News

Bill filers jump to early start as legislative session nears

 Just a few of Texas’ 31 Senate members and 150 House members filed a total of 523 pieces of legislation on Nov. 14, the first day lawmakers could submit legislation for the coming session.

The 85th regular session of the Texas Legislature is scheduled to convene on the second Tuesday in January, that is, Jan. 10, at noon. Final adjournment — 140 days later — is set for the last Monday in May, that is, May 29.

Now, back to those bills filed on Nov. 14. Not that it’s a competition, but Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, filed 20 bills, the highest total of any House member. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, was the top 1st-day filer among senators and all legislators with 42 bills and one joint resolution. Zaffirini also co-authored three bills she filed jointly with Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio.

Pastor Dan Tarno of Grace Bible Fellowship Church of Canton set the tone for the Kneeling Soldier memorial dedication Nov. 11 by remarking, “We don’t fight the battles we know we can win; rather, we fight the battles that we believe in.”

The veterans of Van Zandt County battled and believed in a vison- a vison to create one of the best veteran’s memorials in the state.

The inaugural First Responders Banquet was held Nov. 12 with 713 first responders and guests filling the Canton Civic Center to highlight and show appreciation for first responders in Van Zandt County.

For every First Responder that attended, a specially-minted challenge coin was provided to them along with a T-shirt to commemorate the banquet.

There was 840 pounds of brisket served to attendees, and MC  Jim Fuller remarked, “we served 13 people in 29 minutes. Now, that has got to be a record.”

Entertainment for the night was provided by Buddy and the Flashbacks.

Kathy Smith from the Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers presented the “table set for one.”

The “missing man” table is also known as the fallen comrade table in memory of fallen, missing or imprisoned military service members. The table was displayed on the stage during the banquet.

Co-founder of the ABC Room of Van Zandt County Karen Forester of Wills Point was killed in a traffic accident around 1 p.m. Nov. 15.

According to Department of Public Safety Reports, Forester was making a left hand turn off Highway 64 10 miles west of Canton when her 4-door car was struck by a Ford pickup truck. She was pronounced deceased at the scene by Justice of Peace Pct. 3 Herbert Dunn.   The accident is still under investigation.

 She was the co-founder of the ABC Room of Van Zandt County, serving in capacities of president and vice president over the course of 15 years and in 2005, she received the Presidential Volunteer of the Year award. She was a member of the Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point.

Memorial services were held at. Nov. 19 at Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point. 

The Wills Point ISD Board of Trustees officially closed the book on one major item, the 2016 bond election, and opened the door on two others, the implementation of the district’s new curriculum and the high school’s dual credit program, as part of its monthly meeting Nov. 17.

Thomas Mitchell spoke during public comment following the pledges and recognition portion of the agenda. Mitchell began by thanking the board for their work on the bond before noting that the bond’s failure could be looked at as an opportunity for the district.

The Wills Point Chamber of Commerce has been a major proponent of shopping local to support small businesses in the area, actively pushing national events like Small Business Saturday as well as creating its own buzz with the implementation of the BRICK$ BUCK$ promotion.

Small Business Saturday, a shopping holiday conceived and launched by American Express to promote local small businesses, will celebrate its sixth anniversary Nov. 26. The event stresses the ideas of promoting local small businesses.

The chamber noted, “The goal is to grow Wills Point, generate interest and excitement in our community and to provide our small businesses visibility that the power in numbers can create.”

BRICK$ BUCK$

The Wills Point City Council has found itself in a cycle it would be more than happy to break in the month of November, holding a second called emergency meeting in less than three weeks due to needed sewer line repairs in the eastern portion of the city.

Council members initially met in a special called session back on Nov. 3, reviewing a series projects related to the collapse of one of the city's main sewer lines that services areas “including but not limited to Highway 80 East, O’Neal Street and Hatch Street.”

The meeting, which lasted roughly 30 minutes, outlined four potential projects in the area:

-Project 1: designated as the only non-negotiable project by all in attendance, would repair 200 feet of collapsed line along Highway 80.

Residents and businesses in the northern portions of the city and beyond received an olfactory overload during the early weeks of November, shortly after Fort Worth-based Renda Environmental began using a property just north of the city limits as a Class AB sewage sludge land application site.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, application of sewage sludge or biosolids as a means of fertilization is a common and accepted practice.

Biosolids “are nutrient-rich organic materials produced from wastewater treatment facilities. Biosolids can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. Effective sewage sludge and biosolids management options help ensure that useful materials are recycled on land and harmful materials are not released to water bodies.”

A number of proposals received approval from the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court regular meeting Monday, Nov. 7

The meeting was held a day earlier than normal due to Election Day Nov. 8, according to Van Zandt County Judge Don Kirkpatrick.

The commissioners approved the purchase of regular license plates for two newly acquired exempt vehicles the sheriff’s department.

A proclamation that will be read at the Nov. 12 First Responders Appreciation Day Banquet in Canton was approved by the commissioners.

Another proclamation, which will be read at the Memorial Dedication for the Kneeling Soldier bronze statue that same day, was also approved by the commissioners court.

Soliciting bid proposals for commissary services at the sheriff’s department was approved after commissioners heard a presentation from Van Zandt County Auditor Freddy Thomas.

Monthly sales tax revenue figures proved to be a mixed bag for Van Zandt County cities, with Canton, Grand Saline and Van all posting gains and Edgewood, Edom and Wills Point all showing losses according to the office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar.

Canton, the county’s biggest gainer in the month of October, once again holds the title in November by showing a growth of $12,514.32 when comparing against the same month in 2015. The 4.19 percent positive dollar change for the month was the second largest of any city in the county.

Van bounced back from back-to-back months of the largest negative dollar change in the county by collecting $7,733.20 more than the $74,062.02 collected in November 2015. The city of Van also showed the largest percentage gain of any city in the county, showing gains of 10.44 percent.