The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 1994 Page: 1 of 28
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Vol. 141, No. 31
Smithville
annexing
homes tract
By Janice Butler
Staff Writer
Smithville city council mem-
bers annexed a 6.5 acre tract
which is intended for de-
velopment as a retirement
community. The proposed Oak
Meadow subdivision will con-
sist of 20 homes priced at about
$100,000 each.
The council approved the
subdivision plat and annexation
when they met June 13.
Smithville developer Dan
Rhinehart said lots will be 50
feet by 100 feet with yards de-
signed for low maintenance, and
"of course the theme and con-
struction is geared for elderly
people," he said.
"There will be five different
floor plans for two and three
bedroom homes, but they will
look very similar from the exte-
rior," according to Rhinehart
The neighborhood will sit
just a few hundred yards from
the new Smithville Regional
Hospital off Faulkner Road. It is
designed to be a quiet and
peaceful area so there are no
through streets in the subdi-
vision, the developer said.
"We already have several
commitments from people
wanting the homes. In addition
we'll be building two or three
model homes that will be avail-
able for immediate purchase,"
he added.
Rhinehart is partners with
builder Bennie Rdoks. Together
See ANNEX, Page 2
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper
Since March l, 1853
500
Bastrop, Texas
Thursday, June 16,1994
SMASH-UP
Failure to yield the right of way was blamed for a 2:30 p.m. accident in Bastrop at the In-
tersection of Texas 71 and Texas 95. Despite the force of the highway crash, the most se-
rious injury reported was a scraped knee.
Cars smash, knee scraped
Three travelers were involved
in a two-car traffic accident at
the intersection of Texas 71 and
Texas 95 Tuesday in Bastrop.
The two drivers escaped
without injury, but a 13-year-old
boy was treated for a scraped
knee.
The accident occurred at 2:45
p.m. when 63-year-old Maryella
W. Bumey attempted to turn left
from Texas 71 onto Texas 95 in
her 1993 Chevrolet Caprice.
Hie Lockhart resident told
Bastrop police that she did not
see the 1994 Chevrolet Caprice
traveling west on Texas 71 and
consequently hit the passing car
broadside as she crossed the
westbound lane.
Hie impact caused the '94
vehicle to spin around into a
stop sign located on the north-
west corner of the intersection.
Mis. Burney was not travel-
ing fast when she hit Smith's
vehicle, and he was probably
traveling the speed limit, ac-
cording to patrolman Kellea
Miller.
'Fortunately everyone in
both vehicles was wearing seat
belts. If they hadn't been, there
would probably have been some
serious injuries," she added.
Mrs. Burney was cited for
flailing to yield the right-of-way.
Diamond EMS
defends new
fee structure
By Davie McAuley
Editor
In a discussion with Bastrop
County commissioners Monday,
Diamond EMS owner Mike
Owens defended the company's
new higher fee schedule and
billing procedures.
Sheriff Fred Hoskins, voicing
concern about three recent EMS
bills for jail inmates, distributed
a comparison of Diamond's
charges with ambulance fees for
Elgin, Lockhart and Fayette
County. In most cases Dia-
mond's charges are two to five
times more than the neighboring
services.
Hoskins cited recent ambu-
lance bills of $902, $1093 and
$1158, saying such charges are
draining his budget for medical
expenses.
But Owens defended the
charges on two main grounds:
See FEES, Page 2
Smithville seeks EPA grant
The Lower Colorado River
Authority has joined the City of
Smithville to apply for a
$250,000 Environmental Pro-
tection Agency grant
If approved, Smithville
would become part of a non-
point source pollution model
city study and work with LCRA
officials to improve the city's
water drainage.
"We'll all have to do this one
of these days, and I'd like us to
be one step ahead of everyone
else," said Mayor Vernon
Richards about the joint venture.
Ken Manning, manager of
LCRA's Clean Colorado Pro-
ject, said the agency was at-
tracted to Smithville because of
the new construction going on
Sewer plan
Fritz urges Stony Point effort
Morally, legally and finan-
cially it is right for Bastrop
County to commit up to $60,000
over two to three years to link
the Stony Point subdivision to a
regional sewer system, County
Judge Randy Fritz argued Mon-
day.
"Because of the number of
children out there, it's the right
thing to do," said Fritz.
Last week the Texas Natural
Resources Conservation Com-
mission designated the commu-
nity of some 1500 residents in
"urgent need" of improved
wastewater services because of
widespread malfunctioning or
non-existent septic tank sys-
tems. The designation makes the
county eligible to apply for up
to $350,000 in state money to
remedy water problems which
pose a threat to public health in
the area.
Such a {pant would require
the county to come up with 10
percent of the grant amount or
$35,000.
Fritz also argued that the
proposed grant route makes fi-
nancial sense. If a financing
plan proposed by the Lower
Colorado River Authority
proves feasible, the county's
contribution means getting a
$1.3 million wastewater project
built for "five cents on the dol-
lar," said the judge.
Hie LCRA plan also calls for
the county to apply later this
year for a $250,000 community
development grant for the same
overall project. If successful, the
second grant would require a
county contribution of $25,000.
LCRA, in turn, would seek a
combination loan-grant from the
Farmers Home Administration
for the balance of project costs,
said Paul Pape who directs util-
ity development projects for
LCRA.
In addition to LCRA staff
time already invested in the
Stony Point project, the water
and power agency board may be
willing to assume responsibility
for the FmHA loan, said Pape.
That means Stony Point resi-
dents linked to the regional
sewer system would share only
the cost of system operations, he
said. They would not be forced
to twwnne costs associated with
debt repayment
See SEWER, Page 2
at the
Worfc is underway on a new dental clinic in
Pecan and Walnut Street.
for Dr. Wayne Rc
Bastrop seeks more county support
in the city, primarily the Brook-
shire Brothers grocery store and
the new hospital.
"It's those kind of activities
that make the run-off issue a
point of discussion," he said.
EPA has targeted mostly
larger cities in Texas, Louisiana,
Arkansas, Oklahoma and New
Mexico for the $5 million study
program, but Bay City and
Smithville are putting in pro-
posals as smaller communities.
In Texas, the EPA will work
through the Texas Natural Re-
sources Conservation Commis-
sion.
"I think they have a chance
for a portion of the grant be-
See GRANT, Page 2
Car thieves hit
Bastrop, Elgin
> * ^
Car and truck thefts seem to
be on the rise this week in Bas-
trop and Elgin.
There were six attempted ve-
hicle thefts in Bastrop on June
13 before the perpetrators stum-
bled onto Curtis Irving's car and
stole it
Bastrop Police Investigator
Ed Salmela said most of the
other vehicles had their steering
columns broken but that the
thieves were apparently unable
to hotwire them.
"They just went from car to
car until they found one that
they could start," he said.
• In Elgin two vehicles were
stolen and left in a field off Old
Manor Road in Travis County.
Sylvester Walker's 1986
Pontiac Grand Am disappeared
See CARS, Page 2
Beginning this month, Bas-
trop will press its case for more
financial support from die
county for fire protection, am-
bulance service and the public
library.
Meeting Tuesday, the council
indicated those are the city op-,
erations for which out of city '
residents receive more service
than the county pays for.
Mayor David Lock said all
funding for all three areas are
involved in long standing dis-
agreements with the county.
"You can ask," said Lock,
"but good luck. They'll say we
dont have any money."
The county contributes some
funds to help pay for city fire
department operations and adds
a subsidy for Diamond EMS.
Bastrop Fire Chief Mike
Fisher said he can collect statis-
tics to show how many fire calls
See PRESS, Page 2
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p. 16
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Deaths
p. 7
Letters
p. 4
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p. 8
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p. 5
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 1994, newspaper, June 16, 1994; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth409808/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.