On July 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new, one- to five-star quality rating system for US hospitals. Hill Country Memorial was one of only 102 hospitals in the nation to receive the highest five-star rating.
“This rating is reflective of the work the entire HCM team does each day for every person and family we serve,” HCM CEO Jayne Pope said.
More than 200 Central Texas Electric Cooperative members gathered August 16 in the Fredericksburg High School Auditorium for the co-op’s 68th annual members’ meeting.
Board president Riley Kothmann welcomed everyone and introduced the 11 members of the board of directors. Director Jack Asbill from Mason provided an invocation.
The business of the meeting included the election of four directors to represent their respective districts on the board.
August 31st is the date we recognize as the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The veterans will hold a remembrance of this date on August 30 at 1:30 p.m. This will be at the Post on Post Hill St. All interested parties are invited to attend.
All questions about Mason VFW Post 8554 may be directed to Lawrence Spell, Post Commander, at 325 429 6224.
San Saba, Texas is excited to announce the 2016 San Saba Pecan Jam Festival which will be held on Saturday, September 24th. Located on the Downtown Square, Pecan Jam will be an exciting showcase of Texas Food, Beer, Wine, Arts and Crafts, Carnival Activities, Live Music, and most of all PECANS!
Festival Hours are 11:00 am to 11:00 pm on the Downtown Square.
San Saba, Texas is excited to announce the 2016 San Saba Pecan Jam Festival which will be held on Saturday, September 24th. Located on the Downtown Square, Pecan Jam will be an exciting showcase of Texas Food, Beer, Wine, Arts and Crafts, Carnival Activities, Live Music, and most of all PECANS!
Festival Hours are 11:00 am to 11:00 pm on the Downtown Square.
The 2016 Round-Up Queens’s Court year of activities has begun. We had our first parade in Junction and debuted the new float. We won Best Overall Parade Entry and had a great time representing Mason, despite the rainy weather.
Thank you to Lone Storage for being our sponsor for this parade and to Capital Farm Credit for providing water.
New to Mason this year the Puncher Club will host complimentary weekly Varsity game film screenings every Tuesday during football season at the Odeon. The premiere showing will kick off Tuesday August 30th at 6:30 P.M. with the screening of your mighty Punchers vs the Goldthwaite Eagles. Screenings will provide a fantastic opportunity to relive spectacular plays or perhaps catch a game that you were not able to attend!
The Mason ISD Website has recently undergone a complete re-design. Megan Bierschwale is our new webmaster and she has been working for the last month to get it up to date and ready to assist the students, staff, parents and community. There are new tabs/channels at the top to make the information easier to find and more user friendly.
City Engineer
The ongoing public discussion concerning Daniel Hinckley’s service as a professional engineer for the City has raised questions that need fair and objective evaluation by all of us. The purpose of this letter is not meant to address the legal issues surrounding claims of nepotism(this will be addressed by David Young at the next Commission meeting on the 29th) but rather to clear up some misconceptions that I have heard concerning Hinckley’s jobs ...
Old Yeller Day will be on Saturday, September 24th this year and will run from 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. Local vendors may pick up their applications at the Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library located at 410 Post Hill St. or at the Mason Chamber of Commerce.
The Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library is partnering with Howard College to offer online G.E.D. classes. Leeann Hood, the Howard College teacher will hold orientation and registration on Saturday, August 27th, at the library, located at 410 Post Hill St. The orientation will run from 2:00-6:00 P.M.
The Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library will be offering a free Microsoft Excel class in September. Carol Tucker will be teaching primarily Excel 2010, but she will also highlight the differences in Excel 2016 and explain Microsoft 365. The class meets on eight consecutive Tuesdays; the first four sessions cover the basics, and the next four more advanced applications.
Students, artists, schools, organizations, government entities and non-profit organizations from across Mason Country are invited to be a part of history in the creation of a collaborative painting to be installed in the Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library. World- renowned wildlife conservation artist, Vickie McMillan, with a long history of leading collaborative community mural projects throughout Texas, has been commissioned to design and direct the efforts of those who pa ...
KNEL Radio owner and general manager, Lynn Farris, has announced that the station’s more than 40-year tradition of broadcasting Mason Puncher football will continue in 2016 with the broadcast team of Will Lehmberg and Dennis Cano providing live coverage of all the action and excitement of Mason Punchers football every Friday Night .
Beginning with Lee Graham and continuing for over 40 years, Mason Punchers football has been a part of the weekly sports line-up through ...
The annual meeting of the Mason County Historical Society will be on Thursday, September 15, 2016, at 7 p.m. at the River of Life Church. Featured speaker will be Jeff Salmon of Abilene, the executive director of Frontier Texas.
Jeff has served as the Executive Director of Frontier Texas since September of 2003.
The 128th Gillespie County Fair–the oldest continuous county fair in Texas–kicks off this week with four days of traditional family fare, three nights of live musical entertainment, and two days of pari-mutuel horse racing in Fredericksburg from Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 25-28, 2016.
Visitors will enjoy traditional county fair activities including a parade, carnival and midway, displays of agricultural and home products, livestock competitions, queen’s contes ...
Smoke Signals and Twitter Not Preferred!!!
When I first started at the News, every piece of copy that came into the office was either hand written, typed, or printed out from a computer. When we received it, every single word had to be retyped and entered into our system as an Adobe PageMaker document so that we could access it when we started laying out the final paper.
The Mason Community Foundation would like to remind local non-profit organizations that the deadline for grant applications is fast approaching! Annually, this round for grant applications is due on September 1st . Non-profit groups and organizations that have projects intended for the betterment of the community are encouraged to submit an application, which can be picked up at the Community Thrift Store at 206 Moody Street, during store hours (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m.
The Mason Lions Club met Tuesday, August 16th, for it’s weekly luncheon meeting. There were 31 members and 4 visitors in attendance.
“Boss” Lion Jess Irwin could not attend and First Vice President Jim Heidelberg was in charge. Jim passed out sign up sheets for the hamburger cook on Wednesday, September 7th, at the cross country meet.
Ready or not, school has begun, and we want to wish all the teachers, coaches, students, and other Mason ISD personnel a great year. We’ll be starting a new Excel class on Tuesday, Sept. 6th—call 325-347-5446 to register. There is not cost for the class.
Non-fiction: (new to our library)
Trump Revealed by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (921 TRU)
Joe the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend by Ron J.
Wrinkled Under Armor
What I want to know is: Who stole my America and replaced it with a country full of whiney, mamby-pamby, complaining, wimpy, weak sisters? Americans used to be tough, self-motivated, resilient, strong, and independent. We used to take responsibility for our own actions. We valued accomplishment and praised those who did difficult things.
There are unwritten laws in Mason County. Here they are, reminding and advising the newcomers.
First, you will never utter a bad word about the wet weather. I don’t care if you have cabin fever. Get over it.
Second, there are two seasons, Football and hunting. Enjoy, the football and be nice to the hunters.
Uncle Mort Ticked Off...
We can all agree that dullness--paarticularly for the “Jacks” of the world--is a predictable result when we’re wallowing in unending “work ruts.” Such scenarios rarely crop up in my Uncle Mort’s life, ‘cause at first “scent” of toil, he “sniffs it out.” Like a shifty football running back, his end runs and careful sidesteps usually work.
Sometimes, such vignettes occur in concession stand line ...
The cooler temperatures and the rains for the past couple of weeks have significantly changed the weather patterns here in Central Texas, and therefore everyone in our community seems to be happier and ready for the approaching fall activities. Today school started and I hope everyone is being careful as you drive about town in the mornings and afternoons, particularly around the school campus.
Wave goodbye to summer. It is gone. School has started. We had a few cool days to make us feel that fall might be coming soon. And, football games are on TV and in the Puncher Dome. Welcome to fall, even if the official day is weeks off.
Construction is coming along at the Art United Methodist Church.
Back in the saddle again.
It’s back-to-school time.
You know what that means.
So long, August.
Can’t say we’re sorry to see you go.
Although it’s been memorable.
Hotter than a $2 pistol is what it’s been.
Although the year 1925 holds the record.
And they can have it.
Bring on Autumn.
Let the leaves begin.
Begin to turn and fall.
&n ...
WHO
The Gillespie County Fair & Festival Association
WHAT
Presents the 7th Annual PBR (Professional Bull Riders) event
40 riders from Texas, the US, and other countries to ride PBR Finals-caliber bulls
WHERE
Gillespie County Fair Grounds in Fredericksburg, Texas
WHEN
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Show begins at 7:30 p.m. Gates open at 5:30
HOW
Tickets available for purchase online in advance
www.gillespiefai ...
The Mason ISD faculty and staff began the 2016-17 school year on August 15th with a week of training. Monday was a great first day back where a professional development rotation was held in the new Mason Junior High wing. There were eight breakout sessions to inform the staff in a way that was efficient, informative and enjoyable.
Second Chance – Mason Animal Rescue will be hosting a Halloween Costumes and Cocktails Party on Saturday, October 22, 2016. The party will be held at the Seaquist House beginning at 7 p.m. and will feature appetizers, deserts and drinks. Prizes will be awarded for the best individual, couple, funniest, scariest and most original costumes!
This fun event will benefit the Second Chance Capital Campaign for the construction of a no-kill shelter in Mason.
Kingdom Kids is a Mother’s Day Out program which takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m. at River of Life Church. Kingdom Kids provides a Christian environment in which the spiritual, educational and social needs of preschool children can be met. We offer a structured program within a caring, loving and nurturing atmosphere that allows children to grow, to experience new things, and to feel secure and capable in God’s world.
We are very exc ...
San Saba, Texas is excited to announce the 2016 San Saba Pecan Jam Festival which will be held on Saturday, September 24th. Located on the Downtown Square, Pecan Jam will be an exciting showcase of Texas Food, Beer, Wine, Arts and Crafts, Carnival Activities, Live Music, and most of all PECANS!
Festival Hours are 11:00 am to 11:00 pm on the Downtown Square.
