July 29, 2017 Issue

(July 14th, 2017) – On Sunday, July 9th, volunteers from the Texas Master Naturalist Program joined staff from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Hill Country Alliance, and Texas Tech University Field Station at the South Llano River State Park in Junction. The team worked together to identify native tree saplings and install caging around them, to protect them from deer and other browsing animals. Native trees provide important values for humans, wildlife, and livestock.

I got to the house late last night to find that the air conditioning was out and it was 92 degrees inside my room. Needless to say it wasn’t really putting me in the mood to write a column for the newspaper, so I waited until this morning to write it.

Making his inaugural appearance as the new President of the Lions Club, “Boss” Lion Jim Heidelberg called the monthly business meeting of the Mason Lions Club to order on July 11. Thirty-four members were present with four special guests also in attendance. “Boss” Jim personally thanked all members who worked together to make the concession stands at the Mason Rodeo a big success for rodeo fans and the Lions Club. Lion Gayland Thorn presented the Treasurer’s Rep ...

Boy Scout Troop 281 of Mason attended summer camp at Lost Pines Scout Reservation from July 2nd to July 8th. While at camp, these young men worked on earning merit badges and rank advancement requirements. A total of 7 youth earned 21 merit badges during the week. They were accompanied at camp by their Scoutmaster, Terry Simonton, and Assistant Scoutmasters Stephen Kruso and Sant Rodriguez, who became fully trained leaders by the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts earning merit badges ...

The Texas Chapter of the United Association of Postmanagers/Managers of the United States (UPMA) proudly announces that it has awarded Elijah Reigh Timms, son of Jeffery and Judy Kingston of Mason, Texas, a $1,000 scholarship to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Elijah graduated from Mason High School with a GPA of 4.920.

Boy Scout Troop 281 of Mason attended summer camp at Lost Pines Scout Reservation from July 2nd to July 8th. While at camp, these young men worked on earning merit badges and rank advancement requirements. A total of 7 youth earned 21 merit badges during the week. They were accompanied at camp by their Scoutmaster, Terry Simonton, and Assistant Scoutmasters Stephen Kruso and Sant Rodriguez, who became fully trained leaders by the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts earning merit badges ...

Mason Garrett’s National Record is now official and listed on the National Federation of High School’s website. This is an organization that keeps up with all the National Records for each sport through out the entire 50 United States. Garrett, after just her freshman year at Chapel Hill, is now fourth all-time in the history of Girls Basketball in the United States for 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, recognizing the young sharpshooter as one of the best shooters in th ...

Mason Garrett’s National Record is now official and listed on the National Federation of High School’s website. This is an organization that keeps up with all the National Records for each sport through out the entire 50 United States. Garrett, after just her freshman year at Chapel Hill, is now fourth all-time in the history of Girls Basketball in the United States for 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, recognizing the young sharpshooter as one of the best shooters in th ...

Today is the last Science Fun day at the Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library for the summer. The activities begin at 10:00 a.m., and they are appropriate for grades K-5. This time the students will learn all about rocks. Books & Art Fun will have one more session next week.

The Texas Chapter of the United Association of Postmanagers/Managers of the United States (UPMA) proudly announces that it has awarded Elijah Reigh Timms, son of Jeffery and Judy Kingston of Mason, Texas, a $1,000 scholarship to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Elijah graduated from Mason High School with a GPA of 4.920.

Our 4th Annual Rifles, Racks & Deer Tracks is a fundraising event benefitting the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center located in Burnet, Texas but serving children and families in Burnet, Blanco, Llano, Lampasas, Mason & San Saba counties. Rifles, Racks & Deer Tracks is a dinner and auction held on Saturday, October 21st at the Freedom Flyers Hangar in Burnet, Texas which is home to a variety of unique and antique planes.

It is definitely summer in Texas. The heat is intense in the afternoon and evening. My flowers and garden are not happy. Class meetings continue at the Art United Methodist Church on Wednesday evenings. Soup is served at 6 and the meeting is from 6:30 to 7:30. Vacation Bible School starts July 24th.

Mr. & Mrs. James Weir (Kellie Zesch) announce the birth of a baby girl, seven pounds six ounces, and 20 inches long. She has been named after her great grandmother, Helen, for Helen Jordan Zesch. She is welcomed by brother Thomas Harold (Tommy). The family is formerly of New York City and now of Austin, Texas.

Please come join us as we come together to help support Savannah Velasquez and her twin babies, Xander and Tobias. The boys were born 4 weeks premature. Xander weighed a little over 5 lbs. while Tobias only weighed 2 lbs.12 oz. Tobias was in the hospital about 7 weeks till he was healthy enough to come home.

Today is the last Science Fun day at the Mason Co. M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library for the summer. The activities begin at 10:00 a.m., and they are appropriate for grades K-5. This time the students will learn all about rocks. Books & Art Fun will have one more session next week.

Seniors and adult children with aging parents are invited to a free “Aging in Place” seminar hosted by Hill Country Memorial at Nacho’s Café (804 Fort McKavitt St.) on Wed., July 26. A complimentary lunch will be provided at 11:30 a.m. with the presentation to follow. The presentation will describe ways to stay healthy and independent at home and will include a question-and-answer session with experts from HCM Home Care and HCM Outpatient Rehab. “Based o ...

Micah Walker, Extension Agent for Ag and Natural Resources is asking county producers or others interested in receiving information related to Agriculture and Natural Resources in Mason County and the region, to contact the extension offices. “The Extension Office would like to have the ability to disseminate information about local issues, upcoming classes for credit hours, and relevant information or classes related to Ag and Natural Resources”, said Micah. A newsle ...

Ronald (Ronnie) Guy Clarkson of Mason passed away on Friday, July 14, 2017, at home. He was born August 20, 1952, in Vinita. Oklahoma, to Leman Brewer and Betty Jean Clarkson. He grew up and went to school in Baxter Springs, Kansas, graduating from Baxter Springs High School in 1970. He worked for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (KATY) and Union Pacific Railroad for 41 years with his last position being manager of signal construction. He is survived by his wife, Sherie of Mason ...

Charles Ernst Runk, age 89, of Mason passed away July 11, 2017, in Mason, TX. He was born October 3, 1927 in Alice, Texas to parents, Otto Bismark Runk and Mattie Ruth Moore Runk. He was baptized in the Methodist church and became a member of the church when he was ten years old.

Arles Max “Boots” Schuch passed away peacefully Saturday, July 15 at his home in Mason, Texas. On May 17, 1936, he was born in Fredericksburg and delivered by a midwife, Grandma Scott, who had long red hair. He was a graduate of Mason High School and attended Nixon Business College in Austin.

We Don't See What's In Front of Us.... Last weekend, the promise of rainstorms never really materialized. Though I could see a few thunderheads dotting the horizon in all directions, they all seemed to head the wrong direction to bring us any rainfall. But, the upside is that the clouds provided some relief from the intense sun; and, winds coming off the storms occasionally cooled down the air for brief periods.

I say “toe-MAY-toe.” You say “toe-MAW-toe.” Tomato. Tomahto. I call it ketchup. You call it catsup. According to trusty Webster, “ketchup” is the correct name. Derived from Malay kechap. A fish sauce. And Chinese ketsiap. A sauce for meat, fish, etc. Especially a thick sauce. Which appeared in Europe in the 1600s when Dutch and British seamen brought some home with them.< ...

It is definitely summer in Texas. The heat is intense in the afternoon and evening. My flowers and garden are not happy. Class meetings continue at the Art United Methodist Church on Wednesday evenings. Soup is served at 6 and the meeting is from 6:30 to 7:30. Vacation Bible School starts July 24th.

The More Things Change…. Authorities usually offer specifics when asked about origins of expressions. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” however, is not one of them. Attempts to pinpoint its first use are baffling to some and invite “waffling” for others. Most linguists agree that the idiom began as a French expression in the mid-19th century. Hardliners maintain that its genesis is biblical, birthed by the scripture about “nothing ...

I’m almost positive that we’re in the ‘Dog Days of Summer.’ Now, aren’t you ashamed for complaining about the cold this past winter? Texas, where you have summer time in some degree all year long. I’m in need of a dose of ‘People Watching-Observation!’ Mason folks are mostly normal folks. We’re not what Austin considers Weird!

Huh? There have been some pretty significant societal shifts during the twenty years I’ve been writing this weekly column. I ignore such changes, for the most part, for the logical reason that I don’t know about them. As Mark Twain once told me, “If you don’t read the paper you’re uninformed.

One summer day when I was growing up, my brother made the mistake of whining that he was bored. Well, it took my mom about 30 seconds to cure him. She stuck a mop in his hand and made him do all the mopping that day. He never complained about being bored again.

Well, OK, we don’t really know what the deer “think.” I am obviously anthropomorphizing them a bit. The idea came from a blog I read written by Justin Bryan about the behavior of deer in the presence of exotic ungulates as well as some statistics about these ungulates. Some of the statistics he cited include the fact that nearly 70% of the 200,000 exotic animals of 70 different species in Texas are in the Edwards Plateau.

Cruz Amendment The newest version of Trumpcare includes an amendment proposed by Senator Ted Cruz that he touts as providing a low-cost healthcare option. It is low-cost if your only healthcare cost consideration is the amount you pay in monthly premiums. These bare-bones Cruz plans do offer lower monthly premiums, but make sure you never get sick because they will have sky high deductibles and co-pays.