News

The Van Zandt County Historical Commission will dedicate a historical marker honoring photographer C.S. Nicks in the Van downtown garden at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. 

The public is invited to attend.

Charles S. Nick was a professional photographer who arrived in Van shortly after oil was discovered on the W.T. Jarman farm on Oct. 14, 1929.  

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At 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, there will be a special prayer service held on the lawn at St. Justin’s Episcopal Church, 977 West Highway 243, Canton.

All creatures great or small are invited to receive a special prayer in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.  Dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, turtles, fish and more are invited.  Bring a pet on leash, lead, bowl, or in a crate to this service just for them.  All pets must be up to date on vaccinations, organizers said. 

To read the full article, subscribe to the Canton Herald or pick up a copy from one of our vendors. 

During the October First Monday Trade Days, Dodge City Dinner Theater will be offering a free screening of the local independent film, “Promise.”

Those who view the film will be asked to fill out a questionnaire “about how they felt about the movie. This goes back to the filmmaker and director to better help them in their craft,” said Jan Ashley with Dodge City.

Directors and writers Melody Brooke and Mike Henricks will be here on site Oct. 3 to meet and greet those in attendance.

Show times are 7 p.m. Oct. 1, and 3 and 5 p.m. Oct. 2, 3 and 4.

“Congress has waited since 2002 to reauthorize the ESEA ( a.k.a., NCLB /No Child Left Behind), and we do not want reauthorization now. We as Americans do not trust the federal government under this present administration.” – Alice Linahan, Voices Empower 

Alice Linahan of Voices Empower, Women on the Wall and Can I See spoke at the Canton Tea Party’s monthly meeting.

Linahan is preparing to travel throughout Texas and other parts of the country to share with parents, grandparents, taxpayers, teachers and political officials what she perceives as the dangers of the 21st Century Common Core/Workforce Development philosophy of education.

Linahan said she is thankful the cause of American education is being taken up.

According to Linahan, there are three major actions under the Obama administration, without legislative approval, to change 200 years of traditional public education in the United States.

Friends flying Hall’s aircraft involved in Sept. 17 accident

According to information from Texas Senator Bob Hall’s office, the senator’s personal plane crashed in College Station on the afternoon of Sept. 17.

The plane was being operated by a friend of the senator, Daniel Fox of Edgewood. Kay Fox was a passenger.

The plane took off from Edgewood and was headed to Port Aransas. Texas Department of Public Safety reports indicate the Cessna 1.72 lost power and crashed in the 11000 block of North Dowling Road near Easterwood Airport. DPS said the plane started losing power at 6.500 feet and tried to turn around and land at the airport but didn’t make it.

You are invited to come to the downtown Canton Main Street area Oct. 10 for a fun-filled autumn day where there will be plenty of activity for everyone. 

Come early, 7 to 9 a.m., to have pancakes and sausage in the Main Street tent on the corner of Hwy. 64 and Buffalo Street.  Food will be prepared by members of the Main Street Board.  The $5 you pay help support the 2015 – ’16 Main Street program.

Runners will meet at the big blue arch at the intersection of Buffalo and Terrell at 8 a.m. for a 5K fun run.  Entry fee for the run is $15 which includes a T-shirt.

Vendors will be setting up their booths very early and will be open for business at 9 a.m.  There will be plenty of choice for your shopping pleasure.  Also, a variety of food vendors will offer their specialties to choose from including the Tamale Lady, roasted corn, several cottage bakers and more.  

The Van Zandt County Historical Commission will dedicate a historical marker honoring photographer C.S. Nicks in the Van downtown garden at 2 p.m. Oct. 3. 

The public is invited to attend.

The city of Van is co-sponsor of the event.

Charles S. Nick was a professional photographer who arrived in Van shortly after oil was discovered on the W.T. Jarman farm on Oct. 14, 1929. 

He came to Van looking for work during the depression and through his photography, provided a visual history that otherwise would have been lost in the memories of those who experienced the event.

Sen. Bob Hall has been named to the Joint Interim Committee to Study Border Security by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. 

The committee, created by House Bill 11 during the recent 84th Legislative Session, will monitor the Department of Public Safety border surge, and the newly budgeted $800 million appropriated to further secure the Texas-Mexico border. 

Hall was one of five senators named to this committee. 

"This last session, we provided a historic level of funding and resources to our border security efforts," Patrick. "These five senators have the insight needed to support the needs of our law enforcement officials along the border.”

The Joint Interim Committee to Study Border Security will assist with the management and implementation of resources that will help to secure our Texas-Mexico border.  After the federal government's failure to properly secure the border, Texas has taken a large step to stop criminal activity from crossing into our state.

The Van Zandt County Library gets by with a little help from its Friends.

Make that a lot of help from its Friends, according to Library Director Susie Pulley.

Pulley was the guest speaker at the Van Zandt County Friends of the Library meeting Sept. 14. She shared the history of the library and talked about its future.

“Confucius said study the past if you would define the future. The future of the Van Zandt County Library should be a concern for all of us,” Pulley said.

Prologue

Using information gathered from Friends of the Library scrapbooks, Pulley told the group that the library was initially founded in the early 1930s as a resource for the county’s school children.

For the second straight year, Canton ISD has gotten a superior achievement on the state’s financial accountability rating system – Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas.

The score is based on the district’s figures for the 2013-’14 school year.

“We received a perfect score of 30,” Superintendent Jay Tullos said. “We do take these scores very seriously and we’re very proud of it.”

According to information from the district, “the rating system assigns two financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, Superior Achievement or Substandard Achievement. To receive the Superior Achievement rating the district must answer ‘yes’ to indicators 1 through 4 and receive a score of 16 – 30.”

CISD answered yes to all indicators and earned the perfect 30 score.