The Steiner Ranch gang with Everest behind them. From left, Payal Chawla, Jayant Vohra, Rohit Chawla and Nainish and Aanika Dalal.

Trek to Mount Kala Patthar,
elevation 18,515 feet

By SARAH DOOLITTLE
Four Points News

Steiner Ranch residents Payal Chawla and her son Rohit experienced the adventure of a lifetime when they visited Everest Base Camp in April.

The stay-at-home mom and eighth grader hadn’t ever even thought about traveling to Nepal to climb to elevations over three miles high.

“Friends of ours were going, and happened to mention, hey, we have a group going. I didn’t think much of it.” But as she discussed the idea with Rohit, the idea began to gain traction, even though it would require three weeks of travel, missed school and leaving her husband and 5th grader behind. Still, Payal thought, “Now is a good time,” before Rohit started high school and college.

Rohit and Payal’s only outdoor experience prior to Everest was camping with their family. So why the leap from car camping to trekking in the world’s tallest mountains? “I just thought of it as an experience that not many people get to have,” Rohit explained.

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Tiff Taylor-Chen and Leon Chen started Tiff’s Treats in 1999 from
Chen’s apartment near the University of Texas. Today the company has more than 30 stores including one that will open in Steiner Ranch this year.

By KIM ESTES
Four Points News

One of Austin’s small business success stories will come to Steiner Ranch later this year as Tiff’s Treats prepares to open a store in Quinlan Crossing for both deliveries and for customers to stop in.

Tiff’s Treats’ known specialty is a menu of 10 different cookie flavors and two choices of brownies that are baked when ordered and delivered warm.

“We are so excited to expand warm cookie delivery to the Steiner Ranch area. This area is a natural fit for us, and we can’t wait to work with businesses and residents to make each day a little sweeter,” said Tiff Taylor-Chen, who co-founded Tiff’s Treats with husband Leon Chen.

They are opening the 5145 N. RM 620 store because there is customer demand.

“We felt like there was a demand for a store in Steiner Ranch because we make deliveries there so many times a day it made sense to open a store,” said Jeff Sartor, executive vice president of marketing.

Currently, Steiner residents are served by Tiff’s Treats locations on Bee Caves Road and Research Boulevard. Customers have been willing to pay $15 for delivery by extended courier service, but having a local store will reduce the delivery fee to $5, added Sartor.

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Source: Austin Police Department, Texas Department of Transportation

Two accident reports shared

By KIM ESTES
Four Points News

Traffic accidents on RM 2222 between RM 620 and McNeil Drive decreased by 51 percent from January through June of this year compared to the same time last year. However crashes – although low in number – have almost doubled on Four Points Drive, according to information from the Austin Police Department.

Neither the Texas Department of Transportation, with jurisdiction for RM 2222, nor APD, with oversight of Four Points Drive, can account for the differences. There were no changes in signage or signals on the roadways for the first six months of the year. Neither group is aware of an increase in patrols, said their respective law enforcement public information officers.

Also, it is not known if there has been an increase or decrease in traffic on either road. Traffic counts on RM 2222 for January through June of this year will not be available until next year, said Diann Hodges, TxDOT public information officer. Also, there are no records yet for the same period for Four Points Drive, said Joana Perez, Austin Transportation Department administrative specialist.

Regardless, information from the APD/TxDOT Dataset and Fatality Database show that crashes on RM 2222 from January to June 2016 equaled 39. That number dropped to 19 for the same time in 2017.

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Bella Benoit

Ryan Palmieri

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

Three local volleyball players have had some impressive success at the 2017 Girls Junior National Volleyball Championship this year. Two graduated from Vandegrift and one is a rising senior.

The divisions from highest on down are: open, national, USA and American. Playing at this level and to medal in any division is challenging.

Recent Vandegrift graduate and four-year varsity member Katarina Mendez’s club team won the 18 USA Division on April 23 in Dallas.

“It was my proudest moment so far,” said Mendez, 5’10”. She started her volleyball career in Steiner Ranch with YMCA community sports at age 10 and she never stopped playing.

She was 2nd team all district and will continue her volleyball career at St. Edward’s University in the fall as an outside hitter.

“We are very proud of the 18 Austin Juniors Volleyball team Mizuno,” said Anthony Mendez, Katarina’s dad. “This age group has won this very prestigious National Championship twice and have also won many other tournaments. The entire team will be playing collegiate volleyball at various universities around the country.”

Another recent VHS graduate and Viper varsity letterman, Bella Benoit, won silver in the 18 USA division April in Dallas. She played on Austin Performance and left to join the West Point (U.S. Military Academy) volleyball team as a 6’3″ middle blocker.

“She loved her team and it was one of the best seasons of her career,” said her dad, Peter Benoit. “The club, her teammates and high profile tournament wins were so memorable.”

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