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by John Hallowell

I am a very prolific writer; week in and week out (whether or not I have anything to say), I churn out thousands of words. Unfortunately, quantity sometimes comes at the expense of quality; when I wake up Tuesday morning with five stories to write before noon (as I did last week), I leave some things out and phrase other things poorly. Sometimes I misstate important facts.

It’s easy for me to make excuses. Last Monday I had a bad headache, so I quit working after only thirteen hours and went to sleep with a lot of important stuff left unwritten. At five o’clock the next morning, I still wasn’t at my best (whatever that is!), and that’s my excuse for not doing a very good job articulating the response of school administrators to the ISD’s remarkable rise from nearly Unacceptable just three years ago to Exemplary this year.

Let me say right up front that I am NOT one of the district’s severest critics. I hear from some of those critics, and sometimes feel that they have valid points to make, but in general I am very happy with the leadership shown by Superintendent Dennis Hill, and I am generally happy with what I see of the educational system in Llano. I believe that Llano ISD has a lot of good people doing a lot of good things, and (in general) it is making good progress in the right direction. That may not seem like high praise, but I don’t know of any school district anywhere that I would praise more highly. I like Llano.

That’s one reason why I was disgusted with myself for leaving out several pertinent points that Superintendent Hill made during my interview with him Monday morning. One of those points was that, even with the slightly easier road to an Exemplary rating, less than 20 percent of the state’s districts got that rating. Llano is in the top 20 percent! Also, Llano’s improvement compares very favorably with neighboring districts like Mason, Burnet and Marble Falls. It’s obvious to me that there’s a lot of pressure on administrators and on teachers (so I’m sure that not everyone will be happy), but I’m glad that we have as good a team as we do, and that they are doing so well. I wish them all the very best.

Speaking of which, I should have it ready in the next week or two, and should have printed copies before the 10

You may see a picture or two elsewhere in the paper from the Ice Cream Chill Out Contest at the Tow Community Center last Saturday. Newly-elected commissioner Linda Raschke and Justice of the Peace Linda Ballard were the judges; there was a good crowd there, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the ice cream. This was just the latest of a bunch of quality events there; the folks in charge of the community center are putting it to good use.

When I got back to Llano, I was able to attend the second half of the Country Opry. I’m becoming a big fan of George Hamilton IV, and I enjoyed his performance again Saturday night. I even got an autographed two-CD set of him singing old-fashioned hymns and gospel songs with other noted performers. I haven’t had much time to listen to it yet, but I’m pretty sure it will join Jenny Taylor’s "Alive" CD as one of the regulars in my car CD player. I also had my picture taken with Mr. Hamilton, but I’ll spare you that; I’m saving it in my collection of personal mementos.

Before I stop writing, I want to say that I really was impressed with the public meeting last Thursday on the proposed Historic Preservation Zoning ordinance; it seemed like an excellent example of democracy in action. I think almost everyone is in favor of preserving Llano’s historic treasures, but many have concerns about this new law. Discussing it in the open seems to me to be the best way to come up with a good ordinance that most people will support. I think we’re on the right track; I applaud the city officials who organized the meeting and kept their cool when objections were voiced. I also applaud the concerned citizens who voiced their concerns. I think that a limited district with specific "grandfather" protections for property owners is the best way to go; I hope (and believe) that the majority can come to an agreement.

th of September. There’s a lot of Llano material, and I think you’ll enjoy reading it. My featured town is San Marcos, and I had already taken pictures of the Cheatham Street Warehouse music venue before I realized that the owner, Kent Finlay, will be performing here at Fuel Coffee House this Thursday night with W.C. Jameson! Finlay is the man who "discovered" George Strait, and traveled with Strait and Darrell Staedtler to introduce the future star in Nashville.