The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 156, No. 67, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 22, 2009 Page: 4 of 17
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Page A4 • Wat JBastrop Hdocrtiscr
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Intensity o area drought remains
AUSTIN - Despite
scattered rainfall, the Col-
orado River basin remains
n a severe drought that
is affecting water supply,
LCRA staff recently told
the board of directors. As
a result, LCRA is consid-
ering whether to take ad-
ditional drought manage-
ment actions.
LCRA had asked its
wholesale water customers
to implement mandatory
watering restrictions, with
the goal of a 25 percent re-
duction in water use. LCRA
staff has already been talk-
ing to agricultural custom-
ers in the lower Colorado
River basin to advise them
of the possibility that wa-
ter releases for irrigation
could be sharply curtailed
next year.
Taking additional steps
may require LCRA to seek
additional flexibility in
how t manages its water
supplies from the Texas
Commission on Environ-
mental Quality. The flex-
ibility may be needed, for
example, if LCRA were to
determine that the current
drought is worse than the
most severe drought the
region has ever known, the
1947-1957 drought.
"Despite the recent
rains, our region remains
in a serious drought. LCRA
experts are analyzing the
unprecedented drought
conditions of the past two
years and the effects on
water supply," said LCRA
General Manager Tom
Mason. "We are evaluat-
ing whether we need to
take different actions than
would be allowed under
the state-approved Water
Management Plan."
Mason said staff would
be ready to come back to
the LCRA Board of Direc-
tors with their recommen-
dations this month.
If the current drought
ultimately is worse than
the drought of record, then
all water users in the lower
Colorado River basin will
be affected, Mason said, in-
cluding those who use wa-
ter today and plan to use
water in the future, as well
as LCRA's agricultural,
municipal, and industrial
customers.
Staff analysis, pre-
sented to LCRA's Board
of Directors at its Sept.
23 meeting, show that, at
least in its intensity, the
current drought is more
intense than the drought
of the 1950s. This record
drought is the basis of
LCRA's state-approved
Water Management Plan,
which mandates LCRA
take specific actions at
various milestones over
the course of a drought
to stretch water supplies.
These actions are designed
to cope with a repeat of the
drought of record.
Current conditions in-
clude record low volumes
of water, or inflows, flow-
ing from tributaries into
the Highland Lakes, the
region's water supply res-
ervoirs. In addition, the
region has received below-
normal rainfall for the past
two years, the third driest
such period on record, with
only 35.25 inches of rain
in Austin compared to 67
nches on average. Record
high temperatures n 2008
and 2009 have also con-
tributed to the intensity of
the drought.
"When you look at how
little water flowed into the
Highland Lakes over the
past two years, it shows
that the intensity of this
drought surpasses the
worst drought our region
has experienced," Karen
Bondy, manager of River
Services, told the Board on
Wednesday.
A two-year comparison
of inflows, or the amount
of water flowing into the
Highland Lakes, shows a
deficit of almost 400,000
acre-feet below the aver-
age inflows recorded dur-
ing the 1950s drought. By
comparison, the City of
Austin draws for its mu-
nicipal use about 160,000
acre-feet of water per
year.
zhilispiel ready
br Flatonia ans
This weekend,
Czhilispiel celebrates Czech
Heritage and good times in
Flatonia. The word "Czhili"
is for the famous cook-offs
and "spiel" is German for
fun.
The weather may be
cooling but Czhilispiel is hot
and Texans flock there for
the IABC sanctioned bar-
becue contest and the CASI
"Czhili" cook-off. The fun-
filled festival is slated for
Oct. 23 - 25.
The lineup of musicians,
who all perform under the
world's largest tented bier-
garten, include Los Kolach-
es, who open the festival on
Friday night, followed by
Emocion.
Saturday brings the
Czhili showmanship where
the Czhili cookers vie for
the coveted showmanship
title. This entertainment is
worth the admission price
itself. If you like it hot, then
the Jalapeno Eating Con-
test is for you. Don't miss
the big game or all the fun
of Czhilispiel, a big screen
is provided for your viewing
pleasure.
Hot tunes on tap as the
Dujka Brothers, Broke 60
and headliners, Cory Mor-
row and Casey Donahew
close out Saturday night.
The marathon of music be-
gins at 1:30 p.m. and ends
almost 12 hours later, at 1
a.m.
The Grand Parade starts
the Sunday entertainment
with the American Legion
Color Guard leading, with
fire trucks and plenty of
festival royalty. Don't miss
the Backseat Drivin' Mama
contest after the parade.
Sunday, under the tent,
7 Day A Week
Admissions
immediately after the pa-
rade begins, another round
of entertainment occurs
when Clayton Adams takes
the stage at 2 p.m., followed
by Texas Unlimited Band
taking Czhilispiel 37 into
the history books.
Through the weekend,
Czhilispiel features arts
and crafts booths, wonder-
ful foods, car and truck
show, golf tournament, pie
judging contest, 21st cen-
tury carnival with loads of
great rides. Special events
include many children and
adult contests.
Check out the Web site
at flatoniachamber.org and
click on the dancing Czhili
pepper for more informa-
tion.
SMITHVILLE POLICE REPORT
According to police,
on Oct. 12, Officer Lynn
Boydston and Officer
Luis Medrano arrested
Samuel Gauna Trevino,
Jr., of Smithville, for an
arrest warrant issued by
the Smithville Municipal
Court. Officers located
Trevino at 301 Short and
confirmed warrants is-
sued for failure to main-
tain financial responsi-
bility, no driver's license
and failure to appear, re-
cords show. Trevino was
booked into the Smith-
ville jail. He was fined
$867.
According to police,
on Oct. 16, Officer Lynn
Boydston arrested James
Anthony Wells, 24, of
Elgin for possession of
marihuana and unlaw-
fully carrying a weapon.
Officer Boydston stopped
Rose Schneier, md, faap, face
is pleased to announce her association with
slmone scumpia, md, face, frcp
for the practice of Endocrinology for
Teens to Young Adults (Ages 10 to 25)
Adrenal • Bone & Calcium • Diabetes • Excess Hair
Lipid & Cholesterol • Menstrual Irregularity
Pituitary • Puberty & Growth • Thyroid
>- J
A w
T
'V ^
BASTROP
Nursing Center
Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech Therapy
IV Therapy
Skilled Nursing Unit
Long Term Care
Wound Care
Respite & Hospice Care
Medicare, Medicaid
Private Insurance
137 Old Austin Hwy, Bastrop
Wells for a traffic violation
on Lee Street and located
11.5 grams of marihuana
and a handgun inside Wells'
vehicle, police say. Records
show Wells an also issued a
citation for open container
of alcohol and possession
of drug paraphernalia.
Wells was booked into the
Smithville jail and later
transported to the Bastrop
County jail. His bond was
set at $15,000.
■ According to police, on
Oct. 16, Officer Luis Me-
drano and Officer Lynn
Boydston arrested Gay Nell
Gunter, 50, of Smithville for
driving while intoxicated,
possession of a controlled
substance, possession of
marihuana, resisting ar-
rest, assault on a public ser-
vant and leaving the scene
of an accident. Officers were
dispatched to a wreck on
This significant
deficit in inflows is
the primary indicator
of the intensity of the
drought. What is dif-
ferent, so far, is the
duration of the cur-
rent drought, which
has lasted almost three
years compared to the
10 years of the drought
of record.
"What we don't
know is how long the
drought will continue,"
Bondy said.
LCRA urges resi-
dents to continue follow-
ing mandatory watering
restrictions and taking
steps to save water. Con-
sider turning off auto-
matic irrigation systems
during the fall and win-
ter months and install a
rain sensor so that irri-
gation water is not wast-
ed when it is raining.
For updates about
drought conditions in
the lower Colorado River
basin visit www.lcra.org/
droughtupdate.
Wilkes Street where
witnesses stated Gunter
had struck several vehi-
cles and left the scene of
the accident, police say.
Reports show officers lo-
cated Gunter on White-
head Street once her
vehicle became disabled.
After conducting field
sobriety tests, officers
believed Gunter to be
intoxicated, police say.
While at the Smithville
jail, officers found Gunt-
er to be in possession of
5.0 grams of marihuana
and a controlled sub-
stance. Gunter allegedly
began to resist arrest
and assaulted both of-
ficers, according to the
police report. Gunter
was later transported to
the Bastrop County jail.
Her total bonds were set
at $50,000.
o-op
draws
honor
Bluebonnet Electric
Cooperative and Dig Tech
were each recently honored
with a safety award by the
Texas Mutual Insurance
Co., writers of Bluebonnet's
workers' compensation pol-
icy, in recognition for their
commitment to health and
safety.
Nomination for the
awards were made by the
Texas Mutual Loss Pre-
vention consultant for the
account and was based on
Bluebonnet's and Dig Tech's
safety programs. Only 164
awards were given out of
the 48,000 Texas Mutual
Insurance accounts.
Dig Tech, Bluebon-
net's underground utility
contractor since 1988, was
awarded its own safety cer-
tification by Texas Mutual,
which is rarely given to con-
tractors.
Canon
salute
Saturday
The Texas Dare Dev-
ils, led by Scott Dunbar,
will shoot "The Black Stal-
lion" at 10 a.m. on Satur-
day, Oct. 24 at Ridgeway
Cemetery near Paige. The
celebration is in commem-
oration of markers for five
Dunbar graves moved
from Morgan Chapel Cem-
etery.
The cannoneers will be
dressed in period clothing.
Bring the kids and
your lawn chairs for a
couple of hours of fun.
Drinks and snacks will
be available for purchase.
Ridgeway Cemetery is one
mile west on Hwy. 21 off of
U.S. 290 near Paige.
Metro: 512-303-0655
Administrator - Maria Caracheo
Look who's Prospering now...
Prosperity lank
Bastrop
Prosperity lank
Elgin-Highway 290
■
Joann Harkins
Senior Vice President,
Banking Center Manager
Barbara Hollingsworth
Vice President,
Lending
Prosperity Bank is pleased to announce the promotion of Joann Harkins to Senior
Vice President and Banking Center Manager for the Bastrop Banking Center. Joann
has over 30 years banking experience with an emphasis on commercial, real estate,
construction and consumer lending. Having lived here all of her life, she is a genuine
Elginite. Joann resides in Elgin along with her husband, Rick and son, Wesley. They
also have two grown daughters, Heather and Lauren.
In addition, Prosperity Bank is pleased to announce the relocation of Barbara
Hollingsworth, Vice President, Lending, from the Elgin Main Banking Center to the
Elgin Hwy. 290 Banking Center. Barbara has over 20 years of lending experience and
is dedicated to providing you with top customer service and assistance in finding the
financing solutions that meet your needs. Barbara resides in Elgin with her husband,
Tommy. They have two grown children, Danny and Andi, a son-in-law, John and a
new grandson, Kaiser.
Regardless of their locations, Joann and Barbara are local professionals who specialize
in all types of banking services and are eager to assist you with all your financial needs.
Stop By On Friday, October 23, And ] oin Us In Welcoming
Them "o Their New Locations!
.w.
f \ PROSPERITY
* BANK®
*
bankers...
Bastrop Elgin 290
499 Hwy. 71 W. • Bastrop 106 Roy Rivers Rd. • Elgin
fdic (512)308-9957 (512)285-3777 H*
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Wright, Cyndi. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 156, No. 67, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 22, 2009, newspaper, October 22, 2009; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252624/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.