BCFNS NEWSLETTER
April 2023
Issue 37
Contact us at newsletter@BlancoCountyNightSky.org
849 Facebook Group members -- 449 Instagram Followers
Accomplishments in last year
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2023 ART CONTEST WINNERS
Another Art Contest is in the books! Wayne Gosnell, Vicki Guidry, Barbara Hudson, Stef Wright, Elizabeth Seibert, and Bob Heinonen met at Gem of the Hills for judging of the art. It took 3 hours to view and discuss the entries and determine 12 winners. It was a difficult job as there were 91 pieces of art from High School and 106 from Middle School students attending Johnson City and Blanco schools.
Middle School:
The theme was “Solar Eclipse”. No…it’s not about the stars this year, but we felt this was a great opportunity to learn about the phenomenal events that Blanco County will experience soon. More on that later. We will be posting the artwork of the winners in future newsletters and on our social media accounts.
Tables of art for judging
The judging team (l to r)
Wayne Gosnell
Vicki Guidry
Stefanie Wright
Barbara Hudson
Elizabeth Seibert
Bob Heinonen
AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .
1st Place: Alan Bruno Castaneda - LBJ
2nd Place: Katie Shannan - LBJ
3rd Place: Kamryn Gaskamp - Blanco
4th Place: Emma Edmondson - Blanco
5th Place: Jonah Forsberg – Blanco
Honorable Mentions: Jude Rodriguez - Blanco and Zane Hood - Blanco
High School:
1st Place: Elizabeth Johns - LBJ
2nd Place: Emily Sapp - Blanco
3rd Place: Emma Alba - LBJ
4th Place: Clara Baker - LBJ
5th Place: Stevie Rodgers - LBJ
Honorable Mentions: Marten Torres - LBJ and Audrey Shannan -LBJ
NEWEST BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP
Recently, Board Member Bob Heinonen presented a BCFNS member sign to Kara Cleaver who signed up for a 5-year business membership for her La Vie Estate Winery. While there, Elizabeth Seibert and Bob bought a bottle of their Eclipse wine which they sampled at home later that evening. Bob said the view from the deck of the winery is pretty amazing. La Vie Estate Winery is on RR 1623 about half way between Blanco and Stonewall….or about ¼ mile from where Elizabeth and Bob live.
BEWARE OF SCAMS
“With so many scams going around, please note that BCFNS never solicits donations or sells merchandise directly via an email. All transactions must go through our secure website. If you ever receive a questionable email from us, please let us know about it. Thanks!” ~Wayne Gosnell, President
PRESENTATION TEAM PROGRESS
Our Presentation Team laptop is now fully functional. Thank you, Larry Seiler! It is now possible to do unique PowerPoint slide presentations for civic groups, school audiences, nature groups and others. The slide shows are based on Wayne Gosnell's original slide show.
The Presentation Team held a second planning session on April 17th. On Tuesday, April 18, they made presentations at LBJ High School in Johnson City High for two physics classes. On April 19, they did a presentation for the newly forming Blanco County Conservation Initiative at Gem Of The Hills Community Center. We already have bookings into the fall.
If you are interested in having one of our free educational presentations for a group, contact Dee Hardiman at bookings@BlancoCountyNightSky.org.
MEET OTHER “FRIENDS OF THE NIGHT SKY”
In the March issue we shared how Larry Wells came to value the night sky. This month we’ll let him finish his story about how Comal County Friends of the Night Sky was formed. Take a minute and click on the hyperlinks for more information.
Larry continues his story by telling us about a post he saw on Nextdoor.com in February 2020:
“Light Pollution: Starry skies are a vanishing treasure because light pollution is washing away our view of the cosmos. If you have any interest in smart lighting for your home and neighborhood, watch the YouTube video, “Losing the Dark”. With all the new homes being built in our neighborhood in comes at least 8 more flood lights around the house that the builders insist on installing. Now when I sit on my back porch to star gaze, I see mushrooms of light pollution rising from these homes. I miss the Milky Way!!” This was just one of several posts about light pollution.
Ninety comments later several concerned neighbors “got together” for our first meeting on Zoom and decided to form Canyon Lake Friends of the Night Sky. It wasn’t long before Cliff Kaplan and Amy Jackson of the Hill Country Alliance joined in on our meetings. Cliff suggested we expand our horizons and adopt the name Comal County Friends of the Night Sky (CCFNS). So, as the result of a post on NextDoor, a new group was born.
Cliff and Amy introduced us to Wayne Gosnell and the Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky. Next thing we knew we had a bank account, logos, Facebook page, website, 501(c)3, and were off to the races. Thanks Blanco!
I have been fortunate to be a part of one of our CCFNS founder’s productions “The Stars at Night”. That’s Amy Jackson and I at 3:30 minutes in the trailer, shot in Terlingua Texas.
Our work continues as CCFNS share proper outdoor lighting information with other people in Comal County and beyond. I call these people “Dark Sky Defenders” and encourage everyone to help us save the Night Sky “One Light at a Time”.
A new tab has been added to the website entitled “News.” Sub-tabs are “Newsletters” and “BCFNS in the News.” This new tab will be used to document what we have done in the public square.
ARTICLES and PRESS RELEASES
For more information on all our membership options click here: Membership Options
CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER
Membership Sign Promotion - A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. For those of you thinking of joining BCFNS or renewing your membership, we are offering a free one-year membership ($20) with the purchase of a sign ($35 tax included). Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs. Any member without a sign that renews for two or more years, gets a free sign if they want one…and we hope they do!
Remember we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details regarding deductibility for your donation.
Next Business & Brainstorming Session
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 17th @ 9:00AM, at El Charro Restaurant in Johnson City. If you would like to attend via Zoom, just let us know a few days ahead of time so we can make arrangements. Contact us at info@BlancoCountyNightSky.org
OTHER NEWS
• Advisory Board – Are you willing to share your expertise?
We would like to include professionals who have a passion for the night sky:
- Realtor
- Developer
- Contractor
- Lighting fixture expert
- CPA
Please contact us at: info@BlancoCountyNightSky.org or join us at our May meeting
• Volunteer Opportunities at Volunteers Needed. We really need someone who lives in or near Johnson City to set up and run a Johnson City Night Sky Friendly Business Recognition Program in conjunction with the JC Chamber of Commerce. This is a great job because you will always be the bearer of good news! It’s an easy program to do and we’ll train you.