Athens Texas

DA’s Office Begins Summer With Busy Week of Trials

District Attorney’s Office press release

It was a busy week for Scott McKee’s District Attorney’s Office last week as four prosecutors were wrapped up in two trials in the Henderson County Judicial Complex. 1st Assistant District Attorney Mark Hall along with Assistant DA Nancy Rumar were busy in Judge Mark Calhoon’s 3rd Judicial District Court while Assistant District Attorneys Jenny Palmer and Danny Cox were prosecuting a case in Judge Carter Tarrance’s 392nd District Court.

A jury of seven women and five men convicted and sentenced Jeffrey Arlen Quinn, 31, of Athens to 17 years in prison after hearing evidence presented by 1st Assistant Hall and ADA Rumar that on October 21, 2013, Quinn, who was wanted on a parole violation at the time, was driving a Ford Ranger pickup north on Highway 274 just south of Seven Points at about 5 p.m., and was accompanied by another wanted felon, Kristy Kidan

While making an unsafe pass of the car in front of him, Quinn narrowly avoided a head-on collision with Tool Police Chief Rodney Henderson, who was traveling south toward Tool. Chief Henderson immediately turned around to make what he thought would be a routine traffic stop, but soon realized that Quinn had no intention of stopping. Quinn turned east onto Highway 334, then left onto John Thomas Drive. He then turned onto Pritchett Lane accelerating to speeds in excess of 100 mph on the unmarked, two lane road, causing numerous vehicles to pull over to avoid collision. Continue reading “DA’s Office Begins Summer With Busy Week of Trials”

Athens Troop 343 Boy Scouts Trek Through Wilderness

Athens Boy Scout Troop 343, June 2014 trek at Philmont NM. Pictured L to R, Ian Collins, Will Perryman, Nathan Johnson, and Temple Hendrickson.

Boy Scout Troop 343 press release

An Athens crew of teenage Scouts and their leaders armed with hiking poles went on a June 2014 life changing trek through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Philmont covers 137,000 acres of vast wilderness with trails that climb from 6,500 feet to as high as 12,441 feet. Philmont Scout Ranch is the Boy Scouts of America’s premier high adventure camp and the largest youth camp in the world, serving nearly one million participants since it was gifted to the Boy Scouts by Oklahoma oilman and philanthropist Waite Phillips in 1938.

The crew made what amounts to a Scouting pilgrimage with their trip to Philmont. During their trek, Boy Scout Troop 343 hiked 74 miles over 12 days, including 22,916 feet of vertical ascents up and over a number of mountains and ridges. The group of Scouts and their advisors carried 50-60 pound backpacks with everything they needed to survive during the trek while hiking from camp to camp. Along with their tents, sleeping bags and gear, sometimes this also included a 4-day supply of food and 2-days of water. While on the trek, the Scouts endured tough challenges including backpacking in bear and mountain lion territory, pitching a new camp every evening with a hot meal while implementing strict bear procedures, near freezing temperatures at night, drinking safe water from mountain streams, steep climbs, and driving rain with threatening lightning. Continue reading “Athens Troop 343 Boy Scouts Trek Through Wilderness”

Analysis Puts Henderson County in Lowest Third of the Country

A recent data project tried to determine which counties in the United States were the hardest to live in.

The Upshot — a data analysis group teamed up with the New York Times — ranked each county in the nation according to the following six categories: education (percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree), median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity.

Henderson County ranked 2,261 out of 3,135 … or in the bottom 28 percent.

The individual numbers were:

Median Income: $41,000
College Education: 14.2 percent
Unemployment: 7.3 percent
Disability: 1.8 percent
Life Expectancy: 74.9 years
Obesity: 39 percent

From the Henderson County Connect LinkedIn Group.

Two New Classes Starting Up at The Color of Ideas in Athens

Crazy cool binder cover in leather by Larry Sherrod!

By Philokalia Jones/TCOI

The Color of Ideas Community Arts Center (TCOI), located just off the Square at 207 E. Tyler Street in Athens, announces a new Leather Tooling Class to begin the first Saturday in July at 9:30am. Taught by Larry Sherrod, the hour and a half class will cost $20 plus materials. All tools will be provided. The first project will be a belt. Larry is an amazing artist. If leather work interests you, don’t miss this class!

Also beginning at TCOI this July: Saturday Portrait Classes with Blake. The only materials required for this class are a large drawing pad, a pencil, an eraser, and a simple 8″x10″ black and white photocopy of the portrait you want to draw! Classes will meet from 10am to 11am on Saturdays and will only cost $10! For more details contact The Color of Ideas on facebook or stop by TCOI between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. While you’re there a look at Blake’s remarkable work. (The large drawing in the window at TCOI of Bane from Dark Knight Rising is by Blake!)

If you are interested in meeting people and learning something new at the same time, here’s your chance, Athens!

Volunteers Needed at the Athens Thrift Store

The Athens Thrift Store is in need daily of volunteers to help stock shelves. They have an abundance of donated items and need help getting those items put on the shelves for customers to purchase. This would be a great community service opportunity for teenagers while they are on summer break. Anyone wanting to volunteer can contact Matt Akin @ (903) 675-3160.

All proceeds from Athens Thrift Store, after expenses, are given to other non-profit entities in the area including but not limited to:

ETMC Auxiliary
Henderson County Food Pantry
Meals of Kindness
Helping Hands Furniture Ministry and Clothes Closet
Ruby’s Safe Haven
Family Peace Project
East Texas Crisis Center
The Disciples Clinic
Henderson County Young Life
Help Center
Meals on Wheels
Athens Soup Kitchen
The Rainbow Room
CASA of Trinity Valley