Issue #11
March 26, 2025
Lower Fuel Prices Lifting Smithville Airport
If you’ve stepped outside your house in Smithville in the last 12 months, you’ve likely noticed an uptick in planes flying overhead. On a sunny Saturday or Sunday you might hear the hum of small aircraft circling the skies dozens of times.
Last year the city recorded approximately 12,000 takeoff and landings from the city-owned Smithville-Crawford Municipal Airport. This year they are expecting to see almost 20,000.
Find out the reason for the increase in our latest news feature.
PLUS find out why the airport budget jumped from $72k to $720k in this fiscal year.
Lammerts Bows Out
Place 2 write-in candidate Cale Lammerts announced on Nextdoor on Wednesday that he will be pulling out of the city council race.
“This is not a decision I come too lightly. But to put it bluntly, the juice just doesn't seem worth the squeeze.”
~Place 2 write-in candidate Cale Lammerts
Because he is a write-in candidate, Lammerts’ name was not going to appear on the ballot, but be on the list of approved write-in candidates.
City Secretary Jennifer Lynch confirmed Lammerts will still be included on the write-in list. She is checking with the state to find out what would happen if he wins the election and does not want the position.
Look for a story on our X feed tomorrow for an update.
You can see where he and Brandon Dunham stood on the issues in our article from the forum at Fat Cat Cafe on March 12.
What's in the 380 Agreement for Sonic?
While we wait for the cherry limeade’s to start flowing at the Sonic, we decided to dive into the 380 agreement the developer has with the city.
|
|
What's a 380 agreement?
380 agreements are an economic development tool that typically help cities and developers share infrastructure costs in exchange for meeting benchmarks like job or sales tax creation.
|
Find out how much property tax reimbursement the city agreed to, and if the developer is eligible in our latest news analysis.
Paving Complete
With the threat of rain looming on Wednesday, an army of pavers finished laying the new asphalt on Main Street and 2nd Street downtown.
It has been a rough few months for downtown businesses, but the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel is almost here.
Crews are expected to finish striping by the end of this week, however, rainy weather may cause a short delay. Check our X feed for updates.
You can read about the reason for the construction in our Feb. 28 article.
Need a J-O-B?
Are you looking for a job? Do you like to work outdoors? The City of Smithville is hiring for a Cemetery Laborer.
Job duties include operating mowers, tractors, trenchers, vehicles, and utilizing a variety of hand and power tools in park landscape maintenance work.
Starting pay is $18/hr. Get more details and apply here.
All-State Academic
Congratulations to senior Arabella Gutierrez, who was selected for Academic All State by the Texas Girls Coaches Association!
She also made 1st Team All-District for the bi-district champion Lady Tiger basketball team.
Congratulations Arabella on your hard work and dedication on the court and in the classroom!
District Begins
The district races for baseball and softball are heating up and your Smithville Tigers are in the running!
The Tigers baseball team is currently 10-7 on the season and 1-0 in District play. Big congrats to Jaxson Frazier who threw a no-hitter with 12 Ks (!!!) against Luling last Tuesday!
The Lady Tigers softball team is 16-5-1 on the season and 3-1 in District, tied for 1st with Caldwell and LaGrange.
Both teams will face Caldwell on Friday (weather permitting) at home, so let’s pack those stands and cheer on our Tiger and Lady Tigers as they compete for the District crown!
From the Publisher
Running your own small business is hard, particularly at the beginning. You're juggling bringing a dream you've had deep inside of you out into the world with the cold, hard realities of the actions needed to bring that vision to life.
There's a reason most people don't start, and of the ones that do, many fail.
I've come to a point in this project where it's time to level up, to start my audio and video flywheels, and not only am I getting clobbered with resistance, but I'm also getting to the edge of my technical skills and talent—of what I think I can do.
I've been watching season 10 of "Alone" on Netflix, which is a reality series where contestants compete to survive the longest in extreme outdoor conditions, all alone.
On Day 6, contestant Cade Cole, a professional hunting guide from Wyoming, loses his quiver of arrows. Not one arrow, ALL his arrows. Mind you, he's in the middle of the Saskatchewan wilderness, so it's not like he can just order a new set from Amazon.
Losing his primary method of catching food was a devastating blow, and Cade did not take it well at first. For much of that episode, you watch him go from a moment of sheer terror (I can't believe I lost them, I have to find them) to the depths of self-loathing and despair (I can't believe I did that, how will I survive?).
He gets all the way down on the mat, ready to tap out. But he decides to dig deep instead. "At the end of the day, no matter what, I can't let this break me," he tells the camera.
Despite having never done it before, Cade decides to make arrows. And again, he doesn't have an "arrow building kit" or YouTube to pull up a how-to video. All he has is an empty tummy and a will to survive.
Cade crafts arrows from sticks, shaping them with his knife, using beer cans for fire-hardened tips and grouse feathers for fletching.
"I'm surviving off of my pure determination because I refuse to quit," Cade says.
He tests his homemade arrow on a log, and it flies straight and true, sticking into the log. He looks back at the camera, and there is this fist-pumping moment of pure joy.
It was an understanding that what he built was going to work. And it meant he could stay in the game because he chose not to give up—even when it seemed impossible.
I found that storyline so inspiring—an amazing metaphor that’s lingered in my mind for weeks. Unlike Cade, I’m not facing a literal survival test or a "tap out" moment in my business, but his resolve still speaks to me.
I know I need to take that next step.
To expand what I have done and think I can do, to what needs to be done.
To trust that the answers I need are right inside me.
The goal isn't to find the answers externally. It's to quiet the storm of doubt and fear and let those answers speak and blossom.
Looking forward to see what we can build together,
~K
Kristen Meriwether
Publisher, Smithville Texas News
Kristen@smithvilleTexasNews.com
Follow us on X @NewsSmithville
