By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

As the mom of three children, Steiner Ranch resident and author Venessa Kimball was deeply saddened by the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. After seeing repeated acts of school violence in the media, Kimball began to question how a troubled young person could commit such atrocities. In her new book “Dismantling Evan,” released earlier this year on Amazon, Kimball delves into the topic of teen mental illness and many of the other pressures teens face today.

“Dismantling Evan” is a fictional story based in a small Central Texas town. The main character is Evan “Evangeline” Phillips, a teen struggling with mental illness. Kimball said she did a lot of research for the book including reading numerous case studies involving school violence and mental illness. She also talked to local police and drew from her own experiences as a middle school teacher in Del Valle.

“I wanted to make sure to get the characters right and do justice for the mental illnesses I was addressing in the novel,” Kimball said. Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

While Austin is often referred to as “the blue dot in the sea of red,” that trend may be changing somewhat, especially in certain areas of the city such as Four Points.

“Northwest Austin has always been a more conservative portion of Travis County,” said James Dickey, chairman of the Travis County Republican Party. “It’s part of why the 10-1 panel created District 6 the way that it did — so this area could have a voice that represented the previously unrepresented conservative viewpoint on the city council.”

Voters in District 6, which includes much of the Four Points area, elected conservative Don Zimmerman to the Austin City Council in November. Zimmerman received 51.21 percent of the votes over runner-up Jimmy Flannigan who took 48.79 percent of the votes. Continue reading →

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

The Texas Department of Transportation has begun construction at RM 2222 and McNeil Drive in an effort to ease heavy traffic congestion at the intersection.

“The $1.17-million project will lengthen the right-turn lane from westbound RM 2222 and create a dual left-turn lane from eastbound RM 2222 to help facilitate the flow of traffic through this area,” said Kelli Reyna, TxDOT spokesperson for the Austin District.

Work began recently on the new left-turn lanes at the intersection of RM 2222 and McNeil Drive. The first step has been to tear out a center divider on McNeil in order to construct dual left-turn lanes from McNeil to 2222.
Photo by Sarah Doolittle

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By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Lake Travis up to 671 feet above mean sea level and 85 percent full as of this week. The cooler, wetter weather has been part of a larger weather pattern called El Nino, which Central Texas is expected to be a part of through the end of the year, according to Bob Rose, chief meteorologist with the Lower Colorado River Authority. He shared this message in May at the Four Points Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Rose said we are in an El Nino weather pattern, which typically brings more rain and cooler temperatures.

“We are in a wet pattern now,” Rose said. May, for example, was one of the top five wettest on record.

Bob Rose says expect a cooler, wetter forecast with El Nino. He is the chief meteorologist with the Lower Colorado River Authority. Photo by Suzanne Covert

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By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Beth Webster loves stories about people who have the passion to make their dreams come true, and now she has a similar tale of her own.

On her 60th birthday last year, the River Place resident realized it was time to unabashedly pursue a long-held dream of having one of her written works produced. And so, it happened.

Webster’s play, “The King of Texas,” was staged as part of Austin’s Frontera Fest this year.

An Austin American Statesman reviewer said, “Webster wants us to get to know Sam Houston in a way that reading about him just can’t accomplish…. The King of Texas offers a charming glimpse into the character of a Texas legend.”

River Place playwright Beth Webster wrote “The King of Texas” and it was staged as part of Austin’s Frontera Fest earlier this year. After the performance, Ken Webster (director), Webster, Ken Bradley (Sam Houston) and Zac Thomas (Alphonse) gathered at an after party.

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