MAy2011

PRECINCT ONE NEWSLETTER314 W. 11TH ST., ROOM 510. P.O. 1748 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78767. (512) 854-9111 FAX (512) 8544897

RON DAVIS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Travis County Juneteenth 2Celebration

Webster GreggJr 2

Finding your Roots 2

Webberville Solar Farm 3

Gilbert Road Extension 3

Bridge 155 Replacement 3

Travis County Law Library 4

700 Lavaca Move 4

GRAND OPENING FOR THERICHARD E. SCOTT BUILDING

The Ribbon-Cutting and Grand Opening Ceremony of the new Richard E. Scott Build-ing for the Justice of the Peace and Constable of Precinct 1 offices took place on Thursday, April21, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. The building architectural and civil engineering work on the new facilitywere designed by the Travis County Facilities Management Department.Highlights ofthe 15,843 square foot Precinct 1 office building include:

The new building is 153% larger than existing building (existing building was 6,257 square feetand the new building is 15,843 square feet)

The new courtroom is 59% larger than the existing courtroom(existing courtroom is 837 square feet and the new courtroom is1,334 square feet)

A 1,506 square foot Community Room for the general public's usethat has restrooms and a small kitchenette.Open work areas with 12 foot ceilings and plenty of daylights.

Exterior cladding materials composed of plaster, wood, and locally-quarried masonry Landscaping consisting of native trees and flowering plants that will feature a colorful "butterfty garden" in the entrycourtyard. was sworn in Janu-

ary 1975 as the firstelected AfricanAmerican JudicialOfficial fofPrecmct 1

Parking capacity for 94 vehicles which include HC and ElectricalVehicle Recharge parking. In addition, bicycle parking is provided.

Site lighting that meets the City of Austin standards for residential neighborhoodsThe new building was designed and constructed to achieve minimum LEED Silver rating.

Cutting the Ribbon(Left to Right)

Judge Richard E. Scott, Con-stable Luke Mercer, CountyCommissioner Ron Davis,Mrs. Louise Diggs, Judge

Yvonne Williams, ConstableDanny Thomas.

PAGE 2 PRECINCT ONE NEWSLETTER

Researching your heri-tage can prepare you tomeet the future. Thetraits of your ancestorscan give you insight into

SAN KOFA"Return and get it"

Symbol of theimportance of

learning from thepast.

TRAVIS COUNTY JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION2011

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Travis County Judge Samuel T Biscoe, Precinct One Commis-sioner Ron Davis, Travis County Employees and City of Austin Em-ployees will sponsor the Annual "Juneteenth" celebration on Fri-day, June 17, 2011 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at theWooldridge Park Plaza. There will be food booths selling a varietyof ethnic and cultural delights in addition to arts, crafts and fash-Jion accessories. Come out and enjoy the music and fun.

WEBSTER GREGG JR.- -rfnarng Your-RC)-o"'"ts.....,--t-- ~-- ---- ---~ --- ~

Knowing Your History The Combined music business, an inde-Hill Family is honoring pendent business owner,Reverend Webster Gregg, an author, and an extraor-

Each of us is a Jr. post humanly for factu- dinary genealogist. Web-piece of a larger puzzle. ally documenting the Hill ster attended Austin Pub-We are all born into the Family history in two lic Schools, had a Busi-unique and complex books, From A Prince To A ness Degree from Nixonnetwork of individuals, Slave and The Hill Fami- Clay School of Businesssettings, and circum- lies From Africa To Amer- and numerous Theologystances that constitute ica at Conley-Guerrero Certificates from St.our heritage. Whether or Center June 25, 2011. He James Baptist Church.not you are aware of was affectedly called Webster was a nationally

"Webb", "Jr.", and "Joe" known music agent withyour ancestors, yourfamily's country of origin, was bone to Webster the Otis Redding Com-the cultural history of Gregg, Sr. and Earline Hill pany. He worked with theyour people, or the trials Gregg-Carter on Decem- Ray Charles Band, Williefaced by the people re- ber 15, 1944 in Austin, Nelson, Patti LaBelle, AIsponsible for bringing Texas. He departed this Green, Chevy Chase,you into the world, these life October 7,2010. He Janice Joplin, Johnnieforces have had a hand was a member of St. Taylor and others beforein shaping your values. James Baptist Church. He he turned his life com-Knowing your family was the ultimate child of pletely over to Christ. He

1~_---i;;;-_-h·i~et--r-efl-eettn-e--_--+~.u.,J""--J-L'cutfe_s.s.iD.naUn_tb.8--S.eL\Le.d...pa.sSiona1eLy-in_thu:::e__ ---------1·----often upon your ownpersonal history as itrelates to your heritageempowers you to look atyour life in a larger his-torical context and tounderstand that you area vital part of an ongo-ing drama greater thanyourself.

prison Ministry at St.James Baptist Church.Elizabeth "Libby" Pedrick-Sartain who is a descen-dant of the White Hills willbe honor as well for hercontribution to the historyof the Black Hills.

For more information,please contact LorettaFields-Hill at (512) 474-6086 or Earline Hill Gregg-Carter at (512) 926-6648.

how your character hasdeveloped and the be-liefs that form the foun-dation of your world. Theknowledge you gain canhelp you appreciate yourvalues and your charac-ter. At a cellular level,you carry a genetic codefrom your family deter-mining things like howyou age, your blood type,and personality traits.Unearthing your heritageis not simply about un-

covering who did whatwhen or reconnectingwith long-lost relatives.Rather, it is a method ofbuilding self-awarenessand bridging the gulfthat divides your pastfrom your future.

COUNTYRESOURCES

Texas State Library & Ar-chives 1201 Brazos St, Aus-tin TX78701 -Genealogy512-463-5469LDS Family History Center

(2 Locations)1000E Rutherford Lane,Austin TX512-837-3626 i5201 Convict Hill Road, Aus-tin TX.512-892-6483

Knowing your history isabout loving who youare, understandingwhere you've comefrom, and preparing foryour future.

PAGE 3

Webberville solar plant gets countyRebate

The TravisCounty Commis-sioners Court hasvoted to give Ma-drid-basedFotowatio Renew-able Ventures an80 percent tax re-bate over 20 yearsto construct a177,000 solarpanel facility on apiece of landowned by the cityof Austin near thecity of Webberville.

The plant willboosts green En-ergy production inTravis County andhelp to protect theenvironment. Theproject is expectedto be operational in12-15 months ofconstruction. Theproject is con-tracted to sell allthe power to AustinEnergy. Austin En-ergy will get one ofthe largest solar

plants in the USand have 30 MW ofsolar power at itspeak capacity. Thatfigure translates topower for roughly4500 homes.

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GILBERT ROAD EXTENSION DESIGNOn April 12, 2011 the Travis County Commissioner Court authorizedthe Travis County purchasing agent to commence negotiations withUA,lnc to design the Gilbert Road Extension. The extension of GilbertRoad and Sandifer Street at the Austin's Colony Subdivision.The large subdivision is accessed primarily by Hunters Bend Roadand its intersection with FM 969 is routinely blocked by traffic for·thirty or more minutes weekday mornings. This project will extend Gil-bert Road from 969 to Austin's Colony where it will connect to existingWestall Street and Sandifer Street. This new road will provide a see-

ond primary access to the Austin's Colony andwill allow for traffic in and out of the subdivi-sion to bypass the congested intersections onFM 969 at Hunters Bend Road and Hound DogTrail during peak hours. The project includesalignment alternative and engineering design.Funding for this project will come from 1984Road Bonds. The total amount approved is$200,000. Del Valle ISD has expressed sup-port for this project. Community support forthis project was expressed by community rep-resentatives during a November 2010 commu-nity meeting at Santa Barbara Church.

BRIDGE 155REPLACEMENT

Bridge 155 on Old High-way 20, is a narrow bridgeon the Manor ISD busroute. With the extensionof Parmer Lane south ofUS 290 to Old Highway20, traffic on this bridge isprojected to increase con-siderably as developmentoccurs in the area. OldHighway 20 is also usedas a detour for US 290between the City of Manorand Parmer Lane. Fund-ing for this project willcome from the savings ofthe 1984 Bond program.The total amount ap-proved is $200,000. Thescope of this project is forconsultant to prepare aset of construction plansfor the replacement ofbridge 155.

Rnd Us On Facebook

BURN BANThe Burn Ban for the unincorporatedareas of Travis County will remain in

effect until June 1, 2011. You can callthe Travis County Fire Marshal Office

for updates (512) 854-4621'------.'------'700 LAVACA MOVE

Plans to move other administrativeoffices as well as the Travis countyCommissioner over time isplanned. The Travis County Com-missioners Courtroom will also behoused at the location as renova-tions are completed.

FIRE TRUCK PULLSATURDAY, MAY 14, 2011

8:30 a.m. at the Kreig Softball Complex

IIt's the ultimate tug of war challenge ... and a GREATteam-building event. Gather a team of 12 and play "tug ofwar" with a 55,000 lb. fire truck to raise money for more I

than 4,500 Special Olympics Texas athletes in the Cen- 'I tral Texas area! For more information or to Register Con- .I tact Dawn Barrett at 512.491.2927 or dbarrett@sotx.orgHosted by: Travis County Sheriff's Office, Austin Police

IDepartmenLand Austin£ir..e Fighte[s __ -- '~I

TRAVIS COUNTY LAw LIBRARYSELF HELP CENTER

NEED LEGALHELP?

that can be used for (20cents per page). Youcan also make an ap-pointment to see a ref-erence attorney. Thereference attorney canreview your paper workbefore you go to court

"and walk youthroughthe steps of an uncon-tested family law case.The reference attorneycannot give you legaladvice or represent you.An appointment withthe reference attorneyusually lasts about anhour.Call (512) 854-9019 orgo to the Self Help Cen-ter.

LOCATIONRoom 118 on the firstfloor of the Travis

County Civil Court-house, 1000 Guada-lupe, Austin, Texas78701. The Self HelpCenter is open Mondaythrough Friday, 8:00a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

RE LEGAL

RESOURCES:The Lawyer ReferralService -472-8303 canhelp you find a privateattorney. If you are lowincome, you may qualifyfor free help from LegalAid 374-2700. Regard-less of income, you mayobtain free legal adviceat the freeevening legalclinics.

The Self Help Center pro-vides, free legal formsand instructions for sim-ple, uncontested familylaw cases, such as di-vorce, custody, child sup-port and much more.These forms are alsoavailable online and thelibrary does have public-access computers thatcan be used. There are

314 West 11th Street., Suite 510Austin, Texas 78701

The move has started for somedepartments moving-to the new315,000-square-foot downtownTravis County Campus at 700 The Travis County's lawLavaca. The Planning and Budget library makes legal re-Office and its staff moved along search materials avail-with about 95 staff from the Travis able to the public. LawCounty Information & Telecommu- librarians may not offer

a;Me!El=-Syst~I-T~@VeEl4l'CJ-~-regaradvice"; out can di- -to Granger building, rect members of the pub-

lic to appropriate re-sources.