Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 322.00
Water Temperature:
62 degrees - top
62 degrees - bottom

KHS hosts inaugural baseball camp



Monitor Photos/Kerry Yancey
ABOVE: New Kemp High School graduate Matt Carr (right), a two-time all-district
shortstop, shows youngsters the proper body position to field a ground ball during
the inaugural KHS East Texas Baseball Camp Tuesday. BELOW: Kemp High
School head baseball coach Cody Ross (at right) demonstrates the proper position
for the elbow on a hitter's power arm for campers. About 23 campers turned out
for the first camp at the new KHS baseball/softball complex.

Greene joins Purtis Creek Park staff
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
EUSTACE–Purtis Creek State Park has already provided new park superintendent Shawn Greene with one of his best outdoor moments.
“I caught the biggest bass I’ve ever caught (seven pounds), and I’ve gone fishing in a lot of state parks,” Greene said.
Since Purtis Creek has a catch-and-release policy on bass, Greene put the fish back in the lake, but he was thrilled at the unexpected strike.
“I was fishing for crappie with a worm off the fishing pier, so it felt really big,” he explained.
Greene came to the park May 5 from the Cleburne State Park, where he was the assistant park manager.
A native of Malvern, Ark., Greene, 34, spent three years in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school, and added another three years in the Air Force Reserves.
He returned to the North Texas area to attend the University of Texas at Arlington, graduating in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in biology.
After a stint teaching high school biology and working as a water treatment specialist, Greene was asked to consider working for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
“I like to fish and mountain-bike with my wife, Marsha, and I ended up meeting the manager at Cleburne, Bill Grubbs,” Greene recalled. “He turned me on to the idea of working for parks and wildlife.”
Joining the TP&W in September, 2006, Greene attended the department’s police academy.
His first posting was as a park peace officer/interpreter at Somerville State Park in Central Texas, and in October, 2007, he joined Grubbs at Cleburne State Park.
Greene applied for the Purtis Creek position when former park superintendent Justin Rhodes left Jan. 1 to assume the superintendent’s post at Martin Dies Jr. State Park near Jasper.
A frequent state park visitor before he began working for the state, Greene said he just had never gotten down to Purtis Creek earlier.
“I (looked around) and said ‘wow, this is a nice park’,” he recalled.
“One of the things I look for was the ability to get away,” he said. “Some parks have (camping) sites stacked on top of each other. Here, each site is more secluded.”
Purtis Creek’s primitive camping area really allows visitors to get away from civilization, Greene said.
“You have to hike in at least a half-mile to get to the sites,” he pointed out. “They’re right there next to the water.”
Many visitors rent canoes and use those to reach the primitive sites from the water, he added.
Greene, wife Marsha and daughter Charity, now six months old, still have a number of boxes to unpack at the superintendent’s residence, but he said they’re looking forward to exploring the area’s sights, including First Monday Trade Days in Canton.
“The staff here has been wonderful,” he said. “There’s a real friendly feel to the area.
“This area kinda reminds me of home, with the trees and everything,” he added. “We’re really excited about being here.”


Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
New Purtis Creek State Park superintendent Shawn Greene began his service
at the park May 5, coming from Cleburne State Park, where he was the assistant manager.