News

The famous Leesburg General Store and its brisket burger is back under a new name, J & C BBQ and Catering.

The new owners of the building, Mr. Jack Krietermeyer and Mr. Carl `Buck’ Johnson, say they will probably never take down the old sign, but everything inside is brand new.

The specialty of course is barbecue.

“I’ve got a long line of barbecue in my history,” Mr. Johnson said.

Mr.  Johnson’s family barbecue legacy started with his grandfather, who ran a barbecue place for 30 years. Mr. Johnson said he grew up in that restaurant.

Mr. Krietermeyer also owns JK Income Tax Services in Winnsboro. He said the combination of the opportunity to buy the old store and his faith in Mr. Johnson’s barbecue makes him feel positive the venture will be a success.

 Mr. Krietermeyer also stressed that a big part of their business plan was catering.

Pittsburg Junior High is setting the standard for Pittsburg Independent School District, Region 8 and the state.

Final scores from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness standardized tests are in and it's nothing but good news for PJH. Out of 8,600 school campuses in the state of Texas, only 153 earned all seven of the “star” designations available. PJH earned all seven and is the only campus in this area to do so.

Each “star” on the final report is a distinction designation. Campuses that receive an accountability rating of “met standard” were eligible to received a starred distinction designation for the following categories, if applicable to its campus:

–        Academic achievement in reading/English language arts

–        Academic achievement in mathematics

–        Academic achievement in science

Kenith Taylor, left, and Felipe Mejia with the Pittsburg water department request tools from coworkers as they work to stop a water line break on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 27. The break occurred on Highway 11 East coming into Pittsburg from Daingerfield. Water line breaks like this are common when pipe is aging and the ground is dry and shifts.

By the time incoming freshmen at Pittsburg Independent School District graduate from high school, they will have had the opportunity to earn 45 hours of college credit.

Most associate degrees require 60 credit hours, so students could be well on their way to a degree just after earning their high school diplomas.

The Pittsburg High School College Academy is a partnership between PISD and Northeast Texas Community College where parents can opt to pay for college courses offered through NTCC that are based at Pittsburg High School. These courses count as dual credit for both high school and college hours.

PHS student Daisy Portillo is taking speech and sociology this year for dual credit and said she's excited for the future.

Camp County and the Pittsburg Independent School District have set tax rates for the coming year.

The PISD maintenance and operations rate was set at $1.04 while the interest and sinking tax rate was increased by $0.01 and set at $0.1263. The M and O rate funds the daily operations of the district including payroll. The I and S side funds capital expenditures and building.

At the Aug. 17 meeting of the PISD Board of Trustees, board members learned that for 2015-'16, taxable property values for Camp, Upshur and Wood counties totaled $634,085,817, an increase from the last fiscal year, which came in at $622,938,307.

With a property value increase of $11,147,510, PISD's share comes to $115,934.

What do Frankie Avalon and Jeanne Robertson have in common?

They're two of the best-selling performances coming to the area during the 2015-'16 season of the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts at Northeast Texas Community College.

The season officially kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 8 with an art exhibit by Debbie Strong. The show runs through Sept. 30 and there will be an opening reception for the work at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Ms. Strong is an adjunct art teacher at NTCC and she helps put together art exhibits during the year. Her show is titled “Strong Images: digital art,” and will be open whenever the gallery is open. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon Friday or by appointment by calling  (903) 434-8181.

The City of Pittsburg's water services crew responded to a water line break early Thursday morning. Water pressure caused a spray that reached across both lanes of Highway 11 coming into Pittsburg. Crews were able to get the line repaired.

Carroll Shelby is a name well-known around the world and especially in Pittsburg as the racing legend hailed from Camp County.

This year, the Shelby name will be prominent in Pittsburg and across the world once again thanks to the work of individuals who want to carry on his racing legacy. A Shelby automotive Show and Shine is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 110 Fulton Street during the Pioneer Days festival. Early estimates put the number of cars participating in the Show and Shine and parade at well over 100.

The event is sponsored by the Northeast Texas Community College Shelby Automotive Technology Program Alumni Group and the Shelby Cobra Association of Texas and donations will be accepted to help fund the automotive technology program. This year’s Pioneer Days festival will be dedicated to the racing legend, as well.

Sculpting, painting, writing, crafting – whatever the activity, Sandra Sherrod McCurry is an artist at heart.

Ms. McCurry has published a book aimed at helping others discover their own passion for creating. “Awakening your Muse: A Guide to Exploring the Creativity Within,” is available for purchase on www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

The book was published in spiral notebook form and features musings from Ms. McCurry, as well as personal drawings and writing prompts to encourage others to do the same.

“When the idea for this book started, there was a group of us that met at the Mount Vernon art center. We were doing art journals and we thought maybe some other people would like to do it too,” she said. “It can be read as a book with illustrations, but it can also be a workbook.”