December 18, 2019 Issue

Community Resource Centers of Texas, Inc. received a donation of $1,000 from Pastor Steve Sanchez and Community Church of the Hills towards the new Blanco County CRC in Johnson City. Construction continues with a revised opening date of January 2020. If you would like more information, or to donate to this cause, visit crctx.org/blancocrc/.

The Exotic Resort Zoo welcomed a Scimitar Horned Oryx. This is the first baby born on the resort zoo in a few years. The oryx are originally native to Egypt, but now very popular in the Hill Country. They’re also known as the legend of the Unicorn because their horns are so symmetrical that from the side it looks like they only have one - there are very old Egyptian paintings that depict this “one-horned” antelope.

Many consumers are in a sprint to the finish getting their holiday gifts and greetings in the mail. This week is anticipated to be the busiest week of the holiday mailing and shipping season for the Postal Service. The agency expects to process and deliver nearly 2.5 billion pieces of mail, including packages, this week alone. Overall, the Postal Service anticipates delivering 800 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. The Postal Service has expanded its Sunday delive ...

The bottom line: Vaccines work to prevent people from catching infectious diseases. Here’s how: They introduce a dead or weakened version of the virus or bacteria to train our natural defenses to kick in. If our body faces a real threat from the live germ later, the immune system is armed to block it from harming us. Most people accept the fact that vaccines protect them from diseases.

Bob Backle and Sandy Switzer from the Rotary Club of Blanco County received a $2500 donation from the board of GVTC. We are to use the money for our outreach childrens' community project. Courtesy photo.

AUSTIN — Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs on Dec. 11 hosted a roundtable discussion of state agencies to coordinate efforts to accurately count all Texans in the upcoming 2020 Census. Hughs was joined by Dr. Steven Dillingham, U.S. Census Bureau director; Dr. Lloyd Potter, Texas State demographer, and representatives from state agencies and the Texas Legislature. "The census plays a major role in determining the distribution of federal funds to the Lone Star State in areas such as he ...

State Representative Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) was one of nine representatives and public members appointed to the House Interim Study Committee on Aggregate Production Operations (APOs) by Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) on Tuesday, December 10. APOs, which include concrete batch plants and rock quarries, are having a dramatic impact on the environment and surrounding communities in rapidly growing counties like Hays and Blanco. Rep.

Board President Shelly Wenmohs called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. on December 9. All trustees were present. Volleyball All-District & State Awards Coach Heather Wilson reported on the JCHS volleyball season: “This year we finished our overall season with 31 and 11, and this is our third consecutive year to go 30 plus wins, and this is incredible.

Principal Michael Norton presented Soaring Eagle Awards to six LBJMS students selected by their teachers for their performance during the second grading period. Students receiving the award are pictured.

Four Eagles and four Lady Eagles were selected to the 2019 Academic All-State Teams in their respective sports, led by Lady Eagle Kalli Dalland who was also named to the All-State Volleyball Team in a rare double honor. Dalland, who recently signed a Letter of Intent to continue her academic and Volleyball career at Lubbock Christian University, was the leading hitter and blocker for the District and Bi-District Champion Lady Eagles.

The Eagle Varsity Boys played solid defense and Mason Roberts poured in 25 points to open District 25-3A play with a 57-47 road win at IDEA Montopolis last Tuesday. “I thought we played with great poise offensively - good ball movement and we attacked the rim,” said first-year Head Coach Andrew Baker.

Ribbon Cutting Celebrations On Thursday, December 19, a ribbon cutting celebration will be held at La Ti Da Deluxe at 202 Main St. The public is invited to attend. At 3:30 p.m., a ribbon cutting celebration will be held at Reck ‘Em Right Brewing Co. at 102 S. Avenue G, across from the Johnson City Post Office. Then at 5 p.m., a ribbon cutting celebration will be held at the Old Annex Market at the corner of Avenue G and F. The public is invited to attend all and any of these event ...

Johnson City’s Living Nativity Pageant wound up its season of 20 performances Saturday night, drawing a total audience of just under 2,000 for the year. Not a record, but not far from it. It was unusual for the multi-generational nature of the cast. Parent-child appearances are nothing new, but there seemed to be more of them than usual. The couple playing the roles of Mary and Joseph (Kayla Simpson Gostnell and husband Gary) and 8-month-old Cooper Clay Gostnell Saturday night were, o ...

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel. The book was written by many ancient prophets. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon.

Okay, so the family is coming over in four hours expecting a gourmet holiday meal, the house is a mess and you are still in your pajamas. Furthermore, there is nothing in the refrigerator, you have no idea what you are going to serve and you can’t remember if everyone decided to exchange gifts or not. I get it, it’s been a rough week - but fear not!

“A random act of kindness” can happen anywhere and at any time of the year. This is the second installment of this article, and more details on how you can contribute can be found after the story. A couple of years ago, a grandmother decided to take the children to see the local park’s Christmas lights display.

Blanco County Commissioners have forgotten that they work for the people. Under Judge Bray's court, they have professed openness in managing the county business. Evidence tells another story! During months of secret negotiations with Kinder Morgan over the gas pipeline, they refused to hold hearings requested by the public. Then they announced poorly written agreements on Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend.

The drama outside the Gillespie County Tax Office wasn’t a quarrel over assessed values, exemptions or tax rates. It wasn’t a political dispute between Democrats and Tea Party Republicans. It wasn’t followed by a fistfight, a duel, a letter to the editor or a tweet. The citizens who gathered on that cool October morning weren’t upset about paying taxes.