‘Dance Your Heart Out’ camp set for June 20-23 at TVCC
Special to The Monitor
ATHENS–The Cardette organization is celebrating its 50th year, and next month the dance team at Trinity Valley Community College will be imparting five decades of dancing wisdom to the next generation.
For the past five years, the TVCC dance group has hosted the Dance Your Heart Out Camp.
The camp is designed for high school students who are currently on dance teams or who just want to take their moves to the next level.
This year’s event will be from June 20-23. Cardette alumni who are either currently teaching in the dance field or are involved in dance at the university level serve as teachers during the camp.
“You cannot ask for better qualifications for instructors than what we have,” said Cardette director Darla Mansfield.
“They are very knowledgeable in their field and know what can get a dancer to reach her personal best. This camp is more than just dance. It will be blast for all,” she added. Camp participants will not only learn dance techniques, but also leadership and teamwork skills.
This year, the master dance class will be taught by Summyr Whaley. The former Cardette is a Radio City Rockette, who has been seen in several movies and television programs, including “Miss Congeniality,” and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
The camp is designed primarily for individual dancers, although teams are welcome.
Dancers will learn a variety of dance styles, including jazz, high energy pom, high kick, hip-hop jazz and lyrical.
Housing will be provided in TVCC dorms, which are chaperoned by adult camp staff, and meals will be in the TVCC cafeteria.
Awards will be given and a final “show-off” presented at the close of camp.
Cost for the camp is $180 for those who register before May 31, and $200 for those who register in June. Registration is only accepted in advance so sign up now to reserve a spot.
For that amount, participants will learn five dance routines, 10-12 technique classes, four to five leadership seminars, meals, housing and the camp T-shirt and bag.
For more information, contact Mansfield at (903) 675-6225 or dmansfield@tvcc.edu  or Meredith Oakley at (903) 670-2691.

Area libraries set summer reading programs
Monitor Staff Reports
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–The Monitor has collected information from surrounding libraries on their activities planned for the summer. Below is a review of their plans. (See related story for The Library at Cedar Creek Lake.)
Red Waller Library
Red Waller Library, located across from McDonalds, announces its Summer Reading Program, geared to children ages 2-12 with a focus on learning about archeology, dinosaurs, dogs, family history and gardening.
Guest appearances by expert storytellers and educators are lined up on every other Thursdays in June and July starting at 2 p.m. On alternate Thursdays, a period of arts, crafts and stories will be held.
• June 2 – The Creature Teacher,
• June 9 – Crafts and stories
• June 16 – Dru Woods Storyteller
• June 30 – Crafts and stories
• July 14 – Happy Dragon Reptile
• July 7 – Crafts and stories
• July 21 – Debbie Day’s Xtreme Kidz Entertainment
• July 28 – Crafts and stories
• Aug. 4 – Awards ceremony
Two special events are also planned. At 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, Todd McKinney will demonstrate his slight of hand skills during a magic show; and at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 9, Rhythmweb will be featured.
The summer reading programs are for children through sixth grade. Each day will bring a new performer, arts, crafts and refreshments.
These programs enhance the library’s summer reading club. Each child will get a reading log to list the books they’ve read. Those reading 10 books or more are awarded with a certificate and other goodies.
“They do this on their own. They just come in sign in, check the books out and take them home to read and list them on their log,” librarian Will Bryan said. “If they are too young to read, someone may read to them and they will get credit.”
There will be a party at the end of the Summer Reading Program with refreshments, certificates and other surprises.
If you need any further information, call Will Bryan at (903) 489-1818.
Kaufman County Library
The Kaufman County Public Library, located at 3790 South Houston (Farm-to-Market 1388) in Kaufman, encourages your child to read this summer.
The Kaufman County Library is celebrating 53 years of the Texas Reading Club with its 2011 Summer Reading Program, themed “Dig Up a Good Book.”
The library will offer many activities that make reading fun at noon on Wednesdays, June 8 to July 6.
A story and craft session precedes the guest performers at 11 a.m. A second story and craft session follows at 1 p.m.
A kickoff event is set for 10 a.m. June 8, with circus clowns explaining how young readers can earn a free circus ticket!
At noontime:
• June 8 – Wildlife on the move with The Unhuggables
• June 15 – Debbie Day presents “Diggin it on the Bayou”
• June 22 – Mark Shelton gets down with “Beat The Drum”
• June 29 – Marty the Magician digs into his magic truck of tricks.
• July 6 – End celebration, starting at 11 a.m. closes out the program with a special presentation.
Library hours are Monday through Wednesday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and closed on Sunday.
If you have any questions, please call the library at (972) 932-6222, and ask for Yasma Holland.
Tri-County Library
The Tri-County Library, located on Market Street in Mabank, presents its Summer Reading Program for the whole family. This year’s program runs June 9 through July 28.
Each Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be “Game Day.” Those who attend will have a choice of many different board games to play, such as Scrabble, checkers, chess, and Hungry Hippo. Also, check out the new AWE learning computer for children.
A special one-day visit from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, June 3, has trainmen Roger Barker and Russ Rau presenting “Staying Connected.” Everyone gets to drive a train. Presentation includes stories with Ms. Linda.
On Wednesdays, Ms. Crowden and Friends will present some really fun surprises you won’t want to miss from 10 a.m. to noon.
Thursdays, the library will have professional entertainment, starting from 10 a.m. to noon:
• June 9 – David Gish will present his magic and fun.
• June 16 – Storyteller Dru Woods will unleash her puppet friends with great stories and music.
• June 23 – Amy Bruton Bluemel returns in her full Chickasaw regalia, bringing stories, artifacts, shells, rattles and more.
June 30 – Margaret Anne Trail digs in the dirt.
• July 7 – Debbie Day brings stories alive with music.
• July 14– Creature Teacher Robin Wheeler shows how creatures dig it.
• July 21 – Mabank’s special clown friends: Higbee, Kindle and Q2 bring the pizza.
• July 28 – Tissy Kreneck brings a Box of Quackers for the final day, party and drawing for prizes.
Fridays, June 10, 17, 24 and July 1, 8, 15 and 22, Ms. Linda will present her story hour with crafts and songs.
All children who attend the sessions may enter their name in a drawing for a new bicycle donated by the Walmart in Gun Barrel City.
Also, coupons for free goodies donated by local businesses will be given for completion of reading logs. The drawing is set for noon Thursday, July 28.
The hours of the Tri-County Library are Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Tuesdays 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Help researching genealogical information is available from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays.
The Tri-County Library is located at 132 Market Street in Mabank and can be reached at (903) 887-9622.
HENDERSON COUNTY CLINT MURCHISON MEMORIAL LIBRARY
To maintain and improve reading skills and foster lifelong readers, the Clint W. Murchison Memorial Library hosts a number of summer activities under the theme, “Dig up a good book.”
The library is located at 121 S. Prairieville, Athens. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Sign-up for the Summer Reading Program begins June 6.
Those participating receive their own personal reading log to take home to record book titles read. After having read a minimum of 10 books at their reading level, they can return the log for a certificate of participation and a food coupon from a local restaurant.
They may then enter their name for a prize drawing to be held at the end of the summer program. Children too young to read yet may participate by having a family member read to them.
A schedule of guest performers for 10 a.m. Tuesdays in June and July, unless otherwise stated, are listed below:
• June 7 – Robyn Wheeler as the Creature Teacher at 2 p.m.
• June 21 – Hop-Along Cassidy meets a life-size raccoon character in this storytelling performance.
• June 28 – Dentist Mark Roberts will dig into dental hygiene.
• July 12 – Ms. Maria Smith entertains with music, puppets and stories of Texas.
• July 26 – The Athens Fire Department talks about fire safety and the special gear a firefighter uses.
For more information, call (903) 677-7295.

The Library at Cedar Creek Lake hosts ‘Summer Reading Program’
The program starts June 1
Special to The Monitor
SEVEN POINTS–Every week during June and July, The Library at Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points will host events sure to entertain youngsters of all ages.
This summer’s exciting lineup includes a wide variety of themes, from dinosaurs, to digs, to dogs and drawings!
The Summer Reading Program starts the summer fun in June with a reading by Ms. Linda, and continues throughout the month with age-appropriate readings for those 3-14 by Ms. Linda, Ms. Mary, Ms. Edna, Melissa, Sondra and Zelda.
Bring the whole family for the Summer Reading kick-off party, sponsored by the Cedar Creek Lake Kiwanis Club, which will be held from 10:30 a.m through 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 4.
It is a great opportunity to sign up for the Texas Summer Reading Program and enjoy hot dogs, drinks and live music provided by the popular Sullivan Family band.
Kids will really dig Archaeology Week at the library, as they learn all about the study of ancient peoples and culture, make crafts and more.
Performances and events sure to please include those by a magician, master ventriloquist, Ronald McDonald and Slappy and Monday the clowns.
Also scheduled are Joan Guertin’s dog program, Dinosaur George, Zooniversity (a teaching zoo) and Great Big Planet’s “Dig up ancient Egypt.”
Finally, wrap up the summer fun at the Library’s end of summer party and prize drawing.
Check out our summer calendar of events below and save the dates for your favorite programs:
June
• 1 – Reading program for ages 3 – 6 at 10:30 a.m.
• 4 – Summer Reading Program Kick off Party from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• 6 – Archaeology Week starting at 10:30 a.m.
• 8 – Archaeology Week starting at 10:30 a.m.
• 10 – Archaeology Week starting at 10:30 a.m.
• 14 – Great Big Planet, “Dig up Ancient Egypt” starting at 10:30 a.m.
• 15 – Reading program for ages 3-6, 7-9, and 10-14 at 10:30 a.m.
• 21 – Magician Todd McKinney “Building Better Readers” at 10:30 a.m. plus Slappy and Monday the Clowns at 2 p.m.
• 22 – Reading program for ages 3-6, 7-9, and 10-14 at 10:30 a.m.
• 28 – Master ventriloquist Cindy Robinson at 10:30 a.m.
• 29 – Reading program for ages 3-6, 7-9, and 10-14 at 10:30 a.m.
July
• 5 – Dinosaur George at 10:30 a.m.
• 12 – Zooniversity, the teaching zoo that comes to you! “Animals that Dig” at 10:30 a.m.
• 19 – Joan Guertin dog program
• 23 – Last day to turn in Reading Logs
• 26 – Ronald McDonald at 10:30 a.m.
• 29 – End of summer party and prize drawing at 2 p.m.
About The Library at Cedar Creek Lake
The Library at Cedar Creek Lake is located in Seven Points and serves communities within the greater Cedar Creek Lake area. 
The library is a valuable resource center that supplies area residents with library materials and services, promotes and assists in educational development, and encourages reading. Learn more at www.cedarcreeklibrary.com,  or call (903) 432-4185.
 

Abby Rike book-signing draws crowd
Monitor Staff Reports
MABANK–Former season eight “Biggest Loser” star Abby Rike brought 60 copies of her new book, “Working It Out: A Journey of Love, Loss and Hope,” to a book-signing at Mabank High School Friday.
That stash sold out in less than 30 minutes, as close to 100 folks lined up for her to autograph her book. Some had to settle for order forms, which included a sticker she signed for them to place in the book once it arrived.

Monitor Photo/Janice Grubbs
Billie Day(standing left) speaks with Kaufman County Precinct 4 Constable John Sullivan as her daughter, Abbie Rike, signs Sullivan's copy of her new book, “Working it Out,” during a book-signing at Mabank High School Friday. The 60 books Rike brought to the signing event sold out within 30 minutes.
A Mabank native and former Canton schoolteacher, Rike’s world crashed down around her when her husband, Rick (who also taught at Canton) and two children – 5-year-old daughter Macy and two-week-old son Caleb – were killed in a 2006 car accident in the Phalba community.
In her new book, Rike reveals how she gained the will to live again and claimed victory over her weight problem as chronicled on the 2009 season of NBC’s hit TV show “The Biggest Loser.”
“I avowed that I was not mad at God. In fact, I felt God’s presence at that time more than I ever had,” she writes in her new book. “I was never angry, and that didn’t make sense to many people. But I knew that God didn’t do this.”
Despite her determination to not become bitter after the accident that claimed her husband Rick, her Rike took on everything she could to numb the overwhelming grief – moving, getting her Master’s degree, changing jobs – but nothing worked.
Weighing 247 pounds, Rike was alone, mired in heartache, and just merely existing when the idea mentioned by a former “The Biggest Loser” contestant prompted her to audition for the show.
“My name is Abby. I am 34 years old. I normally don’t introduce myself this way, but my husband and two children were killed in a car accident two-and-a-half years ago,” she announced in her “Biggest Loser” interview. “I decided very early on that I was going to live. And now I want to live better.”
Monitor Photo/Janice Grubbs
The Monitor staffers Kim Vincent (left) and Janice Grubbs (right) meet with “The Biggest Loser” star Abby Rike at her book-signing event Friday at Mabank High School.

Making it to the season eight cast in 2009, Rike made life-changing progress both physically and emotionally during the seven weeks before her eventual elimination.
After losing 47 pounds during the show, Rike went on to lose another 53 for a grand total of 100 pounds by the tearful reunion show.
“The beauty of my ‘Biggest Loser’ journey is not that I’ve gone from a size 20 to a size 6. The beauty of my journey is the healing I have had from the inside out,” Rike writes. “The outside is really just a reflection of that healing. Living life to the fullest was my heart’s desire, and I can honestly say that’s what I’m doing – living.”
Reflecting on where she is on her journey, Rike said “As I was driving down the road the other day with the top down on my car, maybe dancing a little, I thought, ‘I’m happy today.’ Though I will never be the same person I was Oct. 12, 2006, I am so much better than I ever thought possible on Oct. 13, 2006. You, too, can be better than you ever thought possible!
“People ask me, ‘How did you survive? How did you get up again?’ Rike writes. “The truth is that it is only through God’s grace that I press forward. I choose to accept His love and strength, and hope that He is able to use this terrible tragedy for good.
“After the crash, I could have wallowed in self-pity. I could have been mad at God, mad at the man who did this, or just mad at the world in general. Many people have even told me they wouldn’t blame me if I did,” she writes. “But hatred, anger, and bitterness are not going to bring my family back. Feeling sorry for myself is not going to make my life count. If I had chosen to go down that path, I may as well have been in the van.”
Rike currently speaks full-time across the country. After “The Biggest Loser,” she appeared in numerous media outlets, including: the “Today” show, “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” “Access Hollywood ” and People, Woman’s World and Life & Style magazines.
Her new 240-page book, with a forward by Shay Sorrells, was published by FaithWords May 4, and is available in audio and as an ebook.
Rike currently lives in Houma, La. Visit Abby online at www.abbyrike.com,  or on her Facebook page, which has more than 7,000 fans.