November 4, 2009

At a special meeting October 20, Blanco City Council appointed Milton Willman as the new police chief from a field of applicants including interim chief Carl Bragg. A Mason County native, Willman grew up in Bexar County and attended MacArthur High School in San Antonio. He comes from a position as deputy sheriff in Comal County, where he has served for the past 27 years with the sheriff’s department and as fire marshal. The great-great-grandson of a Texas Ranger wh ...

First Baptist Church will celebrate its 150th Anniversary on November 8. Reception will begin at 8:45 with services following at 9:30 and a barbecue luncheon afterward. First Baptist Church was organized on November 6, 1859 by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Silliman and the Reverend Joseph Bird with five charter members.

Many new books will be purchased for the Blanco Library, thanks to the $6000 earned for the participation of volunteers gathered by Friends of the Library for the Real Ale Bike Ride held this past May. A check for that amount was presented last week to Jeff Holmes, president of Friends of the Library, and Crystal Spybuck, library director, by Gabriel Gregerman of the Real Ale Brewing Company and Chris Carter, marketing director of Bicycle Sport Shop of Austin.

The Blanco Chamber of Commerce is teaming up with the Old Blanco County Courthouse Society, Keep Blanco Beautiful, local merchants, and lavender growers to encourage residents and visitors to “celebrate a hometown Christmas,” starting on Friday, November 27, and continuing throughout the holiday season at the Blanco Courthouse Square. The holiday celebration features the Lavender Lights Christmas Market with more than 30 vendor booths, special entertainment, carriage rides ...

The Blanco County Cat Coalition will meet Tuesday, November 17, at the Johnson City Public Library from 6-8pm. The Blanco County Cat Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of cats in the Blanco County area by addressing the problem of cat over-population by using the proven method of Trap, Spay/Neuter, Return or TNR. Regrettably, the BCCC can no longer accept phone calls concerning unwanted cats. They simply do not have the resources to handle th ...

Dr. John Weaver and Dr. Doug Pautz offered a Hunter/Gatherer Meat as an auction item at the Blanco County Courthouse Gala in May. Many ingredients used for the meal were donated and locally grown. The winning bid went to Debbie and Cody Triesch, owners of Goin’ Postal; Pierre and Andra Perez, owners of Git R Dug; and Wayne and Deb Dworaczyk owners of Dirt Works.

A Veterans’ Day ceremony is planned at the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library on Tuesday, November 10 at 1:00pm. The event will include placement of a wreath and patriotic songs. Cake and coffee will be served afterward and at 2:00 p.m. a presentation will be made by Dean Krueger of Spring Branch.

Blanco Verde, Blanco’s new environmental organization, is proud to present the first meeting of its book club. The club will meet the second Thursday of every month at Joyful Noise Coffee House, 520 Pecan. The first meeting is Thursday November 12 at 6:00pm. The book to be discussed is Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Pedernales Electric’s Board of Directors, in a 5-1 decision, voted in its Oct. 30 special-called meeting to issue up to $4 million in capital credit refunds, primarily in the form of checks, which will be distributed in November. Capital credits are unique to cooperatives. PEC members invest in PEC through the electricity they use, and members share in PEC’s positive financial margins in the form of capital credits.

Ever thought of going in to business growing grapes, peaches, tomatoes, watermelons, pecans or other horticultural crops? The Texas AgriLife Extension Service – Blanco County invites you to participate in a two-part webinar series, focusing on Small Acreage Horticultural Crops. •Fruits, Pecans and Grapes November 18, 2009 10:00am - 12:00pm •Vegetables Crops April 13, 2010 10:00am - 12:00pm The goal of th ...

November 4, 2009 •The Texas Department of State Health Services will be providing high risk individuals Adult FLU vaccinations at: Trinity Lutheran Church (703 N Main, Blanco), Nov. 4 from 9:30-11am and 1-3pm. COST: individual – Donation Fee $10 for Flu, $10 for Td/Tdap and $20 for Pneumococcal. If you have Medicare or Medicaid, filing will be available.

There are 5 million people, plus, taking a course on “Miracles” promoted by Oprah Winfrey. Why is it necessary to know what they are teaching? Why do we bother with what someone else does? Because there are untold thousands of Christians falling into Satan’s trap. There is a long history of this so-called “New Spirituality,” Have you heard about the largest church in the world?

‘...It is sometimes better to leave the ignorant to their ignorance...’ EN, November 2009. The quote above was written by a good friend of mine with whom I’ve corresponded for a few months now. He brings much wisdom and humor into my life. His name is Enyi and he’s so much a brother to me, even though we don’t share the same parents.

The doctor places the stethoscope on you chest and he listens and he tries to determine what's going on on the inside. This is exactly what Jesus is interested in. What does He hear from our hearts as He uses a spiritual stethoscope? Jesus said, "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' (empty headed or good for nothing) shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ...

In John 17 Jesus prayed to the Father and said “14I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent ...

“Psa 42:1-2 …As the deer panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” Does your soul thirst for the Living God? Do you have a passion and hunger for the things of God?

Mary Frances Jones, 81, formerly of LaPorte, TX, passed away early Saturday, November 7, 2009, at Autumn Grove Cottage, an Alzheimers care facility in Spring, TX. Born in Oakdale, LA, on October 13, 1928, she was the only daughter of four children, born to the late Frank and Mabel (Starken) Hawkins.

Dear Editor, I would like to commend Kat Solomon for her article in last week’s Blanco County News in which she raises the question, “Does Mainstream Religion Benefit Women?” She answers with a resounding, “YES!” As an avid advocate for the liberation of all people, especially women, I am a Women’s Libber.

The Blanco FFA Livestock Judging Team returned home from Indianapolis as Gold Medalists after competing in the National FFA Livestock Judging Contest. Team members Kaleigh Anderson, Keaton Dodd, Quaid Haack, and Claire Klepac did an outstanding job representing the State of Texas and Blanco as they were recognized as one of the top teams in the nation. Overall, the team placed 7th and missed going to Edinburgh, Scotland by only 7 points. In the past twenty five years, Te ...

The Blanco High School Theatre Department invites you to attend its upcoming fall performance of Rivers and Ravines by Heather McDonald. This play is a drama which tells the story of a small farming community living in Eastern Colorado during the 1980s farming crisis. “We have been working for several weeks on this performance, and the kids are so excited to show off what they’ve done.

Blanco High School FCCLA members had an opportunity to go “Beyond the Limits” at the local Fall Leadership Meeting held October 21, 2009, in Pflugerville, Texas. Over 270 members and advisors from 15 different school districts attended the workshop held at Austin’s Park. Schools that participated in the meeting were: Academy HS, Bandera HS, Blanco HS, Giddings HS, Hendrickson HS, Hutto MS, Hutto HS, Kitty Hawk MS, Llano HS, Lexington HS, Marble Falls HS, Metzger MS, Nixon-S ...

At the Junior Varsity football game versus Johnson City on October 22, Sophomore Elpido “Petey” Chalico suffered severe trauma to the head following a head to head blow and a subsequent fall that caused his head to hit the ground. Finishing the game, Chalico complained of a severe headache and said that he felt as if his head would explode. Coach Balmos requested emergency care for Chalico.

7th Grade New Braunfels Christian Academy came to Blanco to test the unbeaten Panthers, but it proved to be another shutout win for Blanco. After receiving the opening kick, Logan Dodd broke several tackles on the third play from scrimmage and raced 55 yards for the first TD. The PAT failed, and Blanco was up 6-0.

The Blanco Lady Panthers shut out the Harper Lady Longhorns 3-0 last Friday, October 30 in a match played to determine a position for playoffs. The game scores were 25-18, 25-19, and 25-13. Blanco and Harper are District Co-Champs, but a first place team had to be determined for seeding in the playoff brackets. With the victory, the Panthers are now Bi-District Champs and will receive a bye in the first playoff round.

With nothing more to play for other than their ninth win and an undefeated district record, the Blanco Panthers cruised to an easy 34 to 7 victory in their regular season finale. While improving to 9 and 1 for the season, Blanco will have two weeks to prepare for their Bi-District Play-Off game, which will most likely be against Karnes City as the Panthers will be open this week. With a steady and consistent offense, Blanco scored in every quarter, beginning with senior Layton Dworacz ...

It’s amazing what rain, cool weather and sunshine can do for the landscape. The lawns and flowers are lovely and the vegetables are putting on blooms and fruit. Even the redbud trees are blooming again. They must be very confused. I let my parsley and cilantro go to seed this past summer.

Back in the days of the covered wagon, travelers would often orient their wagon tongues toward the North Star before retiring for the night. In the morning, when the stars were no longer visible, they simply had to look at the wagon tongue to calculate their direction of travel. As we travel through this veil of tears called life, I think it is imperative to keep our orientation, to keep our eyes on the things of most importance. I was first introduced to the Solis family back ...

I adore Sandra Bullock and have enjoyed basically every movie she has been in. The Proposal is just another one of her great romantic comedy's to add to the list! Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is an abrasive, no-nonsense, (evil?) executive over a publishing house. She is especially hard on her assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), who hasn't had a day off to see his family in over three years.

For those of you who were waiting with bated breath for the publishing of the winners of the Dairy Queen pumpkin carving content, wait no longer! JJ in the 4-7 age group won with his Vampire, Logan in the 8-11 age group won with his Skull, and Lainie in the 12-15 age group won with her Bat in Moon.

Public Meeting Called to Discuss Lighting Project October 31, 1969 A public meeting has been set to discuss the project of getting lighting installed on the baseball field. Interested persons are invited to a meeting at the school cafeteria on Monday, November 3, at 7:30 p.m. Blanco 4-H “cleaning up” November 2, 1979 The Blanco River and Blanco Valley 4-H Clubs got tog ...

Being the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first astronomical use of the telescope, 2009 is being celebrated as the International Year of Astronomy. As such, it's not surprising to see new books and articles on the subject. One book that has come to my attention is Galileo's New Universe by astronomers Stephen P.

AUSTIN — According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, at the top of the list to receive H1N1 "swine flu" vaccinations are: • Pregnant women; • Those who care for infants under 6 months of age; • Health care and EMS workers; • Those ranging from 6 months through 24 years of age; and • 25- to 64-year-olds with underlying medical conditions. Texas has not allocated any H1N1 vaccine to prisons, but a limited sup ...