Here is a recap of what was featured in the Wednesday, June 29, e-edition of the Taylor Press. The e-edition is mailed to subscribers and available at www.taylorpress.net.
BRUSH FIRES SPARK
Fires burned a total of 25 acres in south Taylor June 24 amid ongoing dry weather and included two heatrelated injuries.
The Taylor Fire Department and other agencies responded to two separate grass fires near the 200 block of Carlos G. Parker Boulevard SW near the intersection with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Two firefighters sustained the non-life-threatening injuries and have fully recovered. After an investigation, the cause of the fire is undetermined.
Firefighters started the day with the first 5-acre fire at approximately 8:45 a.m. Then at around 3 p.m. as firefighters were wrapping up the scene, they noticed a second fire to less than a mile to the east.
“That was about 20 acres and it involved medium-to-high body grasses and wooded area,” said Copeland. “There were never any danger of structures or homes.”
One of the hardest obstacles for the fire departments was getting access to the blaze.
“We ended up initially deploying drones to find access for the initial fire and the second fire,” said Copeland. “It was down in an area that isn’t easily accessed.”
Responding agencies included the volunteer Avery-Pickett Fire Department and fire departments from Hutto, Granger, Weir, Pflugerville, Manor and Williamson County Emergency Service District #10 from Thrall and Coupland.
BRIDGING THE GAP OF HOPE
On Monday, June 27, Dr. Dickey’s name legacy was preserved with the re-dedication of the Dickey Footbridge located near East Second Street between Robinson and Dolan streets and also crosses Bull Branch Creek near Taylor’s hike and bike trail.
The bridge was built in 1940 after motivation from Dr. Dickey to provide a safer route for school children over Bull Branch Creek to the Blackshear/O.L. Price schools during segregation.
“This bridge is symbolic in many ways, connection our community,” said Mayor Brandt Rydell. “Community is so important, and I’m just so happy that we continue to have this symbol and this feature that those for years and years to come can have an understanding of where Taylor’s been and the bright future in to which we are going.”
In 2018, the Taylor Conservation and Heritage Society worked to have a marker placed at the bridge. Four years later, the bridge was restored.
CHIEF FIRES OFF ANSWERS
Fire Chief Daniel Baum was the featured guest June 13 on the seventh episode of the Taylor Press video interview series with city of Taylor staff, “Taylor Talk with Jason Hennington,” on the Taylor Press Facebook page. The chief went over a variety of questions on city matters and touched on his voyage to Taylor.
Baum also touched on the city’s growth and how the fire department’s need to catch up. The department has seven firefighters on duty on a given day. Baum wants to increase to 20 firefighters to move toward national standards.
“That’s kind of sticker shock for a lot of people. That’s an expensive operation and it may take us a while to get there,” said Baum, “but based on what we have now, anticipated growth and the growth we don’t even know about yet, we have to have more personnel.”
The next guest will be Jeff Wood, Taylor chief financial officer. To submit questions, email [email protected].
To view the full interview with Chief Baum, visit http://www.facebook.com/gotaylortx and scroll down to the June 13 post.
