Trinity County News - Breakout

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Logan Townsend, an 18-year-old senior at Groveton ISD, has signed a letter of intent with Centenary College in Shreveport, La., to play football. While at Groveton High School, Logan played left guard, right guard an defensive end. He was co-offensive Lineman of the Year for 2023, and was named 12-2A All-District Academic team, 12-2A All State Academic team, and State Farm Player of the Week Game 8 against Normangee. While at Centenary, Logan will be on the offensive Line. His parents are Jeremy and Jennifer Townsend, and his grandparents are Gina and Terry Townsend and Frank and Delinda Bass. Photo by Tony Farkas

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By Tony Farkas
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TRINITY — The Trinity ISD Board of Trustees plans to give retention stipends to every employee in the district.

Superintendent Dr. John Kaufman said that at the board’s Feb. 26 meeting, board members passed a resolution to provide the funds.

Kaufman said that the district had some extra funds and decided to do that, particularly because expected funding from the state did not materialize.

“We wanted to recognize the work that all employees did,” he said. “They’re putting in extra effort and need to be compensated.”

While the amount has not been determined, aides, custodians, bus drivers, all support staff, everyone in district will receive the money; however, Kaufman said that employees need to remain in the district until the end of the next semester — Dec. 20. To leave either voluntarily or unvoluntarily before that means the stipend will have to be repaid.

Employees will be present with an agreement to that effect, he said.

In other business, the board:

•approved the Beta clubs from Trinity Middle School and Trinity High School permission to go to Savannah, Ga., for national competition;

•approved the purchase of two 77-passenger buses from Longhorn Bus Sales for $248,000; and

•approved the lease-purchase of new Chromebooks and PCs for the 2024-25 school year at a cost of $80,000.

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By Tony Farkas
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TRINITY — The Trinity ISD Board of Trustees plans to give retention stipends to every employee in the district.

Superintendent Dr. John Kaufman said that at the board’s Feb. 26 meeting, board members passed a resolution to provide the funds.

Kaufman said that the district had some extra funds and decided to do that, particularly because expected funding from the state did not materialize.

“We wanted to recognize the work that all employees did,” he said. “They’re putting in extra effort and need to be compensated.”

While the amount has not been determined, aides, custodians, bus drivers, all support staff, everyone in district will receive the money; however, Kaufman said that employees need to remain in the district until the end of the next semester — Dec. 20. To leave either voluntarily or unvoluntarily before that means the stipend will have to be repaid.

Employees will be present with an agreement to that effect, he said.

In other business, the board:

•approved the Beta clubs from Trinity Middle School and Trinity High School permission to go to Savannah, Ga., for national competition;

•approved the purchase of two 77-passenger buses from Longhorn Bus Sales for $248,000; and

•approved the lease-purchase of new Chromebooks and PCs for the 2024-25 school year at a cost of $80,000.

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By Tony Farkas
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

GROVETON — There is very little different in the county’s representation following the March 5 primary election.

Incumbent Pete Sessions has the GOP nod for District 17 U.S. Representative, receiving 67,639 votes to challenger Joseph T. Langone, who received 5,871. He will face Mark Lorenzen, who gained 13,837 in his unopposed bid for the Democratic candidacy.

Incumbent Trent Ashby’s 2,323 votes outpaced challenger Paulette Carson’s 550 in the county, and Ashby went on to win the nomination in the District 9 State Representative race 24,268 to 5,274. The win guarantees his election as there are no Democrat candidates.

Ashby said it is the honor of a lifetime — one he does not take lightly — to have earned the trust of the folks living in House District 9 to continue serving as their voice in Austin.

“From the very onset, this campaign has focused on delivering a positive message to voters, and I’m pleased to see the voters of House District 9 reaffirm our message by overwhelmingly rejecting the critical cynicism that occurs far too often in our political process,” he said. “I’d like to thank my wife and my family for their support, my staff for their hard work and dedication, and most importantly, the good people of Angelina, Houston, Polk, San Augustine, Trinity, and Tyler counties for their support.”

Ashby said he will work to represent Deep East Texas with honesty, integrity, and humility to promote and protect the interests of the region.

In other contested races, incumbent Neal Smith won over Lee McBunch 540-202 for the County Commissioner Precinct 3 post; Mark Jones won over incumbent Carl Casey 488-244 for Constable Precinct 3; and Scott Womack retained his post as Republican County Chair by winning over Stephen McNeely 1,439-1,014.

The Democratic Party had no local candidates on the ballot.