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, Shane Watson, Brandon Beloat, and Glen Donham.
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.
1684 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 88 American contractors working in Iraq so the risk is real.
Many service men and women return home safely. Operation Tribute to Freedom Homecoming Photographs.
We must never forget the sacrifices of men and women serving our country from all generations. Tex Wright recently sent me this information:
The Coleman County Historical Commission has started work on a new project.
Since this year is the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII, we (Texas Historical Commission statewide) have started a project to honor the ones who served.
We (I) have set up a Web Page to keep people posted on what is being done and to ask for their help in remembering those Men and Women.
The Web Page is:Coleman County Historical Comm.
WW2 Commemorative Activities
You might be from Santa Anna if..
Submitted by Brandi McIver
You might be from Santa Anna if you sit on the side of the road eating a $1 Tuesday night DQ burger and watch the big "thing" come through town for entertainment!
Last Tuesday week, this large piece of equipment was diverted down Avenue B as it came through town. Santa Anna Chief of Police Carlos Torres assisted in traffic control. Brandi sent it to us at home last week and I almost forgot about it until I saw Brandi Thursday. Thanks Brandi!
John Casey Sr
It is with great sadness that I tell you of the passing of John Casey Sr. of Coleman. John Sr, the father of Randy Casey of Austin and Johnny Casey also of Coleman, both graduates of SAHS, passed away Monday in San Angelo after being involved in a serious auto accident on the Hwy 84 Bypass in Coleman near the Coldwater Steakhouse. John also has two daughters, Mindy and Christy, and numerous grandchildren although I am not sure of all their names or where they are living now.
Services are set for 2PM Thursday at the First Baptist Church in Coleman with burial to follow at the Coleman Cemetery under the direction of Steven's Funeral Home of Coleman. A complete obituary is available at the Coleman Chronicle & DV website.
Please keep the Casey family in your prayers.
Santa Anna Mountains
A Lot of Work
Cindy and I have been doing a lot of work around the yard the last couple of years, particulary on some of the flowerbeds. We put a couple in the front of the house two years ago, added a third, and this year we added some in the back. I think I may have shown you the ones out front already but we worked pretty hard getting the ones in the back yard ready for Chrystal's recent graduation party.
Anyhow I couldn't think of anything else for the news today so here are some photos of our labor. Cindy really likes the figures of the children playing and she got most of them for our Anniversary and Mother's Day. Our Grandson Dawson likes to try and sit on the little swing with the other little children and it is so funny.
Cindy planted some 160 caladium bulbs in one of the beds with the figures. But she let me plant some of her Uncle Ray's tomato plants in the one by the back fence. I also thought I would throw in some night shots of the new beds.
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New Inspirational Page
I have been getting a lot of inspirational messages lately and not as many jokes, or at least not the kinds of jokes I can put on the Funnies Page. So I have decided to create a new Inspirational Page to share some of those messages with you.
Free Credit Report
Begining June 1st, Texas residents have access to an annual free credit report. I spoke to several that were not aware of this so I thought I would give you some more information about this but rather than duplicate information I will give you this link to the Federal Trade Commission's Facts for Consumer's page about "Your Access to Free Credit Reports".
This became even more important after CitiFinancial lost personal data tapes containing credit information, including Social Security numbers for 3.9 million customers. For more information about the lost data see this Citigroup Press Release.
I am sure that it won't be long before, or maybe there are already are some, scams for the free credit report so beware of them and be an informed consumer.
Summer League Basketball
The Santa Anna Orange and Pink teams played in Zephyr Monday night. The Orange team played the Purple team from Early and beat them with a final score of 33 to 12 I think. We did not stay for the Pink team's game so I missed it.
The Orange team that Jessica is on is coached by Billie Gay Abernathy and the pink team is being coached by Ross Guerrero.
Kesha goes up for two and draws a foul
See the Sports Page for more Summer League game photos.
Pistons to take on the Spurs in the NBA Finals
Well it still isn't really Santa Anna news but I still don't have much else to write about!
The Detroit Pistons pulled away from the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals Monday night to advance to the NBA Finals. We made it home from the girls basketball game just in time to watch the last of the game.
Weekend
It was a pretty nice weekend for the most part. I spent most of Saturday at my Mom's weed-eating while my Step-Dad Tex mowed. With all the recent rains their grass had almost gotten out of hand. I forgot to give you my rain estimate last week but it was about four inches all together including last weekend. We had a threat of bad weather Saturday afternoon but it passed by in a hurry. The kids were going to head out to Hord's Creek Lake for a swim. I was going to ride my motorcycle out to watch them and get in a little ride, but the closer to Coleman I got the more I doubted where I was going. As I headed up the Winters hill it began to rain so I pulled off on Mississippi Street and turned around under a big cottonwood tree so I could stay out of it and still see if the kids drove back by. Then is started getting darker and the rain came down faster. I was still dry when the rain stopped but it started hailing about dime sized hail stones. The hail stopped by the time I put my helmet back on and I headed back towards Santa Anna. It was pretty clear and the road was not even wet after I left Coleman and not a drop of rain in Santa Anna was to be found. The kids came home a little later and said it had was cold and rainy at the lake. So much for a nice swim on a hot Summer Saturday afternoon in Coleman County!
Sunday came around and me and my son-in-law, Jason, took on a little project that I have been putting off for a while. The girls had gone to Abilene shopping and it seemed like a good time to get-r-done. I had told Cindy I would build a planter box and and bench on our back porch. I built the porch late last Summer and added some new steps earlier this year. I had picked up some Lumber at McCoy's last weekend to build it out of. The entire porch and planter box bench project is built out of cull lumber from McCoy's except for a few landscape timbers on the steps and what I will have to get to finish the bench seat later this week.
I will try to get you a finished shot of the project but here is my Grandson Dawson giving it an inspection Sunday night.
SantaAnnaNews.com
I have been in a little personal struggle the last few weeks as to the future of SantaAnnaNews.com. I had told you before school was out that I might slow down a little for the Summer but I have really been wondering if I slowed down whether or not I would even continue at all. With Jessica not going to be mascot next year and not in the band I am not even sure that we will go to football games and I am not sure that I could hold your attention with just volleyball scores and highlights when school starts.
I had hoped for more input from you, as readers, of local news stories. As the Coleman newspaper comes on-line with Colemancdv.com it doesn't appear that they will have a Santa Anna section either. Colemannews.com dropped their Santa Anna section a few years ago from lack of interest. And I feel that I may have to do the same. But I don't want to.
My oldest daughter, Chrystal, said that she has learned more about me from SantaAnnaNews.com than she knew about me when she lived at home with me. At first I thought that I may have shortchanged my kids somehow but I came to realize that my life as a father was not spent talking about me to them but it was spent providing for them and focusing on them or what they were doing. It also makes me aware how much I have put into SantaAnnaNews.com and that I have spent way too much time talking about me and not near enough time talking about Santa Anna and Santa Anna folks!
But that is just as much your fault as it is mine. If you read SantaAnnaNews.com and you don't contribute something of your own then when I choose not to continue this venture you can only blame yourself.
I have been encouraged by your kind words in e-mails and what some of you say in person. Recently I heard from a couple of old friends too which helps alot. But the last e-mail I received was from another faithful reader that really means alot to me and I want to share it with you:
Subject: I LOVE Santaannanews.com
Just thought I would stop to let you know that I love to read the articles on your web site. I check them daily . Keep up the good work. Love your sweet daughter Jennifer
Talk about me a little more often. Ha! Ha!
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