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Emma Lou Brown-Smith, Van High School graduate of 2021, was recognized as a recipient of the highest Girl Scout award, the Gold Award, on May 14, 2022, by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. The Gold Award is the equivalent of the Boy Scout’s Eagle Scout Award, and only five percent of Girl Scouts receive the award. During the ceremony, Emma Lou, along with 134 other Ambassador level Girl Scouts, representing 32 counties in Northeast Texas, was recognized for her Gold Award project, “It’s Not Easy – Playing and Marching”. She spent over 100 hours during a two-year period creating a supplemental Vandal Bands leadership/mentoring program. The project’s guidelines were to expand and enrich the high school band leadership program and develop an 11-month mentoring curriculum for the Van Junior High eighth grade band program.

Food giveaway set East Oak Street Church of Christ will hold a food giveaway from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 4 at the church, located at 508 East Oak Street Edgewood.

We are closing out the last week of the school year on a high note. On Monday and Tuesday, May 23 and 24, the kindergarten, first and second grade classes from Grand Saline Elementary took a field trip to the library. They learned how to use their library cards, about the activities we are having this summer, and how to read to win prizes this summer. We are starting out this week with 219 new library card holders in Grand Saline.

A 50th wedding anniversary celebration will be held honoring Bobby and Mary Williams at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 4. The celebration will be held at Serenity Springs, 3865 Farm-to-Market 858, Ben Wheeler. The celebration is given by their children and guests are asked not to bring gifts.

The city of Wills Point will once again serve as the central hub for area Juneteenth activities, playing host to the largest Juneteenth celebration in the area June 18. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

A proclamation calling for Flag Day and Flag Week to be celebrated in Van Zandt County in June was approved unanimously May 25 by the VZC Commissioners Court during its regular meeting. Carrie Woolverton of the VZC Historical Commission read the proclamation calling for Flag Day to be recognized on Tuesday, June 14, and Flag Week to be observed during the week of June 12.

On Friday, May 20, charges against former Van Zandt County Sheriff Steve Hendrix and two of his deputies for giving a false statement to a peace officer were dismissed. The dismissal comes at the heels of the indictment issued in March accusing Sheriff Hendrix, Chief Deputy Jerry Wood and Sgt.