June 10, 2010

Don and Andrea Shannon of Normangee, TX, and Jan Christensen of Johnson City and Jim Christensen of Cortlandt Manor, New York wish to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their children, Katie Marie Shannon and Keith Edward Christensen. The couple will be married on June 19 in College Station, where they will reside.

Ken and Kathleen Neely are pleased to announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their son, Ben, to Caitlan Roden. Caitlan is the daughter of Randy and Jaime Roden of Grandview, Texas. Ben was a 2006 graduate of LBJ High School, and Caitlan was a 2006 graduate of Grandview High.

John Kelso, political humorist for the Austin Statesman and author will be at The Benini Studio & Sculpture Ranch Sunday, June 20th to autograph copies of his latest book, Texas Curiosities, 3rd: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. For a Rites of Summer Celebration, the Beninis are hosting the event that starts at 2:00 p.m. More details in next week’s Record Courier!

The Blanco County Democrats will meet at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at the Johnson City Library, 209 Nugent Avenue. If you need more information, contact Barbara Ann Hudson, 830-868-4219 or 512-784-0246. We have signs, bumper stickers and information on candidates available. Please plan to attend.

Uptown Blanco Art Center is sponsoring free activities for children in the Uptown Blanco Courtyard throughout the day during this year’s Lavender Festival. A Bounce House will be set up for children to enjoy and face painting is available all day on June 12 -13. Children will be able to make their own puppets—also in the Courtyard. On June12, Lavender Festival visitors can cool off in the Uptown Blanco Art Center watching or participating in free art demonstrations; paint ...

TASTE Wine + Art, part of Kirchman Gallery in Johnson City, will host a Gospel Music Brunch on Father’s Day Sunday, June 20th starting at noon. The gallery, which started in 2005, has just added a wine tasting venue to their beautiful creekside setting. Seating is available inside or overlooking the Sculpture Garden and the Oak, Pecan and Cypress lined creek.

Angelo State University conferred 535 bachelor’s and master’s degrees upon 527 graduates during 2010 spring commencement exercises May 15 in San Angelo, Texas. The 2010 Spring graduates include the following from the Johnson City area: Chad L. Schaertl, M.B.A.

Wine Road 290 wine trail, in cooperation with the Texas Pork Producers Association invite you to participate in a Saturday, June 19 Event. Each winery will team with a top restaurant in the Texas Hill Country to present VINO AL PASTOR. Vino al Pastor literally means "wine & ‘Shepherd style’ meat."

As the Lavender Capital of Texas, Blanco is proud to celebrate all things lavender during the 6th Annual Blanco Lavender Festival, June 11-13 on the grounds of the Old Blanco County Courthouse in Blanco, Texas. Volunteers are needed for the 2010 official Lavender Festival of Texas, which is also an authorized Go Texan event.

Hill Country Memorial’s Cancer Resource Center (CRC) will present a program showing how to get the most out of summer’s fresh fruits and vegetables. The class will be Thursday, June 17, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the CRC’s first-floor facility in the Brune Professional Building, 808 Reuben Street in Fredericksburg.

The Second Act Troupe will present more live theatre in Johnson City at 3 pm on Sunday June 13 in the Activity Center of the United Methodist Church. The Company will perform three one act comedies under the umbrella title "Three Acts of Deception". Call (512) 618-3355 for information or reservations with preferred seating. In "Book Keeping"

Coy is a regular 16-year-old boy. He has two little sisters. When I was pregnant with Shay he asked if he could have a brother. I wondered why. I told him all a little brother will do is follow you around all day wanting to be just like you and play the same games you are playing.

My, my, when the weather changes, it changes fast here in Texas. It has really become very hot with us definitely enjoying the cool air from our A/C’s. It is unbelievable that it can become so hot when it has been so very pleasant. So, we will pray for some moisture so we do not become as dry as the previous two years.

Going through my stashes I found a kit for a journal cover that I wanted to make. I kept digging through things and discovered that I had two of the journal cover kits, both from the same store. So I decided to put myself to work and see how difficult or easy it was to make. This particular kit has an embroidery block on the front.

I am a diabetic and if I don’t really plan my outing, I will have a sinking spell and get a really low blood sugar event. These are not pleasant and they hit suddenly. However if I plan to bring something to eat about 11 a.m., just a cracker or a few mints, I can forestall this, if I plan to eat lunch within a few more minutes or at least by noon. I often have something in my purse, but also I forget so I have taken to leaving some peanut butter crackers, a small piece of candy ...

*****Patty Elliott had a little drama on her trip to her nephew’s high school graduation in Wisconsin. She hit a deer on the way to the airport. Then promptly lost her purse at the airport in Wisconsin. She managed to have a wonderful time nonetheless, and her purse was later recovered with EVERYTHING still in it and car only sustained headlight damage.

The criminal cases filed against former Pedernales Electric Cooperative General Manager Bennie Fuelberg and the co-op’s former longtime outside attorney, Walter Demond, will not be tried in Johnson City or any other city served by PEC. On Monday, 424th District Court Judge Dan Mills granted the motion for a change of venue filed by the defendants.

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) rumor mill has been churning lately, and many non-profit organizations were getting nervous. However, in a public forum on Tuesday, June 8th those fears were laid to rest. The concern was over a press release from PEC that led to a misunderstanding from a few non-profit organizations.

By Keith J. McClellan At the regular meeting of the Blanco County Commissioners Court on June 8, the implementation of a burn ban was considered. Because of recent rains and the prospects of more wet stuff in the future, commissioners were unanimous in not implementing any kind of burn ban at this time. Due to the lack of any burn ban, commissioners voted to place no restrictions on the use of certain fireworks during the upcoming July Fourth firew ...

Dermatologists Michael W. Braden, MD, Cynthia Olfers Clegg, MD, and Michael J. Majors, MD, will perform free examinations in an HCM Wellness Center skin cancer screening on Friday, June 18 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. They will examine areas of the skin exposed to the sun and look for suspicious areas that could be cancerous or pre-cancerous. "Our sensitivity to skin care tends to heighten as we get older, as we begin to develop spots where we didn’t have them before,"

Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s 2010 Board election is nearing a close, with early voting ending Friday, June 11. Members will have a final chance to vote at the Cooperative’s annual membership meeting Saturday, June 19, at 2 p.m. in Johnson City. Doors and registration will open at noon for the meeting, which will be held at the PEC Training Center, located at 1506 U.S.

Thanks to a gift from Ed and Trudy Brune, Hill Country Memorial has integrated a dedicated breast ultrasound unit and an ergonomically designed stretcher and computer into its unique breast cancer treatment approach. Ultrasound imagery is used in tandem with mammograms and MRI to diagnose breast disease, and dedicated ultrasound equipment in the HCM Breast Center, according to HCM medical staff physicians, affords greater patient convenience and is a key component in analyzing cases ...

Mark Itz, left, showed off the peach orchard behind his McCall Creek Farms Market on 281, between Blanco and Johnson City. He told County Extension Agent, Todd Swift, that local growers have the advantage of letting fruit ripen on the tree, then putting them on the shelves the day they're picked for premium flavor.

You’ve already have noticed this year’s peach crop on the stands, and if you’ve tried them, you also know they’re unusually sweet and juicy. Local peach growers are crowing about the 2010 crop. For the first time in years, virtually all the fruit is making it to maturity, in spite of last week’s storm, and the quality is excellent. "This is the best crop growers have had in four or five years,"

Applications will be accepted for FY 10 funding through June 25, 2010 The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications from Texas agricultural landowners for the next Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) funding cycle that ends on June 25, 2010. Applications are accepted on a continuous basis. "CSP supports ongoing stewardship of private agricultural lands by providing payments for maintaining and enhancing natural ...

Tax issues—particularly tax exemptions—remain a high priority for farmers and ranchers, according toAdrian Schulze, S & Tof the Blanco County Farm Bureau. "Texas Farm Bureau policy favors the preservation of the current favorable tax positions allowed to agricultural producers and agribusiness under state law," Schulze said. As afforded by the Texas Constitution, agriculture producers have a tax status that allows exemption from sales taxes on production input ...

Cynthia Ann Manning Joost, affectionately called Cyny by family and friends, was born on June 18, 1923, in Greenville, Texas to Faye and Joe Wylie Manning. She died May 25, 2010, in Houston, Texas. Cynthia spent most of her growing up years in Greenville. She graduated from Greenville High School where she was a member of the girls drill team, The Flaming Flashes, senior class president, and a member of the Acacias (a group of girls that remained friends for her lifetime).

Wilma Irene Luersen, 97, passed away Tuesday, June 08, 2010 in Johnson City. She was born in Wimberley, TX to Leonard Wagner and Annie Mae Champion Wagner. Wilma was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Silas "Bud" Crossley and Edwin Luersen, sisters, Gladys "Jack" Smith and Neva Ray Wagner, and brother, Leonard "Buddy"

Community Church of the Hills VBS is off to a great start this week as children pour in to learn about the life of Jesus. On Sunday, June 13th the children from VBS will have a musical program at 10:30 AM and a time of fellowship and food immediately following the service.

2nd Grade A Honor Roll Aidan Adair, Evan Alvarado, Mariana Alvarado,Grace Burke, Sierra Cross, Kalli Dalland, Willow Grote, Diego Guerrero, Chesney Hubbard, Adisyn Langbein, M’Lehne Linson, Sawyer Lynn, Daphney Nevarez, Aubry Ockman, Westin Perrrenoud, Cooper Schnitz, Dooley Smith, Levi Urbanovsky, Reagan Weirich, Luke Whittington 2nd Grade A/B Honor Roll Garrett DeSpain, Jesse Harrison, Alysa Harv ...

The Johnson City Boys & Girls basketball camp will be held on June 22-25 at LBJ High School gym. Students who were in grades 2-4 last year will have their session in the morning from 8-11 am, while students who were in grades 5-8 last year will have their session in the afternoon from 1-4 pm.