April 29, 2020 Issue

Judge Brett Bray called the special meeting of the Blanco County Commissioners Court to order at 9 a.m. with commissioners: Tommy Weir, Emil Ray Uecker, Chris Liesmann, and Paul Granberg present. The meeting was streamed via Zoom. Public comments from Kenneth Welch were heard after the pledge. Welch addressed his comments that were not heard at the last meeting explaining that he was in support of the road and bridge grant application and is pleased that the contract was approved.

Marci Henna grew up in Johnson City and keeps up with friends and family here. She and her husband, Louis Henna, understand the challenges faced by Blanco County residents, particularly in current times, with COVID-19. “We care very much about Blanco County, and the donation is a love gift,” Marci Henna said.

April 19-25, 2020 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the valuable role  libraries, librarians and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening  communities. This National Library Week, the public can show their appreciation  and support for libraries by visiting their library’s website, jclibrarysite.org; following  them on Facebook, and using the hashtag #NationalLibraryWeek.  In the mid-1950s, research showed that Americans were spending less on books and ...

AUSTIN— The Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) and regional Air Central Texas partners are celebrating national Air Quality Awareness Week — May 4th through 8th. Despite the current appearance of better air quality, people should remain vigilant in being air aware. The national awareness campaign reminds residents to check their local Air Quality Index (AQI), know when to take health precautions, and know how to help reduce pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ...

Jayne Pope, Chief Executive Officer for Hill Country Memorial, has announced the addition of Nikki Rivers, MBA, BSN, RN, as Chief Clinical Officer for the hospital. Rivers, originally from Kansas, has worked for Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin in a number of positions including Director of Surgical Services, Director of Nursing, VP of Surgical Services and Chief Nursing Officer.

This Friday, Texas will start getting back to work. Governor Greg Abbott announced on April 27 that his “stay at home” order would expire as intended on April 30. After which, Abbott said, “We will move forward to safely open Texas for business.” Under Phase I of Abbott’s new Executive Order, certain services and activities are allowed to open with limited occupancy, and the Texas Department of State Health Services will issue minimum standard health protocols for all businesses a ...

AUSTIN — Texas continued to feel the effects of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic last week as Gov. Greg Abbott and advisors worked on a plan to ease his statewide stay-at-home order. Abbott set April 27 as the target date for announcing his plan for the state to move toward normalizing business activities.  The Texas Democratic Party criticized the governor for following President Trump in rushing “to reopen Texas for business against the advice of experts and medical professionals.

This week let’s discuss things we can do to help us properly take our medications. Some medications are meant to be taken with food. Some medications are meant to be taken at a certain time of day, or twice a day, or maybe three times a day. Another issue is running out of pills, then waiting on refills.

AUSTIN– Texas community banks, through the Texas Bankers Association and its charitable arm, the Texas Bankers Foundation, is partnering with Feeding Texas to launch the Texas Banks 4 Food Banks program during the COVID-19 emergency. The Foundation is initially contributing a total of $26,000 to the Feeding Texas network of 21 food banks that serve all 254 Texas counties, and banks will be amplifying the program with additional donations and advocacy for the food banks. “Community banke ...

Hill Country Memorial (HCM) has joined the HASA Health Information Exchange (HIE) for North, South, and West Texas. HASA is a non-profit, Texas-based, multi-region collaboration building a secure infrastructure between healthcare providers’ electronic health records (EHRs), making it possible to exchange information across differing platforms. This connection enables local health care providers and patients to access electronic patient records with other participating health care provid ...

As of Monday morning, April 27, Texas has recorded over 23 thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases.  Nearly ten thousand people have recovered, but over 600 have died. While we remain in the grip of this virus, it’s a good idea to revisit some of the following pointers on helping people who live with Alzheimer’s or other dementia to safely weather the storm. Persons living with dementia may need reminders regarding: • Hand-washing and moisturizing.

It seemed only natural that a visit to Gillespie County by the guy about to become the most powerful man in the free world coincided with the opening of deer season although I do have trouble seeing John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts sitting in a Hill Country deer blind dressed in camo soaked in Buck Bomb. Kennedy was young, handsome, charismatic, Harvard-educated and a member of one of America’s wealthiest East Coast families.

By Julie Storer This week the Johnson City Record Courier is turning the spotlight on the members of the LBJ High School Class of 2020 whose FFA Career Development Event season ended abruptly with the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Contests that were canceled included Houston, Hondo, San Antonio, Stephenville, and the District, Area, and State competitions.

To help assuage some measure of the disappointment experienced by members of the Class of 2020 with all the photo ops and memory-making events that have been cancelled a movement has started across the nation to "Adopt a Senior". By joining the Facebook group "Adopt a 2020 Johnson City Senior"

Madge A. Roberson of Johnson City passed away April 19, 2020 in Fredericksburg, TX at the age of 99. She was born in Runge, TX December 4, 1920 to Walter and Betty Jo Boultinghouse. Madge was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Maurice Roberson and her sister, Frances Granberry.

In First Peter, chapter one, Peter reminds us of God’s will for us: in Jesus Christ we are His children with the promise that we will live with Him forever in His kingdom. Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sin. Trusting in this event we have God’s promise that He has forgiven our sin and given us the reward for that trust, everlasting life with Him.

I was fresh out of college, had earned a teaching credential and was in search of a job. I decided to see if teachers were needed at the high school from which I had graduated seven years earlier. The Academia Juarez is a small bilingual school located in the foothills of the Sierra Madre in Chihuahua, Mexico. It just happened that on the day I called, the superintendent of the school system which had oversight of the Academy was visiting in the principal’s office.

Adelyne Morlino (above) can’t quite understand why Pastor Steve Sanchez is preaching from the back of a Ford F-150 on Sunday morning at Community Church of the Hills while the McEntire family (below) thinks going to church has gone to the dogs! Courtesy photos.

The ravens are back. Last year they had a nest right on my hiking trail but I didn’t notice them making it. I didn’t notice when they started guarding it or when the female laid eggs. I didn’t notice a thing. I never saw the nest—which is almost five feet across—and I’m not feeling too stupid about that because the nest is more than 100 feet in the air.

AUSTIN– Texas community banks, through the Texas Bankers Association and its charitable arm, the Texas Bankers Foundation, is partnering with Feeding Texas to launch the Texas Banks 4 Food Banks program during the COVID-19 emergency. The Foundation is initially contributing a total of $26,000 to the Feeding Texas network of 21 food banks that serve all 254 Texas counties, and banks will be amplifying the program with additional donations and advocacy for the food banks. “Community banke ...

Hill Country Memorial (HCM) has joined the HASA Health Information Exchange (HIE) for North, South, and West Texas. HASA is a non-profit, Texas-based, multi-region collaboration building a secure infrastructure between healthcare providers’ electronic health records (EHRs), making it possible to exchange information across differing platforms. This connection enables local health care providers and patients to access electronic patient records with other participating health care provid ...

As of Monday morning, April 27, Texas has recorded over 23 thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases.  Nearly ten thousand people have recovered, but over 600 have died. While we remain in the grip of this virus, it’s a good idea to revisit some of the following pointers on helping people who live with Alzheimer’s or other dementia to safely weather the storm. Persons living with dementia may need reminders regarding: • Hand-washing and moisturizing.

It seemed only natural that a visit to Gillespie County by the guy about to become the most powerful man in the free world coincided with the opening of deer season although I do have trouble seeing John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts sitting in a Hill Country deer blind dressed in camo soaked in Buck Bomb. Kennedy was young, handsome, charismatic, Harvard-educated and a member of one of America’s wealthiest East Coast families.