News

February is Black History Month. It was established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926. Dr. Woodson was the son of a runaway slave and later earned a PHD from Harvard University. Black History Month was chosen for the month of February in honor of the birth month of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

This month we honor and celebrate the history of African Americans, their contributions to society and the challenges they faced. The promise of the American dream has made our nation the greatest in the history of the world.

All citizens have the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams and determine their own destiny. The history of African Americans and their inspirational stories are a reminder of just how important equal opportunity and freedom are. African Americans have contributed in science, literature, art... and the success of America.

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On Jan. 3, the Texas Lions Camp began accepting applications from children with special medical needs for week-long sessions during the summer of 2017.

The 500-acre facility in Kerrville is owned and operated by Texas Lions Club members. The facility serves physically disabled, vision/hearing impaired and diabetic children from across Texas. The camp is provided free-of-charge to parents/children because more than 24,000 Texas Lions and their friends support the camp.

Texas Lions Camp offers five sessions for children with physical disabilities, one session for children with Down syndrome and two sessions for children with Type 1 diabetes. Camp sessions begin on a Sunday and conclude with an awards program on Friday evenings. The complete summer 2017 schedule, which kicks off June 4, is available online at www.lionscamp.com.

The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce the completion of its first Sheriffs Citizens Academy under the authority of Sheriff Corbett. 

The Sheriff Citizens Academy was first introduced to members of the Van Zandt County Precinct Watch Program with the goal of providing Precinct Watch Members with a better understanding of the policies, procedures and aspects of law enforcement that members of the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department face on a daily basis. 

Temperatures may be hovering in the high 70s and lower 80s this week, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is putting Texans on notice by advising the number of flu and influenza-like illnesses has been on the uptick throughout the month of January and into February.

The CDC’s FluView data chart, available online throughout flu season, breaks down to four possible levels of severity: minimal, low, moderate and high. In the case of Texas, the state registered at the lowest activity levels in the week ending Jan. 7 (minimal), and then climbing to “low” for the Jan. 14 and Jan. 21 reports. 

During the report issued for the week ending on Jan. 28, the CDC reported that Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming were all in the

midst of experiencing the highest levels of ILI activity.

Candidate filing for both the local school board and city council elections has slowed to a glacial over the past two weeks, downshifting from five candidates in week one to no new candidates in either of the past two weeks.

Despite recent inactivity, the complexion of races for the position of mayor or councilperson at the city level or board member on the Wills Point ISD Board of Trustees could still change considerably with the Feb. 17 filing deadline looming just over the horizon.

A person must meet several criteria to run, including: being a resident of Texas for one year; a resident of the city of Wills Point for six months to run in the city race or a resident of the Wills Point ISD boundaries for six months to run in the school race; being at least 18 years of age; and being a registered voter at the time of the election.

Candidate packets for the May 6 election cycle are available at the city and school offices respectively.

Two fired up fan bases and basketball teams made their way to Wills Point Feb. 7 for the second meeting of the year between the Tigers and Canton Eagles.

The second meeting between the two long term rivals finished in a similar fashion as the first, with Wills Point pulling way late en route to a 57-41 win over Canton.

The margin between Canton and Wills Point was razor thin in the first half as the Eagles took a 10-9 lead after eight minutes of play.

Tyler James and Doug Sheldon combined for eight points in the second quarter, offsetting an eight-point outburst by Canton's Cameron Sullivan to keep the margin at 22-21 in favor of the Eagles heading into the half.

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The Wills Point community was shaken to its core in November 2014 with the tragic passing of five area residents in a single-vehicle accident on a family trip to Disney World in Florida.

Occurring just west of West Monroe, Louisiana shortly before 11 p.m. Nov. 19, took the lives of Wills Point Primary School teacher Trudi Hardman, her husband Michael, a former teacher in Wills Point who was employed at John F. Kennedy Elementary in Terrell at the time of the accident, and three children from their blended family (Adam and Kaci Hardman and Dakota Watson) while injuring two others.

Friends of the family, which was deeply involved in the local baseball scene, rallied together quickly to put together a candlelight vigil at the north ball fields that was attended by hundreds affected by the tragedy.

Make-A-Wish North Texas granted 650 wishes last year and is currently looking for a significant number of volunteers, especially in Van Zandt County to work directly with wish kids. A wish-granting volunteer meets with the child and her/his family to help determine the child's most heartfelt wish while planning special enhancements throughout the wish process. Wish granters work in teams of two alongside Make-A-Wish staff to ensure every eligible child's wish comes true. A specialized, but relatively simple, training program is provided before contact is made with a wish family.
For information on applying to become a volunteer, contact msawyer@ntx.wish.org or at 214-496-9479.
Additional information can be found at www.ntx.wish.org.

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The Quilters’ Guild of East Texas will hold their monthly meeting and program Thursday, Feb. 9 at The First Christian Church, 4202 South Broadway Avenue, Tyler with a social and check-in at 9:30 am. The public is welcome to attend.
The Guild’s guest speaker will be Francine Miller, The Photo Quilter, presenting a lecture on History of Textiles. She will also be holding a workshop Friday on Thread Painting, said organizers of the event.
For more information, visit  www.qgetx.org

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Grand Saline prepares to host their 2nd annual Buzzard Fest that will be held on Feb. 11. There will be live entertainment, vendors, contests along with other family fun events. The Rat Rod Car Show will kick things off starting 8:00 a.m. Starting at 10:00 a.m. the following festivities will follow; wagon rides, out house races ($25.00 entry fee), road kill cook-off and chili dinner, and Mr. & Mrs. Old buzzard contest. For more information call (903) 962-5631 or visit the Grand Saline Main Street Facebook page.

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