November 22, 2017 Issue

Consumers have good news to chew on this Thanksgiving as food prices dropped 4.3 percent from this time last year. A traditional, Texas-style Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost $46.75 this year, according to the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Thanksgiving Meal Report. “As we enter the holiday season, we all watch our budgets,” Mason County Farm Bureau President, Shannon Worrell said.

Silverleaf at Mason had its official ground breaking ceremony, Wednesday, November 15, 2017. The new apartment homes for Seniors 55+ are located at 1161 Austin Street, Mason, Texas. Stoneleaf Companies is a family business owned by Mike and Victoria Sugrue and their son, Ben Dempsey. They have built a number of communities in the state of Texas, including Dalhart, Chandler, Gun Barrel City, Eustace, Fairfield and Panhandle Texas. The Silverleaf apartment development will feature a fully f ...

(November 17th, 2017) – On Tuesday, November 7th, students from Mason High School spent the day along Comanche Creek at Fort Mason City Park. As part of the School District’s Blue-Ribbon Service Day, these five students learned about the importance of creek-side (riparian) systems, and the negative impacts of non-native, invasive plants such as Chinaberry trees. “When riparian areas have a diversity of native grasses, shrubs and trees, they provide people with a variety of values,” ...

First Grade A Honor Roll Parker Bownds Tanner Bradley Bella Brown Emily Calhoun-Lumpkins Matthew Calhoun Jake Cortez Brooklyn Garrett Blythe Grote Shane Haley Bailey Hearn Georgia Hicks Lily Jackson Michelle Mun Abigail Munsell Corbyn Neece Brooklynn Orta Everly Rabon Elias Sanchez Sienna Smith Elizabeth Whitworth Jarrett Worrell Samuel Wyatt Savannah Yates AB Honor Roll Isabella Balderas Emily Barros Cuatro Beaty Juan Calderon Lilah ...

Each Monday, Mason elementary students continue in their ten-week Learn, Grow, Eat and Go (LGEG) lesson. During week four students learned about the basic needs of growing plants. Plants need: P- Place to grow L- light A- air N- nutrients T- thirsty for water S- soil Week four’s lesson was followed by a learning activity game of Hot Potato - LGEG style!

On November 14, “Boss” Lion Jim Heidelberg gaveled to order the weekly meeting of the Mason Lions Club. Twenty-nine members were present. In addition, six guests attended the meeting. Two Mason High School seniors, Jenna Johnson and Molly Schwertner, were among today’s guests. Jenna and Molly shared with club members their prospective plans after graduation next year.

Each fall, during the first couple of weeks of November, Monica and I take a vacation to get out of town and refresh ourselves away from Mason. It is always much needed and when we returned to town this past weekend we both felt relaxed and ready to deal with the many activities and challenges of the holiday season.

During Friday night's bi-district game against the Rosebud-Lott Cougars, the Punchers dominated the contest from beginning kickoff until the final whistle. At the end of the night, Mason took home a 49-0 victory and clinched their next spot in the playoffs. The Punchers racked up 441 total yards to the Cougars' 87 total yards.

First Grade A Honor Roll Parker Bownds Tanner Bradley Bella Brown Emily Calhoun-Lumpkins Matthew Calhoun Jake Cortez Brooklyn Garrett Blythe Grote Shane Haley Bailey Hearn Georgia Hicks Lily Jackson Michelle Mun Abigail Munsell Corbyn Neece Brooklynn Orta Everly Rabon Elias Sanchez Sienna Smith Elizabeth Whitworth Jarrett Worrell Samuel Wyatt Savannah Yates AB Honor Roll Isabella Balderas Emily Barros Cuatro Beaty Juan Calderon Lilah ...

Each Monday, Mason elementary students continue in their ten-week Learn, Grow, Eat and Go (LGEG) lesson. During week four students learned about the basic needs of growing plants. Plants need: P- Place to grow L- light A- air N- nutrients T- thirsty for water S- soil Week four’s lesson was followed by a learning activity game of Hot Potato - LGEG style!

Looking for a great gift idea? A reminder of the Silent Auction currently being held at the Community Thrift Store, for this Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, a tablet with Android 4.1 OS, 10.1 inch touch screen display and weighing only 20 ounces, it is very easy to hold. This device has Wi-Fi connectivity, capable of streaming movies, TV shows, video gaming, reading email and e-books, even to serve as a universal remote for multiple entertainment devices!

The Peter’s Prairie School Community Association is holding its usual affair for friends and neighbors to get together for an evening of visiting and a nice meal. We’re providing the Barbecue (brisket, sausage & chicken), Pinto Beans, Pickles, Onion & Jalapeños, Barbecue Sauce, Bread, Tea & Coffee. Please bring a dish to go with the above menu.

On December 9th at 7:00PM, the Odeon presents Gospel (music) according to Johnny. Bluesman Johnny Nicholas with Kelley Mickwee will perform a Blue Christmas special. Johnny Nicholas knows the blues. Speaking of Johnny, B.B. King said, “(He) learned from some of the same guys I did and sings and plays the real down-home blues.” For Kelley Mickwee it all comes down to just making music and singing.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Llano County, will be having a Private Pesticide Applicator Training Class on Monday, December 4, 2017. Class will begin with registration at 8:00 a.m. with the training beginning at 8:15 a.m. Cost of the training if you pick up your materials is $80. If info is mailed to you, cost will be $90.

Alpha Beta Psi will be hosting its annual Light Up Our Town Saturday, November 25th. Santa and Mrs. Clause will be arriving at 4:00 p.m. They will be on the courthouse porch, so parents bring your cameras. Thank you to the Little Tykes Express of Mason who will also be on the courthouse lawn giving train rides from 4:00 – 6:00. Beginning at 5:00 area youth will entertain.

Fletcher Clark is coming back to the Mason Co. M. Beven Memorial Library, located at 410 Post Hill St., to present a Christmas music program on Monday, Dec. 4th, at 6:30 P.M. in the Stribling Room. Admission is free. Fletcher is a veteran musician and songwriter from the earliest days of the emerging music scene in Austin and its famed concert hall Armadillo World Headquarters.

The Hilda Community Club will host their Annual Christmas Party and Business Meeting on Saturday, December 2nd at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Susan and Tom Doell, 23614 Salt Branch Loop, Mason, TX 76856. Please RSVP to [email protected].

The First United Methodist Church of Mason invites the community to join them on the three Wednesdays of Advent for special Christmas music and a brief message in the sanctuary - lunch and visiting in the Fellowship Hall follow. The dates are: December 6, December 13 and December 20, and the time is from noon till 1:00 p.m. They hope to see you there, and there will be more information in next week's paper.

Happy Thanksgiving. With all the running around, I let Thanksgiving slip up on me. As I write this on Sunday evening, I feel the first hint of holidays coming up. We decorated the Art United Methodist Church this morning. I like that my holiday season begins with decorating my church. This is the week that my daddy would have been 100 years old.

The Mason County Historical Society will be holding an Old-Fashioned Christmas at the Fort and Mason County Museum Open House on Saturday, December 2, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This time will be in conjunction with the tours that the Seaquist House Foundation will be holding. Fort Mason, located at 204 West Spruce Street was established on July 6, 1851 in present day Mason County, Texas.

The public is invited to attend the November 27, 2017 meeting of the Texas Master Naturalist Hill Country Chapter to hear Rufus Stephens, wildlife biologist, and Jan Wrede, educator, discuss their new publication. After years of working with landowners, land managers, naturalists, county officials, and others about wildlife management and land stewardship for birds in the Texas Hill Country, Stephens and Wrede teamed up to write a practical guidebook on how to improve habitat for birds on b ...

On November 19, 2017, Nathan Wallace Leamons, age 29, passed away in Hico after a 1 1/2 year struggle with illness. Nathan was born at home on Elder Hill Road in Driftwood, Texas on September 22, 1988. He was named after the prophet, so it’s not surprising he was fascinated by Old Testament prophecy. Nathan had a gift with mathematics and had an aptitude for foreign languages.

It’s never easy to say goodbye but nothing is forever. On November 15, 2017, we said goodbye to one of the greatest ladies I have ever known. I was honored to call her Granny. Some called her Evelyn and some called her Mom. Anyone that was privileged enough to know her called her special. Family and friends will go on because as Granny said when her husband, my Teti, passed away “you just have to”.

Courtney Bobbitt, of Fredonia, passed away on Monday, November 13, at the age of 37. Courtney is survived by her sons Devon Bobbitt and friend Jayde, Joe N. Bobbitt, Gunner Bobbitt and Leroy Bobbit all of Fredonia, a daughter, Chaston of Decatur, Texas, her parents Rodney and Valetta Purser of Brady, a sister Wendi Landeros and husband Tony of Richland Springs, a brother Matt Purser and wife Sandra of El Paso, grandmother Virginia Mann of Austin and Courtney’s fiance` Michael Prosise of F ...

Thank You! Every Thanksgiving we recite the litany of gratitude for all that has happened in the prior year. We give thanks for health, for prosperity, for family and for friends. After a year of ignoring all the good in our lives, or a year of failing to notice, we try to remedy our attitude of gratefulness by rolling all the thanks into one heaving day. I've attended Thanksgiving functions where everyone was expected to voice their thanks as we went about the table.

Mind Power Dear Gerry and Readers, We all have a mind. That we can agree on. However, I doubt that everyone realizes how thoroughly the powers of the mind have been investigated. Everyone has heard of near death experiences and out-of-body experiences. Books are filled with investigated, confirmed cases. Many of you know people who’ve experienced such phenomena.

Football! I want to say congratulations to the Mason Punchers football team. Take it all the way. In Marble Falls on Thursday night my parents went to the game which is a big commitment for 84yrs olds. They were Punchers before most of you were born. True fans as many!!!! I’m asking for parents of children to PLEASE talk to you children about them running in the stands.

Lots of Quick Recipes for the Holidays As the holiday season is upon us, I thought I’d share a bunch of really neat, quick, snack recipes that you can use to fend off the hordes of folks that may be invading you, or allow you to bring a very nice contribution to your host if you happen to be one of the invading hordes! Unbelievable Peanut Butter Cookies Voca Quilters Cookbook; Leah Henderson Johnson 1 cup crunchy peanut butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla Mix all the ...

I hope everyone had a deliciously wonderful Thanksgiving! Christmas is around the corner, and we have holiday DVDs and books in a special section so they’ll be easier to find. We also have a Christmas program next Monday, December 4, at 6:30 P.M. in the Stribling Room. Fletcher Clark will be here to sing holiday songs, and we can sing along if we want.

Tastes like chicken PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: ‘A 57-year-old famed British explorer who was dropped by helicopter into Papua New Guinea three weeks ago so he could find a lost tribe of headhunters has disappeared.’ That’s the first line from a recent article in The Daily Wire. The title of the story is ‘Famed Explorer Looking For Lost Tribe Of Headhunters Has Disappeared.’ As soon as I saw the story I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I would get an easy column out of ...

It’s TURKEY TIME! No gifts required. Plenty of food. Family and friends. Some football required. Nap time after the food, or during the football game. Puppies get the scraps and seem to enjoy their treat. And if you use paper goods, little dishwashing needed. Men rub their bellies and don’t scratch other parts.

Who Ya’ Gonna Believe?... My Uncle Mort--described by his neighbors in the thicket as being “a couple of coats short of a paint job”--seems to be snagged on the horns of a dilemma. Or, maybe he’s suffering from delayed effects of dueling air horns blasting “back in the day” at Kyle Field. “It wasn’t long ago that we didn’t have to fake excitement for the Texas Aggies’ football team.

Slow-Cooker Italian Smothered Venison Well, we have entered into my favorite seasons, the Holiday Season and Hunting Season. This time of year some us have an abundance of venison (deer meat) but if you don’t, round steak works great with this recipe. I also have made this using both axis and whitetail meat.

Happy Thanksgiving. With all the running around, I let Thanksgiving slip up on me. As I write this on Sunday evening, I feel the first hint of holidays coming up. We decorated the Art United Methodist Church this morning. I like that my holiday season begins with decorating my church. This is the week that my daddy would have been 100 years old.

Thanksgiving. Brought to you in living Technicolor. And bigger than any wide-screen TV. Don’t touch that dial. The moment has come. Dinner is served. Thanksgiving—a traditional meal of many colors. Equal to a painter’s palette. Each dish bringing something different to the table. Kinda like people. The golden brown turkey. The golden yellow yams. Turkey dressing colored in camouflage. Orange carrots. What’s green, brown, and beige, and always served at Than ...