December 31, 2008

On Christmas Day, Blanco County lost a beloved member of the community. Former Blanco County Judge George Byars Jr. died Thursday at the age of 77. He succumbed to the colon cancer that he had battled with for the past three years. His wife, Eunice, son Alan and daughter Karen, as well as Karen’s two children were with him at Fredricksburg Hospital.

The Yucca Garden Club held their Annual Christmas Light Contest again this year in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce. Each year, the Yucca Garden Club accepts entries from residents and businesses in Blanco in search of the best Christmas light displays. “It is so hard to choose. They all do such a wonderful job!” said Ruby Duecker.

December 31, 2008 and January 1, 2009 •Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New! Sanctioned Chili Cook-Off December 31 and January 1 at Camp Ranger, RR 32, Blanco. Benefits American Legion Post 352. For info, contact Doug Higgins at 512-393-9436 or email him at doughiggins565@hotmail.com January 7, 2009 •Friends of Blanco State Park will meet at 6:30p.m.

A work day to set up pens, clean the show barn and make other additional preparations for the upcoming Blanco County Youth Show is scheduled for this Saturday, January 3, 9:00am at the County Livestock Show Barn in Johnson City. All parents of exhibitors, 4-H and FFA members are asked to come and help get the barn ready for the 2009 show.

Texas first ever ebook signing takes place on Saturday, January 3rd from 2 to 4pm at the Blanco Public Library, located on the east side of Main Street (Hwy 281) in Blanco. Local author and fitness expert Tam Thompson will be signing full-color, professionally designed ecovers of her new ebook for women, "Busy Sexy Body--How YOU can have a slim, sexy body in just 17 minutes a day, no matter how busy you are!" What are ebooks?

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement...” -Hebrews 9:27 In Rapid City, South Dakota, a thief was arrested. In his billfold they found written on a sheet of paper the following code: 1) I will not kill anyone unless I have to.

Standing at the portal of a new year can be intimidating; especially if the past one has been painful. We’re tempted then to expect a repeat performance during the year just arriving. But grieving over disappointing yesterdays robs us of the joyful anticipation of our tomorrows which is a vital ingredient in making the future all it can be. I once wrote a column entitled Things May Turn Out Better Than You Think that was intended to enable troubled people to look past their present problems ...

I was studying the promises of God and, wow did I come up on some good things to share. There are 250 promises in the New Testament, but some of them are not things we might want! God has promised us salvation, Spirit baptism, life by the Word, protection by angels, soul-winning power, Kingdom of heaven, comfort, earth as an inheritance, filling of righteousness, mercy, a visible God, blessing for persecution, great rewards, forgiveness of sins, necessities of life, answers to all prayers, al ...

Maybe you heard that the Energizer Bunny reached age 20 a few days ago. The “ever-going” hare was featured in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and when all other units ground to a halt, it was still drumming forward, somewhere around 34th Street. “Somebody stop that rabbit,” a parade official yelled…. There’s a good chance that this advertising icon doesn’t have an “off” switch. Millions of us, across the span of two decades, have borrowed the commercial’s familiar “g ...

Ricky Edward Osburn, 49, passed away Monday, December 29, 2008 in San Antonio, TX. Ricky was born in Los Angeles, CA to Clarence Edward Osburn and Kathaleen Armstrong. He is survived by his father, Clarence E. Osburn; mother, Kathaleen Moore; sons, Marshall Edward, Colt Edward, and Gage Edward; grandmother, Della Armstrong; sister, Lisa Osburn; nephews, Beau Kester and Tyrel McCain; and great nephew, Ian Riley Kester.

The last two weeks of cold weather have left the plants around the square in need of some help. If the weather permits this week, we will do replanting of pansies, snapdragons and bulbs, plus a lot of trimming. Next week will be the time to remove Christmas decorations. We welcome all volunteers. The coming weeks of January is the time to prune fruit trees, shade trees, and shrubs.

Now that Christmas has passed, we’re taking a look back a few weeks to some movies that got lost due to our yearly Christmas spree of favorites. We have to start with the years most anticipated movie Batman. Rarely do sequels live up to the originals caliber (National Treasure comes to mind), but the Dark Knight not only lives up to its predecessor, it’s more ferocious and haunting; especially in light of the fact that one of the main characters in Heath Ledger is no longer with us and wa ...

Just wanted to say we are thinking of Donal Culpepper - she is not feeling too good right now, and we wanted to wish her the best. December was wonderful for all of our residents at Live Oak Medical Center because of the kindness of everyone in our community. Thanks to Jan at Brieger Pottery for letting me put up our Angel Tree there.

Robert Flannery receives promotion December 29, 1978 San Antonio - - Robert Flannery, a Blanco resident, has been named payroll officer at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Previously he served eight years in the payroll office and four years in accounting at the University of Texas at Austin. Yule Supper Held by Young Farmers and Young Homemakers December 27, 1968 The annual Young Homemakers and Young Farmers Christmas supper was held in the school cafeteria o ...

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry on Dec. 19 appealed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to deny his request for an extension of Hurricane Ike relief. Perry had asked for 18 more months of 100 percent reimbursement of emergency protective measures, debris removal and other relief work related to the September hurricane. “The assistance I am requesting is similar to what Louisiana received following Hurricane Katrina and Texans deserve to be treated no less.

Before you begin shopping for a new home, consider getting a preliminary loan approval before you begin the process. There are two options available to consumers—pre-approval and pre-qualified. Although they may sound similar, they are, in fact, quite different. While both may place consumers in a potentially stronger buying position, getting pre-approved by the lender carries a bit more weight.

There are many steps to building a new home or remodeling. A builder’s contract is one of the most important documents you will sign. Many homeowners don't understand what a builder's contract is exactly and they wind up unprotected if something goes wrong with their home. Several of the problems people have with their builders can be directly traced to an inadequate contract.

Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Nov 27 and Dec 5. Nov 27 • Traffic Accident. 11:25 AM. A blue form was issued for an accident at Blanco General. • Noise Complaint. 1:15 PM. Kids on 4-wheelers were riding up and down Mesquite St. despite being told to go off-road and slow down. • Reckless Driver.