News

Since the mid-1980s, Mayor
Reba Simpson has been a fixture
in the city government.
From serving on the city
council, where she was mayor
pro tem, to holding the office
of mayor, Simpson has
seen a lot.
Simpson chose to first run
for city council to be a voice
for the average citizen. In an
interview following her first
mayoral election, Simpson
said “I ran for council because
I wanted to make sure
the average citizen would
have a voice in our city government.”
Although it was never her
intention, Simpson became
mayor in 1989, to fill the
unexpired term of the resigning
Carol Leftwich. She was
then elected in 1990, and has
faced very few challengers
during her tenure. Her goal
as councilwoman never wavered,
as she continued in
that first interview by saying
“I will continue to voice my

In an emergency,
seconds matter. A mere sixty seconds
can mean the difference between
full recovery, and a lifetime of disability,
or even death.
One local fire chief has made a plea
to residents in an effort to better help
those in his community.
Jenkins Volunteer Fire Department
Fire Chief Ron Brantley recently came
across a situation that could prove to be
life threatening in the case of an emergency.
Brantley noticed that many houses
only had address numbers facing one
direction, or worse yet, had no identifying
numbers at all.

To continue reading this article, purchase the print edition of The Steel Country Bee or go to our online e-edition at: http://www.etypeservices.com/Daingerfield%20BeeID312/

Daingerfield State Park
opened to the public in 1938 and through the early
1970s, community dances were a mainstay of this
historic Civilian Conservation Corps-built Texas
State Park.
The sight of happy dancers moving to the sounds
of that decade’s music, which could be heard emanating
from the park’s jukebox, created lifelong experiences
and memories.
Many families can actually be traced to a chance
encounter at the dance.
The dance tradition was strong from the 1930’s
through the 1960’s at the park with these activities
centered at the historic Pavilion’s dance terrace overlooking
Lake Daingerfield.
Park staff, with the help of area volunteers, are
in the process of bringing this lost tradition back to
Daingerfield State Park.
Once again, the park will be the center of summer
evening community gatherings.
The plan is to reestablish a retro jukebox at the

As
a young man, Jack Martin
began working with the fire
department and ambulance
service.
Through that work, Martin
found his calling in law
enforcement, and has gone
on to be the first black sheriff
of Morris County.
After working with the
fire department and ambulance
service, Martin was
brought in by then-Naples
Police Chief Lloyd Martin,
who used him as a reserve
officer in the Naples Police
Department. Morris County
Sheriff Joe Skipper also used
Martin a reserve deputy.
When Sheriff Rickey
Blackburn resigned, Martin
chose to run for sheriff
himself. “It was something
I had a small desire to do,
but I never would have until
Sheriff Blackburn was
retired or gone. He actually
encouraged me to run as his
replacement,” said Martin.
In March of 2004, Martin
ran in the Democratic

Once again, rainy
weather is wreaking havoc
in the area. After multiple
issues with flooding in
March of 2016, it seems
that Mother Nature is getting
an earlier jump on
things this year.
Travelers between
Daingerfield and Hughes
Springs are asked to pay
extra attention when traveling
past the golf course,
as the Texas Department of
Transportation has
blocked off the right lane
leading to where a portion
of roadway has washed
out.
According to TxDOT
official Marcus Sandifer, it
is likely that the problem,
which occurred in the early
morning hours of Jan. 17,
was caused by drainage
culverts.

Hughes Springs residents
should mark their
calendars for Saturday,
May 6. At the regular
meeting of the City
Council on Jan. 17, the
council selected May 6 for
election of a new mayor as
well as two city council
members.

To continue reading this article, purchase the print edition of The Steel Country Bee or go to our online e-edition at: http://www.etypeservices.com/Daingerfield%20BeeID312/

At the regular monthly
meeting of the
Daingerfield-Lone Star
ISD Board of Trustees,
the board voted to
approve trustee elections
for May 6.
Two agenda items
regarding trustee elections
were brought
before the board on Jan.
17. In the first, the board
was asked to consider
ordering a trustee election
for May 6. Districts 1
and 2 both will be placed
on the ballot for the election.
Those places are
currently held by Neil
Roney and Maurice
Tigert, respectively.

To continue reading this article, purchase the print edition of The Steel Country Bee or go to our online e-edition at: http://www.etypeservices.com/Daingerfield%20BeeID312/

Capital Highlights
By Ed Stirling

The Daingerfield Junior
High Math-Science team
began the 2017 competition
season with a second
place finish in division II at
the Atlanta Middle School
meet held on Jan. 14.
Queen City placed first,
while Atlanta, Spring Hill,
McLeod, Pewitt, and Ore
City placed third through
seventh behind
Daingerfield.
Students placing in the
top ten in individual events
are as follows:

To continue reading this article, purchase the print edition of The Steel Country Bee or go to our online e-edition at: http://www.etypeservices.com/Daingerfield%20BeeID312/

“Preparing students for
life” is the goal of
Daingerfield-Lone Star
ISD. In an effort to show
how the district actually
goes about accomplishing
that goal, graduate Sam
Fowler visited the board
of trustees at their regular
meeting on Jan. 17.
Fowler, a 2014 DHS
graduate and Texas A&M
junior, spoke to the board
about his upcoming
opportunity to travel and
study abroad. When asked
by board member Miguel
Larsen how his education
at D-LS ISD prepared him
for college, Fowler
responded, “It put me in
contact with good people,
like David Brotherton and
Mark Scheu."
In an effort to continue
preparing students for
life, the board was asked to
consider a proposal that
would initiate the process
for the district to be considered
a “District of
Innovation.” According to
assistant superintendent