The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 16, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 21, 2007 Page: 1 of 15
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m JBastrop aducrtistr
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 154, Number 16
Bastrop, Texas
18 pages in two sections
A hairy hero
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The Bastrop Advertiser photo/Dana Lachman
Alexander Handy, son of Children's Advocacy Center board member
James Handy, demonstrates how Harry the therapy dog plays with
the young clients of the center. Harry, pictured with his therapy dog
license at right, was named one of the "Heroes of Central Texas" by the
American Red Cross for the service he provides to victims of abuse.
Harry honored by American Red
Cross for his role as therapy dog
The American Red Cross of Central
Texas honored Harry and 10 other
"heroes" at a banquet Friday. All
were recognized for acts of courage
or kindness.
"Harry is a truly unique animal
who serves child victims of all kinds
of abuse," said Red Cross spokes-
woman Claudia McWhorter in a state-
ment issued April 16. "Harry is a
constant presence in the lives of many
of these children and helps them heal
through his sendees."
Harry, a Shetland sheep dog, has
By Dana Lachmari
Staff Writer
Harry might be bubbling with
pride about being named one of the
American Red Cross 'Heroes of
Central Texas, but if so, he's hiding
it well. Harry seems to be more inter-
ested in children and rubber toys than
interviews and photo ops.
But then again, that's Harry's job
and it's why he's being honored in
the first place. Harry is a therapy dog
at the Children's Advocacy Center
(CAC) in Bastrop.
See HARRY, Page 2A
r. •, i o-
uti
Main street
gets advice
rom panel
By Davis McAuley
Editor
A crowd at Paul Quinn AME
Church heard tips, suggestions
and encouragement Thursday
for Bastrop's nascent Main
Street Program in an initial
report from a Texas Historical
Commission team assigned to
assess current opportunities
and efforts.
Main Street manager Nancy
Wood said there was good
news for the historic downtown
area along Main and Chestnut
Street. A recent survey, for
instance, suggests that Bastrop
needs more retail offerings for
items like clothing, shoes and
fabrics. Shops offering such
goods don't necessarily require
large spaces, suggesting some
might easily find a downtown
home, said Wood.
Other suggestions aired at
the meeting include further
improvements to enhance the
entrance to town from Texas
71 along Loop 150. An alley of
trees along the route could help
screen adjoining parking lots
and help guide visitors toward
the historic shopping district,
she said.
See MAIN, Page 2A
! Lapist agrees
to 50
By Davis McAuley
Editor
An Elgin man pleaded
guilty to the Nov. 2 aggra-
vated sexual assault of an 88-
year-old woman and was sen-
tenced to a 50-year prison term
Wednesday in 21st District
Court in Bastrop.
The sentence, pronounced
by 21st District Judge Terry
Flenniken, means that Reginald
D. James, 32, must serve at
least 25 years before becoming
eligible for parole consider-
ation. James entered his guilty
plea as part of a sentencing
agreement with prosecutors.
The victim in the case, an
Elgin resident, said she awoke
year term
about 3 a.m. to find a man in
her bedroom. Subsequently he
assaulted her and demanded
cash and jewelry from her, she
said.
Unable to find anything of
value, the man threw a match
onto her bed which ignited
some bedding, she told police.
She suffered second and third
degree burns on her arm and
shoulder while putting out the
blaze, said Assistant District
Attorney Kathy Holton. Some
of those injuries are not yet
fully healed, said Holton.
The prosecutor said she
welcomed the plea bargain
with James, in part because it
spared the victim the trauma
See RAPE, Page 2A
' hree indicted on four counts each of armed robbery
Men accused of heists
in Smithville, county
By Dana Lachman
Staff Writer
A Bastrop County Grand Jury on Tuesday
ordered three men believed to have robbed a
donut shop in Smithville and a convenience
store on FM 535 near Rosanky to stand trial
on four counts each of aggravated robbery.
Kevin Dwayne Spears, 23, Jonathan
Vanshay Brown, 20, and Brandon Mark Hajek,
25, are accused of robbing the Super Donuts
on Loop 230 in Smithville and the Wagon
Wheel Gas and Go on FM 535. Because the
two robberies were in separate jurisdictions,
each man was indicted twice with two counts
per indictment.
The robberies occurred in late March. In the
first, at the Super Donuts in Smithville, two
armed men entered the business at just before
7:30 a.m. Sunday and demanded that the clerk
open the register, according to Smithville
investigator Lonny Richardson. The men took
the cash and were last seen walking around
the back of the business. A number of people
in the business witnessed the crime.
The second crime occurred at the Wagon
Wheel, when at approximately 8 a.m. two
subjects entered the store, displayed weapons
and took approximately $400 in cash, accord-
ing to Bastrop County investigator William
McMyne. Video surveillance at the store cap-
tured images of two of the men.
Spears, Brown and Hajek were arrested
March 22, the result of a joint investigation
of the Smithville Police Department and the
Bastrop County Sheriff's Office. According to
Smithville Police Chief Rudy Supak, all three
confessed to the crimes.
INSIDE
Bears football coach Halbrook retires.
Page 10A
WEATHER! INDEX
■ Saturday's forecast:
Mostly sunny
and warm
High: 80°
Low: 62°
Last week:
High Low Prec.
Weds. 74 53 trace
Thursday 80 55 none
Friday 79 61 none
■ Provided by the KXAN School
Weather Network.
65668 78602
Classified ads
2B
Community
3A
Letters
4A
Lifestyles
12A
Real Estate
1B
Obituaries
7A
Sports
10A
AUSTIN COMMUNITY itfUSC'XIifl
This newspaper
is recyclable
Local couple joins Minutemen on Mexican border
By Terry Hagerty
Staff writer
Rachel Kownslar, a Bastrop
County resident, said her parents
came across the U.S.-Mexico border
the "legal way" in 1942.
Her parents, natives of the
Mexican state of San Luis Potosi,
brought Rachel's three older sisters
with them.
Her father had worked in mines
and on farms in Mexico. Seven more
siblings, including Rachel, were bom
in Texas. Rachel's maiden name is
Rachel Gloria.
Rachel said she sympathizes with
the economic plight of those trying
to cross the U.S. border illegally but
holds firm that the crossings should
be stopped.
That's why she and her husband,
Art Kownslar, decided to join the
Minutemen, who help the U.S.
Border Patrol.
On Thursday night, the Kownslars
gave a talk and photo presentation of
their early April trip to the Texas/
Mexico border, to the Bastrop County
Republican Women at Elgin's First
National Bank.
'On the border'
Art Kownslar said the Minutemen
"weren't 'Rambos" down there on
the border drinking. They're patriots.
We are not too much different from
the original Minutemen," a refer-
ence to colonists from the American
Revolution who were ready to fight
the British on a "minute's" notice.
Art Kownslar said illegal immi-
gration on the border was "out of
control and the federal government
was not doing the job it was sup-
posed to do. We did not see a fence
while we were down there on the
border."
(One Minutemen website states,
"years after Sept. 11, 2001, and still
our government is more concerned
with securing the borders of foreign
lands than securing the U.S. bor-
ders.")
Before Art and Rachel were
See MINUTEMEN, Page 2A
The Bastrop Advertiser photo^Terry Hagerty
Art and Rachel Kownslar recently gave a talk to
the Bastrop County Republican Women about a
week they spent on the Mexican border as mem-
bers of the citizen patrol group, The Minutemen.
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 16, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 21, 2007, newspaper, April 21, 2007; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252366/m1/1/: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.