News

Northeast Texas voters will decide in November whether the Paris Junior College taxing district should match the school's service region as defined by the State of Texas.

Frances Dalbey, the executive director of the Hunt County United Way, says at Saturday night's game vs. Oakland, the Texas Rangers will present a grant of $5,000 to the United Way for the renovation of the youth baseball and softball park in Wolfe City.  This is a separate but related project to the United Way's plans to renovate the city park in Wolfe City on Saturday, October 22.

The repairs to State Highway 19 have started from the Delta County line to Sulphur Springs.

One-lane traffic will span the length of the 13 miles while the Richard Drake Construction Company LLC works to first remove the faulty asphalt and then replace it with an improved surface.

On Sunday, Sept. 11 an accident involving a couple on a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a couple in a Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicle occurred at the intersection of State Highway 24 and Farm-to-market 64.

Texas A&M University-Commerce economics professor Dr. Dale Funderburk reflects on a recent Dallas Morning News article reporting that, because of the downtown in the oil industry, it looks increasingly likely that the state legislature will enact budget cuts when it meets in January 2017. 

Kim Saenz, the director of the Hunt Regional Medical Centers of Commerce and Quinlan, discusses the causes of stress and depression that may affect college students as the new school year begins.

In Fannin County, construction of what would be the newest lake in Texas is a year behind schedule. Supporters of the Lower Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir say that delay is bad news for the communities north of Dallas that would get water from the lake. But for some North Texas families, it's borrowed time to save their farms and livelihoods from the coming floods. KETR’s George Hale reports.

Lori Cope, the executive director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Hunt County, says the organization has moved from the Hunt County Courthouse to a building across the street at 2520 Lee Street in Greenville.  Many longtime Greenville residents will remember it at the former McGaughey Drugs building.  CASA has its annual fund raiser,"Superheroes for CASA," a dinner and auction, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, September 24 at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Greenville.

Herald-Banner film critic Alice Reese gives her review of two movies being released this week: "Sully," starring Tom Hanks and directed by Clint Eastwood, about airline pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who landed a jetliner in New York's Hudson River, and "The Hollars," a family "dramedy," or dramatic comedy.

A new session of GriefShare begins Monday evening (September 12) at the First Baptist Church of Commerce.  A light supper will be served.  The 13-week program helps people to cope with the loss of a loved one.  Jim Ayres of First Baptist, and co-owner of the Commerce Funeral Home with his wife Teena, discusses the benefits of the GriefShare program on the Blacklands Cafe.

Commerce Chamber of Commerce manager Paul Voss says he is impressed with 29-year-old Darrek Ferrell, the new Commerce city manager.  He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas A&M, and has served as assistant city manager in McKinney, and most recently, as city administrator and economic development director for the city of Mount Vernon.

A close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will speak at Texas A&M University-Commerce at 7 p.m. Thursday evening (September 8).  Dr. Robert Green is a retired faculty member at Michigan State University, and headed up the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's educational foundation under King.  Dr. LaVelle Hendricks, associate professor of counseling at A&M-Commerce, says Green still advocates King's non-violent approach for bringing about change.

Dallas business consultant and East Texas State/Texas A&M-Commerce alumnus Randy Pennington says there are many ways for employers to earn "buy-in" from their employees, in which they feel a personal involvement with the organization and its mission.  The "Five Friends," a group of business consultants and authors that includes Randy, recently produced a video on the subject of "buy-in."