Mabank ISD applies for class size waivers
Spirit Week raises more than $63,000, Marshall named VATA Super of theYear
By Susan Harrison
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–Mabank ISD school board trustees approved making application to the Texas Education Agency for a class size waiver for two classes.
“We have two classes each with two students over (the limit) at Lakeview Elementary,” school superintendent Dr. Russell Marshall told trustees Monday. “One is a second grade class and the other is a fourth grade class.”
He told board president Kenneth Odom that he expected the request to be approved.
Mabank High School Ag teacher Dustin Clark recognized Marshall as the Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association’s (VATA) Superintendent of the Year.
The VATA presents awards to recognize members and supporters who have shown outstanding support to Texas agriculture science and FFA programs. Awards are presented during the awards ceremony at the VATA Professional Development Conference each summer.
High school sophomore student and FFA member Shelby Brasher presented a slide show of her five-day summer Buckskin Brigade camp experience.
While at camp, Brasher learned about aging and scoring deer, firearm safety, shooting skills, marching and cadences, public speaking, media skills, critical thinking and life skills. She shared the camp’s motto, “Tell me and I forget; show me and I remember; involve me and I understand,” she said.
Odom asked Brasher where she wanted to go to college, what she was going to study and what she wanted to be. “I plan to attend Texas Tech University and major in ranch conservation. I hope to minor in zoology and be a game warden,” Brasher answered.
Mabank Intermediate School counselor Tonya Chapman informed the board of this year’s spirit week success.

Monitor Photo/Susan Harrison
Mabank Intermediate School counselor Tanya Chapman (left, standing) told school board trustees of the success of the 2011 Spirit Week raising $63,057.01 for the American Red Cross and Mabank ISD Education Foundation. Standing with and holding checks from left, president of the high school student council, senior Taylor Martin; intermediate school staff member Shanna Burks, high school teacher Cris Cary, Central Elementary School assistant principal Chelsea Capehart, Central Elementary School teacher Nancy Manning, Southside Elementary School staff member Jennifer Williams, high school teacher Shonda Tindall, technologist Rhonda Manning and junior high and high school teacher Beverly Brown.

“We raised $44,139.91 for the Red Cross and we chose the Mabank Education Foundation as our local charity and we raised $18,917.10 for them,” Chapman said.
Mabank ISD staff told trustees that according to TEA, Mabank is one of 44 Exemplary districts in the state, and one of seven with enrollment of 601-2000 with 60 percent economically disadvantaged students.
The next closest to Mabank ISD is Lake Travis ISD with 14.2 percent. Canton ISD also made the top 10 listing.
In other business, trustees:
• approved application for Optional Flexible School Day Program (OFSDP) 2011-12 school year.
“This allows us to recapture potential dropouts by allowing them to attend night school, Saturday school or summer school,” curriculum director Dena Mojica explained.
• approved attendance at a tournament in Idabell, Okla. by the Lady Panthers basketball team.
• approved a trip for the high school band to Natchitoches, La.,
• approved an application for a $15,000 Collectors Foundation Grant for the auto shop program,
• approved PDAS Appraisers and PDAS Calendar for the 2011-2012 school year,
• approved second readings on changes to the Local Policy section on academic achievement, pertaining to grading/progress reports to parents, make up work, student awards and scholarships. These are policies that are already being used, but not officially amended, Mojica told The Monitor.
• approved resolution authorizing execution of State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) agreement of $45,190 grant,
• set a trustees meeting for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 for team building.
• heard business operations report from assistant Superintendent of Finances Scott Adams.
“Our tax collections are at 95.4 percent at the end of August. That is the highest collection rate at year-end (August) in 20 years,” Adams said.
• approved all contract employees as presented to the board by Marshall,
• approved a request from Marshall to provide board training for trustrees of Canton ISD and Hallsville ISD.

Rotarians hear tsunami relief efforts, water use planning
By Erik Walsh
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–The Cedar Creek Lake Rotary club was filled with stories of earth-shattering quakes and resource conservation strategy during its weekly meeting, Sept. 23.
The Rotarians welcomed back Nanase Watanabe, 17, to their club meeting. Watanabe, a native Japanese citizen, showed many slides and told about her ongoing experience helping with disaster relief efforts in Japan.
“It was about a two-hour trip by car (to get to the disaster area). It was very serious.”
Initially Watanabe assisted with the efforts by handing out soup to displaced citizens at the evacuation center.
“Many people were at the evacuation center. There are many people also living in temporary housing set up by government. They can only live in temporary housing for two years before they need to find a place to live on their own.
Watanabe has made many trips to help out her countrymen.
“At first I went with a big group and helped, but now I go with my aunt and friends.”
A second speaker, Milton Hickman, a volunteer speaker for the Texas Conservation Alliance, talked about water conservation.
Hickman began by catching the audience’s attention.
“Texans face in the next 20 years, one of the most serious resource issues that we’ve ever had to decide on. Water use, and how we allocate that water,” he said.
“The good news is if we make smart decisions about how we use it, we have enough water in our current reservoirs to get us to 2060 and beyond,” he added.
Hickman thinks there is a disconnect with the way Texas citizens use water compared to how much it is actually worth.
“We place a high value on water as a society. We’ve got to have it to live. But we use and price water cheaply. We use and price it as if we had an endless supply. It may seem that way now, but that will change,” he said.
The bulk of Hickman’s presentation was introducing the audience to the resource debate between building new reservoirs vs. building cheaper pipelines to bring it in from elsewhere.
“Many of the water development people say we do not have enough water in to get us to 2060. So they suggest we build three more reservoirs. The largest of them would cost $3.4 billion. If those reservoirs were built, they would flood 72 thousand acres of bottom land habitat, including ranching, farming and timber industries property,” he pointed out.
“It would be cheaper to build pipelines from already existing reservoirs than build new ones like the water development people want to do. Besides economic reasons, there are also conservation reasons. What happens to all the natural habitat that gets submerged under 10 feet of water? In time, it all dies.”
Hickman ended with a warning to his listeners.
“Tell your friends, family and elected officials about this. Make sure those elected officials know what the facts are. Be skeptical of boards appointed by politicians to make decision on our behalf, with consultants that have a profit motive to build dams and reservoirs. The future of our water supply is in our hands. We can lose the gift if we are not good stewards of it,” he said.

Adopt-A-Family golf tourney set
Special to The Monitor
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–St. James on the Lake Episcopal Church, located at 10707 Kaufman County Road 4022 (near the entrance to Cedar Creek Country Club) will hold its 12th annual Adopt-A-Family Open Golf Tournament Monday, Oct. 10 at Cedar Creek Country Club. All proceeds from this event go to charity.
Last year’s event helped more than 40 families at Christmas and throughout the year.
The success to the support we have received is attributed to area residents, merchants and businesses.
Names of deserving families are supplied by the Family Resource Center. Members of St. James shop for, wrap and deliver food, toys and clothing the week prior to Christmas. Senior families receive large food baskets, and families with young children receive toys and clothing also. At other times during the year, they use the proceeds from this event to provide food packages through the Mabank Food Bank to help families in need.
You can help by making cash donations if you do not wish to play in the tournament.
You can sponsor a hole on the golf course the day of the tournament, and we will display a prominent sign with the name of your choice on it on the tee box of the hole you sponsor. Hole sponsor fees are $200. You may even furnish your own sign if you wish.
If you also sponsor a team, you will receive a $50 discount on team registration fees, which are $260.
Individual entry fees are $65. There will be no solicitation for money on the course, but you may purchase mulligans and/or tickets for prizes. The entry fee includes play, cart, hotdog lunch at 11:30 a.m., prior to tee time and the traditional Holy Smoke barbecue awards dinner at the church following the tournament.
The Parish Hall will open at 4:30 p.m. with snacks and refreshments, and dinner will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. If you do not play in the tournament you may purchase a $10 ticket for the Holy Smoke barbecue dinner.
To register for the tournament, to sponsor a hole, to buy dinner tickets, or to get any further information, call Gary Gallatin at (903) 489-0582 or email at G.L.GALLATIN@embarqmail.com.

 

 

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