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Remembering a few area folks..

I learned Thursday of a few area folks that had passed away and I felt led to mention them.

Although some aren't really Santa Anna folks they are certainly not strangers to Santa Anna.

As I was on the way to work Thursday morning I heard that Raymond "Red" Cupps, 84, of Santa Anna had passed away. Red was the grandfather of Joey Cupps who used to work for Cindy and I at the Exxon Station and now works for Coleman County Telephone Coop. I saw Joey Thursday night in Coleman while taking pictures of the Santa Anna Little Dribblers before their game and visited with him about his PawPaw. Red was one of those "John Deere" men that I speak of on occasion... one of those men that rode an old tractor until their bodies were worn out... with no cab or air conditioning and probably not even a padded seat cushion or umbrella.

After taking pictures, I stopped by the Shoppin' Baskit on the way home and ran into one of my old friends, James Allen from Mozelle. We used to work together at Coleman County Broadcasting and he had been at Steven's Funeral Home in Coleman. His grandmother, Mae Allen, 93, of Leaday had passed away earlier this week. Mrs. Allen had lived with her husband Ralph for 72 years before he passed away a couple of years ago. They were good country folks as well as they ranched all their lives in South Coleman County. The Allen's son and James's dad, Jerry, is the Coleman County Telephone Coop's Board President. The Allen's daughter, Joan Jones, was a long time Santa Anna school teacher and my Junior High teacher. Jerry's son Donny and his wife Kim now live in Santa Anna. Mrs. Jones' daughter Julie was in my class and her other daughter, Jeanene went to school here also and I think was in my little sister Alys's class.

I also read in Tuesday's Coleman paper that LaNell Brusenhan, 81, of Rockwood had passed away last Thursday. Mrs. Brusenhan was a customer of ours when we were in the service station business. I did not know her family all that well but I did recognize her son Jody's name in the obituary. He was between me and my older sister, Danna, in school.

My thoughts and prayers are with these that have lost loved ones.

Gone but not forgotten...

Fire Destroys Santa Anna Home

There was a house fire that completely destroyed the home of Pedro San Juan at 700 Ave A early Thursday morning.

Texas Cooperative Extension to Offer Food Manager Certification Training Course

Submitted by Debbie Hailey - Coleman County Extension Agent Family & Consumer Sciences

Statistics indicate that foodborne illness continues to be a health issue in the United States. Each year, 1 in 4 Americans will become sick, 1 in 1,000 will become hospitalized, and 5,000 will die due to a foodborne illness. During the past legislative session, a statute was amended that allowed the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to require each food establishment to have one certified food manager.

Recently, the Texas Board of Health adopted rules to implement this statute. Many of you have already received a letter from the Texas Department of State Health Services regarding this. Under these new rules, each food establishment permitted by the Texas Department of State Health Services must have one certified food manager. New food manager certificates will be valid for 5 years.

Texas Cooperative Extension, Taylor County, is offering a Food Manager Certification Training Course. This program will be offered for $79 on February 27-28, at the Taylor County Extension Office. Cost includes: training, materials, and the State food manager certification examination. This program is designed to not only prepare foodservice managers to pass the certification examination; it will provide valuable education regarding the safe handling of food. Almost 50 cents of every dollar Americans spend on food is spent on meals prepared away from home. Therefore, careful attention to food safety will help keep customers safe and satisfied.

Foodborne illnesses are estimated to cost thousands of dollars in lost wages, insurance, and medical bills. With these statistics, knowledge of how to prevent foodborne illness is essential. The benefits of improved food safety include:
* Increased customer satisfaction
* Improved relationships with health officials
* Prevention of bad publicity and law suits due to foodborne illness

By attending the course, foodservice managers will learn about:
* identifying potentially hazardous foods and common errors in food handling
* preventing contamination and cross-contamination of food
* teaching and encouraging personal hygiene for employees
* complying with government regulations
* maintaining clean utensils, equipment and surroundings
* controlling pests

Foodborne illnesses can be prevented by following simple food safety practices. For more information about the Food Manager Certification Training course of Texas Cooperative Extension, called "Food Safety: It's Our Business," call Debbie Hailey at 325-625-4519, or Judy Gully in Taylor County, at 325-672-6048. Brochures are also available at the Extension Office.

Debbie Hailey will plan to conduct a food manager certification training course in Coleman County in March of this year. If you are interested in attending this training, please contact Debbie now, so she can make plans for the 2-day training series.

Several Mountaineers Make All-Big Country Team

Several Mountaineers were named to the Abilene Reporter-News Six-Man All-Big Country Team last week.

Senior Patrick Kerr was named to the First Team Offense as a Tight End with 52 catches for 803 yards and 19 touchdowns and to the First Team Defense as a Defensive back with 152 tackles and seven interceptions.

Tuesday Night Mountaineer Basketball

The Santa Anna Lady Mountaineers defeated the Panther Creek Lady Panthers in Tuesday night basketball action. The game was neck and neck much of the first half but the Lady Mountaineers pulled away to win 53-42.

The boy's team didn't fair so well and lost a very exciting game to the Panthers 53-56. The Mountaineers spotted the Panthers several points early in the game, caught up and got behind several more times, only to have the ball at the last of the game for the win but the Mountaineers just couldn't get the ball to fall.

Finally - Rain!

We finally got a little wet stuff Sunday as it drizzled and rained Saturday night and most of Sunday. My rain gauge is still laying on the ground waiting for next year's tomato planting so I don't know how much rainfall we had but I expect it is less than an inch. I am taking part of the credit for the rain though, as I washed my car Thursday night and got the rest of the roof off of my old garage late Saturday. Just send your check or money order care of James' Garage Roof Fund at the Santa Anna National Bank!

Mountaineer Basketball

The Santa Anna Lady Mountaineers defeated the Novice Lady Hornets by a score of 79-31 in Friday night basketball action in Novice while the Mountaineers handed the Hornets a 67-41 loss. The Mountaineers were lead by Junior Chris Morris with 18 points in a game that was pretty close for the first half. The Mountaineers outlasted the Hornets who played with only five players.

See some of the game photos below and albums on the Sports Page. There aren't a whole lot of them this week and most of the ones that I took weren't very good... I just had one of those days when I was about a second too slow... but I got some nice shots of the ball going in the basket!

Money Management Program

Submitted by Debbie Hailey - Coleman County Extension Agent Family & Consumer Sciences

Does your money run out before the end of the month? Do the bills roll in faster than the paychecks? Would you like some suggestions on how to balance your income and your expenses?

Come to the Better Living for Texans monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 25, at the High Rise Community Room at 1:00 p.m. Debbie Hailey, County Extension Agent-FCS, will present a Money Management Program that will be useful for all.

Topics will include Stretching Your Family's Budget, Setting a Budget, Stretching Your Food Budget, The Value of Paying Creditors, and The Importance of Saving Money.

Join us for a 1-hour session of tips that are useful to all for managing individual or family resources.

If you have any questions, call Debbie Hailey, County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, at 625-4519.

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