Faux fur is made in many different prints, including raccoon, lynx, leopard, chinchilla and even coyote. One of the many things she makes with this material are boot covers that come in a range of colors and can be worn over heels or boots to add a unique flare to outfits.

“Faux fur is totally in, both as trim collars and full jackets,” Wolf said. “Big belts and copper are the new silver in jewelry and leather bracelets with lots of layers.”

According to the Cowgirls Fashion Forecast Winter 2012, the fashion tones for this year are more vibrant than last year, bright colors are in and the color ranges for women are filled with neutrals like maroon, camel and caramel; mid-tones colors like purple, orange and red; and vivid hues like old teal and turquoise.

Wolf’s designs can be found locally at the Texas Boot Company and a factory outlet sale will be held at her warehouse on Main Street during Jamboree and the Festival of Lights this year.

“Originally, I am from Philadelphia but moved to California and then traveled all around selling my designs,” Wolf said. “I chose Smithville to settle down and start my wholesale business because it is a beautiful place with beautiful people.”

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The Arts Cottage at Rock-C Ranch in Smithville has been an intimate gathering place for many to enjoy the arts for three seasons now.

It is a not-for-profit, tax exempt arts organization that has been supporting many Smithville groups over the years, such as public schools to help teachers buy supplies for special projects, the community gardens, the food banks, grants to the high school to bring visiting artists for their band and wind program and many more throughout the community.

A percentage of the proceeds from each event are also donated to the courageous volunteer fire fighters of Bastrop County.

Pebbles Wadsworth, founder and director of the Arts Cottage, had a vision to bring arts to a rural town and to create a prototype that would succeed.

Wadsworth was performing arts director at University of Texas and eventually retired in 2008 after 37 years of diverse arts experience.

The first performer at the Art Cottage was acclaimed violinist Daniel Heifetz and since opening in December 2009, Wadsworth has organized many successful art exhibits and performing arts shows and is always amazed at the turn out.

As if the beautifully renovated Victorian home and experience of arts and culture isn’t enough, dinner is also served by renowned Chef Mike Morphew who previously cooked for the Queen of England.

The Arts Cottage has been very successful considering its remote location. Wadsworth believes that if this can be successful, then the same concept can be achieved on Main Street and eventually throughout the state of Texas.

There are many ongoing projects involved with the Arts Cottage including live music, lectures, drama visual arts, storytelling and more.

According to Wadsworth others that have helped bring her dream become reality are loyal friends and volunteers Virginia Hildreth and Jenny Remlinger, who have been there for her through it all.

After the devastating fires on Labor Day weekend, Wadsworth and her husband Christian knew they had to do something for the volunteer fire fighters who so bravely worked for weeks to save homes while some even lost their own.

“This Christmas season, we have realized how blessed we are compared to the thousands in our community who have lost their homes,” Wadsworth said. “So therefore, we have decided that this year we will donate all the money that would have been used for Christmas gifts to the Central Texas volunteer fire departments.”

Over the years, the Arts Cottage has not only been bringing entertainment to the people of Smithville and many visitors from afar, but it has truly served the community where help was needed.

“I want to thank Pebbles, staff, entertainers and patrons of the Arts Cottage on behalf of the Smithville Fire Department for your generosity and kindness,” said Lisa Rinehart, secretary of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department.

A check of $1,000 was presented by Wadsworth, Morphew, Hildreth and Remlinger to the Smithville Fire Department recently at the fire house.

The Arts Cottage has also donated funds to 3-N-1 Volunteer Fire Department and the Heart of the Pines Volunteer Fire Department.

“The firefighters are in need of new equipment after the fires,” Wadsworth said. “I hope that this will help them to buy some new equipment.”

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Smithville has attracted international attention because of a unique shop with ties to the Vatican.

Devonshire Incense and Soap Company has been hand making spa-quality, hand-crafted, organic lotions, creams, bath soaps and incense in Texas since 1967.

One of owner Keridwyn Hershberger’s greatest achievements with the business has been selling wholesale incense to the Vatican Roman Catholic Church in Italy.

“I am the only U.S. based, privately-owned company that sells incense to the Vatican,” Hershberger said.

Hershberger has been a part of the family business for many years. When she was younger, her father James began making incense in their home in Austin. The first fragrance that he created was spice and it continues to be one of the best sellers.

The Hershberger family lost their homes during the Bastrop County Complex Fires and they have been working hard to restore their company.

Hershberger previously ran her shop out of a small building on Loop 230 for a year and half, prior to moving to 205 NE 2nd St. right off Main in December.

The incense is made right in her shop out of various types of tree resins such as frankincense, sandalwood, pine and cedar.

The resin is then placed into an old-fashioned meat grinder where it becomes a thick, heavy dough. It is then put through a hammer mill that pulverizes it to create the finished product of the resin incense.

There are three different types of incense that are made in her shop: cone, resin and the traditional wand also known as sticks.

There are 30 different incense scents available to choose from, including Jasmine, Cinnamon, Loblolly Pine, Spirit and Temple, which are included in the top 15 most popular scents.

Something unique that she does is hand paint her incense wands with a mica pearlescent pigment that portrays a metallic color such as gold and silver, along with other nontoxic tempera paints to create a slew of colored incense sticks. This gives them a shelf life of 30 years, a burn length of an hour and they can also get wet and not ruin.

Hershberger is currently working on a new line of household products called the Devonshire Happy Home that will include laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, floor scrubs and glass cleaner.

“I strive to use products that are organic and made in the United States,” Hershberger said. “I believe that our country imports way more than we export and this continues to be a problem with our economy.”

Instead of using tallow, also known as animal fat to produce her soaps, she uses organic olive oil and soy fats to create the vegan soap bars. Hershberger is now a fourth-generation soap maker.

Other products that she makes are aromatherapy body and room spray, liquid hand soaps, bath salts and body dusting powder that can be applied with her handmade signature feather puffers.

Hershberger also incorporates things from her own garden at home such as luffas – a gourd that grows on the vine and when dried can be used as a non-animal natural sponge.

“I love Smithville because it has a genuine small town environment,” Hershberger said. “I believe that we should stay local to give back to our community.”

Hershberger can be reached at 512-468-6607 Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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The Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District voted to keep the moratorium on new well permits in place, but that doesn’t mean the City of Bastrop won’t be able to pump from their wells in the Alluvium aquifer at Bob Bryant Park.

Bastrop can pursue operating permits for an Alluvium well based on the drop in production of two other wells the utility has at another location, which follows the water conservation district’s rules for diminished pumping capacity, according to Lost Pines general manager Joe Cooper.

“There will be no increase in the amount of permitted water overall and no additional amount will be allowed, but we can allow a permit for a replacement well under aggregations rules,” Cooper said. “We will ask the utility to plug the wells that are being replaced or use them as monitoring wells.”

The outcome enables Bastrop to get needed water and satisfies environmentalists looking to preserve the integrity of the district’s moratorium, which has been in place since March 24, 2010.

The Alluvium aquifer where Bastrop’s wells are located are water bearing sand and gravel deposits along the Colorado River and are not a recognized aquifer by the state, according to Cooper, who added that there are no established desired future conditions and there would be no modeled available groundwater numbers set for them.

“We need the new well because we have two wells that are drying up, which is partly due to the drought,” said James Miller, Bastrop City water and wastewater director. “Wells D and E, which were producing 600 to 700 gallons per minute, are only at 300 now.”

Miller stressed that the city was not producing the amount of water it had been permitted and was not asking for any additional water, only requesting water that was already permitted.

Cooper said the situation leaves the door open for Bastrop to pursue operating permits for a new well.

Miller said he would talk with Cooper next week about pursuing a permit for well H at Bob Bryant Park.

The outcome was also positive for Phil Cook of the Sierra Club and Michele Gangnes of Neighbors for Neighbors, who spoke to the board before they met in executive session to discuss the moratorium. Gangnes also read a letter to the board from Environmental Stewardship’s Steve Box during public comments.

The environmental groups were concerned that lifting the moratorium for the Alluvium aquifers would provide a legal foothold for water marketers who are requesting tens of thousands of acre feet in water from the district, which they plan to sell to burgeoning municipalities along the I- 35 corridor and planned development along Texas 130, which are in dire need of water.

“Lifting the moratorium for the Alluvium aquifers would not set a good precedent. It would create a kink in the armor, so to speak,” Cook said. “Voting to keep the moratorium in place was important. We are OK with the replacement wells for the city of Bastrop.”

Cook added that local water utilities and municipalities should consider area aquifers as a threatened resource and put in place efficiency, conservation and reuse measures as a means to preserve a diminishing resource.

Miller said the city of Bastrop has put into place water reclamation efforts that put almost 1 million gallons a day of “very clean” treated effluent into the river each day.

Hearings with TWDB

Earlier this year the LPGCD, as part of their charter under the state water code, developed their desired future conditions (DFCs); a snapshot of how they want the water levels and volumes to look for the area’s aquifers 50 years from now as a result of their conservation efforts. Those DFCs were challenged by End Op, a water marketing corporation and by Environmental Stewardship, a Bastrop-based environmental organization. There are commonalities in both petitions, although End Op says the district would not pump enough water from area aquifers while Environmental Stewardship claims too much is being considered for pumping.

Cooper said hearings on the petitions before the Texas Water Development Board have been set for Feb. 29 for End Op and March 9 for Environmental Stewardship.

He said the TWDB has 60 days after the hearings to make a determination and, hopefully, issue managed available groundwater numbers that will allow the district to move forward with a management plan.

New terms for members

Five board members were reappointed to new, two-year terms: Alice Darnell (Lee County), Ken Daughtry (Bastrop County), Travis McPhaul (Lee County), Billy Sherrill (Lee County) and Mike Talbot (Bastrop County).

Alice Darnell was asked to continue as president, Michael Talbot to serve as vice president and Doug Prinz to remain secretary-treasurer.

General Manager’s Report

Cooper told the board that SCADA computer system monitoring from mid-December 2011 through mid-January 2012 indicate water level improvements in the Simsboro aquifer.

“The artesian head of the monitored wells has stabilized or increased, except for the Heart of Texas well in Lee County, which remains in decline,” Cooper said.

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Bastrop County commissioners approved a resolution to support an agreement between Aqua Water Supply Corp. and the City of Elgin at the commissioners court regular meeting Monday, Jan. 23. A lawsuit, previously filed by Aqua Water against Elgin, Austin Community College and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, contested the city’s claim that it had the right to provide water for the proposed ACC campus in Elgin. Aqua Water has maintained that the site of the new campus falls under their state allowed water zone.

Mediation in the matter will be Tuesday Jan. 31 to allow both sides to cooperate equally and come to an agreement without the need for litigation.

According to the resolution, Bastrop County requests that the City of Elgin and Aqua Water Supply Corp. relay the message to those who wish to develop in Bastrop County that they are “open and friendly to business development.”

In other business, the commissioners:

• Approved the reappointment of Commissioner Willie Pina to the Clean Air Coalition and appointed Commissioner John Klaus as alternate.

• Approved the interlocal agreement with Bastrop County Water Control and Improvement District 2 for road grading and pot hole repair in Tahitian Village.

• Approved the county judge to sign the Republic Services Special Waste Service Agreement for Non-Hazardous Waste and to establish a Republic Services Special Waste Profile to allow waste to be directly taken to dump sites. Commissioner Precinct 2 Clara Beckett told the court that they currently hold a contract with them but it does not include waste to be delivered to them.

• Approved the Community Plan for the Coordination of Criminal Justice Related Activities. This plan focuses on the goals, needs and strategies of the area law enforcement, victim services, prosecution and juvenile services.

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