Helping Marble Falls families feel `at home`

Tuesday
January 20, 2015
Volume 57, Number 8
1 Section, 16 Pages
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MARBLE FALLS’ PAPER OF RECORD SINCE 1959
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SERVING THE HIGHLAND LAKES REGION
Hill Country 100 Club
lauds officers, responders
By Alexandria Randolph
The Highlander
At a ceremony Thursday
night, Jan. 15, Hill Country
100 Club directors gathered
with community and family
members to honor 48 first responders and law enforcement
officers.
The annual meeting and
awards banquet featured guest
speaker Sonny McAfee, 33rd
and 424th District Attorney, a
former officer for the Houston
Police Department.
“What I like best about
being a police officer versus
being a prosecutor is that it’s
kind of like hunting,” McAfee
joked with a crowd of several hundred, “and it’s a target
rich environment in Houston.
Being a prosecutor is more
akin to cleaning game. I get
satisfaction out of cleaning up
game and putting it in the deep
freeze for as long as possible.”
On a more serious note,
McAfee shared a message of
foundation, family, faith and
the 90/10 principle.
“Ten percent of your life
is comprised of events that
occur. The other 90 percent
is how you respond,” he said,
2015
AWARD
RECIPIENTS’
PHOTOS, BIOS
PAGES 7-9
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and told responders that having a good foundation is about
relying on good training.
McAfee spoke to the importance of having family as a
security blanket.
“Interact with them and
include them in what you do.
That’s the way to avoid burn
out,” he said. “You’re used to
making decisions for others.
It’s a good trait in an emergency situation, but it’s not a good
trait in a family situation.”
McAfee said that as the
third pier of the principal,
his faith has “kept me going
in times when it’s been real
rough as a law enforcement
officer and a prosecutor.”
He added that “the impact
you have goes far beyond
what you do day to day.”
During the meeting portion of the ceremony, Past
Chair Bill Hussey relayed that
2014 was a good year for the
organization.
100 Club... see Page 9
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www.HighlanderNews.com
ALEXANDRIA RANDOLPH/THE HIGHLANDER
Sonny McAfee, District Attorney for the 33rd and 424th Judicial District, spoke at the
Hill Country 100 Club Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet Thursday, Jan. 15 about the
importance of foundation, family and faith in the lives of first responders.
Helping Marble Falls families feel ‘at home’
Habitat for Humanity volunteers lend a hand
as homeowners invest ‘sweat equity’
EMILY HILLEY-SIERZCHULA/THE HIGHLANDER
Volunteers Finnis Corley (left), of Marble Falls, and Tim Piasecki, of Kingsland, make
sure to measure twice and cut once while working Saturday, Jan. 17, on the Habitat for
Humanity future home of Rafael and Estella Vila.
By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula
The Highlander
after their children while he and his wife dedicate themselves to the construction of their
future home.
One of the Vila’s future neighbors is Jennifer Milligan, of Spicewood, who was putting
in some volunteer hours of her own on Saturday, Jan. 17. One door down, the foundation
for her future Habitat for Humanity home has
been poured.
“I’m excited. It’ll be nice to not have to
drive into town,” she said. It will also mean
a shorter ride to school for her children, who
currently endure two hours on the school bus
each school day.
Habitat... see Page 3
Future homeowners are sweating right
alongside Highland Lakes Habitat for Humanity volunteers as they work to build a grouping
of four homes on Avenue M in Marble Falls.
Rafael and Estella Vila are hoping to move
into their new home at the end of February or
in early March. The family of five includes
three young boys ranging in age from 2 to 7
years. On an unseasonably warm Saturday,
Jan. 17, the two oldest youngsters spent hours
happily digging in the dirt in the front yard.
“We’re pirates, digging for dinosaur
bones,” agreed both boys. Estella thought
they might be preparing for careers as
archaeologists.
The groundbreaking for the Vila home
was held back in October, 2013, and the
structure is looking more like a home every
day.
“All that’s holding us up is the finishing
work, which is the most difficult part,” Estella said.
The opportunity to learn new skills and
escape one’s comfort zone are reasons people volunteer with the organization, which
has built more than 124,000 homes across
the nation since 1976, according to Habitat
for Humanity.
EMILY HILLEY-SIERZCHULA/THE HIGHLANDER
“I’ve learned so many things that I’ve
Parents Rafael and Estella Vila get their kids
never done before,” Estella said. Her skills Jean, 7, Emmanuel, 2, and Gianni, 4, to sit for a
now include house framing, caulking, and, family portrait in front of their future residence
of course, using a variety of power tools.
on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Vila family hopes to
Rafael added they’re lucky to have a move into their Habitat for Humanity home on
“church sister” who has volunteered to look Avenue M in Marble Falls by late next month.
Horseshoe Bay
Police patrols
lead to arrests
A turning lane
in the making
By Alexandria Randolph
The Highlander
A Horseshoe Bay Police
Department patrol initiative
led to a felony drug arrest last
week, officers said.
On Tuesday, Jan. 6, Horseshoe Bay Police stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic infraction and the incident led to the
arrest of two individuals.
Marble Falls resident Matthew Scott Connors, 27, a passenger in the vehicle, was arrested and charged with felony
possession of a controlled substance between one and four
grams, felon in possession of a
firearm, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and misdemeanor theft.
Connors remains in Burnet County Jail on bond of
$28,000.
The driver was also arrested, but on a lesser charge
of driving with license invalid
with a previous conviction.
Horseshoe Bay Police arrested three other individuals on misdemeanor charges
Arrests... see Page 2
EMILY HILLEY-SIERZCHULA/THE HIGHLANDER
Roadwork in Cottonwood Shores has not led to lane closures during the
first two weeks, but the noise of machines drilling through this formation
of hard rock is unmistakable. A turning lane is being added to RR 2147, a
two-lane road, which will cost around $2.4 million, according to the Texas
Department of Transportation.