Memorial services for Sidney Ballard Jr., 56, of Athens are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, April 25, 2013 at the Living for the Brand Cowboy Church of Athens with Bro. Perry Smith officiating.
Mr. Ballard went to be with the Lord on Saturday, April 20, 2013 in Athens.
Sidney Paul Ballard Jr. was born Oct. 7, 1956 in Dallas, the son of Sidney Paul Ballard Sr. and Patsy Jean Hatcher Ballard. He was a member of the Living for the Brand Cowboy Church of Athens. He was an outdoorsman who loved farming and growing flowers. Sidney was an avid hunter and fisherman and was well known for his meat processing and cooking. He had a special place in his heart for his side kick “Colby” a black lab/healer mix dog that never left his side. “Papa Sid” was a loving husband, father and grandfather and proud foster parent. He was a family man and will be missed by all he knew and loved.
Sidney was preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by his loving wife Alice Burnett Ballard; two daughters, Brandy Boswell of Athens, Candace Ballard of Bradford; two sons, Forrest Attaway of Kansas City, Travis Attaway and wife Carrie of Uniontown, Pa.; one brother, Glenn Ballard of Ohio; five grandchildren, Kitty Boswell, Katlyn Mitchell, Alia Attaway, Bella Attaway, Lilly Attaway; and special friends, Charlie and Dawson Turner.
In lieu of flowers the family has asked that donations be made to The Living for the Brand Cowboy Church Building Fund in Sidney’s honor.
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.
A lot of people are noticing the vast differences in gas prices recently. Some are happy with the prices whereas others are struggling to pay for gas. If you’re struggling to pay for fuel then take advantage of Murphy USA’s free fuel survey to see if you can save yourself some money. I’ve heard a lot of questions about the topic but the main question is about the difference in prices.
QUESTION: Why are gas prices in Athens and Malakoff so much higher than in Brownsboro and Chandler? … it is a question I’ve been asked several times in the past couple of weeks. Since when Wireline Services from Renegade are now available?
SOURCES: I spoke with some city officials, who basically had the same question. The trouble here is that there is really no one to ask. Gas stations are private businesses, so don’t have to answer me to begin with, and prices come mainly from the refineries anyway. But my research did lead me to the phrase: “Zone Pricing.” (BTW: Any gas station owners in Henderson County who want to talk to me, I’m all ears.)
ANSWER: I’m going to go with zone pricing … although I admit that a complete, bedrock answer eludes me just as much as anyone else. Zone pricing basically means that big oil companies set gas prices at least partly on the demographics of a location, going so far as to even change prices within a city.
Before you even ask, I will point out the word “secret” in the description below. I can’t tell you WHY Athens is higher, I can only tell you that wide swings in prices like between Athens and Chandler are not unusual around the country.
Challenges in court and by lawmakers trying to legislate zone pricing away have been unsuccessful.
“On any given day, in any major U.S. city, a single brand of gasoline will sell for a wide range of prices even when the cost to make and deliver the fuel is the same.”
“The primary culprit is zone pricing, a secret and pervasive oil company strategy to boost profits by charging dealers different amounts for fuel based on traffic volume, station amenities, nearby household incomes, the strength of competitors and other factors.”
“It’s a controversial strategy, but the courts have thus far deemed it legal, and the Federal Trade Commission recently said the effect on consumers was ambiguous because some customers got hurt by higher prices while others benefited from lower ones.”
“To be sure, other industries vary prices by area too. Supermarkets, for instance, price the same brand of bread or cheese differently in different neighborhoods. But gasoline price patterns provoke a response that bread can’t match, partly because other commodities don’t fluctuate as wildly as gasoline does and their prices aren’t posted by the side of the road.”
That is the best I can do on answering this particular question. If I get a better answer, I will let you know.
Shelby Ballenger, shown here at a holiday concert earlier this year, will be one of five music majors featured May 28 during the Trinity Valley Community College Music Department’s final concert of the school year. (JENNIFER HANNIGAN/TVCC)
By Jennifer Hannigan/TVCC Public Information
The Trinity Valley Community College Music Department is giving a few about-to-graduate sophomores a unique sort of sendoff.
When the college’s choir students take to the stage for the final concert of the season on April 28, those students will be standing in the spotlight.
The TVCC Music Department’s last concert of the 2012-13 school year will be at 3 p.m. at Dogwood Church in Athens. The concert is open to the public free of charge. Dogwood Church is located at 6467 Farm-to-Market Road 2494 in Athens.
This year’s final concert is titled, “A Choral Tapestry,” said Music Department Coordinator Dr. Byron McGilvray.
“We have a great group of music majors about to graduate,” said McGilvray. “And we started thinking about we could enhance their marketability as they move on and also how we could reward them. These students have worked amazingly hard for the period of time they have been here.”
And so those five students – David Thrasher, Naomi Jorgensen, Robert Boren, Candace Clayburn and Shelby Ballenger – will be highlighted.
Thrasher, Jorgensen and Boren will be conducting numbers that they have chosen. The voice talents of Clayburn and Ballenger will be featured, again with numbers they have chosen to perform.
“They have selected and are rehearsing their own material. The product is theirs,” said McGilvray. “We wanted to highlight them and also to start a new tradition.”
The concert will feature a wide variety of music from numerous genres. McGilvray said everything from opera to folk music will be covered.
While this is the last concert the choir will feature for the school year, it is not the last time those sophomores will perform with their fellow students. The choir will be traveling with the Dixieland Band and the TVCC Brass Ensemble for a week in May. The group will be in Washington, D.C., and will be performing at the Jefferson Memorial and the Library of Congress, among other venues.
For approximately a quarter of a century, the “Sunken Gardens” of the Bartlett House, a historic “ruin” in Malakoff, have been overgrown and covered in debris, much like the Bartlett House itself.
For the first time, the renovated “Sunken Gardens” will be unveiled to the public at as free open house April 27-28, as part of the East Texas Art and Sculpture Gardens’ Tour in Malakoff. Wear comfortable shoes. The properties are not handicapped accessible.
The other two sculpture gardens on the tour, The James Surls Sculpture Garden and the James & Barbara Stewart’s Sculpture Gardens require a ticket for admission. Tickets can be acquired online at www.malakofftexas.com or at the Malakoff Community Center.
As part of the celebration of the resurrection of the Sunken Gardens well-known in the 1930s and 40s for their beauty, several of the best East Texas artists who were selected to be in the book published for the tour will be showing in the heritage gardens surrounding the Bartlett House.
Bill Williamson, a fast sketch artist, will be available to draw pictures of visitors for donations to the Historic Bartlett House and Heritage Gardens. Williamson is a sculptor who spent his professional career working with and in zoos creating the backdrops, scenery and sculpted elements that comprise the animal exhibits.
Two outstanding artists who will be showing in the Bartlett House gardens – open to the public at no cost – will be Jan G. Blackmon, FAIA, and Craig D. Blackmon, FAIA. They are abstract sculptors and photographers who recently won two consecutive Best in Show awards in the Main Street Gallery in downtown Tyler. Craig is an extraordinary photographer whose architectural photographs have been published in magazines and books nationally.
Robert English, from Tool, also plans to be showing his realistic sculptures in which he thematically focuses on country and ballet subjects, both in appreciation of the expression in the human face and body.
Four artists from Athens plan to show, including Christie Barrett, Cheryl Hicks, Celene Terry, and Deborah Wood.
Margo Stamp and Lou Albright from Ben Wheeler also plan to show in the Bartlett House gardens.
On the ticketed portion of the tour will be two other sculpture gardens. The James Surls Sculpture Garden: A Memorial to Joe Surls, will have four of the five nationally renowned sculptors present to meet with visitors: James Surls, George Tobolowsky, Bill Wiener, and Polly Smart. The James Surls’ gardens are gaining national attention because it is the largest concentration of James Surls’ early art, with over 40 pieces on the property, and, also this year and next, will feature major new sculptures by Surls, Tobolowsky, Wiener and Charmaine Locke.
A dinner/talk Saturday night featuring the Surls’ nationally prominent artists will be discussing their work with dinner guests in the Malakoff Community Center. Reservations are required (www.malakofftexas.com). Seating is limited.
James and Barbara Stewart’s private Sculpture Gardens located on Cedar Creek Lake will also be open in Malakoff. Winner of the “Best Texas Residential Landscape,” their gardens feature sculptures by numerous nationally prominent sculptors Glenna Goodacre, W. Stanley Proctor, Gary Lee Price, David Pearson, Walt Horton, Terry Jones, and Jo Saylors.
Ticket and book sales receipts go to the Greater Malakoff Area Garden Club, which owns the Historic Bartlett House and Heritage Gardens to restore the property.
Saturday, they dropped a road doubleheader to Navarro, falling 5-3 and 3-2.
Sunday, Navarro and Kilgore split a doubleheader, meaning the Lady Cardinals qualified for the regional tournament for a third straight year. The regional tournament is scheduled May 2-5 in Corsicana.
The Lady Cardinals are scheduled to close the regular season at home Wednesday against Northeast Texas Community College. Action begins at 1 p.m.
Just over a week ago, the Lady Cardinals swept NE Texas 2-1 and 8-3.
Against Navarro, Chyna Phipps went 2-for-4 in Game 1. She drove in a run. Celeste Montoya went 1-for-2.
In the second game, Chantelle Whitehead was 2-for-3 with a RBI. Montoya also went 2-for-3. Candise Wise was 2-for-4 with a RBI and stolen base.
The Lady Cardnals are 29-22 on the year and 9-9 in conference. They are one win away from the first 30-win season in school history.
SPORTS BANQUET
The third annual sports banquet is scheduled Tuesday at Athens Country Club. It will begin at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door.
The public is invited.
FOOTBALL
The annual spring football game is scheduled Saturday at Bruce Field. Action will begin at 10 a.m.
