Congratulations to SPC Thomas Broyles for receiving the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Afghanistan. SPC Broyles received the Army Commendation Medal for his actions after the vehicle he was driving was hit with an IED. He has also received the Army's Combat Action Badge and is scheduled to return home from his tour of duty in April. SPC Broyles’ family would like to thank all his friends who have supported him while he was serving his country in Afghanistan. ...

AUSTIN – Senate Bill 14, legislation revising state elections standards, was approved by the Texas House of Representatives on March 23 after a floor debate that began in mid-day and lasted just past 11 p.m. Voter identification, on Gov. Rick Perry’s list of emergency issues for the Legislature to address, passed on a final vote of 101-48.

LeeRoy takes a "brake" after a long day at the race track. (3rd Annual LS1 Truck Shoot Out.) Photo submitted by Oma Anny and Opa Gregg of Blanco.

Sections A1 and A2 are the last sections in the A strip. It’s worth a trip to the cemetery to see some of the beautifully marked graves and to read the tributes on the headstones. One can begin to feel the historical importance of the people buried there; people who paved the way for us to enjoy civilization as we know it today.

Eleven members of the Blanco Cub Scout pack 497 and their families experienced the live aboard program on the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 26. The group arrived in Corpus Christi around 1:30 along with about 200 other scouts and family members. To go aboard the ship, they had to get wrist bands and carry their sleeping bags and baggage on board.

In the effort of keeping local citizens engaged and up to date on the happenings at Blanco State Park, the park and Citizens for Blanco State Park are starting a weekly column in the Blanco County News. We will be handling writing responsibilities off each week, so one week you will learn about various support opportunities from the Citizens for Blanco State Park and Friends of the Park groups, and the next you will read about the natural happenings and upcoming events from ...

For several months, the Blanco County Economic Development Corporation (BCEDC) Board has been working with PEC and the LCRA to develop a strategic economic development plan for Blanco County. This plan was adopted unanimously by the board two weeks ago. With the help of PEC, LCRA, local businesses, and input from Blanco County citizens interested in the economic vitality of our county, priorities were established and plans were put in place to begin leveraging Blanco County economic opportun ...

Now in its fourth year, Bicycle Sport Shop presents the Real Ale Ride, which rolls through the hills of the scenic Texas Hill Country. 　 This year the Ride will begin and end at the Real Ale Brewing Company grounds for a spirited celebration of local beer, music and food.　 The Real Ale Ride is fully supported and designed for all levels of cyclists, with route distances of 15, 30, 50, 65 and 80 miles.　 It is the largest ride in the 2011 Bicycle Sport Shop Signat ...

The next lunch will be held at Blanco United Methodist Church on March 31 at noon sharp. Don’t miss out! Proceeds from the lunches help the Ministerial Alliance.

I encourage you to read Matthew 6:5-13 carefully. In this section of Scripture, Jesus first shows us how we are not to pray; and then He shows us how we are to pray. Commonly known as The Lord’s Prayer (though it really the disciple’s prayer), it is given to us by Jesus as a pattern for us to follow in praying to our Father in Heaven.

Spring Branch Baptist Church delights to announce that Walter Plant will again be performing for the Spring Branch community. See his performance at 7:00pm on Saturday, April 2. Spring Branch Baptist Church is located on Highway 281 just 3/4 mile North of the Spring Branch Post Office. Walter rejoices in our Lord’s kingdom by sharing his truly inspirational voice and musical talents.

The teacher of the junior high bible class asked the boys what they knew about the destruction of the walls of Jericho. Each of the boys denied they had anything to do with it. The teacher was amazed at their ignorance of this well known bible story and went to talk to their parents about their lack of instruction.

In his article, "Keeping Calm," World Magazine editor, Marvin Olasky asks a question that may be on your mind: "Is the current financial storm a cold fall rain that will soon pass by or a 100-year flood that will inundate a decade?" Then he states this unchanging truth about the projected end of any crisis: "God knows but we do not."

Chapter 5 of Hebrews shows us that Jesus is our High Priest, who was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind, who was understanding and compassionate, having been made man He knew our weaknesses and frailties. He was also obedient to His death, submissive and holy. Sunday our pastor spoke of the veil that was rent in two when Jesus died. Luke 23:44-46 "44And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45And the ...

Stonewall Head Start, Inc. and Community Preschool is holding a "Fill the Bus" fundraiser on April 2, to help with program operating costs. We will be meeting at the Super S parking lot in Johnson City from 10:00am - 2:00pm. You will see our Head Start bus parked there! The following items needed to get our bus filled are as follows: paper towels, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, copy paper, hand soap, paper plates, styrofoam cups (6oz & 16oz), plastic utensils, napkins, kleenex, cr ...

The Old Willow City School will be open as part of the Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools Trail Open House Tour on Saturday, April 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thousand Oaks Alpacas Farm owners Larry and Patsy (Grote) Hauptrief will provide a program throughout the day. Visitors can tour the historical school built in 1905 along with watching spinners carding and spinning fiber into yarn, weaving, needle felting, knitting, crocheting, and rug hooking.

Child abuse is one of the greatest yet most preventable tragedies of our time. Every year in the United States approximately 900,000 children are victims of child abuse or neglect. Each year 1,500 children die at the hand of their abuser. That’s an average of 4 children each day. We can prevent child abuse by building communities that are committed to families and to support the services they need to raise strong, healthy, and successful children. The Blanco County Child Protec ...

On April 13, the Uptown Marble Theater at 218 Main Street in Marble Falls will present the world theatrical premiere of Green Dreams, a 50 minute documentary about the revolution at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative. Following the screening will be a meet and greet with PEC’s newly-hired CEO, R.B. Sloan. Former PEC General Manager Bennie Fuelberg has been sentenced to 300 days in jail, the entire former board of directors has either resigned or been voted out.

On March 7, the Blanco Middle School band traveled to Canyon Lake High School to compete in the UIL Concert Contest. The Middle School Band received a first division superior rating for their concert performance of their three concert pieces – Honor Guard (March), Sakura (Japanese Folk Song), and Atlantis (Overture).

The Blanco High School UIL Academic Team qualified 25 students to compete at the regional meet as BHS students overwhelmed their competition by 148 points at the District 8AA Meet held in Blanco on March 23. The BHS team scored 511 points to Harper’s distant second 363 points. Comfort finished third with 203 points.

The cross-examination debate team of Annie Albrecht and Eleanor Kirkscey finished as quarterfinalists at the UIL State Tournament at the University of Texas in Austin on March 15-16. Albrecht received 3rd best speaker and Kirkscey received 5th best speaker out of 128 contestants. The sophomore team finished preliminary rounds with a 4-0 record and number one seed by defeating Industrial Vanderbilt, Elkhart, Brock, and Corsicana Mildred in the 64-team tournament. Durin ...

2011 Warrior Golf Classic Team Results: Blanco – 350, Tivy – 351, Harper – 374, Junction – 391, Ingram – 399, Mason – 405, Comfort – 429 Individual Results: Blanco: Rogers -90, Leachman-83, Hardin-89, Batey-98, Hoelting-88; Tivy: Baehere-73, Cowart-92, Jones-92, Kennedy-94; Harper: Lackey-89, Brands-101, Sc ...

The Blanco Junior Varsity baseball team played in a tournament on March 26. They won the tournament 3-0 against Navarro.

This past Saturday, the BHS Pantherette Dance Team hosted a dance camp. Fourteen elementary school girls, ages ranging from 4-9, learned some new dance moves and had a blast! They also performed their new routines at the JV Baseball Tournament.

The Lady Panthers fell to the Junction Lady Eagles on Tuesday, March 22, but recorded a 20-1 win over the Ingram Lady Warriors on Friday, March 26. Against the Eagles, the Panthers struck first with four runs in the first inning. The Eagles hit back and led 6-7 at the end of the third inning.

The Hill Country Championship Tennis Tournament was held at Fredericksburg High School March 24-26. There were competitors from more than 20 schools. Teams from smaller 1A and 2A schools, like Menard and Blanco, battled against teams from larger 4A and 5A schools, like Floresville and San Antonio O’Connor. Medalists from Blanco were Kelsey Schwind and Austin Carrola, who won second place in varsity mixed doubles, and Mishelle Calzoncit, who took third place in the junior var ...

"Bowtique" on the Move Little Sweet Cheeks Bowtique is making a move. Look for the boutique at its new location next to the Chamber of Commerce on the Square (310 Pecan St.) starting Friday, April 1. Along with the new locale, you can find new items coming soon, including YellowBox flip-flops, candles, soaps, jewelry and accessories, and lots of bling.

There are many swans out there working under cover as ugly ducklings. I recently attended the annual convention of Mannatech, Inc., a research and development company that markets patented nutritional supplements along with weight loss and skin care products. During the course of the convention we were introduced to a skinny, non-descript but vivacious, feisty, young dark-haired girl by the name of Tzu-chun Lin, of Taiwan. In order to study at the university level in Taiwan, ...

On Saturday, March 26, Leona Calhoun celebrated her 97th birthday at Live Oak Medical Center with her family in attendance: her son James Calhoun and his wife Arnella, sons Joe and Gene Calhoun, daughter Bonnie and her husband Johnny Wood, grandsons Lance and Kevin Calhoun, and great-grandson CW Calhoun. Everyone enjoyed a fried chicken lunch as well as cake and ice cream.

Frankie Lee Weldy, speeding • Martin G. Villarreal, speeding • Martin G. Villarreal, fail to maintain financial responsibility • Martin G. Villarreal, failure to appear/bail jumping • Salvador Medina Crisanto, speeding • Salvador Medina Crisanto, failure to appear/bail jumping • Alexa Cecilia Reed, speeding • Alexa Cecilia Reed

There are some do’s and don’ts in the area of General Contractor/Builder areas. Here are a few things that might help you in the future. Don’t ask a General Contractor/Builder for their subs list so you can contact them to do work for you. Either you hire the general contractor or find your own subcontractors/trades for your project.

March 30, 1962 The Blanco Panther Band, under the direction of Dalton Harbers, won top honors, two first divisions, at the UIL sight reading and concert playing contest held at San Marcos High School. The prepared music for the concert playing consisted of "Fantasy for Band," "Excerpts from Hansel and Gretel", and "Golden Eagle March."

You’re only a couple of days from closing on your new house, and everything is almost official. Why not take a walk? Inspect the property one more time to confirm the condition of the house prior to closing. Spend 30 minutes or an hour walking around the place. I know that you probably have 50 things on your to-do list – buying a house is a hectic time – but here’s why a final walk-through is a good idea. Is it fixed? The purpose of the final w ...