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South Central Texas Rural Philanthropy is back and on November 3rd 2023, in La Grange Texas with featured speakers from all over Texas. This event will be hosted by the Fayette Community Foundation (FCF), a professional development conference which is designed to alleviate the strain on our local nonprofits. They plan to do so by building their organizational capacity and strengthening their relationships with variety of funders. The goal is that no longer will rural nonprofits have to spend hundreds of dollars to attend professional development conferences miles out of town, because many nonprofit organizations can’t afford the expenses to go. Also joining FCF is Title Sponsor, and the Stanzel Family Foundation in hopes to bring that education local while ensuring it stays affordable for rural nonprofits so they can attend.

The Rice Raider football team has reason for optimism in what is now the second year of Head Coach Brad Dumont’s second stint with the program. After a season in which the Raiders earned just one district win, Rice moves into the year with a foundation in place as the young players on the varsity squad improve with added experience. The wins the Raiders picked up last season displayed the character of the team as they look to build on their positive performances and find improvements in some of their areas of struggle from last season.

Rice Raiders Head Coach and Athletic Director Brad Dumont was the special speaker at the Eagle Lake Noon Lions Club on Thursday, Aug. 3.

The Weimar Ladycats held their final preseason action of the year with their annual alumni match as they invited Ladycats from the program’s past to help the teams get ready for the upcoming volleyball season. Alums from as early as 1991 attended the match as they helped the current iteration of the Ladycats get prepared for what they hope is another strong season for the program. Weimar got a strong turnout from their alumnae as their connections with the school have stayed strong since their graduation.

The Vets traveled to Sealy to face the Brewers in the semifinals of the playoffs. The Brewers jumped out to a 10-1 lead and never looked back.

The Weimar Ladycats enter this season after reaching the postseason every year since missing the playoffs in the 2011 season. After over a decade of postseason history on the team, the current version of the Weimar Ladycats are looking forward to potentially continuing that streak this season. With a host of players planning to return this year after quality seasons last year, the Ladycats are hoping that they will keep their streak alive while having a deeper playoff run than they did last season.

WEIMAR ATHLETES UNWIND BEFORE FALL SEASON

The future of Columbus football and cheerleading got a start at improving in their early careers as the Columbus Youth Football Federation got action started for their upcoming fall season. Youth players in Columbus got a chance to start learning and training the skills they will need in their career as they move forward. CYFF coaches got a chance to work with each player as they helped set the foundational fundamentals for the future Columbus players.

Out To Pastor

Industry State Bank and the Nesbitt Memorial Library cohosted a second Cyber Security Event at the Nesbitt Memorial Library in Columbus on August 3, 2023. The highly anticipated and informative event included some guess speakers such as, Rachal Kozel and Ricardo Diaz who are both employees of Industry State Bank. They covered topics such as the top cyber crimes, scams, phishing, and smishing examples. Also informing some red flags to look out for, social media tips when it comes to scams on there and the rise of (AI), Artificial Intelligence and just basic key cyber security tips to keep information safe online. Rachel Kozel of Industry State Bank along with everyone from Nesbitt Memorial Library, would like to thank everyone who came out to learn.

LA GRANGE – A charter member of the Colorado Valley Quilt Guild during a recent presentation gave members plenty of ideas about storing and planning for future quilts.

LEYCO REAL ESTATE GRAND OPENING

As temperatures rise, so should the care of your yard’s lawn and landscape. However, it’s important to ensure your yard is healthy before a heat wave hits.

Many outdoorsmen and women consider September 1 the start of a new year.

Arthur “A.D.” Denman Fudge died Aug. 3, 2023, in Richmond, Texas.

Jackie Colleen Hughes, 98, of Columbus, Texas, died June 22, 2023, in Columbus.

The cross-country teams of Colorado County are preparing for another season with big dreams at the start. After each team had strong seasons last year that resulted in some regional qualifiers and even state-level competitors, the teams for Columbus, Weimar and Rice will be looking to repeat their success from a season ago with many runners returning this season.

The Colorado County archery club, T.H.E. JOAD Club, is preparing for a statewide event as the Texas Outdoor Target Series Championship makes its way to the club’s home in Columbus. On Saturday, Aug. 19, the archery club is hosting archers from all over the state to compete in the final meet of the season for the Outdoor Target Series. The competition will take place at 10 a.m. on the Colorado County Fairgrounds as Columbus takes the responsibility for inviting the state’s top archers. Locations for the tournaments have ranged from Houston to Lubbock as the local club gets their turn for the series’ most important meet.

The start of the 2023 fall athletic season is finally here after the Lady Cards volleyball team started with a non-district game against the El Campo Lady Eagles on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Columbus begins their year with some statewide recognition already going their way as many expect them to repeat another highly successful year after becoming one of the state’s final four teams last season. The Texas Girls’ Coaches Association rewarded them for their semifinal appearance by ranking the Lady Cards in the top five of their preseason state poll. With many impact players returning to the squad, the TGCA placed Columbus in the fifth spot in their first ranking of the season.

The Lady Cards volleyball team kept their annual tradition alive as the alumnae of Columbus returned to take on the current team as a tune-up for the regular season. The Lady Cards of the past had somewhat of a homecoming as they returned to the gym to compete and prepare the current iteration of Lady Cards for another long season. With a history of success in the program, many of the returning players have seen the growth of the program as Columbus hopes to continue their recent run of strong seasons. The alumni game marked the last preseason action before Columbus began their non-district schedule against El Campo on Aug. 8. Results from the match were not available by the press deadline.

This column is dedicated to acknowledging examples of positives that express the community spirit of Columbus – our town.