Trinity County News 2

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TONY FARKAS | TCNS Powerlifting Coach Mitchell Wheat displays a plaque to be placed with other school sports honors for the lifters who qualified for state.

By Tony Farkas

GROVETON — State qualifiers in cross country and powerlifting. District placing in numerous sports, such as track and volleyball. Grit, determination, heart.

These and more were celebrated at the Groveton ISD athletic banquet, held May 17 at the school.

Athletic Director Richard Steubing said the banquet was the first one in the five years he has been with the district, and the participants — coaches and players included — would be recognized.

The coaches all provided accolades to the students, saying that regardless of the wild ride the year was because of weather and COVID cancellations and quarantines, every player showed a competitive spirit worthy of the Groveton Indians.

Girls Basketball Coach Rogelyn Andrews said the first thing she thinks of when she thinks of her players is determination, since the team went “from the worst team in the district to the best team that Groveton has seen in years.”

Andrews told the students that grit and determination will follow them throughout their lives.

TONY FARKAS | TCNS The girls softball team giggle as they are introduced to the crowd by Coach Jim Dillard.

Girls Softball Coach Jim Dillard said that his team was the hallmark of overcoming adversity; Head Powerlifting Coach Jim Wheat said that while the pandemic and the weather made the season a challenge, the lifters were dominating, with all seniors qualifying for regional and four of them making the state meet.

Cross Country Coach Mary Lankford said that this year was a wild ride, but ended with eight girls participating in the state meet.

Lankford summed up the season for all sports by saying everyone made the most of the season.

TONY FARKAS | TCNS The boys baseball team introduce themselves at the Groveton ISD athletic banquet, held on May 17.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIP SCHMITTEN

By Philip Schmitten

TCNS correspondent

TRINITY — Got a hankering for something sweet to start your day? Then just mosey over to the newly opened Spitfire Donut Shop in Downtown Trinity for the freshest donuts in town.

Dyna Hout and Pat Sokol are co-owners of the recently opened sweet shop. They own Spitfire Convenience Store in Pennington, as well.

"We love Trinity and thought that it needed us," said Pat Sokol. “We hired local employees from Trinity and are doing what we can to help the local economy.”

They offer breakfast, lunch and anytime smoothies. The hours are 4:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Lunch is served 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIP SCHMITTEN Chrissy Stephens picks out a donut for a customer at the Spitfire Donut Shop.

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COURTESY PHOTO Apple Springs ISD logo

TCNS staff

APPLE SPRINGS — The Apple Springs ISD School Board will get to spend $808,000 of federal grant funds.

At its regular meeting on May 10, the board approved a spending plan designed by Superintendent Cody Moree, which will take effect in mid-July, the earliest the money can be drawn down by districts.

“This is an occasion where there’s a lot of leeway in spending protocol,” Moree said. “Typically, federal money will have to supplement what we’re already doing; this will allow us to (use grant funds for) payroll operations for a year, and take our regular allotments and put them in a fund balance to give us a cushion.”

Moree said that $575,000 of the funds will be used for payroll.

Other uses include $107,000 to be used on direct learning loss strategies, purchasing personal protective equipment, and replacing plumbing fixtures, such as toilets, fountains and sinks, to non-touch varieties, all necessary because of the pandemic; and $15,000 for new computer hardware.

In other business, the board:

• moved the regular meeting days to the second Thursday of the month from the second Monday, the first being June 10. Moree said this was because the district moved to a 4-day week, and is closed on Mondays; and
• approved changes to school policy based on Texas Association of School Board recommendations.

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FILE PHOTO Centerville ISD logo

Special to the News-Standard

CENTERVILLE — Centerville High School's Project Celebration Committee is seeking partnerships in the community for an after-graduation celebration.

The goal of this event is to provide an exciting party that is free of alcohol and drugs, where students can celebrate their achievement in a truly safe environment.

Further, this is an all-night event that keeps students off the roads on an evening that traditionally has a higher risk of motor vehicle accidents. The entire evening will be free to the graduating seniors and their dates.

Students will enjoy many activities, music, dancing, games, food and prizes. This is the last big event for seniors before they graduate.

The Project Celebration Committee works to raise the funds necessary and gain the donations needed to pull off this event. Although monetary help is requested from many individuals and organizations; this community-directed event to keep our children safe is well worth supporting.

If you are interested in making a donation of any kind to the Centerville Project Celebration, please send or contact Centerville Project Celebration, attention Karen Mott, 10327 N. Highway 94, Groveton, TX 75845, or call (936) 642-1597. Any donation will help make this event a success.

Project Celebration will be held after High School Graduation on Thursday, May 27. The students who benefit from this event and the Centerville project Celebration Committee thank you in advance for your consideration of a donation.

The graduating seniors from Centerville are Amber Castle, Weston Dial, Eryn Forrest, James Lee, Alexis May, Gracie May, Kayla Mott, Colton Shank, Garrett Smith, Ethan Rutledge and Logan Villanueva.