By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

“Astonishing” is how Principal Charlie Little described the recent award of the Lone Star Cup to six-year-old Vandegrift High School by the University Interscholastic League.

“For VHS to win the Cup in that short of a time frame is truly astonishing. This award is significant in that it is a holistic award for excellence in academics, fine arts and athletics.  To win, a campus has to have vibrant, successful programs across the entire campus,” Little said. Continue reading →

Local good Samaritans help a Husky left in a hot vehicle this weekend in the H-E-B parking lot at the corner of RM 620 and RM 2222. The dog had been left in the car with the window cracked but was showing visible signs of distress in the 90 degree-plus heat.

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

A dog was left alone in a hot car this weekend in the H-E-B parking lot at the corner of RM 620 and RM 2222, attracting the attention of concerned bystanders.

A woman in the parking lot Sunday afternoon first noticed the female Husky’s distress, who the witness says was, “whining and crying” with her head and one leg out of the car’s window, which had been left cracked.

The dog’s cries quickly drew a crowd. Several more women and an H-E-B employee arrived to help the dog by giving it water and pouring water over its head to cool it.

An eyewitness account

The first woman to help, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition of anonymity, lives near Lakeway and was shopping that day. Continue reading →

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

Some schools in Four Points have immunization exemption rates far higher than national averages. Rising rates of non-immunization follow national trends, despite overwhelming evidence that immunizing children is safe and effective.

Most notably, Grandview Hills Elementary has 28 students out of 463 — or six percent — whose parents have opted not to immunize, whether for medical reasons or “reasons of conscience.” This is more than three times the national rate of 1.8 percent and the Travis County rate of 1.7 percent. Continue reading →

John Welsh in Boston.

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

Steiner Ranch resident John Welsh, husband and father to two boys, wants to help win the fight against breast cancer.

To that end, every year for eight years Welsh has walked 60 miles over three days in Dallas, Boston and even San Diego, raising tens of thousands of dollars to benefit the walk’s organizer, the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The annual event is known as the 3-Day, and requires all walkers to fundraise a minimum of $2,300.

But Welsh always sets his sights higher. His goal this year is to raise $5,000 for the event, planned for Nov. 5. Continue reading →

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 →