News from area colleges. . .
Posie Weatherall Graduates from Belhaven University
Posie Weatherall Graduates from Belhaven University
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently accepted the North Texas Municipal Water District’s (NTMWD) Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) as meeting the agency’s guidelines for watershed-based plans. The Bois d’Arc Lake WPP outlines a strategy to implement management measures that will help improve and protect water quality in the watershed.
As outdoor temperatures increase, so does the possibility of heat stress or even heat stroke. But there are ways to avoid getting “overheated” this summer, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
A day spent in the great outdoors can expose people to unparalleled beauty and offer the ability to view wildlife not readily encountered elsewhere. The United States has dozens of federally recognized national parks, as well as many other historic sites, scenic trails, national seashores, and national recreation areas. Unique geological features, diverse ecosystems, amazing natural beauty, and refuges for wild animals are located across the United States. Yellowstone National Park was the first national park. A bill designated it as such as when signed into law in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875, which was later de commissioned. California (nine) and Alaska (eight) are home to the most national parks of any states. The newest national parks were added in 2021. They include Weir Farm National Historic Park in Connecticut, Homestead National Park in Nebraska and Jimmy Carter National Historic Park in Georgia. Exploring national parks across the nation can make for an exciting adventure and a relaxing retreat. Visit www.nps.gov for a full list of national parks.
Air conditioning is a welcome luxury come the dog days of summer. Few people can imagine getting through a hot summer afternoon without turning their AC on, and that can make July and August some of the more costly months on the calendar in regard to energy consumption.
Many problems we have could be avoided or minimized if more people refused to follow the crowd. Group behavior often instills fear and panic as it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Regardless of reality, the crowd is led with false premises. They then behave as if what they are being told is true. As a result, their actions transform the alleged circumstances into reality.
With Memorial Day and summertime quickly approaching, and Texans will be getting out on the water. Now more than ever, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) urges boaters and paddlers who enjoy water recreation this summer to do their part to fight back against aquatic invasive species that threaten Texas lakes.
The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA) presented one of its annual Linda Thomas Safe Driving Scholarships to Forney High School Senior Kennedy Wilcox. She is among 10 high school seniors in NET RMA counties throughout northeast Texas to receive $1,000 scholarships.
It is with great pleasure that Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) congratulates the following students on being named to the Winter 2022 President’s List. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above are named to the President’s List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits; undergraduate day students must earn 12 credits in the fall or spring semester, and online students must earn 12 credits over two consecutive terms (EW1 & EW2, EW3 & EW4, or EW5 & EW6).
Gilberto Guerra Gonzalez of Forney, Texas, was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Guerra Gonzalez was initiated at Fort Hays State University.
St. Norbert College held its commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 15, at 11 a.m., doors on the college’s De Pere,Wis. campus.
Loretta uses a not too smart “fictional” book hero, who is called “Dash McMahon” and is played by (movie name) Alan Caprison, also played by Channing Tatum in reality, to move the action. I hope I have not confused you as much as I was for a little while as I sorted things out at the movie!
The significance of Memorial Day is that it honors those Americans who have died while in the military service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. In 1971, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law designating the last Monday in May as Memorial Day, thus giving it federal recognition.
Somewhere in my attic, there is a brick. You’d never know. I mean, it’s the shape of a brick, indeed. There are only so many ways to disguise a rectangle. At first glance, it resembles a loaf of bread. In fact, most things made from brown yarn do resemble loaves of bread, in my experience, not that I have an extensive history steeped in earth toned yarns. This is the brick of bricks. It is the most high brick, better than all the others. It is so special that some long-ago ancestor, one of my grandmother’s sisters or perhaps a second cousin removed, cross-stitched a case for this treasure from brown skeins of varying shades. Imagine cutting plastic pieces of perfectly symmetrical tiny squares into a brick pattern and weaving brown yarn into each opening until there was no plastic visible at all, then sewing the brick inside of the rectangle. I seem to recall one of the sides has crosses of tan yarn woven into one corner, or is it a tan border on the front side? I forget. The brick of honor was a fixture of my childhood. I think it came to live with us around the time I started grade school. It was usually a doorstop. Sometimes, it was a bookend. Occasionally an ashtray sat on top of it, because “seventies.” Inevitably, there would be an occasion where visitors would come. You know, the pre-cell phone, pre-internet, pre-social media phenomenon that entailed relatives showing up on a late Saturday morning or an early Sunday afternoon out of the blue. (Crunch/crackle/slam), “Oh, look who’s here! Oh, Dina, go get your daddy. Tell him it’s Spider and Norma Lee and all the kids.” Mom would smile the smile of a woman who was outwardly happy yet internally terrified. Was the house clean enough? Was there enough ambrosia salad in the fridge? Was the sun tea ready to drink? The visit would culminate with my Aunt Norma Lee saying something like, “Now, Marsha, you grew up here in Seagoville, right? Didn’t your mother and them live in that old farmhouse by Watson Street?” My mom would disappear and return with the yarn incased brick. “Yes, Norma. Why, yes, Jerry and Karen and I did grow up on Watson Street in that old farmhouse. You know, they tore it down.” Her voice would crack a little. It would always startle me. My mother never cried. But, she would gather her wits and hold out her hand. Aunt Norma would extend her hands and accept the passing of the treasure as Momma said, “I went and got a brick the day they tore it down.”
Texas and the rest of the U.S. are experiencing a slight uptick in COVID-19 cases — but health experts say not to panic, noting that the most recent infections seem to be less deadly and
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 936, Forney, TX 75126
Physical Address: 201 W. Broad St., Forney, TX 75126
Phone: 972-564-3121
Fax: 972-552-3599