The Ellinger Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the 85th Annual Tomato Festival, the last weekend in May. The fun gets underway on Friday, May 27, with the following competitions: a Chef’s Choice Entrée, desserts, chips and salsa, and margarita contests.

Mary and Larry Whigham are celebrating longtime friend John Dujka by establishing a Blinn College District endowed scholarship in his honor. The Whighams donated $15,000 to the Blinn College Foundation to establish the John Dujka Excellence Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a music student whose primary focus is the piano.

This past weekend four students represented the Schulenburg Band program at the Lamar University Honor Band in Beaumont. These students got to perform at the Julie Rogers Theater playing college level pieces that they rehearsed in just two days. Schulenburg was one of only 19 schools that made up the honor and the only 2A represented. Congratulations to these students. Pictured from left are Yahaira Guerrero, Karla Rico, Honor Band Conductor Mike Howard, Teagan Faith, and Riley Lehman.

Five students from Faith Lutheran High School of Central Texas, located at Holy Cross Lutheran in Warda competed in the annual Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) music competition this past Friday. These students prepared solos from the UIL Prescribed Music List to be performed before professional judges and received ratings and encouragement to help each improve their techniques. Ben Meyer, senior, received a rating of 1 (Superior) on trumpet; Timothy Meyer, sophomore, received a rating of 1 (Superior) on french horn; Grace Alemann, freshman, received a 1 (Superior) on french horn; Mason Messer, freshman, received a rating of 2 (Excellent) on snare drum; and Kaydee Schroeder, sophomore, received a rating of 2 (Excellent) for her vocal solo. The competition took place at Concordia University Texas in Austin. The students are directed by FLHS music instructor Dan Schaefer.

Numerous arrests were made over the weekend by Fayette County Deputies. On Friday, March 25, at approximately 6:45 pm, Deputy Michael Krenek was working security at the Antique Festival when he observed a subject who he knew to have an active felony warrant out for his arrest out of Fayette County.

Second Chance Emporium recently donated $8,000 to the Gardenia Janssen Animal Shelter. Monies donated will be used to expand, upgrade and reconfigure existing kennels to create a more flexible space for felines which will include an isolation area which is key to managing common illnesses. Pictured from left to right: Gayle Schielack, Second Chance Emporium Store Director and Teresa Stanley Brown, GJAS Executive Director.

Muldoon Museum The Muldoon Museum will be open Saturday, April 2 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The Rotary Club of La Grange went into disaster relief mode directly after the tornados of Monday, March 21, hit various cities in Central Texas. Working to benefit three Central Texas Rotary Clubs in a variety of ways, La Grange Rotarians first raised over $900 for the Rotary Club of Taylor to benefit those directly affected by the tornado that hit their area. Then La Grange Rotarians had a small group this past Saturday travel to Round Rock to work with the Rotary Club of Round Rock and assist with their clean-up efforts. And lastly, the Rotary Club of La Grange is currently collecting supplies for those affected by the tornado in Elgin. Supplies needed include: gift cards, canned goods, pastas, and brand new socks and underwear in all sizes. Items can be dropped off at the Historic Casino Hall located at 254 N. Jefferson Street in La Grange. For questions, please call 979-968-3017.

Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) are completing their final training event before heading to The 39th Annual Best Ranger Competition in Fort Benning, Georgia later this month. “I’m honored and feel privileged to compete for on behalf of the 101st in this great competition,” said Staff Sgt. Marcus Cloud, from 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st ABN DIV (AA). “I’m looking forward to bringing the skills I’ve learned from this training to my unit and help train future Rangers.” The competition kicks off April 8-11. Cloud is the son of Rodney and April Krhovjak of La Grange and a 2016 LHS grad. You can follow the event online at http://www.bestrangercompetition.com/

La Grange funeral director Tommy Taylor got some muchdeserved recognition last week. The St. John Union Grand Lodge of Texas in conjunction with the Deshay Family presented Taylor with a plaque and a donation for his many years of service to the community.