Memories of old Buda High School have been put away for another year. The reunion for grads of Buda High School was held on Saturday with an attendance of 115. Several people walked away with prized items in the silent auction. Winner of the fabulous hand made quilt was Kim (Armbruster) Hodges, daughter of Connie Armbruster, one of the quilt makers.

A big thank you goes out to all the folks that worked so hard to make the reunion such a success, especially to sisters Judy (Thompson) Powell and Karry (Thompson) Matson. Next year’s reunion will be held on Saturday, April 2, 2011. See that your calendar is marked for that date and plan now to make it!

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Congratulations to Liz and Jeff Shelton as they again ran a good race at the 27th annual Chuy’s Hot to Trot 5k in Austin on Saturday. Jeff Shelton, age 41, was 2nd place male with a time of 16:03 and 32-year-old Liz, with a time of 17:25, was the first place female runner.

More congratulations go out to Lucinda (Ramage) Doyle as she was notified last week that she had passed the bar exam.

And more congratulations to our new school board member, Marty Kanetzky.

Mikel and Gaynel Conner recently returned from a cruise through the Panama Canal. The Buda couple was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. There were stops in Jamaica, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the trip ended with three days in Acapulco.

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We may be a little late, but nonetheless cannot let April 20th pass by without wishing a happy birthday to John Potts who turned the mighty big 70.

Birthday wishes go out to Detta Haffelder on May 13; our very own Hays Free Press Editor, Jen Biundo and Raigenne Evans on May 15; Ellie Warmington on May 16; Roger Beverly on May 17; Chuck Lewis and Lamont Ramage on May 18; Linda Rosebrock, May 19.  Also birthday wishes go out to the Kerns brothers. Blake will be 16 years old on May 13 and Luke turns 14 on May 21.

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Remember “Relay for Life” is Friday starting at 7 p.m. at Barton Middle School. Go out and support this great group of people.

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For all you track folks, the UIL Track and Field State Championship is this Friday and Saturday in Austin.

What a first day of spring we had last Saturday! A good day for staying indoors and dreaming about the beautiful sunny days ahead.

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Friday will be the last day on the job for Jake Eason, Director of Buda Parks and Recreation. Eason is taking a job at Cedar Park. Thanks, Jake, for a job well done for us and we wish you and your family the best at your new place.
It’s no April’s Fool – Buda is getting it’s very first Police Chief. Bo Kidd will start his new job as Police Chief on Thurs., April 1. Many of you remember Kidd as having previously served as Chief for the Buda Patrol under the contract with the Hays County Sheriff’s Department.

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Speaking of April’s Fool, that is the theme for the First Thursday “Alive After Five” in downtown Buda. It will be a fun time for being silly along Main Street. There will be special discounts at the local businesses as well as good food and entertainment.

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Birthday wishes go out to Kim Rodriguez on March 25; Marie Gamboa, Dan Slovak, Mark Porterfield and 90-year-old Lucille Owens on March 26; Beth Nelson, Warren Ketteman and Dick Schneider on March 27; Frank Morgan on March 28; 16-year-old Colton Odell, Jerry McCormick and Jerry Raines on March 28; Bozena Barton on March 29; 10-year-old Kayla Duley and Lisa Jordan on March 31.

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Anniversary wishes go out to Horace and Faye Fletcher who were married 56 years ago on March 27.

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Be on your toes next Thurs., April 1 and don’t let April Fool’s Day get the best of you!

If you are reading this early on Thursday, you still have time to come down to the Onion Creek Senior Citizens annual event today. The ever-popular auction starts at 10:45 a.m., followed by lunch at 12:15.

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A group of parents from both Buda and Elm Grove elementary schools are busy getting the PTA organized for the new Carpenter Hill Elementary School that will open this fall. The parents will have a general membership meeting on Tues., March 30 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Elm Grove. All interested parents are invited to attend.

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A private lending company plans to open offices in the old downtown post office building. Texas Property Works, LP, a company that offers student loans, has purchased the site.

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Birthday wishes go out to Scott Bailey on March 11; 5-year-old Lawrence Dean Haberer on March 12; Cindi Hudson on March 13; Mac Freeman and Garry Vacek on March 16.

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It’s that time again, when we spring forward and set our clocks ahead one hour on Sun., March 14. Maybe the weather will also start to feel more like springtime in Texas with some warmer days and nights.

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Wear your green next Wed. in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, even if you are not Irish, you can drink green beer and party like you are.

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Spring break is next week for our schools. Have a safe one.

Buda Bits
by SANDRA GRIZZLE

Downtown Buda is “alive after five” so come on down Thurs., Feb. 4. Every first Thursday of the month, downtown merchants will stay open late to give visitors the chance to stroll through the unique shops and enjoy entertainment and food at the restaurants.

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Congratulation to the entire Thayer family as they welcome a new member into the family. Last Wednesday, Jan. 27, 25-month-old Evans arrived into the arms of his new mother Donna Thayer. Evans was living in an orphanage about 100 miles from Port-au-Prince in Haiti. Donna had been working on the adoption for quite some time. After the earthquake in Haiti, children to be adopted were moved to the airport in Port-au-Prince and through much help from all kinds of people, Evans was finally delivered to the U.S. on a C130 along with ten other children. Donna, who grew up in the Buda area and graduated from Hays High School in 1989, now makes her home in Austin. Evans’ grandparents are Ted and Nancy Thayer of City of Hays.

Sunday, Feb. 7 is a “super day” not only for the big football game, but also it is the 102nd birthday of our friend Dorothy White. Dorothy now resides at Redwood Springs in San Marcos after moving from Buda several years ago. Happy birthday, Dorothy!

Kara Huesser celebrated her 35th birthday last Sat. with husband Denny and many of their friends by having dinner out and boot scooting to country and western music. Kara’s actual birthday is Feb. 3. More birthday wishes go out to Lori Hinkley on Feb. 5; Carol Gordon on Feb. 6; 85 year-old Viola Roach on Feb. 7; and Tammy Gray on Feb. 9.

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Also on Super Sunday, there will be another Buda song sharing circle at Buda Grocery and Grill from 3 until 5 p.m.  Bring your instruments and join in or just sit back and listen.
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So great to report that Ken Conley is now home from the hospital. Conley is getting home health care and therapy and doing well.

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There is still time to make the “footsie” tournament at the Onion Creek Senior Citizens Center on Fri., Feb. 5.  Registration time is 9 a.m. with starting time at 9:30 a.m. The “42” tournament at Onion Creek Senior Citizens is scheduled for Fri., Feb. 12. To sign up to play, contact Nolan Kunkel at 312-5582.  Both events are free.

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The monthly meeting of the Buda Chamber of Commerce will be Wed., Feb. 10, at Good Shepherd Ministries, 401 RM 967. The meeting starts at noon. The program will concern the new Windows 7.

Buda resident Elizabeth Lancaster is a very proud grandmother. Grandson Keith Lancaster is the band director at Dripping Springs High School, which won the UIL 4A State Championship for marching bands last week in San Antonio. Keith also has many more relatives in the Buda/Kyle area, including his dad and mom, Billy Ralph and Judi Lancaster who are just as proud of him. Keith graduated from Hays High School in 1985.

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A very good deed for our community has come to our attention. Laurie Loew of South Austin and owner of Give Realty Inc. has recently given 25 percent of a sale to PAWS. Loew’s donation will be very helpful to PAWS as they are always in need of financial help to carry out their mission.

Broker Laurie Loew’s real estate company gives 25 percent of hard earned commission to a non-profit that the seller can chose. The gift to PAWS is just one of many that Loew has given to various organizations over the past few months. We thank her for being such a good neighbor.

Birthday wishes go out to Rick Matthews and Frank Cortez on Nov. 13; Tom Carolan on Nov. 15; Shelby Eckols on Nov. 16; Mary Louise Bailey and Del Bittenbender on Nov. 17.

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Not too early for the Hays Class of 2000 to be thinking about their ten year reunion for next fall. Michelle Miller is looking for interested classmates to contact her at 512-787-5111; email mmiller@mfti.org or HHS2000Reunion Planning@yahoo.com.

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For great family fun and a way to support our schools, plan to attend the Tom Green Elementary School Fall Festival on Sat., Nov. 14. The PTA sponsored event starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. Wristbands for all the rides cost $7 for PTA members and $10 for everyone else. There will be a rock climbing wall, train, inflatables and rides plus food booths.

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Lots of food drives going on in our area. Currently the MOMS Club of Buda/Mountain City is collecting food. Collection containers are located at Dance Unlimited, Salon One 12 (inside the Red Door), Old Main Street Station and Sue Ellen’s. Please help fill the tubs with canned food.

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Word of Life Church has partnered with the Salvation Army to raise money for the support of emergency services for Hays County. Volunteers are needed to help them as they “ring the bell” to raise funds for the kettles. Dates will be Nov. 23 through Dec. 23. Contact the church at 268-0700 or 754-8541 to volunteer your time.

With road construction starting at IH-35 and Main Street, there will be various lane closures; do drive carefully.