Committee shares vision for events center

902 North Key Avenue
Lampasas
www.HFORD.com
Ford 1-800-460-4171
Volume 108 — Number 88
416 South Live Oak • 512-556-6262 ext. 27
lampasasdispatchrecord.com
Medical Forms
Business Forms
Receipt Books
Brochures
1-, 2-, 3-, & 4-Part Forms
Envelopes
Address Stamps
Business Cards
ST
OP
LO
TIP OF THE WEEK:
OK
Keep landlord’s emergency #’s
posted in a conspicuous place.
LE
254-518-3590
AS
[email protected]
E
YOUR KEY TO PROVEN MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
Friday, November 1, 2013
75 Cents
Early
voting
set to end
WEATHER
Date
High Low Rain
Oct. 28 78 60
Oct. 29 81 71
Oct. 30 77 71 0.10
2013 rainfall to date: 25.42
inches. Same date last year:
20.02 inches. Normal through
this date: 27.64 inches.
Data from the Lampasas
Municipal Airport through the
National Weather Service.
BRIEFLY
Welcome
The Lampasas County
Chamber of Commerce’s 13th
annual Hunters Welcome is
today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
the HEB parking lot.
Barbecue lunches will be
served. The $6 meal includes
a Texas-size brisket sandwich
with pickles and onion,
chips, a cookie and a drink of
choice.
Fall Fest
A Kempner Community
Fall Festival & Family
Fun Day is Saturday from
1-4 p.m. at Sylvia Tucker
Memorial Park.
Hosted by Kempner-area
churches, there will be free
games, food and music.
Time change
The return to standard time
will give people one extra
hour of sleep Saturday night.
Daylight Saving Time will
end at 2 a.m. Sunday, so
people should remember to
turn their clocks back before
going to bed Saturday night.
LISD board
The Lampasas Indepenent
School District Board of
Trustees will meet Monday
at 6 p.m. in the District
Administration Building for
a hearing and report on the
school’s financial rating.
Other agenda items include
investment reports, budget
amendmends and an updated
enrollment report.
Taco soup
Tickets are on sale for the
Episcopal Church Women’s
annual taco soup lunch and
bake sale Nov. 8 from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s
Episcopal Church parish hall
on South Chestnut Street.
Tickets are $7.50 for taco
soup with tortilla chips and
cheese, cornbread muffin,
bottled water and chocolate
sheet cake.
To reserve tickets or to sign
up for carry-out or delivery, call
512-734-2547, or contact the
church office at 512-556-5433.
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
AWARD WINNER
2013
Hill Country Publishing Co., Inc.
Early voting on nine state
constitutional amendments and a
proposed county homestead tax
freeze for senior citizens will end
today at 5 p.m.
The early voting site is the
county elections administrator’s
office, 407 S. Pecan St.
Along
with
voting
on
constitutional amendments and
the proposed tax freeze, county
residents who live in Copperas Cove
city limits can vote on a proposal to
issue $6 million in bonds to build a
fire station/police substation.
At press time Thursday, 632
people had voted in the county.
*
Election day is Tuesday, and
voting hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
PHOTO BY JEFF LOWE at five polling places. Lampasas
County voters may cast a ballot at
the site of their choice, regardless
The Lampasas High School Badger Band marches onto the field last Friday for a halftime performance during the Lampa- of the precinct in which they reside.
sas-Brownwood football game. The band, Flames drill team and Illusion Color Guard put in many hours of practice before,
The voting sites open Tuesday
and during, the fall gridiron season. The band is under the direction of Richard Hooper.
are New Covenant Church, 1604
Please see FIVE, page 14
Halftime performance
Committee shares vision for events center
By DAVID LOWE
Staff Writer
A committee that hopes to
develop a multi-use event center
at the FM 580 West sports
park presented its plans to the
Lampasas City Council on
Monday.
Committee members said they
would like to have a covered
arena that could host a variety
of activities -- including rodeos,
team roping contests, indoor
music events, family reunions,
youth events and field trials for
working ranch dogs.
A covered facility also could
host high school graduations in
the event of inclement weather,
committee members said.
It is “very, very early” in the
planning process, City Manager
Finley deGraffenried said, but
he said city staff are seeking
direction from the Lampasas
City Council about whether to
pursue options for construction
of an event center.
Arena committee members
Richard Andrews, Wayne Brooks
and Matt Harton discussed ways
they believe an event facility
-- which they said could be
developed in conjunction with
a civic center -- could benefit
Lampasas.
Brooks, a Lampasas resident
and Professional Rodeo Cowboys
Association announcer who
works at rodeos across the United
States and Canada, said businesses
often experience increased sales
when crowds visit a town for an
event. Retailers, restaurants, gas
stations and lodging places all
can benefit when a town attracts
visitors, Brooks and other arena
committee members said.
Andrews said he has attended
several events at Llano’s new
133,000-square-foot
arena
complex and has talked to the
Llano Economic Development
Corp. director about the
facility. The venue already is
booked through 2014, and the
management is taking reservations
into 2015, Andrews said.
Restaurants, hotels and other
enterprises often inquire about
the schedules for upcoming
events so they can prepare for
extra business, Andrews said.
A team roping competition
drew more than 4,000 contestants
to Llano in April, Andrews said,
and he said the city expects
4,000-6,000 motorcycles at an
event planned next year in May.
Attendance figures like that, he
said, represent a large number
of potential shoppers and a
substantial economic impact.
“If they [Llano] can have that,
we can, too,” the Lampasas
County resident said.
A multi-event center, Andrews
said, would make Lampasas a
prime destination for visitors for
years to come.
“You’re not just talking about a
five- or six-year return,” he said.
“You’re talking about 50 or 60
years down the road when our
kids and grandkids are grown.”
Committee members said
they have contacted several
companies that work on arena
development, although official
plans and a cost estimate for an
event center in Lampasas have
not been developed yet.
Llano’s event facility, built
on about a 35-acre area, cost
more than $2.2 million, said
deGraffenried, who was Llano
city manager before he moved to
Lampasas. That included more
than just an arena, however, as
deGraffenried said the Llano
facility also features three soccer
fields and about a three-acre
pond.
Talks continue about donations
for a special-event venue in
Lampasas, as Harton said
committee
members
have
contacted several individuals
and companies about potential
contributions.
Corporate help is possible,
committee members said, as
Brooks noted livestock panel
company Priefert Manufacturing
Inc. has a division that works
with cities to develop arenas.
Harton also mentioned that
Ford and Dodge -- which has a
Ram Rodeo division -- donate to
rodeos and facilities across the
United States.
Potential
private-sector
partners
might
contribute
Please see GROUP, page 14
Lometa holds hearing
on school bond plans
By CHERI JAY-WIENECKE
Special Correspondent
Lometa Independent School
District took its first step toward
a May 2014 bond election
Monday night when it hosted a
public hearing on the possibility
of school expansion.
After a hamburger meal
furnished by the district’s board
of trustees, the project architect,
financial planner and school
administration fielded questions
regarding tax rates and the
proposed construction.
The expansion project – which
would address issues with
dilapidated structures and the
need for additional classrooms,
a science lab and event center –
has been packaged at three price
points ranging from $4 million to
$5 million.
Lometa ISD board president
John Hines elaborated on the
needs of the school district.
“The barracks behind the
school
were
war-surplus
purchases and have been in
service since 1945,” Hines said.
“The main school, constructed
COME SEE THE ALL NEW
Hoffpauir
Chevrolet • BuiCk • CadillaC
800-333-9255 • 512-556-6285
802 N. Key Ave.
Lampasas
hautogroup.com • facebook.com/chevrolet • twitter.com/chevrolet
by
the
Works
Projects
Administration, opened in
1942, and an athletic/academic
wing was added in 1986. The
cafetorium was paid for by
local funds several years ago.
“It’s been about 75 years since
we’ve had a major construction
project here in Lometa,” he said.
“We’re looking for the long haul
and facilities that will take us
20, 30, 40 years and beyond. We
need to plan well, and we need to
do it right.”
A presentation by Lometa
Principal Rob Moore highlighted
some of the issues facing the
school district.
“The barracks were not
intended to last as long as we’ve
used them,” Moore said. “They
are not structurally sound. They
have crumbling foundations,
buckling roofs, rotting eaves
and soffit damage. They lack
structural integrity.
“These are buildings that have
outlasted their purpose by a great
deal,” Moore said.
Construction proposals – based
primarily on community surveys,
Please see BOND, page 5
First state Bank
oF Burnet
A place for reflection
From left, Kline Whitis Elementary School students Kalyn Mulcahy, Crystal Maurisio, Morgan
Myers, Luciana Rivera, Jonah Sanchez, Pacen Kepler, Cason Ford, Abby Severa and Emerson
Baker take in the sights of a garden recently installed in the school’s atrium. Kline Whitis Principal
Mitzi Morin said the garden and its decorations are used to inspire students’ imaginations for activities such as creative writing. Second-grade teacher Amy Bowden and her father, Eddie Bowden,
installed the mulch in the garden and added crafts that they bought at market. Additional photos
that show details of the garden can be viewed at www.lampasasdispatchrecord.com/image.
SPRING CREEK
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Let’s Talk Mortgages!
Lampasas Branch 512-556-5466
800 S. Key Avenue
NMLS# 485756 Burnet Office 512-756-2191
PHOTO BY JEFF LOWE
Ron Farr
(512) 556-1599
1203 E. Ave. F
Lampasas, $87,500
REAL ESTATE
Ron Kuker
611 Central TX Expy.
Lampasas, TX 76550
512-556-4600