August 31, 2017 Issue

Johnson City churches, businesses and families are contributing to a city-wide relief collection for survivors of Hurricane Harvey. Who’s heading up this campaign? The children of LBJ Elementary School! They’re already putting donation boxes around town — at the school, in churches, the library, and at businesses. They will collect donations through next week, then rush them down to a distribution center inside the disaster area. “We’re asking for things the normal relief dr ...

Commissioners discussed final adjustments to the 2017/2018 budget during last Thursday’s special meeting. Two citizens stepped up to speak during the public hearing for Blanco County’s tax rate and budget. No action has yet been taken to approve the budget. Budget Hearing Commissioners expect to see increases next year in the GVTC internet and telephone bill for the Justice of the Peace 4 office.

How to help Harvey’s survivors Your support will be needed for a long time, not just while Hurricane Harvey is on TV. Recovery will take more than a decade (New Orleans is still repairing from Katrina). Needs are pretty basic right now: food, water, shelter…and those are being supplied as well as possible.

Eagle Volleyball is off to strong start for the 2017 season. They put two wins on the record for beating Burnet High School last Friday and Boerne Geneva High School on Tuesday. This year the lady Eagles defend at Area Championship title from their playoff run last season. The lady Eagles beat the Bulldogs in Burnet last Friday; the match lasted five games. Bella Mae Swafford led the team on offense with 21 kills.

Homecoming 2017 for Johnson City Schools is just around the corner. LBJ High School and the Administration of Johnson City ISD are excitedly preparing for Homecoming 2017. Plans are in the works for this year’s celebration which is set for the week of September 11th-15th. Highlights of the week include the Community Pep Rally and BBQ on Wednesday, September 13th and Volleyball on Friday vs District 25AAA opponent Lago Vista followed by Football against non-district opponent San Saba.

Mr. Michael “Mike” P. Cayce of Sisterdale passed away on Monday, August 28th at the age of 66 years. Michael Prentice Cayce was born on February 12th, 1951 to John William Prentice “Pat” and Doris Jean Alsup Cayce. He married Patricia A. Clark on July 26th, 2003 in Sisterdale, Texas Mr. Michael “Mike” Cayce is survived by his wife: Patricia A.

Early in my career as an educator, I had the opportunity to provide a series of workshops for some school administrators. I was fresh out of college back then and, of course, with my new degree in hand I supposed I knew all there was to know about teaching. My motivation was to make a little extra money to help my young family with expenses. The workshops went well and I think my clients were pleased—until I attempted to extract the last farthing.

I’m amazed at the willingness of Americans coming together to help in great times of need. The horrendous flood in Houston and beyond is a classic example of people—regardless of race, creed or political affiliation—lending a hand to those who have suffered loss. Christian and non-Christian alike have pitched in, all because human beings are made in the image of God, and his communicable (transferable) attributes like love, goodness, and kindness transcend prejudice and policy. Remini ...

Two teams played some of the first polo games in Texas on the Balcones Ranch near Boerne. Captain William Michael Glynn Turquand, a retired English military officer, led a contingent of English ex-patriots to San Antonio in 1876. Because San Antonio was the western terminus of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the city was a popular destination for wealthy Englishmen looking for adventure in the American Southwest. Not long after his arrival in San Antonio, Captain Turquand bought land near ...

Hill Country Astronomers (HCA) will meet at 6:30 PM, Tuesday, September 5, in the H-E-B Community Activity Center at Hill Country University Center in Fredericksburg. Travelling to the stars has been in the public’s imagination for decades. What will it take to do that? HCA member Steuart Dewar will talk about the difficulties of interstellar travel together with an update on where we presently stand on turning that into a reality.

Blanco County Community Choir announces rehearsals for the annual Christmas concerts. Rehearsals are 4pm-6pm at First Baptist Church in Blanco starting Sunday, September 10. The concerts will be Friday, December 1 at Community Church of the Hills in Johnson City and Sunday, December 3 at First Baptist in Blanco. The choir always welcomes new singers. This choir was begun by Beverly Voron in 1975 as a way to encourage interaction between the residents of Blanco County and continues the forty ...

Great News! The Red Door Resale Shop is celebrating its 1 year anniversary of service in Johnson City. Stop by the shop this week to pick up your coupon for one-half off of any purchase during the month of September. The coupons are being handed out to customers at the store and will be good from September 1 through 29, 2017.

The Highland Lakes Democratic Women welcome, Elizabeth Doyel, Exec. Director of the Texas League of Conservation Voters (TLCV) and the Texas League of Conservation Voters Education Fund as their speaker at their monthly luncheon/meeting on August 24, 2017 at 11:15 at the Meadowlakes Restaurant at 220 Meadowlakes Dr. in Marble Falls. Doyel directs programs focused on pro-conservation political work across the Lone Star State.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is supporting community animal issues committees and local emergency management coordinators to set up animal sheltering sites around the state in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey. “Forecasts have indicated there likely will be from 15-20 inches of rain and there could be record or extreme flooding, with most of the flooding expected in the area between San Antonio and Corpus Christi,” said Dr.

Johnson City, Texas — Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC), the nation’s largest electric distribution cooperative located in Johnson City, Texas, has sent service and construction crews to the City of Ganado in Southeast Texas. PEC crews are traveling to assist Jackson Electric Cooperative with power recovery and restoration following the devastating and historic Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Texas Gulf Coast and Houston metroplex. “We began preparations last Wednesday well before Hu ...

In August, Hill Country Memorial received an Excellence in Patient Care Award from the Studer Group. The award was presented at the 15th annual What’s Right in Health Care® best practices conference held Aug. 1-3, 2017, in Chicago. Specifically, HCM was recognized for exemplary results related to care transitions as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. Organizations receiving this award achieved a ranking at or above the 90th ...