ATX-SBK: Impact 10/27/2025

Williams Career School of Excellence has partnered with Dwyer Workforce Development to provide tuition-free Certified Nursing Assistant training in Central Texas.

The gist: DWD is a nonprofit that aims to alleviate the healthcare workforce shortage. Dwyer Scholars at WCSE will not only receive free tuition, but they will also receive support with transportation, housing, childcare and food-insecurity.

CNA training will be available for both day and night classes.

The need: By 2032, there is a projected deficit of 57,000 full-time registered nurses in Texas. The WCSE and DWD teams are aiming to help close this gap by making education more accessible for Central Texans.

With early voting underway since Oct. 20, Buda residents are voting on a number of charter amendments that update the city’s governing document.

Proposition A: would amend the charter to be consistent in paying the mayor $300 and city council $200 per City Council meeting.

Proposition B: would allow City Council to appoint the city attorney.

Proposition C: would make the charter clear that, if City Council is to take a vote on a budget item, notices must be given as specified in state law.

Proposition D: would require the city to pass a balanced budget, where proposed expenses don’t surpass estimated revenues.

Proposition E: would make it so if money allocated toward a capital expenditure isn’t used after three years, the funds can be used elsewhere.

Therapy Pet Pals of Texas was founded in Austin in 1984 by Kathryn Lashmit, and has been offering pet visitations to the elderly and infirm in Texas ever since.

The overview: Therapy Pet Pals of Texas is a private nonprofit created with the goal of assisting the elderly, terminally ill and mentally or physically challenged through pet visitations at nursing homes, medical hospitals, rehabilitation centers and other special needs facilities.

The benefits: Pet visitations offered by volunteers and their therapy dogs can provide a positive bonding experience for those confined to institutional living facilities, according to the nonprofit’s website.

“The residents just know when you're coming. They remember the dog's name, not always yours. It's all about the dogs for us,” Executive Director Nancy Gray said. “And [the residents] just smile. Sometimes they've told us that they were in pain, but once the dog comes, they feel they don't think about their pain for that few minutes they can hug on the dog, or sometimes they just want to talk to you.”

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