Author Archives: Stewart Dale Spencer

The Coupland Times is in Archive Status

Ever since I moved away from Coupland, with the exception of a few months in 2015, I have maintained this website. As I approach the three year anniversary of my exit from Coupland on May 1, 2015, I feel it necessary to have some closure with regard to this endeavor. In its heyday, a good percentage of Coupland residents were regular readers. I had a lot of positive feedback and I enjoyed working on it.

However, with the growth of Facebook and the advent of the “Nextdoor” website, some of the original purposes of The Coupland Times are now being met through other means. Nevertheless, it seemed a shame to just let it go, especially because of the stories about the history of Coupland, along with stories about interesting places and people.

For now, I will continue to maintain The Coupland Times as an archive of those stories. Some links may no longer work but the stories and most of the images remain.

If anyone with ties to Coupland wants to submit a story, preferably with an image, I can easily do that on their behalf. Go to “Contact the Publisher” to make a request and I will follow-up by email.

Stewart Dale Spencer

WILLIAMSON COUNTY EXTENDS DISASTER DECLARATION

WilcoJune 2, 2015 (Williamson County, TX) – The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved extending the county disaster declaration. The declaration begins with the storm on May 8, 2015, that led to flooding in Coupland and extends into the future until the Commissioner Court lifts it.  No dollar estimate is available for damage to private property; however, the total estimated damage to public facilities including Road and Bridge, water controls such as dams, public utilities and recreation facilities, airports, etc. comes to $6,730,774 to date.

In the Memorial Day weekend storms, the county had one fatality, two persons with injuries, and one hospitalization. The storm on Saturday night, May 23, produced two F1 tornadoes that touched down causing damage in Liberty Hill and the Gabriels Overlook neighborhood on the west side of Georgetown according to the National Weather Service.

Throughout the county, there were 159 single family homes affected including three that are considered destroyed and 51 had major damage. There were 41 multi-family units affected, 35 destroyed and three with major damage. There were 14 businesses affected, three with major damage. Due to the low percentage of residences that were covered by insurance, many residents will need assistance for repairs and recovery. Ways to help flood victims can be found at www.wilco.org/oem or www.austintexas.gov/howtohelp

Currently, no homes are isolated due to flooding, although several county roads are still closed due to high water. Roads closures are listed at www.atxfloods.com and on the Williamson County Emergency Services Facebook page.

Water from storms on Memorial Day more than flooded roads, it washed them away! Williamson County Road and Bridge Division closed over 85 county roads due to high water.  When the water subsided, it was found that many of the roads had sustained structural damage.  The damage to seven of those roads was so severe that the road was considered impassable to traffic and closed until repairs could be made. Temporary repairs were made within 24 hours to almost all of the roads with only one county road, C.R. 384, remaining closed due to storm damage. The total estimate of storm damage for Road and Bridge comes to $1,872,590 to date.

Details of response to the weather on Memorial Day:

  • 40 requests for water rescues or evacuations
  • 4 shelters were opened:
  • Hutto Middle School, 1005 Exchange Blvd., Hutto
  • Clay Madsen Center, 1600 Gattis School Rd., Round Rock
  • Leander High School, 3301 S. Bagdad, Leander
  • Oasis Church, 1616 Granger Road, Taylor
  • The Regional Notification System was used to notify residents all along the Brushy Creek watershed east of FM 685 to evacuate due to rising water.
  • The Upper Brushy Creek WCID reports that the auxiliary spillways were engaged at Dam 17, 18, 19, and 21. This means the lake levels are being released through the auxiliary spillways causing additional flows to reach the creeks. In addition, it was discovered on May 29 that Dam 22 suffered damage which caused the earth on the downstream side to slough off or slide down. The Williamson County Road and Bridge Division assisted in constructing a berm on the downstream side to stabilize the dam from additional sliding. The BCWCID also pumped water from the lake in order to draw down the lake level.

Stealing Historic Iron

Submitted by Max Marosko:BridgeClosed2

Amazing what some people will steal. Well, not really people but scum bags!! Sometime after late last Thursday (Apr 23) evening and Saturday (Apr 25) morning, low life thieves dismantled and made off with about half the lower guard rails on the northside of the historic (and closed) CR 456 Brushy Creek Bridge. The theft was reported to the Williamson County Sheriff’s office on Sunday (Apr 26). No more of the 103 year old railing was observed to be stolen until this evening (Apr 29) when it was noted that ALL THE RAILING on the north half of the bridge has been stolen. This continued theft of the guard rail was also reported to the County sheriff this evening (Apr 29), but short of stationing an officer 24/7 at the bridge, it is unlikely the thieves will be apprehended. Not only is this a theft of County property, it is a theft of property belonging to the tax paying public of Williamson County and it is also severely defacing a rare and historic monument to an earlier time. With no guard railing on the sides of the bridge, the bridge now constitutes a real and present dangerous safety hazard … there is nothing to prevent someone from falling from the bridge onto the steep bank below or, worse yet, falling the 25 feet down into the flowing creek. And that probably puts it into the category of an attractive nuisance making the County (and indirectly the County taxpayers) liable for any harm that should happen to anyone falling from the bridge. So, be aware that if you take or know of someone who takes small children onto the bridge for whatever reason, they are in a greatly increased risk of falling off the bridge. And grown-ups are equally at risk of unintentionally falling from the bridge. If you happen to have any information regarding the theft of these historic bridge railings, please contact the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office at 512-943-1365.

[Editor’s Note: If the bridge had been repaired in a timely fashion, the thieves would not be so bold for fear of being spotted.]

Another Rattle Snake Warning & Attack

Submitted by Mary Merrell:

WARNING - SNAKES AHEAD!

WARNING – SNAKES AHEAD!

3 weeks ago, my husband killed a 5′ rattle snake with 14 rattles in our yard on CR 466. Fortunately, none of my dogs were bit. On Saturday, 4/25, a rattle snake bit my dog Zara around 5 p.m. (same time frame as other siting, so not sure if this is a common time for them to come out – does anyone know if this is common?). We rushed Zara to Heart of Texas Vet Emergency Clinic in Round Rock. She was given a dose of Anti-venin, an IV drip, pain medication etc. 24 hours later she was able to come home, and she is doing well. The vet said they are seeing an abnormal number of snake bites not only in the country but in subdivision yards. The rattle snake bite is very painful for you or your pet, and the treatment is very expensive. Please be careful when in your yard or walking through grass fields. We have lived on CR 466 since 1996, and since that time only saw 2 rattle snakes until 6 months ago when my husband was bit by one on our 2nd story deck, then the snake from 3 weeks ago, and now the one from Saturday.

Coupland Civic Organization April Meeting

game-nightSubmitted by Jennifer Dollins:

The Coupland Civic Organization will meet on Monday, April 27, in the St. Peter’s Church fellowship hall for “game night.”  Board members will host a light supper at 6:30 PM and games will begin at 7 PM.  Games such as dominoes and Yahtzee will be provided, or bring your own favorite game.

The Year of the Rattlesnake

No, it’s not Chinese New Year. I have been hearing that there are a lot of rattlesnakes in the area this year. The following was submitted by Todd Hammond:

There have been quite a few [rattlesnakes] this year. I have killed six at my place out on FM 1466. The largest was five feet long, which I killed in April 2015. I have attached its photo. It had 12-13 rattles. I have also killed three of them between 3-4 feet long. My barn cats have killed three babies 12-18 inches long.

We’ve been out here for almost eight years now. In the first 6 years, we saw only one rattlesnake. But now in the last six months, there have been a half dozen of them.

rattlesnake