August 7, 2008

Ms. Julie Theriot of Johnson City announces the engagement of her daughter, Jamie Lynn Bundy to Jarvis A. Klein Jr. (BJ), the son of Mr. & Mrs. Jarvis A. Klein of Stonewall. The wedding date has been set for October 11, 2008. Miss Bundy is a 2002 graduate of LBJ High School in Johnson City and is currently employed by the Gillespie County Tax Assessor-Collectors Office.

August 16th & 17th, and 23rd & 24th mark the Hill Country’s annual Harvest Wine Trail. Join us in celebrating the smells of new wine and the excitement of harvest season. Enjoy a glass of wine paired with Texas cheeses and crackers or a cheese plate on our patio while stomping grapes (Remember Lucy!) to the romantic sounds of Italian music.

All Texas Tech students, past and present, and their families are invited to a Student Send Off and Family Picnic on Sunday, August 10 at 6:30 p.m. hosted by the Hill Country Chapter of Texas Tech Alumni Association. The picnic will be at the pavilion behind Hill Country State Bank, 1145 Junction Highway, Kerrville.

This summer, Central Texas is experiencing an “exceptional” drought, the highest intensity of drought as categorized by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Drought means less rainfall to recharge to our underground aquifers and it can also result in higher groundwater pumping demand. As a result, water levels in Hill Country wells are declining and springs are running dry.

Things are still happening here. It is a little too hot to sit outside and visit and gossip, so we count on passing by each other while we walk and share what news we have. This is Monday and it looks like maybe we have a chance for rain.

Well if you ask me its déjà vu all over again and again and again. I am not only losing my mind these days but my confidence as well. I have said this before that I have been making jelly for 30 or more years and yet I have double checked what I thought I knew like the back of my hand.

Yo-yo quilts are so pretty to look at. They may not be so easy to make. Yo-yo’s themselves are simple to assemble, but putting them together to make a garment or a quilt could prove to be a challenge. We have a Yo-yo Coverlet entered in the “Then and Now” Quilt Show and let me tell you, I have seen it and it is absolutely beautiful.

• Kirk and Crystal Sultemeier Braden welcomed a baby boy on July 24. Their first child Koen weighed 8' 13 oz and was 20 inches long. Koen is the grandson of Kermit Sultemeier and great grandson of Bernice Casparis. Congratulations, Bradens! *****Jenna Vasquez attended the McKinney Falls State Park Junior Ranger Camp put on through the Texas Parks and Wildlife.

New and familiar faces prepare for the upcoming sports season in our new 27AA District. Pictured above: Back row (l to r) Randy Rutherford, Jeff Campbell, Pete Rhoades, Tim Jung, John Sherrill, Casey Buaas. Front row (l to r) Natalie Voron, Tom Braden, Brent Harris, Robin Reed, and Kellie Smith. Saturday morning parents and players filled the Commons area at the high school for the low down on being a high school athlete.

LBJ Elementary School Back-to-School Activities 2008-2009 Dear LBJE Parents, I hope you have enjoyed many summer activities! I hope, too, that your child is excited about coming to school on Monday, August 25th. We are thrilled to welcome back all of our returning LBJ Eagles and very eager to meet our new Eagles.

Yummy pies, gorgeous artwork, and beautiful quilts will all be a part of this years Blanco County Fair Exhibit Hall competition. If you are a baker, sewer, photographer, hobbyist, or canner be sure and enter your best at the 2008 Exhibit Hall. Entries will be accepted on Thursday, August 14 from 10 am to 5:30 pm at the Exhibit Hall located at the Blanco County Fairgrounds.

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative announced Tuesday that it would end its relationship with Cattleman’s National Bank after learning of a secret account controlled by former General Manager Bennie Fuelberg and former Board President Bud Burnett at the bank. The non-interest bearing account, held in the name Texland Electric Cooperative, Inc., had a $565,000 balance at the time PEC General Manager Juan Garza learned of its existence.

Well, ladies it is Fair and Rodeo time again, and that can only mean one thing—Queen’s contest! It’s a big commitment and can be a difficult choice to make, but I can honestly say that you will not regret it. The past year as queen has been the most memorable and rewarding experience of my life.

Officers from a handful of Central Texas law enforcement agencies staked out two Austin businesses last week, then watched eight “terrorists” — five of them from Blanco County — study the sites as bombing targets. For their part, the “terrorists” watched back, trying to ID the cops. They pegged some, but not all, while the officers were able to tag all of the Blanco Baddies. “We sought the law,” observed Martha Mason of Blanco, “and the law won.” It was all part of a class in surveillance taught at the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) for police agencies in this part of the state.

Six new Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers were sworn in by 33rd & 424th Judicial District Associate Judge, Robert Hofmann, to begin their work in the aid of children in the five county regions of Blanco, Burnet, Lampasas, Llano and San Saba. Volunteers are appointed by the Court as Guardian ad Litems to advocate for children in the court system that have been removed from their home due to abuse and/or neglect.

Johnson City police and Blanco County deputies were called to the 4R Bar early Saturday morning, August 2, around 1:25am in reference to a fight in progress with gunshots fired and injured patrons. At the scene no one was hit by gunfire. Witnesses said a fight had broken out involving multiple people when one subject pulled a gun and fired two shots, one into the ceiling and another into the wall.

Two more days of live pari-mutuel horse racing return to the Gillespie County Fair Grounds in Fredericksburg on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10. Gates at the fair grounds open at 11 a.m. both days and post time is 1 p.m. Sponsored by the Gillespie County Fair and Festivals Association, the Gillespie County Race Meet will feature both quarter horse and thoroughbred racing at the local five-eighths mile. Highlighting the live racing program on Saturday will be the 350-yard GCFA Maiden Classic while on Sunday, the 350-yard GCFA Maiden Futurity will be run. The qualifiers for both races were determined during the race meet held as part of Fredericksburg Texas Fest in mid-July. Total purse for the GCFA Maiden Classic is $43,100 while the total purse for the GCFA Maiden Futurity is $36,550. The race program for Saturday also includes trials for the 330-yard GCFA 79 and Under Allowance.

Pedernales Electric is pleased to announce the addition of Peter J. “Pete” Slover as PEC Governance Counsel, effective Aug. 25, 2008. Slover will be responsible for researching and advising PEC leadership in the best practices of cooperative governance on the federal, state and membership levels. This position will play a key role in shaping PEC’s ethics policies and compliance with transparency, including open meetings, open records and conflicts of interest issues, and the development of a public affairs strategy.

Today spokesperson Chelita Riley announced formation of the Texas Lavender Association which is a nonprofit organization of Texas lavender growers formed to promote the research, education, growth, market development, and distribution of lavender and lavender products. Headquarters are in Johnson City, Blanco County, Texas. The Association has organized divisions that will operate under the trade names Texas Lavender Growers Association and Texas Hill County Lavender Growers Association.

There’s still time to select your favorite plant to enter in the Plant Exhibit at the Blanco County Fair. Entries are due on Thursday, August 14 and can be dropped off at the Exhibit Hall anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Judging will take place on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Rainwater Harvesting It was great to see so many folks interested in rainwater harvesting and turn out at the Burnet Library to hear more. To those folks that gave up most of their Saturday morning, I thank you very much. With no rain in sight and very little rain in the gauge, let’s discuss very briefly the rainwater harvesting system and the need.

The Texas Hill Country Lavender Growers Association announced today its sponsorship of the first Texas Hill Country Lavender Festival to be held on Saturday, October 4, from 10 to 5, when four of the Texas Hill Country lavender farms near Johnson City will open their gates to the public for the Hill Country’s first fall lavender festival.

David Leslie “Les” Sansom, Sr. David Leslie “Les” Sansom, Sr. passed away August 4, 2008 in Johnson City. Les was born in Harlingen, TX on November 6, 1918, to David Lackey Sansom and Della Berry Sansom. Mr. Sansom served his country with the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII where he was involved with high altitude experimental work.

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Criminal Cases Convictions will not appear this week. Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Criminal Cases • Levi William Holder, of Burnet, was fined $190 for speeding on May 18 (DPS). • Barbara Smith, of Blanco, was find $148 for unsafe speed on June 26 (CVE). • Clifford R.

Garrett DeLeon of Johnson City, with his team the Hill Country Tornados, ended their season at the Cooperstown Dreams Park 12U Tournament the week of July 18-25 in Cooperstown, New York. The Tornados had a record of 7 wins and only 1 loss for the week long tournament and ended up 10th out of the 98 teams in the tournament.

Along with over 500 cheerleaders from across the state the LBJ cheerleaders and mascot spent four jam-packed days under the “Bubble” on the University of Texas campus at cheer camp. This year’s squad is lead by senior co-captains, Haylee Jernigan and Selina Solis. Squad members are: Seniors, Dana Bushnell and Kennedy Bynum; Juniors, Kelya Jureczki and Megan Marks; Sophomore, Tiffany Cox; and Freshman, Chandler Wagner.

President Bush’s lifting of the executive moratorium on offshore oil drilling that has been in effect since 1990 was welcome news to the Blanco County Farm Bureau which said today that a multi-facet approach for energy is vital for national security. “Some might not think we’re really in an energy crisis by the way this country is responding,” said Adrian Schulze, S-T of the Blanco County Farm Bureau.” “Of course we should be exploring and drilling for oil and gas wherever it’s feasible and environmentally sound.” Farm Bureau supports exploration and development of domestic supplies of fuel, but that is only part of what should be a multi-front approach, Schulze said.

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.

“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Those famous words from Astronaut Neil Armstrong when Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969 captivated the world and stirred enormous pride in Texas, home of Mission Control. Only 17 years old at the time, I, like many Americans, watched in amazement as our nation accomplished the unimaginable. This year America celebrates the 50th anniversary of NASA and our commitment to explore space.

In fewer than 200 days, the Digital Television (DTV) transition will affect every television-watching household in the country. The DTV transition will dramatically enhance the clarity of television broadcasts and allow for new and diverse television programming. Most importantly, it will free up the frequencies on which data is transmitted to the public, otherwise known as the broadcast spectrum, for important safety activities that will increase the nation’s ability to respond to terrorist attacks and national disasters. Broadcasters will switch from an analog format to digital broadcasting at midnight on February 17, 2009 and the change will be imperceptible to households with cable or digital television service, or those who have already equipped older model TVs with converter boxes.