Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Eiland announce the marriage of their daughter Amanda Christine Eiland to John Lee Hicks, son of Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Hicks, at 5:30pm on May 22, 2010, at Twin Sisters Dancehall in Blanco, Texas.

There's some movies that come out that you just have to go see, whether it's the billion dollars it made at the box office and you want to see what all the fuss is about, or you just like movies that push technology to the limits. Avatar is definitely one of those movies. Avatar is worth seeing in any format, but if you have access to a PS3 or, like us who have purchased a blu-ray player since they've come down to a little over a hundred, watching it in high definiti ...

Due to popular demand, the Blanco All School Reunion cut-off date has been extended to May 15. If you haven’t replied yet, this is your chance to be included in this event. The catered meal will be served by Bill Miller at 5:30. We are expecting a good turn-out, so if you haven’t made your reservation yet, you still have time.

As the Lavender Capital of Texas, Blanco is proud to celebrate all things lavender during the 6th Annual Blanco Lavender Festival, June 11-13 in Blanco, Texas. Recognized as the Official Lavender Festival of Texas and an authorized Go Texan event, the Blanco Lavender Festival will include a Lavender Market held on the grounds of the Old Blanco Country Courthouse, lavender growing and lavender-infused cooking demonstrations, and tours of local lavender farms. The Lavender Market ...

Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 15. That is the day for Blanco State Park to host the 22nd annual Blanco Classic Car Show. With the spring Bluebonnets, Indian Paint Brushes, and other Texas wildflowers blooming into an explosion of color, you can make the day complete at the beautiful Blanco State Park, where you and your family can spend an entire day surrounded by the sights and sounds of immaculately restored vehicles from a bygone era. All of us kids, no matter whether ...

Healing Arts Community Health Center of Blanco and Canyon Lake hosted the Chamber of Commerce Spring Mixer on Earth Day 4/22. An art exhibit featured botanical watercolors by Lotus McElfish, photographic art by Channis Tagart, and acrylic paintings by Margaret Boswell. In honor of Earth Day, businesses were invited to convey their conservation efforts.

Blanco County Master Gardeners took a little time off from gardens and community volunteer projects in April to learn the art of flower pounding. Before the age of photography, explained Master Gardener Pat Owens, flower pounding was used in taxonomy as an essential method of preserving plant identification. Today, flower pounding is primarily an art form, producing an amazing array of colors and patterns on material.

We had a successful May Day Fest, Saturday, May 1, in Peyton Colony, at the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church. The Lord gave us a beautiful day and stayed off the rain that was predicted Thursday, so we could work for the school. The wind made it hard only for the musicians.

Blanco Boy Scout Troop 497 hosted a car wash this past weekend to raise money for their Summer Camp. The Boys raised over 300 dollars to help fund this year’s trip to Wehinahpay Mountain Camp in New Mexico. The Troop will have another car wash later in May. It will be held at the Blanco Boy Scout Hut next to the Blanco United Methodist Church.

Bunhill Cemetery in London may have the highest monument to a mother anywhere in the world. There, at the grave of Susannah Wesley, stands a monument fourteen feet tall honoring this mother of faith who was known for her ability to stay calm and cheerful in difficult circumstances. “Give others the sunshine and give Jesus the rest,” Susannah repeated frequently and her simple secret of contentment through faith so impacted her sons, John and Charles, that they becam ...

Since I married my husband 4 years ago, my life has been a flurry of activities. I used to keep my plans on a calendar, and get angry at Lawrence because he wouldn’t commit to a date that I could pencil into my calendar (back when we were dating). After living with him these last 4 years, I see why.

Two workers opened up their lunch boxes and one said, "Not baloney again! I can't believe it. I hate baloney." The other said, "Why don't you just ask your wife to make something different?" He replied, "I don't have a wife. I made these myself." A lot of the baloney in our lives we put there ourselves.

Luke 13:16 says, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Legalism will blind you. The ruler of the synagogue had become so legalistic, that he couldn’t even appreciate the miracle that happened right in front of his face!

The Holy Bible has much to say about mothers, because without mothers the world would be more crazy and confused than it is. Mothers are God’s gift to a broken world in desperate need of real, true love. Each of us has different feelings about our mothers, yet we all have many of the same feelings and thoughts about our mother. Mothers’ greatest gift is their capacity to sacrifice over and over without any recognition or thanks.

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, Arthur C. “Ace” Wolters, Jr., passed away at Baptist North Central Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Ace was born on April 19, 1929, in Lewisville, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Sallie Lyons, his son, Michael Woltors and his wife Robyn of Irving, Texas, stepchildren Ricky and Jennifer Lyons, and grandchildren Austin Woltors, Whitney Woltors, and Jessica Cohlmeyer, and a sister, Delores Sanders. Ace spent most of his electrical engineerin ...

Clarence Gail Martin passed away March 31, 2010, at the age of 63, in the North Austin Medical Hospital. He suffered from numerous health complications. Preceding Gail in death were his parents, Clarence J. and Pauline Eison Martin, sisters, Elizabeth A. Stork and Melba E. Page, and one brother, Carnell J.

Dear Editor, I am so saddened by the loss of Trey Noah. I didn’t know him that well, but I did know his mother and aunt. And you couldn’t ask for better people. And it hit me hard just thinking something like this happened in our community! He came from a good, loving, caring family.

Blanco kindergartners invite you to the “Wee, Delightful Musicale!” It will be a spring event full of joyful singing, play parties, dance, and artistry. This event will take place on Tuesday, May 11, at 6:30pm in the auditorium. The kids have been working very hard in music and art class to prepare for this.

The Blanco Panther baseball team will face the Stockdale Brahmas this Friday in the first game of their bi-district playoff series at 7:00pm at Texas State University. The second game will be Saturday at 1:00pm with a third game, if necessary, to follow. The Panthers defeated Stockdale earlier this year via a tie breaker in the Blanco Baseball Tournament.

The Blanco Panther softball team played the Poth Pirettes in a warmup game Friday, April 30. The Blanco team struggled with errors losing the low scoring game, 0-3. Hopefully, with their nervousness over, the Panthers will begin a strong playoff run. The Blanco squad will travel to Lockhart Friday, May 7 to battle the Wiemar Wildcats in a best 2 of 3 series.

Another sad beginning to this column - our hearts and thoughts go out to Wes and Stephanie Cudd in the loss of their baby son, Wesley Reid Cudd. As in last week's column about Trey, rumors run wild in a small town, as Blanco is, which makes it hard for the family and all involved to grieve their loss.