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Around Town
April 14, 2017 - VFW Post 8904 members joined with Center High School yesterday, April 13th in honoring Adam Ramirez as our Post HS Teacher of the Year. He was presented with a framed certificate, check for $100 and an engraved pen set. Adam teaches basic and advanced graphic design and illustration.
Photos courtesy of Sydney Brookshire, District Media Coordinator. Congratulations Adam Ramirez!!
April 14, 2017 (Album1, Album2) - The community gathered on the downtown Center square to unit against child abuse. April is Child Abuse Prevention month and the Shelby County Children's Advocacy Center along with the Shelby County Rainbow Room meet on the square to the Blue Ribbon Tree and the Butterfly Release.
Bro. Rob Merriman, pastor of First Baptist Church of Shelbyville, said a prayer for the safety of the community and a safe place to raise our kids.
Wayne Christian, Texas Railroad Commissioner, spoke about the constitution and what it instructs us to do, “[In 2016] 222 children have lost their lives in the state of Texas. Folks, what did our constitution say was the most important thing that government was here to protect? Number one was life. And when we don’t protect those young lives, then we are not doing the duty, number one that God gave us here, and number two our forefathers gave us the order to do.” He thanked everyone for being at the event as a community to unite to help prevent child abuse and protect those who can't protect themselves.
Shelby County had 83 confirmed cases of child abuse in the year of 2016. There were zero child deaths due to child abuse reported in Shelby County since the last Blue Ribbon Tree event which was the first time in over four years.
Alice Pate, Rainbow Room representative, spoke about the Blue Ribbon tree ceremony as members of Child Protective services handed out a ribbon for each of the confirmed victims of child abuse in Shelby County. “We tie a blue ribbon for each of the 83 confirmed cases of abuse in Shelby County. Then we have thrown in a few extras for the children we don’t know about yet so we are tying 90 ribbons.”
Following everyone tying the blue ribbons in the tree, Mayor Chadwick, president of Farmers State Bank who is the sponsor of the Butterfly Release, shared the story of the butterfly as members of the Shelby County Advocacy Center handed out the delicate butterflies in their envelopes.
With a countdown from 10, everyone opened up their envelopes releasing their butterfly to carry their wish to God.
April 13, 2017 - The 16th Annual Agriculture Appreciation & Awareness Banquet presented by TFP Nutrition was held April 10 at the Nacogdoches County Exposition & Civic Center. The Nacogdoches County Agriculture Committee honored award recipients and presented Gary and Sue Atkins Agricultural Scholarships to four students.
The 2017 agriculture award recipients are:
- Agribusiness of the Year, Borders Poultry Supply, Inc. (sponsored by First Bank & Trust East Texas);
- Agriculture Educator of the Year, Melvin Adams (sponsored by Citizens 1st Bank);
- Pete Smith Agriculture Pioneer, Hank Curbow (sponsored by Heritage Land Bank);
- Farm Family of the Year, Hyman and Benjamin Boozer Family (sponsored by Tipton Ford-Lincoln).
Scholarship recipients are:
Johnathan Lowery and Clayton Sestak Douglass High School; Brooke Petty, Nacogdoches High School; and Matthew Matlock, Cushing High School.
April 11, 2017 - This week marks the annual National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW). Held every year during the second week of April, NPSTW is a time to recognize telecommunications personnel in the public safety community for their service and commitment to the profession.
Telecommunicator Week provides an opportunity to recognize the men and women who staff our Police Departments, Sheriff’s Office, EMS Offices and 9-1-1 centers across the Nation. It highlights a profession that demands unique professional skills and personal attributes of people willing to make sacrifices like working weekends, shifts, and holidays, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. It is to help to instill a sense of pride and personal satisfaction in telecommunications, knowing that their essential, and often heroic work, is being recognized and not forgotten.”
The Center Police Department and the PD’s Ladies Auxiliary extends its appreciation to the telecommunicators and other public safety personnel for the important work they do every day to keep their communities safe and secure.
Submitted by Donna Dugger
April 11, 2017 – Center One of Smallest Texas Communities Receiving Award
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) is pleased to announce that the City of Center, Texas, has received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget.
“The City Council and staff are committed to the concept of transparency in our organization. We have worked for years to develop our budget document into one that presents complex information in a manner that can easily be understood,” explained Center Mayor David Chadwick. “We are honored that a national organization has recognized these efforts.”
The award represents a significant achievement by the City. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of government budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device.
Budget documents must be rated proficient in all four categories and the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award. When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual or department designated as being primarily responsible for its having achieved the award. This has been presented to the Administration department.
For budgets beginning in 2015, 1,565 participants nationally received the Award. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America. Center City Manager Chad Nehring described, “Staff worked extremely hard to allow Center to earn the distinction of being one of the smallest rural Texas communities to receive this award. The only other cities in our region to earn this honor are Tyler, Longview, Lufkin, Texarkana, and Huntsville.”
The Government Finance Officers Association is a major professional association servicing the needs of more than 18,000 appointed and elected local, state, and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners. It provides top quality publications, training programs, services, and products designed to enhance the skills and performance of those responsible for government finance policy and management. The association is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with offices in Washington, DC. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.
April 10, 2017 - The SCCAC would like to thank Affinity Hospice for donating signs to promote our annual Butterfly Release. We appreciate your help in raising awareness of Child Abuse Prevention.
April 10, 2017 - Mr. Duvon's class at Center Middle School raises the U. S. and Texas flags each morning while the rest of the campus recites pledges to both flags. The students pictured are shown taking the flags down one recent afternoon. Mr. Duvon's students are taught proper flag etiquette and respect for our flags. CMS' Campus Policeman, Shad Sparks recently mentioned to Leigh Porterfield that the campus was in need of new flags and Mrs. Porterfield arranged for a gift of flags from the Shelby County Republican Party. Mrs. Porterfield told us she jumped at the chance to help Center Middle School. She says, "God bless our kids and long may the flags wave!"
April 10, 2017 - We would like to extend a big thank you for taking the time to participate in our annual Careers in Action job fair on Friday, April 07, 2017 and making it such a successful event! Your time and attention in the midst of so many individuals seeking employment and many students seeking career awareness was certainly appreciated. You were extremely thorough in all that you provided.
We appreciate each of the recruiters for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with our students and job seekers and discussing ways to get their careers started.
April 8, 2017 (Album1, Album2) - The Shelby County Cruisers 2nd Annual Spring Fling brought 60 entries to the car show held in the Wulf Shopping Center parking lot on Saturday, April 8, 2017. Best of Show selected by the Shelby County Cruisers went to David Clark for his yellow 1980 Corvette. The custom homemade trophy for People's Choice went to John Stiles for his 1966 Chev C10 Rat Rod.
Awards presented for each category by the master of ceremony, George Horton, was:
Kid's Choice - John Stiles, 1966 Chevy C10 Rat Rod
Rat Rod or Unfinished Class)
Winner - John Stiles, 1966 Chevy C10
Runner-up - Jesse Basham, 1973 Volkswagen Bus (Sleep wagon)
Sports Car Class
Winner - David Clark, 1980 Corvette
Runner-up - Dickie Gilchrist, 1975 Corvette
2000 & up Truck
Winner - Brad James, 2017 Ford F-250
1973-1999 Truck
Winner - Mike Harvey, 1986 Chevy 4x4
Runner-up - Sabryn Youngblood, 1983 GMC Sierra Classic
1972 & Earlier Trucks
Winner - Harold Allen, 1954 Chevy Pickup
Runner-up - Jack Canton, 1933 Chevy Pickup
2000 & up Cars
Winner - Lee Woodward, 2012 Chevy Camaro
Runner-up - Jason Wilburn, 2014 Dodge Charger
1975-1999 Cars
Winner - John Dulin, 1978 Ford T-Bird
Runner-up - Tony DeOre, 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass
1964-1974 Cars
Winner - Billy Sandifer, 1965 Ford T-Bird
Runner-up - Terry McKenzie, 1967 Cadillac
1950-1963 Cars
Winner - David Clark, 1955 Chevy Bel Air
Runner-up - George Roe, 1955 Chevy Bel Air
1949 & Earlier Cars
Winner - Lynn Smith, 1938 Chevy 2 door sedan
Runner-up - Rose Specter, 1937 Chevy Sedan
O'Reilly Auto Parts made a special presentation of their own selections from the car show. 'Best of Show Best Custom' went to John Stiles for his 1966 Chevy C10. 'Best of Show 1st Place' went to Ron Dunn's 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator. 'Best of Show Runner-up' went to David Clark's 1955 Chevy Bel Air.
The proceeds from the show are to support the Shelby County Cruisers scholarship program to benefit students of high schools in the Shelby County area.
April 8, 2017 (42 Tournament Bracket, Washer Pitching Bracket, Photo Album1, Album2) - Local cook teams won the overall titles at the 2017 Shelby County Grill Fest with 'Shelby Savings Bank' led by head cook Will Lucas claiming the Grand Champion trophy and Reserve Champion going to 'Blowin' Smoke BBQ', head cook Adam Bradshaw. People's Choice award was won by Shelby County Outlaw Cookers.
Twenty-one cook teams were vying for the $6,750 in prize money and a year's worth of bragging rights. As part of the Grill Fest festivies, a 42 tournament was held Friday night at Sombreros Restaurant and team Top Hufferd and Shelby Johnson won the first place title. In the washer pitching contest the dynamic 'Josh' duo of Josh Jones and Josh McAdams claimed the victory. Top winners in the 42 tournament and washer pitching tournament each received prize money and trophies.
Individual category results were as follows:
Chicken
1st place - ($1,000) Shelby Savings Banks from Center, Texas. Head cook was Will Lucas.
2nd place - ($750) Farmers State Bank from Center, Texas. Head cook was Joey Lawson.
3rd place - ($500) Blowin' Smoke BBQ from Center, Texas. Head cook was Adam Bradshaw.
4th place - Ray Jones Chevrolet Pigtail Cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Marlin Jones.
5th place - Bayou BBQ from West Monroe, Louisiana. Head cook was Benjy Lewis.
6th place - Shelby County Outlaw Cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Preston Whitney.
7th place - Big Daddy BBQ from Reklaw, Texas. Head cook was David Mason.
8th place - B & D cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Bobbie Daw.
9th place - Tipsy Texans from Tenaha, Texas. Head cook was Steven Shires.
10th place - Tyson Foods from Center, Texas. Head cook was Heath Sellers.
Pork Ribs
1st place - ($1,000) Tyson Foods from Nacogdoches, Texas. Head cook was Heath Sellers.
2nd place - ($750) Babee' Blue's BBQ from Keithville, Louisiana. Head cook was Damon Blue.
3rd place - ($500) Shelby Savings Banks from Center, Texas. Head cook was Will Lucas.
4th place - Bayou BBQ from West Monroe, Louisiana. Head cook was Benjy Lewis.
5th place - Tipsy Texans from Tenaha, Texas. Head cook was Steven Shires.
6th place - First Bank and Trust East Texas from San Augustine. Head cook was Tim Hopkins.
7th place - All Smoked Up from Jacksonville, Texas. Head cook was Oley Willis.
8th place - Git'cha Creek Country Cookers from Rusk, Texas. Head cook was David Chandler.
9th place - Big Daddy BBQ from Reklaw, Texas. Head cook was David Mason.
10th place - Up In Smoke from Jacksonville, Texas. Head cook was John Paine.
Brisket
1st place - ($1,000) All Smoked Up from Jacksonville, Texas. Head cook was Oley Willis.
2nd place - ($750) Four Shadows from Commerce, Texas. Head cook was Tony Chancellor.
3rd place - ($500) Blowin' Smoke BBQ from Center, Texas. Head cook was Adam Bradshaw.
4th place - Tipsy Texans from Tenaha, Texas. Head cook was Steven Shires.
5th place - Roughrider Tire & Truck Parts from Center, Texas. Head cook was Jared Nutt.
6th place - Shelby Savings Banks from Center, Texas. Head cook was Will Lucas.
7th place - Tyson Foods from Center, Texas. Head cook was Heath Sellers.
8th place - Babee' Blue's BBQ from Keithville, Louisiana. Head cook was Damon Blue.
9th place - Shelby County Outlaw Cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Kyle Windham.
10th place - B & D cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Bobbie Daw.
Pinto Beans
1st place - All Smoked Up from Jacksonville, Texas. Head cook was Oley Willis.
2nd place - Two Brothers Cookerz from Center, Texas. Head Cook was James Bridges.
3rd place - Shelby County Outlaw Cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Rachel Morman.
4th place - Shelby County Outlaw Cookers from Center, Texas. Head cook was Preston Whitney.
5th place - Bayou BBQ from West Monroe, Louisiana. Head cook was Benjy Lewis.
6th place - Unknown
7th place - Blowin' Smoke BBQ from Center, Texas. Head cook was Adam Bradshaw.
8th place - Tyson Foods from Center, Texas. Head cook was Heath Sellers.
9th place - Unknown
10th place - Unknown
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