News

Dust off your walking shoes and grab your family and friends and participate in the Bob Moore Memorial Walk Across Texas event that will kick off at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 16, on the Van Zandt County Courthouse westside lawn.

Since 1987, October has been recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S., more than one in three women, or 35.6 percent, and more than one in four men, or 28.5 percent, have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner. Women between ages 20 and 24 are at the highest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence. Homicide is one of the leading causes of death of women under 44 years of age, with nearly half of the victims killed by a current or former intimate partner. This equates to 2,000 to 3,000 women a year killed by their partners.

Funeral services for Dorothy Louise Cunigan, Wills Point, were held Oct. 14, 2021, at Hiett’s LyBrand Funeral Home Chapel.

Ben Wheeler will be the place to be as the Hog Festival arrives Oct. 22-23 in Van Zandt County.

An Edgewood ISD school bus on its way to pick up students prior to the start of the school day caught fire Oct. 14. According to information posted by Nick Gibbons of The County Eagle, “The driver of an Edgewood school bus traveling down FM 859 was turning onto County Road 3119 when he heard a loud pop. He immediately smelled smoke and saw flames and got out of the bus.” The Edgewood Fire Department responded to the blaze where they found the bus fully engulfed. EISD Superintendent Kristin Prater released a statement shortly after the incident stating, “This morning, an empty bus, on the way to pick up students, caught fire. The bus did completely burn. Again, to reiterate, no students had been picked up yet. The bus driver is safe and no one was harmed this morning during the early morning bus fire. The bus driver was able to complete the route on another bus. Please be assured that Edgewood ISD will be obtaining assistance in determining the cause of the fire.” The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of press time. Photo by Nick Gibbons

Leon Black, who was a star basketball player at Martins Mill High School, as well as a successful high school and college basketball coach, died Oct. 12 at his home in Austin at the age of 89.

Two days of art, food and music attracted a record number of visitors to the Edom Art Festival held Oct. 9-10 in downtown Edom. An art vendor shared her pottery experience with a group of children during the event, teaching the young students the basics of making pottery. Photo by Britne Hammons

The number of newly confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases has stayed below 200 for the second consecutive 7-day reporting period according to the Northeast Texas Public Health District. During the Oct.