Education: I graduated from Wills Point High School in 1983, attended TVCC and received my certificate and licenses as a Cosmetologist which I work at the City Barber Shop.
Organizations or other activities you are currently involved in: Round’em Up Cowboy Church. I help with our youth group and help coordinator fundraisers, volunteer at the WPISD when needed.
While the weather outside has been anything but frightful, and the need for a fire to keep warm appears unlikely in the near future, the Christmas season and related events continue to draw nearer and nearer locally.
Christmas on the Bricks, one of the most anticipated local events, 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 Wills Point City Council, including members Lance LyBrand, Kyle Anderson, Mayor Mark Turner and Mike Jones, held its regular monthly meeting Nov. 8 at the Van Zandt County Annex.
By David Kapitan Staff Writer
The Wills Point City Council held its second meeting of the month Nov. 8, following up a special called meeting the week prior with its regular meeting at the Van Zandt County Annex.
Discussion centered on several key topics, notably the approval of a new mowing contract and an interlocal agreement with the city of Canton for animal shelter services. City leaders also received a brief update on issues involving the city’s water and sewer lines.
Business opened with several bookkeeping items related to the Wills Point Police Department, with council members unanimously approving “the job description for the city’s canine officer and revising all city of Wills Point job descriptions related to the requirements of employee driving records” and the “body worn camera policy”.
Council members followed the bookkeeping items by reviewing three contract bids received by the city related to the mowing of city maintained property for the 2016-’17 fiscal year.
The Wills Point Fire Department responded to a call Nov. 13 shortly before 1 p.m. in reference to a vehicle fire on FM-47 near FM 2475.
According to reports, the vehicle owner stated that smoke began to enter the cab of the vehicle through the vents. The car owner and a passenger, both of whom were unharmed, exited the 2015 Hyundai and contacted 9-1-1 before the vehicle became totally engulfed in flames.
The fire department arrived on the scene and contained the scene, keeping the fire from spreading further into the grassy area next to the roadway.
On Sept. 30, Citizens National Bank of Wills Point and City National Bank of Sulphur Springs joined in a merger that resulted in one of the oldest and strongest small town banking systems in Texas. City National Bank, chartered in Sulphur Springs in 1889, was already a thriving and growing East Texas bank, but as bank president Ricky Reynolds explained, “We wanted to find a way to serve the market in Van Zandt County.”
Reynolds continued, “Citizens National Bank had a friendly, customer-focused reputation we really valued. And after talking to their management, we discovered that joining forces met some of their goals for growth as well.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the death of a Wills Point man in a multi-vehicle accident in Anderson County Nov. 1.
According to DPS Public Information Officer Jean Dark, "Troopers responded to a two-vehicle crash on US-79 in Anderson County approximately 17 miles north of the city of Palestine. Preliminary crash investigation revealed that a 2005 International truck, towing a manufactured house, was traveling northbound on US-79. A 2012 Kenworth truck tractor semi-trailer was traveling southbound on US-79.
"The International truck jackknifed, causing it to enter the southbound lane where it was struck by the Kenworth. The crash caused an immediate fire that burned the manufactured home as well as the truck towing it. The driver was identified as Dickie Lynn Duckworth, 49 years-old of Wills Point.
It is not every day that a business in Van Zandt County wins a statewide contest. In fact, Van Zandt Newspapers can now tuck a statewide win under its belt, with a first-place finish in the Texas Associated Press’ newspaper directory cover contest.
That’s right, your local Van Zandt Newspaper group beat out cover submissions from newspaper groups across the state to claim first and third place finishes in a hotly contested race.
Our design team comprised of page designers Amanda Greene and Kelly Baker took initiative and entered the cover contest, a first for the company.
“We have never entered a contest like this and we designed five covers for people to pick in an online forum,” said Greene. “We really worked at designing a cover that was pleasing to the eye and represented Texas well.”
The Marine Corps Reserve will keep in tradition and provide toys for families in need from Thanksgiving until December.
“We rely on donations from citizens and businesses to make this happen. Every dollar collected turns into $3 due to the generosity of toy companies who give deep discounts to the program,” said Jerry Prsall.
The Marine Corps League of Terrell is responsible for the collection and distribution of toys for Terrell, Quinlan, Kaufman, and all rural areas, including Van Zandt County.
The Wills Point Tiger Band traveled to the Alamodome Nov. 6-8, competing in the UIL State Marching Contest in San Antonio. Wills Point finished fourth overall out of 23 schools, registering the program’s best finish since coming in second back in 2006.
By David Kapitan Staff Writer
The Wills Point Tiger Band program has been a familiar face at the UIL State Marching Contest, qualifying for and competing against the best bands in the state of Texas in each of the past seven State cycles.
Under the direction of John Young, the Tiger Band finished fifth overall in 2004, a program best second overall in 2006, seventh in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and ninth overall among all 4A bands in the state of Texas back in 2014.
The Tiger Band returned to San Antonio Nov. 5-7, competing once again against a group of 22 other talented 4A bands spanning the state. Wills Point finished fourth overall in the contest, putting together their top finish since 2006.
During the prelims, Wills Point placed fourth overall among all schools with a combined score of 29 points from the panel of five judges.
The Wills Point Community Angel Tree is a community-wide, annual donation program that provides Christmas gifts for children in families facing financial hardship during the holiday season.
“The goal of WPCAT is to make sure that each child receives a new outfit with shoes and a coat along with a couple of toys, and that each family receives a box of food and a turkey, hen or ham,” said WPCAT Coordinator Sherri Rowe.
“The event marks WPCAT’s 8th year of striving to provide all of these items to our less fortunate children and their families. Letters were sent to the families through all of the schools in the Wills Point ISD and public daycare centers, and interviews have been conducted. Currently, 266 angels in 96 families are available for sponsoring.
