September 17, 2009

We invite you to join us on Sunday, October 4, 2009 beginning at 11am for a scrumptious homemade Mexican dinner. Tickets are $7 per person and include cheese enchiladas, tamale, taco, rice, beans, tortilla, homemade salsa and a dessert. Children under 6 eat for free. You may dine in or to go plates will be available.

Nine wineries, all within 5 miles of Highway 290, have contracted with a major restaurant (or catering company) to prepare Kiolbassa sausage to taste with one of the wineries fine wines. The trail will be September 19 from 10:00 AM till all the sausage is gone (300 servings are available at each winery), and it’s only 45 miles from Chisholm Trail Winery to Texas Hills Vineyard (the western-most winery to the eastern-most winery).

The acting company, Second Act Troupe, will open its second season with a performance at 7.30 pm Saturday October 3 at the United Methodist Church in Johnson City with a production that includes the world premiere of a one act play Ashes to Roses written by former Wimberley resident Dorey Schmidt.

Public tours of Westcave Preserve, an ecological jewel in the crown of the Texas Hill Country are offered (weather permitting) every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. A tour of the Preserve takes Westcave visitors from an arid savanna, through a limestone crevice and into a spectacular sheltered canyon of lush plant life.

Take a tour of the night skies at Westcave Preserve, a dark sky location convenient to the Austin area. Ideal opportunity for small groups as well as individuals or families to enjoy an evening gazing at the stars through a high-quality telescope. Call (830) 825-3442 for additional information and weather updates.

“We are obligated to leave the country looking as good if not better than we found it.” ~Lady Bird Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site will offer an event September 26-27, 2009 from 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, inviting children to be involved with outdoor activities, and encourage their involvement with nature.

A lineup of fascinating creative professionals highlight the September ARTS Encounters which will be held Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27th at the Benini Ranch near Johnson City. The Galleries and Sculpture Ranch open at 10:00 each morning, the speakers start at 1:30, and everyone is welcome, free of charge. Rama Tiru will present “A Globetrotter’s Perspective”, photographs from around the world.

My, what a wonderful weekend we had. The rain has spruced things up and everything looks brand new. Isn’t that just the most wonderful sight in the world when you look outside and everything looks cleaner, fresher, and things just smell better? I say thank you God for the wonderful gift of rain.

We are still venturing on our own. We are looking for the sister shop of The Quilt Gallery. We traveled to Waterford, Maine to a little shop called Kedar Quilts. The lady who owns these shops is from England. Her home is above the quilt shop. The shop is very compact but she had lots of great fabric and books.

One of the happiest days in this entire sweltering summer happened to me last Thursday afternoon when rain soaked me to my skin twice around noon time. Not only was I dressed nice but I had even bothered to make my hair look a bit decent and in humid weather that is no small trick.

*****James Ross Leonard had an early surprise 80th birthday party on Monday, September 7. He was joined by family & friends from all over Texas. His grandson, Chuck Schuetz and wife, Anna Schuetz, came all the way from New York. What a treat!! *****Mari and Steven Earney were in Johnson City over the Labor Day weekend visiting Dad & Granddad Mike Earney.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative filed a petition of review against the Blanco County Central Appraisal District to challenge a drastic increase in the assessed value of PEC’s property. PEC’s petition specifically challenges the BCCAD on five pieces of property on which the estimated taxes increased 92 percent from about $120,000 in 2008 to almost $230,000 this year.

The photo above was taken Wednesday, September 16th and the one to the left was taken back at the beginning of July. Not much has changed except for the depth of the banks and the river bed seems to still be moist. Reports of anywhere from 4 to 6 inches of rain have been made by local ranchers and claims that they do have water in their tanks.

Press Release Provided By Pedernales Electric Cooperative In a meeting open to members, Pedernales Electric’s recently formed Governance, Bylaws and Legal Committee met in Johnson City on Sept. 8, where it approved a committee charter for full Board consideration and discussed other items. The committee is chaired by District 7 Director Dr.

The swine flu virus hasn’t hit Blanco County yet, but it’s swirling all around us. The Texas Department of State Health Services has raised the state’s flu status to the second-highest level, with the big surge in cases expected to hit any day. When it does hit here, the county coalition of churches and social service agencies wants to be ready to answer people’s questions quickly — how do I avoid it, have I got it already, what do I do about it, and more. The coalition is ready ...

Depression is a sad sickness that can have serious effects on a person’s life. When someone is depressed they are constantly sad and view life through a negative lens. Depressed people often visit psychologists with whom they discuss their depression, in order to overcome it. Unfortunately, dogs do not speak human words about what they are thinking.

Wayne Salem, President of Salem’s Jewelry in Marble Falls, has donated a beautiful Lorenzo sterling silver with 18 karat gold blue topaz and peridot necklace and earrings set to the Wild Game Dinner, Saturday, October 3rd. One hundred $20 “Bauble in a Bubble” chances will be sold at the Sale Committee’s annual fundraiser in Johnson City.

The war between Texas and drought conditions rages on as more counties struggle to harvest crops. Texas land owners may soon find relief with a new government program. “This is the worst drought many of us have seen in a lifetime and its results are striking,” said Blanco County Farm Bureau S & T, Adrian Schulze.

Very Proud Of Our Young People Dear Editor, I was fortunate to attend an extraordinary event on Friday morning at Johnson City High School...and wish only that the entire community might have shared in this unprecedented display of creative patriotism. The audience was inspired to remember the tragic events of 9.11.01 in a special and meaningful way.

When my e-mail program started having problems, “Error occurred” kept appearing on my computer screen: not an encouraging sign since e-mail is my primary means of sending this weekly column to more than one hundred newspapers in the United States and Canada. A quick call to the technical support department of my internet provider sent me on an international telephone journey to technicians who are supposed to know how to fix problems like mine.

Plans for Homecoming 2009 at JCISD are in place and everyone is invited to this special community-wide celebration of our Johnson City Schools. Recent Texas Education Agency ratings identify JCISD as a “Recognized District” based on student performance in a number of areas including state-wide testing, attendance and graduation rate.

The Johnson City Independent School Board met in regular session Monday, September 14th, 2009. During Open Forum, the board first heard from Cody Haynes who spoke to them regarding prayer in school. Mr. Haynes understands that the school is required by state law to not allow prayer at school or at school events, like football games.

Parent volunteers are needed for the Middle School PTO. Please attend the next meeting on Tuesday, September 22, at 6:00 p.m. in the Middle School Workroom. Assistance is needed with teacher appreciation, BoxTops for Education, and fundraising efforts. The Middle School PTO is taking pictures at the Middle School Dance on September 18 and the winner of the Homeroom Membership Drive will be announced then.

#83 Jacob Sisson breaking free for yardage. #60 Tyler Troppy coming around to help block.

#28 London McQueen comes in with the tackle while #4 Jordan Jones strips the ball away. #3 Kris McDonald waits to start blocking.

Last weeks Ingram cross country meet was canceled due to rain. The LBJ Eagle high school cross country team will run at the Ricardo Romo UTSA meet held at Brooks City Base in San Antonio on Saturday, Septermber 19. The JV boys will start at 11:25 am, the 2A varsity girls will run at 1:20 pm and the 2A varsity boys race will start at 1:55 pm.

If it rained in Johnson City, it really rained in Mason. The Eagles traveled to Mason on Friday night to play the Cowboys. The good news for the day was that a lot of rain had fallen. The bad news was that the Cowboys were better able to manage their game plan in those conditions. The only Eagle touchdown came in the second quarter on a 44 yard touchdown pass from Junior quarterback Cody Smith to Junior wideout Kris McDonald, the extra point after failed. Final score was Cowboys 28 Eagles 6 ...

The junior varsity volleyball team traveled to Comfort on Saturday for a day long tournament. They played four matches and competed well in each one. The Lady Eagles beat Brooks in their first match with scores of 25-14,-21-25 and 15-8. Luling won the second match with scores of 18-25 and 19-25.

The framers of the Constitution knew the founding document of our democracy must be both the anchor of liberty and the blueprint for its preservation. Wisely, they provided a balance of powers to ensure no individual and no single arm of government could ever wield the forces of unchecked authority against the American people. Nearly 250 years later, we are seeing these critical lines of separation being obscured by a new power class of federal officials.

Hill Country Memorial Hospital is welcoming Jamie B. Lindsay, DDS, to its medical staff. Dr. Lindsay, a dentist, is part of Fredericksburg Dentistry and is practicing at 205 W. Windcrest, Suite 210, who is associated with Thomas E. Schmidt, DDS. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.