Trinity County News - Breakout

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I did not think I could have had a better weekend than the one in Las Vegas in January, but I was wrong. Sunday, Feb. 5, was the greatest day. My children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives, and friends converged on the Trinity Community Center to celebrate my 80th birthday.

We had food, music, decorations, and gifts galore which was not supposed to be, but nevertheless people are so thoughtful and kind. They gave presents anyway. I can’t wait until my 85th anniversary, maybe the kids will send me to Paris.

•Friday is the fifth annual Boys and Girls Club of Trinity’s Valentine Dinner and Dance at the Trinity Community Center, located next to McDonald’s, with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m.

This will be a great event with music, food, a dessert auction, a silent auction, and a live auction. People and businesses were very generous this year and their donations reflect that.

In our live auction we have the following gifts: a 50-inch flat screen TV, a porch swing, a workbench, an antique quilt, a deer feeder, a camping tent and accessories, a barbecue pit, four designer purses, a chainsaw and tools, a sunflower metal artwork, a handmade wooden state of Texas clock artwork, and a vacation rental and bouncy house rental.

The silent auction is everything you want for your sweetheart, friend, mother, brother, or pet. We have Valentine wine baskets, automotive baskets, beauty baskets, a pet basket, a candy basket, girls night out basket, Valentine wreath, Messina Hof gift certificate for a wine tasting for six people, Crockett Civic Center concert tickets, and much more.

Don’t forget the food. We have ribeye steaks, twice-baked potatoes, green beans, salad, and drinks and a dessert auction that is provided by some of the best bakers in Trinity. You can purchase tickets at the door for $50 each, but tables have to be purchased by Thursday, by calling me at (936) 537-8171 or Andrea at (936) 594-0778.

•This weekend had two good benefits for Donna and Tom Hester. On Saturday, Agavales Mexican Food Restaurant was filled to the brim with guests all day long to help participate in discounted luncheons and dinners toward the benefit of this couple who recently lost their home to fire. It was a huge success.

Then on Sunday, the Trinity Volunteer Fire Department hosted a drive-through barbecue benefit for the Hesters. It was a beautiful day and people were lined up from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. to purchase the sandwich, chip, and drink to show their support for this couple. Trinity is the most caring city in Texas.

•Next weekend is the Lovelady Love Fest in Lovelady Texas. It is a two-day event with a chili, rib, brisket, and bean contest for the best cook and team in East Texas. There are vendors, games, music, and a local parade. It starts on Friday night and ends on Saturday at dusk.

Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day. At 11 a.m. that day, Martin Senior Citizen Center is hosting a Valentine luncheon to benefit the center with filet mignon, asparagus, scalloped potatoes, salad, drinks, and dessert. The cost is $20 each.

The event starts with homemade dips, and a complimentary glass of wine. Music and gifts will abound with drawings throughout the luncheon and lunch will be served at noon. For more information or to reserve a space, please call Brenda at (936) 594-2625. Come support the meals that are served every day to the handicapped or shut-ins in our community by attending this luncheon Tuesday.

•There is a basketball game Friday night here, so go watch the Trinity Cheerleaders perform their UIL-winning routines. Also there is a Lansberry Elementary dance for the fifth- and sixth-grade students given by the high-school seniors to raise money for the junior/senior prom this year.

•Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, is Presidents Day. It is a National Holiday, so schools and all federal offices will be closed this day.

•It is hard to believe it is almost Spring break and Easter time. Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday are activities we all look forward to in March. In addition to these celebrations, TISD students go on Spring Break from March 13-March 17.

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17, and the children of Trinity County participate in the Groveton County Fair that weekend.

Next week I will announce all of the dinners and luncheons church related to start the first of March so send me you schedule and watch for it to appear in this space. See you Friday at the Trinity Community Center.

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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.