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Spirit Week
raises nearly $44,600
Monitor Staff Reports
MABANK–The Mabank Independent School District and the Cedar Creek Lake
community presented a check for $44,599.50 to the Children’s Miracle
Network Friday, capping the ninth annual Spirit Week.
Accepting the check on behalf of the Children’s Miracle Network was
Angela Bynum.
What started out as a small gesture to remember the dead and injured in
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington,
D.C. “has indeed ballooned into something that is bigger than us all,”
Spirit Week coordinator Tonya Chapman told fans during pre-game
presentation ceremonies at Panther Stadium.
“In addition to remembering the attack on the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon, and a patch of countryside in Pennsylvania, our district and
community was invited to hear a presentation about a young woman named
Rachel Joy Scott,” Chapman said.
Scott was the first student killed during the Columbine High School
shootings April 20, 1999, but she left behind an essay that forms the
core of “Rachel’s Challenge,” recently presented to Mabank and Kemp
students.
“Rachel’s wish and ethical code in her short life was to change the
world one person at a time by offering kindness and compassion,” Chapman
said. “I believe the people of Mabank ISD exemplify the spirit of
Rachel’s Challenge by overcoming the adversity in our own lives and
pursuing the idea that an act of kindness will start, and continue, a
chain reaction that will reach further than any of us could comprehend.”
The Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization that raises
funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals.
“Our donations to Children’s Miracle Network tonight will create
miracles at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas by funding medical care,
research and education that saves and improves the lives of children
each year,” Chapman said.
Mabank High School, through daily hot dog vending, powder-puff football
players and golfers that didn’t know to come out of the rain helped
bring in $11,153.35 under the leadership of principal Brad Koskelin and
Spirit Week campus coordinator Cris Cary.
Mabank Junior High School, led by principal Darin Jolly (who was found
one day hanging by duct tape on his cafeteria door) and campus
coordinator Rhonda Manning, put together a lot of cotton candy and
cheese nachos to bring in twice as much as they raised last year,
$6,742.09.
At the Mabank Intermediate School, housing fifth- and sixth-graders,
principal James Pate and campus coordinator Vickie Cowin were green from
the pickle juice, splattered by face paint and pounded by pies in the
face in order to bring in almost twice as much as the school did last
year, $6,693.13.
At Lakeview Elementary, principal Kevyn Pate and campus coordinator
Melissa Sullivan, their staff and the campus sold hot dogs in the rain,
bashed in a car and put up with being dunked in a frigid dunking booth.
For their efforts, Lakeview’s fund-raising increased by more than $500
to total $5,530.00.
Southside Elementary principal Julie Wiebersch and brand-new campus
coordinators Jennifer Williams and Tina Peebles helped sponsor a
full-blown carnival and a bounce house that did not want to bounce,
generating $6,564.91.
Central Elementary principal Terri Watson and assistant principal
Chelsea Capehart, who also served as the campus coordinator, helped the
campus put together a number of fund-raisers, including plate-toting
waitresses, sign-selling vendors and hamburger-flipping teachers,
generating a remarkable $13,737.72, almost twice as much as last year.
“Our administrative offices also helped out this year by bringing in
$199, and I was just handed $49 out in the parking lot,” Chapman noted.
Burglary
suspects surrender
Monitor Staff Reports
MALAKOFF–The suspects in a Sept. 1 home burglary in Malakoff turned
themselves in as law enforcement closed in.
Gun Barrel City resident Randy Lee Moore, 18, and Malakoff resident
Keith Lee Morris, 27, turned themselves in Sept. 14.
Moore was charged with burglary of a habitation, and at last report
remained in the Henderson County jail under a $5,000 bond.
Morris, who was charged with theft of service and credit card abuse, put
up $10,000 bail and was released within the hour.
Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt reported that shortly after midnight
Sept. 1, more than $8,000 in property and several credit cards were
reported missing.
Deputies Robert Powers and Kendell Wellman responded to a burglary call
in the Point La Vista subdivision in Malakoff, along with Sgt. Brad
Gray.
Law enforcement officials confirmed entrance into the residence had been
forced, Nutt stated.
Investigator Bryan Tower was assigned to the case, and learned that
three of the stolen credit cards had been used in 25 transactions
throughout Henderson and Dallas counties following the burglary.
The purchases totaled $1,000.
Morris was identified as the one making purchases with the credit cards,
and subsequently made a confession.
Tower also identified the second suspect in the burglary.
Moore made a confession pertaining to the burglary, and Tower was able
to recover 12 items stolen from the residence.
Precinct 6 Justice of the Peace Milton Adams issued arrest warrants on
the two men, and Moore and Morris presented themselves to Tower at the
Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
Sanders seeks
HC judge’s seat
Monitor Staff Reports
ATHENS–Following last week’s announcement that Henderson County Judge
David Holstein will not seek another term in office, congressional aide
Richard Sanders announced his candidacy for the office.
Sanders narrowly lost his bid for county judge to Holstein in a runoff
election in 2002.
A local business owner, conservative and longtime Athens resident,
Sanders believes his business and political experience as aide to
Republican conservative Jeb Hensarling will make him an effective county
judge.
“I believe it is time to chart a course for prosperity and opportunity
for Henderson County in the next decade, and I’m asking Henderson County
to support my campaign to provide conservative leadership for the
county,” Sanders said.
Hensarling has endorsed Sanders’ run for the office, calling him his
friend.
“I know Richard well, because he has been at my side since I first went
to Congress, and he has helped me every step of the way,” Hensarling
said during a recent press conference.
Calling Sanders a “true conservative” and a man of “impeccable
integrity,” Hensarling said he plans to campaign vigorously for him.
“I hope everyone in the county who believe in and who supports my work
in Congress will, in turn, support Richard Sanders for county judge,” he
said.
Sanders said he appreciates the congressman’s strong endorsement.
“Through the years, I have learned about the budget process from one of
the most conservative members of the House Budget Committee and United
States Congress. Henderson County residents deserve a transparent budget
and accountable county government, and that’s what I will deliver,”
Sanders said.
Besides his six years at Hensarling’s side as his East Texas regional
director, Sanders has chalked up 20 years as a homebuilder and real
estate developer.
“My background in construction management and budgeting has taught me to
prioritize, and will be invaluable as I work to do the same for
Henderson County,” Sanders said.
As a lifelong conservative, Sanders said he’s committed to “limited
government and unlimited opportunities.”
“My experience as a job creator, who has met a budget and signed the
front of a paycheck, will help guide me as I work to keep taxes low and
economic growth prospects high for our county,” he said.
Sanders and his wife Kathy have two daughters, and have been county
residents for 24 years.
“We have worshiped alongside our neighbors, built a successful business
and served our community. At a time in our nation’s history when
families in Henderson County are tightening their belts, why should the
county’s budget ever grow more than a family budget?” Sanders asked.
“I have also had the pleasure of meeting with and helping Henderson
County residents with issues concerning the federal government,” he
added. “This invaluable experience has prepared me to be a successful
county judge, because every Henderson County resident deserves to be
heard and offered a helping hand when dealing with their government.
“I look forward to discussing the challenges and opportunities facing
Henderson County, and I look forward to earning your support,” Sanders
said.
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