TC construction starts in spring
Temple College will hold a ground-breaking ceremony in early April and construction will begin in May on a massive $160 million project that will add four major buildings to the local campus.
Here’s the beef!
Despite higher prices across the stores and across the nation, a new Cost of Living Index ranked Temple as the second cheapest place in America to purchase ground beef in 2022. In addition to being ranked No. 2 in burger meat, Temple was the third cheapest place in America to buy groceries for traditional grocery items such as beef, beer, fish, bread, milk, wine, cereal and bananas.
YEAR OF THE FISH
2022 was a prime fishing year on Lake Belton. Just ask Bob Maindelle, owner and operator of Holding the Line Fishing Guide Service. “It was definitely a good year,” Maindelle said today. “Last year, I made 171 fishing trips and my guests caught a grand total of 18,643 fish. Every one was released back into the lake. Holding the Line maintains a strong catch-and-release ethic — we release 100 percent of the fish we catch so we have plenty for the future.”
Bell County outdoors
Tight hay supplies and high winter feed prices are challenging Texas cattle producers’ ability to get as many cows as possible through winter in good condition. The 2022 drought and subsequent poor hay production resulted in stressed hay supplies going into winter, according to AgriLife Extension specialists. Check the Bell County Outdoors page for the latest fishing and birdwatching reports.
CONSTRUCTION TO START ON DOWNTOWN MARKET
Construction on a new Downtown butcher shop, bakery and grocery market is expected to start next week, according to Bo Harvey, one of the project developers.
Egg prices high, may go higher
Egg prices continue to set all-time per-dozen price records, and a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert does not expect that trend to reverse in the near future.
Meta project update
The social media behemoth behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp says it is moving forward on a data center in Temple, but a facility redesign continues to slow construction. Meta has paused work on facilities being built in Temple, Idaho and Alabama.
Hawn developers eye 2023 opening
New and renovated buildings along Central Avenue in Downtown Temple will become home to more than a dozen new retail shops, eateries and office spaces, and they could be open by summer. According to Jonathan Garza, director of development for Waco-based Turner Brothers, the first floors of the former Sears building, the old Hawn Hotel and the new 4th Street Parking Garage will be leased as retail and office space.
FIRST OUT OF 950+ PAINTINGS
Susan Sterle won first place in the Western category of Plein Air Magazine’s November art contest with her painting, Let’s Go for a Spin. The painting will be entered in the annual competition in May
GOING FOR A HAT TRICK
The owner of a Temple-based soccer club is opening a new Downtown sports bar complete with food, drinks and an indoor four-on-four soccer field. Manuel Velasquez, owner of Coyotes FC, a pair of Fort Hood food trucks and a Colombian food delivery service, is opening Hat-Trick Sports Barat 217 N Main in the former L&M Electronics building.