Coupland’s Annual Choo Choo Fest Oct. 15

Coupland’s Annual Choo Choo Fest Oct. 15

Susan Garry Coupland columnist

Coupland Civic Organization (CCO) The Coupland Civic Organization will meet on Monday, Sept. 25, in the Fellowship Hall of St. Peter’s Church of Coupland. Come at 6:30 p.m. for a taco salad supper. We will have two topics at this meeting. At 7 p.m. Michael Roepke, member of the Coupland School Board, will present a construction update on the new Middle School.

Following Roepke, we will hear from Will and Dani, owners of Vermillion Farms, an environmentally controlled greenhouse in the Coupland area that uses aeroponic technology to produce leafy greens, vegetables and herbs. Aeroponics is similar to hydroponics but instead of the root system growing in water it grows in air.

The 4300-squarefoot environmentally controlled greenhouse grows over 100 towers of fresh produce.

Aeroponically grown food has more nutritional value with 45% more vitamin E and 183% more vitamin C. Vermillion Farms never uses pesticides or chemicals. Come hear about this interesting way of growing vegetables.

The annual Choo Choo Fest will be held at St. Peter’s Church on Oct. 15. Coupland’s Master Chef Peter Wabbel will provide a barbecue dinner with pork loin, sausage and chicken drumsticks.

CCO members will provide homemade sides of potato salad, coleslaw and beans. Serving starts at 11:15 a.m. and continues until sold out. Meal tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for children 8 and under. The wonderful Coupland cooks will contribute baked goods and desserts to the bake sale. T-shirts and other Coupland merchandise will be for sale. The much-anticipated silent auction will offer art, crafts, décor items and more.

Families, especially the kids, will enjoy the petting zoo which will be across the street from St. Peter’s from noon until 2 p.m.

Also, in October on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. in front of St. Peter’s Church the CCO will sponsor Halloween Trunk or Treat. Residents decorate trunks or SUVs with Halloween decorations, wear costumes and hand out treats to the children. There will also be games. Trunk or Treat is a safe and fun way to celebrate Halloween.

Coupland School The Coupland School Board has been holding meetings to get its budget and tax rates finalized before the deadline. Citizens have been addressing the board, expressing their concerns. At the Aug.

31 meeting, Marcy Buffington Jordan, a former Board Member, spoke about importance of open meetings, posting the meetings and posting required documents. She notes, “The proposed budget should be posted immediately along with the comparison with the previous budget.” The items that were ratified at this Aug. 31 meeting were then reviewed at the Sept. 5 meeting.

At the special meeting on September 5, resident Suzie Dunlop, who was instrumental in getting the bonds passed on May 6 to build a Coupland Middle School, addressed the Board about community relations. Regarding the design team for the school, she said it should have community members on it. She says, “We have been left out since the bond passed.”

Board member Michael Roepke proposes, “We should move forward to come together and heal both sides.”

The Board is considering adopting BoardBook which is recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards to help manage meetings

and documents and to communicate with attendees and the public. The Association says, “Over 700 Texas school boards rely on BoardBook to manage their board meeting materials.”

Now that every Texas school needs to have an armed guard, Coupland has worked with a private entity that vets and trains guards.

Coupland’s guard will be there every day that the students are there.

Roepke notes, “It will be the same guard all the time to build rapport.”

At the School Board meeting Sept. 14, information about the new school was presented.

Michael Roepke will come to the Sept. 25 CCO meeting and give a construction update.

Board members say that the School Board wants to work with the community; they have placed a community representative on the design committee, Susan Schmidt, the CCO President.

Claycomb Associates is the architectural firm for the new Middle School, and they showed attendees a proposed layout and front elevation design.

Interim Superintendent Adren Pilger says, “These designs are proposed, but we do not expect any significant changes.” TxDot has required a traffic study which is still underway.

Two board members Terry Wallin and Mike Welch have resigned, and it is unclear how they will be replaced.

Regarding the search for a new superintendent, the school has received six applications and 29 requests for applications. Interviews are being scheduled.

Coach Kyle Rinderknecht reports that the Coupland volleyball team won their home opener against the Gause Lady Bears in two sets, 25-9 and 25-15.

The Cowgirls were led by eighth-graders Sarah Herring and Becca Thomas. Coach says, “The girls showed a lot of promise and have set their expectations high for the season ahead.”

St. Peter’s Church of Coupland

St. Peter’s Church held a prayer gathering in support of Coupland ISD on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. in front of the school.

Pastor Scott Wasdin led this time of prayer for teachers, administrators, students and families.

St. Peter’s hosted their first annual Car Show and Fundraiser on Saturday, September 16. The event included food and a bake sale.

The show was a big success with 35 cars on display. Thanks to Jim and Cindy Alexander and everyone who helped organize the show.

The Church Council met on Sunday, Sept.

17, at 11:30 a.m. Coffee Connections is every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in the Conference Room.

Charlotte Albert notes that the Senior Citizens Luncheon was held on Tuesday, Sept.

19. Lunch was followed by Bingo and 42 Dominoes. Coupland’s Master Chef Peter Wabbel prepared the meal, which was very much appreciated.

Coordinated by Lois Schmidt and Bonnie Sladek, St. Peter’s Diners met at Texas Bay Seafood and Steak on Sept. 21.

St. Peter’s will celebrate Kirchenfest (church festival) on Oct. 22. This tradition honors past Confirmation graduates and celebrates the history of the church. A catered dinner will be served.

St. Peter’s welcomes a new pianist, David Cappolino. He is a native of Galveston and a graduate of the University of Texas.

He and his wife Karen recently celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary. Their son David Andrew lives in New York City.

Cappolino previously served as pianist/organist at St. John’s UMC in Georgetown.

Everyone is welcome at St. Peter’s worship services at 10:15 a.m. on Sundays.

For more, email [email protected] or go to the website stpeterscoupland. org and click on the calendar link at the top.

New Sweden Church

Church Secretary Susan Rountree notes that New Sweden offers two Bible study classes.

The Ladies Bible Study is the first Thursday of the month at 6:30, beginning with supper.

Bible Study with Rev.

Hans Lillejord is the second and fourth Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Game Nights at New Sweden Church are the second, third, and fourth Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Susan Rountree says, “All are welcome to join in the fun and fellowship of card games, ping pong and Dominoes.”

She adds, “Thank you for the wonderful support for the school back packs! We stuffed 77 back packs, and they were donated to Coupland ISD, McDade ISD and Thrall ISD. We donated our excess supplies to Ronald Reagan Elementary School in Cedar Park, where many children lost everything in the Cedar Park fire.”

New Sweden thanks all who attended the 20th anniversary celebration for Pastor Hans Lillejord. A special “Thank You” to those who were involved in the planning and organization of our special day of celebration, especially David and Terry Ramm for hosting the luncheon and gathering. Pastor Hans says, “There are no words adequate to express my gratitude and appreciation to the congregation of New Sweden Lutheran Church and the many guests and friends who attended the worship service and fellowship following the service on July 23, celebrating my 20 years of

ministry here.” New Sweden worship services are 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Church office hours are Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon.

The church telephone is 512-281-0056. New Sweden is at 12809 New Sweden Church Road.

For information, see [email protected] and www. newswedenelca.org.

New Sweden welcomes everyone to all events.

Coupland Volunteer Fire Department, ESD#10 According to Maranda Cummings, Administrative Support for ESD #10, Board Meetings are in the Coupland Fire Station the second Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. She says, “This is a public meeting and attendance is welcome.” ESD information is posted on the ESD’s website at www. wcesd10.org.

The Coupland and Thrall firefighters are volunteers. To volunteer, email John Roulston-Bates (District 1 Chief) at [email protected] or Zach Hall (District 2 Chief) at [email protected]. See the Williamson County ESD #10 Facebook page, as well as the Coupland and Thrall Volunteer Fire Departments’ Facebook pages for more information.

Residents appreciate the firefighters very much, especially during this drought. Coupland resident Pat Cornell reports, “We had a stripper fire. My sincere thanks and gratitude to both Coupland and Hutto fire departments for responding so quickly. These people are incredible. Again, thank you all.”

The firefighters practice with their equipment before it is needed. Recently, Chief Mark Moellenberg and Assistant Chief Jared Cummings tried out multiple different hose lays for wildland firefighting at the Coupland station, prior to training the volunteer firefighters on their use.

Moellenberg explains, “Trying out the practicalities of deploying, use and reloading is important before deciding on the best configuration to implement for the protection of our communities.”

Ironwood Industries and Jim Huntington

Wells and Jessica Mason of Coupland’s Ironwood Industries are creating a remote studio in Marfa. They are preparing to show some of the work of Coupland sculptor Jim Huntington. Wells says, “Amidst the rubble of our renovation in Marfa, we’re showing new work by our friend Jim Huntington during Chinati Weekend.”

The opening reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct.

5. The open house is Oct. 6-7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum in Marfa, and Chinati Weekend is an important cultural event for West Texas.