News

The first sales tax revenue collection figures of the new year were released by the office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar Jan. 11, indicating that four out of six county cities are off to a better financial start than they were in 2016.
Van Zandt County cities finished up the first month of the new year up a combined $54,309.46, or 11.54 percent in sales tax revenue collections. For reference, the six county cities finished all of 2016 up a combined $103,035.00 over 2015 collections.
Canton, which finished last year with the biggest positive dollar change and percent change among county cities, collected a $317,634.67 payment this month. That total was $51,307.28 more than the $266,327.39 received for the same calendar month in 2016.

Texas House Bill 2804 has become a hot topic for educators and politicians alike in recent weeks, with superintendents and educational leaders around the state voicing their frustrations since the Texas Education Agency’s release of preliminary reports earlier this month.
HB 2804, passed during the 2015 legislative session by Texas lawmakers, established an A-F grading system where districts as a whole and individual campuses within a district are given letter grades in five different areas or domains.

The University Interscholastic League’s Lone Star Cup is awarded annually to six high schools, one in each of the six UIL classifications (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A). The award honors the best overall athletic and academic programs in Texas based on their team performance in district and state championships.
Using activities and events from the fall semester of the 2016-’17 school year, including State and Area Marching Band, team tennis, cross country, volleyball and football, Wills Point is currently tied for 10th among all 4A schools in the state of Texas.
Standings in the 4A division include: Argyle, 41 points; Abilene Wylie, 37 points; Andrews, Carthage and Paris North Lamar, 26 points; Geronimo Navarro, 25 points; Kaufman, 24 points; Kennedale and La Vernia, 23 points; Wills Point, Bushland and Liberty Hill, 22 points.

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The Chapel of the Lake church in Wills Point held its first annual chili cook-off Saturday, Jan. 21.
The winner, Gary Moore, was chosen by judges Nick Eaton and Sammy Savage.
They scored the chili based on aroma, consistency, red color, taste and after taste.
Following the chili cook-off, the members and guests were blessed by worship music provided by Sammy and Ruth Savage and Brenda Shefflett.

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Election coordinators for the city of Wills Point and Wills Point ISD were kept busy during the opening days of the 2016 election filing period, already receiving back paperwork from five of six incumbents as of 8 a.m. Jan. 25, including that of Mark Turner, Oscar Rogers, Lance LyBrand, Kyle Anderson and Russell Hiler.
Interested filers have until Feb. 17 to pick up and return candidate packets declaring their intention to run. Elections day for both the city and school district has been scheduled for May 6.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, a person must have been a resident of Texas for one year and a resident of Wills Point for six months prior to the filing date in order to run for a spot on either the city council or board of trustees. They must also be 18 years of age and be a registered voter at the time of the election.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement Jan. 12 following the filing of Senate Bill 12 - Protective Vests for Police by Senator Royce West, (D - Dallas):
"Last year, Texas had more law enforcement officers die in the line of duty than any other state in America. Families were shattered by senseless tragedies -- some of which could have been prevented if these law enforcement officers had been outfitted with protective vests capable of stopping high-caliber bullets.

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Jan. 10  marked the beginning of the 85th legislative session for the Texas Legislature and State Representative Dan Flynn said he would continue to push for legislation that would embody faith, family and freedom.
"I am excited about the opportunity to continue the direction of Texas as a leader for faith family and freedom. My number one priority this session is American law on American soil," said Flynn. This is Representative Flynn's 8th  session representing East Texas and the interests of all Texans in important conservative values that he has reinforced in previous sessions of the legislature.

WASHINGTON—Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement after voting for the FY 2017 Budget Resolution that will enable the repeal of Obamacare through budget reconciliation:
“Today’s vote marks the most important step to date in the process to once and for all repeal Obamacare and to provide patient-centered health care reform in its place.
“Under President Obama’s ‘signature accomplishment’ premiums and deductibles have soared, patient choice has dwindled, and insurance markets have begun to collapse.  Despite promises that people who wanted to keep their insurance plan and doctor could do so, many Americans have lost one or even both.  Beyond Obamacare’s impact on their health care, hardworking Americans who were already struggling to make ends meet had their hours cut at work because their employer couldn’t afford Obamacare’s onerous taxes and penalties.

Throughout 2016, the Van Zandt County Jail has been on a rocky path. From escaped inmates, to deaths of inmates, budget problems, overcrowding and outsourcing of inmates the jail has seen its slew of problems.  VZC Sheriff Dale Corbett said he had a plan to combat all of the speed bumps in the jail’s way, starting with staffing changes.
Corbett said that effective Jan. 1, 2017 “former VZC Chief Deputy of Jail Administrator George Flowers is no longer there.”
Corbett said that while he would “not go into detail,” it was clear that “Chief Deputy of Jail Administration George Flower’s services were no longer needed and we are going to head in a different direction.”
Corbett said that in the interim that he and his staff are “overseeing the budget of the jail right now to get things back on track,” but that he has full faith in the staff that he has chosen.

The Council of Van Zandt County Communities met Jan. 10 at The Bunker in Canton with a large crowd of people from Van Zandt County and beyond attending.
VISIONS President Lisa Morrison introduced guest speaker Wills Point PCED -City Administrator Pam Pearson.
Pearson led an open discussion on Senate Bill 2 and the spoke on the potential negative impact it could have on communities if the bill were to pass. The 85th Legislative Session began Jan. 10, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has indicated SB-2 is “of high priority.”
Pearson provided the group with a better look into what is at stake for smaller communities should the bill pass and how it would force rural cities to make cuts, primarily relating to infrastructure. 
According to Pearson, the adopted tax rate is comprised of two tax rates adopted by the governing body of a taxing unit, including the maintenance and operations tax and then interest and sinking taxes, better known as M&O and I&S taxes.