News

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
The City of Trinidad is building a new city hall at the intersection of State Highways 31 and 274 with Farm to Market Road 764 (Park Street).

KERENS–Kerens City Council voted Sept. 6 to change the zoning of land in the northeast part of town from single-family homes to manufactured homes, further clearing the way for a proposed manufactured home park named Richland Gardens to be built.
Of the five council members, three voted for the rezoning, while two other members abstained. During a public hearing that lasted nearly an hour, three landowners who own property adjacent to the proposed manufactured home park spoke against rezoning the property.

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Joan and Lou Venable of the Log Cabin area greet first responders during the Sept. 11 Procession of Lights.

HENDERSON COUNTY–Commissioners’ Court of Henderson County voted Sept. 13 to approve giving $1.4 million of the county’s federal COVID relief funding to UT Health East Texas-Athens.
A portion of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the county received will go toward a Henderson County COVID-19 Public Health Expenditure Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with the hospital.
County Grants Coordinator Jessica Brown said the agreement utilizes part of the county’s ARPA funding to assist UT Health with COVID-related medical expenses.

Courtesy Photo
Contestants in the returning Miss Kemp Pageant pose for a group picture at the Kemp ISD football stadium. Pictured are juniors Baylie Sasser (from left), Deborah Miller, Matilyn Yarbrough, Livie Nail and Ally Wilson. The contestants will be judged in personal interview, evening gown and impromptu questions. The pageant will be held at 6:30 p.m., Saturday Sept. 17, in the Kemp High School auditorium.

NORFOLK, Va.–Petty Officer 2nd Class Erika Buie, a native of Malakoff serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron One Zero Six in support of the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Buie joined the Navy eight years ago. Today, Buie serves as a legalman.
“I joined the Navy fresh out of highschool,” said Buie. “I didn't know what I wanted to do and I knew the Navy could help me figure that out. Look at me now, fam. I made it.”

Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Eustace High School senior Emma Fisher (right) wins homecoming queen before the Sept. 2 Eustace-Maypearl football game, receiving the crown and sash from the 2021 homecoming queen, Madisen Kulsa.

Courtesy Photo
Signature Moving Co. employees offer service with a smile while making sure valued items are protected properly during moves.

KAUFMAN COUNTY–Inside a Kaufman County courtroom Sept. 1, sexual abuse victims faced the man who preyed on them while attending Grey’s Prairie Mennonite Church in Kaufman. 
In a press release, Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley announced the conviction of Stanley Gerald Champ of Scurry for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, a first-degree felony. Following a four-day trial before Judge Casey Blair in the 86th District Court of Kaufman County, a jury found Champ guilty and sentenced him to life. 

ATHENS–The search continues for a missing man from Athens. Rock Stanley, 75, is an experienced hiker who has made the hike on Mount Charleston in Las Vegas, Nev. for the past 30 years.  
Stanley, a retired U.S. Marine and high school coach, set out on his trek Aug. 23 and hasn’t been seen since. Red Rock Search and Rescue (RRSAR) began Aug. 28 with a boots-on-the-ground search followed by two air searches by the Civil Air Patrol.