Cowboys, art, and more fun events at the Williamson Museum

From Wilcounty Line, November 2009...

Check out the "Cowboy Christmas" activity at the Williamson Museum, 716 S. Austin Avenue, Georgetown, during the next "Hands-on-History" event for kids and families on Friday, November 27, from 2 to 5 p.m. Also, adults can enjoy speaker Mary Visser, Southwestern University Professor of Art, during the Wednesday, November 11, Salon at Wildfire. Finally, the Museum's Books for Texans discusses In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas by Larry McMurtry on Tuesday, November 17, 7 p.m., in the Hewlett Room of the Georgetown Public Library. For more information on these activities, contact the Museum at 943-1670 or visit www.williamsonmuseum.org.

Cell phone registration for emergencies

From Wilcounty Line, November 2009...

Residents of the 10-county Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) region can now register and receiver notifications on their cell phones for emergencies that may affect their homes and businesses or those of their relatives. To receive these public safety messages, go to this website and follow the instructions to add your information into the ENS cell phone registry.

Brown Santa Kick-off on November 21

From Wilcounty Line, November 2009...

The Brown Santa program is ringing in the holiday season with its annual toy drive on Saturday, November 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Wolf Ranch Town Center. Everyone is invited to join in the festivities with refreshments, live entertainment, and photos with Santa. Toy and book donations will continue November 28 to December 20, on Saturdays from 12 to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Brown Santa also has opportunties for volunteers to help with events and distribution.

Read more...

Lighting of the Square in Georgetown on November 27

From Visit Georgetown, October 30, 2009...

Come experience the magic as we kick-off the holiday season with our annual Lighting of the Square, held at dusk on the Friday after Thanksgiving! This years event will be on November 27. Come sing along with the Austin Carolers to your favorite holiday tunes and warm your tummy with cookies and hot chocolate!

Read more...

Draft of Hazard Mitigation Plan Update available for comment

From Wilcounty Line, June 2009...

The Texas Colorado River Floodplain Coalition (TCRFC) is sponsoring the development of a multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update that will address all natural hazards.  This plan includes Williamson County.  The draft plan is now available for comment, and the public is invited and encouraged to provide feedback.  To download sections of the plan, go to www.tcrfc.org.  All sections are available for download on the homepage.  Any comments should be sent in writing by June 30, 2009, to Erin Capps, H2O Partners, Inc., P.O. Box 160130, Austin, TX 78716 or faxed to 512-329-6612 or emailed to ecapps@h2opartnersusa.com  

Williamson County will hold a public hearing on the transportation master plan

From Wilcounty Line, June, 2009...

Williamson County will hold a public hearing in June on the draft plan of the County's updated transportation master plan.  The date for the hearing will be set during Commissioners Court on June 2 and announced on the County's Web site at www.wilco.org and on the road bond Web site at www.roadbond.org.  The County is seeking feedback on the draft plan that includes what roads should be built or improved over the next twenty-five years, as well as various transit options.

Read more...

Valence wants to build major plant in Leander

From Austin Business Journal, May 27, 2009...

Austin-based Valence Technology Inc. has submitted a grant application to the U.S. Department of Energy with plans to build a manufacturing facility in Leander.

The company’s proposed facility would manufacture lithium phosphate cathode material, high-capacity advanced cells and battery packs for electric drive vehicles and other uses.

“With significant incentives projected from the state, county and city governments, Leander, Texas, was chosen as the primary site for our advanced battery manufacturing plant,” said Ross Goolsby, Valence’s chief financial officer. “Both state and city officials have demonstrated incredible support for the plan to provide up to 2,700 new, high-tech jobs in the Central Texas region by 2012 and up to 4,000 jobs by 2016. The state of Texas, Williamson County and the city of Leander are projecting and seeking approval of more than $150 million in incentives over a ten-year period.”

Read more...

From Hill Country News, May 27, 2009...

BREAKING NEWS: Proposed facility in Leander to provide 4,000 jobs

Valence Technology, Inc., a leading U.S.-based manufacturer and supplier of lithium iron magnesium phosphate energy storage solutions, announced on Wednesday it plans to open a facility in Leander that would provide 4,000 jobs. 

Read More...

$182M bond sale approved for pipeline project

From Hill Country News, May 27, 2009...

Last Thursday, May 21, was a banner day for those who support the construction of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority tri-city water infrastructure project - those opposing the project weren't quite so happy.

In a hearing in Austin, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved the sale of $182 million in bonds to fund Phase 1A of the project, which will include a pipeline along Trails End Road in Cedar Park and a water treatment plant with 17 million gallons per day capacity.

The $182 million bond sale approved on Thursday was part of a $475 million bond package funding several water infrastructure projects, including a $142 million project by the North Ft. Bend Water Authority. The bond sale is set to move forward on June 8 and 9, with a closing on July 7.

Read more...

Major donation to put ‘steam' back in Austin Steam Train

From Hill Country News, May 21, 2009...

Puffs of white smoke will soon fill the air above Cedar Park once again as the Austin Steam Train brings back its original steam engine, which has been undergoing an extensive overhaul. The engine should be back on track sometime in 2010.

The historic engine will return to Cedar Park thanks to a generous $500,000 donation from the family of Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) founder Arthur Boone, who died in October 2008 at age 87. The Mary Carol Boone Joy Foundation made the donation to ensure the Southern Pacific 786 engine is returned to service. The foundation is named for Arthur's daughter Carol Boone, who died in August 2008 at 48.

Read more...

Open Letter to the Leander HEB

Dear Leander HEB,

I worked in the grocery business for 15 years (Safeway, Kansas City) and so can critique the Leander HEB based on experience as a grocery employee as well as a customer. Overall, our HEB is a well-run store which is easy to shop in. The produce is very good, The meat dept. is good. The overall store is good.

There is, however, one nagging issue which my wife and I encounter almost every time we shop there. It is so irritating that we would gladly shop elsewhere if we had a rival store in our town. The closest alternative is 20-minutes further away on a congested thoroughfare.

The issue is the way that the checkers and sackers handle our groceries. They are so interested in maintaining speed that they short-change us on quality service. It does absolutely no good to provide great products at great prices if your customers can't get home with them in great condition!

We have spoken to indivdual checkers, to the front-end manager numerous times, and to an assistant manager at least once. Yet the hasty, careless checkouts continue.

The checkers are so afraid of not meeting their speed "quota" that everything else seem unimportant to them. This is simply bad management!

The checker training obviously doesn't stress the importance of handling produce, bread, eggs, and certain other fragile products carefully. Either that, or they are made to feel so terrified of not having enough throughput, that they make speed their number one goal.

We have trained ourselves to try and place the most perishable or crushable items on the conveyor last, because if those items go first, they end up under a pile of canned goods, or other heavy items. But this doesn't always help. And, really, should your customers have to do this? Or should your checkers do their job with care?

The fact that we have called attention to this problem to store management numerous times and it still continues tells us that we customers are thought of as a necessary evil, not as a valued customer deserving respect.

Yours truly,

Annoyed in Leander