Columns/Opinions

Diapers and Other Changes…

By Dr. Don Newbury

Diapers haven’t been discussed often at our house for several decades. In fact, even when they were budgeted items, not much was said about them. Actually, most young parents in the 1970s opted for fabric diapers. Most of our discussions centered on whether we could afford a home diaper delivery service for successive months.

To avoid misunderstanding, I should explain that such services meant that fresh diapers would be delivered as scheduled several times monthly, with soiled ones taken away.

This was a “tidy” approach that went the way of baby scales after infant number one. Firstborn are treated differently, of course. We didn’t weigh babies number two and three daily, deciding that weights recorded during visits to doctors’ offices would suffice. Yep, it takes just one baby to reduce parents from “up tight” to “down loose.”…

Predators and Prey: A Complicated, Often Misunderstood Relationship

A while back, I was watching a herd of deer gathered around a feeding station where feed had apparently just been dispersed (a practice I don't recommend). Then, all of a sudden, the entire herd bounded off in one direction, tail flags up, clearly having been spooked by something. Then, a few seconds later, I saw a lone coyote trotting up from the opposite direction. He had obviously lost the element of surprise and decided not to try a probably futile pursuit. He sniffed around the feeding area for a short time and finally trotted off in a different direction.

This event got me to thinking about the relationship between predators and prey, how complicated it is and how it is often misunderstood. The word "predator" usually conjures up thoughts of large predators: wolves, bears, cougars, lions, etc.; But most predators are much smaller, and are interested in correspondingly small prey.

By  Sue Ransom

Here we go everyone the 2018-2019 school year has begun. Our halls came alive with the sound of young voices. We were pleased to see some new faces along with our familiar sweeties.

Everyone is excited this first week of school. It doesn’t always last for everyone, but here at the beginning all is good. I am looking forward to a super successful year. Our school scores were good, but we want them better. Time will show us if we succeeded.

Teachers have been blessed with more paperwork thanks to someone who is not in the classroom. Apparently we have to keep samples of all work so that we can prove we have spent time teaching.

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By Carrie Classon

I come from a family of letter writers.

On my mother’s side we have a tradition that began well before I was born, called the “Round Robin.” The Round Robin is a circulated letter sent to a list of almost two dozen family members. When the Robin arrives in my mailbox, my previous letter will be the oldest in the pile. I read all the letters that came after mine, put a new letter on the top, and mail it to the next person on the list.

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By Sue Ransom

VBS is here! The first night was a little short on kids, but did we ever have a great group of adults and older students to make all systems go. My personal helpers were Lanie and Piper. By the time we had learned the opening song, taught four separate classes and finished off on the grand finale, we were all exhausted.

Debbie Phelan had a great group of youth helping her with the crafts. I have to admit crafts were always my favorite part of VBS. Our trusty leader was Karla Steele, and she kept us all on track. We are hoping for a much larger group of kids tomorrow night. Johnnie and Lynn Reeves, Mrs. Kubin, Kay McKee and a host of other excellent teachers and helpers are making this a fun-filled blast of the gospel. Whether we have 10 or 100 we are excited to present the saving message of the Bible. I hope you were one of the parents that sent your children to this once a year experience.

Can We Save Our Hill Country Water for Future Generations?

What got me to thinking about this topic, again, was an article I found in the Cynthia and George Mitchell blog. The article was written by Katherine Romans, the very able and knowledgeable Executive Director of the Hill Country Alliance.

Life Is But A Dream

By Sue Ransom

The Disaster Relief Committee has officially completed the use of the donated monies. According to the post I saw some 26 homes were assisted in their repairs. I have no doubt more could have been done if there had been more money, but that is a moot point. I know there are 26 blessed families who have new windows and a few also have had roof repairs. Those folks who had insurance are wading their way through delays and overworked vendors. The most complaints I have heard are the roofers. They are getting it done; it is just taking a bit longer than expected. I want to send out a hearty thank you to the disaster committee for their hard work and compassion.

Russ and I drove into Brownwood today to pick up some supplies. This drought and heat is taking a horrible toll on the trees in this area. We have quite a large clean up to do on storm damaged trees, but I am very much afraid that we are going to lose most of the trees on the top of our hill.

Melted Coastal Dad

Hello beautiful San Saba souls! How in the world are you? The parentals and I had quite the adventure since last we spoke. We left the gently rolling hills, the lovely, quaint downtown beauty of home owned businesses and the quiet streets of San Saba to journey to the Houston area. Yep, drove from Viennese Waltz to crazy bone crushing mosh pit! Mom has more medical tests coming up and she wanted a trip home to see the kids before all that started again so off we went. I will discuss the million car march a bit later but for now say we were all excited about seeing family.

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Dear Editor and the good Folks of San Saba County

"Just the Facts". . . We have all heard Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet say this. . . "Just the Facts."

Well, most of you who know me, know that I have tended to "take the high road" to avoid controversy concerning my time at the local radio stations and especially after my retirement from them.

But, after some recent events and comments from friends and business associates, I feel it is time for "Just the Facts."

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