News

Van Zandt County enjoyed a bounce back month in February, seeing gains in sales tax revenue collections as a whole according to the office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar

Buoyed by big months from Canton, Van and Grand Saline, the county saw overall sales tax revenues for the county climb 9.01 percent when comparing February 2016 with the same calendar month in 2015.

Canton collected a payment of $420,591.63 this month, up $31,977.30 or 8.23 percent from the Feb. 2015 payment of $388,614.33 it received.

Van, which had the largest positive dollar change in both December 2015 and January 2016, continued its upward trend by collecting a payment of $104,566.54, up $27,747.43 over the previous February.

Grand Saline also saw positive gains, collecting $5,691.58 more than the $57,730.83 collected in February 2015.

A crash occurred at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15 involving Van Zandt County Deputy Emily Grubbs and civilian Lena Pettiet at the intersection of Highway 64 and Highway 243 in Canton.

 According to accident reports, Deputy Grubbs’ SUV "t-boned" the white 2012 Nissan sedan of Pettiet while enroute to an emergency call.

Reports indicate that the Chevy Tahoe’s  emergency lights and sirens were activated at the time of the crash, but reports also indicated that Grubbs had driven around stopped cars and was proceeding through the intersection and did not see the car driven by Pettiet.

Investigation into the crash is still underway. Pettiet sustained serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to a hospital. Her condition is still critical. She sustained multiple injuries consisting of a crushed pelvis and legs along with internal bleeding.

Since the accident, Pettiet has undergone multiple surgeries.

District pursuing ‘innovation’ status

Canton ISD is moving to become a “district of innovation.”

According to information from the Texas Association of School Boards, “a district of innovation is a concept passed by the 84^th Legislative Session in House Bill 1842, effective immediately, that give traditional independent school district most of the flexibilities available to Texas’ open enrollment charter schools. To access these flexibilities, a school district must adopt an innovation plan …”

To begin the process, the Canton ISD Board of Trustees held a public hearing Feb. 15 regarding the process and formed a committee to make a recommendation about the move.

Discussions and fundraising for new barns has been a mainstay amongst the VZ Fair board members for years.

Now, due to a generous donation by Jeremy Gamboa of Waskom, the new barns are becoming a reality. 

In late summer last year, Fair Board President Jim Cox was approached by Gamboa about donating to the building fund.  Gamboa has a daughter attending Edgewood schools and said he had an interest in giving back to the community. 

Cox discussed the fair board’s plans to obtain enough funding to replace at least one of the barns in 2016. The barns were built in the 1960s with recycled materials and have become obsolete and hazardous, Cox said.  

Gamboa offered to replace three barns with a structure large enough to encompass an 80 x 200 foot area. Cox brought the proposal to the Fair board and it was agreed to accept the donation.

Gamboa also donated the electrical for the building.

The 2016 Van Zandt County Fair Pageant will be held March 18 and 19. Deadline to enter the competition is Feb. 26.

The Baby Miss and Mr. contest is for ages 0 to 48 months. They will compete in Sunday best only.

Entry fee is $35.

Entering the photogenic competition is optional and is an additional $15 fee.

Queens receive a crown and satin embroidered sash and Kings receive a scepter and satin embroidered sash.

Runners-up will receive awards as well. All non-placing contestants will receive a participation award on stage.

 Petite, Young, Junior and Teen Miss categories are for ages 4 through 15.

They will compete in interview, western wear and party wear.

Entry fee is $35.

Photogenic and talent contests are optional for an additional entry fee of $15 each. Queens receive a crown and satin embroidered sash.

March 1 party primary voting began this week.

Early voting for Van Zandt County continues through Feb. 26 at the Plaza Museum, 119 N. Buffalo St.in Canton.

Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, through Feb. 18 with extended voting hours – 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. –Friday, Feb. 19.   

Feb. 22 though 26 early voting hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In additional to national races for president, Van Zandt County voters will cast ballots for a county sheriff, precinct constables, county commissioners and state representative.

Those gathering the most votes will be the Republican and Democratic candidates on the November general election ballot.

March 1 party primary voting began this week.

Early voting for Van Zandt County continues through Feb. 26 at the Plaza Museum, 119 N. Buffalo St.in Canton.

Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, through Feb. 18 with extended voting hours – 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. –Friday, Feb. 19.   

Feb. 22 though 26 early voting hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In additional to national races for president, Van Zandt County voters will cast ballots for a county sheriff, precinct constables, county commissioners and state representative.

Those gathering the most votes will be the Republican and Democratic candidates on the November general election ballot.

Bookkeeping items took a good chunk of time during the commissioner’s court meeting Feb. 9.

Policies concerning the manner of which invoices were paid along with county employees submitting reimbursements were all discussed thoroughly.

Judge Kirkpatrick kicked off the meeting with a resounding order to the county treasurer’s office that “invoices should be paid in a timely manner,” and that some invoices are not getting paid at all.

“I notice that some bills are not being paid in a timely manner,” said Kirkpatrick.  “We (the county) have some invoices dat­ing back to June 2015 that have not been paid – including some from the company that provides food service for the jailed inmates. We could be cut off by some important vendors. Why haven’t they been paid?”

County employee Irma Hayes told Kirkpatrick that the treasurer’s office “waits to pay invoices until they appear on the monthly statements.”

A grass fire off Van Zandt County Road CR 2135 Feb. 13 illustrates current ground and fire conditions. The ground vegetation is dry but some areas around creeks and ponds remain muddy making it difficult for fire fighting trucks to get through. Residents in the area used bull dozers and tractors to help with the fire suppression South Van Zandt County VFD, Whitton VFD and Canton FD worked together to control the blazes.

For more stories like this one, subscribe to the Canton Herald or pick up a copy from one of our vendors.