Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne　? [CHORUS]: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. And surely you’ll buy your pint cup ! and surely I’ll buy mine ! And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syn ...

A first-grade teacher, clawing at the very bottom of her creativity barrel, was merely trying to "hold her own." Every turn of her head, she glanced toward the old clock on the wall that had been such an ally earlier in the fall. Now, in this final hour of instruction before the holidays, it was sinister, its hands moving with the speed of an indecisive glacier. It had been a "slam-dunk"

Making New Year’s resolutions regarding health and wellness is a great thing to do this week. Many of us (me included) make weight loss resolutions – which are good to make, but hard to follow through with without some kind of structured program that helps change lifestyle. Pick a program that appeals to you, but plan ahead and get support so you can stick to it. Cleansing is another popular health resolution.

There is nothing sadder than the Christmas tree after all the gifts are gone. The lights still twinkle, but it’s a sad twinkle. There is nothing worse than working in the return/complaint department after Christmas. Gee, everyone was wishing a "Merry Christmas!" Now, it’s gripe and complain! There is nothing harder than cramming all the gift wrap in bags and having the trash can full and running over and a blood hound turning it over and having trash all over the ...

It’s so nice to be home for Christmas. It’s equally nice to see water in the tanks and see a little rain while here. I hope all your holiday wishes came true and that you all enjoyed a peaceful week. Celebrating birthdays this week on the 3rd are Anna Grace Durst and Marion Leifeste’s great-granddaughter, Clara Marie Cochran.

I figure that most of you are like me, and you’re thinking that after the holiday you’re going to try and get in better shape and eat more healthily. Here are some fairly easy changes that you can add slowly to ease your family into it. Good luck!! Small steps can help your family get on the road to maintaining a healthy weight.

The Mason Lions club met Tuesday, December 20th, for it’s regular weekly luncheon meeting. There were 29 members and 4 visitors in attendance. Lion Brad Glass was responsible for the program and spoke about digital media and how to make good use of it to record and preserve pictures, music and videos of special occasions. He said this was of special interest now that Christmas is upon us and the Punchers state championship.

If you plan to make New Year’s resolutions, you’re not alone. According to The Barna Group survey, over 90 million Americans will kick off 2011 with a New Year’s resolution. So what’s the key to keeping a resolution? Just follow a few simple steps. Make goals simple, specific and within reach.

Traditions, by and large (more by than large) are good things. We all have traditions, and most are fun and give us a sense of attachment. And then there are the really stupid ones, the traditions that are observed even though no one knows why, or how they even started. For example, I heard a story once about a woman who was cooking for the holidays with her daughter, and they were baking a ham.

In any subjective evaluation of 2011, the drought and its devastating effects upon the county would have to be at the top of the list of newsworthy events. We had a record number of hot days. We had a record low rainfall. We had a record number of wildfires across the state.

Dear Mason Punchers, via Gerry Gamel & the Mason County News. To Mason's Boys of Fall: Thanks for the Memory - Priceless! Gratefully, Julie Harrison

Open House at the Library showcasing the many changes which have taken place. Monday, January 9th from 6 to 7 p.m. See the remodeled and redecorated Mason County M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library. Learn about new services and activities for the community. Simple refreshments will be served. Everyone is welcome! Friends of the Library will hold a brief annual meeting at 5:15 p.m.

Mason’s Odeon Theater has been a vital hub of artistic activity in this rural community for over 85 years. The theater’s main focus of providing area citizens with a continuous stream of high quality movies has been expanded over time to include an assortment of live musical and theatrical performances.

The Hill Country Cattle Women will begin 2012 with a meeting in Kerrville, Texas. The meeting will be January 18, 2012, hosted by our Kerrville members; and, will be held at The Inn of the Hills. Social hour will begin at 10:00 a.m., and the meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. This will be our annual legislative meeting, and the guest speaker will be Bill Peacock, Vice-President of Research, and Planning Director, Center of Economic Freedom, Texas Public Policy Foundation from Austin.

The USDA Rural Development Sub-Area Office in Ozona will be holding an office day Tuesday, January 31,2012 from 10:00 pm to 12:00 pm at Chamber of Commerce, located at 108 Ft. Mc Kavitt Road in Mason, Texas 76856 . A representative will be available to discuss Housing Programs for Very Low, Low, and Moderate income families; additional information on various community program loans and grants, business and industry loans and grants, and to provide guidance in applying for USDA Rural ...

Employees at NIA on the north side of the square decided this Christmas that instead of exchanging gifts with each other, they’d help out the many homeless animals in the city. After talking to City Manager John Palacio, some of the most needed items were kitty litter (the clumping kind) and cat food.

Dr. Charla Kothmann Bading received her PhD in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication in a joint program at Texas A & M University and Texas Tech University on December 16, 2011. Her BS, was received in 1986 from The University Of Texas. She works for the Texas Agriculture Extension Service as a 4-H Specialist.

C. W. Capps, of Pontotoc, passed away on Wednesday, December 21, at the age of 76. He was born on August 5, 1935, in Brady, Texas, to C.W. Capps Sr. and Ella Baxter Capps. He was raised in Mason County and was a 1952 graduate of Mason High School. On July 31, 1954, C.W.

Viola Pearl Balzen went to be with her Lord and Savior on Christmas morning.　 She was born on April 22, 1906, to James and Martha Brandenberger.　 She was predeceased by her husband, Alfred, and two brothers and two sisters.　 She will be greatly missed by nieces, nephews and many close friends. Memorial Service will be Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 11:00 a.m., Hilda United Methodist Church, 5840 Loeffler Lane, Hilda, Texas.　 Memorial contributions may b ...

The date of December 15th, 2011, was indeed a reality for this team and these coaches. We did start the season with high expectations; but, we quickly learned that there are so many factors involved in winning 15 games in a row. We can be so proud of our team, our coaches, our schools, our community and our kids. I think enough was said on the way up and back in Brady for the support that was showed in spite of the bad weather with wind-cooled temperatures and rain at 9:30 p. ...