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Obituary: Bessie Lois McGee

Graveside services and interment for Bessie Lois McGee, 86, Athens have been scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at Goodgame Cemetery with Pastor Denny Sanderson officiating.

Mrs. McGee died March 9, 2013 in Athens.

She was born Oct. 11, 1926 in Columbia, Miss. to the late Samuel Franklin and Ida Joyce Ward Height. Bessie was a long time resident of Athens and a member of Livingstone Fellowship Church. She loved to cook and go fishing, She was a very loving mother who devoted her time supporting and participating in every aspect of her children’s lives. She was an avid Dallas Cowboy and LSU tiger fan , and had a passionate love for pets.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Wiley McGee, in 1976 and a grandson, Wiley Darnell LeBleu, in 1999.

Survivors include sons, James R. McGee, Chandler, Joseph D. McGee, Malakoff, Waymond D. McGee and his wife Christine, Moore, Okla.; daughters, Tammy Renna’ McGee, Athens, Sherry Shepherd, Athens; grandchildren, Anthony LeBleu, Jennings, La., Levi LeBleu, Athens, Benjamin LeBleu, Beaumont, William LeBleu, Athens; three great-grandchildren, special friends that have become part of the family, Sue Ann Roquemore, Nieves Rodriquez and Shirley Burns all of Athens; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Honorary pallbearers will be Randy Byers, Darrell McGee, J.T. Trammell. Terry McGee, John Gahagan and James Pepper.

Visitation for family and friends will be Tuesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd. Tyler, Texas 75701.

County Attorney’s Report for February 2013

County Attorney Clint Davis reported the following activity in the disposition of cases filed through his office during the month of February 2013 in the County Court at Law, County Court at Law No. 2, and County Court:

Assaults, 12
Burglary of Vehicle, 5
Criminal Mischief >=$50<$500, 1 Criminal Mischief >=$500<$1500, 1
Criminal Trespass, 5
Disregard Red Light, 1
Driving While Intoxicated, 24
Driving While License Suspended, 2
Driving While License Invalid w/ Previous Suspension/Conviction w/o
Financial Responsibility, 8
Evading Arrest Detention, 4
Expired Vehicle Registration, 1
Fail to Appear, 2
Fail to Identify Fugitive/Intent GiveFalse Information, 4
Fail to Identify Giving False/Fictitious Information, 2
Fail to Show Proof of Financial Responsibility, 2
False Drug Test Falsification Device, 2
False Report to Police Officer, 1
Harboring Runaway Child, 1
Indecent Exposure, 2
Interfere w/ Public Duties, 1;
Organize Retail Theft, 2
Permit Consumption of AB During Suspension, 1
Possession Dangerous Drug, 2
Possession of Marijuana <2oz, 48 Possession Marijuana >2<=4oz, 2
Possession CS PG 3<28G, 10
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, 1
Prohibited Weapon Switchblade/Knuckle, 2
Public Nuisance, 1
Purchase Furnish Alcohol to Minor, 1
Reckless Driving, 2
Resisting Arrest Search or Transport, 2
Sale to a Minor – alcohol, 1
Speeding, 9
Terroristic Threat, 2
Terroristic Threat of Family/Household, 1
Theft By Check, 77
Theft of Property >=$50<$500, 8
Theft of Property >=$500<$1500, 2
Theft of Service >=$500<$1500, 1
Unlawful Restraint, 1
Unsafe Speed, 1
Violate Promise to Appear, 1
Violation of Clean Air Act, 1
Total number of dispositions for the month: 260
Total amount of fines and court costs assessed: $110,839.15
Number of Individuals sentenced to the Henderson County Jail: 92
Number of Individuals who have had their probation revoked and were
sentenced to the Henderson County Jail: 9
Amount of restitution collected and returned to merchants by the Hot Check
Division: $18,259.61
Open Records Request: 11

AMA: State Highway 19 construction

By mvhannigan

AMA stands for “Ask Michael Anything,” and is a chance for readers to ask reporter Michael V. Hannigan questions about Henderson County. Ask questions through our Facebook Page or our website.

QUESTION: Reader Chris Schwantes asked about road construction on State Highway 19 south of Athens, specifically: What is being done, when will it be finished, and why didn’t it stretch all the way to the current four lanes south of Athens (or where).

SOURCE: Texas Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Larry Krantz.

ANSWER: I will go through this point-by-point, but I think the most important thing I learned is that the project is not a widening for more capacity. The state is simply adding passing lanes in various locations.

And that pretty well answers the “what” question: adding passing lanes. Krantz said that the project is not really designed for added capacity (or a full-fledged road widening), but just for adding passing lanes “where we have the right-of-way.” That might be the reason you were having trouble determining what they were doing, Chris.

The “when” is the fall of 2014.

As for the “where,” Krantz said from south of the Koon Creek Bridge to the Anderson County Line. He said the reason the project does not extend farther north (to the four lane portion) is because the state probably didn’t have enough money to work on the bridge.

Around Malakoff: Bragging on CLNH

By Loretta Humble

Last week I spent a lot of this column bragging on my own companies. It probably wasn’t the best time to do so, because the main news in that column was that Jerome James had given our community two beautiful sculptures. I said how great that was, and then launched right in to telling you how great my own companies were for all they do for the community.

Then I had the nerve to send the column to Mr. James, who was gracious enough to compliment the column, and ask for a copy of the paper when it was printed.

I’m pretty sure I chose the wrong time to start bragging, but it came out of the recognition that I brag on everybody else more than I do my own Cedar Lake Nursing Home and Cedar Lake Home Health and Hospice, and that is not fair. So I resolved to do better. I didn’t intend to do this much this quick. Here I am bragging on them again. But how can I help it?

The recent issue of US News and World Report listed the best nursing homes in the country. You can go to their site, or to www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare and type in a zip code and find the most highly rated nursing homes in your area. In this area, it is us. Cedar Lake Nursing Home. This is big, folks. We got the five stars. That is tops. The next nearest five star nursing homes are in Ennis and Teague. There is one in Waco, and one in West. There are no other five star nursing homes in Henderson, Anderson, Kaufman, Limestone, Navarro, Smith, Van Zandt, or Gregg counties. I got tired of looking after that, but I do know there are a number of them in Dallas.

Now comes the disclaimer. There are a lot of four star nursing homes around here. Four-Star still means better than average. And they, as well as some of the lesser star homes may have just been caught by the inspectors on a bad day. I think you have to have a perfect inspection to get five stars, and can you imagine how difficult that is to get when you are dealing with that many residents and that many people who care for them? Perfect inspections don’t happen often. Not with us, either.

We’ll be having another inspection soon, and, who knows? Maybe we’ll slip up, or maybe the inspectors will look extra hard and find something to ding us on, just to keep us on our toes. I’ll admit, if they take a star or two away from us, I won’t be spreading it all over the newspaper and the Internet like I am now. But whichever nursing home gets the most stars will. And I won’t blame them. We are just going to do our best to have it be us.

I’m not going to launch into a big commercial about how good and loving we are, stars or no stars. You just need to come hang out with us sometime and see for yourself. And here’s some useful advice: If you are considering a nursing home, now or in the future, whether it is Cedar Lake or not, do your homework. Go meet the administrator, talk to some nurses and some aides and especially some patients. See if it smells good. See if the meals look good. See what their rehab department is like.

In fact, a really good sneaky way to find out about Cedar Lake or any other nursing home, is to become a volunteer. Almost any nursing home will welcome you. (If they don’t, that is your first clue.) There are always some residents who would love for you to visit them. Maybe you would like to help with activities, or even come up with a new one, while you discover whether we, or any of the rest of us, deserve our stars.

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Loretta Humble is the owner of Cedar Lake Nursing Home as well as their Home Health and Hospice. The former publisher of The Malakoff News, she has been covering the area for 20 years. Semi-retired for day-to-day running the companies, she is now a full-time spreader of (mostly) good news in her community through her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/aroundthetown. Since she is supported in this endeavor by her Cedar Lake companies, she jokes that she is the inspiration for the Michael’s and Jeff’s creation of Henderson County Now.

Daily Brief: Monday, March 11

By mvhannigan

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

1. Salina bound! The Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cardinals won the Region XIV championship Saturday by beating Blinn, 69-58. The ladies will be in Kansas starting March 18 to go for the repeat. #Chasing7 (TVCC Facebook photo album)

2. There’s another set of local athletes going to compete at the top of their game. Powerlifters Jose Rodriguez and John Arellano, both of Athens, and Brett Butler of Mabank will be competing in the state powerlifting meet in Abilene Saturday, March 23. Here is a list of results from the Regional powerlifting meet.

3. We are just one week out from the Henderson County Livestock Show, one of the biggest events for kids in the county.

4. The Athens Splash Pad Project is closing in on an important deadline.

5. The Athens City Council meeting originally scheduled for tonight has been cancelled.

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WHAT YOU MISSED

TVCC drama students from Athens and Mabank win awards.

Obituaries: Naomi ‘Nana’ Harton Henning Cogdell, Brenda Hogan Boyd, and Christie Sarrett.

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WHAT OTHERS ARE TALKING ABOUT

Athens FCCLA students rock the competition. (The Review)

Betty Waters of the Tyler Paper has a story about the Family Peace Project.

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