December 17, 2009

Mary Frances Madison was one of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group who went to Lampasas Monday to help the Texas Department of State Health Services conduct an H1N1 flu shot clinic there. Lampasas County had no volunteers to support the DSHS staff, so the appeal came to Blanco County for our trained shot clinic volunteers.

The long-awaited H1N1 vaccine for the so-called "swine flu" comes to Blanco County Friday at the Texas Department of State Health Services’ free shot clinic at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City. The clinic will be in the church Activity Building at Pecan and North Avenue E, across from the elementary school, from 11 am to 7 pm.

Harvest House Meat Market in Johnson City celebrated its Grand Opening on December 12 from 12 to 5. Nancy Thompson and her son, Kip Thompson, are the new owners. Many different samples were available for all who attended; cheeses, jerky, dry sausage, ribs with their special House Blend BBQ rub, stuffed pork loin and fresh sausages. One of the most popular sample items was chicken salad made with Harvest House smoked chicken.

From 6:30 to 8:30pm you can drop in to hear your favorite holiday tunes in the warmth and comfort of the newly remodeled sanctuary at First Christian Church. This musical event has a casual atmosphere and you may come and go as you wish. There will be hot chocolate available as well. Topper and Crofts have been singing together for many years and Christmas holidays have become a favorite time to share their music as a gift to the community.

The Garden Club gathered at the home of Nancy Talley last Thursday for our December meeting and Chinese Christmas exchange. When you walked in the door of Nancy’s very festive home you were overwhelmed with the Christmas spirit, everywhere you looked was a different kind of Christmas tree or display. President Pearl Hedlund guided the club though a quick meeting, reports were made by committee chairpersons, and the ladies who make and sell the ornaments in the Courthouse got a ...

We have had a good week with several services here helping anyone in our county that needs help. A BIG Thank You goes to the Catholic Charities and to the Capitol Area Food Bank. You have provided services that have blessed us all. This brings us to Girling Health Care, Texas Health Care Solutions, and Texas Home Health.

Remember the childhood game of Hopscotch? What fond memories I have of playing this game on the sidewalk or in the dirt. If you were fortunate enough to have a piece of chalk or find a rock that would chalk, you could draw this out on the sidewalk. Many times, we just etched it out in the dirt with our finger.

Four hundred years ago, an Italian mathematics professor named Galileo Galilei unwittingly made a dramatic career change when he turned his new telescope skyward and became the world’s first telescopic astronomer. But Galileo didn’t merely marvel at the never-before seen sights in the night sky. He gave serious, and often ingenuous thought, to what he saw, and began making discoveries and inferences that profoundly changed our view of the cosmos and our place in it, and i ...

The above is a direct quote from three year old Maddy Hacker I’m told. Apparently when asked by her teacher "How are you today, Maddy?" Her answer was succinct, "I’m mad and I’m going to be mad all day." Out of the mouth of babes comes this truism. Well I feel like Maddy did on that particular day, I’m mad too and I’m gonna be mad for awhile because our pick for the Heisman trophy, Colt McCoy didn’t win Saturday night. I can’t say Colt was ro ...

*****Former Johnson City citizen Ruth Blair was here over the Thanksgiving holidays. She attended several local events with her sisters Joy & Marie including the 2nd Act Troupe performance at the Methodist Church; Thanksgiving Service at the Liberty Lighthouse Church; & of course, Lights Spectacular. *****We are saddened at the passing of former citizen Curtis Sudduth.

City Administrator David Dockery, Lieutenant Bryan Geeslin, Cattleman’s Bank Vice President George Schuh, Chief Randy Holland, Mayor Kermit Roeder. Johnson City Police Department received a donation from Cattleman’s National Bank Vice President George Schuh for the purchase of Ballistic Armor. JCPD also received personal donations from Will Moursund, George Schuh, Elmira Casparis, and an anonymous donor from Blanco.

Pedernales Electric’s Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting Dec. 14 at PEC headquarters, where it received an extensive year-end summary from Cooperative General Manager Juan Garza, honored 23 long-time employees and completed other business measures. Garza’s year-end report began with statistics regarding the Cooperative’s efforts to address recommendations made in a 391-page report submitted to the Board in December 2008 by Navigant Consulting, Inc.

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site invite everyone to join in the Christmas cheer at the 40th Annual Tree Lighting on December 20th, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. This tradition was started 40 years ago in the Hill Country community by President and Mrs. Johnson. This is a memorable family evening for all to experience the German heritage of the Texas Hill Country and continue the legacy of Lyndon B.

Exciting things have been happening at the Library all year, our community has been blessed with the many opportunities that we have all enjoyed this year. Something new will be taking place at the library after the first of the year, a mural depicting Hill Country Scenes will become part of the Library.

Braydon Jones eight year old grandson of Ed and Belinda Nagy, shot his first deer on Saturday afternoon, December 12, 2009 while hunting with his grandma in Johnson City.

Garrett DeSpain, 8 year old son of Carrie Sultemeier DeSpain of Johnson City, shot his first deer on November 28, 2009 while hunting with his dad in Burnet County.

Kayla Scheidt of Blanco harvested her first buck (8 pt.) in Gillespie County on 12/12/2009. She was accompanied by her dad, Darrell Scheidt and Tim Jeanes, Guide.

AgriLife Extension is hosting a new program to help entrepreneurs establish small farming operations on their land. "Small Acreage Horticultural Crops" is a free program that focuses on helping small-scale producers become more knowledgeable and creative in their business ventures. "This program hopes to provide useful information that will help launch a love for small farms,"

Curtis Sudduth, 43, a loving husband, father, son, brother, son-in-law, and grandson went home to be with his Lord on Monday, December 7, 2009. Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Firday, December 11, at the First Baptist Church of Azle, Texas. Interment at Aurora Cemetery in Aurora, Texas. Curtis was born October 28, 1966 at the Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida.

John E. Miller, Jr. passed away December 14, 2009. He was born in Marble Falls, TX on May 10, 1933 to John E Miller, Sr. and Ruby Jones Miller. Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Jackie; his daughters, Jill Riley and husband Tommy of Burnet, and Shannon Riebesehl and husband Jon of Johnson City; as well as his grandsons Cade Riley, Jess Riley, Jaxon Riebesehl, and Trace Riebesehl. After graduating from Marble Falls High School, he attended Southwest Texas State University and th ...

The Park Elves.... It came to my attention that someone who shall remain unnamed had called Will and me the Park Elves. I just want to set the record straight, although Will and I do put together a lot of the Christmas decorations we have many elves in waiting. I will name only a few but there were many who just stopped by and picked up a string of lights or stuck a Christmas character into the ground or helped us unpack the many boxes that make the park c ...

Johnson City Volunteer Fire Department Reports These reports were filed between Nov. 28 and Dec. 3. Dec. 3 • Ped Hills Subdivision. 10:42 AM. Smoke Investigation • Corner of 281 and Schofield. 5:58 PM. Brush Fire Johnson City EMS Reports These reports were filed between Nov. 28 and Dec. 3. Nov. 28 &b ...

The children’s handbell choir made its debut by ringing out Christmas carols as part of the Advent celebration at First United Methodist Church in Johnson City. The ringers came together and prepared their program in only a short time when the handbells became available on short notice. The young musicians were properly pleased with themselves for having made so much progress in such a short time.

LBJHS Freshman Amara Yachimski explains "The Cube Project" to JCISD Trustees Cynthia Keene and Randy Brodbeck. Amara is a student in the Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering program, in it’s first year on the LBJHS campus.

The December school board meeting on Monday, December 14th started with a favorable report from Keith Neffendorf, an independent auditor, on the district’s financial status. 2008 was a good financial year for the district with no findings. The general fund ended the year with a $4,513,488.00 balance, just slightly over the optimal fund balance.

Senior Stewart Fannin and Sophomore Olivia Anderson traveled to Salado to compete in area debate. There were 26 teams from 14 schools. The teams ranged from as close as Blanco to as far away as Odessa. Although Johnson City has a novice debate team, they competed with varsity teams from other schools.

Jr. High Girls The Middle School Lady Eagle basketball team met up with Hunt last Monday night. The 7th grade team put up a good fight – but lost 14-39. Hailey Hernandez and Katelyn Reveal were the top scorers with 6 points each. Ceslea Patillo also scored 2 points. The 8th grade team fought hard as well – but lost to Hunt 29-51.

The LBJ Eagle varsity boys basketball team captured their 2nd straight tournament trophy this past weekend taking home the consolation title at the Center Point Tournament. The Eagles defeated Center Point 62-44 in the consolation game. The Eagles jumped out to a 16-4 lead after the first period and maintained a double digit lead throughout the ball game.