Good morning, Kerr County!
We should have a nice sunny day, but be aware we could see some severe storms later tonight. The National Weather Service says there is about a 70% chance of strong thunderstorms hitting the region later tonight. That chance continues into Friday.
On today's episode of The Lead Live!
We're talking GOATS! That's right; we're talking about wool and fiber because the 34th annual Texas Fleece & Fiber Festival opens on Friday at the Hill Country Youth Event Center. Joining us are Lyn Christoph and Jennifer Kulick from the event, and we've asked Kristen Weaver to provide some expert analysis about Angora Goats. To keep up with the goat theme, we'll have new United Way Executive Director Debbi Lehr on the show to discuss her new job, and her love of goats. We're not sure how Andrew Gay and Leslie Jones feel about goats, but they will also be on the show.
Don't forget to vote
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday
- Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3785 Texas 27 in Kerrville
- West Kerr Annex, 510 College St. in Ingram
Speaking of voting
The polls on the race for Texas governor are all over the map, with two polls this week suggesting a dead heat. Last week, they showed incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott starting to build a lead on the simple message that Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke will defund the police. Most pundits and polling averages predict a win for Abbott, but the University of Texas' Lyndon Johnson School of Public Affairs released an intriguing poll that suggests O'Rourke trails Abbott 46%-42%. Here's the weird part — Abbott has a 51% favorability rating among registered voters.
Conducted in concert with Univision, plenty of data suggests that Abbott has problems with Hispanic voters. Abbott has a 55% unfavorable rating with Hispanic voters. O'Rourke has a 58% favorability rating among Hispanic voters.
Some of the other interesting nuggets from the intensive survey include:
- Former President Donald Trump is less popular in Texas than Abbott — continuing a trend from 2020, where he underperformed against the state's GOP leadership. Trump has a 49% favorability rating among registered voters, but he's wildly unpopular among minorities.
- Not surprisingly, President Joe Biden is not popular in Texas — at all. He owns a 55% unfavorability rating. However, what's curious is that Millenials and Generation X demonstrate mixed results regarding Biden — both evenly split 47% and 48% among those generations. Boomers, those over 65, dislike Biden the most — 69% have an unfavorable view of the president.
- The No. 1 issue facing Texans? Inflation, at least that's what 50% of respondents said. And it's pronounced across both parties, demographics and races. It was by far the biggest concern among women.
- And there could be a huge turnout — 66% said they're definitely voting, while another 18% said they're likely to vote.
Are we ready for winter 2022-2023?
A new federal report suggests that the Energy Reliability Council of Texas is still vulnerable to extreme weather but is still in a better position than in 2021.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said ERCOT should be able to meet the needs in another winter storm, but there are threats.
"Expected resources meet operating reserve requirements under the normal peak-demand scenario,'' the FERC report read. "Above-normal winter peak load and outage conditions could result in the need to employ operating actions during a capacity deficiency."
In plain English, the FERC believes that Texas would weather the storm. However, the Environmental Protection Agency could throw a wrench in some of the state's plans if it doesn't allow a coal plant in Bexar County to come back online. That J.K. Spruce plant could produce 1,410 megawatts of power, but the EPA remains concerned about coal ash residue from the plant.
The bottom line? We should be OK, but don't forget to be prepared.
Today's mega event features Mary Lou Retton
We're going to miss it (We can't make everything) but the 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton will speak at the Kerr Economic Development Corp.'s Business and Innovation Forum at 4 p.m. today at Schreiner University.
The daylong forum starts with a small business forum sponsored by Gov. Greg Abbott's office. At 1:30 p.m., Schreiner University's David Reast will facilitate a conversation about practical money management with Guadalupe Bank's Chris Braaten, State Farm's Amber Thomason and Texas Business Buyer's Clint Fiore. At 2:45, Texas A&M Professor Craig Rotter will discuss identity and leadership. Tickets are $25.
This week's featured event at Arcadia Live
 |
Buy tickets here: https://www.thearcadialive.org/show/americana-podcast-live/
Stuff and things to do
Thursday, Oct. 27
Live music
- The Callie Ann Trio — Joanne Marie and Me Wine Boutique, 6 p.m Information: https://www.facebook.com/wineboutique1
Spoken word
- Creepy Classics Recital — Trailhead Beer Garden at Schreiner University, 7 p.m. Information: https://www.trailheadbeergarden.com The details: SU's Flag is Up Productions will present CREEPY CLASSICS, a variety of scenes, monologues, and music meant to celebrate the mood of the Halloween Season.
OK, so we heard about the books, but what else happened Tuesday night
After nearly an hour of virtue signaling from We The People, Liberty in Action on Tuesday, the Kerrville City Council made some important decisions about the environment and managing growth.
Here's a rundown:
- The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution to begin the process of joining the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority to develop a conservation plan to protect a pair of freshwater mussels, including the Guadalupe River Fatmucket, which is found only in Kerr County. The Fatmucket and the Guadalupe River Orb could be listed on the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bill Rector, a member of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority board of directors, told the City Council that the conservation plan was a good step, and cost-effective, because going it alone could cost $2 million.
- The City Council unanimously adopted guidelines on protecting trees in Kerrville, but the key here is that these are guidelines. City Manager E.A. Hoppe was careful to note these are not regulations. In the most basic terms, the city will now advise property owners on tree removal and replacement if required. That doesn't mean they're providing the actual removal or replacement but a handy guide about the importance of trees. There's been some hope that an ordinance would come out of the guidelines, and Councilmember Joe Herring said this was a good first step.
- When it comes to alternate financing plans for infrastructure and housing, count Councilmember Roman Garcia out in voting to approve these mechanisms. For the third consecutive time, Garcia said no to a plan to manage these — this time, it was municipal utility districts. The city staff brought back a revised plan on how to manage a MUD with a list of regulations required of developers before implementing the request through the city and, ultimately, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. A MUD imposes an assessment on new development to pay for critical infrastructure. Still, it can also prove to be a problem for the city because developers just outside of the city limits can request a MUD, which requires the city to hook up utilities to the project. The city wants conditions met before granting those financing tools. The revised plan earned a 4-1 approval.
Maroon Madness takes over as Schreiner basketball teams kick off season
Schreiner University's basketball programs kicked off their seasons Wednesday night with a freestyle rap, skills contest and formal introductions of the men's and women's teams.
Like any preseason event, the expectations are running high for the Mountaineers, but with plenty of returners, both programs have the bars set high.
The men's team is coming off a 15-12 season, and the Mountaineers set a school record for conference wins with a 12-4 performance in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The women's team finished 13-13, including a 10-6 record in the SCAC.
Check out our photos from Maroon Madness: https://thekerrcountyleadphotography.zenfoliosite.com/zg/2022-schreiner-university-maroon-madness
But the biggest news to emerge from the offseason is the return of Alex Dehoyos for a fifth season. The all-SCAC guard decided against pursuing a shot at an NCAA Division I program, instead returning to Kerrville to play one more year and earn his master's in business administration.
Schreiner University graduate student Alex Dehoyos is back for a fifth season with the Mountaineers. |
During his first four years, Dehoyos started in 70 of 89 games, averaged more than 12 points per game and scored 1,079 career points. Dehoyos is in the top 100 of all-time SCAC leading scorers.
"I'm here," Dehoyos said. "I wasn't headed off to Dallas. I was thinking about it."
Instead, Dehoyos will anchor a team that returns its starting lineup, an all-conference sixth man and the conference freshman of the year. Schreiner is big, fast and athletic, but will it be enough to give the Mountaineers their first conference title since 2018?
"We are going to have two teams in our league, Trinity and St. Thomas, ranked in the Top 25 in the nation (in Division III)," Schreiner men's coach Marwan Elrakawaby said. "So, yeah, there are some expectations for our team given that we return folks and that we had a really good year last year."
But are the Mountaineers a top-25 caliber team?
"Absolutely," said Elrakawaby, now in his fourth year and coming off a year when he was named SCAC coach of the year.
And with Dehoyos returning at point guard with sophomore forward Kamden Ross back, the Mountaineers feel formidable. However, the nucleus of Schreiner's team centers around depth, with the likes of Bronson Evans (the sixth man last year), sophomore Jalen Ned (10.3 points per game), Darian Gibson (10.7 points per game) and Jackson Reid (7 points per game).
Schreiner University basketball standout Kamden Ross and University President Charlie McCormick. |
However, Ross will be on the minds of many teams this year. You could say that the 6-foot-7 forward might have been an under-recruited player coming out of Steele High School in San Antonio. He averaged 12 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last year, but he was particularly brilliant down the stretch by averaging a double-double in January and February.
"He's a special guy, man," Elrakawaby said of Ross, who has a knack of greeting almost everyone who walks into the arena. On Wednesday night, Ross invited Schreiner President Charlie McCormick onto the court for a skills competition.
Ross has also developed a reputation for giving hugs, especially Schreiner's sometimes gruff athletic director Bill Raleigh.
"I think he's found a role and a fit here at this school and location and team that works really well for him," Elrakawaby said. "That's great for us and that's great for him."
Schreiner University's Josline Hernandez is back for another season with the Mountaineers. |
Schreiner University women's coach Stacy Stephens is now in her second season, and she's determined to shoot threes and wreak havoc defensively. The former University of Texas and WNBA standout has seven players back from last year's team, including Demauria Miles — the SCAC's newcomer of the year.
"We have a very good nucleus," Stephens said.
That nucleus features Miles, point guard Elisa Peralta and returning fifth-year players Josline Hernandez and Gabby Ivarra. The Mountaineers added some shooting depth with first-year player Brie Sosa (New Braunfels), who tore it up during the three-point shooting contest Wednesday night.
The Mountaineers still face tough obstacles in the SCAC with Trinity University, which was 28-3 last year and made a run into the Elite 8 at the NCAA tournament.
