May 20, 2010

Over 200,000 members have the opportunity to elect two new directors to serve on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. As of May 17, no mail in ballots had been tabulated, but a total of 2,045 votes had been cast online by members who exercised their right to vote in this election. Voter fatigue is inevitable this time of year, but casting votes for PEC directors is pretty painless.

More than two dozen residents from Horseshoe Bay and surrounding areas attended the open house on Friday, May 14 at Quail Point hosted by the Lower Colorado River Authority to discuss the possibility of replacing LCRA’s 36-year-old Ferguson Power Plant. In April, LCRA announced the launch of a year-long study to gather information about the expected costs and long-term benefits of replacing the aging Ferguson unit with a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant that would b ...

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs sent of $385.2 million sales tax allocations to Texas cities on Friday, up 5 percent compared to the allocations in May 2009. Calendar year-to-date, city sales tax allocations remain down 4.4 percent compared to the same period last year. After several months of good fortune including a one time windfall sales tax payment and recovery of “prior period collections,” the City of Horseshoe Bay saw its sales tax allocation drop by 12.5% this month ...

Former UTEP, Texas A&M, and Kentucky head basketball coach Billy Gillespie will speak at a breakfast at Slick Rock Clubhouse in Horseshoe Bay on Wednesday, June 2 at 8 a.m. Gillespie was Coach of the Year in both the Big 12 and Conference USA while taking UTEP and Texas A&M to the NCAA Tournament. Gillespie’s appearance is sponsored by the Horseshoe Bay Sports Group, formed in February to bring featured sports figures to speak at a monthly meeting, usually on the first W ...

At its regular Tuesday meeting, the Horseshoe Bay City Council discussed at length the city’s contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority for the purchase of raw water which the city treats at its treatment facilities and distributes to its residents. Under LCRA policies, the city must contract to purchase a certain amount of water each year.

Residents living in the far northeast corner of Cottonwood Shores were pleased to see the city’s Public Works Department working on drainage problems in preparation for road grading and paving. Southwood, Westwood, Northwood and Eastwood Drives are all scheduled for paving this spring according to George Perry of the Cottonwood Shores Public Works department.

Several Cottonwood Shores senior citizens enjoyed the sounds of big band swing while playing games at the Cottonwood Shores Public Library’s first “Seniors Day Out” on May 12. Librarian Rebecca Sullivan said, “There are few activities just for seniors in our area, so we put together a monthly day just for them.

As the capstone event of the academic year at the United States War College, civilian leaders in communities across America, including Pastor Johnny White of the Church at Horseshoe Bay, have been invited by the U.S. Department of Defense to become acquainted with the future leaders of the U. S.

School’s almost out and the good times will soon begin for kids in Horseshoe Bay. The first of seven week-long summer sports camps will roll out on Monday, May 31 at the Whitewater Tennis Center. Horseshoe Bay Resort Director of Tennis Michelle Stallard and Head Tennis Professional Aland Price have a knack for making tennis fun for kids of all ages.

On Monday, May 24, we will begin registering for the Texas Reading Club. This year the theme is Catch the Reading Express. The library will be decorated with train car sun-catchers painted by the students at Children’s Day in the Park. Be sure to come to the library and see their works of art! When you register for the Reading Express, you may vote for the color you want Ms.

The mortar was barely dry on the attractive stone pillars supporting the newly installed low water crossing gates on Hi Circle North when an allegedly inebriated guest who had attended a wedding reception at Quail Point on Saturday evening crashed into one of the four pillars. Multiple calls to 911 alerted police to a black vehicle speeding and swerving on Red Sail.

Driving into Blanco for lunch last week at the Uptown Restaurant, I was surprised to be instantly transported to the nineteenth century as I drove by a large group of men in Victorian style, knee length frock coats and bowler hats. Horse drawn wagons and cowboys completed the scene. After spotting the large crowd of locals across the street from the Blanco County Courthouse it became clear that this was a movie shoot.

What a remarkable display of wildflowers we have enjoyed this spring in the Texas Hill Country. The bluebonnets, lining roadways and spreading into the neighboring fields, have put on a show unlike any I have ever seen. As my grandmother would have said, “They are splendiferous!” Whenever the field flowers are in bloom, I am reminded of the occasion when Jesus spoke to his disciples of the lilies in the field and how God had clothed them with unbelievable beauty.

Good morning Horseshoe Bay – And a fine day it is! I’ll begin with a bit of a disclaimer this morning. That crack Beacon reporter, Jodi Lehman, who normally edits my monthly epistle for capitalization and punctuation flaws will not be on the job today. Instead, she will be enjoying this fabulous spring day on the links as she drives, chips and putts her way to victory in a golf tourney.

A friend of mine who lives way out in western Texas told me this one. It seems that his little mamma had a really good hearing aid. You know the type; teeny tiny with a little antennae. His mamma loved her scotch in the late evenings and he thought the scotch might have been a catalyst for this event.

Ruth Newman and her partner Carrie Kojak recently opened Nan’s Needleworks in Horseshoe Bay and it has quickly become a gathering place for knitters, spinners and weavers of all types and skill levels. There is even a “stitch and bitch” room where friends come to relax and work on their own special projects.

Another reform bill is now making its way through the Senate – a bill that would reregulate the financial services industry with a few goals in mind: 1)Preventing failures of large banks and financial services firms, or at least insulating taxpayers and the economy in such an emergency 2)Creating a new financial watchdog agency to protect consumers 3)Tightening regulations on derivatives 4)Banning banks from proprietary trading (with the “Volcker Rule& ...

SPECIAL REMINDER: HSB POA 4TH OF JULY PARADES AND FESTIVITIES WILL BE HELD SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2010. Check June Beacons for details. Thursday, May 20 Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber Mixer-5:30 to 7 p.m. at Double Eagle Exotic Ranch, 6141 Hwy.1431 East Marble Falls, six miles east on Hwy. 1431. Sponsored by ABC Home and Commercial and the Plungettes.

Alice Maberry Glover, age 84, passed away on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. Alice Ruth Maberry was born on November 27, 1925 in Pritchett, Texas. After graduation from Gladewater High School, she moved to Dallas where she met the love of her life, John. Alice and John were married on July 12, 1947 and enjoyed 63 wonderful years of marriage together.

The hyphen after Skeeter’s date of birth represents a lifetime of love, joy & happiness. Tears & heartbreak were the shading to highlight the courage that faith in God brought to paint the picture of her life bringing love and understanding to those whose lives she touched. In Meadow, Texas, her classmate in elementary school, James B.