January 28, 2009

On Saturday, January 10th employees at the El Charro’s Mexican Restaurant in Blanco arrived at work to find the front door wide open, broken glass on the floor and the business in total disarray. Thieves broke in through a window and stole $150 cash from the registers, two plasma screen televisions and a mess behind. It was initially thought that some endorsed checks were also stolen out of the cash registers; however a spokesman for the restaurant stated that the checks were found. A police ...

On May 30, 2009, Real Ale Ride will return to Blanco. After the success of last year’s ride, Bicycle Sport Shop was able to donate $3000 to the local library. “We had over 1300 participants in 2008 and we expect to have 2000 this year,” says Chris Carter, Marketing Manager at Bicycle Sport Shop.

Going the extra mile – that’s what the Johnson City branch of Cattleman’s National Bank is doing as part of its support of the Blanco County Stock Show. At the show in mid January, the bank purchased the overall Grand Champion shop project – an ornate 15-ft. outdoor metal entry gate made by Johnson City High School senior Jesse Rabago – which was the second item that came up for bid at the evening’s event.

January 29, 2009 •Senior boys/girls volleyball match: Thursday, January 29 at 6pm in the Blanco High School gym, $5 admission. Proceeds benefit 2009 Project Graduation. January 31, 2009 •Hill Country Trail Riders Cowboy Breakfast - Saturday, January 31, 6:00am-8:00am, Yett Memorial Park. The Blanco community is invited to this free breakfast (donations appreciated) that has been a tradition for over 20 years. February 1, 2009 •The Sons of Hermann Lodge #138 meeting Sunday, February 1 at 2 ...

On Tuesday, January 13th the Blanco County Commissioner’s Court discussed the possibility of building a new jail for the county. According to Blanco County Judge, Bill Guthrie, land was purchased about two years ago next door to the sheriff sub station; across the street from the Johnson City Super S store. The Jail Commission is recommending that the current eighteen bed jail be replaced with a new forty-eight bed jail, which is the minimum standard in the state of Texas.

Combined Community Action, Inc. (CCA) would like to inform the public of the availability of funds for the Weatherization Assistance Program. The Weatherization program is designed to serve the low-income, elderly, handicapped and families with small children of Austin, Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Ft. Bend, Hays, and Lee counties. Weatherization is a program to help reduce energy consumption by making your home more energy efficient.

The Blanco County Father Daughter Dance kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 14 until 8 p.m. at Gem of the Hills in Blanco. Fathers, grandpas, uncles, neighbors, and big brothers are all welcome to bring their favorite girl that is in the 5th grade or younger to this fun event.

Christina (Tina) M. Gourley, Blanco City Council member, spent the holidays between Christmas and News Years studying for a four-part examination to earn the designation of Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She began the exam on December 30, completing parts I and II. On December 31, she completed parts III and IV.

In October Dr. Barron Rector was the guest speaker at the Master Gardeners: Celebration Of Our Grassland Heritage. Rector’s knowledge and antidotes about grasses and their management kept his audience entertained and enlightened. We are delighted to once again have him return to the Hill Country. As part of Master Gardeners of Blanco County 2009 Training Class, we are sponsoring Dr.

Michael G. Campbell, M.D., has joined the medical staff of Hill Country Memorial Hospital. Dr. Campbell is a part of Pedernales Medical Group where he is associated with Pamela Cantu, M.D.; Nancy Thompson, M.D.; James Partin, M.D.; and Felice Howard, M.D. Dr. Campbell’s specialty is OB/GYN, including post-menopausal management, hysteroscopy, larparoscopic procedures, surgical and non-surgical treatment for urinary incontinence, gynecological evaluation and surgery, and high-risk obstetrics. H ...

Johnson City, Texas. The Texas Lavender Association (TLA) recently held a charter members meeting at LBJ National Park’s Johnson Settlement in Johnson City. Attending the meeting were representatives of lavender farms throughout Texas including several lavender farms from the local area. TLA is a nonprofit organization formed to promote the research, education, growth, market development, and distribution of lavender and lavender products.

You know how important location is in real estate, but timing is crucial, too. Finding the right property at the right time, making an offer before someone beats you to the punch, getting financing when rates are favorable, putting your house on the market at the peak of a seller’s market—factors like these can all play into your success or failure.

On January 11th Twin Sisters Hermann Sons Lodge # 138 hosted the installation services for the incoming 2009 Sons of Hermann officers at the Twin Sisters School House. Pictured are Prinz Solms Lodge #136-President Leroy Schmidt, Spring Branch Lodge #127-President Sandra Duncan, Robert Ritter from Grand Lodge, Twin Sisters Lodge#138 President-Rebecca Howerton, Paul Heath from Grand Lodge.

My friend asked me about prayer, and I quoted John 15:7 “If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” AMP She said she thought God only did what was His will.

World magazine reported recently on an unexpected comment by English columnist Matthew Parris about desperate conditions in Africa and what he saw as the solution to them. Parris was raised in Malawi, from which he had just returned, and undoubtedly surprised his London Times Online opinion page readers with the following title of his report: “As an atheist, I am truly convinced that Africa needs God.” Elaborating on his surprising conclusion, World quotes Parris as saying, “Missionaries, ...

They wore ragged coats, this pair of college administrators, poring over the ledger as the final flickering minutes of the fiscal year faded away. Weary of cost-cutting measures, they’d turned off the heat to save money. The cold north wind whistled through crack-plagued walls. Feverishly, the business officer made final entries before shouting the good news to the little school’s president.

A passenger train with two engines was traveling across America. One of the engines broke down so the engineer addressed the passengers, telling them of the situation, but reassured them that everything was fine because they could continue with just one engine. After about an hour, the train came to a stop because the other engine broke down.

Notice the following verses of Scripture: Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing....2Th 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.....Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Why does Paul continually exhort Believers to not be weary in well doing?

Barney Edgar Odell, 94, of Blanco, formerly of Dripping Springs, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 23 with his family gathered around him. A TRUE TEXAS COWBOY who loved his family like none other. During his earlier years he loved to rodeo; however ranching was where his heart was. While raising his children, he built a successful business processing meat, known as Odell Processing.

Dear Editor, There are always two sides to every story. I believe people will still be greeted when they go to Dollar General. This store has changed for the better with the new manager. She is honest and hard working. Dollar General has policies, just like every other business, that management has to follow.

The Blanco High School Speech and Debate team members participated in the Pflugerville Hendrickson tournament on Saturday, January 17. Results: Wes Stults - 1st place, Persuasive Speaking; Angelica Avila - 3rd, Informative Speaking and 3rd, Poetry Interpretation; Hillary Tidwell and Jacob Troublefield - 3rd, CX Debate; Sydni Kipp and Kristen Mancha -7th, CX Debate. On Saturday, January 24, over 20 schools participated in the Burnet Tournament.

Blanco High School juniors and seniors can now graduate with one year of college credit under their belts. Courses are free or very low cost, compliments of Austin Community College, ACC, and Blanco High School, BHS. "Blanco High School works in conjunction with ACC to give students the opportunity to accumulate up to a year of college credit hours before they graduate,"

The 2009 Blanco County Youth Exhibit Hall Show was held Thursday and Friday during the Youth Stock Show. Students competed against others their age group in six classes: Food, Home Canning, Sewing, Hobbies, Fine Arts and Educational Exhibits. The winners are as follows: Class 1 - Foods Junior Cookies 1st Place, Anni Weisbrich 2nd Place, Avery Klepac 3rd Place, Kendra Smith 4th Place, Alyssa Wheeler 5th Place, Harleigh Klepac Junior Bars/Brownies 1st Place, Chelsea Dowdy 2nd Place, Kendra Smith ...

Seated L to R: Tyler Berryhill - First Team Defensive End, First Team Offense Lineman; Lance Gottardy - First Team Defensive Linebacker, Second Team Offensive Linebacker; Austin DeShane - Second Team Offense, Receiver; Hunter Elrod - Second Team Offense, Running Back; Shelby Moore - Second Team Offense, Lineman; Chase Howells - First Team Offense, Lineman; First Team Defense, Linebacker.

Applications are now being evaluated for the Ten Star All-Star Summer Basketball Camp. The Ten Star All-Star Summer Basketball camp is by invitation only. Boys and girls ages 10 to 19 are eligible to apply. Past participants include: Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse, Grant Hill and Antawn Jamison. Players from 50 states and 11 foreign countries attended the 2008 camp.

Have you been trimming the plants back as they freeze? So have we! The weather is very unusual this year and the plants are confused. Continue to water, mulch and spread compost on the garden, trees and lawn. If you are planning to re-do your yard or start a landscape from scratch, here are a few suggestions to think about: 1.

Eagle Eye is a non-stop thrill ride that will have you wondering and guessing what the heck is going on. Like the last Die Hard movie (Die Harder), someone has control and is causing havoc, but for what reason or why is the question. Die Harder was a great movie that we’ve watched a few times since it came out but there’s one thing that separates these two movies; it’s the reason and question that I mentioned earlier.

Gentle readers: First, an overdue but heartfelt Happy Birthday to Jim Meurer! He was given a surprise 80th birthday and there were four generations there, from 80 to 11 days old! A really, really Happy Birthday to Howard Cox! He is real special and is one of a kind! Next, it was lovely to see Rebecca Howerton out and about again.

Julie Stobaugh Initiated Into Two Sororities January 24, 1969 Julie Stobaugh has recently been initiated into Kappa Delta Pi, a national honorary educational sorority, and Alpha Eta Epsilon, a local home economics honorary sorority at Southwest Texas State College. She is a senior Chemistry major. Prairie Lea Holds off Blanco Rally January 26, 1979 Visiting Prairie Lea held off a furious fourth-quarter rally to pull out a 28-27 basketball win over host Blanco 8th grade Monday. “It was a good ...

1. If you receive a letter or notice from the IRS which leads you to believe someone may have fraudulently used your Social Security Number, respond immediately to the name and address or phone number printed on the IRS notice. 2. If you receive a letter from the IRS that indicates more than one tax return was filed for you, this may be a sign that your SSN was used fraudulently. 3.

AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry on Jan. 22 urged lawmakers to add an amendment to the state constitution to fortify property owners' rights against abuses of eminent domain. In a speech to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin, Perry mentioned legislation already in effect that protects landowners. "Through Senate Bill 7, we made it clear that Texans will not tolerate taking land for economic development or giving it to a private developer.

Agriculture Acting Under Secretary for Rural Development Douglas L. Faulkner has announced that USDA is accepting applications for $45.8 million in loans and grants to support rural communities and spur economic development through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. “Creating and preserving jobs in rural America by helping businesses thrive is a fundamental part of USDA Rural Development’s mission,” Faulkner said.

Public records information is compiled by Charles Willgren from reports filed at the Blanco Police Department, Blanco County Sheriff’s Office, Blanco Volunteer Fire Department, Blanco County Clerk, District Clerk, and Justices of the Peace offices. Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Dec 23 and Dec 30. Dec 23 • Disturbance. 12:36 AM.