Fayette County Commissioners Court received an application from Candela Renewables for a property tax abatement at a meeting held Thursday, May 28.

A $24,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative will help restore a historic fraternal lodge and dance hall that has welcomed residents of Fayette County for more than a century. The grant, paired with matching funds of $46,000, will pay for restorations to the wooden flooring and shutters at SPJST Lodge No. 1, which was built in 1910. SPJST comes from the Czech phrase Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas, which in English means the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas. SPJST was founded in 1897, when members in a nationwide fraternal organization decided to create a Texas-only fraternal benefit society. SPJST Lodge No. 1 was established as the first of 25 charter lodges in the state, and the 4,000-square-foot building in Fayetteville is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Texas historic landmark. In addition to lodge meetings, the building is frequently the site of community gatherings such as weddings, reunions, graduation parties, quinceañeraa and antique swap meets.

The Blinn College District has enrolled a record 1,463 students for the May Minimester, a 15.2% increase over the previous year.

The Garden Club of La Grange enjoyed an al fresco lunch on Thursday, May 28 as their final meeting of the season. The Club doesn’t meet in the summer, but will resume in September. They “socially distanced” in the yard at the Faison House for their May meeting. Interested gardeners are invited to join them. Photo by Larry Jackson

June 2, 1970

The City of La Grange will discontinue its utility billing relief program at the end of this month.

The Texas Quilt Museum has announced that it will reopen for visitors beginning Thursday, June 4, at 10 am. The three exhibits for spring—which had just debuted when the Museum had to close in mid-March due to the worldwide pandemic and state’s orders—have been extended until September 20. They include “Texas Grand Masters: Timeless Quilts,” “Fun with Fractals and Other Mathematical Quilts,” and “My Mexico by Quilters de México.”

La Grange Police detained a 16-year-old boy from Colorado County on Tuesday. May 26, after the staff at HEB allegedly caught him vandalizing the men’s restroom.

In Tuesday’s story about the ATV fatality near Flatonia, we reported the wrong date. The accident took place on Friday, May 15. Also, the story incorrectly identified the road as FM 2672. The accident actually took place on FM 2762.

For the past three months, nothing has been normal for the seniors of the Class of 2020.