Trinity County News 2

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Fun was had by children of all ages on the midway during the Trinity Community Fair. )Photos by Tony Farkas/TCNS)

By Tony Farkas
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TRINITY —Another fair, another rousing success, and another exciting time for the youth of Trinity.

The Trinity Community Fair, held Friday and Saturday, was a great success, said Misty Coleman, PR person for the fair association.

Coleman said the success is not possible without the community and the sponsors that always give back.

The auction Saturday night totaled $84,415.

2021 Trinity Community Fair Results

Parade 

First Place: Trinity FFA and Trinity 4-H

2nd Place: Trinity PeeWee Cheer 

Third Place: The Haley Burk Memorial Foundation

Drew Kembro of Trinity 4-H had Grand Champion Rabbit, and also the showmanship award.

Hunter Rollo of Trinity 4-H had Grand Champion Goat.

Morgan Cotrone of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Lamb

Kayla Kembro of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Steer, and also a showmanship award.

Summer Ogden of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Pig.

The Queen Cake was sold by newly selected Trinity Community Fair Queen Zoey Gray of Trinity FFA.

Allie Ancira of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Rabbit.

Chelsea Loftin of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Goat.

Morgan Cotrone of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Lamb.

Kayla Kembro of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Steer, and also a showmanship award.

Summer Ogden of Trinity 4-H had Reserve Champion Pig.

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Steer Show 

Grand Champion: Haden Coleman

Reserve Champion and Showmanship: Kayla Kembro

Third place: Grace Tullos

Fourth place: Hunter Ogden

Heifer Show 

Grand Champion Heifer: Kayla Kembro

Reserve Champion Heifer: Grace Tullos

Junior Showmanship: Drew Kembro

Senior Showmanship: Grace Tullos

Goat Show 

Grand Champion: Hunter Rollo

Reserve Champion and Showmanship: Chelsea Loftin

Third place: Cason Beasley

Trinity Community Fair Queen Zoey Gray of Trinity FFALamb Show 

Grand Champion and Showmanship: Anneliese Beasley

Reserve Champion: Morgan Cotrone

Third Place: Shelby Walters

Fryer Show

Grand Champion and Showmanship: Drew Kembro

Reserve Champion: Allie Ancira

Third: Cole Hortman

Fourth: Gracie Robb

Fifth: Brooke Allen

Swine Show

Grand Champion: Zoey Grey

Reserve Champion: Summer Ogden

Third: Cade Mauldin

Fourth and Showmanship: Alivia Wallace

Fifth: Trace Coleman

Sixth: Aaron Brooks

Shop Projects

Grand Champion: Roberto Urbina: Kentucky stick chairs

Reserve Champion: Robbie McDonald: Deer Feeder

Division Winner

Outside Home: Roberto Urbina: Kentucky stick chairs

Wildlife: Robbie McDonald: Deer feeder

Livestock: Drew Kembro: Feed Trough 

Inside Home: Trey Peters and Davian Alfaro: Coffee Table

Reserve Divison

Wildlife: Paul Hollingsworth: Deer Skinner

Allie Ancira: Deer Feeder

Outside Home

Preston Riddle: Smoker

Kaitlynn Medcalf: Cornhole Boards

Inside Home

Jaydon Fulcher: Wavy Flag

Dylan Knight: End Table Set

Elias Daniel: Texas Flag

Creek Copley and Ja'Nelle Townsend: Nightstands

Top Senior hand: Haden Coleman

Top Junior hand: Hunter Rollo

The Trinity Community Fair Livestock Auction get under way in Trinity with the sale of the Grand Champion Steer.

City Council Member Bubba Smith tosses candy to the crowd during the Trinity Community Fair Parade.

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By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — The county is taking the first steps toward possibly building a new jail.

At its regular meeting on Sept. 28, the Trinity County Commissioners’ Court approved a committee to do research and bring recommendations back to the court regarding the jail. The panel consists of four people from public — one from each County Precinct — as well as the District and County attorneys, Sheriff Woody Wallace, and two members of the court.

Sam Shanafelt, Ricky Hortman, Julie Merchant and Don Hamilton will serve on the committee, and the court members nominated were Neal Smith and Steven Truss. 

County Judge Doug Page said the county has spent $400,000 this year to house inmates out of county.

In other business, the county:

• approved a raise in per diem meal rates from $46 per day to $59 per day — $13 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $26 for dinner;
• approved a tax rate which is the same as last year — $0.5846 per $100 valuation;
• approved the county auditor salary;
• approved an agreement with Pablo and Valerie Gomez for the county to get on private land to address public drainage issues;
• approved personnel action forms;
• approved budget amendments end of the year tidying up before the audit;
• approved old office equipment as surplus items, and sent to a company in Tyler for recycling;
• approved the annual copier lease agreements; and
• delayed any action regarding a video recording system for commissioners court meetings.

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TCNS staff

GROVETON — The Groveton City Council approved a modest increase in water rates at its regular meeting on Sept. 27.

Mayor Tommy Walton said council members approved a 6 percent increase, which will increase the average bill around $4. 

City Accountant Jack Pashtag had petitioned the council for a 10 percent increase in water and sewer rates, saying the city has not had a rate increase in years, which was creating a funding problem for maintaining the city systems. 

After some discussion, the council approved a 6 percent increase, but left room for another increase if after a few months the city needed more. 

In a related matter, Walton presented information on converting the city systems to electronic water meters. 

“Our old meters are not accurate and we have performed studies on a sampling of meters and realize that we have at least a 17 percent loss on the old meters under-reading,” he said. “The new meters will be more accurate and can even be monitored by apps on customer cell phones so they can get warnings if leaks are detected.”

Walton said other cities have installed the metering system, and he feels it is the way the city should go.

“It is not cheap but it should almost pay for itself in savings,” he said. “We are doing our due diligence before moving forward.”

The city also approved disclosure policies and procedures regarding the refinancing of the 2009 bonds. The city refinanced the bonds with a better interest rate, which save the city around $465,000 over the life of the bonds. 

In other business, the city:

• signed required paperwork involving the purchase of the new fire engine for Groveton VFD;
• approved a resolution to use the money we are receiving from the American Rescue Plan to go toward the cleanup of our sewer plant. Groveton will see around $253,458 in total, but will receive half this year and half next year;
• approved a resolution and policy package relating to civil rights requirements for ARPA funds; 
• discussed a request from Groveton EMS for an increase;
• approved hiring licensed inspectors to avoid liability issues; 
• Adopted the Trinity County News-Standard as the newspaper record;
• Adopted Citizens State Bank as the city’s official bank depository
• Adopted a property tax rate of .9479 per $100 of valuation; and
• Adopted the FY 2021-22 budget of $1,482,000.

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The Trinity Youth Football team has its first game of the season on Oct. 2. Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity games start at 9 a.m. at Trinity High School. Courtesy photo