November 5, 2008

The Blanco Elementary held their Annual Safety Fair and Carnival this past Friday, October 31. Teachers and students alike dressed up in their Halloween costumes and moved from station to station, learning important lessons in safety. Representatives from Blanco County State Park, Blanco Volunteer Ambulance Corps, AirEvac, Hill Country CrimeStoppers, Texans In Motion, were all on hand to present short progrmas on topics such as fire, wildlife and seatbelt safety.

The Blanco County Child Protection and Family Advocacy Board partnered with Blanco Independent School District to create a resource closet of school supplies for Blanco school children in need. Presenting the check were Wendy Smith, Treasurer and Matt Herndon, member of CPS and Blanco ISD School Board member. Receiving the gift on behalf of the Blanco School district were Dr.

The mission of the Blanco Chamber of Commerce is to be the heart and hub of economic development and tourism in Blanco. Our job is to serve our members by doing all we can to enhance the economic vitality of the town, which translates to success for your business. It is critical that we work together toward this end, especially considering our current economic climate. The emergence of the lavender industry, the Blanco Lavender Festival, and our designation as the Lavender Capital of Texas ® ...

On November 11, the nation will recognize the men and women who fought for our country and gave us the freedoms that we celebrate today. In Blanco, the ceremonies will begin on Saturday, November 8, with the Blanco Veterans Day Parade. The parade will start at 10:00am and go downtown and around the courthouse.

Local sixth grader Jacie Handberry has been selected to attend the 2008 Distinguished Youth of Texas Program at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin, Texas during Thanksgiving weekend, November 28-30. The Distinguished Youth Program is designed to recognize girls who rank high academically and who are leaders in their schools and communities.

November 6, 2008 •Art class at the Blanco Senior Citizen’s Center, located in the Gem of the Hills Community Center, Hwy 281 N in Blanco. Nov 6 from 9:30am to 11:30am. Guest artist is Omce Depew. For more info, call Liz at 830-833-2713 to register for this free class. You do NOT have to be a senior citizen to participate! November 8, 2008 •Please join the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library Sat, Nov 8 for its Grand Opening ceremony from 1 to 3pm.

On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, The Hill Country Spurs 4-H Club had two very special guests at their monthly meeting: Mr. Rex Peterson and his trick horse, Mr. T, who starred in “Dreamer”. They had come all the way from California for a movie being filmed in the area. Rex has trained horses for many famous movies including Hidalgo, The Black Stallion, Dreamer, Flicka, City Slickers, Ruffian, and Runaway Bride. Using two whips, Rex directed or signaled Mr.

Keep Blanco Beautiful has begun the tedious process of checking strings of Christmas lights in order to get them hung in time for the spectacular Lavender Lights, which will be held in downtown Blanco on November 28, 2008. Working year round to beautify the City of Blanco, the KBB is comprised of volunteer green thumbs who weed, water and plant wonderful flowers and foliage all year round.

Private Corey Koewers, 19, of Blanco, Texas graduated from United States Marine Corps boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego on October 17, 2008. Private Koewers successfully completed 13 weeks of intensive basic training at MCRD San Diego as a recruit in Training Platoon 2126. While in basic training, Private Koewers qualified as sharp-shooter and was fireteam leader.

In Matthew 5:43-44 Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies, and when I read Job, I saw the lesson in action. I'm sharing it because it's so good! There's so much in the lesson of Job, but this part jumped out at me. If you haven’t read Job, briefly I’ll tell you that God allowed Satan to torment him, because Job was such a faithful man and the Lord knew he wouldn't curse Him.

All across America, people of all ages are seeking ways to express their support for those ideals and values on which our country was founded. What better way to accomplish this than for you and your family to attend a Veterans Day program held in your local community? During these uncertain times it can serve as an inspiration for children especially to learn of the importance of Veterans Day and the sacrifices made by our brave veterans who fought and died so we may live in a free country. T ...

This a 5 week series on one of the most important questions asked throughout history. That question is this:“Is the Bible Really True?” This question is fair and valid. My hope is that you will read these articles with a sense of urgency for your own spiritual life. My hope is also that you will read these articles with an open mind.

Son 2:16 - My beloved is mine, and I am his… Son 6:3 - I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine…… Son 7:10 - I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. What a beautiful, glorious thought! Many Bible scholars and commentators agree that the love portrayed in the Song of Solomon is an Old Testament type & shadow of the love between Jesus Christ (The Groom) and His Church (The Bride).

Rarely have I heard Uncle Mort so excited. I’m used to my 96-year-old kin from the thicket calling with news from his faraway world where country road lifestyles have changed but little across the years. I thought he’d give me the rundown of “thicket thinking” on the presidential race, but as usual, I was 180 degrees off course. Behold and lo, he was on a technology kick this time.

Fear is as old as Eden and as current as the daily paper or television news roundup. Trembling times have been around throughout history; but you may think today’s panic producers outnumber those of the past. Name your areas of anxiety in this troubled time and you’ll undoubtedly find many others who agree with you and share your fears. How shall we cope with this barrage of worry makers?

Ines “Pepe” Rivera, 60, passed away Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at his home in Blanco. He was born on April 10, 1948 in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico to Ines Rivera and Pascuala Hernandez. Pepe was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Juan Rivera and sisters, Maria Ibarra and Juanita Trevino.

The District 10 4-H Honors Banquet was held Saturday, October 18, at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde. This event honors the outstanding 4-H members from the 21 counties in District 10 who have been selected to receive 4-H’s highest honor. Jayme Danz was the 2008 Blanco County award recipient.

For the fourteenth consecutive year, the Blanco FFA will be competing in a State FFA Career Development Event, as three teams qualified to travel to Stephenville in April to judge in the State Land and Range Contests, while the Range Plant I.D. team will compete in the State Range Plant I.D.

The Blanco Cross Country teams traveled to Comfort on October 29 for the District Meet. Among those on the High School team were Alicia Immel, Abby Weaver, Brooks Lane and Joseph Romero. Abby Weaver earned a spot as a Regional Qualifier with her time of 14.19. The Middle School team included Leslie McClinton, Elise Edmonson, Echoe Burkhart, Eleanor Kirkscey, Natalie Barnett, Monica Flores, Erica Flores, Avery Zapata, Rebecca Dowlearn, Edward Alvarado, Meaghan Seales, Ryan Edwards and Rance Dol ...

The Panthers traveled to San Antonio this past Friday to take on the Cole Cougars in what was supposed to be a battle for the District 27-AA Championship. However, after a minor threat to score on their opening drive of the game, the Cougars were handed their worst defeat of the season at the hands of the Panthers.

The Blanco Panther Junior Varsity football team ended their season with another win. They played Cole at home on October 30. Starting strong, Weston Copenhaver intercepted the ball. Ethan Evans rushed for a touch down, and Tanner Rogers was able to fire one off to Kyle Holmes for the two extra points. Tanner Rogers got the ball to Kyle Holmes, who was able to run it into the endzone for another six points.

The BYFL Varsity team faced the Wimberley Texans on Saturday for the North Division championship. The Texans kicked off to start the game, and stuffed the Panthers on the first two rushing attempts. But on 3rd down Aikman Elrod passed to Carson Kipp, who made a great catch and run for a 38 yard gain down to the Texan 23.

The NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick Football Competition allows youngsters to showcase their talents in Punting, Passing & Kicking with scores based on distance and accuracy. The program is a national skills competition for boys and girls ages 8-15. Established in 1961, the PP&K program is the oldest NFL Youth Football program.

Self directed Roth IRA investments have the potential to earn more. For many people, it's "put it in the bank and leave it alone." But since 1996 when the fund was established, some investors have taken advantage of the fully self-directed approach. Some of their accounts have values in the millions of dollars now.

Greetings: The trip to Paris and London was wonderful. I saw many wonderful and interesting things but there is no place like home. I mean Blanco, Texas. It’s time to get in to the gardening routine. If you need to move shrubs or trees, this is the time. There will be time for the roots to settle and become established before the hot weather next summer.

Noel I could sum this movie up very quickly, but I’ll try very hard not to. This is based on actual events, which would usually make a movie more interesting to me, but not this one! There are two people who are at a cabin type lake house alone at night.

Gentle Readers: A loud and hearty shout-out to the BUMC bazaar workers - they put in lots of time and effort and made the bazaar an outstanding success!!!!! I spent quite a bit of money myself in the bakery - totally worth it :) A real treat for me - I actually got to see Ada Cooley in the flesh and give her a hug - up to this point, it is been mostly Ronnie telling me she is getting her hair done - she came to the bazaar for a few minutes and she looks terrific!!!

WMS Holds Meeting November 1, 1968 The Woman’s Missionary Society of the First Baptist Church met Tuesday afternoon. The guest speaker was Mrs. Charles Culpepper now of San Antonio. She told of some experiences she and her husband, Rev. Charlie, had from their missionaries in China from 1923 to 1965. The Society wishes to thank all their friends of Blanco, Canyon Lake, Cypress Cove and Johnson City for their presence in making the meeting such a success. It’s a Granddaughter! Novembe ...

AUSTIN - The Monday morning deadline for this column forces coverage of the Nov. 4 general election into the next week. But here is something that is reportable: Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade on Oct. 28 announced the final tally of registered voters in Texas for the Nov. 4 general election was 13.5 million, up from 12.7 million registered voters in this year’s March primaries. Andrade, the state’s chief elections officer, said more than 2 million registered voters cast a ballot du ...

As a seller, you can set the price of your house as high as you want. The challenge is to avoid going so high as to drive away potential buyers. Homebuyers can adjust many of their requirements for a new place to live. They might make do with two bedrooms instead of three, or be willing to live five miles farther from the office.

Rainwater collection is an ancient technology. Cisterns date back to the pre-biblical times. Today cisterns are common on old homesteads, as well as being built to look old at new sites. It is back by popularity to preserve our current water supply and valued for its purity. It has a nearly neutral pH, and is free from disinfection by-products, salts, minerals, and other natural and man-made contaminants.

Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Oct 2 and Oct 8. Oct 2 •Verbal Disturbance. 4:42 PM. A caller reported a disturbance on Cherry St. Officers arrested one subject, who was taken to Marble Falls PD. DPS and Blanco County Deputies assisted with the call. Oct 3 • Medical Emergency. 3:45 PM. A complainant reported that a subject may have a medical emergency because she answered the phone, hung up, and then the line was busy. • Possible Intoxicated Driver.