Two male suspects have been detained in a murder believed to have occurred in Hays County, authorities say.

The suspects were discovered by New Braunfels Police Department during a traffic stop. Upon questioning they were found to have information relating to an ongoing investigation in Hays County, authorities say.

Police discovered a body in the vehicle the suspects were driving. Hays County Sheriff’s Office detectives along with other agency officers were called out to the location. The suspects who were placed into custody were transferred to Hays County authorities, who are actively investigating the case.

The multi-agency investigation is ongoing and the victim has yet to be identified, authorities say.

Under the advisement of Hays County Fire Marshal Mark Chambers, the Hays County Commissioners Court enacted a countywide burn ban effective Monday, officials say.

The burn ban is due to drying conditions and possible high wind days, which could cause serious fires, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office says.

Under the ban, all outdoor trash and debris burning is restricted in the county. Also, extreme caution should be used with any required vocational fire source activity, such as welding. Be sure to always have an ample supply of extinguishing materials for emergencies, officials say

Surrounding counties also under burn bans include Travis, Comal, Blanco and Caldwell. The burn ban will remain in effect until further notice of the court. For any further questions contact the Hays County Fire Marshal’s Office.

[View with PicLens]

More photos from this week along with other photos published in the Hays Free Press are available for viewing and purchase here. Look for folder entitled “Week of Sept. 1, 2010.”

Tons of recyclables have been piling up at the landfill and will be sorted when TDS opens its new recycling center this month.

Stacks of 96-gallon bins stand ready to be delivered.

by SEAN KIMMONS

Kyle city officials are in negotiations with Texas Disposal Systems to develop a city-wide recycling program, which would redirect tons of rubbish from the landfill and generate revenue for the city.

Since September 2009, roughly 800 homes in Amberwood and Indian Paintbrush subdivisions have participated in a three-cart pilot program, diverting hundreds of tons of recyclables and compost materials from the Creedmoor landfill owned by TDS, a local waste disposal company with a strong environmental track record.

In the program, each household is given three 96-gallon bins for trash, recyclables and compost materials. If the program goes city-wide, it would add about $4 to a household’s monthly garbage bill.

TDS officials claim that if the city added a five-year commercial franchise to the deal, making them responsible for trash pickup for local businesses, residents will save an estimated 94 cents per month.

If TDS serviced all accounts in the city, commercial rates would also reduce on average by 10 percent. The city could then use those extra funds, estimated at $50,000 per year, to help offset the cost of street repairs, said Rick Fraumann, TDS director of sales and customer care.

“We can increase the recycling options for the city and also offer an exclusive commercial element to increase recycling options for businesses and generate a revenue source for the city,” Fraumann told the council in August.

Fraumann also touted the idea that if his company serviced the entire city there would be fewer trucks on the road caused by using multiple providers. TDS already handles about 70 percent of the city.

Some estimates show Kyle’s population spiking to 90,000 by the year 2040. With rapid growth, councilmembers say recycling is essential to keep the strain off the local landfill, which currently handles 12,000 tons of trash a week.

“I feel that recycling has become a service that Kyle residents expect,” Mayor Lucy Johnson said.

She looks forward to the larger, covered bins instead of the small 18-gallon recycling bin outside her home, which occasionally blows away along with its contents, she said.

However, the extra cost and space that the three-cart service would entail could be a burden to some.

“I don’t think it should be forced on people,” Kyle resident Jerry Kolacny said during public comments.

Councilmember Jaime Sanchez agreed: “I can’t see myself imposing the cost in this recession to people who can’t afford it.”

Fraumann said that TDS plans to spend seven figures to roll out the program city-wide for new trucks, bins and employees.

Recyclables would be sorted through a new 100,000-square-foot recycling center slated to open this month at the 1,750-acre landfill site. The new recycling center will handle 20 tons of recyclables per hour and bring in 100 new jobs, Fraumann said.

Although the program costs more, he believes there’s value to it. The shorter a landfill’s lifespan, the more it will cost residents in the future.

“Over the long term, it’s the less expensive way to go,” he said.

Danfoss Chatleff on Buda’s Goforth Road has been in operation since 1986 but will have to let go of its 120 employees after the plant’s operations are moved to Mexico. (Photo by Sean Kimmons)

by JEN BIUNDO

After nearly 25 years in operation, one of Buda’s largest manufacturing employers is shutting its doors and outsourcing 120 jobs to Monterrey, Mexico, company officials announced last Wednesday.

Danfoss Chatleff LLC, which builds cooling and heating components, will close its 62,000-square-foot Goforth Road plant by the end of 2010. Danfoss bought out the company from local owners in 2007.

“This was a necessary decision,” said Søren Eskildsen, Senior Vice President of Danfoss Automatic Controls. “In order to improve our competitive position, and ensure a long-term profitable business, we have to consolidate distributer production into our Mexico operation.”

Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams called the move a “byproduct of the current economy,” and said the city would feel the loss of jobs and property tax revenue.

“Of course we’re sad to see them go, but we wish them well,” said Williams. “They’ve been a good corporate partner of Buda for a while now and they supplied lots of jobs.”

Austin couple Ray and Carolyn Henderson bought Chatleff in 1978, and over the next three decades they grew the small company into a $50 million powerhouse before selling it to the Denmark-based Danfoss. They say the family-owned manufacturing plant always cared for its employees and earned their loyalty. During negotiations, the Hendersons say Danfoss told them they had no plans to lay off or outsource workers.

“We’re disappointed, of course,” Ray Henderson said. “Some of these people had been with us for over 40 years. We felt they were part of the family and we treated them as such. If we can help them in any way, we will.”

The lobby was full of photos of little league teams sponsored by Chatleff, and they frequently contributed to the community, Carolyn Henderson said.

“It was a family business,” she said. “We always had a picnic every year, we had a Christmas luncheon, we were really just family. That’s one of the reasons that we settled on Danfoss. They implied they would continue our traditions and they wouldn’t lay people off. I’m sad and I feel for the people and I’m terribly disappointed in Danfoss that they would do this.”

Company founders George Chatham and O.O. Shurtleff started Chatleff Controls in Austin about 50 years ago. After being acquired by Calcasieu Lumber Company in the late 1950s, the Ohio-based A-T-O Inc. bought out the company in 1969.

In the down economy of 1975, A-T-O transferred employee Ray Henderson to Austin to take over the ailing company.

In 1978, Henderson and his wife bought out the 30-person operation. With Austin rents skyrocketing in the mid-80s, the family bought four acres of land in Buda and built the plant with a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, ultimately expanding it to about 60,000 square feet. Henderson patented several new air conditioning components that allowed Chatleff to grow rapidly.

The company had 250 employees and net sales of approximately $42 million in 2006, and by 2007 the family said sales neared $50 million.

During sale negotiations, the Hendersons split the company into two parts, selling the larger Chatleff component to Danfoss. Their son Randy Henderson runs the smaller Lockhart-based company now known as Henderson Controls. That company may hire a small number of the laid-off Danfoss workers, Ray Henderson said.

The family still maintains ownership of the Buda land and plant. Danfoss has two years remaining on the five-year lease, the Hendersons said. City officials said they hoped to see the facility quickly secure a new lease contract.

Business Support Manager Tim O’Grady said the company would wind down production in Buda by the end of the year and move to an existing facility they own in Monterrey.

Employees were surprised by the move, he said, but the company has promised a strong severance package and help finding new jobs. Most of the employees live within Hays County, O’Grady said.

“I’m in the same boat as everybody here,” O’Grady said. “I am going to be reaching out to other local employers and trying to find good positions, because this is a very dedicated, hardworking group of people that have proven their work here. I know I would hire them.”

O’Grady has reached out to Buda Economic Development Director Warren Ketteman. Despite the down economy, Ketteman said Hays County’s manufacturing base is still strong.

“That’s going to be the big push, to help those folks find employment in this area,” Ketteman said. “That’s going to be the first and most important thing we’ll do.”

The U.S. has shed about 5.7 million manufacturing jobs in the last decade, due in part to outsourcing, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“This did not happen because of anything our workers did,” O’Grady said. “We all need to hold our heads high. It’s a business decision and it’s out of our hands. Things like this happen all over the world every day.”

About a half-mile of the frontage road around its intersection with Hillside Terrace Drive is closed for an estimated four weeks.

by JEN BIUNDO

Work is underway on a long-awaited interstate overpass that could help divert heavy commercial traffic off of Buda access roads.

Over the next four weeks, the Texas Department of Transportation will temporarily close a segment of the northbound IH-35 access road in Buda due to construction of a bridge at the southern terminus of Buda’s truck bypass.

The access road will be closed from about a quarter mile south of Hillside Terrace Drive to about a quarter mile north of Hillside Terrace Drive, said TxDOT spokesperson John Hurt.

Traffic will be detoured around the closed section where crews are building an overpass. Traffic headed to Hillside Terrace Drive will be routed through Kelly Smith Lane.

Though it will temporarily tie up the access roads, the new bridge will ultimately improve mobility and alleviate traffic headaches created when the interstate access roads were converted from two-way to one-way this spring, Hurt said.

“It’s going to provide considerably better access from one side of the interstate to the other,” Hurt said.

The overpass will link the Buda truck bypass to northbound IH-35. Buda completed the $2 million bypass in the summer of 2007, diverting trucks off of Main Street and through Buda’s industrial corridor south of the city center.

But at the time, the city was unable to secure funding for the interstate overpass. Currently, a temporary two-lane spur tees into the IH-35 access road just north of the old Cement Plant Road.

With no overpasses between FM 2001 in Buda and Dry Hole Road in Kyle, motorists and heavy commercial trucks that want to head north on IH-35 must now detour south about four miles. The new overpass will provide fast access to the northbound interstate.

With the help of $5.8 million in stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, TxDOT contracted the project to the Austin-based Capital Excavation Co. and began work on the overpass in June. The project is slated for completion next summer.

The overpass will initially be constructed with three lanes, with a planned future expansion to five lanes, Hurt said.

From the Crow’s Nest
by CLINT YOUNTS

It seems to me that lots of people are protesting over stuff that don’t make much sense to me. Lots of folks are upset about the mess that British Petroleum made out in the gulf, cursing the oil company as they drive their gas-guzzling cars down the road. Other folks are protesting the way immigrants are being treated in Arizona, but I wonder if Arizona residents are joining those protests? I hear a lot about people protesting the Tea Party. Dang if I know why. It occurred over 200 years ago, and most Americans are coffee drinkers anyhow. I reckon some folks just like to blow off steam.

I keep reading about celebrities protesting stuff, joining causes to help the world. Oprah is helping educate children in Africa by building schools. Brad and Angelina are concerned about over-population in Asia and are helping out by adopting one child from every Asian country. Lots of sports figures have joined some cause to help improve their image or because it was a term of their probation. I hear Tiger Woods has donated hundreds of cell phones to working girls and spends countless hours teaching them the fine art of sexting.

I normally don’t fret over stuff that I see on the news and I rarely get involved in protests, but after seeing the publicity some celebrities get for joining a worthwhile cause, I began thinking perhaps I should try it. Now, I know I’m not as popular as George Clooney or Bono, but some stranger recently approached me and asked, “Aren’t you the nut who writes that stupid column in the paper?” By golly, I might be on the verge of public recognition. If I were to join some cause or participate in a public protest, I might become as famous as Erma Bombeck. Now I need to find some noteworthy cause, and I think I just found one.

Last weekend, a group of gals in Austin (let’s keep it weird) were protesting about not being allowed to run around topless while members of the male community are allowed. A group of half-clad females were bouncing their protest signs up and down the street near the capitol claiming the current law was discrimination. The D-cupped demonstrators demanded equal opportunity to get a complete tan like us men without the risk of getting busted.

When asked why she was protesting, one bosomy brunette replied, “This rally allows us women to get something off our chests, to reveal the naked truth behind the sexual discrimination practiced in our country.” Here, here, Sister! You have a point there. You should have equal rights. Who am I to object to a woman’s wish to bare her soul and other parts if she wants, but if I join your cause, we need to set some standards.

First, some women shouldn’t be allowed to go topless in public. If your scale screams “Uncle” when you’re standing on it, you should put on a shirt before heading to Zilker Park. There should be some age limit set for topless sunbathers. Let’s say, 35-40, older if you’ve had medical alterations. And maybe, like many airlines, there should be a fee for “excess saggage”.

I think if good-lookin’ gals want to strut their stuff on public beaches or area lakes, we should let them as long as they do it in a kid-free zone. It’s bad enough that kids have to deal with tar and dog poop while playing on the beach, but should we subject their sensitive eyes to bobbling buoys of beach bunnies? I think not.

Although I am a hard-working man with little leisure time, I am willing to volunteer a few hours a month to station myself at these topless beaches, to warn unsuspecting families of possible torpedoes floating in the surf and suggest they go elsewhere. Yep, I think this could be a fine cause for me to join except I don’t know if I could convince Maw in letting me join. Hold on a sec, let me go ask her….

I think I’d better find some other cause to join. Maw doesn’t think this one is right for me. Instead, I think I will become a spokesperson for iliterazy, illideracy, illitterasy, aw, heck, not knowing how to write. Yeah, that would be more appropriate, and a lot safer.

Clint Younts likes to do his tanning, shirt on, while he works at a veterinary clinic and while running cattle on his property.

rockytop78640@yahoo.com

Progressive, vibrant, inclusive, this northern Arizona city seems a refuge from the “them vs. us” rage rattling a state under the political control of hard-liners.

And yet, even Prescott can’t escape it. The race question. White vs. brown. Them vs. us.

That’s what it was when a mural painted on the side of an elementary school drew acidic darts from passersby and a city councilman cast his tongue into the turmoil.

The mural, at Miller Valley School, features children of varied lineage in a motif that celebrates a new way of sustainability. If it has a dominant color, it is green.

But recently the artist was working overtime on the mural, particularly trying to lighten the face of one figure on the sign, the dark face of a Hispanic child. The school district line was that he was asked to brighten all the faces. It said the matter was most definitely not about race.

Maybe so, but that’s not the impression artist R.E. Wall got from those catcalls.

And then there was City Councilman Steve Blair, who complained on a radio show about a “black” face so dominant on the mural.

Rest assured, Blair’s discomfort isn’t necessarily about black faces. In another setting, Blair lobbied to have a Spanish-language census street banner removed so that Prescott wouldn’t be portrayed as a “Spanish” community. A recall effort has been launched against Blair.

Too much can be made over a few reckless words. Prescott need not feel shame. However, with increasing regularity, hard-right leaders in this state are seeking to commandeer the multihued canvas which is the reality of the Southwest.

In Tucson, school officials are refusing to videotape Mexican studies classes so that state officials can see what’s going on in them. Gov. Jan Brewer signed a law in May prohibiting classes designed for students of a particular ethnic group and which stir resentment or thoughts of insurrection – you know, Mexican takeover.

Tellingly, as with Arizona’s SB 1070, which veritably guarantees racial profiling by police (while prohibiting it, of course), this policy is driven by hard-right partisan politics.

Brewer may believe in her heart that SB 1070 is the right thing to do. If she had any qualms about what it might do to inflame Latinos, however — well, with a Republican primary coming up, she knew that vetoing the bill would have guaranteed her political demise.

Ah, and a key driver of the Mexican studies controversy is state Superintendent of Instruction Tom Horne, who just happened to have been running for attorney general in Tuesday’s primary, which he led by a narrow margin on the morning after.

Brewer, victorious in the primary, and Horne are poised to reap their political rewards. Meanwhile, Arizona is a sea of open wounds.

An exodus of startling proportions has thrown schools for a loop. The Arizona Republic featured a wrenching story about students returning to one Phoenix elementary school to find scores of their friends missing, as great numbers of undocumented families have fled the state. This might sound like a taxpayer bonanza. It also could result in school closings over time, particularly harming Latino neighborhoods. One sidelight of the story is the school’s advisory that in addition to bringing school supplies, students also bring emergency contacts in case their parents should not show up at the end of the school day.

Of course, it goes without saying that said provisions needn’t apply to those students whose skin is pale.

Whether it’s over Muslims planning a community center in Manhattan, a school mural depicting skin deemed too dark, or Mexican Americans needing documentation to walk their own streets, our politics are taking an increasingly ugly and stratifying turn.

As for Arizona state officials, with their prying concern about “divisive” classroom studies: They need to turn the video camera on themselves.

Longtime Texas newspaperman John Young lives in Colorado.

jyoungcolumn@gmail.com

Facing about $180,000 anticipated in revenue shortfalls courtesy of a national recession, Buda councilmembers took their first look Tuesday night at a no-frills budget that could push the tax rate up by about three cents in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

In a 6-0 vote with Councilmember Cathy Chilcote absent, the council unanimously approved the proposed ad valorem tax rate of 25.67 cents per $100 of property valuation, the highest rate they could issue without triggering a potential rollback election. That would amount to an annual increase of about $55 for the average homeowner’s tax bill.

Though it remains lower than most neighboring cities, the 2010-11 rate would mark a 50 percent increase in five years from the 16.7 cent rate in the 2005-06 budget.

Meanwhile, the city has squeezed expenditures by $227,000. In a tight budget year, the city is holding back on large-scale capital improvement projects, said Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams, but aiming to provide the same level of existing services.

“This budget does not call for any cuts in services or cuts in staff,” Williams said. “We’re going to do less with less but we’re not cutting services or people to do that.”

Sales tax, which provides half of the city’s revenues, will likely continue its downward trajectory, said city finance director Chris Ruiz.

Last year the city projected $2.1 million in sales tax revenue, but will likely pull in only $1.97 million by the year’s end. In this budget cycle, the city is anticipating a further drop to $1.95 million.

Meanwhile, this year’s budget projects $1.47 million in property taxes, a marginal increase over last year, amounting to 12 percent of total revenue.
Just 8.8 cents of the property tax will go into the city’s general fund, with the remaining 16.9 cents paying off existing debt.

Buda’s new police department, scheduled to come online in September, is budgeted for just under $700,000. Most of the funds will go to personnel costs for the chief, seven police officers, one detective, and one administrative support position. Last year, the city paid $718,000 for contract law enforcement services with the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.

“We can provide an increased level of service for less money,” Williams said.

The new department is projected to bring in $240,000 in revenue from fines and tickets, up from $26,000 this year.

“That’s not going out there and being aggressive at all writing tickets,” Williams said.

Though most large-scale capital improvement projects may be delayed, this year’s $11.5 million budget does include $92,000 for street repairs and $50,000 toward development of a parks master plan.

The city is considering a mid-year three percent raise for city employees, amounting to just under $26,000. Staff did not receive a cost of living adjustment in last year’s budget.

The library budget dropped by 6.9 percent, from about $305,000 to $285,000, primarily due to about $20,000 in savings from staff reorganization. However, library patrons won’t see any cuts in services, Williams said.

Councilmembers also refrained from cutting donations from the hotel-motel tax fund to local organizations and events, such as the Buda Fine Arts Festival and the Lions Club. They also have $25,000 slated for July 4 fireworks, after this year’s $5,000 show received poor reviews from citizens. However, councilmembers said they wanted to see firm numbers next year showing that the events actually succeed in pulling tourists into the city.

“If the citizens want a really nice fireworks show, they deserve a really nice fireworks show, but maybe we ought to be raising property taxes to pay for it, rather than making questionable use of the hotel-motel tax to pay for it,” said Councilmember Ron Fletcher.

While noting that the city is using some money to start a police department, repair streets and develop parks, Councilmember Sandra Tenorio said that the overall budget remained relatively spartan.

“I do agree it’s a pretty tight budget, and I think sometimes you just have to do that when there’s no money,” Tenorio said. “And I think we’re in better shape than most cities.”

Following public hearing on Sept. 9 and 15, the council is scheduled to adopt a final budget on Sept. 21.

Buda Tax rate
2005/06 – 16.7 cents
2006/07 – 16.7 cents
2007/08 – 18.7 cents
2008/09 – 22.5 cents
2009/10 – 22.5 cents
2010/11 – 25.67 cents (proposed)

Looking back, I’m not sure that a lot of folks thought that Obama could actually win the election. And when he did, they began almost immediately trying to undermine his plans – the ambitious platform of bringing America back to peace and prosperity.

“He’s not from here”, the birthers began to hiss on cue. And then there were those rumblings about him not being “all black”, like somehow that made him a traitor to both races and not to be trusted. They worked it from every angle for the past 18 months and they finally figured it out. Race and nationality are going to incite some of the folks, but not enough to keep the momentum going. And, frankly, racism is not very politically correct these days. They needed something a bit more covert.

And I’m not exactly sure who “they” are. The Tea Party is not driving this train, much as they’d like to think so. They are just easy to whip into a massive herd-like frenzy which plays well on Fox News. Palin doesn’t have the brains to manipulate the masses like this. Beck’s a publicity puppet like Limbaugh, blowhards on a payroll. I would imagine, though, that there is a paper trail somewhere which leads directly to the oil industry. Regardless.

“He’s raising our taxes.” “He’s not helping the little guy enough.” “He has no military experience.” “He’s sacrificing our soldiers to the Taliban.” “He’s withdrawing our troops before we’ve killed Bin Laden.” “It’s because he’s ‘one of them’”. Haven’t you heard?

The latest fear mongering exploit seems to be the statement of “fact” that Obama lied when he said that he was a Christian (and has been his entire life) and he’s really a closet Muslim. Like Satan. They’ve pulled out the oldest trick in the book: Terrify folks into thinking that someone is trying to take their god away and will make them bow down to pagan images, or worse, Allah.

Hit them in that hazy hallowed space of the entanglement of god and country, where there are no definitive answers except those conveniently whispered by god directly into the ear of whomever happens to be holding the microphone.

And as much as I know they deny this, if the president was a middle-aged protestant white man, there would be no insinuations about his nationality, no question of his beliefs, no conspiracy theory concerning his agenda.

This whole issue is about racism and fear and lies. It’s just cloaked conveniently in the Stars and Stripes, spoon-fed to folks who often don’t bother to think for themselves, and, ironically, called patriotism.

brenda@haysfreepress.com