News

The Canton City Council will hold a meeting at 5 p.m. Aug. 1 at Canton City Hall. The meeting will be an open meeting for discussion over Saline Creek Lake. Citizens will be able to ask questions to the council.

The second and final survey report on the topography/hydrology study on Saline Creek was presented to the council June 20.

On May 16, results of the topography map of the Saline Creek area were presented and determined that no structures or homes would be affected by the lake.

Mark your calendar and save the date for the third annual Free State Back to School Jubilee will be held Saturday, Aug. 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will offer something for the whole family. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Child Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County have joined together to provide all the families of Van Zandt County with a free family fun day!

The Jubilee will be held in the Canton Civic Center just off Hwy 64. Look for the big yellow banners! The event will provide free backpacks and school supplies, free haircuts, physicals, and immunizations. In addition, there will be carnival type of games, including three bounce houses, an indoor shooting gallery and much more!! In addition to all these fun activities there will be educational opportunities to learn about gardening and recycling projects presented by the Free State Master Gardeners Association.

The Canton City Council met July 18, and approved a proposal from the Canton Economic Development Corporation for consulting and business recruiting services.

The council approved the CEDC to spend $7,500 to engage in consulting services with Retail Attractions, Inc. The fee would include hands-on recruitment services.

The recruiting services would update the retail trade area demographics, which was last completed in 2015. The contract will be for four months, with a likelihood to extend beyond that, said Ricky Hayes, of Retail Attractions, Inc.

The Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial has events planned for the rest of the year, so mark your calendars and watch the newspaper for more exact dates as each event approaches.

Labor Day will be the annual Balloon Release, and the visitors center and board members have tickets for sell now, so buy anytime. The balloons are $3 each, and the balloons will be color coded to match the information provided as to active, deceased, POW/MIA or KIA(killed in action) or a veteran who has served.

Mark your calendar and save the date for the third annual Free State Back to School Jubilee will be held Saturday, Aug. 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will offer something for the whole family.  Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Child Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County have joined together to provide all the families of Van Zandt County with a free family fun day!

The Jubilee will be held in the Canton Civic Center just off Hwy 64. Look for the big yellow banners!  The event will provide free backpacks and school supplies, free haircuts, physicals, and immunizations. In addition, there will be carnival type of games, including three bounce houses, an indoor shooting gallery and much more!!  In addition to all these fun activities there will be educational opportunities to learn about gardening and recycling projects presented by the Free State Master Gardeners Association.                

Grand Saline Police Chief Justin Collins was placed on paid administrative leave July 10 by the City of Grand Saline.

Joel Elliott of the Elliott Law Firm in Canton and attorney for the City of Grand Saline, told the Herlad in a July 12 interview that he has been in recent contact with outside law enforcement agencies and the Texas Municipal League regarding allegations against Collins.

“If a law has been broken, there will be an outside law enforcement investigation,” pointed out Elliott. “If there is a policy violation, a third-party person will be brought in to investigate that. We are doing everything we can to make sure this case is being investigated properly.”

Around 1 p.m. July 12, Grand Saline Mayor Casey Jordan released the following statement to the Herald.

On Tuesday, July 11 Van Zandt County Precinct 2 Judge Ronnie Daniell presented a letter of intent to retire to VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick.

Judge Daniell will have served the citizens of Pct. 2 and Van Zandt County for 14 years and nine months as of his planned retirement date at noon, Friday, Sept 8.

Judge Daniell said that he appreciated the citizens of Van Zandt County for allowing him to “be their servant.”

I want to share with you my appreciation for the game of Golf! Golf is such a fun and challenging sport. A person can play the game for a lifetime and compete with both younger and older, beginners and skilled, thru a handicap system designed to make the playing field equal. Golf is a game of honor allowing players to keep their own score and to penalize themselves when the rules are breached.

Commissioners approve change in insurance plan

A plan to digitally archive all records in the Van Zandt County Clerk’s office was approved unanimously by the VZC Commissioners Court during their July 11 meeting.

VZC Clerk Pam Pearman, along with representatives from Kofile Technologies, spoke to the commissioners about the project that will cost $292,963.20 to complete.

“Right now, if we have a disaster, the records are gone,” pointed out Pearman. “We have no backup. When this project is complete, the county can make money when people go online and purchase the records they need.” The records go back as far as 1871.

It was pointed out that no money will be due from the county to Kofile Technologies until the project is complete which is expected to take approximately six months.

The project is scheduled to begin later this month, according to Pearman and the Kofile Technologies representatives.

Responding to an ad that she read in the Canton Herald in the late 1990’s was the start of a career change for new Van Zandt County Jail Administrator Wendy Boles.

“I started working here in 1998 when Bill Dean was the sheriff,” recalled Boles. “I loved it. I worked as a jailer and then became sergeant at the jail.”

Boles did leave in 2001 to start a pipeline company in Cleburne with her husband at that time, David Moseley, but nine years later, in November, 2010, Moseley passed away.

“In 2011, I sold the company,” pointed out Boles. “My dad was in bad health at the time and I moved back to Canton to be closer to my dad and my family and I have been in Canton ever since.”