Tyler County News - Breakout

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Pictured left-to-right: John Bradford and Taylor Bradford-Alvarez of Nacogdoches’ Front Porch Distillery are pictured with Woodville Rotary Club president John Wilson. MOLLIE LASALLE | TCB

By Mollie LaSalle
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WOODVILLE – The Woodville Rotary Club hosted a delightful and informative presentation from John Bradford and his daughter Taylor Bradford Alvarez, owners of the Front Porch Distillery in Nacogdoches at their August 24 meeting at the Pickett House.

John had retired, and wanting to keep busy, decided to open a distillery. He told his daughter Taylor “we’re going to make alcohol”. Together with his daughters the Front Porch Distillery opened in early 2017. Taylor explained “It is a family-owned business, we have less than 10 employees, and it is a seven-day-a-week job.” 

John is the head distiller/owner and Taylor is the president and marketing coordinator. 

Front Porch produces a variety of spirits, their most popular being their barrel aged whiskey, rum and moonshine. Their best-selling whiskey is their signature 19 Oaks brand, and their watermelon vodka is another popular offering. 

Taylor added that they “have sold around 30,000 bottles of spirits since they opened in 2017. 

The distillery used to be the location of a popular catfish restaurant and the Bradfords put their signature touches to the property; there is a laid-back, kick-back feel at the Front Porch. 

“We wanted to bring a Hill Country vibe to the heart of East Texas”, Taylor explained. 

Their busiest days are on Friday and Saturday when there is live music on the Pickin’ Porch. They have recently expanded the inside of the business, moving the distillery operations to the back, and have doubled in size, with more seating space and extra restrooms. The distillery also has food trucks on site on Friday and Saturdays, and they host a wide range of events throughout the year. “We are going to have Movie Nights beginning in October,” Taylor added. 

They have hosted a classic car show and a chili cook-off, among other things, so far this year.

The question of the name of the distillery was posed by Rotarian Fred Sullivan. John Bradford answered that his cousin is Robert Earl Keen, and they got the name from his tune “The Front Porch Song.”

Taylor went on to add, that “when we first opened in 2017, there were less than 300 distilleries nation-wide; we were number 277; now there are over 2,000.” 

In 2020, when Covid basically shut down everything, the distillery began making hand sanitizer, giving it away on a drive through basis. On one single day, they made and gave away 300 gallons. 

The distillery is located at 7905 US 59 in Nacogdoches. Their hours are Wed-Thurs 1 p.m.-7 p.m., Friday, 1 p.m.-10 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Their signature 19 Oaks Whiskey and Tall Pines Vodka await your visit.

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Tyler County Judge candidate Neil Alderman spoke to a crowd last Tuesday as he made public his intention to run for office. CHRIS EDWARDS | TCB

By Chris Edwards
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WOODVILLE – Warren resident businessman Neil Alderman hosted a dinner party last Tuesday at Venue on the Square to officially announce his candidacy for Tyler County Judge.

Alderman, who did not file in the party primary, is running as a Republican write-in candidate. Before a room-filling crowd, he spoke on a variety of topics, and opened up about himself and his impetus to run for office.

Alderman spoke of his longtime friendship with current County Judge Jacques Blanchette, whom he said he has known for 35 years.

He said Blanchette, who announced last year that he was not seeking re-election, was “one of the reasons” why he decided to run.

Alderman spoke about the process of voting for a write-in candidate, and distributed a flyer showing a mock-up of a ballot and how voters can input a write-in candidate. Alderman said there has never been a successful write-in candidate in a countywide race before.

Alongside his work as a consultant with his business, the Synergy Group, Alderman has also been involved in activism as it pertains to local issues, primarily with the Facebook platform “Concerned Citizens of Tyler County,” which he co-managed with Sal Baldovinos.

Alderman said at Tuesday’s event that he has bowed out of administrative duties with CCTC, due to ethical considerations involving his bid for the judge’s office.

“I would never want to harm that page’s credibility by making it a political platform,” he said. “I stepped down because I made the decision to do something for Tyler County,” he added.

One attendee was Melissa Riley, who ran in the Republican primary for the office, and lost in the run-off to Milton Powers by 36 votes.

Riley said she wanted to publicly endorse Alderman for the office. “While we may not have always seen eye to eye on certain issues, Neil is a savvy businessman who is respected throughout his industry.  I believe he will bring integrity, growth and transparency back to Tyler County. He will work tirelessly to bring industry into our county that will be for the betterment of our citizens,” she said. 

In the lone competitive countywide race, voters have the option between Powers, who is running as a Republican; Democrat Wesley Whitman or Alderman. Election Day is Nov. 8.

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Mayor Robert Poynter swore in new councilman Chris Cocco at the Chester City Council meeting, Monday evening, Aug. 29 in place of the first Monday. PHOTO BY MICHAEL G. MANESS

By Michael G. Maness

CHESTER – Chester Mayor Robert Poynter swore in new councilman Chris Cocco at their regular meeting Monday evening, which was moved to Aug. 29 in place of the first Monday in September because of Labor Day. 

Poynter appointed Cocco to fill the position vacated by Kevin Hicks who recently resigned.

The lively meeting perused several items, including scrupulously analyzing the budget. With gas prices and other items burdening, the council decided to cash in one of its CDs. They raised the minimum gas payment to $40 and will be looking at other ways to keep the budget balanced.

Poynter has been in regular contact with the Railroad Commission regarding some gas issues. The city has new persons certified, and negotiations and openness with the Commission seems to have worked out well in the city’s favor. A gas leak that might have cost the city a pit appears to have been by a vandal, and the Commission looking at exempting Chester from that loss.

City Secretary Balela Mahaffey brought up issues on workload and her lengthy conversations with GrantWorks on a few of their grants. More clarification on that will come. She explained some the effects and portents given the recession and near certain continuance of inflation. 

The city park will be worked, and removal of all the equipment will be forthcoming in preparation for new equipment construction once all the grant details are worked out. Some of the equipment may be returned after construction of the new is complete.

Minutes from the previous council meeting and the special session called on July 18 were approved. At the special session, they approved a modification in the policy on compensation time for employees that have to be called out for extra work. 

Tommy Hubert of Discount Computer Systems was secured to work on the city computers. The council voted to not to approve a rate change from Entergy. 

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By Mollie LaSalle
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SPURGER – The board of trustees held their monthly meeting last Thursday in the John Mooney Hicks Administration Building, and after a quorum was established, quickly began addressing agenda items.

On the consent agenda, the minutes, list of T-TESS appraisers, ARD administrative designees, review committees, and instructional materials committees for the 2022-23 school year for the elementary and junior high/high school were all approved in short order.

Moving on to the regular agenda, the first item was the approval of the final budget amendment(s) for 2021-2022. The next item was the approval of stipends and staffing. The third item was the approval of the 2022-2023 budget, and next the board approved an ordinance adopting the tax rate for 2022-23. The next two items were not discussed; number five was the tax appraisal district representative report to the board (appraiser was not in attendance), number six was the approval of purchases over $25K (this was tabled). The SHAC wellness plan (student health and activities) was approved; this centers mainly around the nutrition requirements that the district must adhere to per USDA guidelines. Nutrition, physical activity and other plans are in place throughout the school year to keep the students engaged and healthy and ready to learn. The board also approved the shared service agreement with SETX Regional Day School program for the deaf and approved the innovative and college course transition program. 

The board set a time for goal setting for the district for Sept. 15, at the next regular board meeting; the first goal is student performance. 

Elementary principal Jason Drake presented his report to the board and reported that the week of August 15 showed and enrollment of 189 students, the week of August 22 showed an increase of seven students, up to 196. The Back to School Bash was a big hit with students, parents and staff; everyone is excited to have a successful year. 

Jr High/High School principal Michael Hatton was equally enthusiastic about the new school year; enrollment at both campuses was at 156, and the total as of August 25 was up to 354. “We are getting the kids involved as much as we can and have already started volleyball and cross-country” Hatton added. 

Security (police) are present campus wide at all times throughout the day, and all staff are looking forward to building good community relations. All doors are shut and locked and visitors must go through a visitor check-in to enter the building(s). All staff are required to wear ID badges. 

Hatton was excited to announce new staff for the junior high and high school campuses. Cindy Alaniz is a HS Science teacher; John Carlisle is a junior high/HS coach; John Cooley will teach HS science and coach; Donna Martin is the new ag teacher; Corey Maxwell is on board as the new welding instructor and Jennifer Wyse will be the new art/web design instructor. 

Superintendent Morgan Wright gave an enthusiastic first (new school year) report to the board next. He was pleased with the district’s academic performance report(s). The new gutters have been installed around the campuses, (and are being put to good use with the recent rains). The security fencing is almost complete, and the new Special Ed bus arrived early (last week), “it wasn’t supposed to arrive until October” Wright said. Overall, Wright is pleased with the progress being made district wide already and looks forward to another successful year for Spurger ISD. 

The next regular meeting of the board of trustees of Spurger ISD is set for 7 p.m. on Sept. 15.