Lake Area
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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 6 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 Services District #4 meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at 525 S. Tool Dr. 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 6
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. |
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Nearly one-third
of Henderson County is obese
By Michael V. Hannigan
Monitor Staff Writer
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–Along with ever-expanding waistlines, Henderson County has seen an
increase in diabetes over the past several years.
According to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly one-third
of the county is obese and 1-in-12 has diabetes; and the numbers have gone up every year
since the CDC started keeping county records in 2004.
The figures don’t surprise Dr. Carol A. Rice of the Texas Agrilife Extension Service.
“Almost 8 percent of people in the U.S. have diabetes,” she said. “Almost a
quarter of people over 65 years old have diabetes. In addition, 57 million people have
pre-diabetes, which means they are at very high risk for developing diabetes.”
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and as much as one-third of
those with the disease don’t know they’re sick.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is the Agrilife Extension Service has a five-lesson program titled “Do
Well, Be Well with Diabetes,” to help folks manage Type 2 Diabetes.
The program will be held at The Library at Cedar Creek Lake in Seven Points from 9-11 a.m.
each Friday in October.
“Class registration is $25, but scholarships are available,” said Henderson
County Extension Agent Alyson Hoffman.
Call Hoffman at 903-675-6130 for more information.
Diabetic Danger
What is diabetes? The CDC defines it as when blood sugar levels are above normal.
“Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for
energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin
to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either
doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should.
This causes sugar to build up in your blood,” according to the CDC website.
“Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness,
kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.”
Bunny Shumate Freeman of Cross Roads knows all to well the pain of diabetes complications.
She’s had 11 laser surgeries on her eyes in the past four years, and isn’t done
yet.
“You sit down in the chair and then he straps your head in,” she said.
“It’s not fun.”
Freeman has diabetic macular edema, when fluid and protein collects in the eye. Sometimes
the blood vessels in her eye burst, and she can see the blood pooling.
“The doctor said it was because my blood sugar was going up and down,” she said.
“It is a never-ending thing, going to the doctor.”
Diabetes runs in her family; she believes she is the fifth straight generation to have the
disease.
Kelly Van Dresser knows what can happen when diabetes runs unchecked.
Her husband is the 42-year-old father of three with a long list of health problems with
diabetes at the root. He has lost one eye and is partially blind in the other; he has had
16 eye surgeries to date; his leg is amputated below the knee, he has vascular disease,
high blood pressure, damage to the nerves in his heart, and been on dialysis for the past
six and a half years. He is on three transplant lists.
Mr. Van Dresser suffers from Type 1 Diabetes, but his wife says their story is a warning
for those who let diabetes run unchecked.
“I really think that people need to be aware that it can severely affect every organ
and system in the body,” said Mrs. Van Dresser. “This is serious but if you keep
it in check it really is not bad; what is bad is when you don’t keep your blood
sugars in check. That’s when life changing things happen.”
Cause and Prevention
Officials with the Agrilife Extension Office said researchers aren’t really sure what
causes Type 2 diabetes, but they do know what puts people at risk for the disease:
• Being overweight
• Being over age 30
• Being African American, Hispanic, or Native American
• Giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
• Having a family member with diabetes
• Having high cholesterol
• Having blood pressure of 130/90 or higher
The state office also warns that diabetes doesn’t come from having a “sweet
tooth.” Overeating of anything can make someone gain weight and put them at risk for
diabetes. There is also no such thing as being a borderline diabetic.
“Either someone has diabetes or they don’t. It’s like being pregnant -
either you’re pregnant or you’re not,” according to the Agrilife web site.
Prevention can be as easy as getting off the couch.
A state study tracking folks with pre-diabetes - those at a very high risk for developing
diabetes - showed that 58 percent avoided diabetes by walking at a moderate speed for 30
minutes a day five days a week and by losing 7 percent of their body weight.
In fact, a CDC study showed that brisk walking on a regular basis could lengthen the lives
of people who have diabetes.
“Doctors and other health care professionals can provide advice and medicines, but
the person with diabetes has to manage it every day,” said Dr. Rice. 2010-11 High School Aerospace Scholars begin
Special to The Monitor
WASHINGTON, D.C.–State Representative Betty Brown is pleased to announce the launch
of this year’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS).
HAS will enable selected Texas students to explore and become a part of NASA’s plan
for space exploration, which will send humans back to the moon, then on to Mars and
beyond.
After they utilize their math and science skills to complete 10 web-based assignments
during the school year, they will travel to Johnson Space Center in Houston during the
summer and use those same skills to help investigate options for sending humans to Mars
alongside their peers and real NASA scientists and engineers.
Eligible students are required to meet the following criteria:
• U.S. citizen
• Texas resident
• currently, a high school junior
• interest in science, math, or engineering
• able to commit to a relationship with JSC, including a one week residential
experience during the summer
• access to the Internet and e-mail (home, school, or public library)
The state of Texas, in partnership with JSC and the Texas educational community, developed
High School Aerospace Scholars in 1999 to encourage more students to pursue studies and
careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Additional partners include the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, University of Houston
System, and Rotary NASA.
More than 2,000 students from across Texas have participated in the program.
High school juniors interested in applying for the 2010-11 program should visit the Web
at: http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov/
The last several years, Brown has nominated students of House District 4 to participate in
the program.
Participants from Kaufman and Henderson County include:
• Christopher Ketner, Commerce High School*, 2000
• Meredith McLeroy, Commerce*, 2001
• Brice Hodge, Crandall High School, 2002
• Jason Bedford, Terrell Christian Academy, 2003
• Samuel Shellhart, Lone Oak High School, 2003
• Sarah Rodriguez, Eustace High School, 2004
• Brandon Thurston, Park Meadows Academy, 2005
• Alex Schlebach, Eustace High School, 2007
• Kelsey Robertson, Eustace High School, 2008
• Haley Jezek, Athens High School, 2009
• Shelbi Thomason, Crandall High School, 2009
• Fiona Akoth, Forney High School, 2010
* This was before redistricting when Hunt County was paired with Kaufman County to make up
District 4.
St. Jude forms society to help needy
Special to The Monitor
GUN BARREL CITY–The St. Jude Catholic Church in Gun Barrel City has formed a
conference of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.
The organization is an international Christian nonprofit, IRS 501(c)(3) organization
devoted to helping the needy in our community, regardless of religious affiliation, race,
gender or political opinion. Contributions to the Society are tax deductible.
The Society offers help in meeting debt obligations, intervention and providing for food
and shelter, which are the most common needs.
Large debts are usually not able to be paid by any one organization, so sometimes more
than one aid provider can “chip in” to pay the bill. That’s where
intervention comes in, being able to coordinate the payment of a large bill through
various agencies.
Home visits are used to help determine needs and the extent of help the Society can
provide. Pledges or bill payment is then arranged with a utility company, for example.
Checks are made payable directly to the company seeking payment, and intervention is used
to attempt to preventing interruption of service.
Assistance is meant to be temporary, not a continuous, on-going practice, so it’s
better if people who need help contact us before the wolves are at the door – that
is, before shut-off notices are received or before the pantry is empty.
Funding for the Society comes entirely form private contributions.
All services performed are voluntary and no one is compensated. So, this truly is a labor
of love for our fellow citizens who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their
own.
If you would like to become a member – remember, you don’t have to be any
certain religion – or if you would like to donate, or if you need help, contact Bette
at (903) 887-0727.
Come Adopt Us At
The Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake |
 The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small
change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and
so on. My name is Domino, and I got my name not only because I’m black and white like
a domino tile, but also because my outgoing, cheerful personality causes my doggie
roommates to smile. This also causes our human friends to smile, which even causes the
kitties in the cat room to smile.
I am an 8-month-old male Pointer/Terrier mix. I love children, other dogs, and even get
along great with kitties. I’ve had all my shots and am ready to be adopted. If
you’d like to experience the domino effect, I am sure to put a forever smile on your
face when you take me to my forever home.
I currently live with a foster family, so if you would like to meet me, call my friends at
the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake at (903) 432-3422 to make an appointment. You can
also email them at dogshsccl@yahoo.com.
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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 |
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