Thorndale

The Thorndale Chamber of Commerce will host Meet the Candidate in the Chamber of Commerce building on Tuesday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. 

Three candidates are running for the position of mayor.  Mayor Allen Hejl is running for re-election.  George Galbreath Jr. and Ryan Davenport are also running for the position of mayor.   

Charles Barnhill is running for a city council position against incumbents Stephanie Churchman and Larry Drabek.

Chamber Awards

The Thorndale Area Chamber of Commerce has rescheduled its Awards Night from April 5 to May 3.

The event will be held at the Thorndale Chamber building at 6:30 p.m. 

Scholarships will be awarded to outstanding seniors attending Thorndale School District for the 2016-17 semesters. 

Citizen of the Year 2016, Business Person of the Year 2016, Farmer of the Year 2016 and Agribusiness Person of the Year 2016 will also be announced.

The Thorndale High School One-Act Play will be hosting an “Evening of Fine Arts” on April 10 at the middle school cafeteria. 

There will be student art work on display, a catered meal with Solo and Band Ensemble members playing for you while you dine on a catered meal, finished by a presentation of “Her Senior Year” by the members of the 2017 THS One Act Play group. 

Doors will open at 5 p.m., the “Diner” themed meal catered by Kim Knapek will begin serving at 6 p.m., and the play performance will begin at 7 p.m. Cost is $10 for the meal and everything (reservations requested). 

Please contact Deana Caffey at (512) 468-3500 or e-mail deana.caffey@thorndale.txed.net to place your reservations. 

By Lindsey Vaculin

General Manager

Thorndale will hopefully soon have a new police officer.

Thorndale Police Chief Martin Jackson asked the City Council to approve the hiring of Joah McCaleb during its meeting on March 8.

“We started looking for an officer last October when we knew that Michael was going to take the constable’s position,” Jackson said. “We have had a lot of applicants. I think we have done good for the community, so I didn’t want to just hire a warm body to fill the spot.”

Jackson said that McCaleb currently works for the Brady Police Department. 

Council gave Jackson the go-ahead to get him hired and he said he will bring him on as soon as possible.

Council also approved the purchase of a 2013 Tahoe from the Allen Police Department for the Thorndale PD to replace a 2008 Crown Victoria.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

A crowd of over 10,000 saw Thorndale’s hopes of a third state title in boys basketball end, as the No. 25 Bulldogs fell 59-35 to No. 5 Clarendon in the Class 2A state semifinals held Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Thorndale ends the season with a 27-10 overall record and were Region IV champions and District 25-2A runner-up.  All other state tournament teams were champions of their respective districts.

This was the second straight year for the Bulldogs to reach the state tournament. They lost in the semifinals in 2016 as well.

This season was the third straight that Thorndale had advanced to the regional finals game.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

The No. 25 Thorndale Bulldogs (27-9) are head back to the UIL boys state basketball tournament for the second straight year after claiming the Class 2A Region IV title over the weekend.

Thorndale defeated district rival Mumford 54-50 on Saturday afternoon at New Braunfels Canyon High School to earn a trip back to the Alamodome and the state tourney.

The regional final marked the third time the Bulldogs and Mumford had faced off this season, with the Mustangs winning the two previous matches.  Mumford won the District 25-2A title, with Thorndale claiming second.  The Bulldogs are the only non-district champion in the final four.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

The No. 25 Thorndale Bulldogs (25-9) are headed back to the Class 2A Region IV tournament after defeating Harper (24-9) on Tuesday night 52-33 in regional quarterfinal action in Marble Falls.

The Bulldogs, runners up in District 25-2A will face 29-2A second place San Antonio Lee Academy at 6 p.m. Friday at New Braunfels Canyon High School. Lee defeated Woodsboro in overtime on Tuesday night to reach the fourth round of the playoffs

The other regional semifinal will see Thorndale’s 25-2A foe and league champion No. 3 Mumford (36-2) play 30-2A winner No. 6 Port Aransas (32-3) at 8 p.m.  The Region IV championship game will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the state UIL tournament March 10-11.

Thorndale residents will have several things to decide on come May including a $12.5 million bond package put forth by Thorndale Independent School District.

There are also several races for spots on the Thorndale City Council up for grabs.

Three people have filed to run for Thorndale mayor. Incumbent Allen Hejl is joined on the ballot by Ryan Davenport and George Galbreath Jr. 

Three people have filed for two spots on the City Council. Incumbents Stephanie Churchman and Larry Drabek will be challenged by Charles Barnhill.

Kim Biar was the lone person to sign up to run for Thorndale ISD school board.

Voters will also decide on a $12.5 million bond put forth by Thorndale ISD.    

The scope of the bond includes a variety of projects that cover all campuses and departments in Thorndale ISD.

By LINDSEY VACULIN

General Manager

The Thorndale Independent School District Board of Trustees called for a bond election for new construction and renovation during a special meeting on Feb. 13.

Superintendent Adam Ivy said there will be more information about the bond election coming soon on the district’s website at http://www.thorndale.txed.net.

Three informational meetings have been scheduled for community members to learn about the bond. The meetings are set for Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the Middle School office area; March 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the TISD Board Room; and April 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the band hall.

Filing has started for the May 6 city and school elections. Three city council places and two school board positions are up for grabs.

According to City Secretary Stacy Irwin, two people have filed for City Council. Ryan Davenport has filed to run for mayor, a position currently held by Allen Hejl. Incumbent council member Larry Drabek has filed for his current position. Stephanie Churchman is also up for election but has not filed at this time.

Anyone wishing to run can stop by City Hall at 105 North Main Street and pick up information.

As of press time no one had filed for any of the spots on the Thorndale ISD Board of Trustees. Positions held by Trey Felton and Kim Biar are up for election.

Anyone wishing to file can go by the Thorndale Administration Building at 300 North Main Street to pick up the necessary paperwork.

You can file for both races until Feb. 17.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports

The Thorndale Lady Dogs (22-6, 8-2) finished up their district schedule on Tuesday night with a 74-28 win over Milano (16-9, 6-4).  The Lady Dogs will represent 25-2A as the second place team, finishing behind Holland.  Milano will be the third place squad.  Thrall and Granger are battling it out for that fourth and final playoff spot.

There was never really a challenge from Milano, as the Lady Dogs led 34-14 by halftime.

Four Thorndale players scored in double-figures, led by Elise Biar and Kylie Buchanan with 15 points each.  Peyton Anastas added 13 and twin sister Presley scored 11.