Category Archives: River Place

Packed house for Travis County meeting on Dec. 11 in Steiner on evacuation route, Residents share feedback

Brian Thompto, Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association chair, moderates the Dec. 11 meeting with Travis County in Steiner Ranch. LYNETTE HAALAND

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

More than 150 people crowded into Towne Square Community Center  on Dec. 11 as Steiner Ranch residents listened to Travis County’s presentation about proposed evacuation routes, asked questions and gave feedback.

The project has been in the works for years since the 2011 fires that destroyed 23 homes in Steiner. The project was approved $2.7 million in funding in early 2017.

Lately the county shared that more funds are needed to build an evacuation road. That is one reason last week’s presentation from the county focused on route F which is the only option that also would be a permanent road.

Creating a permanent road would allow the project to be eligible for funds from other sources such as Texas Department of Transportation and CAMPO, according to Brigid Shea, Precinct Two County Commissioner who was at the Dec. 11 meeting. Continue reading →

Evacuation route plans meet opposition, Travis Co. shifts plans to permanent road

Travis County officials met strong opposition from local residents during a Dec. 5 meeting in Steiner Ranch when the county was looking for community feedback on the chosen evacuation route called F, marked on the map in red.

Note: The evacuation route will be discussed during a special combined Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association and Steiner Ranch Master Association meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 11 starting at 6 p.m. at Towne Square 12550 Country Trails Ln.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Local residents strongly opposed plans presented for a so-called Travis County emergency evacuation route during a presentation on Dec. 5 in Steiner Ranch. The proposed $7.1 million road that measures three fourths of a mile would connect RM 620 to Flat Top Ranch Road beginning near Westridge Park.

Residents at the meeting who live near the proposed road, which is also called route F, said they do not want a permanent road there.

Residents reiterated multiple times that they were not informed when the county shifted the scope of the evacuation road project to emphasize a route that could also be used as a permanent, general use, continuous road.

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Local student wins $100,000 from Dr Pepper

Local University of Texas student Alina Scarlett won $100,000 on Saturday in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway contest.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Alina Scarlett, a local University of Texas student, won $100,000 for college tuition from Dr Pepper on Saturday by throwing the most number of footballs into an oversized Dr Pepper can and winning a halftime contest at the SEC Championship game of the University of Alabama vs the University of Georgia in Atlanta.

Scarlett — a communication sciences and disorders major who will graduate in May —  was watching the Red River Showdown with her family in Steiner Ranch when former Longhorn and pro football player Vince Young was promoting the contest. He and another football personality were tossing footballs into the target.

Scarlett, who is also an intern in the youth department at Austin Baptist Church, thought the game looked like something she could do.

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Homeschool student steps in to save VHS’ “Sound of Music”

Homeschool student John Paul Kinney, who played Captain von Trapp, stepped in to help the Vandegrift theater department in a pinch to put on “The Sound of Music”. He drove some 20 miles to come in for practice each day. ANGELA PHAN

By HARSHITA AVIRNENI, Vandegrift Voice

The show must go on. Homeschooled senior John Paul Kinney played the role of Captain von Trapp in the Vandegrift theater production “The Sound of Music”. Kinney was asked to fill in three weeks before opening night after the original cast member junior Sam Smoot got pneumonia.

“I love the show and the role,” said Kinney, of northeast Austin who lives some 20 miles from Vandegrift. He was excited to be asked to play Captain von Trapp. “I’m a pretty reserved kind of guy but the first word to come out of my mouth was ‘abso-freaking-lutely’.”

Director Celeste Schneider said she asked all the boys in theater and choir if they would be able to fill in but no one could.

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