September 24, 2009

Good Shepherd Catholic Church Men’s Club in Johnson City, Texas is holding its First Annual “Deacon Jack Murrell” golf tournament at the Valler Creek Golf Club, three miles south of Blanco, Texas on September 26th, 2009 at 9:00am. The late Deacon Jack loved the game of golf. This honor to him with the game he loved will provide support to the church he loved.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service and The Antique Rose Emporium will co-sponsor rainwater harvesting workshops on Oct. 26 and 27. The workshops will be held at The Antique Rose Emporium, 7561 East Evans Rd. The Oct. 26 workshop, which runs from 6:30-8:30 p.m., will focus on rainwater collection for the home.

OH, NO...A PILE-UP ON THE TRACK! That happens, whether it’s the Indy 500 or the Cub Scouts’ Pinewood Derby races. In this case, Johnson City Cubs Kevin Diehl, left, and Jason Brothers re-ran their hand- made model cars from last year’s Derby competition, looking for ways to improve their chances to win this year.

Hi folks! Our Third Friday Luncheon was awesome. The food was great and the company and laughter along with it was even better. We also had a short presentation on how to handle a fire extinguisher by BJ Sultemeier. Elizabeth Sooter got this together for us and we all appreciated the presentation.

The owner of Kedar Quilts also provides quilting weekends at the Kedarburn Inn, Maine’s first authentic English Bed and Breakfast. They are nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains in Western Maine. The white frame house was built in 1858 and is set beside the flowing Kedar Brook. I mentioned this lovely little brook last week.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of telescopic astronomy, so the International Astronomical Union and UNICESCO have designated 2009 the International Year of Astronomy “to foster a global appreciation of the role and value of science and astronomy as a unifying activity for humanity.” It could also be regarded as the symbolic 400th anniversary of the Copernican Revolution in which a scientific theory—that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the universe — s ...

First off let me explain that ‘hot dogs’ are not a bun with a weenie, wiener or frankfurter. Hot dogs to these girls, Katie and Maddy Hacker, are just the meat. That explained I will tell my story although it is still cute whether it is just the meat or meat slathered in mayonnaise and mustard with pickle relish all wrapped in a long bun, but earlier on this day it was Corn Dogs. The other day as Nanny Mary was thinking of something new to do with the girls she decided they would have a p ...

*****On Sept 18, 2009 as EMS celebrated Gerry Moreau’s one year anniversary of helping, healing and preventing injury or illness to the citizens of North Blanco County, specifically Johnson City. It was marked with a lunch with my EMS colleagues and a blackberry cobbler with a candle from the folks at the HWY 290 Diner.

Each 1st Saturday in October, wineries along the 290 Wine Trail share the road with lavender farms stretched from Fredericksburg to Johnson City. This year, six Johnson City – Fredericksburg working lavender farms along 290West will open to the public during one of the most beautiful times of the year.

The Johnson Settlement at LBJ National Park is restoring 12.2 acres of park land in order to restore the condition of the land at the time of Samuel Ealy Johnson, LBJ’s paternal grandfather. At the time of Johnson’s arrival in 1860, native prairie grasses flourished. However, with the arrival of Johnson and his brother came longhorn cattle that eventually trampled the prairie grasses.

Antelope for Africa Safaris has donated a ten-day South African Hunting Safari for two hunters to the Wild Game Dinner fundraiser. The hunt will be included in the Game Dinner’s Live Auction on Saturday, October 3 at the Blanco County Show Barn in Johnson City. Past high bidders include Leonard and Sean Pruett, Jack Coker and Wayne and Deborah Dworaczyk.

The Blanco County Central Appraisal District has formally answered a lawsuit filed against the District by the PEC. The PEC claims in their lawsuit that its real property was valued in excess of market value by the Appraisal District. “State law requires the Appraisal District to appraise property at its market value as of January 1 of each year”, said Chief Appraiser Hollis Boatright.

What a lucky community we live in, we have a new Library, and it’s not just a Library, it is a fun place to find books, view oral history about friends you know and love, and share trips, books, and learn new things. A couple of weeks ago the library tour took its first evening trip to the Rockbox in Fredericksburg.

Pedernales Electric’s Energy Conservation and Renewable Generation Programs Committee approved at its Sept. 11 public meeting in Johnson City the formation of a membership advisory panel on conservation and renewable energy. The six-member panel will be asked to bring members’ ideas forward and advise the committee on issues related to energy efficiency and green energy.

Pedernales Electric’s Board meetings will now be available for PEC members and the public to watch live online. The new technology will debut with the Cooperative’s Sept. 21 Board meeting. “PEC is fully committed to being an open and transparent organization,” said PEC Board President and District 6 Director Larry Landaker.

The swine flu keeps getting closer to Blanco County, raising the question: how do you care for a swine flu patient at home if the doctors and hospitals are too swamped to be much help? The good news is you’re not completely alone. Right now, the case load isn’t overwhelming, so doctors’ offices and hospitals have time to help.

September 16, found 10 first year members (Greenhands) of the Johnson City FFA Chapter in Ingram for the Hill District meeting. The group learned about the FFA organization, networking and trust. At the conclusion of the meeting, everyone was served a wonderful meal courtesy of Seitz Fundraising. Pictured from left to right, front row: Fabian Weirich, P.J.

With most Texans keeping a close eye on spending during tight economic times, the state’s largest farm organization has launched a program to monitor the cost of common grocery store items found in the Lone Star State. “This is an exciting program for our organization,” saysAdrian Schulze, Blanco County Farm Bureau S & T.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that producers may begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). These permanent disaster programs, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, replace previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and are funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund. LFP provides payments to eligible livestock produc ...

Irene Schaper, of Fredericksburg, passed away on Saturday, September 19, at the age of 82. Irene is survived by 4 children, Leslie Allen and wife JoAnn of Austin, Robert Allen and wife Edith of Las Vegas, Nevada, Audrey Allen of Fredericksburg and Barbara Sasko and husband Stefan of Johnson City.

Delbert Delaine Kelley was born in East Millsboro, Pennsylvania on July 24th 1939 to C. D. and Edna Miller Kelley. He passed from this life at the age of 70 on September 20, 2009 at University Hospital in San Antonio TX. Delbert graduated from Miller High School in Corpus Christi in 1957.

Lillian Gertrude Schaefer Gipson, 78, passed away Tuesday, September 22, 2009 in Fredericksburg, TX. Mrs. Gipson was born November 9, 1930 near Johnson City, Blanco County, Texas to Richard and Marie Hitzfeld Schaefer. She attended school from first through the sixth grades at the Junction School which is now in the Lyndon B.

LBJ High School 2009 Homecoming Court: Back Row (l to r) Freshman Kaitlyn Hubbard, Junior Kayla Jernigan, and Sophomore Madison Fountaine. Front Row (l to r) Junior Adrienne Pabon, Senior Megan Marks and Senior Jesica Moran

As most of you know, this Friday is Homecoming, so classes from ’49, ’59, ’69, ’79, ’89, ’99, and ’09 will be traveling back to Johnson City to visit the school from which they graduated. The 2009-2010 FFA Officers will be giving tours of the old high school and elementary in the morning and afternoon Friday for the LBJHS Alumnus.

LBJ High School was enlightened last Thursday by Allison Grainger, Texas FFA President from Brenham and Tyler Bradfield, Vice President, from Boerne. The duo spoke to the student body about building friendships and connecting with others. The students and staff enjoyed their liveliness and ambition and discovered the new meaning of IDK (investigating deeper knowledge) and OMG (opening many gates).

The LBJ Eagle High School cross country teams ran in their first meet of the season this past Saturday, September 19 at the Ricardo Romo Classic sponsored by UTSA. The meet was held at the Brooks City Base course which is where the Region IV-2A cross country meet will be held in November. In the JV boys division the Eagles had 3 runners.

The Eagles played a good game Friday night, but fell short to the San Saba Armadillos, 27 to 35. This week the Eagles were short some experienced players due to injury, but still showed great effort both defensively and on offense. After a few series, Junior Kris McDonald got momentum going with an intercepted pass.

The LBJ junior varsity football team traveled north to San Saba this past Thursday evening, September 17 to take on the San Saba Armadillos. The Eagles fell to the Dillos 42-0. The JV Eagles do not have a game this week. Their next game will be on Thursday, October 1.

“What an incredible win we had tonight!” commented Coach Voron. Every game of this match was close and even saw the ladies down by five points or more. But, the Lady Eagles came to fight and proved they were the stronger team beating Comfort three out of the four games to win the match, 17-25, 25-21, 30-28, and 25-23.