News

At the end of their regular meeting March 15, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court heard a presentation from VZC Sheriff Joe Carter regarding a request for increased salaries in his department. No action was taken by the court following Carter’s prepared statement that he read to the commissioners.

DAVID KAPITAN sports@vanzandtnews.com The Texas State Comptroller’s Office delivered mostly positive results to Van Zandt County cities last week, announcing that five out of seven local entities had posted sales tax revenue gains when comparing against collection totals against the same month from the previous year. The cities of Edom and Edgewood would be the county’s lone outliers for the month with each entity receiving a payment that was less than the funds they received from the comptroller’s office at the same time last year.

The City of Ben Wheeler, in partnership with The Friends of Ben Wheeler, hosted the annual Motorized Barstool Races this past Saturday throughout downtown. The event featured a large collection of vendors, as well as continuous live music, in addition to the main event race.

Following a closed executive session at the end of their special called meeting March 21, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court named Chris Burnett as the new VZC Courthouse Facilities Maintenance Supervisor.

DAVID KAPITAN sports@vanzandtnews.com With the start of early voting in this year’s May 6 election still more than a month away, Edgewood ISD will continue to do its part to keep district stakeholders informed by hosting information sessions on a proposed $39 million bond proposal that will be on the ballot. Faced with multiple issues around the district, including the age of buildings, lack of functionality and traffic issues, the need for security upgrades at multiple campuses and a lack of flexibility when it comes to integrating new technology, the Edgewood ISD Board of Trustees approved placing the bond proposal on the May ballot at their February meeting.

Wills Point ISD found itself at the center of what has become an alarming trend among East Texas school districts this week, investigating a threat of potential gun violence on one of its campuses after receiving a call at the high school a week after Lindale ISD received notice March 6 from an unidentified caller about a person armed with a bomb and rifle at its intermediate school campus, and six days after Van ISD was forced to go on lockdown after receiving a threatening call from a person purporting to have a weapon and an explosive device near their middle school campus March 7.

Three Van High School students were presented with scholarships by the Van Area Chamber of Commerce during the chamber’s quarterly luncheon downtown March 7 at The Movie House. Anyka Costner, the 2022 Van Oil Queen, was presented with a $1,200 scholarship.

Van Zandt County Genealogical Society President Carrie Anne Wilson- Woolverton presented two proclamations to the VZC Commissioners Court March 15 during its regular meeting. The proclamations, which were both unanimously approved by the commissioners’ court, declared Saturday, March 25 as ‘The 175th Anniversary of VZC,’ and ‘Citizen of the Republic of Texas Elvira Engledow Day.’ ‘Citizen of the Republic of Texas Elvira Engledow Day’ Woolverton discussed the life of Engledow before reading the proclamation for ‘Citizen of the Republic of Texas Elvira Engledow Day’ to those in attendance at the commissioners’ court meeting.

Two local students, Noelani Holly and Addison Marcee, were selected as winners of Wood County Electric Coop’s Essay Contest, earning an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. this summer. They will join more than 150 Texas teens on Youth Tour, June 1119, 2023.

Sunday, March 26, 2023, will be a very special day at Little Hope Baptist Church, Canton. “The church will be celebrating 130 years of serving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the local community,” said a church spokesperson.