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Brookshire Brothers has been my go-to grocery store since I knew what a grocery store was. In my Lufkin neighborhood back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, I lived right across the street from one of the Brookshire store managers, Jimmy Brooks. During this time my mother began a business relationship with Wiley Eugene (Gene) Brookshire, one of the original brothers, another interesting connection.

In 1990, I went to work for a newspaper and Brookshire Brothers inserts, with their weekly specials, was part of the fabric of the newspaper and the community.

Fast forward to 2022, and Brookshire Brothers has officially made the decision to quit inserting their weekly specials in the newspaper via insert or display advertisement. To explain to you, our readers, their reasoning, it is three-fold:

1.Food prices fluctuate too often for inserts to be guaranteed accurate after printing

2. Supply chain issues do not guarantee sale items will make it to the store shelves in time.

3. They are wanting (and have been working toward) moving customers to a digital-only sales format for the past several years.

Like it or not, this is their plan, and the pandemic, food shortages, supply chain issues, printing costs and gas prices have expedited their digital-only food pricing strategy. You can however, still get a paper copy of their insert when you arrive in the store for the time being. I was told this is because if they need to pull them due to shortages, they can. It is impossible for them to do this after they have been inserted into a newspaper.

If you want to see the weekly specials for Brookshire Brothers and you are comfortable with digital, they have digital versions of their inserts available online.

The store also plans to continue branding itself by bringing information, recipes, etc. through various methods.

As our society and business models continue to change, we as a newspaper and you as a consumer are forced to change right along with it. We are committed to bring you everything we can to keep you informed about the community.

Our two news platforms – the print edition and our online product easttexasnews.com continues to bring news from trained journalists, and advertisements from businesses partnering with community newspapers.

Thank you, readers and supporters of community journalism.

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By Tony Farkas
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I’ve always wondered how it would feel to be one of those guys who come home with a Super Bowl ring who actually never was on the field for a snap.

Granted, they’re part of a team, and if the team wins, then everybody gets to celebrate.
But what did they accomplish? What was their contribution?

That is analogous to what’s going on in today’s society and political climate, which from my point of view, is a years-long temper tantrum from narcissistic people with the gimmes.

Like it or not, it seems we’ve turned JFK’s most excellent phrase on its head, and we’re asking not what we can do for the country, but what our country can do for us. And once the faucet of government largesse — paid for by taxpayers — is turned off, or as is the case lately, there is a change in the way things are seen, such as with the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the reaction is not to roll up our sleeves and get crackin’, but to whinge and destroy property.

Since no governments have been toppled by this, wouldn’t it seem prudent to switch tactics?

Statistics show that on average, voter turnout in presidential elections averages around 60 percent, and in midterm elections, 40 percent. Those numbers on a local level get even worse; there were recent elections where turnout was 6 percent.

Further, the elites that have been in power, in some cases decades, keep getting placed into their positions because of little or no opposition. In short, no one’s coming off the bench for the big play.

My children seem to enjoy the drivel that counts as internet content, and rush to me more times than I care to admit, to show me the latest trend or meme. Most, as you would imagine, runs the gamut between horrible and puzzling, but one I saw recently has stuck with me.

This video dealt with a man speaking to a gathering and was going on about how each generation of his family was able to get around. It was rather lengthy, but the crux of it was encapsulated in a quote attributed to the author G. Michael Hopf: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”

Over the course of decades, leaders from all sides of the political spectrum have created something that passes for good times. The U.S. was productive in every corner, people got comfortable, and society began to get lax, allowing the encroachment of government in providing basic necessities. That provision became the norm, and society’s expectations now are that nothing can be right without first being blessed by the powers that be.

The other side of that coin is that society also believes that if the government deems it necessary, it is good, and if it doesn’t, then that’s OK too, but only if it has been decided by the right political spectrum.

This is, as my amazing sister-in-law tells me, us living in the Upside Down (h/t “Stranger Things.”), and that’s the trap.

There is a solution, but it involves breaking the habit of apathy (or defeatism, your call), getting off the bench and getting into the game.

Don’t like a law? Either get someone elected that will change it or get elected and change it yourself. Upset that abortion can now be deemed illegal? Start stumping, or volunteering for someone that will help make your voice heard.

Regardless of how you feel about it, the Founding Fathers were pretty smart setting up government the way it did, which includes the framework of making changes to both government and the Constitution.
The only way to make that happen is to change society first. No more 40 percent turnouts; make it 80 or more.

Call legislators. Call governors. Call presidents. Call mayors, or superintendents, or county judges, start showing up at meetings, and get your hands dirty.

While you’re waiting for someone to do it for you, the rug will get pulled out from under you. Again.

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In the mid-19th century, composer John Philip Sousa was one of America’s biggest "base ball bugs," as fans were then called.

In his autobiography, “Marching Along,” Sousa, born in 1854, described the joy base ball (as newspapers dubbed the sport until the late 1800s) had imparted to him since way back to the Civil War. Abner Doubleday, the sport’s mythical inventor, was a Union general in the war who fought at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Throughout the war, when soldiers on either side weren’t marching or engaged in battle, they played baseball to break up camp life’s monotony. Commanders and army doctors encouraged baseball believing that it kept the soldiers fit, healthy and out of trouble. While soldiers frequently took part in foot races, wrestling and boxing matches, and occasionally even cricket or football, baseball was the most popular of all competitive sports in both army camps. Historians noted that baseball came of age during the Civil War, and entered mainstream American culture during those years.

As a Washington, D.C. youth, Sousa watched the game evolve from its earliest days through the Dead Ball era that showcased baseball’s first inductees: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner. Starting in 1857, the 21-run endpoint was eliminated, with games instead ending after nine innings. Foreshadowing modern-day baseball, other rule changes were introduced, including called strikes — previously, strikes were only the result of missed swings. Also, cricket-style flat bats were banned, and a white line marked the boundary between fair and foul territory; the umpire no longer had to guess where the ball landed.

Sousa was more than a fan. Through his years as a bandmaster, Sousa often pitched in games which pitted his band members against local nines. Eventually, his band grew large enough that intra-squad games between the brass and woodwind sections were played. Whenever the opportunity arose to promote the band in front of a large audience, Sousa, often called “The American March King,” would pitch an inning or two. His band members referred to Sousa as “Ace,” and he pitched until age 62.

In the February 1909 issue of “Baseball Magazine,” Sousa, in his essay titled “The Greatest Game in the World,” wrote effusively about playing the American Guards on Independence Day, 1900 at the Paris, France, Exposition Universelle, the World’s Fair. “What,” asked Sousa, “could have been more appropriate for two American organizations in a foreign land to do on the glorious Fourth?” The All-American game that Sousa loved was one of the first baseball games played in Europe.

At the behest of Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and to celebrate the National League’s 50th anniversary, Sousa in 1925 wrote “The National Game” that combined his two greatest passions, baseball and marches. The original performances featured four baseball bat solos.

As rousing as “The National Game” march is, Sousa’s classic, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” is more uplifting. Written in 1896, and congressionally approved as the nation’s official march in 1987, Sousa’s lyrics have inspired patriotism in generations of Americans:

“Red and white and starry blue
Is freedom’s shield and home.

“Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation

“But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.

“Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.”

Copyright 2022 Joe Guzzardi, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate Joe Guzzardi is a Progressives for Immigration Reform analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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By Sen. Robert Nichols
District 3

This weekend our nation will celebrate the Fourth of July, commemorating the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in 1776. Have a safe and fun Fourth of July.
Here are five things happening around your state:

Committee to Protect All Texans hearing

This month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appointed me chair of the Special Committee to Protect All Texans. The committee was formed in response to the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School. We were charged with examining school safety, mental health, social media, police training, and firearm safety.

We held two hearings on back-to-back days. We heard testimony from the Texas Department of Public Safety walking through the timeline of events in Uvalde. We then heard from various law enforcement agencies including the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, the Texas Police Chiefs Association, and others who all spoke on the state of police training in Texas and school-based law enforcement programs.
We also heard from the Texas Education Agency, the Texas School Safety Center, and the Texas Association of School

Administrators regarding school safety and recommendations they had to improve school safety.

The second day was focused on mental health and firearm safety. We heard extensive testimony from the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas Council of Community Centers, and others about improvements that need to be made to Texas’ mental health system.

We also heard from Texas Gun Sense and Sandy Hook Promise regarding policy changes that could be made to improve firearm safety in Texas. Now that we’ve heard testimony from a wide array of voices, the committee will develop recommendations for the Legislature to consider in the upcoming session.

Supreme Court upholds football coach’s right to pray

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former Washington state high school football coach has the right to pray on the field following games.

The court held that the school violated the free exercise of religion and free speech clauses of the First Amendment by telling him he could not pray so publicly on the 50-yard line after the games.

The coach was put on administrative leave and suspended from the program after players began to join him on the field to pray. He filed suit the next year.

This is a victory for free speech and freedom of expression. It guarantees that public employees are not limited in their private religious expression.

Business and Commerce, Finance committees hold hearings

The Senate was busy with several hearings in Austin. The Senate Finance Committee met to hear testimony on the mental health delivery system. The Committee discussed the state’s Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services and the Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan. We also examined current state investments in mental health and how to reduce waitlist for state services.

The Senate Business and Commerce Committee also met this week to conduct oversight of the implementation of House Bill 5, also known as the Broadband Office Bill, and discuss anticipated federal funds for broadband initiatives.

In the last special session, the Legislature appropriated $500 million in Federal funds to the Broadband Development Office to assist with broadband deployment. We anticipate Texas could receive between $1 billion and $4 billion in additional federal funds over the next year to help close the digital divide.

Severe drought forecast across Texas

The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated this week that nearly 65 percent of Texas is under severe drought conditions. Burn bans have been implemented in many counties across the state to mitigate wildfire risks.

Much of East Texas is only considered to be in moderate drought, but many East Texas counties have put burn bans in place. Those counties in Senate District 3 include Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Henderson, Houston, Liberty, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity and Tyler.

Continued progress on Battleship Texas project

Earlier this month, the new dry dock from Gulf Copper arrived in Galveston. This dry dock will be used to repair Battleship Texas later this summer. The Battleship Texas Foundation anticipates the ship will depart using the dry dock in mid-August.

This is a huge step forward in repairing and restoring the Battleship. To read more about the Battleship restoration project and see photos of the progress, please visit www.battleshiptexas.org.

Sen. Robert Nichols represents District 3, which includes San Jacinto County, in the Texas Legislature.