People, Places & Events

Don’t be a turkey this Thanksgiving: keep your drains clear
Special to The Monitor
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–With the holidays, a common homeowner plumbing challenge is the clogged drain.
Typically, this is an unavoidable hazard we all encounter, but you can help keep it to a minimum with a little regular preventive maintenance.
Almost all bathtub and shower drains have strainers to keep soap and hair from getting into the drain. Simply keep these strainers clear and avoid letting large chunks of soap, hair or other debris from getting into the drain in the first place.
Sinks should likewise have filtering screens to keep the traps from clogging; regularly cleaning the filters will help prevent clogged traps.
Don’t treat your kitchen sink like its garbage can; yes you can throw large pieces of organic material in there and grind them up but don’t!
Remember that even though the garbage disposal will grind it all up, it still has to go through your sink trap, so if you avoid putting anything more than necessary into the garbage disposal you won’t have as much chance of a clogged trap AND your garbage disposal will last longer too.
When you use your garbage disposal, be sure to use plenty of water to flush all that ground-up material through the disposal and not let it sit in the trap, where it will harden and stick to the sides, the beginning of a clogged sink trap for sure!
Grease should also NEVER be poured down any sink.
 

Blount brings family history to DAR
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–Dr. Mary Blount spoke of her Seminole ancestor John Blount at a recent meeting of the Sarah Maples Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The city of Blountstown in Florida was named for John Blount, a Seminole Indian chief.
Blount served as a guide for Gen. Andrew Jackson, who invaded Spanish Florida in 1818.
This invasion caused the United States to purchase Florida from Spain, and the territory became a part of the U.S. in 1821.
John Blount was rewarded for his services to Jackson with a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the president. He also was awarded a silver medal for his services during the Seminole War.
In 1823, he was granted a reservation along the West side of the Apalachicola River, four miles by two miles.
Blount and his tribe traded with the American and English trading companies while living on this reservation.
Several trading posts were located on the “Big River” and the Gulf of Mexico.

Courtesy Photo
Dr. Mary Blount (left) and DAR regent Margaret Ann Trail.

The U.S. government eventually purchased Blount’s reservation and transported the tribe to Texas. They settled in Polk County. This location was on a high hill, generally believed to be the peninsula that extends into Lake Livingston and is known as Indian Hill.
After the death of John Blount while enroute to Texas in 1834, this medal was passed to subsequent chiefs of the tribe: David Ellett, Bill Blount, John Blount (grandson of the earlier chief with the same name) and Alex Davis.
And finally to Mary Blount, whose Indian name is Mary Sixwomen Blount. She is the principle chief of the Apalachicola Creek Indians of Texas, and health officer of the family program.
She was born in Roddy, attended Mabank Elementary and Sunset High School in Dallas.
Blount earned her PhD. in clinical psychology from North Central University, Arizona, a masters in social work from the University of California at Los Angeles and a bachelor of arts in Spanish at North Texas State University.
Mary retired as regional director of child welfare in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1990, to assume leadership of her tribe.
She has more than 60 awards and commendations for her work in Indian child welfare across the United States.
In addition to tribal leadership, she is a Texas licensed private practice counselor, specializing in children and family problems, and a mental health educator and practitioner.
She has published several books and chapters in college texts on cultural diversity in counseling practice.
Her passions are genealogy research, Texas history, military history and anything Native American.

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