January 14, 2010 •Blanco State Park – Romper Rangers: A very special class for young children and their parents to experience live birds of prey up close. 10:00am. Please call 830-833-4333 for more information. January 15, 2010 •Blanco State Park – Owl Prowl: Listen and learn about local owls and hopefully see some close up.

Two seconds remain on the clock. The place kicker carefully notes where the ball will be spotted, takes a couple of measured steps back and two steps sideways. He glances up at the goal posts and then his full concentration is on the spot where the holder will place the football for the easy, game-winning field goal. “The snap, the set, the kick is up… He shanked it!

AUSTIN --- Three Republican gubernatorial candidates will face each other in a live broadcast debate Jan. 14. Two-term Gov. Rick Perry, three-term U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and former Wharton County Republican Party chair Debra Medina will engage in debate at the Murchison Performing Arts Center on the University of North Texas campus in Denton. The broadcast will be distributed at no charge to all commercial and public radio and television stations statewide as a public ...

The Blanco County Association of Retired Educators will meet on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at the Blanco United Methodist Church on 1st and Main in Blanco. This will be the third meeting of the group since it reorganized last summer. The fifty current B-CARE members are encouraged to attend. Those retirees who have not yet joined are invited to come.

Cat owners residing in Blanco County can apply for $25.00 vouchers from the Blanco County Cat Coalition (BCCC) to pay for part of the cost of spaying their female pet cats. There are a limited number of vouchers that are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The cats must be spayed by February 28 in order to qualify for the vouchers. Owners need to make appointments with their regular veterinarians for the spaying and take their cats and pick them up when the surgery is over.

Armed with sewing machines, cameras, and aprons, Blanco County youth are preparing diligently for the Youth Exhibit Hall next week in Johnson City. Kendra Smith and Elizabeth O’Day have been busy with leather stamping lessons and are creating a dog collar and a belt. Mycala Jordan has been quilting since late summer for her submission.

Bring your favorite supper dish to share and head over to the Blanco Library on Thursday, January 21, for Blanco Verde’s community potluck supper from 5:30-8:00. Linda Howard, Chair of Blanco Historical Preservation Commission, will talk about the history of a few Blanco buildings and the impact that Blanco’s geologic location had on the early development of the community and city. The evening promises to entertain, enlighten, and enhance everyone who attends.

At the monthly business meeting on January 5, 2010, the Blanco Volunteer Fire Department membership awarded Mrs. Judy Brewer a Lifetime Membership and a commemorative clock in recognition of her many contributions to the Fire Department. She also was presented a fifteen-year service pin and certificate. Assistant Chief Dustin Beaudoin made the presentation.

Friday, January 8, the candidates running for office in the March 12 Republican primary drew for position on the Blanco County ballots. Citizens will be able to meet the candidates and ask questions at the next Republican Club meeting in February. For more information about that meeting go to www.blancogop.org. In the March 12 primary, county residents will vote for the following judges: Justice, Supreme Court Place 3, Justice, Supreme Court Plac ...

On December 18, another of Lucille Scharnhorst’s grandchildren graduated from Texas A&M University. What made the event more significant is that for 16 consecutive years, through that graduation, Lucille had one or more grandchildren enrolled at Texas A&M, and this latest grandchild was the sixth to graduate over those years out of her eight grandchildren.

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 United Methodist Church in Johnson City on Tuesday, January 26 at 9:00am. 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 reso ...

Lucky Leaf 4-H Club is selling raffle tickets as their club fundraiser. The tickets are one dollar each, which gives you (2) two chances to win a one-half processed hog (approximately 150 pounds). The raffle drawing will be on Saturday, January 16th, during the Blanco County Stock Show sale at the Blanco County Show Barn in Johnson City.

In this article I will be sharing just a bit about growing up in the upper Midwest. It’s amazing to me how many transplanted Midwesterners actually reside right here in the beautiful Texas Hill Country! Just as the South has qualities that make it unique from other parts of the United States, Iowa has its own interesting, unique details.

The past couple of weeks we have been looking at the subject of discipline and success. These two words work hand in hand. There is no success without discipline; and discipline breeds success. As I have stated in the previous articles, success should be something that the Christian strives for.

I don’t know about you, but this last hard freeze caused a lot of problems for us. Since Christmas we’ve had to replace 10 feet of water line, repair a faucet in my green house, replace the bathroom sink, a propane heater; and now something’s wrong with the washing machine.

Have there ever been so many things to terrorize us? Yes. And then some! Following the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early sixties, President Kennedy, sensing the growing menace of nuclear weapons in the world, warned that each day was drawing us nearer to the hour of maximum danger. We lived through the cold war, sleeping, waking and going about our daily tasks zeroed into the missile sights of a powerful enemy bent on our destruction.

Someone said, "Read your Bible to know what people ought to do. Read the newspaper to know what they actually do." The question has also been asked, "If you couldn't get another Bible what would yours be worth?" Indeed, we should examine the value we place upon the scriptures and count it not just a duty but a privilege to study it's content. Everyday we hear instruction, advise and opinions.

Billy Joe Stahl, Sr. passed away Tuesday, January 12 at the age of 78. He was born on November 26, 1931 in Stockdale, Texas. He attended grade school in Stockdale, then TMI in San Antonio and went on to graduate from Texas A&M in 1953. The next 23 years were spent in the service of his country in the US Air Force, during which he was an instructor at the Air Force Academy and an aircraft navigator in Vietnam, where he logged over 200 combat hours.

Dear Editor, Charley referred to the mess Obama inherited, but never mentioned it’s an 8 year mess. Can’t be fixed in 1 year! Oh boy… no attacks in 8 years, in spite of the fact Bush failed to get OSAMA or Ohmar (Taliban). Maybe his tough words, like “Bring ‘em on” and “Dead or Alive” scared ‘em off, or… was it the two wars, massive military expenditure in that area; at what cost??

Dear Editor, In the Blanco County News last week, comments that I made regarding the Courthouse and Lavender Festival were misinterpreted. Caution was the intent of my statement. Please assist the Blanco Police Department in keeping you and your property safe in this community. You are encouraged to stay observant and report any suspicious activities to the Blanco County Sheriff’s Office as soon as possible. The sponsors and patrons of the many ...

Dear Editor, Charley Pemberton, local teabagger and tea party organizer, continues to faithfully parrot Republican Party talking points. Especially the inaccurate and absurd claims of Dick Cheney and Rudy Guiliani concerning terrorist attacks on the US between Jan. 2001 and Jan. 2009 – the tenure of Pres. George Bush. (See letter in last week’s Blanco County News). The claim of a “legacy of eight years with no terrorists attacks on t ...

The Blanco Independent School District is joining the other 14,885 school districts throughout the United States in celebrating January as “School Board Recognition Month.” Serving on our local school board are: Matt Herden (President), Mary Ann Weaver (Vice-President), Troy Immel (Secretary), Kirk Felps, Charles Riley, Bernie San Miguel, and Darrel Wagner. “These men and women volunteer countless hours of unpaid time not only providing the best possible education fo ...

Pedernales Electric is once again offering scholarships to high school seniors in its service area. PEC awards fifty $1,000 scholarships to use toward expenses at any accredited college, technical school or trade school, or other post-secondary educational institution. “An education is one of the most powerful tools a young adult can possess today, and PEC fully supports students pursuing their educational goals,” said PEC Community Relations Manager Toni Reyes. In ...

The 2010 "Great American Cleanup" will begin on March 1 and end on May 31. The 11th annual KBB citywide "Don't Mess With Texas Trash-Off" and the 4th annual "Blanco River Cleanup" is scheduled for April 10, 2010. Each year since 2000, the citizens, youth, families, churches, schools, civic organizations, city employees and officials and KBB volunteers have come together to help to remove the litter, junk cars, used appliances and illegal dumps from Blanco.

Tests for Tots January 11, 1980 Is your child among the half a million preschool children in America with vision problems. A simple home eye test, available free from your Blindness or the National Society to Prevent Blindness, 79 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016, could help you find out. Shower January 13, 1961 Members of the Blanco Chapter of the Easter Star presented two boxes of gifts W ...