Shelby County Today

January 26, 2017 - Marilyn Corder never wanted to live in Timpson, she freely admits. Although both her parents are from Timpson, she was born in Wright City, near Kilgore, and graduated from Crockett High School , where she met her husband, J.P.  But her parents brought her to Timpson frequently to visit relatives and the Corinth Homecoming was like a religious pilgrimage every year, she laughed. Today, her parents, both sets of grandparents, as well as aunts and uncles lie in the Corinth Cemetery. Over her adult life she and her husband have lived a number of places, including Dallas, Phoenix, Memphis, Chattanooga, Shreveport, and ...Timpson.

Timpson? How did that happen? Speaking to the January meeting of the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society last Wednesday, Marilyn related that she had many wonderful memories of her Timpson visits. Her “Papa” Bates owned a flatbed truck that he had neither a license or sufficient skill to drive but he did anyway, allowing the kids to ride on the back. “Do not get on the back of that truck with him driving!” she says her mother cautioned, but they did anyway, of course, “and no one ever got hurt”. Her grandmother Hudson was a “worrier”, always afraid something would happen to one of the grandchildren. “She would hardly let us out of her sight” she said, but the grandchildren still managed to have fun.

As her parents aged, the need to be closer to them grew. Her husband, J.P., had always wanted to own a farm and they found one near Timpson and then later one in Timpson. Mrs. Corder says she likes to stay busy, so when she was asked to help with local elections, she accepted.  “One thing led to another” she says, and soon she was involved with the Timpson Chamber of Commerce. “George Green was president of the Chamber at that time” she recalls. Over the years, Timpson Frontier Days had declined in popularity and Marilyn took the festival on as a project in 1996. “There was a small crowd that first year” she remembered. Things began to improve each year. The gospel singing was added and is now a big success. “The cake auction is a big deal” she said. “We now have 2000 to 2500 visitors for Frontier Days.” She said she would like to retire from her community service but finds it hard to walk away from it. Most Timpson residents would say our community is a better place because of Marilyn Corder.

TAGHS meets at 2pm on the third Wednesday of each month in the Meeting Room of the Timpson Public Library, located on the corner of Austin and Bremond streets. The public is invited.

January 25, 2017 Waco, Texas - According to a press release from Baylor University, Olivia Grace Worsham, a 2013 Graduate of Joaquin HS, was among the more than 3,900 Baylor University students named to the Dean's Academic Honor Roll for the 2016 fall semester.

Worsham was the valedictorian of her graduating class and is working towards a degree from Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences.

To be named to the Dean's List, a student must be an undergraduate with a minimum grade-point average of 3.7, while enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours. Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

The honor student news release and a complete listing of all honorees is available through the following link: http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/index.php?id=87536

January 24, 2017 - Nettie's Nook and Sammich Shop congratulates Tina Ornelas, winner of the Coca Cola Polar Bear. The business held an open house event and celebrated their one-year anniversary on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 and at 3:30pm the name of the winner was drawn.

After being informed by Annette Peters, Nettie's Nook and Sammich Shop's owner, Ornelas stated she would be sharing her bear with her grandchild.

January 20, 2017 (HUXLEY, TX) - The Sabine River Authority of Texas (SRA) was pleased to award the City of Huxley a Community Assistance Program Grant on January 19th as part of SRA’s Fiscal Year 2017 Economic Development Initiative.

The $10,000 check will be used to leverage local funds to repair and rehabilitate Huxley’s water treatment system clearwell tank to reduce levels of trihalomethanes and trihaloacetic acids in treated water. David Montagne, SRA’s Executive Vice-President and General Manager, in a letter to Huxley, wrote “[t]he City’s project to repair and rehabilitate its water treatment system clearwell tank to reduce levels of trihalomethanes and trihaloacetic acids in treated water an initiative that SRA supports in its efforts to improve water and wastewater systems throughout the basin” and “SRA looks forward to working with the City in the future as we continue to focus on increasing the economic vitality of the Sabine River Basin”

Funds provided for the Community Assistance Grant Program must fall within four project categories, which include 1) Water Supply; 2) Wastewater Management; 3) Water Conservation; and 4) Water Quality and are limited to $10,000 per project. Funds for the grant for Huxley were approved by SRA’s Board of Directors in December 2016.

In order to be eligible for the Community Assistance Program, applicants should be a governmental entity, district, or a non-profit, member-owned water supply corporation or sewer service corporation and located within the Sabine River Basin of Texas. Water resource projects should be consistent with the statutory mission of SRA. Created as a conservation and reclamation district in 1949, responsibilities of the SRA are to control, store, preserve and distribute the waters of the Sabine River and its tributary system for useful purposes.

The Sabine River Basin covers a large portion of East Texas with a population of over 551,000 in all or part of 21 counties according to U.S. 2010 Census figures. A large portion of that area is rural in nature. 

For more information about SRA’s Community Assistance Program, contact Mary Vann at (409) 746-2192, email: cap@sratx.org or online: http://www.sratx.org/