January 26, 2022 Issue

Stoddard General Contractors arrived Monday morning to put up scaffolding around the courthouse, announced County Judge Jerry Bearden at Monday’s County Commissioners Court. This official beginning of reconstruction comes just shy of the one-year anniversary of the fire and as the result of much hard work by the Commissioners and other involved entities. To mark the anniversary, a ceremony to recognize all the neighboring volunteer fire departments that assisted in fighting the fire will ...

Mason schools showed academic improvement from already very good ratings in the most recent report from the Texas Academic Performance Report, TAPR, said Mason Independent School District (MISD) Superintendent Stan Whittle at Monday night’s school board meeting. Comparing scores from 2019 to 2021, Mason students improved in all areas, increasing the most in English, language arts, reading, writing, social studies and all subjects in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, Whittle ...

During Monday’s regular board meeting, the MISD Board of Trustees held a closed session to evaluate Superintendent Stan Whittle’s contract as a result of his arrest in Gonzales County last month on a Class B misdemeanor charge of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Nixon police said in their report that Stan Wesley Whittle did not pass several field sobriety tests after being involved in a two-vehicle crash on Dec.

Mason schools showed academic improvement from already very good ratings in the most recent report from the Texas Academic Performance Report, TAPR, said Mason Independent School District (MISD) Superintendent Stan Whittle at Monday night’s school board meeting. Comparing scores from 2019 to 2021, Mason students improved in all areas, increasing the most in English, language arts, reading, writing, social studies and all subjects in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, Whittle ...

The Mason High School girls and boys varsity basketball teams were in District 29-2A action this past week and got the job done at home vs. Center Point High School and on the road at Junction High School. COWGIRLS Against a lowly Center Point Lady Pirates squad, the Cowgirls handled their business on January 18, as Mason cruised to a dominant 68-17 victory.

Mason County is approaching the date of the terrible fire that destroyed the 110-year-old Mason County Courthouse. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a “Day of Infamy that will live in the hearts and minds of Americans.” So will the night of February 4, 2021.

Dickie Sellman was born to Charlie and Vannie Sellman on July 28, 1935, in Rochelle, Texas. Dickie is survived by his wife, Ida Ann; his children, Dee (Lee) Henrich, Sabrina Roberts and Chuck (Rhonda) Sellman; his grandchildren, Jared (Jayme) Henrich, Jayton Henrich, Brandon (Monica) Roberts, Austin Roberts, Justin (Breanna) Roberts, Kendyl Sellman and Kylie Sellman; and his eight great grandchildren.

Joan Marilyn Frenzel Tucker, of Hobbs, New Mexico, passed away on January 14, 2022, in Carlsbad, New Mexico, with her family by her side. She was born to the late Freddy Ray Frenzel and Billie Maxine Frenzel on June 20, 1943, in Brady, Texas. She lived in Mason until 7th grade, when the family moved to Hobbs.

First, a disclaimer. I am not trained in geology, hydrology, or any related field. I am certainly not an “expert” in these fields, so what I say below is likely to be an oversimplification. But I know many people are interested in our aquifers and may also have some misconceptions about them.

Wednesday at 6:00 the library will host author Gail Kittleson in the Stribling Room. Join us for this free Writer’s Workshop. Happy Reading! New to the Library: DVDS The Addams Family 2 The Dry Last Night in Soho Mass Spencer Fiction: Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie “Kyoto, Japan, 1948. The child of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI, Eight-year-old Noriko “Nori” Kamiza is an outsider from birth.

When it's too cold outside to spend a solid amount of time for this gardener, it is time to evaluate what is at hand, what needs to be made, brought in, or purchased. When the weather warms it will be time to seriously get that compost activated and fill the raised beds, or start new ones. I’m planning for some flower beds in the garden.

Those of you that know me very well know that I LOVE my Reuben Sandwiches!!! Anytime we go to a restaurant that serves them, I am going to order one. I prefer Thousand Island dressing, but mustard is probably better for your health. We are fortunate to have two restaurants in Mason now that serve them, so I can get my “Reuben fix” more often.

We like a lot of different breads. Chewy breads for sopping up pinto bean juice; not-so-chewy ones for soups; soft bread for dinner and toasting for breakfast. This is one of those soft breads. I had some buttermilk left over from another cooking project, so I jumped on the internet and searched for “buttermilk bread” and this little gem came up!

Sixty-two people gathered together in one room, as varied a group as I have ever seen. Seated at the front of the group was an aged woman in a wheelchair attended by her equally elderly husband bent almost double by age and disease. At the rear of the group were a couple of active and vocal infants making their presence continually known to the assembly.

I have spent much of the past week driving back and forth to San Antonio to see John. He is doing well and working on gaining strength. Tina has been my boss on most of these trips and does the driving. Hopefully John will come home Friday. Covid has been running rampant in our community.

Once in a while someone asks me what my favorite movie is, and I always say, ‘Lonesome Dove.’ Sometimes the person who asked me then points out that Lonesome Dove is not a movie, but a mini-series. When they do that I ignore that person from then on. No one needs that kind of negativity in their life. One of my favorite scenes in Lonesome Dove was when Gus and Call hire Po Campo to be their cook on the cattle drive to Montana.