Brigid Shea

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

The proposal to build a secondary road to Vandegrift HS is located in Travis County and goes through the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, and Brigid Shea, County Commissioner Precinct 2, said she doesn’t see how the road can happen under the current laws.

Shea said that the Travis County Commissioners, at the time Leander ISD was interested in purchasing the land in the mid 2000s, indicated that “it was not an ideal location (for a school) because of the preserve land around it could not be developed.”

A school was originally not intended for the site, Shea said. The landowner had residential or commercial development in mind at that time of the original proposal with the county.

A deal was struck with that land. “The landowners had to set aside permanent mitigation land in exchange for the land they wanted to develop,” Shea said.

By law, when land is set aside as mitigation land, it is in exchange for the approval to develop other land, Shea said.

“(LISD) purchased land for the school knowing full well that was permanent mitigation land for the preserves and could not be developed,” Shea said. “It was clear at the time, the county staff had those exact communications with staff at school district,” she added.

“The road they want to build through the preserve is permanent mitigation land declared in freeing up land where VHS is now,” Shea said.

Shea does not see how that deal can be undone.

“The swap has been made. Once you make the swap, you cannot go back and undo the swap,” Shea said.

LISD’s reason to buy the land

“In 2006, LISD had an option to bus kids to Cedar Park High School or to build a new school,” said Dan Troxell, superintendent of LISD. He gave the background at the public forum hosted by LISD at VHS on May 30.

LISD made the decision to build a school in the south and 100 acres were needed. The district was considering purchasing the site where Concordia University Texas now sits but the property sold. Continue reading →

The Kingsley’s vehicle in Steiner Ranch was broken into on Sept. 8 at about 1 a.m. and their security camera captured a video of the crime. This is a still frame of the video.

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

Four Steiner Ranch homeowners reported vehicle burglaries on Sept. 8, and homeowners share some details on what was taken and what the criminal or criminals did afterwards.

The break ins happened on Rippling Creek Court, Country Lake Drive, Wild Canyon Loop and Oxen Way, all in the same general area of Steiner.

Tarren Kingsley’s wife’s vehicle was broken into and their security camera captured a video of the crime on Sept. 8 at about 1 a.m.

The car was in their driveway at their Wild Canyon Loop home.

“They did not take anything that we could tell,” Kingsley said. “In the first part of the video, they (the thief) had their hand or a cell phone up to their face and he had gloves on so they won’t be able to get fingerprints.”

On Tuesday morning, the Travis County Sheriff’s office called Kingsley back about the video.

Continue reading →

Vandegrift Vipers senior wide receiver Peyton Ausley (6) leaps to bring in a would-be touchdown pass as Permian Panthers cornerback Christian Tschauner (5) breaks it up in the corner of the end zone during a high school football game between the Permian Panthers and the Vandegrift Vipers at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, Texas, on Friday, September 1, 2017.

Vipers’ 2nd-half rally falls short against Permian

By SCOTT W. COLEMAN
Four Points News

Despite a tough loss on the road to Odessa’s famed Permian Panthers, there was no time for players to hang their heads on Friday night.

Vandegrift head coach Drew Sanders stood on the turf of Ratliff Stadium Friday night, after Permian regained the lead for the final time to win 28-24, and told his team to keep their heads high.

“You were that close,” Sanders said, reminding the Vipers that they’d fell into a two-touchdown hole in the first half. “That’s a really good team. You were that close to winning.”

Continue reading →