April 15, 2008

The 4th annual Blanco County Relay for Life will be Saturday, April 19, 7: 00 PM, at the Johnson City High School football stadium. Relay is a fun-filled family event, where teams get together and have fund -raising activities.

In 1853, four founding families arrived in this area. By 1856, two of those fathers were resting in Farmland # 37, the current old part of our cemetery.

Kelle Odom (left) presents Mayor Jim Rodrigue and City Secretary Bobbie Mowery with a grant check for $250,000 from the Office of Rural Community Affairs. The grant money will be spent on the reconstruction of Mesquite Street from Town Creek to Blanco State Park. More details will be published next week.

Wayne Gosnell reported at the regular meeting of the Blanco city council on April 8 that a group of concerned citizens turned crusaders is endeavoring to keep the night skies of Blanco unpolluted by contributing to a fund to buy light shields for the Lavender Capital Laundry. As Gosnell explained to this reporter before the meeting, the shields are custom-made and rather expensive; hence, contributions are helping the owners buy and install them. The concept of preventing light pollution and thereby preserving the rural character of Blanco is one which was addressed as one of the Visionaries in Preservation’s goals for the city, based on public input.

The Blanco County Cat Coalition has been busy so far in 2008. They have been Trapping, Neutering and Returning cats in a program known as TNR. TNR is a proven procedure in which entire colonies of stray and feral cats are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and spayed/neutered by veterinarians.

One hundred twenty five years ago, concerned citizens of Blanco and surrounding communities met in the pecan bottom of Blanco and formed a joint stock company to finance the building of the first Blanco High School. The result was a two-story building that stood where the Mission Revival-style building now stands. In 1893 that school burned; using the same stones and foundation, the citizens rebuilt the school.

April 17 • UpDate Blanco: What is Going On?

"One problem with thunderstorms is people see them the way they see snakes," said Troy Kimmel, who teaches weather and climate at the University of Texas. "Most people see a snake and assume it's dangerous, when only a small fraction of snakes in Blanco County are a threat to humans.

The directors of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative have agreed to reach into PEC coffers to help pay the proposed $4 million settlement of the class action law suit filed against them and the cooperative last summer. Because the PEC carries a Directors and Officers Insurance Policy with AIG with a $15 million limit, many members and observers assumed that AIG would pay the $4 million settlement less the $125,000 deductible.

At the April meeting of the Blanco Woman’s Club at the Ryan Ranch, Russ Whitlock, superintendent of the LBJ National Historical Park, updated members on the opening of the “Western White House” to the public for many interesting events in 2008, the centennial celebration of Johnson’s birth. Calling the national parks “a ribbon that runs through our society,” Whitlock pointed out that American Presidents are a part of that ribbon, and that the LBJ park is unique in that it is the only Presidential site which includes the birthplace, the boyhood home, the adult home, and the burial place. He also pointed out the difficulty parks face in their goal of “enjoying and preserving sites unimpaired for future generations.

The Blanco Chamber of Commerce held a grand opening ribbon cutting for CiGi’s Via 281 on Friday, April 11. The business, located at 603 Main St. , is a full-service salon with women’s and men’s styling, color and highlights, manicures, acrylic nails, and pedicures.

The Texas Society of CPAs (TSCPA) recently announced the recipients of the organization’s Accounting Excellence Awards. Every year, TSCPA’s Accounting Education Foundation recognizes one outstanding senior accounting student from each of the 52 participating Texas universities.

Trisha was given a wrought iron cat clock in appreciation of her dedication in providing food and care to several colonies of cats totaling over 50 cats. A colony is a group of cats that have banded together. These particular cats had been abandoned by their owners and would have starved without Trisha’s help.

8th Annual Water Festival April 14, 1978 Scouters, leaders.

The 9th annual Trash Off and 2nd annual Blanco River Cleanup was a big success. Six 30 yd roll off dumpsters were filled to the brims, a pile of metal and appliances as high as a 1 1/2 story building, and a very high pile of wood was all collected at the City Yard on Jones Road. Five companies and individual volunteers took flat bed trailers and two front end loaders up and down the city streets to help people get their unwanted items to the dump site.

Juno Keith–Juno comes out this week on DVD and it’s a great movie. Juno (Ellen Page) is a funny, sarcastic teenager who takes a nine month detour into adulthood when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy and sets out to find the perfect parents for her baby.

Who among us fails to remember the finger-like bodies of water called the “Great Lakes” way up high on the U. S. map?

As we celebrate and acknowledge our roots during this year of Blanco County’s 150th anniversary, it is natural for some of us to turn our minds to the future, perhaps wondering “Our past is interesting, but what’s next? Where are we headed? Is our future secure and bright?

By Pastor J. D. Link

When Reinnie Barth was appointed a missionary to Germany, following World War Two, he knew he was going to serve in a difficult place during a tough time. But this dedicated man had no idea just how draining his task would be until he arrived and began counseling those whose world had collapsed around them.

Jesus said – “44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. ” When I read this I was so drawn to learn all that was written in the law of Moses, the prophets and psalms, so I’ve been reading!

In ancient Egypt, more than three thousand years ago, ruled the Pharaoh Ramses II. Under him the land of Egypt prospered, for he was a strong and powerful ruler. One of Pharaoh's closest friends and advisers was Moses, a foundling, who had been brought up in the royal court by one of the princesses as her own son.

Frankie M. West, 67, of Martindale passed away April 11 in his home. Frank was born in Lubbock, January 13, 1941 to Marvin and Frankie (Bell) West.

The Blanco chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America “Made Their Mark” on the State Conference held in Galveston, Texas on April 3-5, 2008. The chapter members were among 3,000 delegates attending the three-day conference. The youth developed theme, “Save the Day with FCCLA” was carried out through tracks featuring a series of specialized workshops and general sessions in which members discovered ways to become actively involved in issues facing today’s youth.

As this year’s livestock show season has come to an end, several local FFA members closed out the year with high placing animals at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Leading the way would be Senior Blanco FFA member Alisa Guler, who closed out her show career with a 2nd place AOB steer.

The Blanco Family, Career and Community Leaders of America sponsored a book drive for the Christus Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital during the month of March. The members gathered gently used and new books from fellow classmates, teachers, and staff members for two weeks.

Freshmen Austin Carrola is congratulated by tennis coach, Stuart Schultz after winning first place at the UIL District meet in Mason.

The Blanco Major Leauge girls, the Angels with Attitude, met the Johnson City team #2 for their Opening Day game on April 5th. The Blanco girls made several key errors to allow the JC team to score five runs in the first inning.

On Saturday, April 12, the Blanco White Sox coach pitch team played against the Johnson City Mets. The score is not officially kept because this division is still instructional.

The area Pinewood Derby was held in Marble Falls on Saturday, March 29. Two local Tiger Cub Scouts represented Blanco in this race. Joshua Neil and Jeremy Cloud are both first graders from Blanco Pack 497.

The middle school boys’ track teams took to the track on Thursday, April 3. The seventh grade boys placed second over all with a team point total of 127.

Twenty Blanco Panther Tennis participants played in the district meet, which was held in Mason on Tuesday, April 1. Alicia Immel and Morgan Johnson were both in the JV girls singles.

These 10 Regional Qualifiers will travel to Abilene on Friday, April 25, Lauren Winn - 100-meter dash, 800-meter relay, 1600-meter relay, Cody Harvey - 110 Hurdles and 300 Hurdles, Chantell Young - 100 - meter dash, Andrew Kohl - 400 - meter dash, David Hostetler - Triple Jump, Lacee Hunter - 100-meter hurdles, 1600- meter relay and Long Jump, Kylie Hill - 400- meter relay and 800-meter relay, Sierra Martinez - 200-meter dash and 400-meter relay, Lauren Jenkins - 400- meter relay, 800-meter relay and 1600-meter relay and Madeline Walker - 400-meter relay, 800-meter relay and 1600-meter relay.

The 2008-2009 varsity cheerleaders captain pictured center Yvette Guerrero and her co-captains left Carla Martinez and right Kayln Massey.