September 12, 2018 Issue

THANK YOU to all the emergency responders who worked the accident on Main Street in front of the Farm Bureau office. It was inspiring to watch how efficiently and professionally all of the different responding “teams” worked together. We appreciate everything you do and your dedication to the community. Sincerely, Blanco County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, Agents and Staff

Fall is for planting! If you plan to add plants to your landscape such as trees, shrubs, flowers and garden and flower bed, September is the month to begin. September is a good month to prepare soil for all spring gardens and flower beds. This is also time to plant wildflowers.

The special meeting was called to order at 6:06 p.m. with roll call following. All were present except for councilmember Martha Gosnell, who was absent with permission. The mayor expressed her thanks to all the emergency responders who assisted with the tank truck accident in town Sept. 3. The mayor said she looked up the meaning of Labor Day and there are several meanings.

The Blanco County Sheriff’s Office received 327 calls for service from 9/03/2018 through 9/09/2018. The Blanco County Communications Center received the following call types during the seven-day period: 6 = Arrests 153 = Traffic Stops 19 = Reckless Drivers 30 = Medical Aid Calls/Medical Alarm 29 = 911 Hang up Calls, Mis-dials, Open line or Abuse calls 12 = Fire Calls/Fire Alarms 09 = Motor Vehicle Accidents 02 = Disturbance Calls 12 = Animal Complaints/Loose Live Stock Cal ...

State School Safety Planning Just before Labor Day weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott released a School Safety Action Plan Summary that lists actions taken by school districts to harden campuses in the wake of the deadly Santa Fe Independent School District shooting in May. Highlights from the summary include developments such as: - 1,705 public school employees attended Mental Health First Aid training courses during June and July; - The Texas Department of Public Safety expanded its “iWatc ...

“How would you like to visit for a little while? It might be nice to take a couple of minutes now and then for that. To ask, ‘How are you?’ and mean it, share some memories and maybe pass along the news of the day. Let me be the first to say that I don’t know a lot to talk about but maybe something will turn up.

The Blanco County Emergency Services District No. 2 public hearing was called to order by board president Ann Hall Wednesday, Sept. 5. All commissioners, were present. The hearing that opened the meeting was to hear public comment on the proposed tax rate of $0.10 per $100 of taxable value of property to support emergency services in south Blanco County. “The ESD Board believes it is necessary to maintain the previous year’s rates in the interest of the health and safety or residents ...

The Blanco Pioneers’ Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas was originally inspired by Sarah Jane Page. Sarah Jane Page was born November 13, 1842, in Lockhart, Texas, to John and Susan Ann Page. Her father was a prosperous miller. He died of consumption in November 1949. Her mother remarried Hugh McLaurin in 1850, and he brought Susan Ann and the family to Blanco in 1853.

A tragedy in Genoa Italy made international headlines. At least 39 people are dead after a highway bridge collapsed – a bridge that had been on officials’ radar as dangerous for years. For years, there have been warnings about our own crumbling infrastructure and the need for repairs on bridges and overpasses we use every day.

When our forefathers settled the Texas Hill Country, many of which were straight off ships from Germany and other European countries, they had to quickly adapt to a harsh new land totally alien to them. In their struggles to survive they quickly learned of the not so obvious abundance of edible wild plants in the Hill Country.

The Lady Panther varsity cross country team placed second at the Liberty Hill High School meet on Saturday, September 8. Team members and their results pictured, left to right, are Asher Haack, 3rd place; Steely Steiner, 2nd place; Johanna Villarreal, 1st place; Kendall Kramer, 41st place; Ella West, 27th place; Olivia Atchley,12th place; McKenna Clark, 38th place; Ashtyn Hunt, 31st place, and Carlie Waxler, 46th place.

The Blanco junior varsity football team traveled to Austin to take on the Crusaders of St. Michael’s on Thursday, Sept. 6. Deonte Hector carried for 15 yards and a 15 yard touchdown reception from Gavin Young gave the Panthers the lead. The Crusaders put together a quick score, despite great tackles by the Panther defense from Young, Gonzales, and Waylon Hall.

Jenna Atchley sets the ball with teammates Hemma Porter (3), Sydney Shiller (1), and Mina Broyles (8) ready for the play in the 7th A team game against Lago Vista on Thursday, Sept. 6. The Blanco Middle School volleyball teams played the Lago Vista Middle School Vikings on Thursday, Sept.

With rain looming, the Blanco Panther varsity football team hosted the St. Michael’s Crusaders from Austin on Friday, Sept. 7. Cade Felps got things started with a 21-yard run and touchdown score. The point after the touchdown was no good, for a score of 6-0, Blanco. The Crusaders punted the ball and Blanco fair-caught.

The Lady Panther volleyball team opened District 25-3A play with a 3-0 sweep over the Manor New Tech Titans on Friday, Sept. 7. Set scores were 25-3, 25-3, and 25-6. Kenzie Warner led the team with seven kills and two blocks. Hanna Srackangast and Ashlee LaRue each hit six kills.

At the School Board Meeting on Monday, Sept. 10, the Blanco High School’s Arts, Audio/Visual Technology, and Communication (AAVTC) program (career cluster) received a $5,000 grant from the Blanco Satellite Rotary Club, in partnership with the Blanco Education Foundation (BEF). The Education Foundation identified the need after coordinating with Amanda Wier, AAVTC teacher, and forwarded key information to the Rotary Club which, in turn, obtained funds for the program. The AAVTC program, es ...

Kelli Bramlett, noted molecular biologist and Director of Research & Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Austin, will be the featured speaker for the 2018 Wittliff Lecture Series at San Marcos Academy. The Witliff Lecture, “My Bloom on the Foundations of STEM Learning,” will be presented at 10:15 a.m. Sept. 19 in the Katherine Schultz Lecture Hall on the Academy campus.

Registration for Community English Classes is set for 6:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, at the First Baptist Church Blanco, with classes beginning the following Monday. This ministry of First Baptist Church will start its sixth year of service to English language learners. Although the classes are designed for adults, high school students who would like to participate are welcome. The program has a highly motivated all-volunteer staff.

The Senior Coalition of Fredericksburg will host the 5th Annual Fall Harvest Health Fair on Tues., Sept. 18 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 1800 N. Llano St. The Fall Harvest Senior Health Fair is open to the public for free, and senior citizens, caregivers and those with aging parents are invited to attend. This year’s health fair will offer: Information about services and products for senior citizens Door prizes Raffle items Flu shots Vision sc ...

The Blanco County Emergency Services District No. 2 public hearing was called to order by board president Ann Hall Wednesday, Sept. 5. All commissioners, were present. The hearing that opened the meeting was to hear public comment on the proposed tax rate of $0.10 per $100 of taxable value of property to support emergency services in south Blanco County. “The ESD Board believes it is necessary to maintain the previous year’s rates in the interest of the health and safety or residents ...

The Blanco Pioneers’ Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas was originally inspired by Sarah Jane Page. Sarah Jane Page was born November 13, 1842, in Lockhart, Texas, to John and Susan Ann Page. Her father was a prosperous miller. He died of consumption in November 1949. Her mother remarried Hugh McLaurin in 1850, and he brought Susan Ann and the family to Blanco in 1853.

A tragedy in Genoa Italy made international headlines. At least 39 people are dead after a highway bridge collapsed – a bridge that had been on officials’ radar as dangerous for years. For years, there have been warnings about our own crumbling infrastructure and the need for repairs on bridges and overpasses we use every day.

Last Tuesday Aug. 21, the day before Blanco Elementary School started its 2018-19 school year, a group of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts gathered at the Elementary School cafeteria to help their Cubmaster, Tom Hampton, with his recruiting efforts. Hampton attends every year the meet-the-teacher day to provide information to parents about scouting, while signing up potential candidates who may want to join his pack of Cub Scouts.

On the heels of back-to-school vaccines for children, the Hill Country Memorial Medical Group and Johnson City family nurse practitioner Jovawna Hubbard remind the community that adults need regular vaccines, too. Hubbard encourages adults aged 50 and older to get vaccinated against common but potentially dangerous infectious diseases like pneumonia, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The HCM Medical Clinic in Johnson City offers the Pneumovax 23 vacci ...

With motor vehicle crashes still a leading cause of death among children, the Texas Department of Transportation is joining safety advocates statewide to remind parents of the importance of always buckling up their children. That means not only making sure they’re secured in their vehicle, but also avoiding the most common mistakes when it comes to child safety seats: failing to select the seat that is appropriate for the child’s age and size, and failing to correctly install it. As p ...

Catherine Lavonia Levassar Ehlers, 95, of Blanco, Texas passed away on Friday, Sept. 07, 2018, at LBJ Medical Center in Johnson City. Catherine was born on Aug. 22, 1923, in Athens, Texas to Helen Lavonia Walters Knight and James Knight. She was a wife, mother, grandmother who loved her family dearly and will be missed by all who knew her. Catherine is survived by her son, James Levassar and his wife Gladys of Tow, Texas; sister, Lucille Hobbs of Chandler, Texas; half-sisters, Barbara Abb ...

The memorial service for Margaret Maxine Blackburn will be Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 in the Blanco First Baptist Church sanctuary at 10 a.m. Interment will take place at the Blanco Historic Cemetery following the service.

Hilmar John Preiss, Jr. of Blanco, Texas passed away on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, at L.B.J. Medical Center in Johnson City, Texas. “Junior” as his family referred to him as was born on Oct. 19, 1930, in Twin Sisters, Texas to Lucy Merle Reeves Preiss and Hilmar John Preiss, Sr. He was a lifelong resident of Blanco and was retired truck driver for railroad companies and various ranches in Uvalde and Sonora, Texas.

“How would you like to visit for a little while? It might be nice to take a couple of minutes now and then for that. To ask, ‘How are you?’ and mean it, share some memories and maybe pass along the news of the day. Let me be the first to say that I don’t know a lot to talk about but maybe something will turn up.

Fall is for planting! If you plan to add plants to your landscape such as trees, shrubs, flowers and garden and flower bed, September is the month to begin. September is a good month to prepare soil for all spring gardens and flower beds. This is also time to plant wildflowers.

Often, in talks to various groups on the subject of our native habitat, I say there are three forces over which we have very little control but which are decreasing the amount of native habitat in the Hill Country. The three are: (1) farm and ranch land sold to development (housing projects, shopping centers, schools, parking lots, roads, etc.); (2) land fragmentation of larger ranches being broken up into many small parcels thus giving myself and many others a place to live in the country; ...