People, Places & Events

Kemp Fall Festival is huge success
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Reporter
KEMP–If attendance is a measurement of success then Kemp’s Fall Fest was the greatest.
Sponsored by the Kemp Business and Civic Association, the event had more than 1,000 people in the park at one point, Dianna Clemmo said.
The parade had 42 units participating and there were 40 vendors in the park, she added.
“And all the Vendors have signed up to come back for the Christmas event planned for Saturday, Dec. 13,” Clemmo said, adding further details would be released later.


Monitor Photo/Barbara Gartman
Members of the Bent Knee Cowboy Church, located on U.S. Highway 175 west
of Kemp, joined the Kemp Fall Fest parade. All parade participants received a
ribbon for their effort.

Monitor Photo/Barbara Gartman
The Blacksheep Motorcycle Club, known for its annual holiday toy run, rode
proudly in the Oct. 25, Kemp Fall Fest parade.

Presbyterian Hospital
of Kaufman Gala set
Special to The Monitor
KAUFMAN–Norma Fortner’s adult life and the first 30 years of Presbyterian Hospital of Kaufman’s existence have been closely tied.
“The hospital has been important to us and has been part of our livelihood since my husband was part of the group that petitioned the state to start a hospital in Kaufman,” Fortner said.
She is the wife of Dr. William Fortner, a retired family practice physician and the mayor of Kaufman.
So when Norma was nominated to be chairwoman of the hospital’s first-ever gala fund-raising event, she threw herself into the cause.
“I like to entertain and have a good time,” she said. “We discussed ideas for the event and decided on a Black Tie theme, because we very rarely have such dressy events. I really think people will be pleasantly surprised when they get to the gala. It’s going to be smashing.”
Fortner leads a seven-member gala committee who have planned the event and secured auction items.
Auction items at the event will include a trip to East Africa, a dove and fishing event for 20 people, a week-long stay in a condo in Florida, Colorado or Hawaii, a beautiful hand-crafted rocking horse and a second honeymoon package.
“The auction is an important component of the event, but we’re really looking forward to everyone getting dressed up and having a big party to celebrate the hospital’s growth in recent months,” Fortner said.
“We have the best small town hospital in the state if not the region. We can do a lot of things here and not have to send someone to another hospital. I hope the gala makes people take a second look at the wonderful work the hospital’s employees, volunteers and physicians on the medical staff are doing.”
Fortner, a mother of three adult children and grandmother, has made this a family affair, enlisting the help of her son to design the program and invitations.
“Norma has thrown herself into this project wholeheartedly,” hospital president Patsy Youngs said. “We couldn’t have created such a magnificent event without her time, dedication and passion about the hospital. The community’s support is crucial to our success as a nonprofit community hospital. People like Norma make all the difference in helping us grow and provide excellent care to each patient we see.”
The goal is for the event to become an annual fund-raiser and Fortner has gotten the concept off to a great start, Youngs said. Other volunteers on the committee are Lee and Janice Ayres, Charlotte Heafer, Andrea Pickens, Carl Stapp, Michelle Joseph, and Jimmy Wynne. Employees on the committee are Candy Countryman, program director of the Wound Care Center, Carolyn Whitehurst, director of human resources, and Jill Raymond, Youngs’ administrative assistant.
In recent months, the number of babies the hospital delivers has more than doubled after a prominent OB/GYN moved her practice to Presbyterian Hospital of Kaufman in July.
The gala will benefit the women’s services area and help pay for a new fetal monitor, labor & delivery beds and an infant warmer.
The Nov. 8 black-tie gala will be held at the Hilton Anatole and will include dinner, dancing until midnight and a live auction.
For more information or tickets, call Jill Raymond at 972-932-7262.

Mabank ISD approves certified
teacher pay for substitutes
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–The Mabank Independent School District’s substitute teacher pay scale currently differentiates between non-degreed and degreed teachers.
However, those who have their teacher’s certification were not listed separately on the MISD pay scale, school board members were reminded Monday.
Assistant superintendent of business management Scott Adams warned trustees the omission could cause problems for certified teachers who are retired, but come back as substitutes.
“State law says they must be paid according to a district’s pay scale, or there could be a problem with their retirement,” Adams explained.
Trustees agreed to add certified teachers and administrators to the substitute pay scale as recommended.
There are four or five certified teachers the district regularly calls as substitutes, Superintendent Dr. Russell Marshall said.
In other business, trustees:
• named Don McAfee as a candidate for the Henderson County Appraisal District board of directors.
• heard the district scored 82 out of a possible 85 in the FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) ratings.
The score places MISD in the Superior Achievement rating, based on 2006-07 financial status reports.
• heard Southside Elementary students Dalton Grant, Shae Hendley, Jason McWhorter, Desiree Smith, Zachary Roach and Baylee Spangler led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag and the pledge to the state flag.
• approved the consent agenda, which included budget amendments presented by Adams and two sections of property for tax resale.
• changed two board meeting dates. The December meeting was moved to Monday, Dec. 15, and January’s meeting was moved to Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.