Athens-Henderson County Now

City Council approves creation of Temporary Use Permit

By Michael V. Hannigan

The Athens City Council Monday night approved the creation of a Temporary Use Permit to be included in the City zoning ordinance.

City staff brought the issue before the council because City Hall has received a request to open a seasonal business stand on State Highway 31. Before the council acted Monday night, there was no option in the City’s ordinance for such a stand.

“This gives us another tool in the zoning ordinance,” said City Manager Philip Rodriguez.

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TVEC opens office in Athens

TVEC is now open for business at a temporary office located in front of the original office building at 909 W. Larkin Street in Athens.

In early December, the TVEC Athens office was heavily damaged by severe storms and high winds. A large portion of the roof was blown off. The inside of the building suffered major water damage. Currently there is no estimated time for the reopening of the main office building.

AHS band members qualify for UIL state in solo & ensemble

Twelve members of the Athens High School Band qualified Saturday for the UIL State Solo and Ensemble competition. They are (top row, from left) Dakota Lindsey, Juan Aguilar and Kolemann Dooley, who make up the baritone trio; Jonathan Bywaters, Joseph Mahmoud, Bryce Bowman and Gerardo Godinez, who make up the sax quartet; and (bottom row, from left) Jordan Bennett, Michelle Bywaters, Juan Martinez and Jacob Smith, who make up the percussion ensemble along with Eli McCool who is not pictured. (Toni Garrard Clay/AISD)

Athens ISD press release

Seventy members of the “Pride of the Hornets” Athens High School Band competed at UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest Saturday in Lindale. Forty earned first division ratings, for a total of 45 medals. Twelve qualified for state.

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Athens issues notification letter about HAA levels in drinking water

By Michael V. Hannigan

Hey Athens resident, did you get your letter? You know, the one about the city’s drinking water exceeding the maximum contaminant level for haloacetic acids (HAAs). In this situation, you could have a look into installing your own water filtration system to your property to ensure your water levels are at the correct levels. For more information on water filtration systems and water pitchers, you could check out https://waterfilterway.com/best-water-filter-pitcher-reviews/.

If you haven’t yet, you will, because it is a state requirement.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) notified the City of the violation in January. At that time, the City posted about the issue on its website and social media, and I wrote a story about the situation.

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ACPA swimmers headed to state

The Athens Christian Preparatory Academy girls swim team traveled to Mansfield this past weekend to compete in the north regional TAPPS swim championships. ACPA is a Division 3 school and was competing against schools from as far north as Amarillo, west Abilene, south Waco and east Texarkana.

When the meet was over ACPA finished fourth. This was amazing since ACPA only had two girls competing.

Representing ACPA were sophomore Casey Clark and senior Mary Cheadle. The top two finishers in each event earned an automatic bid to the state swim championships in San Antonio Feb.

13-14. Casey earned spots in the 200 yard freestyle and 100 yard backstroke finishing second in both events . Mary earned her spot in the 500 yard freestyle and also finished fourth in the 50 yard free.

The girls swam really well posting personal best times in all their events.

“I am very proud of their effort and results,” said swim coach Willy Robson. “We went to the meet with one goal and that was to get to state. Both girls accomplished our goal so we have had a very successful season.”