Memorial services for C.D. Smith are set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 at Cedar Creek Bible Church with Ken Emerson officiating and under the direction of Huckabee/Tomlinson Funeral Home Seven Points.
C D was born in Minneapolis, Minn. Jan. 7, 1938 to Wesley Smith and Marian Stuart Smith. He died in Galveston Jan. 21, 2013.
C.D. built the Main Place Cinema and the Lake Shore RV and Resort, he was a board member of West Cedar Creek Mud and East Texas Medical, and secretary of the Seven Points EDC. He was instrumental in the building of the Library at Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points.
He is preceded in death by his parents, daughter Amy Smith, and son Eric Smith.
He is survived by his wife, Lucy; children Charles, Leah, Marian, Jay Scott, Joni, Fred; sisters Sandy and Artie; seven grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren.
(This is Part 1 of 2 describing the College for All and Early College programs at Athens High School. Part 2 will cover the drive for college, changing cultures and overcoming obstacles.)
ATHENS — The Murchison Foundation came through where the state did not.
Jami Ivey
Athens High School Principal Jami Ivey told school board members last week the Murchison Foundation donated $140,500 to the school this year to help students get ready for college. Aiding students financially is extremely essential. Individually in Sweden students can apply via the CNS for aid. You can view the history of student aid in Sweden online.
Not only get ready for college, but also go to college.
The foundation donation includes $100,000 for the College for All program, which helps AHS juniors and seniors pay for tuition for their CLEP Exam Prep at Trinity Valley Community College, whether the classes are taught at the high school or college campus.
The money also provides funds to allow the high school to have teachers at the campus until 6:30-7 p.m. to help those students.
This year, Ivey went from being in charge of the school’s Early College High School — which is a separate program — to being the high school principal. When she moved, she said she wanted to bring some of those college ideas to the main campus.
Money for college, however, is not in the operating budget, so the school applied for a Texas Education Agency (TEA) grant.
“We applied for that and were kind of devastated that we didn’t get it,” Ivey said, during an interview this week with Henderson County Now.
The Murchison Foundation stepped into the gap.
“If we didn’t have the Murchison Foundation, it would be difficult to do this,” Ivey said.
“This” includes having 62 students at the main campus enrolled in college classes this semester, including five taking a full load of college courses.
The rest of the foundation donation was geared toward helping students get ready for college, with $30,000 for college placement testing — including money for every junior to take the PSAT this year — and $10,000 for scholarships through the Athens Academic Renaissance Organization. The final $500 was a gift to the senior Last Blast.
College for All and Early College High School
There are actually two separate programs now helping AHS students attend college:
– Early College High School, which started five years ago and must be certified by the state. This program has specific rules about who is eligible and operates almost as a “school within a school.”
– College for All, which started this year and does not have to be certified by the state. There are no eligibility requirements, but state rules only allow juniors and seniors to participate.
At this point, the Murchison Foundation is providing funding for both programs. Ivey said the foundation donated about $120,000 for Early College the past two years. There are currently about 260 students in the Early College program.
The beginning of the Early College program mirrors the start of College for All. The district hoped to get a grant but didn’t, and the Murchison Foundation stepped in to help.
Last year, the first class of AHS graduates came out of the Early College and 83 percent of them had associate’s degrees. Ivey said the state average for graduating with a degree is around 15 percent.
“The graduation rate is phenomenal,” Director of Curriculum Dr. Janie Sims said this week.
“Our community has looked at that (success),” Ivey said, “and I really believe from the things that we’ve heard that parents would like to see some of that at the main campus, which I agree with.”
Helping Hands
A program this ambitious doesn’t succeed without a lot of help, and Murchison Foundation members aren’t the only ones stepping up.
Ivey said TVCC has been very helpful. The college waives tuition for the first six credit hours (two classes) and is invested in trying to make the program work.
“From many meetings we have to try and schedule classes to even trying to work with us a little with some books, they have been a great partner,” Ivey said.
And how do you get students from one side of the city to the other? AHS has a bus that runs like a shuttle between the high school and the college that works for both Early College and College for All.
“That is something this district has shown that they are behind and have paid for the transportation,” Ivey said.
And then there are the teachers who sign up to take shifts after school to help the students with their homework and dealing with college coursework.
“You can’t just put our kids out at the college without giving them some sort of support mechanism,” Ivey said. “Our demographics are such that we have to have that; most of our kids can’t go home and get help.”
But from top to bottom, the vision is the same.
“My ultimate goal is that if a student wants to go to college and can’t that we can help them no matter who they are,” she said. “Or even if they would like to go to college as a benefit of being at Athens High School, we would like to pay for it. That’s what we are trying to go toward.”
“The only way to change somebody’s life is through education,” she said.
(Part 2 to come tomorrow: The drive for college, changing cultures and overcoming obstacles.)
Funeral services for Tony Douglas, 83, of Athens will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 at the First Baptist Church of Athens with Larry Fondren officiating. Eulogies will be given by Tom Perryman and Tracy Pitcox. Burial will follow with military honors at the Athens Cemetery. Tony went to be with his Lord and Savior on Jan. 22, 2013.
Tony Douglas was born April 12, 1929 outside Martins Mill, Texas to Hubert Gideon Douglas and Artie Marie Jones Douglas. At the age of 10, he trusted Christ as his savior while attending Hobbs Missionary Baptist Church. He grew up on a farm and went to school in Martins Mill and enjoyed hunting and fishing along Kickapoo Creek. He married Margaret “Mim” Reaves on March 5, 1949. He was drafted into the Army in 1952 and served with the 45th Anti-Aircraft Battalion in Kaiserslautern, Germany. During his overseas duty he was invited to sing at the NCO club with a small band. The GI’s enjoyed Tony’s style of music and he became a part of the band until he returned to the states.
Following an honorable discharge in 1954, Tony took employment with Lone Star Gas Company in Athens and continued to pursue a music career on weekends. In 1956 he recorded his first record and was invited to appear as a guest on the Louisiana Hayride. After his second appearance he signed a three-year contract. In 1961 he gained national attention with his song “Shrimpin’” and his band became known as “Tony Douglas and the Shrimpers.” Another great single, “Thank You For Touching My Life” was released in 1972. For over three decades, Tony Douglas and The Shrimpers crisscrossed the nation bringing enjoyment to multitudes of people.
His country disciplined up-bringing made a big impact on his life. He was tagged Mr. Nice Guy of country music and he desired to be remembered as “a man who kept his shows clean, where you could always take the family and not be afraid of what might be said or done.” He was a lifetime member of the Country Music Association. In 1995 he was inducted into the Country Music Association of Texas Hall of Fame.
Tony was a longtime member of Central Baptist Church of Athens and was most recently a member of Landmark Missionary Baptist Church. For the past several years he enjoyed operating “Papa T’s” in Athens with his wife Mim. Here he enjoyed meeting people, making new friends and sharing his love of country music. Tony was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Sarita Stegall.
Tony is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mim Douglas of Athens; sons, Hank Douglas of Jacksonville, Jason Douglas and wife Kim of Heath; daughter, Tonya Mowery and husband Randy of San Antonio; sisters, Wathena Douglas Rubin of Martins Mill, Kay Etheridge of Kemp; brother, Pecos Douglas and wife Nancy of Houston; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild and numerous nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers include members of the Shrimpers’ band including Chuck Jennings, Terry Castle, Jerry Metheny, James Smith, Robin Hood Brians, John Kirby and Junior Knight.
The Douglas family would like to express heartfelt appreciation to the doctors and nursing staff of ETMC Athens for their compassionate concern and care.
Visitation will be from 6 – 8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 25 at Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home in Athens.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Landmark Baptist Church, 1313 Palestine Highway, Athens, Texas 75751 or an organization of choice.
You may leave a message of condolence or light a memorial candle for the family at www.carroll-lehr.com
The following is a press release from State Rep. Lance Gooden.
Dear Friends,
The legislative session has begun and we are anticipating an increase in workload in the coming weeks as committee assignments are announced. As I promised in my recent campaign, the budget for the upcoming two years will once again be balanced without raising taxes. It is my expectation that some of the funding cuts to essential state services, such as public education, will be restored. I will also continue to fight to ensure increased transparency in the budgeting process so Texas taxpayers can better understand how their tax dollars are spent. Over the coming months you will likely read a great deal about the budget and the expected revenue surplus that special interests are now trying to get their hands on. I will continue to work to cut more fat in the budget while restoring funding to areas that our communities need most.
Many residents of House District 4 have contacted me with their concerns over the recent gun control measures that may be forced upon us by Washington. It is too early to determine what legislation will have “legs” and be the key 2nd Amendment legislation this session in Austin, but I’m confident we will pass a strong bill that reaffirms Texans’ continued support of the right to bear arms and our growing discontent with the federal government’s desire to interfere in our lives.
The Legislature is notoriously slow in the first month of the session before things really pick up after committees come out and bills are finally heard for debate. The link below explains a lot of that, if you’re interested. http://www.kutnews.org/post/2013-texas-legislature-musical
If you plan to be in Austin in the coming months, please let our office know if we can help in any way with planning your trip. My updates will be more frequent when we begin to hear bills and there’s more action in Austin. I appreciate your continued prayers and support and look forward to keeping in touch with you regularly throughout the legislative session.
A memorial service for Maxine Wood Darby, 84, Athens is scheduled for
10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25, 2013 at Eastern Hills Church of Christ with Danny Davis officiating.
Mrs. Darby died Jan. 21, 2013 in Athens.
She was born Oct. 13, 1928 in San Juan to Archie Leonard and Monie Foster Wood. Maxine grew up in Pharr and spent some time in Nashville before settling in Athens. She was a wonderful cook, devoted wife, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother and Christian woman.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Dan Wood; and sisters, LaRue Pfotenhauer and Bonnie Edwards.
Survivors include her husband of 65 years, Eugene Darby, Athens; sons Brian Darby and wife Jennifer, Denver, Colo., Ken Darby and wife Kathleen, Nashville, Tenn.; daughters Tere Lawyer and husband Don, Athens; grandchildren Peyton Williford, Nashville, Tenn., Whitney-Williford Morris, Dallas, Amber Budronis, Nashville, Tenn., Rosemary Darby, Nashville, Tenn., Chris Darby, Denver, Colo. and Ashton Dziedzic and eight great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Cain Center, 915 S Palestine, Athens Texas 75751 or the East Texas Arboretum, P O Box 2231, Athens, Texas 75751.
You may leave a message of condolence or light a memorial candle for the family at www.carroll-lehr.com .
