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.
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, Glen Donham, and Jeffrey Watson.
Twice in the last year the number below has actually gone down and I am happy to lower it from 1883 to 1882.
1895 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 94 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
Tex Wright sent me this on the this past weekends' Coleman County Historical Commission
WW2 Commemorative Activities:
We had a very good display of WW2 stuff at Heritage Hall on Saturday and a nice parade and program on Friday. Lots of old WW2 people were in the parade.
After the parade the ceremony was very impressive. Wish we could have had more of he county there, but it was very impressive anyway.
"Old timers" in Friday's WWII Veterans Parade
I saw an article (you have to pay to see it now though) on the Brownwood Bulletin's web page about the old Camp Bowie army barracks mural that was on the wall of what used to be the Wagon Wheel Restaurant and most recently Mata's Restaurant. The mural was taken down before Mata's was opened up and became the property of Paul and Gay Martin when they purchased it, moved it West of town, and is now a hunting lodge I think. The mural was stored and then loaned to the Historical Commission for display.
I did not get to go to the parade or ceremonies but Josh, Jennifer, and the boys went and Josh took these pictures. Josh's brother, Michael Rambo, works at the Coleman Airport with Randy Long and Bill Laws restoring aircraft. I think the airplane in the photo belongs to Mr. Laws and Michael helped do the restoration and is actually in the plane during the parade.
Lady Mountaineers Volleyball
You might think that I would be bragging on the Junior Varsity and Varsity wins over Grape Creek Tuesday night, or the Varsity's victory over DeLeon. Well normally I would except for the fact that I had a little bit of a hard time at work Wednesday when the Goldthwaite Eagle came out. The Mullin Lady Bulldogs were mentioned as beating the Lady Mountaineers in the recent tournament at Abilene Christian.
I am sure that this is a big feather for the Lady Bulldogs and one of those games that the Lady Mountaineers would just assume forget.. me too by the way... except that Cindy and I actually didn't stay for that game. We had gone for the two early games against Breckenridge and Albany which the Lady Mountaineers lost, but we opted out of the third game with the Lady Bulldogs because of the ease at which we had beaten them already this season. So if you want some details you will have to take a look at Coach Libby's article from last week about the games.
But I will tell you a little more about this group of Lady Mountaineers, particularly the Seniors Girls. They have been through a lot over the last six years or so. They are a great bunch of athletes and have the best sportsmanship of any team that I have ever seen. They have lost a lot of games and hardly ever get down. They have realized that it is part of getting where you are going and I think that this may very well be the year that they get there. Some of the other good things about them is that they get along with each other and have a lot of fun playing together.. win or lose. They never gloat about a victory or make excuses for losing.
Keep it up girls, play your game, have fun, win some, and lose some but most important of all cherish each one because there won't be a lot more for most of you, especially with each other.
Oh, see the Sports Page for the photos!
Lady Mountaineers Volleyball - Part II
Well today.. Friday, I am bragging about the Santa Anna Lady Mountaineer Volleyball team. I will leave most of the details for Coach Libby but let me tell you that these ladies went to Deleon Thursday afternoon for the Deleon Tournament to once again face the Albany Lady Lions and they were ready to play. These ladies are all business with as much fun they can have and still be serious about the game.
They might have been looking for some payback after their first round loss to the Lady Lions at the Abilene Christian Tournament. If they were payback is what they got. They came out of the chute and never let the Lady Lions get in the game except briefly in the second match.
These ladies athleticism and gameplay spirit makes them a pleasure to watch when they play. If you haven't seen them yet and have time they will be playing in round two on Saturday morning at 9AM in Deleon. Cindy and I were the only fans at the first game so come on over to Deleon and watch some great volleyball, cheer on the Lady Mountaineers as they take on a very tough Brock team.. and they even have air conditioning in their gym in Deleon!
Jessica hammers one
Jesse on a stuff
Bianca on a setup
Raelee on a pass
Tasha sends one down the net
Jelisa whacks one
Just a little rambling
Cindy likes it when I ramble and I am usually in a strange mood when I do. There have been a few times in the past year when what I write has made her cry. When I talk about her grandparents, and Jessica and the other Senior girls especially.
I must confess that I have even brought tears to my eyes a few times myself.. I think it has something to do with getting old.
The Katrina Hurricane and September 11th are two national tradgedies that have made me take a serious look at my own life which is at least half over now just about any way you or I look at it.
I watch CNN almost every day for a little while just to see what is going on around the world. This past week a lot more but the strange thing is how Cindy has taken to watching it too.. even when she has the remote!
You simply can't watch what is going on without feeling something whether it anger or sadness.
I heard several different stories from KTAB, KOXE, and others about one of my neighbors, Ross Bradley, who works for Guardian EMS. He is apparently in New Orleans helping with the rescue efforts. Please pray for Ross, his family, and the hurricane victims.
Labor Day Trash
I was once again shocked as I drove to Lohn Tuesday at the amount of garbage that was left at the roadside parks South of Santa Anna on Hwy 283. The same thing happened around Christmas only not to this degree.
I hate to "jump the gun" and blame the hunters but the amount of deer corn sacks leads me to believe that most of the trash is probably from them. I guess they don't have trash pickup in the big city anymore.
The roadside park on the other side of the river was not hit quite as bad but there were several large bags of trash there also. As I returned from work the same way Tuesday evening it appeared that the Highway Department or whoever takes care of the parks had removed everything except the mattress. I am not sure who will pick that up.. maybe a hunter looking for a place to sleep..
Labor Day Trash - Part II
I heard that several business owners around town had similar problems with trash in their business dumpsters over the holiday weekend. Not only does it make it difficult to do business for the whole week since trash pickup day is Friday, it just happens to be against the law to illegally dump.
Some have suggested having a dumpster just for hunters.. but who is going to pay for it.. the City, which is taxpayers? My vote is definitely NO!
Does anybody have a better idea?
Sure hunters and the hunting industry have brought a lot of money into Coleman County. Maybe the businesses that are profiting from the hunters the most should have extra dumpsters placed at their business during these times. Maybe the landowners should be responsible for the hunter's trash disposal.
I think the best idea is for whoever is responsible for the trash to take care of it themselves and I don't mean dump it at the first rest area or dumpster you find.
When was the last time you saw a "Don't mess with Texas!" commercial? Have you ever heard of anyone paying a fine for illegal dumping? I bet it wasn't in the news media..
I wonder who would write a ticket or have jurisdiction for illegal dumping.. local police, deputies, highway patrol, or game wardens?
Just a little something to get you going today maybe..
Lady Mountaineers Control Bangs
Submitted by Coach Bob Libby
On Tuesday the Lady Mountaineers hosted class 2A neighbor Bangs. This year Bangs has already played the majority of our district and this game was viewed by the girls as a chance to see where they were at this point of the season. In game one both teams came out fired up and ready to play. The Lady Mountaineers were able to gain momentum early in the contest with some outstanding team play of Raelee Watson and Bianca Dean to defeat Bangs 25-14. This year Raelee Watson has accepted the role as libero and did an excellent job of not only receiving Bangs serves but also making good passes to our setters. Bianca’s hustle all over the court all night long energized Santa Anna enabling the girls to counter Bangs heavy hitters.
Game two was the deciding event of the match. Bangs countered Santa Anna’s serves and hits with some outstanding plays of their own. Tasha Zarate was in excellent position on almost every Bangs hit and made some excellent passes that set up big points for Santa Anna. At one time Bangs owned a 23-21 lead and it looked as if they were going to win the game. Santa Anna countered with some timely serves and along with some outstanding sets and hits that enabled the Lady SAM’s to tie and eventually beat Bangs in a heart stopping thriller 27-25. The defining moment came when Mayra Dean made several excellent sets to Jesse Hensley who in turn made some unstoppable kills.
Santa Anna relaxed in game three a little too much and Bangs was able to win this game 25-7. Santa Anna came back with a vengeance in game four and won this game 25-16 and the match. Jessica Pelton and Jelisa Kirven made some outstanding deceptive hits that got Santa Anna rolling. Jessica Morino and Kendra Coleman came off the bench to help control the net defensively. Krystal DeLeon came in to give the setters a spell and made some very nice sets to help seal the victory. The Lady Mountaineers are now 9-2 for the season and will play Class 2A teams Grape Creek and De Leon on Tuesday with the junior varsity game starting at 4:00. Santa Anna varsity will play Grape Creek followed by Grape Creek and De Leon. Santa Anna will play De Leon in the final match. The junior varsity will play Grape Creek only since De Leon does not have a junior varsity team.
Hurricane Katrina - Update
I received the following from Stephanie Dane Late Friday:
We received excellent news today! Kelvin called and he and ALL 9 other family members are alive and well. They received minimal damage comparatively. No one was injured. Kelvin was actually in Missouri at a graduation when the hurricane hit. The other family members went to an aunt's house there is Mississippi and they had generators and have been fine.
Thanks so much for all your prayers and support. We have had a long hard week that was made easier by the support of our community.
On another good note, Jason will be coming home from Baghdad tomorrow, Saturday September 3 for good. He has been there for 8 months and felt it was time to come home. HE cannot wait to see all his family and friends here in the big SA! Another thank you for all everyone has done to support the kids and I while he was gone. I know it made it easier for him to be there knowing I was here surrounded by loved ones.
Labor Day Weekend
Cindy and I worked on trying to finish painting the house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We just about made it except for some touch up on the house that we will hopefully finish on the Monday holiday and day off from "work". We still lack the shed, garage, doghouse, tree house though! Not too bad unless you consider that I think we started on the July 4th weekend!
Man on man... September... time sure flies when you are having as much fun as we are. As I was scraping and then painting I was thinking how lucky I was to have a home to paint unlike some of those less fortunate in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area right now.
The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting a little cooler, and hunting season has arrived.
Speaking of hunting season, I hope that all of you dove hunters got your limit. As I looked up through trees to the sky I saw at least a couple for hundred fly in Sunday evening so I am pretty sure that you did not!
I heard several shots during the day coming from Guthrieland South of Santa Anna. The dove are so big and there are so many roosting in our trees that Jessica says they are Terradactyls because of the mess they leave on the cars every morning!
If you look around our yard you would think that I got my limit by all of the feathers laying around but I am afraid that I haven't even bought a license. The last year I bought a license was probably five years ago. I went all out thinking I would get to go hunting and fishing that year and bought a "Super Combo". Well needless to say I don't think I fired a shot or wet aline that year. I will next year though maybe and who knows I might even get to take my Grandson on his first hunt...
Labor Day Update
Well we finally got finished painting the house!
No we didn't get to the dog house, tree house, garage, or shed... and no we don't hire out either... well on second thought I might make you a deal for my painter! She makes a pretty big mess.. most of it on herself, and she requires lots of attention..
Mountaineer Football
The Mountaineers traveled to May last Friday night to take on the May Tigers. Former Santa Anna Coach Steele's Tigers won in what I heard was an exciting and rare overtime for six man. The victory came after an apparent Mountaineer touchdown that was ruled a fumble in the endzone. I am not sure of all the details but it sounds like the Mountaineers are coming around.
Saint Willow Baptist Church Fundraisers
Saint Willow Baptist Church in Santa Anna, Tx located on the Brady Highway is trying to raise money to fix electrical wiring, new doors, and install New air conditioner units. There has been fundraisers set up for a few weeks now every Saturday to help raise the money.
Our goal is approximately $5000 and should help take care of everything needed to be done to the church. Last Saturday there was a snow cone/refreshments stand and the church also sold chili dogs and frito pie and raised about $200. This Saturday there will be a barbecue where they will be selling plate lunches for $5.00 a plate. Including barbecue, potato salad, and beans.
We would appreciate all the help we can get in trying to raise this money for our church. There is an account at the Santa Anna National Bank for St.Willow Baptist Church. Any donations of any kind would be gladly accepted. If you have any questions or concerns you can call Judy Jackson @ (325)-348-9129 or email at shantebj@hotmail.com, Roeanna Barton @ (325)-348-3223 or Gail Kirven @ (325)-348-3247
Want your own dot com?
This is a great time to get it whether you just want it for an e-mail address of your own, like james@yourlastname.com, or for putting some family pictures on the web, or getting your business on the web
1 and 1 is by far your best bet!
Any questions just send me an e-mail and I will be happy to help you get started, or just click the 1 and 1 ad on the left, or any of the links in this article.
