Can you imagine their excitement?

A typical "school project" is filled with stress, angst, deadlines, grades, and usually some last minute cramming. Sound about right? Well, a group of St. Mary's Hall students may have felt some or all of those feelings while working on their group project for Fresh Cut but this week they were able to feel a bit rewarded for their work. Fresh Cut is a film contest held annually by KLRN for local high schoolers. Students submit their projects which are viewed and judged by a professional panel. The top finalists make it on-air for a one-hour documentary--and it is then that the Director's Cut winner is announced. Last year we added an on-line element allowing the public to vote for their favorite (resulting in a Viewers Choice award).

When the team at PBS NewsHour learned about our project, they viewed the 2010 finalists and found that one film in particular stood out. Not long after contacting us, a PBS NewsHour Extra reporter was interviewing (via Skype) the 4 students behind the film. My, my...hasn't interviewing changed! We are terribly proud of all of the student films submitted this year and to the group from St. Mary's Hall--congrats on the interview! You've represented San Antonio very very well.

All winners will be announced on air May 20th. You bring the popcorn, students provide the entertainment.

Come Learn About Your Better Nature

Have you been to Boerne's Cibolo Nature Center? It's about 160 acres of hill country bottomland, but even with its small size, it features four completely distinct ecosystems: a marsh, a tall-grass praire, a woodlands, and the Cibolo creek, with towering Bald Cypress.

The story of how the Cibolo came about is crammed full of history, passion, and humanity. Here at KLRN we've heard about the Cibolo for years, so we finally connected with its creator and Executive Director, Carolyn Chipman Evans, and got the inside story. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies and a crew of intrepid production folks headed out to Boerne to shoot the half-hour Conversations only to be greeted with heavy rain.

Not to worry; this ain't our first rodeo. We shot on one of the Cibolo's expansive back porchs, keeping David and Carolyn high-n-dry while it rained 3 feet over their shoulders. This Thursday night at 8 the program on the Cibolo Nature Center airs. It's a fine show and I sure think you'll like it.

The Cibolo story is an important one, not just for Boerne, but for all of us. And their story reminds me of KLRN's: they do valuable work, for free, hoping that people will be touched by their efforts, and thereby decide that those efforts warrant their financial support. But enough preaching...just give the show a look-see and I think you'll see what I mean. And don't forget: if you get too busy to watch, you can also view it on KLRN's snazzy new video player.. This show will be available there, along with hundreds of others!