By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

On Jan. 1, Texas became the 25th state to allow the open carry of handguns.

And while representatives with the Austin Police Department spoke openly last year about an expected surge in 911 calls due to the new law, the first two months of 2016 have been very quiet.

“There have been less calls than expected for this,” said APD training officer Michael Barker.

On Jan. 1, Texas became the 25th state to allow the open carry of handguns but many local churches, communities and businesses do not allow for handguns to be showing.
Courtesy photo

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The Hill Country Education Foundation’s 6th Annual Giddy Up Gala united the Four Points community in raising more than $125,000 for the eight schools in the Vandegrift High School feeder pattern on Feb. 27.

Nearly 400 people attended the event at the Westin Austin at the Domain and learned about HCEF’s new tagline, “Your Viper Nation Academic Booster,” while enjoying an evening of auction, dining and dancing.

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By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Two unrelated crashes on RM 2222 on Feb. 26 left a 28-year-old motorcycle driver dead near McNeil Drive and sent six people to hospitals after a gravel truck plowed through the Jester Boulevard intersection. Traffic was backed up all day after the two morning accidents. A local resident suffered a concussion after his Honda was pushed through the Jester/2222 intersection by a dump truck’s brakes failed. Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, FOUR POINTS NEWS

A city of Austin ordinance created to preserve the city’s scenic roadways is not winning any popularity points with local businesses along RM 620.

The Hill Country Roadway Ordinance was passed in 1985 with the intention of preserving the rural landscape and feel along the designated Hill Country roadways of RM 620, RM 2222, Loop 360, RM 2244 and Southwest Parkway. Supporters say the ordinance is important because it regulates development along Austin’s most scenic stretches.

“One of the primary purposes of the Hill Country Roadway Ordinances is to make sure (the area) is pretty much kept in its rural setting and has a rustic environment to it, so you don’t feel like you’re driving down Burnet Road,” said 2222 Coalition of Neighborhoods Association Peter Torgrimson.

But as the Four Points area has continued to boom with new residential and retail development, others feel the ordinance is too restrictive and hurts small business.

The Hill Country Roadway Ordinance requires that businesses along RM 620 keep a 100-foot vegetative buffer in between the business and the roadway. The Walmart at 8201 RM 620, where this sign is, was an example of a business with a good vegetative buffer but it closed its doors Jan. 28 citing low sales as one of the factors.
Photo by Lynette Haaland

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School in the Hills students sing a song during their tour of the new River Place campus, which is a few weeks away from opening.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The new School in the Hills Montessori at River Place will open in several weeks and future students of the new campus recently toured the construction site.

This is the second campus for the locally-based school which was launched in 2008 in Steiner Ranch by Alicia and Daniel Marker of Steiner.

The River Place campus is a 16,000-square-foot facility that features a 2,000-square-foot activity room and sits on 3.7 acres at 10911 RM 2222. Plans are for the school to be open by the end of the month.  

School in the Hills students tour the new school in River Place, which will have students up to 3rd grade.

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