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Track Covid-19 in Lampasas County: Latest Data and Maps - The New York Times

An updated vaccine is recommended for adults and most children. Statewide, 1% of vaccinations did not specify a home county.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Lampasas County

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Lampasas County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Lampasas County

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

Data on this page is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population and demographic data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hospitalization data is reported by individual hospitals to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it includes confirmed and suspected adult and pediatric patients. The C.D.C. does not provide complete vaccinations data for some counties and caps its vaccination rate figures at 95 percent.

The C.D.C. may make historical updates as more data is reported.

The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on Covid cases in May 2023.

Lupe Dimas was drafted into World War II in 1944. He later joined the National Guard and served for 28 years. His one regret in life was not graduating high school.

LAMPASAS, Texas — A lifelong dream became a reality for World War II veteran Lupe Dimas. After nearly 80 years since being drafted, the 96-year-old received his high school diploma from Lampasas High School on Thursday, Sept. 14.

"I'm very grateful today for today," Dimas said. "Education is very important. I never figured I'd get to this point at my age."

Born in 1926, Dimas was drafted into the United States Army at 18.

Lampasas County Sheriff Jess Ramos said the veteran was taken out of school in 3rd grade and never learned how to read. However, education was always important to him.

Dimas served in World War II for four years, and later joined the National Guard where he served for another 28 years.

While he fought hard for our country, Dimas still dreamed of one thing: a high school diploma.

Ramos made it a mission to make this dream come true after Dimas got COVID-19 and was in hospice for six weeks in 2021. There, the two developed a deep relationship while Ramos was his spiritual advisor.

"I can't put into words," Ramos said. "I can just tell you that I'm glad it happened. We waited so long. A high school diploma is just the start of many things that can open all kinds of achievements."

Dimas' daughter, Diane Hibbert, was just as excited for her father. She told 6 News that her father's diploma will now sit alongside hers and her four other siblings' diplomas. Now, his entire family all graduated from Lampasas High School.

"My dad always said, don't ever give up on your dreams," she added. "You never know how they're going to come true for you."

Lampasas ISD presented the veteran with a military honors cord and an honors blanket with his name on it. This week Dimas is also celebrating 74 years of marriage with his wife who attended the ceremony on Thursday.

"This is a legitimate degree," Hibbert said. "If you're a veteran between 1944 and 1975, there's a legal clause that says they're afforded a legitimate degree, so his is not an honorary degree. This is an actual high school diploma."

6 News asked Dimas what his plans are next. With a warm smile, he shared he wants to teach at a high school.

More stories by Reporter Sydney Dishon:

9-year-old Luke and 15-year-old Hunter are now on the road to recovery.

KEMPNER, Texas — Five children were playing on the Lampasas river bank on Saturday, March 18 when the unexpected happened.

In a matter of minutes, the river bank collapsed on two brothers, 9-year-old Luke and 15-year-old Hunter Sappenfield.

"The fortunate thing is, it was five boys and only two got trapped," relative of the Sappenfield family Bruce Hansen said.

"The other ones were able to respond very quickly dialing their parents who were just up the road, then dialing 911 and digging those boys out immediately," Hansen added.

A third brother and two friends were still at the scene when emergency crews arrived. They had managed to pull Luke to safety, but Hunter was stuck and had lost feeling below his waist.

"I felt helpless," Bruce's wife Megan Hansen said. "There was nothing that I could personally do, but Bruce was able to go down and actually be on site."

Along with Bruce, Luke and Hunter's sister with the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department responded as well. Alexis Hansen says she always listens to tone out alerts from the department. She happened to be listening and when she heard it, her husband realized it was near her parent's house.

Alexis quickly called her mother. The panic quickly sunk in once her mom confirmed the incident dealt with her brothers.

"Being a firefighter, I've always had it in the back of my mind," Hansen said. "It's a fear I've always had and then it just hit me like a ton of bricks. Like okay, your worst nightmare just came true. I honestly screamed, I was hysterical the entire way there."

Some parents raised concern about how something like this could happen and what their children can look out for. The family says it was all an accident and completely unexpected.

"The first five or six feet of the top of that riverbank is all brown soil," Bruce said. "They were kind of digging in it and being kids, you know playing in it. Unfortunately it fell on top of them."

The road to recovery is going to be long. Luke is expected to make a full recovery, but has several broken bones. His mother Brandie Sappenfield says Luke has three fractures in his pelvis area, a couple of fractured disks in his sacral section, along with one on his spine and lumbar. He has several fractured ribs and bruised lungs, but is currently in physical therapy.

It's a quite different story for Hunter who goes into surgery to stabilize his spine on Wednesday, March 22.

"Our goals from there are going to be learning how to make the best of a new life," Brandie said. "There's little chance that he will walk again. We're clinging to a miracle."

The family says they know what it's like to overcome the longest odds.

"Chad and Brandie are both United States Army veterans," Bruce said. "Chad has actually been blown up and put back together, like he's made out of puzzle pieces. He has been through a lot. He's broken his back, so this is not something they're unfamiliar with. They know exactly what the outcome could be. They fought for our country. It's our turn to fight for them."

They also say they are leaving this in God's hands.

"God works," Brandie said. "God works through everything and I know he has a plan here."

The family is grateful for the support from the community and say they are blown away. Now, they are just asking for prayers with the ongoing road to recovery.

There are two ways to donate. Click here for the family's GoFundMe. There is also a meal train at McLane's Children Hospital to provide warms meals for the family.

LAMPASAS COUNTY, Texas (KWTX) - A water main break in Kempner is putting thousands of residents under stage five water restrictions, and on Friday morning, residents were sent an alert stating “water loss is proving to be more widespread than anticipated.”

The alert from the Kempner Water Supply Corporation further states, “We will have to turn off the entire system that supplies every single meter in our system in order to get this concrete line repaired quickly. We apologize for any inconvenience. Turn off your water heaters at the breaker.”

Kempner residents like Alex Cannon told KWTX they are preparing by loading up on bottled water. Late Thursday, they were also filling up bathtubs with water, Cannon said.

He’s lived here for years, and says water problems aren’t surprising. But having no water at all for an extended period of time - he says that’s a first for him.

“It’s not our first issue with Kempner Water Supply, but it’s our first time being out of water for one day or longer. We don’t know yet,” Cannon explained.

The Kempner Water Supply Corporation is responsible for feeding water to thousands of people, including the entire city of Lampasas.

“We were contacted by Kempner Water Supply with a leak and it was noted that it is our main water line that provides the city of Lampasas with water,” said Ryan Ward, the assistant city manager of Lampasas, on Thursday.

And for the last 24 hours, “They’re still excavating trying to get down to the actual concern whether that be a break or a leak,” Ward says.

Once they find the problem, the plan is to turn the water off. That will cause the city of Lampasas to resort to the water stored in their tanks. They say if people aren’t conscious about usage, it may not last more than 24 hours.

“If folks are really conservative and really diligent and only use it when they really need it, it could extend that out a little longer,” Ward says.

There is no timeline on when the issue will be resolved, but in the meantime residents are adapting the best they can.

“We don’t even know what the measures are, we’re just gonna get as much water as we can for the next few days. I’m sure they’re going to rectify it quickly,” says Cannon.

Copyright 2023, KWTX. All rights reserved.

LATEST UPDATE

The main line leak has been repaired overnight and water will slowly start returning to the Kempner Water Supply system, according to an alert by the City of Lampasas released Saturday morning.

A city wide boil water notice has also gone into effect for Lampasas by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

A boil water notice for Kempner has also been reported.

"Two, three person teams for the City have been working since 3 a.m. to open hydrants and bleed air out of the system," the city said.

But despite the water's return, the city said that it's important to note that it will still take a day or two for the system to fully recover.

The city said activities like doing laundry and chores requiring water should be held off for at least another day.

Below are links for alerts and updates, where people can also sign up:

25 News will continue to provide updates as they become available.

UPDATE

The Copperas Cove Public Library will be offering potable water to KWSC members affected by the main line leak, according to Kempner Water Supply.

KWSC said the library will begin operations during daylight hours at a designated area of their parking lot at 501 South Main Street in Copperas Cove.

They said water is accessible by hose.

Below are links for alerts and updates, where people can also sign up:

25 News will continue to provide updates as they become available.

UPDATE

Lampasas and Kempner are preparing resources for residents should conditions worsen due to the "widespread" main line water leak. Kempner Water Supply are still working to repair the problem.

A water trailer is open to residents at the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department, Kempner Water Supply said. Residents need to bring a container to fill, and water bottles will also be provided for drinking water.

KWSC said there is another site for Lampasas residents behind the courthouse.

Lampasas is currently under a Stage 5 Water Restriction.

According to an alertfrom the city of Lampasas, as of 3:15 p.m. the "main has been de-watered and is being prepared for contract welders."

They said valving issues have made Kempner Water Supply crews go further east to stop the flow of water.

The city said that materials are on hand to make necessary replacements, but repairs will still take time, and once repairs are made, it will still take time for Kempner and Lampasas systems to recover fully.

"Please be prepared, and note conditions may change for the better or worse. Please continue to conserve," the city said in their alert.

City water stores are still holding according to their alert, but they are stressing the importance of conservation.

"It is likely we will eventually loose water pressure during the repair and recovery period, and if so, a boil notice will be issued. Our stores have responded in an unbelievable way with water, and other needs. The City is also prepared to centrally distribute water if conditions worsen. Thank you Lampasas."

Kempner City Hall has also closed due to a lack of water, according to a Facebook post.

The water trailer at the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department is located at 315 Pecan Street in Kempner.

Below are links for alerts and updates, where people can also sign up:

25 News will continue to provide updates as they become available.

UPDATE

The main line water leak is proving to be "more widespread than anticipated," Kempner Water Supply said in an alert on Friday.

KWSC said the entire system that supplies all their meters will have to be turned off to get the concrete line repaired quickly.

KWSC has not released a time frame to when the repairs will be finished and have apologized for the inconvenience.

They also said that members should turn off their water heaters at the breaker before they lose water to avoid them burning up.

25 News will continue to provide updates as they become available.

UPDATE

Kempner Water Supply crews spent a portion of the day Thursday breaking down and removing a metal building that was in the way of repairing a line leak.

According to an email update, "excavation has commenced and line exposure should be happening soon," and assuming all goes smoothly, Kempner Water Supply is planning to wait until 10 a.m. on Friday to turn the water off.

They are anticipating 24-48 hours of water loss.

25 News will continue to provide updates as they become available.

UPDATE

The main line leak on Highway 190 is a "significant and difficult" project that will take time for outside contractors to repair due to dangers to their crew, according to the Kempner Water Supply Corporation.

KWSC said members from CR 4807 to Lampasas and the entire north, northwest, northeast, west and southwest of their system will be affected and without water for a significant amount of time.

KWSC has not given an estimated time frame as of Thursday morning.

Members have been urged by KWSC to fill buckets and containers with water to prepare for the water cut off.

They said that bathtubs can also be filled to flush toilets.

KWSC said to please check on any elderly neighbors that may not have ready access to their alerts.

Operators are working to expose the line so contractors can begin repairs, KWSC said.

"This will take time as this is a dangerous situation for our crew," KWSC said in an update. "When that is complete, the line will have to be valved off at CR 4807 and HWY 190 (near Camp Caylor) and valved off on FM 2313 so repairs can begin."

ORIGINAL STORY

Kempner Water Supply has a main line leak through the concrete transmission line on HWY 190.

According to an alert, Kempner Water Supply may have to shut down the line on HWY 190 to repair the leak, and will have to call in a contractor to complete the repair.

"This will affect all customers from CR 4807 to Lampasas that receive water from this transmission line," Kempner Water Supply said.

"We will keep everyone informed as we work to get this line repaired."

Kempner Water Supply also imposed a Level 4 water restriction earlier this week.

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