Category Archives: Volente

Viper Walks connect graduating seniors with their elementary schools

Th e class of 2019 graduating Vandegrift seniors took to the halls of their elementary schools on Friday for the annual Viper Walk. River Ridge, Steiner Ranch, Laura W. Bush, Grandview and River Place elementary schools all hosted Viper Walks on May 31.

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Steiner’s Sept. 2011 wildfires remind how quickly fire destroys


This staircase served as the only remains of the Gierke’s Steiner Ranch home following the turbulent 2011 wildfire that ran through the neighborhood. The family dog hid under the staircase when the home was struck, a choice that saved the pet’s life. Courtesy Jesica Gierke

By LESLEE BASSMAN,Four Points News

Neighbors Jesica Gierke and Don Dickson are urging newcomers to Four Points, those who have moved here over the past eight years, to take precautions against the spread of wildfire.

Two Steiner Ranch families recall the 2011 wildfire, an event that destroyed six out of the 10 cul-de-sac homes on their street, Varner Court.

It’s the threat of complacency they fear now.

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Central Texas could see greater risk of wildfire in late summer, Community has become complacent since 2011 devastation

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

River Place Firewise Coordinator Randall Jamieson tells media attendees at the May 15 conference that the golf course greens behind him may be used by River Place residents as a safe shelter in the event wildfire breaks out in the community. Leslee Bassman

Although rain has been in the Austin-area forecast for weeks now, local and state officials assembled May 15 at River Place Country Club to inform residents that the regional danger for wildfires still exists later in the year.

With almost eight years between the wildfire that hit Steiner Ranch and today, residents have become complacent about being proactive to use best practices to minimize the risk of such a disaster, the experts said. Additionally, recent rains have put the threat of a wildfire emergency out of the minds of many citizens, with the added population growth indicating that some newer residents aren’t fully aware of the catastrophe that affected Four Points on Labor Day weekend 2011 when wildfire destroyed 23 homes in Steiner Ranch.

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