PJC Releases Students on President and Dean’s List
Paris Junior College is pleased to announce that 186 students were named to the President’s and Dean’s lists for academic achievement during the fall 2016 semester.
To be eligible for the President’s List, students must earn a 4.0 grade point average, (straight A’s) on a minimum of 15 semester hours. Those on the dean’s list must have a minimum of a 3.5 grade point average for at least 15 semester hours, and have no grade lower than a “C.” Both lists are compiled exclusive of developmental hours.
Students on the President’s List by their hometowns include:
Brashear: Kaitlynn Burt
Campbell: David Christensen
Cooper: Kolton Leatherwood
Mount Vernon: Danny Mendoza
Pickton: Cody Coberly
Pittsburg: Hernan Baldelamar
Saltillo: Justin Wade
Sulphur Bluff: Hunter Powers
Sulphur Springs: Jesus Arellano, Ronald Arellano, Wendy Gallegos, Allen Hill, Jasmine Mejia, Robert Noe, Nazareth Olguin Resendiz, Hodalis Olmos, Lindsay St. Clair, Ryan Wilson
Winnsboro: Michaela Orr
Students on the Dean’s List by their hometowns:
Alba: Kristen Brickey
Commerce: Valorie Hare
Cooper: Patrick Goff, Dominic Wilkins, Kaylie Wright, Ty Young
Point: Hubert Robinson
Quitman: Matthew Malone
Sulphur Bluff: Taylor Self
Sulphur Springs: Jonathan Cook, Juan Gomez, Olivia Gudino, Kassidi Hill, Jessica Martinez, Brooklyn Moon, Kendall Myles, MaKayla Pool, Estrella Resendiz, Shea Robinson, Ashley Rodriguez, Leonel Sanchez, Rinchen Sherpa, Cory Thomas, Reyna Torres, Erik Tussey, Caleb Wiler, Marcus Young
Winnsboro: Dario Ledesma
Yantis: Seth Brooks, Eric Dalton
SSHS Tennis Opened Season in Sherman; Travel to Hallsville Next
The Wildcats’ tennis team opened their spring semester season with a dual match at Sherman Thursday afternoon. Coach Tony Martinez says his team won three matches while dropping 7.
He says boys number one singles player Jesse Allen won his first game but lost the second before losing out 10-7 in a tiebreaker. Number one girls player Karolina Espinoiza rallied to win her first game, dropped the second game but then prevailed in a tiebreaker 10-5. At boys number two doubles, the team of Joey Gatewood and Jonah Kirkpatrick got a win over the Bearcats.
Coach Martinez says after driving almost all the way to Sherman in a drizzle, it turned into a great afternoon for tennis with sunny skies and temperature in the middle 60’s. He says the match was a great experience for his team.
The Wildcats will play next at a Hallsville tournament on January 27.
Mahoney Oaks Retreat Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting and Open House
Jan & Wade Bartley have completed their Mahoney Oaks Retreat and want each of you to come to their open house Friday, January 27, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. We will have the Chamber ribbon cutting at 12:00 ish. We’ll give everyone time to get there after 12. Please come and help the Chamber welcome Mahoney Oaks Retreat to the Chamber and to the community. It’s a marvelous place for business, churches, scrap bookers, friends, etc. to have a warm, fun place to retreat. Come see it. We’ll see you at 12:00 noon, Friday, January 27. If you can’t come at 12, go when you can get there from 11-6.
Lady Cats Lose First Game in Longview Tourney; Begin District Next Friday
The Lady Cats’ soccer team knew they would be challenged in a Longview Showcase and they were challenged big time on Thursday. The Woodlands, a Class 6A team, split their team in two, but still managed a strong 9-2 win over the Lady Cats. The Lady Cats played Denton Ryan Friday and will play Montgomery Saturday in the showcase.
The Lady Cats are now 5-2-1 for the season in official UIL games. After play in the Longview Showcase this weekend, the Lady Cats will open district play next Friday at home against Pine Tree. That match will be held at the soccer field at the SSHS Track facility.
Game Day Basketball: Wildcats at Home; Lady Cats in Hallsville
The Wildcats and Lady Cats’ basketball teams take on Hallsville Friday night.
The Wildcats play the Bobcats in Wildcats Gym with a freshman game at 5 p.m., a JV contest at around 6:15 p.m. and a varsity game at around 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats varsity is currently 4-1 in district play and in second place. They are 19-5 for the season. The match up with Hallsville is a good one. The Bobcats are 3-2 in district play and their season record is 18-6. We will bring you the Wildcats and Hallsville game Friday at around 7:30 p.m. on KSST Radio. We will also videotape the game for replay on Channel 18 on Suddenlink Cable.
The Lady Cats’ basketball team will travel to Hallsville Friday evening. A freshman game is scheduled at 5 p.m., a JV match at 6:15 p.m. and then the varsity at around 7:30 p.m. The Lady Cats come in at the top of the district standings with a 7-0 record. The Lady Bobcats are at 2-5 as they struggle to get back into the playoff picture. The first time the two teams played, the Lady Cats took a 71-28 win in Wildcats Gym back on December 16. The Lady Cats have won 14 games in a row.
A & M University-Commerce Host Celebration of Storied Forklorist
By Scott Cason
COMMERCE, TX—Texas A&M University-Commerce will host a celebration of the life and works of storied folklorist J. Mason Brewer on Monday, January 30, 2017. The series of events will begin with a 10 a.m. reception in the fourth floor Special Collections offices of the James G. Gee Library. Following a break for lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. (attendees will be provided a list of suggested Commerce restaurants at the morning reception), the day will continue with a 1:45 p.m. book signing in the Sam Rayburn Student Center with Bruce A. Glasrud and Milton S. Jordan, co-editors of the book, “J. Mason Brewer, Folklorist and Scholar: His Early Texas Writings.” The event will continue at 2:30 p.m. with a panel discussion to include former students and colleagues of Dr. Brewer, and conclude with selected readings and a discussion of J. Mason Brewer’s life and legacy led by Glasrud and Jordan.
About J. Mason Brewer
John Mason Brewer was known as one of the early authorities on African American Folklore. He was born on March 24, 1896, in Goliad, Texas to J.H. Brewer and Minnie T. Brewer. He was one of five children born into a family of distinguished educators and folklorists. Father, J.H. Brewer, worked in a variety of jobs throughout his life and his stories about his experiences influenced young J. Mason Brewer’s interest in folklore.
After attending public schools in Austin, Dr. Brewer attended Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1917. After a year teaching in Austin, Dr. Brewer joined the U.S. Army during World War I. He was stationed in France as a Corporal and served as an interpreter due to his ability to speak French, Spanish and Italian. After returning from the war, he worked in public education. During a brief time working in an oil company in Denver, Colorado, he began to write stories and verses for his company journal and, later, the monthly periodical The Negro American. Dr. Brewer’s interest in writing stories of folklore and history brought him back to education when he received a professorship at Samuel Huston College in Austin (now Huston-Tillotson University).
During his time in Austin, he would meet influential folklorist and member of the Texas Folklore Society J. Frank Dobie. Dobie’s suggestion that Dr. Brewer collect and publish black folklore influenced Dr. Brewer’s career as a folklorist. Starting in 1933, Dr. Brewer would enroll at Indiana University to continue his studies, earning a Master of Arts in 1950. In 1951, he received an honorary doctorate from Paul Quinn College in Waco.
Dr. Brewer’s influence on African American folklore was displayed by the depth within the stories he collected from interviews in the U.S. South. Dr. Brewer folktales focused on people, with tales of preachers, workers, and families and how they dealt with the hardships of everyday life through strength and humor. During his career, he was compared to Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston and Alain Locke for his work to promote Texas folklore.
During the 1930s and 1940s, he published in journals his work on folklore. His first major book, “The Word on the Brazos,” was published in 1953, followed by “Aunt Dicy Tales” (1956), “Dog Ghosts and Other Negro Folktales” (1958), “Worser Days and Better Times” (1965), and the anthology “American Negro Folktales” (1968). “American Negro Folktales” won the Chicago Book Fair Award in 1968 and the Twenty-first Annual Writers Roundup award for outstanding book written by a Texas author in 1969. A number of his early works of poetry and Black history of Texas were republished in the 1970s, including “Negrito” (1933), “Negro Texas Legislators of Texas” (1936).
Dr. Brewer became the first black member of the Texas Folklore Society and Texas Institute of Letters (1954). He was the first black man to serve as an officer in the American Folklore Society as vice president. Dr. Brewer was very active as a member of various folklore and poetry societies throughout his life, participating in symposiums and lectures around the United States.
As a professor, he briefly taught in Claflin College in South Carolina before returning to Austin to teach at Huston-Tillotson College from 1943 to 1958. In 1959, he accepted a position in the English Department at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. He would finish his career at East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas. He was hired as a distinguished visiting professor and was one of the first black professors hired at ETSU in 1969. During his time there, he taught courses in African American folklore and organized symposiums on writing, poetry, and folklore with other faculty members on campus. Dr. Brewer’s papers reside in the Special Collections Department at A&M-Commerce.
Dr. Brewer died on January 24, 1975, and was buried in Austin.
Bright Star Trumpeter Performs in Four-States Honor Band
Parker Tillery, son of Michael and Amanda Tillery, lead trumpeter for the Bright Star Christian School Band was awarded a position in the Four States Honor Concert Band. The performance was held on January 14th, 2017 at the Performance Arts Center in Texarkana, TX.
Over 200 students from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma formed 2 concert bands, and one jazz band. Rehearsals were held for 3 days prior to the event.
Parker says, “This had been an experience I will never forget. I hope to place in the Four States next year.” Students can try-out for the Honor Band during their sophomore, junior and senior years.
Bright Star Christian School band director Richard Shanks said, “Parker is an inspiration to the future B.S.C.S band members to work towards in the years to come.”
Parker Tillery, son of Michael and Amanda Tillery, lead trumpeter for the Bright Star Christian School Band was awarded a position in the Four States Honor Concert Band.
GoFundMe Account for Homeless Man Now Closed; Over $69,000 Received
Pictured: Lazarus, Anthony, and Lin
In one day, 2452 people donated $69,512 to Anthony’s Village, a gofundme.com account established by Colleen Hoover, author and owner of the Bookworm Box for a homeless 19 year old man. The gofundme account is now closed having exceeded three goals set during the day.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 saw over $13,000 has been raised in one hour for Anthony’s Village, a gofundme.com account established by Colleen Hoover for a 19-year old homeless man in Sulphur Springs. The original goal of $5,000 was increased to $20,000 as money began pouring into the account. Some 385 people or more gave in the first hour.
A few years ago, the young man was left in Sulphur Springs by his drug addict mother who moved back to Oklahoma. He slept in alleys often. He was fed by restaurants downtown. Hoover and her husband learned his true story over a period of time and decided to establish the gofundme account.
Man Wanted in Minnesota in Hopkins County Jail
A man on the most wanted list in Nicollet County Minnesota is in Hopkins County Jail Friday morning.
Kevin Daniel Eichelberger, 42, of North Richland Hillls is being held for violation of parole for Online Solicit Minor Sex Conduct. He is also wanted for felony probation violation of a Minnesota 4th degree drug possession.
Date, Time Change for Ms Hopkins County Senior Classic Pageant
The 2017 Ms Hopkins County Senior Classic Pageant will have a new time and place this year. The event will be conducted at League Street Church of Christ, June 10th at 6 p.m. All ladies 60 years and older are eligible to compete in the Pageant. Each contestant will be judged in four categories including interview with the judges, philosophy of life, evening gown, and talent.
The winner will be eligible to compete in the 2017 Ms Texas Senior Classic Pageant in September in Tyler. To enter the pageant, call Karon Weatherman at 903-885-1661.
Lavonne Elam is the 2016 Ms Hopkins County Senior.
