Transcript:
A large group of Alpine citizens and others turned out both Friday evening and Saturday
morning at the Granada Theatre to discuss ways to breathe life back into the Alpine business
community.
Some said the size of the crowd was a strong showing of interest in the subject.
The star of the show was Doug Griffiths, the author of 13 Ways to Kill Your Community, a book
about how to make and keep towns strong and vibrant.
He also founded a business dedicated to the same goal.
Ideas discussed included engaging young people, seniors and outsiders to assess needs and
values, not becoming complacent and not being afraid to try new things.
Others included painting and keeping towns attractive, attracting new businesses, not being
short-sighted and taking responsibility for the state of our communities.
Saturday morning the group discussed ways to act on those and others discussed the night before.
Alpine Community Projects organized the meetings and is expected to continue working on the
issue.
The Alpine City Council tomorrow will tackle the second reading of an ordinance that drew a
large crowd on the first reading January 7.
It was an ordinance to replat several blocks near 16 th Street in west Alpine and most protestors
said it was because the owners wanted to build as many as 21 duplexes on the land.
But Michael McCarson told council he and his wife Lynn only wanted to replat the 80 small lots
with ten much larger lots so they could encourage larger houses in the area.
His earlier efforts failed when it was learned the city owned part of the property in the form of
streets that had been planned but never built. So he came up with a new plat and refiled.
While the zoning would permit duplexes, McCarson never mentioned the word “duplex.”
He said he just hoped to sell the land to provide larger homes and offered to buy the city land in
question.
The Council approved the plat on first reading.
Tomorrow’s action will come after another public hearing earlier on the agenda.
The Council will meet at 5:30 tomorrow after a 4 o’clock workshop in City Council Chambers at
803 West Holland Avenue.
Sul Ross State University in Alpine will host Dr. Don Asher for Graduate School Bootcamp
Friday and Saturday, January 24 and 25.
Asher is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on the graduate admissions process. Hundreds
of thousands of students have seen his lectures and conferences.
He is the author of 12 books, including Graduate Admissions Essays, the best-selling guide to
the graduate admissions process, and The Best Scholarships for the Best Students.
The Bootcamp will be from 9 to 4 both days with breaks and lunch from noon to 1. You do not
have to present for the entire seminar.
The event is sponsored the McNair Scholars Program, a federal TRIO program funded at 206
institutions across the U.S. by the Department of Education.
It is designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in
research and other scholarly activities. The Bootcamp is free and open to the public.
For more information, email mcnair@sulross.edu.
Cities and other local governments will have their annual elections on May 3 and the deadline to
file for those elections is February 14.
In Alpine, Citizens in Wards One and Three will get to choose their representative on City
Council, seats are now held by Reagan Stone in One and Darin Nance in Three.
For more information, visit cityofalpine.com/elections or contact City Secretary
Geo Calderon at city.secretary@cityofalpine.com
For other subdivisions, check their posted contacts.
This has been your local and area news report for KVLF 98.7 FM, 1240 AM and KALP 92.7 FM
Local news can be found on our website at bigbendradio.com.