People, Places & Events

KC ECO-Station holds open house in Kemp
Special to The Monitor
KEMP–A cool breeze and 45 local dignitaries and area residents welcomed the new Kaufman County Precinct 4 ECO-Station with accolades and a ribbon cutting July 17.
County officials, citizens and members of The Greater Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated the grand opening of the station and welcomed it to the area.
The station not only accepts trash, it doubles as a recycling center and accepts household hazardous waste products as well.
It is conveniently located north of Kemp, on the westbound side of U.S. Highway 175 and Plainview Road.
Environmental Co-op executive director Marilyn May opened the celebration with a short history of the creation of the convenience station.
She said the ECO-Station was funded by a matching $100,000 grant through the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
May thanked the employees of Precinct 4 for their dedicated work on the ECO-Station.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Deller told May she “stole his thunder” that he also wanted to thank his employees.
“It was their determination that saw them through the heat of October, 2006, the bad winter weather and on through the heavy spring rains,” he said. “It was their work that built the facility.”
The need for a citizen convenience station in the Southeast portion of Kaufman County was ascertained through a study by the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Deller explained.
Turning to May, Deller thanked her for her tireless work in securing the necessary grant and in seeing that all the details and paperwork were completed in a timely manner.
Beginning with the grant application, the station has been a three-year project.
The facility is built on 2 1/2 acres of a sloping hillside of a five-acre tract facing U.S. Highway 175.
Deller said he had the convenience station in mind when the purchase of that particular site was made.
“It saved a lot of excavating that would otherwise have been needed,” he said.
The entrance to the facility is a concrete drive. Clients drive in and circle from the compact trash dumpster, up to an open dumpster for large items such as furniture or appliances, around to the hazardous waste collection station and then to well-marked recycling bins.
Recyclables include; newspaper/office paper/shredded paper (taken out of plastic bags) junk mail, plastics No. 1 and No. 2, glass, tin cans, flattened cardboard (all types except waxed), aluminum, old batteries, motor oil/oil filters, tires (four per family per day) all at no cost.
A partial list of hazardous waste items includes oil based paints, thinners, home repair products, pool and yard chemicals, craft and hobby supplies, and fluorescent lights.
The station hours are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For information call Brenda Murphy, operations manager at (903) 498-4135.

MHS dedication set for Aug. 5
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–Students, families and friends of Mabank Independent School District are cordially invited to participate in the dedication ceremony of the newly finished Mabank High School.
The ceremony is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, at 18786 E. U.S. Highway 175 in Mabank.
“This new facility sends a powerful message to students and the community that education is important here in the lake community,” MISD Superintendent Dr. Russell Marshall said.
“A new high school is not just a building. It is an investment for the entire community,” Ed Busch said.
“The overwhelming success of the bond issue both demonstrates that our citizens believe that to be true,” Busch added.
Busch was a member of the citizen’s committee who helped pass the bond issue.
MHS Principal Dr. Thomas Wallis will open the program, which includes music performed by Mabank students.
Wallis has been named the top school principal in the state.
Board president Gary Sapp will bring greetings and remarks from the MISD Board of Trustees.
Busch will also bring remarks from the Citizens Facility Committee.
Dr. Marshall will close out the 40-minute program with audience participation and the pledge of dedication.
Refreshments will follow.
Participants may browse the halls, classrooms and specialty areas at their leisure.

Blount speaks to RootSeekers
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–Mary Blount was the speaker at the last Rootseekers Genealogical Society meeting at Tri-County Library in Mabank.
Her topic was “Brick Walls in Native Indian Genealogy Research.”
“A nation consists of several tribes. A tribe consists of several bands. A band consists of several clans. A clan consists of several families."
The trick to researching the Native Americans is to know which nation, which tribe, which clan, your ancestor belonged to.
Each tribe has its own type of dwelling/shelter, weapons, and clothing depending on the weather and their food supply. Environment factors have a strong influence.
In a matriarchal society, females control wealth and choose where to live.
Descent is reckoned through the female line. Children belong to the mother’s clan and carry her name.
Females may have one living husband, but he can have many wives. Her brothers and uncles are important male figures in the lives of her children.
They become the teachers to her children. In a patriarchal society the men control the wealth, descent is reckoned through the father’s line and the children have the father’s surname. The father may be monogamous or polygamous.
Blount has a BA degree in Spanish from North Texas State University, a Masters degree in social work from UCLA, and a PH.D in psychology from North Central University in Phoenix, Ariz.
Her work history includes 20 years of community organization and administration of public child welfare in Los Angeles, Calif.
She is the principle chief of the Apalachicola band of Creek Indians, tribal administrator and health officer, Indian child welfare advocate.
She has been a widow since 1990 and a grandmother of eight grandchildren the last time she counted.
The next meeting of the RootSeekers Genealogy Society will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, at the Tri-County Library in Mabank.
Each Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to noon, someone will be in the genealogy room to help newcomers do research.