It's been a brutal week for Texas and many Lakeway residents have personally been affected by Harvey and the devastation the storm brought with it. Please keep everyone in your prayers, it will be a long recovery.
I have been amazed and humbled at the outpouring of support from the local community, surrounding communities and the whole country. The Lakeway Police are collecting items for Harvey first responders - here is a link to more information. These folks - many of whom have lost their homes and property - have continued to server their communities in this disaster, please consider helping them.
Many area churches and organizations are collecting donations of money and needed items. Here is a link to the Lakeway Church webpage that has some suggestions for locations to donate and items needed. Pastor Larry Coulter and council member Jim Powell are deeply involved in the relief efforts. The Central and South Texas Region of the American Red Cross are front line in relief efforts - here is a link to their web page - you can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross Disaster Relief. Here's a link to more ways to help the Red Cross.
There are many other ways to help and donate. Please open your hearts to help those that have lost so much.
Lakeway was very lucky with the Harvey event. If the storm would have been 50 miles further West, this post would have been very different. We had about 4.29 inches in the Harvey rain event and 7.52 inches for the whole month. The Harvey rain was spread over a few days and mostly soaked in. We had no flooding and very little wind damage. There were some limbs down but generally there was little damage. We dodged a bullet on this one. We did have all of the city departments on standby and were ready to help if necessary.
The city has also reached out to other cities hard hit and have offered equipment and operators if needed. We think requests may come as we move into the relief and rebuilding stage of this disaster.
Somehow word got out that there was a gas shortage - not true. The panic that occurred did drain many of the area station tanks because of the unexpected rush. I noticed that HEB had a load of gas delivered Friday and other area stations have told us they have gas on the way. The holiday weekend didn't help. Our services get their fuel for the Lakeway Texaco and they have reserved 700 gallons for the city's use. I expect we will be back to normal soon.
Steve Jones and I met with Commissioner Daugherty Friday morning and discussed the County Bond and our sports park. Although I am disappointed with the current scheduling, he feels that it is not set in stone and can be moved up. I will continue conversations and will report back as I get new information.
ZAPCO meets in regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday September 6. They have a full agenda - here it is.
Court Report:
Lakeway Municipal Court report for August 24 thru August 31, 2017:
Violations filed – 52 Traffic, 7 State Law, 6 City Ordinance with a total of 65 violations for the week.
Completed cases by payment – 38
Completed cases by dismissal – 30
Warrants cleared by Marshal – 16
Collections from warrants - $3,979
From the Chief:
LPD Officers conducted 183 traffic stops, responded to 11 alarm calls, responded to 18 animal calls, responded to 5 collisions, answered 11 suspicious circumstances calls and handled 83 other types of calls for service for a total of 311.
Routine traffic stops resulted in the following charges; Out of Jurisdiction Warrants X 2, Driving while Intoxicated X 1, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia X 2.
Officers were dispatched to the Baylor, Scott & White emergency room in reference to a mental health evaluation. A patient in the emergency room had been transported by ambulance to the hospital after a disturbance with a family member. It was learned that during the disturbance that the patient had consumed a large amount of a prescription medication. The officer completed paperwork for a peace officer emergency detention so that the patient could receive further medical treatment. No charges were filed in this case.
Detectives were assigned to investigate a report of a suspicious person in the 100 block of Champion Drive. According to the complainant, she observed a subject lurking around her residence at approximately 3:00 AM. The subject wearing a mask, gloves and dark clothing was captured on the complainant’s video surveillance system. Patrol officers checked the area, but were unable to locate the subject following a thorough search. Detectives are investigating leads in the case in an attempt to identify the subject.
Detectives were assigned to investigate a report of Forgery that was reported in the 5300 block of Serene Hills Drive. According to the victim, a customer presented her with several checks as payment for services rendered. However, upon cashing the checks, the victim discovered the checks were forged. The case remains active as Detectives are collecting statements and evidence.
Detectives were assigned to investigate a report of Identity Theft that was reported in the 100 block of Tallstar. According to the victim, an unknown suspect accessed the victim’s cell phone account and ordered a cell phone without the victim’s consent. Detectives investigated all available leads in the case, but were unable to locate/identify a suspect and the case was closed.
Detectives were assigned to investigate a report of a Burglary of a Vehicle in the 1500 block of RR 620 South. According to the victim, an unknown suspect smashed the victim’s car window and stole several items from inside the vehicle. Detectives are investigating possible leads in the case as the case remains active.
Detectives were assigned to investigate a report of an Assault by Contact in the 1500 block of RR620 South. According to the victim, a customer made inappropriate contact with the victim while she was working. Using the video footage of the suspect, Detectives issued a BOLO using the Department’s social media accounts and shortly afterwards received a tip regarding the suspect’s identity. Upon further investigation, the suspect was identified and interviewed by Detectives. The suspect was cited for Assault by Contact (Class C Misd) and released to appear in Lakeway Municipal Court.
We have reached out to a few of the police agencies hardest hit by the damage nearest the cost and will be taking them a trailer full of donated items Monday for their officers and staff. We are fortunate to have had LPD Reserve Officer Noel Johnson on the ground this week in Houston, updating us on the situation as it has unfolded, and coordinating our efforts. We are not sending officers to work down there at this time, only a few to deliver the donations. I wish we could do more but we are stretched fairly thin as it is here at home. We have had a few dispatchers who have offered to volunteer to help out agencies in the Houston area, so if we get those requests for resources we will revisit this option.
I am very proud of our police staff and city administration for the fine job we all did in preparing for this rain and wind event. The few times a response was needed (trees down) it handled very efficiently. We have determined we need to improve our internal communications so to get pertinent information to city staff quicker and more completely. However, as with all things, I look for the opportunities to improve and provide this community with the best service we can as an agency.
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That's all for now, more as I find out. My hope is our community will come together to support our neighbors in need. Thank you for all the continued support, if you would like to be added to my email list send a note to lakeway@bain.us.
Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us
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