Another beautiful week filled with sunshine and wind, but no rain for our thirsty land. The stories from farmers and ranchers are just a little more tense and negative. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, farmers and ranchers are incredible people. Unless they have unlimited water at their disposal, there is very little they can do to assure their own success.

Animals are hungry and thirsty. We have hundreds of birds at our feeders, and the deer are at the feeders and watering tanks in ever increasing numbers. On the positive side, the kids just love all this lovely weather. In the old days we would have had a brush arbor meeting or community prayer gathering to ask God to forgive our sins and send rain to our land. There are many people praying, but so far, God has not released the rains to us.

I’m sure everyone has heard by now that Pearl Cantrell is about to have another birthday party. The two day event will be March 13th and 14th. As usual, everyone is invited to attend this joyous event. Our reigning lady will be 101!

The third Sunday of each month has been designated as “Free Meal Sunday.” I’m not sure which group is the organizer, but I’m looking forward to the first one on March 15th. Anyone is welcome to attend, citizens, friends, travelers and church members. There are no carry outs, but plenty of tables and chairs for everyone. They will accept donations and desserts for future meals. I’m told this would be a great opportunity for ladies to exchange recipes. So come on over to the Fire House here in Richland Springs, from 12:00 - 2:30 p.m. See you there.

There are several upcoming events that I need a little more information before I write something up. There will be a blood drive for, I believe, June McPherson here in Richland Springs. I was told that is not until May 14th from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The Fellowship of Christian Women will meet at the First Baptist Church in Richland Springs Thursday, March 26th at 11:30 a.m. Ladies of all ages are welcome to attend.

The Elm Grove Singing is coming up on the 21st of March. I can’t tell you how thoroughly I enjoyed the last one I attended. We started shortly after 7:00 p.m. and sang our hearts out until 10:00 p.m. I think there were quite a few of us who would have stayed longer! The ladies always have home made goodies ready for the break and if that doesn’t draw you the singing should. I’ll bet the angels are up there joining in the hoopla! Mark your calendar, set your alarm, the singing is almost here!

I don’t have the completed details from Mrs. Harris and the school but there will be a mandatory meeting for children entering kindergarten next year.

The meeting is designed to let you know what will be expected of your student. Shot records must be ready, certain learning goals need to be met, and a few things that seem minor, but when multiplied by the number of kids in the class, tend to reach major proportions. I will announce the date and goals for this meeting by next week if all goes well.

The tennis team went to Waco to attend the Iredell Tournament last Thursday. Since this was the first tournament of the year, and we were missing several players, we went for the experience. Imagine our delight when Lindsey Roberds brought home the Women’s Singles Medal, and the rest of the team worked their way to the third round. We have lots of work to do but that was a promising start to a late season.

I haven’t heard too much from anyone regarding last week’s article about the school. I’m not sure if that is good or bad. I guess what I want everyone to take from the article is the bottom line. Are we going to waste time blaming or are we going to come up with a plan to save our school. If you have an opinion, you should write the school board or contact one of the school board members. They are trying to work for us, so please be polite and clear. I’m presuming they will have some open house meetings to discuss our problems and present their suggestions for voter approval.

Mr. Winn tells me he received a call from a concerned citizen who asked what the long term possibilities were. I roughly outlined these last week. First step is to retire the cafetorium debt. Second step depends upon whether or not the TEA will replace lost revenue from our lowered student count. Third step is to see if the legislature will increase our revenue allocation. When all is said and done it comes down to the 13 cent tax increase that will have to be passed by the voters. Those are a lot of ifs, and they require cooperation from many entities, but mostly from our voters. Should our school close we will face a larger tax increase because we will be taxed at the San Saba rate. You may call the tax office for verification of this fact. So this story starts and ends with the voters. We could also pray another 50 students into our fold. It’s up to you. Your vote is the one that passes or fails this issue.

There are over 50 people on our prayer list at church. Some are just getting over the crud, others are fighting cancer.

Rob Brockman underwent surgery on his leg. He had a huge abscess in his leg that needed draining. Hopefully he will be home this week. I have little doubt that he is pushing to get home and back to work!

Three families are grieving this week, the extended Sloan Bryant family, the Bobby Deeds family, and the Jerry Conley family. Our prayers are with them during this time of sorrow.

As usual, our little community has banded together to provide food for visiting families. Our heartfelt thanks go to the folks who donated food and stayed to serve the grieving families.

I hope everyone has a blessed week and the Lord sends us some rain. In the meantime, please pray for the folks in Washington who seem to think our tax bank is a limitless hole. Pray for responsible leadership, for our precious troops at home and abroad, and for their families who must cope while they are away. We have a wonderful country, a super state, and a great little city. Life may get tough but we still live in the perfect place! Ex: 15:2 “The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation.”