Corridor Weekly News Recap for the week of March 21

Sierra Martin | Managing Editor

San Marcos Corridor News is back to bring you the Corridor Weekly News Recap, videos covering the biggest stories in Hays County every week. 

I’m Sierra Martin, Managing Editor of Corridor News. Let’s dive into the news for the week of March 21st from the Innovation Corridor. 

A federal grand jury in Austin has returned a three-count indictment charging Franklin Barrett Sechriest, San Marcos resident and student at Texas State University, with crimes for the intentional fire set at Beth Israel synagogue in Austin on Oct. 31, 2021.

The indictment charges Sechriest with one count of Damage to Religious Property; one count of Use of Fire to Commit a Federal Crime; and one count of Arson.

On Wednesday, March 23, San Marcos Police responded to a major traffic collision on State Highway 80 near Walmart. San Marcos Fire Department and Hays County EMS also responded to the collision, which involved a Ford F-150 and a motorcycle.

Upon arrival first responders located the motorcyclist, identified as 46-year-old Dylan Grose of San Marcos, with significant injuries. Grose was transported to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in San Marcos where he succumbed to his injuries.

On Monday, March 21 Hays County was under a tornado watch as a large storm made its way through Central Texas. At 5:25 p.m. a tornado was confirmed by the National Weather Service to have touched down in Wimberley moving north at about 25 MPH. No injuries or damages have been reported from the WImberley Tornado. 

On March 7, Texas State student Kenzie Smith posted to a Facebook group stating she was roofied on March 4 at The Davenport, a local bar located on Guadalupe Street in San Marcos.

San Marcos Police Department posted that they were aware of the situation at The Davenport from Smith’s social media post. The San Marcos Police Department said they conducted a complete and thorough investigation with The Davenport’s full cooperation and found no evidence of wrongdoing by any of the establishment’s employees and concluded that the claims were unfounded.

The Hays County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) has recently responded to several reports of phone scams. The Scammer, posing as a HCSO employee, asks for payment towards a warrant or citation. Last month, the HCSO warned residents of a similar scam executed through text messages.

Johnson High School experienced a small fire on campus the morning of Thursday, March 24. According to Hays CISD, the building was quickly and safely evacuated. Students and teachers were unable to return to the campus until Monday, March 28. 

On Tuesday, March 22, the Hays County Commissioners Court met to receive an update on the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program since the new program manager has taken over.

The Director of Countywide Operations, Tammy Crumley, provided an update on the progress being made in the ERA Program. Previously the county has lost around $2.5 million of the COVID-19 ERA Grant funding due to program mismanagement. 

According to Crumley, as of Thursday March 17, the county has spent almost $2 million of the ERA funding provided by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Thank you for tuning in to the Corridor News Weekly Recap, sponsored by La Cima. 

Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter and subscribe to our daily newsletter to always stay updated on local news. More information on these stories and other news and events happening around Hays County can be found at SMcorridorNews.com.