July 24, 2008

Things are still happening here. We sit on the porch and share what we can and just have a good time. To those who need a summer fan, please stop by 304 S. Ave. F., Johnson City, Texas. This is designed for eldercare; however, families may come in for a summer fan.

It is getting close to Quilt Show time. Johnson City Quilter’s Guild will be having their own quilt show in September. September 20th to be exact. The ladies at Johnson City Quilt Guild are working really hard and have been trying to get the word out about their show. The quilt show is titled “Then and Now” in conjunction with Blanco County’s 150th Birthday.

Ok, I like to talk and tell stories, hence the name of my column right? Since no one really knew what Quidnunc, my previous column name, was I decided to go back to the simpler name, The Storyteller. Someone who shall remain nameless once said to me, “You are the only person I know of that can write a whole column (1000 words) about a mayonnaise jar.” My answer was that those of us with a lick of sense write about what we know and sometimes that will be the unimportant.

*****Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is planning a free, G-rated family-friendly film showing of Oliver! on Saturday night, July 26 (rain date, Sunday, July 27). They are commemorating the Johnson family movie nights on the LBJ Ranch by showing a film they actually watched in the ranch airplane hangar in the 1960’s.

Two-A-Days are right around the corner, so the Athletic Boosters need to get their game plan going as well. There will be a meeting of the Johnson City Athletic Booster Club on Monday, July 28 at the PEC building at 7pm. We will be electing a new board for the coming school year and starting to plan all the exciting events for our kids.

The Blanco County Disaster Response Group began preparing for Dolly on Friday, when it was still a Caribbean tropical storm but expected to become a hurricane and hit south Texas. The chance of Blanco County being directly affected was slim. Most likely would be a call to go assist with the response farther south. Checking supplies here was part of it, but the main activity was talking with disaster coordinators farther south and clearing personal schedules so members could go if the call c ...

Free Movies under the Stars will be shown at the Lyndon Johnson Ranch, just like in the drive-in movie days. The dates are July 26 for Oliver! and Aug. 9 for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. These are movies LBJ showed at his ranch and invited community members in to watch. Bring the whole family, chairs, blankets, jackets, flashlight and your picnic basket beginning about 6:00 pm for the fun activities.

Blanco County Sheriff’s Office and Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers are asking for the public’s assistance for any information on a burglary which occurred July 10, 2008. Unknown suspect or suspects entered a residence at 4505 Old Spicewood Road in Northern Blanco County and took a large amount of custom-made Western furniture and three camouflage colored Polaris 4-wheelers.

At Pedernales Electric’s July 21 board meeting, the PEC Board approved decreasing its compensation package even further than initially proposed by the Compensation Committee last week. The approved compensation package is more than 40 percent less than 2007 levels based on an estimated 12 regular meetings and four committee meetings per year. After a thorough discussion, the plan approved unanimously by the Board includes a monthly fee of $1,500, in addition to fees of $750 per regular meet ...

It was a just another normal evening for local resident Aquilla “Sonny” Fleetwood. He was working behind the counter at the Cheers Liquor Store in Johnson City, when a young man meandered into the store. The young man approached the counter and attempted to purchase a $25 bottle of tequila with what appeared to be a $100 bill. “I knew I had seen the young man around before, but I went ahead and carded him anyway – even though I recognized him… I don’t recall his name, because I wa ...

Beat the heat and come out and see the latest exhibition of 52 images by 40 photographic and digital artists from Texas, the USA, Canada, UK and Mexico. The exhibition will open on Saturday, July 26 with a public and artists reception from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Come and meet the artists in attendance and enjoy a wonderful group of images celebrating the beauty found in the abstract representation of the visible world.

Unless Tropical Storm Dolly does something unexpected, the First Aid, CPR and AED training sponsored by the American Red Cross and Blanco County Disaster Response Group will go on as scheduled on Saturday. The training will cover Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to keep blood flowing when a heart can’t work on its own, Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to bring an out-of-control heart back into rhythm, and first aid. The CPR training will include adult, child and infant victims ...

Sally Armstrong of Donkey-Oaties Miniature Donkeys has returned from Shelbyville, Tennessee, where she competed in the country’s largest donkey and mule show. The 17th Annual Great Celebration Mule & Donkey Show was held July 10 - 12, 2008, in the Champions and Calsonic Arenas. Competitors were there from 25 states showing everything from Miniature Donkeys to Mammoth Donkeys and Mini-Mules to Draft Mules. Armstrong took her four-year-old gelding, Stock Market’s Maximum Cash (Max).

On Sunday, July 20th Johnson City was flooded with Louisianans. The First Pentecostal Church from Denham Springs, Louisiana, youth choir came to town to share their love for God, and their passion for worshipping – with the H.O.M.E. Church on Sunday morning. Their youth choir comprised of approximately 80 voices ranging in ages from 13 all the way to 20 something’s.

With medical missteps in the news recently, communications between patients and their physicians and hospital care givers assumes an even greater importance. Mark Rogers, RN, quality management director at Hill Country Memorial Hospital, will lead a free Good Health School Aug. 1 on important things to communicate to those who are caring for you whether it’s in a doctor’s office or in a hospital. “Even if it makes you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, your care providers need persona ...

Ryan Joseph Bean, a gaduate of Johnson City High School, has been awarded a scholarship by the Texas Interscholastic League Foundation. Bean received a Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Scholarship in the amount of $1,000, payable $500 each semester of the first year. This year the Sumners Foundation awarded a total of seven grants to students who have participated in the University Interscholastic League Academic State Meet and who plan to major in government, political science or history.

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is encouraging hunters in need of certification to enroll soon as hunter education courses are filling up fast. As hunting seasons draw closer, demand for hunter education classes is expected to increase. “It would be much better to enroll early and avoid the rush right at the beginning of hunting seasons,” said Terry Erwin, Coordinator for Hunter Education at TPWD.

AUSTIN, Texas — New hunting and fishing licenses for 2008-09 will be available beginning Friday, Aug. 15, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is encouraging hunters to buy early and avoid the rush heading into the Sept. 1 dove season opener. “If you wait until the Labor Day Weekend, you’re probably going to be standing in line to buy a license,” said Tom Newton with TPWD’s licensing section.

Despite reports that morale is high at the Blanco Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BVAC), the band of volunteers are still anxiously awaiting the results of the investigations currently underway from the Texas Department of Health Services, the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Blanco County Sheriff’s Department. Rumors about the future of BVAC have been running rampant since the story broke in January of this year in regards to local hero, and BVAC Director, Mark McMain.

Make some new friends and mingle with local business owners. On Thursday, July 31st at 6:00 pm the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce will be holding a joint mixer with the Blanco Chamber of Commerce at the Miller Creek RV Resort in Johnson City. “We’ll forget about the heat and enjoy the meet and greet!

Jim Stanley, retired chemist from Kerrville, will speak on “Hill Country Native Grasses” to the Fredericksburg Chapter of the Native Plant Society on July29 at the Gillespie County Historical Society Building, 312 West San Antonio Street in Fredericksburg beginning at 7:00PM. The free program is open to the public. Stanley grew up in the “oil patch” in West Texas and studied chemistry at Texas Tech and Indiana universities.

A hand shake and his word. The rules that this Texas Hill Country farmer and rancher lived by! He lived what he learned from his father and mother, John Walton and Clara Levada Smith. Born December 03, 1918, at Rough Hollow just east of Johnson City, Texas. Crossed over to His Heavenly Father July 17, 2008, at Round Mountain, Texas.

JC FFA Annual Convention Last week the Johnson City FFA went to Lubbock for their annual convention. There were 10,000 students from all over the state of Texas that attended. I can truly say that I was overcome with all these wonderful teenagers. Our school sent 11 students with their Ag teachers and two chaperones.

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 Convictions will not appear this week. Johnson City Police Reports These reports were filed between ...

Trinity Lutheran Church, Blanco, TX will again host a free concert for the community of Blanco. This time it will be one of the best Country and Southern Gospel artists you will ever hear. David Patillo, based in Texarkana, Arkansas, joins us Saturday evening, July 26th, to share the Gospel through his original award winning Country and Southern Gospel music.

For nearly a year, our church had been preparing for a week-long youth outreach headed by a well known speaker. Then, shortly before the kick-off date, I discovered there was an event scheduled in our community on the same dates as our planned meetings. Concerned that this conflict would slash attendance and reduce the impact on youth we wanted to reach, I called the speaker to alert him to the problem.