Their personalities could not be more different.

But for as long as point guard David Eads, post Zach Karczewski and swing man Cole Vucurevich have been playing for Lake Travis head coach Jan Jernberg, they’ve been known as “The Triplets.”

Before the beginning of the 2007-08 season, Jernberg pointed at three sophomore names on his varsity roster.

“Those are my guys,” he said. “They’re going to be very good for us for the next three years. They can all play with the big boys.”

And they have. Over the last three years, the Cavaliers are 92-15 and have won nine playoff games. But until Saturday’s region championship, it was the losses that stuck with the three.

First, it was a first-round upset at the hands of New Braunfels during their sophomore season.

“Records don’t matter in the playoffs, everything is new in the playoffs,” Eads said. “No one is ever going to step aside for you just because you’re a heavy favorite. Everyone is going to gun for you, no matter what.”

But once the lesson is learned to play all-out, what happens when that’s not enough? Eads found out the hard way last year when a bad inbounds pass gave LBJ new life in the Region IV final. He blamed himself for four months, despite the fact that the Cavs actually lost on a buzzer-beater in overtime. He was told over and over by friends, coaches and teammates that his one pass didn’t cost Lake Travis a trip to state. He didn’t care.

“When it comes down to crunch time, everything’s magnified and people remember who makes or misses the game-winner,” Eads said. “As a point guard, I pride myself on my ability to take care of the ball, and when we had to have that at the end of the game, I failed in that pursuit. This season has definitely been an opportunity to make up for that.”

Eads made up for it Saturday with a 19-point performance, but when the Cavs have needed big performances this year, one of the triplets always seems to show up.

Karczewski has led the way in the playoffs, averaging 15 points per game, including a 24-point outburst in the regional semifinal against Gregory-Portland. He is far and away the Cavaliers’ most aggressive player, one that Jernberg nicknamed “Twilight” because when he steps on the court, he becomes a monster, dominating bigger defenders while checking in at 6’4”.

“I love playing against guys that are supposed to be the best, especially if they’re taller,” Karczewski said. “I love playing the underdog. You’ve got nothing to lose, so go all out.”

“You’d be hard pressed to find a post his size, with the size and athletic disadvantage he has, that gets the results he does,” Eads said. “He just never quits.”

Vucurevich is the most athletic player Jernberg says he has ever coached, and in a showdown with district rival Killeen on Jan. 29, the 6’4” swingman had five blocks to go with 12 points. He both literally and figuratively rises to the occasion.

“I wouldn’t say I go into those games with a different mindset,” Vucurevich said. “I just think I take advantage of the opportunities.”

He also led the Cavs with 19 points in a come-from-behind win over LBJ in the third round.

“His athleticism is unrivaled,” Eads said. “Some of the plays he makes, you have to stop for a minute and realize what you just saw.”

When one can’t finish the job, another does. They know where everyone is on the floor, and when one of them goes down, the dynamic changes for Lake Travis. When you’ve played together for so long, that tends to happen.

“The chemistry we’ve built has really helped us,” Eads said. “We understand each other both on and off the court.”

They each credit the contribtions of their teammates, especially Chris Dash, Billy Sherakas, Bob Carlton, Griffin Gilbert and Yusuf Abdullah, as a huge reason they were able to make it to this point, especially after losing Jordan Jahr and Ryan Betori.

But it’s their understanding of each other that makes the team special – even if the details really aren’t all that important.

For instance, Karczewski believes he knows where Vucurevich gets his incredible jumping ability.

“His big toe is just ridiculously huge,” Karczewski laughed. “It’s got to be twice as big as mine and like three times longer than a normal big toe. I’m telling you, that’s where it comes from.”

Eads thinks the most interesting thing about Vucurevich is his broad but intriguing musical tastes (well, that and the fact that he was born in Compton, CA). He points to Vucurevich’s digging up Bobby Vinton’s “Mr. Lonely,” which was sampled by Akon for the song “Lonely.”

“He’ll bring out anything from any decade,” Eads said. “I didn’t even know the original version of that song existed. And he was excited, he was listening to that like he would anything else.”

And where Karczewski is borderline abusive on the basketball court, he’s a humanitarian off the court, as a leader for the local Special Olympics. Still, Vucurevich doesn’t think people understand the dark side.

“He seriously changes. I can’t even explain it,” Vucurevich said. “When Zach is on the court, he’s completely different than the guy that comes off the court.”

But both Vucurevich and Karczewski agree on Eads.

“David is one of the most intellectual people I’ve ever met. He’s also extremely philosophical,” Vucurevich said.

“He got some ridiculous score on his ACT, like 34 out of 36 or something like that,” Karczewski said. “It shows up on the court. He has basketball intelligence, but he has more than that when he’s out there.”

They’ll each need their best traits at full force tonight when they take the court against Lancaster (35-2), a team favored to beat them. And a team that’s taller, more experienced and deeper.

But that’s fine for the three seniors. Karczewski will attempt to outfight the opposition, Vucurevich will attempt to out jump them and Eads will attempt to outsmart them.

When asked if what they’ve accomplished has set in, they all answered the same.

Not yet, but it probably will when we step on the court Thursday.

“The Triplets” weren’t labeled as such because they were similar in any way, shape or form.

It was because they might as well be one entity.

Weekend Preview

If the Cavaliers (33-5) manage an upset tonight against Lancaster (35-2), it’s likely they will have done it their way. Lake Travis is good at making other teams play its game, and frankly, doesn’t quite know how to win any other way. At least not lately.

The best example would be a team like Killeen, which averaged 70-plus points per game, but was held to 46 and 57 in both games against Lake Travis. The Cavaliers are good at making first options disappear, and forcing tougher shots.

In theory, Lake Travis could be exploited for its height disadvantage against a team like Lancaster, but it wouldn’t be the first time a taller team has failed to capitalize.

“They’ve got four division one players – they’re very good,” Jernberg said. “We’re not going to do anything different than what we’ve done before. Yes, they’ve got some height, but we’ve played teams with guys that were 6’6” and 6’8”, and we’ve done pretty well against them.”

When they haven’t done well, they’ve done poorly against the press, forced bad passes and most of all – gone cold from the floor or the free throw line. Lately, it hasn’t been a problem.

“If we shoot the ball well, we’re going to be in it,” Jernberg said. “That’s the key.”

It will have to be for the underdog Cavs to keep up, but if they’ve shown anything this season, it’s that if they’re in the game late, they’ve always got a shot.

For many outside of Lancaster and Lake Travis, though, this 4A final four is about one thing – Houston Yates’ otherworldly dominance. The Lions (32-0) have won 14 straight games in which they’ve scored 100 points, and controversially set a state record for points in a game with a 170-35 win over Houston Lee earlier in the year.  They are the defending state champions, and this tournament is supposed to be their crowning achievement. Yates plays The Colony (32-8) following the Lake Travis – Lancaster game tonight, and the winners of each game face off for the title at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

How the Cavs got here

Boys Season Results
Date    Opponent    Time/Score
Nov. 17    McCallum    61-56 (w)
Nov. 20    Vista Ridge    50-45 (w)
Nov. 24    @ Austin High    73-60 (w)
Nov. 25    Anderson    69-31 (w)
Dec. 1    @ Cedar Park    52-49 (w)
Dec. 3    Palmview    84-21 (w)
Dec. 4    S.A. Clark    74-62 (l)
Dec. 4    St. Thomas Catholic    42-37 (w)
Dec. 5    Converse Judson    36-34 (l)
Dec. 8    @ Lehman    91-31 (w)
Dec. 11    Westwood    65-55 (w)
Dec. 12    Mansfield    63-40 (l)
Dec. 12    St. Stephen’s Episcopal    68-56 (w)
Dec. 12    Cedar Park    37-34 (w)
Dec. 18    Lockhart    81-31 (w)
Dec. 21    Copperas Cove    82-52 (w)
Dec. 28    Big Spring    58-39 (w)
Dec. 29    St. Michael’s     56-55 (w)
Dec. 29    Vista Ridge    63-42 (w)
Dec. 29    Houston Sam Houston    57-41 (w)
Jan. 4    Smithville    82-49 (w)
Jan. 8    @ Elgin    67-40 (w)
Jan. 15    @ Lampasas*    41-28 (w)
Jan. 19    Hendrickson*    65-49 (w)
Jan. 22    @ Hutto*    63-44 (w)
Jan. 26    Marble Falls*    66-54 (w)
Jan. 29    @ Killeen*    48-46 (w)
Feb. 2    Lampasas*    56-39 (w)
Feb. 5    @ Hendrickson*    68-60 (l)
Feb. 9    Hutto*    56-53 (w)
Feb. 13    @ Marble Falls*    72-46 (w)
Feb. 16    Killeen*    57-55 (l)
Feb. 24    McCallum**    69-58 (w)
Feb. 26     Cibolo Steele**    49-42 (w)
Mar. 1    LBJ**    66-56 (w)
Mar. 5    Gregory-Portland**    70-44 (w)
Mar. 6    Kerrville Tivy**    38-31 (w)
*Denotes district game
** Denotes playoff game

LTHS Boys Statistical Leaders
(Updated through end of regular season)

Player        PPG    RPG    APG    FG%      FT%
Zach Karczewski        14.2    7.1    0.5    58    58
Cole Vucurevich        10.3    5.2    1.4    44    51
Billy Sherakas        9.7    4.4    0.5    44    68
David Eads        8.6    3.4    9.2    42    67
Chris Dash        7.8    3.4    0.5    54    57
Griffin Gilbert        5.1    2.3    0.2    62    52
Bob Carlton        4.3    0.8    0.4    45    70
Yusuf Abdullah        1.6    1.1    0.4    30    59
Drew Nikolovski        1.5    0.5    0.3    37    38
Matt Tyson        1.2    0.6    0.6    30    53
Collin Betori        1.0    0.6    0.0    –    100
Adam Peckover        0.8    0.6    0.2    33    100
Trent Kan        0.5    0.7    0.2    75    25
Team totals        60.7    27.4    13.7    48    60

LTHS Boys 3PT Leaders

Player        3FG    3FGA    3FG%
Chris Dash        36    77    47
Bob Carlton        35    85    41
Billy Sherakas        44    122    36
Team totals        176    485    36

A late second-quarter surge broke the game’s final tie, and the Cavaliers (32-5) held off the Antlers to win the Region IV-4A title. Lake Travis had thrashed Gregory Portland in Friday night’s semifinal 70-44 to reach the championship game.

The Cavaliers came out swinging to open the game Saturday afternoon, with Zach Karczewski leading the charge. The Cavs’ man in the post was going up against two Tivy posts with major height advantages over him, but Karczewski didn’t relent.

“We knew we had to attack them, try to get them in foul trouble and let them know we weren’t just going to settle for the three,” Karczewski said. “Once you establish that, it gives you a lot more open looks all over the floor.”

Lake Travis held steady in the opening quarter, thanks to two buckets by Karczewski and a three pointer from both Chris Dash and Cole Vucurevich. After the first frame, Lake Travis led 11-7.

After a rush by the Antlers to tie the game at 14-14 with just under four minutes left in the first half, the Cavaliers went on a 10-2 run, stealing the momentum heading into the break with a 24-16 lead.

Lake Travis kept the rush on in the third quarter, keeping Tivy at bay and holding a 33-26 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

But Tivy opened the quarter on a 5-1 run and the Lake Travis side of the gym tensed up a bit. Lake Travis head coach Jan Jernberg called a timeout with his team up 34-31.

“The first thing we told the guys was, ‘look, [Tivy's] going to get their shots and they’re going to have their moment,’” Jernberg said. “We told them to bend but not break. We’ve been waiting too long for this, we’ve got too much heart and we’re either going to stick the dagger in them or they’re going to stick it in us. Don’t lose your poise, play great defense and make the play when you get a chance.”

The timeout talk appeared to help, as the Antlers didn’t score another point over the final six minutes. With about seven seconds left in the game, Cavalier point guard David Eads was fouled and went to the free throw line with a 37-31 lead. Jernberg subbed out his other four players on the floor and the celebration began on the Cavalier sideline and the stands.

Meanwhile, Eads was the lone starter left on the floor, which seemed appropriate. Eads blamed himself for the Cavaliers’ Region IV title game loss to LBJ last year, and in the ultimate act of redemption, hit one more free throw to score his 19th point of the game – sealing the win with one of the best offensive games of his career, and freeing himself from the tremendous weight carried on his shoulders.

“David had this great fall league game against Westwood where he just shot the lights out. I know he can score like that, but he came up to me and said, ‘Coach, I’d forgotten, but I can shoot,’” Jernberg laughed. “I told him he could definitely shoot and that he just needed to go out there and knock them down.”

That’s exactly what he did, not missing a single shot after his sole miss of the game in the first quarter.

“We’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and it’s an unreal feeling to know that it has all paid off,” Eads said. “My role isn’t really to score much, I’m more of a distributer. But we knew coming in that Tivy had scouted us and knew us pretty well, so they were guarding our shooters tough all game. Because of that, I was open a lot and I had to make the most of it.”

Then he stood alone on the free throw line. Soaking in the reality.

“I just kept thinking, ‘we’ve got a seven-point lead with seven seconds left,’ – it’s a good feeling,” he said.

Lake Travis then celebrated with friends and family and cut down one of the nets.

A region title has been the hope and dream of Jernberg his entire career. He’s had two Lake Travis teams just miss out as region favorites, and this time, he got his trip to the state tournament.

“I can’t put words to it,” Jernberg said. “I know it sounds corny, but I really am humbled by it. I’ve been in that building so many times going to my regional board meetings between the games during the state tournament and it is awe-inspiring.”

“To be able to coach in that atmosphere and on that stage – it’s not even about winning and losing. Of course we want to win, I want it for our kids, but this is also going to be the most fun week of workouts we’ve ever had,” he said.

The Cavs’ opponent won’t be determined until late Saturday or early Sunday morning, though Jernberg felt confident that his team would not be seeded in a position to have to play Houston Yates, a team that has flat-out dominated opponents all season. Without knowing his opponent, he could only speak to his team’s abilities.

“We are who we are,” Jernberg said. “We’ve earned this position by playing great defense. We’re still going to play defense when we get there. I don’t know what’s going to happen when we get there, but we’re going to fight and we’re going to battle.”

The Cavaliers will play Thursday night in the Frank Erwin Center. The 4A semifinal games will wrap up a day of semifinal basketball. The first semifinal will begin at 7 p.m. with the second one to follow.

For state tournament ticket information, visit uil.utexas.edu/athletics/basketball/state/boys/index.html

Michael Brewer plans on playing his college football at Texas Tech.

Lake Travis quarterback Michael Brewer will become the third Cavalier QB to play his college football in the Big XII Conference.

Friday afternoon, with his coaches and family around him, he pledged to accept a scholarship offer from Texas Tech.

“I felt like the program is on the up and up, and for them to be on the up and up from where they’ve already gotten means a lot to me,” Brewer said. “It’s a huge relief, a nice burden to have off my shoulders, and I’m ready to concentrate on spring ball.”

Brewer is hoping to lead the Cavaliers on a run toward their fourth straight state championship. The team will enter the 2010 season having won three consecutive 4A titles and 46 consecutive games dating back to 2007.

Texas Tech is coming off a 9-4 season and a win in the Alamo Bowl. Tommy Tuberville takes over as the team’s head coach, and Brewer said was impressed by Tuberville and the staff he’s putting together.

“Coach Tuberville is a great guy, a great leader and someone who is bringing a great staff with lots of experience and lots of football knowledge,” Brewer said.

Tuberville said he expects to use the same wide open passing attack employed by his predecessor. Tech’s passing attack ranks among the best in the nation annually.

When he joins the Red Raiders, he’ll join Cavalier predecessors Todd Reesing (Kansas) and Garrett Gilbert (Texas) in the conference. Reesing completed his eligibility this season and Gilbert is entering his sophomore season, where he’s set to start for the Longhorns.

Brewer chose Texas Tech over eight other schools who had contacted him, including Tulsa, where former Cavalier coach Chad Morris is an offensive coordinator, Texas, Rice, Auburn, East Carolina, Baylor, Kansas and Arizona State.

When disasters devastate entire countries, such as the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12 and the 8.8-magnitude disaster that hit Chile on Saturday, the world reels in shock but millions react with aid.

Lakeway resident Sandy Larson, RN, has been at the forefront of disaster relief and humanitarian efforts as a registered nurse working aboard hospital ships.
When Larson read about Project HOPE’s need for qualified nurses to work onboard the USNS Comfort off the coast of Port-au-Prince, she signed up immediately for a three-week volunteer rotation.
The Comfort had been in dry dock in Baltimore, Md., when the earthquake ravaged Haiti, but the U.S. Navy ship and its crew were called into duty and set sail Jan. 16. The ship primarily supports overseas military operations, but its secondary mission is to provide a full hospital service for other government agencies involved in the support of relief and humanitarian operations worldwide.
As the 894-foot Comfort sailed to the Caribbean as part of Operation Unified Response, workers outfitted the ship in transit and 26 volunteers, including Larson, flew on a military cargo transport Jan. 27 from Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida to Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince with a brief stop at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Before the Comfort moored, helicopters began flying patients in for surgery and treatments.
Within two hours of arriving onboard, Larson’s group began a grueling cycle of relief. She worked 16 shifts of 12 hours each.
“I quickly realized it would be sleep and work,” Larson said. “It was exhausting for everybody, no doubt.”
The 1,000-bed floating hospital ship took on 700 patients initially and continued taking up to 100 new patients each day to treat in eight operating rooms.
Project HOPE volunteers who supplemented military personnel included medical professionals with experience in surgery, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, post anesthesia care, intensive care and physical therapy.
As a critical care nurse for 26 years at Seton Medical Center Austin in its intensive care unit and several decades, Larson is no stranger to working on international relief projects and hospital ships.
She feels that she has been blessed with good health and skills that have been of value to these missions.
“I firmly believe that to whom much has been given, much is expected,” she said.
She served on a couple of short-term, land-based missions in Panama and in 2007 she served a month on GRT Africa Mercy harbored in Liberia. Larson also was familiar with the USNS Comfort from a Project HOPE humanitarian mission last spring for six weeks in the Caribbean, including a stop at Haiti.
“I had been ashore two or three times there, so I had a pretty good sense of what I was getting into. I knew it was going to be a way more intense scene than I had been a part of in the spring,” Larson said, adding that her three-week rotation was her first nursing mission to support disaster relief.
She learned that flexibility was the key word.
“You have to be able to go with the flow. In that kind of a setting, you have to give up some of the rules and regulations that work under here in the States,” she explained. “You’re doing the most for the most patients that you can at the time.”
The hospital ship took a steady stream of patients who were airlifted by helicopter and occasionally transported by small boats.
“There was a continuous flow of that kind of activity,” she said.
Larson recalled seeing lots of cases of amputations, head trauma, fractured legs and arms and spinal injuries.
She noted that few doctors onboard had treated patients of typhoid and tetanus.
“That was interesting for about everybody. Very few of the physicians had ever encountered that because we just don’t see it in our modern medical setting,” she said.
Gut-wrenching stories became part of the daily routine.
“The human grief was really overwhelming at times. We took care of many people of all ages who had lost their total families. They were the lone survivors,” she said, fondly remembering one patient who had lost her parents and five siblings when their family’s house collapsed. The woman, who had a good command of English, escaped with major facial fractures and unable to speak after receiving treatment wrote notes and letter of thanks to Larson.
Amid the disease and trauma, doctors also delivered a few babies onboard.
One expectant mother had suffered a fractured pelvis, and she and her baby were extremely ill when they came onboard. Doctors didn’t expect the baby, dubbed Isabella, to survive after delivering her prematurely at 6 1/2 months and taking her off a breathing machine.
“She just started breathing on her own and started thriving. She went home with her mother,” Larson recalled. “Baby Isabella is the miracle baby of the ship.”
The story was one among many that lifted spirits and morale on the ship.
“There were definitely some bright spots,” Larson said. “People got over the hump, when we didn’t know if they would make it. They did survive and ultimately get better.”
The scope of Project HOPE’s mission and collaboration with Navy personnel astounded her.
“When you think about it, it was just unbelievable what the end result was because it was a huge, huge undertaking with so many levels of people involved,” Larson. “It was a very high level of care for the situation. To work at that level for three weeks was plenty.”
The ups and downs and long shifts did fatigue Larson who is semi-retired, but she gained a greater understanding of tragedy on an epic scale.
“I deal with death and dying on a regular basis in what I do … but when you add that level of not only the injuries but also people who have lost several or all of their family members and have no home to go to, it puts my whole world into a different perspective,” she said. “It makes me incredibly grateful.”
Although she was ready to come home, she took several memories with her of Haiti’s unwavering faith.
On the eve of the one-month anniversary of the earthquake Feb. 12, the ship’s chaplain and an interpreter hosted a service of remembrance and hope in the ship’s mess hall that included hymns and prayer.
“Everybody came — all the patients who could make it – along with the Red Cross and Project HOPE. It was packed to the brim, shoulder to shoulder. That was a hugely powerful experience. There weren’t so many dry eyes at the service,” Larson said. “It was such an example of their strength. [Haitians] are used to very, very hard lives, and they have very strong spirits. That was a wonderful way to end our mission.”

But for some in the church the loss was personal. This was the case for member Christy Chermak, a Lake Travis High School graduate who has recently returned from a four-month mission project with Engineering Ministries International and was in Haiti in September 2009.

For Chermak it was a feeling of frustration.
“I understand the importance of sending as much financial support as I can, but more than anything, I want to be standing side by side with the friends I made during my time in Haiti,” Chermak said. “I will continue to pray for the country of Haiti every night, and I very much so look forward to the day I can return to help them rebuild.”
It was also personal for Senior Pastor Ray Kiser. Kiser lost friend and colleague the Rev. Clint Rabb who was in Haiti at the time of the quake.
Rabb was there as a part of the ongoing work of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church to assist the people of Haiti.
Trapped in the collapse of the hotel where he was staying Rabb was pulled from the rubble but later died of his injuries.
In reflecting on the tragedy Kiser mourned the loss of his friend.
“The loss of our friend and colleague Clint Rabb brought sorrow to many of us on a very personal level,” Kiser said. “When you multiply this kind of loss thousands of times, we only begin to grasp the magnitude of grief and pain in Haiti. I pray that our concerned response will extend for months and years into the future.”
In response LTUMC members have collected more than $7,500 to be used by the United Methodist Church’s Committee on Relief.
All monies collected by UMCOR go directly to relief efforts. In addition, members of the church assembled 260 health kits that contain basic supplies that are distributed to disaster victims.
Anyone wishing to donate Haiti relief to UMCOR may visit its web site at www.umcor.org.

Despite losing one part-time position in August and having to close Mondays to adapt to the city’s budget crisis last year, the Bee Cave Public Library received the 2009 Achievement of Excellence Award from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association.
Of the more than 500 public libraries in Texas, Bee Cave was one of 27 to receive the award.
Mayor Caroline Murphy presented Library Director Barbara Hathaway with a plaque at a recent City Council meeting in honor of the award.
Hathaway thanked the mayor, council and city administration for their support of the library, and she commended the library staff for their commitment to customer service.
“It was a difficult year with the budget cuts, but my staff did an amazing job,” she said. “We will never be the biggest library in the area, but we try to be the friendliest and most helpful. Our staff love what they do, and it shows in their attitudes toward our patrons.”
The TMLDA gives the award annually to libraries that demonstrate a commitment to excellence for their communities across a wide range of service and programs.
“This is a very high honor. There is a very rigorous” application process, Murphy said.
In order to qualify, the Bee Cave library submitted evidence of achievement in 10 categories of service, including a summer reading program for youth, teens or adults; cultural, topical and educational programming for adults and families; and literacy support for all ages.
Other criteria the association evaluated included services to underserved populations; collaboration with other libraries or organizations; professional staff training; collaborative efforts with local schools; volunteer and internship programs; web presence; and marketing.
City Administrator Frank Salvato said the achievement is impressive when taking last year’s challenges into account.
“Even as short-handed as they are they are still able to meet all the requirements to earn this award. A lot of that has to with all the special activities they have around the year. Those special events show their interest in keeping the community connected to reading,” Salvato said.
The library was founded in 2003 with a small collection of donated books, and opened in its current location in the Hill Country Galleria in late 2007.
Since that time, the collection has grown to more than 25,000 items. With more than 9,000 registered cardholders, the library circulates 162,000 items annually, and received more than 73,000 visits last year, according to library records.
City Council members also authorized the library to spend $5,600 from donations for shelving, books, book carts and other library items. Proceeds from the Rolling Sculpture Car Show last October constituted $4,310 of this amount, of which about $2,300 will be spent immediately with the remainder allocated for as-needed expenses later this year.
Council member Chad Bockius updated the council on the Bee Cave Arts Foundation’s plans for The Benches of Bee Cave, a plan to install 25-50 public benches at high foot traffic locations around the city, including Bee Cave Central Park and City Hall and possibly the Hill Country Galleria and Shops at the Galleria. Artists will submit their bench designs to a foundation for approval, and sponsorships will be available.
In other action, council members:
3 Approved the installation of a French drain at Bee Cave Central Park to reduce water that has pooled at the play field-active meadow because of heavy rains and an exposed natural spring; and
3 Accepted Bee Cave Police Department’s racial profiling report for traffic stops in 2009 that concluded the police force does not practice or condone bias based on profiling. Because the police department records all traffic stops, it is not required to present the annual report to its City Council, but Police Chief Rusty Pancoast said he wanted council members to have the data. Of the 7,911 stops officers made last year, 69 drivers were arrested, 3,892 were released without a citation, 2,221 were ticketed and 1,729 were issued written warnings.

Republicans Paul Workman and Holly Turner will face off in a runoff election on April 13 after they out-distanced David Sewell in the March 2 primary election.

The winner will take on incumbent Valinda Bolton in November for the right to represent Texas House District 47.

At presstime Tuesday, Workman had garnered 40 percent of the vote as opposed to Turner’s 36 percent with 90 percent of the precincts reporting.

But District 47 isn’t the only race that seeks changes in the status quo — Republican Donna Campbell easily beat George Morovich with 70 percent of the vote for the right to challenge incumbent District 25 Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Doggett, a Democrat who has been in office since 1994, ran unopposed.
In the District 21 race, Republican Congressman Lamar Smith trounced an in-party challenger, Stephen Schoppe, with 81 percent of the vote.
“My opponent picked the wrong target,” Smith said. “I have a very conservative record. The vote to me is a strong signal that (voters) want me to continue.”
Smith will face Democrat Lainey Melnick and Libertarian James Arthur Strohm in the general election for District 21.
The election also saw U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and upstart Debra Medina unable to unseat incumbent Gov. Rick Perry. Perry will now face Democrat Bill White in November.

Lake Travis has another state champion.

It’s the same guy as last time.

Cavalier senior and Maryland commit Chris Griffin blew away the competition in the boys’ 500-yard freestyle Saturday at the State Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Texas, notching a time of 4:33.73 – nine seconds faster than second place finisher Grant Koudelka from Gilmer.

“I loved it,” Griffin said. “It was a great meet all around. Honestly, I got a best time, and that’s always the goal, regardless of the outcome. That’s what it’s about, that’s what I did and I’m really happy with it.”

Griffin also took second in the boys’ 200-yard freestyle, coming up with a time of 1:40.74, which was just shy of the 1:39.81 time that won the event.
Griffin’s individual finishes weren’t the only highlights on the day, though.

Zach Hoffmann reached the medal stand in his final meet as a Cavalier, taking third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 59.72. The winning time was 59.19, showing just how close the race was down the stretch.

To close out the day, the boys’ 400-yard freestyle relay team came from behind to get third place, earning a medal for senior Jonathon Chambers and Travis Bauer, as well as Hoffmann and Griffin.

The strong finish also helped push the boys’ team into fourth place overall, despite only entering five competitors into the meet.

Reid Elliott’s fourth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke contributed to the team’s cause, as well as a sixth-place finish by Elliott, Hoffmann, Bauer and Chambers in the boys’ 200-yard medley relay.

On the girls’ side Katie Grose took seventh in the 100-yard freestyle and Alex Bettridge finished fourth in the one-meter diving competition.

“I was just extremely pleased with everyone and what they did here,” Lake Travis head coach Darcy Smith said. “They always astound me with their efforts and how they place at meets like this. I knew our boys’ team was strong coming in after the regional performance they put together, and they didn’t disappoint me.”

It’s especially sweet for the three senior boys that Smith is saying goodbye to.

“These seniors were sophomores my very first year here,” she said. “It’s been really neat to watch them grow up and then see their senior year be so productive – it’s pretty awesome. Plus, they each got a medal. They were phenomenal for me and I’m so happy they got the results they did.”

The fourth place finish, in particular, will be feather in the program’s hat for years.

“It’s fantastic,” Smith said. “When we had the third place finish a couple years ago, that was what we considered one of our top teams. For these guys to nearly match that – what a great job.”

Republicans Paul Workman and Holly Turner will face off in a runoff election on April 13 after they out-distanced David Sewell in the March 2 primary election. The winner will take on incumbent Valinda Bolton in November for the right to represent Texas House District 47.

At presstime Tuesday, Workman had garnered 40 percent of the vote as opposed to Turner’s 36 percent with 90 percent of the precincts reporting.
But District 47 isn’t the only race that seeks changes in the status quo — Republican Donna Campbell easily beat George Morovich with 70 percent of the vote for the right to challenge incumbent District 25 Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Doggett, a Democrat who has been in office since 1994, ran unopposed.
In the District 21 race, Republican Congressman Lamar Smith trounced an in-party challenger, Stephen Schoppe, with 81 percent of the vote.
“My opponent picked the wrong target,” Smith said. “I have a very conservative record. The vote to me is a strong signal that (voters) want me to continue.”
Smith will face Democrat Lainey Melnick and Libertarian James Arthur Strohm in the general election for District 21.
The election also saw U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and upstart Debra Medina unable to unseat incumbent Gov. Rick Perry. Perry will now face Democrat Bill White in November.

It was a case of a little pain now rather than a lot of pain later when Lakeway City Council members committed to start repair work on Lohmans Crossing Road from Lakeway Boulevard to Sailmaster Street.

At their regular council meeting Feb. 16, the council unanimously authorized $48,400 for engineering work in advance of repairs that are expected to cost $375,000, a figure that unsettled some council members.
The project will reconstruct a section of the road from The MarketPlace driveway to north of Cross Creek Drive, including Hurst Creek Bridge, and place a 1 1/2-inch asphalt overlay from Lakeway Boulevard to the MarketPlace driveway and from just north of Cross Creek to Sailmaster Street.
City Manager Steve Jones said that if bids come in under projected costs, the city might put down an asphalt overlay in the Hamilton Greenbelt parking lot.
Mayor Dave DeOme asked if the city could delay construction for another year or two or three.
“I still am not comfortable on why we have to do this road now,” DeOme said. “Sell me on why we have to do this road this year and spend $300,000-plus.”
Construction would take about 90 days, and the city will likely start construction in the summer when traffic volume is lower.
The city will close the road and detour traffic to Lakeway Drive.
The road also serves as a major entrance and exit for Lakeway Police Department and Lake Travis Fire Rescue Station 602, but City Manager Steve Jones said construction crews would allow access for emergency vehicles.
To stay under budget, the Lakeway held off on doing overlays on its roads last year, but in September the city hired a contractor to do a road study in which the crew drilled three bores into the road and detected failures.
“We have significant base failure and alligator cracking. It’s just getting worse. It could be a maintenance nightmare,” City Engineer Paul Duncan said, adding that when the road and bridge were built it wasn’t to the city’s standards today.
City staff members said overlays can provide a temporary patch, but they do not improve the condition of the road underneath.
“It’s imminent the road will come apart,” Jones said. “If we don’t do it now, what we are going to end up doing is patching it one piece at a time and the money we will spend on those patches will be considerable and it ultimately will be wasted. We are going to have to rebuild that road eventually.”
“It sounds to me like it’s best to bite the bullet,” council member Bruce Harris said.
Council members also approved 10 charter amendment propositions to go before voters in the May 8 general election.
Charter Review Committee Chairman Steve Swan, a former mayor of Lakeway, presented the committee’s recommendations to the council based on simplifying wording to remove confusing language, remove outdated wording that could cause problems in interpretation and eliminate wording that does not follow state law, which supersedes home rule law.
Swan complemented his fellow committee members and City Attorney Patty Akers for their input in the amendments.
“I had a lot of help,” he said.
The 10 proposed charter amendments are:
• Proposition 1 — Shall Sections 3.02, titled “Qualifications,” 7.02 titled “Qualifications and Term of Office” and 9.05 titled “Counterclaim of Tax Arrears and Debt of City” be clarified to define the term “in arrears”? If so, then each of these sections will be amended to include the definition:
“‘In arrears’ shall mean nonpayment of a tax, liability or other obligation owed the city, other than a citation properly contested through municipal court, that has not been received by the city within 90 days from due date.”
• Proposition 2 — Shall Section 3.09, titled “Filling of Vacancies” be amended to simplify the procedure for filling vacancies that occur on the City Council by modifying the procedure to achieve flexibility and conformance to the current uniform election process contracted with Travis County? The first two paragraphs of the section would read:
“The City Council shall fill any vacancy that occurs on the City Council unless an election to fill the vacancy is required by Article XI, Section 11, of the Texas Constitution, or unless a majority of the City Council votes to call a special election for the next uniform election date to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term only.
“A person serving as a member of the City Council is not, because of that service, ineligible to be appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor, but the person may not vote on the person’s own appointment.”
• Proposition 3 — Shall Section 3.09, titled “Filling of Vacancies,” be amended to provided that in the event that a number of vacancies exist on the City Council, and the situation prevents the Council from having a quorum of four members as required in Section 3.12, then the remaining members shall constitute a quorum for the limited purpose of meeting to fill enough of the vacancies so that a quorum of four exists? If approved, the third paragraph of this section will read:
“If a number of vacancies exist on the Council causing the remaining members to number less than four, those remaining members shall constitute a quorum for the limited purpose of meeting to fill enough of the vacancies so that a quorum of four exists.”
• Proposition 4 — Shall Section 4.07, titled “Police Department,” be amended to clarify that the certification and training requirements for the Chief of Police shall be consistent with state law. If approved, the third sentence of this section shall read:
“The Chief of Police must be of good reputation and must, as required under state law, maintain sufficient certification and continuing education training to be authorized to serve as chief.”
• Proposition 5 — Shall Section 5.01, titled “City Elections,” be updated to recognize that the date for the city’s regular election be consistent with state law? If approved, the first sentence of Subsection (a) of the section shall read:
“The regular city election shall be held annually on the uniform election date provided by state law occurring in or nearest the month of May.”
• Proposition 6 — Shall Section 6.03, titled “Form of Petition,” be clarified to provide better definition of the reasons why a signature on a petition for initiative, referendum or recall should not be counted? If approved, the first sentence of the second paragraph of the section will read:
“No signature shall be counted if it is a duplication of either a name or the handwriting used in any other signature on the petition, or if the signer is not a qualified voter of the city or if the signature fails to comply with the requirements of the Texas Election Code for the validity of petition signatures, or if the City Secretary is in possession of a document that credibly and reasonably establishes that the signature is not that of the person purported to have signed the petition.”
• Proposition 7 — Should Section 9.02, titled “Tax Levy,” be modified to provide that if the City Council fails to enact the annual tax levy ordinance and until council enacts such ordinance, the tax levy for the new fiscal year shall be that amount authorized by state law? If approved, the third sentence of the Section shall read:
“If the Council fails to enact the annual tax levy ordinance for a particular year, within such year the tax levy shall be the amount authorized by state law until the next tax levy ordinance is enacted.”
• Proposition 8 — Shall Section 11.01, titled “Oath of Office,” be amended to establish that oaths of office may be administered only by persons who are authorized to do so by state law? If approved, the last sentence of this section shall read:
“The oath shall be administered by a person authorized by law to administer oaths.”
• Proposition 9 — Shall Section 11.12, titled “Political Activities of City Officers and Employees,” be amended to be consistent with state law and to provide for penalties by ordinance? If approved, this section will read:
“(a) No city officer or employee, elected or appointed,” may spend or authorize the spending of public funds for political advertising in a manner that is prohibited by Section 255.003, Texas Election Code, as hereafter amended.
(b) Any person who by himself or with others is convicted of a violation of Section 255.003 of the Election Code may be required, in addition to such conviction, to forfeit his or her office or employment with the city.
• Proposition 10 — Shall Charter Section 11.17, titled “Interim Government,” and Charter Section 11.20 titled “Submission of Charter to Voters,” relating to the original Charter adoption in 1990 be deleted as they are no longer relevant?
Council members also adopted a new Parks and Recreation Ordinance to recognize the existence of the Parks and Recreation Department and staff members. When the original ordinance was implemented in 1991, it established a commission to oversee use of the city’s parks and recreation facilities, develop a system for use permits and collect fees.
When the city hired a parks and recreation director, it never amended its ordinance.
Lakeway’s Parks and Recreation Commission recommended approval of the ordinance.