December 2, 2020 Issue

Anyone with a library card can use the new machines in the Makerspace for free.  Some materials are available for personal use.  Right now we have a sewing machine and a Cricut machine, with a 3D printer coming soon.  To use any of the machines you will need to be certified by a staff member and sign a maker agreement.  Get ready to start making! Get certified during one of our Maker classes. Sew Your Own Face Mask Tuesday, Dec.

It is expected that more holiday gifts and greetings will be sent through the mail this year, as families and friends will hold virtual celebrations instead of opening gifts in person. The Postal Service always encourages customers to send their holiday gifts and cards early. This year is no different.  This has been an extraordinary year of unprecedented challenges given the Covid-19 pandemic and the Postal Service is expecting significant volume increases which are difficult to predict.

Today we will discuss some things to look for when touring a Long Term Care facility; either a Nursing Home, Assisted Living, or Memory Care facility like Morning Star. When it becomes time to make these choices they can be overwhelming, if you are not prepared with the right information and knowledge about your choices you may not make the best decision for your loved one. • Visitation Check on visitation with the virus limiting visitation.

Cases of COVID-19 have “dramatically increased” recently in the Hill Country, according to James Partin, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Hill Country Memorial. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), collects, tracks and reports on various county level data related to COVID-19 such as active and total cases, trends and hospital capacity by region.

Texas physicians recommend schools use rapid antigen testing along with other on-campus safety measures to detect early signs of coronavirus infection among students and staff. The recommendation comes from the Texas Medical Association (TMA) School Reopening Workgroup, which includes physician members of the TMA COVID-19 Task Force, Committee on Infectious Diseases, and Committee on Child and Adolescent Health, and local health authorities from throughout the state. Rapid antigen testing i ...

RangerACE opens application to Central Texas teens with vision Are you a teen with a great idea about how you could give back to your community and help others around you? Could you use some money to make your dream a reality? Austin’s RangerACE program just might have the solution to getting your project off the ground.

By Mark Fritz, president of Bridgemoor Transitional Care While holiday celebrations may look a little different this year, most of us will likely be spending more time at home this season. For some, that may mean putting up more holiday decorations for your family to enjoy. While this is a safe way to stay socially distanced from others, it’s important to take proper safety precautions to avoid injuries from falls—whether you’re hanging lights on the roof or decorating an 8-foot tree. ...

I like cows and calves. I know regular readers may be surprised by that statement given that cattle are not native to Texas and I have written many times before about how exotic plants and exotic animals don’t belong in a native habitat and can even be detrimental to the health of the ecology.

After nearly 50 days on the job, Johnson City’s chief administrative officer and city secretary told the Record Courier that he is settling in while tackling the city’s tardy financial audits and handling they myriad of other tasks typical of a growing city. “I’m ecstatic to be in Johnson City,” Rick Schroder said. The city council announced the hire on Oct.

Even in the midst of the current health issues, the Blanco County Community Choir will continue the tradition of presenting Christmas concerts for the community in both Johnson City and Blanco.  Both concerts will be shorter than usual and presented outdoors.  In Johnson City on Friday, December 4 at 6:00, the choir will sing on the south steps of the Blanco County Courthouse.  Audience members can drive up and listen from their cars or bring their own chairs.  On Sunday, December 6 at 6: ...

The Texas Enterprise Fund took a hit for lack of transparency in a new research paper from the National Freedom of Information Coalition. The paper by journalist Steve Miller is titled “Invisible Incentives: How Secrecy Impedes Evaluation and Accountability of Economic Development Subsidies.” Part of the paper spotlights the Texas Enterprise Fund, which the Legislature created in 2003 to provide taxpayer money to companies in exchange for the promise of jobs.  “But in numerous cas ...

The Johnson City Record Courier is planning a special feature for Christmas this year, to bring the community together through the power of print. Staff invites residents and businesses of Johnson City and the surrounding area to submit a group photo of their household members or employees in front of their Christmas tree, holiday yard decorations or similar setting for publication in the December 23 issue. Submissions must include the names of those pictured from left to right, back to f ...

It’s been a tough year for Blanco County’s iconic Twin Sisters Dance Hall, and it’s not over yet, but the volunteers who operate the historic establishment are hoping folks are ready to get into the Christmas spirit this weekend and come out to support the hall. The annual Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas Market, will be held on Saturday, Dec.

By Tricia Hartmann After 14 years of service Johnson City Library Director Maggie Goodman is retiring. The community is invited to a come-and-go farewell celebration in her honor on Wednesday, December 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Johnson City Record Courier asked Goodman to share some of her experiences, and Goodman credits her family for much of her outlook. “In the words of Maya Angelou, ‘We all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.’ My family has had a big influence on me.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is excited to announce the debut of a new, interactive virtual tour of the first floor of the Texas White House. As a boy, Lyndon Johnson knew the home of his Uncle Clarence and Aunt Frank Martin as “the big house on the river.” In 1951, Johnson took ownership of the house from his widowed aunt, and the expanding home and associated LBJ Ranch became a center of political activity for nearly 20 years.

A total of 56 active cases was reported Friday by the Blanco County Office of Emergency Management, a climb of 18 in a week and a half. The agency reported 38 active cases Nov. 18, 43 active cases on Nov. 21 and 48 active cases on Nov. 23. The latest numbers released numbers include 33 active confirmed cases and 23 active probably cases. Active cases in Blanco County started falling during the late summer, from a high of near 90 in late July.

This is a fish story…about a fish named Michael…and how he came to live in Johnson City. It begins with a man named Michael, age 49, who lives at Down Home Ranch in Elgin, over on the other side of Austin. Michael’s pride and joy was his tank of tropical fish.

On Saturday night, Johnson City police officers conducted a traffic stop at the Big Daddy’s convenience store in Johnson City on West Main Street. A suspect fled the scene on foot, described as a black male wearing black pants and a grey t-shirt, also wearing a dreadlocks hairstyle and no shoes. Using the reverse 911 system, enrolled citizens of Johnson City were alerted to keep an eye out for the suspect, lock their doors and call 911 if the man was spotted in their vicinity.

This is a fish story…about a fish named Michael…and how he came to live in Johnson City. It begins with a man named Michael, age 49, who lives at Down Home Ranch in Elgin, over on the other side of Austin. Michael’s pride and joy was his tank of tropical fish.

Even in the midst of the current health issues, the Blanco County Community Choir will continue the tradition of presenting Christmas concerts for the community in both Johnson City and Blanco.  Both concerts will be shorter than usual and presented outdoors.  In Johnson City on Friday, December 4 at 6:00, the choir will sing on the south steps of the Blanco County Courthouse.  Audience members can drive up and listen from their cars or bring their own chairs.  On Sunday, December 6 at 6: ...

The Johnson City Record Courier is planning a special feature for Christmas this year, to bring the community together through the power of print. Staff invites residents and businesses of Johnson City and the surrounding area to submit a group photo of their household members or employees in front of their Christmas tree, holiday yard decorations or similar setting for publication in the December 23 issue. Submissions must include the names of those pictured from left to right, back to f ...

Jay Roger Danz, age 83 and US Army veteran, passed peacefully at his home in Johnson City, TX, in the morning hours of Sunday, November 29, 2020. He was born to Jay Danz and Lucy Maude Felps Danz on August 18, 1937 in a house on the banks of McCall Creek, in Blanco County.

Back in the 1970’s I had a friend who worked at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. He was some kind of computer guru. He had top secret security clearance. He wouldn’t discuss his work other than to tell me that he could see a battle field from any angle including from the vantage point of the enemy.

It is expected that more holiday gifts and greetings will be sent through the mail this year, as families and friends will hold virtual celebrations instead of opening gifts in person. The Postal Service always encourages customers to send their holiday gifts and cards early. This year is no different.  This has been an extraordinary year of unprecedented challenges given the Covid-19 pandemic and the Postal Service is expecting significant volume increases which are difficult to predict.

Today we will discuss some things to look for when touring a Long Term Care facility; either a Nursing Home, Assisted Living, or Memory Care facility like Morning Star. When it becomes time to make these choices they can be overwhelming, if you are not prepared with the right information and knowledge about your choices you may not make the best decision for your loved one. • Visitation Check on visitation with the virus limiting visitation.

Cases of COVID-19 have “dramatically increased” recently in the Hill Country, according to James Partin, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Hill Country Memorial. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), collects, tracks and reports on various county level data related to COVID-19 such as active and total cases, trends and hospital capacity by region.

Texas physicians recommend schools use rapid antigen testing along with other on-campus safety measures to detect early signs of coronavirus infection among students and staff. The recommendation comes from the Texas Medical Association (TMA) School Reopening Workgroup, which includes physician members of the TMA COVID-19 Task Force, Committee on Infectious Diseases, and Committee on Child and Adolescent Health, and local health authorities from throughout the state. Rapid antigen testing i ...

RangerACE opens application to Central Texas teens with vision Are you a teen with a great idea about how you could give back to your community and help others around you? Could you use some money to make your dream a reality? Austin’s RangerACE program just might have the solution to getting your project off the ground.

By Mark Fritz, president of Bridgemoor Transitional Care While holiday celebrations may look a little different this year, most of us will likely be spending more time at home this season. For some, that may mean putting up more holiday decorations for your family to enjoy. While this is a safe way to stay socially distanced from others, it’s important to take proper safety precautions to avoid injuries from falls—whether you’re hanging lights on the roof or decorating an 8-foot tree. ...

I like cows and calves. I know regular readers may be surprised by that statement given that cattle are not native to Texas and I have written many times before about how exotic plants and exotic animals don’t belong in a native habitat and can even be detrimental to the health of the ecology.

The Texas Enterprise Fund took a hit for lack of transparency in a new research paper from the National Freedom of Information Coalition. The paper by journalist Steve Miller is titled “Invisible Incentives: How Secrecy Impedes Evaluation and Accountability of Economic Development Subsidies.” Part of the paper spotlights the Texas Enterprise Fund, which the Legislature created in 2003 to provide taxpayer money to companies in exchange for the promise of jobs.  “But in numerous cas ...

It’s been a tough year for Blanco County’s iconic Twin Sisters Dance Hall, and it’s not over yet, but the volunteers who operate the historic establishment are hoping folks are ready to get into the Christmas spirit this weekend and come out to support the hall. The annual Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas Market, will be held on Saturday, Dec.