News

The Van Zandt County Fair is set for April 7 through 9 at the VZC Fairgrounds.

Fair officials recently released the rules and regulations for the domestic and creative arts contests.

Adult Division

1. This division is open to all adults of Van Zandt County. Students who have not graduated high school should enter in the Youth Division.

2. Entry fees will be $1 per item entered.

3. All entries may be accepted between 9 a.m. and noon Monday, April 4, 5 to 8 p.m.  Tuesday, April 5, and 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 6. Entries will be taken at the Free State Building at the Fairgrounds.

4. Exhibits must be removed after 5 p.m. Saturday, April 9, between 8 a.m. and noon Monday, April 11, or between 5 and 7 p.m. Monday, April 11.

5. LABELING: Only Van Zandt County Fair Entry Tags will be accepted. Entry tags are available at the end of the Adult Guidelines and will be available at check-in.

Rules for entry in the Van Zandt County Fair Domestic and Creative Arts youth contests have been released.

This division is open to all youth, ages 8 to 18 (who have not yet graduated from high school).

The junior division is for ages 8 through 12. Those aged 13 to 18 are in the senior division.

1. All entries may be accepted between 8 a.m. to noon Monday, April 4, 5 to 8 p.m.  Tuesday, April 5, and 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 6. Entries will be taken at the Free State Building at the Fairgrounds.

2. Entry fees will be $1 per item entered.

3. Exhibits must be removed after 5 p.m. Saturday, April 9, between 8 a.m. and noon Monday, April 11, or between 5 and 7 p.m. Monday, April 11.

4. The committee has the authority to reject any article not suitable for public viewing and may determine what qualifies for a single exhibit.

5. All canning rules are listed under food and preservation.

School board Place 4 to have lone May race

The filing deadline for the May local election passed last week with only one race contested race for the Canton City Council and Canton ISD board of trustees.

The lone contested race will be for the Place 4 Canton ISD board of trustees post.

Julie Stern and Bill Weatherford will vie for the seat being vacated by Kym Phillips.

Phillips and Place 5 incumbent Mike Malouf did not to seek re-election.

Clay Nickles is the lone candidate for the Place 5 position.

Incumbent T.A. Hale is unopposed for the Place 3 seat.

On the council, incumbents Cindy Malouf, Scott Perkins and Shawn Stewart did not draw opponents.

This will be Stewart’s third term on the council. Malouf and Perkins will be serving their second term.

The Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial is very busy trying to raise the rest of the money needed to complete the bronzing of the kneeling soldier to be placed on the stand in the Memorial Plaza.

One way you can help is to encourage your friends and family to think about ordering a brick to be placed in the Plaza to honor a veteran.

The cost is still $125 and forms can be placed at the Memorial Visitors Center located at the intersection of Hwy. 243 and Hwy. 19 in Canton.

The brick will be a lasting memory and we encourage everyone to stop by the Plaza, tour the Plaza walkway and view all the bricks currently in place. Bring paper and a pencil or chalk and copy the brick or take a photo of it to share with others.

The Visitors Center is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is 903-567-0657.

We hope to see you there.

Construction continues on Texas Bank and Trust’s new location on South Trade Days Boulevard. With the dirt work phase nearing completion, work crews are preparing to pour concrete to hold the 6,600 square foot banking facility in the coming weeks. Unseasonably warm weather has allowed building of the new structure to proceed unimpeded.

“Our goal is to open [the new facility] by mid to late summer, weather-permitting,” said Lace Deibert, Vice President and Canton Branch Manager. “We are eager to make this move as our staff has been functioning in tight quarters.”

Deibert has led the TBT Canton branch team in operating from a temporary service center, located at 305 East Tyler Street, since last May when its downtown main branch was heavily damaged by fire.

“We have an incredible staff, and they have adapted well to all of the changes over the past nine months,” Deibert said. 

More than 1,400 cast ballots in Van Zandt County during the first week of early voting for the March 1 party primary election.

According to Van Zandt County Chief Election Deputy Elsa Smith, from Feb. 16 to 19 there were 1,425 votes cast – 86 in the Democratic primary and 1,339 in the Republican primary.

Early voting continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Feb. 26 at the Plaza Museum, 119 N. Buffalo St.in Canton.

On Election Day, March 1, voters will cast ballots by precinct.

Voting locations are:

Precinct 1 – 1A Grace Bible Fellowship, 17897 FM 1255, Canton; 1B Grand Saline Chamber Pavilion, 203 NE Pacific, Grand Saline; 1C Pruitt Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 9908 Hwy. 110, Van; 1D Randall Hall, 1069 VCR 1129, Fruitvale; 1E (Republican) Crockett Center, 200 N. Crockett St., Edgewood; 1E (Democrat) Bateman Center, 202 Bateman St., Edgewood

A soil test is the right first step toward a more beautiful lawn, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agent Tommy Philips.

The extension service recommends home owners soil test to help determine the best fertilizer and the correct amount for their lawns based on individual soil tests, rather than general recommendations for geographic areas, Phillips said.

“A soil test helps prevent over fertilizing your lawn. Adding more of any nutrient than a lawn can use costs extra money, may contribute to disease problems, and the excess nutrients may contaminate groundwater source. It will also give you an accurate reading on soil pH (the amount of acidity or alkalinity in the soil) and what is needed to get that back into a more productive range,” Phillips said.  

Contractor information meeting set for March 7

 At the Feb. 16 Canton City Council meeting, Chad Encheff gave the council an update on the progress of the Country Inn and Suites facility being built on I-20 adjacent to Splash Kingdom. 

Encheff is one of the owners and general contractor of the project and president and CEO of C&E Group.

The final blueprints for the project were submitted Feb. 16, Encheff said, and site clearing began last week.

Plans call for the road to be cut in around March 1, he said.

The conference facility has a soft opening date of September and should be completely open around mid-November, Encheff said.

In an effort to attract local contractors to the project, there will be a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 7, at the Plaza Museum, 119 N. Buffalo St.

Members of the Van Zandt Historical Commission are requesting assistance in locating photos and information about the rural schools of Van Zandt County.

The commission is researching all rural schools but is specifically focused on the following, listed by precinct: Pct. 1 – Kickapoo and Bois D’arc/Marrs; Pct. 2 – Big Rock and Mill Creek;

Pct. 3 – Woodall, Williams Chapel and Pleasant Ridge; and Pct. 4 – Wisdom Temple and Lane

To reach a VZCHC member, call Jane Hunter at 903-865-1381 or Ronnie Chitty at 903-873-3596.

A possible road rage incident on I-20 Feb. 19 left one man dead and authorities looking for information.

According to information from the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, about 3:15 p.m. Feb. 19, 39-year-old Ryan Mullee of Lindale was shot in the head as he drove eastbound on the interstate at mile marker 536 near Tank Farm Road east of Van.

The victim has not been identified “due to a gunshot wound to the head,” officials said. “An eye witness saw a gray or light-colored four door sedan with an unknown person or persons in the vehicle shoot the victim.”

Authorities believe the incident “could have been in progress miles before” and are asking anyone who might have seen the vehicles to call the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office at 903-567-4133.

The Van Zandt County District Attorney’s Office is offering a reward and the Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers has pledged $1,000 for any information that leads to an arrest of those involved in the incident.