The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 156, No. 58, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 19, 2009 Page: 1 of 12
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SMITHVILLE'S CONN OVERCOMING EXTRA PRESSURE * SPORTS B1
Wk jSastrop Sldnertisc
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 156, Number 58
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
INSIDE
WILDCATS TAMED
Pflugerville Hendrickson had their
way with the Elgin Wildcats Friday
night as the Bastrop Bears enjoyed
a week off.
—Page B1
GOLF BENEFIT
Cedar Creek United Methodist
Church is holding their 2009 Golf
Tournament fundraiser tomorrow
(Sunday),
—Page A2
TAHITIAN FINALE
G.A. Lewis looks to Tahitiari
Village's future and examines the
hopes and expectations of residents.
—Page A3
POLICE BLOTTER
■ On Sept, 15, at approximately 10
a.m., Officer Kenneth Mack was
notified by paging to contact a rep-
resentative of AT&T on Loop 150
East about a theft of copper wire. At
the time of the report, there were no
suspects.
■ On Sept. 16, at approximately 8:15
p.m., Officer Travis Lucas stopped
an older model Volkswagen van with
expired registration traveling west-
bound on Texas 71. After stopping
the van and speaking with the driver,
Lucas detected an odor of marihuana
coming from the vehicle, according
to the police report. After seeing that
the driver's license was suspended for
an intoxication charge, the driver was
placed in the back seat of the patrol
car. Officers on the scene located a
marihuana pipe and 1,3 grams of
hashish John Bradley Ernst, 28,
was arrested and charged with pos-
session of a controlled substance,
possession of drug paraphernalia and
driving with an invalid license.
■ On Sept. 16, at approximately 11:40
p.m., Officer Lucas was dispatched
to 218 Jennifer Lane for a report of
burglary of a vehicle. The complainant
told Lucas that someone had broken
into his vehicle and removed a stereo
head unit, sub-woofer speakers and
a skate board, a total value of about
$700.
WEATHER
SATURDAY FORECAST
HI: 89
LO: 67
PARTLY CLOUDY
INDEX
Classifieds
Community
Paae B5
News
Pane A2
Paae A3
Letters
Sports
Page B4
Page B1
14 pages, two sections
Newsroom
(512) 321-2557
© The Bastrop Advertiser
We Recycle
AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
65668 78602
UMr.
. ' •
Staff photo by Terry Hagerty
Nan Conkle stands with a healthy, happy Kismet - a far cry from what the horse looked like when she was rescued,
Saving 'Kismet'
Expo to help rescued horses
BY CYNDI WRIGHT
Editor
Kismet's foster mom, Nan
Conkle of Bastrop, says the
horse was in ghastly shape
when she came to Conkle last
March.
"She was in terrible shape
- very, very starved," Conkle
said. "Her hair literally fell
out until she was like leather
because of her malnutrition.
She was just starved to death
and that is abuse."
Kismet spent several days
in a state of medical emer-
gency and Conkle did not
know if the horse was going
to survive.
"She was in pretty bad
shape, she responded to
treatment, but the next day
she colicked again and she
was in misery," Conkle said.
"I really thought I was going
to lose her. That night I spent
the night n her stall with
her head in my lap. I really
thought she was going to die
that night. The next morning
she was up on her feet."
After several days of
medical treatment, the tide
slowly turned and once Kis-
met started responding to
treatment, Conkle slowly in-
creased her food. Now, barely
six months later, Kismet has
gained 277 pounds.
"Because she was in such
Photo contributed by Nan Conkle
When Kismet first arrived at Nan Conkle's house in Bastrop, her hair was falling
out due to malnutrition, She eventually lost all of her hair.
distress she did not have
much of a personality at first.
She was just fighting to stay
alive," Conkle said. "She's a
very friendly horse now. A
week or so ago she went to
a woman who rode her. We
believe that she is going to
be a very ridable, adoptable
horse."
Kismet has one little
quirk, according to Conkle.
"She's crazy about water,
that's her one quirk," she
said. "She got in the water
tank with her front feet. Any-
time there's water, she likes
it. She's just a precious horse.
I just love her to death."
Conkle, who is retired, has
been rescuing horses since
2000. She says she named
this special horse Kismet, be-
cause it means destiny.
Kismet will be taking part
in the upcoming Bluebon-
net Equine Humane Society
Expo on Saturday, Oct. 10 at
the Travis County Expo Cen-
ter in Austin.
"We will take her to expo
and hope that someone just
loves her and will take her
home," Conkle said.
Bluebonnet rescue group
The group that rescues
abused and neglected horses,
Bluebonnet Equine Humane
See KISMET, page A6
DROUGHT
U.S.D.A
comes
through
BY CYNDI WRIGHT
Editor
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
promised that disaster-relief funds for
farmers and ranchers struggling with
losses due to drought would be avail-
able in September, and the agency has
followed through with that promise for
eligible producers.
Bastrop County Judge Ronnie Mc-
Donald and Congressman Lloyd Dog-
gett were proactive with their letters
and personal visits urging the agency to
make those funds available as soon as
possible.
"Texas farmers and ranchers have
finally seen a few drops of rain. Now,
they'll finally see a few drops of federal
aid," said Rep. Doggett. "These dollars
have not arrived soon enough, but I am
pleased that our local producers will get
the drought relief they desperately need
and deserve."
For ranchers who have opted into
See DROUGHT, page A6
BISD
ax rate
at $1,481
TERRY HAGERTY
Assistant Editor
The Bastrop school board officially
set the school district's 2009-10 tax rate
at $1,481 per $100 of property valuation
at their regular meeting Tuesday night.
The 2009-10 rate consists of the
maintenance and operations tax rate
(commonly referred to as "M&O" rate) of
$1,040, combined with a tax rate of .441
cents for payment of principal and inter-
est of the debt service.
The total tax rate is the same as
2008-09.
Expenditures within the General
Fund are expected to total $63.66 mil-
lion, versus revenues of $61.73 million,
said Sandra Callahan, the district's chief
financial officer.
Most of the deficit of nearly $2 mil-
lion deficit is composed of funds previ-
ously allocated for the payment of con-
struction bonds due in February 2010.
Tax scale
With the tax rate of $1,481, home-
owners with the following valued homes
would be the amount of taxes showed in
parenthesis: $50,000 ($740.50); $100,000
($1,481); $200,000 ($2,962).
The owners of the following valued
homes, with a typical $15,000 Home-
stead exemption applied, would pay the
taxes shown n parentheses: $50,000
($630); $100,000 value home ($1,224.85
in taxes); $125,000 ($1,585.10); $150,000
($1,944.85); $200,000 ($2,449.70).
BASTROP CITY COUNCIL
Extra money rom BE D
BY MARK GWIN
Publisher
Bastrop's city budget looked a little
rosier Tuesday evening thanks to a
$200,000 contribution from the Bastrop
Economic Development Corporation.
It may not seem like much in a pro-
posed budget of $7.2 million, but that
money gave the council some much ap-
preciated wiggle room while keeping the
tax rate flat at 55.4 cents per $100 valu-
ation.
In an unusual moment, a special ses-
sion of the BEDC board was called amid
Bastrop City Council's budget workshop,
during which the BEDC board agreed
to transfer an additional $200,000 from
BEDC funds to the city to help fund the
parks department. That money is in ad-
dition to the approximately $111,000 the
BEDC will give the city n the coming
year to help fund the Main Street pro-
gram and provide maintenance at Bas-
trop Industrial Park.
That sizable allocation by BEDC,
which board president Gary Gutierrez
said will come primarily from the money
saved on the Chestnut Street project, al-
lows the council to accomplish several
of the city's goals without a 2 cent tax
ncrease, which was among the four sug-
gested budget revisions the council was
considering.
However, with the BEDC's commit-
See COUNCIL, page A6
Raising the flag
■ III
1 L ItffS l
1'fcC -
Staff photo by Terry Hagerty
Chris McKay, left, and Caleb Smith, prepare to raise the flag at the
start of a recent school day at Bastrop High School. The two ju-
niors are members of the BHS Naval Junior Reserve Officer Train-
ing Corps (ROTC) program,
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Wright, Cyndi. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 156, No. 58, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 19, 2009, newspaper, September 19, 2009; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252615/m1/1/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.