“Samuel Lartigue grew up and went to school in Houston, Texas. After high school, Samuel started a plumbing career, then had the opportunity to be a home builder and superintendent for Legend Homes. Shortly after relocating to Surfside Beach, Texas from Houston, he founded Lartigue Construction Services, LLC, in 2017. There he met his lovely wife Lacie, and they were married. They now have two beautiful daughters, Avlynn June (8) and Dixie Jean (5). In the summer of 2023, after taking a step back from the business to enjoy time traveling, they landed in Bandera County in the town of Medina, Texas where they both quickly realized the Texas Hill Country was where they wanted to call home, a place away from big city lights. They quickly found a home on the south end of Blanco County, where they still operate the construction business. Samuel became interested in BCFNS after seeing the billboard next to Tractor Supply on the south side of the city of Blanco. After attending the next board meeting, he knew this was a battle worth fighting for, preserving the night sky from big city growth. Samuel volunteers his time working on the Blanco County SQM Cluster project, which he now fully oversees throughout Blanco County. This project is a major piece of the BCFNS 10+ Year Vision Plan.”

As announced in April, BCFNS turned out in force at Blanco's Gem of the Hills to support the May 22nd Hill Country Dark Sky Conference. Organized by Dawn Davies, Hill Country Alliance Night Sky Program Manager, the invitation-only conference brought together elected public officials, city administrators, and night sky advocates from across the Hill Country to learn how to better protect the night sky, which is such an important part of our collective "sense of place.”

BCFNS volunteers at Hill Country Dark Sky Conference
L to R: Bob Heinonen, Larry Seiler, Vicki Guidry, Barbara Hudson, Linda Whitlow, Mike Green, Paul Bauml, Bernard Mollberg, Wayne Gosnell


The Wizard of the Night Sky™ gave the conference a simple but direct message

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ANNUAL BCFNS GATHERING

The evening of April 29th, BCFNS held their Annual Gathering and Star Party minus the star party. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, and we were not able to enjoy the stars that night but still had a wonderful time visiting and meeting new people. One of the door prizes was a membership sign and one year membership. The lucky winners were Laura and Robert Lauzier! They chose to extend their membership for a second year; we look forward to their support.

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BCFNS Sponsorship at Rotary Club Golf Tournament

We received a very nice letter from the Rotary Club expressing their “sincere gratitude” for our sponsorship. The letter explained that “Rotary is an international organization whose mission is to provide service to others, promoted integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.” This year scholarships were awarded to Blanco County seniors.

It is very important to BCFNS to offer support to our community, and it is helpful that we are also able to get our “brand” out there in the public to raise awareness. The sign below was placed on Hole #3.

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GOVERNOR’S COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Rachel Lumpee, BCFNS member and volunteer, is also the Keep Blanco Beautiful Public Relations Chairperson, and she recently shared some exciting news with us.

“Blanco has been awarded the Category 1 Governor’s Community Achievement Award (GCAA). This was possible because of organizations like Keep Blanco Beautiful, Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky, Blanco County Conservation Initiative and many other organizations working together for the Blanco Community.”

After submitting applications for many years Rachel, with the help of Katy Gentry, put together a winning submission. The award includes receiving landscaping funds from Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation, along with a commemorative plaque honoring the achievement. Here is a link that will explain more about the award: Governor's Community Achievement Award

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JUST FOR FUN

As promised, we will continue to share poems submitted for our Annual Facebook Poetry Contest held earlier this year, just in case you missed them on Facebook. No prizes…it was just for fun. This year’s theme: “What is a Star?”

Twinkle on, Twinkle on, Little Star
by Candy Cargill
(Inspired by Jane Taylor)

Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
You were like a diamond in the sky.
As the blazing sun is set and gone,
The arms of darkness embrace us strong,
Then you show your light; or should
But for a sea of man’s light; you still could.
Once the traveler in the dark
Thanked you for your tiny spark.
Now there is light wherever he walks,
He longs for your twinkle, a fable in talks.
Behind the night sky glow, I know you keep,
Through my black out curtains I often peep,
I know you are there, never shutting your eye,
Until sunrise makes way to light the sky.
As we know your bright and tiny spark
Would be light for the traveler in the dark,
Friends of the Night Sky know what you are,
Twinkle on, twinkle on, little star.

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CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER

A membership sign in your yard is a great way to let others know that you care about the night sky and perhaps make them curious about the organization. We have been successful with our Membership Sign Promotion but still need your help. The more signs we can get out in the public, the more people we can reach with our message about “saving the stars”. There are now 160 BCFNS membership signs hanging on fences and gates throughout Blanco County (and beyond). Each of these shouts to the world “Stop polluting our Night Sky”.

If you have been thinking of joining BCFNS or renewing your membership, you can still take advantage of our special offering of 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

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NEXT BOARD MEETING

The next Board meeting will be July 16th at 9:00AM, at the Blanco County Community Resource Center (CRC) in Johnson City. The address is 206 South US Highway 281. Meetings are informal and consist of part business and part brainstorming. You are welcome to join us.

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THIS NEWSLETTER

We hope you enjoy our newsletter. 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

Remember we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details regarding deductibility for any donation you make.