Monthly Archives: November 2011

Week of November 21, 2011

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Carol Morton of Keep Athens Beautiful is caught moving into her new office at the new Athens EDC building this week.

Story No. 1 – Moving into Athens EDC building: After more than two years, the first tenants have moved into the building purchased by the Athens EDC (the old Eckerd Drug building on W. Corsicana Street). So far AEDC, Keep Athens Beautiful, and the TVCC Small Business Development Center have taken up residence. The Athens Tourism Department and the Athens Chamber of Commerce will also be moving in.
Why it is important: Because having all those entities under one roof could act like an incubator for ideas and business for Athens … and also because it is your tax dollars that paid for the building.
Extra Info: The building has not been named yet, but several suggestions will likely be on the next AEDC agenda. Our favorite so far is the Athens Partnership Center.
Learn more: This Athens Review story from August marks the start of renovations to the building.

Story No. 2 – TVCC tree lighting: Monday (Nov. 28), Trinity Valley Community College will kick off the holiday season with a Christmas tree lighting at 7 p.m. There will be music and fun and a big elf in a red suit.
Why it is important: All around the county folks are getting ready for Christmas and the New Year. By the time Monday rolls around, decorations will be up on the square. The following weekend is the Athens parade and GBC parade, the weekend after that is the Malakoff parade. With everything going on it is nice to have an official start.
Learn more: Here are some more details from TVCC.

Story No. 3 – Education funding lawsuits: The Malakoff ISD school board this week decided to join a lawsuit against the State of Texas regarding school funding.
Why it is important: School funding doesn’t just touch everyone in the county, the issue goes directly back to the past Legislative Session and the way lawmakers cut the budget. Malakoff is not the only district involved – no, far from it. There are four different groups filing lawsuits, and the biggest one (which includes Eustace ISD but not Malakoff) represents more than 300 districts.
Learn more: The Malakoff story is here.

Story No. 4 – Seven Points settlement: Three separate lawsuit settlements involving the Seven Points Police Department will cost taxpayers $21,500.
Why it is important: First, because hopefully we are seeing the gradual winding down of the problems that have rocked Seven Points over the last couple of years. Second, because the problems that have rocked Seven Points over the last couple of years better be a cautionary tale for other small municipalities around the county.
Learn more: Art Lawler at the Review has been all over this story from the very start.

Story No. 5 – Holiday shopping season opens: The Christmas tree will be going up this weekend for many folks – which means thoughts will be turning not to sugar plums, but to filling up the space under the tree with gifts.
Why it is important: It isn’t just the season to be merry, it is the season to be scammed. The holidays already cost an arm and a leg, make sure it doesn’t cost your identity as well.
Learn more: The Athens PD has some great tips on how to be safe while shopping.

Week of November 14, 2011

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Story No. 1 – Kurt Budke dies in plane crash: Oklahoma State University head basketball coach Kurt Budke was killed in a plane crash Thursday. He was on a recruiting trip.
Why it is important: Coach Budke led the TVCC Lady Cardinals to four national championships during his tenure from 1993-2000.
Learn more: The Huffington Post has more information on this story. Here is his TVCC Hall of Fame bio.

Story No. 2 – Thanksgiving: The holiday season kicks off with Turkey Day next week, and there are plenty of community events on tap to get things going.
Why it is important: Who doesn’t look forward to this time of year? Plus, with a chance to run in the Turkey Trot or have Breakfast with Santa, there’s no reason to just sit on the couch. There’s even a community Thanksgiving Dinner Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Recovery by the Cross in Athens.
Learn more: Here’s a list of events from the Athens Review. Here is some information about Recovery by the Cross.

Story No. 3 – Malakoff, Eustace still playing football: Malakoff will take on East Chambers, and Eustace will face Melissa in area round playoff football action Friday night.
Why it is important: It is a week before Thanksgiving and we still have football being played by Henderson County teams – how cool is that!
Learn more: Once again, Jayson Larson at the Athens Review is the one to look to for football previews.

Story No. 4 – Judges weigh in on Monarch rates: Last week, State Office of Administrative Hearing (SOAH) judges put a Monarch water rate case on hold and pushed rates back to their former level. A Monarch spokeswoman says the company has more than 4,500 connections in Henderson County.
Why it is important: Investor owned utilities are becoming a hot topic in Austin. This is only the second time SOAH judges have set interim rates and both times involved Henderson County.
Learn more: Here is a story from The Malakoff News.

Story No. 5 – Redistricting maps: Federal judges on Thursday released maps for Texas House and Senate districts. The maps will be used while a lawsuit works its way through the federal court system.
Why it is important: Locally, Henderson County remains split between House District 10 and District 4. Depending on which map is chosen (there are two), District 10 might actually get even more of Henderson County.
Learn more: Here’s a story from the Texas Tribune.

Week of November 7, 2011

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Story No. 1 – SFC Benny Don Rogers comes home: SFC Rogers was 20 when he went missing from a battlefield in Unsan, North Korea in November 1950. He has been MIA for more than 60 years, but his remains were identified recently and he has come home. He will be buried with all military honors 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Willow Springs Baptist Church in Athens.
Why it is important: Friday is Veterans Day. Can anything be more poignant than bringing him home over Veterans Day?
Learn more: There were stories by the Athens Review, The Malakoff News, The Tyler Paper, KLTV and probably many more.

Story No. 2 – Burn ban over: For seven months Henderson County has been under a burn ban, but no longer. County commissioners allowed the ordinance to lapse this week, effectively lifting the ban and allowing outdoor burning under the normal rules.
Why it is important: There is a lot of trash in the county that has built up over the past seven months. Now is the time to get it all taken care of because the drought will continue, frost will kill vegetation making the fire danger higher, and the county will reset the burn ban… maybe as early as this Tuesday.
Learn more: The Athens Review and The Malakoff News both have stories. You can also find what constitutes the “normal” rules on the county website.

Story No. 3 – Athens continues with No Smoking ordinance: Wednesday, the Athens City Council and staff discussed some of the specifics of a No Smoking ordinance. It will take a few weeks, but it looks like the ordinance is headed for a public hearing and then a vote.
Why it is important: It sounds like the ordinance will cover the interior of all public buildings – restaurants, stores, offices, etc. – and will even cover structures like pavilions and concession stands at the parks.
Learn more: The only one who covered this issue is The Local Cheat Sheet, so read it here.

Story No. 4 – No doesn’t always mean no for alcohol: In both Murchison and Gun Barrel City, voters said no Tuesday in local option alcohol elections. But don’t think the two towns were on the same side of the booze issue. Murchison voted down selling beer and wine for off-premises consumption. Gun Barrel City voted down shortening the hours alcohol can be sold.
Why it is important: Always good to know who is wet and who is dry. It is also interesting to note that the Murchison vote breaks a string of victories for the proponents of alcohol sales (Mabank, Malakoff, Athens).
Learn more: The Athens Review had the story plus the results from the constitutional amendment election that nearly no one voted in.

Story No. 5 – Malakoff, Eustace, Cross Roads; it’s the playoffs: The post season is here in football and volleyball. The Cross Roads Lady ‘Cats have advanced all the way to the Regional Tournament, and will play Friday night in Weatherford. Malakoff and Eustace will enter the bi-district round of the football playoffs, also on Friday.
Why it is important: Everybody loves the playoffs. Besides, these are three compelling stories and not just teams that got in because nearly everybody gets in nowadays. The Lady ‘Cats are just two matches away from a trip to Austin; in a sport that has become pass happy, Eustace wins with three 1,000-yard rushers; and Malakoff is in the midst of its best, sustained run of football since 1947.
Learn more: The Athens Review sports page really is pretty good and has a lot of information on all three teams. The Malakoff News has a story on the Tigers making history.
Bonus Info: Cross Roads senior Anna Cross signed a letter of intent this week to play softball for Division 1 Louisiana Tech University. Cross is also a big cog in the Lady ‘Cat volleyball machine.

5 Things Extra: Athens still pursuing No Smoking ordinance

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The discussion continues at Athens City Hall regarding a Smoking Ban ordinance.

Wednesday (Nov. 9) afternoon, council members and staff talked about the issue during a workshop meeting. Although any action is likely weeks away still, the proposed ordinance is rounding into shape.

As currently discussed, the ordinance would ban all smoking inside of public buildings. That includes restaurants, stores, government buildings, offices – anywhere open to the public.
It looks like the ordinance will allow smoking outdoors in these places, as long as the designated smoking area is at least 20 feet away from entrances.

The ban may also include structures like pavilions, concession stands, bathrooms, and baseball stands at the parks in the city (Cain, Coleman and Kiwanis). Again, as discussed Wednesday, smoking would be allowed 20 feet from these structures.

City officials said there would be two public hearings before any ordinance is voted upon.

Week of October 31, 2011

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Story No. 1 – Daylight Savings Ends: Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to sleep Saturday night. Officially, daylight savings ends 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
Why it is important: Do you really want to lose an extra hour of sleep? Me either.
Learn more: What’s better than Wikipedia for this sort of explanation?

Story No. 2 – Big Game Saturday: Last week, the TVCC Cardinals and the Navarro College Bulldogs played one of the most entertaining football games of the year, with the Cardinals winning 55-51. The college playoffs start this Saturday and the same two teams will face off at 3 p.m. at Bruce Field.
Why it is important: The Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the final 1:50 last week to pull off the upset and get this week’s playoff game at home. These two teams are primed to put on a show Saturday afternoon, and at $5 a ticket to watch guys who may end up playing on Sundays you can’t beat the price.
Learn more: Get ready for the game by reading Jayson Larson’s wrap up from last week.

Story No. 3 – Cancer Making Noise: Cancer survivors rode into Athens this week to send a statement to Congressman Jeb Hensarling about the importance of cancer research funding. Hensarling is a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
Why it is important: From Washington to Austin to Henderson County, government agencies are cutting budgets. Hensarling’s committee has been tasked with slicing $11.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years. Expect to see more such demonstrations from a variety of sources in the coming year.
Learn more: Here’s the Review story on the cancer bus.

Story No. 4 – Deer Season: Saturday, Nov. 5, is the start of white-tail deer hunting season.
Why it is important: Well … it’s deer season.
Learn more: Here is a great column in the Austin-American Statesman about the start of deer season. The Houston Chronicle says more deer, smaller antlers.

Story No. 5 – Changes at Malakoff Food Pantry: The Malakoff Food Pantry is now Faith in Action Outreach. The name change reflects an expanding ministry, and the desire for the non-denominational organization to help more people in more ways.
Why it is important: Faith in Action Outreach helps feed 1,000 people a month, a staggering number of hungry when you think about it. Also, the organization started a weekend feeding program for students at Malakoff and Eustace elementary schools. A similar, but separate, program was already underway at Tool elementary. The economic troubles are causing a greater need in Henderson County.
Learn more: Here is the story about Faith in Action from The Malakoff News. And here is the group’s website.