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A free concert by Fox Well will headline the activities for the Fourth of July celebration in Edom Tuesday, July 4.

Fox Well will appear on stage at the Edom Community Park on FM 279 at 7 p.m. and everyone is encouraged to stay for the fireworks show afterwards, organizers said.

A concession stand benefitting local scholarships will be set up for the event

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Whitton Fire Department to host hamburger supper and fireworks show beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4. “The menu includes hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, Bobby Beans, desserts and drinks. Donations will be taken at the door. The Firehouse Band will provide live music until the fireworks start at dark. All donations collected go toward fire department operating costs,” said event organizers.

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The month of June proved to be kinder than May to most Van Zandt County cities with the office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar announcing last week that Canton, Edom, Van and Wills Point had all increased sales tax revenue collections when comparing figures against those of the same calendar month in 2016.

The news was a welcome sigh of relief locally after May figures indicating all six county cities had seen negative dollar changes when using the same metric.

No city in Van Zandt County enjoyed a bigger positive dollar change or positive percentage change than Van. The city received a payment of $73,605.32 this month, up $21,723.10 or 41.87 percent over the $51,882.22 collected in June 2016.

Canton finished second overall among county cities in largest positive dollar change as sales tax revenue collections climbed $8,522.76 to $281,873.98 in June 2017.

Van Zandt County Commissioners authorized the VZC Sheriff’s Department to pursue an interlocal agreement with the City of Wills Point on a piece of property to be used for a gun range that is currently owned by the city June 13.

Officers from the sheriff’s department, Wills Point City Manager Pam Pearson and VZC commissioners thoroughly discussed the agreement.

“We stopped using this gun range for a while,” pointed out VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick. “The City of Wills Point has said that the sheriff’s office could use that property for qualifying.”

A representative from the VZC Sheriff’s Department said that the property is not just for their personnel to use but that it would be available for any law enforcement agency in the county.

The April 29 tornadoes still affect some in Van Zandt County. For those who have questions concerning donations, volunteering or getting help the VZC Long Range Recovery Group has the answers.

During the June 13 meeting, the group discussed by-laws and compared language to that of other recovery groups from across the state.

According to VZC Long Range Recovery Group member Shawn Stewart, there is $305,000 in funds at the First State Bank of Ben Wheeler waiting to be dispersed. Stewart said that funds cannot be dispersed to victims of the tornadoes until bylaws of the recovery group are set.

“We have made bylaws with changes specified to our local needs in the county,” said Stewart. “We plan to meet again to further review the bylaws and which will hopefully be approved June 19. Funds cannot be dispersed until the group has approved a set of by-laws.”

Relay For Life of Van Zandt County and the Survivors’ Celebration Reception Dinner have been rescheduled for Friday, July 7, at The Arbors at the First Monday Grounds in Canton. The events, originally scheduled in May, were postponed due to the tornadoes that hit Van Zandt County in April.

The Survivors’ Celebration Reception Dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. at The Arbors. Volunteer cooks will offer a complimentary meal to each cancer survivor and a guest. Relay For Life encourages all cancer survivors to attend this celebration of hope.

“ If you are a cancer survivor who would like to attend the dinner, you may register in advance by sending your name, address, phone number and T-shirt size to Relay For Life, PO Box 393, Canton, TX 75103,” said event organizers.

Twin Lakes Golf Course in Canton will close its fairways for good July 31, 2017. The public golf course hosted about 25,000 rounds of golf a year and was home to many golfers.

“That is why it was so hard to make the decision to close. It was a home for so many, not just the select few that can afford memberships. We had people traveling from many states and even a few other countries to come play on the course,” said TLGC event coordinator Carri Dekkers. “The course was built with you in mind, and for the last 18 years, you have helped create memories that will last a lifetime. We would like to say thank you for the memories. “

TLGC was built in Canton on a wooded and pasture area that was converted into a golf course. The tree farm that abuts the property was started in 1990 and was original called AM&D Tree Farm after the Dekkers’ three children and then was changed to Twin Lakes Nursery after the course was built,” said Dekkers.

The Brian Elliott Memorial Scholarship will host its inaugural Doubles Tennis Tournament Saturday, July 8, at the Van ISD Tennis Complex. To download an entry form and for more information visit www.BriansSong.org. The deadline to sign up is June 25.

The Brian Elliott Memorial Scholarship is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to deserving students who otherwise could not afford the costs of higher education.

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Several donations earmarked for the Van Zandt County Tornado 2017 Fund were recognized and accepted June 13 by the VZC Commissioners Court.

Monetary donations were presented by WESTEX of FMC Motor Coach Rally Chapter, $1,200; and VZC employee Bonnie LaPrade, $1,800.

Commissioners also recognized and accepted the donation of a portable building from Winslow Carport to be used at the current VZC debris site near Wills Point.

A donation of 450 gallons of fuel and a fuel tank from Duko Oil Co. of Emory was recognized and accepted by the commissioners’ court.

The free installation of a culvert at VZCR 3104, north of VZCR 3106, from citizen Lee Thornton was also recognized and accepted by the commissioners.

VZC Pct. 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton Jr. expressed his appreciation to the other commissioners for their help in his precinct following the April 29 tornadoes.

On June 28-29, the Fifth annual East Texas Medical Outreach Event will be held at Van Junior High School (630 South Oak Street in Van,).

Free health services will be provided to anyone without health insurance, starting at 8 a.m. on both days and will conclude at 4 p.m. on both days.

“Our goal for this program is to provide preventative and primary medical and dental screenings to uninsured East Texans. We want to refer participants that do not currently have providers to medical homes as much as we can and ultimately want to encourage participants to adopt healthy lifestyles to improve their quality of life,” says George Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of NET Health.