By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The Four Points Middle School Faltech robotics team went up against two dozen high school teams and won the highest award, Inspire, in spite of having stolen tools and missing teammates.

Made up of 8th-graders, Faltech was one of two middle school teams amongst some 24 high school teams at the 2013-2014 FTC Connally Double Qualifying Tournament at Connally High School on Saturday.

Though Faltech did not compete without obstacles. The Faltech’s tool cart was stolen the night prior to the competition.

“We lost few thousands dollar of parts and tools. We had all our spare motors, servo, c-channel and other parts along with all our tools,” said Gloria Lam-Parker, Faltech volunteer who helps coach the team.

Four Points MS Faltechs competing on the floor.

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By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization hosted a public meeting on Monday to talk about traffic concerns in Four Points.

“If we want major improvements in our neck of the woods, we have to engage CAMPO,” said Brian Thompto to the 52 people who attended the CAMPO Mobile Meeting at Austin Christian Fellowship in River Place.

Members of the Four Points Traffic Meeting mapped out traffic concerns at the CAMPO meeting on Monday.

CAMPO is the agency that approves the use of federal transportation funds in this region that includes 1.8 million people in Travis, Hays, Williamson, Burnet, Bastrop and Caldwell counties.

CAMPO will finalize its 2040 plan about a year from now and is currently evaluating which projects will be included for the region that is projected to have 4.1 million people by 2040.

“If we want to be a priority, we have to engage CAMPO. We need to get energy behind (plans to improve traffic),” said Thompto, Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association chairman and Four Points Chamber of Commerce director of community relations. The Chamber arranged for the CAMPO meeting to happen in Four Points.

Maureen McCoy, CAMPO executive director, addressed the meeting by sharing how CAMPO works.

Maureen McCoy, CAMPO executive director, addressed the meeting by sharing how CAMPO works.

During the map exercise at the end of the meeting, McCoy invited participants at each table to identify their top three concerns related to local highways, roadways and public transportation.

She encourages everyone to take time to do this on the CAMPO website as well: Campo.mindmixer.com

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By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The River Place Municipal Utility District has notified the federal agencies that it intends to reopen the upper trail prior to Golden-Cheeked Warbler nesting.

“The River Place MUD board is delighted to reopen the River Place Nature Trail on February 7,” said Jim Casey, president of the River Place MUD.

“We’re really excited for this,” said Sandy Perry, president of the advocacy group Friends of River Place Trail. “We are grateful for the MUD having hired the right people to get to this point.”

On Sept. 17, Alan Glen, noted environmental attorney with Sedgwick Law, on behalf of the River Place MUD informed the US Army Corps of Engineers and US Fish and Wildlife Service of their Notice of Intent to Sue both agencies.

The NOI stated that the agencies have no jurisdiction over the MUD owned, conservation land and there has been no harm of the Golden-Cheeked Warbler. Glen asked the agencies to respond within 30 days.

“I had a long series of conversations with their lawyers and they were very productive. They were listening and sensitive to all of the issues,” Glen said.

“They have made no formal response so we are going to open the trail,” he said.

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By CASSIE MCKEE, LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Officials from Leander ISD will meet with representatives from the City of Austin and Travis County this week to hear their proposals regarding the construction of a new 1-mile road through the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve to Vandegrift High School and Four Points Middle School.

Pam Waggoner, Leander ISD School Board President and leader of the Four Points Traffic Committee advocacy group, is ready for the Jan. 23 meeting.

“We are not discouraged. We plan to continue working to build this road along side the improvements we want to 2222,” Waggoner said. Those potential improvements would include another lane along RM 2222 and improving the road’s intersection with McNeil Drive.

USFWS permit

LISD hired Attorney Alan Glen to work on the Road to Vandegrift.

Meanwhile, LISD is also moving forward with plans to file its own permit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that would allow construction of a new road. She said the district hopes to have the application completed later this month.

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By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

Drug and alcohol addiction does not discriminate. That is what two local experts have found in their work at Happy Mental Wellness Center in River Place.

“When I first entered the field, I truly thought of the alcoholic as the person under the bridge. And then I (treated) the doctors, the lawyers, the person working at McDonald’s, the homeless person,” said Rebecca Sheehan, a licensed professional and chemical dependency counselor. In other words, no one is immune from the dangers of substance abuse, she added.

Drug and alcohol abuse can stem from a variety of causes: social use, a medical condition, a family history of addiction. However, Nadia Bening, MD, a psychiatrist who treats adults and adolescents, does point out a common condition present in addicts.

“Our research shows that 75 to 85 percent of people with substance abuse problems will have a dual diagnosis (of substance abuse and) a mood disorder,” such as depression or bipolar disorder, Bening said. Substance use may start simply as an effort to self-medicate, she said.

Rebecca Sheehan and Nadia Bening, MD, at Happy Mental Wellness in River Place provide a variety of mental health services including treatment for substance abuse.
Photo by Sarah Doolittle

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