July 29, 2010

The spring event of the Blanco County 2010 Relay for Life held in Johnson City, TX was a huge success. The event has come and gone but fundraising efforts and donations still continue throughout the year. These types of donations and fundraising efforts will help many with cancer "Celebrate More Birthdays." The 2011 Relay for Life will be hosted in Blanco, TX.

The Round Mountain Education Extension Club met on July 21 at 2:00 pm at Swope Hall in Cypress Mill. The meeting was called to order by President, Barbara Wilson. Opening readings were Girls Night Out, which was funny, and Put Seniors in Jail which gave us something to think about. Roll call was answered by 9 members and 1 guest.

Well, things are still happening on the porch. It has been a little hot so the visiting gets a little short. One of residents, Joyce Segura, is home. Joyce you have been missed and we are so glad to have you back. The Foot Clinic was here last week and this is always a wonderful service.

In 1609 Galileo made his first perspicillum (see-through device) which we now call a telescope. It was initially used as a spyglass for seeing distant ships and other terrestrial objects. In late in 1609 he first turned his device skyward and was astounded by views of the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and other heavenly bodies.

The kids have been gone since Sunday morning. It has been really quiet around our house. When your kids are gone, I think it is a test to see how well you and your husband can get along, to see how things are going to be when they are all grown up and living on their own. We are actually getting to see that we will never be alone.

On the road again. We headed to New Braunfels for their quilt show. If you have not been on Hwy. 46 lately, you need to make this trip. That area is growing by leaps and bounds, all the way into New Braunfels. We went downtown, made the circle and headed to the Civic Center.

Are you aware that in a week or so you won’t be able to buy a bathing suit or a pool toy because those things have been replaced by Halloween costumes and Christmas sweaters. The retail people have it all wrong because the ‘dog days of summer’ are when you really need a bathing suit and some cool pool toys.

*****Christmas in July is coming. Get ready for Christmas with the Blanco County Extension Education Association. It will be on July 29, 2010 from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Johnson City First Baptist Church at 102 N. Ave F. Learn how to make quilted ornaments, pillow sham aprons, freezer paper stencils, Advent calendars, christmas card ornaments & button candles.

Get out your poster board, streamers and decorations; it’s time for the Blanco County Fair and Rodeo Parade. Pull out your car, truck and trailer, horse or bicycle and get it ready to go in this year’s parade. This year we will be celebrating the 80th year of the Blanco County Fair and Rodeo and we want you to be a part of it.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Johnson City Volunteer Fire Department was called out to a grass fire off Sandy Road. Upon arrival they discovered that it was in a cedar break in the middle of a populated neighborhood. JCVFD called in for reinforcements and were joined by members of the Round Mountain VFD. Neighbors had already come to assist with shovels in hand as what started out as a simple burn pile quickly got out of control with just a small gust of wind. At the current time ...

Pioneer Museum will open its second exhibit on September 18. Pat Vallone, Exhibit Chairman, announced the theme will be "Then and Now," relating household items of the mid-1800s and early 1900s to present-day items with descriptive stories and demonstrations. An auction of antique items will be combined with musical entertainment and story telling. All of the friends of the Museum who have antique items to donate for the auction can contact Chairman Nell Krueger at 833-5774 t ...

A second wave of emergency flood relief from Blanco County rolled out to Eagle Pass this week, and was immediately passed on to a church across the border in Mexico, where many people who were flooded out of their homes still needed food and water. Like the truckload delivered the previous week, this one was quickly taken across the Rio Grande by Mexican church workers and prepared for hungry evacuees. "It is different in Mexico,"

Lucky gardeners in Zone 8 and higher are nearing their second planting season of the year. And while fall is the prime time to plant wildflower seeds and many other garden delights, it’s an excellent season to try your hand at lavender. The rocky, dry soil in Blanco and Gillespie counties is the perfect place for this tough crop with delicately colored blooms. The aromatic perennial also likes our soil’s alkalinity.

Symbiotic relationship between grass and fish benefits marine life Saltwater anglers who prize redfish above all species should also love the seagrass meadows where the bronze brutes forage during warmer months. These shallow expanses of submerged shoalgrass, turtlegrass and manteegrass abound along the Texas coast, at well known places like Padre Island and in the backwater lakes behind barrier islands like San Jose and Matagorda Islands.

Wendell "Bob" Thomas passed from this life into the loving arms of Jesus Christ on Friday July 23, 2010. He was born in Marble Falls, TX Dec 6, 1938 to Marvin and Lorene Thomas, played football for the Mustangs and graduated from Marble Falls High School in 1957. He married the love of his life on May 26, 1962 and they shared 48 years together.

To the Editor, We would like to know what happened to the good old days? When the July 4th parade was held in the mornings, and took place around the Court House. It was cooler than the time that has been chosen the past two years. My friends children started participating in the parade 10 years ago.

Letter to the Editor, Several months ago a house burned down due to an electrical fire. The family living in the home escaped without injury, but with only what they were wearing at the time. There has been some community support, but not enough to get them back on their feet.

Dear Editor: A few days ago, I was in the Super S parking lot and I could hear a small dog crying and barking in a locked car. The windows were down a few inches, but it was not a breezy day. The dog appeared to be very upset, which I would think raises the dog’s body temperature. According to a recent study from Stanford University Medical Center, the temperature within a vehicle may increase by an average of 40 degrees Fahrenheit within one hour regardless of outside ...

Blanco County Sheriff’s Office Reports These reports were filed between Jul. 9 and Jul. 11. Jul. 9 • 610 9th St. 1:22 AM. Intoxicated Driver • At the Y. 1:23 AM. Motorist Assist • 104 West Pecan. 3:33 AM. Animal Complaint • Hill Country Inn. 3:52 AM. Suspicious Person • 102 Ridgeview Dr. 6:49 AM. Animal Complaint • 213 N Nugent Ave.

At a time when the economy has many churches cutting back on community outreach and missionary work, a Chicago area church has chosen to do the opposite. To celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2010, this congregation is giving sacrificially to meet the needs of people in their area. They are sending 25 adults back to college, rescuing 25 families from foreclosure and liberating the needy among them from $2.5 million of oppressive debt.

School children will soon head back to the classroom; and Texas’ annual Sales Tax Holiday will help outfit kids with tax-free clothes, shoes and school supplies they need for the new school year. "From Aug. 20–22, shoppers will pay no state or local sales tax on many school supplies, school backpacks and most children’s and adults’ clothing and shoes priced at less than $100,"

On July 31st there will be a parent meeting at the High School Cafeteria at 10:00 a.m. for all High School athletes and their parents (incoming Freshmen through Seniors.) This meeting will give you a chance to meet the coaches that will be working with your child during the upcoming school year. There is also paperwork that will need to be filled out by both the athlete and their parent.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors adopted a policy Monday providing guidance in the event of unsolicited offers to purchase all or part of the Cooperative. "We are not inviting nor are we encouraging proposals," District 7 Director Dr. Patrick Cox said, emphasizing that PEC is not for sale. Cox is chairman of the Governance, Bylaws and Legal Committee, which proposed the policy after an enterprise expressed interest in purchasing the Cooperative. The ...

PEC earned five first-place trophies at the 14th annual Texas Lineman’s Rodeo, which was held in Seguin on Saturday, July 17. "Nineteen of our apprentices and two journeyman teams entered the rodeo with the desire to work safely, be competitive and finish every event, leaving it all on the competition field,"

Kay Steinbring, a registered dietitian at Hill Country Memorial (HCM), and Candace Ibbotson, MS, CCC, HCM speech pathologist, will lead a free educational program at Hill Country Memorial Cancer Resource Center (CRC) Tuesday, Aug. 10 to help caregivers manage the nutrition needs of home patients. The class will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Hill Country Memorial Women, Infants & Children (WIC) will host a free, public health fair Thursday, Aug. 12. The fair, which will be at the Fredericksburg WIC location at 140 Industrial Loop, Suite 3, will run from 9 a.m. to noon. "We invite families to come and learn about our health programs for infants, children and moms during pregnancy,"