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Fayette County’s Bernice Kollaja recently celebrated her 99th birthday on Aug. 8 surrounded by five generations of family and love.

The descendants of Philipp Etzel gathered for the 77th annual reunion on Sunday, Aug. 9, at the Round Top Rifle Association Hall in Round Top. Doors opened at 10 a.m. and the meal was served at noon. Goebel Catering provided the delicious meal of chicken fried pork steak along with mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and corn. Tea, coffee and water along with desserts finished the meal. Other activities included a memorial service, short business meeting, raffle prizes, Bingo and a pinata. During the short meeting Amazing Grace was sung.

M Muldoon’s Gretchen Andrew will be leading a new Ladies’ Bible Study beginning on Tuesday, Aug, 25 at Flatonia Baptist Church 9:30-10:30 a.m. Gretchen has all the study materials and is happy to answer any questions.

Schulenburg Mayor Connie Koopmann issued a proclamation at the City Council meeting Monday night, Aug. 3, recognizing students from the Schulenburg FFA who qualified for state competition. Four Schulenburg FFA teams reached state during the 2025-26 school year: farm business management, dairy judging, wildlife and forages. Koopmann described the students as role models and wished them continued success. Pictured are (back, from left) City Administrator Tami Walker; Schulenburg ag teacher Kylee Zapalac; FFA students Brayden Stoever, Ian Reeves, Haylee Vacek, Ava Slaton, and Grace Schramek; Schulenburg Mayor Connie Koopman; FFA students Jolene Jarvis, Mikayla Stang, Scott Bass, Gracie Burton, Shalanie Olvera, Cody Lewis, and Hannah Mulhern; FFA Advisor Brad Lux; (front) and Council members Greg Thomas, Frank Wick III, Roger Moellenberndt, Randy Mican and Kathy Kleiber.

Festival Hill is more than a performance venue, it is a carefully created “musical landscape,” where music, architecture, and history unfold across a unique campus in Round Top. Founded in 1971 by James Dick, the Institute has grown into a place filled with stories waiting to be told, and you can be part of bringing them to life.

Last week I wrote about summer gardening depression and how a few hardy shrubs are helping to keep the blues away. That got me thinking about some other heat-loving plants growing around my place. Now, I’m not necessarily suggesting that anyone grow this plant I’m about to write about. It’s quite invasive. If you plant it, give it a space and just know that it’ll probably spread and you’ll never get rid of it. But it is quite beautiful this time of year.

DOPTABLE Please consider stopping by the shelter to meet a couple of senior ds looking for a forever family to spend their senior years with. These sweet souls are often overlooked but really need comfort and companionship.

Second Chance Emporium (SCE) recently donated $20,000 to Navidad Valley Community Connections (NVCC), DBA Senior Connections. Monies granted will fund the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies needed to expand its meal and activity based programming in La Grange at the Randolph Recreation Center. Equipment items to be purchased include an upright freezer, an upright refrigerator, pots and pans, coffee and tea makers, countertop dishwasher and various other supplies. The mission of NVCC is to serve and support high-quality programming for the senior populations of Fayette, Colorado and Lavaca counties. Pictured from left to right: Gayle Schielack, SCE Store Director; Marlene Schnell, SCE Assistant Store Director; Darlene Strahan, SCE Assistant Store Director and Amanda Kridel, NVCC Executive Director.

The AMEN Food Pantry appreciates all in the community who provided food assistance for the month of July. This would include all who provided monetary donations, food drives and the AMEN Gardens. The gardeners have been providing beets, kale, carrots and many other leafy vegetables. As noted with the numbers served have increased for the summer months with school no longer in session.