Jennifer Moran captured the event on video and posted it to Instagram reporting she was sailing when she heard the prop of the biplane die, “and suddenly they hit the water, flipped and began sinking.”

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the biplane crash into Lake Travis on Saturday when three passengers got out safely.

The crash happened near Windy Point-Bob Wentz Park on Saturday afternoon.

Jennifer Moran captured the event on video and posted it to Instagram reporting she was sailing when she heard the prop of the biplane die, “and suddenly they hit the water, flipped and began sinking.”

The plane flipped near the shore, and it reportedly took about a minute to sink completely below the waterline.
Moran posted that everyone began boating, jet-skiing, sailing, kayaking and swimming towards the plane.

“But all three men got out before the plane sank. It was a man taking his dad on a birthday plane ride excursion over Lake Travis. The dad told me he’s been fighting cancer and the son told me he and his wife just had a new baby three weeks ago,” Moran posted. “Put life into perspective for both of them.”

After they were safe, the men were grateful for all of those who tried to help, she said.

One passenger sustained minor injuries, but was not taken to the hospital, EMS officials said.
Travis County Parks Department and Travis County Sheriff both responded to the scene.

Independence Day in Four Points was filled parades, barbecue and fun activities for families and friends in Grandview Hills, River Place and Steiner Ranch.

Nancy Kotlarz, center, and her family, (left to right) Jacqueline, George, Alex and Jessica.

By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Long-time Leander ISD volunteer Nancy Kotlarz closes the chapter of nearly two decades of local volunteering after her youngest child graduated from Vandegrift this month.

“Staying involved with your kids and their school is key to their success,” said Kotlarz, a resident of River Place. “You may think that sending in brownies for a luncheon means very little, but you are wrong. It means a lot.”

A stay-at-home mom for the lifetime of her three children, Kotlarz volunteered in local schools for the past 17 years accruing a record of dedicated service and participation in a little LISD history.

Kotlarz helped open most of the local Four Points campuses and others too. She also donated labor to just about each one including Steiner Ranch, Laura Welch Bush and River Place elementary schools, Cedar Park, Canyon Ridge and Four Points middle schools, and, finally, Cedar Park High School and VHS.

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Shelley Coleman

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

Anxiety disorders are affecting millions of children in the United States, including a number of young people in Four Points, according to Shelley Coleman, a licensed professional counselor and supervisor with a practice in Lakeway.

Coleman’s been working with children and adolescents for ten years and since opening her Lakeway practice has seen an increase in patients dealing with anxiety.

“It keeps coming up,” said Coleman, who spoke to parents at Canyon Ridge Middle School about children and anxiety earlier this year.

“Anxiety disorder” is a general term, as defined by the DSM-5 (the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), and can be expressed as one or more specific forms of anxiety, such as separation anxiety, social anxiety, a panic disorder, agoraphobia or a generalized anxiety disorder.

A community of overscheduled kids
As a Four Points area parent herself, Coleman knows firsthand the temptations of living in a highly educated, affluent community that offers endless opportunities to its children, with the best of intentions.

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