People, Places & Events

People, Places & Events

Lake Area
Billboard
East Cedar Creek Freshwater Supply District meets at 12:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month at the ECCFSD office on Hammer Road just off Welch Lane in Gun Barrel City.
Eustace City Council meets at 7 p.m. in the Eustace City Hall the first Thursday of each month. For more information, please call 425-4702. The public is invited to attend.
Eustace Independent School District meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Eustace High School Library. For more information, please call 425-7131. The public is invited to attend.
Gun Barrel City Council meets in Brawner hall at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 887-1087. The public is invited to attend.
Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation meets at 1831 W. Main, GBC, at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 887-1899.
Henderson County Commissioner’s Court meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Henderson County Courthouse in Athens. The public is invited to attend.
Henderson County Emergency Management District #4 meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at Oran White Civic Center in Tool.
Henderson County Historical Commission meets the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. in the HC Historical Museum.
Kaufman County Commissioner’s Court meets the first, second, third and fourth Monday of each month at 9:45 a.m. in the Kaufman County Courthouse in Kaufman. The public is invited to attend.
Kemp City Council meets at Kemp City Hall at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 498-3191. The public is invited to attend.
Kemp Independent School District meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Board Room in the Administration Building. For more information, please call 498-1314. The public is invited to attend.
Log Cabin City Council meets the third Thursday of the month in city hall. For more information, please call 489-2195. The public is invited to attend.
Mabank City Council meets at 7 p.m. in Mabank City Hall the first Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 887-3241. The public is invited to attend.
Mabank Independent School District meets at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month. For more information, please call 887-9310. The public is invited to attend.
Payne Springs City Council meets at city hall at 7:30 p.m. every third Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 451-9229. The public is invited to attend.
Payne Springs Water Supply Corp. meets the third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Payne Springs Community Center, located at 9690 Hwy. 198.
Seven Points City Council meets at 7 p.m. in Seven Points city hall the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, please call 432-3176. The public is invited to attend.
Tool City Council meets at 7 p.m. in the OranWhite Civic Center the third Thursday of each month. For more information, please call 432-3522. The public is invited to attend.
West Cedar Creek Municipal Utility District is held at 5 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month. For more information, please call 432-3704. The public is invited.

Electronics recycling set for Terrell Aug. 1
Special to The Monitor
TERRELL–The Environmental Co-op and Lone Star Credit Union have teamed up to bring an electronics recycling and shredding event to all citizens of Kaufman County from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 1, in the Tanger Outlet Mall parking lot in Terrell.
No other electronic recycling or shredding events are planned this year so we really want to let everyone know about this opportunity.
Citizens can bring up to four 11x17-size boxes full of materials to be shredded per vehicle.
All cell phones, batteries of all kinds (including car batteries), ink jet and laser cartridges, stereos, small appliances (including microwaves, mixers, fans, air conditioners, etc), and all other electronics to recycle.
There is a small fee for monitors and TVs, due to the expense of recycling them.
Monitors are $5 each and TVs are based on size (up to 15 inches, $10; 16-32 inches, $20 and more than 32 inches, $30).
Citizens might want to remember that there is a charge to dispose of these items at the landfill, so we encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and dispose of their electronics safely and properly.

‘PitPops’ raise the roof for fund-raiser
Special to The Monitor
WAXAHACHIE–”The PitPops,” a nine-piece oldies rock band from the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, will be featured at the Ellis County Habitat for Humanity fund-raiser Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Waxahachie Convention Center.
The doors will open at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m.
Single tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
You may purchase a table for eight for $105 (on-line only).
There will be a cash bar and concessions available as well as a large dance floor.
Tickets may be purchased on-line at www.ellishabitat.org.
Call (972) 937-2797 for information.
The PitPops consist of a full rhythm section, percussion, brass section and vocalists, and plays a wide variety of popular hit songs from the 60s and 70s. They describe their music as “rock and roll with soul.”
The original band members met because they all had children in the Lake Highlands High School Marching Band.
They volunteered to help the award winning group to support their kids and the band program.
But the dads soon found out that not everything in a marching band actually marches.
There are heavy “pit” instruments (such as tympani and xylophones) that have to be lugged into position for each performance.
The dads who help with these and other chores have always been known as the “pit-pops.”
In 2000, it was decided to put together a musical group consisting of band dads.
It turned out that many of the dads had previously been in bands and some were still active musicians.
During their first living room practice, they decided to honor all of the band dads by naming the group “The PitPops.”
Since their humble beginnings the group has developed into a real band with quite a following.
For more information visit their website, www.pitpops.com.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live.
They build with people in need regardless of race or religion and welcome volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds.
Habitat for Humanity of Ellis County is a group of Ellis County people concerned with decent housing for God’s people in need.
It raises money, recruits volunteers and constructs inexpensive but sturdy homes at cost and provides other supportive services and ministries.
For more information visit the website, www.ellishabitat.org.

Creature Feature
By Linda K. Holt
Monitor Staff
KAUFMAN – Back in the spring of 2007, I had the pleasure of attending a day seminar about Dragonflies & Damselflies of Texas at the botanical gardens in Fair Park in Dallas.
After a brief lecture and slide show, the group followed the enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker around the water features of the park.
He pointed out the various varieties. Helping us to sharpen our eyes to what to look for. And even catching some of the more elusive ones in a huge net that he had brought along.

Monitor Photo/Linda K. Holt
A Widow Skimmer dragonfly rests during its hunt at the waters edge of Kaufman City Lake park.

I was amazed at how many kinds of dragonflys and damselflys are in the area. Once you know what to look for, they’re easy to spot.
Most could only be spotted using a scope or a long lensed camera. They range in size from less than an inch to six inches long.
When the tour was over there was still plenty of daylight left. I was pumped with my new knowledge of flying subjects to shoot so I stopped at Kaufman City Lake park on the way home to try out my new spotting skills.
I wasn’t disappointed. Within an hour I had found four different kinds flitting about the reeds and cattails on the edge of the lake.
The lovely Widow Skimmer shown here made getting a decent photo relatively easy. Many dragonflys have habitual flying patterns.
They hunt between two or three select spots that they return to regularly, alighting to rest or consume their prey.
Once you spot their resting spot, you can usually get a good photo within a couple of minutes.
There are several kinds that rarely ever stop to rest, continually patrolling the waterways looking for food or a mate.
Those have been an extreme challenge to photograph.
Some species will rest up in trees at night. Their dark brown bodies easily blending in with the tree bark.
Hunting dragons continues to be my favorite activity whenever I am walking along the marshes and waterways of East Texas.

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 and Sunday.
For further information visit our website at petfinder.com