Regional News

Anticipation filled the air at the Blanco County Courthouse on Tuesday evening. There were eight different precincts that voted in the county – and as each of their results were posted, it was clear that the vast majority of Blanco County residents opted to stray from the national opinion and voted for Republican John McCain and Sarah Palin as their 44th President of the United States.

“Government’s great,” said Amy BeVille Elder, left, Executive Director of Texas Interagency Interfaith Disaster Response in Austin, “but it’s churches that will provide the backbone of your assistance to people after a disaster.” Elder was one of the panelists discussing churches as disaster shelters at a meeting sponsored by the Blanco County Disaster Response Group.

WHEN BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR Mary Ann Edwards was signing up for door prizes during a “Think Pink Tea Party” at the Hill Country Memorial Cancer Resource Center Oct. 17, she didn’t think she would win anything, let alone the grand prize. But she did just that, a two-night stay at Cay Cay’s Cabin B&B donated by Cay Meadows.

CASA for the Highland Lakes Area suffered two significant grant cuts, totaling almost $34K as a result of federal funding cuts. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a nonprofit organization, provides an invaluable, mandated service to traumatized children that have been removed from their homes by the State due to abuse and neglect.

(AUSTIN) — The annual Unclaimed Property List in Sunday’s newspapers will bring good news to about 130,000 Texans — they have money waiting to be claimed. The Unclaimed Property List is the Comptroller’s yearly reminder to Texans that banks and businesses holding forgotten funds whose owners cannot be found are required to turn the money over to the state, where it is held until the owners or their legal heirs claim it.

Hill Country Memorial Wellness Center will offer a two-part prostate cancer screening Tuesday, Oct. 28, to facilitate early detection and potentially increase survival rates among local men. A prostate specific antigen test (PSA), physical exam and a review of lab results will be provided by three participating urologists: William A.

The Fredericksburg Chorale will present the next concert in its Dialogues and Dances series on Saturday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Zion Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall located at 426 W. Main. The concert is open to the public free of charge; donations are accepted. Call 830-997-6869 or visit www.fredericksburgchorale.com for more information. The concert will feature several new instrumental and vocal compositions as well as improvisations.

In his first inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan said, “Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon adversaries in today’s world do not have.” Though spoken at the height of the Cold War, these words resonate today as our country wages a Global War on Terror against enemies who despise the liberties we hold dear. In his two terms as Commander in Chief, President Reagan significantly expanded U.S.

Congress has passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which extends for 2008 and 2009 an expired provision permitting IRA owners age 70 1/2 and older to make distributions to qualified organizations of up to $100,000 per year. Sandy Goff, executive director of Hill Country Memorial Hospital Foundation and a certified fund raising executive, said no income tax deductions are available for IRA “qualified charitable distributions,” but donors may save taxes anyway where gifts take the place of required minimum distributions (which otherwise are 100 percent taxable). “To make a 2008 gift from an IRA, donors should contact their IRA trustee or custodian as soon as possible, preferably before receiving any required minimum distributions,” Ms.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Unfortunately, in the U.S. Congress, the business of the day is too often left unfinished. Throughout 2008, progress in the Senate was hindered by partisanship and counterproductive procedural moves to stall legislation. As a result, during the brief working session this fall, the Senate had a lengthy to-do list.