March 2026

‘Students of the Month’ for March were recognized by the Martins Mill School Board during its regular monthly meeting March 23. The ‘Students of the Month’ at each campus were Itzel Padron and Ruben Ramirez, elementary; Victoria Jordan, junior high; and Madison Damuth, high school.

The Wills Point ISD Education Foundation (WPISDEF) hosted its annual gala recently and left no doubt that the community’s dedication to its schools is stronger than ever. Thanks to generous bids, spirited fundraising and the tireless efforts of dozens of volunteers, the event raised a record-setting $465,000, all earmarked to enrich Wills Point ISD classrooms.

davidb@vanzandtnews.com During the regular monthly meeting of the Van School Board March 23, four individuals were announced as the 2026 Van ISD Faculty and Staff Hall of Fame inductees. The announcement was made by Van ISD Superintendent Don Dunn.

Wills Point High School senior Preston Jeane won his first buckle in his career showing pigs at the eighth annual Metch Memorial Livestock Show held Saturday, March 14 at the Van Zandt County Fair Grounds in Canton.

Four Islamic schools have been admitted to the Texas voucher program after a federal judge ordered the state to invite the schools to apply, the Houston Chronicle reported. The judge also ordered the application deadline for families be extended to March 31, citing concerns that no Islamic schools had been approved for the program.

There is something powerful about the standards we set for ourselves. Not the ones written in policy manuals or enforced by supervisors, but the ones that live inside us, the ones we choose to honor when no one is watching.

November 11, 1952-March 13, 2026 Ricky Glen Langford, 73, of Edgewood passed away peacefully on March 13, 2026. Ricky was born on November 11, 1952, in Wills Point to John Henry and Gladys Dixon Langford.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the beginning of a new monthly column in the News called ‘Meet Our Veterans,’written by Phil Smith, U.S.N.R. (1969-75), Veteran, Author, and TV host.

I know that as a lifelong outdoors person that loves hunting and fishing, I’m lucky to also enjoy cooking the fruits of my outings. As a teenager, my uncle, who was a great ‘camp cook,’ spent a lot of time teaching me the basics of cooking fish and game and the rest…well I learned through trial and error these past six decades.

A repeat state championship was not meant to be for the Martins Mill Mustangs varsity boys’ basketball team March 12 as they lost to Lipan, 47-34, in the Class 2A, Division 2, state championship game played before a crowd of 4,832 at The Alamodome in San Antonio.