by PAULINE TOM
The city removed to the ground the grand old tree, felled by oak wilt, at the end of Live Oak Drive, based on a vote by residents at the end of the street. Now, utility wires show up as an eyesore to some.
Some wanted a flowering-vine covered skeleton. Dead wood would provide housing for woodpeckers and owls.
The tree crew de-lighted the branches. Remember when PEC meticulously wrapped the branches with dozens of strands years ago?
The tree’s rings tell an interesting tale. For about the past 25 years, the rings look completely different from those for the many earlier decades, before asphalt covered its roots.
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Donate food and new toys to Hays County’s Brown Santa, through the Loving Mountain City’s initiative. The donations go to economically disadvantaged families.
There are three ways, with deadline of Saturday, Dec. 8:
1. Put in the drop-off box at the old City Hall Sign.
2. Drop off at Amy Hilton’s porch.
3. Email lovingmountaincity@gmail.com for pick up at your residence.
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“Be The Match” sounds like a dating service. It’s the name for the registry of the National Marrow Donor Program. Currently, they’re saying, “Give it up to help. This season, it’s not about what you give, it’s about what you give up.”
Back when RonTom and I signed up in the 80s (when one of my Sunday School girls had leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant), registering as a bone-marrow donor required a blood sample and financial contribution. Now, for those ages 18 to 44, registering can be done online at www.marrow.org. For those who meet simple requirements, a kit for a simple cheek swab comes in the mail.
On the average, one in every 540 members of Be the Match registry in the United States will go on to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells to a patient. For those called upon, the donation offers a chance to save the life of the patient.
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For some patients, only one match (if any) is found from 9.5 million registry members. You never know when you could be the one a patient needs. (What a miracle that a recent local drive produced a donor!)
See www.marrow.org to find details on what’s involved. Will you forget? Just clip this column as a reminder.
For free holiday outings, consider “Night in Bethlehem,” presented by Fellowship Church at Plum Creek (formerly known as The Fellowship at Plum Creek), held Saturday, Dec. 8, and Sunday, Dec. 9 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. It takes place on the new parking lot at the corner of 2770 and Grace Street, across the street from Barton Middle School.
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On the average, one or two tidbits arrive each month. “Montage” could put to use many more. Please send to ptom5678@gmail.com (subject: Montage Tidbit) or phone (512) 268-5678