News

J. Leslie Riseden

At a special called meeting of the Hughes Springs ISD School Board, Feb. 17, the vote was unanimous not to renew High School Ag teacher Randy Penny’s contract for the 2016-17 year. As a matter of policy, the district does not comment on personnel matters; however, HSISD Superintendent Sarah Dildine did confirm that Mr. Penny is currently on paid administrative leave.

Texas Women’s University has released their Fall, 2015 dean’s list. Sha’traven Ransom, from Hughes Springs was included on that list.

Undergraduate students completing at least 12 graded credit hours and achieve at least a 3.5 grade point average are eligible for the dean’s list.

Ransom is studying criminal justice.

During Spring Break 2015, there were 459 crashes in Texas involving young drivers (17-34 years of age) under the influence of alcohol. Those crashes led to 43 serious injuries and 16 fatalities.

The Texas Department of Transportation is hoping to reduce these numbers through “Plan While You Can,” a campaign that runs March 1-19 to coincide with Spring Break and an increase in DUI patrols and enforcement in Texas.

The City of Daingerfield Police Department will be working extra enforcement dedicated to arresting Impaired Drivers. They also want to remind the young drivers that there is Zero Tolerance for alcohol for anyone under the age of 21. Besides making the wrong choice, choosing to drink and drive could mean an arrest. You could be seriously injured or it could cost you a life. It could be yours.

Cass County has released their newest most wanted list.

Morris County Sheriff Jack Martin has issued the most wanted list for Morris County.

Coy Calloway Rowe: Failure to Appear/ Motion to revoke/ Theft; Bail Jumping and Failure to Appear.

Mauricio Pacheco Pantoja: Fraudulent Use/ Possession of Identifying information.

Alejandro Novella- Torres: Motion to revoke/ Possession Controlled Substance.

Jose Maria Noriega- Ramirez: Motion to Revoke/ Possession Controlled Substance.

Chrisepher Copeland: Motion to Revoke/ Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity.

Aquan Elliot: Failure to Appear/ Possession of Controlled Substance.

North East Texas Credit Union is the newest member of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation’s Prime Partner Bank program. Prime Partner banks and credit unions voluntarily pay higher interest rates on Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) and have a direct impact on the amount of money available to help low-income Texans with their civil legal issues.

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation receives funding from IOLTA accounts—a method to fund legal aid by collecting interest on client trust accounts—and uses this money to distribute grants to legal aid providers in the state, which help more than 100,000 Texas families each year. Prime Partner financial institutions currently pay 1 percent on IOLTA accounts, which is above and beyond the eligibility requirements for banks participating in the IOLTA program.

 Anyone looking for good gospel music is welcome to come to Flavor Favor Spring Fest, a gospel festival hosted by Dr. Marion Coleman, of Dallas.

Dr. Coleman has assembled a group of gospel artist from around the country for an evening gospel favorites on March 12 at 6:30 p.m. The emcee for the evening will be Pastor Gayle Bush from KJTX in Longview.

Daingerfield native and national recording artist Janette Everett-Morgan will be a part of the festival, joined by The Talley Boyz, from Longview. The gospel group, Chariots of Fire, from Shreveport, Louisiana will also take the stage for the festival, as will Shawn Brown & Da Boyz, from East Saint Louis, Illionois.

The concert will be held at The Next Level Church in Daingerfield. The church is located at 165 South Highway 259 in Daingerfield. The doors will open at 6 p.m. Tickets will be available for $20 at the door.

On Jan. 31, the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas elected Mona Tucker, ACP, as the 2016-2017 President-Elect of the Paralegal Division. Tucker is a contract paralegal, working with attorneys in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, on civil litigation matters, including class actions and mass torts. She currently serves the Paralegal Division as Director of District 14 (northeast Texas area).

By: J. Leslie Riseden

Special Contributor to The Steel Country Bee

Red, white and blue were the colors of the evening at the Daingerfield Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet Feb. 27. Emcees Courtney Harris and Shane Pennington welcomed members, guests and honorees to the event, which included steak dinner with all the trimmings, catered by the Daingerfield Fire Department. Scott Darby delivered the opening invocation, and The Next Level First Pentecostal Youth group provided dining and beverage services.

Throughout the evening, attendees strolled past a wide array of silent auction items, making their bids on everything from fishing tackle and cherry pie to spa packages and dinner-for-two. Guests also received door prizes for gift cards and gift certificates.

By: Toni Walker

Editor of The Steel Country Bee

news@steelcountrybee.com

The Daingerfield-Lone Star ISD met for their regular monthly meeting on Feb. 15. Following the invocation and pledge, the board heard comments from a community member during the Public Forum.