News

The Pittsburg High School Student Council and Junior Class officers planted a magnolia tree in memory of Loida Trinidad to commemorate the one year anniversary of her death. Loida’s mother and siblings were present. Picture is Student Council members, Grant Gooding, student council treasurer and chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee and Charles Walker, junior class president. The student council will also secure a memorial stone with Loida Trinidad’s name in her memory.

On April 8, the Pittsburg FFA competed at the Area FFA Career Development Contests in Sulphur Springs. Students competed in livestock, dairy cattle, and poultry judging contests. Student names from right are: Blake Saylor, Chesney Davis, Cody Jackson, Hannah Burns, Kaylyn Thompson, Lesly Farfan, Hannah Owens, Cammi Reynolds, Ashley Stilwell, Ashlynn Henson, Erin Hewitt, and William Lindley.

Students of the band took a trip to Orlando, Fla. over spring break. Among their destinations, they sampled the cuisine of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, explored the jungles at Bush Gardens in Tampa Bay, took a swim in the Atlantic Ocean in Cocoa Beach, and soared with the astronauts in Cape Canaveral at the Kennedy Space Center. Pictured are the students in front of the Kennedy Space Center.

By Marlene Bohr
mbohr@steelcountrybee.com

The sixteenth annual “Special Catch” fishing tournament will be held at Heritage Park Lake on Saturday, May 3, 2014 from 10am until 1pm.  This special event is organized to provide a “hands-on” fishing experience tailored to meet the needs of people of all ages with disabilities from Titus, Camp, Franklin, and Morris counties.

The second annual Pittsburg Art and Wine Festival will be held at the Pendergrass Park, located in the Historic District of downtown Pittsburg on Saturday, May 31 from 12 to 7 p.m. Pictured are festival coordinators: (left) Gerald Jones, Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards, Jenny Rowan, economic development coordinator, Debbie DeWolf, Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards, Diane Wilson, volunteer, and Rick Wall, chairman of main street board.
 

The Camp County Sheriff’s Office reports the following activities:
Jason Robert Jansen was arrested on April 14 by the Camp County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) for an Attorney General warrant and is being held for Titus County.
Dereck Lee Applegate was arrested on April 14 by the CCSO for public intoxication.
Dustin William Reddin was arrested on April 14 by the Pittsburg Police Department (PPD) for two city warrants.
Gilberto Cruz Hernandez was arrested by the PPD on April 15 for child neglect.
Robert Conrad Holland Jr. was arrested on April 15 by the PPD for two city warrants.
The PPD arrested James Earl Struggs on April 15 for assault with bodily injury and family violence.
Jessica Dlayne Calahan was arrested on April 16 by the PPD for prohibited substance in a correctional facility, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 By Debbie Knox

dknox@campcountynow.com

Dakota McElhaney, age 22, died after a one-vehicle rollover Sunday night on Loop 179. The call came in to dispatch at 8:36 p.m. County deputy Dustin Swann and Trooper Jonathan Anderson responded to the scene along with Camp County Emergency Medical Services.

“Mr. McElhaney apparently hit a culvert, went a little air born and rolled off the road,” said Sergeant Michael Sparks with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Mr. McElhaney was a 2010 graduate of Pittsburg High School and lived here all his life. He is the son of J.D. and Claudia McElhaney of Leesburg.

The Pittsburg Gazette won four awards at the North and East Texas Press Association over the weekend. The winners were announced at the annual NETPA convention held in Tyler this year.

The four winning categories were: third in sports photo, second in sports coverage, second in general excellence and second in a feature story, by former editor Susan Taft.

Judges commented on some of the winning pieces. In sports coverage they said, “Like the big, dominant photos on the front page.” Comments in the general excellence category were, “Clean layout. Good writing.”

The contest features competition in the following categories: general excellence, advertising, column writing, editorials, feature stories, headline writing, page design, news writing, sports coverage, feature photos, sports photos and news photos.

Publisher Debbie Knox said it’s always a joy to win in these contests.

Camp County Commissioners and Bi-County Water have joined forces to submit an application to the Office of Rural Affairs within the Texas Department of Agriculture for Small Towns Environmental Program (STEP) funding, in the amount of $348,890. The funding is to increase water pipelines from 3-inch lines to 8-inches along a 16-mile stretch in the Holly Springs community along Farm-to-Market Road 557. Bi-County Water will pay for the labor and Camp County will pay for the pipe through the STEP money.

“There is no cost to the county for any of this, including no legal or publication costs,” County Judge Thomas Cravey said in Commissioner’s Court Monday. “Basically, it will upgrade the line as well as provide an adequate water supply, especially for fire protection in that area.