MISD golf and soccer teams named district champs
By Robyn Wheeler
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–Stealing the spotlight of the Mabank ISD board meeting April 24 was not the items requiring the boards discussion and decision but rather the Mabank students themselves.
Honored for their accomplishments were the girls soccer team, the boys and girls golf team and their coaches.
Coach Jeff Downs led the girls soccer team to the 2011-12 playoffs.
The team beat Henderson 7 to 1, Texarkana 4 to 1 and Hallsville 4 to 3. They lost to Hallsville 4 to 2. Downs was named District Coach of the Year while the 13 teammates were named District Champs of 2011-12.
“This is the farthest that any team, soccer or otherwise has gotten in several years. So I have high expectations for them next year,” Downs said.
Other awards bestowed to the girls were Ashley Norman as Co-MVP of the year, Savannah Henderson as Offensive MVP of the year and Bailey Swain as Goalkeeper of the Year.
Also receiving the 2011-12 District Champs of the year were the boys and girls golf team led by Coach Jeff Lee.
The girls team won their tournament by 27 strokes and the boys beat Kaufman by 15 strokes. Golf and baseball member Stephen Caillet, had his best score of the season of a 78.
Caillet, a junior, also pitched his first perfect game last week. Caillet pitched 17 out of 18 strike outs and one catch out.
“This game could have been played with just a pitcher and the catcher, with no one else,” Mabank School Superintendent Dr. Russell Marshall said.
In other news, board members:
• unanimously voted to file an application for the 2012-13 through TEA which will continue the schools Title 1 status.
• approved moving the May board meeting to Tuesday May 22.
• heard graduation is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24 at the Garland Special Events Center.

 

Gardeners host workshops in Kaufman
Special to the Monitor
KAUFMAN–The Kaufman County Master Gardeners hosted a series of mini-workshops and a tool and plant sale at the Garden Learning Center (GLC), located at 3003 S. Washington St. in Kaufman on April 14th. Thirty-three people attended the Greenhouse Construction and Management presentation by Master Gardener and Greenhouse Specialist Lynn Ackerman. She illustrated the principles of planning and construction using the not-yet-complete greenhouse located at the GLC.
Master Gardener and Rainwater Harvesting Specialist Brad Ackerman showed 15 people “How to Make a Rain Barrel,” using 55-gallon, food-safe barrels that can be purchased locally. Participants received a handout with a list of parts and detailed instructions for construction. He said that these instructions are available on the home page of the KCMGA website, www.kcmastergardeners.org. 
Eighteen people learned several types of plant propagation with Master Gardener and propagation specialist Nancy Bowman. After hearing her explain and demonstrate the processes, participants were able to practice the techniques at workbenches in the greenhouse. Participants took home at least four plants they had propagated, with the oversight of Bowman and Frances Holmes, another Master Gardener and propagation specialist.
At the tool sale, participants in the plant propagation workshop, and others, were able to purchase tools especially selected by the plant propagation specialists. Many plants, propagated from the Garden Learning Center as well as from the personal gardens of Master Gardeners, found new homes during the plant sale.
A second plant sale, along with a silent auction, will be held in conjunction with the spring seminar program, “EarthKind™: It’s Not Just Roses,” scheduled May 12 at the Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in Oak Grove. You won’t want to miss this event, which will feature practices and plants suited to drought conditions. More information will be available on the KCMGA website later this month. For more information or to request accommodations for individuals with disabilities, please call Sharon Burden at (972) 932-9069.
The gardens are in peak condition now, with new plants blooming daily. The succulent garden is particularly spectacular this year; buds and blooms abound on all the cacti, and the Bird of Paradise is in full bloom. In other gardens, the iris and roses are putting on their own show, along with lantana and daylilies. The Garden Learning Center is open to the public, so come by and enjoy a stroll through the gardens.

 

Come Adopt Us At The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake

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.

For further information visit our website at petfinder.com