March 2, 2016 Issue

Republican Party President/Vice-President Jeb Bush - 110 Rick Santorum - 5 Donald J. Trump - 1977 Mike Huckabee - 13 Lindsey Graham - 3 Chris Christie - 10 Ben Carson - 219 John R. Kasich - 249 Ted Cruz - 2161 Marco Rubio - 1041 Rand Paul - 18 Carly Florina - 6 Elizabeth Gray - 3 Uncommitted - 71 United States Representative, District 11 Mike Conaway - 4398 Railroad Commissioner Gary Gates - 1334 Doug Jeffrey - 479 Ron Hale - 764 Weston Martinez - 229 Wayne Christian - 921 Lance N.

BLANCO—Some veteran, successful athletes; a new face or two; and a face quite well-known, even though it was his first job as head coach of Track & Field in about a decade. “Always fun watching them compete, always some areas [they} may do a little better.” Oh, where are my manners? That’s Athletic Di- Strength, Speed, & Air Show rector Craig Slaughter, now the chief guru in track with the departure of Jarrett Vickers. Slaughter hasn’t coached the sport since his days at Hearn ...

Wyatt Casey, who went from the gridiron to winter training, easily captured the 400-meter race at the Panther Relays in a time of 50.99 seconds. “It’s a good time from which to work,” he told me. “I know what I’m capable of.” Casey ran a 50.3 indoors in a race in Arkansas. In the 200, “The Wimberley guy {Chris Hartman} has a heck of a stride.

“It was in the broadcast booth,” Llano football radio analyst, Lance Center, reminded me, “when I announced he wanted to play Pop Warner football—he had made the weight.” Maybe a decade later, Colton Center, at 275 pounds, has made the weight again, and he’ll be an offensive lineman for Mary Hardin-Baylor in the fall.

FREDERICKSBURG—The coach’s attitude is a good one, and that’s near the top of the list marked, “Urgent!” It’s awfully early, and that makes winter a good thing. Super Tuesdays are weeks in the future, so think of the struggles Governor Kasich and Dr. Carson are having. All of the above is similar to saying, “This won’t hurt.” Actually, pain-management should be on-call. “We’re trying to find the right lineup, the right spots,” declared the baseball Jackets’ head coach, ...

WIMBERLEY—The softball Jackets shook off a frightening Friday and authored a superb Saturday at the Texans’ tournament, February 27-28. Llano was roughed up by a trio of foes in merciless fashion on Day One; they outscored the Jackets by a combined 28 runs to 7. The host team got it started with a 10-0 win. In Game Two, Kamri Thompson and Molly Lindner had two hits each against Seminole. In the nightcap of a lengthy triple-header, Kendall Wenzel had two singles, stole three bases, scored tw ...

The Punchers finished their 2016 Basketball season with a loss to the #9 ranked Schulenburg Shorthorns but not without a fight. Mason showed no intimidation to the size and athleticism that the Shorthorns possessed by jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead playing great defense and shooting the ball extremely well.

Varsity Cowgirls vs. Weimar Tuesday, Feb. 23 Mason 9—6—11—19 = 45 Weimar 13—20—20—8 = 61 Scoring—Monaco Schmidt--5, Kenley Stockbridge--10, Justyn Tedder--2, Powell--9, Kayla Guice--13, Ruby Magnus--4, Katy Armstrong--2. Rebounds-- Schmidt--1, Stockbridge--5, Tedder--1, Powell--5, Guice--1, Magnus--5, Armstrong--7. Assists-- Stockbridge--4, Guice--2. Steals--Schmidt--1, Stockbridge--3, Tedder--1, Guice--1, Magnus--2. Blocks--Magnus--3. Mason Cowgirls set a school record for total ...

The Mason Junior High Cowgirls performed well at their first track meet in Ingram on Thursday, Feb. 25. We had some outstanding marks and performances by several individuals. This was a ribbon meet for the running events, so each athlete received a ribbon based on how they placed in their individual heat of that running event. 7th Grade Girls Results High Jump: Courtney Hanscheck, 1st place, 4’10” Long Jump: Kyra Wilson, 3rd, 13’2”; Kendra Munsell, 11’0”; Parker Standard, 11’1” ...

7th grade boys times from Ingram Track Meet 2400m Run – Colby Brown- 10:57, Samson Hernandez – 11:06 4x100m Relay – Billy George, Mathew Kerr, Preston George, Tyler Schmidt – 55.09 800m Run – Colby Brown – 2:55, Ty Spencer – 2:56 100m Dash – Gage Watson – 13.99, Jose Valdez – 14.51, Michael Longoria – 14.51 4x200m Relay – Rylan Jordan, Billy George, Aeron Dayton, Preston George – 1:54.61 400m Dash – James Potts – 1:05.42, Mathew Kerr – 1:10.15 300m Hurdles – Ty ...

Mason County 4-H’ers are having an excellent year at the major stock shows around Texas. Here are the results through the San Antonio Livestock Show. Fort Worth Heather Shaw 4th place goat San Angelo Avery Brooks 3rd place fine wool Heather Shaw 1st place goat and reserve Champion Division Aspen Martin 4th place fine wool cross, 6th place dorper, 2nd place with her goat Dakota Martin 3rd place dorper Jay Ahlschwede 8th place steer San Antonio Kimbrea Broyles 4th place Southdown Laney Lastly 1 ...

Ingram Tom Moore Relays: Bandera 167 Mason 123 Varsity Boys: Long Jump- Fernando Torres 17’8.5” 4th place, Angel Banos 17’1” 6th place Triple Jump- Spencer Bierschwale 33’3.5” 3rd place Shot - Xzavier Herrera, 36’10.5” 2nd place, Lucas Martin 35’10.5” 4th place, Michael Jefferson 35’1.5” 5th place Discus - Bricio Balderas 128’9” 1st place, Xzavier Herrera 113’3” 3rd place Pole Vault - Anthony Martinez 9’0” 3rd place High Jump - TR Kerr 5’0” 4th place, Spe ...

BLANCO—Some veteran, successful athletes; a new face or two; and a face quite well-known, even though it was his first job as head coach of Track & Field in about a decade. “Always fun watching them compete, always some areas [they} may do a little better.” Oh, where are my manners? That’s Athletic Di- Strength, Speed, & Air Show rector Craig Slaughter, now the chief guru in track with the departure of Jarrett Vickers. Slaughter hasn’t coached the sport since his days at Hearn ...

Wyatt Casey, who went from the gridiron to winter training, easily captured the 400-meter race at the Panther Relays in a time of 50.99 seconds. “It’s a good time from which to work,” he told me. “I know what I’m capable of.” Casey ran a 50.3 indoors in a race in Arkansas. In the 200, “The Wimberley guy {Chris Hartman} has a heck of a stride.

“It was in the broadcast booth,” Llano football radio analyst, Lance Center, reminded me, “when I announced he wanted to play Pop Warner football—he had made the weight.” Maybe a decade later, Colton Center, at 275 pounds, has made the weight again, and he’ll be an offensive lineman for Mary Hardin-Baylor in the fall.

FREDERICKSBURG—The coach’s attitude is a good one, and that’s near the top of the list marked, “Urgent!” It’s awfully early, and that makes winter a good thing. Super Tuesdays are weeks in the future, so think of the struggles Governor Kasich and Dr. Carson are having. All of the above is similar to saying, “This won’t hurt.” Actually, pain-management should be on-call. “We’re trying to find the right lineup, the right spots,” declared the baseball Jackets’ head coach, ...

WIMBERLEY—The softball Jackets shook off a frightening Friday and authored a superb Saturday at the Texans’ tournament, February 27-28. Llano was roughed up by a trio of foes in merciless fashion on Day One; they outscored the Jackets by a combined 28 runs to 7. The host team got it started with a 10-0 win. In Game Two, Kamri Thompson and Molly Lindner had two hits each against Seminole. In the nightcap of a lengthy triple-header, Kendall Wenzel had two singles, stole three bases, scored tw ...

The Community of Mason is sponsoring a blood drive Monday, March 28th, from 4-7:30 p.m. This drive will be held in the Bloodmobile outside the Mason County Library. Make your convenient appointment to give blood at www.UnitedBloodServices.org or by calling the Wesley Nurse, Ann Scarth, at 325-347-5983. With each donation, donors receive a free total cholesterol test and earn points in United Blood Services’ Hero in Me rewards program. Blood donation takes about an hour from check-in to refres ...

Time flies when you are having fun. I must be having fun, because time is flying. Rain reports were less than an inch last week. It was nice though. Lenten lunches continue. March 2nd is at First United Methodist Church. St. Martin’s Episcopal will host on March 9 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. The Art-Trinity United Methodist Women will meet March 8 at 10:00 at Castell.

Hill Country EXXONMOBIL Retirees Club of Texas Spring Luncheon Meeting.Tuesday March 8, 2016, at the KROC Center at 201 Holdsworth Drive, Kerrville, TX. Come and visit/meet fellow ExxonMobil Retirees at 11:30. All Exxon or Mobil retirees are invited. Contact Wil Rathke at 830-998-1601 or Sam Begeman at 830- 896-0541 regarding further details.

The Hill Country Astronomers (HCA) will meet at 6:30 PM, Monday, March 7, at the Hill Country University Center, 2818 East US Hwy 290 in Fredericksburg. Kim Arvidsson will discuss the recent announcement of the hypothesized ninth planet in our solar system, and why astronomers think it could be true. Dr. Arvidsson has been an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Schreiner University in Kerrville since 2013.

Our meeting will be hosted by the Mason County members, and will be held in Mason, TX. WHEN: March 15, 2016 TIME: Social 10:00 am with meal to follow WHERE: Lea Lou Co-op 114 San Antonio Street Mason, TX 76856 Lea Lou’s is in the building that was once Grosse Lumber, on the corner of the square, across from the courthouse. COST: $18.00 per person We will not have a guest speaker for this meeting as it will be our final meeting prior to Spring Round-Up and the time will be dedicated to finaliz ...

Julia Pepper’s lovely collection of green Depression glass (so appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day!) will be displayed throughout this month in the foyer of the Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library. Julia says that this inexpensive glass was manufactured by American factories in massive quantities during the 1920’s and 1930’s.

What a rare opportunity this year for the gardening novice, as well as those with decades of experience. Experts in Succlents, Landscape Design, Companion Gardening, and Hill Country Natives will be the featured speakers at the Llano Lawn and Garden Show. It all takes place at the Methodist Church Family Life Center in Llano on Saturday, April 2 from 9:00 until 1:00.

The monthly demo at the Llano Fine Art Guild will held Monday March 7th at 10:00 am. It will be hands-on, fast sketch portraits taught by Daniel Adams. It doesn’t matter if you think you can draw or not. Bring a pencil, charcoal pencil, or Conte pencil and drawing paper or a sketch pad. Once head of an art department for Walt Disney Productions and winner of the “Idea of the Year” award at Disney World, Daniel Adams has taught many different art processes and techniques over the years.

All are welcome to join us on Wednesday evenings at St. Paul Lutheran Church as we continue our special Lenten Worship series “Living the Christmas Promise.” A light supper is served at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, followed by the worship service at 7 p.m. Each Wednesday night, the children and youth tell how characters in the Christmas story reacted to the birth of our Savior.

Mason County 4-H’ers are having an excellent year at the major stock shows around Texas. Here are the results through the San Antonio Livestock Show. Fort Worth Heather Shaw 4th place goat San Angelo Avery Brooks 3rd place fine wool Heather Shaw 1st place goat and reserve Champion Division Aspen Martin 4th place fine wool cross, 6th place dorper, 2nd place with her goat Dakota Martin 3rd place dorper Jay Ahlschwede 8th place steer San Antonio Kimbrea Broyles 4th place Southdown Laney Lastly 1 ...

A field trip to Grommer’s fresh seafood market in San Antonio will take place on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Groomer’s offers a wide selection of fresh fish (150 types when I visited a week ago). The tour will include behind the scenes watching employees cut up fresh seafood with an explanation of the process and types of fish.

The Seaquist House in Mason, TX will begin its 2016 tours on Saturday, March 5th from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The house is located at 405 Broad St., about a block north of the Mason Courthouse Square. The house was listed as one of twelve of the most endangered sites by Preservation Texas in 2014.

During the last week, multiple reports have come into the News office of sightings of rattlesnakes out of their dens and on the move. Residents are encouraged to keep their eyes open during this warm weather as the snakes are getting very active very early this year. Also, Daniel and Belinda Gainer reported that a skunk they killed at their place between Fredonia and Pontotoc tested positive for rabies.

We’re “cooking up a good time” for you and your family on Saturday, March 19th at 5:00 p.m. at the Mason Community Building. Steady Steps will host their annual fundraiser with a catered meal from Willow Creek (donation only) served at 6:00 p.m., a fabulous cake auction, and a silent auction with great buys.

The Mason Tennis Association’s 15th annual Tennis-A-Thon will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, March 20th, at the Mason Tennis Center. This fundraiser helps improve our tennis center. The tennis playing youth of our community are taking part in this event by participating in tennis drills, games and competitions for 1 1/2 hours, and by obtaining sponsors who pledge a certain amount of money for each minute the participant’s team plays tennis.

There is one issue that I have not talked about for a couple of months, and some people may think that it has diminished and “gone away” but actually we at the City have been doing background research and talking with consultants. That issue is the proposal to re-establish a municipal Police Force to deal with some of the specific City concerns with law enforcement and patrolling.

Grandson Questions ‘Bobo’... Tim Skaggs is a bible-totin’/believin’/preachin’ parson in Brownwood, TX. He’s been caught up in God’s Holy Word for nigh onto a half-century, given high marks for interpreting scripture and its implications. However, four-year-old Pascal--his and wife Jamie’s first grandchild--fired a question at him a while back that set Tim back on his heels. Seated in the living room beside his grandfather, Pascal studied wall trophies Tim admits ...

When did the rules change at watching a baseball game? Seems heckling the umpire is no longer done. They say it’s not kind! Excuse me, but going to a baseball game and just clapping isn’t in my game plan. Of course some of the heckling isn’t nice, but heavens to Betsy, what’s wrong with saying, “Keep your day job!” Or, “Hey!

Astute, long-time readers may recall a story I reported on several years ago, about The Attack of the Killer Alligator. This alligator showed up over near Houston or someplace, near as I can remember. I could probably find the story and check on that, if I was inclined to do such research.

When the weather’s turning warmer, and spring is near, many of us are just itching to put on our gardening gloves and start planting. A grand opportunity will present itself on Saturday, March 12! Come to the “Keyhole Gardening” program by Dr. Deb Tolman, then help us build and plant one at the Food Bank!

GREEN SUPPLEMENTS are one of the basic supplements that I recommend for everyone. Now you probably do not want to take another pill, but if you aren’t eating as many servings of fruits and vegetables as you should, then a supplement that makes up for that is a good idea. I like to backtrack a little when I address the NEED for a supplement.

Declaring Our Independence - Viva Texas! On March 2, 1836, the colonists of Mexican Texas issued a Declaration of Independence from Mexican authority, oversight and oppression. By doing so, they created The Republic of Texas, and cemented their place in the history books. Those early colonists had come from many different places.