What a blessing that rain was last week! We received over four inches. It didn’t run too much water; the land was way too dry and thirsty, but it soaked down into the soil. Now my fruit trees will grow and the oaks may live through the summer. I can remember just laying quietly listening to the beautiful sound on the roof. I can hear giant sighs of relief from farmers and ranchers in the area. My son in Dallas had over eight inches! I hope we catch the next wave of showers due next week.

The rumor mill is hard at it again. I know why God doesn’t like gossipers, you can’t fight them; they just download their poison and slink off into the bushes. I’m trying to do a little research of my own. I need to contact the man who owns the field across from the school. Why in the world would I want to do that? It’s simple. That ugly rumor that said the bond was for a new stadium has raised its head again. Mind you; I know it won’t matter what I find out because some folks have already made up their minds, but I want to know for myself. If the rumor is true, I will side with the anti-bond people, and help close this school down. I’m not looking forward to the higher taxes San Saba will charge me, but the principle is the thing.

Who cares about higher taxes? I’m not sure how much higher they will be. I know that they will have to assume the Cafetorium debt, so it may raise them significantly. Oh, well, raising taxes is the new thing in Washington, so why not here in San Saba County!

Mind you; this town without a school, won’t stand much chance of survival. Parents won’t stop at the Coyote One Stop; they’ll stop wherever their kids are attending school. The Little Yellow Duck will have the adults who remain in the county, but the school kids won’t drive back from San Saba to eat lunch. The thing is I just hate to give up on this school. Maybe some of these anti-bond people are right; maybe the school has weathered this stuff before, and it will not shut down. What if that’s wrong though?

I did do a little research on the school. In the 50’s the high school population ran between 40-84 students. There were 2-4 cafeteria workers, 2 maintenance workers and 2-4 coaches. In the 60’s our high school population ranged from 70 to a high of 81 students. We had 2-3 coaches, 3-4 cafeteria staff and 1-2 janitorial staff. In the 70’s we had a low of 40 students to a high of 60. We had 2-3 coaches, 2 cafeteria staff, and 1-2 custodial staff. One may have been the mechanic. In the 80’s we had 3-4 coaches, 3-4 cafeteria staff and 1 custodian with students ranging from 45-57.

These numbers are not 100% accurate because some of the yearbooks were hard to read. I counted as carefully as I could. I only had one book from the 90’s so I didn’t count that. There was one year that had only one coach. Bubba Jones was his name, and he coached every sport there was in the school. I’m not sure how he did this but the book says he did. Perhaps he had part time coaches that came in to help. I really don’t know; I didn’t see anyone else in the book.

We have 3 full time coaches and two part time coaches this year. There are 3-4 ladies in the cafeteria, and 1 custodian who does all building maintenance as well as the vehicle maintenance. We do have a separate cleaning staff of two. I don’t see much variation over the years. So, what’s the beef? By the way, I had a great time looking through the yearbooks. So many of those bright eyed young people seem to have grown a little older! Not me of course, but my cousins Henry, Todd and Becky sure have changed! There was a delightfully young Melanie Smith, and my precious Mrs. T. Noel Wood.

Spring break is here! Cheerleader tryouts were Friday. I went by the school to see who had made the squad, but they just had numbers on the door. I don’t know who the numbers were, so I guess we’ll have to wait for Mr. Fowler to spill the beans! The kids will be out in large numbers, so please be watchful.

I missed the city council meeting on Monday. I fully intended to go, since I would like to see what plans the council has for spring clean-up. I’m still pretty disgusted that some of these trash dumps in town that have not been forced to clean up their mess. The Health Department would have a fit if they visited some of these rat habitats called homes!

Let’s use some of the money we’re saving to prosecute some of these home owners. I haven’t said this in a while, but we need to clean up our act. Let’s get this clean up moving! I do understand that we will be having an election.

Dale McKinnerney has filed for the position of Mayor. Thomas Alston will be a write in for that position also. Larry Luce and Walter Stratton will face off for a council seat. Doug Gibson is running unopposed, and Paul Larrimer will retain his seat.

The inaugural Sunday for the free lunch program at the Fire Station took place on Sunday. Since this was a come and go affair it was hard to judge how many people actually arrived. I was given a rough count of about 50 guests. I’m sure this number will increase as people pass the word around. The sausage, beans and cornbread were excellent, I’m told. There was a wide variety of desserts available. This will occur every third Sunday. I think this is a wonderful idea and hope everyone takes the time to stop, and visit with their neighbors next time.

This coming Saturday is the Elm Grove Singing. The program starts around 7:00 p.m. in the old school building. I can tell you this is an awesome event. Nothing better than some old time Gospel music!

The One Act Play will be performed for the community on March 23rd. The meal will be served at 5:30 p.m. and the play will begin at 7:00 p.m.

All community members are invited to participate in this fund raising event. The play is under the direction of Mrs. Patsy Hall. Bring your family and friends to an inspiring evening. See you there.

The Fellowship of Christian Women will meet at the First Baptist Church on March 26th. All women are invited to attend. The luncheon will start at 11:30a.m.

Once again we have a long prayer list. We’re grateful that Rob Brockman is home, and we were delighted to see Woody Carroll in church. He says he is doing better.

June McPherson and Mary Cummings are undergoing chemo treatments.

Elisa Draper’s brother starts chemo treatments this week.

Many others in our community are struggling with illness, and need our prayers. Please pray for our wonderful soldiers and their families, for our government and President and praise God for our beautiful rain!

I have my Dallas girls, Danielle and Sarah for the week. By the way, I’ll get all the details from Pearl Cantrell regarding her 101st birthday bash for next week’s issue. Have a blessed year Pearl and everyone else in the community.