Events

Thursday, September 2

5-7pm Foodfest, Sun City Ballroom.

6-7:30pm Girl Scout Rally, 1511 Laurel St.

Friday, September 3

6-8pm Teen Gaming Night, Georgetown Public Library.

6:30-8:30pm Library Open-mic Coffeehouse, Georgetown Public Library.

7-9pm First Friday Tango Night, RunTex on the Square.

5:30-8:30pm For the Love of Haiti Benefit, Down the Alley on the Square.

7:30pm 'The Wedding Singer,' The Palace Theatre.

Saturday, September 4

7:30pm 'The Wedding Singer,' The Palace Theatre.

Sunday, September 5

2pm 'The Wedding Singer,' The Palace Theatre.

Volunteer listings

Family Eldercare. Mary Shetty, 628-1688. www.inhomefamilyeldercare.org.

CASA. Leida Cadiz, 868-2822. www.casawctx.com.

Partners in Education. Donna Covey, 943-5175. www.georgetownpie.org.

BREAST CANCER RESOURCE CENTERS OF TEXAS. 512-942-4689 or mgallece@bcrc.org.

The Annunciation Maternity Home. www.thematernityhome.org or 512-864-7755.

Assistance League of Georgetown Area. 512-868-2871. http://algeorgetownarea.org

The Caring Place. Rita Turner, rturner@caringplacetx.org or 512-869-4735.

St. David's Georgetown Hospital. Lynne Harris, 512-943-3000.

St. David's Round Rock Medical Center. www.roundrockmedicalcenter.com or 512-341-5218.

Faith In Action Caregivers. Judy Bowman, 512-868-9544.

Jump to death notices below

Update

Wednesday, September 1

Lake Drowning update: Officials with the Georgetown Police Department have concluded their investigation into the drowning of Scott and Ethan Hughes at Lake Georgetown this June.

Despite a toxicology report that concluded Mr. Hughes’ blood-alcohol content level was .21 — nearly three times the legal limit — at the time of his death, an autopsy report issued by Justice of the Peace Judy Hobbs last week lists both deaths as accidental. Mr. Hughes and his 5-year-old son, Ethan, died over Father’s Day weekend when Mr. Hughes drove his black Chevy Impala down the boat ramp at Cedar Breaks Park and into the water just after 11 p.m.

A statement released by the Georgetown Police Department says investigators ruled their deaths an accident based on Mr. Hughes’ level of intoxication, the fact that he was on his cell phone at the time of the accident, and the fact that another vehicle was on the boat ramp at the time, facing Mr. Hughes’ direction, “which may have given Scott the illusion he was on a roadway.”

Court documents show Mr. Hughes was arrested by a Williamson County sheriff’s deputy in March of this year, charged with driving while intoxicated. 4:19pm

Tuesday, August 31

Burn Ban: County Judge Dan Gattis extended a burn ban for all of Williamson County on Tuesday that will remain in effect for another 90 days, county spokesman Connie Watson said. The ban prohibits the burning of household yard waste such as leaves, grass, brush and other yard trimmings. The ban is intended to address the threat of wild fires during periods of hot, dry weather, Ms. Watson said. The judge may choose to end the ban early if weather improves. 2:52pm

County budget approved: The Williamson County Commissioners Court did not raise the tax rate Tuesday when it unanimously approved a 2010-2011 budget that will require millions of reserve dollars to balance. The court lowered the general fund budget from a recommended $127 million to about $124 million, which will require $4.28 million from reserves. The general fund budget is $310,000 less than this year’s budget despite millions of additional dollars spent on skyrocketing indigent healthcare costs. 2:52pm

A Parent Information Night and Family cookout for first- through fifth-grade students and their parents at Mitchell Elementary School is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, September 2. 2:51pm

There will be no classes for GISD students on Monday, September 6 in honor of Labor Day. 2:51pm

McCoy Elementary School has changed fourth and fifth grade lunch times. The current schedule is third grade lunch from 11:05 to 11:45 a.m., fourth grade lunch from 12:40 to 1:25 p.m., and fifth grade lunch from 11:55 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. 2:50pm

St. Helen Catholic School parents presented Monsignor Louis Pavlicek with a check for $155,000 on Friday, August 27 for the St. Rita Parish Activity Center. The gift was made of donations from parents, grandparents, friends, non-parent board members, the Class of 2010 and the Kenedy Foundation. 2:50pm

The Society of Young Women Leaders, a leadership and mentoring organization for college and high school women sponsored by students at Southwestern University, is accepting applications for new high school members. The society looks for high school women who are academically driven, goal-oriented and have displayed extraordinary leadership potential. Contact Katherine Tanner at tannerk@southwestern.edu to request a brochure and application. The Society of Young Women Leaders will host an informational meeting for high school women and their parents at 5 p.m. Monday, September 8 in the McCombs Campus Center Ballrooms on Southwestern’s campus. Applications are due to Ms. Tanner by September 15. 2:50pm

Monday, August 30

From the city: Outdoor irrigation is not allowed on Mondays. Summer watering rules are in place through September 30. “Mondays are a no-watering day to allow our water treatment system to recover from the high demand on the weekends,” Glenn Dishong, utility director for Georgetown Utility Systems, said in a news release. Hand-watering with a hose or bucket can be done at any time, but using an irrigation system or sprinkler should follow the summer schedule, which is based on the last digit of your address number: For odd home addresses, water on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday; for even addresses, water on Wednesday, Friday or Sunday. Watering with an irrigation system or sprinkler is not permitted during the day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Violations of these restrictions may result in fines.

For assistance in programming your irrigation controller, call Georgetown Utility Systems at (512) 930-3555 or email gus@georgetown.org. 1:11pm

Friday, August 27

Members of the Citizen Advisory Committee, along with city planning and communication staff members, were recently awarded the Plan of the Year award by the Central Texas APA in Austin for its Citizen Participation Plan. The Citizen Participation Plan seeks to establish and coordinate procedures for the city by effectively and efficiently communicating relevant information and improving community outreach to Georgetown residents. 4:04pm

Georgetown city offices and facilities will be closed on Monday, September 6 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Regular office hours will resume Tuesday, September 7. 4:04pm

Wednesday, August 25

A special city council meeting Thursday to discuss City Attorney Mark Sokolow has been cancelled, according to a city news release.

Mayor George Garver said Wednesday he cancelled the meeting after council members ordered Mr. Sokolow to drop a lawsuit against the Texas Attorney General’s Office in regards to his evaluation being released, and asked that he immediately release portions of it to the public.

“The council felt that the action taken Tuesday night was enough,” Mr. Garver explained. 5:19pm

City budget: City council members approved the first reading of the city’s 2010-11 fiscal year budget and tax rate during Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The 2010-11 fiscal year, $186.4 million budget includes funding for all services, including utilities, as well as capital improvements for the upcoming year. The city’s tax rate will also hold steady despite a decline in the city’s home values. The proposed tax rate is slated to remain at 35.622 cents per $100 valuation for the third year in a row. That means the average taxpayer would pay $658.60 in taxes for the pending fiscal year, a $13.22 decline over last year because of decreased values. 10:27am

CITY COUNCIL: After reconvening from executive session during Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council unanimously ordered City Attorney Mark Sokolow to drop his lawsuit against the State Attorney General’s Office and release portions of his evaluation to the public. In a separate action, the council voted to hire Bridget Chapman as assistant city attorney. She had been working as assistant city attorney since April; however, the city council never voted to approve her hiring as is required by the city charter. Despite announcing action to stop the pending lawsuit and immediately release Mr. Sokolow evaluation, it’s unclear whether council members will meet in special session at 4 p.m. Thursday to further discuss issues pertaining to the city attorney. Georgetown Mayor George Garver called the special city council meeting to discuss possible action relating to the performance of Mr. Sokolow, according to an agenda item posted Monday afternoon.

As of Wednesday morning, the agenda item was still posted on the city’s website. Mr. Garver could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning about the status of the special meeting.

Mr. Garver said Monday he called the meeting in effort to give council members more time to discuss Mr. Sokolow’s pending lawsuit against the Attorney General’s Office, and whether any disciplinary action will be necessary since council members were not able to discuss and approve the lawsuit before it was filed.

Mr. Sokolow filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General’s Office on August 13 in a Travis County district court after the AG ruled on August 3 that certain parts of his evaluation, which was completed in May, were public, according to court documents. Mr. Sokolow’s lawsuit claimed that his job evaluation has information that is considered legally confidential and its disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The lawsuit also alleged a breech of attorney-client privilege if his evaluation is released. 10:26am

Deaths • Services

Russell Fay died August 23. Service 2 p.m. Thursday, September 2, First Presbyterian Church.

John Faull died August 30. Visitation 6-8 p.m. Thursday, September 2, The Gabriels Funeral Home. Service 2 p.m. Friday, September 3, Victory Baptist Church, Cedar Park.

Allen Trowbridge died August 1. Service 2 p.m. Saturday, September 4, First Methodist Church.