Parents as Teachers was the designated beneficiary for the April cook conducted by the St. James Episcopal Church of La Grange “Holy Smokers” Men’s Club. On hand and holding the $500 check were Jan Whitten and Erica Steinhauser from Parents as Teachers. The “Holy Smokers” hold a drive through fundraiser the second Saturday of each month in the church parking lot at 156 N. Monroe across from the HEB in La Grange, selling smoked chicken and pork sausage. The fundraiser supports a different Fayette County non-profit each month. The monthly sale is from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until sold out. Pre-orders will be taken but no orders will be ready before 10:30.

The best things in life are rescued one way or another and the Paws in Prison program is the perfect fit for that. The Gardenia E. Janssen Animal Shelter (GJAS) is proud to announce its paw-tnership with the Paws in Prison program in the Women’s Correctional Facility in Lockhart.

Several children from the Hostyn and Plum Catholic churches received their first Holy Communion Saturday at Hostyn. Those students were: Kash Alberthal, Levi Bernsen, Cody Cernosek, Leah Gulash, Lara Hermes, Samuel Janacek, Kirtley Kallus, Nolan Surman, Rylan Surman, and Layton Wick. Also shown are their teachers Monica Muras and Brianne Bernsen and Father Bob Knippenberg.

The La Grange City Council voted unanimously last week to defer a natural gas rate increase to CenterPoint Energy customers for 45 days. The City does not have any control over the rate for natural gas set by the utility provider.

The Bastrop Advertiser • A wildfire, which began Saturday and forced some county residents to temporarily relocate, was 95% contained as of last Sunday night. At 10:36 p.m.

The peak of bluebonnet season has probably passed, but what a spectacular season it was. This photo was taken last Monday in a field on East Radhost School Road south of La Grange. Photo by Andy Behlen

In April, communities in Fayette County found American Indians, a British Storyteller and East Indians offering performances and education to the youth of south central Texas. Arts for Rural Texas in conjunction with the Texas Commission on the Arts sponsored several free performances in Fayetteville, Schulenburg and Weimar.

Fayette County Commissioners scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, May 20 over the proposed Purdue Farms tax abatement. Commissioners decided to hold the meeting at 6 p.m. to give people who work until 5 p.m. an opportunity to attend.

Five La Grange High School seniors participated in their Letter of Intent Signing Day with the US Army Wednesday in the school’s gym. The students then made their oath of enlistment.

On Sunday, a motorcyclist going 120 miles per hour and evading officers was apprehended after he lost control of his bike on gravel in Ellinger. Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Louis Gabler clocked the motorcycle’s speed at 117 miles per hour in the Kirtley area of State Highway 71, and the driver of the motorcycle evaded at speeds of 120- plus eastward.