People, Places & Events

Labor of Love serves HC community needs
Special to The Monitor
ATHENS–Tuesday, Sept. 29, a team of Labor of Love volunteers built a much-needed porch and wheelchair ramp for a lady.
The people of Henderson County can take great pride in its volunteers, like those who are part of Labor of Love, and their willingness to give of their time to improve the quality of life for the less fortunate families living among us.
The Labor of Love, a United Way agency of Henderson County, is a faith-based volunteer organization whose mission is to provide home repairs free of charge to the handicapped, indigent elderly, single mothers and grandmothers raising grandchildren across all of Henderson County.
Examples of repair or modification of homes made year-round include construction of wheelchair ramps, installing grab bars, widening bathroom entrances, fixing rotted front steps, repairing leaking faucets and roofs, holes in floors, etc.
Labor of Love has more than 20 years of home repairs experience, with a focus on health and safety issues.
Volunteers come from many fields, i.e., financial planners, engineers, school principals and former IBM’ers. Their training program consisted of completing a life long list of honey-do’s on their own homes.
We also work with youth groups from churches, Boy Scouts or 4-H clubs to paint the exterior of homes for the less fortunate across Henderson County.
Labor of Love provides the paint, scrapers, ladders and brushes, and the youth group provides the painting effort. The end result is one very happy family.
During the past seven years we have grown substantially. We have been blessed with financing and more than 75 volunteers who work in good weather and bad.
The Labor of Love had a record year in 2008, expending 5,546 hours that have improved the quality of life for 231 families.
We built 42 wheelchair ramps, repaired or replaced 46 roofs and youth groups painted the exterior of three homes.
This is an amazing accomplishment for an all volunteer organization.
To put this accomplishment in perspective, Labor of Love helped 25 families in 2002, 65 in 2003, 118 in 2004, 166 in 2005, 176 in 2006, 214 in 2007, and 231 families in 2008.
This growth was achieved due to several factors. God has blessed us with the financial means to continue growing through the generosity of sponsors and the hard work of our volunteers. We serve the people of Henderson County, from Chandler to Trinidad.
We have three criteria for qualification:
• the family must own the home and live in it,
• the home must be within Henderson County and
• there must be an obvious financial need. Each family is unique and is judged on its own merits.
If you need assistance, call (903) 675-LOVE and ask for an application to be mailed to you – we will take it from there.
We have 13 project managers who solicit workers from the list of other volunteers.
We work year-round in good weather and bad. If you would like information or to join our team of volunteers, please call the same number and request a phone call.
 

KHS names Football Sweetheart nominees
Monitor Staff Reports
KEMP–Kemp High School will name its 2009 Football Sweetheart in pre-game ceremonies during “Mum Night” Friday, Oct. 16.

Monitor Photo/Pearl Cantrell
The 2010 Kemp High School Sweethearts are (left to right) senior Heather Kinney, junior Hailey Hall, sophomore Brianna Powell and freshman Ashley Nix. They will be presented in pre-game ceremonies during “Mum Day” Oct. 16.

Each Kemp High School class named a Sweetheart nominee, which were announced this week. They will be introduced at 7 p.m. during pre-game activities before the Kemp Yellowjackets host the Wills Point Tigers in a District 14-3A football contest.
Senior nominee is Heather Kinney, a three-year member and captain of the varsity cheerleader squad. She has been nominated for Football Sweetheart three times.
A member of the Business Professionals of America and the Beta Club, Heather also played volleyball as a freshman. During the summer, she was an All-American Cheerleader nominee at National Cheerleader Association camp.
A member of the Calvary Baptist Church, Heather enjoys shopping and spending time with her family and friends. She will be escorted by her father, Scott Kinney.
Junior nominee is Hailey Hall. She is a co-captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, and has been selected as an All-American Cheerleader three consecutive years.
Hailey has been a member of the varsity track team each spring, and was voted “Most School Spirited” as a sophomore. She has been a member of BPA for three years and the Beta Club for two years. She is the junior class president.
She enjoys hanging out with friends, shopping, tumbling and cheering for the FMT All-Star Cheer Team. She also enjoys spending time with little brother Tanner and teaching cheers to little sister Livie. Her mother, Jennifer, is a former KHS graduate. She will be escorted by Robert Nail.
Sophomore nominee is Brianna Powell. Brianna has played volleyball, basketball and softball both years in high school, and is also a member of BPA and the Beta Club. She was named Football Sweetheart her freshman year.
Brianna likes to spend time with her family and friends. She will be escorted by her uncle, Curtis Powell.
Freshman nominee is Ashley Nix. Ashley has played volleyball for three years (including junior high), soccer for five years and softball one year.
Ashley likes to spend time with her family and friends. She plans to attend Texas State University and study to become a doctor. She will be escorted by her mother, Maggie Nix.
 

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