City of Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett presented a certificate to Tim Cox (center) March 21. Cox was voted best City Worker and Fire Chief Bud Sanford (right) was voted best firefighter. CPD Sergeant Steve Hall was voted best Police Officer in Van Zandt County but was unable to attend the presentation.
By Britne Hammons News Editor
Chances are, you might have seen Tim Cox around Canton. In fact, if you see a man weed eating on city property it’s probably Cox himself.
The 39-year-old was recently named Best City Worker by the Van Zandt Newspapers Readers’ Choice Awards, an annual poll voted on by readers of the newspaper.
Always with a smile and a good sense of humor, Cox said that he likes weed eating and working for the city because “I get to ride in the truck and go places.” A perk that he said was not available at his last job as a cart attendant at a grocery store.
“I always get to go somewhere. That is one thing I like about working for the city of Canton. They drive me to different spots and then I get to work and go to a different spot. At my old job, I didn’t get to do that. So, it’s been fun getting to ride around in the truck all the time.”
The 18th annual Buffalo Girls Hotel CASI Chili Cook-off will be held Saturday, April 1 on The Mountain in Canton. The event is a fundraiser for the Therapy Dogs of Van Zandt County while also recognizes the rebirth of The Mountain. Each year sanctions nearly 500 chili cookoffs internationally as qualifying events for the CASI Terlingua International Chili Championship, known as TICC. These sanctioned local events raise over $1 million for the local and national charities which work with the local organizers. This ultimate chili championship is held the first Saturday of November annually at Rancho CASI de los Chisos, near Terlingua, Texas. The CASI Championship event is a fundraiser for local Terlingua charities and organizations and also fund CASI's National Scholarship programs.
Workers from Eager Beaver Tree Service in Grand Saline busily clean up after a tree fell on Diamond D Realty on State Highway 19 in Canton during an overnight windstorm Sunday night. No one was injured. The business remained open during the clean-up stage. Diamond D Realty is located on State Highway 19 between State Highways 64 and 243.
Officials with Brookshire Grocery Co. announced plans for the 13th Brookshire’s/Super 1 Foods World War II Heroes Flight, which will take WWII veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorial built in their honor, along with several other sites.
The all-expenses-paid trip will take place May 29-31 with veterans departing from either Tyler or Shreveport, La.
“We are very grateful for the service provided by all veterans,” said Brett Brewer, Director of Community Involvement for Brookshire Grocery Co. “We’ve been privileged to escort more than 300 WWII veterans to Washington, D.C., on previous trips and are looking forward to accompanying additional veterans in May.”
Need a passport, but can’t make it to the post office during normal office hours? To ensure U.S. citizens are prepared to travel abroad this summer, the U.S. Postal Service will be hosting a passport fair at the Canton Post Office, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 25, 2017. Customers will be accommodated on a first-come, first-serviced basis.
Meals on Wheels Ministry announced that it will be participating in the national 2016 March for Meals campaign. On Thursday, March 30, festivities will include a special showing of support by “Community Champions,” both elected officials from the organization’s six county service area as well as local celebrities who have volunteered to deliver meals and help bring awareness to the mission of Meals on Wheels. The month of March mobilizes hundreds of local Meals on Wheels programs across the country to reach out to their communities and build the support that will sustain them all year long.
After several weeks of successful deliveries, the Meals on Wheels Ministry’s pilot program called Sunrise Senior Servings is officially underway and growing. The breakfast meal program is designed to meet the nutritional needs of the organization’s most nutritionally at-risk clients, and it offers a box of shelf-stable breakfast foods designed to complete seven breakfast meals.
“The boxes contain a combination of non-perishable items like dry cereal, dried fruit, milk and juice that satisfy 1/3 of the Recommended Daily Allowance for the senior population we serve,” said Meals on Wheels Ministry President and CEO, Mike Powell. “The boxes are delivered weekly, directly to the doors of the homebound elderly and disabled clients we serve. We believe that this program will make a profound impact on the lives of some of our community’s most vulnerable people.”
The Council of Van Zandt County Communities met at the Van Zandt Country Club in Canton March 14. The VISIONS group heard a presentation from Dr. Dana Harader, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of VZC and Brad Blakemore, publisher of the Van Zandt News.
Dr. Harader has an “extensive,” background in working with children and youth with emotional disturbances in school and mental health facilities.
Dr. Harader and Blakemore both spoke on IMPACT Van Zandt, an organization that has a goal of “
reducing the number of children affected by child abuse and neglect by joining together to cross promote resources, obtain needed resources and gain community awareness throughout the year.”
Dr. John Mark Robinson, Pastor of CrossRoads Church in Canton, shows a copy of the first in a devotional series he is writing on the book of Psalms. After Psalms, Robinson is planning to write a devotional series on the books of John and Romans.
By David Barber Senior Reporter
A challenge that Dr. John Mark Robinson gave to his congregation almost 18 months ago opened the door for something even more challenging that the Pastor of CrossRoads Church in Canton continues to pursue today.
“In August 2015, I began to ask the Lord what was next so far as how we lead our church,” recalled Robinson. “I had never written anything in my life but I heard the Lord whisper in my heart that I need to write. I had a burden that there were a lot of people that had no idea of what the Bible had to say. Coming back from vacation that year, I told our congregation that if they will read one chapter of the Bible, I will write something to go along with it. That began our journey and we started with the book of Proverbs and that took hold more than I ever thought it would.”
Robinson began e-mailing his church membership a series of devotions that covered all 30 chapters of the book of Proverbs for a month.
Wallace United Methodist Church located at 151 VZCR 2501 in Canton will be having a hamburger/hot dog luncheon and silent auction from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, March 26.
Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Program.
Lunch will be $8 per plate and will include hamburger or hot dog with all the trimmings, also included will be a drink, chips, and a dessert.
