News

By DEBBIE A. KNOX Publisher/Editor dknox@campcountynow.com

The Commissioners’ Court voted to join forces with the Pittsburg Independent School District in purchasing a Thor Guard Lightening Prediction System for Broach Park. Randal McKenzie, a coach at PISD, made the presentation before commissioners. Coach McKenzie told commissioners the system detects a static electricity environment and will announce/ broadcast a loud horn when there’s potential danger for a lightning strike in the area. It covers a distance of 700 yards.

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The City of Pittsburg will soon receive a grant from the East Texas Council of Governments funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) reviewed 24 grant proposals with a total funding request of $201,740.05 submitted by 20 local governments during an open meeting on Oct. 27, 2015. A total of $114,671.90 was available to be awarded. After consideration of the proposals, the SWAC recommended the ETCOG Executive Committee approve the request from the City of Pittsburg for $20,000.00 at their open meeting on Nov. 5, 2015. The grant is for a Litter Abatement Officer. This officer will investigate and contribute to the prevention of illegal dumping. This is the second year Pittsburg has received this grant. “The East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG) is a voluntary association of counties, cities, school districts and special districts within the fourteen-county East Texas region.

By DEBBIE A. KNOX Publisher/Editor dknox@campcountynow.com

Thursday Nov. 12, this concrete truck owned by Lmp Concrete, contractors out of Mt. Pleasant, fell over on a soft shoulder on Cherokee Trail (CR 2347) traveling to a job site in Cherokee Point subdivision. No one was injured, exact cause was undetermined and no other information was available at press time.

10 years

• Jonathan Wallace plays “Taps” at the end of the annual Veterans Program held on the courthouse lawn.

• William Julian Jr. is chosen to receive the Jake Simmons Award. Mr. Julian was an Army Veteran of World War II.

• Katie Smith competes in the state cross country meet in Round Rock and finishes 34 out of 105 in her division.

• Pittsburg Pirate football season ends with a 35-14 loss at Longview Lobo Stadium.

• Golf tourney, to benefit Susan Hicks Motes, was held at Princedale Country Club. The memorial tournament raised $2,500.

• Winners of the Karley’s Halloween Contest, 0-4 age group were: Savanna Cowan, first place; Siri Collins, second place; and Hunter Moody, third place.

20 years

• Bo Pilgrim receives the Russell H. Perry Free Enterprise Award from Texas Governor George W. Bush.

The Annual College Night, sponsored by Northeast Texas Community College, is set for Wednesday, Nov. 17 in the Student Union Building at NTCC. Colleges and universities will have representatives on hand from 6:30-8:00 p.m. to provide admissions and financial aid information to students and their parents. Anyone interested in learning more about college, from junior high to current college students and their families, are invited to attend. In addition having the chance to speak with NTCC advisors, students and parents can meet recruiters from many institutions.

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Texas Newspaper Foundation proudly announces the selection of four exemplary individuals — Gail Borden, Caro Brown, Ben Sargent and Griff Singer — to be inducted into the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame for the year 2016. The induction ceremony will be conducted during the Texas Press 2016 Midwinter Conference and Trade Show on Jan. 22 at Embassy Suites Hotel, Spa & Conference Center in San Marcos. A selection committee met Nov. 12 and picked the inductees from a field of 30 nominees. Selection committee members included Phil Major, Terrell; Alvin Holley, Livingston; Mary Judson, Port Aransas; Greg Shrader, Kerrville and Randy Mankin, Eldorado. Austin-based Texas Newspaper Foundation created the hall of fame in 2006 to induct annually up to four individuals credited with outstanding achievements and contributions to the newspaper industry and to their communities. The first four inductees — Roy Eaton, Alfred H.

Northeast Texas Community College will offer an exciting new travel study opportunity next summer. The NTCC criminal justice and sociology departments are hosting a trip to south Texas that will provide real-world insight into various areas of the criminal justice system. The trip is scheduled for May 16-22, 2016. Students will travel in a luxurymotor coach for a week jam-packed with activities and destinations. Tours will include a maximum security prison for women in Gatesville, the Texas Ranger museum in Waco, the Travis County Jail, the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Austin, the Texas State Capitol building in Austin, and a juvenile maximum security prison Brownsville. Students will also get to visit with the FBI and conduct police ride-alongs with the San Antonio Police Department, Cameron County Sheriff ’s Office and Brownsville Police Department.

The two flooding events in Texas in late October were record-setters, according to figures and rainfall analyses that go back to 1950. The Oct. 22-26 rainfall event was the wettest storm on record ever in Texas. The average two-day total across Texas was 2.42 inches, shattering the previous record of 2.14 inches set in December 1991, says John Nielsen-Gammon, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University who also serves as the State Climatologist. He emphasizes these are overall averages for the state, noting that many localized areas received much higher totals. Over a five-day period, Texas received an average of 3.97 inches of rainfall, edging out the previous record of 3.82 inches set in December 1991. “Those two events far exceed all others since 1950,” Nielsen-Gammon explains. “The third-highest five-day total is a mere 3.31 in June 1961. “The combined total for both recent events was 5.32 inches for the 10-day period ending Oct. 31, 2015.