People, Places & Events

Sunday, October 10, 2010

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.

Archeology month brings awareness of history
Special to The Monitor
ATHENS–The Texas Historical Commission has designated October of each year as Archeology Month.
Clues to civilizations that lived before us are being discovered all the time by trained archeologists.
Preservation of our past is a critical part of understanding civilization, and Texas has been working diligently to locate many of these sites.
County historical commissions across the state place many historical markers, record cemeteries for interested families who are looking for a loved one and preserve county records.
There are so many places in our county that contain uncovered treasures. The Fincastle Community was a Civil War Camp where many artifacts have been uncovered.
On the western side of Cedar Creek, three sandstone rocks that look like carved faces were found in 1929 and 1939. The age given to them is between 10,000 to 12,000 years old. The first one has become known as “Malakoff Man.” There were also fossil remains of an extinct horse, elephant, and camel species at the same site.
Many arrowheads have also been found in the area.
A young man at Cedar Creek Lake has a very large collection of arrowheads, pottery, tools, buffalo teeth and bones.
West of Athens at the junction of Catfish and Alder Creeks a polished iron ore axe head, approximately 8x5 inches and weighing five pounds was discovered.
Northwest of Athens are two large outcroppings known as “Big Rock” and “Melton’s Rock.” These are unusual in East Texas and they have scraped etchings under the edge known as “Petroglyphs.” These have been dated more than 100 years before our ancestors came to this area.
A man in Cayuga found a 4.5 pound tooth in a shallow part of the Trinity River while looking for arrowheads. It is thought to belong to a woolly mammoth.
E.B. LaRue Jr. found many artifacts on his property east of Athens, and the Pagitt family found many artifacts in the Poynor area. This area was known to be inhabited by Caddo tribesmen.
North of Chandler, at the site of the “Battle of the Neches,” many arrowheads and artifacts have been located.
Visit the Caddoan Mounds in Alto. They exhibit many artifacts and have interactive learning activities scheduled.
These and many, many more artifacts have been discovered in the county and surrounding areas. Many have been taken to museums for safekeeping. You can visit the museum in Athens. The curator there has a wonderful knowledge of the county’s history.
Visit the Texas Historical Commission website www.thc.state.tx.us   and check out the calendar for events in the area. Visit the Henderson County Historical Commission site www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/txhchc   for events in Henderson County. Visit the local Henderson County Historical Commission in the Old Jail on Larkin Street.

If obesity is an epidemic, why aren’t we concerned?
Special to The Monitor
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–Obesity has been called an epidemic. Let’s compare it to say, the swine flu.
Last year, young and old alike were killed by the H1N1 virus, and as a result the vaccination against it and its progeny is widely available this flu season.
We learned a new way to sneeze, appreciated hand washing and the need to keep infected children home from school.
Mothers panicked, doctors worked overtime and schools disinfected everything.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, as of February, a total of 11,690 deaths are attributed to the swine flu.
Now let’s look at obesity.
The CDC estimates that 300,000 Americans die of obesity-related conditions each year.
These include coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon), hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidemia (high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides), stroke, liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint), and gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility).
That is a very scary list with frightening consequences.
However, we’re not in a panic as we were over the swine flu, though it resulted in far fewer deaths than obesity-related causes.
We continue to engage in activity (or inactivity) that aids in advancing our hefty status, even though it is attributed to the deaths of 300,000 Americans each year.
Why is that?
It is estimated that more than 30 percent of Americans are overweight and Texans bear this out. In fact, more than 30 percent of Texans are overweight, according to the CDC’s website. And if you break it down by counties, East Texans are the overachievers, accounting for much more than our share of overweight people.
And what are these bad habits doing to the next generation?
Obesity rates in children have increased at an even faster pace. Depending on the age group, the percentages of obese children have doubled, and in some age categories, have more than tripled in the last 30 years!
Maybe it all seems too overwhelming and we feel helpless to stop it.
But there are things that can be done. For starters, we can check what the CDC says causes weight gain, besides bad luck of having fat-loving genes and a sluggish metabolism.
The biggest factor is a simple inability to balance energy in with energy out – too much food and too little activity, the CDC website states.
There is no magic pill or rub-on cream that can avoid two simple truths:
• We must use the energy (calories) which we consume, and
• Moving is the best way to burn those calories. No, your thumbs on the Wii and that short walk to the refrigerator will not count for much.
Get your heart pumping with some good old-fashioned running, biking or walking. Go to a yoga class or go hard-core with a boot camp program. Hire a personal trainer or join a gym.
And, yes, pass up the fast food and eat a salad; ditch the sodas and redevelop a taste for water.
The answer is to spend the energy (calories from food) you put in, or fuel the tank less, or both.
An immunization shot for the bad habits that cause obesity will most likely never be developed.
But we can seek the truth, educate ourselves, and work hard to change the way we think about exercise, fitness and good nutrition.
We can decide that we will no longer let our environment dictate our actions.
We can change, but we can’t wait.
Let us know how you’re fighting your own battle with weight.
E-mail your stories to srice@completefitnessgym.net so we can give you some advice if you’re struggling, or celebrate your accomplishments!

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.
	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