November 20, 2008

On Saturday, November 15 at 8:00 AM, cars began to arrive at the Habitat for Humanity home site for the first ‘A Brush with Kindness’ project for the Blanco County Chapter. In the crunchy cold of a windy morning, Jan Booth set up the registration table in the front yard to process volunteers.

The Community Garden Club met last Thursday at the First United Methodist Church activity center. Thirty four ladies were present to take a walk down memory lane, and see the Power Point program presented by Kay Culp that was shown at our 40th anniversary Ruby Jubilee last year. Many of us were working or not able to attend so this was a repeat, but for those who did see it, it was fun all over again.

The meeting room in the new library building was the setting for the Monday, November 17, 2008 meeting of the JC Woman’s Civic Club. As members visited and admired the new facility, hostesses Beverly Voron, Becky Crider, Dora Brown, Celia Grote and Pam Bonn served a delicious selection of soups from the new kitchen area.

Our Monday is starting off with a movie, “The Bucket List”. We then follow with a lunch and BINGO. I got to go to Red Hatter’s and Garden Club last week. I really enjoy these activities. My daughter Carolyn Clark came to see me. It was a great visit.

Baby its cold outside and so it should be, it’s nearly Thanksgiving. I think I love the fall even better than the spring because fall means winter is coming and hopefully some rainy, drizzly weather will happen. Back where we came from in Southeast Texas, it wasn’t time to begin Christmas shopping until the rainy cold weather began.

*****Today is Elmo and Daisy Cox’s 60th anniversary! Be sure and wish them well. *****Congratulations to Alexus Crochet. She shot her first deer this weekend at the Birck Ranch in Rocksprings, Texas. Be sure to ask her the details when you see her. *****Harry and Patty Carpenter went to Magnolia to spend the night with their son, Scott, Laurie, and children.

Fireworks, billions of sparkling lights, a parade, dancing, food, music, and holiday cheer will fill Johnson City next weekend during the annual Johnson City Lights Spectacular Event. It is the premier event that the Chamber of Commerce gears up for, and many residents will tell you it’s the towns main attraction. For 19 years the Johnson City Lights Spectacular Committee has done their absolute best to provide Johnson City residents with an amazing holiday experience. Many people have ...

A 222-acre tract of riverfront land known as Rainbow Trout Farm in Blanco County was approved for purchase as a new LCRA park by the LCRA board at its Oct. 15 meeting. Closing on the $3.5 million property took place Nov. 7. The tract has frontage on U.S. Highway 281 and the Pedernales River in Blanco County and Johnson City.

Press Release Provided By PEC At its regularly scheduled Nov. 17 meeting, Pedernales Electric’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a new wholesale power contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority. PEC Board President R.B. Felps said the approval of the contract “is probably the biggest vote that any one of us will ever encounter in our history with PEC.” LCRA’s Board is expected to address the contract at its Nov.

On Tuesday, November 11th, at the PEC Auditorium the 2009 Blanco County Relay for Life Committee kicked off this year’s celebration with a bang. As the powerful energy filled the air to set off a wonderful year of Relaying, this year’s committee was on hand to talk about Relay For Life and acknowledge those that had given so much of their time and have supported Relay For Life in the past. The Relay for Life is not only a fund raiser to raise money for the American Cancer Society to fund ...

The Johnson City 4-H Club met on November 12, 2008 at the county annex building. Jessica Moore started off the meeting with an ice breaker for the meeting. Groups of three demonstrated how communication skills help with every day life. Brittany Sultemeier called the meeting to order with a roll call that required everyone to tell what their favorite Thanksgiving dish was.

You can have your antiques appraised and state or family historical documents in your possession scanned into the Texas Public History archives at the Old Blanco County Court House in Blanco Nov. 22 Sponsored by Friends of the Blanco Library, this event is two-fold. A licensed antiques appraiser will lead a team in evaluating antiques and collectibles submitted and in suggesting an estimated value.

EARLY BIRD 4-H CLUB meets second Tuesday, Pleasant Hill School. Call Texas Cooperative Extension, Blanco County for more information, 868-7167. HILL COUNTRY SPURS 4-H CLUB meets third Tuesday, Blanco County Fairgrounds Riding Arena, 6:30 pm and focuses on the 4-H Horse Project. You do not need a horse to participate. Call Texas Cooperative Extension, Blanco County for more information, 868-7167. JOHNSON CITY 4-H CLUB meets second Wednesday, Blanco County Courthouse Annex JP Courtroom, 5:30 pm ...

Trees, celebrated in works of art, by Linda Palmer will be featured at this month’s ARTS Encounters event at the Benini Galleries and Sculpture Ranch, Saturday, November 29th and Sunday, November 30th. For the last 25 years, Palmer’s primary focus has been interpreting and celebrating Arkansas landscapes. Her recent series on trees actually got its start in Texas, when she visited the Hill Country and depicted trees on the Benini Sculpture Ranch in a series entitled Dancing Trees.

By Felix Bradford Real Estate Broker Star Of Texas Real Estate Company With all the bad financial news, there is still some good news. The good news is that there are still mortgage funds available for home loans. My associate and I recently handled a transaction for some folks (buyer and seller) right in the middle of this terrible financial crisis.

Last Tuesday the library travelers boarded the bus in front of the old library to travel to Fredericksburg to tour the Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War. It was a self guided tour, and at 11 a.m. we gathered outside to participate in the Veteran’s Day ceremony put on by the museum.

Well Deserved Recognition. Dear Editor, I am so grateful to Josh for writing the article recognizing Library Moving Day. There was a lot of information in the article and he really did an excellent job of reporting accurately and listing the well deserved recognitions to our community. I especially wanted to show appreciation to the LBJ National Historical Park who mistakenly was not included as sponsor for the “Movies Under the Stars” event.

GET OFF THE BOAT!?! The next president of the United States of America ran on a campaign promise of “Change”. It is easy for all of us to want change. The economy stinks, our finest are still in harms way overseas, health care is getting harder to get rather than easier, and jobs are disappearing faster than we can blink.

Doing His Job! This is in response to Mr. J.W. Bowen’s letter to the editor “Has Johnson City Become a Speed Trap???” in the Nov. 6, 2008 Johnson City Record Courier. It appears to me that the officer is doing exactly what he is sworn to do-enforce the law. From my experience, so called, “speed traps” are only perceived as such by those who disregard the posted speed limit, and get caught.

Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Oct 16 and Oct 29. Oct 16 •Juvenile Complaint. 4:50 PM. Kids were skateboarding on the sidewalk at Cranberry’s. Oct 17 • Agency Assist. 5:51 PM. An officer was requested to assist with a CPS case. • 911 Hangup. 6:14 PM. • Minor Traffic Accident. 9:30 PM. A caller hit a deer and needed a blue form. Oct 18 • Assault Victim.

The Blanco County Community Choir will present the Christmas Messiah by Handel on December 5th and 7th. The performance on Friday, December 5 will be at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Johnson City at 8:00 PM. The performance on Sunday, December 7 will be at the First Baptist Church in Blanco at 7:00 PM.

First United Methodist Church BBQ Chicken Sunday, Nov 23rd 11:30 - 1:30 Blanco County Fair Grounds

Johnson City Ministerial Alliance Thanksgiving Service November 23, 2008 7:00 p.m. at the HOME Church Rev. Sid Spiller, Speaker

Johnson City Ministerial Alliance Thanksgiving Service November 23, 2008 7:00 p.m. at the HOME Church Rev. Sid Spiller, Speaker

Johnson City Ministerial Alliance Thanksgiving Service November 23, 2008 7:00 p.m. at the HOME Church Rev. Sid Spiller, Speaker

2nd Grade A Honor Roll Ana Alvarez, Sierra Anderson, MaKayla Arvesen, Hunter Barrientes, Laina Deleon, Bryan Evers, Willow Fowler, Bryce Fry, Carly Gravell, Chance Haley, Cheyenne Haynes, Claire Hedlund, Ethan Heinen, Johnny Hernandez, Lance Hobbs, Victoria Hobbs, Colton Hurlbut, David Jordan, Wren Liesmann, Dylan Lorenz, Steven Medrano, Jaron Pearce, Paige Rutherford, Katelyn Splude, Addisyn Stueler, Braden Stueler, Isabella Swafford, Avery Voron, Rylee Weirich, Aleigh Wessels 2nd Grade A/B ...

• Dana Bushnell: Offensive Player of the Year – District 27-AA • Adrienne Pabon: 1st Team All-District • Seleste Mills: 1st Team All-District • Alex Houston: 2nd Team All-District • Milan Weeks: Honorable Mention • All-Academic: Dana Bushnell, Kelya Jureczki, Alex Houston

Some local volunteers held a football skills competition this past weekend for the students of JCISD. The skills included passing, punting, and place-kicking. The young athletes competed in four age groups ranging from age 8 to 15. There was no cost for the individuals who competed in the event. Awards for the competition were sponsored by Cattleman’s National Bank.

Last week marked a new beginning for the Lady Eagle Varsity Basketball Team with resounding victories against the Lady Medina Bobcats and the Lady Rocksprings Angoras. Returning varsity members include senior Avry Stolzman, junior Kelya Jureczki, and sophomores Alex Houston and Kayla Jernigan. Against the Medina Bobcats Kayla Jernigan led the Lady Eagles with the high score of 19 points, while Avry Stolzman had 6 strong assists throughout the game, with the final score of the game being 38-3 ...

A couple of rookie angels got their wings and halos straightened by Pat Smith, wardrobe mistress for the traditional Blanco County Living Nativity Christmas pageant at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City. The angelic role was unfamiliar to Haden Sines, left, and John Axtell, but they caught on as the costume fittings progressed.

A Christmas party with lavish holiday costumes at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Stalhbaum will begin the traditional festive journey of the world’s most popular holiday production, The Nutcracker. As the story continues through a battle of soldiers and rats, in which The Nutcracker prevails, snow begins to fall as you are transported to the Land of Sweets, presided over by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier.