News

DAVID KAPITAN sports@vanzandtnews.com The office of Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar released its latest monthly sales tax revenue last week indicating that five out of seven local entities had posted sales tax revenue gains when comparing against the same period from the previous year. Wills Point finished the month with the largest negative dollar change, receiving a payment of $137,242.90 in August.

Fruitvale ISD was one of two Van Zandt County schools to begin its 2022-’23 school year Aug. 11. Students at Fruitvale were greeted by district staff members as well as a student-led drop off crew. Other first days for area districts will include: Canton, Edgewood and Martins Mill, Aug. 17; Grand Saline, Aug. 22; and Van, Aug. 24.

The University of Texas at Tyler has announced the opening of a new Media and Communication Research Laboratory within the College of Arts and Sciences. The MCRL, which officially opened earlier this year, has space to conduct different types of media and communication research studies and includes equipment for studies in media psychophysiology and neuroscience.

Van Zandt Newspaper staffers celebrated a special milestone this week, recognizing David Barber with a party to mark his 40th anniversary with the company. Barber has filled a variety of roles during his 40-year run at Van Zandt Newspapers, working as an ad sales rep, staff writer and sports correspondent. One of Barber’s most impressive accomplishments was a 443-consecutive game streak of covering the Van Vandal football team in person that came to an end in August 2021 due to a bout of COVID.

This season, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Big Time Texas Hunts (BTTH) program is offering Texans some of the very best hunting opportunities in the state. Ten premium guided hunt packages are offered in this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts drawing.

The City of Terrell, in partnership with The Terrell Chamber of Commerce, will host the first annual Terrell Mural Walk on Sept. 17.

In July, the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas (ATAT) hosted its annual Professional Development Conference for teachers of agriculture, food and natural resources in-person at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.

Rob Toups, retired Band Director of Canton High School, was installed into the Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame during ceremonies held in conjunction with the annual Convention of the Texas Bandmasters Association meeting in San Antonio July 23.

The Republican Women of Van Zandt County hosted a training on election integrity in conjunction with the Leadership Institute. David Ferguson presented 40 attendees with strategies in planning to run an organized, focused campaign.

Midway Church of God, located at 17470 East Highway 64 in Ben Wheeler, has announced that they will be hosting their 2022 Women’s Conference beginning at 6 p.m. Aug.