News

DEAR ABBY: I’m irritated by my neighbors, and I don’t know quite how to approach it. I live in a densely populated, but quiet, neighborhood. New neighbors moved in a couple of years ago, and after moving in, they hung a wind chime on their front porch. This isn’t your average wind chime. If I had to guess, the chimes are at least five feet long.

The San Marcos Queer Council (SMTXQC) is hosting a drag show and voter registration event on Friday, February 2 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Wake the Dead Coffee House at 1432 Old Ranch Rd 12, in San Marcos. In a press release, the organization stated that their goals are to support the art and freedom of speech of drag, and to register eligible Hays County residents to vote in the upcoming primary. This is also an opportunity to learn about the San Marcos Queer Council and their goal of opening a LGTBQIA2S+ community center. Participants will be asked to take a short survey about their vision for such a center for a free SMTXQC logo sticker.

Patricia Buckley, Volunteer Coordinator for Guadalupe, Wilson, and Hays County Retired Senior Volunteer (RSVP) program will be the featured presenter at the weekly Rotary San Marcos luncheon on January 24th. She will discuss RSVP America Reads, an Americorps Senior Project that pairs senior citizens with young students to help those students practice reading. She will provide program details and opportunities to participate.

The river is the core of San Marcos’ identity, so it makes sense that swimming is a critical skill for local youth to learn. With that in mind, the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District proposed during the past bond election that San Marcos property taxes pay for an instructional swimming facility, and the community agreed.

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DEAR ABBY: My 30-yearold stepson, “David,” is a convicted sex offender, currently serving a 15-year sentence for possession of child pornography and having inappropriate conversations with a preteen that almost went further. This was his third arrest for the same thing. David is also mildly autistic.

San Marcos Art League hosts the annual membership meeting, social

Tony Robert Barrera III, 44, of Austin, was sentenced to 60 years in prison on January 18 for possession of fentanyl with the intent to deliver. He was also charged with a 50 year sentence for possession of a firearm.

Local children march at library for MLK Day

Six new electric buses and bus chargers will be added to the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District fleet following the award of a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s second round of funding for the Clean School Bus Program.

For anyone buying a house in the past several years, the price tag as well as the ins and outs of market dynamics can be intimidating. For one who is curious exactly what those numbers were in the past year compared to 2022, the Austin Board of Realtors Dec. 2023 and Year-End Central Texas Housing Market Report will provide that information for all of the five counties in the Greater Austin area.

Be there for the revelation! KZSM 104.1 FM and the Price Center present the gala San Marcos Music Awards Ceremony this Friday, January 26, at the Price Center. The Red Carpet rolls out at 5:45 p.m., and the Ceremony begins at 7. Tickets are $20 and $18 for members at the door. For advance tickets, go to KZSM.org, click “San Marcos Music Awards,” and scroll down to “Buy Tickets.” Or visit our KZSM Facebook page (KZSM.org, True Community Radio). Tickets include five coupons for food and drink provided by our generous sponsors— Gumby’s Pizza, Big Manz Kitchen, Roughhouse Brewing, Serendipity Wines, and Twin Liquors. VIP packages, including fifteen tickets, complimentary food and drink, and gifts, are available for $100. Hosted by DJ Alpha, the Awards Ceremony will feature celebrity presenters including radio personalities Metal Mark and The Wiz, along with Price Center Director Clay DeStefano and vibrant local performer Bunny Boom Boom. The presentations will be interspersed with music. The Siren Strings quartet will display their virtuosity; singer/songwriter Melissa Engleman will offer her “alt-country folk with whispers of the blues”; and local legend Halley-Anna Finley will share a song or two. Bogan Villa will close out the evening with their “psych-driven manifestations of Peace, Love, and Rock n Roll.”