The Lead April 18, 2022: We got on a ride with the Kerrville Police; Sports are making an impact

Good morning, Kerr County!

The thunderstorms toyed with us on Sunday! The bad news is there's really no significant rain in the forecast for the next week. There's a slight chance of thunderstorms on Sunday — but that's a 20% chance at best. Here's one nugget from the National Weather Service's forecast: "Temperatures through the long term period will be above normal."

On today's The Lead Live!

It's our first-ever super show! That means we'll be live at 8 a.m. and going non-stop on our Facebook Live page until 2 p.m. Some of you have asked why we're doing this? Well, we want to give as many people a voice as possible. Since Pint and Plow Brewing is closed today, in observance of Easter, we won't be selling food or beer, but we will have plenty of fresh drip coffee. All that we ask is a small donation that will go to the Glory Community Garden in the Doyle District. Leslie Jones of the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau is our co-host for the day! We've got more than 30 guests booked for the show, and here's the rundown of guests:

8 a.m. — Irene Van Winkle, she will provide an update about Ukraine and her Hill Country observations.
8:15 a.m. — Crystal Smith, owner of Billy Gene's Restaurant.
8:30 a.m. — Judy Eychner, Kerrville City Council, candidate for Kerrville mayor.
8:45 a.m. — Kimberly Richards, Dwell Well Living, discussing short-term rentals.
9 a.m. — Barbara Veldhuizen, Kerr County Democrats
9:15 a.m. — Kerrville Police Department
9:25 a.m. — Clifton Fifer, Doyle School Community Center
9:40 a.m. — Phoenix Miller, singer.
9:55 a.m. — Ashley Phillips, HCTC
10:15 a.m. — Dr. Bill Rector to discuss the Heart of the Hills Heritage Center
10:30 a.m. — Capt. Jeremiah Romack of the Salvation Army.
10:40 a.m. — Brenda Hughes, Kerrville City Council, candidate for Kerrville City Council Place 4.
10:50 a.m. — Andrew Gay, Texas Hill Country Advisors financial services
11 a.m. — Dale Leach, photographer extraordinaire.
11:15 a.m. — OPEN
11:30 a.m. — Tara Legenza, Fore Premier Properties
11:50 a.m. — Tara Legenza and Karen Guerriero to discuss a Kerrville Pets Alive fundraiser at La Escondida 1962 on April 30.
Noon — Lynn Niles and Valerie Chambers to discuss a Board of Realtors event about buying and selling real estate.
12:10 p.m. — Monica Allena and Norman Stewart to discuss volunteer opportunities at BCFS.
12:20 p.m. — Ada Brown to discuss the impact of the movie CODA, the 2022 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, on the hearing impaired community.
12:30 p.m.— Layng Guerriero and Mindy Wendele to discuss Prop. A — the bond issue to finance Kerrville's proposed public safety building.
12:45 p.m. — Mikeala Taylor and John Barrera to discuss their podcast
1 p.m. — Jennyth Peterson to discuss a Boy Scouts event.
1:15 p.m. — Darrell Beauchamp to discuss the Museum of Western Art's latest show — The Heaven's Declare.
1:30 p.m. — Libbie Horton, Hillshapes
1:45 — Charlotte Benson, Always Learning Tutoring
2 p.m. — Kathleen Hudson, Schreiner University

Need things to do?

We've got you covered on The Lead!

Today's events

Collegiate golf — Riverhill Country Club, TBD Information: https://wacsports.com/tournaments/wgolf/2021-22/index The details: The Western Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championships come to Kerrville with California Baptist, Chicago State, Dixie State (St. George, Utah), Grand Canyon, Lamar, New Mexico State, San Houston, Seattle, Stephen F. Austin, Tarelton, UT Rio Grande Valley and Utah Valley competing in the three-day tournament.
Charity golf — Comanche Trace Golf Course, Noon. Information: https://www.armsofhope.org The details: Arms of Hope is hosting a Shotgun start, a four-person Scramble to benefit its work.

Today's newsletter is sponsored by:

What a weekend!

There have been few weekends as busy as Easter Weekend in Kerrville, and it zapped us on Sunday. We expect there will be many groggy people today wandering about Kerrville. However, if you did get out, there were some great events. We went to three:

Salvation Army's Easter Egg Hunt — now, they placed thousands of Easter eggs into a field and let the kids have at it. The eggs were stuffed with candy and other goodies. We saw a few kids rolling away with new bicycles.

Easterfest at Flat Rock Park — Let's just say the chili and barbecue cookoff people had all of the good spots by the river, which was considerably cooler than the midway area. It was the first time the event was held in two years — thanks COVID-19. The event is a service project of the Leadership Kerr County group, and this year, it raised money for the Doyle School Community Center and Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas. More photos from Easterfest here: https://thekerrcountyleadphotography.zenfoliosite.com/zg/2022-easterfest-at-flat-rock-park

Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters — Arcadia Live appeared to be sold out, partially, we suspect, due to the novelty of Thornton being in Kerrville. The Boxmasters put on a loud rock and roll show that seemed to enthrall people once they put their phones away. It was another great crowd at Arcadia, and another is expected this weekend when Rodney Crowell takes the stage on Saturday night. More photos from the concert here: https://thekerrcountyleadphotography.zenfoliosite.com/zg/billy-bob-thornton-and-the-boxmasters

Kerr County Sheriff's Office investigating home invasion

Kerr County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a Ranchero Road home invasion early Friday morning that resulted in the theft of cash and firearms.

Deputies said a pair of masked men entered the home in the 1700 block of Ranchero Road at about 4:30 a.m. and forced the homeowner to open a safe at gunpoint.

"Our (Criminal Investigation Unit) team will not let up until those responsible for this brazen robbery are behind bars," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said.

Deputies said they have one person of interest in the case.

"As we continue to develop a clearer picture of the suspects and chain of events, we anticipate that arrests will be coming very soon," Leitha said. "These suspects need to be off the streets and unable to victimize innocent people."

Speaking of the sheriff

The Kerr County commissioners and Sheriff Larry Leitha will attend a workshop where the Lower Guadalupe River Authority and Motorola outline proposals to revamp the county's emergency radio system. No matter the price tag, Kelly is determined to pay for the new radios with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act — an action that could consume 50% or more of the $10 million given to the county. Last week, a representative of the Alamo Council of Governments suggested the city and county rebuild their VHF infrastructure.

Speaking of Kerrville Police Department

We went on a ride-along Friday night and chronicled our evening of activity — it was eventful. Here's a snippet:

If there was one person who seemed to be able to bend space and time, it was Kerrville Police Department patrol Sgt. Ed Holloway.

"How did he beat us here," said Officer Jessie Baldwin with a zest of incredulity in seeing Holloway had beaten him back to the station.

It was a theme throughout the night, wherever we went on Friday night, and into the early hours of Saturday morning, Holloway was there — leading, coaching, teaching and counseling.

Whether or not he can bend space or time is hard to determine. That may require further scientific study. However, in the Kerrville Police Department, presence and contacts are everything. A ride-along is essential for every class as part of the Citizens Police Academy. It shows what the offers are up to — from the mundane to the exhilarating to the heartbreaking.

On Friday night, the Lead struck out with two patrol officers and seemed to see Holloway everywhere we went. And there's probably not a more enthusiastic police officer than Holloway, who has been with the department for more than 10 years.

Read the rest here: https://kerrcountylead.com/on-patrol-with-the-kerrville-police-department

Sports are making an impact

Press releases fly into the re-write bucket most of the time, or we will get to it when we can bucket. However, every once in a while, we get one that makes us go: interesting.

That came in the form of a release from Stuart Cunyus, the city of Kerrville's on-the-spot public information officer, who wrote about Kerrville playing host to two major University Interscholastic League tournaments. The point of the release was that these happened or were about to happen and that Kerrville's investment in the H-E-B Tennis Center and the Scott Schreiner Golf Course were showing dividends.

The tennis center is also set to play host to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament at the end of the month. Schreiner University is the host school.

"The purpose of the recent renovation was to enhance the facility, which would subsequently increase tournament play, encourage tourism, enhance traffic to local businesses, and provide a quality of life amenity for local residents," Director of Parks and Recreation Ashlea Boyle said. "It is great to see this vision continuing to be successful. We are fortunate to have excellent facilities and professionals that provide valuable services to our community and visitors."

Scott Schreiner Golf Course, 1 Country Club Dr., will host the Region IV-3A UIL golf tournament beginning today. This tournament will bring 180 players and spectators to Kerrville. Participating schools include Lago Vista, Marion, London, Llano, Columbus, Santa Gertrudis, Randolph, Jourdanton, Poth, Santa Rosa, Odem, Weslaco, Brownsville, Orange Grove, Lyford, Hallettsville, Goliad, Mathis, San Diego, Monte Vista, Edna, Luling, West Campus, Karnes City, Poteet, Stockdale, Progresso, Aransas Pass, Industrial, Dilley and Blanco.

But the two city-owned facilities aren't the only ones to host a significant event.

Riverhill Country Golf Course and Country Club will host the Western Athletic Conference women's golf tournament starting today. It's one of the most significant events to come to Kerrville since the U.S. Olympic Shooting Trials in 2019.

The three-day tournament will bring in Sam Houston, Lamar, New Mexico State, Utah Valley, Chicago State, Stephen F. Austin, Grand Canyon and UT Rio Grande Valley. New Mexico State is the defending champs, but Sam Houston is the favorite heading into 2022.

Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst is the leader in the WAC in stroke average at 71.8 strokes per round, and she's among the top 40 players in the NCAA Division I. New Mexico State is the defending champion. Play starts at 8 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday's final round is scheduled for a 7:30 a.m. start.

Best of the weekend from Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcdrtO4OYwO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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First River day of the Summer

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Spent a long weekend out in Kerrville, riding the Easter Hill Country Tour with lots of other cyclists. As it always se…