The team has four students who qualified for the National Forensics Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind.

Xavier Clark qualified in dramatic interpretation, Kayla Mead qualified in poetry and prose, Mason Morris and Luke Steiner qualified in CX debate.

To attend the Nationals this year the team will hold fundraisers and events.

So far the team has raised $1,500 through car washes, bake sales and garage sales. At this time they are in need of an additional $3,500.

Come help contribute on Saturday, May 19 from 8 a.m.to 2 p.m. at a yard sale to be held across from the Dollar General store on Loop 230. There will also be a bake sale, barbecue plates, face painting and more.

Donations can also be sent to the Smithville High School Debate Team, P.O. Box 479, Smithville, TX.

LPAA board secretary April Daniels led the meetings with the assistance of Jill Strube, city grants writer. Daniels and her husband John, an actor, director and playwright, run Playhouse Smithville on Main Street.

“A cultural district designation tells the public that an area is very culturally significant and lets them know that they should visit and learn about the area,” Daniels explained. “And when they do spend time here, they usually spend money.”

At a lunch meeting last week, Daniels told a group that the benefits of the cultural designation go beyond tourism.

“Ever heard of demolition by neglect?” Daniels asked. “We can see that along our Main Street. The cultural designation gets the ball rolling the other way. It provides incentives and access to grants that can help revitalize our city.”

There are 16 cities in Texas that have received the official state designation for their cultural districts, ranging from large metropolitan areas like Dallas and Houston to much smaller communities like Huntsville and Winnsboro.

Typically a cultural district is a mixed-use area of a community that has a high concentration of cultural facilities; art institutions, parks, restaurants, music and theater venues and popular attractions, which can serve as a draw for tourists and residents.

Cultural districts include a variety of art disciplines including music, theater, dance, visual art, art education, literature, written and spoken word and cultural outreach.

Besides revitalization from tourism and access to grant dollars, a cultural district designation can attract businesses, enhance property values and provide an expansion in the tax base. A revitalized district also serves as an incubator for a creative and innovative environment according to Daniels, which happens when artists work with building owners to seek incentive financing for renovations.

One of the objectives of the meeting was to create a boundary for the cultural district. The area should be walkable from a central hub, which is considered to be Main Street. Each meeting netted a different footprint for the district.

The district can also have an “overlay,” which is an area that’s outside the main boundary that contains culturally or historically significant locations. In Smithville’s case, an overlay would also have movie locations, which have proven to be a draw for the film friendly community.

Carol Snyder and David Herrington of the Smithville Heritage Society will provide historical material for the application.

Daniels pointed out that the designation does not impose any regulation on property owners, buildings or businesses in the district.

“There’s no effect whatsoever on zoning,” Daniels explained. “There’s no authority to require us to do anything.”

A city council resolution supporting the application is pending.

A final preliminary meeting on the Cultural District Program is planned for MLK Park (MLK and Miller Streets) for Tuesday, May 29 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will feature free hot dogs and beverages.

The application will be sent to the Texas Commission on the Arts to meet a June 1 deadline.

For more information, contact Daniels at playhousesmithville@yahoo.com or Strube at JStrube@ci.smithville.tx.us.

Almost 200 students were in the cafeteria at the time and many fled when the incident started, according to school officials. One student was bruised during the melee, which was considered a “serious disruption” according to school policy.

Details about the fight vary, although an online petition website supporting the student’s appeal claims all the students in the cafeteria took part but only a few were held responsible and disciplined.

Smithville Superintendent Rock McNulty didn’t discuss details of the incident citing student privacy, but he did say ten students received identical punishment

Students received a Class C ticket for destruction of property from the Smithville Police Department, which is school policy for this type of incident, he said. Students were also suspended for three days.

The parent of one student did not agree with the punishment, which was determined by principal David Edwards and it was appealed to McNulty, who agreed with Edwards’ disciplinary action. The parent then appealed to go before the board.

There has been inaccurate information circulated about the incident and the disciplinary actions, according to McNulty, including claims that the students won’t graduate.

“Graduation is an important family event and a rite of passage for a student,” McNulty said. “Contrary to reports, no student has been denied participation in this year’s Smithville High School graduation ceremonies.”

Smithville High School graduation ceremonies are Friday, May 25 at 8 p.m. at Barry Field. The school board will meet at the administration building boardroom, 901 N.E. 6th St., at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Voter registration cards have been mailed out. If you have not received your yellow voter registration card by now, contact the elections office at (512) 581-7160.

Early voting for the May 29 Primary Election begins this Monday, May 14. For information on where and when to early vote, please see pageA4.

A memorial service is set for Saturday, May 19 at 10:30 a.m. at Buescher State Park recreational hall. If desired, donations may be made to the “Leon Moberg Memorial Fund” c/o First National Bank, 489 Hwy. 71 W. P.O. Drawer F, Bastrop, TX. 78602.

The veteran volunteer is a 1965 Chevy C60 fire truck that saw action fighting fires across the county. After sitting for a long time, the old truck has been given new life after a major restoration by RJ’s Paint and Body Shop in Smithville.

The classic fire truck will now represent the department at parades and events or wherever it’s called into action, according to Chief James “Pooh” Elam.

RJ’s Paint and Body owner RJ Janak said the truck was special because his dad Johnnie served as a volunteer fire fighter for many years and wanted to do something unique for the department. Janak said auto body technicians Charles Adams and Ben Johnson were a big part of the project’s success.

“We took her all the way down to the frame, the base metal,” RJ said at the dedication of the truck. “We restored it from the ground up, other than pulling it off the frame.”

Members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department were on hand when an old member of the force came to the firehouse.

Johnnie Janak rode to the truck’s dedication with longtime firefighter Johnny Schroeder, who told a few stories about its history.

Schroeder, a volunteer from 1969 to 1999, said the essential piece of equipment will always be connected to Walter Hepner, a volunteer who passed away recently.

“Charles ran the truck, that was his thing,” Schroeder said. “That truck saw action all over the county. We went into Bastrop in the sixties and helped with the fire they had downtown.”

Schroeder drove the truck to the station for the dedication and then again during the Jamboree Parade, both times with a huge smile on his face.

Smithville volunteers swarmed around the truck when it rolled up to the fire station, lights and siren going. They admired the detailed restoration that included an antique ladder, hoses, gauges and even an axe.

“It’s amazing what they did to get this truck restored,” said Robert Hightower, who showed everyone a photo of the truck before it was brought back to life.

Smithville has long been recognized for its multitude of spirits: its great school and community spirit and even a few ghostly spirits that have been talked about over the years. The latest spirit on everyone’s lips is Bone Spirits, a unique distillery that has made its home in Smithville.

During a tour of the new facility, the sweet smell of cooking corn warmly sets the mood as Bone Spirits founder Jeff Peace explains what he calls the “farm-to-bottle” approach to the company’s products, which currently include vodka, moonshine and whisky.

Peace explained that much of the beverage alcohol seen on store shelves starts with very large commercial ethanol producers who distill a commercial-grade alcohol and sell it to bottlers to be redistilled and packaged for the consumer. Bone Spirits is different right from the start.

“We buy organic corn from local farmers, like Coyote Creek, which is less than 30 miles away, near Elgin,” Peace said. “It’s ground at an organic mill and has zero pesticides. That’s what’s cooking in the kettle.”

Bone Spirits founder Jeff Peace takes a peek at the corn mash cooking in the company’s kettle while giving a tour of the distillery in Smithville.

Pease said a byproduct of the cooking leaves a corn meal that is a big part of their sustainability model. The company spins the water from the corn meal and puts in in large containers that they then offer to local ranchers and farmers for feed or fertilizer.

“There’s a synergy in what we do. It’s eco-driven, supports the long term values of sustainability and it’s conscientious,” says Peace, as he climbs onto a trailer with huge crates of cornmeal. “We think this comes back to us ten-fold. It encourages the local economy and it makes good sense.”

Cooking the organic corn turns the starch into sugars and the liquid is then placed into the fermenter pot with a dose of yeast.

The multi-step distilling process increases the alcohol content and also deals with the “heads, hearts and tails,” according to Peace. Removing the heads and tails also removes impurities that affect taste and smoothness, which is done one step at a time.

Water from the city of Smithville, which comes from the area’s underground aquifers, is tested, analyzed and filtered as it’s used in the multi-step distillation processed.

Bone Spirits also uses a water recycler to cool and reclaim much of the water used in their spirit making.

The team that Peace has assembled at Bone Spirits is as unique as the process and the hardware they’ve designed.

Master distiller Jarle Lillemoen and chemist and “mash master” Mo Pair team up to take the Bone Spirits products through their customized distillation processes, which utilizes a vintage Vendome copper pot still.

Joe Alecci, vice president of operations brings an extensive background in the spirits industry and Anthony Chiappetta, vice president of engineering, is the hands-on fabricator for much of the hardware and process piping used at the custom distillery.

Bone Spirits founder Jeff Peace show the cornmeal byproduct that the company provides to area ranchers and farmers for feed and fertilizer. Providing the byproduct is part of the company’s “farm-to-bottle” approach to sustainability with communities and local farms.

The final step in the distillation process is one of the most unique features of Bone Spirits – the secret of “the columns.”

A stripping column rises 30 feet and a finishing column more than 45 feet from the floor of the distillery into the heights of the warehouse. The Bone Spirits products get their final high-temperature distillation in the columns, as well as many layers of filtering.

Everyone joins in for the bottling, as the handcrafted products make their way along a loose assembly line and receive labels and get boxed for their final trek to store shelves.

Peace described the process for selecting the company’s unique name.

“Looking through countless liquor stores to see what fads not to follow, I saw some really ridiculous brands and crazy marketing campaigns,” Peace said. “I realized that a simple handcrafted vodka would be a great way to start. I wanted to create vodka that’s bare bones.”

The flagship Bone Spirits vodka has a warm aroma with a slight floral bouquet. The body, palate and finish reflect the attention to detail that’s such a part of all the Bone Spirit products.

“We knew our grains and our process would impart an extremely smooth profile,” Peace explained. “Fresh milled corn, three distillations, pot still and the columns give Smith’s Premium Vodka the chance to be the best it possibly can.”

The most unique characteristic of Bone Spirits could be Peace himself. While finishing law school, he was introduced to Sidney E. Frank, the chairman and brand master behind Grey Goose Vodka and Jagermeister. Peace was hired and after passing the New York State Bar, was promoted to general counsel under Frank. Peace studied under his mentor for eight years.

After Frank died and Grey Goose was sold to Bacardi, Peace created Bone Spirits. Peace holds a degree in English, an MBA and a law degree. He lives in Austin with his wife and two boys.

Bone Spirits found its way to Smithville after Peace searched for a building online. The offices on NE 1^st Street were being used by a rum maker from the Caribbean to test the sugar content of sugar cane. Peace said it all came together: the building, the suppliers and the location.

“This has all been beyond luck,” Peace said. “There have been a lot of challenges, but it’s happened because we’ve said yes to every opportunity.”

And, according to the audit, the county is in good shape.

“We went a step beyond our usual audit this year,” Smith said. “It is our first Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. We were very excited to present it to court, along with the outside auditor.”

And even though performing a CAFR was labor intensive, at least for this first time, the audit did not cost the county more than a normal audit, Smith said.

“This is a major milestone for Bastrop County,” Smith told the commissioners court at their regular meeting on Monday, April 23.

The CAFR brings together what amounts to smaller audits from each department – including all expenses and revenue – under the county’s budget and compiles it together so a whole picture of the health of the county and how financial and business related decisions are – and will – impact the county.

“This is so you can get an idea of where you’ve been – and hopefully, where you are going,” said Chris Pruitt, a representative from Pattillo, Brown and Hill, LLP, the accounting firm that performed the audit. The company is based in Waco.

The report looks at many aspects of the environment in which the county operates, including the local economy, long-term financial planning, initiatives and other factors, such as awards and acknowledgements for transparency and leadership.

Bastrop County’s Financial Highlights*

• The assets of the county exceeded its liabilities at the close of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2011, by $35,070,222 (net assets). Of this amount, $2,224,064 (unrestricted net assets) may be used to meet the county’s ongoing obligations to citizens and creditors; $6,634,856 is restricted for specific purposes (restricted net assets); and $26,211,302 is invested in capital assets net of related debt.
• The county’s total net assets decreased by $1,195,220 from current operations. This decrease is primarily related to the budgeted deficit for the year and shortfalls in budgeted revenue amounts.
• The county’s governmental funds reported combined ending fund balances of $15,844,850, a decrease of $3,589,773 in comparison to the previous year. This decrease is primarily the result of the expenditures of the Series 2010 Certificates of Obligation proceeds.

*Information taken from Pattillo, Brown and Hill, LLP Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

According to the report, the county’s net assets decreased by $1,195,220 during the fiscal year 2010-11, but still came out ahead of last year’s assets by $2,664,932. The decrease was attributed primarily to a budgeted deficit for the year and shortfalls in budgeted revenue amounts. The report states that, even though revenues exceeded prior year revenue’s in almost every category, they were still less than expected. The county’s effort to reduce expenses through initiatives such as limiting raises and bonuses helped improve the overall net asset picture.

The report has an expanded statistics section so readers can compare and contrast how the county is doing.

“This report should be easier to read,” Smith said. “It’s easier on the eye.”

The accounting firm gave the county good marks overall for the way departments worked together to present their relevant information. As part of their requirements, auditors are asked to report any problems and disagreements they encounter between the various entities.

“There were none,” Pruitt told the court. “All in all, we felt the audit went well.”

Other interesting items that can be gleaned from the report include the ten largest taxpayers in the county, property tax levies and collection, ratios of outstanding debt, demographic and economic statistics, principal employers, fulltime employees by function and capital assets and infrastructure statistics.

Smith gave credit to all county staff for working hard to contribute their required portions of the audit. She especially praised her staff for their dedication.

“This is a team effort,” Smith said. “We should be proud of it as a county.”

Pruitt said the county faired well on their first CAFR.

“I’m happy to say nothing came up,” he said. “Congratulations on putting this together. Everything looked good in our opinion.”

To see the report, check the county’s website at http://www.co.bastrop.tx.us, click on the “county information” button, click on “county financial data” and scroll down to “Fiscal Year 2010-2011” and click on “2011 – Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.” To see a hard copy of the audit, call the auditor’s office at 332-7222.

The scholarship recipients from Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville High Schools received $500 each to go towards their college tuition.

Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville Seniors submitted applications at last year’s 2011 B.E.S.T. (Bastrop, Elgin, Smithville, Texas) College Night, underwritten and sponsored by GTFCU and held in Bastrop, Texas. The scholarship winners were chosen through a panel of judges and credit union representatives. The 2012 B.E.S.T. College Night date has been set for Wednesday, September 26, 2012 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at the Bastrop High School Cafeteria.

This is just one of many ways that Greater TEXAS Federal Credit Union has become an active part in the B.E.S.T. community by supporting students and partnering in the furthering of their education and their future.

Pictured: L-R: John Pineda, Smithville High School Assistant Principal, Megan Spears, Smithville High School Senior and Rachel Fausett with GTFCU.

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Pictured: L-R: John Pineda, Smithville High School Assistant Principal, Megan Spears, Smithville High School Senior and Rachel Fausett with GTFCU.

Sponsored by the Cherokee Chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America the free annual event kicks off at Saturday, May 12 at 9 a.m. with a show and swap meet.

The show is for rolling relics only because the bikes, parts and everything except the inspection sticker must be 35 years or older.

Organizer Bob Guerin says there’s always a lot of interesting bikes and always a few surprises because you never know who might show up.

Many of the bikes from last year’s event were the “bobbers and choppers,” which Guerin explained were bikes bought by soldiers returning from World War II.

“Those are the guys that started it – they didn’t have money for parts so the bobbed the fenders when they got rusty or chopped the parts from anywhere they could get them,” Guerin explained. “If it fell off you didn’t need it.”

Guerin has a fully restored 1941 Indian – the military version complete with machine gun and gear, which he hopes to show. He’s also bringing a rare 1947 Mustang Scooter with the “backwards engine,” the first of the four-stroke engines in the Mustang, which was the main competition for the well-known Cushman scooters.

Show vendors and participants need to be a member of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America. The local Cherokee Chapter of the club was formed in the mid-70s.

A 60-mile road ride is planned for Sunday, May 13 at 9 a.m., weather permitting. Guerin said anyone can join the ride but he warned that the group moved kind of slow since their riding antiques.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Guerin at 512-393-1539 or John Nixon at 830-931-3046.