News

The cat has been let out of the bag concerning the Van Zandt Newspapers featuring a collector’s edition honoring Veterans Day and those who have served or are serving our country.

The special edition will feature an extensive listing of veterans in Van Zandt County along with a number of war stories and special articles told by a select number of veterans and written by our editorial team.

The section will also include photos of veterans in the county and pre-paid ads with information about a family member that has served or is serving.

Special articles to be featured include a look inside the creation of the Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial. The article will include photos of before and after the memorial was built, and an in-depth view of the hurdles that the late Red Montgomery and founding members had to overcome to get the ball rolling to create one of the best Veterans Memorials in the country.

If you are in the City of Canton utility service area, you might have noticed a strange smell and taste to your tap water. The water can look cloudy and have a slight odor or taste to it.

Beginning Oct. 11, the City of Canton Water Department temporarily returned to the method of using free chlorine as part of an annual preventive maintenance program. The program will end when the system returns to surface water production after the winter season. All water customers who pay their bills directly to the City of Canton Utilities Department will be affected.

In a notice regarding the use of the free chlorine method posted on the City of Canton’s website, the notice states, “this is a routine procedure providing additional protection against bacteria and is a common practice for systems using combined chlorine.”

Following a recommendation from Van Zandt County Fire Marshal James Lehman, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court tabled the issue of a potential burn ban during a brief meeting Oct. 4.

Lehman reported to the commissioners’ court that there are 57 counties across the state currently under a burn ban including Henderson and Kaufman counties.

Lehman remarked that rain showers that came through the county Oct. 3 had changed his mind about requesting a burn ban.

“We have received a number of calls from citizens asking about a possible burn ban,” said Lehman. “We are close to needing a burn ban but I recommend we table this and take another look at the situation in two weeks when we meet again. It is a concern but right now, knock on wood, we are not seeing a whole lot of grass fire calls and fire calls overall at the current time.” Commissioners agreed to bring the subject back on the agenda for the Oct. 18 meeting.

Van Zandt County Pct. 2 citizen Ronnie Jones has been working for the past several weeks seeking enough signatures on petitions to force the VZC Commissioners Court to call for a tax rollback election in 2018.

With the help of approximately 45 other volunteers, Jones is confident that the necessary number of over 2,500 signatures can be reached prior to the Dec. 12, 2017, deadline.

The VZC Clerk’s office had previously reported that at least 10 percent of the registered voters in the county were needed to sign the petitions and force the commissioners court to call for a tax rollback election but that figure is actually seven percent, according to Elsa Smith, the Chief Election Deputy in the VZC Clerk’s office.

Driving throughout downtown Canton, one might notice that a few scarecrows have thrown a lawn party or that the crows will have something to crow about during the Canton Main Street Autumn Festival to be held from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14.

The family-friendly, downtown street festival on North/South Buffalo and East/West Tyler Streets will feature arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, live music and entertainment, silent auction, raffle drawing, sidewalk sales in downtown businesses, a special kid’s area with activities, cake walk, mum sale, pumpkin decorating contest and a dunk tank. “Opportunities are still available for sponsors and vendors. Those interested should contact the Canton Main Street office at 903-567-1849 as soon as possible,” said Tam Erwin, program manager of Canton Main Street.

An old nursing home in Canton is set to undergo major renovations and repairs as part of a project of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Houston.

Heritage Manor Nursing Home on College Street in Canton sat derelict and unused after being closed due to a plethora of problems.

According to a media release on the church’s website, “Questions asked around Canton produced a lot of information: the facility, which apparently operated for many years with poor care and possible abuse of its residents, was closed due to substandard conditions.”

New Beginnings Minister Joe Donalson said that while the bones of the structure were good, there were extensive repairs to be made before opening the facility’s doors.

Following a request from the Van Zandt County treasurer’s office, the VZC Commissioners Court agreed to change the dates of their regular meetings.

Previously, the commissioners court had been meeting on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. The commissioners court will now meet every other Wednesday. The starting time will remain at 9 a.m. The new regular meeting schedule began Wednesday, Oct. 4.

Each year, the commissioners court is required to set the date and time of each regular meeting for the new fiscal year prior to the Oct. 1 start date of the new fiscal year.

The recent approval of a tax rate increase and the new budget by the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court will be a major topic of discussion at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9 during a meeting of the VZC Tea Party.

Dr. Dwayne Collins of the VZC Tea Party said that the public is invited to attend the meeting to be held at Edom City Limits, on FM 279 between Edom and Ben Wheeler.

VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick and all four VZC Commissioners (Brandon Brown, Pct. 1; Virgil Melton Jr., Pct. 2; Keith Pearson, Pct. 3; and Tim West, Pct. 4) are scheduled to be in attendance.

VZC Auditor Freddy Thomas and a representative from the VZC Sheriff’s Department are also planning to appear, according to Collins.

The meeting will open with an update on the Convention of States from speaker Greg Holton prior to the presentation from the county officials.

Misty Phillips wakes up each day and is thankful for her faith, family and friends. She grasps at feelings of hope and wraps the positivity around her and reminds herself to find strength in God, her family and her large network of friends. Since July, her life has suddenly taken a detour from that of full time mother, wife, friend and project manager of the American National Bank of Texas in Terrell.

On Aug. 1, Misty received the call that she had a 9 x 11-centimeter tumor that revealed she had an early stage of breast cancer after undergoing a biopsy in July. The tumor contained Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. DCIS is considered the earliest form of breast cancer.

Misty and her husband, Jason Phillips, are raising their children; daughter, Mackenzie, 15; and son, Slate, 4, in Martins Mill. Misty also has a stepson, Jordan, 22. Misty said the hardest part of the diagnosis was breaking the news to her family and husband.

Canton High School's drumline presentation of Shades of Blue earned the Class 4A school the Grand Championship at the Drums on Point 2017.