Last year, the county’s agricultural income declined by an estimated $37 million from the year before, county AgriLife extension agent Rachel Bauer told county commissioners Feb. 13, a drop she says can be blamed predominantly on the devastating year-long drought.

“In a normal year with normal rainfall, we’ll have between $50 and $60 million,” Bauer said.

The county’s agricultural income report says that Bastrop County producers brought in just under $23 million in 2011, compared to more than $60 million in 2010. Corn income and miscellaneous vegetable income dropped by $300,000 each. Cotton declined by $140,000. Pecan income fell more than a million dollars. Hay, the largest single sector of the county’s agricultural economy during good years, dropped $34 million.

Only a couple of agricultural sectors saw growth: oats, sorghum, hogs and goats, and, in most cases, that was only by a couple of thousand dollars.

The good news is the county has an example of an abrupt one-year turnaround in its recent past.

“2010 was a good year. We were coming out of ’08-’09 being extremely dry,” Bauer said.

That previous drought dropped total agricultural revenues for 2009 to $26 million before rains in 2010 drove it back up to $60 million. That was largely due to a boon hay crop, which accounted for just $2.3 million in 2009 but leapt to $36 million in 2010. Last year, the county saw just $2.7 million in hay production.

The bad news is the long-term trends in some of the county’s biggest agricultural sectors are pointing down, and will be tough to get headed in the opposite direction again. Cattle income has steadily declined from $24.9 million in 2008 to $14.2 million in 2011. Horse-related revenue has dropped from $1.3 million to $525,000 during the same period. Unlike other agricultural sectors, they didn’t see jumps during the good year of 2010.

Bauer says that’s due to people selling off their herds during the droughts, when water was in short supply and hay was prohibitively expensive. Now, even if times  are good, herds can’t be replenished overnight.

“We have less cows producing those calves within the county. It’s a domino effect,” Bauer said.

The high price of cattle makes purchasing animals harder than it might otherwise be, and most pastures in the county need more time to recover from the drought before they’re grazed again.

“I just don’t see a lot of restocking occurring because the pastures aren’t in good condition,” Bauer said.

And they might not make it into that good condition if the rain doesn’t keep up. Bauer says the long-term forecasts are still predicting the drought to last at least through the summer.

“It’s a dire situation,” she said. “But we’re thankful to have the rain that we have had.”

Many residents may think the efforts by End Op, L.P., to pipe 71 million gallons of our water per day is not happening.  Quite the contrary, the plan to take Bastrop and Lee county groundwater is still viable and we – ordinary citizens – are still asking how this could be good for our communities and the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer that serves some 12 million Texas citizens.

To protect our aquifer, Environmental Stewardship, led by our friend Steve Box, has filed a challenge in GMA 12 (Groundwater Management Area 12 serves Bastrop, Brazos, Burleson, Falls, Fayette, Freestone, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Navarro, Robertson and Williamson counties).  We believe that the “desired future conditions,” which are the parameters set for pumping the aquifer by our water code, may not have been set as rigorously as the science of hydrology allows.

We are not pointing fingers at any one person, governmental agency or even water marketers, who simply want to sell our water for short-term profit. We are concerned that: 1) water rights are being sold by many landowners in Milam, Lee, Bastrop and other counties – End Op alone says it controls 17,000 acres in Lee and Bastrop counties, 2) water is assumed to be an absolute property right in Texas, so landowners rationalize pumping water from under their land as well as their neighbors’ land, and 3) our life-blood is being sold on the open market for use in the high-growth areas along I-35. Worst of all, no elected officials are standing up to fight this calamity.

Granted, your faucet will come on tomorrow, next week and the next few years. But in the mid-term, we will be facing the same water shortages that Texans in other cities and towns have been facing recently. Eventually, we will simply run out of water.

Our portion of the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer recharges very slowly, resulting in thousands of years old drinking water. Have we, as a people, become self-centered and careless about future generations, and thoughtless about even our own future? Are we willing to stand by and let this happen? Years ago, San Antonio’s thirst for our water led a water official to tell us, “You’ll just have to move somewhere else.”

There are two hearings that ordinary citizens, officials and other community leaders need to attend, on Wednesday, Feb. 29 (for End Op) and the following Wednesday, March 7 (for Environmental Stewardship), from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Milano Convention Center in Milano. That’s eight miles east of Rockdale.

In my opinion, the Texas Water Development Board set these hearings in an out of the way place, with no public eating facilities or other amenities, to discourage citizen participation. So, bring your lunch and we’ll have a tailgate party and let state officials know that when it comes to our water, heck no, it won’t go!

Linda Curtis, Independent Texans

Phil Cook, Bastrop business owner

Michele Gangnes, Neighbors for Neighbors

Dr. Curtis Chubb, coordinator, Central Texas Aquifers Coalition

According to sheriff’s reports, two clerks were alone inside the Lakeline Grocery at the intersection of FM 1441 and Texas 95 at around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday when a pair of armed male subjects allegedly entered the store and demanded money from the register. The men wore masks and gloves, which prevented the clerks from getting a description of the subjects.

Sheriff’s officials said the subjects reportedly left with an undisclosed amount of money. They would not confirm what types of weapons the suspects used.

Beautiful gardens in small spaces are possible

The bluettes are blooming!  These are teeny tiny blue flowers that are about 1/8^th of an inch across and have four little petals and the plants are only about two inches tall.  The leaves are so insignificant they don’t even count.  These are the first little blue flowers of the season and you have to look for them.  Usually I can find some on our hill on my birthday at the end of January.  This year they were a couple of weeks late, but they are here.

Wild gardens will be a welcome sight. The last of the seed balls that were made by the children and master naturalists of Williamson County have all been given out and if they were scattered last week, the rains this week were perfectly timed for melting them and germinating the seeds and we should have a very colorful spring.

And so spring comes to Bastrop County and residents are starting to look at seed catalogues and planning their gardens.

Last fall while I was driving around Smithville, I saw a house and garden that knocked my socks off.   A big old Victorian style house and yard takes up almost all of a city block. The house would jump out at passers- by even if it wasn’t painted bright pink with chartreuse trim.  I love it.

But the thing that really caught my attention was the flower border garden along the street from one end of the yard, around the corner to the back side of the house.  The garden is backed by a chartreuse picket fence about three feet tall, entwined with climbing rose bushes.  The fall rains encouraged a flush of blooms from the various perennials and annual flowers that was a truly spectacular display.

Wow, was all I could say and started taking pictures.  I made a list of the plants that were just stuffed into the beds.  Most of the annuals were the Mexican Zinnia in neon orange and white.  There were vincas in bright pink and regular zinnias of all colors. Hardy perennials were scattered among these, blue plumbago,  New Gold and trailing lantana and some rose bushes intermingled.  The chartreuse fence made a brilliant back drop.  I consider this garden a gift to the people of Smithville who get to see it.

A couple of weeks ago I drove by the pink house again and the flowers were gone.  All that was left was a rather narrow built up bed and the chartreuse picket fence.  An experienced gardener with energy and time has tended this garden perfectly for the next season, which will start in a month or so.

The spent annuals were pulled up and the perennials were trimmed back to about three inches. The climbing roses were twined around and tucked in between the pickets, ready to go.  There were drip irrigation hoses all along the length of the beds.  These I had not seen because they were totally concealed by plants.

The surprising thing was how small the beds were considering what a fabulous show they provided with the flowers.  My gardening friends, we can do this too.  It doesn’t take a huge amount of space to create a knock out garden for you, your neighbors and total strangers to enjoy.

But it does take some planning and some additions to the soils.  First of all, plan for full or at least mostly full sun.  Morning sun is essential but a little afternoon shade would be fine.  In the City of Bastrop and Smithville, the soils have more clay than in the pine forests.  But these clay soils are almost totally devoid of organic material.  The clays soils are usually packed down and poorly drained, too, whereas good drainage is about the only thing the sandland soils have going for them.

In soils with more clay, compost is the answer to every problem these soils have – poor drainage, no organic material and any other issues.  So stake out a small area in full sun, dig down into the soil as deep as you can, 12 inches if possible, loosen it, turn it over and break it up with a turning fork.  Add two inches or more of good compost and mix that into the soil. It should start looking soft and fluffy by this time.  If I am doing a flower garden, I add an organic fertilizer for flowering plants.  And sometimes, I also add slow release fertilizer beads for blooming plants.

If you have a sandy soil, then landscape soil with clay in it should be added as well as compost.  Then adding a border to keep the whole thing together is a good idea, otherwise the bed sort of collapses.  It is hard to garden in our sugar sand soils but it can be done, just keep the scale small.

Lantana, Texas Yellow bells, plumbago, vinca, zinnias, Mexican zinnias and decorative grasses such as Mexican feather grass and purple fountain grass  should grow well in any of these soils.  Choosing a short list of plants that do well is better than a big variety of plants that don’t do well.  Plan the space for a garden budget that allows for the annuals to be planted close together for the best display.  Have fun and good luck. Happy Spring.

A resident in the 1100 block of Fayette Street called police in the early morning of Jan. 28 to report a prowler was somewhere in the home. Officers Raven Prettyman and Kevin Rogers responded at approximately 2:45 a.m. and found evidence of a forced entry into the home. However, the alleged burglar had fled. The case remains under investigation.

On Jan. 26, Officer Christopher Chavez responded to a report of a burglary of a home in the 1100 block of Pine Street. The complainant said she and her family had left for the night to stay with relatives. When the family returned the next day they found a rear window to the home had been broken and undisclosed items were taken.

Police are continuing their investigation after having taken fingerprints from the break-in area.

On Jan. 27, Officer Dale Hamilton was dispatched to a business in the 100 block of Hasler Boulevard for a theft of materials from a truck. Someone had cut and removed welding leads from the bed of a man’s pickup truck. The value of materials taken was estimated at $1,000.

Area car dealerships have also been hit.

On Jan. 30, Covert Chevrolet reported that a 2006 Chevy Silverado had been broken into. No items were taken, but damage was done to windows and electric cables inside the engine compartment. The case remains active.

On Feb. 2, Covert was hit again. A 2012 truck incurred shattered windows in an apparent attempt to steal the vehicle.

Benny Boyd Chrysler Dodge reported on Jan. 30 that two trucks had been broken into, the side mirrors on one truck had been broken and the batteries of both trucks were taken. Value of loss was estimated at $1,000.

He was born July 1, 1949 in Waco and graduated from Reagan High School in 1968. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Shangri-La. He supported the troops in Vietnam. After discharge he returned to Texas and worked in road construction.  He married Sandra Barnard on March 7, 1974.

Survivors include devoted wife Sandra; children, Chris, Renee, Robert Wm., and Jennie, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Services were Feb. 11, 2012.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, Newt and sister, Betty.

He leaves behind three brothers, Bill, Jim and Either; two sisters, Thelma and Francis; five sons, Andrew Lawrence (Brenda), Lloyd, Calvin (Tania), Alvin (Robyn) and John; 11 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; other family and numerous friends.

A celebration of his life was held Saturday, Feb. 11 in Cedar Creek.

Robb was a student – and teacher – of Texas flora and fauna. Because of his own childlike glee and curiosity, he spent many of his happiest moments in the classroom with his young charges, who loved their “Mr. Dobbs.” His other happiest moments were spent camping on one of his beloved Texas rivers, where he also came up with obscure facts and tricks about the native Texan environment to amaze his friends. He loved his friends, beer and Bob Marley. Robb never met a stranger and was known for gathering people he met along his way, sometimes bringing them into the large collective gathering that he helped start, lovingly known as the “Pastafarians” for their love of reggae, pasta, good times and good friends.

As per Robb’s wishes, he was cremated. His friends and family will gather at an appropriate time on his favorite river, the Guadalupe, to celebrate his life.

Members of Bryan’s First United Methodist Church and St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Sandown, N.H., plan to rebuild the home of Pastor Mike Vega of Word of Life Community Church, which was lost in the fire.

And phase two of the project could lead to an eventual rebuilding of the church on Texas 21 East if donations are sufficient, said one of the key organizers of the volunteer efforts.

“Our passions of our congregations for the ministry of rebuilding homes developed after Hurricane Rita hit Louisiana in September 2005,” said Gregg Barfield, project coordinator for the Vega build and a member of the Bryan church.

He said the New Hampshire church had joined up with the Bryan church in rebuilding efforts in Louisiana and had called, wanting to do some more humanitarian work.

“They called me this year, wanting to do another mission,” Barfield said. “They didn’t know about the wildfires here.”

Barfield said an area relief organization informed him about the destruction of Word of Life church building and Vega’s home when he inquired about the Bryan church helping out after the Complex fires.

“I contacted Pastor Vega in November and he was delighted,” Barfield said.

Barfield said that after discussions among church members it made sense to first get Vega back on his feet, through volunteers rebuilding his home.

“We first thought we would rebuild the church, but we decided Pastor Vega and his family need to be stable enough in a new home in order to rebuild their congregation, and obviously that was the priority,” Barfield said.

Vega agreed, adding it was the pastor of Bryan FUMC, Rick Sitton, who suggested Vega’s home be built first, after talking to Vega.

“He asked where I was living, I put my head down and said, ‘I’m living in a FEMA trailer,’” Vega recalled.

“He stopped everything and said, ‘We need to reassess,’ and they decided to build my home.”

Vega spoke of the generosity from the two congregations.

“It’s awesome what they are doing, as a family and as a congregation we are overwhelmed by their generosity,” said Vega, who celebrated his 24th anniversary as pastor of Word of Life on Dec. 23, 2011.

Donations needed

About 40 volunteers, including experienced construction crews, will begin the build on Saturday, Feb. 25. Barfield said although he believes he has enough volunteers at this point, he still would like backup. He said those interested in volunteering may contact him through his email: greggb@rebuild
wordoflife.org or call him at (979) 219-3451.

“We plan to rebuild the home in one week,” Barfield said, adding it would be similar to the recent “Home Makeover” build on Cottletown Road that occurred in connection with the Complex fire.

Barfield said while some money has been raised for the home rebuild, more is needed. He estimates building materials for Vega’s four-bedroom, one-story home will cost about $30,000. Added expenses will include meals for the volunteers – they are paying for their lodging, construction equipment rental and insurance coverage during the build.

There will be a celebration of the rebuild efforts at Bastrop’s First United Methodist Church on Thursday night, March 1, two days before the planned completion of Vega’s home.

“All the community is welcome to attend,” Barfield said. “If we create enough buzz of information about the evening, Pastor Vega might double his congregation!”

Bastrop (23-15) vs. Lancaster (16-9), 7 p.m. Tuesday at Madisonville High School, Madisonville

Elgin (26-5) vs. West Mesquite (25-7) 7 p.m., Tuesday at Waco High School, Waco

CLASS 3A, REGION III

Smithville (19-10) vs. Stafford (16-14) 7 p.m, Tuesday at Bellville High School, Bellville