January 22, 2009

The Blanco County Father Daughter Dance kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 14 until 8 p.m. at Gem of the Hills in Blanco. Fathers, grandpas, uncles, neighbors, and big brothers are all welcome to bring their favorite girl that is in the 5th grade or younger to this fun event.

Membership is the grassroots strength of Farm Bureau and the Schulze County Farm Bureau grew stronger than ever in 2008 with a gain of 41 member families. “Agriculture is an important industry in Blanco County,” Blanco County Farm Bureau S&T Adrian Schulze said. “Our goal is to continue to add members to help tell agriculture’s story.” The membership efforts of 207 county Farm Bureaus statewide raised the Texas Farm Bureau membership total to 422,159 members, a gain of 17,242 memb ...

The Community Garden Club held its first meeting of the New Year in the lovely home of Barbara Counts. Thirty two members and one guest were present on a beautiful balmy winter day. Jean Anderson introduced our speaker Todd Swift, the County Extension Agent. Todd presented a program on preparing your garden for Spring, for those who have lived up here for awhile realize you don’t just dig up the earth and plant.

The Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center interviewed a record 297 child victims of physical or sexual abuse as of Dec. 31, 2008. According to Deborah Keith, Executive Director, that is 76 more than in 2007. The 2008 numbers include providing services to 1,300 secondary victims, 16,000 units of service such as therapy to child victims and their non-abusing family members, and conducted 26 sexual abuse medical exams, as requested by investigating authorities. “Unfortunately, these record ...

Members of the Pleasant Hill - Rocky Community Club will meet this Thursday, January 22nd, at 6:00 p.m., to decide how to distribute the funds raised at last fall’s Smorgasbord, the club’s annual benefit dinner. Thanks to generous donations and the enthusiastic participation of area residents and visitors, the event brought in over $3,700. As has been their custom for many years now, members will vote to make donations to a variety of local and national organizations that serve the public ...

Planning Time in the Garden Now is the time for us to reassess our gardens. I am in process of completely redoing and relocating my garden. At first I put it too far from the house and then planted fruit trees that I didn’t bother to think would grow and shade the vegetable garden.

We do need rain and we need it now. So everybody put on your rain suit and give us a dance and a prayer for some moisture. I went to the Red Hatters meeting and as always had a wonderful time. Our Third Friday Luncheon here in our community was awesome.

This week I want to share with you some ideas of things to do with buttons. You can make your own button jar or box by decorating with fabric and buttons. I have mine in a jar sitting near the fireplace. I look for buttons at yard sales, etc. I have my grandmothers’ button jar.

By Cynthia Smith Have you heard a ridiculous rumor recently, wondered if some wacky widget works or if the tale you just read about is fact or fiction? You should either Google it or see what Snopes says about it. Just today as I was agonizing about not having a subject to write about this week, I received an idea via email.

*****Paul & Sherry Jenkins were out of town this past weekend planning a wedding for October 2009 in Houston for her nephew and finance. Sherry began to feel bad Saturday but blamed it on something she ate. She continued to have severe pain and nausea. When they came through Austin Sunday afternoon they headed for the Emergency Room at South Austin.

It took countless volunteers to make the Youth Show a fun and meaningful experience for the young people in Blanco County. Students, parents and other volunteers showed up for two workdays prior to the show to begin barn preparations. Rule Books for exhibitors were prepared by Martha Danz. The Awards Committee, headed by Keitha Johnson, ordered duffel bags, jacket certificates, and buckles for the champion exhibitors, and buyer appreciation gifts for the buyers.

On Saturday, January 10th employees at El Charro Mexican Restaurant in Blanco arrived at work to find the front door wide open, broken glass on the floor and the business in total disarray. Thieves broke in through a window and stole $150 cash from the registers, two plasma screen televisions and a mess behind. It was initially thought that some endorsed checks were also stolen out of the cash registers; however a spokesman for the restaurant stated that the checks were found. A police re ...

Last Thursday night, January 15, at the Marble Falls Pavilion, the Hill Country 100 Club held its Annual Meeting and Recognition Banquet. Law Enforcement, Fire Fighting and Emergency Medical Responders from Llano, Burnet and Blanco Counties gathered along with HC100 Club members and officers to recognize their outstanding comrades, do the Club’s business and enjoy a catfish dinner catered by the Catfish Barge.

Kirchman Galleries in Johnson City will open a new exhibition, THE HEART OF THE MATTER, ART FOR THE VALENTINE SEASON, with a reception from 4-7 on Saturday the 24th of January. It is free and open to the public at Kirchman Gallery I, located at 213 N Nugent (across from the Courthouse Square.

Scott Gardner, a ranch manager from Johnson City, will speak to the Fredericksburg Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas on land management and stewardship on January 27 at the Gillespie County Historical Society Building, 312 West San Antonio Street in Fredericksburg, beginning at 7:00PM. The free meeting is open to the public. Gardner, a graduate of Texas State University with a degree in geography, has been the manager of the C.L.

The A.E. Woods fish hatchery in San Marcos will release approximately 600 Rainbow Trout 1/21/09 at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site in Stonewall. The trout are 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.

Edna Felps, 76, of Bergheim Tx. passed away Wednesday January 14, 2009. She was born September 19, 1932 in Schumansville, Tx. She was a devoted lifetime member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Boerne, TX.. She will be remembered as a dedicated member of the Geneological Society of Kendall County as well as a member of Hermann Sons and the Boerne Area Historical Preservation Society.

Mr. Henry Edward Krueger, age 86 of Hye, Texas died Wednesday, January 14, 2009, in a Fredericksburg nursing home following an extended illness. He was born on October 16, 1922, in Wharton County near the Taiton community, the son of the late Edward August Garett Krueger and Bennie Lee (Nora) Linton Krueger. Mr.

Our Nation swore in its 44th President, Barrack Obama, on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. As millions line The Mall in Washington, D.C., the rest of us watched either on TV or online. Here at the office we watched MSNBCs online live coverage of the inaguration. This was a historic moment for our Nation and as I watched the beginnings of the inaguration I thought about my kids and hoped that they too were getting a chance to see this monumental event take place.

Dear Editor: Living in small towns like Johnson City and Blanco, we sometimes get annoyed at not having big city conveniences at our finger tips. We don’t have a mall. We don’t have a movie theatre. We don’t have a host of fast food eateries or home delivery. We don’t have three or four grocery stores from which to choose to shop.

Dear Editor, The Library Trustees are most grateful to the city for being willing to give the library a lump sum that would go toward the payment of the utility bills. Since the library does NOT receive sales tax money from businesses within the city limits, library patrons living within the city can THANK city council for filling in some of the gap that is left.

Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Dec 18 and Dec 22. Dec 19 • Reckless Driver. 11:44 AM. A Volvo was reportedly passing in the no passing zone on US 281, north into Blanco. • Civil Standby. 6:10 PM. An officer was requested to stand by while kids were exchanged. • Noise Complaint.

By Roger Campbell A minister called the advertising editor of his local paper to announce the title of his upcoming sermon. “My sermon this week will be titled “The Lord Is My Shepherd,” he said. “Is that all?” asked the editor. “That’s enough,” the minister replied. When the newspaper arrived that week the pastor opened it and was surprised to read that the title of his sermon would be “The Lord is my Shepherd; THAT’S ENOUGH!” Two women were standing and conve ...

The LBJ Eagles varsity boys basketball team played 2 district games this past week against two very tough and talented district opponents. On Tuesday, January 13 LBJ hosted the Cole Cougars. The Eagles fell to Cole 43-14. LBJ played great defense throughout the game holding the high scoring Cougar team to just 43 points.

The powerlifters competed at the Brownwood Invitational on Saturday against over 250 lifters from around the northwest Texas area. Jorge Regino placed 1st in the 114 lb. class, Chris Eddy placed 5th in the 220 lb. class, and Shawn McNease placed 7th in the 242 lb. class. This was the first meet for all 3 lifters and they did an awesome job.

If you are facing financial difficulties and struggling to meet your tax obligations the IRS can help. As the 2009 tax filing season begins, in addition to new credits, deductions and exclusions, the IRS is taking steps to help people who owe back taxes. Here are some areas where IRS can help: *Added Flexibility for Missed Payments: The IRS is allowing more flexibility for individuals with existing Installment Agreements who have difficulty making payments because of a job loss or other finan ...