Thorndale

The No. 1 Thorndale Lady Dogs (24-3-1) made quick work of their opening game in the Class 2A state softball playoffs.  The team demolished the Louise Lady Hornets 19-0 on Thursday night at Schulenburg in the teams’ bi-district contest.

Thorndale now moves on the area round where they will face Snook in a single elimination game.  First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Rockdale High School.  The Lady Jays are the second place team from 26-2A and defeated Deweyville in their bi-district contest.

It took just four and a half innings for Thorndale to take the win over the Lady Hornets.  Louise made three errors on defense that put Thorndale runners across the plate or in scoring position.

The Lady Dogs scored four runs in the bottom of the first, seven in the second and four in each of their third and fourth innings at bat.  Thorndale also collected 14 hits on the night.

Early voting in the May 5 city and school board elections began on April 23.

Early voting began this week at the Thorndale ISD administration building and will continue today and tomorrow between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. It will continue on Monday, April 30, through Tuesday, May 1, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day May 5. The polling location for the May 5 election is at the Thorndale Senior Citizens Center.

There will be several contested races in the election as well as a bond election for Thorndale ISD.

Incumbent Mayor Mara McDowell will face George Galbreath Jr. for Mayor.

Five people will be vying for three spots on the City Council. Incumbent Sam Pickett will face Allen Hejl, Steven Zuehkle, Ashleigh (Towery) Moehling and Wayne Green.

A Household Hazardous Waste Collection will be held in Thorndale on April 14 at 501 E. US 79 in Thorndale from  9  a.m. to 2 p.m. and is open to all residents of Bell, Coryell, Hamilton, Lampasas, Milam, Mills, and San Saba Counties. 

Anyone who participates in the event must provide proof of residency. That could mean a Drivers License or a Water Bill. 

Residents will be allowed to drop off everything from paint, tile, car batteries, motor oil and other fluids, antifreeze, household cleaners and chemicals, flammables, pesticides, corrosives, and other hazardous materials. Passenger car and truck tires and rims will be accepted, with a small fee per tire or rim depending on size. Prohibited items include infectious and medical waste, biological and radioactive materials, compressed gas cylinders, ammo, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and explosives. Goodwill will be on site accepting electronic items with the exception of refrigerators and televisions.

Voters in Thorndale ISD will once again decide on a bond election on May 5.

TISD school trustees are proposing a mix-and-match style ballot in which voters can choose some, all or non of the three options which total $12,940,000.

The bonds, if passed, would mean a new high school, band hall and resurfaced track and more parking. There will also be changes to other buildings including the conversion of the high school to a middle school and the middle school for a fourth- and fifth-grade campus.

The bond will be presented to the public in three different options. 

Proposition A, a $9.8 million package, will include a new two-story high school building, the conversion of the high school into a middle school library and administration building, the conversion of the middle school into a new fourth- and fifth-grade campus, cafeteria renovations and more. 

The Thorndale Bulldogs (34-4) had a tall order in front of them to win the program’s third boys basketball state title, but the height of the Stinnett West Texas Comanches (36-2) was just too much, as the Bulldogs fell 61-55 in the Class 2A UIL state basketball title game at the Alamodome in San Antonio on March 10.

The Comanches’ roster included a 6-8 center and a 6-4 guard.  That factor had Thorndale’s defense doubling down on the players in the paint and down low and left West Texas perimeter shooters with several open shots.

Jonah Villanueva, a sophomore guard that made just three points in the Comanches’ state semifinal win on Friday, hit six of his 10 shots beyond the arc for a game-high 22 points and inadvertently was named the championship game MVP.

Third time just might be the charm for Thorndale as it will make its third straight trip to the UIL state basketball tournament this weekend.

The No. 1 Thorndale Bulldogs (33-3), and Class 2A Region IV champion, will face No. 7 and defending state champion Muenster (18-5), Region II champion, in the state semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Alamodome. The 8:30 a.m. semifinal will see Region III winner and No. 4 Shelbyville (32-4) play No. 10 and Region 1 winner Stinnett West Texas (34-2). Thorndale and Muenster were both at the state tourney last season.  This is Stinnett's first ever tourney appearance and the first for Shelbyville in 34 years.

The Bulldogs won their third straight region championship on Saturday with a 46-41 victory over district foe Mumford at New Braunfels Canyon High School.

The No. 1 Thorndale Bulldogs (31-3) are back in the Class 2A Region IV tournament after defeating No. 15 Snook 58-46 in the regional quarterfinals on Tuesday night at Hearne High School.

The Bulldogs, champions of District 25-2A, will play No. 14 Port Aransas at 8 p.m. Friday at Canyon High School in New Braunfels in the second of two region semifinals game.  The first game will tip off at 6 p.m. and see Thorndale’s district foe Mumford play San Antonio Stacey.

The two winners will play at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Class 2A Region IV championship game and a berth in the UIL state tournament.

Port Aransas, winner of 30-2A, defeated No. 19 San Antonio Lee Academy 71-57 to earn a trip to the regional tournament.

Mumford, third place in 25-2A, defeated Yorktown 60-37 in its third round game and San Antonio Stacey, third place in 29-2A, won 77-61 over San Perlita in its regional quarterfinal match.

Thorndale Independent School District decided to move forward with a new bond issue during a special meeting on Feb. 15.

The bond will be presented to the public in three different options. Proposition A, a $9.8 million package, will include a new two-story high school building, the conversion of the high school into a middle school library and administration building, the conversion of the middle school into a new fourth and fifth grade campus, cafeteria renovations and more. 

Proposition B,  a $2.4 million package, will include a new band hall addition, enclosure of the existing elementary pavilion, installation of an HVAC system in the middle school gym and renovations to the ag building. 

Proposition C, a $680,000 proposal, will resurface the existing track, construct 50 new parking spaces and purchase land for future construction.

A St. Paul Lutheran School student holds up an auction item during the church’s annual fundraiser on Feb. 11. A barbecue meal and auction were held to raise funds for the church and school at the Thorndale Fireman’s Hall.

The No. 8 Thorndale Lady Dogs (26-5) started their playoff run with a win over Iola on Monday night at Giddings High School.

The Lady Dogs’ next test will be Thursday against Weimar at 7:30 p.m. in Giddings. Weimar is the runner up in District 28-2A and defeated Harper in its first round contest on Tuesday night.

“I’m excited about playing Weimar and feel good about the way we are playing,” longtime Lady Dogs’ coach Bradley Dickerson said.  Monday’s win was the 453rd victory of his career.

In Monday’s win over Iola, Thorndale came out a little slow, but managed a 9-6 lead after the first quarter.  The Lady Dogs then broke the game open with 17 points in the second quarter, heading into halftime with a 26-17 lead.

Thorndale, 25-2A champion, came out on fire in the second half.  They put the game away by outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 31-11 in the final two quarters.

Iola fourth place team form 26-2A