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After 12 years of service, Van School Board President Scott Thomas said goodbye to the trustees during their regular monthly board meeting May 15 as he led his final session. Thomas, who did not seek re-election in 2023, expressed his appreciation to a number of individuals throughout the school district in his farewell remarks.

Better Sleep Month is observed during the month of May and aims to encourage healthy patterns of sleep and educate on the benefits of sleeping well. According to Amy Valdez, Texas A&M AgriLife Program Specialist, “sleep is just as important as including a well-balanced eating pattern and physical activity into our daily lives. It can have a great impact on our physical and mental health, and a lack of sleep can be detrimental”.

Readers who are over 40 years old might still have a context for the phrase from a classic country song: “Here’s a quarter / Call someone who cares…” The updated version of this song might go something like: “Here’s a burner phone with 100 pre-paid minutes / Feel free to use up those minutes in useless conversation about your ruined love life, since you were so shortsighted as to reject continued investment in our relationship / On the other hand, here’s the number of a Therapist I highly recommend…” OK, the syllables don’t quite fit the original tune – life is just more complicated now.

Trick or Treat Just like some months have two full moons this year has two Halloweens. Oct.

This last week, I was asked how I described my leadership abilities. That is a tough question to answer.

In my travels around the USA (and elsewhere) for work, I’ve told quite a few jokes to help lighten the mood in my training classes. The one I can tell without thinking about it is: This blonde is driving, and gets a call from her husband, warning her about a car spotted going the wrong way on the highway, to which she replies: “Yeah, but it’s not just one – there are hundreds of them!!”

The definition of ‘Host Family’ is a ‘normal’ family which opens its doors to experience a new culture and gives students a second home. Hosting is an extremely rewarding experience.

Dear Editor: Thank you to the Van Library for holding a book signing on the 28th. I was honored and blessed by the warm welcome and lovely reception.

Dear Editor: First, let me say, I love where I live. I moved in here from Mesquite in 1996 with great reservation but soon learned to love this area.

Andy has always said that his dad, whom I never had the privilege of meeting, was a fairly mild-mannered easy-going guy. Respected and well liked in his rural community, a boys’ baseball coach, and a church-goer – seems he had a friendly word for everyone. Even when riled, he wasn’t a man to easily lose control of his temper. Like everyone, he did have one, he just usually kept it pretty well under. Except.