Category Archives: Volente

Sloan + Parker wine bar to open in Steiner in Nov.

Katie Koran plans to open Sloan + Parker wine bar in Steiner Ranch in November. Husband, Peyton, and children Aiden Parker and Brooklyn Sloan have been very supportive.

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Steiner Ranch resident Katie Koran is opening a local wine bar called Sloan + Parker in the Quinlan Crossing shopping center in the weeks ahead.

“The community needed something like this,” Koran said, adding that she and her husband, Peyton, both have a passion for wine. “This was the right time to take the leap.”

The name Sloan + Parker is inspired by the middle names of their two youngest children: 5-year-old Aiden Parker and 2-year-old Brooklyn Sloan. Their oldest daughter Erin, 20, attends Blinn College in Bryan, Tex.

Continue reading →

Vandegrift band & Vision Dance performs “Rise”

Photos by Viper band volunteers at Festival of Bands.

Festival of Bands, Bands of America

The Vandegrift marching band and Vision Dance Co. — with its record 360 students — has been busy performing “Rise” at Bands of America, Festival of Bands and football games during halftime.

“The (‘Rise’) production works to musically and visually symbolize moving from a point of struggle to triumph,” said Mike Howard, VHS director of bands.

This is done visually through the heroine Artemis, the use of the bow and the gradual change of color from dark to light.

Continue reading →

Vandegrift veterinary science team goes to nationals

The Vandegrift FFA veterinary science team is bound for nationals this month and was recognized at the Aug. 23 Leander ISD school board meeting. L-R: Magan Escamilla (advisor), Camille Barkhuizen (12th), Madeleine Rawlings (11th), Lauren Stevens (11th) and Zach Roush (12th).

By SUMERLYN YUDELL, Vandegrift Voice

Winning the state championship is a goal every team and club at Vandegrift has, fortunately, the FFA veterinary science team achieved this goal in April against 1,600 other vet science teams in Texas.

The 2018 vet science team consist of seniors Zach Roush and Camille Barkhuizen, as well as juniors Madeleine Rawlings and Lauren Stevens; they are coached by the agricultural sciences teacher, Magan Escamilla.

“We were first out of 1,600 teams in Texas, that was pretty crazy,” Roush said. “After we got the plaque, everyone was freaking out and half the team was crying.”

Continue reading →

Stolen, defaced political signs an issue in local area

The still from a surveillance camera at Sylvia Pearson’s home shows an individual stealing a political sign from her front lawn. Courtesy Sylvia Pearson

By LESLEE BASSMAN, Four Points News

Grandview Hills resident Tricia Berry has put out school district candidate signs in her front yard during election cycles in the past, but this year marks the first time she has had a political sign intentionally removed.

“Our house is up on a hill so it’s not like (the sign) is on the street for someone to easily come by and grab,” Berry said. “It’s not in the wind where it would blow away. It’s clear someone had come up into the yard and taken it. There wasn’t anything else that was stolen — that was clearly the target.”

Despite replacing the senatorial race sign, Berry said she feels the action was “invasive.” Continue reading →