The Llano News (Llano, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 11, 1997 Page: 1 of 18
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Llano News
500
Llano, Texas 78643
Volume 109, No. 48
Thursday, September 11,1997
Deer Capital of Texas
18 pages in 1 sections
Repairs to begin at Wirtz Dam
The Board of the Lower Colorado
River Authority approved spending
$4 million to repair a potentially
dangerous hole that formed near the
base of Wirtz Dam on Lake LBJ
during the June flood.
• Wirtz Dam was not damaged dur-
ing the flood and is not in immedi-
ate danger, according to LCRA
General Manager Mark Rose.
However, the dam faces an increased
risk of failing during extensive
floodgate operations if a major
flood occurs before the initial re-
pairs are completed in the next two
months.
Failure of the dam during a flood
would drastically affect portions of
Llano, Burnet and Travis counties
along lakes LBJ, Marble Falls and
Travis. Lake LBJ would return to
river conditions, and flooding would
significantly increase through Lake
Marble Falls, Cottonwood Shores,
Meadowlakes and other small
communities along the lakes would
receive a wave of water on top of
the flood already occurring.
"Based on the past, we're not
likely to see flooding anywhere near
the magnitude that would cause
Wirtz to fail during the next couple
of months," Rose said. "But we
can't predict the weather. Now that
we’ve discovered this problem, we
have two responsibilities: to fix it,
and to tell people about it."
The L^RA has notified federal,
state and local officials of the
situation, and will be working
closely with them to fine tune
emergency notification procedures.
As a routine precaution, the LCRA
recommended that lakeside residents
buy a seven-band National Weather
Service emergency notification ra-
dio to get information during
floods, be aware of the public safety
LAKE LBJ
ST*. J *53,00
822s3 T
department that will issue emer-
gency notifications in their area,
determine their location in relation
to the 100-year and 500-year flood
plains, and prepare a personal evac-
uation plan.
The 100-foot by 140 foot eroded
area was discovered in late August
during a geological survey of the
dam. The hole, which ranges in
depth from six to 12 feet, was cre-
ated by the force of water released
through the dam's floodgates during
the June flood. The event, one of
the most severe floods on record,
marked only the > rd time all the
dam's floodgates v.ere in operation
since Wirtz was completed in 1945.
The repair project will be done in
two phases. First, the hole will be
stabilized by a "stitch anchor" sys-
tem, which involves filling the
hole with concrete, then stitching it
to the rock underneath. Steel rein-
forcing rods will be grouted into
about 300 holes drilled through the
concrete and 15 feet into the gran-
ite, and an additional 100 steel
reinforcing anchors will be grouted
into place around the perimeter of
the hole. The stitched granite and
concrete create a solid mass that can
withstand five times the force of
water coming through the flood-
gates.
.()• ■
During the second phase, a five
foot thick reinforced concrete
"impact slab" will be placed on top
of the repaired hole, and about 200
anchors will stitch the slab to the
underlying granite. The impact slab
will protect the foundation rock di-
rectly downstream of the five high-
est gates, near the area of the dam
where the most powerful flows oc-
cur.
The first stage was scheduled to
begin September'9. Crews working
around the clock, seven days a
week, can complete the_fiist stage
in about 14 weeks. The second
stage of work, including the hy-
draulic model study, will take about
nine weeks and will be completed
in early January.
Hearing slated for
proposed USD tax
rate Wednesday
A public hearing has been set
for Wednesday, September 17 at
6 p.m. in the Llano ISD board
room to discuss the proposed tax
rate for fiscal year 1997-98.
In August, the school board
approved a $12,080,762 budget.
At that time the tax rate was
not set but school superintendent
Dr. Lawrence Lane predicted a
moderate increase over last year's
rate of $1.38 per $100 of valua-
tion. The proposed rate for the
new budget is $1.45 per $100 of
valuation.
According to Lane, theirre
percent increase was needed to
cover the budget for the coming
year. However, he feels like the
number is "very fair" given the
school's 20 percent homestead
exemption.
"Our home owners still pay the
lowest taxes in the hill country,"
commented Lane. (See chart on
page 15)
The school board was given a
comparison on the taxes in'Sur-
rounding school districts such as
San Saba, Mason, Brady, Freder-
icksburg, Marble Falls and Bur-
net. Even though some, tax rates
were lower, the actual amount
paid after exemptions in Llano is
the lowest
According to information from
the school district, the average
value of a home in Llano County
is $90,000. A home owner with
a homestead valued aj that
amount will pay $826.50 in
taxes this year at $1.45. Last
year, with the tax rate at $1.38
but without the new $15,000 ex-
emption adopted by the state,
taxes on that property would have
been $924.60.
The maximum rate that could
be set for this year without a
rollback is $1.50. The state
legislature set $1.50 as the roll-
back rate.
Board President Luke Etheredge
suggested setting the rate at
$1.50. He commented that the
board has been showing good
faith for the past several years
trying to hold down the tax rate.
"We're showing good faith but
we're not really getting any credit
for it,” Etheredge said.
Lane argued that $1.45 is
enough to cover the budget and
with a pending bond election in
December or January, keeping
things as low as possible is very
important.
LISD maintains a fund balance
of about $2.8 million. Those
funds cover payroll and expenses
for the first three months of the
school year until tax notices are
sent.
"I think this board should be
commended for holding down
costs as much as possible," Lane
said. "If we go up another nickel,
it would (negate) the budget cuts
we were asked to make."
The rate is proposed and is
subject to change. The board
room is located at 200 E. Lam-
pasas across from central office.
Republican candidates
announce intentions to
run at party meeting
Bette Sue Hoy, Llano County’s
County Clerk, has formally an-
nounced her candidacy for re-elec-
tion on the Republican ticket.
Hoy had been a Democrat and had
run in the last election for county
clerk as a Democrat
Her announcement came during a
meeting of the Llano County
Republican Club held September 2
at the Sunrise Beach Community
Center.
"My personal convictions tend to
follow the concept of the
Republican Party," Hoy said. "I in-
tend to continue to serve all the
people of Llano County to the very
best of my ability."
County Judge J.P. Dodgen also
announced his candidacy for re-elec-
tion at the meeting.
Debbie Hbnig, District Clerk of
the 33rd Judicial District was also
on hand the announce for re-elec-
tion.
Billy Mills, Justice of the Peace,
Precinct #2, announced his candi-
dacy for re-election as did Kirk
Tisdel, Constable of Precinct #3.
Harvey H. Klee also announced
his candidacy for Justice of the
Peace, Precinct #2.
o Weather o
* CMitMT Wolf Mount*in Banch »
? SEPTEMBER 1997?
ft
High
Low
_ Sept. 2
101
• 71
© Sept. 3
100
70
Sept. 4
85
70
ft Sept. 5
91
69
D Sept. 6
97
64
Sept. 7
99
62
^ Sept. 8
102
71
.13
Ribbon cutting set
at Llano Airport
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There will be a ribbon-cutting
ceremony at the Llano Municipal
Airport to mark the completion of
more than $1 million in
improvements.
Officials from the City of Llano
along with Texas Department of
Transportation officials will
officially open the newly renovated
airport Wednesday, September 17 at
9 a.m.
The public is invited to attend
and refreshments will be served.
It was more than a year ago that
the city received news from the
Texas Department of Transportation
that it would be receiving a grant in
the amount of $1,650,000 for im-
provements. The grant money
comes as part of a state-wide plan
to spruce up rural airport facilities
over the next several years.
Earlier this year, Smith-Western
Engineering was awarded a bid for
the construction of a new runway
and apron along with the installa-
tion of new lights. The runway was
extended 1,000 feet and widened by
25 feet. Also, a partial parallel
taxiway was added as well as a new
beacon.
The project wa^completed in late
August.
Smith Western's bid came in
about $480,000 under the estimated
cost of $1,650,000 for the entire
project. That meant a savings of
$48,000 for the City of Llano in its
local share portion of the grant.
Part of that local share came in
the form of land donated from the
Mary Phema Moore Estate.
BREAKING AWAY .... Yellowjacket tailback, Jason Moore, breaks away from the San Saba
defenders on his way to one of his four touchdowns. Chris Hamm blocks as Moore runs away
from three other would-be tacklers. Llano won Its season opener, 70-0. See details on page 6.
Theater plans underway
Rainfall this week .... 0.18”
L* Total for 1997 ■ ... 28.33" O
V ' .......'"O
WEATHER OUTLOOK >
^ Courtesy Bob Rose/ ^
LCRA Water Resources
C THURSDAY O
Q Mostly cloudy skies ■£>•
q with a chance for rain. £
• FRIDAY
$ Partly cloudy and ft
ft mild with a low In ()
^ the middle 60’s. ^
ft ft
5 10-Day Outlook 9
C) Temps: Near Normal ©
V Precip: Near Normal ^
M 30 day outlook A
O Near Normal Temps. (£
% Inconclusive Precip. $
*»0^©4K)D*0
A report from the Llano County
Performing Arts group indicates
that things arc well underway to-
ward the rehabilitation of the Lan-
Tex Theater. In fact, an October 1
opening date is expected.
The roof has been fixed, plumb-
ing and air conditioning are work-
ing and the seats are currently being
recovered. While there are still
many projects to be done, the
largest is asbestos control.
"We are cum. illy in the process
of scheduling this work," said the
groups president Lance Center. "As
soon as this work is done, we will
be scheduling work days to do
clean-up, paint and other projects
inside the building."
A work day has been set for
September 13. Plans are to do
clean-up on the outside of the
building and work in the back stor-
age/dressing rooms. Volunteers can
call 247-5049 or just drop by early
Saturday morning.
"We have received many wonder-
ful donations from the commu-
nity," Center said. "While we have
been able to pay for all of the work
to dale, some of the larger projects
still to be done need to be funded."
Some of those larger projects in-
clude the marquis, new carpeting
and dressing room renovation. The
benefactor program has been set up
to raise needed funds for the major
projects.
"The support so far has been
great," Center commented. "It
seems that the project has the
blessing of the citizens of Llano
and that makes a big difference."
Deaths: |
Leilany Martinez I
Juanita Johnson I
Keith Moore I
Travis Kneese I
Peter Gardener I
Aubrey Lewis
George Miller
Ruby Perry
See Obits page 2 I
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Buckner, Walter L. The Llano News (Llano, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 11, 1997, newspaper, September 11, 1997; Llano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1140497/m1/1/: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Llano County Public Library.