Holiday closings
Henderson and Van Zandt county offices will close Good Friday, April 22. Kaufman County offices will close both Friday and Monday, April 25.
City offices to close Friday include Eustace, Gun Barrel City, Mabank and Tool, while Kemp and Seven Points will remain open.
School districts holding class Friday as a bad weather make-up day are Kemp, Mabank, Eustace and Malakoff.

Library birthday
Tri-County Library invites the public to join its 20th birthday celebration from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 23, in the Library Community Room.
For information call (903) 887-9622.

Pet food needed
Happy Tails runs a pet food bank and has been hit hard with the rising gas prices. Please donate if you can by calling (903) 880-4124 or cell (903) 275-5990, HappytailsofGBC.org, Adopt a happy Tail Inc. (a 501(c)(3) organization).

ETMC jewelry
ETMC-Athens Auxiliary members will hold a “Gold ’N Visions” jewelry sale in the ETMC dining conference room Thursday (today) and Friday, April 22. The annual Easter bake sale also will be held April 22.

Kemp festival
The city of Kemp is hosting Cody Riley’s fifth annual Crawfish Festival in downtown Kemp Friday, April 22, featuring a night of Texas music, food and fun.

Cowboy church dance
The Rope, Catch and Ride for Christ Cowboy Church is hosting a free dance from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 23, featuring the Southern Express Band of Tyler. Donations accepted to pay the band. Open to the public. Church is located north of Mabank on SH 198, turn right on VZCR 2807. Church is on the right, and looks like a red barn. For information call Vicki at (903) 880-2695.

Swingers garage sale
The Log Cabin Swingers are hosting a garage sale through Saturday, April 23, at Promenade Hall, 1210 North Tool Drive, Tool. For information call (903) 778-2146.

Kemp Easter egg hunt
The annual Kemp Easter Egg Hunt is at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23, in the Kemp City Park. The hunt is divided into age groups – toddlers, pre-school and older children.

Eggstravaganza
The Christian Life Center’s annual Easter Eggstravaganza is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23. Give-aways presented. The church location is 2611 W. Main, GBC.

HIS life celebration
The First Baptist Church of Eustace Celebration Choir and Youth Drama Team invites everyone to experience the Easter Celebration at 10:45 a.m. Sunday, April 24.

Easter Drama
Lakeview Assembly of God is presenting a live drama Easter Service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 24, along with a children’s Easter celebration in the church gym, located on SH 334 at Wood Street, across from Seven Points city hall. For information call (903) 432-2682.

CC Civic League
The Cedar Creek Civic League meets at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, at Tri-County Library, Mabank. Mary Lou Blunt will present a program on Indian heritage. For information call Joyce at (903) 451-3229.

Harbor Point POA
Harbor Point POA Crime Watch meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at the Harbor Point Pavilion. Program covers life-saving skills. For information, call Carol Calkins at (903) 887-1630 or visit www.cprtrainingandmore.com.

CCL Women’s Club
The Cedar Creek Lake Women’s Club meets at 11 a.m. (doors open at 10:30 a.m.) Tuesday, April 26, at the Cedar Creek Country Club. The program is a style show by Shirley Lybrand of Gilbert & Jones titled “Be Jeweled and Accessorized,” featuring jewelry and handbags.

Kemp candidate forum
A Kemp “meet the candidate night” is set for Thursday, April 28, in the Kemp High School auditorium. Both city and school candidates are invited, Kemp Business and Civic League president Diana Chambers said.

Howard tourney
Entries are being accepted through 5 p.m. Thursday, April 28, for the sixth annual Courtney Howard Memorial Scholarship golf tournament, set for Saturday, May 14. For entry form, contact Groom & Sons’ Hardware and Lumber at (903) 887-1689.

CC Republican Club
The Cedar Creek Republican Club meets for dinner at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, April 28, followed with a program by retired Henderson County attorney James Owen at Vetoni’s Italian Restaurant, 428 N. Gun Barrel Lane, GBC. Everyone is welcome.

MAGS pasta dinner
The Mabank Area Good Samaritans are hosting a pasta dinner benefitting the Tri-County MAGS Food Pantry from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, at First United Methodist Church, Mabank. For tickets and information, contact Bill Burnett at (903) 498-4324.

TVCC Zumbathon
Trinity Valley Community College is hosting a Zumbathon to benefit the Henderson County Relay for Life. The Zumba class is set for 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 30, in the Student Union Building ballroom. The class is taught by Donna Godwin. All proceeds will benefit the Henderson County Cancer Society. For information call Godwin at (9030 675-2627.

Vegetable seed sale
The Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Kaufman County Master Gardeners sale of vegetable seeds recommended for this area and a variety of plants, will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, April 29, at the Garden Learning Center, the SW corner of FM 1388 and SH 34 intersection, Kaufman. For information call (972) 932-9069.

TVCC workshop
Trinity Valley Community College will host a professional development workshop for social workers, therapists and counselors from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 29. Tuition charged and need to bring a difficult case for discussion. For information call (903) 675-6212 or visit www.tvec.edu/communityservices.

Styx gospel event
The Styx monthly Gospel singing is set for 7 p.m. Friday, April 29. Everyone is welcome to bring their music, family and friends. For information call (214) 616-4659 or (903) 498-8182.

Boating garage sale
Friends of Boating are hosting a garage sale benefitting the Coast Guard Auxiliary, starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at Tom Finley Park. For information call Betty Abbott at (903) 432-2272.

Gardener is ‘in’
The Henderson County Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions by phone during April and May. Call the AgriLife Extension Office between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at (903) 675-6130, and ask for your Master Gardener.

Meals on Wheels
Kemp Senior Citizen Center is seeking volunteer drivers for its Meals on Wheels program. Only one hour a day, and you can pick the day or days. Call Lisa Stinnett at (903) 498-4046.

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City sponsors Farmer’s Market
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–A Farmer’s Market opens for the first time in Gun Barrel City Saturday, May 7.
The city is already taking applications from vendors for spaces at the city’s new pavilion behind the fire department.
City council members revised a city ordinance Tuesday to allow for the sale of seasonal fruits and vegetables and related botanicals on public property. Previously, such activities were strictly prohibited.
The sale or giving of live animals and fish or seafood are still prohibited, as is the sale of second-hand items, food products, canned goods and concession items.
“This is not a street market or a garage sale. This is strictly for fresh fruits and vegetables, plants
Would-be vendors must apply for a Farmers Market Permit for each date intended to sell. Permits may be obtained anytime before the market date.
Each 10 by 10-foot stall costs $10.
The application requires a release of liability for the city, a statement of what will be offered for sale and statement of the produce origin.
“This is so we can insure only those items allowed to be sold are offered,” code enforcement officer Jacqui Callaway said. “It’s going to be great.”
The market opens at 7 a.m. and closes at noon each Saturday.
“If it takes off, the city will consider opening it an additional day,” councilman Marty Goss said.
The council also reset the May 10 regular meeting to 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, in order to avoid having to call a special meeting to canvass the votes from the May 14 city election.
In other business, the council:
• replatted five lots into three lots in Northern Shores Circle at 134 Stephens Drive. The lots are to divided equally for the building of three houses. The request came from property owners Camille and Lonnie Murphey and Leslie Watson Gunn.
• granted a special use permit to operate a tattoo and piercing studio at 2308 West Main St., a general business district with certain provisos.
No tattoo art is to be on public display but kept in books, and applying the services to private body parts is to be done behind closed doors, in private.

Mabank Special Olympics athletes parade


Monitor Photos/Pearl Cantrell
ABOVE: Mabank Special Panthers, with 35 athletes, lead the parade of athletes Saturday to start the 11th annual Mabank Special Olympics and Louann Confer Day, in honor of the former city administrator who helped plan the first year's event. BELOW: Kemp athletes warn the competition that they have skills during the parade of athletes Saturday at Mabank Panther Stadium. They are one of a dozen teams that gathered to demonstrate the true meaning of sportsmanship, Scott Confer announced. The largest team, with 62 athletes, was from Duncanville, with the second-largest coming from Tyler, with 54 special athletes.