“Does this bucket have sponges yet? How about work gloves?” The work crew went down the assembly line, filling buckets with cleaning supplies for flood survivors. Flooding in South Louisiana from Hurricane Isaac depleted the supply of filled buckets in the warehouse, so on Saturday volunteers met at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City to replenish the supply.

Right on schedule, the Blanco Good Samaritan Center reopened its doors to business and community service Monday, Sept. 17, after a week-long renovation project that included installation of a new floor. The center, which houses a thrift store and food pantry on Pecan Street, closed for business Sept. 10-14. Thanks to a generous Blanco donor, the costs of floor materials and labor were covered 100 percent. Clothes and other items were temporarily stored in a box trailer provided by Jimmy Klepa ...

The Blanco Chamber of Commerce would like to announce the nominees for the Board of Directors for 2013. They are: Gabriel Gregerman-Real Ale Brewing Co., Jo Nell Haas-Individual Member, Curtis Knutson-New Life Computer of Texas, Janet Mellene-Cattlemen’s National Bank, Thomas Montgomery-Individual Member, and Carolyn Zbytovsky-Uptown Blanco Arts & Entertainment. The returning officers and directors for 2013 are Charlotte Widdick-Healing Arts Community Health Center-President, Marcy Westcott- ...

Five officers of Blanco County Association of Retired Educators (BCARE) attended the Region 13 meeting of Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) on Friday, September 21 in San Marcos. Those in attendance were President Jan Booth, Vice-President Mary Nabers, Second Vice-President Henrietta Smith, Benefits Chairman Rebecca Howerton, and Legislative Chairman Carole Smith. Guest speaker was Bryan Guthrie, Executive Director of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) of Texas, a position appointed b ...

The staff at Blanco State Park, in coordination with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Friends of Blanco State Park, are presenting a fun family afternoon on Saturday, October 6th, from 10:00 until 2:00. Revisit the past and learn about the original people who built many of our State Parks.

This week’s Summer Reading Program Drawing winner is Emmet H! Kids, remember to keep an eye out for your name in this newspaper to see if you won! Remember to sign up next year to earn and win prizes. Our 2013 Fundraiser Calendar comes out October 1! You will get to see some wonderful pictures of what makes Blanco the Unique Jewel of the Hill Country that it is!

How can you read what Paul says in Ephesians and not be excited about our future, if you believe in Christ Jesus as the RISEN LORD! Remember John, the apostle who said in 1 John 4:1-4 “4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ ...

In a gospel meeting effort a man responded to the invitation on the first night, and said, “Lord fill me, fill me Lord.” On the second night of the meeting he responded again and said the same thing. On the third night when the same man did the same thing a voice was heard from the back of the auditorium, saying, “Plug the leak Lord, plug the leak.” The Lord has offered his invitation to all men.

Mark 4:11 says, “And he (Jesus) said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.” The Kingdom of God was a mystery. A Biblical “mystery”, was a divine purpose, which God kept hidden in times past, but has now disclosed or revealed.

The DOW closed slightly downward at 13,579.47 on Friday. Friday a week ago, the DOW closed at 13,593, so the seesaw continues before U.S. election day. As almost predicted, the markets have been fluctuating from 12,500 to 13,500. I have noticed that some economists are predicting a “sky is falling” outlook and that we could take huge losses once again in stocks, using transportation stocks as the predictor.

AUSTIN — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week announced its award of $57,041,000 to the Texas Water Development Board to support the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program. The funds are for loan assistance to eligible water systems for infrastructure improvements needed “to ensure safe drinking water is available to Texas residents.” The fund program was established under the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 authorizing the EPA to award capitalization grants ...

Representatives from Austin Community College visited with Blanco High School seniors Thursday in the first session of its College Connection program. “ACC will visit Blanco High School four times as part of our College Connection program,” said ACC representative Kendra McArthur. “In this kickoff event, we introduce students to the program, give them a general overview about college admissions, and assist them with their application to ‘Apply Texas.’” ACC representative Patsy Phi ...

For three quarters, the Blanco Panthers and the San Antonio Christian Lions Junior Varsity teams held each other in a scoreless defensive battle on Thursday, September 20. Dylan Bates, Levi Windham and Dru Ramirez made outstanding stops for the Panthers throughout the first half of the game. In the third quarter, the Panther offense began to move the ball with a good carry by Logan Dodd, Adrien Dominguez, and Chase Horton.

The Blanco volleyball team “wrapped” up their pre-district schedule with a decisive 3-0 win over St. Augustine on Tuesday, September 18. Set scores were 25-13, 25-5, and 25-11. The Junior Varsity also posted a 2-0 win, with set scores 25-4 and 25-11. The Panthers travel to Ingram and Comfort this week to begin district play.

The Blanco High School Cross Country team got a good look at its competition last Saturday, as they ran against opponents throughout Region IV at the UTSA Ricardo Romo Classic in San Antonio. Meaghen Seales placed 2nd in the Girls AA division (out of 107 runners), while Rance Dollahite placed 14th in the Boys AA division (out of 154 runners).

The most commonly skipped meal is breakfast. Even people who do eat breakfast do not consume densely nutritious food. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Studies consistently show that children who eat breakfast perform better in school than children who do not. However, the reality is that many children do not eat breakfast, and of those that do, few choose nutritious foods. After a good night’s sleep, the body requires food from protein and complex carbohydrates for fuel.

When I was attending UT Austin back in the early 1970s I was the father of two young boys. Naturally, I was always looking for ways to entertain them while at the same time helping them to develop motor skills and a sense of curiosity. One day while browsing a second-hand store near where we lived in Austin, I came across an ancient Underwood typewriter that was in perfect working condition.

Dear Readers: I must apologize in print for singing Happy Birthday to Leona Smylie on the wrong day. She had a lovely birthday - I was just two days late. Don’t forget - the rodeo is coming up the second week of October! Come out and see us. A good time will be had by all! Hellos to Ruby Barnard and Pearlie Greebon.

Korey Ackerman, Speeding in a school zone David Alvarez, Speeding 10% above posted limit Alejandro Arteaga-Pichardo, Speeding in a school zone, Expired Motor Vehicle registration Maria Banda, Speeding 15 mph over limit Biana Bidiuc, Speeding 15 mph over limit William Buvens, Violate promise to appear Gregory Carnes, Speeding 15 mph or more over posted limit Daniel Chamblee, Talking on cell phone in school zone Delwan Chiles, Speeding 10% above posted limit Michele Cod ...

Thinking about adding a room or maybe two onto your current home? No problem. You just need to do some prep work and call a contractor. What all is involved? First you need to have an idea of what you want. If you just don’t know, sit down with your builder.

When you’re looking for a good restaurant, you might get some advice from a friend, coworker, or family member. The same is true when you’re searching for a real estate agent to help you buy or sell a home. In fact, referrals are one of the top ways that agents get new clients.