The search for a missing Travis County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputy ended Friday, Sept. 19 around 2 p.m. when her body was found in Lake Austin.

Senior Deputy Jessica Hollis was patrolling in Northwest Travis County when her car was swept away in a low water crossing in the 3400 Block of Fritz Hughes Park Road just before 2am on September 18, 2014.

Searchers from the Sheriff’s Office, as well as all the federal, state, and local public safety agencies from across Travis County and Texas Search and Rescue have been searching the area from the low water crossing to Lake Austin. Boats with divers, helicopters, and search and rescue dogs are being used to leave no stone unturned in the search. The terrain has been very difficult to negotiate and made the search slow going.

This afternoon, just before 2pm, Deputy Jessica Hollis was found in Lake Austin, not too far from the mouth of the creek her patrol car was found in. Final arrangements will be announced later.

Hollis was 35 years old and has been a member of TCSO for seven years. She worked patrol, vice and was also a member of the Sheriff’s Underwater Recovery Team or dive.

“Our hearts go out to her family and friends,” said Roger Wade, Travis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

Board approves region’s first new water supply reservoir in decades,

Adopts changes to Water Management Plan application

The LCRA Board of Directors on Wednesday took historic action to expand and protect the water supply of the lower Colorado River basin.

The Board unanimously:

• Gave final approval to the first new water supply reservoir in the lower Colorado River basin in decades. The 40,000 acre-foot off-channel reservoir near Lane City in Wharton County could be filled several times a year, adding up to 90,000 acre-feet of firm water to the region’s supply.

• Agreed to revise LCRA’s 2012 proposed amendments to the Water Management Plan, which sets out how water from lakes Travis and Buchanan is managed. LCRA staff now will finalize the application, which will go to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for action.

Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

A proposal by the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association to purchase an 84-acre property at RM 620 and Quinlan Park Road in Steiner Ranch from Taylor Morrison and other private landowners has fallen through, according to SRNA Chairman Brian Thompto.

Taylor Morrison is currently planning to build 150 two- to three-bedroom duplexes on the tract, known as Mixed Use #14 or MU14, as early as this winter.

SRNA opposes MU-14 duplexes

Thompto discussed the project at the May 28 Steiner Ranch community meeting and said SRNA does not support the duplex development for several reasons. First, due to the topography of the tract, developers will only be able to build one entry road for the site, which will be on Quinlan Park Road, across from the entrance to Quinlan Crossing.

In addition, vehicles leaving the property would only be allowed to turn right toward RM 620. He said that families wanting to access schools or neighborhood amenities would either have to make an illegal U-turn at an already dangerous intersection or go far out of their way on RM 620 just to access the neighborhood.

“Our neighborhood association for the last two and a half years has been actively encouraging (Taylor Morrison) that we think this is a very bad fit for this property due to traffic flow,” Thompto said. “We are not the only ones. Everyone who sees this says this does not make any sense. This is not a good fit for that property.”

Thompto said the duplex project was rejected by the county twice for not having at least two access points, which is required for developments with more than 30 units. After hiring an attorney, however, he said Taylor Morrison was granted an administrative waiver that allowed them to move forward with the project.

Additionally, Thompto called the MU-14 tract the “front door” of Steiner Ranch and said the project does not make sense aesthetically. The addition of that many families would also put additional pressure on the already-crowded schools. Continue reading →

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

A local, summer robotics team ​pushed Texas to second place in the nationwide Zero Robotics competition. In mid-August, the local Zero Robotics team named Astro Stryke worked with astronauts at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Austin is a very competitive, academic environment. I was very proud to represent Austin and Texas and come out on top of the many qualified competitors across the US,” said Rice Province, Vandegrift HS freshman.

Nine states were invited to participate in Zero Robotics, which was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is the first year Texas was invited to participate, and only five teams were selected out of hundreds of applicants in the state.

“We are very fortunate to be selected along with Kealing MS in Austin,”said Gloria Lam-Parker, volunteer coordinator and Hill Country Education Foundation board member. HCEF supported the program.

Four Points MS and Canyon Ridge MS students made up the summer Zero Robotics team. Some of those team members are now VHS freshmen.

Zero Robotics roster:
Nathan Beasley – 9th VHS (FPMS)
Mack Parker – 9th VHS (FPMS)
Rice Province – 9th VHS (FPMS)
Logan Everitt – 9th VHS (CRMS)
Nick Rosas – 9th VHS (CRMS)
Nicholas Chan – 8th CRMS
Will Pasquarette – 8th CRMS
Stefano Bonilla – 8th CRMS
JJ Parker – 7th FPMS
Photo by Lynette Haaland

Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Beginning this fall, Leander ISD students will be required to complete a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training course before they can graduate from high school, due to legislation passed during the 2013 Texas legislative session. Texas will be among 17 states now requiring all high school students to complete CPR training before graduation.

The American Heart Association has worked closely with state legislators in Texas and 16 other states to pass laws that will require high school seniors to have completed basic CPR training before they graduate. The program gives school districts the flexibility to place the training in any class and will allow the districts to offer the training anytime between 7th and 12th grades.

courtesy photo

Continue reading →