June 18, 2008

Dewey and Erwinna Fain will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on June 23, 1958, at the Church of Christ in Llano and have resided here since that time. They celebrated the occasion this past weekend in Port Aransas with their children and grandchildren, Jeff, Kristi, Karis and Kyle Hopf, of Llano, Keith, Debra and Megan Fain, of Llano, and Kevin, Bobbie, Hunter and Skylar Fain, of Athens.

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Freeman, of Llano, are pleased to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Freeman, to Ryan Dean Bucklin, son of Mark and Terri Turner, of Cypress and Roger and Geri Bucklin, of Humble. The bride is a 2005 graduate of Llano High School and is currently a senior at Texas A&M University.

The Class of 1953 will be having its 55th year anniversaary reunion on Saturday, June 28. The event will be held at the newly remodeled Dabbs Hotel on the north side of the Llano River along the railroad tracks. The reunion will begin at 3 p.m., visiting with classmates and reliving memories.

Two youths from Llano County were awarded major scholarships at the annual Texas 4-H Roundup, held this week at Texas A&M University. Wesley Regmund and Geoffrey Sanders each received $15,000 scholarships funded by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Roundup this year attracted some 2,900 4-H members, parents and volunteers for a series of statewide competitions, scholarship awards and fun.

Jessica Lynne Moore and Vernon Leland Crabtree were united in marriage at the Wimberley United Methodist Church on April 5 with the Rev. Laura Merrill and the Rev. Gary Mathis officiating. Jessica is the daughter of Phyllis and Jess Moore, of Wimberley. Vernon is the son of Bernice Crabtree and the late Bert Crabtree, of Llano.

The locations of the Llano Skate Park might have been last on the agenda but was the first item up for discussion at the city council meeting. Concerned citizen Rich Burnett voiced his worry about the skate park being too close to the residential side of Badu Park. “We are concerned about loitering, the lights, the noise and whatever else can happen at a teenage gathering area.” said Burnett. Alderman Mike Reagor eased concerns by saying that Badu Park is big and neither the council nor the skate park committee had decided on a particular area of the park. Both Burnett and Alderman Reagor agreed that the east side of Badu Park would be the ideal place because facilities were already built and it was away from the residential area. Mayor Roger Pinckney suggested that decisions need to wait until the skate park committee comes back with an exact proposed location. The council discussed the issue regarding the deposit procedure for renting Robinson Park.

The Kingsland Municipal Utility District Board of Directors rolled up sleeves Monday to review long-range needs and to begin the work of holding the line on budget increases to a minimum to be ready to meet them. The proposed operating budget on the table for the coming year totaled $1,835,341, two percent below the current 2007-2008 figure approved last year.

Members of Central Texas Electric Co-op in Board District 4 (Llano County) met to choose their candidate for a seat on the Board of Directors, Tuesday night, June 10, in the Kingsland Community Center. A record-number of members were welcomed by the co-op’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert A. Loth, III.

The Kingsland/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce is calling for entries in four “floats” events to let area businesses, organizations and creative, fun-loving types express themselves on the Fourth of July. The event that always gets top visibility is the Aqua Boom Land Parade that passes down RR 2900 from Packsaddle Elementary School, past Highland Plaza and down RR 1431 to Euel Moore, beginning at 10 a.m. Entries are asked to register at the chamber office at 2743 RR 1431 or with Charlotte Dillworth at Kingsland Health and Fitness Center, 2132 RR 1431. Patriot themes are always encouraged.

The Llano County Road & Bridge will be improving County Road 307 by working approximately 2.5 miles of roadway for paving in mid to late June, or early July. Residents of CR307 will be able to access their property, but CR307 will be closed to thru traffic during construction and paving.

Jim Highsmith, 74, died June 9 with his devoted family by his side. Jim was born Aug. 30, 1933 in Hammond, Ind. Jim’s parents J.V. and Lillian Highsmith, and his sister Pat Lecocq preceded him in death. He is survived by his loving wife, Frances, of Horseshoe Bay; his son Michael Highsmith, of Buda; his daughters Sherry Highsmith, of Lostant, Ill., and Susan Murst of Marseilles, Ill.; their sons Kelly Green, of Horseshoe Bay and Jeff Green, of Leander; and eight grandchildren: Bryan Harry and wife Tiffany of Austin, Natasha Garcia and husband, Joe, of Ottawa, Ill., Stephanie Thesinger and husband, Eric, of Little Rock, Ark., Tonya Harry of Dekalb, Ill., Devin Highsmith of Austin, Sophia Green of Austin, Savannah and Landri Green, of Leander.

Nancy Leming, 51, passed away in Cottonwood Shores on May 31, following a lengthy illness. She was born on Aug. 4, 1956, in New Braunfels to Darrell and Faye (Jackson) Mosley. Mrs. Leming is preceded in death by her father Darrell Mosley; and her nephew. She is survived by her husband, Cliff Tamaseu, of Cottonwood Shores; her children, Steven Leming, Rikk Leming, Ronn Leming, and Gregory and Alyssa Dillworth all of Cottonwood Shores; her grandchildren, Logan and Dillon Leming; her mother, Faye and Stan Slocum, of Kingsland; her sister, Dienna Thomson, of Cottonwood Shores; her brothers, Damon Mosley, of Cottonwood Shores; and Donald Mosley, of Ft.

Marianne Montez, 66, passed away June 9, in Kingsland. She was born on Sept. 24, 1941, in Quincy, Mass. to Robert and Sophie (Przybylinski) Foley. Mrs. Montez is survived by her husband William Montez, of California; her daughter, Jackie Mason, of Marble Falls; her sons, Jeff Montez, of Austin, and William J.

Orvel Don Morris, Jr., 36, of Kingsland, passed away on June 8 following a water accident. He was born in Tulia on Oct. 19, 1971, to Orvel D. and Ora Mae (Roach) Morris. Mr. Morris is preceded in death by his father Orvel Don Morris, Sr. He is survived by his wife, Melissa Morris, of Kingsland; his daughter, Penny Medeiros and husband, Daniel, of Kingsland; his two grandchildren; his mother, Ora Mae Morris, of Panhandle; his brother, Michael Morris, of Panhandle; his sisters, Margaret Booth, of Kerrville, N.M., and Sheila King, of Fort Worth; numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. Mr.

The Rev. Clarence Edwin Orrick, 96, of Kingsland, passed away on June 10, following a lengthy illness. He was born on Sept. 16, 1911, in Big Fork, Ark. to St. Patrick and Melvina (Barrentine) Orrick. He is preceded in death by his wife, Ollie Mae Orrick. The Rev. Orrick is survived by his daughter Loneta L.

Margaret Bales Ratliff, 96, formerly of Kingsland, died June 14, in Austin. She was the daughter of Marvin B. Bales and Lillie Templeton Bales, of Lone Grove. She is survived by two daughters, Peggy George (husband David), of Nashville, Tenn.; and Judi Davis, of Austin; six grandchildren: Jennifer Low (husband John), of Waco; Andrew George, and Michael George (wife Isabelle), of Nashville, Tenn.; Darrell Davis (wife Stephanie), of Wake Forest, N.C.; Douglas Davis, of Dallas; and Debbie Davis Brutsche,of Mansfield.

Irving Ross “Stu” Stuart, 83, of Horseshoe Bay, passed away June15. He was born to Irving Ross and Elizabeth (Lester) Stuart on Jan. 19, 1925, in Big Spring. Mr. Irving is survived by his wife Eleanor Leonard-Stuart, of Horseshoe Bay; his sons, John Stuart, of Oregon, and Bill Stuart, of Pennsylvania; his daughters, Jonelle Glosch, of Texas, and Elizabeth Stuart, of Oregon; his granddaughter, Caryn Glosch; his sisters, Lea Ward, of North Carolina, and Chris Shackelford, of Colorado; and his loving pet Keeshond, Sami. He proudly served his country in the United States Navy.

The Llano Lady basketball Jackets may not have been in mid-winter form, but their almost-summer form wasn’t too bad, and they shook off a poor start to down Ingram, 36-27, June 16, in the off-season league in Fredericksburg. “We hustled a lot,” junior-to-be Olivia Hutto said, “and our passing was solid; we didn’t shoot as well as we can, but we were clicking at the end.” Certainly not at the other end, the start.

The softball playoffs may be over, but the bats and gloves have not joined sweaters and other kinds of gloves in the closet. The school game, which goes from winter to spring, is now the out-of-school, spring to summer, game. “Almost all sports have a lot of athletes who want to play year-round,” Llano High School head coach, Brian Cottle, says, “and they lose a step or two if they don’t.” Brittany Williams will be a junior the next time she sees a rise ball in district play.

The Llano River Golf Associations “First Annual Llano River Blowout” turnout was a huge success. The Lone Star State was well represented here in Llano June 7 and 8. Teams from San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Angelo and Austin were represented along with our local area golfers totaling 72 players, bringing their best game to Llano River Golf Course despite winds and warm days.

Llano High School is now looking for a “diamond in the rough” to lead the young men who play on the diamond. The search is underway to find a head coach for varsity baseball. It appears at least a pair of familiar names are quite interested in sharing their resumes.

Celebrate ’08 – Come Home to Kingsland is the theme for the 39th annual event that begins this weekend with the Miss Aqua Boom Scholarship Pageant and resumes on the Fourth of July with all-day events and parades, on and off the water, and a fireworks finale seen for miles around. Saturday’s pageant activities culminate with crowing of the 2008 reigning Miss Aqua Boom, winner of a $3,500 scholarship.

Do you live or operate a business on one of the Highland Lakes (Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, Travis and Austin), Lady Bird Lake or the Colorado River downstream of Austin? If so, you may want to sign up for a free public service offered by LCRA that alerts you about floodgate operations by e-mail and/or phone. LCRA is the manager of the upper Highland Lakes and dams, operating them during floods to reduce the risk of damage downstream.

Nine wineries that make up the Texas Wine Road 290 Wine Trail, in cooperation with the Texas Pork Producers Association, invite you to participate in a Saturday, June 21 event. Each winery will team with a top restaurant in the Texas Hill Country to present “Vino al Pastor.” Vino al Pastor literally means wine and “Shepherd style” meat.

Summer arrived early this year in Central Texas. With several weeks of record-breaking heat already behind us and the specter of a long, hot summer on the horizon, many of us are tempted to turn up the volume on our sprinkler systems. At the same time, both the City of Austin and the Lower Colorado River Authority now have mandatory watering schedules that allow watering no more than two days a week.

A hundred years ago, on June 17, 1908, an event occurred over a remote part of Russia, the likes of which had not been seen before or since. Something exploded 3-6 miles in the air with far more power than the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima in 1945. A little after 7 a.m.

In 2007, Llano Elementary student Erich Burch created a work of art in Mrs. Myrick’s Summer Art program. He pressed a mold he made into three pieces of clay and made three tiles. Erich had the idea to send one to the President, keep one for himself and give the other to Mrs.

Branch 84 of Hochheim Prairie Farm Mutual Insurance company is honored to give back to the community. For the past two years, Branch 84 has donated money to the volunteer fire departments in its service area. The majority of policy holders are home owners. “It goes without saying that our volunteer fire departments are our safety net.