Texas voters approved all 17 constitutional amendments on the ballot last week, the Houston Chronicle reported. Those included measures to raise the homestead exemption and reduce property taxes for businesses, and to provide $1 billion annually for a statewide water fund.

At the largest mass meeting in living memory, the citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio expressed their enthusiastic support for the Texas Revolution on Nov. 17, 1835.

Just as surely as “politics spoils a party,” talking politics spoils a medical office visit. The last few years during the Trump-Biden-Trump era when things have been particularly contentious, I’ve done my best to divert any conversation with patients away from politics. It’s always been interesting how long-time patients that I know well and love just assume that I think exactly like they do. It’s best just to shake my head, smile, and change the subject. I worry that our civil discourse is no longer very civil. Like many of you, regardless of political leanings, it often makes me wonder how our country can survive the growing rift.

To The Editor: I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Community of Fayetteville for the outpouring of love and support shown to my husband, Kevin Dunne, and our entire family during his battle with glioblastoma, a form of terminal brain cancer. From the moment we received his diagnosis we were showered with love, kindness, and support.

Many Texan counties, like Fayette, have a story about an old-time sheriff called out to a rural community to apprehend an outlaw. He rode with his deputies to a house where the suspect had been spotted, and - sure enough - his distinctive horse was tied up out front. The posse sneaked in the back door with guns drawn only to discover that the desperado had gone out the front and, having just mounted, was making his escape. As the lawman raised his rifle to take aim, his deputy hollered, “Shoot low, Sheriff. He’s ridin’ a Shetland.”

To the editor: To Mac’s Daqs and the Brooks team, How have three years passed so quickly? I hate to hear that you are closing and wanted to take a minute to mention just a few of the events you have held that have also held me • Classes (Mosaics, Tamale & Tortilla Making, Mahjong (where I met my two newest dear friends), Candles • Comedy Show • Book Club • Craft Market • Kelsey’s impressive sweats and t’s • Amazing pizza There were many more, but these came to mind right away. It is such a place to meet friends and family for drinks, food, and lots of laughs.

To the editor: It may be absolutely astonishing to consider, but there are some folks who think living in Round Top was better in 2010 than it is in 2025. Nicholas Mercer Round Top .

When my Grandfather, Jon Kana immigrated to America from Czechoslovakia, he came with just the shirt on his back. Over a period of time and much hard work, he acquired about 700 acres of property. Most of it was located along East Radhost School Road. He acquired farms of about 100 to 200 acres, one at a time. The farms were close together but not joining each other. My Dad acquired one of these farms from Jon Kana. When Dad acquired the land, it was all virgin land with no clearings and densely populated with wild weeds, trees and very thick brush. Over time, the land was all cleared for farming.

What if the key to personal happiness and community strength isn’t in what we accumulate but in what we give away? This November, as we gather around Thanksgiving tables, we have an opportunity to recognize a truth that experience, science, and faith traditions have long known. Gratitude and generosity don’t drain us. They enrich us, creating ripples that strengthen the very fabric of our democracy.

To The Editor: County Commissioners say that they are willing to overlook Sales Taxes at the Warrenton Antiques Fair. Why? Because Property Taxes have gone up.