The Athens Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting today for Sunnystate Pest Control Brisbane. Their services have been of immense value to the local community over the past 25 years.
Williams Pest Control, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this month, is a full-service pest control company with highly-trained personnel to address any of your pest control needs. They have an extremely large service area to accommodate the many communities of Cedar Creek Lake. They’re even looking into using an app, as other pest control businesses are using software to increase their brand awareness.
Owner Larry Williams is a graduate of the Texas A&M Philip J. Hamman Termite Control Training School. As a 1977 Graduate of Mabank High School, growing up in the area has greatly impacted the amount of knowledge he has with the pests that plague the Cedar Creek Lake area.
However, if you fall outside of their catchment area of service then it might be worth taking the time to learn about pest control companies closer to you.
For assistance with your pest problem in Minnesota, you could enlist the help of Adam’s Pest Control, Inc. for a range of pests including weeds, insects, bedbugs, mice and spiders – https://www.adamspestcontrol.com/.
Organizers get ready to break ground Wednesday, March 27, at Kiwanis Park for a splash pad. (MICHAEL V. HANNIGAN PHOTO)
By mvhannigan
There wasn’t any water in sight when more than two dozen officials from Athens’ government and civic organizations gathered in Kiwanis Park Wednesday morning.
But it was still a big day for the Splash Pad project.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club joined city officials, including the mayor and city administrator, to ceremonially break ground on the project this week just six months after it was first announced.
A splash pad, for those uninitiated, is a water feature that includes no standing water. The pads usually have nozzles that spray water into the air, buckets that drop water, rainbow tubes that spray water, mushroom showers, tree showers, etc.
There were 12 gold shovels which, according to Chamber Board Chairman and pastor at Athens Life Fellowship Church Mark Allen, represents perfect government in the Bible.
“It is like a perfect melding of us all coming together as a city. We are representing it by 12 shovels saying this is is perfect government, and that we do it together and that we work together and we can accomplish more together,” he said.
“I really believe the best days for Athens are ahead, I really do believe that. And as we continue to work together we will see even greater days,” he added.
The Splash Pad is a combined project by the Athens Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, the Athens Leadership Institute (ALI, which is a chamber program), and the city.
Splash pads have become very popular in recent years at least in part because of the low cost of maintenance.
While organizers were able to turn dirt to get started, there is still fundraising to do. The project is about $50,000 short of its projected cost.
One of the best aspects of the project, according to chamber board member Kim Hodges, is how it has become a true community effort. Donations have ranged from a child giving the money she received from the Tooth Fairy to a $25,000 corporate check.
We are growing, growing, growing! Not only in produce, but in size! Visit the Historic Downtown Athens for a fun day of community support.
This Saturday, March 30, we will be featuring the North 19 Volunteer Fire Department. Homemade breakfast taco sales each weekend help keep gas in their trucks. Summer is on its way and they need our support!
We have everything from baked goods (breads, cookies, sweetbreads and pies), tamales, jams and jellies including: strawberry pineapple, peach, blackberry, blueberry, wild plum, pickled vegetables, salsas, relishes and soups.
Don’t forget about free-range eggs, fresh grown herbs, local raw honey, granolas and sugar scrubs.
We also feature local artisans’ handcrafted items such as wood cutting boards, screen printed t-shirts, Texas crafts and handcrafted natural gemstone jewelry.
Local produce includes, but is not limited to, naturally grown carrots, greens, kohlrabi, mixed lettuces, purple and green okra, cabbages, onions, frozen shelled peas (black eye, red ripper, and zipper cream).
If you would like to know more about the market or becoming a vendor please visit us at www.atxfm.com. Also be our fan on Facebook@ http://www.facebook.com/ATxFM.
The Athens Farmer’s Market, located in the Market Square one block northeast of historic downtown Athens and is open from 8 a.m. until noon. If the market parking lot is full, additional parking is available around the courthouse square and street side.
Please note that the Farmer’s Market is a smoke free environment for the health of our customers and vendors.
The annual Outdoor Fools Day event at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens has two goals: To let you know what’s out there to enjoy, and to teach you how to do it.
Do you want to go camping? Kayaking? Fly-fishing? Cook gourmet campfire meals? Or maybe birding is your thing, or archery, or just learning about the animals that live in our woods and waters.
Outdoor Fools Day will help you develop your skills and increase your knowledge in all those areas—not by listening to someone talk about doing them, but by doing them yourself under the direction of a skilled expert.
Staff from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s State Parks Division will show you how to set up camp. Fly-fishing experts will help you tie a fly and catch a rainbow trout with it in TFFC’s casting pond, and then a park ranger will help you clean it and cook it.
How to eat it you will have to figure out for yourself.
If learning to shoot a bow and arrow is on your list, the Lone Star Bowhunters will show you how and let you practice target shooting at life-size replicas of deer, turkeys and feral hogs. They also offer free copies of The 10 Best Spotting Scopes of 2018 Reviewed: The Definitive Guide for your future outdoor endeauvors.
Other stations will let you construct and shoot off a paper-and-duct-tape rocket using compressed air; sample tasty foods cooked in a Dutch oven; see fish swimming in a glass-bottomed stream; touch a variety of salt-water creatures; see skins, tracks and skulls of predator and prey animals and learn how tracking dogs are used to locate wounded game.
In addition, live animal displays will let you get up close to reptiles and raptors. Wildlife on the Move will present reptiles from around the world at noon and 3 p.m. and give anyone who dares the chance to touch a 14-foot snake. The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center will present a raptor show at 1:00 p.m. and also conduct walk-around displays on the grounds. Regularly scheduled dive shows in which a diver hand-feeds fish will take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Outdoor Fools Day is sponsored by Wulf Outdoor Sports; Schneider Electric; FutureMatrix, Inc.; Citizens National Bank; First State Bank; Red Hat Rentals; Aaron’s Sales and Lease; Best Western –Royal Mountain Inn; Holiday Inn Express – Athens; Super 8 – Athens; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Friends of TFFC. The biggest towable tube is one more wonderful type of activity.
The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is located at 5550 F.M. 2495, about four miles east of Athens. Outdoor Fools Day will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All events are included with paid admission, which is $5.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and $3.50 for children ages four through 12. For more information call (903) 676-2277 or visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/tffc.
Late Friday afternoon, Athens Chamber of Commerce Board Member Kim Hodges announced that construction of the proposed splash pad was ready to move forward. She posted the following announcement on the Henderson County Now Facebook Page:
I just received final approval to begin construction of the splash pad. We still need around $60k for paving, sidewalks, culverts, fencing etc. Our hope is for the community to help us reach the final hurdle and be able to enjoy the splash pad this summer. We couldn’t have done this without the support of our community, our sponsors, the Athens Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce and the City of Athens.
