News

The local community will once again get a jump start on the Christmas holiday, with Santa Claus scheduled to make an early arrival locally for the annual Christmas on the Bricks celebration in downtown Wills Point Dec. 10.

Entertainment and activities will once again run the gamut, with arts/craft and food vendors, live entertainment, a Kid’s Zone, 5k Reindeer Run sponsored by TVEC, Christmas on the Bricks Car Show sponsored by Texas Fire Alarm, Breakfast with Santa and “A Candy Christmas” annual Christmas Parade all scheduled to take place throughout the day.

The event schedule will include:

-5k Christmas Reindeer Color Run: onsite registration will take place from 8-9 a.m., with the race beginning at 9:30 a.m. by the Wills Point Community Center.

-Christmas Car Show: onsite registration will begin at 8 a.m., with awards scheduled to be presented at 11:30 a.m. Additionally, cars are scheduled to line up for the Christmas parade at 11:30 a.m.

The Myrtle Springs Alumni Straw Hat Dinner Theater will host a Christmas concert featuring Michael Bridges at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 at the old school building in Myrtle Springs.

Bridges presently serves as worship pastor/minister of music at First Baptist Church in Sunnyvale. He has appeared with the band, Living Proof, in many concerts, camps, revivals and retreats as well as other venues.

Desserts and drinks will be served with the concert to follow, members said.

The old school is located on VZCR 3447 just off Highway 64 in Myrtle Springs.

Reservations are not required.

There is a cover charge, $5 for students and adults are $15, children under 5 are free.

 For more information call Tresea Stringer at 972-365-4673.

AARP Driver Safety Program and the Van Zandt County Library at 317 First Monday Lane in Canton are sponsoring a driver safety class from noon to 5 p.m.  Dec. 7.

The course is designed for drivers 50 years of age and older primarily.

“The course helps you learn to compensate for the effects that passing years have eyesight, hearing, and reflexes. Most participants will qualify for insurance premium reductions of up to 10 percent off their policy cost for the next three years,” said organizer Marvin Shaw.

Cost for the class is a nominal fee for materials only. To enroll for the class, call Shaw at 903-848-7023.

“Class size is limited, so call and enroll so we can make sure you have a space saved,” said Shaw. 

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is reminding the hundreds of thousands of Texas hunters to keep safety in the crosshairs.

“Texas had an all-time low number of incidents last deer season and we want that trend to continue,” says Steve Hall, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s hunter education coordinator. “And the number one safety measure a deer hunter can take is to complete a hunter education training course.”

After reviewing proposals from three different firms, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to hire Patillo, Brown & Hill of Waco as the new auditing firm for the county for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2016.

During their Nov. 22 regular meeting, the commissioners heard proposals from County Auditor Freddy Thomas concerning the proposals from the three auditing firms including the current firm for the county, Gollob Morgan Peddy of Tyler.

“I believe that the fees we are currently paying are out of line with what other counties, larger than our county, are paying for auditing fees right now,” pointed out Thomas. “The past two years, we have paid $95,000 and $90,000 respectively. I feel right now that we are paying too much money for an outside audit and we need to reconsider and re-evaluate this. The cost is getting out of control. I think we need to make a change.”

It is holiday season around Van Zandt County and events have stacked up for the upcoming weeks.

Cities around the county have planned parades, gatherings, and carnivals to offer entertainment to residents of the county.

Wills Point

Christmas on the Bricks is set to return to the downtown area from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Dec. 10. Attractions for this year’s event are scheduled to include: arts/craft and food vendors, live entertainment, a Kid’s Zone, 5k Reindeer Run sponsored by TVEC, Christmas on the Bricks Car Show sponsored by Texas Fire Alarm, Breakfast with Santa and “A Candy Christmas” annual Christmas Parade.

Additional event and registration information for any of the Christmas on the Bricks-related events can be obtained by www.willspointchamber.com or calling the chamber at 903-873-3111.

The TVCC Choral Department will present its annual Christmas Concert this at 3 p.m. Sunday Dec.4 at First Baptist Church of Athens. “Tis the Season” will feature performances from the Cardinal Singers, Chamber Singers and Encore. Admission is free and the public is invited.

For more stories like this one, subscribe to the Wills Point Chronicle or pick up a copy from one of our vendors. 

A milestone anniversary will be crossed during the upcoming week, with Wednesday, Dec. 7 marking the 75th anniversary of the bombing by Japanese forces of United States military bases and assets on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the subsequent involvement by U.S. military forces in World War II.

In anticipation of the 75^th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Larry Turner will be hosting a special program about four local men aboard the U.S.S. Arizona that day and their lives at Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point beginning at 5 p.m. Dec. 4. RMUMC is located at 201 S. 4th St. For those unable to attend, Turner's presentation will also be live streamed at russellmemorialumc.org. 

Dec. 7, 1941

The actions by the Imperial Japanese Navy included the sinking of four U.S. Navy battleships, the USS Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia and California, damage to other pieces of the U.S. fleet and more than 2,400 fatalities.

The Van Zandt Newspapers family lost one of its most well-known and beloved members Nov. 26 with the passing of Wanda Alberta “Bert” Turner at the age of 81.

Born in Illinois, Turner and her husband Robert moved to Dallas before eventually settling in Wills Point in 1966. She served as office manager at the Chronicle office for 44 years before retiring in 2012.

Shortly before her retirement, Turner recalled her start at the paper. “When I first started, we did all of our subscriptions on an Addressograph. This metal with the address on it went into a tray, and you slid the paper through and the machine put the address on them. We had the little press in the smaller room. Everybody worked back there when it was paper day. (Former owner) Tom Campbell passed away and soon after, we got the new press. I remember we were all back there, and they were showing us all how it was to be run. Right after that, we got the inserter.”