July 2024

Really, I plan to make this column funny again… soon! Of course (as I’ve written previously), some folks have never realized my articles were supposed to be funny. In the past year, watching helplessly as my marriage to Jocelyn disintegrated, God has used the deep pain to teach me some equally-deep lessons.

Dear Editor: Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the (Van Zandt County) Sarah Norman Library “book buddies” program. I am old enough to remember when the library was a tiny, crowded room in a county annex building.

Ever been looked squarely in the eyes and bluntly told you are a bitter, angry person? Probably not. After all, who in their right mind wants to be within 12 feet of a bear and throw heavy stones at that huge, furious mass of muscle and bone? Nobody wants to face that.

September 10, 1979 – July 7,2024 Services for Patrick Aaron McKiddy, 44, of Grand Saline, were held Friday, July 12, 2024, at Bartley Funeral Home, Grand Saline, with Bro. Skip Paul Taylor officiating.

June 21, 1927 – June 29, 2024 Graveside services for Norma Jean Fite, 97, of Pasadena, were held Saturday, July 6, 2024, at Sand Flat Cemetery, with Jerry Fite officiating, under the direction of Bartley Funeral Home, Grand Saline. Visitation was held prior to the service July 6, 2024, at Bartley Funeral Home.

November 11, 1940 – June 28, 2024 Vida Sue Coker, 83, of Edgewood passed away on June 28, 2024, in Tyler. She was born on November 11, 1940, in Dallas to the late Veay Lee Pogue and Gracie Evelyn Moore Pogue.

April 18, 1941 – July 6, 2024 Services for Mary Littlejohn Lambright, 83, of Fruitvale, were held Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at Roundfl at Pentecostal Church, with Bro. Homer Morgan offi ciating, under the direction of Bartley Funeral Home.

The 12u Dirtbags

TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION With the Fourth of July bringing a possible four-day weekend for lucky Texans, the Texas A&M Forest Service urges outdoor enthusiasts to exercise fire safety outdoors, especially when using fireworks or starting campfi res to roast hot dogs and toast marshmallows. Approximately 90 percent of wildfires are caused by humans and their activities, and the Fourth of July is one of the top days for reported wildfires, according to the forest service.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently said that state sales tax revenue totaled $3.94 billion in June, 0.4 percent more than in June 2023. The majority of June sales tax revenue is based on sales made in May and remitted to the agency in June.