Good morning, Kerr County!

The National Weather Service started raising concerns about the warm and dry weather in the Hill Country, especially as some gusty winds began to show up in the afternoon on Wednesday. Those conditions could lead to fire dangers, and it looks like we'll be in this pattern for several days. Here's a look at September's historic rain patterns and where we could end up in 2022:

On today's The Lead Live!

The American Red Cross' Richard McAlister joins us to update us on the response to Hurricane Ian, which tore up Florida and is now making a slow and soggy journey into the Carolinas. Texas Hill Country Advisors Andrew Gay and Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau's Leslie Jones will tell us about stuff and things. On Friday, Arcadia Live's Stacie Leporati and Meredith Tilley Crook join the show to tell us about October programming at the historic entertainment venue.

Upcoming Featured Events

Mark your calendar for Public Power Week Oct. 2-8, and the Bucket Truck Rides

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/

Our five best bets for the weekend

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, here are a few things we think might be fun.

Performing arts

• Leading Ladies — The Cailloux Theater, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday. Information: https://www.playhouse2000.com The details: Two down-at-the-heels Shakespearean actors try to take advantage of a rich Pennsylvania widow who is looking to leave her fortune to missing relatives. They plan to impersonate the lost nephews "Max" and "Steve," and are surprised when the pair turn out to actually be nieces "Maxine" and "Stephanie." Undeterred, the pair continue the ruse by assuming female form. Their ploy becomes even more complicated when love enters the picture, and the laughs just keep on coming.

Live music

• Jake Asbury — Arcadia Live!, 7 p.m. Friday. Information: https://www.thearcadialive.org The details: Enjoy an evening on the deck at Arcadia Live!

Car shows

• Cars and Coffee — Billy Gene's Restaurant, 8 a.m. Saturday Information: https://www.billygenes.com The details: Antiques, sports cars, lifted trucks, slammed trucks, Jeeps, and project cars.

Critters

• Blessing of the Animals — St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 4 p.m. Sunday. Information: https://www.stpeterskerrville.com The details: Bring your pet for a special blessing. Participating pets will receive a certificate and a St. Francis medallion. Please consider bringing dog and cat food donations to benefit Kerrville Pets Alive!. For specific items needed, see their website at www.kerrvillepetsalive.com. Pets must be restrained or in a crate.

Collegiate sports

• Women's volleyball — Schreiner University, 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. The Mountaineers host Colorado College (10 a.m.) and Trinity University (4 p.m.), both nationally ranked programs. Trinity is the No. 2-ranked team in the nation in NCAA Division III; Colorado College is ranked No. 24.

5 things we learned from the Kerrville City Council meeting

J.R. Ramon gives a smile to Kerrville Mayor Judy Eychner while receiving the Kerrville Kindness Award.

Kerrville's City Council meeting exceeded all expectations Tuesday night for length (six hours, 15 minutes, when you combined the workshop and executive session), the weight of topics and controversy — oh, the controversy. Here are five things we learned from the meeting:

1. An endangered river mussel — the Guadalupe Fatmucket — could present challenges to how Kerrville manages its portion of the river. The Fatmucket could wind up on the federal Endangered Species Act in the coming weeks, and no one is sure what it means for the city. Here's more on the story (subscribers only): https://kerrcountylead.com/the-lead-sept-28-2022-you-can-book-it-but-a-little-mussel-carries-serious-weight-in-kerr-county/
2. The Kerrville City Council will not take action against the library staff at the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library over an issue involving banned books. The heart of the matter is the reaction to LGBTQ+ books — a national trend. The City Council wasn't taking the bait from conservative groups to reprimand the librarians. Read more (subscribers only): https://kerrcountylead.com/the-lead-sept-28-2022-you-can-book-it-but-a-little-mussel-carries-serious-weight-in-kerr-county/
3. The City Council moved one step closer to eliminating future short-term rentals, but it split the body in a rare 3-2 vote. The majority of Councilmembers Joe Herring and Brenda Hughes and Mayor Judy Eychner voted to restrict short-term rentals in most of the city's residential neighborhoods. Read more (subscribers only): https://kerrcountylead.com/kerrville-moves-one-step-closer-to-restricting-short-term-rentals
4. An ad-hoc short-term rental committee has its work cut out for them and limited time to do it. The committee will help determine rules and regulations for future short-term rental permits. The nine-member committee has until Nov. 8 to make recommendations. Councilmembers Roman Garcia and Kim Clarkson appointed themselves to join the committee of Jim Caines, Keri Wilt, Kim Richards, Karen Sides, Robin Perrin, Linda Stone and Maggie Magee, who will chair the group.
5. The generosity of J.R. Ramon was celebrated, and rightfully so. Ramon was given the Kerrville Kindness award for allowing the Kerrville fire and police departments, the Kerr County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety and others to use the former Hal Peterson Middle School as a training ground for three weeks. Ramon's company is leading the demolition efforts.

The short-term rental debate heats up again next week

While the City Council is nearing new rules limiting the growth of short-term rentals, the city's planning and zoning committee faces another lengthy discussion next week about granting conditional use permits. There are 12 on the agenda, including five in Riverhill. That meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Oct. 6.

DWIs keep Kerr County's law enforcement community busy

The Kerr County law enforcement community made 12 arrests, including at least nine by the Kerrville Police Department, for driving while intoxicated from Sept. 19 through Sept. 26. It was one of the busiest weeks for DWI enforcement this year. In all, 27% of arrests in those seven days were for DWI, but drunk and stoned seem to be the norm. Of all arrests, 51% were for suspicion of drunk driving, drunk in public and possession of drugs. There was only one arrest for an immigration detainer, and that suspect was allegedly drunk too.

Schreiner rallies for five-set volleyball victory

Schreiner's Brooke Byer makes an attack on Wednesday at Schreiner University.

Schreiner University's volleyball team rallied to win a 3-2 match on Wednesday night against visiting McMurry. The victory avenges an early 3-2 defeat at the hands of the War Hawks.

Schreiner got a team-high 16 kills from Brooke Byer, and 14 kills from Kayla Lofland. The Mountaineers blew a 22-15 lead in the first set, thanks to six consecutive errors that helped McMurry get back into the game. The War Hawks finished with a 26-24 victory, but the Mountaineers roared back in the second set with a convincing 25-13 win.

McMurry won the third set, and Schreiner needed its own rally to force a fifth set. Tied 23-23, Byer ripped off a pair of kills on assists from Mia Moreno and Elora Reyes to seal the victory for the Mountaineers and forcing a fifth set.

Schreiner University's Kayla Lofland attempts to dump a ball past the McMurry block on Wednesday night.

In that fifth set, McMurry raced to a 5-0 lead before Schreiner got a sideout on a service error. McMurry's offense and defense collapsed, allowing the Mountaineers to get back into the match. Jacquelyn Sotello went to work for the Mountaineers with three kills in the race to 15 points. Taylor Braxton helped finish off McMurry with a kill. Sotello finished with nine kills, and Braxton added 10.

The victory evened Schreiner's record at 7-7 overall.

See more photos from Wednesday's match: https://thekerrcountyleadphotography.zenfoliosite.com/zg/schreiner-university-volleyball-vs-mcmurry

Upcoming Featured Events

The Kerrville Chalk Festival, Oct. 15-16, Kerrville City Hall.

Kerrville Chalk Festival is a family-friendly art event for the Texas Hill Country. More than 65 artists create large-scale chalk drawings directly on the pavement. Kerrville’s downtown becomes a festive canvas for local and regional artists, as wells as invited guest artists from around the United States.

The Festival has live music, many free activities, food trucks, as well as wine and craft beer. It attracts an estimated 10,000 attendees annually. Read about the history of chalk art.

Held at Peterson Plaza in the heart of downtown, the event encourages tourists and locals to dine, shop, and experience the beauty and charm of Kerrville, Texas.

The 2022 beneficiary is Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center (KACC). KACC was founded in 1995 by a group of artists with a mission of providing a show place for local artists and to further the arts and culture in the community. The Center is comprised of sixteen affiliated groups representing over 500 artists and has three distinct gallery spaces. It attracts over 20,000 visitors annually.