From the Crow’s Nest by CLINT YOUNTS Fellas, I thought I should warn ya’ll, if you don’t know already, that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. I think it’s the 14th, but I can’t keep track of all these holidays. Easter changes every year; I think it has something to do with phases of the moon or i...

by MARK CAUL Lehman sophomore Amara Smith hasn’t slowed down one bit despite playing both varsity basketball and soccer, often on the same night, this semester for the Lady Lobos. (Photo by Judy Cooper) Lehman sophomore Amara Smith wasn’t even born when the 1970s Wonder Woman series starring Lynda C...

by PAULINE TOM Count birds this weekend. www.birdcount.org. It’s the Great Backyard Bird Count. Count birds (by species) for at least 15 minutes at least once from February 12th through Presidents’ Day. You need not identify every bird you see. ••• Happy Valentine’s Day! ••• I’d love to receive some...

Of Cabbages and Kings by BOB BARTON Kyle voters, facing the possibility of a large tax increase for next year’s budget,  have the tough job of selecting a new mayor and two city council members this Saturday. It is the first of two elections that could bring as many as four newcomers to assume leade...

God and Country by PHIL JONES Things don’t have to be this way. What is possible on this earth, and what God wants for us all, is orders of magnitude greater and more wonderful than anything we have ever experienced or even imagined. Jesus of Nazareth called this state of bliss the Kingdom of God, a...

Squeezin’ the Juice by SVEA SAUER The party’s over folks. Forget about Mom staying home with the kids. Forget about a job that pays enough for one person to support a family. The jobs are all overseas where the stockholders are profiting from low wages. The people most concerned, the low-wage worker...

by SEAN KIMMONS Dax, a one-year-old shepherd mix, lies next to a prisoner during a cell dog graduation at the Kyle Correctional Center on Jan. 26. (Photo by Sean Kimmons) Inmate Kyle Skinner flaunted a tough demeanor. His body was coated in tattoos, with tear drops inked below his right eye. But the...

by SEAN KIMMONS KINSLOW Even if Austin Community College passes on Kyle as the location for its next campus, city leaders say they still want to see ACC somewhere in the Hays school district. Kyle councilmembers unanimously passed a resolution last week in favor of joining the ACC taxing district. A...

by JEN BIUNDO The Texas Department of Transportation will shut down the intersection of Main Street and IH-35 in Buda overnight next week in the first phase of work replacing the interstate overpass. Main Street will be closed at the access road from Monday, Feb. 15 – Friday, Feb. 19 between 8 p.m. ...

by SEAN KIMMONS A second search was conducted Monday just southwest of Kyle, resulting in additional evidence tied to the grisly murder of former San Marcos native Michael Van Dyke, police say. Van Dyke, 23, was reported missing by his mother on Dec. 27. At the time of his disappearance, he was livi...