Bluebonnet, LCRA award $25,000 grant to Delhi Community Center

The Delhi Community Center will be able to complete its building renovations by installing new windows and exterior siding thanks to a $25,000 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority.
 
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $15,000 in matching contributions, will allow the center in Delhi to replace broken windows and deteriorating vinyl siding.
 

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Bluebonnet, LCRA award $25,000 grant to Delhi Community Center

Pictured, from left to right are: Paula Urban, Ellinger Chamber of Commerce treasurer; Paulette Urban, Ellinger Chamber of Commerce director; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA board member; Mark Johnson, Bluebonnet Giddings-area community representative; Nicole Ramirez, Ellinger Chamber of Commerce vice president; Tom Kubena, Ellinger Chamber of Commerce director; Byron Balke, Bluebonnet Board assistant secretary/treasurer; Michael Schlabach, Ellinger Chamber of Commerce president; Charlotte Michalsky, Elling

The Ellinger Chamber of Commerce will make significant improvements to the Ellinger Community Center, thanks to a $21,315 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
 
The grant, along with $9,135 in matching funds from the Chamber, will allow for purchase of a walk-in cooler for food storage, HVAC unit and additional duct work.
 

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Bluebonnet, LCRA award $21,315 grant to Ellinger Chamber of Commerce

A Tesla charges at one of a dozen Tesla Supercharger stations at the San Marcos Premium Outlet mall along Interstate 35. The area also has EVgo and ChargePoint stations, which are both DC fast chargers for other types of electric vehicles. (Laura Skelding photo)
Story by Alyssa Dussetschleger 

If you think you're seeing more electric vehicles on the roads of Central Texas, your eyes aren’t lying. By mid-June this year, more than 52,000 electric vehicles — or EVs — were registered in Texas, and 63% of them are model years 2020 or newer, according to data from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

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The charge of the EV Brigade

From far left: Viviann in an Easter dress in 2020; a touching portrait of Viviann with mother, Kelsey Snow, taken in April 2021, and Viviann in her purple princess T-shirt at a doctor’s appointment in May. The statement T-shirts were sold as part of a fundraiser to cover costs of her treatment. (Portrait of mother and daughter by Brittany O’Brien of Wild Lovers Photography)

By Melissa Segrest

It started with a stomach bug that most everyone in the family got, around Christmas last year. Everyone got better, but 7-year-old Viviann Snow's stomach pain kept getting worse. 

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Cancer picked the wrong princess

Pictured, from left to right, are: Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA board member; Joseph Lamer; city commissioner; Lori A. Berger, LCRA board member; Kenneth Stojanik, city commissioner; Byron Balke, Bluebonnet Board assistant secretary/treasurer; Matt Mikulenka, mayor of Ellinger; and Mark Johnson, Bluebonnet community representative.

A $19,583 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority will help Martindale Volunteer Fire and Rescue purchase a utility terrain vehicle to assist with river rescues and patient transports.

 

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $4,896 in matching funds, will provide the department with a reliable rescue vehicle to access areas along the San Marcos River that are hard to reach with standard firetrucks or brush trucks.

 

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Bluebonnet, LCRA award $19,583 grant to Martindale Volunteer Fire and Rescue

Pictured, from left to right, are: Ronald Zoch, South Lee VFD secretary; Chris Becker, South Lee VFD president; Mark Johnson, Bluebonnet community representative; Mason Becker, South Lee VFD drill captain #2; Lori A. Berger, LCRA board member; and Russell Jurk, Bluebonnet Board member.

The South Lee County Volunteer Fire Department will repair and update its station’s parking lot, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $20,000 in matching funds, will replace the gravel parking lot with 8 inches of reinforced concrete and add handicapped-accessible parking in the front of the station.

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Bluebonnet, LCRA award $25,000 grant to South Lee County VFD

Bluebonnet, LCRA award $50,000 grant for new regional fire training center

With the support of a $50,000 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Caldwell County Fire Chiefs Association will construct a new fire training facility that can be used by fire departments throughout the area. 

With generous support from the community, the association has raised an additional $60,000 in matching funds for the new facility, which can be used by departments in Caldwell County and neighboring counties.

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Bluebonnet, LCRA award $50,000 grant for new regional fire training center

Bluebonnet, LCRA award $20,000 grant to McMahan Volunteer Fire Department

A $20,000 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority will help the McMahan Volunteer Fire Department replace the deteriorating 30-year-old metal siding on its fire station.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $5,000 in matching funds, will allow the department to re-side the fire station and get rid of openings in the existing siding that are leading to energy waste and higher heating and cooling bills. The holes also expose valuable equipment to weather damage, wildlife and theft.

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Bluebonnet, LCRA award $20,000 grant to McMahan Volunteer Fire Department