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La Grange, Texas 78945

INSIDE

‘A Reinvention of What a Small Town Store Can Be’ HEB Ready to Cut Ribbon on Multi-Million Dollar Expansion Which Added 100+ Jobs in La Grange

By JEFF WICK The Fayette County Record

After 15 months, the folks at the La Grange HEB are ready to cut the ribbon on their monumental expansion.

“I tell people it’s not a remodel but a reinvention of what a small town store can be,” said La Grange store director Donnie Lowes.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Friday Sept. 23, during which HEB officials will also make some charitable donations to local organizations. Friday there will be door prizes and demos in the store. Saturday they will be giving away breakfast tacos and sausage wraps to celebrate.

in First

Marine Corps

Marine Corps League Detachment 1028 will meet for their regular monthly meeting the fourth Tuesday of the month at the La Grange VFW Hall at 7 p.m. Contact Bobby Bedient at bobbymcl1028@gmail.com. For more information.

Noon Lions Club

The La Grange Noon Lions club meets on Thursdays from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at Frisch Auf! Valley Country Club in La Grange. On Sept. 22, Stan Kitzman, State Representative starting in January, will discuss Legislative concerns for rural Texas; on Sept. 29, Chief Nim Kidd, Chief of the Division of Emergency Management for Texas (TDEM) and Vice Chancellor of Texas A&M will discuss Modern Emergency Management.

Living History

Experience the food traditions of our German-Texan ancestors in this tasty living history program. Enjoy traditional German food cooked on a campfire and observe a historical smokehouse demonstration near the Kreische family home. Taste and smell a bit of history and learn more about the methods for preparing food in the late 19th century on Saturday, Sept. 24. Demonstrations will be throughout the day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There’s more For the Record on Page A2

WEATHER WATCH

This Week’s Forecast High Low

Friday: 99 71

Partly cloudy

Saturday: 97 71

Partly cloudy

Sunday: 97 72

Partly cloudy

Monday: 95 67

Partly cloudy

INSIDE TODAY

Sports Page B1

Weekend Page C1

Classifieds Page C2-3

Public Notices Page C3-4

Opinion Page D1

Crossword Page D2

Obituaries Page C4 & D4

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Copyright 2022, The Fayette County Record, Inc.

Lowes, a La Grange native, said the new HEB facility here is unrecognizable compared to the one he started working at back in 2002 as a sophomore in high school.

He’s now been the store director here for the past 2.5 years.

The multi-million-dollar renovation of the store, which Lowes said is now expanded by 10,000 square feet, began on June 12, 2020 and endured COVID, supply chain issues and the pains of staying open amid all the construction work.

“It has felt like it took a lot more than 15 months,” Lowes said. “But it’s been worth it. This store needed it.”

Among the new additions to the store:

• Full seafood counter

• Full bakery

Nechanitz Barn Burns in Fire

By ANDY BEHLEN The

Fayette County Record

A barn burned down on FM 2981 in the Nechanitz area on Monday, Sept. 19.

La Grange Volunteer Fire Department got the call around 3 p.m. Upon arrival, they found a barn fully engulfed in flames

with a tractor, shredder and gooseneck trailer inside.

The property owner told the Record that he burned a brush pile recently and used the frontend loader bucket of his Kubota tractor to pile up the ashes on Monday morning. He said a burning ember must have been stuck to the bucket when he

parked the tractor in the barn, because there was no other source that could have started the fire.

La Grange firefighters put out the fire before it spread to any other buildings on the property. Fayette County EMS and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office also assisted at the fire.

LGISD Enrollment is Up, Bus Fleet Breaking Down

By REGINA KEILERS

The Fayette County Record

Here are some highlights from Monday’s monthly meeting of the La Grange ISD school board:

Roof Replacement

The high school/middle school cafeteria will finally get a much-needed roof replacement. After receiving bids from two local roofing companies, the school board awarded the contract to Haworth Roofing and Seamless Gutters. They submitted a bid of $147,665.00 which was several thousand dollars less than the other company’s bid. The money for this project will be reimbursed to the district by the ESSER grant.

Administrative Reports Superintendent Andy McHazlett reported that the current enrollment is at 1,886 which is up by 16 students over the same time last year. He attributes some of the increase to students returning to in-person

learning from home schooling. The current attendance rate stands at 95% district wide, with the 7th grade class leading the school with the highest weekly percentage.

Assistant Superintendent Stacy Eilers told the board that there are 41 children registered in the Head Start program with 16 on the waiting list.

Director of Operations Sharon Muzny reported that 7 of the buses in the LGISD fleet are currently in the shop. She said that we have an aging fleet and she anticipates coming to the board to approve the purchase of new buses in the near future. She also gave a report on the lockdown drill that took place last week. She stated that local law enforcement was involved and it was reported that things went well. There was also an unannounced safety and security audit performed by Region 13 and LGISD received a good report on that as well.

See LGISD, Page A4

Czhilispiel Returning to Its Roots for 50th Year

By ANDY BEHLEN The Fayette County Record

The 50th annual Flatonia Czhilispiel takes place Oct. 2830. To mark the occasion, organizers are bringing back a blast from the past – Czhilispiel Beer.

Some folks might remember when the Czhilspiel served its own brand of beer during the town festival. It was brewed by the Spoetzel Brewery in Shiner and served in commemorative Czhilispiel cans.

“Shiner brewed it and canned it for the first few years of Czhilispiel before we moved to beer distributors and Shiner Beer got really big,” said Abigail Rice, executive director of the Flatonia Chamber of Commerce.

Labels printed on the old beer cans called Flatonia “The Town that Made Beer Famous” – a humorous nod to Schlitz, known as “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous.”

In addition, the cans claimed that the recipe for “Flatonia’s Private Stock” included “choice Czhili hops, malted barley and the sparkling waters of Buckner Creek.”

That might be a bit of stretch, considering there’s no such thing as “Czhili hops” and the waters of Buckner’s Creek aren’t exactly sparkling. This year’s Czhilispiel brew should please many, though. Organizers teamed up with the award-winning Hound Song Brewing Co. in Columbus to

craft the beer.

“They got the original recipe from Shiner,” Rice said. “They are going to brew it for us and serve it for us on tap.”

Check out this year’s entertainment lineup at the Czhilispiel:

Friday, October 28

• Art Hernandez, Angelica

& Velvet from 6-7:30 p.m.

• Matt Castillo from 8-9:30 p.m.

• La Calma from 10-11:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 29

• Fritz Hodde & The Fabulous Six from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

• Broken Alibi from 5-6:30 p.m.

• Triston Marez from 7-8:30 p.m.

• Mike Ryan from 9-10:30 p.m.

• Easton Corbin from 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Sunday, October 30

• D’Vine Testament from 10 a.m.-noon

• Blue Denim from noon-1 p.m.

• The Emotions from 3-4:30 p.m.

• Texas Unlimited Band from 5-8 p.m.

There will also be a carnival, haunted house, food vendors and street market all weekend. A 5K race takes place on Saturday. There will also be a Halloween costume contest, barbecue and chili cookoffs, and pie auction on Saturday.

The Grand Czhilispiel Parade takes place on Sunday, along with a car and truck show. Also on Sunday, there will be an egg toss contest, jalapeno eating contest, “Back Seat Drivin’ Momma” contest and the always popular “Czhilispiel Got Talent” contest.

Registration and tickets are available at czhilispiel.com

During the early years of the Flatonia Czhilispiel, the Spoetzel Brewery in Shiner brewed a special beer for Czhilispiel, which was sold at the festival in commemorative cans (pictured above). This year for the Czhilispiel’s 50th Anniversary, organizers teamed up with Hound Song Brewing in Columbus to bring back the Czhilispiel beer, which will be made according to the original recipe. It won’t come in cans, though. This year’s Czhilispiel Beer will be served on tap.

La Grange firefighter Joey Krnavek sprays a stream of water into a burning barn near Nechanitz on Monday. The fire destroyed the barn along with a Kubota tractor, a shredder and a gooseneck trailer.

Photo by Andy Behlen

Staying

Lady Leps keep rolling. Page B1

Some of the new areas in the La Grange HEB include a seafood counter (Store director Donnie Lowes and Deana Sager, pictured), a full bakery with a tortilla making machine (Jaime Aguillon, Brittany Wood, Aisha Manges and Mario Garza, pictured) and a produce area twice the size of the old space (Jared Potter, Donnie Lowes, JT Toro, Charles Zingelmann, Laverne Tonn, Rob Huggins, Brendan Burkham and Jess German).

Photos by Jeff Wick

See HEB, Page A4

Fall Fairgrounds

Cleanup

The first annual fairgrounds clean up will be held Saturday, Sept. 24 beginning at 9 a.m. until noon. You can enjoy a disc golf demo and clinic as well. Water and snacks will be provided for all volunteers. Come as a family or group. This event is sponsored by the City of La Grange and Empowerment Team Medical Billing. For questions, call (979) 250-2665.

Docent Workshop

Interested in sharing the history of Kreische Brewery & Monument Hill through guided tours, living history activities, field trips, and other public programs? Then become a trained docent. Sites staff are hosting a final “Docent 101: Introduction to Interpretation” workshop on Sunday, Sept. 25 2-4 p.m. For more information or to register, visit friendsofkbmh.org/events, or email gavin.miculka@ thc.texas.gov, or call (979) 968-5658.

St. Cecilia’s Episcopal Special Mass

On Sunday, Sept. 25 a special Mass: Roots and Wings, A Musical Homecoming, will be presented at St. Cecilia’s Episcopal, Haw Creek Chapel in Henkel Square, Round Top. Gather outside beginning at 10:45 a.m. for a rousing musical celebration with an outstanding group of musicians led by Christian Schroeder of New Orleans.

CDA No. 1962 Meeting

CDA Court Annunciation No. 1962 of La Grange and Plum will be meeting on Monday, Sept. 26 in the Msgr. Harry Mazurkiewcz Center in La Grange at 6:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Destiny Psencik, Turtle Wing Foundation Executive Director in Schulenburg. Members are encouraged to attend and potential new members are always welcome.

RT-C Farm Bureau Family Night

Round Top-Carmine Farm Bureau family night will meet Friday, Sept. 30 at the Round Top Rifle Association Hall. Social hour is 5:30-6:30 p.m. and meeting from 6:30-7:00 p.m. and meal to follow. Meal is roast beef, potatoes, gravy, mixed vegetables, salad and tea for $5. Bring a dessert, if you would like. RSVP by Sunday, Sept. 26 to Wendy at (979) 968-5482.

LHS Class of 1965 Reunion

The La Grange High School Class of 1965 will hold its 57th year reunion on Saturday, Oct. 1. The event will be held at the Prairie Valley Dining Hall, located at 2510 Williams Road in West Point. Former classmates interested in attending the event are asked to send their checks made payable to Mary Jane Henning/Class of 1965; and mail to her at 790 South College, La Grange, TX 78945.

Private Applicators Training Announced

A private applicators license is required by the state, in order to purchase restricted use pesticides. In order to obtain a license, it is mandatory to attend a pesticide applicator training and pass a 100-question test. This course will teach participants proper procedures for applying pesticides. This is the training only. Testing procedures will be explained during the training. A pesticide applicator training has been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 7. The training will be held at the Fayette County Agricultural Building, 255 Svoboda Ln. in La Grange. Registration will begin at 7:45 a.m. with the program beginning promptly at 8 a.m. The cost of the program is $50 per person and you must pre-register at the Fayette County Extension Office by Oct. 4. The registration fee will cover the study manual, handouts, and refreshments. Please bring a pen and/or pencil and a simple calculator to aid with the training. If you have any questions, call the Extension Office at (979) 968-5831.

CVTC & FEC Document Shred Day

Colorado Valley Telephone Cooperative and Fayette Electric Cooperative will host their fifth annual document shred day for members on Friday, Oct. 7 in conjunction with National Cooperative Month. The free document shredding will be available from 10 a.m. until noon at Fayette Electric located at 357 N. Washington St. in La Grange, and from 12:30 until 2:30 p.m. at Colorado Valley Telephone located at 4915 South US Hwy. 77, La Grange. A donation of $10 per box is requested for members bringing more than three boxes. Visit cvctx.com or fayette.coop for more information.

Bingo Saturday in Ellinger

The Ellinger Chamber of Commerce will be hosting Bingo, on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Ellinger Community Center.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and games start at 6 p.m.

La Grange Class of 1965

The 1965 La Grange High School class will be having its 57h class reunion on Saturday, Oct. 1. Members and spouses will gather at the Prairie Valley Dining Hall in West Point.

Registration gets underway at 11 a.m.

A social hour will be from 11 a.m. to 12 noon, and a photo session will follow at 12:15 p.m. A catered meal will be served at 12:30 p.m. The menu will consist of grilled chicken, brisket, and sausage, along with all the trimmings.

A class meeting and drawing for door prizes will follow the meal. Classmates from Ellinger include Tom Kubena, Mary Vrazel, Dorothy Orsak, and Larry Bartosh.

Ellinger VFD

The Ellinger Volunteer Fire Department responded to a grass fire east of Ellinger at a nearby ranch off of State Hwy. 71 on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 1:11 p.m. It was reported that a controlled burn quickly spread and ignited surrounding pasture.

The Ellinger Volunteer Fire Department will hold its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. They will drill on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. at the La Grange Fire Station. Training will include electrical hazards, downed power lines, overhead power line hazards, underground power line

Heritage Fest and Muziky Oct. 14-15

The Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center in La Grange will host the annual Heritage Fest & Muziky on Oct. 14 and 15. This year’s Fest will also include SPJST’s 125th Anniversary Celebration with added venues and entertainment.

The Fest will open on Friday in front of the Main Center and TCHCC’s famous homemade Chicken & Dumplings will be served while it lasts in the Hanslik Banquet Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m. The KJT Octoberfest on the Deck will begin at 4 p.m. with music by the Dujka Brothers from 6-9:30 p.m. Mark and John Dujka have been making music together for over 34 years and have several acknowledgements to their name.

Saturday, the big day kicks off at 10 a.m. with an opening ceremony at 11 a.m. The Cavender’s Auto Country Hospoda will be filled with cold pivo and musical entertainment by the famous Round Top Brass Band of Round Top and Czech & Then Some Band of Ennis from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. In the SPJST Tent, enjoy hospitality and music, including performances by SPJSTs Houston Concert Orchestra and the Dallas Czech Orchestra.

Enjoy more music at the Muziky, Muziky event from 7 -9:30 p.m. in the Sanford Schmid Amphitheater. Always a popular part of the Heritage Fest, this year’s Legends Series show is sure to be the biggest yet! The final event of the Fest will kick off at 5:30 p.m. with Divine Testament providing great country gospel music for the social hour.

Then at 7 p.m. The King lives. Don’t miss the ultimate tribute to Elvis Presley in concert, starring international award-winning artist Kraig Parker, with the Royal Tribute Band & Brass. For over 20 years

ELLINGER News

By CAROLYN BARTOSH Ellinger News Correspondent

hazards, solar energy, pole and grass fires, and electric vehicles.

This first responder training session will be presented by Fayette Electric.

On Saturday afternoon Sept. 17 the Ellinger community received 1.3 inches of rain along with high winds. Pastures and lawns needed the rainfall. Even though most of the county has received some rainfall in the past weeks please be careful with outdoor burning. Volunteer fire departments are being dispatched to grass fires started by controlled burns.

Fayetteville Brethren Church

Fayetteville Brethren Church has services the second, third, and fourth Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. Other services are at Industry Brethren on the second, third and fourth Saturdays at 5 p.m., Wesley Brethren on Sundays at 9 a.m. and Nelsonville Brethren on Sundays at 10:15 a.m.

Birthdays

Birthday Wishes are extended to the following September celebrants: Denise Kubena and Margie Stardig-27; EJ Koehl-29; and Jonathon Cook and Larry Bartosh-30.

this act has toured the world, keeping the spirit and timeless music of Elvis alive in the hearts of eager fans. Experience the authentic look, voice and presence of music’s greatest icon. You will be “all shook up” by the show that has been hailed as “the closest thing to the King!” Elvis has NOT left the building. Admission to the show is $10. Finishing off the night with a real bang will be the huge HEB fireworks finale above the Amphitheater.

STROLL THE VILLAGE

In addition to enjoying the great music, you’re invited to stroll the Czech Village, an early 1900s recreated village complete with residential houses, barns, and stores. Demonstrations of early life for the immigrants will take place throughout the grounds all day, including working in the Zapalac Saw Mill, the operation of the Czech Newspaper Museum press and engine, blacksmithing, corn shelling and grinding, hay pressing, and the making of textiles, soap, noodles, sausage, honey and more. Children activities will be available by the Leo’s Club (train ride) and KJZT (pumpkin painting) along with many other activities for everyone to take part in. SPJST & TCHCC will hold a corn hole tournament, the kolache eating contest, dunking booth and the TCHCC Beer Tasting Competition.

An antique farm equipment show sponsored by the South Texas Wheel Spinners & Crank Twisters Club and an antique/ classic car show by H&H Automotive, Schulenburg, will spread through the village. Visit the country store for some good buys, including fresh, stoneground corn meal for cooking. The Janak Barn and Texas Czech Agricultural Museum

KJZT St. Anne’s Society No. 10 Meets August 17

The meeting of the KJZT St Anne’s Society No. 10 was called to order at 1 p.m. on Aug. 17 at St. John’s Recreation Hall.

President Mary Jane Toddy opened the meeting with prayers for all living members and their families and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Vice President Helen Wied reported on thank you cards received. Lois Kaspar gave the Treasures report and Secretary Rose Rohde read minutes from the previous meeting.

President Mary Jane Toddy reported on the success of the fundraiser for member Lorene Nitschke. The society raised $3,400, and the state office added an additional $1,000.

The District III meeting was

displays farm practices and implements from the late 1800s to 1940. There will also be mule drawn wagon rides around the grounds all day.

The Czech Village houses two music museums. The Czech Music Museum of Texas, located in the Kalich House, features four genres of Czech music – classical, folk, polka, and liturgical. The Polka Lover’s Club of Texas Museum, located in the Hoelsher House & Huebner Center, features a display of Texas polka bands, as well as memorabilia and photos of the Polka Lover’s Club of America, Texas Chapter.

Inside the TCHCC Main Center, stop by the Czech Gift Shop to browse the brand-new stock of authentic Czech items, T-shirts, caps, crystal, periodicals, music CDs, and new Christmas decorations for 2022. The Hanslik Hall will be the site of the annual KJT State Taroky Championship. Swing in there and they’d be happy to teach you this fun card game.

Enjoy the current featured exhibits at the center: 125 Years of SPJST in the Museum and the updated Military and Glass Exhibits in the Library. Have you always wondered about your Czech roots? The spacious Melnar Library will offer help with genealogy research. Plenty to do for the entire family.

held in Fayetteville on August 7 with over 100 people in attendance.

In new business, the election of officers will be held Nov. 15.

President Toddy also reminded members to update their policy information with KJZT Family Life. Address change, current phone number and beneficiary designation can make all the difference. Contact the home office to make these updates.

Guest speaker was Fayetteville Mayor Stroup. He spoke about upcoming events and future plans in Fayetteville. Veronica Ryza won the attendance prize. After the closing prayer, the meeting was adjourned. Lunch and bingo followed with the next meeting being Nov. 15.

Fayette County Fire Calls

The Fayette County Firefighter’s Association reports the following calls for the week of Sept. 11-17: Traffic Control - 1

Animal Shelter Update

As of Sept. 16, the total intake for the Gardenia E. Janssen Animal Shelter is 1031: 440 dogs and 591 cats in need. As of Sept. 16, the shelter has 139 animals in care: 50 dogs and 89 cats. This number includes animals in the facility, in foster care for medical, waiting on available space, or awaiting transport to rescue partner.

The shelter is offering a discount voucher program for spay/ neuter for citizens of Fayette County. Call (979) 966-0021 for more informaiton. Statistics for the week of Sept. 10-16:

Intake: 36

Adoptions: 29

Transferred to Rescue: 12

Return to Owner: 4

Humane Euthanasia: 4

Community Theatre Hires Executive Director

This past month, the Fayette County Community Theatre Board of Directors voted to create the position of Executive Director, and promote then Operations Manager Heather Barthelme into that role. Barthelme has served as Operations Manager since March of 2021, and in that time has facilitated the opening of the FCCT Box Office and Studio in downtown, instituted monthly Open Mic Night and Second Saturday educational workshop events, and pushed the organization to grow, expanding programming and community partnerships.

“This year has been so amazing in so many ways,” Barthelme said. “It’s incredible to be a part of something that brings more art education into our community, entertains our local patrons and reaches out to other communities welcoming them in as well.”

The non-profit organization, founded by Susannah Mikulin in 2017, has been all over the city of La Grange, using different venues to allow for a variety of theatre experiences. They piv-

oted in 2020 to move from the Historic Casino Hall where all plays to that point had been performed, to the Sanford Schmid Amphitheater on the grounds of the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center in order to offer distancing and an outdoor experience. This year, partnering with the La Grange Independent School District, the student production was held in the LGISD Performing Arts Center, and for the first time, the first weekend in November, they will perform

in the Pavilion on the grounds of the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center, also known as the Round Up Hall.

“We’ve been all over LaGrange, but we are the Fayette County Community Theatre, and in 2023, we are making a promise to move into the rest of the county,” Barthelme said. “We want to send our traveling troupe, FAYCO PLAYCO, into assisted living facilities, libraries and other smaller venues with skits and workshops and small productions. We may even be able to travel a larger production to a venue in Round Top, Schulenburg, Flatonia, or any of the other parts of the county. We’ve been invited by the City of Columbus to perform at the Stafford Opera House in Columbus, so that is very exciting for us!”

FCCT continues to work to build partnerships with the community, participating in La Grange Main Street community activities such as Trick or Treat on the Square and Schmeckenfest, and being a part of the Fayette Public Library Summer Reading Program.

New Ulm Oktoberfest Oct. 8

New Ulm Oktoberfest scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 rain or shine at The New Ulm Fireman’s Park. Families from far and wide are looking forward to this annual festival of music, fun and food.

This fun filled festival provides delight for all. Come sing and dance to authentic German music, taste the hearty foods and enjoy your cold drink of choice. There will also be a vendor area with local artisans, crafters and

businesses offering a variety of items to take home.

The gates will open at 10 a.m. German food, including sausage, sauerkraut, desserts and more will be available for sale along with wine and beer and non-alcoholic drinks.

Scheduled to perform in the morning is Mason Marek, New Ulm singer-songwriter & Don Allphin from Sealy. Afternoon performances will

feature authentic German music by Gene Hackemack & Band and Duane Wavra.

German food and drink provided by Eckermann’s Meat Market, New Ulm and Huff Brewing Co. in Bellville.

Stay tuned to the New Ulm Texas Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and the Chamber’s website for updates. Inquiries can be emailed to info@ newulmtexas.com.

Wendish Fest Sunday in Serbin

The 34th Annual Wendish Fest will be held on Sunday, Sept. 25 at Serbin. The day will offer lots of Wendish history, heritage, culture and family activities at the St. Paul Picnic Grounds. There will be an English church service at 8:30 a.m. and a German church service at 10:30 a.m. Church tours will be offered at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Tickets for the traditional Wendish noon meal will go on sale at 10:30 a.m. Adults are $12 and children $6. To-go and drive-thru will also be available at 9:30. All take-out meals are $12.

There will be polka music throughout the day by the Shiner Hobo Band. Students of St. Paul Lutheran School will present Ptaci Kwas (Wendish Bird Wedding). The Texas Wendish Heritage Museum Complex will feature Wendish folkways, demonstrations and exhibits, a German Christmas Market and the traditional decorated Wendish Easter Egg demonstrations and sales. Research and genealogy assistance will be available.

This year they are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society so people are encouraged to wear the sunbonnets or hats. For more information contact (979) 366-2441 or museum@texaswendish.org or visit their website at www.texaswendish.org.

Neighbors Night Out

Neighbors Night Out in Warda is planned for Sunday, Oct. 16, beginning at 4 p.m. at the Holy Cross Lutheran picnic grounds. There will be four representatives from TxDOT to answer your questions regarding the Hwy. 77 expansion project.

Everyone in the area is invited to come together to celebrate our community and enjoy food, fellowship and information from a handful of local officials and leaders. There will be BBQ on bun, hot dogs for the kids, Blue Bell ice cream, tea and water.

This will be an opportunity to get to know folks who may be new to the area and to catch up with old friends. There will be door prizes, including a quilt made by the local quilting group.

They are asking for people to RSVP to the church office, if you plan to attend, so they can

WARDA News

By LISA GAY Warda News Correspondent

have an adequate amount of food. Contact the church office at (979) 242-3333 or email them at holycross@cvctx.com.

150 year Anniversary

Holy Cross Lutheran in Warda is planning for their 150 year Anniversary Celebration in 2023. If you have any photos of church or Warda area activities, or items relating to the area; especially older photos, documents or programs please bring them by the church office. They will be scanned, so they can be shared at the Anniversary celebration.

Note: Photos and items will not be kept, you will receive them back. You can also scan and email them to: holycrosswarda@gmail.com. The anniversary committee also has t-shirts for sale in the church office for $15.

Bible Study Group

The Bible Study Group at Holy Cross Lutheran in Warda is currently studying Joshua, they meet each Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. If you are interested in attending contact Cyndy Zoch at cyndy.zoch@ gmail.com The group will hear from Miss Rebecca Bartelt on Wednesday, Oct. 12, she will present details of her mission work in Taiwan and discuss the growing Lutheran Church there.

Holy Cross Services Services at Holy Cross Lutheran are Sunday at 9 a.m. Bible Class and Sunday school follows the morning service.

Mission Festival Sunday will be held Oct. 9. The speaker will be Pastor Karim Baidaoui, the Mission Director for Disciples of the Way.

Sermon links/streaming videos and additional information is on the website at: www.holycrosswarda.com.

Faith Lutheran High School FLHS currently has 16 stu-

“Of course all the additional programming requires additional funding,” Barthelme continued. “Part of my new role is to expand our programming and find funding for it. I love the challenge, I love the work, I love this theatre, but most of all I love our theatre family and the smiles on the faces of those performing and participating in a production as well as those in the audience. It truly brings our community together in a way nothing else can,” she said. “And our volunteers and volunteer Board of Directors are what make it all possible. They have this same love and passion for what we do.”

With Barthelme moving into the Executive Director position, the theatre is looking for a Production Operations Manager to handle about 6-8 weeks of mostly marketing tasks during each of the three major productions in 2023.

For information on that position, tickets to the upcoming performance of The Great Gatsby, or to donate to the non-profit organization, contact Heather Barthelme at (979) 702-9368.

Secure Document Shred Day Oct. 22

The City of La Grange, the La Grange Police Department and the La Grange Citizens Police Academy are pleased to announce that, in conjunction with the Spring Clean Up, the city will host a “Secure Document Shred Day” on Saturday, Oct. 22.

dents registered for the 2022-23 school year. If you have an 8th grader and would like to bring them to visit for the day, contact Mrs. Nikki Kueck at (979) 2422889. You can also schedule a visit on the school website at: www.flhstx.org.

Everyone is invited to join in the weekly Chapel Worship Service every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Faith Lutheran High School will hold their annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Holy Cross Picnic Grounds. New this year will be “The Battle of The Brew,” a home brew competition.

They will have their traditional German meal of brats, noodles, green beans, potato salad, kraut, bread and coffee cake. The meal will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $12 each and are pre-sale only. Talk to a FLHS student, staff, board member or stop by the church office to purchase a ticket.

There will be a domino tournament, cornhole tournament, music, kid’s games and lots of fun.

Mark your calendar and make plans to attend this fun event.

Prayer Requests

Whitney Swearingen, Robert Grim, Loretta Brugger, Evelyn Cervenka, Helen Schlotterbeck, Jo Ann Fehrle, Sweetpea Brown, Freddie Zoch.

Special prayers for those serving in the Military: Ingrid Devin-Kayne, Kirk Peschke, Ryan Zoch, Clayton Knight, Andrew Bamsch-Navy, Coy Hunt-Army. Anniversaries

Anniversary wishes are extended to the following couples: Wayne and Lisa Brugger-Sept. 26, David and Linda Lehmann-27.

Birthdays

Birthday wishes are extended to the following celebrants: Brandon Weishuhn, Jonathan Kueck-Sept. 23, Darrell Schubert-24, Layne Schramm-25, Scarlett Landry-26, Nichole Varner-28, Sawyer Burgess-30. Have News?

If you have news items to share with readers of the Warda news including visits from your friends and family, contact Lisa Gay at (979) 218-6000 or Wardanews78960@gmail.com.

This event is being held to assist citizens in shredding documents which might have confidential information on them. The shred event will be held at the La Grange Police Department located at 243 South College from 9 a.m. until noon on Oct. 22. Mobile, on-site paper shredding ensures that all discarded information is protected from unauthorized use, eliminating the possibility of fraud or identity theft.

This is a free service to the customers of La Grange Utilities. Anyone bringing items to be shredded are asked to bring a City of La Grange utility bill with you in order to participate in this program.

Items accepted are paper, magazines, credit cards, and documents with staples, binder clips, or paperclips.

Items that will not be accepted are boxes, cardboard, floppy disks, hard drives, CD’s, and USB drives.

If you have any questions, call City Hall at (979) 968-5805 or the La Grange Police Department at (979) 968-5806.

Special thanks to Bumper Crop Texas and La Grange Farm & Ranch for each donating 1/2 a Ton of Fertilizer to the Grand & Reserve Champion Bales

• Kleiber Tractor & Equipment

• Wick Well Service

• M-G, Inc.

• Daniel Cernoch Plumbing

• Tex Propane Co.

• Cavendar Auto Country

• Stryk Jersey Farm

• Tri-County Realty, LLC

• Fayetteville Bank

• Willie Joe Processing

• Moellers Custom Lawn & Shredding Service

• Rodney Read

• Joe and Roxanne Orsak

• Oak Grove Veterinary Clinic

• Giddings Livestock Commission

• Hallettsville Livestock Commission

• Larry Nickel

• Hrncir Oil

• Benedict Kallus

• Schulenburg Livestock Commission

• Fayette Savings Bank

• City Meat Market

• Fillip Land Services

• Mark & Barbara Vecera

• ABC Acres

• Bubela Tree Farm & Arbor Care

• Farmers Co-op

• V&N Supplement

• Carrie Evelyn Menger

• Flatonia Livestock Commission

Heather Barthelme, FCCT Executive Director.

LEO Club Supports Connections Program

By ANDY BEHLEN

The Fayette County Record

The Leo Club at La Grange Middle School donated $300 toward the school’s LMS Connections program at their meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

LMS Connections is a 12-minute break period that takes place every afternoon at the Middle School, between the fifth and six period classes. During this time, kids can eat a snack and engage in games and other activities with their teacher and classmates that support their social and emotional needs. The time is free of cell

HEB Expansion

Continued from front

• Doubled the produce and meat area

• Expanded checkout area, and added self-checkouts

• Added a “healthy living” section

• Tripled the beer and wine space

• Added a fresh floral department

• Added a sushi counter

• Now sell new things made in-store like juice, chips and tortillas

• Additional parking

Maybe the most impactful addition to the store has been the number of jobs added because of the expansion.

“We added more than 100 partners,” Lowes said. “That almost doubled our workforce.”

phones, grades and schoolwork, giving everyone an opportunity to make connections and build community.

“We have a kid who might have a rough day, and this is a great time for a teacher to connect with them,” said La Grange Middle School Principal Sarah Otto. Otto said teachers use the time to facilitate activities such as icebreaker discussions or games of spike ball. She said some students going through a bad day might just rest for 12 minutes.

“It’s actually part of our safety process,” Otto said. “It’s a

LGISD: 319 Bilingual Students in District

Continued from front

Bilingual/ESL Annual Report

Each year, LGISD is required to make an annual report on the bilingual/ESL (English as a Second Language) program for the district. Nicole Ramirez, director of special programs, presented the following information to the board at Monday night’s meeting:

The district offers two types of bilingual programs. The first type is a traditional early exit program where the student receives literacy instruction in their first language and all other subjects are taught in English. The district offers this program from prek thru 2nd grade, and has an exception for this program for grades 3-6 because they have not been able to hire bilingual certified teachers for those grades. The larger program is the ESL program. This program serves all students in grades prek-12.

There were 319 students identified as English Learners in the 2021-22 school year.

Strategic Planning Services

Dr. Millie Klein, chief deputy executive director at the Region 13 Education Service Center presented a proposal on strategic planning services that are provided by the center. She demonstrated how strate-

time for teachers to really notice what their kids are doing. We do the lockdown drills, we have officers on campus, we check our locks, and we do all of those physical safety things. This is addressing the emotional safety of our students.”

The Leo Club donation will be used to purchase snacks and games for LMS Connections.

“There’s nothing more important than relationships and connections,” Otto said. “Kids are more willing to come here and be successful and be happy if they feel connected. That’s the goal.”

Burleson County Tribune

About 18,000 people visited downtown Caldwell for this year’s Kolache Festival earlier this month, up from 9,000 last year.

East Bernard Express

Water from the Colorado River won’t be available for the second growing season and might not be available in 2023 for interruptible customers in Wharton, Colorado and Matagorda counties because of drought conditions in the Highland Lakes, according to LCRA.

Colorado County Citizen

On Sept. 6 Colorado County commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding between their county and Lavaca Co. to share an EMS director. As a result, Michael Furrh, a former Colorado County EMS director returns to the post and also retain the same job in Lavaca Co. The two counties also share a Veterans Services Officer.

gic planning empowers stakeholders – families, community members, staff, and students – to collaboratively shape the future of their district. This process forges strong partnerships and builds a collective sense of responsibility among stakeholders as they work to complete a 3-5 year plan. The administration brought this information to the board for discussion.

Fayette CAD Board of Directors

The appraisal district board of directors serve two-year terms. LGISD has three representatives as the taxing entity with the largest taxable value in the county. The three representatives are Dudley Piland, Evelyn Grant and Glen Altwein. Both Mrs. Grant’s and Mr. Altwein’s terms are up. They were contacted and bother are willing to serve another term. The board voted to appoint Evelyn Grant and Glen Altwein for another two-year term on the Fayette County Appraisal District board of directors.

Canine Contraband

Detection Service Contract

La Grange ISD has entered into an agreement with Accurate Detection Canines for the 202223 school year. The cost for this service with be between $5,000 and $6,000.

Members of the Leo Club at La Grange Middle School joined with Lions Club members and members of the LMS administration for the recent donation.

Photo by Andy Behlen

First Place Lady Leps Sweep Caldwell

The La Grange volleyball team continued its hot start to district play with a sweep of Caldwell on the road Tuesday.

The Leps Leps had been in a three-way tie atop the district standing with Caldwell, but smacked the Hornets 25-16, 2515, 25-13 to improve to 3-0 in district and 17-17 overall.

Maddi Fritz led the Lady Leps in kills with 14. Camille Gonzalez and Hailey Hill had nine kills each.

Hill led in digs with 14 and Jena Jobb had nine.

Jobb had four aces and Haylie Cooper had two.

Hill led in assists with 18 and Fritz had 16.

Gonzalez had four blocks and Kylie Trlicek had two.

Friday Football Previews

La Grange JV defeated Caldwell 26-24, 25-16 to improve to 3-0 in district and 11-9 overall.

The La Grange freshmen defeated Caldwell 25-8, 21-25, 15-11 to improve to 12-9 overall and 3-0 in district.

The JV and Varsity Lady Leopards travel to Austin Achieve on Friday and then host Giddings Tuesday in a battle between the two first place teams.

22-4A Volleyball

Round Top-Carmine Cross Country

Here are the results for the Round Top-Carmine Varsity Girls Cross Country Meet in Moulton on Sept. 10. As a team, the Cubettes finished fifth overall.Individual Overall Results included:

La Grange JV Football

The La Grange JV Purple team lost in a close match last Thursday Sept. 15 to the Lago Vista Vikings 21-20. The Leps had a strong showing by the offensive line who helped clear the way for Le’Kayvion Broussard who had a huge night running the ball accounting for three touchdowns and the 2-point conversion for the Leopards.

La Grange at Splendora

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Splendora

Records: Both teams are 1-3.

Of Note: A tough opening stretch of games is behind the Leps, who really struggled to score points in their three losses and are only averaging 6.3 points per game in those defeats ... Splendora has struggled the last three weeks as well, after beating Cleveland in their season opener. Splendora senior quarterback Harrison Facundo has thrown for 417 yards this season with four interceptions and two touchdowns and a 27-percent completion rate. The Wildcats running game is led by Dominic Rodriguez, who has rushed for 257 yards ... For the Leps, the quarterback position continues to be unsettled. They’ve used four different players there, but the last two games sophomore Bear Meng has seen the bulk of the snaps. Junior Jaden Williams leads the Leps in rushing with 325 yards.

Schulenburg vs. Thorndale

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Schulenburg

Records: Schulenburg is 0-4. Thorndale is 3-1.

Of Note: The Shorthorns are still seeking their first win of the season as they begin district play against a Thorndale team that has won three straight since a season-opening loss to Lexington. Since then, the Bulldogs beat Granger 36-34 in OT, then beat Riesel 54-21 and Iola 42-6 last week. Thorndale dual threat senior quarterback Coy Stutts is throwing for more than 100 yards a game and rushing for an average of 42 yards per game. Schulenburg, meanwhile, has had trouble stopping anybody. They are allowing an average of 52 points per game this season. Up until last week’s 55-0 loss to Poth, however, the Shorthorn offense had been putting up plenty of points. The Shorthorns play at Hearne next week.

Flatonia vs. Thrall

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Flatonia

Records: Flatonia is 3-1. Thrall is 1-3.

Of Note: Flatonia looks to keep their momentum going in their district opener against the Tigers. Thrall started the season with a 47-8 victory over Somerville, but since has lost 43-14 to Johnson City, 41-25 to Lake Country Christian and 66-12 last week to Lexington ... Flatonia’s only blemish this season with a 34-14 loss to 3A state-ranked Hallettsville. Otherwise it’s been blowout wins over Shiner St. Paul. Nixon-Smiley and Falls City, with no win by less than 28 points. Senior quarterback Fidel Venegas has already throw for 832 yards and is completing 63-percent of his passes. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 181 yards. Jaidyn Guyton leads in receptions with 14 for 222 yards.

Adams a Key Force for Surging Lady Horns Volleyball Team

Fayette Co. Record’s Athlete of the Week

Schulenburg junior volleyball player Kieryn Adams is a multi-sport athlete who provides top-notch defense on the court and uses her veteran experience to her advantage. Adams currently leads the team in digs and assists, being a vital part to the Lady Horns ball club throughout her two years as a starter on varsity.

“She’s the quarterback of our defense,” said Schulenburg head volleyball coach Donald Zapalac. “She’s responsible for getting us in the right space, taking all the big hitters biggest shots when they hit crosscourt, especially. That’s where we have her positioned so she can take a lot of those shots. On defense, she’s our energy person. People feed off of what she does. When she makes a great play, gets on the floor and gets a ball up, it’s pretty difficult to do. Our offense will feed off

A

Feature by BRIAN PIERSON Read

Recent Players of the Week:

Aug. 12 – Kobe Burton, Flatonia Football & Track

Aug. 19 – Hailey Hill, La Grange volleyball

Aug. 26 – Kynley Hurst, Fayetteville volleyball

Sept. 2 – Tess and Jill Eilers, RTC Volleyball

Sept. 9 – Eleanor Carey, La Grange Cross Country

Sept. 16 – Kenny Schramek, Schulenburg football

Sept. 23 – Kieryn Adams, Schulenburg volleyball of that. She’s our libero, she’s supposed to be our number one passer, and that’s what we want her to be. We enjoy having her out there. She does a really good job for us. She’s athletic, that’s the other part too.”

Adams’ key contributions on defense and as a leader has made her our choice for this edition’s Athlete of the Week.

Question: What have you and your team changed about your approach in order to get in this mid-season rhythm?

Answer: “Towards the beginning of the season, we weren’t doing the best and we kind of came in and talked about what we could change to make our team better. We’re just clicking better and the team morale is a lot better, so I’d say that’s a big thing that has led us to win as many games as

we have.”

Question: Why would you say defense is so important in volleyball?

Answer: “For back row players, if you keep giving the other team balls, they’re gonna keep killing it and it’s easy points for them. You’re in the back row digging balls and playing good defense, then it’s hard for the other team to score. It makes them think smarter and harder about the shots that they have to make.”

Question: How does Texstar volleyball compare to high school ball?

Answer: “Both are very competitive and I’m thankful to be a part of both teams. Texstar really pushes me to be the best volleyball player I can be. I

Kieryn Adams

La Grange’s Maddi Fritz passes a ball in a match last week in Smithville.

Photo by Stephanie Steinhauser

See Adams, next page

2022 Fayette County Volleyball Schedules/Results

Flatonia Lady Bulldogs La Grange Lady Leps

Round Top-Carmine Cubettes Schulenburg Lady Horns

Fayetteville Lady Lions

Adams Newest County Athlete of the Week

see some of the toughest competition in Texas and face some of the toughest competition in Texas. It really pushes me to be a better athlete.”

Question: What do you like best about being a libero?

Answer: “I like to think that I can run the defense and set up our offense. It’s rewarding whenever I get a good pass and my setter can get a good set and we get a kill. It just speaks for the team and helps bring energy.”

Question: What motivated you to become a multi-sport athlete?

Answer: “I grew up being a multi-sport athlete. My dad played multi-sports whenever he was in high school. So did my mom. My sister did as well. I just really looked up to them and wanted to follow in their footsteps.”

Question: Out of all the

sports you play, which one do you enjoy the most and why?

Answer: “Definitely volleyball. It’s just really competitive and I get to work with my team, especially if I have a bad day, I can look to them to lift me up and make up for my mistakes. It’s just really fun to work as a team and play together.”

Question: Where’s a place you’ve always wanted to go and why?

Answer: “I like the beach, so definitely a tropical place. Probably Bora Bora. That’s been high on my list.”

Question: What’s your favorite meal?

Answer: “Probably steak and mashed potatoes. That’s a good meal to have.”

Question: What’s something interesting about you that a lot of people may not know?

Answer: “I was actually

born two months early. I was supposed to be born in July and I came out in May.”

Question: If you had to convince someone to come visit Schulenburg, what kind of things would you say?

Answer: “I would say that it’s very small town, but the support that we get from the community is something that not many teams or communities get. It’s a very well-loved environment and something that you should come visit.”

Adams has a great understanding of sports and it shows during competition.

Weimar Downs Flatonia

Lady Lions and Lady Horns Grab Tuesday Wins

Fayetteville

The Fayetteville volleyball team defeated Thrall 25-20, 2513, 26-24 Tuesday as the Lady Lions improved to 29-3. Brooklyn Jaeger had 21 kills

and Kayme Schley had four. Kynley Hurst had 21 assists. Marissa Rohde and Jaeger each had 12 digs and Hurst had 11 and Schley nine.

Schulenburg

The Schulenburg volleyball team defeated Ganado 25-10, 25-22 25-6 Tuesday. Mackenzie Kunschuick had 12 kills and Jessalyn Gipson had 11.

Kieryn Adams and Avery Helms had four aces each. Adams had 22 digs and Landry Zapalac had 36 assists. The Lady Horns are now 1915 overall and 1-0 in district.

These Businesses Are Proud Supporters of Fayette County Volleyball Teams and Encourage You to Get Out to the Gym to Cheer on These Local Athletes

Flatonia’s Camryn Smith hits the ball past two Lady Wildcats Tuesday night in Weimar in the volleyball district opener for both teams. Weimar won the match in three sets.

Photo by Stephanie Steinhauser

Lots Going On in Fayetteville

Lots and lots of well-wishers attended the rededication of the historical Red Building last Saturday. It was a group effort to assemble the grand conference table, built by Evan Quiros and residing in the new boardroom.

FISD Raises

The FISD school board increased the salary scale, which can be found on the school website. On average, FISD employees received a four percent pay increase.

Grandchildren attending FISD joined their grandparents for Grandparents Day taking place all this week.

Schedules for volleyball and cross country are posted on the school website: https://www.fayettevilleisd.net/326722_2.

Fayetteville Museum

“The rededication of the Red Building was fantastic,” noted Bob McGowen. “The Fayetteville museum is a great start to see many pictures of the school and students, plus many other schools in the past and much more. Now is the time to come. You will be glad you did. “When was the last time you visited the museum? If you cannot attend when they are open, call Bob at (832) 904-6290 or Debby at (979) 249-6249.

Bloom & Co.

Bloom & Co. in the square is featuring farm fresh flowers grown from seed. Bouquets are fresh every Friday for the weekend. Everyone is invited to come in and select from the beautiful varieties.

Park Upgrades

The overnight camping area,

FAYETTEVILLE

By CINDY STEPHENS Fayetteville News Correspondent

restrooms and trail entrance will be closed for renovations and expansion at Lake Fayette Park Prairie. Portable restrooms are available onsite. Construction is estimated to take four weeks.

Record Travels to D.C.

Church Donation

Congratulations to St. Mary Catholic Church. The proceeds from the bazaar amount to approximately $77,500. Ten percent of those proceeds are being donated to Queen of the Holy Rosary in Hostyn.

Celebrations

Happy Birthday Wishes to: Ronnie Polasek-25, Kacy Kovar Dusek, Jerri Stanley, John Stanley Jr. -26, Diane Supak-27. Have news?

The deadline for sending news for this weekly column is every Sunday morning. Text or call (713) 261-0786 or email newsinfayetteville@gmail.com.

as a New Branfels H. S. Unicorn basketball and football quarterback/ team captain.

Suspect Arrested For Theft of A Firearm

gals showing handmade wreaths made possible by Bloom &

Back in August during the Schulenburg Festival, officers took a report for a vehicle which had been broken into. The suspect entered the vehicle without permission from the owner and stole a rifle. An investigation was launched and the firearm was tracked to a pawn shop in Houston. The suspect was captured on video pawning the firearm and was positively identified.

A warrant was obtained for his arrest and on Monday, Sept. 19, at approximately 10:15 p.m. Officers located the suspect, Treyvon Phillips (23), of Weimar, who was arrested on a warrant charging him with theft of a firearm.

Treyvon was transported to the Dan R. Beck Justice Center where he was released to jail staff.

Gorgeous

Co.

Neal and Dee Miller, of La Grange recently traveled to the Washington, DC area as special guests to attend the promotion ceremony of Col. W. Alan Matney to the rank of Brigadier General of the U. S. Air Force. Neal first taught General Matney in his New Braunfels Middle School 6th grade science class. Later “Coach” Miller worked with “Alan”

Second Chance Stories

By BILL BISHOP Special to the Record

The woman said she came to Second Chance Emporium to help her niece, who had lost everything after a nighttime wreck on a two-lane Texas highway.

As she loaded lamps and other household goods into her car, the aunt told how her niece, a nurse, was driving home after a night shift when she saw four headlights ahead on the twolane road. She swerved off the highway, totaling her car and sending herself to the hospital.

Debts mounted and she had to sell everything to pay her bills. Now it was time to rebuild and the kind aunt from Gonzales knew the spot to replace much of what her niece had lost was Second Chance, the non-profit second-hand store on South Reynolds in La Grange.

The stories pour out of the people who come to Second Chance. There was the young woman from Gonzales who had just gotten a job at the Tesla plant in Austin. Or the woman who worked at the school cafeteria in Giddings. She found a cast iron tomato slicer that would come in handy at the school kitchen. (School workers are always spending their own money on their children.)

The Gardener Heads West

I don’t get out of Fayette County too often, much less the Great State of Texas. I used to be able to count the number of times I crossed the state line with my fingers. I’m going to have to start using toes now.

Janessa’s sister and her husband live part-time in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and they’ve been tagging us to visit for a while. We finally took the big trip this week.

I’m writing this Wednesday morning as Janessa drives past the Spanish Peaks on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo. It really is beautiful out here.

We left La Grange around 10 a.m. yesterday. We wanted to leave earlier in the morning. But I needed to put a bale of hay out for my cattle, and of course, my tractor decided to have a dead battery and a flat tire. It seems to know when I have plans.

We ate lunch at Opie’s Barbecue in Spicewood. At the time, I wondered if we should wait for Cooper’s in Llano. I’m glad we didn’t. We ordered brisket and jalapeno sausage. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was pretty dang close. If you stop there, get the tater tot casserole!

I love a good road trip through the Hill Country, especially when you add a few Robert Earl Keen songs to the playlist. We took Hwy. 71 to Brady and then took Hwy. 87. That was about as far as I have ever been in that part of the state. From there, it was all new country for

By ANDY BEHLEN The

me. We saw a road sign for a town named Eden. As the town approached, we wondered what kind of paradise might be in store. The joke was on us, though. About the shiniest thing in that city was the razor wire around the “detention center” in the middle of town. From there we cut through that spot on the map that’s not quite West Texas, the Panhandle or Edwards Plateau. The hills turned into an undulating plain. I saw more cropland through there. We passed through Ballinger, which seemed like a nice town to stop and visit. But we were on a mission.

My sister-in-law begged us to drive straight through without stopping for the night. Google said the trip was 16-something hours from La Grange. It’s doable, but we wanted to drive in the daylight and enjoy the scenery.

I always wanted to see the Palo Duro Canyon, but I never had a chance until now. Wow, it did not disappoint.

From Ballinger we drove through Sweetwater, Snyder and Post before hopping up the Caprock Escarpment and onto the Llano Estacado. I tried to imagine the old tall-grass prairie that once covered this landscape. Francisco Coronado got his army lost up there in 1541 looking for gold. He described the landscape as having “no more landmarks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea ... there was not a stone, nor bit of rising

In the afternoon, nine women from P.E.O. (the women’s philanthropic organization) came to Second Chance on a scavenger hunt. Looking for a dinner plate with a bird on it? No problem at Second Chance.

The stories are all over the 20,000 square foot store. Who needs Netflix when you have Second Chance? Second Chance Emporium is a non-profit store operated by volunteers from local churches and a loyal paid staff. People donate stuff they no longer need and the sales of those goods produce “profits” that go back to the community.

Most recently, Second Chance made these special grants:

• $20,000 to the Texas Czech Heritage & Cultural Center to help with the organization’s educational mission.

• $10,000 to ARTS for Rural Texas in Fayetteville for youth art enrichment programs in all of the county’s schools.

• $7,500 to the Fayette County Deputy Santa program to purchase Christmas toys for Fayette County children.

There is no telling what shoppers might find at Second Chance on its Friday and Saturday shopping days. For exam-

ple, Missy Rusek needed a girth for her horse Frankie. “Frankie is pretty fat right now,” Rusek said, and had outgrown her tack. Of course, she found two leather girths at Second Chance this past Saturday. She imagined Frankie’s size and picked one. This will make her daughter Lauren most happy. Lauren, a La Grange middle schooler, has been working on her English saddle skills and was missing her rides with Frankie. Riding is Lauren’s “passion,” Missy said. And Second Chance is where passions are fulfilled… and stories are told.

Lauren Rusek’s horse Frankie had grown a wee bit fat on summer grasses, so Lauren’s mom, Missy (above), was off to Second Chance Emporium to shop for a longer girth. She found it, of course, because the non-profit store in La Grange has a little bit of everything.

Photo by Bill Bishop

Fayette County Record

NOTICE

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,

EMPLOYMENT

apply in person at 1870 Frelsburg Rd. Cat Spring (Mentz) or Email resume to sandra@texasirrigation.com. (58-1tfc)

OILFIELD HELP WANTED - FIELD

preferred. Salary starts at $46,200-$50,400/YR DOE. ROUSTABOUT/SHOP HAND salary starts at $16/HR DOE. MUST PASS DRUG TEST & DRIVER CHECK. Contact Jennifer for application (979) 242-5349 or jennifer@mcguireindustries.com. (93-tfc))

REAL ESTATE

OPENING for CDL-Class C driver needed. Wilmar Equipment Rentals. Contact Willem: wilmar.equiprental@gmail.com, or (979) 702-1426. (87-tfc)

OPENING - Equipment Mechanic, Wilmar Equipment Rental, wilmar.equiprental@gmail.com, (979) 733-7112. Contact Willem Burger. (80-tfc)

telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

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JULIO’S LANDSCAPING - Mow, lawn mtnce, flower bed clean up, mulch, tree trimming & removal. Call (979)

451-9162 or (979) 203-7382 - Julio Mendoza. (79-17p)

TOPSOIL, MUSHROOM compost, box blade & dump truck services. We build roads and house & barn pads. Tommy Price Trucking (979) 242-5203 or (979) 966-8158 (cell). (20-tfc)

FIXIN’ THINGS: Carpentry, painting, repairs, maintenance. Experienced, reliable, reasonable. (979) 247-4200. (73-tfc)(35-tfc)

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COMPUTER SERVICE - Round Top - Anti-virus & Smart TVs - Call John, (832) 660-3856 -www.roundtopcomputer.com (68-tfc)(38-tfc)

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BUSINESS FOR SALE

BUSINESS FOR SALE

INSULATION COMPANY

Located in La Grange, Tx 30+ Years in La Grange

Serious inquiries only

Serious inquiries email: insulationserviceslg@gmail.com

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LIVESTOCK/HAY

AIR COMPRESSORS in stockIngersol-Rand. Also, Victor torches & Miller welders & supplies. See @ Electric Motor Service. 840 N. Jefferson, La Grange. (97-tfc)

GOOD WOOD Pallets for sale - $2 each.

Eggs - $4 a dozen

SERVICES

Behlen: The Road to Colorado

Continued from Page C1

ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.”

It was too late in the day for us to set up camp at Palo Duro State Park. We opted instead to drive through the canyon and then get a room in Amarillo.

We drove for miles and miles north on SH 207.

Today, the landscape is dotted with irrigated circles of cropland. But a few fields of open prairie remain.

And then the bottom fell out from underneath us. The highway dropped into Tule Canyon, the site of Lake Mackenzie. The lake gets its name from U.S. Army Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie, who at this spot in 1874 slaughtered a herd of over 1,000

horses that belonged to some Indians he was trying to subdue.

We rose out of this little canyon and we’re once again upon the Llano Estacado. Then we drove for many more miles before the highway dropped again.

Words cannot describe it. Magnificent? Sure.

We stopped at a place where the shoulder was wide enough to park. We walked around, taking it all in. A young couple drove by in a pickup.

It was the only vehicle we saw for several hours. The girl’s head was sticking out of the window, with her jaw dropped and eyes wide open - just like us.

I hope we get a chance to camp at the park on our way back home.

City of Ellinger Seeks Engineering Services

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (City of Ellinger)

The City of Ellinger plans to apply for the upcoming Texas CDBG-MIT Regional Mitigation Program’s Method of Distribution Development (CDBG MIT-MOD) programs from the Texas General Land Office (GLO). Accordingly, the City of Ellinger is seeking to contract with a qualified Engineering/ Architectural Firm (individual/ firm) to prepare all preliminary and final design plans and specifications, and to conduct all necessary interim and final inspections. These services are being solicited to assist the City of Ellinger in its application preparation and project implementation of a CDBG contract(s), if awarded, to support eligible activities in the City of Ellinger. Please electronically submit your SOQs in .pdf format via

OBITUARIES

Beverly enjoyed working for the Texas Parks and Wildlife at Monument Hill State Park in La Grange, where she spent 13 plus years, until her retirement.

Adopt Me

FAYETTE COUNTY ADOPTABLE

Remember way back to Christmas and the new year? That’s when Freckles (black ear) and Kringle (white ears) were brough to our shelter as strays. They are almost 4 years old and are neutered and vaccinated. They came in separately but appear to both be Pointer mixes. They are both high energy and are dog friendly. They are our longest residents and continue to be overlooked. Help us find a home for them before this year’s holidays!

TO ADOPT ANY OF THESE PETS, OR OTHERS:

• Call the Gardenia E. Janssen Animal Shelter at 966-0021

HOURS:

• Visit the shelter at 240 Svoboda Lane and adopt animals on Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shelter is closed on Monday. The animal shelter will not accept surrendered animals on Saturdays.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Check the web site at www.janssenanimalshelter.org

• Email: info@janssenanimalshelter.org

• Wendie Dillard, Tech - wendie@janssenanimalshelter.org

email at mayorcityofellinger@ cvctx.com AND grantworks@ grantworks OR submit 3 copies of your Statements of Qualifications to the following address:

Attn: Matt Mikulenka, PO Box 44 Ellinger TX, 78938. Statements of Qualifications must be received by the City of Ellinger no later than 5:00PM on October 10th, 2022, to be considered. The City of Ellinger reserves the right to negotiate with any and all individuals or firms that submit proposals. Section 3 Residents and Business Concerns, Minority Business Enterprises, Small Business Enterprises and Women Business Enterprises, and Labor Surplus Vendors are encouraged to submit proposals. The City of Ellinger is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Servicios de traducción están disponibles por peticion.

(93-1c)

City of La Grange Public Hearing

PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE

The City of La Grange received a Texas Community Development Block Grant (TxCDBG) Program grant, 7220241, from the Texas Department of Agriculture for a Sewer Improvements Project. A public hearing has been called for 5:05 p.m. on Monday, September 26th, 2022, at the City Hall, 155 E Colorado Street, La Grange, TX to review the program performance of the activities completed under this grant which will include an explanation of the actual use of the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program funds and invite comments.

La Ciudad de La Grange recibió una subvención del Programa de Subvención en Bloque

Boehm

Beverly Ann (Moore) Boehm, 84, of La Grange, passed away on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

Beverly was born in Goose Creek on Nov. 19, 1937, the daughter of the late Beverly Ward Moore and late Mavis A. (Welch) Moore Slaughter.

Beverly graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown. On Oct. 21, 1967, Beverly married Roland Albert Boehm at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Highland. They raised one son, Douglas Roland Boehm.

She is survived by her husband, Roland Albert Boehm of La Grange; son, Douglas Roland Boehm of La Grange; granddaughters: Shaylee Boehm-Stoll and husband, Tyler of Camdenton, M.O.; Chelsea Hernandez and husband, Jay of Valparaiso, Fla.; Brittany Boehm of Giddings and great-granddaughter, Abigail Hernandez.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Leon Moore.

Visitation will be held on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremation, 208 W. Pearl, La Grange, at which time the Family will receive friends. A Holy Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m.

The animal shelter is in need of puppy chow, kitten chow, dog and cat food, paper towels, candles, Pine Sol, and Lysol. All animals for adoption can be viewed online at petango.com.

de Desarrollo Comunitario de Texas (TxCDBG), 7220241, del Departamento de Agricultura de Texas para un Proyecto de Mejoras de Alcantarillado. Se ha convocado una audiencia public a para las 5:05 p.m. el lunes 26 de septiembre de 2022 en el Ayuntamiento, 155 E Colorado Street, La Grange, TX para revisar el desempeño del programa de las actividades completadas bajo esta subvención que incluirá una explicación del uso real del Programa de Subvención en Bloque de Desarrollo de la Comunidad de Texas e invitará a comentarios.

For further information or assistance contact Janet Bayer at (979) 968-5805. Para obtener más información o asistencia, póngase en contacto con Janet Bayer (979) 968-5805. (93-1c)

Engle Farmers Mutual Annual Meeting Oct. 1

ENGLE FARMERS MUTUAL

ANNUAL MEETING

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

October 1, 2022

The membership of the Engle Farmers Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. will hold their Annual Meeting on Saturday October 1, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at the KC Hall in Schulenburg. Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m.

The purpose of this meeting is to act on all regular business, accept financial and committee reports, and to

elect directors of the Association according to the By-Laws. Following the meeting, a complimentary meal will be served to each member and their spouse or guest only.

meal tickets will be available at a nominal cost.

Beverly enjoyed being surrounded by her family, especially during the holiday season. She loved cooking, baking, plants and giving gifts to those around her. Her heart was to always give to those in need, and she faithfully supported her church and several charities. She enjoyed traveling around the world and gambling with her husband, Roland. Beverly was full of love and a joy to be around.

Funeral Services will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 539 E. Pearl St., La Grange, at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. Burial will follow at St Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, 610 N. Pecan St., Moulton, TX 77975

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Gardenia E. Janssen Animal Shelter at 240 Svoboda Land, La Grange, TX 78945. Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at www.lagrangefunerals.com.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Koenig - Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations in La Grange.

he retired.

Smyth

Scott Smyth passed away on Sept. 7, 2022, in Schulenburg.

Scott was born March 7, 1950, in Colorado City, Texas to Margaret Mary Heye Smyth and Frederick Charles Smyth. Scott worked in the high-tech industry completing the last 18 years of his career with Texas Instruments Inc. in Dallas when

Scott graduated from Texas A&M University where he was a proud member of Heavens 11 in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. Scott enjoyed spending time at his family’s cabin in Colorado he was an avid trout fisherman. He also enjoyed sponsoring rescue dogs with Audrey in a local animal rescue group. He loved being crazy and silly with his nieces and nephews. Scott enjoyed the beauty of the historic Painted Catholic Church of Dubina near Schulenburg.

Scott is survived by his wife, Audrey Meyer Smyth; brothers, Frank Smyth, Michael Smyth, and Boby Smyth. He is preceded in death by his mother, father, and older sister. A private memorial service in Colorado for family will be held next Spring.

Janessa Behlen somewhere in the canyonlands of the Texas Panhandle.

Photo by Andy Behlen

Ant Hill Farms

After any dry spell, it is not unusual for people to call me and ask what to do about the ant mounds in their yard or pasture. I usually ask what kind of ants do they have and the answer is “The kind that bites.”

Ant mounds are prevalent in much of this area. At the family ranch, all you see are native ants. The ranch has deep sand which fire ants hate. Of course native ants can cause problems, but it is usually the imported fire ant to which they are referring. These ants were imported to Houston from somewhere in South America and have taken up residence, and don’t want to leave.

While other ants build mounds, the imported fire ant can build a tall mound. Farmers and ranchers that mow their fields know how bad it can be with the tractor and mower bouncing across the pasture. The tractor usually responds when blades crashing into the mounds, power down the engine due to the drag of the blade through the soil. It seems that cutting mounds dulls the blades faster than mowing grass and weeds.

I once worked for a company that had a field office in Rosharon, Texas. The fire ant mounds were so thick that I could walk from mound to mound without touching the ground. Of course no one in their right mind would do that. The local ranchers were losing calves as quickly as they were born. Employees around the office would apply a very toxic poison to the soil to keep the ants at bay, but due to the high rainfall, they had to reapply the poison frequently.

Fire ants eventually worked their way across the state and are found in about every county. Everything from boiling water to exhaust gas has been used to kill the critters. And a lot of poisons have been used. But the problem is poisons also kill a number of non-targeted animals, fish, insects and amphibians downstream. We humans sure do know how to mess up nature. A major problem is that people do not understand how to correctly apply poisons. If you pour poison directly on the mound, the ants will generally just move the mound a few feet away. Many poisons do not reach the queen. And without killing the queen, the nest will continue to thrive. Ant mounds were once ruled by one queen ant. But humans and poisons have taught the ants to adapt to the poisons by adding multiple queens to the nest. Kill one queen and there is another waiting to take her place. You can never kill an army of ants without killing the queen.

There is a ranch not too far from me that the neighbors call “Ant Hill Farm.” Everyone knows an Ant Hill Farm near them. It is not the name of the ranch, but it is known for all the ant mounds that constantly dot the landscape. It is obvious that

By DAVID E. WILL Special to The Record

the rancher does not treat ant mounds. Cattle suffer trying to get a bite of grass from atop the mounds, but cattle need to eat. There is not much grass anywhere else on the place.

This fall, the rancher will broadcast ryegrass and oats and what isn’t eaten by birds, will end up inside the ant mounds. (You have undoubtedly seen ant mounds with tuffs of winter grass exploding out of the mounds.) It seems to make sense to apply ant bait a couple of weeks before seeding winter annuals. With the cost of seed and fertilizer, wouldn’t it be worth the extra expense?

Ant baits are great if you understand how to apply them. It only takes a pound of ant bait per acre to kill 80 percent or more of the mounds. We used a pound and a half to kill over 96 percent of all ants in Rosharon and that was over 100 acres treated. The secret is to broadcast the baits everywhere except on the mound. Any bait that hits the mound will be pushed under the soil by the mound builders. While this is counterintuitive to the marketing, this method works.

At my nursery, I typically use a one pound container to treat four acres for an entire year. I put out bait every two weeks beginning in May through November. I put three small holes in a bottle and shake a few granules out as I walk. This needs to be done after the dew has dried and with no rain forecast for the rest of the day. The bait must be fresh-you wouldn’t eat a wet or stale potato chip and neither will the ants.

With this method, forging ants will pick up the bait and take it to the queen or queens. Within two to three weeks the mound starts to crumble and die. To check for ant mounds any time of the year, just put out a potato chip on a dry day and see if they come to eat it. I hope everyone will share this bit of information. Too many poisons have been used that do not kill ants, but do kill many of nature’s creatures. I use “Come and Get It” ant bait. It has an organic poison, not a toxic chemical poison, and it works just as good as the leading brand.

David E. Will is a Schulenburg farmer, rancher, nurseryman, landscaper, and consultant. He can be reached at 830-629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.

Hispanic Texans Likely Largest Demographic Group

The U.S. Census Bureau released its latest estimate, which indicates Hispanic residents in Texas make up more of the state’s population than white residents. The new population figures from the American Community Survey indicate Hispanic Texans comprise 40.2% of the state’s population last year, while non-Hispanic white Texans made up 39.4%, as reported in the Texas Tribune.

The estimates, from July 2021, are not considered official but reflect trends that demographers have been tracking for years. Hispanics accounted for nearly half of the state’s population increase of 4 million residents since 2010. Census figures indicate almost half of Texas residents under the age of 18 are Hispanic.

The survey showed that Hispanic residents are more than twice as likely as white resident to live below the poverty line. The median income for a white household last year was $81,235, compared to $54,857 for a Hispanic household.

More Than 10,000 Migrants Bused Elsewhere

With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis grabbing headlines by flying migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office announced that is has now bused more than 10,000 migrants to what he terms “sanctuary cities” such as Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago. Last week, at Abbott’s behest, two buses of migrants from Texas were dropped off outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence at the United States Naval Observatory in the nation’s capital.

Abbott has long criticized the Biden administration’s approach to migrants seeking asylum in the United States, and Texas has boosted border security funding by $4 billion. Biden last week said the administration has a process to deal with migrants at the border.

“Republicans are playing politics with human beings, using them as props. What they’re doing is simply wrong,” he said at a gala for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to Politico.

By MAZIE LEFTWICH

Suicide Prevention

By MAZIE LEFTWICH

The Wellness Council of Greater Colorado Valley

September is National Suicide Awareness Month.

For some people, feelings of deep depression, paralyzing anxiety or feeling overwhelmed becomes the constant backdrop to their life. An individual may start thinking their situation is hopeless and there is no way out. The downward spiral may eventually lead to thoughts of suicide or suicidal behavior, which includes talking about suicide or taking action to end one’s life.

The numbers are staggering!

Every Day in the U.S., approximately 123 people die by suicide, making it the 10th leading cause of death (all ages).

Suicide Rates In Texas

Throughout the State of Texas, suicide is the:

• 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10-34

• 4th leading cause of death for ages 35-44

• 5th leading cause of death for ages 45-54

• 9th leading cause of death for ages 55-64

• 17th leading cause of death for ages 65+

Overall, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the state, and Texas is ranked 38th in the nation for its suicide rate.

Teenagers and young adults have the highest rates of suicide compared to other ages.The things that make them vulnerable are where they stand socially and where they stand developmentally.

• Developmentally, their judgment and decision-making abilities are still coming online. The prefrontal cortex — the brain’s executive control center — doesn’t fully develop until one is in their mid-20s.

That makes young people more impulsive.

They’re not going to weigh risks and consequences nor weigh ethics and values in the same way that older folks will.

Socially, teens and young adults don’t have the same connections older adults do. Someone who is married, has a longterm partner or has children or grandchildren is in a different

The Down Side Of An Oil Boom

In what was becoming an all too common occurrence in the Central Texas boom town, a constable was shot to death in the streets of Mexia on Sep. 23, 1921.

Just one month earlier, the Limestone County community was the peaceful home of 3,500. That serenity was shattered on a quiet Sunday in August 1921, when a pair of gushers brought oil and a world of trouble to Mexia.

The population soared to an estimated 55,000 as the black gold attracted the usual cast of fortune-seeking characters. For every roustabout who manned the rigs, there was a bootlegger, gambler, thief and prostitute eager to take his hard-earned pay.

Bars, brothels and gambling dens operated around-the-clock in brazen defiance of state and federal statutes. Stills concealed in the wooded countryside supplied the river of homemade liquor needed to quench the thirst of the oilfield workers.

Appalled by the crime wave, which the police and sheriff lacked the resources and resolve

BARTEE

to combat, the original inhabitants appealed directly to the governor. Before deciding on a course of action, Pat Neff sent an undercover agent for a first-hand look. The investigator reported within the week that the situation in Mexia was “hard to believe.” Most mind-boggling of all were two wide-open casinos – the Winter Garden and the Chicken Ranch.

The former was located east of town on the highway to Teague. Security was tight with patrons searched twice before entering the premises, where they found a well-stocked bar and every game of chance under the sun. The latter, just inside the

adjacent county of Freestone, boasted even more elaborate precautions with a guard tower in the center of the main casino.

Thirteen Texas Rangers shut down the Winter Garden and the Chicken Ranch on the first Saturday night of the New Year.

The governor wrestled with his options for days, hoping to come up with a less drastic solution that martial law, but ultimately decided the chaotic conditions demanded military rule.

Brigadier General Jacob F. Wolters, the hard-nosed National Guard commander who broke the Galveston dock strike in 1919, took charge of the Mexia operation. Receiving his marching orders on Jan. 11, 1922, he snorted, “Tell the police chiefs at Dallas, Fort Worth and Orange to expect a large number of visitors tomorrow. Most will come in boxcars.”

Although the editor of the Mexia Evening News criticized the intervention, the majority of residents viewed the coming of the Guard as a necessary evil.

“The proper thing for us to do is to cooperate with the command-

ing officer,” the mayor advised, “regardless of our own personal opinions and to help the military accomplish their work.”

To speed up the mass exodus, Gen. Wolters issued a “sundown” decree. Any individual classified by the court as a vagrant had three choices: pay his fine, work off the cash penalty as a convict laborer or vacate the county by sundown.

Three weeks into the occupation, bootleg booze continued to flow into Mexia from stills in Freestone County. Wolters persuaded the governor to extend martial law to Limestone’s neighbor but postponed the announcement to add the element of surprise to a sunrise sweep of the moonshine stronghold.

Guardsmen arrested everybody in sight during the dawn raid of Feb. 3. Fifty-nine prisoners, including several innocent farmers, were detained without charges for ten days. To many the confiscation of nine stills and 300 gallons of whiskey did not justify the indiscriminate

Trump Guilty of Nothing

To The Editor: In response to Mr. Green’s letter last week, let me clear up some things for you. To your comment on “illegal possession of highly classified documents….” This comment is just like many the lame stream media push every evening to those who would rather have their opinions handed to them than get facts and form their own opinions. As usual, the Democrats scream and holler “Trump did something illegal!” but prove nothing.

At this point, it appears necessary to remind everyone that President Trump has been found guilty of nothing. For the entire term of his Presidency and beyond, the democrats have had one mission…destroy President Trump with a barrage of threats, lies, baseless charges, lawsuits, etc. Impeachment charges were brought against him twice, yet he was not removed from office. Why? Because there was no credible evidence. The Russian Collusion hoax; no evidence was ever found.

Remember Adam Schiff saying, “Ample evidence of collusion in plain sight.’ Shifty had nothing and he flat out lied. It appears the only people not involved in the Russia Collusion hoax were President Trump and the Russians. Hillary Clinton, however, was neck deep in the scandal with Mr. Durham finding that her campaign and the DNC paid for the false dossier which was the basis for all the charges. There’s also proof that she kept unsecure servers in her home and emailed classified documents out.

Why aren’t you screaming and hollering about no charges having been filed against her? Oh right, because you only get your information from the lame stream media, who have been the voice of no information and disinformation for the Democrats for years. To be clear, it is

Telling the Real Story on Rising Prices

the Democrats who committed treason when they attempted to unseat a duly-elected President. And to this day, they continue the onslaught against him. And to date, they have found nothing. The January 6 Commission found nothing; the ridiculous raids on his home will find nothing as well. Even the New York attorney who oversaw a lawsuit against him, declined to prosecute because he had no evidence. Just because the Democrats level accusations, doesn’t mean any of them are true, which to date, none of them have been.

I’ve always found it interesting how many people are so quick to accuse President Trump based solely on the information they hear on the news. But accusations against Democrats, even when the truth is presented, are immediately dismissed as fabrication; even if there is no doubt they are true.

Might want to check your own hypocrisy.

My mantra, as a Conservative and American; God, Family, America First. It appears the mantra for democrats is Lies, Subterfuge, America Last. There I fixed it for you.

Lastly, to the letter referencing the Dinesh D’Souza video and the legitimacy of the last election. The video makes a very compelling case; if you’re open minded enough to look at all the evidence and make an informed decision. It’s been my experience that Democrats and liberals are far from open minded on a number of topics. There were incidents of voter fraud, missing ballots, questionable ballot counting reported after the election. Were they just oneoffs, or were they symptoms of a stolen election? Time will tell. My personal opinion is that it’s unlikely 80 million people voted for Mr. Biden.

Sandy Hooper La Grange

Leftwich: Suicide Prevention

Continued from Page D1

place socially than someone who is just coming into their own, living with parents, roommates or alone first the first time. And we also have the devastating negative impact of the isolation of the COVID pandemic which has exacerbated social disconnection even more, and rates of suicide have increased since the beginning of the pandemic.

• Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives.

Children And Suicide

When we look at the children in the United States, the rates of suicide attempts and deaths among children have increased over the past decade.

• Alarmingly, suicide is now the eighth leading cause of death in our precious children age 5–11.

• And we know clearly that suicidal thoughts or actions, even in very young children, are a sign of extreme distress and should not be ignored.

• All of this data is available from the Mental Health America: www.mhanational.org/ conditions/suicide The Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found in a recent study of 134 children who committed suicide ages 5-11:

• The average age was 10.5 years, primarily white boys although girls and other races were definitely in the number of children had died by suicide.

• Suicide deaths occurred in the family home 95.5% and more specifically, in the child’s bedroom 65.6% of the time.

• The most common way children died by suicide was by hanging - 78.4%, although a significant number of children died by using a firearm (18.7%) which was readily available.

To The Editor: No matter what we look like or where we live, most Fayette County residents work hard for our families.

But the same corporations that hold down our wages are bragging to their Wall St. shareholders about raising our local prices.

And every time Democrats tackle price gouging, Trump Republicans try to block it, including the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act that makes healthcare more affordable, lowers energy and prescription drug

That Little Voice

My life is full of patterns not normally registering on my radar.

Additional research showed that:

Mental health concerns were identified in a third (31.4%) of the suicide deaths examined and the most common diagnoses being ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or Depression.

Trauma, including suspected or confirmed cases of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence, was seen in more than a quarter (27.1%) of children; and thosen who were reported to have experienced trauma, almost half (40.6%) had experienced multiple traumatic events.

Family-related problems, such as divorce, custody disputes, parental substance use, or a family history of suicide or mental health concerns, were seen in more than a third (39.8%) of children who had died by suicide

Our schools identify and work with children with a variety of problems and disorders each and every day. Too often the schools are expected to solve these problems because an emotionally disturbed student has been expelled, suspended or sent to an alternative school. However, it is clear that the problems that are seen in the children while at school, except for rare cases, are within the child’s psychological makeup (which include mental health disorders) or from problems in the home.

Important to note is that in this study on children who had committed suicide, that a history of suicidal thoughts was present for almost a quarter (24.3%) of children who died by suicide. While a small number of children made a suicidal statement on the day of their death (11%); Most children who died by suicide had made a suicidal statement in the past (79.6%).

The reality is that society and parents must pay attention to children who are struggling;

prices, and ensures corporations pay what they owe in taxes.

These Trump Republicans want to take away our freedoms, from our freedom to provide for our families to our freedom to vote to our freedom to decide whether we have kids.

We deserve bona fide elected leaders who side with working people over corporate donors. That’s how we protect our Fayette County freedoms, our families, and our futures.

Kirk Pate Flatonia

The Business of Anger and Division

To The Editor:

The Fayette County Record on Sept. 16 ran a real nice, free ad for Dinesh D’Souza, a millionaire who was convicted of campaign finance fraud in 2014 on charges brought by the Public Corruption Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office after a successful investigation by the FBI. The “ad” was a letter to the editor written by Frank Cernosek of Ammannsville, who encouraged everyone to buy and view D’Souza’s newest video and promised that it would probably anger us to see it.

D’Souza’s business model is to anger us and to divide us on issues such as election integrity, race, and how miserably corrupt everyone is who doesn’t think like us. He must be pretty good at it, as he has a big repertoire of books, videos, gimme caps, and

even coffee cups in his online store.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but most folks know that when someone is trying to make you angry, desperate, disgusted, or fearful – right or left – they want you to stop thinking rationally then and there. And then, having bought the Big Idea, to buy a book, blog, or video to go with it. At least with D’Souza, when he tells you about fraud in the election system, it’s coming from someone who knows firsthand -- a convicted perpetrator of election fraud. Now, to complete the story, D’Souza was pardoned by Trump for his crime, signaling that election fraud is OK when it benefits him and his friends.

Robert Cullick Fayetteville

More State Capital Highlights

Continued from Page D1

Disaster Assistance Approved

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved Abbott’s request for disaster assistance for seven North Texas counties affected by flooding last month. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in the Dallas area in late August, causing widespread damage to businesses and homes.

Counties included in the disaster declaration are Dallas, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall, and Tarrant. Applicants can download applications and get further information at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov.

‘Moderate’ season predicted Biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

these children have many anxieties and overwhelming negative feelings without the developmental capabilities of doing anything about the way they feel. They need help. They must have help by the adults in their lives and they need professional mental health treatment.

But not all people who are considering suicide appear outwardly upset or depressed. Infact, not all suicides are attributable to Depression, which is indeed a risk factor. But only about half of people who take their lives had Depression.

Individuals who are self-reliant and consider this attribute as their greatest strength, will do all they can to take care of themselves. Because they feel that they must rely on this inner core of strength, they can have real difficulty asking for help. They have a private sense of pride about their independence and will do everything they can to protect this.

Many of these individuals have a vulnerable self-esteem, which can be hidden behind their presentation of strength and being in control. Their selffeelings of vulnerability require ongoing protection and promotion leaving them at a higher risk for suicide.

And everyone has a breaking point.

To be continued next Friday

What time I eat breakfast, how I brush my teeth, where I leave my shoes, how I hang my shirts up, are all habits I have adopted due to convenience or laziness.

That Little Voice

are predicting a moderate season for deer hunters, with archery season kicking off on Oct. 1.

“Overall, 2022 year is expected to be good in terms of harvest numbers and opportunities, so don’t let the chance to spend time afield with family, friends and fellow hunters pass you by,” said Alan Cain with TPWD.

The statewide drought, while now largely in remission, has adversely affected natural forage for deer in late summer, especially in the central, south, and western parts of the state, according to Cain. Wildfires caused significant habitat loss, but those areas are quickly rejuvenating, especially with the recent rains.

For instance, when I return home I take my shoes off in the living room, leaving them next to the chair where I spend my sitting time. My house slippers also reside in this improvised ‘shoe closet’ beside said chair.

By MARGO JOHNSON

I come in, sit down, take my walking shoes off, replacing them with my house shoes. When I get ready to leave I reverse the procedure. This ritual saves me from having to walk to my closet to put away or retrieve my shoes, making the process simple and efficient. My shoe example merely shows you either my resourcefulness or my slothfulness, depending on who is taking notice. Since my Mother is no longer around to voice her displeasure at my lack of tidiness, I am not filled with guilt when a visitor stops by and gazes on my less than clean sneakers haphazardly tossed in plain sight.

At 80, who am I attempting to please? Everyone I hang out with is about my age and have given up the need to take extra steps just to fool people into thinking they are immaculate house keepers.

Besides, they often don’t remember why they dropped by, so they probably won’t recall my cluttered living room.

Back to what I started out to write about: patterns. I find I become terribly confused if someone or something causes me to change my routine. If my purse isn’t where I always put it when I come home because I set it on the kitchen cabinet as I hurried to get a piece of chocolate as a ‘quicker picker upper’ after walking my dogs, then I may spend vital minutes, or possibly hours, retracing my steps.

Of course, retracing steps may not work so well, since I have dismissed from memory my dash to the decadent candy jar. I check the bathroom counter, the closet shelves, the bed, the dining table, the patio chairs, the dogs’ bowls, the office closet, the living room sofa, where I sit to catch my breath, and then, once more, make a circle around the house hoping something will spark a memory.

It’s only when I head back to the kitchen for a fifth or sixth piece of candy do I notice my bag discreetly gracing the space between the toaster and the sink.

All this is to say, patterns are important to my wellbeing. They save me steps, time, and stress. But when I do break a pattern, with all its trauma, I am provided fodder for my next column.

Texas History: Crime Wave

Continued from Page D1

roundup.

Wolters shocked and embarrassed even his most steadfast supporters with a Feb. 15 raid on a Main Street domino parlor. Defending the bizarre action that resulted in the arrest of 72 players, the general stated, “Loitering in domino parlors within the military district of Mexia will be deemed prima facie evidence that the persons are vagrants.”

Three days later, the governor told a standing-room-only crowd at the Mexia opera house, “I make no apology for sending Rangers to this region or for declaring martial law.”

Neff did, however, promise to withdraw the National Guard as soon as concerned citizens took steps to preserve law and order.

Delegates from every corner of Limestone County met the next week at the Groesbeck courthouse. The assembly

passed the required resolutions in favor of vigorous law enforcement and submitted a formal request for the prompt return to civilian government.

Gov. Neff waited until the Freestone grand jury indicted the alleged moonshiners jailed in the controversial dragnet. Satisfied the residents of the two counties were ready to rule themselves again, he declared the end of martial law effective Mar. 1, 1922.

Life got back to normal in Mexia, law and order prevailed after the six-week occupation. The inhabitants have spent the last 101 years trying to live down their town’s once deserved reputation as the “sin city” of the Lone Star State.

“Unforgettable Texans” brings to life the once famous people no one remembers today. Order your copy for $24.00 (tax and shipping included) by mailing a check to Bartee Haile, P.O. Box 130011, Spring, TX 77393.

10th Annual OktoBierFest Set for Oct. 22 in Round Top

The 10th Annual OktoBierFest at the Round Top Rifle Hall will be Saturday, Oct. 22 beginning at noon. Hosted by the Round Top Schützen Verein, this event kicks-off with official keg tapping taking place at noon. Join for an afternoon full of quality German biers, delicious kassler, wurst and kraut, and a free concert under the pavillion.

Chamber Meeting

The next Chamber of Commerce meeting will be Thursday, Oct. 6 from 4-6 p.m. at Glamp Inn. Bring your business cards and get to know fellow business owners and members of the community.

Hamburger Social

The Round Top Rifle Hall

Monday Night Hamburger Social is the first through third Monday of each month. The Hall opens at 5:30 p.m., and the order window is open from 6-8 p.m. All proceeds benefit the continued improvement of the RTRA. For more information about the Rifle Hall or to book it for upcoming events, visit roundtoprifle.com

Other Local Events Darrel Appelt is playing at at Busted Oak Cellars on Round Top Road, Sept. 24 from 4-7 p.m. Mitch Marcoulier will be performing Sept. 24 from 2-5 p.m. Bingo night is Sept. 30 from 6-8 p.m.

The last Wednesday of each month, Blue Mule Winery hosts Red’s Terrific Trivia from 6:308:30 p.m. Come out to win prizes, trophies and make new

ROUND TOP News

By KYLA GOEBEL Round Top News Correspondent

friends. Teams welcome. Stone Cellar

The Stone Cellar is currently closed for renovations, but the new owners expect to reopen before the Fall Antique Show.

Lunch Bunch

Lunch Bunch will meet Monday, Sept. 26 at noon at Hilltop Hideaway in Fayetteville. Please bring something to share or your own lunch to enjoy. If you can carpool with someone please do as the parking is limited.

Festival Hill

Enjoy a special concert, “Octoberfest - Piano Under the Stars” Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Clayton House Porch featuring James Dick. Gates open at 5:45 p.m., concert begins at 6:30 p.m. The evening will consist of porch seating, fancy hor’ d’leuvres and wine.

Nutcracker Ballet

Tickets for Festival Hill’s annual Nutcracker Ballet are for sale on the website. This year’s performance will be held Saturday, Dec. 10 from 4-6 p.m. This year’s production celebrates

the 14th annual performance danced by Ovation Ballet Company. Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for students. For additional information, visit festivalhill.org.

Round Top Family Library

Round Top Family Library is open Monday-Friday from 1:305:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Adult Yoga meets Mondays at 5 p.m.

After School Kids Junior Master Gardner (JMG) meets Wednesdays, from 3:30-5:15 p.m. beginning in October. This class is for fourth through sixth grades. To sign up call the library.

Also starting back up in October is the Chess Club for ages 7 and up. This class meets on Wednesdays from 4-5:15 p.m. and is a free class with David McCall, scholastic chess coach. Registration for this class is required.

Saturday, Oct. 8, the RTFL presents a Charcuterie Board Class with Cristyn Pharis from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Registration required; class size is limited to 15 people. All class supplies will be provided for free thanks to a generous grant from The Wayne Duddlesten Foundation. For more information about any of the programs offered by the library, call (979) 249-2700, or visit ilovetoread.org. Remember, these classes are free.

Round Top-Carmine ISD

RTC students have a 12:30 p.m. release Friday, Sept. 23. The next school holiday is Monday, Oct. 10.

RTC Fall Festival will be Saturday, Oct. 29 from 5-8 p.m. at the RTC Elementary school. Enjoy a kids costume parade, high school entertainment and a carnival. Fajita plates are $15 and hot dogs are $3. There will also be a raffle and silent auction, with proceeds benefiting students and staff. This event is sponsored by the RTC parent’s club. Check out the Carmine News section of the Tuesday editions of this newspaper for sports updates.

Historical Society

The RTAHS museum has free admission every second Saturday of the month from 1-4 p.m. Take the opportunity to view three historical homes and a historical church. Private tours are welcome. For more information call (979) 249-5058 or visit roundtopareahistoricalsociety. weebly.com.

Church News

St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Warrenton holds a monthly service at 8 a.m. for the intentions left on the altar. The next monthly mass will be held Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 8 a.m. View the bulletin online at stjohnfayetteville.com for more information.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Shelby holds Worship service at 8 a.m., followed by fellowship, coffee, and Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. Game Day is held the first and third Wednesday of each month from 2-4 p.m. Bring a snack, board game, dominoes, etc. Quilting meets the third Wednesday of each month at 9

a.m. Noisy Offering is the third Sunday of each month.

St. Cecilia’s Round Top Episcopal Church holds services with Father Bill Miller Sundays at 10:45 a.m. in the historic Haw Creek Chapel in Henkel Square. Music will be performed by Oboist Grace Tice and Organist Andrew Bowen. Grace has played with numerous symphony orchestras and toured internationally; Andrew is the former Choirmaster/Organist at Trinity Church in Houston and has played and conducted at churches around the country. For more information please visit the website at www. StCecilias.org

Round Top Christian Fellowship Church holds service at 10 a.m. For more information, please visit their website at www.roundtopchurch.org.

The City of Refuge Church on 237 in Round Top holds bible study on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. followed by church service at 11 a.m. For more information visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/cityofrefugeHC.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Shelby holds Worship service at 8 a.m., followed by fellowship, coffee, and Sunday School at 9:45 a.m.. Game Day is held the first and third Wednesday of each month from 2-4 p.m. Bring a snack, board game, dominoes, etc. Quilting meets the third Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. Noisy Offering is the third Sunday of each month.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

holds services with Pastor John David Nedbalek Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Sunday School is the first Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Ruth Circle is the first Thursday of each month at 9:30 a.m. Sewing Circle is the second Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m.

BLC will be a drop off spot for Operation Christmas Child. Items such as a stuffed animal, ball, or clothing, along with hygiene items and school supplies are great items to include in your shoebox. Please do not include perishable items such as food, toothpaste, scary or war-related items, or breakable items. The boxes will be sent-off at the end of October. Visit samaritanspurse.org/occ for more suggestions of what to include in your shoebox.

Save the date for BLC’s annual Chicken Fry. Oct. 9 at the Round Top Rifle Hall. Dine-in or to-go at 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. A Country and Western Gospel Polka service will be held under the pavilion the same morning beginning at 10 a.m.

Birthdays

Happy birthday wishes go out to Lois Wunderlich - Sept. 23; Ashley Nelius, Ashley Marburger - 24; Connie Burch - 26; Margie Stardig, Tami Bone, Jane Press - 27; Eric Schobel, Pam Langford - 29.

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to Paul and Kim Cmajdalka on Sept. 26. Have News?

Send any news or notices you wish to have announced to Kyla@roundtoprealestate.com.

Noak

William “Bill” G. Noak, 90, of Round Top, passed away on Aug. 23, 2022, at Dell Seton Hospital in Austin.

The fifth of six children, William was born in Round Top on Feb. 22, 1932, the son of the late Willie Noak and Irene (Giese) Noak. Bill was raised in a hard-working farming family, raised by loving parents that served their community, country and church. Their greatest legacy was the values by which they lived and passed to their children. Bill was baptized at Bethlehem Lutheran Church and also confirmed there in March 27, 1947 in Round Top.

Bill’s love for baseball, especially the New York Yankees, began as early as he could remember. His loyal devotion as a Yankee fan was evident to everyone he met. In his adult years, he was rarely ever seen without the famous navy blue baseball cap with the embroidered NY logo letters up front and center! It became Bill’s trademark!

Bill’s childhood dream was to see Yankee Stadium and watch a home Yankees game in person.

After he started working at Shell Oil Company, he booked a flight to New York City and his lifelong dream came true! Bill told this story to many, with such pride!

Bill was a good student and graduated from Round TopCarmine High School. He had dreams of continuing his education, and he made that dream come true also.

William’s first trip to college was on the back of a flatbed milk truck! He received a bachelor’s degree from Texas Lutheran College in 1954. His major was Biology and he was a pitcher for the TLU Bulldogs baseball team. Bill was voted King of The Court, (equivalent of Homecoming King) and remained good friends with many of his college classmates up until his passing. Bill cherished his college years and experiences, including the summers when he earned money to pay for college. Bill and another Round Top buddy with a car, decided to drive up to the North West to work on farms harvesting crops or on cattle farms. Summer of 1951, he was in Lewiston, Idaho at a cattle auction standing by

OBITUARIES

the help wanted area and Walter Faerber asked Bill if he knew how to drive a truck in harvest? He replied, “Yes” and his 71year relationship with this family began! He would haul 200 bushels of crop on each load and according to Wally Dahmen and his Grandpa, Walter Faerber said, “He was the best truck driver we ever had. In all these years, we have never had better.” Bill bucked hay bales and chased cattle with us in Orofino, Idaho, for Walter’s son, Dan Dahmen, and on their farm in Uniontown, Washington where they raised cattle, grew wheat, barley and dry peas. Wally was 9 years old when he met Bill and remembers the two Texas songs he taught him. All of Wally’s kids and grandkids sing those songs often, in honor of Bill, known as “The man from Texas”! Dan Dahmen always said, “Bill was the hardest working man he had ever worked alongside.” And Dan’s wife was a Yankee fan and Bill would play baseball with her kids out in the pasture, even though Wally loved the Dodgers, so they had many conversations about which team was better. Wally said Bill was loved by his whole family. Wally wishes he could have attended his Celebration of Life Memorial but “has a short time to plant the seeds in the ground but Bill would forgive him, as he was as much a farmer as he is.”

Wally Dahmen, and Bill continued their friendship and communication via emails andphone calls, from 1954 until Bill’s passing. Bill’s wishes were for his daughter Cookie and Wally to also keep in touch, even after his passing, which they have done. Cookie is planning a trip to visit her daughter Carly in Seattle soon and also hopes to finally meet Wally Dahmen, while in the North West.

After Bill graduated from college, he was drafted into the United States Army in October of 1954. Bill trained as a medic at Brooks Army Medical Center but after taking a language test he was assigned a linguist MOS, where he was sent and served with 513th Military Unit at Camp King in Oberursel, Germany, not far from Frankfurt, Germany. He ended up working for a message center, where he delivered all sorts of classified and top-secret documents to and from Allied Headquarters in Frankfurt or Heidelberg and back once a day. He played baseball on “temporary duty” all over Germany. He visited Garmisch-Partenkirchen several times, and Amsterdam, Paris and London. At Christmas time, he often shares memories of the German local families who would invite GI’s into their homes for Christmas, which warmed his heart, being so far from home. Bill was honorably discharged with a rank of Spe-

cialist 4 in October of 1956.

Bill started his Shell career at the Deer Park Plant working in the lab in 1957. He became a Product Supply Manager at One Shell Plaza downtown Houston and retired after 42.5 years of service. His last position was in Shell Chemicals, as the Aromatics Supply Manager, which he assumed in 1985. After traveling up and down the Gulf Coast for many years in his Ag sales role, he was ready to conduct business in a permanent location, an office in One Shell Plaza, rather than his company car. Shell was a major player in the Aromatics world. For those less familiar with chemicals, Aromatics’ products are benzene, toluene and xylene and they are generally supplied by barge to large industrial customers. Bill’s job was to make sure on-spec product was shipped safely and arrived on time at its destination. Shell’s large position in Aromatics allowed Bill to wheel and deal as needed to accomplish the task at hand. Clearing the production from Shell’s plants was a huge undertaking every day and required an in-depth knowledge of product specifications, shipping, marine equipment, and customer requirements. And, in true Bill Noak fashion, he did it well; always fair, ethical, and calm no matter the situation!

Bill took his job seriously; he came to the office every day with a smile on his face, but ready to work. It was well known that Bill would likely be sitting in his office by 6 a.m., ready to answer the phone and still be there after 5 p.m. He was well-liked by his peers at Shell and the other companies he dealt with. He was so genuine in his dealings with others, people knew they could trust him to help in dire situations, racking up a huge bucket of favors due. In return, when Shell had a problem, those folks he helped always came through.

Bill decided to retire in 1999, after 14 years in Aromatics and 43 years at Shell. His service to Shell and Aromatics, in particular, was recognized and celebrated at a huge retirement party in July, 1999. Bill Noak will long be remembered for his contributions.

Bill was set up on a blind date by a church couple and later married Deane Woodie Fischer, June 23 of 1962, a widow with two children, Steven, four, and Cookie, 18-months-old. Bill later blessed and adopted Steven and Cookie.

After retirement, Bill was active in the Round Top Community. In 2006, Bill donated the Noak family home to the Round Top Area Historical Society, to be used as additional museum space at the pavilion at the Wood Annex and a supplement to the historical center museum. He really enjoyed his friendly

Car Seats Save Lives But Nearly Half Are Misused

TxDOT Urges Parents to Get Car Seats Checked

Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death among children in the nation, so the Texas Department of Transportation is reminding parents that one of the most important things they can do to protect children is to properly install and use a car seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that 46% of all child car seats are misused.

TxDOT’s “Save Me With a Seat” campaign kicks off in September to coincide with National Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 18-Sept. 24, 2022.

The campaign invites parents to schedule a free car seat safety check by visiting SaveMeWithASeat.org and entering their ZIP code to find the nearest TxDOT Traffic Safety Specialist in their area. TxDOT offers free car seat safety checks year-round.

When child car seats are used correctly, they can help reduce injuries and prevent fatalities when children are involved in a crash,” said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. “We urge parents to schedule a

car seat check today to ensure they are safely and correctly using the right car seat for their child.”

During September, the “Save Me With a Seat” campaign will be seen on Texas roadways as it rolls out an interactive truck with digital screens to travel across the state. The digital truck will make stops in 11 cities, appearing at community events and other high-traffic locations. While stationary, the digital truck will share “Save Me With a Seat” campaign messaging and video content to educate parents and caregivers on car seat safety. This public outreach is supported by TV and radio ads, billboards, digital media and social media.

With the “Save Me With a Seat” campaign, drivers are reminded that Texas law requires all children under 8 — unless they are taller than 4 feet, 9 inches — to be in a car seat whenever they ride in a passenger vehicle. Failure to properly restrain a child can result in a ticket of up to $250. Children under age

neighbors and talking about the history of his family, the culture and areas surrounding of Round Top. At 90 years old, Bill was still living in his home alone and was in good health. He spent his time meeting friends daily at the Texas Star Café in New Ulm, tracking and watching NY Yankees baseball games, enjoyed gardening with flowers, working on puzzles, and being the unofficial “weather man” to so many people in the area. Until his last day of life, he was an avid emailer to his longtime friends and associates with interesting articles and humorous content and all who knew him would agree, he was an excellent communicator!

He was preceded in death by his parents, Willie and Irene (Giese) Noak; son, Steven D. Noak; brother, Milton Noak; brother, Kermit Noak; sister-inlaw, Delores Noak; sister, Lydia Hoel; brothers-in-law: Martin Hoel and Nelson Kieke; and nieces: Danae Noak and Lisa Kieke.

He is survived by his daughter, Cookie Renae Noak of Dayton; brother, Wilbert Noak of Round Top; sister, Evelyn Noak Kieke of Wallis; granddaughters: Carly Hood of Seattle, Wash., and Chelsey Hood and husband, Anthony Guevara of Houston; stepson, Cayden Guevara and great-granddaughter, Allyson Sidney. Also, 11 nieces and four nephews.

A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held Oct. 1, 2022 at The Round Top Rifle Association Hall, 710 FM 1457, Round Top, TX 78954 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 5 p.m. BBQ dinner served, memories from family and guests, memorabilia table, photo slide show, and live band and dancing. One of Bill’s favorite hobbies was dancing. He adored music and passed his love of music and dancing to his children.

To attend Memorial Celebration, PLEASE RSVP BY: Monday, Sept. 26. RSVP/call/ leave a message at (832) 9985689 or email: CookieReno@ outlook.com.

In remembrance of William G. Noak’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to either: TLU (Texas Lutheran University) Willie & Irene Giese Noak Scholarship Memorial Contribution, c/o Development Office, 1000 West Court St., Seguin, TX 78155 or Round Top Area Historical Society in Memory of William G. Noak, PO Box 151, Round Top, TX 78954, Contact info: 979-249-5058, website: www. RTAHS.com, A 501(c)3 organization.

Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at www.lagrangefunerals.com.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home and Cremations in La Grange.

Senior Connections Has New Program

By CINDY VILLARREAL Executive Director

13 should ride in the back seat, properly secured in a seat belt or safety seat.

In 2021, 78 children younger than 8 years old died in traffic crashes in Texas, and 22 of those were unrestrained at the time of the crash. Among children ages 8–12 in 2021, 36 died in traffic crashes, with 13 of them unrestrained at the time of the crash. According to NHTSA, child car seats in passenger vehicles can reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers.

“Save Me With a Seat” is a key component of #EndTheStreakTX, a broader social media and word-of-mouth effort that encourages drivers to make safer choices while behind the wheel, like wearing a seat belt, driving the speed limit, never texting and driving and never driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Nov. 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roadways. #EndTheStreakTX asks all Texans to commit to driving safely to help end the streak of daily deaths.

A special walker with a seat, and a knee scooter have been donated to Senior Connections to help create a new program called “The Shop.” These items will be the starting point for the creation of the new program at Senior Connections. This program will house these pieces of equipment for others in the community that may have use of them, but won’t have to buy them. They can check out a piece of equipment and then return it when they no longer have need of them, so that others can use them if there is a need. The price of a knee scooter can range from $100 to $300.

Jennifer Moring, manager of the Fayette Savings Bank in Weimar, was instrumental in getting some of this equipment donated as opposed to an individual having to make an actual purchase of them. These types of generous actions are what makes our area a great place to live and raise our families. One person may have a need and only by asking others can this need be met.