People, Places & Events

People, Places & Events

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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.

EISD trustees honor athletes, band members
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
EUSTACE–Following a very successful fall semester, the Eustace Independent School District trustees officially recognized members of several high school athletic teams and the band Dec. 15.
As members of the honored teams stood, superintendent Dr. Coy Holcombe read resolutions aloud recognizing:
• the varsity volleyball team for achieving the status of unbeaten District 14-3A champions and area round champions, advancing to become regional quarterfinals participants for the second straight year.
Senior setter Kimberly Austin (a first-team all-district selection) was the only member of the team present, as most of the other volleyball starters were playing basketball against Cross Roads in the new E.L. Kirk Gym, trustees heard.
• the varsity football team for qualifying for the state playoffs as the district’s third seed for the second year in a row, advancing to the bidistrict round before falling to Farmersville 17-14 in Mesquite’s Hanby Stadium.
• the boys cross country team for taking second place in district and qualifying for the Regional meet, and the girls cross country team for finishing third in district and also qualifying for the Regional meet.
• Hubert Lowry, Alex Pharmakis and Joshua Felty for qualifying for the All-Region Band.
Turning to regular business, the trustees heard auditor J.W. Lambright of Smith, Lambright & Associates report the annual independent audit showed no problems for the district.
Lambright told the board EISD business manager Carol Warren was able to reconcile all of the district’s approximately 30 accounts, and commended her efforts.
Trustees voted unanimously to accept the audit as presented.
Trustee Gary Walsh made a motion, seconded by Cotton Walker, to designate $2 million of the district’s fund balance for construction, which passed unanimously.
In other business, the trustees:
• approved an updated Henderson County Shared Services Agreement for special education needs as presented.
• increased the cafeteria breakfast price for adults to $1.50, as recommended by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
• heard Holcombe report enrollment as of Dec. 15 totaled 1,469 students, an increase of 66 students from the first day of school this year, and a decrease of 11 students from the same time last year.
An enrollment breakdown showed 403 students at the Primary campus, 329 at the Intermediate campus, 305 at the Middle School campus and 432 at the high school.
• hired Jennifer Blake as high school math teacher, pending the completion of all paperwork, approved the substitute teacher list as presented, and approved a list of transfer students as presented, following a brief closed-door meeting.
• held a required public hearing on the district’s Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) report for the 2008-09 school year prior to the start of the regular meeting.
“This is not new information, but we can see how we compare to statewide figures at the district and campus levels,” Holcombe explained.
The district as a whole received a Recognized accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency, with both the Intermediate and Primary campuses receiving the highest rating of Exemplary.

Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Eustace High School football players, cross country runners, volleyball players and band members gather after being officially recognized by school board members Dec. 15 for their accomplishments during the first semester of the school year.

Athens Cancer Center now ETMC Cancer Institute
Special to The Monitor
ATHENS–The Athens Cancer Center, a radiation oncology center that has served cancer patients from Henderson County and beyond since 1998, has been purchased by the East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, effective earlier this month.
While the name of the center will change to the ETMC Cancer Institute, ETMC officials said the approximately 20 patients each day who receive radiation therapy treatment at the Athens center should notice no changes; they will continue to receive the high quality care they have been receiving at the center.
“Our top priority is to ensure a seamless transition so that the patients of the center continue to receive the care they need,” ETMC Cancer Institute Vice President Todd Sigmon said.
“Over the long term, we hope to enhance patient care with the addition of new technology and expanded services to this area,” he added.
Sigmon explained that the Athens Cancer Center became available for purchase following the recent death of its primary owner and radiation oncologist, Dr. Mitchell Anderson.
“Dr. Mitch Anderson was a much-loved member of the Athens community, as well as the medical community throughout East Texas,” Sigmon said.
“Over the years, the staff and physicians of the ETMC Cancer Institute were privileged to know and work with Dr. Anderson, and we want to continue his legacy of service and quality cancer care in Athens,” he added.
The staff of the Athens Cancer Center – many of who whom have worked there for at least a decade – have become employees of ETMC.
The Athens location of the ETMC Cancer Institute will become the system’s first site offering radiation therapy services outside of Tyler.
The ETMC Cancer Institute in Tyler is accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
Established in 1922, the Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to reducing the morbidity and mortality of cancer through education, standards-setting, and monitoring the quality of cancer care.
In 1990, ETMC’s Cancer Institute was the first oncology program in East Texas to be certified by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, placing it among the elite hospitals in the nation with approved cancer programs.
Receiving care at a Commission on Cancer- approved cancer program ensures that patients have access to:
• comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment,
• a multi-specialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options,
• information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options,
• access to cancer–related information, education and support,
• a cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up,
• ongoing monitoring and improvement of care and
• quality care close to home.
In addition, patients of the ETMC Cancer Institute benefit from weekly multidisciplinary prospective planning conferences.
These cancer conferences involve up to 25 professionals, who assure that each patient’s case will be carefully considered by a team including radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, surgeons, primary care physicians, pathologists, radiologists, technicians and other oncology professionals.
Each treatment plan is designed specifically for that patient, and will be coordinated and closely followed by the team.
The East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System is East Texas’ largest healthcare system. ETMC facilities include hospitals in Athens, Carthage, Clarksville, Crockett, Fairfield, Henderson, Gilmer, Jacksonville, Mount Vernon, Pittsburg, Quitman, Trinity and Tyler, in addition to the ETMC Rehabilitation Hospital and ETMC Specialty Hospital.
ETMC is a not-for-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life in communities throughout East Texas. For more information, please visit on the web at www.etmc.org.

S-R Middle School gets area’s 1st Blue Ribbon nod
Monitor Staff Reports
SCURRY–Scurry-Rosser Middle School has received a unique honor – a nomination as a 2010 Blue Ribbon School.
The Texas Education Agency announced Nov. 20 some 26 schools across the state were nominated for Blue Ribbon honors, given to schools for academic excellence and significant progress in closing achievement gaps.
A check of records dating back to 1982 revealed this is the first Blue Ribbon nomination for Scurry-Rosser schools, and the first nomination for any school in Kaufman, Ellis, Van Zandt or Henderson counties.
For the past 27 years, the Blue Ribbon program has honored more than 5,800 schools across the country, including almost 500 Texas schools.
Awards are based on:
• schools that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests, or
• schools whose students score in the top 10 percent of the state’s standard tests.
Schools are nominated by an intra-agency committee that examines student achievement statistics for more than 8,000 public and charter schools across the state.
As a Texas nominee, Scurry-Rosser Middle School will compete in a rigorous application process through the U.S. Department of Education, with award winners announced in September, 2010.
Scurry-Rosser Middle School, headed by principal Jason Turner, was nominated for dramatic improvement to student performances on state tests.
The school has 294 students drawn from the surrounding communities of Scurry, Rosser, Grays Prairie and Cottonwood, along with portions of the Warsaw and Peeltown communities.

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