The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 157, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, May 1, 2010 Page: 1 of 10
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Hie jSastrop
BEARS BEGIN SPRING DRILLS TUESDAY • SPORTS, B1
www.bastropadvertiser.com
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853
Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 157, Number 18
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2010
500
INSIDE
DON'T FORGET
TO VOTE NEXT
SATURDAY, MAY
8. SEE THE NEXT
ISSUE OF THE
ADVERTISER FOR
A STORY WITH
ELECTION
DETAILS.
HIT AND RUN
Search is still on for suspects in
fatal hit-and-run on April 25.
—Page A3
CASE DISMISSED
Bastrop County DA drops charges
on three-year-old manslaughter
case.
—Page A3
AWARDS
The Bastrop Advertiser wins five
awards at newspaper contest.
—Page A3
POLICE BLOTTER
■ On April 27 at 12:35 a.m.,
Officer Jason Pierson was
dispatched to the Silver Pines
Nursing Center for a report of a
missing elderly male. At the time
of the report, t was unknown
where the male went or if he had
a vehicle.
■ On April 28 at 3 p.m., Officer
Dale Hamilton was dispatched
to a residence for a report of
burglary, The resident said tools
valued at $530 were missing.
■ On April 28 at 11 p.m., Officer
Dale Hamilton responded to a
local business for a reported at-
tempt by a motorist to steal a tip
jar from the drive-thru window.
The suspect was described to
police for further nvestigation.
■ On April 29 at 1:45 p.m., Of-
ficer Hamilton went to a local
business for a report of a man
asleep in the parking lot, Further
nvestigation showed a warrant
for an arrest for public intoxica-
tion Robert Lee Hernandez,
53, of Cedar Creek was arrested
and charged with public intoxi-
cation, third or more time.
■ On April 29 at 3:40 p.m., Of-
ficer Hamilton went to a local
business for a report of theft of
boots, valued at $119, Ricky
James Stevens, 22, of Elgin,
was arrested and charged with
theft of greater than $50, less
than $500.
WEATHER
SATURDAY FORECAST
HI: 82
LO: 59
ISOLATED T-STORMS
INDEX
Classifieds
Community
Paae B3
Page A3
Obits
Page A2
Sports
Page A2
Page B1
12 pages, two sections
Newsroom
(512) 321-2557
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AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
65668 78602
COUNTY
Big projects on horizon
ive-year improvement plan calls for spending $29.8 million
BY ANDY ROSS
Staff Writer
A broad summary of Bastrop
County's five-year vision for ma-
jor infrastructure work was re-
cently laid out in a Capital Im-
provement Plan that ncludes a
list of projects totaling approxi-
mately $29.8 million.
The 2010-2015 plan, which
was formally approved by com-
missioners on April 12, ad-
dresses the county's immediate,
long and short-term needs and
calls for potentially spending
$10,808,000 in the coming 2010
fiscal year alone.
When asked this past week
about the plan, County Judge
Ronnie McDonald said the proj-
ects are aimed at both freeing up
space at the courthouse complex
and addressing the county's rap-
id growth.
"This is in conjunction with
future growth and the growth
that is already happening in
Bastrop County," McDonald
said. "We are getting upgrades
on things that are becoming out-
dated and we have to be ahead of
the curve.
"We don't have anything that
is unnecessary or doesn't go into
the planning we need," the judge
continued.
McDonald also stressed he
believes the county is in very
sound financial shape and that a
series of public hearings on the
plan is expected to take place in
the near future.
According to the Bastrop
County Auditor's Office, funds
used for the Capital Improve-
ment Plan are expected to be ob-
tained through county commis-
sioners issuance of certificates of
obligation bonds, a method of is-
suing debt that can be conducted
without approval from voters.
Commissioners published notice
of their intent to issue such bonds
at the same April 12 meeting and
See PROJECTS, page A8
Search for woman
mm
iV " '/
W ' v"
Staff photo by Terry Hagerty
Deputies Dexter Carter, left, and Lee Ward, with the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office, search for a 38-year-old unidentified
woman who reportedly wandered into the woods in a disordered state near Squirrel Run and Texas 21 on Friday morning,
according to a spokesperson with the sheriffs office. The woman was later found later at Walmart, but not before a DPS
helicopter was called in to aid in the search.
REDISTRICTING
'hanges
in store
or county
BY ANDY ROSS
Staff Writer
With expectations rising in regards
to the 2010 census and its revelations
on Bastrop County's growth spurt
through the 2000s, heavy changes to
the county's four precinct boundary
lines are likely on the horizon, say some
local officials.
This week county commissioners
formed a committee to oversee the pro-
cess of selecting a consulting firm who
will work alongside the county exam-
ining census data and the subsequent
redisricting likely necessary to accu-
rately reflect population shifts.
The redisricting studies, which are
federally mandated of all county gov-
ernments every ten years, will yield re-
vamped precinct scenarios towards the
end of the year that will be voted on by
commissioners and then submitted to the
See COURT, page A8
MEDICINE
No ob no insurance
Navigating health care system no easy task
BY TERRY HAGERTY
Assistant Editor
Jim Cramer is in a
tough spot when t comes
to dealing with chronic
pain and staying finan-
cially afloat.
The Bastrop resident
has such severe back
pain that he can no lon-
ger work and has had to
leave several jobs over
the years. Without a job,
Cramer lost his health
insurance at a time when
he needed i t most.
It's a dilemma more
than a few people face,
and even with a revised
national policy on health
insurance about to go
nto effect, there are still
people falling through
the cracks.
"I've worked my whole
life, but now I can't," Cra-
mer said. "And I lived
with pain most of my
life."
Early njuiy
Cramer said he ini-
tially injured his back
while playing high school
football in 1969 in Illi-
nois. He moved to Austin
in 1975.
He's had surgery
twice since then, in 1976
and 1986. And while that
helped for a while, the
back problems have not
been resolved.
"In 1986, I still had
pain in my back," Cra-
mer said. "I had surgery
again, this time at Seton
Hospital in Austin."
Cramer said those
surgeries allowed him to
get back to work, but he
would still occasionally
miss two to three days of
work when pain became
severe.
After injuring his
back last December, he
had two X-rays taken
because he couldn't af-
ford the more costly diag-
nostic test of a magnetic
See HEALTH, page A8
m
Staff photo by Terry Hagerty
Jim Cramer is contending with huge medical expenses without the aid of
insurance after he had to quit working.
CITY
Alley B work approved
Staff photo by Terry Hagerty
The Bastrop City Council approved spending $397,000 to mprove
underground utilities on Alley B, behind Main Street.
BY TERRY HAGERTY
Assistant Editor
The Bastrop City
Council voted 3-2 Tuesday
to fund nearly $400,000
to utility upgrades to an
alley behind Main Street,
but not before some testy
exchanges among council
and audience members.
The project involves
underground work on Al-
ley B for water, wastewa-
ter, sewer and electrical
lines, many of which are
substantially aged. Some
of the pipes have leaked
in the past, city officials
acknowledged.
The work, yet to be
undertaken, is on Al-
ley B, which runs from
Chestnut Street behind
the Burch building down
to near Wells Fargo Bank
and loops back to Main
Street.
Council members Joe
Beal, Ken Kesselus and
Bill Peterson voted for
the project. Council mem-
bers Julie Hart and Kay
Garcia McAnally voted
against.
See ALLEY, page A8
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Wright, Cyndi. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 157, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, May 1, 2010, newspaper, May 1, 2010; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252679/m1/1/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.