Thursday, July 1, 2010
Monitor Staff Reports
CHEROKEE SHORES–Investigation is continuing into the Sunday drowning of a 42-year-old woman in Cedar Creek Lake at the Cherokee Shores subdivision.
Henderson County Deputy Sheriff Kyle Pochobradsky responded around 12:45 p.m. when a call notified the sheriff’s department that a deceased person had been found by swimmers in the lake near Pier 1, off Lake Arrowhead Road and Apache Road.
Investigator Ceresa Ballard, Capt. Kay Langford, Maj. Botie Hillhouse, Asst. Chief Dan Parker and Game Warden Dustin Balfanz also responded to the scene, County Sheriff Ray Nutt reported in a prepared news release issued Monday.
Investigators Jodie Miller and Balde Quintanilla also responded to the scene, Nutt said.
The body of Cherokee Shores resident Jana Lynn Brown, 42, was identified from her driver’s license, which was found on her person, Nutt reported.
Witnesses stated Brown had been drinking that day, and had gone down to the pier to fish with a next-door neighbor.
The neighbor told investigators that Brown did not wish to leave the pier when she was ready to go around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The women had driven there together and their homes were two to three miles away from the pier, Brown’s husband told The Monitor. “I don’t know why she would leave her there,” he said.
The neighbor told investigators she had last seen Brown fishing on the pier.
Henderson County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Dale Blaylock conducted a brief inquest and ordered Brown’s body taken to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science for an autopsy.
Police pick pot plants
Monitor Staff Reports
ATHENS–Henderson County Drug Enforcement Unit investigators found a field of
marijuana Monday at a residence off Farm-to-Market 2494 east of Athens.
Investigators found 132 marijuana plants, each 10 to 12 feet tall, growing in a
garden-style plot behind the residence, County Sheriff Ray Nutt reported in a news release
issued Tuesday.
DEU investigators Ronny Halbert, David Faught, Greg Hill and Wick Gabbard also located a
large amount of dried and packaged for sale marijuana inside the residence, Nutt reported.
Officers spent most of the day cutting down the plants and packaging the marijuana to send
to the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab for testing and official
identification, Nutt said.
More than 10 pounds of marijuana, valued at approximately $132,000, was recovered, Nutt
said.
No arrests were reported, but Nutt identified a suspect in the case as Thomas Mcullough,
53, who could be charged with possession of marijuana, more than five pounds and less than
50 pounds, which is a third degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and/or
a $10,000 fine.
Nutt said the case will be filed with the Henderson County District Attorney’s office
for prosecution.
Independence Day holiday events set
Monitor Staff Reports
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–If you’re looking for something to do with the community this
Fourth of July, there are quite a number of events to choose from.
Most events are set for Saturday, July 3, starting with:
• the annual Independence Day Parade and celebration in Enchanted Oaks at 10 a.m.
Parade participants gather at 9:45 to register at the corner of Deer Wood and Enchanted
Wood Drive.
The parade is followed by a free grilled hot dog luncheon, courtesy of the fire department
and a bake sale. A pie-eating contest is also on tap with three age divisions. There will
also be music, entertainment food, face painting and goodies.
• Rosser is holding its 20th annual parade starting at 10 a.m. at the Rosser Fire
Department. A barbecue and lawmower race are planned for after the parade. For more
information, call (972) 486-3360.
• Local Tea Party supporters will line Main Street in Gun Barrel City in the vicinity
of City Hall in support of the U.S. Constitution, starting at 10 a.m. and going through 1
p.m.
• The Payne Springs Community Center is the place to be an lunch time for
Danny’s Barbecue of Athens is holding a fund-raiser for the Payne Springs Cemetery.
Lunch starts at 11:30 p.m.
• Gates open at 3 p.m. for Gun Barrel City’s first “Concert in the
Park” with music starting at 5:30 p.m., featuring Texas red dirt bands Bart Crow,
Johnny Cooper, No Justice and Derek Sholl with a fireworks display after dark.
Food booths, arts and craft displays, a petting zoo and pony rides are all part of the
fun. Water, soda and beer will be available at this event.
Tickets are available through Friday for $10 or at the gate for $15, children 5 and under
are free as are all military and veterans with proper I.D.
Proceeds from the event will go to fund a Miracle League baseball field for those with
disabilities, along with a proposed community center.
• at 6 p.m., the sixth annual Thunder Over Cedar Creek Lake will commence with great
views from the water or shoreline off the Pinnacle Club in Payne Springs. VIP seating is
also available at the Pinnacle for $50, children are free, price includes parking. Call
Jeanie Ludwig for tickets at (214) 906-9813 or Bob O’Neil at (903) 681-4546 or online
at www.ccveteransfoundation.org.
Military pilots will perform high speed acrobatics, views of the USAF F-16 Fighting
Falcon, the B-25 bomber, Pearl Harbor attack re-enactment and many, many more planes.
A static aircraft display at Pounds Airfield in Tyler will also run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, July 4
• Four Mile Lutheran church in Prairieville is holding its 162nd Fourth of July
Patriotic Service starting at 3 p.m. with a flag-raising ceremony by the Patiot Guard and
service, followed by games for all ages, waterslide, live music by Hackberry Creek, square
dancing by the Log Cabin Swingers and much more. The sale of barbecue, grilled hot dogs
and hamburgers and homemade pies will help with the upkeep of the cemetery. The church is
located 11 miles north of Mabank off Farm-to-Market 90.
• The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is once again having a fireworks show, one of
the biggest in East Texas and will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. After 4 p.m.,
admission is free for the fireworks show. Visitors may fish in the stocked casting pond,
while waiting for the fireworks. Fishing gear and bait will be and provided free. Though
food will be available for sale, visitors are encouraged to bring their picnic baskets.
KCKL (FM 95.9) will broadcast patriotic music to accompany the fireworks show. Private
fireworks are forbidden. For more information, call (903) 676-2277.