Tyler County News - Breakout

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By Chris Edwards
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TYLER COUNTY – The coldest winter chill of the season, thus far, blanketed the Deep East Texas region this week, as freezing rain, freezing drizzle and temperatures as low as 14 degrees came to pass.

The blast of Arctic cold air spread across the state, and throughout the south, affecting different regions in different ways. Temperatures began to plummet on Sunday, which saw a high of 60 degrees during the day. Tyler County saw a low of 23 degrees on Monday morning, with intermittent freezing rain throughout the morning and afternoon.

Although sleet and ice on the roads was minimal in Tyler County, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) began pre-treating highways and bridges in the county, as well as neighboring Jasper and Newton counties, last week.

“While we know how unpredictable East Texas weather can be, TxDOT plans to be prepared and respond appropriately should we see extreme winter weather,” TxDOT Lufkin District public information officer Rhonda Oaks said.

All five of the county’s school districts opted to not hold classes on Tuesday. It was reported on Tuesday that the Lake Amanda/Frog Pond area was without electricity and water, and according to the county’s Office of Emergency Management, new transformers were needed in the area, and water service was paused as lines were being thawed.

The OEM opened two warming stations, one at the Nutrition Center in Woodville and another at the R.B. Moffett Gymnasium in Colmesneil, in conjunction with the Red Cross.

Although the frigid conditions and shifting forms of precipitation were predicted to diminish by Wednesday, according to Shane Pendleton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Shreveport, Pendleton urged residents in the area to plan accordingly and keep an eye on the forecast in coming days.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” he said.

NWS predicted lows of 16 degrees on Wednesday morning, with the three-day forecast showing temperatures 20-30 degrees below normal.

The county’s OEM noted that residual moisture and temperatures well below freezing will keep conditions icy on bridges, resulting in black ice (or invisible ice), a deadly driving hazard the cannot easily be seen.

Sunny and breezy conditions on Tuesday morning melted and evaporated the ice from the previous night, but officials were recommending against travel on Tuesday morning. Motorists can monitor road conditions by accessing the website www.drivetexas.org.

In such wintry weather, people are encouraged to check on people, pets, pipes, plants and pools. Check on your family, elderly and neighbors that may need help winterizing their home or a warm place to stay. Bring pets indoors. Ensure adequate warmth for livestock. Cover or insulate exposed pipes, including those pipes underneath raised homes. Apply a thick layer of mulch around plants. Water your plants, which helps trap heat or slow heat loss around the plant. Cover plants or bring potted plants inside a shelter or into your garage.

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Chester High School student Saydi Handley was awarded her scholarship prize for placing third in District competition for the VFW Voice of Democracy contest at the VFW District 19 meeting in Lufkin last Saturday. PHOTO COURTESY OF WOODVILLE VFW POST 2033

Special to the Booster

The winners of the Voice of Democracy and Patriots Pen scholarship awards have been named. The contests are hosted by the Woodville VFW Post 2033.

 

Voice of Democracy

(9-12 grades) Winners:

1) Saydi Handley

Chester High School

2) Samuel Porter

Woodville High School

3) John Risinger

Woodville High School

Patriots Pen ( 6-8 grades) Winners:

1) Jorjia E Barnes

Woodville Middle School

2) Alexander Albright

Woodville Middle School

3) Jenna A Berry

Woodville Middle School

First place of each essay contest was forwarded to District 19 to be judged against eight other VFW Posts entries in the district.  From there first place of each group will then be sent to State VFW, to be judged against other VFW District selections.

The winners of the State selections will be forwarded to the national VFW headquarters to be judged by other State VFW selections, vying for top honors of the $35,000 scholarship.

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By Mollie LaSalle
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WOODVILLE – The first ever, inaugural Miss Woodville Pageant is open to all girls one-18 regardless of residency. The pageant is being held Saturday, Feb. 17 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Church in the Country, located at 555 FM 256 N, on the outskirts of Woodville.

This pageant is taking the place of Miss Tyler County, according to pageant director, Kamryn Grammer, and assistant director, Elizabeth Grammer.

This pageant is broken up into eight divisions: Baby Miss (1-2), Tiny Miss (3-4), Petite Miss (5-6), Little Miss (7-8), Young Miss (9-10), Pre-Teen (11-12), Junior Miss (13-15), and Miss (16-18). Registration will be the day of the pageant. Entry fee is $100, and the deadline is February 3. Contestants may go to Miss Woodville Pageant Facebook page for links to pay the entry fee.

Required Competitions for the Miss Woodville pageant are: Formal Wear, Photogenic, and Fun Fashion. An onstage interview portion will be for Pre-Teen Miss and Miss only. Dress like would for an interview. There will be one queen awarded in each division, and she will receive a crown, banner, and trophy. Each division winner will be awarded a $500 scholarship.

The Miss Woodville Pageant strives to make our pageant fun and to make memories. Our goal is to provide a reputable, fair, and stress- free pageant.

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Darla Dear was sworn-in by Woodville City Secretary Terri Bible to serve as temporary municipal court judge. MOLLIE LASALLE | TCB

By Mollie LaSalle
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WOODVILLE – A public hearing was held regarding the status of the Willis Motel property at 5:15 p.m. prior to the Woodville City Council’s regular monthly meeting on Monday evening.

Mayor Amy Bythewood reported that the property has been sold, “we have received an affidavit saying there is a new owner”, she said. The new owner, Tammy Berry had not been notified of these proceedings. There was a representative at the last meeting, and they asked for assurance that there was no demolition order at this time.

Wendell Jones, who has been identified as a project manager advised that he would provide a written plan within 30 days of the sale, which was finalized on Jan. 3. Bythewood reiterated what has been expressed at he las two public hearings, “It seems like we keep kicking it down the road, 30 days, 30 days.” City Attorney Brad Elrod added “they’re either going to present a plan at the next meeting that satisfies council, there is a time frame for that, or the city can move forward to get judicial clearance to demolish the building.”

Realistically, Elrod added, “if we move forward with demolition, it would take anywhere from six months to a year before we would get a final judgement from the court saying we have the legal go ahead to demolish”.

Bythewood added that “we took on the burden of making sure it was demolished appropriately, the issue came to light when the contractor we hired to do the demolition said he wanted dumpsters; the landfill has to be notified so they can come out and do an inspection. The property owner was going to have to have a inspection and handle it from that perspective. We have a building that’s been condemned, we are making sure that it’s appropriately rehabbed, or torn down.”

Jones felt like he would have a written plan submitted to council within 30 days, which would be Feb. 3. Basically, Jones has to have a written plan submitted to city council in 30 days, otherwise they are in violation of the ordinance.

In other business, Bythewood issued a proclamation in observance of Human Trafficking prevention month for January.

Council also approved the appointment of Darla Dear as temporary municipal court judge; she was then sworn in by city secretary Terri Bible, with her family in attendance.

Council also approved a preliminary replat in block 4 in the city of Woodville, the proposed Tubb subdivision.