🌱 Leander Family Escapes Home Fire + Car Burglaries And Stolen Guns

Good morning, neighbors! Welcome back to your Cedar Park-Leander newsletter, where you can catch up on the most important things happening in the community. Today you'll find news about:

• Leander family of five lost their home and pets in a fire.
• Knife factory deal to make its headquarters in Leander is off.
• Cedar Park has a higher percentage of guns stolen from cars this year.

But first, today's weather:

Sunshine and warmer. High: 72 Low: 39.

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Here are the top stories in Cedar Park-Leander today:

1. A Leander family lost more than their home in a fire, as they tried to stay warm during the ice storm. The Harris family used a propane heater, which caught fire and it spread quickly through the home. Robert Harris searched for his three daughters through smoke-filled rooms, and was able to get them out of a nearby window, barely escaping himself with burn injuries to his feet, back, arms and legs. Their five dogs and seven cats weren't saved. While the family is currently living at a hotel, a friend set up a GoFund Me page to raise funds for the Harrises to get into a new home. More on this story at KEYE TV CBS Austin.
2. Leander officials confirm a mutual termination of an incentives agreement with Cangshan Cutlery Co. factory, in their Feb. 2 meeting. The company was set to make its headquarters in a "400,000-square-foot facility at 204 Heritage Grove Road that would have employed hundreds." The decision to end the Chapter 380 incentives agreement is due to Cangshan's relocation and cost estimates for build-out not aligning with the city's short-term facilities needs. For more details, pop over to KXAN.
3. Cedar Park Police are seeing higher numbers of guns stolen during car burglaries since the start of the new year. Compared to 2022, only 7.6 of car burglaries involved stolen guns, with 16.6% of burglaries with stolen guns in 2023. Cedar Park police chief Mike Harmon says that "a majority of the guns are stolen out of cars parked in the gunowner’s own driveway" along with public parking lots. Visit NewsBreak for tips on prevention and statistics.
4. Cedar Park's Austin Community College Cypress Campus had a brief shelter-in-place order Wednesday, due to reports of a man in the area with a handgun. Precautionary measures were taken around noon, with the all-clear issued at 12:45 p.m. Another Austin community college campus had a similar incident in November. Visit KXAN for updates.

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Today in Cedar Park-Leander:

• 32nd annual Texas Home School State Basketball Championships at Premier Athletic Center (All-day)
• Love & Hiking Date For Couples (Self-Guided/Virtual) at Cedar Park Area parks (10 a.m.)
• 5 Year Anniversary at Hall Plastic Surgery & Med Spa (4:30 p.m.)
• Teen D&D at Cedar Park Public Library (6 p.m.)
• LISD Board Meeting at Vista Ridge High School (6:15 p.m.)
• City Council Meeting at Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce (6:30 p.m.)
• Texas Red's Thursday Night Taproom Trivia at Humble Pint Brewing Co. (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Cedar Park delayed trash pickup update: "We are still on a delayed trash/recycling collection schedule. Wed. 2/8 trash/recycling collected Thurs. 2/9 Thurs. 2/9 trash/recycling collected Fri. 2/10 Fri. 2/10 trash/recycling collected Sat. 2/11 " (Cedar Park, Texas government Facebook)
• Leander ISD's own little rodeo! "🤠YEEHAW Leander ISD's Transportation Department is hosting a BUS RODEO on Saturday, March 4th. This event is sure to be fun for the whole family! Interested in being a vendor? They still have spaces available!" (Leander ISD Educational Excellence Foundation Facebook)
• For the homeschooling families: "Have YOU registered for Homeschool at the Y enrichment classes?! Hurry, spots are filling fast as we are just a few weeks away from the first day of classes. Classes start the week of Feb. 27 at the CHASCO Family YMCA." (Twin Lakes Family YMCA Facebook)
• Happy 10-Year Anniversary to SoccerZone Lakeline Cedar Park! "The indoor athletic field offers youth and adult soccer leagues, child development classes and youth soccer training. SoccerZone also serves as an event venue for birthday parties, corporate events, field rentals and youth sports camps." Community Impact Newsletter

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You're officially in the loop for today. See you all tomorrow for another update!

— Elaine Thompson

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Cedar Park-Leander Patch newsletter? Contact me at CedarParkLeander@Patch.com