Members of the San Antonio Jaguar Club gathered in Blanco on Saturday for the twenty-third annual Rallye to Luckenbach. Jaguars of all eras were parked around the Courthouse Square, where the club’s first rally of the year began at noon. “The rally covered a meandering route, taking 3 hours and covering 100 very scenic miles,” said event coordinator and club president Brian Blackwell. ”There was not a single stop light on the entire route.  It went from Blanco to Stonewall, then to K ...

Pedernales Electric Cooperative CEO RB Sloan addressed the Board of Directors at its January 17 meeting and said he hopes PEC will embark on “a rededication to the cooperative principles” in 2012, which has been declared the International Year of the Cooperative by both the United Nations and the International Cooperative Alliance. Sloan said this year-long celebration of the importance of cooperatives is also being observed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and it is ...

Music is known for its healing properties, and a mountain dulcimer can be an easy instrument to start with, according to Maureen “Mo” Augustine. Ms. Augustine, a winter Texan and 16-year breast cancer survivor, will teach a series of six free lessons beginning in February at the Hill Country Memorial Cancer Resource Center (CRC) in Fredericksburg. “This class encourages exploration of the fun and healing aspects of playing a soothing instrument with an American heritage,” Donna Laffer ...

There is one topic that will ‘draw a crowd’ in Blanco County and that is… water. Last Thursday, at the Blanco County Economic Development monthly meeting, Tom Koch, a Blanco County hydrologist and engineer, covered the waterfront. While some of the information Tom shared may be well-known by any Blanco County resident who has been here over one month and since discovered that water just might be a problem in Blanco County, Tom expanded his presentation to include a historical snapshot of ...

It is tax time again! Most of our free tax forms have come in, so stop by and pick yours up today. We will be having free tax assistance the first Thursday and Saturday of each month. Come in or call us to sign up for an appointment. If you have a gross household income of less than $57,000, you are eligible.

Getting spring fever? Come visit the Rheingold and Cave Creek Schools at an open house plan for Saturday, February 11, from 11am to 4pm. It’s just in time for a weekend Valentine trip to Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country. Rheingold is located at 334 Rheingold School Road-North Grape Creek Road and Cave Creek at 470 Cave Creek Road, both turn off the Ranch Road 1631 from Fredericksburg.

Tommy is coming home today, Monday, January 3, after one month in the hospital.  On December 23, he fell off a ladder and broke his leg very badly. He was transported to the Fredericksburg hospital in Blanco’s new ambulance.  I rode up front and learned all about the wonderful new vehicle.

The story is told of a Scotsman who was going to demonstrate the game of golf to President Ulysses Grant. The Scotsman put the ball on the tee, and took a powerful swing, only to miss the ball entirely. After five misses and scattering dirt on the President and everywhere else, the President said, "There seems to be a fair amount of exercise in the game, but I fail to see the purpose of the ball." Does life seem like a lot swings and misses?

John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” A church unified in Spirit and in doctrine, where the brethren love each other as Christ loves them, is a force to be reckoned with.

Psalm 40 "1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful wo ...

Joyce Elaine Schmidt Poenisch passed from this life Sunday, January 15, 2012, at her home in Marfa. She succumbed to cancer after a long and valiant battle and was 71. Joyce was born July 24, 1940, in Blanco, Texas, to Hilda and Vernon Schmidt. She married Carl Robert “Sonny” Poenisch in Blanco in 1962 and they were married for 32 years until his death in 1994. Joyce, Sonny, and their children moved to Marfa in 1973 to begin their career in ranching.

The U.S. Supreme Court on January 20 struck down the interim redistricting plans for the state of Texas authored by a three-judge panel of the San Antonio-based U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas. Last year, the panel was tasked with drawing state House, Senate and congressional district boundaries after the 82nd Texas Legislature’s enacted redistricting plans failed to be pre-cleared by D.C.

Pedernales Electric is once again offering scholarships to high school and home-schooled seniors in its service area. PEC will provide 30 scholarships — 25 worth $1,000 and five worth $5,000 — to deserving seniors this spring. The scholarships can be used to pay expenses at any accredited university, college, junior college, technical school or trade school.

The Hill Country Spurs horse judging team traveled to Alvarado, TX, on Saturday, January 14, to compete in the Johnson County 4-H Horse Judging competition. The HCS horse judging team consisted of five separate teams. The senior team #1 members were Kendra Smith, Rachel Harlin, Rilee Moser and Emily Masters. Rachel Harlin was the high point scorer for her team. Senior team #2 judgers included Breanna Solis, Brenna Stueler, Laura Miertschin, and Lily Masters.

Several local FFA members made a strong showing at the Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show in Kerrville this past weekend. Jr. FFA member Brenna Wallace led the way, exhibiting the Champion American Breed steer to qualify for the premium sale. Also placing high and qualifying for the sale on Saturday were Tyler Hardin with a 1st place light weight Southdown market lamb and Hanna Garrett with a 3rd place heavy weight Dark OPB in the market swine show.

There are many ways in which organizations raise funds, but one is becoming very popular – Dodgeball tournaments. It's action packed, attracts a wide range of teams and can be a blast. Make-A-Wish Foundation, Diabetes foundations, various churches, booster clubs and even schools have joined the fast growing idea. Now the Project Graduation Class of 2012 is jumping on the bandwagon.

The girls’ middle school teams played Ingram on January 19. The seventh grade team lost a close one with a final score of 17-18. Victoria Moya and Andrea Calzoncit each scored 4 points. Other scorers included Shayna Srackangast, Kaitlinn Calzoncit, Montana Wiseman, and Hannah Hulbert. The eighth grade team lost 4-20.

The Lady Panthers fell to a 2-2 district record after a 30-44 loss to Harper on January 17. The Lady Horns have strong fan support in their home gym, always making a Panther win tough to get. Foul trouble also contributed to Blanco’s loss. Senior Felicia Skillman led the team with 10 points, followed by Kayla Martinez with 6 and Leslie McClinton with 5.

Winning on the road in district play is rarely easy. The boys’ basketball team learned that tough lesson Tuesday night in Harper. The homestanding Longhorns employed a box-and-one defense early on to slow down junior Ian Ray, and for a while it worked to perfection. Harper jumped out to a 17-9 lead before senior Tanner Rogers took a steal the length of the floor for a layup to jumpstart the team.

The Panther powerlifting teams muscled their way to a third place girl’s trophy and a fourth place boy’s finish at San Antonio Southside on Thursday, January 19. Erica Flores lifted her way to first place with a 15 pound increase over her personal best. Monica Flores captured second place and a 15 pound increase.

Remember that our annual membership meeting is set for Saturday, February 25, 2012. It is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. to allow time for people to come in from out-of-town and enjoy Blanco. The place is the Masonic Lodge on Highway 281. Please help spread the word so that everyone knows about it. This week we cover Section 3C. Kimberly Sue Romero (Feb.

Have you noticed the different varieties and colors of fresh, raw, ripe fruit and vegetables? They form a veritable rainbow. These colors are the key to good nutrition and the different antioxidants in the foods. What is an “antioxidant”, anyway? When we burn oxygen, we get by-products: smoke with fire, rust with iron, and free radicals with exercise, or just with breathing.

Blanco is registered for the 2012 Texas Trash-Off event. This year it will be held the second weekend in April because the first weekend is Easter. So, mark your calendars for Saturday, April 14, and watch the newspaper for more information on how the event will be run in 2012.

On a recent trip to El Paso to purchase hay, I stood near some sheep pens with my old friend, Rudy Avila. Rudy comes as close as anyone I know to being one of those proverbial “horse whisperers.” I came to know his unusual abilities with those animals while boarding some horses with him a few years back.

Dorsey Lee Smith, of Blanco, plead “nolo contendere” in district court in Boerne on January 12. Smith was indicted on a charge of felony theft on June 6, 2011, in Kendall County. A “nolo contendere” (or “no contest”) plea means the defendant does not admit guilt. Smith received two years’ deferred adjudication probation and a fine of $500.

There are not enough handicap accessible homes anywhere. I’ve been doing research on this, talking to people and preparing final touches to my parents’ home for special needs. This includes apartments as well. We have elderly people, special needs folks, and those coming home from war all needing them. Yes, places can be changed to accommodate these needs.

January 22, 1965 The Rev. A. R. Wolber would be installed Sunday as the new Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Blanco. He will be installed by the District President, Dr. Vernon A. Mohr of Austin. Rev. Wolber, his wife, and 4 children would move into the parsonage the following week.

So your family’s housing needs have changed and you’ve decided to put your home on the market. Now you need to find someone who can successfully market your property and get you the most exposure to attract offers… but where do you start? Use the good kind of traffic The Internet has become the starting point for many homebuyers’ property searches, and online marketing efforts have grown to reflect that trend. A 2011 survey of Texas homebuyers and sellers found that 89 percent of buy ...