TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 VOLUME 112 ISSUE 5 www.UniversityStar.com
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
Life & Arts: Boyhood Alley
News: Hispanic Heritage Month
Sports: Sun Belt Student Media
Opinion: Emergency Resources
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ENVIRONMENT
Voter Registration Guide Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 marks National Voter Registration Day. The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 8, 2022 Election is Oct. 11, 2022. Here's how to check if you're registered to vote in Texas and how first-time voters can register.
You are eligible to register to vote if: You are a United States citizen You are a resident of the county where you submit the application You are at least 17 years and 10 months old on the date your voter registration application is submitted, and you are 18 years of age on Election Day You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole) You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote
For first-time voters: To register to vote in Texas, complete a voter registration application and return it to your county election office at least 30 days before the upcoming election date. To complete an application, you may: Complete an application using the Secretary of State online voter registration application Request a printed application Contact or visit your local Voter Registrar.
To check voter registration status and/or update voter information, scan here:
Source: votetexas.gov
Hays County Master Gardener members take in plant inventory at Jacob's Well Greenhouse in 2021. PHOTO COURTESY OF CONNIE WIERMAN
Local gardeners to grow funds through plant sale By Haley Velasco Life and Arts Contributor With top-notch knowledge of vegetable and herb gardening, plant nutrition, lawn care and more, the Hays County Master Gardeners are ready to spread their knowledge and help others bloom at their annual Fall Plant and Tree Sale from Oct. 3-12. Founded in 2013, the Hays County Master Gardeners began hosting the Fall Plant and Tree Sale to raise funds to run their horticultural education programs sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. The organization held two smaller sales in the fall and spring before 2019, but the members wanted one sale that everyone could commit to. They also knew that October was the best time to purchase plants as it allows plants to develop good root growth. Connie Wierman, the project lead for the Fall Plant and Tree Sale and the past president of the Hays County Master Gardeners, was certified as a master gardener in 2016 and wants to spread all the information she can about gardening, especially in rough weather conditions that places like Texas endure. “We have such brutal weather and tough soil to work in,” Wierman said. “So with all the extreme conditions, if we can educate folks and spread more information of good practices for our area, people will be more successful and more comfortable with gardening.” The Fall Plant and Tree Sale will benefit the organization's education efforts by expanding one of the gardens, specifically
funding for more raised beds for vegetable gardening in Jacob’s Well Greenhouse and Gardens in Wimberly, Texas. The classes offered mainly take place in demonstration gardens located across the county such as Dripping Springs Ranch Park, Kyle Library and the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center. These gardens are used to show how different plants could look in one’s own backyard along with what soil the plant could work with, whether it’s limestone, caliche or other types of soil that may be hard to plant in. The plants sold are grown by about 40 of the organization's members, except for the trees bought through a wholesale garden. Planning for the sale begins in February, so members can plan what plants they want to offer and have enough time to go through a trial-and-error process to see which plants will have the best luck for the sale. Melissa Tyree, a member of the Hays County Master Gardeners since 2019, volunteered for the sale in 2019 and looks forward to participating in the sale again. "The energy is great, and the trees are amazing,” Tyree said. “I helped unload the trees in 2019 and was just very impressed with the high quality. Other than the trees, the plants are all grown for the most part by the master gardeners, so they’re all grown locally, and they’re adapted to our climate because they’ve grown here and not shipped in from somewhere else.”
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