December 7, 2016 Issue
Dena Wilson, Llano Elementary School librarian, readies for the book fair at the school this week. It began Monday and runs through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Family Reading Night is from 5:30-7 p.m. at the school on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Texas Hills Quilters of Llano presented 40 pillow cases to the City of Llano for their use in conjunction with Child Protective Services. Receiving the cases are Officer Jared Latta, left, and Police Chief Kevin Ratliff, right. Quilters, from left, are Vernell Bradley, Ginger Shilts, Deniece Prince, Claudia Libby and Jackie Bertram.
In its fifth year, and what was looking to be the largest year for the event by the number of early entrants, the annual Reindeer Fun Run was set to start at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.
The course was set up, prizes for first place gentleman, woman, and youth division were purchased, and Santa was in place to start the 5K.
Seventy-five years ago, just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating.
The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes.
Rev. Melvin Dornak, right, from Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Llano, presents a donation from the church to Jerry Land and Jeanette McPherson at the Llano Recycle Center. Also pictured are clients from the center as they stand in front of the new baler that came in last week.
Grace Episcopal to hold live nativity during Christmas Stroll
For the seventh year in a row, strollers will have the opportunity to witness the Christmas miracle live during the annual Llano Christmas Stroll.
The annual event showcases many of Llano’s churches decorated for the holidays and takes place on Wednesday, Dec. 7, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the gazebo at the county courthouse.
Christmas parade goes on despite initial challenges
The first calls started coming into the Llano Visitor Center on Wednesday. “Is the Christmas Parade going to be canceled?” “Will we get to have the Christmas Parade this year with 100 percent chance of rain?” They continued until 10 minutes before the parade started.
From the first call, there were no plans to cancel, even after two float participants called to cancel their application.
The Llano City Council denied a request for rezoning in the Northern Business District at Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting. The council unanimously denied a request for a move from Northern Business District to a Single Family-3 zoning. The request came from Terry Fontenot and Kelly Draper, who own a business with a residence in it at 109 West Tarrant.
We have arrived at the semifinals of the State High School Football Playoffs. They, of course, can’t all win, but they are all plenty good with a lot in the bank about which to be awfully proud.
Mason (11-3) can be proud, too, but it lost to Refugio, which is harder to beat than to correctly pronounce its name.
My son-in-law, John Crabb, was the first to alert me to this: if you don’t win your conference you don’t make the Final Four in college football. Ohio State is in. It didn’t even win its division.
Big 12 officials should be getting a big laugh at all this. It has been criticized for not having a championship game — which is about to return — but the Big 10 has one, and NEITHER team makes it to the national semifinals.
Does Ohio State belong in the Final F ...
Struggling is a word that fits both Llano High varsity basketball teams. Neither won a game in tournaments, December 1-3. The boys are chronicled nearby.
The Lady Jackets were in Brady and absorbed losses to Goldthwaite, Mason, Irion County, the host-school Bulldogs, and Christoval.
Irion County was the worst contest, a 74-26 defeat.
“Didn’t even compete well,” said a frustrated head coach, Jerry McSherry, who added he was
LITTLE RIVER — It’s been a raging river of tough assignments and disappointing and frustrating losses. Translation: an 0-8 start for the Llano basketball boys.
“The kids are handling it fine,” Aaron Nuckles said. He’s probably having the hardest time after leading Lometa to five winning seasons before coming here. Nuckles adds, “The boys are not down.”
Understandable if they were. They went 0-5 in a December 1-3 ...
Geraldine Wessels Lang, age 83, went to be with her Lord Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. She was born in Winters, on Oct. 20, 1932, to Alfred and Emma Schroeder Wessels.
Geraldine married Henry Lang at the age of 17 on June 3, 1951. She lived her entire married life on their ranch near Castell.
Dalmon Ray “Dink” Simpson went to be with the Lord on Dec. 1, 2016. He was born Sept. 20, 1937 in the Esbon Community in Llano County.
He is preceded in death by his parents Arthur and Davie Simpson as well as his first love and the mother of his children Sharan Emily Simpson; six brothers, Verlon, Cecil, Othello, Boots, Arthur Lee, C.L., two sisters Alma Lou Lewis, Laverne Lockhart, and one great grandson Jaedon Inge.
Survivors include three sons: Damaron Simpson of Llano, Lawton and Lisa ...
Everyone knew her as Sheri, but she was born Sharon Lynn Lehman on June 1, 1947 in Houston. Sheri passed away peacefully on Dec. 3, 2016, from complications of long-term Parkinson’s Disease.
Sheri graduated from York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois in 1965 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Northern Illinois University in 1969.
Dolores Traficanto, 86, of Austin, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. Dolores was born on Jan. 24, 1930 in Chicago, Ill., to Della and William Rommel. She had been in Texas since 1995 after residing in Florida from 1978 through 1994.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Rocco Traficanto, and her parents, Della and William Rommel.
Donald Foy Scott (Coach), 81, of Llano, passed away on Nov. 29, 2016. The memorial service was held Saturday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m. at Rabb Ranch, 5315 Hwy 71 West, in Llano.
Don was born in Shawnee, Okla., on May 19, 1935. He graduated from Wewoka High School and received a BS degree from Abilene Christian College.
I didn’t think the day would ever come, but it finally did. And it was a great day. Major League Baseball’s long-time embarrassment of deciding home field advantage in the World Series with the league that wins the All-Star game is finally over. This came to be last week as the owners and players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which ended former Commissioner Proud-to-be-your-Bud Selig’s dunderheaded move.