November 2022

The Tyler Junior College Speech and Debate team finished its fall semester of tournaments on a high note, setting a new school record. At the American Forensics Association District 3 Fall Qualifier Tournament held virtually on Saturday, TJC earned seven qualifications for the AFA National Tournament, which will be held in April 2023 in Santa Ana, California.

sports@vanzandtnews.com The office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar continued to deliver good news to county cities last week, announcing that five out of seven local entities had posted sales tax revenue gains when comparing against the same period from the previous year.

artins Mill standout student- athlete Mattie Burns etched her name into the local record books earlier this season, becoming one of the few high school athletes to qualify for and compete in the same event at State for four consecutive seasons. As a freshman in 2019, Burns clocked a time of 13:28.52 to finish 71st overall out of 151 competitors at the UIL State Cross Country Meet.

sports@vanzandtnews.com A routine step in the election process proved to be anything but on Nov. 18 as Wills Point ISD board members met in a special called meeting to discuss and canvass the results of the recently concluded Nov. 8 election.

davidb@vanzandtnews.com Two out of three scheduled ‘closed session’ items were moved to an over 90-minute ‘open session’ during the regular monthly meeting Nov. 15 of the Van City Council.

1950-2022 Funeral services for Mike Horton, 72, of Wills Point, were held on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, at Hiett’s Ly-Brand Funeral Home Chapel.

1938-2022 Services for Jerry Dale Armstrong, Sr., 84, of Seagoville, were held Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at Bartley Funeral Home, Grand Saline, with Chaplain Robert Stovall officiating.

1979-2022 Sammye Lee Cotton 43, of Wills Point, passed away after Battling ALS on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

Van Zandt County football teams that qualified for this year’s playoffs had their hands full last week, taking on a slate of talented opponents in bi-district round action. Despite a solid effort across the board Edgewood, Grand Saline and Van all came up short, officially closing the books on the 2022 season for county teams.

Van High School Tennis Coach Cortland Davidson was recently named as Region II Tennis Coach of the Year. Davidson led the Vandal tennis program to a bi-district title this season, and the program finished the fall ranked 17th overall among all 4A teams according to the Texas Tennis Coaches Association.