August 2021

Dear Neil: We’ve had this fig in our family for many years. This past winter was hard on it, but it’s coming back, and it’s bearing fruit. Should we cut the dead limbs off now or wait until the winter dormant season?

What if this life does not change? This question lingered in the back of my mind recently as I drove around my hometown, noticing how many old familiar places had been torn down or replaced with something new and strange to me. Maybe you can relate.

Tyler Straub from Detwiler/Road Runner Ranch won top hand at last weekend’s Big Bend Ranch Rodeo. Courtesy photo.

Do you ever get that craving for something sweet, but cake, pie, or cookies just won’t cut it? I find myself wanting something sweet from time to time, but nothing heavy, so I fall back on a family favorite - cottage cheese jello salad.

In recent weeks, suspects have used firearms to shoot at several U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas and California.

The Circle M8/Barnes Cattle team finished second overall at last weekend’s Big Bend Ranch Rodeo at the SALE arena in Alpine. Courtesy photo.

Mary Eva “Joyce” Wright passed away on July 14, 2021, following a lengthy illness. Born Dec. 4, 1936, she was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Irby Hearn Wright. Joyce and Irby retired to Alpine, Texas, where they enjoyed expansive views of the Far West Texas mountains they loved. She was an avid reader, a frequent writer of letters-tothe-editor on a variety of subjects, an animal lover, and a fan of projects like Marfa Public Radio. When she wasn’t writing or designing and building her dream home, she was sewing, canning, making candles and soap, or tending to her flowers. Joyce is survived by son, Luke Troxel Wright; daughters Ann Kennedy, Audrey Spolarich, Angela Wright, Allison White, and April Beck; 10 grandchildren; four nieces and a nephew; and many other relatives and dear friends.

Guillerma Ramirez, 91, passed away on Aug. 13, 2021 in Pflugerville, Texas.

The proposed tax rate and employee pay raises generated much debate at the Brewster County Commissioners Court regular meeting on Aug. 11.

A rite of passage for all hardcore Texas high school football fans kicked off this past weekend around the state. Like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents, each week brings a new gift - two-a-days started Aug. 2, midnight practice a fortnight ago, then the first varsity scrimmages were played this weekend, allowing football starved fans to get an introductory look at their hometown boys.