GOOD MORNING

What a week we've got ahead of us, especially considering it's our first two public meetings of 2022 ahead of us. The weather, however, will continue to be pleasant throughout the week. The chance of rain? Slim.

ON TODAY'S THE LEAD LIVE

On today's episode of The Lead Live, Brenda Hughes and Karen Guerriero from Kerrville Pets Alive will update us about what's going on with the organization. Of course, one of KPA's main focuses will be helping identify the needs of a new Kerr County Animal Shelter. We will also ask Hughes about Tuesday's City Council meeting, which figures to be a long one. The show starts at 9 a.m.

As far as the rest of the week goes, here's the lineup of guests:

Tuesday, Stan Kubenka, a candidate for the Commissioners Court Pct 2.
Wednesday, Rich Paces, a candidate for the Commissioners Court Pct 2.
Thursday, The Lead co-host Delayne Sigerman will chat with Tara Bushnoe of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority.
Friday, Sonya Hooten, a candidate for the Commissioners Court Pct. 2.

JUST A REMINDER

Join us at 6 p.m. tonight as Texas Hill Country Advisors Gilbert Paiz and Andrew Gay help plan your financial future.

PLAN YOUR WEEK

Tuesday

George Washington Lecture

Rails Events Center

11:30 a.m.

The Kerrville chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution hosts Schreiner University Professor Ben Montoya for the first of four lectures about George Washington. To make a reservation, call 830-792-4842 and ask for Scott. The cost is $15. Montoya is a history professor, and his first lecture will cover Washington's early years, including his service in the French-Indian War. We chatted with Montoya last week and asked him about Washington's importance in shaping the constitution.

"So, imagine if Washington wasn't there and would that executive branch, how would it form because there's a lot of suspicion against it and as you just mentioned, you know, the Articles of Confederation was purposely meant to be weak in favor of states, rights and so the constitutional audacious," Montoya said. "Here it's flipping it around saying, OK, one; we're a little nervous about democracy. You know, we're nervous about giving too much power to the people and at the same time, we want to make sure that the federal government has more power than the states, but many people were nervous about this. You know, pretty credible people. The Patrick Henry's of the world, the Samuel Adams of the world, this kind of old school revolutionaries from the 1760s who had all kinds of street credibility and all those southern states too."

Art exhibit — Shared Spaces

Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram

The show runs through Feb. 11

They are featuring work by Johnson Creek Printmakers and the Monday Artists. While both groups of artists have long been associated with HCAF, their art features a wide variety of styles and mediums.

Artist exhibits

Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, Kerrville

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the show is daily through the end of the month.

There are three separate art exhibits. "Adventure Awaits," HCQG quilts by local quilters, "Dinah Bowman: Birds on a Wire" artist Dinah Bowman shows bird-themed art, "New Beginnings: KACC Membership show" KACC members show off their work.

College basketball

Schreiner University

6 p.m., men's basketball; 8 p.m., women's basketball

The Schreiner University men's and women's basketball teams host Texas Lutheran. The men are riding a four-game winning streak, while the women have won their last two games. Both teams are looking to avenge Dec. 7 losses to the Bulldogs.

TODAY'S COVID-19 OUTLOOK

No matter our thoughts about COVID-19, today will be a challenging day as the virus continues its march across the nation. We expect more than 150 new cases from the weekend when Peterson Health reports its numbers here in Kerr County. We also expect, but hope against, that hospitalizations will see another significant jump. There are just too many unvaccinated people in Peterson's regional footprint to not have an increase. Statewide hospitalizations rose to more than 9,800 people. The state is trending toward a record number of hospitalizations. Here are some other bits of news from the weekend:

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported more than 41,000 confirmed cases on Sunday. That's an estimate. Remember, it's probably far higher.
Positivity remained at 37% — statewide. On Friday, we estimated Peterson's positivity was around 25%, which means we're way behind the state average.
The Mayo Clinic forecasts Kerr County will have more than 100 positive cases per day by Jan. 21.
Texas saw a dip in pediatric cases on Sunday to 396. However, there were no pediatric ICU beds in some of Texas's biggest cities. In the San Antonio region, including Kerr County, there are 13 pediatric beds available.
As students return to school, school districts will defy Gov. Greg Abbott's mandate against mask mandates in the Dallas area.
NBC News reported that hospitals across the country are seeing patients admitted for non-COVID-19 infections are now testing positive.

SYMPHONY OF THE HILLS KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK

We talk a lot about the quality of place, a phrase we blame on Kerr Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Gil Salinas, here in Kerr County. An excellent example of that played out on Saturday night at the Cailloux Theater in Kerrville.

Symphony of the Hills delivered a commanding performance on Saturday of a show called "Outlaws and Heroes: New Frontiers Pops." Assistant Conductor Patricia Lee and Conductor Gene Dowdy conducted an inspiring night of music.

Our favorite piece was from the 1992 movie "Last of the Mohicans." Written by Trevor Jones, a South African composer, the symphony turned in a masterful performance of the soundtrack, including the dramatic theme and a one that plays during a battle scene.

There's nothing that says culture better than a night at the symphony, and we weren't the only ones. There was probably an audience of more than 400.

The symphony was given a well-deserved standing ovation.

THE STOCK SHOW CONTINUES ON

On Saturday, more than 200 students from around Kerr County had their hard work honored during the Kerr County Livestock Show at the Hill Country Youth Event Center. It was another day to highlight the hard work of the students from the county's Future Farmer's of America and 4H chapters. You can read more about the stock show here: https://kerrcountylead.com/kerr-county-livestock-show-ends-with-a-lot-of-green

ON THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT AGENDA

The Kerr County Commissioner's Court will hold its first meeting of 2022 at 9 a.m. today. While the agenda looks routine, these meetings have proven contentious because the court decided to take $10 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. The decision has proven controversial among those concerned about the money translating into an extra tax on residents or that the county would have to comply with vaccine mandates. However, the court has said they have several plans to use the money, but that hasn't stanched the criticism.

Most notable on the agenda, from a first look, is a plan to approve a final plat for a 59-lot housing project in the Mountain Home area. The court has given some preliminary approval to the development, where homes are sited on 5 acre lots. Still, the developer's contractor jumped the gun on starting work without the final plat approved. The court should rectify that today.