Please remember these Santa Anna folks that are serving our country in military combat, training, or support: Maricela (Marty) Siller, Clay Stewardson, Eddie Dawson, Ike Garza, James Watson, Austin Voss, Randy Casey, Mike Montgomery II, Mark Rutherford, Allen Tucker, James Culpepper, and Shane Watson.
The Front Page
The Risk is Real - Serving our Country
Remembering those that have served and those that are serving our country.
You know sometimes it doesn't hit you until it is personal.
1594 American soldiers or sailors have died in Operation Enduring Freedom as reported by the Department of Defense and the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. Pray for our country, its' leaders, and our soldiers and sailors.Please remember the many serving as volunteers for various groups and those that may be working for the media or one of the many Department of Defense contractors that have employees in support roles in Iraq including Santa Anna's Jason Dane. These folks are serving an important part in the rebuilding of Iraq and the danger is just as great if not more for them as it is for soldiers.
The Iraq Coalition Casualty Count has also tracked the deaths of 83 American contractors working in Iraq so the risk is real.
Many service men and women return home safely. Operation Tribute to Freedom Homecoming Photographs.
Howdy from Charlotte NC
View outside the window of the Westin Hotel 19th floor:
My first trip to North Carolina is nearly over as we fly out Friday afternoon. Internet access has been available but hard to find time to make for SantaAnnaNews.com.
It is mostly a business trip but Wednesday we found a little time to go to Dale Earnhardt's Museum and Gift Shop.
Inside the front door of the Museum
It is located adjacent to his, now Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s, corporate offices and actual shops where they build cars, motors, etc.
We followed one of the car trailers back to Charlotte..
I have been a Nascar fan since before Nascar was real big. We started keeping up with it when David Robinett was on the Circle Bar Truck Corral's Indy and then Nascar race teams. One of my best friends, Bobby Morgan, was a big Nascar fan when we worked together at the Exxon station. I remember when Nascar was really first taking off and Exxon was a sponsor of a movie about Nascar racing called Days of Thunder which starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The movie was pretty good and Tom and Nicole later married.
We also drove by Hendrick Motorsports complex and the Lowes Motor Speedway which is having tests for the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 in a couple of weeks. One local man told us for $100, you could go to the track tomorrow and ride in a few laps around the track.
Welcome to Lowes Motor Speedway
We are staying at the Westin which is a pretty fancy place in downtown Charlotte.
It is pretty close to the Panthers stadium.
There is a PGA golf tournament here in town and there are a bunch of professional golfers staying here. One of the sponsors of the meeting we are at took several of us to a pretty fancy place to eat here in Charlotte called Providence Cafe.
Both are pretty nice places but make me want to get back home to Santa Anna just a little faster!
North Carolina has some beautiful countryside and lots of really nice trees.
That is about all I have time for now. I hope you have a good Friday!
4-H Shooting Sports Youth Place at Brownwood
NEWS RELEASE April 28, 2005
By: Lance Rasch, CEA-Agriculture / Coleman County
Ten members of the Coleman County 4-H Shooting Sports Team recently competed at the 2005 Texas 4-H Shooting Sports Extravaganza held Saturday, April 23 in Brown County. The youth competed in disciplines of pistol, rifle, and shotgun. The results are as follows:
Brent Ogden 1st place Sub-Jr. Air Pistol - High Point Overall
Dustin Crawford 2nd place Jr. .22 Rifle Silhouette
Courtney Brown 1st place Sub-Jr. B Class Air Pistol Silhouette
Cassie Philpot 3rd place Sub-Jr. B Class Air Pistol Silhouette
Gary Heath 1st place Jr. A Class Shotgun
James Short 3rd place Sub-Jr. A Class Shotgun
Jansen Merrill 4th place Sub-Jr. A Class Shotgun
Kelby McCorkle 4th place Sub-Jr. A Class Shotgun (tie) and 5th place Sub-Jr. A Class Air Pistol
Also competing and shooting well were: Devin Densman, and Drey Richards.
Brent Ogden, by placing High Point Overall for the competition, won an air pistol for his efforts.
Shooting Sports coaches in Coleman County are: Steve Hinds and David Hinds - pistol; Hank Wise - shotgun; Ben Taylor, Mike Crawford, and Chris Stineman - rifle; and Jerry Simmons - archery.
Back (l-r) Kelby McCorkle, Duston Crawford, Gary Heath, Drey Richards Front (l-r) Jansen Merrill, Brent Ogden, Brody Tibbetts, Courtney Brown
Cassie Philpot's photo was taken separately as she could not be present at the time the group photo was taken.
The focus of all 4-H programs is the development of youth as individuals and as responsible and productive citizens. The 4-H Shooting Sports Program stands out as an example. Youth learn marksmanship, the safe and responsible use of firearms, the principles of hunting and archery, and much more. The activities of the program and the support of caring adult leaders provide young people with opportunities to develop life skills, self-worth, and conservation ethics. All youth interested in the 4-H Shooting Sports Program in Coleman County should contact one of the coaches or call the Extension Office at 325-625-4519.
Walking to Denver - Part II
Last week I told you about Jeff Robinson, the man I passed on the way to work that was backpacking with his Boxer dog on the side of the road and I noticed a web site on a banner across the top of his backpack that said WalkingtoDenver.com. A friend of mine from Abilene, Kent Barnett, that works at Abilene Christian University for the Members of the Churches of Christ for Scouting called me up that evening and said that he met a man, Jeff Robinson, in Tulsa last year at a Christian gathering. He also said that Jeff and his Boxer dog, Walker, are traveling through Santa Anna and I might be able to get a good human interest story from him. When I told him that I had seen him a couple of times he was surprised. He also said that he was staying in Santa Anna with the Postmaster.
I meant to try and call the postmaster, Gary Absher, and see if Jeff was there but I had some other things going on and before I knew what time it was it was too late to be calling around.
But I did go by his web site and found out this:
In most ways, I'm a fairly ordinary guy. I am fifty years old, married for nearly 28 years, father of two delightful children, and recently a proud new grandfather.
"Why?" is almost always the first response when people hear about walking to denver. It’s a logical question, really. Why would a middle aged man and his dog walk from Galveston, Texas (sea level) to the summit of Mt. Elbert (14,433 ft.), the highest point in Colorado, and then on to Denver - a journey of 1,336 miles? There is a reason - a cause, actually. The purpose is to spread the word about the problem of homelessness among teenagers in America, and the effort of a cutting-edge ministry - Dry Bones Denver (www.DryBonesDenver.org) - whose members are dedicated to serving the needs, and reclaiming the lives, of homeless and runaway teenagers living on the streets of downtown Denver.
Jeff Robinson and Walker
I was quite surprised to get the following e-mail from Jeff:
James,
Thanks for running the story on me. I appreciate every opportunity for the story to get out. I wish we could have met when I was in Santa Anna. It was a crazy day. There was a very imminent threat of tornados at my home near Dallas. I spent almost four hours on my cell phone that afternoon returning phone calls, then another hour or so returning email. In between, I ate dinner, took a short nap, a shower, and got to know my hosts, the Abshers. Next morning, I was on the road about 5:30 AM headed to Silver Valley.
I'm very impressed with your website. What a great service to your community since your newspaper shut down. My hat is off to you. Kent Barnett and 3 scouts from his troop walked more than 10 miles with me last Saturday between Abilene and Merkel.
I hope you'll continue to follow our journey as your schedule allows. God is doing awesome things through walking to Denver and all I have to do is show up.
God bless you.
Jeff Robinson
Thanks Jeff and good luck on your journey. My thoughts and prayers will be with you.
Wedding Anniversary
May 1st 1982. It was a beautiful Spring day 23 years ago just like this past Sunday.
I said I do and Cindy did too. It was at our church.. First Baptist Santa Anna. And it was our preacher, Brother John Stanislaw, that joined us together forever before friends and family, with Donnie Neff playing the organ for us.
I would do it all aver again with maybe a few minor changes along the way here and there.
May 1st 2005. We enjoyed a nice weekend together with our kids and ended it Sunday evening with just Cindy and I. We usually go to Red Lobster in Abilene for our Anniversary but since we went last weekend and ate lunch there before going to the One Act Plays we thought we would throw some crab legs in my turkey fryer and some shrimp legs on the grill.
The rest of the news will be a little light until tommorrow and I will catch up. The rest of the week is still a little up in the air as far as news because I will be going to North Carolina for four days of work related business and I am not sure if I will have time or Internet Access that will allow me to work on the news.
I looked high and low for a good picture but I am sure they are packed away in a closet somewhere. I ran across this wedding date announcement newspaper clipping with a photo taken by Ralph Terry.
Mothers Day Special
Sent to SantaAnnaNews.com by Laurie Powers:
We are having a Mothers Day Special for friends, family, and friends of friends and family...
This coupon code can be used to get 10% off anything ordered through our online store (doesn't apply to our items on consignment in other stores). Good through May 2005.
Feel free to pass this on to anyone who has a mom and is looking for a unique and special gift!
Must order by 5pm on May 2 to ensure delivery by mothers day.
Instructions for use:
1. go to hphdesigns.com
2. shop
3. add items to cart as usual and proceed to
checkout
4. at check out enter this voucher code (at> bottom):
106050007 and click recalculate.
10% discount will be applied.
Thanks and Happy Shopping!
Laurie and Jenn
TIP: For a truly unique gift, check out the one of a kind items!!
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