Category: Uncategorized

Loretta Humble/Living Well

I began this column to share my efforts to stay mentally sharp. Last week I told you I had changed my focus just a little. I’m still going to do everything I know to do to keep my brain functioning as well as possible, but I’m not going to make that my only measurement of success. I am also going to try to remember the importance of fully living and appreciating every day, whether I remember everything or not.

I sure am glad I made that clear.

This week I forgot a couple of things.

It started when I forgot to put gas in the car. I remembered it when it quit in the driveway of Eastern Hills Church of Christ in Athens. Shelly and I had stopped by there on our way to a Master Gardener program and we just barely had time to get there. That’s OK, I said, I have Roadside Assistance from AARP. (You know I’ve been bragging about AARP, but this week I’m not: They said they could be there in two and a half hours.) So we begged a ride from a very gracious lady named Pat McNew. She took us to our meeting at the Senior Center near the Fairgrounds in her beautiful new car she just got. (I wrote down her name, thinking I might find an excuse to thank her in this column. Little did I know.) We nearly made it on time, which is how Shelly and I usually arrive—nearly on time.

Continue reading “Living Well: Running out of gas leads to adventure”

By Loretta Humble/Living Well

My garden has performed beyond my wildest expectations. The potatoes are dug, the onions are pulled. The giant zucchinis just keep coming, nearly faster than I can give them away. My yellow and patty pan squash vines are overflowing, but those fruits are smaller and less intimidating, so I have no problem finding homes for them. I never really figured out what to do with the Swiss Chard, but it was beautiful, and my daughter Liz has enjoyed it. Cucumber vines are climbing all over the garden fence and like to hide their fruit in the cannas that grow on the other side. The green bean patch produced a big pot full which I cooked with new potatoes also from the garden and fed my kids last weekend. And tomatoes … do I have tomatoes—big ones, little ones and in between. They are crowding out the peppers, but the peppers are managing to produce anyhow. My tiny patch of corn has tassels and silk. Cantaloupes and watermelons are coming on. I have a thriving herb garden, which is also filled with zinnias, petunias, a few wild flowers and a big clump of 8 ft tall sunflowers. I don’t know much about herbs but I sure love having them.

Continue reading “Living Well: Seeing the changes make a difference”

Press release

On Saturday, June 10, the North Texas Conference Tyler District held its third annual Car Show at Malakoff High School. Johnson Chapel A.M.E. Church in Malakoff is a part of this district and helped co-host.

The event had 34 entries and was well attended by the public. The participants came from Corsicana, DeSoto, Tyler, Athens, Ennis, Mesquite, Gun Barrel City and other surrounding counties.

Continue reading “Winners of North Texas Conference Car Show”

By Toni Garrard Clay/Communications Coordinator

Athens ISD Superintendent of Schools Blake Stiles announced today that Shannon Pursley will be the new principal at Central Athens Elementary, effective July 1.

Pursley spent the last two years as assistant principal at South Athens Elementary. From 2012-2014, she was an instructional coach at Athens Middle School, and prior to that she spent nine years in the classroom, teaching language arts at the middle school and reading at what was then Athens Intermediate School.

“I became an educator to improve the lives of children and be a part of the education process,” said Pursley, who before becoming a teacher had a career in marketing and sales. “I look forward to joining the Central Athens community and collaborating with such an outstanding group of educators, children and their families.”

Superintendent Stiles said he has every confidence Pursley will carry on in the tradition of excellence already established at Central.

“We believe she’ll be an excellent campus principal,” he said.

Pursley is replacing Jennifer Risinger, who is moving from her leadership position at Central to take over the helm at Athens Middle School. AMS Principal Ginger Morrison is taking over as principal at Athens High School, and AHS Principal Jami Ivey is moving into the administrative position of director of secondary curriculum.

Pursley graduated from the University of Texas at Tyler with a bachelor of science degree. In 2015, she earned a master’s of education, again at UT Tyler, majoring in educational leadership with a principal certification.

She and her husband, Robert Pursley, have two children, Jace and Haley, who are both graduates of Athens High School.