By VAL OLIVAS, Four Points News

School in the Hills in Steiner Ranch has a new student,—of the four-legged variety.

Page

Page is an 8-month-old Golden Retriever and her primary responsibility is to dutifully listen to children read books.

Since Page’s first day of school in November, “We have already seen results in motivating children to read an entire set of books,” said Alicia Marker, head of school and co-owner with husband,  Daniel.

“If the student has lost focus, Page gives him drive. A dog doesn’t correct the reader or make an interruption,” she said.

Page lies at the front door and greets the children each morning, and about 90 percent of the nearly 170 students stop and pet her, Marker said.

Page reading with a School in the Hills student.

Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Construction crews have begun clearing trees and building the access road in Steiner Ranch near Vista Ridge shopping center and the Real Estate Welcome Center and Canyon Glen Circle. This will be for tract MU-1B that will provide access to the the Quinlan Crossing shopping center.

Construction is underway for a new access road between the Vista Ridge and Quinlan Crossing shopping centers in Steiner Ranch. Crews will include some additional turning lanes coming out of Quinlan Crossing. The project should be finished around August. Photo by Lynette Haaland

 “We had an obligation to build a road to provide access to that tract,” said Adib Khoury, vice president of land resources for Taylor Woodrow Communities, Steiner Ranch Ltd., Steiner’s developer.

“That’s the construction that’s going on right now. It’s the access road to provide access back to the tract, to the welcome center area,” Khoury said.

Steiner tract MU-1B consists of three parcels of land. The parcel that sits closest to Quinlan Crossing and the Randalls commercial development is under contract for a proposed 246-unit apartment complex.

The other two parcels of MU-1B that are closer to the Canyon Glen neighborhood are still for sale, Khoury said.

“There are no contracts pending,” Khoury said. “There’s nothing going on with those lots right now.”

Construction has not yet begun on the apartment complex and Khoury said he does not know when it would begin.

The new access road should be finished around August. Crews will include some additional turning lanes coming out of Quinlan Crossing.

 As part of a long-term plan, a traffic light will also be installed at the intersection of North Quinlan Park Road and the entrance to the Vista Ridge commercial area.

“They probably will not put that in until there’s some development back there,” Khoury said.

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Steiner Ranch residents Jeff and Tabatha Conarko both knew they were tired of corporate America. Having traveled frequently to Europe, the couple ​—​ who were Dell Inc. employees ​—​ loved the Mediterranean diet and dreamed about opening their own specialty olive oil shop.

It was an illness that gave them the motivation they needed to make their dream a reality, as soon after they were married, Jeff was diagnosed with leukemia.

“It was devastating,” said Tabatha. “But we’re very lucky because the medication worked for him. We’re so thankful.”

Now in remission, Jeff still takes daily medication and travels to M.D. Anderson once a year, but that has not stopped the couple from opening Con Olio Oils & Vinegars.

Tabatha Conarko, owner of Con Olio Oils & Vinegars, opened their first store in 2009 in the Arboretum. Today the husband and wife team run three stores including the two other locations in the Second Street District and Bee Cave.
Photo by Cassie McKee

The Conarkos opened their first store in the Arboretum in November 2009. Jeff ran the business the first couple of years while Tabatha kept working at Dell. Then two years ago, she gave up her corporate job to focus on the business full-time.

They added two more locations, one in the Second Street District in downtown Austin and the other in Bee Cave. Tabatha said they never imagined having multiple stores.

“That wasn’t our intention,” she said. “Our intention was to work for ourselves, alleviate the stress in our lives, live a healthier lifestyle and spend more time with our children.”

Con Olio customers can sample the different varieties of olive oil before they buy one. There are robust to mild flavors as well as oils infused with such flavors as chipotle, wild mushroom or green chili.

Continue reading →

By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

Four Points video game company Edge of Reality —​ founded by Steiner Ranch resident Mike Panoff and Lakeway resident Rob Cohen —​ recently released their newest creation, Loadout, a free, downloadable, multiplayer shooter game.

Loadout, which combines stylized cartoon-esque art with a literally endless supply of weapon and character customization options, was years in the making.

Axl in action in the locally created, newly released game Loadout.

The game was released Jan. 31.

“It surpassed our expectations and overwhelmed our servers (temporarily).  We had over 2 million players after just two weeks,” Panoff said.

Steiner Ranch game creator Mike Panoff and his River Place company, Edge of Reality, released on Jan. 31 their newest creation, Loadout.

The game started as a prototype for another potential project that never panned out. But the developers at River Place-based Edge of Reality were hooked and continued to build Loadout as an original title. After four years, the game was ready for release.

Panoff proudly characterizes the process as, “a product of the collaboration of ideas from all 50 or so people who worked on it, not just the original prototype team or the leads.”

Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Steiner Ranch Master Association homeowners are invited to an informational meeting Wednesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. at the Towne Square Community Center to learn about the association’s transition from a developer- to homeowner-controlled community.

“For a community the size of Steiner Ranch, transition is not a single event, but rather a multi-stage process taking place over a period of time,” stated an email that was sent to Steiner homeowners notifying them of the meeting.

This transition will take place over the next 12 to 18 months. It will require time and effort from both the homeowners and the developer of the community, Taylor Woodrow Communities, Steiner Ranch Ltd.

Scott Selman, executive director of the Steiner Ranch HOA

Scott Selman, executive director of the Steiner Ranch HOA, said transitioning to a homeowner-controlled community is standard procedure and required for every home owner’s association. The Steiner Ranch Residential Owners Association went through the transition in 2001 and consists of 695 homes in the neighborhoods of Hancock Hill, Rocky Ridge, Chaparel, Plateau, Mason North, East Ridge Valley and East Ridge Summit.

Continue reading →