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The parents of a girl still missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp where 27 people died during last summer’s deadly floods in the Texas Hill Country, are asking a judge to prevent the camp from reopening this summer. We’ll have the latest from the Travis County court room.
A private disagreement between local officials broke out into the open this week when Austin Mayor Kirk Watson let it be known he opposes a decision by the agency building the city’s light-rail system.
And, a documentary explores the ‘83 Texas Baseball championship team.
Plus, an Austin exhibit is bringing stories of local overdose victims into the light with pencil-drawn portraits.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] The tragedy that took place during deadly flooding at Camp Mystic last summer has been a topic of discussion this week in a Travis County courtroom. We’re going to have an update from the proceedings. And Austin voters approved Project Connect almost six years ago, and while construction has yet to begin, there’s been plenty of drama around the whole thing. The latest chapter coming up. Plus, an Austin exhibit is bringing stories of local overdose victims into the light. More about these stories coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:37] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:42] And it’s been more than four decades since Texas beat Alabama on their way to a college baseball national championship. The story is being revisited in a new ESPN documentary. We’re going to talk with regional MVP Johnny Sutton. That is up next here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, you are tuning in to Austin Signal here on community-powered public radio KUT News. It is Wednesday, April 15th, it’s tax day, do not forget. I’m your host Jerry Quijano, thank you for making us part of your day. More than 130 people died during Fourth of July weekend floods when the Guadalupe River crested 37 feet, flattening summer camps, mobile home parks and communities along It’s banks. 27 people died at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country. The parents of a girl still missing from the camp are asking a judge to prevent the camp from reopening this summer. KUT’s Kaylee Hunt has the story.
Kailey Hunt [00:01:50] More than 130 people died on July 4th when the Guadalupe River crested 37 feet, flattening summer camps, mobile home parks, and communities along its banks. One of the victims was 8-year-old Seale Stewart. Her body has not been found. After court hearing Monday, Seale’s mother CeCe Stewart told KDFW-TV the state should deny the camp’s application for a license to operate this summer.
Cece Stewart [00:02:15] I believe now is the time for the state of Texas to step in and deny the license for Camp Mystic.
Kailey Hunt [00:02:24] Last month, a state district judge issued a temporary order requiring Camp Mystic to preserve damaged cabins affected by the floods. The stewards are just one of several families to sue Camp Mystik. They accuse its leaders of negligence and argue more could have been done to warn the campers and counselors and move them to safer ground. Three of the camp’s directors testified in court on Monday and Tuesday. Edward Eastlund, one of the camp directors and a defendant in the lawsuit, So the camp did not have a written evacuation plan, which is required by the state. Here’s an exchange he had in the courtroom with the stewards attorney, Brad Beckworth.
Edward Eastland [00:03:01] Do you wish you had had an evacuation plan?
Brad Beckworth [00:03:04] We had that plan. We were implementing that plan
Edward Eastland [00:03:08] You wish you had a written evacuation plan that everyone was trained in.
Brad Beckworth [00:03:14] I wish we never healthcare.
Brad Beckworth [00:03:16] That summer.
Kailey Hunt [00:03:17] On Tuesday, Eastland’s wife, Mary Liz, who served as the camp’s chief medical officer, told the court she didn’t help campers because rushing water prevented her from reaching their cabins. Outside the court on Monday, Seale’s mother also said that Eastland testimony proves the camp is not ready to reopen.
Cece Stewart [00:03:35] This is the same director of Camp Mystic that is asking 850 students to come join him in six weeks.
Kailey Hunt [00:03:44] State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble is expected to rule on extending the order requiring Camp Mystic to preserve damaged cabins as evidence within the coming days. I’m Kaylee Hunt in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:00] A private disagreement between local officials broke out into the open this week when Austin Mayor Kirk Watson let it be known he opposes a decision by the agency building the city’s light rail system. The Austin Transit Partnership was planning to vote today on leasing more than 50,000 square feet of commercial real estate in a prime location, 100 Congress Avenue. The cost of leasing those two and a half floors? More than $4 million. Tack on to that another $15 million to outfit and furnish the space. Watson says ATP should instead consider moving into CapMetro’s headquarters. KUT’s transportation reporter Nathan Bernier has been following this. He joins us now. Howdy, Nathan. Hey, Jerry. So please bring us up to speed, why was ATP even considering this lease?
Nathan Bernier [00:04:43] Well, ATP says it needs more office space. They say they’ve outgrown their current location at 203 Colorado. They have 200 people now, and they’re planning to expand to around 300 people by the end of the year. So they’re saying they needed this additional space. As you said, 50,000 square feet total. It would basically add 15,000 square feet of space to what they currently have. And they want it to be downtown, they said, because they need. First of all, they need the room for consultants, designers, and builders, but also they want it to be close to the where the light rail is going to go. A lot of these people are architects and designers and may want to just be able to walk out the door and be a couple blocks away from the light rail alignment just to understand the environment and then go back to the drawing board. It’s, you know, part of the process of designing this. However, as you said, for over $4 million a year. This was essentially a seven and a half year lease with a total amount value of 32 million plus that 15 million to build out in furniture space. So this raised a bit of a red flag at City Hall. Yeah, what was the mayor’s objection? Well, Watson, Mayor Kirk Watson said ATP should slow down. And look at cheaper alternatives first. And something he wrote about this on the city council message board, something telling, he said in this post that he had actually approached ATP’s executive director, Greg Canale, a couple of weeks ago and said, hey, maybe look at moving into the Cap Metro space. And apparently that did not happen. So Watson went public and said I’m now going to oppose this. He thinks that first of all, he sort of painted a picture about the political situation. He talked about six months ago, voters rejecting Prop Q, the tax rate increase, we have the city of Austin going through hard times with their budget, Travis County, Austin ISD facing really a budget crisis, especially in the next fiscal year. So he didn’t use these words, but the implication was that this lease at 100 Congress Avenue in this downtown, Class A office space was a little bit politically tone deaf. So he’s asking for… A more thorough analysis of alternatives, and he says that you should not be spending tens of millions of dollars in office space unless you can clearly show why it’s necessary.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:17] Did any other Austin City Council members have anything to say about this?
Nathan Bernier [00:07:21] Yeah, council member Mark Duchin, he basically backed Watson’s approach. He said ATP manages a lot of taxpayer money and should reflect the budget pressures that families and governments are facing. Mayor Pro Tempcito Vela also agreed with Watson. Vela is on the CapMetro board. So he said, you know, co-locating makes a lot of sense. He also would like to see that rent that ATP is paying go to CapMeto, which could then be a revenue source that’s used to help improve transit service rather than sending the money to a private landlord.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:54] Austin voters approved the property tax to build the light rail system back in 2020. Where are we at now when it actually comes to seeing this be built?
Nathan Bernier [00:08:03] Well, the building has not started, but there has been a lot of progress behind the scenes. The most notable of which is the Austin Transit Partnership receiving federal clearance for their environmental study, essentially this thousands of pages report that the feds review and then give the thumbs up to and say, okay, we approve of this. However, there’s a big hurdle that ATP still has to clear, which is obtaining federal funding. Now this is an $8 billion project. And the the Austin Transit Partnership is hoping that the federal government will pay for up to half of it. So that decision is probably not going to be for at least another year or so. And but on paper, the projects moving forward. In fact, it’s even more than just on paper because there are starting to be property acquisitions. In other words, people whose property is in the way of the light rail line. That’s now being the process of expropriation through eminent domain has begun. But the current long-range timeline still points to this opening in around 2033, at least that’s the estimate, 2033.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:10] That’s Nathan Bernier. He is KUT’s transportation reporter. Nathan, thank you again for your time.
Nathan Bernier [00:09:15] Thank you, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:16] And we’re glad you’re spending part of your Wednesday here with Austin Signal. We’ve got more coming up for you after this break.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:29] This is Austin Signal, welcome back. The tale of the 1983 college baseball series between the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide is the latest story to be featured as part of ESPN’s SEC Stories series. That Texas team won the national championship that year, and the regional MVP was Johnny Sutton, who is joining us now on the show to talk about his team and the documentary which is premiering tonight. Mr. Sutton thanks for being with us on Austin Signal.
Johnny Sutton [00:09:58] Thank you very much. It’s good to be here.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:00] So what’s it been like reliving the memories of that 83?
Johnny Sutton [00:10:03] It’s been really fun. A lot of us, it’s a long time ago, so we hadn’t thought about it much. And because of this movie, some of us were interviewed. There were six Texas players and six Alabama players that were interviewed for this documentary. So it kind of forced us to go back and watch the thing, which a lot of had seen in 40 years. And it was a little shocking. We made more errors than I remember us making. But no, it was very fun. It was a very exciting series, a lot of really good teams, a lot a future major leaguers. So it was fun to reconnect with the guys and relive some of that fun time.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:42] So we don’t wanna spoil the story that’s featured in the documentary that’s premiering tonight. So tell us another story about that 83 team. How intense was it? What kind of squad did y’all have?
Johnny Sutton [00:10:52] It was a good team. You know, we had some, you know, Calvin Charaldi and Roger Clemens were, you know future major leaguers and, you now, had great careers as major league pitchers. Jeff Herron, our catcher, went to the major leagues. Mike Brumley, our shortstop, went to the Major Leagues. Kirk Killingsworth was, I don’t know if he was in the majors, but had a good pro career. I mean, we have at least six players off that team. Capel, Mike Capel went to the Major Leagues, Jose Tolentino, so it was a talented team. But there was a lot of adversity that year. We lost a lot more games than we usually did. The record of that team was 66 and 14. In fact, I don’t think there will ever be another college team that ever plays 80 games.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:35] That’s what I was thinking right now
Johnny Sutton [00:11:37] I mean, we played a doubleheader 11 days in a row over spring break. We played 22 games in 11 days. But we had a lot of adversity. We beat a lot of good teams, but we lost to teams we shouldn’t have lost to. And I think that cost a little of Coach Gus’s hair was left, probably was taken away. But in the end, we got hot at the right and and spoiler-lark we want it
Jerry Quijano [00:12:05] Well, you’re wearing your national championship ring here in the studio with us today. You told me that you don’t wear it often. So I wanna ask, what do you cherish most from the memories of that 83 season, of that 93 team and the time you spent with your teammates and with your coach?
Johnny Sutton [00:12:20] Yeah, I mean, I think the best memories are the friendships, and, you know, it was interesting playing at UT in the 80s, because, and of course, I came from SMU, and I did not have to sit out a year since the program folded, and Larry Long and I both had played there and both came over, and we were accepted right away. But at UT, we would practice six or seven hours a day, often seven days a week, and we’d do three hours of batting practice and infield and outfield practice, and then We’d have a 14-inning. Inner squad game with full umpires, with full scorekeeping, very competitive. And I learned early on in that process, I got pretty hot, I was hitting well, I hit a few gappers off this pitcher. For some doubles. And my next time up, I had a 90 mile an hour, very close to my head. And this was a guy that was, he was one number away. So we sat next to each other in the locker room. I said, I said what the heck, man? What are you doing throwing at my head in the intersquad game? And he said, Hey, this is Texas. You hit two balls off the wall on me. You’re going down the third time. And it just made me realize this is serious business and sort of how you came out in that ninja squad game. Might have determined whether you got to play that weekend.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:36] So how can people watch the documentary?
Johnny Sutton [00:13:39] It is airing tonight, the premieres tonight in the United States, nationwide at 7 p.m. Central on the SEC Network. I think that’s part of ESPN, but it’s an SEC channel. So I think it’s gonna run tonight at 7p.m Central. So if you’ve got the SEC network, which I think most people are watching UT Baseball, I think, that’s where you can see it. And Mike Brumley, who is our All-American shortstop and a dear friend of mine. When we did the filming of this, we did it at my house, went all day, and then tragically, three weeks later, he was killed in a car wreck, which was just unbelievable, unbelievable tragedy. I still have not quite gotten over that. I probably never will, because he was one of my dearest friends, but it’s just a miracle. He got, he’s gonna be in this movie, and they, you know, I don’t wanna give away too much, but they dedicated little stuffs to him, and. But I think it’s worth watching. I think It’ll be fun. You’ll learn a lot about the World Series. The Barry Bonds was in that World Series, Barry Larkin is in the movie. I’m giving away too much here, but I think its worth watching for sure.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:46] All right, we have been speaking with Johnny Sutton, regional MVP and national champion on that 1983 Texas team. Mr. Sutton it’s been great chatting with you.
Johnny Sutton [00:14:55] Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:04] If you’re going to be visiting the UT School of Social Work soon, you’ll find the walls hung with portraits of Central Texans who lost their lives to drug addiction. The exhibit is called Into Light, and it’s intended to fight stigma and humanize the victims of overdoses from opioids and other substances. KeyUT’s Olivia Aldridge visited the exhibit with two women whose children were among the portraits.
Olivia Aldridge [00:15:30] On the second floor of Walter Webb Hall, pencil drawings of nearly three dozen people line the walls. Among them are Josh Bell, a 33-year-old with soulful eyes, and Brandon Lash, a 27-year old with a broad smile. Josh and Brandon never knew each other, but now their moms do.
Annie Hernandez [00:15:49] It’s a different loss than my child died to cancer. People are more afraid to talk to us than there would be another mother that maybe lost her child to a different disease.
Olivia Aldridge [00:16:01] That’s Annie Hernandez. She’s Josh’s mom, and originally from Ireland, if you couldn’t guess, she met Lisa Lash through an overdose loss group at the Christie Center, an organization that provides grief support for Central Texans. Lisa says hearing stories like hers and her son Brandon’s has helped her navigate his loss.
Lisa Lash [00:16:21] There’s some kind of comfort in knowing you’re not the only one.
Olivia Aldridge [00:16:24] That’s part of why Annie and Lisa submitted their sons’ stories to the Into Light project. Since losing Josh and Brandon to overdoses, the mothers have been working to raise awareness about what opioid addiction looks like, and to show that addiction can happen to anyone — sons, daughters, parents, friends. Next to each portrait is a written narrative about the person’s life. Annie and Lisa submitted a detailed application that a professional writer used to paint a picture of their sons with words. And Lisa says reliving all those memories wasn’t easy.
Lisa Lash [00:16:58] It was very intense. I had to step away from it for a couple weeks. And I’m like, I’m not sure I can do this.
Olivia Aldridge [00:17:06] But she did. The narrative next to her son Brandon’s portrait forms an impression of a sensitive and charismatic young man, an animal lover, with a way for words who could always be counted on to correct his friends’ spelling and grammar. Much like Lisa describes Brandon, Annie remembers her son Josh as a bright and charismatic person who never met a stranger. He loved sports and cheered especially hard for the Patriots.
Olivia Aldridge [00:17:33] He was dedicated to his family. Oh man, that child had my heart.
Annie Hernandez [00:17:38] The minute he was born. I have four children, but this one knows exactly how to get whatever he wants.
Olivia Aldridge [00:17:47] For years, Josh continued to show up for family events and seemed like his normal self. No one realized he was struggling with addiction behind the scenes for a long time. It started with taking opioids that were prescribed after he was in a car accident. From there…
Olivia Aldridge [00:18:03] Things snowballed.
Annie Hernandez [00:18:04] I didn’t realize he was not taking two a day, he was taking 24 a day. So to get the other 22, he had to buy them on the street. And then, like so many stories that equates to can’t afford this anymore, can’t hide it from my wife anymore, can, you know, so you go to something cheaper, which was heroin.
Olivia Aldridge [00:18:24] Josh underwent
Olivia Aldridge [00:18:25] treatment for his addiction, but he died of an overdose in 2019. Annie believes a pill laced with fentanyl was responsible. Today, Annie’s an outspoken advocate for addiction treatment, harm reduction, and education, but at first she struggled to know how to talk about losing Josh. There was just so much stigma about addiction.
Annie Hernandez [00:18:45] You know, people might have an idea in their mind what a drug addict is, right? I mean, I was no different. A million, million reasons I would think my son would die would never be of drugs.
Olivia Aldridge [00:19:00] Reducing stigma and spreading awareness about addiction were key goals of the Into Light Project’s founder, Theresa Clower. After Clower’s son Devin died of an overdose in 2018, she drew a portrait of him as a way of processing her grief. For three days, Clower put pencil to paper, studying each tiny detail of her late son’s face.
Theresa Clower [00:19:22] A few days later, I signed my name and that was my goodbye to Devin. It was goodbye, but it was also a beginning.
Olivia Aldridge [00:19:31] Afterward, Clower was surprised by a desire to draw portraits of everyone she met, from her grandchildren to people on the street. She had the idea to give her passion a purpose. What if she could use portraits to connect with other people who had lost a loved one to drug overdose? The first exhibit was held in Maryland, Devin’s home state, in 2019. In the early days, Clower drew many portraits herself, but she hired other artists as the project grew. Each brings their own style. But every portrait is rendered as a simple black and white graphite drawing.
Theresa Clower [00:20:05] We’re all made up of light and dark. No one should be defined by their darkest moments. We focus on the whole person very intentionally because we all are made up of lots of different parts. And, you know, my own son, Devin, he had a tremendous personality and he was addicted to drugs.
Olivia Aldridge [00:20:26] 34 individuals memorialized at the Texas Into Light Exhibit represent a small fraction of addiction-related deaths that have taken place in recent years. Drug poisoning deaths skyrocketed by 68 percent statewide between 2019 and 2024. But we’ve started to see signs of improvement. Last year, local officials announced drug-related death in Travis County had decreased by 22% between 2023 and 2024. Claycee Claiborne, the director of UT’s Addiction Research Institute, credits this to widespread distribution of the overdose reversing treatment naloxone, from local law enforcement to bar owners to regular joes.
Kasey Clayborn [00:21:09] Three years ago, the public had no idea how dangerous the drug supply is, and it’s continuing to be dangerous. However, we have trained everyday citizens across central Texas to actually be first responders.
Olivia Aldridge [00:21:24] However, Claiborne says we’re still in a dangerous phase of the opioid crisis with only around 20% of Americans with a substance abuse disorder getting treatment. She wants to see more work done to prevent relapse and get people into treatment sooner. She also wants to seek more support for the families and loved ones of people who struggle with addiction.
Kasey Clayborn [00:21:45] Overdose impacts the entire family system. It impacts so many people.
Olivia Aldridge [00:21:49] That’s where grief groups like the one Annie and Lisa joined come in. The women have found vital support through the group, and have provided it, shepherding other members through the Into Light exhibit on campus. Lisa says supporting each other through their shared tragedies has led to a real bond.
Lisa Lash [00:22:06] We’ve become very good friends.
Olivia Aldridge [00:22:08] When Brandon died, he left Lisa behind a tiny French bulldog pug mix named Jellyfish. Sometimes Annie helps out by dog sitting. Other times, Annie and Lisa get together and Jellyfish weaves through the legs of Annie’s large dogs. It’s not always easy to laugh, but it’s easier with a hapless mutt named Jelly fish around. I’m Olivia Aldridge in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:33] That is it for today’s show. We’re gonna have more in the podcast show notes and as always over at kut.org slash signal. Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. Special thanks to Rene Chavez for his help. I’m Jerry Kihannel. Austin Signal will be back at the same time tomorrow. We’ll talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
