News

Whether its sharing a slice of a pizza or giving to children, 3D’s Pizza and Wings in Canton is serving up blessings this year.

T.J. Weinrich has been a Canton resident for six years, and is also the owner of 3D’s Pizza and Wings on the downtown square in Canton.

Along with serving up hundreds of pizzas a month, Weinrich also orchestrated a plan to provide Christmas gifts to children in Van Zandt County.

Weinrich said he saw a need, a need to serve “awesome” pizza and to encourage people to donate Christmas gifts to receive a discount off their order.

Weinrich offered a 10 percent discount on all orders placed at 3D’s Pizza if customers brought in a toy for a child.

Lakeside Baptist Church will host Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University seminar.  The nine-week course provides families and individuals with practical tools to gain control of their finances and how to plan for long-term financial success.

The course meets once a week where a different lesson is taught by Ramsey on DVD followed by a small-group discussion. Lessons include budgeting, relationships and money, getting out of debt, saving for emergencies and investing.

Ramsey knows first-hand the pain that financial stress can cause.  After creating a net worth of more than a million dollars by age 26, he quickly lost it all. Since then Ramsey has helped families and individuals across the country learn how to get control of their finances and avoid debt so they don’t have to experience the same pain he did, organizers of the event said. 

The parents of Lena Pettiet have established a scholarship program in their daughter’s memory to benefit Van Zandt county students enrolled in the nursing program at Trinity Valley Community College.  

The scholarship may be awarded to a Van Zandt County high school senior who has been accepted into the nursing program, a traditional TVCC student in the nursing program, or an LVN to RN or a Paramedic to RN transition student.  

“We are excited and honored to be able to help local students in our daughter’s memory.  Lena' was a giver, helping others at every opportunity that arose.  We feel this scholarship will continue her giving spirit, the Pettiets said.

The Lena' Pettiet Memorial Nursing Scholarship was started from money raised at the Lena' Pettiet Memorial Golf Tournament held in May at Twin Lakes Golf Course.  

“The plan is to continue a golf tournament yearly that will continue to benefit the scholarship.”

On Nov. 3, the ETCOG Executive Committee approved an eighth year of funding CodeRED, a reverse emergency notification system, for the East Texas region as a part of its public safety program. The CodeRED system, funded by a Homeland Security grant, is a telephone communication service that allows the county/city Emergency Management Coordinator to quickly notify citizens about emergency situations such as: Tornados and storm events; Drinking water contamination; Utility outage; Evacuation notice and route; Missing person; Fires or floods; Bomb threat; Hostage situation; Chemical spill or gas leak; andOther emergency incidents where rapid and accurate notification is essential.

This article will be dispersed through three editions of the Van Zandt Newspaper. Pick up the Dec. 18 copy next week to see the continuing story. Look for “Rose’s Story.”

A young life full of strife, lost friendships and torture at the hands of Nazis propelled Rose Scott to tell her story.

A grant for an in-car camera system to be used by the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office was approved in a special meeting held Dec. 7 by the Van Zandt County Commissioners.  

County Auditor Freddy Thomas said that former Fire Marshal Chuck Allen had applied for the grant before Allen vacated his position.

“The grant did come through and when it was approved, Fire Marshal Allen was already gone. The grant sat there for a few weeks. But, we did go out and get a quote from WatchGuard in the amount of $69,000. My concerns were that we needed to get bids since it was over $50,000. So, we went out for bids.”

Thomas said that two bids were received. WatchGuard bid $69,000 and Digital Ally also submitted a bid that was higher.  

VZC Sheriff’s Officer Tim Scharfenberg said that having recorded video on officer’s bodies as well as in-car were crucial to provide digital evidence.

Abbott nominates Racing Commission chair as secretary of state

Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed Rolando Pablos of El Paso to succeed Secretary of State Carlos Cascos, effective Jan. 5. 

Pablos has served as chair of the Texas Racing Commission, the state agency that regulates pari-mutuel racing, since December 2015. Because Abbott nominated Pablos during a legislative interim, the Texas Constitution requires the Senate to conduct a confirmation hearing and vote on the appointment during the first 10 days of the next session of the Legislature. The 85th Regular Session of the Legislature is scheduled to convene on Jan. 10. Confirmation would make Pablos Texas’ 111th secretary of state.

Canton experienced just a little bit of the North Pole during one of the coldest nights of the year Thursday, Dec. 8 during the annual Christmas parade. Temperatures dropped into the low 30s while children and adults waited for the start of the parade.  The cold did not defer the crowd, as the streets in downtown Canton were filled to max capacity with came to wave and usher in the Christmas season. This year’s parade featured floats with guests like The Grinch, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Snoopy and Woodstock, a pony inside of a truck,  Elsa and Olaf,  the Canton High School Band and Fuller’s tow trucks. Shouts of “Merry Christmas,” were heard all around, and a few even sang a few lines from “Jingle Bells.” The parade was sponsored by the Canton Texas Chamber of Commerce. Wallace & Murray Insurance float claimed first prize in the parade float decoration contest. Representatives from the company said the $200 cash prize would be donated to the Hope Pregnancy Center.  

Jesse Ison describes himself as a “preacher’s kid” and is also the new constable in Precinct 2 of Van Zandt County.

Ison also conveys a deep compassion for people, and said that treating others how you want to be treated is a good model to follow, even while serving in law enforcement.

Ison spent his youth in Bardwell, Ky., and at the age of 12, his family moved to Forney and then to Rockwall where his father was a minister.

He is a graduate of Terrell Christian Academy. After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps where he worked in aviation ordinance. Ison said part of his job was to work on F-18 planes and he spent eight years in the military.

After his time in the Marine Corps, Ison and family moved to Canton. Ison is married to his wife, Sandy, and has three children, Patience, 21, Pleasant, 20 and Nate, 5.

The Canton City Council took to business during the month of November, finalizing several projects and making decisions concerning numerous resolutions and requests that will impact city residents.

—The Canton City Council approved a contract with the State of Texas regarding a grant for a Main Street sidewalk project.  This is the next phase in downtown sidewalk projects and this will fund the renovation of the sidewalk that runs alongside the north side of 3Ds Pizza from Buffalo up to Grand Saline Street.

—Approved a water line bid that will bring a water line down FM 1255 from Grace Bible Church to the west side of FM 17.

—Discussed the language for an ordinance that will prohibit buildings that allow interior drive-thru sales of pre-packaged food and/or beverages.  More on this in December.