Keylin and Yvette Merritt are proud to announce the birth of their baby girl, Bailey Lynn Merritt, born November 3, at 12:12pm in San Marcos. She weighed 7lbs and was 19 inches long. Blessed with this new addition to their families are grandparents, Steve and Cheryl Tamez of Blanco, Shelia and Daniel Higgins of Dimmitt, and Thomas and Gina Merritt of Blanco.

December 24, 2009 •Christmas Eve Service of Candlelight, Carols and Communion at New Hope Lutheran. December 24 at 5:30pm, New Hope Lutheran Chapel, 9th and Elm (one block west of Shamrock station). Everyone in the community is invited to attend. December 31 and January 1, 2010 •”Ring Out the Old ~ Ring In the New” Chili Cook-Off Dinner and Dance at Yett Park.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative will recycle natural, undecorated Christmas trees again this year. From December 28 to January 4, 2010, individuals may drop off their trees during regular business hours at PEC’s offices in Bertram, Canyon Lake, Cedar Park, Johnson City, Junction, Kyle, Lake Travis, Liberty Hill, Manchaca, Marble Falls and Oak Hill. This free service is part of PEC’s Green Works initiative and continued conservation efforts.

My wife and I are spending the Christmas holidays this year in the mountains of Idaho. It has been snowing and there’s about two feet of snow on the ground. The snowplows have cleared some of the roads but, in so doing, they have created great mounds of the white stuff all around the town and particularly around our apartment. The first night we were here, shortly after dark, my wife happened to spot a fox across the road that was looking her way rather expectantly.

AUSTIN — Texas’ November unemployment rate was 8.0 percent, a decrease from 8.3 percent in October. The rate, at two percentage points below the national average, validates “the approach we take here in Texas,” Gov. Rick Perry said on Dec. 18. “Over the past two months, while the nation as a whole lost 122,000 jobs, Texas gained nearly 70,000 jobs, which is promising news for those Texans who are seeking employment,” Perry said. Also, ...

Petey Chalico Honored at Barbecue Benefit On December 13, volunteers served up barbecue to help curb medical expenses for Petey Chalico, Blanco High School sophomore. Chalico was injured during a JV football game, suffering a concussion that severed a major artery in his head in two places. Doctors were able to repair the artery, but Petey is having to relearn some motor skills that he lost as a result of the injury.

Like an old grandmother, Blanco’s famous courthouse is a thread that ties us all together. A Texas Historic Landmark, the Old Blanco County Courthouse has anchored the square at the heart of downtown Blanco for over 124 years. Today, the Grand Old Lady stands as an outstanding example of small town spirit.

On Sunday, December 20, members of the Johnson family and invited guests met in the Johnson family cemetery on the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall to unveil the headstone marking the final resting place of Claudia Alta Taylor (known as “Lady Bird”) Johnson. Luci Baines Johnson, younger daughter of President and Mrs.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative is inviting its members to a forum on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010, to discuss the ongoing effort to consider revisions, updates and improvements to the Cooperative’s bylaws. The meeting also will include a discussion of a proposed, first-of-its-kind member bill of rights, to be included in the bylaws.

Pure Bliss Candle Company, located at 9494 Hwy 281 North in Spring Branch just south of FM 311, is now open. They held their Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting on December 5 with the Bulverde/Spring Branch Area Chamber of Commerce. Their candles are hand-crafted and made of soy from U.S.

The 1946 film, It's A Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed was nominated for five Oscars, but was awarded none. It's a story of a man who's dreams never seems to materialize and who's life takes a serious turn for the worst, and leaves him thinking that things would have been much better if he had never been born.

Our church service Sunday was really nice. Our pastor gave a really good sermon, and we sung Christmas hymns, and visitors came who brought gifts and gave of themselves in service, song and fellowship. Four people joined our church today, and God’s love showered us all with a refreshing awareness of God’s glorious Son, Jesus. Our pastor brought some things to our attention that I’d like to share.

This will be the third and final part in my series on Mary, Joseph, & Emmanuel. I pray you have gleaned some wisdom from the lives of Mary & Joseph; and that you will seek to imitate them as they imitate Christ (1Cor 11:1). This godly couple, chosen to raise the Son of God here on earth, should cause us to want to raise the bar in our own relationship with God and our spouse.

Luke 2:1-20 is the Story we all know and love as “The Christmas Story.” Story is used throughout the Bible to convey God’s message to His creation. The power of story and words to reflect the world we live in as well as to provide the imagination and vision necessary to reshape that world is infinite.

The wise men, who came from the east to worship Jesus, are the most mysterious characters of Christmas. No one knows exactly when these wise ones began their journey. Some conclude it may have been as long as two years before their arrival in Jerusalem. Those who hold to the two year view do so because King Herod had been especially interested in finding out when the wise men first saw the star that guided them on their way and later, in his effort to prevent anyone else from eventual ...

Members of the Blanco High School band traveled to Marion High School on November 30 to compete for chairs on the ATSSB All-Region and Symphonic Bands. Echoe Burkhart, trombone, and Rebecca Dowlearn, trumpet, both earned a spot in the All-Region Band. Keith Baize, Drum Major and trombone player, made the Symphonic Band and will advance to Area for a chance at All-State Band. ATSSB, the Association of Texas Small School Bands, is an organization that strives to recognize musicia ...

Well, do you have brown and black plants? I do! We haven’t had a day that was warm or dry enough to trim and clean up the frozen plants. It has been several years since we have had a hard freeze that lasted as many hours at a time. It took its toll on all of the plants.

First and foremost, Glen and Ruby Barnard recently attended a graduation celebration for their daughter-in-law, Jennifer Kitchen, who graduated from Incarnate Word College in San Antonio. She has been pursuing this for a long time and they are VERY proud of her (so are we)! She had a 3.9GPA and graduated summa cum laude.

Building a House is a great way to save money, if, and only if, you go about it the right way. What is the right way? The right way is plan, plan, plan, and then build like mad. What does that mean? It means that once you break ground you start paying interest on the loan to build the house.

Blanco Places 12 Winners in District Band December 19, 1969 The Texas Music Educators Association sponsored the annual District Bank tryouts last Saturday, Dec 13, in Fredericksburg. The District Band tryouts are the first step in the competition which leads to the All State band. Students from Blanco, Fredericksburg, and Kerrville perform for all those who wish to come and listen. Turkey Hunting Available Decemb ...