Opinion

Summer is often a time for relaxation by the pool or a family trip to your favorite vacation spot. At the same time, many Americans take advantage of the warmer months to put their house on the market. According to the National Association of ®, one third of homes are sold during the summer months.

I’d like to share the stories of three families and how Medicaid helps them. The first is about a Hill Country family raising their special needs grandchild. This little girl has multiple intellectual and physical disabilities. Since her birth, her medical needs have been supported by Medicaid. Today, Medicaid pays for doctor’s visits, prescriptions, plus physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

While attending Brigham Young University in Utah I would sometimes drive up Provo Canyon and escape the pressure of school by taking in the beautiful mountain scenery just minutes away from campus. One day I was parked at the foot of Bridal Veil Falls watching the water cascade down a rugged rock face hundreds of feet into the Provo River.

Did you know that the median down payment for first-time buyers has been 6 percent for three straight years?  If you answered no to this question, you are likely not alone. aAccording to the National Association of REALTORS® Aspiring Home Buyer Profile, 87 percent of non-homeowners indicated that a mortgage down payment of 10 percent or more is necessary.  The Aspiring Home Buyer Profile also finds that eight out of 10 non-owners indicated that owning a home is part of their A ...

Mark Twain said, “Everything that goes on in life can be summed up in three words, ‘Life Goes On.’” So it is… Life is not a guided tour, rather life is a journey. An anonymous writer wrote, “You have been sent on a journey. You had no choice about when or where it started.

Dear Editor, This letter is to correct a statement reported in last week’s newspaper. It was reported during the June meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission Mr. Mike Green addressed Mr. Greg Ortiz. While speaking, Mr. Green was quoted as reading a letter from Ralph DeLeon of the Blanco County Inn.

To the Editor: Debt of thanks owed by Tom Bagby (recently moved from Blanco to Round Rock) who had a piece of hard peppermint candy that he was choking on: Special thanks to the folks at the Blanco Bowling Alley Café – especially Andrew Walla who performed the Heimlich maneuver on me which probably saved my life – he told me he did not know how to do it but he was not afraid to read the chart on the wall in the café and try!! And thanks for all the support from employees Tammy Coolie and ...

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British and, as traitors, were tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

To the Editor: My home, along with those of other elderly and disabled citizens, is at the Blanco Senior Apartments on Blanco Avenue. When the big rains came on Memorial Day weekend, water and dirt from a drainage ditch poured into at least five of the apartments. When residents requested cleanup assistance from apartment management, we were told we were on our own – it was our responsibility to clean up the mess, and by inference to replace our soaked carpets and live with wet baseboards ...

To the Editor: It has been a very rewarding experience in working with the relief center for me. Hearing and seeing the devastation is overwhelming and heart breaking. It amazes me how some people will not take advantage of the services available because they want someone else to get it before they do. I am talking about folks that lost everything.