News

Kings don’t start out as kings. Presidents don’t start out as presidents. Leaders don’t start out as leaders. That’s the message Joshua McElhaney sends readers in his new novel released July 24, “King in a Cave: Learning to be a King without a Throne.”

Mr. McElhaney, a Pittsburg native, said he wrote the book to remind people that you can lead from wherever you are – physically and spiritually.

“The book was written from the perspective of the younger generation who are looking to be leaders. You have to learn to lead from where you are,” he said. “Younger people tend to expect the older generation to step up and be a voice.”

Mr. McElhaney works at Ben E. Keith foods and serves as assistant pastor of the First Church of Tyler. He attended Texas Bible College in Lufkin and hopes to soon move up in church leadership.

Allyn Stewart, 4-year-old daughter of Mindi and Jeff Stewart, greets customers Naomi, Chloe and Timothy Kimbro to her lemonade stand Friday, July 31. Miss Stewart is raising money to buy school supplies for less fortunate children.

Taryn Keefer, 10, chats with her mom, Nikki Keefer, during a celebration lunch for culinary arts camp students held at the Northeast Texas Community College Culinary Arts School in downtown Pittsburg Thursday, July 30. Instructor and chef Charles Reeves presented each student with their own chef hat as reward for graduating. Students cooked the meal and were able to serve parents and guests.

Did you know that in 1892 you could pay your bill with corn?

On this day in 1892, an advertisement was placed in the Pittsburg Gazette for anyone who owed money to the Gazette to bring enough corn into the office to settle their accounts.

What other curiosities can you find in this photo?

Sports practice for many Pittsburg teams started today. With temperatures expected to be in the triple-digits all week, players need to stay hydrated and as cool as possible. Many area events are listed below, including a twirl camp and the Jolly Homemakers meeting. 

August 3

Pirate 2-A-Days

The Pittsburg Pirate football team 2-a-day practice schedule will be Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon beginning Aug. 3 at Pirate Stadium. All players must be dressed and on the field by 7:30 a.m.

Aug. 3

Lady Pirates Volleyball Practice

Pittsburg High School Lady Pirates volleyball practice will be 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday beginning Aug. 3, at the high school gym.

Aug. 3

PJH & PHS Cross Country

Pittsburg Junior High and Pittsburg High School cross country practices will be at 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday beginning Aug. 3 at the high school gym.

Aug. 5

Jolly Homemakers Meeting

Hot weather will once again blanket the area this weekend, but there's plenty of fun to be had in Pittsburg. The city is hosting a grand opening of its Splash Pad Saturday and the first 25 folks get in free courtesy of Pittsburg Mayor Shawn Kennington. The mayor is also buying the first 25 snow cones purchased Saturday.

Coca-Cola is donating the first 24 Cokes purchased, Camp County Monument Co. is donating the first 24 Dr Peppers, Pittsburg Police Chief Richard Penn is donating the first 25 pickles, Harold and Dawn Kennington are buying 25 snowcones and the Drugstore and Daily Grind donated the first 25 Fanta orange drinks.

Aug. 1 Burrow-Mosley Reunion 

Several downtown buildings were vandalized with spray paint sometime between the night of Monday, July 20 and the morning of Tuesday, July 21. The blue spray painted symbol “SURx13” or in some places “x13” could be found on several walls, in alleyways and across windows.

Pittsburg Hot Links, the New Beginnings Community Church building and the Pittsburg Gazette were just a few locations hit by vandals. According to www.wikipedia.com, “sur is the Spanish word for south, but also stands for Southern United Raza. The number 13 represents the 13th letter of the alphabet, the letter M, in order to pay allegiance to the Mexican Mafia.” By the morning of Wednesday, July 22, much of the graffiti had been repainted by the city.

Pittsburg kids can cool off Saturday at the city’s grand opening of Splash Pittsburg at Fair Park. Starting at 11 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 1, Pittsburg Mayor Shawn Kennington will be paying the admission fee for the first 25 adults and children that enter the park. He will also be paying for the first 25 snow cones purchased at the concession stand. Coca-Cola will be donating the first 24 Cokes purchased.

Pittsburg City Manager Clint Hardeman said this is an exciting time for the City of Pittsburg and its residents. “We cannot wait to see our community’s kids enjoy this park,” he said. “Over the past few years, we have revitalized both Moore and Fair Park and we have seen a significant increase in the utilization of the parks.”

School lunch prices at Pittsburg Primary School will be raised from $2.50 to $2.65, the first increase since 2010. Increased lunch costs will not affect students who meet the eligibility requirements for free or reduced lunch. Lunch prices at all other campuses will remain the same.

The decision to raises costs came at the Monday, July 20 meeting of the Pittsburg Independent School District Board of Trustees. Free breakfast will be offered to all students at all campuses.

In other business, board members voted to end its involvement with the Community Eligibility Provision program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to the USDA, the CEP provides an alternative approach for offering school meals to local educational agencies and schools in low income areas, instead of collecting individual applications for free and reduced price meals.