“The Nutcracker” will be performed at Vandegrift on Saturday with local dancers including Barclay Bull, Abi Lyons, Maggie Erdman, Ella Reeves, Hadley Rebtoy, Tessa Reeves, Carmel Lou, Hannah Liechty and Aspen Dzubinski.

The Vandegrift Legacies and Dancers Workshop will present two performances of the holiday classic “The Nutcracker”.  Ovation, a youth ballet company in residency at Dancers Workshop, will perform the full length ballet at Vandegrift’s Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The afternoon show is sold out but taking names on the waitlist.

The Legacies will open the show by performing a holiday high kick to Bette Midler’s “Cool Yule” along with another group piece, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, selected especially for this performance.  Legacies lieutenant, Barclay Bull, a junior at VHS, has performed in Ovation’s “The Nutcracker” for nine consecutive years. This year Bull will dance the role of Parent and Snow Demi Soloist in Act I and the beautiful Dew Drop in Waltz of the Flowers in Act II.

The performance of “The Nutcracker” will include a cast of 70 dancers ranging from 2nd grade through high school.

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By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

The annual Viper 10K took place on Nov. 22 in Steiner Ranch with 35 swimmers from the Vandegrift swim team completing “100 x 100s” to total 10,000 yards.

All swimmers completed the swim in less than 3.5 hours, said Genevieve Walsh, head swim coach at VHS.

The team does this workout each year to challenge the swimmers and to help raise money for the team to travel to swim meets.

“All swimmers stepped up and they did a great job supporting each other throughout the tough swim,”  Walsh said. “They have put in lots of hard work this fall so that we can be super fast in January and February at District, Region, and State!”

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QualTech Automotive owner Billy Leavings (right) in a photos with Derek Castillo of Castleview Productions at the 2016 Fastest-Growing Companies in Central Texas awards ceremony.

By KIM ESTES
Four Points News

Steiner Ranch resident, Billy Leavings, has earned recognition from the Austin Business Journal and the University of Houston, respectively, for owning QualTech Automotive — one of the fastest growing companies in Austin and one of the fastest growing businesses owned or led statewide by a Cougar alumni.

“Even with the growth we have had, I feel like we have many opportunities to improve. I don’t feel successful; I feel blessed to have the opportunity to create this company with such a great team of employees,” said Leavings, who opened QualTech in 2010 with his wife Cindy at 10815 RM 620 N. In 2014, they opened their second shop in Bee Cave at 13925 W Hwy 71.

Leavings knew when they opened their first shop that it would be profitable. “You have to believe that to take the risk and go out on your own and take on the bigger companies,” he said.

In August, ABJ reported that QualTech ranked 24th among 25 fast growing Austin businesses in the small company category. Another Four Points business, Square Cow, also captured 25th place among small companies (Look for coverage of that in next week’s edition.)

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The Austin City Council approved a controversial zoning change earlier this month to the Champions tract at the corner of RM 2222 and City Park Road. Plans for the site include a 325-unit apartment complex.

By CASSIE MCKEE
Four Points News

In a vote of 7-4, the Austin City Council approved a controversial zoning change to the Champions tract at the corner of RM 2222 and City Park Road that will allow for the construction of a 325-unit apartment complex.

Concerned residents living in or nearby City Park Road neighborhoods say they object to the zoning change because the added traffic from the apartments will make an already dangerous road worse. They say they also oppose the many variations granted to ordinances such as the Hill Country Roadway Ordinance and the Lake Austin Watershed Ordinance.

Linda Solomon, who serves on the board of directors for the Westminster Glen HOA, has lived off City Park Road for the past 16 years. She said there have been six accidents, including one fatal accident, on City Park Road in the last 21 days.

“Please do not shoehorn in something that is going to make an already known unsafe intersection and road infinitely worse,” Solomon told the city council prior to their Nov. 10 vote.

Neighbors who own nearly 37 percent of property square footage within 200 feet of the tract submitted a petition against the rezoning to city staff; however, a last minute change by the developer to change the zoning boundaries by 200 feet invalidated their petition, further frustrating neighbors.

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