Members of the La Grange High School marching band percussion section were practicing outside the school Monday afternoon, with masks on and plenty distancing between performers. Photo by Jeff Wick.

The number of active cases of coronavirus in Fayette County took a big drop over the past week. According to numbers provided by the Fayette County Office of Emergency Management, there were 90 active cases and 17 probable cases last Thursday, July 30.

Movie Nights The Round Top Lions Club’s Free Friday Outdoor Movies on Henkel Square continues this week with The Princess Bride. This week, Round Top Real Estate will be providing snacks for all movie-goers.

Burleson County Tribune The Caldwell City Council discussed taking action toward the completion of the city hall building at its July 21 meeting. The council spoke with Jerry Hill of Lufkin, the city’s project architect, about the lack of progress made with the building.

La Grange Police Chief David Gilbreath reports the following incidents his department responded to from July 25- Aug. 2.

Warda History Over the last two weeks, we’ve shared lots of history and stories on the old Warda Store and the Wardaburger. This week, we go from the past to the present.

La Grange Police recovered a stolen vehicle on Sunday, Aug. 2.

Thank you Katie Hamborsky of West Point for the kind words about this column that you wrote in last Friday’s opinion page. Indeed, the heat of the summer has taken a toll on my garden. I get the feeling my family is tired of eating okra and eggplant at this point.

I compiled the chart below with recommended planting dates for this area from Texas A&M University and the Farmers Almanac online planting date tool, which is calculated according to the historical first frost date by zip code (in this case La Grange) minus number of days it usually takes to grow the crop.

If your ground is dry and hard, give it a good watering two or three days in a row before you begin the work. Once you have worked some moisture in the soil, pull all weeds in the bed. If this is a brand-new bed, you probably need to till the soil to a depth of eight to ten inches. The easiest way is to use a rototiller. Rent one or borrow one from a friend. DO NOT BUY ONE. The last thing anyone needs is a small engine that you might use once a year. You’ll spend more time fixing it and getting it to run than you will tilling. Believe me, I know.