January 29, 2019 Issue

As previously reported, Mason Post 8554 selected Angela Huffman, an 8th grader as winner of the local Patriots Pen essay contests; and, Colby Brown, a senior, was chose winner of the Voice of Democracy contest. We have been informed that Angela Huffman won 2nd place in State competition and is to receive a check in the amount of $500 from the Spring Branch Post # 8790 of Houston and a plaque is to be presented to her by VFW Dist.

Last Wednesday, January 29, 1,000 rainbow trout were released at the Llano River’s “James River Crossing” along Highway 2389 south of Mason. Quite a few of these trout are large enough to make the Texas Parks & Wildlife’s record book for the Llano River. This follows the release of 1,500 trout in mid-December. The current Llano River “Rainbow Trout” records waiting to be set or broken are:Youth Angler, Rod & Reel (under 17): 10” Adult Angler, Rod & Reel: 12.45” Fly-fishi ...

New Stop signs are coming to Mason! The City Commission has approved four new stop signs to be installed on Westmorland during the Commission meeting on January 20, 2020. Two signs will be installed at the intersection of Pecan and Westmorland. The other two signs will be installed at the intersection on Herman and Ave.

The Board of Trustees of MISD met for their regular meeting on January 20, 2020 at the MISD Administration Office. Board President Jeff Durst called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm with members Jim Bob Smith, Cole Farmer, Tina Cantu-Navarro, Ryan Jordan, Mary Donaldson and Kathryn Martin in attendance.

Love is in the air! Love is everywhere! Especially in the candy aisle at Dollar General! Mason’s Scarlet Punchers, those intrepid women “of a certain age,” who absolutely insist on living life to the fullest, are not to be left out of the world of pink and red, candy hearts (“Be Mine”) and floral advertisements on TV and the Internet. After a fabulous, well-attended trip to Joe’s Italian Restaurant in Brady for January’s gathering, including a new joinee, Anita (welcome!), w ...

The Republican Forum for local candidates was a huge success. The Eckert Center was full to capacity on Thursday night, January 23, 2020. It was good to see Mason County voters come out to support their candidates and take an interest in their community. The Mason County Republican Women’s Club and the Mason County Republican Party sponsored the candidate forum.

Operation Orphans held the fourth hunt of the 2019-20 season Saturday, January 11th. 33 boys from four child residential homes traveled to Camp Gene Ashby, which is located South of Mason, Friday, January 10th. Homes attending were Methodist Home, Waco; Sweeten Home, Brownwood; Gulf Coast Trades Center, New Waverly; and Presbyterian Home, Itasca.

Recently the emergency helicopter pad next to the Clinic was greatly improved through the combined efforts of Mason County, the City of Mason and the Mason Community Foundation. In several discussions shortly before the first of the year, it became apparent that the EMS services were having some difficulty because of the slow deterioration of the surface of the helicopter pad.

The regular meeting of the Mason County Commissioners' Court on Monday had a packed group of citizens. While several had come to hear the status of work on county roads, there was also a contingent in attendance to hear from representatives of the Census Bureau as they explained the push for local Census workers, and the importance of an accurate counting to the City of Mason, to Mason County, and to Texas. Billy Horton, Jim Wolf and Colin Painter explained that the Census needed up to 56 a ...

2020 VISION Hi everyone! I wanna start by saying Happy New Year, and I hope everyone had a great Christmas to “wrap up” 2019. Entering into 2020…. wow, is it really 2020?  This means the earth has circled the sun two thousand and twenty times since the birth of Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular belief, AD doesn’t mean “ after death.”  AD comes from “anno domini” a Latin term meaning “in the year of The Lord.”  The calendar started at 1 AD at the birth of Jesus; in s ...

Boss Lion Michael Murphy gaveled the meeting to order at 12:30 pm at Nacho’s Café on January 21. We had one visitor, Loy Williams. There were two MISD seniors, Meagan Canfield and Alex Cope, who introduced themselves and told us about their future endeavors. Lion Penny Ruthven was the program chairman and he introduced Randall Brown, the local game warden. Randall told stories from his 27 years of working as a game warden. One time, they suspected some fellows of poaching.

The meeting of the City Commission last Monday was a long one. Gerry did a great job of reporting on it in last week’s paper, and I appreciate his diligence and fairness in that article. The late night was mostly due to the many comments that citizens felt needed to be made regarding the proposed Historical Preservation Ordinance.

As previously reported, Mason Post 8554 selected Angela Huffman, an 8th grader as winner of the local Patriots Pen essay contests; and, Colby Brown, a senior, was chose winner of the Voice of Democracy contest. We have been informed that Angela Huffman won 2nd place in State competition and is to receive a check in the amount of $500 from the Spring Branch Post # 8790 of Houston and a plaque is to be presented to her by VFW Dist.

First Grade A Honor Roll Jose Angeles Collins Armstrong Kase Autrey Cami Bradley Grayson Burns Eliana Castillo Presley Estes Lane Ferguson Karly Hahn Laila Hatfield Melany Hearn Hailey Holbrook Reid Immel Davis Johnson Scotlyn Kroll Pecos Levy Adlae Lopez Evelyn Lopez Nealy Lyles Julian Martinez Abigail McFarland Kessler McLeod Ian Patterson Hunter Price Alan Quintero Monica Ramirez Noah Rodriguez Grayson Rosberg Clara Schmidt Vane ...

Varsity Cowgirls vs. Junction Tuesday, 1/21 Mason 11—24—18—10 = 63 Junction 3—3—3—0 = 9 Scoring—Smith—3, Stockbridge—8, Elliott—8, Keller—13, Hanscheck—6, Guice—5, Olson—8, Armstrong—3, Cano—9. Rebounding—Smith—3, Stockbridge—2, Elliott—4, Keller—4, Hanscheck—2, Guice—1, Olson—6, Armstrong—2, Cano—5. Assist—Smith—2, Stockbridge—2, Elliott—3, Keller—1, Guice—2, Olson—1, Armstrong—1, Cano—1. Steals/Deflections/ ...

On January 29th another 1250 Rainbow Trout will be released into the Llano River at the James River Crossing (Hwy. 2389) as the popular Mason County WinterFisch continues. The public is invited to come and witness the release, which will occur at approximately 10:30 am. In conjunction with the release, WinterFisch organizers will host a “Family Fishing Fun Day” on Saturday, February 1st from Noon to 5pm .

As a non-profit organization, Second Chance Mason Animal Rescue helps to rescue innocent pets who are found as strays or surrendered by owners who can’t or won’t cope with the responsibility of a pet. Some of these cases are heart-wrenching. What if we as a community came together to be proactive in helping prevent the numbers of unwanted puppies and kittens here who quickly become unwanted cats and dogs?

When: February 6, 2020 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: Mason USDA Service Center, 1224 Austin St, Mason Texas Mason, Texas, January 22, 2020—The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Texas’ Mason County and the Mason County Soil and Water Conservation District cordially invite the public to attend their FY2021 Local Working Group (LWG) meeting on February 6, 2020, at 1:00 pm. The purpose of this annual LWG meeting is to set local conservation priorities and bring conserv ...

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Executive Director, Randy Maenius stated “Both Mason and Llano County have met the qualifying drought ratings that ‘trigger’ eligibility for the Livestock Forage Program on 2019 acreages of improved pasture, native pasture, and sorghum forage.” Eligible livestock generally include beef cattle, dairy cattle, equine, goats, llamas, or sheep that have been or would have been grazing the eligible grazing land or pastureland during the normal grazing peri ...

Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein Production Opens Feb. 14th Fredericksburg, TX (Jan. 21, 2019) – On Monday, Jan 27th at 9:00 a.m. the box office opens to donors for the Fredericksburg Theater Company’s (FTC) winter musical, Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. The musical comedy opens Friday, February 14th and will have nine performances at the Steve W.

I hope your week was as great as ours. We had a little more rain. The doctor appointments were few. Great grandson Tanner came to visit for a day. God is good. Class meetings continue at the Art United Methodist Church on Wednesday in the parsonage. Soup is served at 6 and the meeting begins at 6:30. The Missions Committee will meet Monday, February 3 at 6.

The City of Mason will be holding a City Election, Saturday, May 2, 2020. City positions up for election this year are: Mayor at Large, City Commissioner District 1 and City Commissioner District 3. Residents of the City of Mason who desire to place their name on the ballot for one of these positions may do so beginning Wednesday January 15, 2020 until Friday February 14, 2020.

The Hill Country CattleWomen (HCCW) will be holding a Mardi Gras Social at The Barrel House in Llano on Tuesday, February 25 from 4:30 to 7 pm. Anyone wishing to learn more about the HCCW or interested in joining are welcome to attend. Spouses and significant others are also welcome. The Barrell House is located at 101 East Main Street, Llano, TX.

Hill Country Astronomers (HCA) will meet at 6:30 PM, Monday, February 3, in the HEB Activity Room at Hill Country University Center in Fredericksburg. Bridget Langdale of Mason will receive the Astronomical League’s “Stellar Outreach Award” for her active outreach in educating groups/individuals about the importance of protecting our dark night skies and encouraging the appreciation of astronomy.

Date of Death: Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Wayne was born March 26, 1950, in San Saba, Texas, the 3rd of 5 children to famed saddle maker, Earl Homesley and Imogene Bode Homesley who was a professional seamstress. Wayne has lived most of his life in Llano County. He was a skilled horseman, he helped ranchers from New Mexico to Central Texas for over 50 years.

Funeral for Etta Fay Beam Caylor Saturday - Feb 1 -- Mason Funeral Home Viewing --1 p.m. Funeral -- 2 p.m. Burial at Gooch Cemetery following funeral service Full obituary in next week's paper.

Let's Drop Facebook for a Week! During the last week, I've been finding myself feeling quite disappointed in my friends and neighbors. And, all of that disappointment is derived from one source --- Facebook! I have watched rumors grow into fiery exchanges. I've seen normally civil political disagreements erupt into all out warfare.

Fiscal Concerns There is more than one homeless crisis in the USA. Fiscal Conservatives are certainly homeless on the national political stage. The 2019 budget deficit was over 1.1 trillion dollars. Unemployment is very low and the stock market is high; we should be running a surplus and paying down the debt during boom times.

Preservation Dear Editor, Having spent the last two years renovating four important historic structures now known as The Mildred Inn, I can tell you that I completely support the effort to create a fair ordinance to protect historic structures from destruction. Most of the City Commission meeting discussion on this topic was spent completely off point.

Pay Up Dear Editor, My name is Emmanuel Hinckley. I am one of Daniel Hinckley’s seven children. My father is a civil engineer and has a small engineering firm, Blue Oak Engineering. For three years, he and his company worked for the City of Mason to get a permit for a new landfill.

Blue Oak Dear Editor, In 2017, the city of Mason entered into contract with Blue Oak Engineering for design and permitting of a new landfill. The design and permitting work progressed, and was completed in March of 2019. In August 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved the work and issued the landfill permit to the City of Mason.

Was Not! Is Not! Rumors! They seem to bug everybody -- even religious groups. The following statements should clear up some of these insidious misunderstandings going around in sacred circles. The kind of lights used on Noah's ark were not flood-lights. Atheism is not a threat to organized Bingo. The favorite hymn of worshippers at early services in churches is not "Onward Christian Folgers." The new Chief Rabbi of Northern Alaska is not named "Eskimoses." Jonah was not the first subma ...

Beautiful Burger Buns courtesy: King Arthur Flour These are, just like the title says, some really beautiful burger buns! They are easy to make, although you do have so spend some time waiting for the two rises required. They are worth the wait, and my volunteer “tasting team” assures me that they’re the best they’ve ever had. Ingredients: 1 cup lukewarm water 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 1 large egg 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (King Arthur recommends their ...

Have you got books cluttering up your closets or living spaces? If they’re clean and in good shape, please consider donating them for the Friends of the Library Book Sale, and then be sure to stock up again at the sale! It is scheduled for Friday, March 27th, 28th, and 30th, so mark your calendars! DVDs: Gemini Man Pride & Prejudice 180° South Audiobooks: Spy by Danielle Steel (CD F STE) An October Bride by Katie Ganshert (CD F GAN) Fiction: (all quotes from publishers’ s ...

A Different Drummer… I’m glad Sisters Maggie Hession and Frances Evans--who proudly beat a drum for the Texas Rangers from reserved seats 15 rows behind home plate--didn’t live to see it. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word were welcomed, unlike the Houston garbage can beater who has been “drummed out of the corps.” The guy with a different beat there is a link in the chain exposing the ugly underbelly of highest level cheating. Baseball’s integrity could go the way ...

Chile Verde Cheddar Burger Foil Packs Well it is time for the Super Bowl and the Cowboys and Texans didn’t make it this year but there is always hope for next year. I am not going to miss out on any tailgating, anyway. I tend to think of burgers, or wings and I am hoping the weather will be pleasant enough to heat up the grill.

I hope your week was as great as ours. We had a little more rain. The doctor appointments were few. Great grandson Tanner came to visit for a day. God is good. Class meetings continue at the Art United Methodist Church on Wednesday in the parsonage. Soup is served at 6 and the meeting begins at 6:30. The Missions Committee will meet Monday, February 3 at 6.