May 15, 2008

Some of you may know that our daughter, Mary Garrett, is a Nanny. The stories she has about these twin year and a half old girls are enormously entertaining. I see these tiny mites almost every day and always come away with a grin on my face because of something they have said or done.

We had a good turn out for the free hearing test by Alamo Hearing. They will return in about three months to do another FREE hearing test, so watch right here for news of their return. Our lawn care service came and what a difference it has made already in our little community.

Emergencies can happen to pets just as people, and sometimes it’s necessary to get Fido or Fluffy to the ER, stat. With summer around the corner, there are many dangers that pet owners need to be aware of in order to prevent harm. One example: poison. Toxicity is a year round threat to household pets, and pet owners need to ensure that materials that are toxic are far out of reach.

Well, I am on the road again. I took a weekend trip to Goldthwaite a couple of weeks ago to see my grandkids and guess what, Brownwood had a Quilt Show going on. Two for one, what a deal!!!!!!! I left here on Saturday and headed out. It was very hot when I left town and my weatherman did not tell me that the temperature was going to drop 40 degrees on Sunday.

Question: My son is a United States Marine. He was wounded while in combat in Iraq. A Veteran’s Administration employee said that we should check with Social Security about benefits that my son may be entitled to receive. Can you elaborate on this? Answer: Military service members receive expedited processing of their disability applications from Social Security.

*****Did you know that the Tooth Fairy was in Johnson City last week? She found time with all her tooth duties to visit the Kindergarten Classes at the LBJ Elementary School. *****Rodney and Pat Hartmann and their daughters, Isabelle and Laura, traveled to Salado on Friday, May 2nd for Pats’ father’s family reunion.

Did you notice the fresh coat of paint on the steps of the Courthouse Annex walkway? On Thursday, May 8th the Johnson City Townscape Task Force officially kicked off the “Catch the Spirit” campaign by holding a painting party to spruce up the Courthouse Annex. The Townscape Task Force was formed in response to a series of community meetings that were held in 2001 in order to determine the needs of the Johnson City community.

Being a responsible Pedernales Electric Cooperative member isn’t for sissies. After prying open the doors of secrecy and self-perpetuating elections, members now face the task of choosing among 58 candidates running for 5 seats at the table of the Johnson City co-op. Members began receiving their ballots and the resumes for the candidates in the mail this week.

Members of the Blanco County Soaring Eagles 4-H Club participated in the annual river day cleanup on Saturday as a part of their continued commitment to community service. Among the “treasures” found included old tires, house doors and screens, mattress and boxsprings, lots of cans and bottles. Please remember to keep our rivers and streams clean so that everyone can enjoy the beauty of our county.

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced the state collected $1.7 billion in sales tax revenue in April, down 1.8 percent compared to April 2007. “This was a slight decrease compared to the dramatic growth seen in April 2007,” Combs said. “For the eight months of fiscal 2008 to date, state sales tax collections are up 6 percent compared to the previous year.” As expected, the slower expansion of the Texas economy in 2008 is translating into sales tax growth below the double-digit pac ...

The Community Garden Club met last Thursday in the lovely home of Kay Culp, it was our annual meeting and Installation of the new officers. Donna McCormick installed the new officers, President Pearl Hedlund, Vice President, Jean Anderson, correspondence secretary, Marlene Edwards, and recording secretary Chelita Riley, Treasurer, Carlene Hale. Outgoing President Diane Beagle turned the meeting over to the new President, and the meeting proceeded with reports from the various committees, espe ...

State Rep. Patrick M. Rose (D-Dripping Springs) and State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) will be in Wimberley today touring WISD campuses, meeting new school board members and visiting with teachers. Rep. Rose has been leading the effort in Austin to change the state’s school finance law by increasing the state’s share of funding and implementing the mid-size adjustment for Chapter 41 mid-size school districts. “I am pleased with our progress this spring in the House Select Committee o ...

Vanessa Luce donated several items from her antique collection to help raise money for the Library building fund. Silent auctions are being held biweekly and managed by the JC Woman’s Civic Club. Pictured above is Glen Triebs who submitted the winning bid for a Flow Blue Thanksgiving turkey plate over 100 years old at the Johnson City Library “Bid to Build A Library” silent auction.

This year’s Llano County Beef & Range Field Day is set for Thursday, June 5, to be held at RACE Ranch and the Llano American Legion Hall. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Llano Jr. High School parking lot; coffee and donuts will be served at this time. This year, the first stop will be at RACE Ranch which is owned by Rimmer Fowler and located on County Road 410.

The Arvesen girls wer announced as winners in the KLRU’s Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrator’s Contest. Kaitlyn Arvesen won 3rd place for her story ‘Tenor’s Dream’ and Makayla won honorable mention for her story ‘A Problem in Numberland’. Kids in Austin and throughout the Central Texas area entered the contest.

Millions of Americans have a communication or swallowing disorder. These disorders affect people of all ages and from all walks of life. “Fortunately, most people with speech, language and swallowing problems can be helped,” said Candace B. Ibbotson, speech pathologist at Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg. “Even if a problem cannot be eliminated, we can teach strategies to help people cope with speech and language problems.

Hill Country Memorial Wellness Center has scheduled three upcoming nutrition classes to show how to manage dietary fats and salts for better health. All the classes will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Wellness Center. The first session, “Managing Blood Cholesterol” will be May 28. Discussions will center on how to manage the kinds and amounts of fats in a diet.

The Third Annual Hill Country SPCA Dog Trot 5K Run/Walk will take place on Saturday, May 17. The activities begin at 7:30am with the fun run at 9am and the 1-5K walk starting at 9:15am. The starting line is located behind the Hill Country SPCA building, located on Highway 16 S in Fredericksburg.

Johnson City Quilter’s Guild met on April 24th at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church with about 15 members present. We collected our nine-patch blocks for our donation quilt for our quilt show in September. We had three visitors, Carlene Hale, Nancy Talley, and Freda Baber and they joined our guild before they left.

The Blanco County Sesquicentennial will be celebrated in Johnson City on June 7, 2008 on the Blanco County Courthouse Square from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The sesquicentennial committee would like you to share your history with our friends and visitors. We are asking for groups, organizations, businesses and families willing to do a booth or exhibit telling about their history in Blanco County as we celebrate the 150 years.

The Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, Daniel Yergin, has summed up what many of us are thinking: “We are living in a new age of energy anxiety.” No one feels this anxiety more than the American families who are shouldering the burden of nearly $125 per barrel oil.

Safety belts have been proven effective in saving lives, yet there are still some groups that are resistant to wearing them. Young adults, teens, pickup truck drivers and their passengers, as well as nighttime motorists are at greater risk because they are less likely to wear safety belts. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than half of the motor vehicle crash fatalities in these groups are found to be unrestrained.

Texans honor our men and women in uniform every day of the year. But formal recognition is concentrated in May. This year, we express our appreciation for military service on May 17, Armed Forces Day, and we honor the fallen on May 26, Memorial Day. We especially remember the heroism and sacrifice of American troops who served in World War II, which ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, and in the Pacific three months later. Our current military force is similar to its predecessors in its dedicat ...

Johnson City is really busting at the seams with activities for everyone, it seems our town has caught a spirit, whether it’s taking advantages of the programs at the library, starting a new project at your home or business, or attending the many events that are planned. Let’s start with the library, Johnson City Reads is reading “The Capture” for May, the book discussion will be Tuesday May 20th, the daytime group will meet at 9:30 at the Methodist Activity Center for the discussion, ...

AUSTIN - Commissioner Todd Staples is encouraging families who wish to apply for the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Family Land Heritage Program to get started on their applications now. The Family Land Heritage Program recognizes farms and ranches that have been in continuous agricultural production by the same family for at least 100 years or more. “Since its inception in 1974, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Family Land Heritage Program has honored more than 4,300 Texas farm ...

Ricky Gene Crider Ricky Gene Crider, 48, passed away Thursday, May 8, 2008. He was born in Johnson City to Charlie and Pauline Crider. Ricky served his country with the U.S. Navy. His opinion of a perfect day would be spent playing golf. He was a member of the Roy Kizer Golf Course.

Residents of Blanco County, BEWARE!! Someone is stealing mail and forging checks out of mailboxes on 32. This happened to us and it could happen to you! So far, 3 checks have been reported totaling more than $1000. It appears they were used at Target, Wal-Mart and HEB in San Antonio.

Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Johnson City will meet in Regular Session at City Hall, 303 East Pecan Drive, Johnson City, Texas, at 6:00 pm., the 20th of May, 2008, to consider the following: POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS: 1.Opening the Meeting. 2.Swear in new councilmembers. 3.Accept the audit of the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007 – Keith Neffendorf of Neffendorf, Klein, Knopp and Horry, PC. 4.Chamber of Commerce report. 5.Discussion and possible action on ...

Public records information is compiled by Charles Willgren from reports filed at the Blanco Police Department, Blanco County Sheriff’s Office, Blanco Volunteer Fire Department, Blanco County Clerk, District Clerk, and Justices of the Peace offices. Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Criminal Cases Convictions will not appear this week. Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Criminal Cases • David Craig Stoken, of New Braunfels, was fined $144.00 for driver not wearing seatbelt on Jan 9, ...

Creation, Truth, Joy are the ideas behind the music of the Fredericksburg Chorale’s Spring Concert of original compositions and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The concerts are scheduled for Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16, at Hill Country Evangelical Free Church located at 107 East Lower Crabapple Rd., and will begin at 7:00 p.m.

One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6 Before summer started, Dennis used to say to me, “Sweetheart, what do you want us to accomplish by the time we finish August and move into the school year?” He knew I was the one who had my finger closest to the pulse of our family’s needs and schedules and would probably have the biggest hand in implementing the answer to his question.

Parents and incoming freshmen students for the fall of 2008 are invited to attend a brief orientation on Wednesday, May 21st at 6:30pm in the LBJHS Commons. Students will be visiting the High School campus this Wednesday for the annual Transition Day and will participate in activities including a tour of facilities, “Meet Your Advisors” and a discussion about course scheduling for high school.

LBJ Middle school students compete with their outstanding art work at the Regional Visual Art Scholastic Event. Our LBJ art students competed against 1A, through 5A schools in Region 13. These students created artworks and wrote an essay on their art work. They also were scored on their understanding of art history and the art elements in an interview by a judge. Ava Begay, Van Johnson, Savannah Stolzman and Amara Yachimski won a 1st and medaled at the Regional Visual Art Scholastic Event ...

The Johnson City baseball team beat Bruni (24-2 record) this past weekend to win the area championship. “According to the records I found, the last J.C. team to make it past Bi–District was the 1980 state semi–final team” commented Athletic Director Tom Braden. Johnson City will now play Brackett (Brackettville) for the Regional Quarter Finals.

Last Friday night the Johnson City Eagles traveled to Kennedy to face the Bruni Badgers for the Area Championship. Johnson City played Bruni in best out of 3 series for the right to advance to the Regional Quarter Finals. In game #1 on Friday, Bruni defeated JC with a bottom of the 7th game-winning run 6-5.

The LBJ Lady Eagle softball team fell to the Falls City Beavers, 5-4, in the regional quarterfinal round of the UIL softball playoffs last Wednesday evening, May 7 in a close, hard fought, exciting contest at Seguin High School. Falls City jumped out to the lead in the top of the first inning but the Lady Eagles came back to tie the game up at 1-1 after the first inning.