A Nissan Titan pulling a trailer jackknifed along IH-35 southbound near exit 220 in Buda, causing gridlock traffic during the Friday afternoon rush hour on both sides of the interstate. Hays County Sheriff's Office deputies say that the trailer jackknifed, then rolled over before resting on its side. No injuries were reported and no other vehicles were involved. As of 5 p.m., one southbound lane opened but two were still shut down. (photo by Sean Kimmons)

As the Kyle Depot continues to deteriorate, an architecture firm has pulled out of the renovation project, citing lack of direction from the city. (Photo by Sean Kimmons)

by SEAN KIMMONS

Austin-based Antenora Architects, which has headed renovation designs for Kyle’s historic train depot for the past five years, recently threw in the towel amidst a feud between two city groups.

The feud, between train depot board members and city officials, has sidelined the project for years, draining funds along the way.

“The main reason we withdrew is that we felt we didn’t have the confidence of the train depot board,” said Michael Antenora of Antenora Architects.

Last week, the Kyle City Council voted to scrap Antenora’s third proposal and directed city staff to search for a new architect. The city already paid at least $15,000 for Antenora’s services in the past year, and will likely dish out similar funds to the next consultant. The amount doesn’t include work before 2009, a figure that city officials could not round up by deadline.

“My opinion is to start the whole process over again,” Interim City Manager James Earp told the council. “Ultimately the council is going to have to decide between primarily a renovation project and a historic preservation project.”

Mayor Lucy Johnson, whose mother heads the train depot board, agreed to start over since the board was concerned about the depot’s layout.

“The designs that we have now are not in agreement with the train depot board,” she said.

Whatever happens, the city must expedite the process so it won’t lose a $25,000 grant it received from the Lower Colorado River Authority to go toward depot repairs.

In December, the council approved a resolution to spend no more than $250,000 to renovate the depot and fix any city code violations. In the plans, the depot would serve as a visitor center and office space for city employees.

However, the train depot board didn’t want city offices to impede the full restoration of the building, a more expensive endeavor since restoration falls under stricter codes.

Kate Johnson, the board’s director, spoke to the council last week in support of preserving the depot, the only one left standing in Hays County.

“The Kyle Train Depot is the gateway to our community,” she said. “It will continue to serve as an entrance to our city, and first impressions are very important.”

She said her board recently discovered that the depot had a segregated waiting room for African-Americans and hopes to preserve the area, which was slated to be bathrooms in Antenora’s designs.

“Preserving this space will provide us the opportunity to inform visitors about our past,” she said.

Incorporating city offices inside the depot, such as the Chamber of Commerce and economic development teams, was envisioned by former city manager Tom Mattis, who stepped down after the council approved his resignation in April.

Antenora said that being associated with Mattis may have given his company an unfair reputation.

“I think the change in city leadership may have caused it,” Antenora said. “Some people thought that we were in support of Mattis. But it was the city attorney that recommended us, not Mattis.”

He added that his company was asked to tackle the depot project after it helped design the new city hall.

Uncertainty about what the city wants to do with the depot also influenced the company’s decision to opt out, he said.

“They all need to decide what they truly want to do,” Antenora said. “We were just struck in the middle.”

Antenora said his company would still like to finish the project, but not until the city has a clearer direction.

“The reality is that, given the circumstances, we were just not the right fit for this project; and that the city and depot board would not be able to find that right ‘fit,’ unless we withdrew,” he said. “This may offer them the chance to step back, reassess, and do just that.”

MATTIS

by BRAD ROLLINS

Former Kyle City Manager Tom Mattis is seeking to become the top administrator just down the interstate in the city of San Marcos, where the city manager was fired last month.

Mattis, who is credited with guiding Kyle through eight years of unprecedented residential and commercial growth but got crossways with a new mayor and city council, resigned under pressure in April. The San Marcos City Council terminated former manager Rick Menchaca’s employment in June.

“I am uniquely positioned at this particular point in time (maybe more so than any other candidate) to offer San Marcos a rare package as its new city manager – combining a strong familiarity with the city and solid professional background with a fresh perspective new to the operation,” Mattis wrote San Marcos council members in a July 20 letter obtained by the Hays Free Press.

He continued, “My track record of success as the city manager in Kyle over the last eight years is very evident and obvious to both government officials and citizens. There would be no mystery or lack of familiarity as to my past achievements or management style.”

Forgoing a costly and time-consuming search and application process for a new city manager would allow Mattis to “hit the ground running,” he wrote, and make use of his existing network of business and political leaders in the region. An executive search would take at least six to eight months and he expects to be employed by then, Mattis wrote.

“There would be a quick and seamless transition to my administration given my knowledge of the community and city operations in general, as I am very familiar with many staff members and local government officials…. Basically, San Marcos has nothing to lose and everything to gain in at least considering me for the city manager position at this time. This is a unique point in time and opportunity for both the city and I – and it would seem obvious that there should be some meaningful conversation about the possibilities of this scenario before we both move on to something else,” he wrote.

In the months since his departure from Kyle, Mattis has periodically surfaced as an applicant for various government executive positions.

In May, he was named in news reports as an applicant for the chief administrative position in Lake County, Fla., a county of about a quarter-million people near Orlando. That entity has not yet named someone to the position. Earlier this month, the city of Harlingen, a municipality with an estimated 2009 population of 74,950, named Mattis one of eight finalists for its city manager position.

McFALL

by SEAN KIMMONS

A Kyle policeman lost his badge after he failed to detain alleged pedophile Dustin McFall, who drove away with a 14-year-old runaway after a February traffic stop.

Officer Karl Cranek, who appealed his indefinite suspension, now finds his career in the hands of a hearing examiner, who will determine if his termination was fair during an upcoming arbitration hearing in mid-August.

Cranek responded to a burglary/criminal mischief call at McFall’s home on the 100 block of Teasley Road. McFall’s wife, who had kicked her husband out of their home, called the police when she said she discovered him having improper sexual contact with a boy inside the residence.

While approaching the home, Cranek pulled over McFall’s vehicle but failed to question the 33-year-old and the boy on reports of child sexual abuse and allowed both to depart together, a department memorandum stated.

While on the scene, the dispatcher told Cranek that McFall’s wife had caught him inside “having sex with some boy who is under eighteen,” the police memo said.

Cranek asked the dispatcher, “Ok, what does she want us to do? To just make sure it was him in the house? He’s leaving anyway.” The dispatcher then advised Cranek that McFall and the boy were in a sexual relationship. Cranek responded, “Ok, well I can’t prove any of that” and the call was disconnected, the memo stated.

After releasing the two individuals, Cranek contacted McFall’s wife and the boy’s parents. The boy was later reported as a runaway in Bastrop County, the memo stated.

McFall vanished with the boy and was later detained by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office upon re-entering the U.S. from Mexico. On April 6, McFall was booked into the Hays County Jail on two felony counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, according to police records.

An arrest affidavit says that McFall met the teenage boy on Craigslist, where the victim told McFall that he was 15 years old. The boy told police that he performed oral sex on McFall two separate times at the suspect’s home.

McFall’s arraignment was waived this month, with his pre-trial motions slated to begin Aug. 3 at the 22nd District Court in San Marcos.

The internal investigation determined Cranek’s actions to be “gross misconduct.”

Courtesy photo

by JEN BIUNDO

Marjorie Martinez, the soft-spoken but quietly determined director of the Buda Public Library, passed away on Saturday, July 24, at the age of 61, following a long illness. She leaves behind a lasting legacy of literacy and lifelong learning.

“She was a very quiet yet effective leader in the community,” said Buda City Secretary Toni Milam. “She was absolutely devoted, not only to the library itself, but to the thousands that visited the library.”

Susie Bishop, a long time city and library employee, said Martinez was passionate about supporting literacy.

“She would go out of her way to find anything that anybody needed,” Bishop said.

Born in Ohio to Alphie and Mae Catherine Miller, Martinez met her husband Enrique in Mexico, where they lived for several years.

Martinez came to work at the Buda Public Library in 1989, when the library occupied a tiny portable building on the greenbelt. She helped coordinate the construction and move to the newly constructed Basil Anthony Moreau Library in 1993, and over the years worked to bring the library into the 21st century of technology.

“She started this library from the ground up,” said librarian Melinda Hodges.

In 1997, Martinez earned her master’s of library and information science from the University of Texas at Austin.

She retired this April and was honored by the mayor and council with a proclamation recognizing her two decades of service and dedication to the city.

“She really cared about people learning, and she really enjoyed being a librarian,” said co-worker Lupe Herrera.

Audrey Elder, a long time library volunteer who served on the Library Board of Trustees, said Martinez had a soft-spoken quality that belied her determined nature. Elder said her friend battled through her long illness with quiet courage, and she showed that determination until the end.

“On Friday, she told her husband, ‘One more day,’” Elder said. “She wanted to see her grandbabies one more time.”

Visitation was held Tuesday at Harrell Funeral Home, with a funeral mass and burial Wednesday morning. The library closed Wednesday morning so staff members could attend the services.

Martinez is survived by her husband, three married sons and seven grandchildren.

BARGSLEY

by JEN BIUNDO

In early May, a crowd of hundreds of local residents turned out to mourn 17-year-old Alyssa Marie Bargsley in a vigil ceremony, remembering her as a vivacious, fun-loving young woman who could brighten up the room with her smile.

Two months after Bargsley’s death in a golf cart accident, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) announced Friday that it will not pursue criminal charges against any adults for supplying the Hays High School junior and her friends with alcohol.

TABC Agent Michael Deans said the Llano office has concluded the agency’s source investigation, which determined that Bargsley and two friends, aged 15 and 17, consumed alcohol prior to the accident. However, the investigation found that the teenagers took the drinks from inside the house without the knowledge of adults.

Llano County Attorney Cheryll Mabray reviewed the TABC report and opted not to pursue charges for furnishing alcoholic beverages to the minors, a charge that requires proof of criminal negligence.

Providing alcohol to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

According to the DPS accident report, at about 7 p.m. on May 1, Bargsley’s friend, a freshman at Hays High School, was driving the golf cart down a paved street in Kingsland near Lake Buchanan. While swerving back and forth, the driver hit a bump in the road. Bargsley, who had been standing on the back of the vehicle, fell and fatally struck her head.

Investigators at the scene determined that the teens had been drinking. TABC’s Carson Starkey Amnesty Policy enacted in 2009 says that TABC will not charge minors with the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages when someone has called 911 because of a medical emergency.

“It is our hope that publicizing this policy will encourage young people to call 911 if a friend is in danger from alcohol poisoning or any other medical emergency,” said TABC administrator Alan Steen. “We don’t want any life to be lost because someone is afraid of getting in trouble for underage drinking.”

A prosecutor in Branson, Mo., has dropped a weapons charge against Buda murder and arson suspect Mark David Simmons in order to expedite his release to Hays County authorities, officials say.

“We’ve dismissed our charge in an attempt to get him down to Texas faster,” Taney County Prosecutor Jeff Merrell said on Tuesday.

Officials say that Simmons, who faces a capital murder arrest warrant in the April homicide of his business partner, Steven Woelfel, is still fighting extradition back to Hays County, where prosecutors could seek the death penalty.

On Monday, Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe filed a request for a governor’s warrant with the Texas Governor’s Office as part of the extradition process.

“He can fight extradition, but one way or another he has to come back,” Tibbe said. “It doesn’t matter if he wants to or not.”

Tibbe says that the extradition process could take weeks or up to six months if Simmons is against it. For now, the Texas Governor’s Office will handle it.

“We’re just at the beginning of this whole process,” she said.

Before Simmons is released to Hays County, paperwork will first be reviewed and pushed through the state of Missouri’s attorney general’s office, its department of corrections and finally its governor’s office.

“We will certainly cooperate fully with the state of Texas on this,” said Scott Holste, spokesman for Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s office.

On June 29, after allegedly robbing two local motels, Simmons surrendered peacefully following an eight-and-a-half-hour standoff at the Walnut Lane Motel in the small Ozarks tourist town of Branson.

Branson police found one rifle and two handguns in his motel room, the same weapons stolen from Woelfel’s home, investigators say.

The murder charge, coupled with the stolen guns claim, gives authorities the right to issue the offense of capital murder, punishable by the death penalty in Texas.

Branson police found Simmons’ silver-blue 2008 Hyundai Sonata, believed to be used in the robberies, parked at the motel. Investigators ran the plates on the car and tied the vehicle to the Hays County case.

Taney County officials had charged Simmons with unlawful possession of an explosive weapon by a convicted felon, but that charge has been dropped. Prosecutor Merrell says that his office may pursue the charge and others related to the motel burglaries depending on the outcome of the murder trial.

Bert Cobb (R)
Candidate for County Judge

• Total contributions: $5,035
• Total expenditures: $6,336
• In the bank as of June 30: $1,851
• Total debt: $9,000

Shane Fraser, San Marcos, $1,000
Robert Habingreither, San Marcos, $200
Hector Castro, San Marcos, $500
Brian McCoy, San Marcos, $200
Jim Powers, Dripping Springs, $300
Susan and Craig Wilkinson, Houston, $250
Elizabeth Urban, Buda, $500
Tom Garner, San Marcos, $250
Alcides Cairus, San Marcos, $500

Jeff Barton (D)
Candidate for County Judge

• Total contributions: $44,135
• Total expenditures: $42,681
• In the bank as of June 30: $29,617

Andrew Hollow, Austin, $500
Barry Kolar, Nashville, Tenn., $400
Beth and Everett Smith, Mountain City, $200
Bob and Wynette Barton, Kyle, $200
Brian Rice, Cedar Park, $500
Charles Ray, Midland, $1,000
Chris Harkrider, Buda, $400
Christine and Brian Caudle, Austin, $200
Christopher Solomon, Austin, $200
Cobb Fendly PAC, Austin, $500
Dan Rogers, Austin, $500
Daron Butler, Cedar Park, $200
David and Kim Millikan, Austin, $200
David Ardl, Batesville, Ariz., $250
David Armbrust, Austin, $500
David Lott, Austin, $200
Dennis Peterson and Claudia Williamson, Houston, $2,000
Dorian French, Austin, $250
Edward Coleman, West Lake Hills, $500
Elizabeth Crook and Marc Lewis, Austin, $200
Freese and Nichols PAC, Fort Worth, $200
Gay and Alan Erwin, Austin, $250
Georgie Cunningham, Buda, $300
Halff Associates PAC, Austin, $700
HDR Inc PAC, Omaha, Neb., $500
HNTB, Austin, $1,000
J.J. Roohms, Austin, $200
James and Lisa Schissler, Austin, $250
James Heath, Pflugerville, $200
Jane and Calvin Kirkham, Kyle, $300
Jason and Beth Donaldson, Wimberley, $1,000
Jeffrey Rogers, New Braunfels, $250
Joe Phillips, McAllen, $1,000
John Friedman Jr., Austin, $500
John Lidner, Driftwood, $500
John Trube, Austin, $1,000
Kathrine and Mike Weaver, Austin, $300
Keith Young, Austin, $1,000
Kevin Scott, Dallas, $250
Kurt Erickson, Gilbert, Ariz., $500
Lila Knight, Kyle, $300
Lucky and Becky Tomblin, San Marcos, $300
Mary and Scott Bailey, Buda, $250
Matt Torbit, Dallas, $500
Mike Moeller and Nora Linares-Moeller, Wimberley, $300
Mike Robinson, Round Rock, $500
Nancy and John Osgood, Austin, $300
Paul Bury, Austin, $1,000
PBS&J PAC, Tampa, Fla., $500
Richard Wilkison, Austin, $500
Rick and Cathy Coneway, Austin, $500
Rick Sheldon, Waco, $1,370
Robert McDonald, Austin, $500
Roland Gamble, Austin, $300
Rosa and Brian McCormick, Austin, $300
Sean Compton, Austin, $250
Shannon and Samuel Watson, Austin, $200
Smith Robertson Elliot Glen Klein, Austin, $250
Steve Brown, Dripping Springs, $200
Susan and James Walker, Austin, $200
Susan Kelly, Austin, $200
Thomas Arndt, Pflugerville, $1,000
William Raba, San Antonio, $200
Winton and Kim Porterfield, San Marcos, $1,000
Zachary Stearns, Bastrop, $500

Mark Jones (R)
Candidate for Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner

• Total contributions: $21,954.50
• Total expenditures: $3,143.95
• In the bank as of June 30: $9,656

Aus-Tex Consolidated Services, Kyle, $585
Donn and Betty Brooks, Kyle, $500
Will and Erin Conley, Wimberley, $200
Louis Hanson, Driftwood, $1,000
James and Joann Holt, Kyle, $300
Linebarger Goggan Blair & Simpson LLC, Austin, $500
Elizabeth Urban, Buda, $545
Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood, $7,712 (in-kind)
Chester Davis, Austin, $2,500
Bob Shelton, Buda, $500

Ray Bryant (D)
Candidate for Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner

• Total contributions: $11,351
• Total expenditures: $9,065
• In the bank as of June 30: $4,164

Thomas Arndt / Dannenbaum Engineering, Pflugerville, $500
Beth and Everett Smith, Mountain City, $200
HDR Inc., Omaha, Neb., $500
John Sanford, Buda, $250
Joe Phillips, McAllen, $750
Lila Knight, Kyle, $500
David Braun, Dripping Springs, $500
Andrew Ramirez, Austin, $200
Lucy Johnson, Kyle, $500
Jerry Harris and Brown McCarrol LLP, Austin, $500
Halff Associates PAC, Richardson, $250
George Murfee, Austin, $200
Keith and Jeanna Young / Dannenbaum Engineering, Austin, $500
Tommy Warren, The Woodlands, $500
Israel Rocha, Austin, $500

Tommy Ratliff (D)
Hays County Sheriff

• Total contributions: $3,032
• Total expenditures: $5,713
• In the bank as of June 30: $2,017

David Martinez, San Marcos, $200
Jill Herrera, New Braunfels, $500
George Manassian, Dripping Springs, $500
S.R. Green, Wimberley, $1,000

Gary Cutler (R)
Candidate for Hays County Sheriff

• Total contributions: $6,300
• Total expenditures: $5,106
• In the bank as of June 30: $26,646
• Total debt: $1,000
Chris Caywood, Conroe, $500
David A. Sheppard, Austin, $250
Hays County Republican Party, $200
Gary L. Phipps, Austin, $275
Linda Kinney, Dripping Springs, $200
Sherry A. Burke, San Marcos, $500
Jet Bartlett, Austin, $1,000

Bill Henry (R)
Candidate for 428th State District Judge

• Total contributions: $13,470
• Total expenditures: $4,483
• In the bank as of June 30: $38,444

Terry Allen, San Marcos, $300
Robert Avera, Dripping Springs, $450
John Bennett, San Marcos, $500
Kevin Blewett, New Braunfels, $200
Cindy Bourland, Round Rock, $200
Erick Bovik, Austin, $500
Roland Brown, Wimberley, $1,000
William Buse, Wimberley, $250
James Byrom, Austin, $250
Steve Dillawn, Austin, $300
Todd Dudley, Austin, $350
Elizabeth Golden, Dripping Springs, $1,000
Scott Gregson, San Marcos, $250
Morris Haggerton, Wimberley, $100
Hays County Republican Party, $200
Dolores Juarez, Houston, $250
Winton Porterfield, San Marcos, $1,000
Patrick Price, San Marcos, $500
Charles Ray, Midland, $1,000
William Rugeley, San Marcos, $250
S.E. Rutledge, San Marcos, $200
Larry Schaubhut, Austin, $250
Lewis Smith, Wimberley, $250
Manuel Zuniga, Austin, $250

Scot Courtney (D)
Candidate for 428th State District Judge

• Total contributions: $4,194
• Total expenditures: $5,088
• In the bank as of June 30: $1,718

Charlie Baird, Austin, $500
Brian Baker, San Marcos, $200
Greg Cagle, League City, $500
Jamie Cavazos, San Antonio, $300
Cathy Compton, Canyon Lake, $200
Ceiso Cuellar, San Antonio, $200
Joe Luis Hernandez, Kerrville, $300
Otila Hernandez, Kerrville, $300
Chevo Pastrano, San Marcos, $250
Chris Sullivan, Austin, $200

Ana Martinez Boling (D)
Hays County Court at Law No. 1

• Total contributions: $4,197
• Total expenditures: $5,528
• In the bank as of June 30: $1,189

Robert Avera, Dripping Springs, $200
Sarah Brandon, Austin, $500
Steven Brown, San Marcos, $500
John Esquivel, Laredo, $350
Patricia Finch, Seguin, $200
Floreani & Moreland, Wimberley, $500
Stan Harlan, San Marcos, $322 (in-kind)
George Scharmen, San Antonio, $500
Richard Ursha, Wimberley, $250
Abe Villescaz, Lockhart, $200

Robert Updegrove (R)
Candidate for Hays County Court at Law No. 1

• Total contributions: $400
• Total expenditures: $3,016
• In the bank as of June 30: $400

Edward Tarbutton, San Marcos, $200
Mary Jo Updegrove, Aransas Pass, $200

Karen Ford (D)
Hays County Pct. 4 Commissioner

• Total contributions: $2,520
• Total expenditures: $3,892
• In the bank as of June 30: $12,115

Tommy Warren, The Woodlands, $200
Charles Thrash, Austin, $200
Paul Hastings, Dripping Springs, $200
Dr. Allie Blair, Dripping Springs, $500
Kevin Greenblat Design, Austin, $350 (in-kind)

Ray Whisenant Jr. (R)
Candidate for Hays County Pct. 4 Commissioner

• Total contributions: $8,357
• Total expenditures: $8,586
• In the bank as of June 30: $1,268
• Total debt: $239

Richard R. Scott Trust, Houston, $1,500
James Michael Farr, Dripping Springs, $300
John W. Gravenor, Houston, $500
E. Rogers Famiy Trust, Buda, $1,000
Don Ray George Ttee, Austin, $300
Thomas D. Smith, Dripping Springs, $200
Clarence and David Vogel, Manchaca, $210
Co. C.E. Bonney, Dripping Springs, $200
Ray Whisenant, Dripping Springs, $1,000

A Kyle husband and wife charged with assaulting their Hispanic neighbors were acquitted last week by a jury at the 22nd District Court in San Marcos.

The decision has sparked contention with the local branch of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which called the assault a hate crime. LULAC officials say they plan to look at different avenues to fight what they call an unfair trial.

“LULAC is not satisfied with the outcome of the trial,” District 2 Director Mario Gonzalez said on Tuesday. “We feel it has been very discriminatory.”

Steve and Melanie Jones, who were found not guilty, cannot be retried for the alleged assaults since the trial ended in an acquittal. Instead, Gonzalez says that LULAC will seek advice from its lawyers and perhaps get the federal government to investigate the civil rights claim.

On Sept. 14, 2008, a verbal dispute erupted between the Joneses and Martin Moreno and his wife, Heliodora, after the Moreno’s dog strayed away and defecated onto their neighbor’s yard on Convent Drive in Kyle.

The Jones couple, accompanied by two other men, confronted the Morenos on their property. Martin Moreno claimed that the three men pushed him to the ground, and that Steve Jones punched him in his right eye at least twice, according to the arrest affidavit.

Heliodora Moreno then tried to stop the attack by hitting Steve Jones in the head, when Melanie Jones threw her to the ground and struck her at least two times, the affidavit says.

The Joneses and the other two men, Chris Baird and Parker Krantz, denied that they assaulted the Morenos and reported that when they confronted the Morenos the incident escalated to a physical altercation, the affidavit states.

The Morenos were transported to Central Texas Medical Center for their injuries. Martin Moreno received five stitches over his right eye while his wife had several contusions, the affidavit says.

In the trial, defense attorney Tom Garner argued that the altercation was mutual and Steve Jones even took the stand to testify that he pushed but did not strike Martin Moreno, according to news reports.

Chris Baird and Parker Krantz have yet to be tried in the assault case.

The Hays County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case but declined to comment.

“The defendant has been acquitted and I think that speaks for itself,” Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe said.

Cecil and his wife Wayne Clark stand in front of Clark’s Grocery in Buda in 1954. Clark is the latest subject in the “Voices of Hays County History” series, produced by the Hays County Historical Commission. The oral history documentary will be screened July 30 at Buda Elementary. (Courtesy photo)

by SHELLY HENRY
Special to the Hays Free Press

After nearly a century living in the Buda area, Cecil Clark has more than a few memories to share in the latest “Voices of Hays County History,”a documentary produced by the Hays County Historical Commission (HCHC).

The public is invited to attend a screening of the documentary at 6:30 p.m. July 30 at the Buda Elementary Kunkel Room, located at 300 San Marcos Street.

Cecil Clark was born in 1912 in the community of Goforth, just east of Buda, to S.J. and Ida Clark. Along with his three brothers and three sisters, Cecil spent his early years helping his father on the family farm, where they raised cotton, cane and corn. His two younger sisters, Dorothy and Doris, now live in Austin.

In 1936, Cecil wed Wayne P. Foster, and the couple had been married 71 years when she died in 2007. Their two children, Cecil Allen and Bobbie Joan, reside in Buda.

In his oral history, Clark tells how he learned to plow with mules when he was very young. He also recalls working with the fire department during World War II at Camp Swift in Austin and talks about his many years as a store owner in Buda.

Clark has spent many years as a dedicated caretaker for both the Live Oak Cemetery, just across the county line in Manchaca, and the Martin Church Cemetery at the old Goforth community. His care and attention are greatly responsible for the beautifully-tended grounds visitors enjoy at both sites today.

For the oral history, Clark was interviewed by HCHC member Jim Cullen. The documentary was filmed by Richard Kidd of the HCHC, with sound recording by Bonnie Eissler.

The “Voices of Hays County History” documentaries are available for viewing on the HCHC website at www.hayshistoricalcommission.com.