News

Christmas arrives in Wills Point with the annual Christmas on the Bricks celebration on the downtown streets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12.

The event, sponsored by Citizen’s National Bank, will include family favorites like the Texas Fire Alarm sponsored car show, Russell Memorial United Methodist Church sponsored Breakfast with Santa, TVEC sponsored 5k Reindeer Run and live entertainment.

Additionally, vendors selling food, crafts and arts will be onsite. Organizers have also announced that this year’s parade, always a big draw for the community, will carry a Christmas in the Movies-theme in 2015.

Information about Christmas on the Bricks, any of the scheduled events, or to become a vendor or participant, can be found by contacting the chamber at 903-873-3111.

"Miracle on 34th Street” will open at The Talent Box at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11. 

Additional performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12, 18 and 19 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13 and 20. 

A reception will be held for the patrons following the opening night performance.
Virginia Reid-Yost of Terrell directs the presentation. 

Gig Guillott of Terrell will play Kris Kringle and Tyna Box of Quinlan will play Doris Walker.

Tristan Stone is a firefighter. And when he sees smoke, he investigates.

Dec. 2, his penchant for finding the fire is credited with saving the life of a Fort Worth man.

Stone, 19, is a volunteer fireman in Canton. Originally from Quinlan, Stone lived in Canton for five years but moved to Fort Worth about six months ago.

He was on his way home for working a shift in Canton and had stopped by the store to buy formula for his five-month-old son.

“When I came out of the store, I saw the smoke and just went,” he said. “When I got there, the house was fully engulfed. It had been going for a while.  The neighbors where standing there freaking out but watching it. They hadn’t even called 911 yet.”

Stone, still in his Canton fire gear, immediately went into firefighter mode.

“I looked in the garage and saw a man,” he said.

Because the house electricity was out, Stone had to manually get the garage door open and pull the man out to safety.

Santa will be at the Ben Wheeler Library from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12.

Parents can bring their cameras to capture a photo of the right jolly old elf while he hears children’s wishes.

For more stories like this one, subscribe to the Canton Herald or pick up a copy from one of our vendors. 

Candy Land Christmas parade coming Saturday

It will look a whole lot like Christmas in downtown Canton Saturday with the arrival of the Christmas parade but at the Plaza Museum, it’s Christmas already.

That’s where the Canton Chamber of Commerce is continuing its Festival of Trees.

“We are very thankful for all the dazzling entries this year,” said chamber office Administrator Laura Mendez. “The judges sure have their work cut out for them.”

The trees are on display during business hours through Friday, Dec. 11, and then before and after the Christmas parade, Saturday, Dec. 12.

According to information from the chamber, the Festival of Trees was once an annual event for Canton presented by the chamber of commerce.  After a successful return in 2014, the chamber brought back the fundraiser again this year.

On Friday, Dec. 11, the doors of the old school at Myrtle Springs will open for a Christmas concert to be presented by Michael Bridges of Forney.

Bridges serves as Worship Pastor/Minister of Music at First Baptist Church in Sunnyvale.  He has appeared with the band, Living Proof, in many concerts, camps, revivals and retreats as well as other venues in this area.  He was raised in Allen and is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University with a degree in music and also attended Southwestern Theological Seminary.

The event is sponsored by the Myrtle Springs Alumni Association.  Dinner will be served at 6 p.m.  The concert will follow.

Also appearing will be Santa.  Parents should take note that no charge will be made for children 12 years and under, organizers said.

The Van Zandt County Humane Society’s annual Photos with Santa will be Dec. 12 at Ace Hardware in Canton.

Cost will be $10 per photo and the pictures will be available within minutes, Whatley said.

“At the same time, we will be conducting a silent auction on the sidewalk outside,” said Humane Society President Carol Whatley. “We have several large items to be offered; you can probably find just the right Christmas gift." 

VZCHS is all volunteer, non-profit, and organized under 501(c)3 guidelines. 

For more information, call 903-962-5700 or visit the website at vzchumanesociety.org.  You may also check them out on Facebook.

The 12^th annual Butch Adkison Memorial Toy Run for Van Zandt County, sponsored by Bikers for Christ Tawakoni Chapter, will take place Dec. 12.

Registration will be at 10:30 a.m. at Charlie’s Place, 335 Wingo Way (FM 2965), Wills Point. 

Kickstands are to be up at noon. This is a 40 mile ride ending at the food court at Old Mill Marketplace, 542 Hwy. 64 in Canton, organizers said.

Fee for the toy run is $10. A new, unwrapped toy can be substituted for the fee.

There will be door prizes, free food and “Elvis” (Terry Edwards) will be there. 

The public is invited to attend.  All proceeds benefit Charitable Children’s Organizations and Military families in Van Zandt County. 

Look for donation boxes at local businesses, grocery stores and restaurants throughout the county.

For more information, contact Bo Adkison at 903-829-2147, Norman Decker at 214-924-2413 or Ricky Netherland at 903-312-5756.

The East Texas Crisis Center in Canton has released its holiday “wish list.”

The ETCC is in need of the following for clients – sweatshirts or jackets, cold weather gloves and hats, socks and slippers, $10, $15 or $20 Walmart gift cards for fuel, bottled water, snacks (individually wrapped), toiletries for women and children-full size or travel size, shampoo and conditioner, body soap and deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste and floss, lotion, lip balm, feminine products, first aid supplies, make-up (just the basics for court or job interviews), gift certificates for haircuts, gently used or new bedding, gently used or new blankets and sports bras – medium through 2XL.

People from all over the country are falling victim to a recent phone scam by scammers pretending to be IRS agents. The callers seem to be targeting East Texas residents, as BBB has received numerous calls Tuesday morning. These IRS impersonators are calling up their targets, demanding that they pay taxes they don’t even owe, by either loading money on a prepaid card or sending it via a wire transfer. Those who refuse to pay immediately are then threatened by the “IRS agents.” The threats include jail time, deportation, or the suspension of the victim’s business or driver’s license.

In order to convince people that they are real IRS agents, the scammers use several tricks including a program to make the IRS’s toll-free number appear on the caller ID, call center background noise, and false agent badge numbers. If the target is not already convinced, several callers are able to report the last four digits of the person’s Social Security number.