Category: Athens

Daily Brief: Monday, Jan. 21

Parade 1
(MICHAEL V. HANNIGAN PHOTO)

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day AND happy Inauguration Day.

The Henderson County Black Rodeo Association held a well-attended parade Saturday. See photos from the event here. 

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DON’T FORGET: The Henderson County Black History Committee will be hosting its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Vigil tonight in Malakoff starting at 7 p.m.

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Congratulations to Bill Hunt of Texas Ragtime Inc. on being named the Athens Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year at the chamber banquet last Friday night.

You can find a list of the other award winners here, as well as our Facebook photo album with pictures from the event here. 

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Not everything this weekend was happy. Sunday night, a candlelight service was held at Malakoff High School in honor of Jamiya Givens Williams and her daughter, Alahna Williams. who were killed in a car accident Sunday, Jan. 13.

We were there for the vigil. 

Funeral services were set for today at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church on Mitcham Street in Malakoff under the direction of Huckabee/Tomlinson Funeral Home, Malakoff.

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Rich Flowers over at the Review has the first interview with new Athens City Council member Monte Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery took Mayor Jerry Don Vaught’s spot when Mr. Vaught became mayor.

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Average retail gasoline prices in Texas have fallen 2.0 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.14/g yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 13,114 gas outlets in Texas. This compares with the national average that has increased 0.7 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.26/g, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Texas during the past week, prices yesterday were 9.7 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 10.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 1.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 8.9 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

Awards presented at Chamber of Commerce banquet

Bill Hunt of Texas Ragtime Inc. (left) was named the Athens Chamber of Commerce 2012 Citizen of the Year. He is pictured with incoming Chamber Chairman Mark Allen.
Bill Hunt of Texas Ragtime Inc. (left) was named the Athens Chamber of Commerce 2012 Citizen of the Year. He is pictured with incoming Chamber Chairman Mark Allen.

(UPDATED WITH NOMINATION LETTER – JAN. 22)

Bill Hunt of Texas Ragtime Inc. was named the Athens Chamber of Commerce 2012 Citizen of the Year Friday night at the annual chamber banquet.

The award was presented by last year’s Citizen of the Year, Judith McGilvray.

Outgoing Chamber Chairman Tony Kalawe stepped down and welcomed new chairman, Mark Allen.

Other award winners included:

  • Reindeer Games: Don Lawyer
  • Ambassador of the Year: Kim Hodges
  • Small Business of the Year: The Ship Shop
  • Large Business of the Year: First State Bank

Check out our Facebook photo album.

The nomination letter for Hunt follows:

We proudly nominate Dr. Arch William (Bill) Hunt for Athens Citizen of the Year 2012.

Bill is an outstanding individual who exemplifies a strong leader grounded in good
morals, sound judgment and consistent drive. He arrived in Athens in 1996 and has
been deeply involved in community affairs for the past 16 years. His background as
a college professor (University of Texas-Austin), a restaurant
entrepreneur (Fuddrucker’s start-up) and as a trained physicist has allowed him to
excel on many fronts. Some of his accomplishments that we feel have been important to Athens are as follows:

1. He brought to Athens an international company (Texas Ragtime) which consistently
employs approximately 50 people and adds about $1,000,000 each year to the Athens
economy. This was done without the aid of incentives or tax abatements. He took
all the risks and now owns a very successful company.

2. He has served on numerous community boards, including committees to better our
public schools (speaking out for passage of school bonds and improved standards)
and is currently very active as a member of the Cain Center Board (has supplied
very innovative ideas to the Board, and has seen some of them successfully executed).
As a member of the Board of the Athens Country Club his ideas precipitated changes
which have been permanently adopted and are generally acknowledged to be good.
It is evident that if Bill is on a board, he is going to be an active contributor.

3. He served as President of the Athens Rotary Club and on its Board.

4. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Athens and has served on several
committees with distinction.

5. He has been generous in his financial contributions to the needs of Athens.

For these and other accomplishments that may be overlooked, we feel Bill Hunt would be a worthy Athens Citizen of the Year 2012.

Help Brookshire’s to help the Athens Food Pantry

Brookshire's 1

Five dollars can go a long way for a family in need right now at Brookshire’s in Athens.

The company is taking part in the Souper Bowl of Caring, and a bag of groceries is being given to the Athens Food Pantry for every $5 donation by a customer. The opportunity runs through Feb. 3.

Above, Brookshire’s Manager Charles Beasley adds another bag to the cart after a customer donated $5 Friday morning. (MICHAEL V. HANNIGAN PHOTO)

For more information about the Souper Bowl of Caring, click here. For more about Brookeshire’s, call 903-675-6680.

Morning Brief: Wednesday, Jan. 16

State Rep. Jim Pitts
State Rep. Jim Pitts

In the photo above, State Rep. Jim Pitts, who now represents parts of Cedar Creek Lake, files House Bill 1, the base budget bill, Tuesday in Austin. (COURTESY PHOTO)

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While we are talking about the Legislature, Rep. Lance Gooden has filed several resolutions, including a couple about Henderson County folks. 

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What are you going to do for the National Day of Service this Saturday? We asked our Facebook community, and looks like the Family Peace Project could use some help. 

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Thank you to Kevin and Jeaneane Lilly for their $10,000 donation to the Athens Splash Pad project. The Athens Review has a photo. 

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Don’t forget, the Athens Chamber of Commerce Banquet is this Friday night. There’s still time to get tickets. 

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From the TVCC Facebook page: 

The Cardinal Sports Network will webcast tonight’s Region XIV Conference Doubleheader at Cardinal Gym between the Lady Cardinals, Cardinals and Kilgore College. Sports Information Officer Benny Rogers and President Dr. Glendon Forgey will handle the play by play and commentary. Watch all the action starting at 5:20 p.m.

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TWITTER USERS: If you see something newsworthy (or interesting or fun) in the county, tag it #hctnow.

FOR NON TWITTER USERS: What the above means is that any tweet with the tag #hctnow can be gathered into one list … so you could conceivably track that one tag and get information from Seven Points to Chandler.

Gooden files resolutions honoring local residents (UPDATED, Jan. 30)

Gooden
Lance Gooden

UPDATED (Wednesday, Jan. 30, 11 a.m.): State Rep. Lance Gooden has added to the list of resolutions he has filed honoring the people and organizations of Henderson County. The new bills include:

 

 

 

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UDPATED (Friday, Jan. 18, 9:45 a.m.): State Rep. Lance Gooden has filed more resolutions celebrating the people and organizations of his district, which includes most of Henderson County, including:

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The first bills filed by State Rep. Lance Gooden this legislative session are a series of resolutions spotlighting people and organizations in House District 4, which includes Kaufman County and most of Henderson County.

Athens resident David Campbell is honored with a resolution marking his induction into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 2012.

“David Campbell’s dedication to the care and management of fish in Texas waters has earned him the respect and admiration of anglers and outdoor writers across the state and beyond, and it is indeed fitting to recognize his contributions to the freshwater sport-fishing industry …” reads the resolution.

Here’s a story from when Dave was inducted.

Another resolution filed by Gooden celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the East Texas Medical Center Athens Auxiliary.

The resolution reads, in part, “For more than five decades, the ETMC Athens Auxiliary has been a boon of immeasurable value for staff and patients alike, and the outstanding efforts of its members, both past and present, are indeed worthy of commendation …”