Some Texas State-employed custodians are questioning whether their shoes will be able to be filled by the new McLemore hires when the university eventually outsources all custodial positions.

Texas State started the process of outsourcing its custodians last summer. The university entered a contract, effective June 1, with McLemore Building Maintenance, Inc. McLemore employees will fill the vacancies as university custodians retire or quit over time.  Some university custodians do not feel the McLemore employees will be able to provide the same level of service Demanding hours and tasks, fewer benefits and a lack of pre-existing loyalty to Texas State could be some hurdles the outsourced employees will face, some custodians say.

Texas State-employed custodians will eventually be a thing of the past, as the outsourcing of these positions sweeps across campus.

The university started the process of outsourcing its custodial services last summer. Texas State entered a contract, effective June 1, with McLemore Building Maintenance, Inc. McLemore employees will fill the vacancies as university custodians retire or quit over time, said Bill Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services.

Nance said custodial services are already outsourced at the LBJ Student Center, Student Health Center and Student Recreation Center. The idea behind outsourcing Texas State’s custodial services began as an effort to consolidate the individual contracts held by the three buildings.

In the middle of construction on North LBJ Drive sits Emerald’s boutique, which consistently attracts a steady stream of San Marcos shoppers.

Tamara Woehl, Emerald’s employee for more than a year, said she is excited and believes it’s “really cool” that Emerald’s received the San Marcos Star award for best boutique.

Mark Alman, owner of Emerald’s, said it is important for the store to support its community and receive a positive response from its customers.

“We feel like we are serving our purpose, which is to make a contribution to our community,” Alman said. “That’s always a good feeling.”

Brittany Henderson, the Bryan woman charged with the Texas State bomb threats, has denied her involvement in the Oct. 18 incident.

Henderson, who is charged with three counts of terroristic threat and three counts of false alarm, was arrested Oct. 23 by Bryan police. Investigators traced an email containing the bomb threat to an account allegedly belonging to Henderson. She was sent from Brazos County Jail to Hays County Jail, according to a Nov. 6 University Star article.

Check out the final results from Election Day 2012

Incumbent Ryan Thomason defeated write-in candidate Melissa Derrick for the San Marcos City Council Place 5 seat Tuesday night.

Councilman Ryan Thomason, Place 5, celebrates with supporters Linda Darst (left) and Monica McNabb (right) after re-election at his watch party at Palmer’s Restaurant Bar & Courtyard.

Thomason received 80.61 percent of the vote with 6,591 votes, and Derrick earned 19.33 percent, or 1,579.

Thomason ran on a platform that supported student housing close to campus and the development and renovation of downtown San Marcos. Derrick supports environmental, river and neighborhood preservation.

The woman who is facing charges for the Oct. 18 bomb threat against Texas State has been transported from Brazos County to Hays County jail.  

Brittany Nicole Henderson, 19, had been held in the Brazos County Jail since Oct. 23, according to a Bryan-College Station Eagle article. She was then moved to the Hays County Law Enforcement Center.

According to the article, Henderson is no longer a person of interest in the Oct. 19 Texas A&M bomb threat. Dereon Kelley, a 22-year-old man believed to be Henderson’s ex-boyfriend, was arrested in conjunction with the case, according to Lt. Allan Baron with Texas A&M University Police Department.

Kelley was arrested and charged Nov. 1 with making a terroristic threat. Kelley’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney S. Mark McIntyre. Kelley allegedly used Henderson’s email account to send the Texas A&M bomb threat, according to the article.

A twin-engine plane crashed on the southeast corner of the federal Gary Jobs Corps in Caldwell County, resulting in one death Thursday, Nov. 1.

The plane was carrying one passenger, the pilot, who died in the crash. The pilot is identified as a 65-year-old male from North Dakota who was test flying the plane from the San Marcos municipal airport. He was in route back to the airport when the plane crashed.

Officials were notified about the crash at 6:09 a.m. Robbie Barrera, Department of Public Safety trooper, said no witnesses saw the plane crash, but did see a fire burning around the area. The plane itself was not on fire.

According to a WOAI article, the Cessna aircraft burned on impact about a mile outside of the San Marcos airport. Officials are still working to find a cause as to why the plane crashed.

The investigation has been turned over to the FAA office in San Antonio and the National Safety Transportation Board.

The plane was carrying one passenger, the pilot, who died in the crash. The pilot is identified as a 65-year-old male from North Dakota who was test flying the plane from the San Marcos municipal airport. He was in route back to the airport when the plane crashed.

Officials were notified about the crash at 6:09 a.m. Robbie Barrera, Department of Public Safety trooper, said no witnesses saw the plane crash, but did see a fire burning around the area. The plane itself was not on fire.

According to a WOAI article, the Cessna aircraft burned on impact about a mile outside of the San Marcos airport. Officials are still working to find a cause as to why the plane crashed.

The investigation has been turned over to the FAA office in San Antonio and the National Safety Transportation Board.

Construction crews broke a 12-inch pipeline Tuesday, causing several thousand people in northwest San Marcos to lose water for nearly two hours.

The incident happened midday on an undeveloped section of Peach Tree and Loquat Streets, according to Trey Hatt, city spokesman. Crews were installing a 24-inch water main at the time.
The water line that was hit serves people from the Comanche storage tank. The area of consumers affected by the water disconnection stretched from Wonder World to Ed J.L. Green Drives in northwest San Marcos.

Residents in the area between Old Ranch Road 12 and Wonder World Drive have been advised to boil their water through Wednesday evening or until further notice. Other residents given this advisory were those north of Prospect and Rogers Streets and the university. Households west of Texas State, from Old Ranch Road 12 to Ed J.L. Green Drive, are affected.

The future of Texas State, water and the environment were on the table during a Texas Tribune discussion held Monday on campus.

Evan Smith, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, holds a conversation with President Denise Trauth Oct. 29 at Bobcat Stadium. The pair discussed multiple topics regarding the future of education in Texas and how Texas State would be affected.

“The Future of Water” was an installment of “The Texas Tribune Festival: On The Road,” a series of one-day symposiums around the state. The symposium considered the economical, environmental and political complications to confronting the state’s water crisis.