December 4, 2008

TxDOT San Saba Maintenance Section representing 125 years of Safety: Front Row: (L to R) James Wilson-29 yrs, Jana Osborn-Office Mgr.(7yrs-Safe Operator), Eddie Jones-23 yrs. Back Row: (L to R) Tommy Singleton-18 yrs, Mike Eden-4 yrs, David Stewart-3 yrs, Scott Sanderson-1 yr, Gonzalo Flores-7 yrs, Ray Hall-26 yrs, Mike Poe-14 yrs. The Brownwood district has reached a milestone in the 91-year historyof the Texas Department of Transportation.

The San Saba Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a Christmas decorating contest for business owners. The Chamber encourages businesses to decorate for Christmas this year. The Chamber will award this beautiful perpetual trophy to the winner to display in their business for one year. In December 2009, this trophy will pass on to the 2009 contest winner. In addition, the Chamber is sponsoring a Christmas outdoor lighting decorating contest for homes.

On November 9th, following four days of fast-paced competition, San Saba Nurse Practioner Karen Little was hailed as the overall winner of the 2008 Barrelnanza Finals. Recognized as the world’s single richest barrel race, the 2008 Barrelnanza Finals marked the end of regular-season competition for World Barrel Racing Productions and awarded over $550,000 in cash and prizes to 1,900 competitors from across the United States.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2008 San Saba Recognition Awards to be held on March 12, 2009 at the San Saba Civic Center. The theme of the banquet is “It’s About To Get Western” and the public is invited to attend. These awards will recognize the efforts of individuals and companies that enhance and improve San Saba. Man and Woman of the Year Awards: This award recognizes the most outstanding Man and Woman for the year.

Santa is busy making his list and we want to make sure you are not left off! The San Saba News & Star is collecting letters to deliver to Santa Claus at the North Pole.Students in the San Saba, Richland Springs and Cherokee schools are reminded that we need to have your written letters turned in to the News office, or mailed to P.

Mr. & Mrs. Jim Crim celebrated their “50th Wedding Anniversary” on Saturday, November 29, at the First Baptist Church in San Saba. They were married on November 29, 2008 in the same church by Dr. R.C. Tennison. To celebrate their special day, they wanted to come back to the place where they grew up and started out as husband and wife.

Mrs. Kay Nettleship hosted the Pierian Study Club in her home on Thursday, November 13, 2008. Co- hostesses were Cherry Kay Lange, Ann Allison, Jeri Jones, Clione Rochat, and Vickie Stevenson. The club members were served “turtle pumpkin pie,” nuts, and coffee. Patricia Warren called the meeting to order. Millie Burnham introduced the speaker, Dora Miller, who is co-chair of the Visionary and Preservation Committee for San Saba.

Reagan Faught was named to the Dean's List at Texas A&M University for the Spring Semester 2008 with a 4.0 GPA. He was also named to the Dean's Honor List for the Summer Semester 2008. Reagan, who is pursuing a degree in Ag Leadership and Development, will graduate in December of this year.

The San Saba Garden Club is raffling an original watercolor of San Saba County Courthouse by local artist Anna Wilson. The beautiful framed painting is now on display at Salon 111 on South High. Tickets can be bought from any garden club member and are also on sale at Sugar Bakers and Arrowhead Bank.

The Simpson Creek Extension Club met on Nov. 19th at 12 p.m. at the home of Martha Roe Terry. A wonderful turkey dinner was enjoyed by Janis Bull, Marcie Cooper, Sherri Cradduck, Bonnie Harkey, Carol Littlefield, Patsy McConnell, Jeanne Sauer, Vickie and CK Stevenson and Martha Roe Terry. Martha Roe has been hosting the Thanksgiving dinner for thirty five years and still bakes the best turkey and dressing in town.

MATTHEW 25:32-34 “And before Him shall be gathered all nations and He shall separate them one from another , as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set his sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25: 41 “Then shall He also say unto them on the left hand, depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlast ...

A new food-labeling law that went into effect on Sept. 30 requires food manufacturers to inform consumers which country their meat and produce comes from. This country-of-origin labeling law is also known as COOL. Foods covered by the law include beef, pork, chicken, lamb, goat and fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables.

The “Early Christian Worship” held last Sunday at the Cherokee Home for Children was amazing. There were over 400 people in attendance. If you miss out this year don’t miss next year. The Lady Indians won the tournament at Oglesby last week. Way to go girls. Several of the children living at Cherokee Home for Children were able to spend time with family over the Thanksgiving holidays. Peggy Botson; Kellie, Bruce and Collin Creswell from Houston visited her Aunt Maybelle and Gary Ray at ...

100 Years Ago Dec. 3, 1908 The good rains and cool weather the past week have each been welcomed by the people. The farmers were beginning to need the rain for plowing and seeding and the cold wave is welcomed by many who wanted to kill hogs. Prof. W.W. Hart came from Goldthwaite to see his parents and take Thanksgiving dinner with them.

Same old story, no rain in sight. We have had 17.3 for the year so far compared to 46.2 last year. Unless we receive some rain in December, it looks like this will be the driest year since 1983 when we only registered 18.45 inches. This begins another new month.

Reading Recommendations: The Seamstress, a novel, Frances dePointes Pebbles. As seamstresses, the young sisters Emilia and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, how to mend, and how to conceal. These are useful skills in the lawless back country of Brazil, where ruthless land barons called "colsuels" fued with bands of outlaw cangaceiros, trapping innocent residents in the cross fire.

It surely seems as if this past Thanksgiving holiday weekend might have lasted for a week. Most of us that are into the Social Security set certainly realize how much faster time seems to pass with the advancing age on our body clocks, but every now & then, it seems to wind down a bit.

"A" Honor Roll- 2nd Grade Jacey Gossett Cameron Parham 3rd Grade Jordon Burkhart Chandler Lusty 7th Grade Brooke Vaughn 8th Grade Thomas Fowler Katelynn Teel 9th Grade Sara Hedley 10th Grade Stephen Fowler Emily Smith 12th Grade Khalid Khatib Nigel Bates "A-B" Honor Roll- 2nd Grade Levi Shannon Santiago Valdez 3rd Grade Robbie Bennett Courtney Grad Hutton Lusty Michael McElvaine Michael Miles Paige Sloan Brandon Tharp 4th Grade Jordan Gossett Emilee Rogers 5 ...

Two country boys wandered into a brand new school in the city and found two men working in one of the rooms. "Whatcha' doin'?" asked one of the boys. "Installing electric switches," answered a man. "I'm glad we go to a country school," said the other boy." "They still switch us by hand." Not to punish a child when he does wrong is an act of cruelty.

Angels are messengers with a clear job description. They are "ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14). The devil tried to tempt Jesus with the ministry of angels. He took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, told Him to jump, and quoted from Psalm 91.

A light shower fell early Friday morning. Just enough to leave some water on the pavement. The Price computer was sick and a flying trip to Goldthwaite to get the bugs worked out of it on Friday, there was a light mist on the windshield until just out of Lometa and from there to Goldthwaite not even a sprinkle.

My wife has a small concrete area in our back yard where she feeds the birds and sometimes she feeds them sunflower seeds. I guess one of those seeds got blown off the concrete pad and fell into a crack in the dirt and sprouted. Anyway, we have one sunflower plant that is about two feet tall.

Goodness! December is here and the wind has a definite bite to it! I was sitting scrunched up under a blanket when I realized I hadn’t written a word for this column. My blanket is calling me, but so is this computer. I hope everyone had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as I did.

Elva Lenora Slaughter, 65, of Midland went home to be with the Lord on November 27, 2008. The family received friends at Ellis Funeral Home in Midland on Sunday, November 30, 2008 between the hours of 4:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. Graveside services were held 1:00 P.M. Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at Cherokee Cemetery in Cherokee, Texas.

Etta Belle Skaggs, 60, of Cherokee passed away Thursday November 27, 2008 in Llano, Tx. She was born December 23, 1947 in Llano. Etta Belle was the daughter of Aubrey Thomas Berry and Beatrice Spurlin Berry. On May 21, 1966, Etta Belle Berry and Stoney Skaggs were married in San Saba.

Pictured above: Front Row (L to R) - Willie Wiley, Diego Gonzales, Chase Key, Jack Whitten, Anthony Salinas. Back Row - Fernando Anaya, Bobby Pairett, Tucker Cromer, Tyler McIntosh. (Not pictured is Joseph Henry.) Several members of the 2008 Armadillo football team were selected to the 8-2A all district team. All district honorable mention honors went to senior offensive linemen Willie Wiley and Fernando Anaya.

The 4-H’ers have baked, kneaded, rolled, preheated, chilled,boiled, sautéed, and added a dash of this and that over and over again preparing for the 4-H District Food Show. Now the time has come to prepare that dish one last time. Shaking out the last of their butterflies, the 4-H’ers get ready to present their dishes to the judgesand answer some questions. This year Melanie Hedley, Elizabeth Bryant, Marissa Coffman, Maggie Alexander, and Emilee Rogers represented San Saba County at the 4 ...

Overall District MVP-Bradley Lee, 5'11", 160, Sr., Bangs, Unanimous Offensive MVP-Prennis Williams, 5'9", 160, Sr., Brady Defensive MVP-Michael Peters, 5'9", 190, Sr., Bangs Newcomer of the Year-Jaron Hohertz, 5'9", 150, Jr., Comanche 1st Team Offense QB-Nick Lyle, 5'11", 190, Sr., Early QB-Mackenzie Hirt, 5'10", 170, Jr., Brady FB-Jake Long, 5'9", 190, Jr., Brady RB-Deshawn Johnson, 5"8", 190, Soph., Bangs RB-Josh Feaster, 6'1", 190, Jr., Comanche TE-Joseph Henry, 6'4", 215, Jr., San ...

The Lady Coyotes basketball team now 3-2 on the season. The Varsity boys are 1-0 on the season. The Varsity girls played Fredericksburg Heritage this past Tuesday and both boys’ and girls’ will play in the Rochelle tournament Thursday through Saturday. The Junior High girls are 2-0 and the Junior High boys are 0-2.

The San Saba Lady Dillos welcomed the Thanksgiving Break with two nice wins to start off the holidays. We defeated Llano 47-37 on Monday and downed the Cowgirls of Mason 52-30 on Tuesday. I could tell real quick that the Llano game was going to be a “grinder”. Not to make excuses for us but I could tell we were not our “crisp” self to start off the game and that was probably due to playing four games in three days but in saying that Llano had played four games just like us in the Marb ...

November 24, 2008 San Saba Goldthwaite 1st 8 8 2nd 10 8 3rd 10 6 4th 4 7 Total 32 29 San Saba Individual Scores: Kelan Verette-22pts; 8FG, 6 FT Kolton Ellis--4pts; 2FG JordanWatson-4pts; 2FG Geryn Young-2 pts; 1 FG

San Saba - Goldthwaite 1st 2 3 2nd 8 8 3rd 13 10 4th 16 16 OT 6 8 Total 22 24 San Saba Individual Scores: Joannah Crosby-10 pts; 4FG; 1 FT Karlee Cromer- 3pts; 1FG; 1 FT Alexa Maxcey- 2 pts; 1 FG Bridgett Maldonado-1 pt; 1 FT Katie Ross - 2 pts; 1FG McKenzie Hibler- 4pts, 2FG Coach's Comments: The whole team played tough defense. Everyone did their part to try and get the win.

Freshman Aguirre, Vanessa Arrington, Connor J. Chambers, Paige S. Cox, David L. Davis, Zachary T. Dawson, Bianca M. Dawson, Lauren P. Faught, Kirsten P. Hale, Allan P. Hawkins, Tanner W. Henry, Samantha M. Jimenez, Isaac N. Jordan, Kristin R. McIntosh, Marshal L. McKinney, Daniel J. Pannell, Jeffory R. Perry, Clayton R. Pryor, Courtney A. Pulatie, Ashley E. Raiford, Joshua C. Ramos, Diana M. Rixse, John C. Rosales, Dominic J. Sloan, Wilson W. Weyerts, Tanner R. Yarbrou ...

6th Grade "A" Honor Roll Bryon Riggs

San Saba Elementary Dec. 8-12 Monday Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast, Fruit, Juice, Milk Lunch: Chili Cheese Hot Dogs, Celery/Carrots, Green Beans, Tossed Salad, Applesauce, Milk Tuesday Breakfast: Cereal/Toast, Grill Cheese, Fruit, Juice, Milk Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, Whipped Potatoes, Seasoned Corn, Rolls, Oranges, Milk Wednesday Breakfast: Sausage & Bisquits, Fruit, Juice, Milk Lunch: Cheeseburgers, Lettuce/Tomatoes/Pickles, Pinto Beans, Tater Tots, Pineapple Orange Salad, Milk Thursda ...

The Jr. High girls lost to Lometa 21-25 and to Lohn 22-35. The Jr. High boys beat Lometa 21-18 and Lohn 35-8. The Lady Indians defeated Star last Tuesday night. They are 6-0 this season. Members of the Indians selected to the District 13 All District 1st Team are: Co-New Comer of the Year – Tucker Corsi; Quarterback – Dillon Epperson; Tight End – Josh Perry; Running Back; – Hector Jimenez; Special Teams player – Nieves Solis; Defensive Lineman – Dillon Epperson; Safety – Hector ...

A frightening trend is emerging throughout west and central Texas schools – rural school districts across the state continue to struggle with declining enrollment. What is happening in some of these areas? Some schools are barely holding on while, consolidation is being forced on some school districts due to the nature of the school finance system that is heavily reliant on school enrollment/attendance to drive its funding.

Here is what it is doing to our young people: High school students who smoke: 21.1% (294,700); male high school students who use smokeless or spit tobacco: 13.1% (females use much lower); kids (under 18) who become new daily smokers each year: 30,900; kids exposed to secondhand smoke at home: 995,000; packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by kids each year: 67.7 million; adults in Texas who smoke: 19.3% (3,283,600). Nationwide, youth smoking has declined dramatically since the mid-1990's, but ...