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November 26, 2008 Issue
Front Page
Thanksgiving weekend will never be the same …at least not in Blanco. In the spirit of blending old and new, Blanco will experience its traditional Courthouse Lighting with the flavor of lavender … lavender lights, that is!
Over 130 strands of purple lights have been purchased by merchants and residents alike.
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The ground has formally been broken at Blanco High School for the construction of new tennis courts. Geo-technical engineers from Fugro Consultants, Inc., drilled holes to collect soil samples at the site last Friday. Analysis of these samples is valuable information in the design and construction of the the tennis court slab.
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By Karen Brugnoli and Betty McNallen
The Blanco County Habitat for Humanity continued its first A Brush with Kindness project on Saturday, November 22, with an 8 AM start in the cool weather.
About 20 volunteers continued the work from the previous Saturday.
Crew leaders David Hamm, Mike Kelley and Danny Campos decided which of the volunteers had the skills appropriate for the various tasks.
One crew put a second coat of paint the front porch.
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That eventful year was 1939. Tough times hung over all Americans, for the country was being held tightly by left-over grips of the Great Depression. With the German invasion of Poland, the U.S. was tottering fearfully over the brink of a major global war that had been cast upon the entire world.
On the third Thursday in November, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke, by way of radio and wished all traditional-minded Americans a happy Thanksgiving.
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With the holiday season upon us and so much to do, why not make your list a little bit shorter?
The Panther Band has kicked off its’ Annual Tamale Fundraiser this week and will continue until December 4th.
The Panther Band and Delicious Tamales from San Antonio have gotten together again to offer great tasting tamales at great prices.
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Although Hallettsville was able to keep things interesting for the first half of play, holding the Panthers to a slim 7 to 3 lead, Blanco only needed the final 14 seconds of the first half to take control and set the tone for the rest of the night. The Panthers ended the night claiming their 12th win of the season while winning the Area Championship and setting up a Regional Semi-final match-up against a strong Vanderbilt Industrial team this coming Saturday.
Blanco wasted little time in findi ...
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Shortly after Nine Eleven, I visited North Carolina on business. While there, friends threw me a surprise birthday party at a local restaurant. Rest assured there’s nothing like camo-clad cake and party hats to get you seriously questioning your ability to pick friends.
My birthday booty included two gifts that filled me with wonder: an electronic deer hunting video game remotely resembling a plastic, cartoon-looking sawed-off rifle, and Judy… the life-sized blow-up doll.
The ridiculous ...
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With Video Shak’s Keith & Noel Morgan
This is a hilarious movie. I knew that it would be funny since Jack Black is one of the main voices along with Jackie Chan and some other well known actors.
Kung Fu Panda is about a young panda whose wish is to one day be a warrior and not work with his dad making soup the rest of his life.
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Making the switch to Solo IRAs or the self-directed investing approach is a solution to the problem that would-be retirees are facing in this country right now. If you'd like to be able to retire on your own terms, then you may want to consider it yourself.
For many years, you may have been told that the best and only investment choices were in stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit.
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AUSTIN - In the space of three months last summer, the Texas coast suffered punishing blows from three hurricanes: Dolly, Gustav and Ike.
Because of the resulting breadth and depth of disaster in coastal counties, Gov. Rick Perry on Nov. 20 announced the creation of the Governor's Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal.
It's an advisory panel of public and private sector experts who will create a plan to assist communities in recovery.
Perry also directed the Texas Department of Transp ...
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A turkey dinner with all the trimmings was prepared by Auxiliary Unit 352 at the American Legion Memorial Highway Post 352 hall on Thursday, November 20 for twenty four attendees. Local area clergy were invited to dine and were thanked for their service to the community. Pastor and Mrs. Boatwright represented Johnson City’s Liberty Lighthouse Christian Church, Bobby Leggett and granddaughter represented Blanco’s Trinity Lutheran Church and Wilta Bottles and Aline Wright represented Kendalia ...
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The Blanco County Cat Coalition has been busy so far in 2008. They have been Trapping, Neutering and Returning cats in a program known as TNR. TNR is a proven procedure in which entire colonies of stray and feral cats are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and spayed/neutered by veterinarians.
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Straight Party Votes
REP - 1450
DEM - 552
LIB - 30
President
REP - John McCain 3417
DEM - Barack Obama 1466
LIB - Bob Barr 33
United States Representative
District 21
REP - Lamar Smith 3534
LIB - James Strohm 807
United States Senator
REP - John Cornyn 3389
DEM - Richard Noriega 1323
LIB - Yvonne Schick 174
State Senator, District 24
REP - Troy Frasier 3394
LIB - Bill Oliver 859
State Representative
District 45
REP - Matt Young 2374
DEM - Patrick Rose 2319
LIB - Tom Gle ...
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A panel of disaster managers from religious agencies, the American Red Cross, and the state and federal governments used the 2008 hurricane season to describe how their entities work, and to praise Blanco County for its support for hurricane survivors.
Government can't do everything in disaster response, said Jack Doebbler, Regional Liaison Officer for the Governor's Division of Emergency Management in Austin.
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Trees, celebrated in works of art, by Linda Palmer will be featured at this month’s ARTS Encounters event at the Benini Galleries and Sculpture Ranch, Saturday, November 29th and Sunday, November 30th.
For the last 25 years, Palmer’s primary focus has been interpreting and celebrating Arkansas landscapes. Her recent series on trees actually got its start in Texas, when she visited the Hill Country and depicted trees on the Benini Sculpture Ranch in a series entitled Dancing Trees.
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The historic telephone building or the Byars building will hold an open house during the Lavender Lights and Hometown Christmas events.
Displays of antiques from then and our modern version from now will be displayed. The display will be open on November 28th from noon until 8:00pm with refreshments being served during this time.
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November 28, 2008
•Blanco Lavender Lights: Traditional Courthouse Lighting and Open House Around the Square from 5 to 9pm day after Thanksgiving. Merchants stay open late and serve refreshments throughout the evening. Shoppers will be encouraged to participate in a “ visit all the shops” program and in exchange will receive a free gift from the Chamber and will qualify for other drawings.
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Perry Kuebel, Blanco High School Art Department, hosted Suzette Connell of Leaning Tree Gallery as guest artist during October.
The piece created that day, “Feathered Hope”, will be auctioned off this coming weekend at the Lavender Lights art show. All proceeds will go directly to the BHS Art Department to benefit the art students.
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The BHS FFA class with teachers Jason and Felice Marek and the Art class with teacher Perry Kuebel have designed, cut and painted the first Christmas scene to be added to the KBB decorations in Bindseil Park.
They delivered the scene and installed it Monday morning. The design for the scene is the concept of and inspired by Doris Phipps.
KBB has decorated the Pecan Bottom and the Bindseil Park for nine years and we are so happy to have the very first scene donated by our students and teachers ...
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Blanco resident Maggie Goodman will appear with the Second Act Troupe when the acting Company returns for a second production in Blanco in early December. Maggie recently joined the regional organization and was part of a stellar cast that recently performed Deckchairs to very enthusiastic audiences in San Marcos.
The same production will be presented in Blanco on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 7 at 2:30 pm.
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Robby Robinson, local realtor has recently been recognized by the San Antonio Business Journal as one of the Top 25 Realtors out of approximately 8,000 realtors who serve the San Antonio and Hill Country areas. This is the sixth time in five years the publication has recognized Robinson, who has been a RE/MAX Realtor for approximately 14 years.
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Turkey was the order of the day last Saturday at the Blanco Masonic Lodge. For the 18th straight year, members of the Blanco Community were invited to enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving Care & Share meal, and about 365 people in and around Blanco answered the call.
Past Master of the Lodge Dobie Benson, the dinner’s project leader, advised that this year’s menu included turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, fresh rolls, pumpkin pie and other trimmings.
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On November 13th at 3:00pm, Live Oak Medical Center had their Monthly Birthday Party hosted by the Methodist Church. Thanks to Darlene Kiernan, who played the piano for us as a group gathered around to sing many beautiful songs.
Dorothy Trophy Cakes were served with ice cream and punch. A thank you for the gifts from the Blanco National Bank and Rebecca Howerton.
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Masons across Texas are discovering the many rewards of reading to youngsters. As part of the Take Time To Read program, Texas Masons are teaming up with their local libraries and schools to read to children, collect books through book drives, and reap the rewards of glowing eyes, smiling faces, and eager listeners.
Take Time To Read is being practiced in more than 200 of the 900 Lodges across the state, including Blanco.
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By John Kinslow, Minister, Blanco Church of Christ
“be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” -I Corinthians 15:58
Sometime ago I read the story of Nola Ochs. It was 2006 and she was celebrating her 95th birthday, and was also graduating from Fort Hays State University.
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By Pastor Bobby W. Leggett, Trinity Lutheran Church of Blanco, trinity@moment.net
Women
This is the fourth week in a 5 week series on one of the most important questions asked throughout history. That question is this: “Is the Bible Really True?” That is to say, “Is the Bible we read today the same as what was written by those people “way back when.” This question is a fair question and requires a reliable response.
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The Blanco County Community Choir will present Handel's Messiah in concert on Friday, December 5 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Johnson City at 8:00 pm and Sunday, December 7 at First Baptist Church in Blanco at 7:00pm.
Soloists are Susan Murray, soprano from Austin; Sherrie Stockman, mezzo from Blanco; Arlis Hiebert, tenor from San Marcos; and Rick Bowen, bass also from San Marcos.
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This year’s annual Christmas toy program will be held in the Fellowship Hall of Blanco United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 13. It is on a first come/first served basis, and will be open for selection of toys from 1:00 to 5:00pm.
We will be out collecting monetary donations from our Blanco businesses and residents on November 28 and December 4 and 5.
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Henry Ward Beecher, the late famous nineteenth century pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York, was known to be a very patient man. One day, however, one of the members of his church found him anxiously pacing back and forth in his study, clearly uncharacteristically upset.
“What is the trouble?” asked the surprised parishioner.
“The trouble is that I am in a hurry and God isn’t,” Beecher replied.
Waiting is never easy and it must have been especially difficult for those wh ...
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We had little in common, me and a prissy, “know everything” 16-year-old girl whose desk was beside mine in English class.
Sometimes, we “pre-graded” each other’s themes. One was a review of homecoming.
“Miss Priss” wrote an ugly marginal note: “Don, you can’t even review a parade!”…
Spurred on by her tacky words, I entered Howard Payne University.
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Psalm 91 - “1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
What do you think dwelling in the shelter of the Most High means? I think it’s being in a constant prayer mode. Thinking about God, and not our problems! Walking in His shadow of protection.
Can you trust man?
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Bobby Wood joyously stepped across the threshold of Heaven and entered his eternal home November 19, 2008. His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was waiting and welcomed him with open arms and a loving smile.
Bobby, 52 years old, was born November 3, 1956 in Las Vegas, Nevada and gave the Lord complete control of his life when he was eight years old.
After a whirlwind courtship of eight weeks, Bobby married Sharon, the love of his life.
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Mrs. Ronnie Frantzen nee Donna Lynn Cogill Barnett of Fredericksburg, Texas passed away in Blanco, Texas on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at the age of 49 years. She was born on November 17th, 1958 in San Antonio, Texas to Palmer Herman and Jerry Louise Priess Cogill. Married Ronnie Frantzen on February 14th, 2004 in Fredericksburg.
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Dear Editor,
This is an open letter to the residents of Rust Ranch and Blanco County officials regarding 101 Silver Spur, Lot 157.
The abandoned property next door to me sits as a structure that is caving in from the roof, with grass and weeds surrounding the used to be home, so tall that they completely cover a car parked on the back of the property.
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This holiday season, auto burglars will shop the easy way – by stealing your gifts, purse, wallet, packages, or other valuables you leave in plain sight inside you vehicle.
Every 2 minutes, a vehicle is burglarized in Texas with its contents stolen. Obviously, these crimes escalate during this time of year when people increase shopping and don’t take the necessary precautions to protect personal items left in a vehicle.
“We know that auto burglars scout mall and other large parking lot ...
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(Bulverde, Texas) Saturday, November 8th saw the formal opening of the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library. Jeaniene Jolley gave the invocation, the Smithson Valley High School Navy JROTC presented the colors, and Peaches Kelly rendered the national anthem. Welcomes and congratulations were given by Scott Watson, Bulverde Area Rural Library District; Commissioner Jan Kennady for Comal County; Mayor Ray Jeffrey for the city of Bulverde; and Communication Director, Kari Hutchinson, for the Comal ISD.
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Johnson City, Texas — Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park invites everyone to experience “Christmas at the LBJ Boyhood Home” on November 29, December 6, December 13 and December 20. National park rangers will provide an open house of this historic home, all decked out for a Christmas celebration in the 1920s from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
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The holidays are upon us. Here are some tips from your local community bank regarding your safety, financial soundness and sanity during this joyous – but frequently stressful – time of the year.
Before hitting the malls or shopping online, prepare a list of the people on your gift list, how much money you are willing to spend, list of the gifts you want to purchase and stick with it.
While you are more likely to stay within your budget if you pay with cash, it may be safer to pay by chec ...
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The Board and members of Lights Spectacular Hill Country Style have a very special event planned to honor our county for its 150th year. This year’s festivities not only include the traditional lighting of the courthouse, but will also include fireworks. Whether you witnessed the Friday night lighting of the Courthouse over the past eighteen years or if this is your first time to attend; this year will be one you will not want to miss.
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At its regularly scheduled November 17 meeting, Pedernales Electric’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a new wholesale power contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority. PEC Board President R.B. Felps said the approval of the contract “is probably the biggest vote that any one of us will ever encounter in our history with PEC.” LCRA’s Board is expected to address the contract at its November 19 meeting.
The new agreement would extend the relationshi ...
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The Indian Hills Riding Club finished off another good season by sharing in a good old fashioned BBQ feast and handing out awards for the high point winners of their playday series. Hi-point Champ saddle winners are pictured (L to R) Bobby Vaughn, Rachel Bendas, Logan Delancey, Shelbi Haynes, Dustin Jones, Marci Nisely and Emma Nisely.
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And so it begins, the most magical time of the year. It is a time when families get together and give thanks for all their many blessings. It is a time for giving, receiving and sharing.
The Bulverde-Spring Branch Area Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Bulverde, which is located on Bulverde Road approximately one mile west of Highway 281, invite you to join them from 5:00 to 9:00p.m.
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(Austin) – MaryAnn Weaver of Blanco ISD was among a group of school board members gathering in Austin November 14-15 to focus on the role of advocacy in achieving educational excellence. Trustees, who met for the second of five training sessions of Leadership TASB, began their activities by touring the state Capitol and participating in in-depth training on advocacy.
Keynote speaker on Friday was Jackie Lain, associate executive director of governmental relations, Texas Association of School ...
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(Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX) – On Friday, November 14 2008, Texas State University student and member of the Texas State Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, Muhammad Weusi, received monitors, CPU’s, and printers from Baker Surveying located in Blanco Texas, in an effort to recycle the non-functioning equipment.
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The Blanco Panther Varsity team opened their season against the Canyon Lake Eagles on Monday, November 24.
Lacking a number of Varsity team members due to Varsity football team going to play-offs, the young team that came out on Monday put up a valiant fight.
They trailed behind the Eagles for the duration of the game, but closed the gap in the third quarter, coming within only seven points of Canyon Lake, 41-48.
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The directors and members of Keep Blanco Beautiful wish you a very safe and happy Thanksgiving.
We all look at our many blessings at this time of year and what we are thankful for. Being thankful for living in Blanco is always one of the messages, along with family and friends, that you hear when talking to people who were born here and from people who have moved here.
Please visit the Chamber of Commerce and read the letters in the large notebook titled “What I love about Blanco”.
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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.
Blanco Police Reports
These reports were filed between Oct 24 and Oct 29.
Oct 24
• Disturbance. 11:33 PM.
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By Debbie Vallone-Homeier, Paragon C&D Builders / Vallone Real Estate
When you decide that you want to build there are a lot of decisions that you will have to make. One of the most important decisions will be what type of house you are going to build and where are you going to get the plans? If you already know what type of house you want but you can’t find any plans that you can find that are exactly what you are looking for you might want to think about having your plans custom drawn by some one.
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School Band Will March in League Contest
November 22, 1968
The Blanco High School Band directed by Billy Harrell will enter the Region XI, University Interscholastic League, Marching Contest in Del Rio this Saturday, November 23.
The Blanco Band will hope to repeat their first division performances of the previous two years and make it three in a row.
The judges for this year’s contest will be Herb Karnau of Karnes City, Dan Schreiber of San Antonio, and Bob Lewis of San Antonio.
Li ...
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The holiday season is a busy time for most people. No one has time for anything because "this time of year is crazy," right? That doesn't mean the real estate market shuts down. In fact, the period from Thanksgiving through New Year's can be a great time to buy or sell a house.
Think I'm nuts?
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