News

CASA of Titus, Camp and Morris Counties announces its Tri County Independence Day Blast to be held on Monday, July 4, 2016 in Broach Park in Pittsburg, with proceeds to benefit CASA in assisting children in the foster care system within the tricounty area.

CASA has planned a celebration packed with activities for all ages.

Evening events include FREE fun activities and booths for families and children, music and concessions, parachute jump (chance to win $1,000) and choreographed fireworks at dusk. This event will be an evening of fun and celebration for all ages.”

“We are excited to offer many new activities to the annual 4th of July fireworks display so families in our communities can enjoy a day of fun to celebrate Independence Day. We invite you to bring your entire family and friends to this celebration,” states Michelle Cobern, CASA Executive Director of Titus, Camp and Morris Counties.

The State Board of Education (SBOE) is issuing a survey in English and Spanish to seek public input about the state’s current assessment and accountability programs and gather suggestions for future program development. The survey will be open online to all Texans through June 30.

From October 2015 to March 2016, SBOE members held nine Community Conversa tions meetings around the state, meeting with more than 500 citizens to gather comments about the state’s student assessment and accountability systems. The online survey addresses the issues raised during the community meetings and allows for additional input from educators, parents, business people and students.

 By: J. Leslie Riseden

Special Contributor to The Steel Country Bee

Lone Star solid waste customers may see an increase in their monthly bill soon. At the regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council June 16, Woodie Brantley of Sanitation Solutions presented a proposal that seeks an increase of five percent in the $9.51 rate that residential customers now pay, raising it to $9.99 per month.

Sanitation Solutions provides weekly trash pick-up to about 600 residential and 21 commercial/industrial customers, as well as dumpster service to 50 customers. As is common throughout the municipal public service industry, large commercial and industrial customers are charged at tiered rates, and their fees can fluctuate monthly, depending on volume. This allows service providers to establish a fixed rate for residential customers, whose volume stays fairly consistent.

The Northeast Texas Community College Board of Trustees held a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss and approve moving forward with a new campus housing project.

The board received the results of a recently conducted survey which determined there is sufficient demand to add student housing for an additional 100+ students on the NTCC campus. Servitas, a firm specializing in campus residential facilities, recently conducted the survey.

NTCC is pursuing a partnership where outside investors take on a longterm lease of college property and finance and build the new housing facility. The project would cost nothing to local taxpayers and there is no financial liability to the college. This approach, known as a “public-private partnership” would seek USDA backing to lower the finance costs, thus keeping the cost of housing as low as possible.

 (StatePoint) Many families spend summer vacation taking advantage of the great outdoors -- from picnics to hikes to time at the pool.

Parents are often looking for ways to turn these typical warm weather activities into creative adventures and engaging learning experiences.

Jessica Turner, author of “The Fringe Hours,” and mother of three, is an expert at incorporating the sun, sand and surf into crafting activities. She’s sharing some of her best summer tips to encourage creative play, while keeping kids healthy, happy and safe.

Crafty Ideas

• Take a hike: There over 6,000 state parks nationwide. Take advantage of one near home. While traversing the terrain, gather leaves, sticks and fallen flowers. Print out an 8x10 inch picture of your child and glue the nature finds around the edges.

 (StatePoint) Warmer weather is a cue from Mother Nature to start thinking about mosquitoes. Their bites can potentially leave more than an annoying itch; and this year many Americans are taking notice.

In fact, nearly seven out of ten (68 percent) want to go a step beyond “just spraying their body,” including treating their deck areas or back yards, in order to combat mosquitoes, according to a recent survey by Westham Co., a global mosquito control product manufacturer.

To fully protect your family from mosquito bites this season, combine backyard smarts with scientifically-based mosquito control options. This one-two punch can eliminate breeding grounds and halt mosquitoes’ ability to bite, breed and annoy.

Start Early

The Lone Star City Park now boasts a cleaned up swimming area, which will prove extremely popular during the coming summer months.

Lone Star Fire Chief Jerry Stoermer said “When I was a kid, we had a really nice swimming area out here, but it had grown up where no one wanted to swim out here.” Through volunteer efforts of several area men, including Steven Blythe, the swimming hole has been cleaned up, and new barriers have been put out at the beginning of the beach area.

Besides the swimming area, the park also boasts two playgrounds, picnic tables, and barbeque grills, as well as basketball courts and baseball fields.

The swimming area and park are free for public use, but here is no lifeguard on duty, so visitors are reminded to swim with caution.

Fire crews were dispatched to County Road 3300 on Friday, June 17 for this house fire.

By the time crews arrived, the fire had engulfed the home of R.C. Bolden. According to Bolden’s daughter, he was not at home at the time of the blaze.

Fire crews from Omaha, Rocky Branch, and Cason Volunteer Fire Departments all arrived to battle the fire. No one was injured in the blaze, and the cause is under investigation.

(SPM Wire) It happens every summer. Pets left in vehicles with no owner in sight. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for this circumstance to be dangerous or even deadly. Even on a temperate day, the greenhouse effect of rolledup windows can heat up a car to 116 degrees F within an hour, according to the Humane Society.

If you see a pet in a hot car, act quickly to try to locate the owner. He or she is likely in a nearby establishment. Talk to the proprietors of nearby stores and ask them to make an announcement to customers.

Then, call the non-emergency number of your local police department or animal control. Stay on site until help arrives.

While most pet owners have the best intentions, many are unaware of the danger of leaving a pet in a hot car. You can help spread the word. Free online resources, available at HumaneSociety.org, offer tips, advice and important information on keeping pets safe.

This summer, be a hero to a pet in need.

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Prevention Day

By: J. Leslie Riseden

Special Contributor to

The Steel Country Bee

One would think that as Elder Abuse Awareness Day approaches, there would be more calls to aid our senior citizens, especially those who might be particularly vulnerable, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens. Instead, we are more likely to hear about the grandmother who fought off a mugger. Surprisingly, most estimates place elder abuse at more than one in every ten elders; however, it is estimated that for every case that is reported, another 22 go unreported.

Crimes against the elderly take the form of neglect, physical abuse, financial exploitation and sexual abuse, in that order. For some reason, people do not seem to want to talk about these issues. But, AMAC says, “we must bring this disgraceful crime wave out into the open if we, as a nation, hope to stem the tide.”