Blake said Jonathan Frelich, 31, turned himself into the Bastrop County Jail Thursday. Frelich, who was also an assistant softball coach, posted a bond of $50,000 and was released, according to jail records.

BISD communications officer Donald Williams said Frelich resigned his teaching post on Jan. 13, with the district receiving a report about the alleged incident four days later.

“Bastrop BISD received a report on Jan. 17 about an incident of alleged inappropriate contact between a student and the teacher,”  a district news release said. “Immediately upon hearing the report, the district contacted local law enforcement and began an internal investigation.”

Blake said the female student was 16 at the time of the alleged incident.

Tickets are $20 per person for all the soup and dessert you want to sample – pottery soup bowl included. Children 12 years of age and under eat free. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance during regular business hours at the pantry at 1201 Pine St., the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce (927 Main) and the Sugar Shack (114 Loop 150 W.).
For more information, see  www.bastropfood
pantry.com or contact the pantry at (512) 303-9550; or by email at tresha@austin.rr.com.

Wamer was hired by the Family Crisis Center as the new manager of their Bits and Pieces Thrift Store at the tail end of August, which, as you might imagine, means he was pretty busy right from the get-go. That is, when he could get in to the store.

Bits and Pieces is located at 4107 Texas 71 East in Bastrop on the northern end of Tahitian Village where the highway intersects with Tahitian Drive. Like nearly all of the homes in that area, the store was inaccessible as crews struggled to contain the blazes.

After the fires, the store had a recovery process of their own to go through. The clothes, books and household goods it sells come in via donations, but the fire ended up cutting off their supply line, as those items went to help the new influx of people who had lost their homes and belongings in the blaze.

Now that the immediate need for many of those evacuees has dissipated, Wamer and the rest of the Family Crisis Center staff are hoping to call attention to its availability as a resource by holding a Grand Reopening and Open House Thursday, Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“I’d like people to take another look at us,” Wamer said. “Every dollar they spend or donation stays local.”

The store has undergone a number of changes in the last several months, including a revamped layout and a changing of the process they use for receiving goods. Now any donations – Bits and Pieces takes all kinds of items, but prefers for those donating them to make sure they can actually be used, as otherwise it costs the store money to dispose of them hits the store floor within 24 to 48 hours.

For the center, which works to provide support for victims and to help eradicate domestic and sexual violence in Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette and Lee counties, the store represents a steady source of funding in a time of dwindling appropriations from higher up.

“The store is a vital part of our operations,” said Sherry Murphy, the center’s executive director.

Murphy estimates that the revenues from the store represent some 15 percent of the center’s budget, an important chunk that’s immune from spending cuts, if not the free market.

“We saw a pretty substantial decrease in our state and federal grants,” Murphy said of the decrease between 2010 and 2011. The center had to drop two positions due to the cuts, but the diversity in funding represented by the store helped them save the jobs of some staff members who might otherwise have been cut.

That’s important, because the number of people the center is helping isn’t dwindling. Murphy said they put up more than 392 individuals for a total of more than 6,000 nights in their emergency shelter last year. More than 1,100 people made use of the center’s services.

For those victims, it’s not just dollars from Bits and Pieces that the Family Crisis Center uses in its mission. They also give vouchers to families or victims who come to them for help, some of whom might have left home to escape an abusive relationship with little more than the clothes on their back.

Bits and Pieces is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and they accept donations all day during business hours.

Timothy Yost said he was on his way to wash his feet in the Colorado River when he found gold coins and cash in a bag, and believes it was fate that put the money where he could find it.

“It didn’t wash up from the river. It was planted as a gift,” Yost said during an interview on Wednesday. “Somebody went into their safe deposit box and left it by the river for somebody to find. I saw the bag and kicked it and it went ‘klinkity klink.’”

Yost said when he opened and the bag and saw what he had, “I got a six-pack and I started praying to God – ‘Is this for real?’”

Yost, who describes himself as “homeless,” said he believes God, and some kind benefactor, played a part in him finding the money.

He said while he was in Florida he received a spiritual message: “God gave me a vision – ‘Your wife is in Texas.’ I haven’t met her yet.”

He said God also told him, “I’m going to give you riches of darkness,” a quote from the Bible.

He said while he was still searching for a wife, the money would help his situation.

Yost said he took the money and coins to First National Bank.

“I wanted to see if it was real,” he said of bank notes that were thoroughly soaked.

The Bastrop police went to the bank when they got a call from an employee.

The responding police officer wrote in his report, “I responded to a report of a suspicious individual at (the bank) trying to exchange a substantial amount of wet U.S. currency, for dry (sic). At the time of this report, the rightful owner of the found money has not been determined.”

Yost believes he should be able to keep the money.

However, Chief Blake says since Fisherman’s Park is city property and therefore within its jurisdiction, there are specific legal avenues the city must now follow on found items.

He said the city would have to post a legal notice for 90 days to see if anyone files a  claim that they lost the money, and is able to accurately describe all the contents of the bag.

Norwood, 57, is charged with killing Christine Morton. Her husband, Michael Morton, was wrongfully convicted and languished for 25 years in prison until new DNA testing resulted in his being set free in October 2011.

Russell Hunt Jr., Norwood’s attorney, said the evidence against Norwood – a bloodstained bandana – was “thin,” according to a Jan. 19 story in the Austin-American Statesman.

The bandana had DNA on it that matched Norwood’s, and blood and hair on it belonging to Christine Morton, according to the arrest warrant for Norwood.

Meanwhile, Michael Morton’s attorneys have renewed calls for a special court to examine allegations that a former Williamson County prosecutor hid evidence concerning the case, according to the Statesman. The attorneys claim that Ken Anderson, currently a district judge in Georgetown, reportedly hid evidence to ensure Morton’s conviction.

Anderson denied any wrongdoing in a strongly worded court brief filed in early January, claiming that Morton’s lawyers are misreading trial records and that their accusations are false, the Statesman said.

The Bastrop Station, located at 301 Hospital Drive in Bastrop, also provides direct-ticketing for Coach America passenger and package shipping.  Persons will be able to travel or ship freight or packages to over 2,300 locations throughout America with same day service from and to certain locations.

CARTS is dedicated to making continual service improvements in order to provide the best rural public transportation service for citizens living in the CARTS District and we would like to know where and when you would like to go. Visit the CARTS web page at RideCARTS.com and “Let us know where you want to go.”

Bastrop can pursue operating permits for an Alluvium well based on the drop in production of two other wells the utility has at another location, which follows the water conservation district’s rules for diminished pumping capacity, according to Lost Pines general manager Joe Cooper.

“There will be no increase in the amount of permitted water overall and no additional amount will be allowed, but we can allow a permit for a replacement well under aggregations rules,” Cooper said. “We will ask the utility to plug the wells that are being replaced or use them as monitoring wells.”

The outcome enables Bastrop to get needed water and satisfies environmentalists looking to preserve the integrity of the district’s moratorium, which has been in place since March 24, 2010.

The Alluvium aquifer where Bastrop’s wells are located are water-bearing sand and gravel deposits along the Colorado River and are not a recognized aquifer by the state, according to Cooper, who added that there are no established desired future conditions and there would be no modeled available groundwater numbers set for them.

“We need the new well because we have two wells that are drying up, which is partly due to the drought,” said James Miller, Bastrop City water and wastewater director. “Wells D and E, which were producing 600 to 700 gallons per minute, are only at 300 now.”

Miller stressed that the city was not producing the amount of water it had been permitted and was not asking for any additional water, only requesting water that was already permitted.

Cooper said the situation leaves the door open for Bastrop to pursue operating permits for a new well.

Miller said he would talk with Cooper next week about pursuing a permit for well H at Bob Bryant Park.

The outcome was also positive for Phil Cook of the Sierra Club and Michele Gangnes of Neighbors for Neighbors, who spoke to the board before they met in executive session to discuss the moratorium. Gangnes also read a letter to the board from Environmental Stewardship’s Steve Box during public comments.

The environmental groups were concerned that lifting the moratorium for the Alluvium aquifers would provide a legal foothold for water marketers who are requesting tens of thousands of acre feet in water from the district, which they plan to sell to burgeoning municipalities along the I-35 corridor and planned development along Texas 130, which are in dire need of water.

“Lifting the moratorium for the Alluvium aquifers would not set a good precedent. It would create a kink in the armor, so to speak,” Cook said. “Voting to keep the moratorium in place was important. We are OK with the replacement wells for the city of Bastrop.”

Cook added that local water utilities and municipalities should consider area aquifers as a threatened resource and put in place efficiency, conservation and reuse measures as a means to preserve a diminishing resource.

Miller said the city of Bastrop has put into place water reclamation efforts that put almost 1 million gallons a day of “very clean” treated effluent into the river each day.

Hearings with TWDB

Earlier last year the LPGCD, as part of their charter under the state water code, developed their desired future conditions (DFCs); a snapshot of how they want the water levels and volumes to look for the area’s aquifers 50 years from now as a result of their conservation efforts. Those DFCs were challenged by End Op, a water marketing corporation and by Environmental Stewardship, a Bastrop-based environmental organization. There are commonalities in both petitions, although End Op says the district would not pump enough water from area aquifers while Environmental Stewardship claims too much is being considered for pumping.

Cooper said hearings on the petitions before the Texas Water Development Board have been set for Feb. 29 for End Op and March 9 for Environmental Stewardship.

He said the TWDB has 60 days after the hearings to make a determination and, hopefully, issue managed available groundwater numbers that will allow the district to move forward with a management plan.

New terms for members

Five board members were reappointed to new, two-year terms: Alice Darnell (Lee County), Ken Daughtry (Bastrop County), Travis McPhaul (Lee County), Billy Sherrill (Lee County) and Mike Talbot (Bastrop County).

Darnell was asked to continue as president, Talbot to serve as vice president and Doug Prinz to remain secretary-treasurer.

General Manager’s Report

Cooper told the board that SCADA computer system monitoring from mid-December 2011 through mid-January 2012 indicate water level improvements in the Simsboro aquifer.

“The artesian head of the monitored wells has stabilized or increased, except for the Heart of Texas well in Lee County, which remains in decline,” Cooper said.

“We knew immediately that we were coming back – the kids were for it,” said Mary Rivas, referring to the family’s decision to rebuild after their home was burned to the ground during the Labor Day weekend fires. Despite losing their home, a momma cat and her kittens and two trucks, the family remains upbeat.

“We moved in Christmas Day, it felt great to be back in a house though we didn’t have furniture,” Rivas said. “We didn’t buy presents, we told the kids this new home would be our Christmas present and they were fine with that.”

On a warm Sunday afternoon, Rivas stood in the grassless front yard with her children Natalie, Greg, Eddie Jr. and her niece, Sophia. Two very active Chihuahuas – Chomper and Snowflake – were enjoying running about.

“Eddie Sr. is at the store,” Mary said of her husband.

The Rivas’ beautiful stone/stucco home stands in stark contrast to the blackened trees and dull gray house slabs that remain on most of the area properties. Inside their home are four bedrooms, a living room and dining area with cathedral ceilings and a spacious kitchen.

Mary prefers to look to the future, but she also still vividly remembers the day of the fire and when their home was lost.

“I looked down the street and saw balls of flames in the air,” Mary said, explaining that the fire was south of her on Charolais Drive. “It scared me, but I knew the wind was blowing the opposite direction from us. But then the second fire, coming from the north, got us. We had to evacuate. It was moving quickly and it hit us.”

Mary Rivas said she’s surprised there are not more people rebuilding right now, but she’s also understanding.

“I think a lot of people are just taking their time and re-doing plans,” Rivas said. “If you start over with a home, you are going to do it just like you want. That’s what we did – we did our house just how we wanted it.”

She said nearly eight years of living on Charolais Drive had been one of the draws in deciding to rebuild.

“We moved here in 2003. We really love the area and the neighbors,” Mary said. “I’m hoping my neighbors will rebuild. One neighbor who lost his home came to say hello, and said he would rebuild. I’ve seen him a few times, but he hasn’t started rebuilding yet.”

Mary took a long look at the scorched woods that surround her property.

“The trees will grow back, things are already turning green again – we are going to be fine,” she said.