September 22, 2021 Issue

Mason City Commissioners passed a $6.4 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year while adopting a residential and business property tax rate that is lower than fiscal year 2021. The property tax rate for fiscal year 2022 will be .156 cents per $100 valuation, according to an amended version of Resolution 21-364.

La Copa Joe’s Jasmine Rodriguez follows her own advice: DRINK COFFEE AND DO GOOD. From an Economics major to a Sales and Service Corporate Coach, Jasmine has accomplished a great deal in a relatively short amount of time and shows no sign that she plans on stopping now. Sitting over a cup of coffee with Jasmine, it quickly becomes apparent that community and family are her focus.

Despite a nice rally in the second half, the Mason High School varsity football team was defeated for the first time this season on Sept. 17 as the Punchers were edged 20-14 at home by Wall High School. The visiting Hawks received the opening kickoff and quickly moved the ball downfield on offense with a strong rushing attack.

The tiniest thing that we adored was our mother and nana. Jeanette “Tiny” Thomas, 76, passed away with her children and daughter in law at her side on September 1, 2021. Tiny was born on July 13, 1945 in Oakland, California. She was the only child of Lois Dearing. She married Bobby Joe Thomas on March 7, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

George Stephen Lawrence, age 62, of Brady, Texas passed away Saturday, September 11, 2021 in San Angelo, Texas. Steve was born November 8, 1958, in Brady, Texas to William Bluford Lawrence and Velma Louise (Young) Lawrence. He was a 1977 Brady High School graduate. He was a member of St.

I have written in the past about the problems caused by invasive exotic species, both plant and animal. Worldwide, invasive species are responsible for more native species extinction than any other cause, except for human “development”. Invasive exotic species crowd out native species without replacing the function our native species had in the habitat, not only displacing native vegetation, but also the animals that depended on them.

Join us at the Mason Community Building (by the Puncherdome) Saturday for a free Rabies Clinic, courtesy of Ole Yellow Animal Rescue, and a showing of Old Yeller. Further details are in our article in this week’s paper, or you can call the library for more information. Happy Reading! New to the Library: DVDS Boss Baby: Family Business The Eagle Huntress Mare of Easttown Together Together The Truffle Hunters Whitstable Pearl Season 1 Fiction: (all quotes from publishers’ ...

I have one of these really fancy bread machines, but have never been too impressed with the quality of the breads I’ve prepared in it. I decided to come up with a recipe that produced a better product, so I began to experiment. Since it takes 4 hours to make a loaf of bread in my machine, I got to spend a lot of time wondering just exactly how each loaf would turn out.

As I look back on the history of my family, I see myself at the end of a long line of country folks. When I look ahead to the future of my family, I see myself at the beginning of a short, but growing, line of city folks. As far as I know, all my ancestors had rural roots.

Welcome to Autumnal equinox, also called Fall equinox. One of the two equinoxes, when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are equal length. Fall equinox ends on December 21. As we finally have a focus on finishing the Fall planting, I have to say due to the high temperatures and low moisture, I have delayed my seed planting.

Fall is here. Today is the day that fall arrives. With all the crazy weather we have endured in the past year, everyone is a bit skeptical of expecting a cool, wet fall day. I had another eye surgery last Monday. My retina just doesn’t want to stay glued on. I am back in super-cautious mode.

You may not be ready to buy your first home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare now. Here are three actions you can do while renting that will put you in a better position when you’re ready to buy. Test the Budget While you can’t predict all homeownership costs to the last penny, you can come up with a rough estimate of how owning a home will affect your budget.

After my mother’s funeral last February an old friend stuck an envelope in the inside breast pocket of my jacket and said, “Read this when you have time.” It was a diatribe aimed at our country’s government, written in desperation by a man who has worked hard for a lifetime and tried to instill the values of honesty, integrity, and patriotism in his children and grandchildren.

On September 14, the Mason Lions Club met at Nacho’s for their weekly meeting. There was no scheduled guest speaker so Lion Will McCann filled-in with some stories about people who appeared before him while he was an Administrative Law Judge for the Worker's Compensation Commission. There was the Duke of Hazzard, a frisky young man whom Lion Will observed roaring into the parking lot, leaping out of his convertible without opening the door, grabbing a walking cane, and twirling it like ...