November 6, 2008

Jamie Lynn Bundy and Jarvis Klein Jr. exchanged marriage vows on Saturday, October 11, 2008, at 3 pm at the Gillespie County Fair Grounds with Judge Robert Riley officiating. The bride is the daughter of Julie Theriot and the granddaughter of Dorothy Theriot, both of Johnson City. She is a 2002 graduate of LBJ High School and is employed by the Gillespie County Tax Office. The groom is the son of Mr.

Ever hear of a “laundry kit”? Neither had the Missions Committee at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City, until the call came for them. The problem is that hundreds of Hurricane Ike evacuees still are stranded in Central Texas, still being told their homes are unsafe to return to.

Happy Thanksgiving! Texas Weather Well here it is the first of November and we have already had a couple of freezes here in the Hill Country. Those first freezes are about three weeks earlier than the average first freeze date of November 15th in the Hill Country. This just supports Bob Rose’s prediction of a chilling Winter, now if we could just start getting that moisture that we need so badly. Naturally the weather rebounded from earlier freezes back into the 80’s so all the vegetation is saying “Ah yes we are in Texas”. Some Bright Spots In spite of the drought, we still are experiencing some beautiful Fall colors with the Cedar Elms, Texas Sumacs, Native Walnuts and all the fruit trees to name only a few.

Halloween was a lot of fun for us. We dressed up and played our parts and had a fantastic lunch. The turn out for the luncheon was really great. Costumes winners were Dorothy Turner - First Place as a witch, Jimmie Young - Second Place as a farmer’s wife, and Bill Stokes - Third Place as a beauty queen.

Decorating with quilts can be fun and historic. You can easily use quilts for decorating your walls. Framing miniature quilts or vintage fabric in old frames will give your home a variety of colors. If you have old quilts from your mother or grandmother, this will add warmth to your home and a great topic of conversation.

Starting Weight: 288.6 This Weeks Weight: 259.6 Down 29 pounds Time Spent: 18 Weeks Next Goal: 40 Pounds On Saturday, my wife and I decided to go on an adventure. With the weather fully cooperating we made the trek through Fredericksburg to Enchanted Rock for the first time. Upon our arrival, the pink granite boulder could be seen towering over the Hill Country – with multi colored ants crawling all over it. Once we were at the park we had to decide which trail we wanted to take; the 4-mile loop or the steep 0.6-mile summit trail.

“The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley” and apparently my plans can and did go haywire as well. Just last week you read about my impending cataract surgery, never giving thought about it not happening. What could go wrong? Little did I know that other than the doctor’s early demise that there were things of a mechanical sort that might go awry.

• Do you know about the Veterans parade for Blanco County in Blanco? JC & Blanco bands are participating. It will be held on Saturday, November 8 at 10 a.m. Over 50 entries have signed up so far. Contact person is Carolyn Moore 833-4671 *****Beverly and Bill Voron enjoyed a wonderful trip to see Bill’s brother and family in Chihuahua, Mexico.

103 year-old Scottie Gourley, center, stands in line at the County Courthouse for early voting this past week. Mr. Gourley’s nephew, Gerald Dowdy helped his uncle make it to the courthouse. He said that his uncle has not missed an election since 1918 when he placed his first ballot.

Letter from a Veteran: This next Tuesday Nov. 11th is Veterans Day, and if you know a veteran or meet one shake his hand or give him a hug. For without the soldier from the bitter cold of Valley Forge to the blistering heat of Fallujah we wouldn’t have the right to vote.

Between three hundred and four hundred people gathered at the historic Pleasant Hill - Rocky School Building last Saturday evening to enjoy the Smorgasbord, the annual benefit dinner hosted by members of the Pleasant Hill - Rocky Community Club. James Sultemeier, club president, reported that the event was “our second best event ever,” raising around $3,500. “On behalf of the officers and members,” Sultemeier added, “I want to thank everyone who participated in any way, including those who cleaned the building and grounds and made donations prior to the event.

The Johnson City FFA Chapter is selling various fruit and meat products again this year. How about a delicious, smoked, spiral sliced ham? Need a gift for that hard to please someone? They’ll love the authentic variety of smoked flavors in the Golden Valley Hunter’s Pack. If you prefer something sweet, juicy, and healthy, then you should try some Texas Red Grapefruit or Navel oranges.

As November approaches, chili cooks begin their annual pilgrimage to the Big Bend area of west Texas for the Terlingua International Chili Championship, always held on the first Saturday in November. They come from throughout the United States and beyond for this, the largest and most prestigious chili cookoff in the world. About ten thousand cooks compete each year in chili cookoffs sanctioned by the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) in an effort to qualify to cook in Terlingua.

Suzy Q’s, located in downtown Johnson City, Texas will be celebrating on November 15th from 10 am – 7 pm. The party portion of the day will begin at 4pm – 6pm!! The afternoon will include refreshments, drawings, and door prizes. On that day anything purchased can be monogrammed for free. Suzy Q’s features popular product lines such as Tyler Candles, Toss Designs, Shaw Rugs, Morgan and Company Sterling Silver and Susan Shaw Designs,Thymes Personal Care, Natural Life, Bungalow and so many more. Suzy Q’s opened its doors’ in November 2007 to offer home décor and gift items to shoppers in the Hill Country area.

On opening day of gun season, young Pierce Neskora of The Woodlands bagged his first deer on the Pat Smith Ranch. Pierce, an 8 year old youngster attends Deretchin Elementary. Pierce was hunting in what is called the ‘barn stand’ on the ranch. He took down this fine fat doe from 71 yards away with a deadly shot to the high shoulder area.

Johnson City – As early fall days grow cooler, the grassroots efforts of the Blanco County Farm Bureau are heating up. “We’re working on issues that directly affect the farmers and ranchers of Blanco County,” said Blanco County Farm Bureau S-T Adrian Schulze. “That’s the beauty of our organization. Its policy is always driven by the agricultural producer.” Schulze said Farm Bureau policies always originate at the member level and are debated and adopted at the county, state and national level.

The A.E. Woods fish hatchery in San Marcos released approximately 550 Channel Catfish today at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site in Stonewall. The catfish were released in an ongoing effort by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division to promote fishing in public waters, especially to the youth in the community.

Master Gardeners of Blanco County will be offering a 2009 Master Gardener Course after the first of the New Year. Our organization is very active in providing horticultural information to residents of Blanco County with education being our primary goal. Master Gardeners are volunteers that work with the AgriLife Extension Service and its agent Todd Swift.

Anna Mae Casparis was born in Johnson City, TX on September 26, 1917 to Jimmie and Meta Stevenson. She passed away Thursday, October 30, 2008 at LBJ Medical Center. Mrs. Casparis was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Howard Milton “Big Red” Casparis. She is survived by two daughters, Mary Ann Bearden of Johnson City and Dianna Gail Casparis of Killeen, TX; two grandchildren, Brent Ray Bearden and wife Kim of Ft.

Ines “Pepe” Rivera, 60, passed away Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at his home in Blanco. He was born on April 10, 1948 in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico to Ines Rivera and Pascuala Hernandez. Pepe was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Juan Rivera and sisters, Maria Ibarra and Juanita Trevino.

Has Johnson City become a Speed Trap??? Dear Editor, I’ve noticed lately that Johnson City appears to have become, or is becoming, a “speed trap”. Here lately, you can’t drive through town during the day without seeing a certain officer hiding out near El Charro and Lindig Equipment stopping cars non-stop for long periods of time.

Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Oct 2 and Oct 8. Oct 2 • Verbal Disturbance. 4:42 PM. A caller reported a disturbance on Cherry St. Officers arrested one subject, who was taken to Marble Falls PD. DPS and Blanco County Deputies assisted with the call. Oct 3 • Medical Emergency. 3:45 PM.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me. Psalm 23:4 By Dennis Rainey I know a man whose son has battled a serious illness his entire life. His whole family has been shaped around the requirements of this boy’s chronic care.

The LBJ Eagle varsity, junior varsity and middle school cross country teams participated in the 27-2A District cross country meet this past Wednesday, October 29 at Comfort High School. The Eagles came away from the meet with 2 regional qualifiers, a district champion, a district runner up, a district championship team and a total of 16 medals. In the varsity divisions, junior Kelya Jureczki and senior Jesus Sanchez qualified for this weekends regional meet in San Antonio.

This past Friday night the Eagles played their last home game with a loss. The score was San Antonio Randolph 49 Eagles 20. In the first quarter The Eagles were able to score on a 1-yard touchdown run by Senior Wade Pistole, who also kicked the extra point. The next score came in the 3rd quarter when Junior Cody Atwood had a nice 58-yard run for a touchdown, kick was good by Pistole.

Tuesday, October 28th vs. Harper The Lady Eagles met up with Harper last Tuesday night in their final district match. The ladies honored their parents with a beautiful ribbon to say thank you for all of their support during the season. Also honored were Kennedy Bynum and Dana Bushnell-the only seniors that were playing their very last volleyball game in Johnson City.

Anticipation filled the air at the Blanco County Courthouse on Tuesday evening. There were eight different precincts that voted in the county – and as each of their results were posted, it was clear that the vast majority of Blanco County residents opted to stray from the national opinion and voted for Republican John McCain and Sarah Palin as their 44th President of the United States.