Here is a recap of what was featured in the Wednesday, Jan. 25, e-edition of the Taylor Press. The e-edition is emailed to subscribers and available at www. taylorpress.net.
FASTEST MAN MURAL SET TO DEBUT FEB. 4
A dedication ceremony for Taylor native and Olympic athlete Fred Kerley will take place next Saturday, Feb. 4, at 10 a.m. in front of his mural on a water tower at 1606 N. Main St.
Kerley is expected to be in attendance for the ceremony and the city is already starting to buzz talking about it.
Kerley has become a decorated track athlete earning a gold medal at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in the 4x400-meter relay and a silver medal in the 100-meter relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he ran a personal best 9.84 and was only four tenths of a second behind the gold medal winner.
Kerley added another gold medal to his resume at the 2022 World Championships in the 100-meter relay to further solidify himself as the fastest man in the world.
The ceremony for Kerley is a public event, in which everyone in the city of Taylor is encouraged to attend.
BODY FOUND CONFIRMED AS TAYLOR MAN
BELTON — A preliminary autopsy has confirmed that a body found by a fisherman in the Lampasas River Jan. 19 is Eric Martinets, 30, of Taylor.
According to Taylor Police Department, Martinets had been missing since Jan. 17.
Belton Police Department officials said they received a call at 5:28 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, about a man face down in the river, near the Interstate-35 Bridge, which caused the southbound frontage road to be closed briefly that evening.
Paul Romer, Belton’s director of communications, said Jan. 24 that the body has been positively identified and next of kin have been notified. According to police reports, the deceased male had a head injury consistent with a high fall and was sent to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences for a preliminary autopsy.
DUCK BRIGADE SERVES AT INAUGURATION
A group of about 20 culinary students from Taylor High School, known as The Duck Brigade, and their instructor, Chef Mike Erickson, became a part of Texas history on Tuesday by assisting with the Taste of Texas celebration on the Capitol grounds following the inauguration of Governor Greg Abbott Jan. 17.
Only three Austin area high school culinary programs were invited to help at the inauguration’s celebratory event.
Showcasing a diverse selection of food samples from independent restaurants across the state, students from Taylor High School, Connally High School and Del Valle High School assisted the 10 participating restaurants with serving food and distributing drinks at the beverage tent.
Student chefs Gonzalo Cruz and Jakorien Abercrombie assisted in the beverage tent, serving coffee, tea, soda, and water to 5,000 guests in just two hours.
The invitation to help with the inauguration came through the ProStart Program in partnership with the Texas Restaurant Association and the Texas Restaurant Foundation. Through this program, high schoolers receive two years of culinary arts and restaurant management training, along with opportunities to participate in events and connect with mentors.
They are planning to return to the capitol in March for another ProStart event.
PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT IN $9.8 MILLION FRITZ PARK PLAN
HUTTO — A master plan concept designed to make Fritz Park an “authentic flagship park” for the city premiered at the Jan. 19 council meeting.
Representatives from Burditt Consultants showed renderings and presented a cost estimate that will vary based on different options council could choose.
The master-plan rendering shows a splash pad, separate playgrounds for toddlers and bigger kids, a new trail around the park, a new lake, more parking, areas for concerts and events, a mountain bike track and places for quiet relaxation among other things. The plan includes repairing the existing pavilion and resurfacing the basketball courts.
While the estimate showed a cost starting at $9.8 million, at this stage the city needs to finalize decisions before an actual budget can be created.
The expected total cost is between $10 million to $15 million, depending on choices such as whether to renovate the existing restrooms or completely rebuild them, and whether to add a shade structure over the basketball courts.
Renderings and the cost estimate can be found on the city’s website, and the public is encouraged to email their comments to [email protected].
