Trinity County News - Breakout

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By Tony Farkas
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GROVETON — Groveton schools began operating on a 4-day week in January, and the administration will collect data to find if the new schedule will remain.

Superintendent Jim Dillard told the Board of Trustees during the Jan. 23 meeting that the district has moved to the second part of its hybrid calendar.

He said they are trying to collect data to determine next year’s calendar and has polled the staff and some students. He also said there will be an online poll for the residents of the community to fill out.

“We will want to see how February plays out, but we do want to have calendar approved by March,” Dillard said. “However, the legislative session won’t end until after that, so we may have to deal with new issues as well.”

Dillard asks all residents of the district to visit grovetonisd.net and take the survey.

Early information shows that average daily attendance had been slipping in the last half of the semester, with September at 95 percent, October at 94 percent, and both November and December at 92 percent.

However, in January, the rate jumped to 96 percent, a significant change, Dillard said.

The numbers also will help with funding, he said.

In other business, the board:

•discussed enrollment numbers, and the district has been holding steady at 766 students;

•held the first public hearing on policy updates submitted by the Texas Association of School Boards;

•approved updates to the district improvement plan;

•honored board members in light of School Board Appreciation Month; and

•approved extending Dillard’s contract another year.

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The Groveton ISD Cosmetology students visited the Groveton nursing home and the Crockett Kaylin Center recently to hand out blankets that they have been making since the beginning of this school year. These blankets are for their SkillsUSA Community service competition. The time is now to make a difference in these residents and children’s lives. The students hope that these handmade tie knot blankets can make a difference and show the love that was put into making these blankets. Courtesy photos

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The Boys and Girls Club of Trinity will host their fifth Annual Valentine Dinner and Dance at the Trinity Community Center, Friday night, Feb. 10, 2023. See story for details

If you did not attend the Trinity County Crime Stoppers 12th Annual Cowboy Mardi Gras Gala, you missed a great occasion. The food was excellent, the silent auction was unbelievable, the live auction was generous and fun, and the music was the best.

The Mardi Gras decorations were beautiful, and the people attending dressed for the affair with colors of gold, green, and purple. Beads and decorated vests abounded on the dance floor.

Larry Grant and his staff did an outstanding job, feeding 350 guests in a timely manner proficiently. With the help of the Trinity Middle School Beta Club, under the supervision of Sabrina Knight, the students navigated among the large crowd serving Ray Goodrum’s Rib-eye steak, baked potato, green beans, salad, peach cobbler, and drinks flawlessly. Kudos to the students at Trinity Middle School.

•On Sunday, Feb. 5, Tom and Donna Hester will be the beneficiaries of a fundraiser selling pulled pork or beef sandwiches, a chip, and a drink at the Trinity Volunteer Fire Department from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. to help defray costs for a devastating fire in their home on Jan. 1. The cost of the fundraiser is $10, and this is a drive-through-the-station event. The public is invited to attended.

•Also on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, Julia McMichael’s family is hosting an 80th birthday celebration from 1-3 p.m. at the Trinity Community Center. Cake and punch will be served, and other octogenarians will be honored at this time. Some are Bubba Hirsch, Mike Morrison, Larry Grant, Danny Cleveland, Becky Hamilton, Lanora Ainsworth, and others that have birthdays in February.

•On Friday night, Feb. 10, 2023, the Boys and Girls Club of Trinity will host their fifth Annual Valentine Dinner and Dance at the Trinity Community Center. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. The dinner is served at 6 p.m. and the menu consists of a 12-14 oz. rib-eye steak, twice baked potatoes, green beans, a salad, a complimentary drink, and a dessert.

The dessert auction starts at 6 and ends at 7:30 p.m. The desserts are made by the best cooks in Trinity County and your favorites will be there, from chocolate, pineapple, Neiman Marcus Cake to a Mississippi Mud Cake and many more.

The Moyers will be there to take beautiful pictures of you or you and your sweetheart and all donations go to the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club. Credit cards are accepted as well as cash and checks. Beer, wine coolers, and other drinks are available at the “watering hole” in the kitchen for a small donation.

We have wonderful donations for the silent and live auctions. Some of the gift items include a 60-inch TV, a $500 Gift card, deer feeder, camping tent and equipment, homemade work bench and tools, antique quilt, picnic table, barbecue pit with accessories, sunflower metal art display with fine dining gift cards, chain saw and three designer purses-which are Coach, Kate Spade, and Montana West.

Tables seat eight people and cost $400 each. Individual tickets cost $50 each. Tickets can be purchased at the Boys and Girls Club on San Jacinto Street, at the First National Bank in Riverside, Rollo Insurance Agency downtown Trinity, or by calling Julia McMichael at (936) 537-8171.

•On Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Martin Senior Citizen Center, located at 400 Walker St., a Valentine’s Day luncheon fundraiser is being held to benefit the Senior Shut-in Citizens’ Meal Delivery in Trinity. The center delivers 61 meals to shut-ins every Monday-Friday and furnishes noon meals for other residents who attend the center during the week at a reasonable cost. This special luncheon will feature a complimentary drink, and hors d’oeuvres at 11 a.m.

Filet mignon, asparagus, scalloped potatoes, salad, and dessert will be served for only $20 a person at noon.

There will be music featuring Danny Cleveland and door prizes with special drawings throughout the luncheon until 2 p.m. Special prizes are a Valentine Beauty Basket, a Man’s Nature Basket and several designer purses.

Bring a friend, a sweetheart, or your relative and have a wonderful lunch, fellowship, prizes, and music while supporting your Senior Civic Center in Trinity. The Trinity Meal Delivery program is made possible only through donations and fundraisers like this. Please attend and help support our seniors, the less fortunate seniors, and the disabled seniors. They need you.

•At the end of February, we will start our Easter/Lenten services and meals, so watch this space for the Most Holy Catholic Church Lenten Dinner schedule, Easter Sunday, and Ash Wednesday services.

Fat Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday plans are scheduled for the First Methodist Church of Trinity on Elm Street so, stay tune for these announcements next week along with other church events.

Answers to last week’s American history trivia questions:

•Robert E. Lee was the only person to have graduated from West Point Military Academy without a single demerit.

•Robert E. Lee ordered all Confederate soldiers to carry the book, Les Misérables because he believed it symbolized their cause.

•Akron, Ohio, is host to the All- American Soap Box Derby.

•The price of beef rose to 33,000 percent because of inflation during the American Revolution.

•The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought at Breed’s Hill.

•The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is kept in the National Archives Building.

•The Declaration of Independence was written on Hemp paper.

•Congress forgot to vote on admitting Ohio to the Union causing a controversy in the Midwest United States.

•Most people signed the Declaration of Independence on Aug. 2.

•Benedict Arnold’s wife was helped by George Washington to flee from enemy troops.

•Feb. 20 is Presidents Day. This is a national holiday, and all federal offices are closed on this day.

This issue I will finish my saga about the myths of George Washington which I find interesting, because when we took American history in school, we only remember the cherry tree story, and not his actual birth date and birth year.

Did you know that George Washington’s Federal holiday is held on the third Monday of Feb. and his birthday is observed on Feb. 22? However, to complicate matters, Washington was really born on Feb. 11 in 1731. How can that be?

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2022, George Washington was originally born when the Julian calendar was is use. During Washingtons’ lifetime people in Great Britain and America switched the official calendar system from Julian to the Gregorian calendar (something that most of Europe had already done in 1582).

As a result of this calendar reform, people born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birth dates. Those born between Jan. 1 and March 25, as Washington was, also had to add one year to be in sync with the new calendar.

By the time Washington became president in 1789, he celebrated his birthday on Feb. 22, and listed his year of birth as 1732.

To summarize, Washington’s birthday changed from Feb. 11, 1731, to Feb. 22, 1732.

No wonder he never told a lie, since he never knew what year it was.

See you at the next fundraiser.

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TCNS staff

GROVETON — Finances and fire trucks were the order of business for the Groveton City Council.

At its regular meeting on Jan. 23, Groveton Volunteer Fire Department  Chief Glenn Hammond gave the council his 2022 incidents and discussed the new fire engine.

Mayor Tommy Walton said the engine, which the department received in 2022, is in place and working well, and an old fire engine was sold to Pennington Emergency Services District.

Hammond also told the council the department is working on old tanker in an attempt to upgrade it.

Additionally, the department has received a couple of nice donations that has allowed the GVFD to purchase a generator for the fire station.

In a separate matter, Walton said the council received a very favorable report concerning the city’s financial condition, based on an audit of FY 2021-2022 prepared by Todd, Hamaker and Johnson LLP.

In other business, the council:

•approved a general election for May 6;

•discussed the police department calls for service for December, with 53 calls for service, 79 traffic stops, 33 verbal warnings, five reports, 46 citations, five county assists and five arrests. Chief Justin Cowart presented a calendar that he will make available to the Sheriff and Dispatch so they will know when the department is on call.  With the Chief, one full-time officer and one part-time officer, along with reserves, the city has all days with an officer on duty; and

•discussed the sewer and water systems and approved payment of $7,826.39. Mike Brown reported an average flow of 104,000 gallons per day of sewer, and total water pumped for the month was 3,127,000 gallons.