October 9, 2008

Saturday, November 8, 6-10pm – Marble Falls: Boulder Creek Farms will host the Second Annual Cowboy Up for Kids event, benefiting the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center. Enjoy chuck wagon steak dinner, live music & dancing with KR Wood & his Cowboy Band, Boots & Blackjack Casino, raffles, live and silent auctions.

The first annual BOOTS ‘N BLOCKS QUILT SHOW will be held in Bandera, Texas on Saturday, October 18 from 10 AM till 5 PM, and again on Sunday, October 19, from 1 PM till 6 PM. The event will take place at the Noah’s Ark Daycare Center located at 467 N.

Have you ever wanted to do something in just black and whites? They make fascinating quilts. Here are a few tips for working with black and whites. 1.Lay out the fabrics you are considering for your quilt top. Walk away and leave them for awhile. Go back to them and remove the ones that don’t seem to fit.

Things are still happening here. We had good time on Saturday, October 4th, 2008 @ our community room. The Eagles Fraternal Organization from Blanco presented us with a craft hour. We, of course, went into two hours and little more and we had a blast. We are making calendars.

You can take a girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl, or at least not often. Just this past week I had occasion to go to San Antonio with friends to have lunch at Neimans and do a little shopping. We were shown to our table and before we could unfold our napkins the waitperson came by to see if we would like ‘black linens’.

Eunice Byars has a new baby boy! She has adopted or been adopted by Rio a 4 1/2 month old Australian Shepherd. She was most fortunate that he came from Caroline Georg already knowing how to sit, stay, lay down and sleep in a crate. He is potty trained as long as he goes out every 2 hours (it’s that baby bladder thing).

Lined up in a row. Lavender enthusiasts came to Johnson City over the weekend to participate in the First Annual Lavender Fest. This time of year the lavender is in full bloom.

Anyone wishing to vote early for the November 4, 2008, General Election may do so starting October 20, 2008. Regular hours for early voting will begin October 20, 2008 and run through October 31, 2008. It will be held in the County Commissioner’s Courtroom, Blanco County Courthouse, 101 E. Pecan Dr., Johnson City, from 8:00 a.m.

With perfect weather dancing in the mid-80’s this weekend; hundreds of lavender enthusiast’s flocked to the Johnson City area on Saturday for the first annual Texas Hill Country Lavender Festival. Tourists flooded the area from all over the hill country – some coming from as far away as the Houston area to participate in the festivities. Four different lavender farms contributed to the success of the botanical event.

The 16th annual Pig Roast kicks off this weekend at the Blanco County Fairgrounds in Johnson City. The annual event, put on by the Hill Country Toy Run Assoc., will be Oct. 10th-12th this year. A record breaking number of vendors will be setting up on Thursday and the gates open to the general public at 8am on Friday morning.

Schneider’s - 72 Degrees Air Conditioning & Heating receives the distinction thanks to their commitment to the environment and helping homeowners live “greener” lives. Schneider’s - 72 Degrees Air Conditioning & Heating recently was granted the prestigious Green Screened contractor mark. The Green Screened mark is bestowed upon contractors who embrace the challenge of protecting the environment by: ·Educating people about the environmental and savings benefits of having a “green” home comfort system; ·Offering homeowners products and services that can improve the energy efficiency of their home; and ·Taking an active role in preserving the environment through recycling, reusing, and conserving products and supplies in the office and field. “I’m honored that each of our technicians can now wear the Green Screened patch on their uniform.

Freda Baber, member of the local Johnson City Quilter’s Guild, won Best of Show at the recent “Then and Now” Johnson City Quilter’s Guild 2008 Quilt Show held here in Johnson City last month. The quilt is titled “From Far Away….a friendly light” and was made for her son and his wife, Brent and Valerie Baber of Missouri.

Members of the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City have sent a truckload of “flood buckets” to victims of Hurricane Ike in the Houston-Galveston area. “Flood buckets” are buckets filled with cleaning supplies needed by people whose homes were water-damaged, either by flooding or because their roofs or windows were broken in the storm. “Fortunately, we were ready for this,” said church secretary JoAnn Routh, who headed the flood bucket project. “When Ike was still in the Atlantic, we made a special Sunday collection for flood buckets, because they already were needed after Dolly and Gustav.

Chairman Will S. Moursund and President and CEO Gary Gruben are pleased to announce the hiring of John Sconiers as Senior Vice President and Branch Manager of the Blanco location of Cattleman’s National Bank. Mr. Sconiers graduated from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas in 1984 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

Stonewall Head Start, Inc. is delighted to announce that we are now offering Community Preschool and After School classrooms in conjunction with our Head Start classrooms! This will be our second year of providing this service to our community. We have dreamed for years about having our classrooms open to all families regardless of economic background.

If you’ve ever had the desire to learn Spanish, or just want to brush up on what you’ve learned in the past, now comes the opprotunity to do just that. Nelson DaVino has agreed to teach beginning conversational Spanish. He has many years experience teaching and has all the materials needed.

Hill Country Memorial Wellness Center will be offering shots during its annual Flu Shot Drive-Through on Thursday, Oct. 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the EMS Building, 221 Friendship Lane in Fredericksburg. The event is set up where no one will have to leave their vehicle to receive a flu shot, and the Wellness Center is requesting a donation of $20 for each vaccination. To reach the EMS Building, take South Adams to Friendship Lane and turn right at the stop sign.

It may sound more like a terrorist threat than a compliment, but it actually was a sincere thank-you from Terri Ward, executive director of The Children’s Center of Galveston. “You da bomb!”, she said. “We are so grateful for everything Blanco County has done for us!” The Children’s Center’s tale began as a hurried evacuation as Hurricane Ike shifted its target eastward along the coast, finally settling on Galveston.

If you are needing Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in order to maintain your pesticide applicators license, here is your chance to get 15 hours between now and the end of the year. On October 14, 2008, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., a Parasite Control Clinic will be held at the Burnet County Fairgrounds meeting room.

Rain? We are one day closer to those rains that are coming our way. I did not say it was going to rain tomorrow, but that we are one day closer. If you have lived here in the Texas Hill Country very long you know that when our droughts break it is a “Frog Strangler” of a rain.

Ranchers may soon be signing a few extra forms at the sale barn when the new mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL) program officially begins Sept. 30, according to Blanco County Farm Bureau S-T Adrian Schulze. COOL will require producers to provide documentation on the origin of the products they sell. Beginning this fall, they may be asked to sign an affidavit declaring the origin of livestock (and other products) whenever they are sold at auction, by private treaty or to a feedlot.

WACO – As the U.S. House of Representatives, on the second try, passed a bill designed to rescue the nation’s troubled financial system, Texas’ largest farm organization praised members of the Texas Congressional delegation that voted yes on the plan. “This was a tough vote,” said Steve Pringle, Legislative Director of the Texas Farm Bureau.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Pedernales Soil and Water Conservation District invite the public and any agencies with an interest in conservation issues to participate in a Local Work Group meeting to be held at the Methodist Church in Johnson City. This meeting will be on October 20, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. The purpose of this meeting is to receive input from a broad range of local agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals that have an interest in natural resource conditions and needs in Blanco County. Input received will allow the Local Work Group to make recommendations on resource concerns to be addressed for county-based funding.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Pedernales Soil and Water Conservation District invite the public and any agencies with an interest in conservation issues to participate in a Local Work Group meeting to be held at the Methodist Church in Johnson City. This meeting will be on October 20, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. The purpose of this meeting is to receive input from a broad range of local agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals that have an interest in natural resource conditions and needs in Blanco County. Input received will allow the Local Work Group to make recommendations on resource concerns to be addressed for county-based funding.

The NICE plant for the month of October is the Twist-Leaf Yucca (Yucca rupicola). There are twenty native varieties of yucca. The Twist-Leaf Yucca is especially well adapted to our limestone soil and extreme temperatures, as well as fluctuating moisture availability. The plant bears white flowers on two to six foot tall stalks in early summer.

AUSTIN, Texas -The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reminding Texas hunters to enter this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts by the October 15th deadline. Winners will be called before the end of October to give them time to make their hunting trip preparations. The Big Time Texas Hunts offer hunters a chance to experience the best hunting packages in the Lone Star State with an opportunity to win one or more top guided hunts with food and lodging provided, as well as taxidermy in some cases. The crown jewel of the program is the Texas Grand Slam hunt package, which includes four separate hunts for Texas’ most prized big game animals — the desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, mule deer and pronghorn antelope.

Dolores Machu Volek Dolores Machu Volek, 77, passed away early Saturday morning, Sept. 6, 2008, at her home south of Taylor, Texas. She was born July 4, 1931 in Granger to William and Marie (Janak) Cervenka. She was married to Johnnie Daniel Machu Nov. 22, 1949 in Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church in Granger.

Linda Tharp Linda Tharp, 67, of Elm Grove, formerly of Dripping Springs, TX. passed away Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at her residence in Elm Grove. She was born May 3, 1941 in Blanco, Texas the daughter of Ollie Sorrell and Alma Felps Sorrell. In May 1959, Linda Marie Sorrell and Walter Tharp were married in Dripping Springs, Texas.

Verlie Dorine Wyatt Martin Verlie Dorine Wyatt Martin was born on March 20, 1916, near Burnet, Texas. She passed away October 6, 2008 at the age of 92. She was preceded in death by her father, Jordon Wyatt, mother Dollie Harriet Crider Wyatt and daughter, Barbara (Bobbie) Annale Haydon. She is survived by her daughter Geraldine Ross and husband John Ross of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; 6 grandchildren including Tommy Haydon and Kathy Haydon Hood, formerly of Johnson City; 17 great grandchildren including Tommy Haydon, Jr and Suanne Haydon, formerly of Johnson City; and 5 great great grandchildren. She worked for 35 years at Charles’ Restaurant and Motel in Johnson City, TX before retiring in 1987.

Who said one could not make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? Well it appears the Kirchman Gallery people have done just that. I haven’t been in their new place of business on Highway 290 W where the Laundromat used to be but if the outside is any indication of what is inside, it must be really wonderful.

School’s back in session! Most kids are excited about football games, school dances, and getting together with old friends. An air of anticipation hangs over the heads of our young students, after all, what’s more exciting than the promise of scholastic discovery that accompanies a new school year? Those are things that excite most kids, but what about the kids who are hesitant about beginning a new school year?

Good Shepherd Catholic Church held their traditional Mexican dinner, bake sale and raffle on Sunday, October 5th. Good Shepherd thanks the community for their participation for a successful fundraiser. The raffle winners are as follows: 1. Two Night Stay at La Quinta Inn of Kerrville, Dulce Lopez; 2.

On Oct. 11th and 12th Trinity Lutheran Church of Stonewall will be hosting Jay West from Bellevue, Nebraska. On Saturday from 9 AM until near noon with a break for fellowship, Jay will explore the basics of Kingdom Dynamics. This will be a great time to see Jay up close and personally as he shares what the Lord has been opening up in his life and those of others he is with.

LBJ Fighting Eagle Band traveled to Fredericksburg on Saturday, October 4 to participate in the Hill Country Invitational Marching Festival. The Fighting Eagle Band took the field at 3pm, under the leadership of Drum Major Virginia Smith, to perform a collection of music from guitar legend, Carlos Santana. High-energy rock hits: All I Ever Wanted, Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman and Santan Jam (a combination of Evil Ways and Smooth) had the fans “rockin” in the stands.

Junior Class Officers: Bottom Row (l to r) Student Council Rep. Kayla Meier, Treasurer Jessica Moran and Vice President Mindy Powers. Top Row (l to r) Student Council Rep. Bryant McDowell, Secretary Megan Marks, and President Taylor Gott.

The Lady Eagle Volleyball team had a disappointing week losing both district matches against Blanco and Harper. Tuesday, September 30, 2008 vs. Blanco The Lady Eagles started every game well – with great serving from Alex Houston (4 aces), but Blanco seemed ro recover and found a way to win three out of the four games - 15-25, 21-25, 25-17, and 22-25.

The LBJ High School cross country teams competed at the prestigious Round Rock McNeil Invitational this past Saturday, October 4. The meet was held at Old Settler’s Park which is where the UIL State cross country meet is held in November. The course is long, hilly and very difficult. Schools from all classifications from all over the state compete at this meet. In the varsity girls division, which had runners from schools in classifications 1A, 2A and 3A, Kelya Jureczki, a junior, finished 93rd out of 343 runners in a time of 13 minutes, 55 seconds over the 2 mile course.

The Eagles traveled to Harper last Friday night to play the Longhorns. It was the second district game and the Eagles lost by a score of 49 to 7. The Eagles were not able to score until the 4th quarter, when Sophomore quarterback Cody Smith ran the ball in from the 7-yard line.

Badu Park in Llano will be filled with authentic chuckwagons from all around the state Oct. 17-19 to compete in the 4th Annual Llano River Cookoff. Tickets are now on sale and are selling fast. Those of you who have not purchased a ticket need to contact the Chamber of Commerce at 700 Bessemer St.