People, Places & Events

People, Places & Events

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East Cedar Creek Freshwater Supply District meets at 12:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month at the ECCFSD office on Hammer Road just off Welch Lane in Gun Barrel City.
Eustace City Council meets at 7 p.m. in the Eustace City Hall the first Thursday of each month. For more information, please call 425-4702. The public is invited to attend.
Eustace Independent School District meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Eustace High School Library. For more information, please call 425-7131. The public is invited to attend.
Gun Barrel City Council meets in Brawner Hall at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 887-1087. The public is invited to attend.
Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation meets at 1831 W. Main, GBC, at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 887-1899.
Henderson County Commissioner’s Court meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Henderson County Courthouse in Athens. The public is invited to attend.
Henderson County Emergency Services District #4 meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at 525 S. Tool Dr. in Tool.
Henderson County Historical Commission meets the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. in the HC Historical Museum.
Kaufman County Commissioner’s Court meets the first, second, third and fourth Monday of each month at 9:45 a.m. in the Kaufman County Courthouse in Kaufman. The public is invited to attend.
Kemp City Council meets at Kemp City Hall at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 498-3191. The public is invited to attend.
Kemp Independent School District meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Board Room in the Administration Building. For more information, please call 498-1314. The public is invited to attend.
Log Cabin City Council meets the third Thursday of the month in city hall. For more information, please call 489-2195. The public is invited to attend.
Mabank City Council meets at 7 p.m. in Mabank City Hall the first Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 887-3241. The public is invited to attend.
Mabank Independent School District meets at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month. For more information, please call 887-9310. The public is invited to attend.
Payne Springs City Council meets at city hall at 7:30 p.m. every third Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 451-9229. The public is invited to attend.
Payne Springs Water Supply Corp. meets the third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Payne Springs Community Center, located at 9690 Hwy. 198.
Seven Points City Council meets at 7 p.m. in Seven Points city hall the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 432-3176. The public is invited to attend.
Tool City Council meets at 6 p.m. in the Oran White Civic Center the third Thursday of each month. For more information, please call 432-3522. The public is invited to attend.
West Cedar Creek Municipal Utility District is held at 5 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month. For more information, please call 432-3704. The public is invited.

Tool property owners able to participate in ESD lawsuit
Monitor Staff Reports
TOOL–Property owners within the city of Tool are eligible to participate in the lawsuit recently filed against the city by the Henderson County Emergency Services District No. 4.
“The Emergency Service District No. 4 claims entitlement to the 3-cent Emergency Service tax imposed on the property owners in the city of Tool, despite the city’s removal from the district last year,” city secretary Neva Tankursley noted in a press release issued Monday.
“Currently, all residents within the city of Tool are protected by the city’s volunteer fire department,” Tankursley added. “The ESD No. 4 no longer funds our jurisdiction.”
The ESD’s lawsuit contends the city cannot remove itself – and its ad valorem tax revenue – from the district under the provisions of the Texas Health and Safety Code.
“This lawsuit will be binding on all persons who would be subject to the district’s ad valorem tax, including all property owners within the city of Tool,” Tankursley said.
“Such persons are entitled to participate in the lawsuit by filing a written answer, or by attending” the upcoming 392nd District Court hearing on the suit, set for 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 1, at the Judicial Complex in Athens, Tankursley noted.
At stake is the new fire station constructed by the ESD No. 4 and the debt incurred to build the station. When the city removed itself from the ESD in April, 2009, it also removed its ad valorem tax revenues, which are necessary to pay off the building note.
The suit is the latest salvo in an ongoing battle over control of the volunteer fire department, which has raged, off and on, for at least a decade.
At one point, the battle appeared settled when the ESD No. 4 was created, and both the city and the district pledged to work together to create a strong fire safety presence in the area.
However, the actual disbursement of tax funding proved to be one of several points of contention.
Former long-time fire chief Bruce Thurston and a number of other fire department members abruptly resigned in November, 2006, following disputes with the ESD board members.
City officials, who were seeking to upgrade the existing fire station, argued that since the vast majority of the tax funding (around 76 percent) came from city property owners, the city should be the entity controlling the funding.
District board members, however, sought to build a new fire station away from the city hall, and steadfastly refused to release funding to refurbish the existing 50-year-old fire station.
Last April, the city declared itself removed from the ESD No. 4 and created its own fire department, headed by Thurston, as the ESD accepted a $240,000 bid and began construction of a new station on State Highway 274.
The city gave the ESD’s fire department four days to vacate the existing station, saying the department had not lived up to its promise to maintain the building.

County receives $89K grant for illegal dumping education
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
KAUFMAN–Environmental Co-op director Marilyn May told Kaufman County commissioners about a list of items provided by an $89,000 grant Monday.
The grant, funded by the TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) ,was awarded through the NCTCOG (North Central Texas Council of Governments).
May listed a number of items included in the grant, such as a new pickup truck for the abatement program at the law enforcement center, two computers with printer, graphics for the truck, a digital camcorder and camera, personal protective equipment and two tow hook keepers.
Also, an illegal dumping education and awareness program is funded by the grant, which would be managed by the Environmental Co-op.
The grant also would continue work on the Keep Kaufman County Beautiful program.
May also listed maintenance needs for the county recycling equipment, such as the 24-foot box truck, a 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck, forklift truck, a bailer, a recycling trailer and a 16-foot trailer.
She also discussed a need to know how to submit invoices on general repairs for the aforementioned equipment, which is county-owned.
Repairs will not be paid out of tax funds, but through collected fines and fees, County Judge Wayne Gent explained.
Commissioners authorized commissioner precinct employees to perform the maintenance labor, thus saving labor costs.
May added since the recycling program’s inception, it has recycled 727,690 pounds of material county-wide.
In other business, commissioners:
• accepted the December auditor’s report as presented by Hal D. Jones.
• re-appointed Todd Gilcrease and John Dabbs to the Kaufman County Emergency Services District No. 7 and accepted the financial report for ESD No. 7.
• ordered a local option election for alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption only in Justice of the Peace Precinct 1.
Alcohol sales supporters had tried getting the election called before, but their signature petition list was not complete at that time.
Tax Collector/Assessor Dick Murphy said the list is now correct. With a valid petition on file, the commissioners are required by law to order the election.
• approved budget transfers as presented by Jones.
• paid bills totaling $485,795.59.

Stolen property recovered from GBC cargo truck
Monitor Staff Reports
ATHENS–A Henderson County Sheriff’s Office investigator was able to track down items stolen from a mini-storage facility in Athens hidden in a box cargo truck parked at a Gun Barrel City business.
Four people were arrested on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity as a result of the investigation, Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt reported in a news release issued Friday.
Dec. 8, 2009, investigator Kendall Wellman received a report about multiple break-ins at the Thomas Mini Storage on State Highway 19 north in Athens.
During the investigation, Wellman received information from Athens Police Department investigator Parkins that several items stolen from the mini-storage business might be found at an Athens business.
Following up on that information, Wellman was able to recover several items of stolen property (which was returned to the owner).
Further leads led Wellman to Gun Barrel City, where he located more stolen property in the back of a large box-cargo truck parked at a local business.
During the course of the investigation, four suspects were identified – Jeffrey Lynn Council Jr., 26, Brandon Truitt, 25, Justin Russell, 30, and Lisa King, 26.
Truitt voluntarily came to the sheriff’s office to speak with Wellman, who gained permission to search Truitt’s vehicle. The vehicle search turned up more items of property stolen from the storage unit break-ins.
Wellman obtained further evidence that all four subjects conspired in the burglary and sale of stolen property, Nutt reported.
All four suspects were arrested for burglary of a building and engaging in organized criminal activity, and were booked into the Henderson County Jail.

Come Adopt Us At The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake
The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on. My name is Domino, and I got my name not only because I’m black and white like a domino tile, but also because my outgoing, cheerful personality causes my doggie roommates to smile. This also causes our human friends to smile, which even causes the kitties in the cat room to smile. I am an 8-month-old male Pointer/Terrier mix. I love children, other dogs, and even get along great with kitties. I’ve had all my shots and am ready to be adopted. If you’d like to experience the domino effect, I am sure to put a forever smile on your face when you take me to my forever home. I currently live with a foster family, so if you would like to meet me, call my friends at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake at (903) 432-3422 to make an appointment. You can also email them at dogshsccl@yahoo.com.
	We have many animals at the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points in dire need of a good home. Please call or stop by the Humane Society today and rescue one of these forgotten animals. The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake is located on 10220 County Road 2403 in Seven Points. For more information, please call (903) 432-3422 after 11 a.m. We are closed on Wednesday and Sunday.
For further information visit our website at petfinder.com