EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part 2 of a look back at the past 12 months of Boerne Star coverage of people, events and happenings in Boerne and Kendall County.
The coolers were packed, hot dogs, buns and chips were bagged and ready, camping and picnic spaces were picked out — but 2025 became the Fourth of July that never was.
In the pre-dawn hours that morning, a tremendous rainstorm dropped devastating amounts of rain on the Guadalupe River and the cities and towns along its banks. Massive walls of water washed homes, campers and people downstream.
The banks of the Guadalupe swelled with tidal fury and took everything in its path. From Kerrville, through Comfort, past Sisterdale, clear to Canyon Lake — river water rose out of its banks in minutes time, reducing reaction time to mere moments.
The Guadalupe River near Kerrville swelled from under two feet to over 34 feet in just over an hour. Entire campgrounds of RVs and campers staked out along the river were swept away. A girls’ camp in Hunt, Camp Mystic, was hit especially hard, with dozens of girls swept away in the early morning pitch-blackness.
By mid-to-late morning, the Guadalupe was quickly rising in Comfort. At 9:30 a.m., residents along Water Street were told to “Get out, now.”
An hour later, the town’s evacuation siren shrilled the air for two minutes, calling to all: This is not a drill.
Water was shooting under the U.S. 87 bridge from Interstate 10 to Comfort — where just the day before, a riverbed of 3-4 feet was surrounded by dry brush and grass, withering from the summer’s ongoing drought.
The floods reached inland as far as half a mile from the riverbank.
Water rose and covered the roadway on the Sisterdale bridge, some 40 feet above the normal lazy stream the Guadalupe cut below. By Monday, July 7, the death toll had reached 85, and hundreds were declared still missing. Kendall County Commissioners Court Judge Shane Stolarczyk and County Fire Marshal Brady Constantine told press conference attendees that bodies had been pulled out of the floodwaters in Kendall County, although none were Kendall County residents.
In the end, 135 victims perished as a result of the storm, damages were in the billions of dollars and the state instituted reforms for better warning systems.
The daily bursts of news about the flooding overshadowed other news items that generated interest around the county.
The Boerne Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a special use permit to allow a 16,000 square-foot Goodwill store to move into vacant property in the Live Oak Shopping Center on North Main Street.
Before its 6-1 denial, P&Z commissioners listened to the property owner and project applicant pitch Goodwill — looking to move into property at 1030 N. Main St. — as a team player interested in becoming part of the Boerne community.
But commissioners stepped back after hearing from several local thrift store owners, employees and supporters who painted a less-than rosy picture of how Goodwill’s presence would harm their stores.
The item still must go before Boerne City Council, which has the final say over whether to accept P&Z’s finding or decide otherwise.
JULY Boerne District 3 Councilman Quinten Scott announced his intention to step down from City Council during its July 8 meeting.
The Boerne City Council is scheduled to formally accept Scott’s resignation on July 22 and declare the District 3 seat vacant.
Scott recently relocated to a home outside the city limits, prompting the resignation.
The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country on July 22 dispersed a second round of more than $60 million raised in flood relief since the devastating July 4 flood.
The Comfort Area Foundation received $350,000: $100,000 for financial assistance for individuals and families and another $250,000 to help businesses in the area begin the recovery process, according to the Community Foundation’s website.
The Comfort Volunteer Fire Department received a $50,000 check “to support general operations and greatest needs.”
The end of July also saw the end of a local favorite: Boerne Bierfest.
An overall decline in vendor numbers led Bierfest sponsor Hill Country Council for the Arts to cancel this fall’s eighth annual beer-and-art gathering.
Traditionally, dozens of booths offered miniature steins for people to use for samples, while artists hung and sold their works of art.
“We’ve seen attendance get weaker, and we’ve seen the bottom line get smaller,” said Rob Ziegler, treasurer of the Hill Country Council for the Arts.
Hundreds of families and thousands of children attended the annual Boerne Independent School District’s “Back To School Resource Rally” at the main office. Parents enrolled their children, picked up school supplies and school clothing, looked up bus routes and some students rolled up their sleeves for tetanus and meningitis vaccinations.
AUGUST
A new monument and adjacent park bench erected on Veterans Plaza honor military members who were wounded or killed in combat. Ceremonies planned for Aug. 7, National Purple Heart Day, will shine a light on those the monument commemorates.
Mark Sierra — “Chef Mark” to most Boerne residents — a veteran and owner of Compadres Hill Country Cocina, spearheaded the effort to recognize the hundreds of Purple Heart recipients who live in the area.
A Fair Oaks Ranch resident’s tip helped police nab two suspected auto thieves Aug. 5 after a high-speed chase ended with a stolen car crashing into a utility pole on the Interstate 10 east access road.
Officers said the arrests may yield more details on the thefts of as many as four vehicles taken during the early morning hours in the Fairways and Cibolo Trails neighborhoods.
All four autos taken overnight were located and returned to their owners, according to investigators. The department received numerous reports from residents regarding overnight criminal activity.
Kendall County Emergency Management officials Tuesday lifted its burn ban for most of the county, excluding property along the Guadalupe River and flood-affected areas.
Brady Constantine, county fire marshal and director of the Kendall County Office of Emergency Management, Monday said the burn ban would be lifted for the first time since July 8, when the Kendall County Commissioners Court unanimously imposed the countywide ban.
The order allowed burning outside the “affected area,” which means the burn ban remains in effect for riverfront property and areas directly affected by the flood and resulting debris piles.
Suspected burglars under investigation for stealing scratch-off tickets were taken into custody Aug. 5 in a separate, unrelated incident during which it was revealed they were wanted on several active warrants out of Bexar County.
Police Friday said their probe into the latest case yielded leads in the July 25 burglary of the Boerne Metro Stop, located at Esser and Blanco roads near the Boerne Independent School District Stadium.
The Metro Stop made news in late June when a customer purchased a winning $5 million scratch-off ticket.
Students and staff in Comfort wrapped up week one of the new school year Aug. 8, operating under a new calendar where the district closes on Fridays from September through March, with alternating Fridays set up to serve as academic intervention days.
Dr. Elizabeth Boothe, district director of academic services, said the hybrid “intervention calendar,” where some weeks will be five days while others will be just four.
A K-9 dog’s keen sense of smell helped send a New Mexico man to prison for decades following a 2024 drug bust that netted 131 pounds of methamphetamine, officials said.
Miguel Dominguez Escobar, 22, of Las Cruces, received a 50-year sentence as part of a plea deal Aug. 7 in the 451st state District Court, prosecutors said.
The sentence stems from an Aug. 25, 2024, traffic stop of a pickup initiated by Kendall County Sheriff’s Office K-9 handler Cpl. Cary Boerner.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Boerne Independent School District aced its Texas Education Agency review, receiving an “A” rating for both the 2024 and 2025 school years in the agency’s A-F accountability ratings released Wednesday.
The Comfort ISD came in with a “C” rating for the 2025 campaign, accumulating a score of 78, just two points below the “B” threshold.
In 2024, Boerne ISD earned its “A” with 28 Distinction Designations, according to a Boerne ISD press statement. In 2025, the district earned 27 Distinction Designations, leading to yet another “A” rating.
Geneva School of Boerne broke ground Wednesday on its long-awaited Interstate 10 access driveway project, designed to improve access to the school, now in its 26th year of operation.
The $1.9 million project includes over a quarter-mile of driveway connecting the campus to the I-10 access road, major drainage improvements required by the county permit, two gate points, fencing and a security booth.
This entrance will improve campus security and access while reducing traffic on Cascade Caverns Road and avoiding the low water crossing on Old Fredericksburg Road.
Boerne ISD board trustees voted Aug. 18 to place an item on November’s general election ballot asking voters to support a 3-cent increase in its maintenance and operations tax rate, to generate funds for staff compensation, classroom instruction and student programs.
Boerne ISD trustees unanimously supported the call for a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) which would generate an estimated $4.8 million in annual funding for Boerne ISD — all revenue generated by the VATRE would stay in Boerne and is not subject to state recapture.
Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk is requesting an Attorney General’s opinion regarding a petition to incorporate 177.6 acres of land in far northwestern Kendall County as “Constitution City.”
Stolarczyk said he declined to sign an order initially approved Aug. 12 by Commissioners Court due to ambiguity surrounding the proposed area’s inhabitants.
Section 8.001(a)(2) of the Texas Code requires 2014,999 inhabitants in order to incorporate, a number Stolarczyk said the Constitution City proposal does not meet.
Boerne Parks and Recreation Department has closed Northside Community Park as construction of the new 40-acre, $16.5 million park gets underway.
The project, approved by Boerne voters in the 2022 bond program, will feature an all-abilities playscape, multiuse sports fields with lights, a dog park, pickleball courts, a splashpad, a food truck court, and other amenities.
The city estimates the park to be done within a 12-to-18-month time frame. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 3 at 524 Adler Road.
Members of the Boerne Planning and Zoning Commission can expect a packed house Sept. 8 when they consider a request to rezone a near-4-acre tract for enlarging the proposed Buc-ee’s store’s footprint along westbound Interstate 10 at the South Main Street juncture.
Residents continue to voice opposition to several facets of the mammoth convenience store’s plans to build in the area, heard most recently at the Aug. 26 Boerne City Council meeting.
Although there was no agenda item and no council discussion of any Buc-ee’s-related topics, a dozen residents took their three minutes to let council know how they feel about plans to open the store sometime in mid-to-late 2026.
SEPTEMBER
Two Boerne ISD elementary schools are among a list of 98 Texas public schools being awarded the Purple Star Campus designation, awarded to schools committed to providing comprehensive support for students from military families.
Both Curington and Fair Oaks Ranch elementaries received the Purple Star designation, bringing the total across Texas to 640.
Boerne’s Parks and Recreation Department conducted its long-awaited ground-breaking ceremony for the new Northside Community Park Sept. 3 witharound 100 attendees on hand.
The 40-acre park, which is expected to be completed in 12-18 months at a price of $16.5 million, will feature an all-abilities playspace, multiuse sports fields with lights, a dog park, pickleball courts, a splashpad and other amenities.
“Sloppy” is how one member of Boerne’s Planning and Zoning Commission described procedures on a zoning change request for mega-convenience store Buc-ee’s, which sought P&Z approval Sept. 8 on acreage to be rezoned for use as employee parking.
P&Z, however, voted 6-0 to delay further action for an additional 60 days after questions arose on language in the agenda item as presented to commissioners.
The Cibolo Center for Conservation announced the purchase of the final six acres of land within Boerne’s historic Conservation Corridor, marking a momentous milestone for conservation in the Texas Hill Country.
See REVIEW, page 3 The property, purchased from the Fellows family in August, completes a decadeslong effort to preserve a series of properties along Cibolo Creek committed to sustainable land stewardship.
Boerne City Council unanimously selected Kyle Mickelsen as the new District 3 councilman at their Sept. 9 meeting.
Mickelsen, 49, the lead estimator, sales and project manager for Quest Masonry Inc., was chosen from a field of three applicants.
A 19-year Boerne area resident, he will be sworn in at the Sept. 23 meeting and take his seat as one of the city’s five councilmen.
The newly renovated Fair Oaks Ranch Golf and Country Club played host to a Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce “After-Hours Mixer” on Sept. 11, showcasing its newly renovated pools, pickleball courts and updates to its expansive fitness center, Forge.
The $2 million of renovations included new tiling, water and finishing in the club pools, a new golf pro shop, updated equipment and renovations of the fitness center, enhancements to the Live Oak Golf Course and the addition of eight new pickleball courts and 10 tennis courts.
Their reign at the top has come to an end for the Boerne Police Department. — a team from the San Antonio Police Department bested them in the Sept. 13 “Tug The Truck” competition.
Eighteen teams turned out Sept. 13 to give it their best shot — a chance to tug a 30,000-pound firetruck across the finish line 40 feet away. Every team receives two chances to pull, with each pull timed to determine the winner.
The SAPD’s team of 10 tuggers logged a 14.08-second time on its first effort, good enough to claim the 2025 title.
The Texas Department of Transportation is overseeing a project designed to help alleviate a portion of traffic trouble at the city’s Herff Road and Main Street intersection.
A developer will soon begin construction of a new right-turn lane at the southeast corner of Main Street and Herff.
Hundreds of people gathered around Boerne’s Main Plaza gazebo Sept. 18 to honor the life and legacy of the late right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.
Inspired by a vigil that Kendall County Republican Party secretary Megan Kempf attended at UTSA, County GOP Chair Jennifer Barreras-Rawls and Ginger Blair Curd teamed up to organize the local event, posting flyers and notices on social media to invite anyone who wished to attend. Heather McCoy’s handiwork hung bright for all to see — purple-dominated mums flashing all throughout the Boerne High School campus during Homecoming week Sept. 8-12.
Unfortunately, the dozens of mums will stand as McCoy’s swan song. She and her husband, ret. Lt. Col. Michael McCoy, Fair Oaks Ranch residents, died Sept. 20 in a plane crash outside Louise, Texas. Both were 62 years old.
The Wharton County, Texas Sheriff’s Office confirmed the McCoys were on board a North American T-6, and were both pronounced dead at the scene, near FM 382 in the city of Louise, which is about 85 miles southwest of Houston.
Larry Woods, director of Visit Boerne, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Marion Szurek Leadership Award, presented annually at the Destinations Texas Annual Conference.
The award recognizes a tourism professional whose vision, innovation and decades of service have strengthened the state’s tourism industry while mentoring future leaders.
With blue markers in hand, St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church parishioners, staff and guests signed their names and left words of encouragement Sept. 24 on metal columns in the church’s new school.
Still under construction, the school is targeted to open sometime mid-summer 2026 serving kindergarten through sixth grade students.
The eight-acre, $28.5 million campus will have a capacity of 600 students when finished, before eventually taking on middle and high school grades for a full K-12 campus.
Fair Oaks Ranch officials, speakers and guests joined Mayor Greg Maxton as he cut a red ribbon on Sept. 26, signifying completion of the new Fair Oaks Ranch Gateway Project. The $224,840 project at Fair Oaks Parkway and Leslie Pfeiffer Drive was funded entirely by the city’s Municipal Development District fund.
Seven Geneva School of Boerne seniors earned recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Brady Chandler was named National Merit Semifinalist while Samuel Crews, Sopris Ogelsby, Joshua Patteson, Mason Sutton, Jonathan Taylor and Christian Vis were named National Merit Commended Scholars.
The students achieved the awards for their academic accomplishments on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
OCTOBER
Cleanup along the Guadalupe River in Kendall County is coming to a close as the firms hired to remove the tons of vegetation and debris are ready to move along to other affected counties and sections of the river.
Cleanup efforts began July 30, nearly four weeks after torrential rain sent the Guadalupe River raging out of its banks on July 4, wiping out everything in its path and killing 138 people.
Thousands of volunteers spent weeks combing the river’s edge, sifting through twisted and tangled vegetation in search-and-rescue, then recovery, efforts.
Removal operations trucked out 6,926 loads of vegetation, trash and debris, amounting to over 252,000 cubic yards of trash, 249,473 cubic yards being marinebased vegetation. The smell of bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage and breakfast biscuits will permeate the Boerne City Lake Park area Oct. 5, as campers wake up from a night’s slumber in their tents and campers.
Saturday, Oct. 4 is the lone day of the year the city allows camping at the park, with space for as many as 300 campers that decide to take part in the 24-hour “Family Campout” experience. This weekend brings the 16th annual city-sponsored Family Campout at Boerne City Lake Park.
Kathleen McDaniel will be sworn in Oct. 14 as the first judge of the newly created 498th District Court and assume her seat on the bench the following day.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Oct. 6 announced the appointment of the veteran prosecutor, currently assistant district attorney in the Kendall County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, to the court laid out in 2023 by the Texas Legislature.
Purple was everywhere — purple T-shirts, purple ribbons, even purple jogging shorts and running shoes. These purple-clad individuals flocked to downtown Boerne Oct. 4 for a cause, and to support those most affected.
See REVIEW, page 4 This was the inaugural “Walk The Mile” event, part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, organized to focus on the problem of domestic violence and to show support for its survivors.
Some Boerne Utilities customers will see changes to their monthly utility bills following recent rate adjustments approved by the City Council.
The updates include increases to water, wastewater and reclaimed water services, with a 7% base rate increase for all water customers. The new rates took effect Oct. 1.
As of fall 2025, Boerne Utilities serves approximately 8,700 water customers, 1,400 reclaimed water customers and 7,800 wastewater customers.
A Comfort man perished Oct. 15 when his pickup struck the back of a stalled 18-wheeler on Interstate 10 in Boerne, police said.
Bradly Dietert, 40, was pronounced dead at the scene on westbound I-10 near the Texas 46 exit.
Investigators said Dietert’s Toyota Tundra struck the rear of a semi-tractor trailer experiencing mechanical issues that had stopped in the inside lane of the interstate.
Discussion about what role the city should play in driveways passing through drainage channels hit a roadblock during a recent Fair Oaks Ranch City Council session.
Much of the Oct. 16 meeting involved debate about amendments to a city ordinance regarding the driveways, including a proposed $5,000 fee to be paid by residents to cover an engineering survey and a design plan, on top of regular permits.
Councilman Jonathan Swarek likened the proposed fee to an extra levy; other agreed, and the issue was shelved for a future meeting.
Nearly 300 voters turned up Oct. 20 to Staci Decker’s Kendall County Elections Office to cast early votes, a turnout driven by the Boerne Independent School District’s teacher-pay tax incentive.
Monday was the first day of early voting ahead of the Nov. 4 general election. The school district’s Voter Approved Tax Rate Election, or VATRE, is what seems to be bringing people to the polls, officials said.
The Patrick Heath Library is taking literature to the lanes with a new bookmobile. Starting in January, the book repository on wheels will bring services to those who may not have easy access to Boerne’s public library at 451 N. Main St.
The vehicle, which arrived mid-October, is fitted with bookshelves, a mobile cart, a television monitor with a projector and a retractable awning.
Get ready to grab some Beaver Nuggets because Bucee’s is coming to town.
That was the message sent Oct. 27 by the City Council after a 4-0 vote cleared the way for development, following years of back-andforth on whether to allow the iconic gas stop known for its buck-toothed beaver mascot, brisket and clean restrooms to set up shop.
The amended agreement approved by the council includes a limit on the number of fueling stations and the height of signage, a 9-acre buffer zone and security fencing, a 350-foot deceleration lane and dark-sky compliance –– among other concessions.
Three people including two children died Oct. 27 when a tractor-trailer rig collided with a pickup on Interstate 10 West near mile marker 524.
Giselle Cristobal, a 23-yearold passenger, and two male children were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The driver, a 31-year-old female, was rushed to a San Antonio medical center for treatment. A 2-year-old girl was airlifted to an Alamo City hospital as well.
According to DPS reports, a silver 2013 GMC Sierra pickup was stopped on the right lane of the highway for an unknown reason when a semi tractor-trailer collided with the truck.
Kenneth Courtney Davis, 34, and Victoria Jan McDonald, 35, both of Boerne, were sentenced in the 451st state District Court for their roles in a December 2024 armed robbery at Domino’s Pizza, 1375 S. Main St.
Davis pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, with a special finding for use of a deadly weapon. He received a 25-year sentence in the Texas
See REVIEW, page 5 Department of Criminal Justice and a $5,000 fine.
McDonald was found guilty of the same charge by a Kendall County jury and sentenced to 10 years behind bars.
NOVEMBER
Mike Luckey, a regular in the political arena in Kendall County for the past two decades, died Saturday at his home just days after filing to run for county judge.
Luckey, 68, largely worked behind the scenes in the political arena, supporting candidates who shared his views on property rights and the constitutional limits of government.
What began as a simple conversation at a family gathering in 2024 blossomed into the weekend’s inaugural Spanish Pass Polo Club twoday tournament, hosted by Richard and Leith Negley on their converted roping arena — now a legitimate polo arena.
Six teams showed up to play Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 at the arena in north Boerne on the Negley’s Spanish Pass Road property, hence the club’s name.
The action drew a crowd of 40-50 people, seemingly equally divided among those familiar with the sport and those just enjoying their day on the hill watching the action for the first time.
Peggy’s on the Green is hanging up its pots and pans for good at The Kendall and considering what’s next on the culinary horizon.
The restaurant will end service Nov. 30 after a change in ownership at the hotel, according to the eatery’s management.
The new owners of The Kendall purchased the food-and-beverage operation and are transitioning it fully in-house, said Scott Becker, Peggy’s on the Green general manager.
Boerne police arrested a 52-year-old woman they say is linked to a spate of vandalism involving broken windows at downtown businesses.
Claire Breitzeutz is charged with three counts of criminal mischief over $2,500-below $30,000. She remained Tuesday in the Kendall County Detention Center on a $155,000 bond.
From Oct. 31 to Nov. 4, downtown merchants filed reports of windows being shattered overnight.
For at least one former soldier, Veterans Day is more than an occasion to honor military members who served their country, but also to recognize that preserving liberty can mean enlisting with a higher power.
Those are the sentiments Jonathan Mallard shared with the crowd assembled Nov. 11 on Veterans Plaza, adding Veterans Day “is not about looking back but looking forward. It’s about asking what we will do with the freedom that others have paid for with their lives.”
Proposed changes to the county’s flood-damage prevention order aimed at protecting life and property include new provisions for manufactured homes, campgrounds and more, officials said.
Other alterations aim to ensure property owners are not completely stripped of their right to build in areas threatened by storm runoff, Kendall County Commissioners heard Nov. 12.
County Engineer Mary Ellen Schulle outlined the developments, focusing on rental communities in a flood plain. A major change to the order adds RV parks and campgrounds to the definition of a manufactured home so that those types of overnight stays in the flood plain are prohibited, so there is no loss of life during flood events.
A 67-year-old Boerne man remained behind bars Nov. 14, charged with two counts of possession of child pornography.
John Kenoyer is in the Kendall County Detention Center in lieu of posting bonds totaling $315,000, according to court records.
He was accused in warrants of possession of child pornography- younger than 10 years old and possession of lewd visual material depicting a child.
A Guatemalan national received a 70-year sentence in state district court Nov. 20 after pleading guilty to charges involving pornography and sexual relations with a child.
Eduardo De Jesus Pineda Quinonez, 35, was ordered to spend 50 years in prison on the possession charge and an additional 20 years for the indecency charge.
The investigation began after the 8-year-old victim made an outcry to the San Antonio Police Department.
Boerne officers determined the incident occurred May 27, 2024, at a former local trailer park and involved sexual contact between an older man and the victim.
Investigators discovered a video containing child pornography in the man’s possession and were able to identify the girl depicted in the images, according to a case summary.
The Boerne High School Starlettes and Silver Stars dance teams are bound for the Big Apple to march in the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Rachel Neiman, director of both dance troupes, and her 20 team members left Boerne Nov. 22 headed for New York City, where they will meet up with Spirit of America Productions and begin rehearsing for their Thanksgiving morning trek through Manhattan.
In preparing to meet the needs of a growing population, Boerne officials have mapped out a plan for a second water-treatment plant to deliver a combined 3 million gallons of water a day to residents.
Speaking to the City Council Nov. 18, Michael Mann, Boerne Utilities director, laid out the results of a pilot study addressing the city’s future water usage relative to a population that could soon approach 50,000.
Mann said the plant would be constructed near the current system at Boerne City Lake. The new system’s price tag is $24.2 million and would be paid by impact fees and revenue bonds.
DECEMBER
Fair Oaks Ranch is moving forward to cover its share of repairs to Old Fredericksburg Road to a tune of nearly $206,000.
The topic of Old Fredericksburg Road sparked some discussion during the Dec. 4 City Council meeting, though members on the dais unanimously voted to support the initiative, which has a total cost of $617,647.12.
Bexar County will cover two-thirds of the expenditure, leaving the city responsible for $205,882.37.
According to the city’s resolution, Fair Oaks Ranch is responsible for the maintenance of the road after the repairs, with the work beginning in March or April and taking four to six months.
A zoning change — if approved by the City Council — to a 5.15-acre tract along Interstate 10 for a future Bucee’s will create additional employee parking, officials said.
City staffers also confirmed the retail destination is complying with city regulations to reduce nighttime glare from lights under “Dark Sky” provisions.
The project has faced several hurdles over the last few months, with many residents arguing against allowing the successful roadside chain known for clean restrooms and Beaver Nuggets to set up shop in Boerne.
The Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously agreed to the change in designation for the tract at the 30-acre property that will soon become Buc-ee’s.
The historic Old City Hall building will have a tenant next year when Crestmont Christian Preparatory School of Boerne opens its doors in August.
Originally constructed as Boerne’s first schoolhouse, the building will once again echo with youthful voices filling the hallways, classrooms and playground, according to Laura Lynn, a parent and board director of the private school.
“We’ve been at First Baptist Church for 16 years, and it’s been awesome there,” Lynn said of the school, which has 125 students in its kindergarten-to-12th-grade university educational model.
With a burn ban in place and drought conditions worsening, Kendall County Commissioners Court has banned the sale of aerial fireworks for the holidays.
With the Keetch-Byram Drought Index at 633, surpassing the “danger level” of 600, County Fire Marshal Brady Constantine told commissioners Dec. 9 the prohibition applies to fireworks — skyrockets with sticks, missiles and fins — that can’t be controlled once they are lit and launched.
The Boerne Independent School District swim teams are taking the plunge with the long-awaited opening of their very own Boerne Aquatics Center.
The district’s 2022 bond issue paid for the 11-lane, 25-yard pool. The Boerne and Champion high school swim teams christened the pool during a Dec. 15 ribbon cutting, with athletes jumping off the blocks into the heated 81-degree water on an otherwise brisk afternoon.
Boerne ISD signed on with a contractor, Tegrity Contractors Inc., in the summer of 2023 to construct the $8.7 million swim complex, located off Herff Ranch Boulevard near Cibolo Creek Elementary School. There were troubled waters along the way as the project faced several delays.
Boerne-based Waterman Construction took over the project in early July once the district terminated the original contract.
The mood, festive. The line, long. The music, loud. The lights, flashing. The volunteers, busy. Such was the culmination of the 2025 Blue Santa Program in Kendall County on Dec. 20, as hundreds of volunteers made Christmas a bit brighter for 900-plus children and the more than 400 families they belong to.
Vehicles snaked along a path around the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office in Boerne before arriving in front of the building, where volunteers waited, ready to hand them everything from candy canes, first-aid kits, towels and pizza, to the large trash bags that contained the toys and gifts gathered over several months from donors, toy drives and Blue Santa drop-off points.
Blue Santa is a traditional, law-enforcement sponsored program in coordination with local businesses, educators and civic groups to collect toys and other goodies so families can enjoy a Merry Christmas.
Two fallen law enforcement personnel could have memorial markers placed on Interstate 10 East in their honor following a Dec. 23 vote by the Kendall County Commissioners Court.
The next step is up to the Texas Department of Transportation, said County Judge Shane Stolarczyk.
The court unanimously approved resolutions requesting markers memorializing Officer Russell “Rusty” Salazar of the Kendall County Community Supervision and Corrections Department and Kendall County Sheriff Deputy Carlos “Smiley” Ramirez.
Salazar was returning to his office Jan. 31, 2019, after investigating a case involving a high-risk sex offender. During heavy rainfall with low visibility, Salazar attempted to enter the highway when his vehicle left the road and flipped over four times.
Ramirez died in the line of duty during a traffic stop conducted by himself and his partner. A vehicle struck Ramirez and the other deputy. While the other deputy survived serious injuries, Ramirez succumbed to his wounds July 2, 2019.
Boerne has been awarded a multimillion-dollar federal grant to expand its existing sidewalk infrastructure.
At its most recent meeting, the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board approved $2.6 million in federal Transportation Alternatives grant funding through the AAMPO’s Call for Projects for fiscal years 2027 through 2030.
The areas targeted for enhancements include East Hosack, West Hosack, West Theissen and Schweppe streets; Herff and City Park roads; and a small extension of the Old No. 9 Trail.
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