News

Juanita Franklin was driving through the East Texas town of Gun Barrel City a couple of years ago when she saw a new sign down the road from the Christian Life Center food pantry where she volunteers. It promised something she desperately needed: “Healthcare Access for All!”

WITH LUKE CLAYTON

District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley announced Tuesday September 20th, a Kaufman County jury has sentenced BRIAN ALLAN KOHLER, 48, to 80 years in the Texas penitentiary. After a three-day trial before Honorable Judge Casey Blair in the 86th District Court of Kaufman County, a jury found Kohler guilty of Sexual Assault of Child Enhanced and sentenced Kohler to 80 years.

Texas pecan orchards were expected to produce a mixed bag of results amid good prices and strong demand, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

The powerhouse pop vocal trio, DIVAS-3, will be performing a wide range of favorite hits by the most famous female icons in music entertainment history in a live concert at at the Terrell ISD Jamie Foxx Performing Arts Center at 7:30 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2022. This is the second performance in the 2022-2023 E! Terrell Entertainment Series of community concerts.

As the days become shorter and the weather cools down, a new crop of allergy symptoms can arise, turning the autumn season into one marked by sneezing, scratchy throats and itchy eyes. Medications can alleviate such symptoms, but allergy sufferers may want to investigate some natural ways to beat allergies.

STAR Transit will transition Mesquite’s Route 201 (COMPASS) bus to on-demand service Oct. 1, giving passengers greater flexibility in traveling throughout the area. Additionally, the service area will be expanded to travel to places previously not covered.

Failure to Plan: Is it Planning to Fail?

Honorable Don R. Willett was Present for Event

“I think the angels wrote the verses, and God helped the angels type it out,” says Sara, 8.

My aunt, my mother’s little and only sister, a lifelong resident of Seagoville, Texas, just up and moved to New Mexico. She retired. She sold everything. She reunited with the love of her life. She moved. Poof. My Aunt Karen’s very existence has always seemed magical to me. See, my grandparents’ procreation habits were perplexing. They had their first baby in 1935. Shirley was a doll, though I cannot recall ever seeing her photograph. Either there is a well ingrained baby portrait in some longforgotten cedar chest, or else my mind has created a sepia toned image of an adorable cherub with a single forehead curl and rosy cheeks. Shirley died when she was only 14 months old. I visit her grave in Crandall, where most of the Seagoville Pickards were laid to rest, every Thanksgiving, when I take poinsettias to my grandparents. Her name was not mentioned often. I recall being told she succumbed to pneumonia. The origin is suspect, however, as I recall being told it was both due to a flu epidemic but maybe just the night air. The night air was also credited with every bad thing that ever happened to a person, so my money is on Influenza. My grandmother was already expecting her next baby at the funeral of her first, though I am not sure if she knew. My Uncle Jerry was born 8 months later. Then, oddly, they waited almost 9 years before welcoming my mother. I asked my grandmother once, as a scared and pregnant 19-year-old girl who was terrified of all the ills that could befall a woman with child, if she’d ever had a miscarriage. She said no. So, they just waited a long time to have another baby. Mom was the middle child who grew up in Shirley’s shadow. But, rather than being petite sized, like Shirley, mom was made from hearty Pickard stock. By the time she was 13, she was 5’10”, her full height. I digress. They waited, again. Suddenly, 10 years later, in 1955, when Shirley would have been twenty years old, had she lived, my Aunt Karen was born. She is 12 years my senior. She has held so many roles in my life. She was my babysitter. She was my sister figure. She was my best friend. Now, she is my mom, of sorts. I miss her.

Confession: I was a cheerleader back in the day. It was a fun time for me. Really fun. And that’s all it was. Fun. Well, that and I got to meet some cute wrestlers.

As a part of the continued effort to improve district safety and security, Forney ISD uses the Secured Mobility Authorized Ridership Technology (SMART) tag system for all students who ride the bus to and from school. Each bus is outfitted with a Samsung tablet equipped with a Radio Frequency Identification reader, mobile connectivity, and Global Positioning System. Similar to systems used in public transportation, students place their campussupplied SMART tag ID badges on the tablet’s sensor when loading and unloading their bus. Only the student’s name and associated barcode will be printed on the ID badge. No information is stored on the badge.