Category Archives: Four Points

U.S. Marine reenlists at VHS

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Travis Ryan (right) was reenlisted into the Marine Corp by Capt. Christopher White at Vandegrift, because Ryan believes in what the school stands for. Gunnery Sgt. Pichardo was part of the ceremony on Friday night. Photo by Bill Seitzler

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

Travis Ryan, the U.S. Marine Corps representative at Vandegrift High School, was reenlisted into the Marine Corp in a pre-game ceremony on Friday at the Viper football game with Capt. Christopher White.

Staff Sgt. Ryan is a Round Rock native and enlisted into the Marine Corps in August of 2005. Since then, he has served his country honorably on four continents and in 15-plus different countries. He has conducted missions that include: humanitarian assistance, non-combatant evacuation operations and combat logistics support.

Over the past couple years, Ryan has been a part of the Vandegrift community as much as many of the faculty and staff. He noticed that this school stands for something greater than itself and has a pride in its namesake Marine Lt. Matthew Vandegrift and its motto “second to none”.

“This school embodies many of the same values of the Marine Corps such as honor, courage, and commitment,” Ryan said.

His time in the Marine Corps was coming to an end so he applied to re-enlist and was approved. He asked to have his re-enlistment ceremony at VHS because he loves the school and what it represents.

HOA board hears from community in second Steiner town hall (story in this week’s paper delivered tonight)

The Steiner Ranch Master Association town hall meeting last week was well-attended with 100 residents showing up. More than 20 attendees gave feedback to the divided board.

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

About 100 members of the Steiner Ranch community attended the SR Master Association town hall meeting on Sept. 19 at Towne Square. More than 20 residents asked questions or gave feedback to the board about its idea to shift away from its current in-house community management.

This was the second of two town halls. The first one was Sept. 14 with 60 in attendance from the community.

The SRMA board is divided on how the idea to potentially shift the type of community management is being considered, and at the speed that it is being handled.

Many in the community spoke in favor of the HOA being more efficient with the latest technology tools. But many also voiced reservations about the apparent rush to potentially change the way the community is managed when the dust has yet to fully settle from the community shifting from being led by the developer.

The second town hall started with the SRMA president, Naren Chilukuri, going through a PowerPoint presentation which included details from the consultant from Pennsylvania who was hired to give recommendations about how the community should be managed. The consultant recommends a new onsite management model along with integrated software tools.

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Kristin McLain’s Get Out Girl Paddle Jam


“Putting First Responders First”

By MADISON PHARIS
Four Points News

The 4th annual Kristin McLain’s Get Out Girl Paddle Jam will be held Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Steiner Ranch Lake Club where an estimated 100 women will paddle and raise funds and awareness for first responders.

The Get Out Girl Paddle Jam benefits Foundation 1023, a nonprofit organization created in honor of Kristin McLain, a Travis County STAR Flight nurse who was killed in a rescue accident in April 2015 in Austin. Foundation 1023 provides awareness and financial support for the mental and emotional wellness of first responders.

Paddlers at the 2015 Get Out Girl Paddle Jam on Lake Austin wave as a STAR Flight helicopter flies overhead. McLain was a STAR Flight nurse who lost her life in a rescue in April 2015.

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LISD continues permit pursuit for VHS road


Staff Reports

Leander ISD continued to work through the permitting process for an access road at Vandegrift High School, meeting last week with representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS).

District officials met with FWS on Sept. 13 to continue cooperatively working on a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) application.

LISD is seeking an Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit to construct the access road, supporting 3,700 students and staff who attend and work at Four Points MS and Vandegrift. The proposed route will run through a small portion on the edge of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, if approved.

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Skotz, Action Marine to be affected by RM 2222 road changes

Some business owners on RM 2222 — including Skot Ingram of Skotz Inc. and Aaron Sher of Action Marine — say the proposed changes with the RM 620 bypass road will affect their business in a negative way.

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

Some business owners on RM 2222 say the proposed changes with the RM 620 bypass road will affect their business in a negative way.

To help increase traffic flow in Four Points, Texas Department of Transportation is planning to create a connector road which would bypass the existing RM 620/RM 2222 intersection for traffic going to and from Steiner Ranch to McNeil Drive.

But some business owners say the issue is the road from the current RM 620 intersection to the new bypass road intersection. The changes would include replacing the center turn-lane with a divider or raised median. The current five-lane configuration, however, helps with getting big trucks and trailers in and out for some businesses.

“I’m very concerned about what’s going to happen,” said Skot Ingram. Fifty years ago, he bought the land where Skotz Inc. sits today and he has built the company to include 15 employees. “This is my livelihood,” he said.

Skotz is located next to Jiffy Lube at 11303 RM 2222 and creates steel products — some gigantic — for oil fields and wastewater projects, among other things.

Skot Ingram stands next to one of the pieces his company manufactures for the oil industry.

Skotz has large trucks including 18-wheelers and bobtails that load and deliver products each week or so. To safely move the oversized loads, RM 2222 is briefly closed in both directions. Ingram is concerned that the road barriers will make it impossible for him to move his product.

Action Marine, which is located near Target at 11118 RM 2222, will be affected too. Aaron Sher, who has been in his current location since 1992, has many customers each week stopping in for sales, service and parts.

“We have a lot of traffic coming in and out,” Sher said. “It is scary. I don’t know how (the new configuration) will affect business.” Continue reading →