🌱 Local Businesses Get $245K Job Training Grant + Drug Arrest Made

Good morning, Round Rock! It's Elaine Thompson, your host of the Round Rock Patch newsletter. Here's all the local news you need to know right now, including...

• Workforce Solutions awarded over $200,000 in job training grant.
• Round Rock man arrested for having $17,000 worth of methamphetamines.
• A new missing persons reporting law: Is it effective or not?

But first, today's weather:

Sunny and warmer. High: 73 Low: 40.

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Here are the top stories today in Round Rock:

1. The Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area will receive a $245,000 job training grant. This grant will help the Round Rock Baseball Club and Ryan Sanders Sports Services "increase the skill level of employees through customized learning courses in marketing, groundskeeping, hospitality services, warehouse management, and safety for more than 110 new and incumbent workers." Training courses available under the grant are: back-hoe-frontloader, concession management, food safety, and more. (Office of the Texas Governor)
2. New Braunfels police arrested Jeremy Dwayne Parker from Round Rock for having 280 grams of methamphetamines. Police discovered around $17,000 worth of the drugs during a routine traffic stop around 3:45 a.m. near IH-35. A K-9 alerted police to the odor of narcotics and after the arrest, Parker was taken to Comal County Jail. "The suspect was charged with manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance which is a first-degree felony" and remains in custody without bond. Check with WOAI for updates on this story.
3. Recently, Texas passed a missing persons reporting law. While this law may have helped an Austin family reunite with their loved one, a past case for Timothy Perez didn't have the same happy ending. For families wishing to report adult family members missing, it can prove difficult to get police to file an official missing persons report. Round Rock Police initially classified Perez as "voluntarily missing" and never entered him into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Perez's body was found in Round Rock, months after his parents added Timothy to NamUs themselves. Read more on this story on KXAN.

Today in Round Rock:

• Murder Mystery Detective Experience *Virtual $14.99* (10 a.m.)
• February Luncheon & Meeting at Brushy Creek Community Center (11 a.m.)
• Business Owner Networking Mastermind at Anchor Bar (11:30 a.m.)
• City Council Meeting at Round Rock Library (6 p.m.)
• Farewell Dinner in Honor of Dr. James Puglisi at Raindrop Foundation (6:30 p.m.)
• Heart Breaker *Add Jewel Upgrade* ($39) at Painting With a Twist (7 p.m.)
• Romeo and Juliet at Sam Bass Theatre (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Round Rock ISD parents and guardians: "In case you missed it: Watch a recording of the Fentanyl Virtual Information Session on the Round Rock ISD website. https://roundrockisd.org/fentanyl/" (Round Rock ISD Facebook)
• Visit the temporary home of the Seed Library: "Missing our Seed Library? It is temporarily being housed at the #DowntownerGallery until March! You can visit their facility at 221 E. Main St. to either pick up or donate your seeds!" (Round Rock Public Library Facebook)
• Round Rock Arts: "Sam Elkins (@samelkinstextiles ) won an Honorable Mention Award for her piece titled 'Water Roots' in the Fantastical FIber Art Exhibit at TXST in Round Rock. Congratulations, Sam!" (Round Rock Arts Facebook)

• Your neighbor is offering a service: "Offering limb clean up! - Hello all! Still a lot of branches around and I have some availability in the next week or so to help get thing back to normal for a few homeowners. Please reach out to me if you need this done! 541-260-3819" (Nextdoor)

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That's it for today! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with another update.

— Elaine Thompson

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Round Rock Patch newsletter? Contact me at RoundRock@Patch.com