Scott and Linsey Balmos are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Harper Blair Balmos, born Wednesday, December 21, at 7:50am in San Antonio. Harper weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20.5 inches long. Also welcoming Miss Harper is big brother Ryder Patrick; grandparents Pat and Lisa Ziriax of Hext, Judy and Bobby Everett of Selma, and Jim Balmos of Medina Lake; great-grandparents Patsy Ziriax of Mason, JoAnn Hooten of Fredericksburg, and Margaret Palafox of San Antonio.

Army Pvt. Jesse J. Ingram has graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia. During the nine weeks of training, the soldier received training in drill and ceremonies, weapons, map reading, tactics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, and Army history, core values and traditions. Additional training included development of basic combat skills and battlefield operations and tactics, and experiencing use of various weapons and weapons defe ...

Blanco Kung Fu celebrated the Chinese New Year a recent Monday night with wonderful food and fun games. Students and family members ate scrumptious food and visited. Then everyone was entertained by Shifu Chris Denslow and his students. A rousing game of Chinese tag, involving children and adults, kept everyone laughing.

The big day started out like any other hill country Thursday morning in late January. Cool, but not too cold outside... the weather guy called for a chance of showers, but not much, maybe a 20% chance. The city of Blanco went about its business like any other day in the life of our small town.

“Joel Becktell and Carla McElhaney did provide, as the Blanco County News headline announced, extreme entertainment last Saturday night,” said Vickie Pautz of Blanco Performing Arts. “Their impeccable technique was astounding, their spoken comments were engaging, but even more than that, their understanding and communication of the music absolutely drew the audience in.

Baker Guns offers Concealed Handgun License (CHL) training and testing for the license; they hosted 15 attendees at their February 4 class. The classes started in 2010 and Baker Guns is prepared to continue the classes. Mike Cox of Driftwood CHL does the instructions at the Baker conference room and then the range portion at the Baker Ranch just 5 miles north of Blanco. The class involves 10 hours of training and testing in one Saturday so that working people can take the course without lost ...

Crews work on replacing a sewer line on 5th Street between Elm and Hackberry. Work was just completed on the sewer line from 3rd to 9th streets on Elm Street, said Director of Public Works Nathan Cantrell, replacing a 6-inch clay line with an 8-inch PVC line. The project will continue north on Hackberry and will get probably three blocks before running out of money, Cantrell added.

Blanco National Bank would like to announce Dr. David Behrends as their newest member to the Board of Directors. He will be joining as an Advisory Director this month. David was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, on September 11, 1954, and grew up in Stonewall. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1979 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

From Blanco State Park Blanco State Park will host its second Stars-in-the-Park event Saturday night, February 11, 2012, starting at 6:00 pm. The initial event last November saw more than 100 stargazers converge on the park for an evening filled with fascination and wonderment at the beautiful night sky. Aided by amateur astronomers from the Austin Astronomical Society, the Hill Country Astronomers, and the Wimberley Astronomers, the activity was deemed a stellar success by all those in attend ...

Sam Mowry hands Robert Seymour of Seymour’s Garage in Blanco an $800 donation for Yett Memorial Park. The donation is being made by the Blanco Masonic Lodge #216 to assist the Yett Memorial Park management group in maintaining and improving the park. Yett Park is a great asset for the community, providing an area for baseball, softball, soccer, rodeo, and other related events.

Join us at the library on February 14, Valentine’s Day, for our Friends’ Patron Appreciation Day. We will have refreshments in the large conference room available during our open hours just to say, “We love our patrons!” Also, starting February 13, we will have Curtis Knutson teaching basic computer classes and he will also be available to help you out one-on-one in between classes.

Gentle Readers: I thought spring had sprung, but I was wrong, although somebody needs to tell the flora and fauna! This is really the first example I have had since I moved here of what is termed "Texas weather," with the temperature being in the 80s one day and freezing the next.

Who did Jesus tell us to go to? "23And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." John 16:23 Who did Jesus go to? He said, "28Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you.

During the Sunday morning worship services, the Blanco Cowboy Church family praised God for their twelve-year ministry. A brief testimony was given at the beginning of the service, sharing how the first service was held on February 2, 2000, how God has blessed the church family during the past twelve years, and how He continues to manifest His Vision through them.

John 14:16-18 says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (intercessor, advocate, helper, one called to one's side to give aid) that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

A turtle desired to travel to Florida for the winter. Being unable to walk that far, he made an arrangement with a couple of geese. Each one would hold the end of a rope and he would clamp on to the middle of the rope and fly with them to Florida.

Trinity Lutheran Church of Blanco will again host a concert by one of the best country and southern Gospel artists you will ever hear – David Patillo! He joins us Saturday evening, February 11, at 6:00pm to share the Gospel through his original award winning country and southern Gospel music.

Mr. Richard Barrientes of Johnson City, Texas, passed away on Monday, January 30, 2012, at Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 38. Ricardo was born December 9, 1973, in Fredericksburg, Texas, to Lawrence Barrientes and Claudia Irma Rodriguez Barrientes. He married Holly Streeter on June 18, 1998, in Fredericksburg, Texas. Richard is survived by his wife, Holly Streeter Barrientes of Johnson City; one daughter and three sons, Katelyn, Luke, Gabriel and Tobias ...

Dear Editor, The Blanco Historic Cemetery Association has improved by leaps and bounds over the past several years in its attempts to become a more professional and caring organization towards its interment members. One of the greatest achievements of the Blanco Historic Cemetery Association is that it completed the composition of a new constitution and by-laws in March 2010 to replace the original constitution and by-laws which had been lost. Recently it has been brought to my attention, as ...

AUSTIN – On February 1, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals signaled that the Texas House, Senate and U.S. congressional district maps drawn by the state Legislature last spring could take weeks worth of scrutiny in testing for compliance under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Act provides the basis to cure racial discrimination in elections and election-related processes.

The 7th grade A team lost 28-19. Points were scored by Jonathan Campbell - 4; Logan Parker - 3; Jeremy Kindla, Garrett Seales, Kameron Martinez, Chase Coggins, and Shawn Burton - 2 each; and Kailen Webster - 1. The 7th grade B team won 18-7. Points were scored by Jacob Mangold - 10; Tanner Cain - 4; Jacob Robinson and Louis Elozondo - 2 each. The 8th grade A team lost 43-38.

Quarterback Tanner Rogers signed a letter of intent to play football for Cisco Junior College on Wednesday, February 1.

Harper On a night when experienced leadership proved to be vital, a couple of sophomores stole the show for the Panthers. After the visiting Harper Longhorns jumped out to a 14-8 first quarter lead on a three at the buzzer, David Ramirez had seen enough. Ramirez went 4-for-6 from the field for the night, but his greatest contribution came on the defensive end of the floor, where he locked down Harper’s leading scorer.

The Lady Panthers sealed their play-off position with overwhelming wins over Comfort and Harper. Blanco will finish in the top 3 and advance to post-season play. On January 31, the varsity girls ran past the Deer, 62-40. Senior Justine Cooley ripped the nets, scoring 21 points. Seniors Micaela Klein and Kayla Martinez added 14 and 10 points respectively.

I was going to write something cutting-edge about recycling. An article about how it’s the 21st century and the future is here. But, frankly, as a culture we are creaking along at a snail’s pace regarding our understanding of what being green means. Being green really just means going back to the old ways of our ancestors; reusing items many times instead of just once.

As a young man growing up in Mexico, I took advantage of every opportunity to travel around that beautiful country with my dad. I had read a lot about Mexico and its colorful history and I wanted to see the places and things about which I had read. On one occasion my dad and I had checked in to a motel in a Mexican town, the name of which I do not presently recall.

Many people think of bats as scary and dangerous creatures. The truth is that bats are very beneficial to our environment. Bats can consume large numbers of insects in a short period of time. So, let’s build some bat houses. Bat houses should be made of exterior plywood or cedar (rough on the inside).

February 10, 1967 Initial steps were taken for the creation of a hospital district for the Blanco trade area when a group of men discussed the proper procedure for the creation of such a district. The entire setup would have to be done in several steps: Mayor Smith was appointed temporary chairman to name a temporary Board of Directors; they in turn would define the limits of the district—it was suggested to use the existing boundaries of the Blanco ISD since it covers most of the immediate ...

Even if the Texas weather has your yard looking less than its best, it’s important not to neglect your home’s exterior when you decide to put in on the market. When you’re selling your home, you’re selling the whole package. And a buyer’s bad first impression of the outside could influence her opinion of the interior. Fortunately, there are a few simple tasks you can add to your to-do list to spruce up the exterior.