Columns

CANTON HERALD, March 23, 1950: 

The remodel of Van Zandt County Library is moving along with the installation of new flooring throughout the library

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Full 5th Circuit to hear Texas voter ID case

AUSTIN — The entire U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will review Texas’ controversial voter identification law.

A majority of the judges of the Fifth Circuit on March 9 voted in support of an “en banc” rehearing of oral arguments in Veasey v. Abbott, a case challenging the law. No date for the rehearing has been set.

The case stems from Senate Bill 14, a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2011, which requires prospective voters to present an acceptable form of photo identification along with their voter registration card in order to cast a ballot.

And the work goes on!  The Van Zandt County Library is still operating on limited space. 

Actual flooring work is in progress, after a lot of time was spent moving books, shelves and computers. 

The Buchanan room is now serving as a temporary mini library with books, computers, the copy machine, newspapers and some magazines.  Until the flooring is completed, this is the situation.   Regular library open hours will be maintained.

The Friends of the Library did not meet on their regular March day as many of them are involved in the hard work part of the renovation.

Did you notice that the grass that has been planted up to Library porch is greening up?  The dead bushes were removed by the City and grass squares were installed. 

Wi-Fi requires a password at the Library.  It is posted on the bulletin board on the porch.  Once you get it into your phone or lap-top, it does not have to be re-entered.

Canton Herald, March 16, 1950: 

HEADLINE: Construction started Wednesday on new school building project: With five members of the school board participating.  Those present were Gaston Coleman president, Russell Eubank, secretary and Members J.R. Travis, Irby Mills and B. M. Clark.

Find eco-friendly ways to save – no matter how old you are

St. Patrick’s Day is a day dedicated to green...green clothes, green beverages, green foods, green decorations. Green, green, green!


This year, instead of fighting the leprechauns for their legendary pots of gold, let’s truly GO GREEN with some cost-saving tips and eco-friendly ways to conserve and celebrate.

Cook at home often: This can be a fun family activity and a great way to spend extra time with your loved ones.  Invite friends over for a potluck! If you are at an Assisted Living facility that provides quality meals, take advantage of it! You can easily “brown bag” the leftovers and enjoy them the next day.  If you don’t like leftovers, split recipe ingredients down to accommodate the number of people you are serving.          


As Apple tries to fend off government demands for access to iPhone content, the company is leaning on free speech arguments as a key part of its defense in a California courtroom.

On the other end of the country, 10 separate lawsuits have piled up this year against net neutrality rules, with both sides claiming First Amendment rights in this long-running dispute over Internet service.

This is Sunshine Week in the U.S., when news organizations put a spotlight on the public’s right to know and size up the state of government openness and access to public records.

This year, we should add a more sweeping question to the list: How will the First Amendment navigate the dramatic changes in information technology?

Complicated disputes are popping up in both predicable and surprising places.

In Canton we are truly fortunate to have so many great locally owned businesses and services to meet all of our day to day needs and their future depends on people staying in Canton to shop.  

In most cases, there’s no need to drive to a nearby city when Canton has just about anything you need, and the best place to start choosing where to shop for local goods and services is YOUR local chamber. 

The Canton Texas Chamber of Commerce has made it a top priority to brand all of our member businesses with a sticker on the front door of their location. This makes it easy for consumers to see that the business supports the chamber and they are part of this local business community encouraging people to SHOP LOCAL. 

Canton Herald, March 9, 1950: 

The Canton Parents Teachers Association will sponsor a concert tonight, Thursday at 7:30 o’clock in the gymnasium.  The Stamps Quartet composed of Frank Stamps, Walter Rippetoe, Albert Houpe, Loy Hooker and Harvey Shelton, will be on hand to furnish the entertainment. Admission will be 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.  Purchasing a ticket you will be helping the P.T.A.  Tickets may be purchased from any member of the P.T.A. or at the box office.  The club will receive 40 per cent of the advance ticket sales and 20 per cent of the gate receipts.

I fell on January 22, 2016 and busted a bunch of ribs and punctured a lung.

I went by ambulance to the number one trauma center in Texas. I was feeling no pain and informed my great doc that I need to hurry home because I was training to run the Fresh 5K on March 5. He said NO, NO, NO with a smile on his face and said he would see how I was doing after the cat scans of my head and chest, plus a bunch of X-rays. I got out of trauma intensive care after three days and hugs and handshakes from the fantabulous bunch of care givers.

I had a follow up with another of those trauma docs on Feb. 4. He gave me a 100% green light to get back to training. I left that final exam with the most important message for all who read my column about walking. The way I breathe deeply shortened my recovery time. I got better as fast as a 35-year-old athlete, not as an 83-year-old. My passion is not just to get you all to walk briskly, but to breathe deeply.