A 13-year-old Ellis Middle School student confessed to making a counterfeit $20 bill Tuesday.

According to an Austin Police Department report, the youth was confronted by assistant principal Paul Besel and admitted he scanned the fake bill on a computer.

He also informed the assistant principal, a counterfeit $1 bill had been circulated in the school's food service line Tuesday, according to the police report.

Hydrant maintenance

The Austin Fire Department has begun hydrant maintenance work in the northwest quadrant of the city.

The work began Tuesday, according to Austin Fire Chief Dan Wilson, who said the northwest sector will be the only portion of the city to receive the hydrant maintenance work this year.

Other quadrants of the city were targeted in previous years.

The maintenance work began in the downtown area Tuesday and should spread to the residential neighborhoods today, Wilson said.

Wilson cautioned residents they could see some temporary loss of pressure or even the appearance of rust or other sediments in their water due to the maintenance work to flush city hydrants.

Lee Bonorden can be reached at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com