Buda News

Push-button pie is at your fingertips. Just outside a large pecan orchard between Austin and Bastrop, a new pay-per-chew machine delivers whole pecan pies straight to your hungering hands.

The Hays CISD is in legal negotiations with engineers, builders and architects to regain money for what the district claims is faulty foundation work at Tobias Elementary School, district officials said.

Deputy Superintendent Carter Scherff said the district will pay out $1.2 million to Bartlett Cocke construction to install French drains around the school, located on east FM 150 in Kyle.

"The foundation issues at Tobias are complicated, both legally and technically," said Hays CISD spokesperson Julie Jerome.

They couldn't find affordable programs to help their dyslexic children so some local parents joined forces and did something about it.

Buda funds almost 90 percent of the library budget with city funds, but only 25 percent of library patrons live within city limits and pay municipal property tax, staff members say.

Those numbers have led some Buda officials to consider charging a library user fee of Hays County residents.

"We need to re-slice the pie," said Councilmember Tom Crouse.

So far, the discussion hasn't made it beyond the realm of theory. The city cannot charge county residents to use the library as long as the city accepts any library funds from the county. Tuesday night, councilmembers unanimously approved another library contract with the county, meaning the Buda library won't charge a non-resident fee in the upcoming year.

KBDJ, LP and its Hays County quarry received international recognition for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation at the Wildlife Habitat Council's 20th Annual Symposium, 20/20 Vision: Celebrating ...

Dennis McDuffie was named as Diboll city manager at Monday's city council meeting.

As members of a Commissioners Court that's already endured two rocky years of infighting, the top five elected officials in Hays County say they'll have to learn to live together for another two years.

With "friendly" looking out of reach, commissioners say they're shooting for "functional" working relationships on the strained court - at least until the next round of elections in 2010.

"Are there some hard feelings on the court? I think there probably are," said Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton. "But I think we have to be functional. I think we can be and we will be."

Despite facing a national credit crisis and a looming federal bailout, consumers of Buda and Kyle opened their pocketbooks in September and contributed to their local economies.

And, for the first time since 2000, Kyle's sales tax revenues surpassed Buda's.

"You have to understand that Buda has been on that rocket for a long time," said Buda Economic Development Director Warren Ketteman, explaining Buda's past fabled sales tax performance that has plunged in 12 of the last 13 months.

According to reports from the Texas Comptroller released recently, Buda's sales tax revenues jumped 3.27 percent to $288,515 from last September's $279,353. The increase comes at the tail end of a year where Buda hemorrhaged about $400,000 in sales tax revenue, forcing the City Council to make wide-scale budget cuts.

George M. Turner, 72, of Austin, formerly of Driftwood, passed away Saturday, November 1, 2008.

After serving in the Navy, he moved to Driftwood where he spent many years ranching. He was a founding member of the Driftwood Volunteer Fire Department. As an avid golfer and Golf Pro at several Austin golf courses, he made many friends. After retiring from the State of Texas, George served as the President of the State Employee's Golf Association. He was a long time member and Deacon of Central Christian Church.

He doesn't live under a bridge or panhandle underneath an ever-changing traffic light, but Lupe Machuca, a New Braunfels native, is homeless.

Police: Man had guns at school The Hays County sheriff's office reported the arrest of a 68-year-old man Wednesday accused of having weapons in his truck at Hays High School in Buda.

A man was arrested outside Hays High School Thursday evening after sheriff's officials say they found a number of weapons in his truck, including a rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) broke ground late last month on a new Buda post office that will replace the cramped facility on Main Street, said Buda Postmaster Frank Cadena.

The new post office is under construction on a 3.3 acre tract near the southwest intersection of Main Street and Cabela's Drive, adjacent to Bradfield Village. The USPS selected the site from a pool of seven.

"We feel it offered the best visibility from the retail standpoint," said USPS spokesperson Sam Bolen.

Clocking in at 6,475 square foot and offering 28 parking spots, the new post office is projected to accommodate ten years of growth. Buda's population has more than doubled in the last eight years, from 2,400 at the 2000 census to well in excess of 5,000 residents today.

A Buda man is dead after his vehicle ran off the road and rolled several times in South Travis County.

A man died this morning when his vehicle rolled over south of Austin, a Department of Public Safety official said.

Data from the first four days of the election seems to prove that the early voting booth is the place to be in the days running up to next week's election.

An examination of the first week of balloting show that 4,019 voters from this part of the county cast an early vote, skipping what some anticipate will be record Election Day turnout.

"I have to be excited about the fact that people are standing in line to express their feelings through their vote," said Hays County Elections Administrator Joyce Cowan.

An attorney for Jesse Primeau announced Tuesday that the Hays County District Attorney's office has dropped all charges against the Kyle teen stemming from the alleged drugging and rape of two minor girls in November.

"What has happened is that he [Primeau] cooperated with our investigation," said Larry Bloomquist, chief prosecutor in the case. Bloomquist also said it's possible that Primeau will be called as a witness if the other cases go to trial.

The statement from Primeau's attorney, Sam Houston Knutson, goes on to say that Primeau may seek to expunge his record of the dismissed charges.

Buda City officials asked political candidates on Monday to remove their political signs from municipal property around the City Hall polling place, but retracted the request the next day.

The Federal Election Code states that polling places must permit electioneering, including political signs.

Buda City Secretary Toni Milam said the city received a complaint about the political signs from an area merchant on Monday morning.

Milam said the city staff looked into the sign ordinance and determined the signs were in violation of city rules. At the request of the city manager, Milam sent out an email later that day announcing that "the City of Buda will no longer allow any political signs of any sort to be placed in or around City Hall's property or on the right-of-way at anytime."

The North Hays County Community Expo featured more than 70 area businesses and organizations.

Just hours after a student at Dahlstrom Intermediate School in Buda was detained for bringing a knife to class, a 12-year-old student from the same campus showed one off on a school bus, authorities said.