FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Texas’ Largest and Best Semi-Weekly Newspaper
La Grange, Texas 78945
Volume 100, Number 8
One Dollar per Copy
INSIDE
Images of just some of the army of volunteers (including lots of kids from La Grange 4-H) who were hard at work at Monday’s distribution of Thanksgiving Gobble Kits and hamburger/hot dog suppers at the Feed the Need event on Mode Lane in La Grange. Photos by Jeff Wick
Feeding the Need – Especially at Thanksgiving Local Volunteers Help Distribute Thanksgiving Dinner Kits (including the frozen turkeys!) to 150 families Monday
Title Town!
Fayetteville salutes their championship Lady Lions. Section B
Some 150 local families will be able to cook complete Thanksgiving dinners this holiday thanks to the efforts of local volunteers that helped the
Feed the Need organization collect and distribute the “Gobble Kits” Monday in a parking lot on Mode Lane near White Rock Park.
The Feed the Need group has been providing free hamburger and hot dog suppers at the location for months, and during that time they’d been inviting folks
Hermann Sons Life
Hermann Sons Life Rutersville will meet Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. to decorate the hall for Christmas. The meeting will follow at 7 p.m. Members are asked to bring sandwiches, cold cuts, snacks or dessert for the meal.
LG Blood Drive
The La Grange Community Blood Drive will be held Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the La Grange KC Hall located at 190 S. Brown Street. To sign up for a time slot between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., go to WeAreBlood.org or call Craig Wellborn at (512) 206 -1316 or L.J. Calley at (361) 771-6288. There’s more For the Record on Page A2
WEATHER WATCH This Week’s Forecast High Friday: 59 Partly cloudy Saturday: 59 50% chance of rain Sunday: 69 Partly cloudy Monday: 69 Partly cloudy
Low 42 47 45 47
Burn Ban Is Lifted
INSIDE TODAY Sports................ Page B1-4, C6 Weekend...................... Page C1 Classifieds................Page C2-3 Opinion........................ Page D1 Crossword................... Page D2 Obituaries.................Page D3-4
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said Jonah Beyer, one of the founders of the Feed the Need organization. “It’s amazing to be able to do this.” – Jeff Wick
Ellinger Gets 1st Sales Tax Money as a City, LG Passes $2 Million Mark for the Year
German Society
The Fayette County Chapter of the Texas German Society will resume meeting for their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. at the Randolph Rec. Center. There will be an exciting program agenda to discuss and a light refreshment will be served. Visitors are always welcome.
to return for this special Thanksgiving event. “A lot of these families couldn’t otherwise afford a Thanksgiving meal like this,”
By LARRY JACKSON
The Fayette County Record
This pipeline replacement work is ongoing in Swiss Alp.
Photo by Andy Behlen
Pipeline Replacement Rips Through Fayette County
By ANDY BEHLEN
The Fayette County Record
Folks driving on US 77 and FM 609 have probably noticed the pipeline work running through the County. Fayette County Inspector Clint Sternadel said the workers are replacing the old Bluebonnet Pipeline, a six-inch natural gas line that runs from Buda
to Hallettsville. Sternadel said the section being replaced in Fayette County runs from just west of the Colorado River in La Grange through the Hostyn area and south to Schulenburg. The pipeline company acquired several permits from Fayette County to cross under county roads. Sternadel said all of the work is taking place within the
existing pipeline easement. He said the original pipeline was installed in the 1940s or 1950s. He said all of the new work would be done according to current law and regulations, especially those regarding depths below creek beds. In addition, Sternadel said the work would not involve any new permanent surface equipment.
British Carol Tradition Coming to LG By DON KIRBY
Special to the Record
Driving to Texas each Christmas for many years to visit my wife’s parents Charles and Barbara Rogers (a teacher in Flatonia, 1970-77) our family often heard the BBC Radio presentation of “Nine Lessons and Carols” broadcast live from King’s College, Cambridge. The beautifully sung carols, old and new, were a delight. Listening to the Lessons, we were surprised to hear them read by commoners and royalty alike. We looked forward to this event every year. Elva and Georg Ulbrich introduced a similar service of Advent Lessons and Carols to St. James Episcopal Church when they came to the church in 2006. The service has been a St. James’ tradition ever since. This year, singers from several churches are combining forces to present this traditional service to the whole community. You will be able to hear lessons and carols in person Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. at St. James, the old church across the highway from H.E.B. Mary Ann Hatfield will play organ and piano. Alas, we have no royalty to read the lessons. The word “carol” derives from French carole or Latin carula which both mean “circle dance.” Many of these tunes were secular and were usually sung by wassailers going from home to home. Anglican Bishop Edward W. Benson, serving Truro Ca-
State Comptroller Glenn Hegar has a new sales tax recipient to pay each month. Ellinger has its first allocation of city sales tax revenue. Nine dollars and 84 cents, to be exact. But the payment for November is a start, and now Fayette County has seven towns getting the revenue. At the other end of the scale, La Grange has passed the $2 million mark in sales tax revenue so far this year. With a month yet to go, 2021 is on pace to be its best year ever. Counties also can levy the optional local tax, and Fayette County has passed the $2 million mark, too. So far in 2021, Fayette County has received $2,128,483 in sales tax, up 9.6% from the same time last year. Of the nine area counties that have the tax, five are running ahead of last year while four are behind. Only Bastrop and Washington, the two largest counties, have had more percentage growth than Fayette. All seven towns in the county are up for the year, four of them by double digits. Round Top continues to have the fastest growing economy, as
reflected by sales tax payments. It’s up just over 50% from this time last year, the biggest gain of any town in the region. But Carmine, just north of Round Top, is up by 26.8%. That’s the second highest percentage gain in the region. And Fayetteville is up 22.2%, tied with Bastrop for the third highest percentage gain. Schulenburg has received $868,168 this year, up 3.6% from this time last year, and Flatonia $367,360, up 9.5%. Ellinger voted to have a sales tax back when it was first incorporated, but it has taken this long to go into effect. The new town set a tax rate of 1% on taxable sales made within its city limits. The other six towns have a tax rate of 1.5%. The Record tracks 25 towns in the region. Of them, only four are down for the year. Nine have had greater increases than La Grange’s, while 15 have had smaller gains. La Grange received $202,798 for November, which is 20.6% more than last November’s payment. For the year, that brings La Grange to $2,059,323. Payments received in November reflect sales made in September and reported to the state in October.
Local Sales Tax Revenues
First Eleven Months of Year (Jan.-Nov.) Fayette County Cities
Don Kirby, Choir director at St. James.
thedral in the late 19th century, introduced the use of carols into the church with a service designed to lure revelers. Bishop Benson’s “Nine Lessons and Carols” uses scripture and song to tell the story of the redemption, from the Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve to the Birth of Christ. The first performance was given at Truro Cathedral at 10 pm Christmas Eve, 1880. It has become a long-standing tradition to present a wide selection of carols from around the world, along with ancient carols and often a newly composed work. Songs by choirs and soloists are alternated with singing by all present. Palestrina’s Matin Responsory is the traditional beginning of the service, and his Vesper Responsory closes the program. This year’s program includes one of the earliest carols: “The
Lord at First Did Adam Make,” which recounts the Creation and Fall of humanity. This carol was probably composed in the Renaissance. We will sing a new arrangement that captures the spirit the tune. “Springs in the Desert,” by renowned organist/composer Arthur B. Jennings, comes from Isaiah 35: “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose… even with joy and singing.” Familiar hymns and carols are interspersed for everyone to enjoy singing, such as “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Let There Be Peace on Earth, and What Child is This.” You don’t need to travel to England to hear this music, or listen to a radio. It will be live on Dec. 5, 3 p.m. at St. James. Don Kirby is choir director at St. James Episcopal Church in La Grange.
Tax Rate 2021 2020 La Grange 1.50% 2,059,323 1,834,209 Schulenburg 1.50% 868,168 837,639 Flatonia 1.50% 367,360 335,486 Round Top 1.50% 288,530 191,948 Carmine 1.50% 116,564 91,926 Fayetteville 1.50% 111,501 91,218 Ellinger 1.00% 9 0
2019 1,995,204 751,365 311,200 217,472 87,926 102,230 0
2018 1,841,793 727,365 311,200 204,721 81,217 87,298 0
Pct. Change 2020 to ’21 Up 12.2% Up 3.6% Up 9.5% Up 50.3% Up 26.8% Up 22.2% no comp.
Other Area Cities Bastrop 1.50% Brenham 1.50% Lockhart 1.50% Elgin 1.50% Sealy 1.50% Gonzales 1.50% Hempstead 2.00% Giddings 1.50% Columbus 1.50% Caldwell 1.50% Yoakum 2.00% Luling 1.50% Hallettsville 2.00% Bellville 1.50% Weimar 1.50% Smithville 1.50% Shiner 1.00% Eagle Lake 1.00%
9,147,956 7,294,016 2,972,591 2,809,274 2,680,448 2,323,854 1,888,617 1,885,173 1,606,803 1,581,720 1,490,095 1,484,898 1,276,919 851,352 748,410 704,238 368,869 346,640
7,485,867 6,390,518 2,768,895 2,521,248 2,460,277 2,430,785 1,709,449 1,916,259 1,625,918 1,613,404 1,455,567 1,272,845 1,202,659 748,057 700,041 602,826 345,100 308,274
6,922,782 6,393,480 2,438,870 1,973,420 2,490,961 2,507,498 1,794,675 1,929,400 1,534,899 1,720,631 1,483,275 1,258,661 1,175,806 744,116 683,270 527,498 400,477 288,633
6,622,472 5,951,428 2,292,771 2,019,448 2,334,345 2,477,286 1,552,698 1,780,666 1,392,133 1,569,822 1,395,864 1,211,893 1,054,753 678,109 722,957 519,669 338,905 273,102
Up 22.2% Up 14.1% Up 7.3% Up 11.4% Up 8.9% Down 4.4% Up 10.4% Down 1.6% Down 1.1% Down 1.9% Up 2.3% Up 16.6% Up 6.1% Up 13.8% Up 6.9% Up 16.8% Up 6.8% Up 12.4%
County Governments Bastrop 0.50% 5,944,294 Washington 0.50% 3,274,099 Caldwell 0.50% 2,419,904 Fayette 0.50% 2,128,483 Austin 0.50% 1,912,767 Gonzales 0.50% 1,695,470 Colorado 0.50% 1,572,983 Lee 0.50% 1,286,428 Burleson 0.50% 1,062,860
4,921,590 2,806,515 2,223,308 1,940,749 1,762,881 1,943,467 2,007,467 2,408,179 1,349,224
4,297,446 2,938,094 1,864,886 1,961,184 1,948,455 2,137,703 1,499,999 1,699,306 1,327,830
4,109,255 2,736,518 1,686,871 1,849,202 1,745,841 1,848,280 1,325,457 1,202,567 1,363,216
Up 20.7% Up 16.6% Up 8.8% Up 9.6% Up 8.5% Down 12.7% Down 21.6% Down 46.5% Down 21.2%
Source: State Comptroller’s Office