By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN
An amazing time of the year starts this Thursday — The Holidays, the little more than five-week stretch that sees the three most important celebrations on our calendar: Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year.
It is a time of plenty for some and need for others. And it is a time to ring the bell.
I happen to go to church with the organizers for the Salvation Army Kettle Bell campaigns in both Athens and Malakoff, Karrianne Capps and Todd Weaver, respectively.
The Athens Salvation Army will be ringing the bell at Walmart and Brookshire’s this year, while the Malakoff Salvation Army will be ringing at Brookshire’s
Those familiar red kettles have been around since 1891 and today the Salvation Army helps 4.5 million people during the holidays through the campaign. You can be part of this important holiday tradition by signing up online:
Congratulations, Paul Benson
Paul Benson, president of Athens-based Virtual Communication Specialists, was honored last week at the Varnex Fall Partner Conference in San Diego. Varnex is a national network of technology professionals.
Benson was given a 10-year Spirit Award. He has also served on the Varnex Advisory Council for four years and is an Ambassador for the organization.
“It is how we get introduced to new products and services while helping influence the technology industry with our collective solutions and collaborations,” Benson said, who added it was a special honor to be recognized because it is such an elite group.
No Trash Pickup in Athens on Thanksgiving
The City of Athens posted a reminder to residents that there will be no trash pickup on Thursday because of Thanksgiving.
“Residents who normally receive Thursday garbage pick up will be serviced on Friday. Residents who normally receive Friday pick up will be serviced on Saturday. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to call Athens City Hall at 903-675-5131 or email [email protected].”
Importance of the Primary
Malakoff ISD School Board members approved a Texas Educators Vote resolution at their meeting last week. They aren’t the only ones, according to the website, Cross Roads ISD and Mabank ISD are also participating districts.
I say good for the schools, educators should vote, as should everyone else. My interest, however, was piqued by a stat I found in the Texas Educators Vote website.
They say 90 percent of Texas elections are decided in the primaries. Anybody following Texas politics over the last decade can certainly believe this, many races don’t even have a Democratic candidate.
According to historical data, the turnout during a Republican primary is usually less than 19 percent in Henderson County or around 9,000 voters.
That means a little more than 4,500 have controlled elections over the last decade in a county of 75,000.
Don’t ignore primaries. Get out and vote.
(Follow Michael V. Hannigan on Instagram/Twitter @mvhannigan)