VZ Senior Citizens
The Van Zandt Senior Citizens Club monthly dance is set for 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, at the Henderson County Senior Center in Athens. Joe Walenta and the Ranch Hands will provide the music.

VFW benefit
A baked potato supper benefiting the VFW 4376 Auxiliary will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, March 9 at the post.

Vegetable workshop
A free vegetable workshop is set for 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 10, at the East Texas Arboretum, 1601 Patterson Road, Athens. Patty Leander will speak on “Year-Round Gardening.” Also presentations on” Easy Composting & Seed Saving.” For directions or information call (903) 675-9462.

Legion Spaghetti lunch
The American Legion Post 310, Gun Barrel City is hosting a benefit spaghetti lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Saturday, March 10, during the no charge to go, Cedar Creek Coin and Currency show the same day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Junior Livestock benefit
The Kaufman County Junior Livestock Show board is hosting a barbecue cook off with all proceeds benefitting the KC Junior Livestock Show scholarship fund. The event is set for Saturday, March 10, at the county fairgrounds on South 34, Kaufman. Judges needed. E-mail Jackie Robertson at jrobertson@ag.tamu  or call Bill Thornton at (972) 452-3290 or (214) 729-4522.

HC Democratic women
The Texas Democratic Women of Henderson County (TDWHC) meets at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 10, at St. Stephen’s Church, 2101 College St. Athens. The TDWHC is hosting a special “taste test” luncheon with dishes prepared by its members. Bring recipe. For information or to attend call Linda Mroske, after 6 p.m. at (903) 451-5535 or e-mail to elmerosko@gmail.com.

Masonic blood drive
The Cedar Creek Masonic Lodge No. 1431 is hosting a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10, in the Gun Barrel City Walmart parking lot, benefitting the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. For information call Steve Herrick at (903) 451-4309.

HSCCL Art Auction
The third annual Art Auction benefitting the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake is set for 2 to 7 p.m. for a silent auction and 6:30 p.m. live auction, Saturday, March 10, at the Library at Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points. Drinks and appetizers plus $1 million fuzzy bucks included with ticket. For information call Krista at (903) 432-3422 or Sue at (903) 887-2234.

Overcomers Choir event
The Lakeview Assembly of God Church is hosting the Overcomers Choir at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, March 11. The church is located on the corner of SH 334 and Wood Street, Seven Points. For information call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, at (903) 432-2682.

All day walk-in tax day
Free tax help! First come, first served. An all-Day Walk-in Tax day is set for Monday, March 12, at Tri-County Library, Mabank. Bring all your information. For other times, call the library at (903) 887-9622, and someone will call you back to make an appointment.

Eustace ISD tax office
The Eustace ISD tax office will close Monday through Friday, March 12-16, for spring break. For information call (903) 425-5232.

Food ministries
Orders for Low Cost Food Ministries are being taken from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Thursday, March 12-15. For information call James at (903) 603-5309.

CCL Literary Club
The Literary Club of Cedar Creek Lake meets, beginning with refreshments at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 13, at The Library at Cedar Creek Lake. Lee Gary will present the program, “Three Blonde Bombshells.”

MHS blood drive
Mabank High School is hosting a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, at the MHS auxiliary gym. For info, contact Cris Cary at (903) 880-1600.

McDade’s open house
McDade’s Nursery invites the community to celebrate its open house, “Spring in the Garden,” from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 16-18. Free chili dogs daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The nursery is located at 1000 N. Tool Drive, SH 274, Tool. For information call (903) 432-0106.

Methodist garage sale
The first United Methodist Church, Mabank, is hosting a “huge” garage sale from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 17 at the church located at 501 South Third Street (SH 198).

AL dinner benefits
The American Legion Post 310 Auxiliary is hosting a salad dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 16, and a corned beef and cabbage dinner with all the fixings, from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 17 (Saint Patrick’s Day). Proceeds from both meals benefit the youth activities in the Cedar Creek Lake Community.

Rosser VFD chili supper
The Rosser Volunteer Fire Department is hosting its annual chili and stew supper with doors opening at 5 p.m. and the auction starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at the station in Rosser.

Spaghetti dinner benefit
Blessed Mother Teresa outreach of St Jude Catholic Church, formerly Saint Vincent de Paul society, is sponsoring at Saint Patrick’s Day spaghetti dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 17, in the parish hall to benefit a fellow parishioner that needed emergency medical help. Donations sought. For information call Jerry Samonck at (903) 887-0031.

VFW homeless vet benefit
A benefit for the local VFW Post 4376 and the homeless veterans home being built near the Dallas VA hospital, will feature the Stephen Pride Show on Saint Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17 at the VFW Post 4376, Seven Points.

Natalie’s carnival benefit
A Carnival benefit for Natalie Newman, 13, suffering from Freidreich’s Ataxia is set for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 18, at Mabank Pavilion. Events include bounce house, train ride, dunking booth, clowns, petting zoo and concession stand. Natalie will take the funds raised to the Ride Ataxia benefit Saturday, March 24, in Dallas.

Rootseekers Society
The Rootseekers Genealogy Society meets at 7 p.m. Monday, March 19, at Tri-County Library, downtown Mabank. Clifton Smith will review his book, “John McDougald, His Descendents from Florida to Texas,” one of the first families in the Kemp area. Meetings are open to the public. For information visit www.rootseekers.org.

Sarah Maples DAR
The Sarah Maples chapter of DAR is at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, at the Library at Cedar Creek Lake, Seven Points. Speaker is Lee Lloyd TSDAR vice chairman volunteer genealogist on “My Favorite Places to go On the World Wide Web.”

 

Murder suspect sought
By Julie Vaughan
Monitor Staff Writer
CANTON–The suspect in a weekend murder last week is still at large, as investigators attempt to piece together the scene.
Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Sam Mayer said he was called out to a residence on Farm-to-Market 1861 Sunday morning just before 4:30 Feb. 26.
Mayer said due to the location, Henderson County Sheriff’s deputies were first called to the scene, but later Van Zandt County was notified when it was learned the incident had occurred within the Van Zandt County boundary.
Investigators believe the offense occurred sometime between 1 and 2 a.m.
“The victim was taken to East Texas Medical Center in Athens, where he was pronounced dead,” Mayer explained.
Luis Rodriguez, 21, Athens, is believed to have been at an illegal cock fight, when it is presumed he and some other men got into an argument, Van Zandt County Chief Deputy John Turner explained.
Rodriguez was shot an unknown number of times in an unknown location, and transported to the hospital by friends, Mayer said.
“The hospital notified Henderson County because they had a gun shot victim,” Mayer said.
Once Mayer and his team took over the investigation they were able to get statements from the friends and scour the location ,where the cock fight took place.
The suspect had fled the location, but anyone with information is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at (903) 567-7867.
Also assisting in the investigation are the Texas Rangers, Van Zandt County District Attorney’s Office, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
SPCA Senior Investigator Art Munoz, who also serves as a reserve deputy for the sheriff’s office, said 27 live roosters, one injured rooster, 80 eggs in an incubator and some chicks were seized from the scene.
He said that all 28 grown roosters taken from the scene were euthanized, and once the eggs are hatched they will separate the males and females and adopt them out.
“When you are at an illegal activity and things start going south, the consequences may become deadly as they did in this case,” Van Zandt County Sheriff R.P. “Pat” Burnett said.
“Anyone who knows of any illegal activity is encouraged to report it to Crimestoppers and you can remain anonymous,” Burnett added.

Pharmacy hit in Kemp
K-9 unit uncovers guns in truck parked at high school
Monitor Staff Reports
KEMP–Kemp Police Chief Richard Clemmo reports two criminal incidences in Kemp occurring the end of February.
The Kemp Family Pharmacy was broken into Feb. 28, and a random cruise of the Kemp High School parking lot by a police dog resulted in the arrest of an 18 year-old student Feb. 22.
The first employees to open the Kemp Family Pharmacy around 7 a.m. Feb. 28 found a broken window and a 50-pound concrete chunk in the store.
The burglar or burglars had taken two bottles of a pain killer medication, containing hydrocodone.
The alarm system didn’t go off, Clemmo said, but it has since been repaired and is in good working order, he said.
The break-in most likely occurred between 4:45 a.m. and 7 a.m., he added.
If anyone remembers seeing anything suspicious in the vicinity at that time, they should call the Kemp Police Department at (903) 489-8600.
Hydrocodone addiction is a serious problem in the United States and tends to happen quickly and to unsuspecting individuals who have been prescribed the drug for legitimate pain reasons. According to opiates.com, the addiction creeps up quickly and once you have a hydrocodone addiction, chances are it’s too late to find an easy solution to get off it.
A week prior to the break-in, Kemp police officer Steven Crawley found some firearms in a vehicle parked at Kemp High School.
At around 3 p.m. Feb. 22, a Kaufman County K-9 deputy conducted a random open air search in the parking lot at Kemp High School for the presence of narcotics.
The police dog alerted his handler to a yellow Ford there. Kemp ISD personnel assisted authorities in locating the student who parked it there.
At the beginning of a search of the inside of the truck, Crawley found several shotgun rounds and asked the student if there were weapons on board.
The student replied that there may be a shotgun in the back.
Firearms are prohibited from school property under the federal 1990 Gun-Free School Act.
The officer found a Remington 870 Express 12-gauge shotgun and a KSA Inc. 22-caliber rifle, which the student said he used while hunting recently.
Kyle William Kimberling, 18, was charged with a third-degree felony and was released on a $5,000 bond two days later.
Crawley also located drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, which the dog had first sniffed out.
“The police will continue doing random sweeps of school parking lots (with drug-sniffing dogs) in the future,” chief Clemmo said.