April 12, 2018 Issue

After opening the April 10, 2018 meeting of the Blanco County Commissioners Court, Judge Brett Bray established that all Commissioners were present. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Commissioner Tommy Weir motioned that the minutes of the prior Commissioners Court meeting be approved, which was agreed by unanimous consent. The first action item for the Court was a request to approve April 2018 payroll, which was motioned by Commissioner Chris Liesmann and approved by all the Commissioner ...

You may soon receive an appraisal notice from the Blanco County Appraisal District. The appraisal district will mail about 12,000 appraisal notices on 4/16/2018 Your city, county, school district and other local taxing units will use the appraisal district’s value to set your 2018 property taxes. Under Texas law, county appraisal districts are required to notify property owners about changes in their property’s value.

Two different four run frames and a walk-off RBI in the eighth inning sealed the victory for the Lady Eagles over the Florence Lady Buffs on Friday, April 6th, and JC put the Lady Gators away with a 10-6 win on Monday, April 9th. Johnson City’s district record is now 7-2 as they sit in second place in the district. Florence got things started on the scoreboard in the third inning, scoring four runs in one frame.

Johnson City hosted the District 25-3A Track Championships last week. Both Lady Eagles and Eagles competed well against the opposing six teams. The Varsity girls placed fourth overall with 68 total points, the Varsity boys finished fourth place as well with 85 total points, and the Junior Varsity boys took second place with 132 points overall.

The Johnson City Eagle baseball team played three games in the last week. They defeated the Llano Yellow Jackets 7-6, defended the home front against the Florence Buffaloes in a 3-2 win, and lost to the state-ranked Gateway Prep Gators in a hard 1-2 loss. Eagles vs. Yellow Jackets Six runs in two innings and three lead changes gave the Eagles an edge that could not be reached by the Llano Yellow Jackets.

Blanco County Aggies will gather at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday April 21, at the Back Forty Dance Hall to observe Muster. According to information from the organization, Muster is a tradition “dear to all Aggies” and commemorates fellow Aggies who have passed away since last year’s event. Blanco County Aggies will enjoy a social hour and dinner.

Jo Ann (Felps) Carpenter, 82, passed away Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in Houston, TX. She was born in Johnson City, TX on August 19, 1935, to Robert Benjamin Felps and Anna Lou Felps (Pellar). Jo Ann was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Donald Wilson Carpenter; her son, Travis Carpenter; and her brother, R.B.

A well-intentioned friend was concerned that I shared too much in my monthly prayer emails and that it might be better to be less honest about the struggles. Initially, I agreed, but upon further reflection, I thought that would be the wrong way to go. The whole purpose of a monthly newsletter, after all, is to have family and friends pray for these struggles. What may seem like over-sharing to some is genuine, heart-felt need for me.

While discussing the pros and cons of learning a second language, my brother Jay R reminded me of the story about a mouse that was being bullied by a big, ugly cat. The beleaguered mouse poured out its soul to an even tinier mouse who, upon hearing the sad tale, promised to be of help.

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” I, personally, find the 2nd Amendment to be the least ambiguous in the The Bill of Rights. Our forefathers had just won freedom from a tyrannical national government, so borrowing from English law itself, they wrote a law which would give the people of the newly formed United States ability to prevent living under tyranny again.

Let’s consider the First Amendment to the Constitution, which encompasses many of the most important tenets of our democratic republic: freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Despite their importance, there are limits on these freedoms. Limits on freedom of speech include prohibitions against libel and speech that incites violence.

“Blanco County 911, what is your emergency?” Words many of us hear at some point during our most dire situations. The voice behind the words is a nameless and faceless dispatcher acting as the lifeline for caller and for emergency responder as they navigate an unexpected situation. Surrounded by eight screens that manage active calls for the eight county emergency agencies, locate callers and control jail security, dispatchers are the ultimate multi-taskers during their shifts where the ...

Seven members of the Round Mountain EEA Club and our Blanco County AgriLife Agent attended the TEEA Spring District 10 Conference in Seguin Texas March 10. This annual conference distributes news to EEA clubs within their districts from the TEEA State Organization about upcoming State conferences, any bylaw changes that need to be voted upon or any resolutions that need to be taken to the State Board or State Conference. The District Conference also celebrates County Club achievements.

Child abuse is one of the greatest yet most preventable tragedies of our time. Every year in the United States approximately 900 thousand children are victims of child abuse or neglect. Each year 1,500 children die at the hand of their abuser. That’s an average of four children each day.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin created the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 because he was disturbed that an issue as important as our environment was not addressed in politics or by the media.