The Bastrop ISD board of trustees approved Jan. 20 an order for a board election to be held May 2. Residents of Bastrop ISD interested in serving the district will soon have the opportunity to run for a seat on the school board. 

The details: Two board seats, occupied by Place 3 trustee Josh Coy and Place 4 trustee Priscilla Ruiz, are up for re-election in May. Candidates elected to each seat will serve a three-year term.

Bastrop County residents have until Jan. 31 to pay their 2025 property tax bills, but officials are urging caution as updated mailing timelines could lead to costly mistakes.

The update: Bastrop County Tax Assessor-Collector Ellen Owens said the United States Postal Service updated how it handles postmarked mail, which could lead to filing delays.

Quote of note: “I am concerned that taxpayers are going to place their tax payment in the mail on the Jan. 31 deadline, but not walk it to the mail clerk and get the stamp hand-canceled with the postmark date,” she said. "If a taxpayer merely puts the mail in the slot on the last day, it's probable that it won’t get processed and postmarked until Feb. 1, which would incur late penalties and interest.”

The options: In addition to mail-in payments, residents can submit them in person or online.

Owens explained that since the deadline falls on a weekend this year, residents have until Feb. 2 to make in-person payments at the tax office, 211 Jackson St. in Bastrop.

Construction of a 9,200-square-foot facility for the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry has concluded, and the nonprofit served its clients from the new space for the first time Jan. 21.

The details: Kelly Manfredini, the director of marketing and communications for BCEFP, shared details of their new service model that was designed with “dignity, efficiency and care” in mind.

There will be a variety of services available to clients, including:

• A food pantry from 8:30 to 11 a.m and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month (launched)
• An after-hours food pantry distribution from 4 to 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month (launched)
• A community market, open to the public, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays (launching in February)
• A fresh food for families distribution from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the third Friday of each month (launched)

• 1201 Pine St., Bastrop

A far-reaching winter storm is expected to bring below-freezing temperatures, wintry precipitation and “dangerous ice” to Texas beginning Jan. 23, according to the National Weather Service. As residents brace for days of potentially hazardous conditions, state leaders said Jan. 22 that the Texas power grid “has never been stronger” and will withstand the storm.

What's happening: Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 134 of Texas’ 254 counties, telling reporters that the northern two-thirds of the state—from San Antonio to the Panhandle—will be impacted by the storm.

Officials said they do not expect a repeat of the widespread power outages that occurred during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, emphasizing that changes have been made in recent years to harden the grid against extreme weather. The governor said some Texans could see “local, isolated” outages due to fallen tree branches or ice on power lines.

"The severity of it is not quite as great... as Winter Storm Uri," Abbott said. "That said, people would be making a mistake if they don't take it serious."