To the editor:

If you made a few or even many lunches, if you rode on the lunch truck and hugged a child or encouraged a brother or sister in need — thank you. Your sandwich, your smile, your prayers and willingness to get involved, with what seemed at the beginning of the summer to be an overwhelming mission, was amazing.

Thanks to the extreme generosity of this community, we delivered more than 6,000 lunches to local residents throughout the summer break. Words are inadequate to describe the many blessings that we all received through reaching out as a community to build friendships and meet true needs. I believe I speak for everyone who participated when I tell you that I will miss this daily coming together with my neighbors and the generous way they shared their lives and gratitude.

In addition to each one of you who made this effort possible every weekday, I would like to thank Lake Hills Church for the unrestricted use of their Mobile Loaves and Fishes trucks. I would also like to thank the Ladies of Charity and Emmaus Church for “Thursdays,” two amazing LTHS teachers without whose help we could not have succeeded, and Austin Christian Fellowship, who made more lunches than I want to count. Thank you to so many Lake Travis churches and LTISD teachers, local clubs, exercise groups and neighborhood groups and to countless Lake Travis individuals with hearts of gold. And to Janet Bailey — thank you for your vision and for your courage.

Michelle Zogas,

President, LTlov,

The Lake Travis Labor of Love

www.ltlov.org

To the editor:

[Dear city officials and residents:]

I have been traveling daily on Highland Blvd., and appreciate the scenic beauty of the drive and the diligence of the crews that maintain it, including the police department who monitor the 30 miles per hour speed limit. However, the 30 mph speed limit is excessively slow on the inconsistent hilly terrain it is trying to serve. I have heard this complaint from many other Lakeway residents and would like to submit herewith a request to raise that limit.

Putting my cruise control on 30 means the car could go up to 42 mph before it either cuts off or I brake. I try every day to rely on the cruise control to maintain a steady speed of 30, and it will not cooperate, so I end up riding my brakes, resetting, riding them again. You get the picture. For the use of the road and for the avoidance of another speeding ticket, I am willing to be inconvenienced to that degree, but it would be much less hassle if you would raise the speed limit on the stretch of Highland Boulevard between the World of Tennis going west and the roundabout at Bee Creek Road. The current limits on Lohmann’s Crossing of 35 and 40 mph would be much more appropriate in my opinion.

I am paying my ticket today, though I would like to have had the officer’s consideration of the hills’ interference with my ability to manage my speed, and I would very much appreciate your consideration in making a change in the speed limit on that road.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Harrington

Lakeway

(Editor’s note: The following is a reply to Harrington from Lakeway Mayor Dave DeOme, who was also sent a copy of the letter.)

Dear Ms.  Harrington,

Thank you for your recent e-mail.  Highland Blvd. was designed (steepness of grade, curves, sight lines, etc.) for speeds of no more than 35 miles per hour. As a safety precaution the posted speed is 30 mph. Furthermore, significant development is currently planned for this area and more and more intersecting traffic from side streets will be present as time goes forward. At the present time there are no plans to raise the speed limit on this road.

For your information, I have extracted the following text from my vehicle’s owners manual on the subject of the use of the  cruise control feature.

Using Cruise Control on Hills

How well your cruise control will work on hills depends upon your speed, load and the steepness of the hills. My vehicle’s cruise control will not function below 25 mph. When going up hills, you may have to step on the accelerator pedal to maintain the vehicle’s speed. When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear to keep the vehicle’s speed down. Of course, applying the brake takes you out of cruise control.  Many drivers find this to be to much trouble and do not use cruise control on steep hills.

I hope you find this  information helpful.

David P. DeOme

Mayor

Lakeway

To the editor:

[This letter is] in response to Mayor [Dave] DeOme’s attempt to get the word out regarding annexation of areas in Lakeway extra territorial jurisdiction.

My family has lived in the Travis Oak Trails subdivision on Gebron for almost 20 years. We also own land across the street in Cardinal Hills 7.  We are staunchly opposed to annexation as is our neighbors. We made a decision at the time we moved here not to be in the City of Lakeway. We pay LTISD taxes and have three grown kids that have all gone through LTISD schools. We pay taxes to Travis County who protects our area very well.

We are quite happy with Water Control and Improvement District 17 for water, trash removal and recycling. There is nothing the City of Lakeway can provide us that we don’t already have.  There was a time when Lakeway only annexed an area when it was requested by the property/land owner to do so.

No one in our neighborhood wants to be annexed.

We are not in a “donut hole” area surrounded by Lakeway. This would be an attempt to gain more tax base while imposing ordinances, rules and regs that we do not want.  Annexation by Lakeway would force a change in lifestyle by many in our area. Instead of an aggressive land grab to increase revenue — how about helping the businesses in Lakeway along RR 620 with better signage so that their business will increase, thereby increasing the revenue to the city.  Lakeway — we support your businesses, but leave us alone.

Debbie Harris

Travis Oaks Trails Subdivision