News

By Dannie Oliveaux | publisher@campcountynow.com

Emergency personnel, along with the Camp County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Public Safety, responded to an accident in front of the East Texas Medical Center during lunch hour on June 5.

An 18-wheeler, traveling southbound of U.S. Highway 271, flipped into the ditch causing its’ load of wood to land upon the road way.

Traffic was blocked in both directions for about 30 minutes until law enforcement could  open up a lane for motorists.

There were no serious injuries reported. Traffic through the area was rerouted for about six hours as workers cleared the wood from the highway.

The road reopened for normal traffic after 7 p.m. As of press time, no more information about the wreck was available.
 

By Dannie Oliveaux | publisher@campcountynow.com

By Dannie Oliveaux | publisher@campcountynow.com

A memorial service for world-renowned mezzo-soprano Barbara Smith Conrad, 79, is set for 3 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Center Point Baptist Church near Pittsburg.
She died May 22, in Edison, N.J. She had advance Alzheimer’s disease, according to her obituary in The New York Times.
According to Vivian Kelly, a marker for Conrad will be place in the Center Point Cemetery.
Kelly said a memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. at the University of Texas in Austin. 
Interment will be at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin
Conrad was born Aug. 11, 1937, in the Center Point community, where much of her family was raised. 

MOUNT PLEASANT -- A 10-year-old student of the Pittsburg Independent School District was killed in a one-vehicle crash on May 26, according to PISD Superintendent Judy Pollan.
Pollan made the announcement during Friday night’s Pittsburg High School graduation ceremonies at Pirate Stadium.
She asked that the audience to remember the family in their prayers. 
Pollan noted that other family members remain hospitalized.
According to the Mount Pleasant Police Department’s Facebook page, the accident occurred on South Jefferson north of Bill Ratliff Freeway at 11:39 a.m. Details of how the crash happened are still under investigation.
MPPD reported that two adults and six children in the SUV with several occupants being ejected from the vehicle. 

Several thousand people are expected Friday night as Pittsburg High School conducts their annual commencement ceremony for the Senior Class of 2017.
The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. with 176 seniors graduating this year.
Jennifer Rodriguez is this year’s valedictorian and Taylor Porter is the salutatorian. Both girls plan at attended Texas A&M University in College Station this fall.
Rodriguez finished with a 4.7 grade-point average and Porter had a 4.6.
Girls dominate this year’s Top 10 Percent with only three boys – Sterling Walker (4.37, seventh), William Triston Adams (4.28, ninth) and David By (4.06, 15th).
The remainder of the group with Rodriguez and Porter are Lexi Smith (4.55, third), Kaycee Parker (4.54, fourth), Madison Busch (4.42, fifth), Bailey Smith (4.40, sixth), Jana Rowe (4.32, eighth), Caitlyn Wildey (4.23, 10th), 

The Fifth Annual Pittsburg Art and Wine Festival is set from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 27 in the historic district of downtown Pittsburg at Pilgrim Plaza.
The festival will showcase great wines from The Piney Woods Wine Trail. 
The event will also feature extraordinary artists from the East Texas area displaying and selling their pieces to the public as well as music and local culinary treats from Cadillac Cuisines, Country Belle Pies, Blue Moon Street Eats and Street Licious. 
The event drew more than 1,000 people last year.
This event is free to the public or tickets are $5 each for individuals who may wish to do tastings, and includes a souvenir glass and tote bag.  Wineries will be on hand to discuss and sell wines by the taste, the glass or bottle. 

Camp County commissioners voted unanimously to approve a site for a tower to provide internet service to rural areas during their May 8 meeting.
Kyle Edge, of Mobilitie Intelligent Infrastructure, told the commissioners the tower provides internet service in parts of the county that has little or no service.
The tower is 75 feet tall with a satellite dish.
Edge said Leesburg and Pine are two sites the company is seeking permission to place towers at no expense to the county.
Mobilitie is the largest privately-held telecommunications infrastructure company in the United States. Mobilitie funds, installs, and operates indoor and outdoor neutral host DAS, Small Cell, and Wi-Fi networks, communication tower sites, as well as other infrastructure used by wireless carriers to enable high speed mobile communications.

For complete story, read the May 25 issue of The Gazette.
 

By Susan Taft | Special for The Gazette
 
W. David Abernathy was honored May 13 for his 50 years of service to the Pittsburg Fire Department.
He officially responded to his first fire 50 years ago; however, that was far from his first time at a fire scene.
 “My father, who was mayor at the time, carried me to fires when I was so young that I don’t even remember the first time I went to one,” Abernathy said. “I am simply following in his footsteps, as well as the footsteps of my grandfather who was also a part of the fire department. I’ve been around it so long that it’s just second nature to me.

For complete story, read the May 25 issue of The Gazette.