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So sad that when we hear all the news about kids with guns killing classmates in school, or robbing gas stations and convenience stores that we often get the picture that "All kids are bad." Of course all of my grandchildren are great kids, but I'm not so sure about yours (just kidding folks). Every week I drive to most of the small towns in Grayson County, and often into other counties too, selling papers, advertising, gathering news, etc. A beautiful thing happened to me recently and I want you to know about it, but will not reveal where it happened because I want you to feel proud that it might have been in your town, or any other in the county. I had stopped for lunch and placed my order. I noticed two young men sitting next to me. I asked them about school, thinking they should be in school not out for lunch. They told me they had graduated last spring. One told me he is a student at Grayson County College, the other said he plans to begin there soon. They were both very polite and friendly speaking to an old man who interrupted their lunch with a few friendly questions. I don't know what I was expecting, but I very much enjoyed my visit with them. As we spoke about their school, and their ambitions in life, I offered a few suggestions. I am a teacher at LeTourneau University and shared some ideas with them that I also share with my students. The boys finished their lunch ahead of me, and as they left they said to me, "Sir! We have enjoyed the visit and your suggestions for our schooling. It was nice to meet you. Thank you!" I don't know their names, and I won't tell you where we were or what school they graduated from, but I believe the world is going to be in great hands as we pass on the leadership to the next generation. Yes, there are the bad ones out there and we hear about them all the time. There are many, many good ones out there too; we often forget about them as we hear of the ones who are bad. This column is called Good Times, and that was one of the Good Times. Just a few minutes visiting with very polite young men. A great pleasure for me to listen to them, and have them actually listen to me as well. These are the young men (and ladies too,) who will be stepping in to fill our shoes. They will be selling us our groceries, driving our transportation for us, servicing our appliances, and treating us in hospitals or nursing homes. It is a comfort to meet them and know things are going well in much of the world. Don't let the bad news frighten you too much. Let the Good Times Keep Rolling.
Dr. David Guinn, of the law faculty at Baylor, addressed the Commissioners Court concerning growth, the new census, and redistricting that will take place in 2001. The census 10 years ago showed Grayson County with a population of 95,019 and the current census is anticipated to show a population of between 105,000 and 106,000. The growth is 73% in the racial and ethnic minorities. According to Guinn a lot of people have not filled out their forms, mostly those who received the long form. He suggested that if you do not want to fill out the long form, go to the Post Office and get a short form and fill it out. At least send in something. Billions of dollars of Federal money is sent to various areas depending on the population numbers from the census. Dr. Guinn's firm was hired as consultants to help the county in redistricting. His firm has served Grayson county for the past two census/ redistricting procedures. Commissioners approved a preliminary plat for Emerald Glen, a new subdivision to be located just southeast of Tioga. Emerald Glen is planned to have 115 lots of 2 acres each and will be located at the corner of Berand Rd. and Maier Rd. A discussion of the Rural Metro Ambulance contract resulted in the commissioners approval for solicitation of proposals to replace ambulance service for the areas they serve. Rural Metro has notified area communities that they will terminate their contract on July 1. They did promise to continue providing service until another service is in place, and they are willing to sell or lease their local assets to another service. In other actions the commissioners: *Approved leasing of voter tabulation equipment to City of Sherman, Sherman ISD, City of Denison Denison ISD. *Accepted insurance settlement on a Sheriff's Office vehicle totaled in an accident, and approved purchase of new vehicle through HGAC contract. *Approved TCOG agree-ment for E-911 mapping service and maintenance contract, also approving amendment to structure numbering and road naming for 911 physical address. *Approved purchase of a Wheel Loader for Pct. 2 from low bidder. *Declared surplus and offered for auction a 1982 Ford F150 pick-up. *Approved part time salary to allow training a buyer for Purchasing department. *Approved interlocal agreement with Tioga to "Mow tree limbs out of the Right of Way on Van Zandt St., Garfield Lane and Porch St. *Approved payment of current bills. Grayson County Commissioners court meets every Monday at 10 a.m. Meetings are open to the public.
The Howe Middle School recently competed in the District UIL Academic meet in Bells. Congratulations to all students who participated. Eighth Grade Winners were: Courtney Allison - Oral Reading 6th; Michelle Foster - Maps, Graphs & Charts 4th; Micah Henderson - Number Sense 4th; Ready Writing 2nd; Stacy Hicks - Impromptu Speaking 1st; Brian Layman - Mathematics 3rd; Stephen Mize - Mathematics 6th; Dusty Nixon - Science 4th; Laura Stringfellow - Maps, Graphs & Charts 3rd Also participating: Amber Bankston, Valerie Cherry, Jeremy Chisum, Deena Franklin, Billy French, Michael Garza, Heath Haynes, Heather Hewlett, Caley Hogenson, Danielle Jones, Loren Maine, Brittney Mitchell, Brian Mutchler, Shawn Scarbrough, Joel Schachar Seventh Grade Winners were: Courtney Clayton - Listening 1st; Josh Cornelison - Number Sense 4th; Michael Langley - Maps, Graphs & Charts 2nd; Science 5th; Josh Skipworth - Mathematics 6th; Josh Smith - Maps, Graphs & Charts 4th; Science 1st; Cara Wildman - Ready Writing 3rd; Science 3rd; Tyler Williams - Listening 1st; Fallon Woods - Listening 5th Also participating were: Brittany Boyd, Rebecca Lowder, Casey Brinlee, T.J. Nelson, Jessica Burchfield, Sean Noel, Kacey Cornelison, Tristan Potter, Briar Dunn, Ashley Stogsdill, Tyler Hightower, Joel Stone, Thomas Lopez, Randi Trotter, Rebecca Lowder, T.J. Nelson, Sean Noel, Tristan Potter, Ashley Stogsdill, Joel Stone, Randi Trotter Sixth Grade Winners were: Casey Cantelmo - Dictionary 4th; Allison Dobbs - Calculator 6th; Maps, Graphs & Charts 1st; Megan Harper - Ready Writing 1st; Emily Keels - Calculator 5th; Number Sense 6th; Kim Krebbs - Ready Writing 2nd; Breanne Millspaugh - Dictionary 5th; Stacie Sandmann - Maps, Graphs & Charts 2nd; Number Sense 3rd; Erin Scarbrough - Maps, Graphs & Charts 6th; Mathematics 5th; Brendon Snapp - Calculator 2nd; Christa Stewart - Spelling 4th Also participating were: Sarah Aaron, J.J. Atkins, Kelsa Bertrand, Shane Coffman, Carrie Elston, Doug Farris, Dani Frantz, Nick Jones, Courtney Kisloski, Jordan McIntosh, Hillary Nixon, Beth Smith, Sean Stanley, Kaci Willits A special thanks to all the teachers who coached students and also to parents Mary Martha Stewart and Laura Sandmann for their help and support the day of the competition.
Saturday, March 25, twenty eager fifth-graders traveled to Whitewright to participate in the elementary division of the District UIL Literary Meet. The students and their competitive ares were as follows: Listening - Travis Beeler, Sterling Debner, Cale Hughes, Jordan Adams (alt.); Maps, Graphs, and Charts - Nicole Nicholas, Steven Richardson, Erica Wortham, Landel Sutton (alt.); Dictionary Skills - Sarah Lowe, Genny Richard, Katie Wildman, Robert Dunn (alt.); Spelling - Chad Fountaine, April Snider, Whitney Thomas, Joe Vincent (alt.); Number Sense - Ali Coffey, Kristin Foster, Jenny Lowder, Brandon Slawson (alt.); Ready Writing - Ali Coffey, Kristin foster, Katie Wildman, Sarah Lowe (alt.). When the event concluded, the proud HMS team held 13 ribbons! The winners were as follows: Listening - (tie) Travis Beeler 6th, Sterling Debner 6th, Cale Hughes 6th; Maps, Graphs and Charts - Steven Richardson 2nd, Erica Wortham 5th; Dictionary Skills - Genny Richard 3rd, Sarah Lowe 4th, Katie Wildman 5th; Spelling - April Snider 1st, Whitney Thomas 5th; Number Sense - Jenny Lowder 2nd; Ready Writing - Ali Coffey 1st, Katie Wildman 5th. The coaches of the teams were 5th grade teachers Linda Freese (Maps, Graphs, and Charts), Donneita Orr (Number Sense), Diane Richardson (Dictionary Skills, Ready Writing), and Lauren Whiten (Listening, Spelling). The teachers would like to express a special thank you to parents Reni Coffey, Lynn Lowder, Dorothy Thomas, and Terry Wildman for serving as test-graders and chaperons. A congratulations to all of the UIL participants for a fine performance.
Kevin Frantz has opened a Howe location of his Downtown Auto Sales & Service business. Since last November, Frantz has been operating a shop at 215 N. Montgomery. Within the last month, Frantz has worked on opening a second location, one in his home town of Howe, at 405 S. Hughes. Frantz graduated from Howe High School in 1982 and has always been interested in working on and selling cars. Since his graduation he has worked for various Ford dealerships in Dallas and in Gainesville, but with the goal of opening his own car business in Howe. The Sherman location will continue to be a service location while the Howe location will be a sales and service location. The business targets affordable, low mileage transportation (mainly cars from 1997 or newer). Frantz will also have a few classic cars for sale from time to time.
Red River Reading Council, a local council of the International Reading Association, recently sponsored its annual writing contest for 2nd-8th grades throughout Grayson County. Several Howe Middle School students were named winners. Fifth graders Sterling Debner, Rhapsody Fearon and Kirstin Foster tied for first place in the 5th grade division. Their teacher is Diane Richardson Eighth grader students Laura Stringfellow (tied for firs) and Courtney Allison (third place) were named winners. Their teacher is Linda Keene. The winners and their teachers were honored April 17 with a dinner at Steak Kountry where they read their winning essays and were awarded prizes and certificates.
If you are driving on the streets of Howe after dark and notice a small blue reflector in the middle of the street, you can be sure that a fire hydrant is directly across from the reflector. Howe Scouts have been working for several months on a project to install these reflectors to aid the fire deparment in locating the nearest fire hydrant during the night time hours. The Scouts will also be painting the hydrants with different colors (which represent the hydrant's flow). On Tuesday, April 18, during his department report at the regular council meeting, Howe City Administrator Ray Houston told the city council that the Scouts' project is almost finished. Houston also noted that the DG&O Railroad has worked on the crossing at Tutt and at Ponderosa making the two crossings smoother. SEWER OVERLOADED? Under old business, the council turned down a request from J.W. Reed to install a 12" sewer line from Bost Road property to the city sewer services. Houston had discussed Reed's request with the Sherman Public Works. At this time neither the city's sewer line on the west side of Hwy. 75 nor Sherman's line from 902 to TI would handle the extra sewage (from Reed's proposed up to 200 mobile homes). The council discussed possibilities to solve the problem such as the city installing a larger, parallel sewer line. Sherman plans to install a larger line from 902 to TI in 2003 or 2004. Mayor Bledsoe suggested a work session be held after the city election when new council members will be on the council. This group could then address preparation for a larger sewer line and/or the construction of a sewer plant. Council member Billy Wheeler said, "We need to plan for the future. We're going to grow." Wheeler made the motion to deny Reed's request saying, "We have no choice but to turn it down (because the current sewer system cannot handle the extra homes)." The motion passed with a 4-0 vote (Council member Bill French was absent from the meeting.) PROSECUTING ATTORNEY HIRED Municipal Judge Mike McGraw recommended that the council contract with attorney Tom Redwine for him to serve as prosecuting attorney at a fee of $200 per month for bench trials conducted by the municipal court. McGraw also recommended that the city continue with the current city attorney firm for use of their junior partner as prosecuting attorney at any jury trials at an hourly rate of $100. The council agreed to this. The state recently passed legislation requiring cities to have a prosecuting attorney to try cases in the municipal courts. These cases will only be the ones where the defendant pleads not guilty. TURNING LANE ON PONDEROSA FOR NEW HIGH SCHOOL Discussion about an interlocal agreement with Grayson County for work on Ponderosa Road concerned the widening of the road from the railroad tracks to the Hwy. 5 with a turning lane being added to accommodate cars turning into the parking lot/driveways of the new high school. Council member O.B. Powers asked how much this will cost the city and where the money will come from. Houston said his estimate on the cost is $12,000 to $15,000. He added that there is $35,000 left in the street fund with about $16,800 committed to the Young St. project. If the city does not do any street resurfacing this year, the money could be used for the Ponderosa project. Or, Houston said, money could be moved around in other accounts if the council wants some roads resurfaced. Also during the discussion Mayor Bledsoe suggested a higher estimate of the cost of from $15,000 to $20,000. In addition, Bledsoe informed the council and the audience that the Highway Department will be putting a blinking signal light at the corner of Hwy. 902/Ponderosa and Hwy. 5. OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS In other action, the council: *Approved closing the 100 block of East Haning on May 6 for the Annual Founders Day Celebration. *Voted to renew the note on the fire truck. *Discussed the request from Rural Metro Ambulance for 90 day notice of contract termination. Mayor Bledsoe noted that the mayors in several of the towns served by RMA are meeting with County Judge Horace Groff seeking solutions for the problem. RMA has told the county that they need more money to continue to provide service in Grayson County. *Voted accept bids for a public works vehicle. The city sought bids for a 3/4 ton pickup and received bids for a 3/4 ton pickup at $19,231 and for a 1 ton pickup for $18,391. The council told Houston to buy whichever vehicle best suits the city's needs. RV PARK TABLED J.W. Hall requested a specific use permit in order to put in a RV Park-rental on his property located in the James McKinney Survey. Since Howe does not currently have an ordinance on RV Parks, the council voted to table action on this item and to pass an ordinance. This ordinance will be discussed at a special meeting on Tuesday, May 9, at 6 p.m. at which newly elected council members will be sworn in. ORDINANCES The council passed three ordinances: Ordinance 516 - designates the 100 block to the 400 block of West Bledsoe as a truck route (but not a truck parking area). Ordinance 517 - provides for parking areas, not parking areas and no truck parking areas. Ordinance 518 - establishes a penalty for violations of the city code of not more than $2000 for violating ordinances governing fire safety, zoning or public health and sanitation and a penalty of not more than $500 for violation of other ordinances. Each day that any violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense. CRIME REPORT Crime report for March 2000 submitted by Police Chief Roy Keesy lists the following: 0 homicide, 1 sexual assault (C/1), 0 robberies, 2 assault (C/2), 0 burglary, 1 theft, 0 vehicle theft, clearance rate of 75% 26 arrests, 8 accidents, 62 citations, 16 reserve hours. Total calls for service, 267; total citizen contacts, 329. Total mileage driven, 5887. Total gasoline used, 414.4.
Red River Reading Council, a local council of the International Reading Association, sponsored its annual writing contest for 2nd-8th grades throughout Grayson County. First and second place winners were chosen and will have dinner, prizes and a certificate awarded to them. This year we are pleased to announce that Elise Brown, 4th grade, won 1st place and Lisa Baylie tied for 2nd place. These students are in Mrs. Brackeen's class. Erica Young, Mrs. Arrington's 2nd grade, won 2nd place. We are proud of these Gunter Elementary School students.
Dear Citizens: This past Tuesday (April 11) there was a bomb threat at Howe Middle School. It was decided in order to protect the safety of the children, they would be moved to different locations for school on that day. It was such a witness, but no surprise, to see that the volunteers from five local churches opened their doors to take in the students. It is no secret that we have shut God out of our schools and, therefore, many of our young people's lives. Not one parent complained that their child would be in a religioius institution for the day. Not one parent complained that their child would be in a denomination other than their own. Not only that, but God opened his doors to a society that has closed theirs. Maybe this is a wake up call that God is still in charge of our world if we will just open the doors to him. Maybe we need to re-evaluate the standards that have been taken out of our schools these past 30 years. We can make a stand for a change. Julie Murray Howe Middle School Teacher
At the recent Van Alstyne City Council meeting problems with the trash service were discussed. Several months ago the council approved a contract with Waste Management. The council raised concerns damage done to city streets by the refuse trucks. It was also mentioned that the trucks have been backing down entire length of streets and into intersections. A Waste Management official promised to follow the trucks and look for problems that need to be corrected. No action was taken. In addition, the council voted 4-1 to against three recommendations from the Planning & Zoning Board regarding definitions and ordinances changes. Chairman of the P&Z said one change would clarify the meaning of the word "garage" and aid the building inspector with his job. Neale mentioned the use of variances and the differences between a garage and a carport. Two other recommendations denied by the council were: one on nonconforming uses and one on adding the word "and strucktures" to a sentence in the zoning and subdivision ordinances. Willie Boddie was the lone councilmember in favor of these recommendations. Others on the council felt they want the council to look at each case and described the changes as "nit-picking." Neale told the Enterprise that he felt the changes would correct inconsistencies in the ordinances. He said the city might be open to lawsuit if a problem arises and the definitions are unclear. Other P&Z recommendations were tabled and sent back to P&Z for work. The council did approve a change which corrected a typographical error on the minimum size of single-family and two- family lots. The error stated the size as 7,500 sq. ft. but the size approved by the council several years ago is 7,200 sq. ft. The council also approved a request by the Van Alstyne Economic Development Corporation on expenditures (including an appraisal of the Douglas Bakery building which cost $605). The building is for sale at $95,000 and the EDC Board has expressed interest in buying it. Van Alstyne Police Report submitted by Chief Robert Spindle contained the following information - 64 incidents for March, 146 citations, 120 warnings, 56 arrests and one burglary (suspect was arrested three hours later at his home). The VAPD also closed two meth labs and seized five pounds of marijuana in March. Spindle also stated that work on the new police station is "progressing nicely." (At this point the city hasn't spent any of the allotted $25,000 toward the building because all materials and labor so far have been donated. He expects to move into the new building by the middle of June.
Grandson Christian received a high honor at a piano recital on Saturday, April 29. He was awarded a "Superior Plus" rating by the Denison Fine Arts Guild. Christian is a third grade student at Howe Elementary. Christian and his cousin, Jordan, also in the third grade finally got their field trip. Last week on Thursday, April 27, the Howe third grade was supposed to go to a farm museum and then a park, both in McKinney. This event was rained out and was re- scheduled for Tuesday of this week. Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny - just right for the trip. Caled the Chef - Grandson Caleb, 5, has some recipes for us. Fudge Cake - all you have to just is put some fudge and biscuits in there. Put it in the oven for 3 minutes. ANd when it goes "ding" you can get it out. Caramel Pie - Use buttermilk to make the dough and roll it up. Put caramel in it and mix it up. Then you pit in in the oven and cook it for 8 minutes. (Nanny's Note: I guess Caleb's short cooking times are for the microwave instead of conventional oven. I'm no sure about the results!) Granddaughter Dominique turned six last week. She celebrated for several days - a slumber party with cousins on Friday night and a family party on Sunday afternoon.
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Last updated 5/11/2000.
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