January 14, 2009

On Friday, January 9, at approximately 9:50am, the Blanco County Square became a bustling area. Around seventy volunteers for the San Antonio Livestock Exposition came to spread the word about the 60th Annual San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo and also presented the Blanco ISD Future Farmers of America a check to be used for scholarships. Present to receive the check were FFA officers: Shelby Moore, Keaton Dodd, John Pepper, Quaid Haack, Grady Childress, Claire Klepac, Katie Baker, Kaleigh An ...

The Planning and Zoning Commission met on Thursday, January 8 to address variance requests made by Mason Harrison Ratliff Enterprises, LLC in its quest to build a Sonic Drive-In at 1020 South Hwy 281. John Patton, representing Austin Sonics, LLC., presented three variances that Sonic is requesting so that they can finalize plans to build a Sonic that would be located on South Hwy 281 near Blanco General.

Texas Healthcare Solutions, Inc. today announced that it has been named to the 2008 HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 25 percent of agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.

Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:00am All Animal prjects begin arriving and checking in. Judging of Shop Projects 1:00pm Judging will begin in the following order: (Divisions will follow no set time.) Judging of Poultry Judging of Rabbits Judging of Market Steers Judging of Market Lambs Friday, January 16, 2009 8:00am Judging will begin in the following order: (Divisions will follow with no set time.) Judging of Meat Goats Judging of Market Hogs Saturday, January 17, 2009 11:00am Buyers apprec ...

January 14, 2009 •The Good Samaritan Center will have its quarterly business meeting at 620 North Pecan Street on Wednesday, Jan 14 at 10am. January 15, 2009 •Trout Fishing in Blanco! Blanco State Park will be stocked with rainbow trout on January 15 and 29. Pay the $4 park entry fee, no fishing license required!

Burnet County Sheriff’s Office and Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers are asking for the publics’ assistance with any information on the homicide that occurred February 7, 2008. Victim was Alan Wayne Huggins, white male born June 18, 1963. Mr. Huggins didn’t return home from a camping trip in Schaffer Bend Park off Hwy 1431 east of Marble Falls.

Prescribed burning is one of many tools that ranchers have available to them in order to manage their land. Keith Blair with Red Buffalo, LLC will be in Blanco County next month to educate landowners about this important land management tool. Topics to be covered are fire weather, fuel moisture, topographic influences, fire effects, burn plans, laws and regulations, safety in the field, smoke management, firing techniques and post-burn management.

Johnson City, TX - Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park plans to hold two open houses to discuss the planning effort underway to update the 1999 park general management plan. The meetings will be held on January 27, 2009 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the LBJ State Park in the dining hall and on January 29, 2009 from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Don’t miss this opportunity for your children to learn about, make, and perform with puppets. Maggie Goodman is offering a new class for kids five and older on Mondays starting January 26. The curriculum will include aspects of culture and history by discussing puppets from around the world. There is also an art, literature, and drama component.

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic are all important parts of a homeschooling curriculum but what about Art. Most parents homeschooling their children have no problem teaching the black and white text book subjects. However, when it comes to the arts like drawing, painting and music, many homeschooling parents are looking for more specialized outside assistance. Blanco County, like the rest of the Nation, has a growing number of homeschoolers.

If you are unmarried, have never been married or given birth, and between the ages of 19 and 29, applications are now being accepted for the title of 2009 “Miss Blanco County International”! Miss Blanco County International will represent her area at the Miss Texas International Pageant to be held at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas, March 20 – 22, 2009.

The term of the Blanco County grand jury hearing evidence about possible criminal wrongdoing at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative ended last week without any indictments being issued. Tom Kelley, spokesperson for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, said, “This is an ongoing investigation and we are aggressively pursuing the case.” Citing the secrecy of the grand jury process, Kelley declined to make any further comment. The grand jury selection process is spelled out in the Texas Code of ...

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, saw a link between swearing and worrying; seeing them both as acts of unbelief. Yet many people of faith fret continually over present problems and fear the future. They worry about family members, financial security, health and a number of other supposed impending disasters.

Have you figured out the reason for your existence yet? Have you figured out why God has allowed you to live on this earth? Has He brought you through a very difficult time, or a very serious disease or injury, and given you another chance to live a good life? Have you ever felt like your life is not very ‘enjoyable’?

Psa 1:1-3 says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

A teacher at a marriage seminar told the couples to take one of his wooden crosses and hang it in the room where they fight the most and it will remind them of the love of Christ. A woman came up to him after the seminar and said, “You better give me five.” In truth, the cross is an excellent reminder! In Genesis, we find the story of Joseph.

Edna Felps, 76, of Bergheim TX passed away Wednesday, January 14, 2009. She was born September 19, 1932 in Schumansville, TX. She was a devoted lifetime member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Boerne, TX. She will be remembered as a dedicated member of the Geneological Society of Kendall County as well as a member of Hermann Sons and the Boerne Area Historical Preservation Society. She was preceded in death by her husband of forty-seven years, Guy A.

Edna Leona Gerhard, 86, beloved Mother and Grandmother went to be with her Lord January 13, 2009. She was born January 18, 1922 to William and Selma Menking. She worked over 30 years for San Antonio Drug Company, and she and her husband lived in San Antonio until their retirement to Blanco in 1982.

Olivia Weiershausen, 90, passed away Thursday, January 08, 2009 in Wimberley, TX. She was born in Blanco County to Otto and Lena Bauer Uecker. Olivia was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Harold Weiershausen, daughter, Joyce Dean Journey, two sons-in-law, John Journey and Vince Nuche, granddaughter, Joy Lynn Journey, one great granddaughter, and two brothers Buddy and Dart Uecker.

Perry Taber, age 53, of Spring Branch, Texas, passed away Tuesday, January 6, 2009. Perry was born in Merrillville, Indiana where he married his wife, Yvonne, in 1977, after which they moved to Spring Branch, Texas. Perry is survived by his wife Yvonne (nee Chirby) Taber, son, Adam Taber and daughters, Jessica Taber and Grace Taber, and one grandchild, Christopher.

Dear Editor, In response to last week’s letter to the Editor regarding the cemetery … Good News! How refreshing it is to know that we, the members of the Blanco Cemetery Association (anyone who owns a plot in the cemetery) will be having an open meeting (public meeting). It will be good to discuss the care of the cemetery; i.e., trimming trees, fixing tilting headstones, raising sunken stones, filling in caved-in graves, and repairing historical stones.

Fifty-three years ago, the San Antonio Livestock Exposition established the Rural Youth Award to honor youth leaders across the State of Texas. This prestigious award provides recognition for FFA and 4-H members who have shown outstanding leadership in their organization and community. Each organization conducts its own nomination and selection process and submits honorees to represent their selective organization.

As a part of the Bexar County Livestock Show, members of the Blanco FFA Chapter traveled to San Antonio to compete in the Annual Livestock Judging Contest. There were over two hundred individuals competing in the event and students representing Blanco successfully earned four plaques for being in the top individuals. In the Junior Division, Logan Dodd walked away with first high individual honors, beating the second high individual by a large margin of fourteen points.

Lucky Leaf 4-H Wildlife Program members attended a presentation by world renowned taxidermist Jerry Ayer of Blanco Taxidermy School. Pictured with a lion recently prepared are (l-r) Cliff Jones, Trevor Hardin, Colton Barrow, Forrest Jones, Taxidermist Jerry Ayer, Alyssa Redden, Tyler Hardin and Layne Lassberg.

Pedernales Electric is once again offering scholarships to high school seniors in its service area. PEC encourages local students to continue their education by providing fifty $1,000 scholarships to use toward their expenses at any accredited university, college, junior college, technical school or trade school. Students must be a senior in high school, and their parents or legal guardians must be PEC members in order to be eligible. Scholarship recipients are selected based on application res ...

The Varsity boys shut down Brooks Academy on January 9, when they hosted them at Blanco High School. Brooks had no chance as the Panthers outscored them almost 2-1 for the win. Leading the team in points with thirteen each was Derek Tesch and Chase Howells. Zach Barnes followed with eight.

The JV Panther girls hosted Brooks, and Brooks Academy proved to be a formidable opponent, keeping the score close until the last quarter. High scorer was Natalie Stahmann with 11 points. Presley Savarino put four points on the board, Hillary Calzoncit and Susannah Campbell each sunk a basket for two.

The Middle School Girls’ basketball teams traveled to Hunt on January 8 to take on the Eagles. The seventh grade A team played a close game but were unable to pull ahead. Matching point for point, the Panthers ended the first half 8-9. High scorers for the game were Devon Branch and Cala Foster with eight points apiece.

When building a home, you can plan for a Home Theater, but if you want to add one here are some tips. More and more people are starting to build home theaters right in their own homes. If you have wanted to put a home theater in your home but don’t know what different types of things you need to get started, here are some tips for building a home theater. The first tip is to decide where you want your home theater.

Well ladies, it's the New Year and we all know what that means--time to stop eating and start exercising. How many years have you made that commitment just to return to the same bad habits within a matter of days? You know the old Wednesday afternoon discussion about how good you were on Monday and Tuesday so it's time for a "treat"

Keep Blanco Beautiful has teamed up with BMS National Junior Honor Society to help promote the recycling of some common items that are normally thrown away. These items include used computer printer cartridges and old cell phones. Many of you may hate to throw these items away, but don’t know what to do with them.

The Christmas decorations are almost put away. It’s time to sharpen the garden tools and prepare the garden soil for Spring planting. Are you ready for your annual to-do list? Add organic material and compost to garden areas. Have mulch available to add to the new planting. Be prepared to cover the new plants, if a freeze is in the forecast. Transplant established shrubs, trees and roses during the dormant season. Bare-root fruit and nut trees will be arriving in the nurseries.

Noel The Women - This is a movie that a lot of people were looking forward to seeing, only to be completely disappointed. There are a ton of great actresses in this movie like Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, and Bette Midler. You’d think with such a great cast, the movie would be great too.

Good morning gentle readers! The temperature is rising! Out here on my south 40, it is now 34 degrees. Hope it is warmer in town. I saw Dot Warrington the other day and she looked simply mah-velous! She is one of a trio of sisters, all of whom are certainly spiffy! They have had many varied adventures among the three of them.

Births January 10, 1969 Mr. and Mrs. Roy Phipps of San Antonio are the proud parents of an 8 pound, 4 ounce baby boy, Craig Howard, born at Nix Hospital on January 2, 1969. Proud grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. T.M. Phipps and Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Schmidt of Blanco. Engagement announced January 11, 1989 Mr.

AUSTIN - State Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, pulled together 88 vote pledges in the first week of 2009 - more than enough to earn his election as speaker of the Texas House. Incumbent Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, dropped his bid for a fourth term when it became clear Straus would prevail.

If you live in Texas and own a home, there are a lot of opportunities to reduce your property tax bill. From deducting mortgage interest to writing off home improvements, you can save a lot of green when it really counts – income tax time. One of those money-saving goldmines is the homestead exemption.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead.

AUSTIN — Representative Myra Crownover today filed legislation to protect the health of employees by eliminating smoking in all indoor public and private workplaces - including restaurants and bars. House Bill 5 will protect employees and other individuals from secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke kills 53,000 non-smoking Americans every year and is the third leading cause of preventable death according to the National Cancer Institute. “No one should be forced to choose between their health ...

Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Dec 11 and Dec 17. Dec 11 • False Alarm. 4:04 AM. (with Blanco Co. SO) • Medical Emergency. 9:59 AM. An elderly individual had fallen at a location on Main St. The individual was taken to the hospital. • Suspicious Vehicle. 7:52 PM. A car was parked in front of The Vintage Cottage all day.