Good morning, Kerr County!

We're still in that pattern of unsettled weather for the next few days across Kerr County! There are chances of thunderstorms through at least Monday. We drove across the G Street bridge last night and saw water running over those Guadalupe River dry spots — certainly a good sign. We can still expect hot and humid temperatures through the weekend. In the words of Kerr County Precinct 4 Commissioner Don Harris — we can use some rain.

On today's episode of The Lead Live!

Whataburger! We all know how you people love the Whataburger, and they will be visiting the show today. The crew from the Kerr County franchises will join us to discuss the new store along Memorial Highway, and maybe a glimpse of what's to come from the menus. The Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau's Leslie Jones updates us on weekend events and Texas Hill Country Advisors Andrew Gay tells us what's up with the financial markets.

KPUB sponsors today's newsletter!

Get ready for Public Power Week Oct. 2-8, with the Bucket Truck Ride Event

The Kerrville Public Utility Board (KPUB) is hosting a family-friendly event to meet our heroes in hardhats while we celebrate Public Power Week!

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, October 8, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., to join us in Louise Hays Park for a free community event!

This will be a free community event with family-friendly activities that will include taking a ride in one of KPUB’s bucket trucks, arc & spark demos, line worker tool displays, photo ops with our linemen, face painting and more.

KPUB will be providing free hot dogs, chips and refreshments on a first-come, first-served basis, as well as a free t-shirt for the first 100 attendees. For more information: https://www.kpub.com/community/public-power-week/

Fugitive murder suspect is arrested

A Wisconsin man wanted in a suspected drug-related murder was arrested Thursday in Green Bay, Wisc. Alejandro Cantu was taken into custody, ending a manhunt that covered Texas and Wisconsin. Authorities believe Cantu spent time in Ingram, where his brother and another acquaintance were arrested last month. Green Bay police tracked Alejandro Cantu with the help of a license plate reader. Cantu is being held on a $2 million bond. Read more here: https://www.wlox.com/video/2022/09/01/murder-suspect-alejandro-cantu-captured-with-help-license-plate-readers/

KPUB says be on the look for an imposter

The Kerrville Public Utility Board said there is a potential scam involving individuals falsely positioning themselves as employees and contractors of the utility.

KPUB said it has received reports from customers recently about individuals going door-to-door pretending to be KPUB-affiliated solar and energy rebate services.

"Reports state these individuals are in unmarked vehicles and are wearing yellow vests," KPUB said in a press release. "As a reminder, KPUB does not sponsor, partner or affiliate directly with any solar or energy-efficiency contractors. Any of our KPUB contractors will be in marked vehicles with a KPUB logo."

KPUB has also received reports of an individual going door-to-door in an attempt to make in-home visits posing as a KPUB employee to conduct energy audits.

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P&Z faces tough decisions on short-term rentals, zoning change

If you want to spend a lot of quality time learning about local government's ins and outs, just spend an hour or two, sometimes three, with the Kerrville Planning and Zoning Commission.

It wasn't quite three hours, but Thursday afternoon's planning and zoning meeting turned into another lengthy affair with seven short-term rental conditional use permits to slog through and then the return of a housing project that continues to pester the folks in Riverhill.

Originally, P&Z faced eight short-term rental approvals, but an applicant removed one at the last minute. No matter the situation, short-term rentals face significant opposition from neighbors across Kerrville, which showed Thursday.

Facing a wave of conditional-use permits before the City Council makes expected changes to city ordinances, the P&Z approved six of the seven and then deadlocked on a seventh.

The situation with short-term rentals — those that can serve as housing for professionals or vacation escapes — is proving to be a dividing line between property owners. The City Council could make changes to the ordinances in the coming weeks, which would restrict short-term rentals to specific zones in the city.

However, until that happens, and as Planning Director Drew Paxton reminded everyone, the city is operating under its current ordinances, which allows them everywhere with a permit.

But P&Z is frequently swayed by impassioned pleas from neighbors, leading to rejections that the City Council has overturned. In one case, a home on Loop 13 — a narrow street that partially fronts the Guadalupe River and Louise Hays Park — neighbors mounted significant opposition against the proposal. On the other hand, the short-term rental owner argued she had invested substantially in overhauling the aging home to make it attractive to rent.

It was the one time, at least in recent weeks, there was an initial motion to reject the permit. That failed 4-2, then passed by the same margin to allow the CUP to move forward. Those approved were:

1602 Quinlan Creek,
2101 Arcadia Loop,
1425 Lois St.
130 Loop 13.
309 Guadalupe St.
337 Guadalupe St.

While all that happened in the first part of the meeting, the question of a 36-acre tract of land — bounded by residential estate lots — came back to the P&Z after the City Council unanimously shot down a plan to re-zone the Medina Highway property from the estate-size lots to a high-density residential district. The rejection sunk a bid to build 366 apartments on the site, granting a big win to Rivehill residents who stridently opposed the plan.

Unhindered by the previous defeat, the developer — a group called Trophy Properties, proposed another zoning change — this time to medium residential. With this change, the 36 acres would become more than 200 duplexes.

Once again, Riverhill residents stood at the ready to turn the proposal back. Bill White, the head of the Riverhill Homeowner's Association, told the P&Z that more than 300 signatures called for rejecting the plan, which probably wouldn't change.

The big issue for Riverhill residents is the potential for significant traffic on Riverhill Boulevard — a congested and busy thoroughfare connecting Bandera and Medina highways.

However, despite the opposition, P&Z approved the zoning change 5-1.

Today's newsletter is sponsored by the Texas Hill Country Podcast

Check out the Texas Hill Country Podcast with our good friend Tom Fox. This week, Tom chats with Andrew Gay and Gilbert Paiz, our other good friends from Texas Hill Country Advisors! Listen here: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net/the-hill-country-advisors/?fbclid=IwAR0MaSueKw-NHUjmPAQzs0ep_xe38FbWeCBwKiCP2LgF9BEFzpCuVCDNdQY

Training day for the unthinkable

In the halls of shuttered Peterson Middle School, Kerrville police and fire work with Kerr County Sheriff's deputies to complete a training scenario involving an active shooter. One team moved in to assist, as another team takes a wounded person out of the school.

In the months before an 18-year-old gunman walked into a Uvalde elementary school, five Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police force members completed active shooter training.

When that gunman savagely murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on May 24, responding officers failed to adhere to the training — leading to chaos and many questioning the seriousness of active shooter training.

The notion of stop the killing, stop the bleeding — a doctrine developed in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre — looked like an abject failure.

"At Robb Elementary, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety," wrote a special commission of the Texas Legislature.

In years past, law enforcement would have never been able to break down locked doors, but on Thursday they had that opportunity at the shuttered Peterson Middle School campus in Kerrville.

For Kerr County's law enforcement community, the failures of that day are already shaping their approach to training.

"I'm sure that resides in the back of everyone's mind that we want to do better," Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall said.

For much of this week, Kerrville's fire and police departments joined the Kerr County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Public Safety for a rare training opportunity. With the former Peterson Middle School slated for demolition, the region's public safety departments are taking the opportunity to train in the shuttered school.

"In my 25 years with the department, I've never had an opportunity like this to do joint training," Kerrville Fire Chief Eric Maloney said.

That opportunity is to work on a large campus with wide hallways and darkened rooms. It provides public safety officials a chance to engage officers, deputies, firefighters and paramedics in a wide range of scenarios.

And the best part of it, at least according to Maloney, is they don't have to worry about breaking anything — in fact, they're encouraged to have at it.

On Thursday, as officials from the city of Kerrville and Kerrville Independent School District observed, squads of law enforcement and paramedics simulated an active shooter response in the expansive ruins of the former school. The demolition firm, J.R. Ramos and Sons, permitted the agencies to do the training.

"We want to get as many folks as close to real-world experience as we can," McCall said. "I think each group that runs through this scenario through this building has a little bit of a different experience to take that back and share that with their peers. So, we're hoping to get lots of lessons learned."

There were several law enforcement scenarios during each training day, but active shooter training remains top of mind. Simulating a school shooting, squads of four officers teams had to make entry into the campus forcibly — it wasn't always easy.

Once past the doors, the team made its way down the long halls, encountering a witness to the shooting and then responding to shots fired.

The exact measurements of the hallways weren't top of mind, but in the darkened school, the fast walks of the responders seemed slow — and that's on purpose. They moved fast, turned a corner and came across a wounded victim (a volunteer actor), who was their only indication of what was in front of them.

"This is a rare opportunity for us to get to go into a building where we don't have to really worry about breaking something," McCall said. "That's the point of this is they are having to force entry on things. These are things we don't often get to train real-world on."

With security leading the way, Kerrville Fire Department paramedics prepare to help the wounded during a training exercise on Thursday.

As they turned into a classroom, a lead sheriff's deputy fired into the classroom with simulated rounds, hitting the suspect. However, now the real work began — to stop the bleeding. Strewn across the room were wounded (actors). Shortly behind that first team was a squad of law enforcement and paramedics to begin the triage.

"This joint training is key," said Maloney, adding that the training is essential to understand the working relationships in multi-agency response.

In Uvalde, questions of command were present from the start and by the time the shooter was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team, there was more than 370 law enforcement personnel at the school.

Wade Ivey, KISD's assistant superintendent, was on hand for the training and explained some of the unified command approaches in which the district would play a role — if the unthinkable happened. That role is established with the district instructing parents about where they would reunite with their children, how to handle the media, onlookers and parents who want to enter the grounds.

And for law enforcement participants, they faced scrutiny from trainers from their respective departments and input from those at other agencies.

The training will continue through next week, especially for the fire department, which gets an opportunity to train at night on the campus.

Schreiner University adds to its memorial of those who sacrificed for their country

Schreiner Institute Director Shannon Deville reads the names of Schreiner students listed as missing in action or prisoners of war.

A research project by students and staff of Schreiner University's military prep school — the Schreiner Institute — uncovered 22 previously unknown former students listed as missing in action or prisoners of war — mainly from World War II and Vietnam.

On Thursday, the university unveiled a new plaque dedicated to those men. Several are already recognized by a university memorial, highlighting the names of 102 students who lost their lives, but this new memorial adds greater context.

"It's pretty astounding to know that we have that many individuals who sacrificed so much," said Shannon Deville, a former marine who now leads the Schreiner Institute.

Schreiner's toll in World War II is particularly astounding, considering how small it was then, but its roots focused on military training and readiness. Several of those killed were in the early part of World War II — many in the Pacific.

"It's an extraordinary commitment to service and country," said Schreiner University President Charlie McCormick.

Deville noted that these new names appear to U.S. Army Air Corps — the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force.

"A lot of these may have been pilots," said Deville, adding there is ongoing research into the military histories of those who served.

Today's events

Recurring events

Kerr Arts Exhibits — Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: https://www.kacckerrville.com The details: Three art exhibits. Paintings by James Crouse, “Images” KACC judged membership show, “Photoquest” a judged exhibit featuring images captured by members of the Kerrville Camera Club. Artists reception August 27th, 1-3 p.m.
Luckenbach Legacy, Hondo's Daughter, Becky Crouch Patterson Exhibition — Museum of Western Art, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: The details: Becky Crouch Patterson, a fifth-generation Texan whose father was the legendary developer of historic tiny-town Luckenbach, made famous by Waylon Jennings's classic song, "Let's Go to Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love." This is Patterson's original art, described as a marriage of Texas Folk Art and Fine Art, plus textiles, memorabilia and works from her life. In addition to her work, Hondo and Luckenbach artifacts fill three cases.
Hill Country Arts Foundation Member's Show — Hill Country Arts Foundation, Ingram, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Information: https://www.hcaf.com The details: Featuring art by HCAF member artists.
Vicki Keese Art Exhibit — Kerrville Hills Winery, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 30. Information: https://www.dancingdogsdesign.com The details: Artist Vicki Keese has an exhibition at Kerrville Hills Winery through the end of October. Stop by and enjoy some great wine and art. The show includes various original art to enhance the walls of your home, business and outdoor space.

High school football

Ingram Tom Moore at Comfort, 7 p.m.
Iraan at Center Point, 7 p.m.
Tivy at San Antonio Davenport, 7 p.m.
RRAA at Our Lady of the Hills, 7 p.m.

Markets and Sales

Kerrville Farmer's Market — Butt Holdsworth Memorial Library, 4 p.m. Information: https://www.kerrvillefarmersmarket.com The details: There are some key changes to the market, with new management, and some additions and subtractions to the lineup. There's a wide variety of locally sourced produce, meat, eggs, bread, cheese, beer, wine and a selection of prepared food, all sourced within the Texas Hill Country.

Religious

Goodness of God — Inn of the Hills, 6:30 p.m. Information: https://www.forgeministries.org The details: Forge Ministries 8th annual family conference. The theme this year is The Goodness of God. A search to see what the Scriptures say about God being good and how He is good in all His doings.

Performing Arts

The Nerd — Hill Country Arts Foundation, 7:30 p.m. Information: https://www.hcaf.com The details: Willum Cubbert has often told his friends about the debt he owes to Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who saved his life after he was seriously wounded in Vietnam. He has written to Rick to say that, as long as he is alive, "you will have somebody on Earth who will do anything for you" —so Willum is delighted when Rick shows up unexpectedly at his apartment on the night of his thirty-fourth birthday party. But his delight soon fades as it becomes apparent that Rick is a hopeless "nerd" —a bumbling oaf with no social sense, little intelligence and less tact. And Rick stays on and on, his continued presence among Willum and his friends leading to one uproarious incident after another until the normally placid Willum finds himself contemplating violence—a dire development which, happily, is staved off by the surprising "twist" ending of the play.

Science and Nature

1-on-1 with a naturalist — Riverside Nature Center, 10 a.m. Information: https://www.riversidenaturecenter.org The details: Naturalist, author, and columnist Jim Stanley and Texas Master Naturalist and native plant enthusiast John Hucksteadt will be available to meet one-on-one to answer questions, and discuss various topics, or listen to ideas about nature.
Matthew Butler — Arcadia Live, 7 p.m. Information: https://www.thearcadialive.org The details: Enjoy a magical evening of music, drinks and sunset along The Guadalupe River on the back deck at Arcadia Live.
Bradley Sherrer — Cafe at the Ridge, 6 p.m. Information: https://www.shopsattheridge.com
The Partners — Pint and Plow Brewing Co., 6 p.m. Information: https://www.pintandplow.com The details: A little punk a little country, live on the patio stage.
Braydon Zink — Southern Sky Music Cafe, 7 p.m. Information: https://www.southernskymusiccafe.com
Cornbread — Trailhead Beer Garden at Schreiner University, 7:30 p.m. Information: https://www.trailheadbeergarden.com The details: Cornbread is a country artist and native Texan. Many artists have greatly influenced his vocal styles, such as Diamond Rio, Joe Diffie, Mark Chesnutt, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Shenandoah, Bob Seger, Clint Black, Chris Stapleton, Tracy Lawrence, George Strait, and Garth Brooks.
Mark Odom Band — Pier 27 River Lounge and Pizzeria, 8 p.m. Information: 830-896-7437.
Bill Mahko — Joanne Marie and Me Wine Boutique, Ingram, 6 p.m. Information: https://www.facebook.com/wineboutique1
Brandon Toomey — La Escondida 1962, 7:30 p.m. Information: laescondida1962@gmail.com

Dance

Learn to Belly Dance — Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, 6 p.m. Information: The Cheeky Peacocks Dance Company The details: Bring a yoga mat, a bottle of water and a friend! The class is $10.

Saturday, Sept. 3

Markets and sales

Hill Country Market Days and Swap Meet — Hill Country Youth Event Center, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Information: https://www.kerrmarketdays.org The details: Market Days continues to feature artists and crafters bringing their own original handcrafted jewelry, fiber, wood, metal, soaps, lotions and home decor, and unique, one-of-a-kind items. Indoors, free parking and leashed-pet friendly. Be sure and visit Kerrville Pets Alive! booth. Pet some animals, grab some swag and see how Kerrville Pets Alive! benefits the Kerr County pets.
Heart of the Hills Farmers Market — River Hills Mall parking lot, 8 a.m. Information: 830-370-7476

Live music

Britt Ballenger Band — Crider's Rodeo and Dancehall, 8 p.m. Information: https://cridersrandd.com/band-lineup
Reuben Darnell — Cafe at the Ridge, 6 p.m. Information: https://www.shopsattheridge.com
Noel Bullard — Southern Sky Music Cafe, 7 p.m. Information: https://www.southernskymusiccafe.com
Ellis Bullard — Trailhead Beer Garden at Schreiner University, 8 p.m. Information: https://www.trailheadbeergarden.com The details: Good-time Honky Tonk band from Austin, Ellis Bullard for September's "First Saturday Dance" at Trailhead.
RXS Band — Pier 27 River Lounge and Pizzeria, 8 p.m. Information: 830-896-7437.