So much to say. So little space. You should have been there.
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This is only a portion of the 175 attendees at the Town Hall Meeting on March 4, 2024. They started out with only 75 chairs but quickly realized that number was way under estimated. Thanks, San Saba County, for being involved! -
Dee George and Michelle Whitley attended the Town Hall Meeting -
City Manager Scott Edmonson -
Mike Castillo, Warning Coordination Meteorologist NOAA -
Marsha Hardy, Emergency Management Coordinator, getting ready to address the crowd
Some of you may have read in our February 22nd edition “Total Solar Eclipse - What's the Big Deal?”. (You can also find the story on our website www.sansabanews. com under the NEWS
tab.) If you attended the Town Hall Meeting, know you know it is a Very Big Deal!
When I turned into the Mill Pond Park parking lot Monday night, I was surprised there were other cars turning at the same place. As I went back to the Civic Center, I saw more cars. It wasn't like there were Christmas lights up for everyone to see or anything like that.
I then noticed ball fields with kids playing ball and thought most of the cars must be there for the kids.
As I finally reached the Civic Center, there were even more cars!
About 10 minutes before the Total Solar Eclipse Town Hall Meeting was to start, I counted 120 people in attendance, but folks just kept coming into the room. They kept bringing in more chair.
City Manager Scott Edmonson welcomed everyone. He announced there were 175 in attendance, many more than expected.
Mr. Edmonson introduced the guest speaker, Dawn Davies. Ms. Davies is the Night Sky Programmer at Hill Country Alliance. According to www. hillcountryalliance.org., “ Before joining Hill Country Alliance, she served on the board of the Austin Astronomical Society and as a volunteer advocate for the International Dark-Sky Association. A dedication to education and accessibility led her to become an ambassador for the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador Program and the International Astronomical Union.”
Needless to say, we had a guest speaker with mountains of experience on our topic. Besides that, she was present in Wyoming at the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. She covered topics during her talk including:
• Eye Safety Measures to view the Eclipse and what can happen if you don't take these safety measures
• Points of Contact - difference stages of the Eclipse
• Anatomy of a Total Solar Eclipse and why it is so rare
• Exact path of the eclipse and why San Saba is such a prime location to view the Eclipse
• Exact timing of the Eclipse in San Saba
• Dates of past and future eclipses, 20th century, 21st century, and the next 50 years
• Safe Solar Viewing and how to capture the Eclipse on your devices
• Totality for all - making it possible for everyone to experience the Eclipse, even the blind
• Get Involved - Solar Eclipse and Citizen Science
• Uncertainties and Challenges, including visitor estimation
• Weather forecast for eclipse path
• Tips for planning for residents, retail, and lodging Others who spoke at the Town Hall Meeting besides City Manager Scott Edmonson and Dawn Davies were: Marsha Hardy (SS Emergency Management Coordinator), Paige Faught (SS COC Executive Director), Wyatt Deans (TDEM), and Mike Castillo (National Weather Service.
As of the date of this publication, the countdown is 32 days to the Eclipse.
You can find a countdown here: COUNTDOWN.
All of the topics listed above that were covered by our guest speaker as well as information passed on by the other speakers will be covered in the next few weeks of the San Saba News & Star.