Following a closed session March 14, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court announced adjustments in salary and positions at the county’s district clerk and tax assessor-collector offices.
Chief Deputy District Clerk Melissa Chaney was given a $1,000 salary increase after the commissioners agreed to decrease the salary of another position in the office by $1,000.
In the tax assessor-collectors office, commissioners approved the elimination of two part-time positions to open up a full-time position in the office.
During the open session, the commissioners covered their agenda in 15 minutes as various proposals received approval.
VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick began the open session by expressing his appreciation to everyone involved who made the trip to Austin for Van Zandt County Day March 7.
Volunteers with Keep Wills Point Beautiful and the city of Wills Point recently announced that they will be holding their annual city wide clean-up event April 6-8 at the open lot located next to Fire Tech.
The location, on the corner of W. High St. and N. 5th St., will be open from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day of the event. The event has been expanded this year, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Keith Pearson announcing that the Precinct 3 barn located on Highway 64 would also be open to county residents April 7-8.
Accepted items are set to include appliances, residential trash, bulky items, cement/rock and construction debris not to exceed 10 cubic yards.
Mattresses and other larger pieces of furniture will be accepted by the Precinct 3 barn April 7-8.
Wills Point third baseman Dee Donaldson tags out Canton’s Destahnee Quimby as she attempted to turn a double into a triple.
By David Kapitan Sports Editor
Spring break was anything but easy for this year’s Wills Point Lady Tigers, with district games against both Emory Rains and Canton last week, and another contest against Mabank March 21.
The Lady Tigers finished their first three games of District 13-4A play with a 1-2 record overall, running the gamut with a 12-2 loss to the Lady Cats, a narrow 5-4 loss to the Eaglettes and a dominant 14-3 win over the Lady Panthers.
Wills Point hung tough in the early going against Emory Rains March 14, trailing just 3-2 through three innings of play. The tide turned quickly, however, with defensive miscues helping the Lady Cats put up six runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth of a 12-2 win.
Russell Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 201 S. 4th St., is hosting its monthly Neighbor to Neighbor Lunch this Saturday, March 25. Anyone who wants a good meal is invited to the Deen Building (corner of 4th Street and Orville) for a free meal between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Wills Point Ladies Club has announced that it will be hosting a Burgers 'n' Games fundraising event beginning at 5 p.m. March 25 at the Deen Building in Wills Point.
Tickets will be $25 per person, and include admission, a burger basket (burger, chips and drink), and access to a wide array of games that will be played throughout the evening.
A silent auction will also take place throughout the three-hour event.
Funds raised by the WPLC will go towards scholarships for Wills Point High School graduates. Since 2011, the WPLC has presented scholarships totaling $27,800 to deserving WPISD graduates.
Anyone interested in participating or attending the event can contact the WPLC at their website, www.willspointladiesclub.org or on Facebook at Wills Point Ladies Club.
Need a passport, but can’t make it to the post office during normal office hours? To ensure U.S. citizens are prepared to travel abroad this summer, the U.S. Postal Service will be hosting a passport fair at the Canton Post Office, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 25, 2017. Customers will be accommodated on a first-come, first-serviced basis.
Van Zandt County cities entered the month of March looking for a reprieve in sales tax revenue collection figures after four out of six local cities failed to keep pace with the numbers they posted in February 2016 last month.
Most cities in had their hopes answered March 8 with the office Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar announcing that Edom, Grand Saline, Van and Wills Point had all exceeded numbers posted for the same calendar month the previous year.
Van entered the month of March on a distinct downward turn in terms of sales tax revenue collections during the first two months of 2017, collecting $46,270.18 less in January and February combined than those same months the previous year.
Van bounced back in a big way, nearly finding its way back to even by collecting $71,188.44 in March. That total was a staggering 144.32 percent higher than the city had received back in March 2016.
The Wills Point Junior High gymnasium received a needed upgrade courtesy of John David Crow and Wills Point Ford last week with the unveiling of a new scoreboard. Crow explained that he had attended a game to watch his son play when he noticed that the previous scoreboard was working only intermittently. Crow contacted the school the next day, asking if there was a way he could donate a new scoreboard to help benefit the district. WPJH Principal Casey Cochran explained, “Our junior high program is the starting point for so many of our students to become involved in some kind of organized athletic sport. I am so thankful that John David Crow as a business owner saw the need for our campus, and stepped up to support our students. Our student-athletes were also very grateful and excited that someone was investing in them.” Those present at the scoreboard unveiling last week included Cochran, John David Crow and Wills Point athletic director Greg Cranfill.
Guest speakers for the fourth annual Career Day event at the Wills Point Junior High campus posed for a picture prior to making their presentations.
Students at the Wills Point Middle School campus got a glimpse at what their futures might hold March 10 with professionals in a variety of fields making presentations as part of the school's fourth annual Career Day event.
Fields represented included law enforcement, nursing, veterinary sciences, health and beauty, and others. The event gave students the opportunity to interact with people practicing in those fields and in some cases, handle equipment they might use should they follow that career path.
