Lake Area
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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. |
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Deller explains
commissioners’ duties to Rotary
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–Running a county is not as easy as it seems, nor is it the simple job
many taxpayers assume it is.
Members of the Rotary Club of Cedar Creek Lake heard Kaufman County Precinct 4
Commissioner Jim Deller explain the ins and outs of county government at the club’s
weekly luncheon Friday.
“The operation of a county is like a business or industry,” Deller said.
“The county commissioners are the board of directors and the county judge is the
CEO.”
All 254 counties in the state operate basically the same way, with four commissioners and
a county judge, he added.
Each county is divided into precincts according to population figures revealed every 10
years by the U.S. Census.
Since Precinct 4 has a smaller population than its sister precincts, it covers a larger
portion of the county, and has a lot more road miles, 340 to be precise, he explained.
“The county is mostly a rural area that has very little industry, but a lot of
residences, so our tax rate is higher,” he explained.
There have been times when taxpayers have complained about their taxes and asked Deller to
see what he could do toward helping them with the appraisal district, which sets property
values.
Outside of instructing them on where, when and how to meet with the proper people to
discuss their tax problem, Deller said by state law he was unable to do more.
“If an elected official gets involved with an appraisal problem, they can be removed
from office,” he explained.
Another duty commissioners have is to set the tax rate.
“Of the taxes paid by taxpayers, 65 percent goes to schools, 14 percent into the
county’s general fund, 4 percent to road and bridge, and smaller portions to Trinity
Valley Community College, Emergency Service Districts, etc.,” he explained.
Counties set the subdivision regulations for developments built in the county.
Securing grants through the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) to build
the Eco station outside Kemp on U.S. 175 was a major project for Deller.
He worked with Environmental Co-op director Marilyn May on the necessary grants of $75,000
and $175,000, for the Eco (recycling) station.
“They also take hazardous waste of all kinds,” Deller said.
Since the grant funds were from NCTCOG, only Kaufman County residents can use the
facility, he said.
“We are working on some legal way to allow Henderson County residents to use the Eco
Station,” Deller added.
The next challenge facing the county involves the county courthouse in downtown Kaufman.
“The Historical Commission has asked us to remove the security chamber,” Deller
said, adding the commission says the chamber detracts from the historic look of the
1955-era courthouse.
A member of the audience asked where the largest population increase in the area is.
“The growth in the county currently is in Forney,” he said.
In other business, club members:
• watched as club president Robert Blaase inducted a new member, Andrew Hadley,
marketing director for Beacon Hill. He was welcomed into the club.
• heard the next book giveaway is set for 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 11.
• were told the club’s annual golf tournament is tentatively set for Friday, May
21, at Kings Creek Golf Club.Clemmo Feed
store closes after serving community for 20 years
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
KEMP–Clemmo Feed in Kemp was known as the place to get information, instruction or
just plain help, but on Jan. 5, the doors closed for good.
“The economy didn’t help, but the closing is strictly for health reasons,”
owner Diana Clemmo said.
Clemmo suffered a stroke several months back, and has had continual mini-strokes.
On the advice of her doctor and the insistence of her family, she said she must give up
her store. 
”For at least a month, I am going to do absolutely nothing,” Clemmo said.
“I am going to go home, rest and recover.”
Clemmo’s grandmother had a stroke and was paralyzed for seven years before she passed
away. The same situation occurred with her mother.
Courtesy Photo/Matt Ganssle
Kemp Mayor Matt Ganssle (left) and city council member Jesse Morton present Diana Clemmo
with the key to the city and a proclamation of Thursday (today) as “Diana Clemmo
Day” in the city during a gathering at the city park Monday.
“I am going to break the chain (of events),” she vowed, promising to follow
doctor’s orders and take better care of herself.
Clemmo will be 63 Monday, Feb. 8.
“I am going to miss the store, but it’s the people I’ll miss the most. I
love the people in Kemp with all my heart,” Clemmo said.
“The main thing I want to say to the people is ‘thank you and bless you all for
all the friendship,’ and I promise, I will be around,” she said. “My
customers were all friends.”
The feed store began as a family enterprise, where all the family members, husband Greg,
son Richard and daughter Tonya Burn took part.
“We had fun selling feed to friends and neighbors from our barn,” she explained.
The time came when the family decided they needed more room. Greg and Richard wanted a
place on the highway, but Diana wanted to be “in town,” somewhere in the middle
of Kemp.
The present location had been empty for three to four years, and she said she encouraged
the family to purchase it.
“In 1991, we bought it from the bank. It was actually Richard who opened it,”
she explained.
“The rumor mill has it that the dock was part of the old train depot. The other
buildings were built around it,” she recalled.
Clemmo helped out, mostly with the books, as she was then working as a substitute teacher.
She enjoyed animals of all kinds, and it wasn’t long before the feed store became the
place to leave, or find, a pet.
“In the first three years, I found homes for 295 dogs, and no telling how many cats
and other assorted creatures,” she said.
Another thing she did was get involved in various activities.
Several organizations used her phone number and Post Office box number as public contact
points.
“We were an information center for a lot of places,” she said.
She served as president of several organizations, such as the Kemp Chamber of Commerce,
Becker-Jiba Water Supply and the East Texas Riders Club. Most recently, she established
the Kemp Business and Civic Association.
In addition to allowing those organizations to use her business as a contact, other groups
she volunteered with and for a time could be reached at her store were the Humane Society
and the Lions Club Christmas Drive.
The city of Kemp has named Thursday (today) as “Diana Clemmo Day.”
She was presented the key to the city in a special ceremony at Kemp City Park Monday.
VZ still hopes for declared disaster
By Terry Britt
Monitor Staff Writer
CANTON–Hoping to recoup some of the expenses from cleanup work after tornado strike
destroyed homes and businesses Jan. 20, Van Zandt County Commissioners have continued
county judge Rhita Koches’ local state of disaster declaration for another 30 days
countywide.
Chuck Allen, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said he still plans on
applying for state and federal assistance during the commissioners’ regular Jan. 26
meeting.
He presented a brief overview of the path and damage of the storm that cut through Van
Zandt County.
Allen said the confirmed EF2 (based on the Enhanced Fujita Scale) tornado left its mark on
Canton and several unincorporated communities.
“We have from 150 to 200 homes in the county that have minor to moderate
damage,” Allen said. “By that, I mean homes that have shingles blown off, or
maybe have taken some hail damage.
“We have 20 homes or other buildings that have been completely destroyed,” he
added.
However, Allen went on to say that the damage – the worst of it being in the Silver
Lake community – could have been much worse, had the tornado dropped and traveled
through more heavily populated areas.
“We dodged a big bullet this time,” he said.
Allen also commended the efforts of the county’s road and bridge department crews and
local law enforcement agencies in assisting with the cleanup and recovery that followed
the storm.
“I can’t stress enough my appreciation for the way we got crews out there to
help us try to get to some of those houses. It was a long night, but we had everybody
working together,” he said.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton Jr. echoed that sentiment.
“We had a very good response, but I want to add we had an excellent response from our
road and bridge crews,” he said. “They did a great job getting out there, and
these are people who don’t get overtime, just comp time.”
No emergency or disaster declaration from a state- or federal-level has been proclaimed,
Allen noted.
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.
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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 |
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