Texas first ever ebook signing takes place on Saturday, January 3rd from 2 to 4pm at the Blanco Public Library, located on the east side of Main Street (Hwy 281) in Blanco. Local author and fitness expert Tam Thompson will be signing full-color, professionally designed ecovers of her new ebook for women, "Busy Sexy Body--How YOU can have a slim, sexy body in just 17 minutes a day, no matter how busy you are!" What are ebooks?

Dear Santa, I’m doing very good. How are you and your rein deer? I hope your doing great. For Christmas I want a new bike, a playhouse a scooter. I realy want a real pony. Merry Christmas. Love your friend, Kirstin S. Dear Santa, How are you doing? I have bin a good boy this year.

About 66 teenagers crowd into the front room of the The Second Mile, the local youth recreation center and coffee shop on the corner of Fifth and Pecan. They're loud and excited, making the most of the opportunity to hang out and play pool, ping pong, foos ball or air hockey on a Monday night in Blanco.

Washington, D.C., September 23, 2008 - Mr. Kirk Beckendorf, an eighth grade science teacher from Blanco Middle School in Blanco, Texas, is one of fifteen teachers selected from a nationwide pool of applicants to receive a 2008-2009 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship. This prestigious program offers elementary and secondary science, technology, and math teachers with a demonstrated excellence in teaching an opportunity to serve in the national education or public policy arena.

The Hill Country has produced an Olympic athlete. Raised just eleven miles from Blanco by parents Russell and Jeanenne Maenius, Hannah Maenius attended school in Stonewall and later Fredricksburg and next year, she will compete halfway around the world in Taiwan. Maenius runs track and competes in the 800 meter run and the 4x400 meter relay, and is currently running for the Texas A&M Corpus Christi team. Hannah’s running career started in Middle School when the regular 800 meter runner was ...

Sometime last summer, without fanfare, Kathleen Inglish slipped out of the life of Blanco. After delivering letters of resignation to the various organizations whose existence is due in large part to her influence, she simply packed her things and moved to Fort Worth to be near family members. At last report, the 94-year-old attorney is alive and well, busy with water aerobics and line dancing.

On August 1, 2008, forty-two years after former Marine Charles Whitman killed fourteen people and wounded another thirty-one with a sniper rifle from the top of the 28-story University Main Building, ten law enforcement officers and four civilians were honored in South Austin for the role they played in stopping Whitman’s shooting spree. Lt.

Despite reports that morale is high at the Blanco Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BVAC), the band of volunteers are still anxiously awaiting the results of the investigations currently underway from the Texas Department of Health Services, the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Blanco County Sheriff’s Department. Rumors about the future of BVAC have been running rampant since the story broke in January of this year in regards to local hero, and BVAC Director, Mark McMain.

Phoenix, a four and a half pound schnauzer mix, is recovering, slowly, from injuries he sustained from the brutal torture that occurred not once, but twice, on June 28 and July 4 of this year. He is currently being treated at the Austin Pets Alive! clinic in Austin, where he is continuing to make progress, however, he still has a long road ahead of him. On July 4, Phoenix was taken to Kendalia Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation by his owner, presented with severe injuries consistent with a be ...

Sergeant Carl Bragg of the Blanco Police Department was called to the scene of a burglary on June 28, only to find that nothing had been stolen. The victims said that they still had all of their valuables, however, there was another victim that needed serious medical attention. The family’s pet, a four pound Schnauzer mix was taken to the Kendalia Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation center, and then taken to San Antonio where it was first treated.

On the morning of May 31, 1,386 bicyclists gathered at Real Ale Brewing Company to begin a ride through the Hill Country for the second annual Real Ale Ride. This year, the event raised funds to support the Blanco Library. The riders started out from the brewery’s location on San Saba Court, in the north part of the city; each rider cycled on one of five courses—15, 30, 50, 65, or 80-mile tracks along the country roads, making even the shorter routes challenging. Rest stops were set up abo ...

BLANCO, Texas — Blanco State Park is adding a new staff position and repairing facilities, thanks to increased funding provided by the Texas Legislature. The changes will improve visitor entry and campsite registration, increase personable customer service, expand park headquarters operating hours and improve fiscal management. For 2008, the site is hiring a new park interpreter.

The FBI is asking people to beware of e-mails claiming to be raising money to help victims of the recent earthquake in China. Tragic incidents such as 9/11, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Minnesota Bridge collapse, and the Virginia Tech shootings have all prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Corporal Rachael L. Hugo was a former high school cheerleader who served as a combat medic with the 303rd Military Police Company based in Jackson, Michigan. The 24-year-old sent her father, Kermit Hugo, an e-mail from Iraq last year saying “This is what I choose to do, and being a medic is what I live to do.” The Madison, Wisconsin, native chose a life of danger, saving the life of a sergeant three months into her tour by treating him in the middle of a firefight. Eight months later, Cor ...

Several people in the community are organizing a benefit for Marisa Grace Vargas. Marisa, who is battling leukemia and still has a long way to go, a group, headed up by Sherry Hawkins, has jumped in to help out. Many of the girls organizing this benefit work at The Blanco National Bank.