Regional News

Farmers and ranchers who might otherwise be ineligible for aid under the new disaster programs laid out by the 2008 Farm Bill may still have one opportunity to qualify, Blanco County Farm Bureau Secretary Treasurer Adrian Schulze said. The 2008 Act requires producers who wish to participate in the new disaster programs to have crop insurance or non-insured crop disaster assistance (NAP) coverage for the land for which assistance is being requested, and for all farms in all counties in which they have an interest.

Llano Memorial Healthcare System is going tobacco-free on November 20, 2008, the date designated by the American Cancer Society for their nationwide campaign known as “The Great American Smokeout”. As of that date, no tobacco use of any kind will be permitted – inside or outside – on hospital and all related health system property. According to Kevin Leeper, LMHS CEO “we want to give the community advance notice of our intent to move to a tobacco-free policy”.

This summer, Central Texas is experiencing an “exceptional” drought, the highest intensity of drought as categorized by the U. S. Drought Monitor.

(CENTRAL TEXAS) - The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning advising consumers to avoid eating raw serrano peppers from Mexico to prevent additional cases of Salmonella illnesses.

(CENTRAL TEXAS) — The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning asking consumers to avoid eating raw jalapeno peppers or foods made from raw jalapenos to prevent additional cases of Salmonella illnesses.

AUSTIN – With gas prices topping $4. 00 per gallon, more and more Texans are trading their gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks for more fuel-efficient motorcycles to save at the pump. More motorcycles on the road means more motorcyclists may crash and ultimately die on Texas roadways.

After reviewing water levels in District Monitor Well, Ron Fieseler, General Manager of the Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District, has raised drought conditions in southern Blanco County from Stage One (Mild Drought) to Stage Two (Moderate Drought) for groundwater users in Precincts 1 and 4. This declaration goes into effect on July 9, 2006 and will continue until further notice.

San Marcos - Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct a rainwater harvesting workshop on July 26 in San Marcos. The workshop will be held at the AgriLife Extension office in Hays County.

What a difference a year makes. Handshakes, smiles and camaraderie filled the PEC Training Center at Saturday’s annual membership meeting of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative. Ranchers, environmental activists, board candidates and regular folks milled around the hall greeting one another and exchanging pleasantries.

KOCE-TV’s Mel Rogers Reveals the Top Five Things Americans Should Know about the DTV Transition At midnight February 17, 2009 television will undergo the biggest advance since the introduction of color: all over-the-air television stations will turn off their analog broadcast signal and switch over to 100 percent digital broadcast.