EDITOR’S CORNER: Thank Lockhart’s leading ladies for town’s resurgence

(Opinion by Miles Smith/LPR Editor)

This spring, we’ve celebrated wine and supporting small businesses.
We’ve celebrated Mexican culture and heritage.
We’ve celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on the Julian calendar.
We’ve even celebrated queso, the ubiquitous appetizer that always trumps salsa as the Tex-Mex starter that usually spoils my dinner before it arrives.
But Saturday, Lockhart celebrated the women who are helping power their city’s renaissance, which becomes more tangible with every passing day.
That much was apparent as I watched the town’s leaders file into the new Commerce Gallery one by one, shaking off the rain that prevented them from taking their group photo on the Caldwell County courthouse steps as originally planned. The army of women all shared something in common – they either owned businesses or co-owned businesses with a partner.
At the end of the photo session, Mayor Pro Tem Angie Gonzales-Sanchez and Mayor Lew White presented Wendy Ramsey, owner of Wendy R Gifts, with a proclamation declaring Saturday to be Boss Ladies Day, recognizing the achievements of local women in business.
It was nice to see them honored with a day of their own, but truthfully, they deserve a lot more recognition than that. The future belongs to them as Lockhart continues its evolution from agricultural barbecue mecca to agricultural barbecue mecca complete with antiques stores, vintage clothing shops, various boutiques, insurance companies, real estate agencies, standalone restaurants, dance studios, photography studios, a toy store, a unique liquor store, one of the best coffee shops in Texas, a gourmet food store and even the newspaper in which you’re reading this column.
We have all of those things and more – I’m certain I left a few things out – and they’re all owned or co-owned by women who had great ideas and identified areas in the community where they could make an impact. They all continue to work hard to make them a reality.
They’re all helping build a Lockhart we can all be proud of.

Random musings

• I think you can take this statement to the bank: Lockhart’s football games are going to look a lot different next season when the Lions take their first regular season snap. New head coach Todd Moebes has wasted no time putting his stamp on the program, which is participating in spring football for the first time in Lockhart High School history. Ten days into fully-padded practices with his new team, the men of Moebes are practicing their aerial attack as well as blocking, tackling and running. Drills featuring a spread formation favored by many college programs are in full display, and each quarterback on the depth chart (which presently has no official order) is completing both long and short passes to running backs and receivers. Growing pains are sure to ensue next season, but exciting times are truly ahead (story on Page 1B).
• The Caldwell County Courthouse has got to do something about those microphones and that sound system. My hearing isn’t the best in the world, and I’ve tried sitting in a number of spots in that courtroom in an effort to clearly hear the commissioners during their semimonthly meetings (and usually lean on the video later to catch the parts I was unsure of). But I guess it’s not just me … someone in the crowd shouted “We can’t hear you!” at County Judge Hoppy Haden multiple times at Monday’s meeting. The good-natured judge offered to stand on his head, but that probably wouldn’t help the acoustics much.
• Prayers and good vibes to former city manager Vance Rodgers, who reportedly suffered a stroke recently and is recovering in a rehab facility out of town. Our thoughts are with his family, and we hope to hear positive updates about a man who has truly given back to his community over the years.
• Finally, good luck to Lockhart head softball coach Kathryn Snell, who is headed to Buda to kick off a new program at a new high school. Snell became head coach of the program in 2011 and her teams always made the playoffs. Assistant coach Daniel Carnline will take the reins of a program that has qualified for the postseason twelve years in a row (story on page 1B).