COUPLAND – At the June 26, CCO meeting, held in the Fellowship Hall of St. Peter’s Church of Coupland, residents heard a presentation by retired Hollywood cameraman Cal Roberts. He worked at Warner Brothers for 40 years, and his films include Speed, Top Gun, Lethal Weapon, Gran Torino and Jurassic Park.
He has worked with stars such as Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood and with Steven Spielberg. Before the program, the CCO hosted a sandwich supper with homemade cookies.
COUPLAND SCHOOL
As covered in previous columns, Coupland Independent School District is losing Superintendent Tammy Brinkman. On June 27, she resigned, which was shortly after bonds passed May 6 to build a Coupland Middle School.
Coupland Civic Organization President Susan Schmidt says, “Mrs. Brinkman was the spokesperson for the school bond. With her expertise and calm demeanor, she was able to handle any tough questions with knowledge and grace. Mrs. Brinkman was respected by the majority of her teachers and staff as well as members of the community.”
At a special school board meeting May 15, there was a standingroom- only crowd, and all of the speakers who addressed the board were in favor of retaining Brinkman as superintendent.
Schmidt added, “The big question is why did Mrs. Brinkman resign? She has stated she did not know why she was receiving pressure to resign. School board members have been silent on this matter with some board members not knowing themselves.”
The district is in the process of beginning construction of the new middle school.
“With the loss of Mrs. Brinkman, we lost technical and financial expertise for the administration of the bond,”Schmidt said. “The longer this construction takes, the more inflation will eat up the bond funds. The continuity of constructing this school is lost, and I fear the quality of the new school will suffer.”
Schmidt has had conversations with stakeholders across the district, and she reports that the consensus is that the two board members who caused this situation should resign. A petition asking for their resignations will be presented to the board.
“I am hoping more and more people will become involved in this important part of our community. Come to the school board meetings and let your voices be heard,” Schmidt said.
The board meeting schedule is on the school’s website at www. couplandisd.org under the school board section, which shows meeting agendas.
Brinkman was both the superintendent and principal of Coupland schools. The school board has hired two people to take her place. The new principal is Brian Booker, who has a background in teaching and school administration. The interim superintendent is Adren Pilger, who also has been a teacher and administrator. Before he became interim superintendent at Coupland, Pilger was a retired superintendent.
ST. PETER’S CHURCH OF COUPLAND
St. Peter’s new permanent pastor, Reverend Scott Wasdin, and his family are settling into the newly renovated parsonage. He and his wife Crystal have an 8-yearold daughter and three sons, aged 11, 10 and 9.
St. Peter’s diners gathered July 20 at Thrall Country Diner. Potluck Sunday was July 23 with the congregation sharing favorite dishes following services. Coffee Connections is every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in the conference room.
St. Peter’s volunteers are handling the food distribution Saturday, July 29, beginning at 7 a.m. at Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry.
According to Charlotte Albert, all senior citizens are invited to join the Senior Citizens Luncheon Tuesday Sept. 19. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. followed by Bingo and 42 dominoes.
“If you wish to participate in Bingo, it is suggested but certainly not required to bring an item with a value of up to $10,” she said. “We hope to see you there.”
The luncheon held July 18 was the annual picnic meal of chicken salad croissant sandwiches, potato chips, and our great root beer floats for dessert.
“The group, L.I.F.T. (Ladies in Fellowship Together), enjoys hosting these events,” Albert said.
Everyone is welcome at St. Peter’s worship services at 10:15 a.m. Sundays.
For more information, email [email protected] or go to the website https://www. stpeterscoupland.org and click on the calendar link at the top.
NEW SWEDEN CHURCH
Previous church secretary Barbara Carizales has resigned, and the new secretary is Susan Rountree.
The annual church picnic was held July 23 at the David and Terry Ramm ranch near Elgin. In addition to the potluck meal, the event included water activities for children and paintball.
“This year, the church will again provide backpacks and school supplies for students in need of these items in three area schools. The Coupland School has been one of the recipients for three years,” Rountree said. “This project of the church grows a little bigger each year.”
New Sweden offers Bible study on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, beginning at 10 a.m., centering on the book of Romans.
There is a women’s Bible study on the first Thursday of each month beginning at 6:30 p.m. A third Bible study for all is at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday morning before Worship Services. That study is of the scriptures used for the Sunday Worship Service.
The church office hours are Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon. The church telephone is open for calls at all times.
“There are a number of people each week who come to visit this historic church,” Rountree.
Visitors who would like a tour of the church can call 512-281-0056.
New Sweden Church is at 12809 New Sweden Church Road.
For information, see [email protected] and https:// www.newswedenelca.org. New Sweden welcomes everyone to all events.
NEW SWEDEN COMMUNITY
The New Sweden community has been fighting two proposed concrete batch plants to be located off Manda Carlson Road.
Over 100 residents of New Sweden and the surrounding rural communities attended a hearing May 24 protesting Five Star Concrete’s permit application for two concrete batch plants near the heart of New Sweden. Afterward, the applicant withdrew the request, which meant that TCEQ did not have to answer questions proposed by the many community members at the meeting.
“Five Star re-applied shortly thereafter, and the new hearing has been set for Aug. 9 at the same Pflugerville Courtyard by Marriott location as the May meeting,” said Emily Erickson.
Aug. 9 maybe a difficult date for farmers to attend because of seasonal farming activities, efforts are underway to request a postponement of the August meeting to Sept. 27 or another date in October. “Residents are being asked to write letters once again concerning this issue,” Erickson said. “You may include comments you made and questions you asked during the first round in May. It is imperative that TCEQ see that we’re not giving up even though a second hearing is required.”
Letters can cover the problems caused by high winds in the area that will spread the dust from the concrete plants that will be harmful to people and livestock. Letters can also ask for a change of hearing date to Sept. 27 or in October.
According to Erickson, those who write letters are also encouraged to ask for a venue change to the New Sweden Lutheran Church, 12809 New Sweden Church Road, rather than in Pflugerville.
Letters may be submitted to www14.tceq.texas. gov/epic/eComment/ for Permit #173049 or mail your letter to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC-105 PO Box 13087, Austin, TX 78711-3087.
To stay informed about this issue, sign up at [email protected].
TYPE CHURCH
Wednesday Bible study starts back up Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. Charlene Hanson Jordan announces, “Wednesday family fun nights will culminate with a Back to School Bash Aug. 2. This will include yard games, a bounce house, and hot dogs.”
Dirt work is being done at the Type Church.
“Where the old barracks building used to stand, Vernon Cardwell has finished spreading the soil with his tractor, and he is smoothing it out with his Kawasaki and an old tractor tire in preparation for planting grass,” Jordan said.
Type Church is east of Coupland at 1200 County Road 466 and Pastor Ryan Evans’ phone number is 281-229-8962. He can also be reached at pastor-ryan91@ gmail.com.
Sunday Church Services are at 10:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome.
COUPLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, ESD#10
The Emergency Services District #10 board meetings are held at the Coupland Fire Station the second Tuesday of the month.
Meetings are also available via telephone conferencing. Each month the meeting notice is posted at the Coupland Fire Station, Coupland Post Office, Citizens National Bank in Coupland, Thrall Fire Station and Thrall Post Office.
All information is posted on the ESD’s website at www.wcesd10.org.
The annexation of the Avery-Pickett (Taylor VFD) Fire District passed in May with 288 votes for and 116 votes against it in district. In the Taylor defined territory there were 78 votes for the annexation of the Taylor defined territory and 48 votes against.
Maranda Cummings, administrative support, said the adoption of a local sales and use tax in Williamson County ESD #10 at a rate not to exceed 2% in any location in the district passed in May with 259 votes for and 151 votes against it in district.
“The new 3,000-gallon tender was delivered in April 2023,” Cummings said. “You may have already seen it in town running calls, during training, or at the Fourth of July parade in Taylor.”
To join Williamson County ESD #10, please contact John Roulston-Bates (District 1 Chief) at [email protected] or Zach Hall (District 2 Chief) at zhall@wcesd10. org. Updates and upcoming events can be found on the Williamson County ESD #10 Facebook page as well as the Coupland and Thrall Volunteer Fire Departments’ Facebook pages.
