The Bolfs of Mountain City woke up Saturday morning to find a screech owl in their birdbath. (Courtesy of Nancy and Stanley Bolf) Mountain City Montage by PAULINE TOM Well, owl’d be. Nancy and Stanley Bolf on Poplar thought to photograph the Screech Owl in their birdbath on Saturday morning. Nancy t...

STAFF REPORTS The years have taken their toll on this 1952 photo of Winnie and Minnie Harper, who were in their teens at the time. The twin sisters from Antioch Colony near Buda are the subject of the latest oral history by the Hays County Historical Commission, which will be screened June 4. (Court...

Check it out by KATHY LUCKETT June 3 is the last day of school in Hays CISD, and children will scatter like a covey of quail when the last bell rings. The old song, “No more teachers, no more books,” could not be farther from the truth if you talk to the staff at the Buda Public Library. On the even...

It’s About Thyme by CHRIS WINSLOW As the mercury rises and the gardeners of Hays County prepare for the upcoming mini-drought, I think the time is right for me, in my unofficial capacity as nurseryman/columnist, to nominate the amazing crape myrtle as the official 2010  Plant of the Summer. They blo...

STAFF REPORT The Hays County Sheriff’s Office is searching for boys and girls, aged 9 and 10 years old, to become junior deputies. Boys and girls who are well-behaved and interested in law enforcement are encouraged to sign up for the free Junior Deputy Academy, which lasts one week from 8 a.m. to n...

Healthy Living by SCOTT A. WELSH Many seasoned runners in Central Texas take advantage of a fitness activity you rarely see them doing: Pool running. It may be the best kept fitness secret since boot camp training. Pool running, also known as aqua jogging, is usually recommended when a runner become...

by JASON GORDON Hays guard Chrissy Arias helped lead the Hays girls basketball team to the regional quarterfinals this season. It was one of many exciting accomplishments by Rebel sports teams during the spring. The Hays baseball team and Rebel boys soccer teams also advanced to the regional quarter...

Hays High School world geography teacher Robin Manning, one of 20 U.S. teachers serving as delegates to an international conference last November, is flanked by an American serviceman and a soldier of the Republic of Korea at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. Manning was recently...

by JIM CULLEN Hays High School junior Sonia Ruiz shares a special reading moment with young Yesenia Moreno during the final day of the 21st annual Kids Korner, a one-week experience for local high school students to practice what they’ve learned in childhood development classes. (Photo by Jim Cullen...

by MARK CAUL Lehman senior JP Flores led District 17-4A with a .543 batting average this season and was a first-team all-district selection along with teammate Nick Cerda. (Photo by Judy Cooper) In a year in which they managed to break through and join the postseason party for the first time in scho...