BCFNS NEWSLETTER
April 2024
Issue 50
Contact us at newsletter@BlancoCountyNightSky.org
including 18 Lifetime Household members plus 2 Lifetime Business Members
990 Facebook Group Members -- 520 Instagram Followers
Click here for accomplishments in last year and here for complete history
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THE GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE IN BLANCO COUNTY
Everyone was so disappointed that eclipse day in Blanco County turned out to be very cloudy, but we enjoyed a different experience from what was expected. Rusty Camp, BCFNS member and amateur astronomer with Hill Country Astronomers, shared his pictures of the Great American Eclipse of April 8, 2024. Rusty says it was “a cloudy solar eclipse but I got a couple pictures from the telescope!” Vicki Guidry contributed the photo of Darkness at Totality!
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2024 FACEBOOK POETRY CONTEST
We’d like to share another poem from our contest in January. This one was submitted by longtime member and volunteer, Rachel Lumpee.
Along with stars that one can see.
I hope future generations can experience the night sky magic,
To lose the dark night skies would be tragic.
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BCFNS at the BLANCO FOUNDER’S DAY
The Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky participated in the first ever Blanco Founders Day on March 23rd on the Blanco Town Square. The event provided the opportunity for BCFNS members to share with dozens of visitors our collective efforts to preserve the night sky and fight light pollution in Blanco County.
Hill Country Astronomers, Jack Petersen and Ryan Behrends brought out a special prominence scope and a solar filter for a regular scope to show sunspots. Both scopes were a big hit with our visitors. The event was also supported by our resident fiddle player, Bernard Mollberg, the BCFNS Board and, of course, the Wizard of the Night Sky. The afternoon effort garnered much interest among the mostly local attendees. "We thought this was one of our most productive outreach efforts ever," said BCFNS Vice-President, Vicki Guidry, "We can't wait to repeat it next year."
BCFNS at the CoAPT EVENT
Blanco Coalition on Awareness, Prevention, and Treatment of Substance Abuse (CoAPT) is a community coalition working together to keep our youth healthy. This event was a health fair held at Blanco High School and open to the public. The fact sheet, Lighting Affects Our Health & Safety, from Dark Sky International was given to students, teachers, and visitors by BCFNS members.
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WIZARD OF THE NIGHT SKY VISITS
BLANCO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The Wizard of the Night Sky and his associate, the Musician of the Night Sky, visited 5th graders at Blanco Elementary School. The Wizard shared with students how disappointed he is over the loss of the night sky in the past 100+ years and why light pollution is the problem. He also told them that he had been throwing lightning bolts to get people’s attention but after an incident involving burning down an important tree; he had to stop. The students were very attentive to the message, asked questions and filled out a form about how they could become a “Friend of the Night Sky”. It was a great day! As the Wizard was departing, with great hope that the Night Sky was now in good hands, the students could be heard chanting …
“Lightning Bolts…Lightning Bolts” !!!
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ART CONTEST
You are all in for a real treat as we begin to post pictures of the artwork created by the very talented students in Blanco County. Watch our Facebook and Instagram pages as we begin to share the art. The winning pieces will be shown in the May newsletter as well as our presentation of prizes to these students. Below, we proudly announce the winners of our 4th Annual Art Contest. This year’s theme was DEEP IN THE DARK OF TEXAS.
Middle School – 6th Grade: All from Blanco Middle School
1st Place: Evin Polkinghorn
2nd Place: Emily Jamison
3rd Place: Aspyn Salazar
Honorable Mention: Elle Sims
Middle School – 7th Grade: All from Blanco Middle School
1st Place: Donald “Trey” Elbel
2nd Place: Charlotte Lagan
3rd Place: Brooklyn Plahy
Honorable Mention: Darby Kersten
Middle School – 8th Grade:
1st Place: Isabella Carbo -- Blanco
2nd Place: Corinne Unterbrink -- Blanco
3rd Place: Joshua Guajardo -- Johnson City
Honorable Mention: Jacob Galvan -- Johnson City
High School: 1-5th place – All from Johnson City
1st Place: Cheyanne Tatsch (11th grade)
2nd Place: Tegan Ritchie (10th grade)
3rd Place: Clara Baker (11th grade)
4th Place: Lola Burrier (10th grade)
5th Place: TIE -- Neely Burrier (12th grade) and Yaretzi Torres (9th grade)
MEET OUR NEWEST LIFETIME MEMBERS
Cymbre Wicker (left) and sister, Sherri, owners of the Cor-Jul Ranch north of Blanco, proudly display their Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) Lifetime Membership sign prior to Easter Festivities at the ranch. The Wickers’ $500 Lifetime Business Membership brings to 21 the total number of BCFNS Lifetime Memberships in effect. The proceeds will be used to support the non-profit organization’s efforts to educate the community about the evils of light pollution and the necessity of protecting the night sky by using common sense outdoor lighting practices. (photo by Wayne Gosnell)
MORE NEW MEMBERS
We also welcomed 4 new members who purchased membership signs and received a free one-year membership. They are Charles Edmiston, Mary Jo Hansen, Corky Roseberry (and her mother, Cindy) and Lisa Edwards. Corky purchased her sign at Blanco Founders Day and Charles purchased 2 signs to display on his Blanco County property. Charles also joined us at our April Board meeting. Everyone is welcome to do the same anytime!
CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER
We have been successful with our Membership Sign Promotion! The more signs we can get out in the public, the more people we can reach with our message about “saving the stars”.
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). A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs
For more information on all our membership options click here: Membership Options
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
THIS NEWSLETTER
We hope you enjoy our newsletter and we are always looking for ways to make it better and more enjoyable. To that end, we invite your suggestions, comments and ideas for articles. In fact, if you would like to write an article to be published in our newsletter, we will certainly consider including it. Please send them to: newsletter@blancocountynightsky.org
NEXT BOARD MEETING
Our regular Board meeting, which is open to everyone, will be Wednesday, May 15th @ 9 am, at El Charro Restaurant in Johnson City. If you would like to attend via Zoom, just let us know ahead of time and we’ll make it happen.
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Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky
| P. O. Box 1402|Johnson
City | Texas | 78636 |
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