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Wurstfest organizers Rusty Brockman and Frank Wittig (front) sang an old German greeting from Wurstfest to Comal County Commissioners Jan Kennady, Greg Parker, Judge Danny Scheel, Commissioners Jack Dawson and Jay Millkin. (Photo by Jeff Collins.)
Highlights of Commissioners Court for Oct. 25 session
By Crystal Gottfried
Staff Writer
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Commissioners received “Greetings from Wurstfest” in the form of an old German song from organizers Rusty Brockman and General Wurstfest Chairman Frank Wittig. After the song, Brockman explained that the City of New Braunfels has been holding “Wurstfest, the 10-day salute to sausage,” for the last 46 years, bringing curious and hungry visitors from all over the world. Landa Park area is transformed every fall into the international center of Gemutlichkeit — “fun and fellowship, German style.” The festival kicks off with the traditional “biting of the sausage” on November 2 this year; on the Friday before the first Monday in November. The German word for sausage is “wurst.”
The town began the event in 1961 to drum up business for local restaurants, markets and sausage makers and to extend the tourist season later into the fall, when the Texas weather cools off and becomes more pleasant. Originally the one-day “Sausage Festival,” it has evolved into the longer event it is now. Wurstfest planners estimate that the fest will have more than 125,000 visitors this go-around. In the past it’s pulled in as many as 200,000.
The Wurstfest grounds are open to the public, free of charge, on Friday, Nov. 2 from 4-7 p.m. with festivities beginning at 5:00 p.m.
On Monday, Wurstfest celebrates United Way Night; on Tuesday, the Annual Chamber Mixer will be celebrated and on Sunday, at 5:00 p.m., the grounds will again be open to the public, free of charge, for a special Veterans Day ceremony.
Workshop Agenda: Reports from Elected Officials, Staff and Citizens
Comal County Parks Manager and Assistant County Engineer Robert Boyd gave commissioners a report regarding the parks programs in surrounding Hays, Blanco, Guadalupe, and Kendall counties. Blanco and Guadalupe Counties do not have a parks department as yet.
In Comal County, many developers of the newer subdivisions are putting in community parks as a part of their overall development plans.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Jan Kennady urged commissioners and staff to read the article about the county’s role in regulating billboards that was published in the Oct 24 issue of the Times Guardian. She also reported that Canyon Lake’s Tye Preston Memorial Library Capital Campaign had reached an amazing milestone of raising $1.8 million for the construction of their new library building on South Access Road. The land on which the new library will be built was deeded to them by the Casteel family.
Parks Maintenance and Improvement Committee
Commissioners voted to appoint the members to serve on the Parks Maintenance and Improvement Committee. They are: Jody Barsalou and Mary Kline of Jumbo Evans Sports Park; Beth Wellings, Don Kitzel, James Huff and Eleanor Preston for Hidden Valley Sports Park; and Robert Boyd as the Comal County representative on the board.
Burn Ban prohibiting outdoor burning
Commissioners heard testimony from Comal County Deputy Fire Marshal Wayne Ellington regarding the dry, drought-like conditions in the unincorporated areas of the county and saw a photo presentation from a grass-fire the day before.
Afterwards they unanimously voted to reinstate the burn ban; Order No. 160, Order Restricting Outdoor Burning, which states in part, “the Commissioners Court of Comal County finds that circumstances present in all or part of the unincorporated area create a public safety hazard that would be exacerbated by outdoor burning.”
Commissioners Court will reconvene on Thursday, November 1 at 8:15 a.m. at 199 Main Plaza in New Braunfels.
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