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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReporter Sept 09© City of Georgetown, 2009 VOL. 7 • NO. 9 A Publication of the City of Georgetown September 2009 Sustained high temperatures above 100 degrees and little rainfall have led to a serious water supply situation this summer in Georgetown. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center as of late July, Williamson County is in an extreme drought. Exceptional drought conditions, the highest category, extend from Travis County to the Gulf Coast. As the City Reporter goes to press, City officials are evaluating the option of mandatory water conservation measures. During both voluntary and mandatory watering restrictions, the City encourages its customers to water only between the hours of 7 p.m. and 10 a.m. to reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation. For the latest information on water use guidelines or possible restrictions, Farmers Markets Downtown Market,Thursdays 3:30 until 6:30 p.m. at 300 E. Morrow St. across from Bob’s Catfish ‘n MorerestaurantSun City Market,Tuesdays 9 a.m. until noon at 2 Texas Drive The Palace Theater You Can’t Do That, Dan Moody!, weekends Sept.4 to Oct. 11 (performed at the Courthouse) Details at georgetownpalace.com, or call (512) 869-7469. First Friday,Sept. 4 Theme: Up the Chisholm Trail,Downtown shops, galleries, and restaurants are open late with live music and a summer street dance. For details, go to the Downtown Georgetown Assn. website at www.TheGeorgetownSquare.com. The Salon at Wildfire,Sept. 9 Speaker Rodney Gibbs, Studio Designer, Amaze Entertainment. Hosted by The Williamson Museum at Wildfire restaurant, 812 S. Austin Avenue. Starts at 6:30 p.m. For details, go to www.williamsonmuseum.org or call (512) 943-1670. Market Days,Sept. 12 Handmade arts and crafts, jewelry, woodcrafts, ironworks, food, and more on the Square from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Details at www.TheGeorgetownSquare.com. Sept. Events The 4th annual Up the Chisholm Trail Cattle Drive and Cowboy Cook-off, hosted by the Williamson Museum, celebrates Georgetown’s cowboy history on the historic Chisholm Trail. The festival will be held in San Gabriel Park. In authentic cowboy dress, chuck- wagon teams from across Texas will cook up trail cuisine to compete in the kid’s dessert cook-off that begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 11. Live music at the park begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, September 12. Saturday’s schedule also includes an art show, historical trail drive re-enactors, Western craft demon- Aquifer and Lake Levels Dropping Due to Drought check the water page on the City web- site at water.georgetown.org or check channel 10 on Suddenlink cable or call the Georgetown Utility Systems 24-hour number at (512) 930-3555. Due to the high water demand in Georgetown, the Edwards Aquifer, which supplies water to a portion of Georgetown, has been dropping about one foot each day. The water treatment plant at Lake Georgetown, which supplies water for the rest of the city, has been operating at maxi- mum capacity. Lake Georgetown has been dropping at the rate of about 1.5 feet per week. A water pipeline operated by the Brazos River Authority is pumping the maximum of 27 million gallons of water per day into Lake Georgetown from Stillhouse Hollow, a larger reser- voir in Bell County. However, the Lake level is still dropping since nearly 50 million gallons are being pumped from the lake each day to supply cus- tomers in Georgetown and Round Rock as well as the Brushy Creek and Chisholm Trail utility districts. For this summer and for the future, reducing the amount of water that is used each day for outdoor watering to keep grass green will be the critical factor in being able to meet other water needs. Up the Chisholm Trail Cattle Drive & Chuckwagon Cook-off strators, a children’s cos- tume contest, serving of chuckwagon food, and chuckwagon judging. The cattle drive with longhorns and cow- boys starts at 5 p.m. in San Gabriel Park. The festival concludes with a ranch rodeo at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the rodeo arena in the park. For details, go to UpTheChisholmTrail.org, or call the Williamson Museum at (512) 943-1670. San Gabriel ParkSeptember 11 & 12 Labor Day Monday, Sept. 7 City offices closed Regular recycling and trash collection Jim Briggs, assistant city manager for utilities, talks to reporters about falling levels at Lake Georgetown at a news conference on July 17. Discover the latest news about the city at www.georgetown.org Captain Robert Hernandez, a 35- year veteran of the Georgetown Police Department, retired in June. When Hernandez started in 1974, he was one of five officers in the Georgetown Police Department. He was the first Hispanic officer on the force. Part of his duties back then were to chalk the tires and write parking tickets for cars on the Square. Hernandez became a lieutenant in 1986 and made the rank of captain in 2001. “Even though he was ser- Property owners in the City with alarm systems are required to apply for a permit at the Georgetown Police Department. Alarm registra- tion rules were enacted last year to reduce the number of false alarm calls that take officers away from real emergencies and cost the taxpayers in wasted time. The annual alarm registration fee is $25 for residential, $75 for commer- cial, and $100 for alarm companies. Multiple false alarms at the same address will be assessed an additional fee. Applications are available at www.georgetown.org, or can be picked up at the Police Department at 809 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street. For details, contact the Alarm Unit at (512) 930-3453. Alarm System Registration geant or lieutenant, he rotated his shift and he’d work nights just like the rest of us,” says Lt. Jerry Pate, who worked with Hernandez since 1981. Detective Sgt. Bill Pascoe, who worked with Hernandez for more than 25 years, says, “He is a very hon- orable person of his word. He’d show you how to do something, and then expect you to go forth and do it.” Hernandez says his retirement plans include staying busy at home and staying active. Police Capt. Robert Hernandez Retires A true jack-of-all-trades, the City’s chief build-it and fix-it man, Bob Champion, retired in June. For much of his career with the City, Champion was the sole person to call if a door needed fixing, a wall needed to be con- structed, or a window had to be rebuilt. Champion started with the Street Department in 1993 where he did concrete work, including the construction of pocket parks around the downtown Square. He became the City’s facili- ties maintenance man in 1996 and was a one-man shop until he got his first assistant in 2003. Champion’s duties included many types of car- pentry such as framing, dry walling, and cabinet making, as well as painting, plumbing, demolition, and countless types of repairs. Paul Pausewang, facili- ties coordinator, says that Champion is “a great guy—always will- ing to help.” Pausewang adds that only Champion knows all the quirks of various City buildings. “He’s going to be missed. You just can’t replace his knowledge.” Facilities Pro Bob Champion Retires The Georgetown City Reporter is a publication of the City of GeorgetownPublic Communications Department, P.O. Box 409, Georgetown, Texas, 78627. For questions or comments, contact KeithHutchinson, public communications director at (512) 930-3690, or by email at khutchinson@georgetowntx.org. Outdoor Pools Close August 23 is the last day for the City’s outdoor seasonal pools at River Ridge, the Tennis Center, Village, and Williams Drive. After that day these pools will be closed for the summer. After August 23, the splash pool at the Recreation Center will be open on August 30, September 5, and September 7. Outdoor Family Workshop In partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Georgetown Parks and Recreation is proud to offer the 4th annual Texas Outdoor Family Workshop on October 17 and 18. Choose among hands-on instructional sessions such as camp- ing, kayaking, fishing, archery, insect investigation, rock climbing and air rifle. The cost is $140 for a family of four, including the Saturday work- shop and overnight camping, or $100 for the Saturday workshop only. The workshop is recommend- ed for families with children over the age of five. Register by September 30. For more informa- tion, please call (512) 930-3595 or go to parks.georgetown.org. Keeping Young Doing Senior Stuff Keeping Young Doing Senior Stuff (KYDSS) is a program for senior adults ages 55 and older. This year- round program offers monthly meetings and trips. Participants attending the meetings have the first option to register for the trips. Costs of the trips vary depending on location, but there are no mem- bership fees. Meetings are held at the Teen/Senior Center on the second Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. The next meeting will be on September 10. For more infor- mation, please call Robert Staton at (512) 930-1367. Get Adventurous this Fall Georgetown Parks and Recreation offers several fun, safe and inexpen- sive adventure trips for youth ages 12 and up. Trips are available for all interests and abilities. The fall trip schedule will kick off on Saturday, September 12 with kayaking and paddling at Lake Travis. For a complete list of trips offered this fall and winter, please visit adventure.georgetown.org or call (512) 763-8365. Georgetown Parks & Recr eation