Friends and family gathered at the Blanco First Baptist Church on Saturday, October 13, to celebrate Bea Ellison’s 90th birthday. Pictured are (standing) daughters ValJean Wagner and Angie Smith, granddaughter Sophia Brutti, Bea Ellison, and brother Alton Rodenberg.

A group of progressive minded and action oriented Realtors and business people in associated fields joined a Property Tour of homes in South Blanco County last Friday. Property tours expose homes listed by local realtors to participating Realtors and other interested parties, stimulating interest and knowledge of said properties. The folks involved were, Debbie Homeier, Jayne Lightfoot and Chris Hall of RE/MAX Genesis, Margo Davis of United Country (Jerry Myane Realty), Brandon Hilton, Rick and ...

AUSTIN - About 370,000 employers in Texas will receive an estimated $170 million in surplus state tax credits next year, Gov. Rick Perry said. A strong Texas economy pushed the state Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund to a $376.7 million surplus, Perry announced Oct. 9. For the second year in a row the trust fund's ceiling has been exceeded, enabling the state to return excess taxes back to employers, Perry said. Eligible Texas employers filing quarterly unemployment tax reports will re ...

By Jan Redmond World War II is a terrible and fascinating subject. Over 50 million people were killed in this "necessary war". Perhaps you saw all, or part of, Ken Burns' seven night, fifteen hour tribute to what many have called "The Greatest Generation". It was a moving anthology of the sacrifices made by every city and small town, like Blanco, in America.

I went fly fishing, or fly casting, or waving a long stick over my head, or whatever-you-call-it for the first time last week. Wading upstream, I passed another fisherman. “Any luck?” I inquired. “No, but you’re here now; maybe you’ll change things. Nice hat by the way.” “Yeah, maybe I’ll drown,” I replied.

A cynic, hands raised in futility, exclaimed that this may be one of those centuries when everything goes wrong. Remaining on a straight-arrow course, though, are pre-schoolers. They aren’t yet jaded and continue to say/do things to make us smile. Sadly, children’s drop-dead funny remarks and/or antics aren’t “front and center” as in the century past.

Keith- The Summer Blockbusters have arrived on DVD for some of us who prefer to watch them in the fall. Transformers fits the blockbuster status perfectly with its special effects and action sequences. I found myself rooting as if I was a kid again playing good guys vs. bad. I liked this movie and it was pretty much what I expected it to be, a little bit of everything (comedy, action, & romance - on the human side), even though I wish the end would’ve turned out a little different, I fully ...

Ah, mulch! The gardener's best friend. My sinuses worst enemy. Raking, my favourite (not). Leaf mold, hay seeds, lichen spores and old mushrooms wafting on the breeze.....there's that Zen trick to raking without raising dust, given a fair wind, but PLEASE wear your dust masks or you'll end up with brown lung, like me.

Ginny Stowitts-Traina, president of the San Antonio League of Women Voters, spoke to the members of the Blanco Woman’s Club at their October meeting, held at the home of Peggy Welch. In her presentation, which reviewed the League’s Voter’s Guide to Constitutional Amendments to be voted on in November, Stowitts-Traina explained that the League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization whose purpose is to provide voters with the information to make informed choices.

Anyone wishing to vote early for the November 6, 2007, Constitutional Amendment Election may do so starting October 22, 2007. Regular hours for early voting will begin October 22, 2007 and run through November 2, 2007. It will be held in the County Commissioner’s Courtroom, Blanco County Courthouse, 101 E.

A group of miniature horse owners from all over Denmark visited Texas last week to attend the American Miniature Horse Association World Championship Show in Fort Worth. "The Danish Delegation," as they are known, is part of an association that has only been around for 11 years, and they have to leave Denmark to buy miniature horses to take back to their country. "We met a lot of people, and looked at a lot of horses,"

A small, blue house behind the new Pecan Street Townhomes is getting cleaned up. Rick and Eric Debner, the father and son team who own Ram Rock Builders, a residential and commercial developer, bought the home with the adjoining property on the corner of Pecan and 9th streets. New townhomes are now nearing completion there, and the blue house has been vacant until now. The Debners have allowed David Esparza to move into the house rent-free, in exchange for cleaning up and maintaining the yard ...

By George Barnette Some of your neighbors gave up their sunny Saturday to learn how to save your life. They spent the day in a series of American Red Cross courses which taught them how (and when) to perform Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), apply first aid, and use Automatic Electronic Defibrillators (AEDs). The class was held in the Fellowship Hall of the Blanco United Methodist Church. The students learned from videos, lectures and demonstrations, but then had to prove their skills a ...

The Pleasant Hill-Rocky Community Club is holding its annual Smorgasbord on Saturday, November 3rd, the first day of deer season. The site of this benefit feast for area residents, friends, and visiting hunters is the historic Pleasant Hill - Rocky School Building, which is located about 7 miles west of Johnson City, just off Highway 290 West, on CR 205 (Rocky Road).

Those who enjoyed last spring’s Friends of the Blanco Library’s Tuscan Dinner and a Movie night, or those who missed it, will be pleased to know that November 9 is the date for this year’s festivities. The theme will be “A Texas Dance Hall Dinner and a Movie,” with upscale Texas cuisine by Sibby Barrett of Onion Creek Kitchens.

Mark your calendars for the annual Blanco United Methodist Church Bazaar, to be held on November 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Since it is the first day of hunting season, hunters are welcome to come for the soup and salad luncheon after an early-morning hunt. New to the bazaar this year is a raffle for beautiful hand-crafted items made by Blanco residents.

Jesus said in the book of John 7:34 - “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Revelations 21:6-7 - “6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church extends wide open arms to receive everyone into their fold this coming Sunday, October 21, 2007, in celebration of their 133rd Homecoming Celebration. Come eat your breakfast manna of God’s Word, taught by Deacon Lawrence Coffee in our Sunday school. Help us dedicate the new tombstone for Peyton Roberts (pictured here), founder of Peyton Colony.

Do you understand how much God cares for? Do you comprehend the depths of His love for you? Most people don’t. In fact, most Christians don’t. You would expect the unsaved world not to understand God’s abundant love; but sadly, most of God’s own children don’t have a clue about how much God loves them, either.

Services for US Air Force Lt. Col. Raymond E. roessler, 43, of Clinton, Utah will be 10 am Friday at The Church of The Visitation In Westphalia with the Rev. Jim Harnan, Bill Smetana and Joe Baisden officiating. Burial will be in St. Marys Cemetery in Westphalia. He died Friday, Oct.

The Hill Country Memorial Hospital Foundation will host its annual wills clinic Thursday, Nov. 8, in the meeting room at Central Texas Electric Co-op, 386 Friendship Lane in Fredericksburg. There will be two identical, two-hour sessions, one at 9:30 a.m. and another at 1:30 p.m. Snacks will be provided. The foundation is offering this clinic as a public service to the community, and there is no charge to attend. Presenters will be local Fredericksburg attorneys Robert W.

You are invited to attend the next meeting of the HCCTSGRA to be held at Jean Sultemeier’s new log cabin that has a total rain water catchment system in place for the whole house and grounds. The guest speaker is Billy Kniffen who is the county extension agent and very knowledgeable about how to go about putting in rain water catchments systems.

Texas Tech University offers the Master of Education in Educational Leadership with professional principal certification preparation program in the Hill Country. Certified teachers are invited to learn more about the program on Saturday, October 20 at an information session. Dr. Joe Claudet, will be teaching class from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in Suite C (classroom) at 102 E.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer. Early detection is critical to a positive outcome. To help in that battle, Hill Country Memorial Wellness Center will offer a two-part screening later this month. Part 1 of the screening will include a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test.

The Friends of the Wimberley Village Library is a volunteer support group for the local Library there. On several occasions it has held Book Sales, converting donated materials and items no longer needed by the library into hard cash. The cash in turn is used to support Library activities and purchase new materials for the shelves. The Friends will hold an enormous Book Sale on November 3, 2007at the Chapel in the Hills, on Ranch Road 12 near downtown Wimberley, across from the Dairy Queen.

For the thirteenth consecutive year, the Blanco FFA will be competing in the State Land and Range contests after qualifying all three of their fall judging teams for the annual event to be held in April at Tarleton State University. Blanco would rank higher than any other schools in the area, winning two contests, while finishing second in a third.

The Blanco High School Chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America are busy planning events for this school year. The officers and members are eager and ready to make their mark on Blanco and surrounding communities. FCCLA members have a concern to become more visible and involved in promoting community projects. The first project of the school year was a Canned Food Drive.

Shelly Kempf, a 2005 graduate of Blanco High School actively participated in Texas Lutheran University Homecoming activities the week of October l through October 6, which was also Greek Week. Campus sororities elected one student to represent their sorority as their Greek Goddess. Shelly was elected to represent her sorority, Xi Tau.

The Blanco JV Panther football team went up against the Comfort Bobcats on Thursday, October 11 for the district opener. The Panthers stands gasped as the Panthers had the ball in the opening few minutes of the game when Corey Dowlearn fumbled the ball, then you could hear the cheer as he recovered his own fumble.

Blanco Eighth grade ‘A’ team volleyball lost a tough game to St. Mary's last Monday. Blanco lost the first game 21-25 won the second game 25-14 and lost the last game 11-15. The ‘A’ team is 9-3 overall and 3-0 in district play. The ‘B’ team split with St. Mary's losing the first game 22-25 and winning the second game 25-19.

The BYFL’s JV Gold team faced the Dripping Springs Tigers M team Saturday in Dripping Springs. The Panthers would receive to start the game, and Aikman Elrod would return the kick 60 yards down to the Tiger 20 yard line. But the Tiger defense would stiffen, and the Panthers would turn the ball over on downs.

The Blanco Panther volleyball teams traveled to Junction on Saturday, October 13. The ninth and JV teams both won with ease. The varsity dropped the first game 16-25. They battled back for a 27-25 second game win. Game three went to Junction with a final score 18-25. Junction was well on their way to victory up 12-24 in game four then the Lady Panthers went on an amazing run of 13 straight points sparked by great team defense and amazing serves by Rachel Calzoncit.

The Middle School football teams traveled to Comfort for their district opener on Thursday, October 11. The seventh grade started out the night as they took as big victory with a final score 22-6. Tim Goodman scored three touchdowns and Jesse Ruiz and Layne Lassberg each followed up with a two point conversion.

As is the case with most Blanco vs. Comfort events, this past Friday was well worth the price of admission as the Panthers and Bobcats put on a show for the ages with Blanco coming out on top in the end. In a game that saw both teams dominate with their style of offense, it would come down to a few key defensive plays to seal the victory for the Panthers. The first quarter would begin fast and furious for the Panthers with Blanco scoring on their first possession via an 11 yard scoring pass f ...

Bob Daughdril went to Sulfur, Louisiana, two weeks ago for a retirement party for his son, Rob. Deb and Lyle Yorgensen got back from Wichita, where Lyle's father had open-heart surgery. All went well. Thanks, everyone, for their concern and prayers. Winston and Dorothy Moore from Spring Branch were spotted at Lonie Ethridge's house on Saturday.

Public records information is compiled by Charles Willgren from reports filed at the Blanco Police Department, Blanco County Sheriff’s Office, Blanco Volunteer Fire Department, Blanco County Clerk, District Clerk, and Justices of the Peace offices. Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Criminal Cases Convictions will not appear this week. Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Criminal Cases Convictions will not appear this week. Blanco Police Reports These reports were filed between Oct 8 ...

Births October 13, 1967 Mr. and Mrs. John McKellips of Austin announce the arrival of a baby girl, Rachel Dawn, on September 4. She weighed 7 pounds and 2 ½ ounces. Mrs. McKellips will be remembered here as Miss Ginny Lee McFarlan. Barbecue To Benefit Band October 13, 1967 A Bar-B-Q will be held on Sunday, October 15 at the Chamber of Commerce office by the Blanco Band Boosters. Cabrito, lamb and chicken with regular and hot tamales, cakes and pie will be sold.

The occasional impulse buy can be fun. Just throw an extra treat into your grocery cart or pick up that great-looking jacket and plunk down your credit card. But a house? You don’t hear many people say, “Guess what I bought while I was out this morning?” and finish that thought with, “A house.” It’s a good thing, too.