News

The schedule of activities for the 2025 Summer Reading Program were recently released by the Van Zandt County/Sarah Norman Library in Canton. The Summer Reading Program opened with a Kickoff Party June 3 with program activities continuing through Friday, July 25.

This past week was a good one for your old outdoor scribe. I’ve enjoyed some red hot catfish catching, spent time setting up a corn feeder on my little place in hopes of keeping a sounder of hog from ripping my heavily laden pear tree apart and wrapped things up with a trip to Nacogdoches for a deer hunting show presented by the East Texas Chapter of the Dallas Safari Club. So come along, let me recap the week, I think you might enjoy backtracking my trail with me. FIRST THE HOGS Let’s begin with the hogs. I live about a quarter mile from some remote bottomland that connects to a 15,000 ranch on one side and a 2,000 acre wetland on the other. It seems most of my good friends own tracts of land they often refer to as ‘My little place”, most of which I have the pleasure of spending time on hunting and fishing on. These ‘little places’ are tracts of land ranging from 45 acres up to over a thousand. Not exactly little in my estimation. Now I live on a bit less than 4 acres and thanks to a thick strip of woods along the property line and the ability of wild hogs to smell pears from a great distance, I too now have “My little place” on which to hunt, well sort of! Let me explain.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is planning to conduct the following construction and maintenance work in Van Zandt County during the week of June 9. Please remember, work schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure, or other unforeseen issues.

The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office released the following arrest report from May 27 through Jun 4, 2025. Kristen Danette Archer-Stearns, 30 Canton, Public Order Crimes Class C.

davidb@vanzandtnews.com Retiring Van Zandt County Veterans Service Officer Harry Fontenot was recognized for his 15 years of service by the VZC Commissioners Court June 4 during its regular meeting. “We want to honor Harry Fontenot who retired at the end of the May,” said VZC Judge Andy Reese.

Warm weather greeted those in attendance June 7 during the Hope Center Touch-A-Truck Fundraiser on the parking lots of First Baptist Church in Canton. The community-wide fundraiser featured First Responders, a helicopter, plus farm equipment. A bounce house and face painting were among other items on display. Food trucks from several area businesses were also on hand. The event was held to raise funds for Hope Center’s programs as well as raise awareness of all the benefits that they provide. Additional photos on 9A.

It was a special night of recognitions during the regular monthly meeting of the Van School Board May 27 as a number of Van High School State Qualifiers as well as Van ISD retiring employees were honored.

A lot of rain accompanied by high winds arrived in Van Zandt County late Sunday morning, June 1, including the First Monday Trades Day area in Canton. No injuries were reported as numerous trees fell to the ground along with a number of power outages occuring. Weather forecasts for VZC indicated that several days of potential storms may be in play for the foreseeable future.

In a press release June 2, Van Zandt County Judge Andy Reese discussed the topic that will be presented during four Town Hall Meetings throughout the month of June. “The commissioners’ court and I have scheduled four Town Hall Meetings for the month of June,” said Reese.

The June Jamboree promotion in the City of Van is well underway as an update on the progress of the program was presented during the Van Area Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Luncheon held June 3 downtown at The Movie House.