Mountain City Montage by PAULINE TOM Folks are still seeing snakes. Leslie Burich heard blood chilling rattling from behind her on her front porch, from the spot where she had just picked up a flower pot. In their back yard, the dogs found a coral snake. Across the street in the Live Oak cul-de-sac,...

Buda Bits by SANDRA GRIZZLE Let’s think back sixteen years ago on the Sunday night of July 10, 1994. That was the night that four buildings on Main Street in Buda’s historic downtown were destroyed by fire. Everything was a total loss when the fire, which began in the attic of a glass blowing shop t...

On Center by BRENDA STEWART Over drinks the other night, a good friend expressed her exasperation and disappointment with the path that Kyle is taking these days. She said that nothing is happening and the town is stagnant, if not dead, and there are no real “local” businesses to support. Before I c...

Check it out by CONNIE BROOKS The Kyle Community Library is bustling this summer – and not just because of its popular Summer Reading Program. The library is now open fifty hours a week instead of forty-eight, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Mondays instead of 11-5. If the number of people at the library is ...

It’s About Thyme by CHRIS WINSLOW For the past week or two, hoards of gardeners have been coming into the nursery, phoning me up or e-mailing me to ask what’s gone wrong with their tomato patch. The most common problem is blossom set… or the lack thereof. Gardeners have beautiful plants but the flow...

This Week in Texas History by BARTEE HAILE On July 12, 1839, Sam Houston wrote his favorite pen pal, who was young enough to be his daughter, to say how much he missed her and his beloved Texas. The three sides of the best known romantic triangle in Lone Star history first laid eyes on each other in...

Camino Real Elementary counselor Cynthia Anderson addresses the Austin No Place for Hate Conference recently, where her local anti-prejudice efforts were recognized with the Anti-Defamation League’s Excellence in Education Award. (Photo by Jim Cullen) by JIM CULLEN Camino Real Elementary counselor C...

STAFF REPORTS Pre-K registration for the 2010-2011 school year is scheduled for next Monday-Friday, July 12-16, at Simon Middle School. Held at Hemphill  and Tom Green elementary schools, the district’s half-day Pre-K program is for four-year-old students who meet eligibility criteria that include: ...

Members of the Buda Elementary School Breakfast Book Club enjoyed good books and early breakfasts this past school year. The “for boys only” group included (left to right) Victor Resio, Rigo Gutierrez, Marcus Reyna and Taylor Tyner. (Photo by Jayne Baker) by JAYNE BAKER Special to the Hays Free Pres...

Simon Middle School eighth grader Jeremy Buck and Wolverines librarian Staci Perkins display the personalized graphic of the student’s bloody-fanged countenance during the fun-filled “Read it Forward Hays CISD” grant’s year-ending party. (Photo by Jim Cullen) by JIM CULLEN When last reported on, Hay...