UIL winners

The Chapel Hill UIL Academic and Speech Team brought home the championship trophy Saturday from the Mt. Pleasant Winter Invitational!

Available fo adoption from the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter

Linda is a three-month old female Aussie Mix. She weighs 34.6 pounds and is available for adoption immediately. Call the shelter at 903-575-4174 for more information. It is located at 15th and Mulberry Streets.

Why is the Daily Tribune such a crappy newspaper?

By LOU ANTONELLI

It’s been over a year since I got the heave-ho as managing editor of the Daily Tribune, and for the past year I’ve heard nothing but criticism of it.

Of course, I suspect people might be freer with expressing their negative opinions to me because they assume I am unhappy with my departure.

Which is not completely true. I took over at the Tribune on July 31, 2007, and was let go on Jan. 2, 2015. That was a tough time, many bad years. I’ve enjoyed the slower pace of working at a weekly paper like I do now – although and of course, I don’t like the drop in income. But you simply don’t get as much money for running a weekly as opposed to a daily newspaper.

But the fact remains, the Tribune IS a crappy newspaper. It’s a problem that started many years ago. Problems like this don’t appear overnight.

The Tribune and its predecessor publications were owned by the same family since 1942. When I went to week there in 2007 things were doing great, but then troubles hit. Publisher Bob Palmer was right in 2014 when he said after he sold the paper that it was a combination of bad luck, bad timing and bad decision making.

The Great Recession kicked in soon after I arrived in Mount Pleasant. That was a horrible strain, and the newspaper industry itself is going through changes, mostly caused by technological changes.

The Palmer Family had to cut back and cut back and squeeze blood from stones to keep publishing. 

By 2014 I was the only full-time writer left at the paper. I had to cobble together an issue each day with articles I wrote, plus articles from the Associated Press as well as news releases that came in.

But by 2014 the paper was returning to the black, and obviously was doing well enough that someone was willing to buy it. The Palmers were forced to sell because they had a deficit they had to meet, but I believe the paper itself, on a day to day basis, was on the upswing.

Newspapers, like so many other businesses in the U.S., and undergoing constant consolidations. At the time of its sale, the Tribune was one of only 13 independently-owned daily newspapers in Texas.

But newspapers are a business that doesn’t do well under chain ownership. For one thing, they are not tremendously profitable. Also, almost all the business is done on credit – with all the open advertising accounts – the cash flow can be exasperating.

A wise old publisher told me that you can make a living from a newspaper, but you won’t make a fortune – until you sell it.

Newspapers often – at best – cover costs and turn small profits. Now, when a newspaper is owned by a chain and is expected to, in addition to covering costs and making a small profit, produce dividends for investors – well, it doesn’t usually happen.

There is one way a newspaper chain can squeeze a profit from the papers it owns, and that’s by cheating its journalists by making them work off the clock. Unlike some businesses where the product is uniform and the time for its manufacture quantifiable, journalism is very fluid. It’s impossible to come up with a system to determine how much time it takes to write a newspaper story. Some stories are simple reporting of public events; others fall into place quickly, others may take hours of digging.

Most large newspaper chains cheat their employees by giving them a workload that any honest or intelligent person knows can’t be done in 40 hours, and then refusing them overtime.

I’ve been at the receiving end of this scam a few times in the past. The company that currently owns the Tribune does the same thing, with the resulting poor quality of its product and, of course, a high turnover rate among its employees. The employees are overworked, tired, and short-term.

There was a half year – from the summer of 2014 until the start of last year – when I worked for the current owners, Granite Publications. It’s one of those typical chiseling corporate outfits that gyps it employees by making them work off the clock and enjoys running them off so they never have to give raises.

Ironically, the family that owns it is named Chionsini (which is NOT Italian for “Chiseler”, though it should be). The founder is retired, and it’s his daughter who wields the whip hand now. As so often happens in the U.S. with spoiled children of privilege, she’s a left winger. She was a big Wendy Davis pink shirt in the 2014 governor’s election.

When the Tribune changed hands in June 2014, she brought in a similarly left-wing publisher, so right off the bat there was a shift in the ideological foundation of the paper. This is a bad fit for a community that votes about 70 percent Republican in general elections.

Of course, they pulled the same baloney of working me 60-80 hours a week for 40 hours a pay, but I knew they would do that, and I expected it. I thought it was kind of cute in an evil sort of way. I know they detested me, but with almost everyone else at the paper being a member of the Palmer Family – and therefore having left when the family sold the paper – I knew they couldn’t fire me immediately. They wouldn’t even know where the toilet paper was kept.

I was surprised I lasted as long as I did. It was a sort of a game. It reminds me of a line from a 1940s horror/comedy uttered by a character played by Peter Lorre: “I’m tired of wasting my time outwitting fools.”

The publisher wanted me to give an excessive workload to the new employees, but I would not be complicit in employment fraud, so he had to give them the assignments himself.

The upshot is there was already been a 100 percent turnover in the journalistic staff of the paper in the past year. Nobody is going to stay and work under those conditions. The product obviously suffers.

This is normal for a chain-owned newspaper such as the Tribune is now. The paper has no stability or continuity, and the employees have no experience, because of the high turnover. What’s particularly funny is that this is under corporate leadership that would welcome Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders as president. It recalls the saying, relative to the old Soviet Union, that “Communism is the highest form of monopoly, because under Communism the government owns everything, and so whoever owns the government owns everything.”

One logical thing to do to cut costs at the Tribune would seem to be to cut back on its publication schedule, make it a semi-weekly or weekly, But Granite Publications tried that in 2014 with the daily paper it owns in Taylor. The result was catastrophic – its circulation dropped by at least half. The same thing would surely happen in Mount Pleasant.

Having a daily newspaper is an asset to Mount Pleasant, but chain ownership is not working. It would be nice if some community-spirited business stepped forward and offered to take it off Granite Publications’ hands.

UPDATE: As of Feb. 3 our reliable sources indicate the current managing editor is leaving. This makes perfect sense, in that the owners of the Tribune cheat and abuse their employees by making them work off the clock and/or do multiple jobs.

The Tribune hasn't had a publisher for months; they made the editor do both jobs. Now that they've hired a publisher, they'll make him do both jobs.

The Tribune has had three publishers in a year and half. Before being bought by Granite Publications, the company had three publishers in 62 years.

Way to go TIGERS!!!

Congratulations to the members of the Mount Pleasant High School junior varsity tennis team who competed in their first tournament this week! A special congrats to Cheyenne andNora for winning the Consolation bracket in Girls B doubles!

New construction

Priefert Ranch Equipment is rapidly growing! Once completed, one of these buildings will serve in packing product and the other as shipping. This will double productivity and work space!

Kindness Week

Students at Corprew Elementary were celebrating Kindness Week!

Sheriff's office busts man for meth Thursday

The Titus County Sheriff’s Office recently began an investigation involving James Martin Chopel, who was living in a Ford motor home parked and located within the Mount Pleasant Mobile Home Park on County Road 3210.

During the investigation it was determined Chopel possessed and was selling illegal narcotics, namely, methamphetamine from the motor home. After probable cause was established, an affidavit containing the facts of the investigation was presented to a Titus County District Judge who, after review, signed a search warrant for the location.

On Thursday, Jan. 28, at approximately 8:30 p.m. the Titus County Sheriff’s Office executed the search warrant. As deputies made entry to the motor home they located Chopel. A search was conducted and drug paraphernalia and methamphetamines were located.

Chopel was arrested and charged with Possession of a Cames Martin Chopel was also found to have an outstanding warrant for Driving While License Invalid.

An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for any term of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual may be

Ready for baseball season

It's almost time for some MPHS Tiger Baseball! Tuesday night, Tiger baseball families began working on the field and getting everything ready to get started.

ALL Mount Pleasant High School FBLA students advance to state

MPHS took 37 students to the FBLA – Area VI Leadership Conference at Region 8. Out of the 37 students we took to Area, ALL of them placed and have advanced to State! The State Leadership Conference will be held from 3/3 – 3/5/16 in Houston, TX. Congratulations to MPHS FBLA! Way to go TIGERS!!!
1. Sports and Entertainment Management – Team One – 4th Place
Nayeli Fuentes
Dexter Roberson
2. Sports and Entertainment Management – Team Two - 2nd Place
Abigail Amerson
Kenzie Messer
Nachyna Rogers
3. Economics – Angel Araiza – 4th Place
4. Marketing Team – 1st Place
Saray Belmonte
Maria Zuniga
Osbaldo Torres
5. Client Services – Kara Brewer – 3rd Place
6. Social Media Team – 1st Place
Carina Campos
Alyson Cortez
Urub Latif
7. Business Law – Abraham Cruz – 2nd Place
8. Entrepreneurship - Team One – 2nd Place
Lisa Ibarra
Jorge Tamayo
9. Entrepreneurship - Team Two – 3rd Place
Juan Cardona
Eric Vasquez
10. Public Service Announcement Team – 1st Place
Gavin Dethrow
Mayra Villarruel
Sergio Zambrano
11. Personal Finance – Tyler Godfrey – 1st Place
12. Accounting 1 – Maria Gomez – 6th Place
13. Job Interview – Michelle Gonzalez – 1st Place
14. Graphic Design Team – 1st Place
Alicengrace Gray
Madison McDaniel
15. Sales Presentation – Kerry Harper – 1st Place
16. Introduction to Financial Math – Daniel Landaverde – 6th Place
17. Publication Design Team – 1st Place
Victor Le
Jajayra Zuniga
18. Digital Video Production Team – 1st Place
Nadieska Oviedo
Leivy Zuniga
19. Impromptu Speaking – Omar Ramirez – 3rd Place
20. Introduction to Financial Math – David Robles – 4th Place
21. Accounting II – Lucero Rocha - 3rd Place
22. Introduction to Financial Math – Sanum Shahid – 6th Place
23. Introduction to Business Communications – Itzamari Vargas – 5th Place

Athletic Hall of Fame complete

The Mount Pleasant ISD Athletic Hall of Fame is now completed and ready for next year!

The Hall of Fame is located in the hallway of the Willie Williams Gym. This is the highest honor that a former Tiger Student Athlete can achieve through Athletics in the MPISD.

The Mount Pleasant Tiger Booster Club thanks everyone who contributed to make this project special!

Red Devil donation

Chapel Hill High School Principal Brandon Dennard accepted a donation Wednesday from Vikki Goates and American National Bank.

Armed robbery suspect arrested

On Tuesday Evening, January 26th, Titus County Sheriff's deputies arrested 22-year old Heath Allen Pain, pursuant to an indictment for the First Degree Felony offense of Aggravated Robbery.

The felony indictment was handed down by a Titus County Grand Jury on January 21st  and stems from allegations that Pain robbed a convenience store in Mount Pleasant on November 30th of last year.

Forty-year year old Veronica Edens was arrested along with Pain for the 3rd Degree Felony offense of Hindering Apprehension.

A joint effort was underway by the Titus County Sheriff's Office and the Mount Pleasant Police Department to determine Pain's location when two deputies acting on accumulative information as well as intuition, observed a gold Toyota Avalon approaching the Huntington Apartments, located on the 1200 block of West 15th Street, in Mount Pleasant.

Upon initiating a traffic stop on the vehicle, both Pain and Edens were arrested without incident and will await arraignment in the Titus County Jail.

Local election season starts

The month-long period for candidates to file for local offices to be decided in the upcoming May 7 election has begun.

Qualifications to run for local office are as follows:

1) Age - Must be at least 18 years of age.

2) Residence – One year in the state and six months in the district prior to filing deadline.

3) Must be a registered voter at time of election.

As per the Texas Secretary of State Election Calendar, Wednesday Jan. 20, was the first day to file an application for a place on the ballot and the last day to file is on Friday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m.

There are three city council seats up for election on the city council – Place 3 (Incumbent David Huffman), Place 4 (Incumbent Tim Dale) and Place 5 (Incumbent Sue Hawkins). The terms are for two years.

As of the end of the day Tuesday, Rick Rajotte and Jack Anderson had filed for Place 3. Dale and Kellye Cooper have signed up for Place 4 and Hawkins for Place 5.

For the school board, the trustees up for re-election this year are Buddy Blue and Ezeal McGill. Terms are for three years.

Down Under designers

Mrs. Adams' Chapel Hill 6th grade Social studies class tried their hand at making aboriginal-style art Tuesday during a study unit on Australia.

MPHS UIL Academic Team Takes Sweepstakes at North Lamar

The Mt. Pleasant High School UIL Academic team went up against 20 other schools at the North Lamar UIL Academic Meet and when the scores had been totaled, they had earned 1st place and brought home the Sweepstakes trophy.

“We took 66 students to the North Lamar UIL Academic Meet this past weekend and earned a total of 388 points overall,” said UIL Sponsor Regina Crouch. “We took 1st place in Calculator Applications, Math, Speech and Spelling 2nd place in Accounting and Social Studies. The second place school earned only 208 points. I am really proud of how our student performed. This was a great lead-in to our Invitational Meet here this coming weekend.”

Many students earned medals in their individual events as well as earning team awards.

Individual Medals:

Accounting (2nd Place Team)
Lucero Rocha 2nd, place Sina Falagiapupu 5th place
Calculator Applications (1st Place Team)
9th grade: Sanum Shahid 1st place
11th grade: Carlos Barboza 1st place, Husban Shahid 3rd place, Daniel Hernandez 4th place
12th grade: Nayeli Fuentes 1st place
Overall : Carlos Barboza 1st place, Nayeli Fuentes 2nd place, Husban Shahid 4th place Daniel Hernandez 5th place.
CX Debate (1st Place Speech Team)
Devon Reynolds-Audrey Courreges 3rd place; Anthony Preciado-Seth Robertson 4th place; Nadieska Oviedo 5th place
Top Speaker Overall Nadieska Oviedo
Computer Science: Dylan Ingram 4th place
Current Events: Josh Yox 2nd place, Dexter Roberson 5th place
Informative Speaking: (1st Place Speech Team)
Nadieska Oviedo 2nd place
Journalism:
Editorial Writing: Alli Norfleet 3rd place
Feature Writing: Kenzie Messer 3rd place
Headline Writing: Kenzie Messer 1st place; Raegan Davis 5th place
News Writing: Madora Jemison 2nd place; Raegan Davis 4th place
LD Debate (1st Place Speech Team)
Nancy Ibarra 2nd place, Leivy Zuniga 4th place
Math: (1st Place Team)
9th grade: David Barboza 1st place
10th grade: Eric Vasquez 6th place
11th grade : Daniel Hernadez 1st place, Carlos Barboza 2nd place, Husban Shahid 3rd place, Oscar Munoz 4th place
12th grade: Nayeli Fuentes 1st place
Overall: Daniel Hernandez 1st, Nayeli Fuentes 2nd, Carlos Barboza 3rd, Husban Shahid 4th, David Barboza 5th
Number Sense:
11th grade : Daniel Hernandez 5th place, Husban Shahid 6th place
12th grade : Kenzie Messer 5th place
Persuasive Speaking (1st Place Speech Team)
Anthony Preciado 3rd place
Poetry: Jamie Adams 1st place, Urub Latiff 6th place
Prose: Yaritza Romero 1st place, Alyson Cortez 5th place
Ready Writing: Morgan Thurman 3rd place, Rebecca Yox 6th place
Science:
9th grade: Sanum Shahid 4th place
11th grade: Husban Shahid 4th place, Oscar Munoz 5th place
Social Studies: (2nd Place Team)
Clarissa Santos 2nd place
2nd Place team: Yami Zuniga, Clarissa Santos, Nadieska Oviedo
Spelling: (1st Place Team)
Anahi Rodriguez 1st place, Karla Ochoa 2nd place, Reagan Ball 4th place

Meet the newest members of the Mount Pleasant Police Department

Chief Wayne Isbell swore in two new officers Monday. Please meet Officer Colby Horn (left) and Officer Shawn Albright (right).

Both officers are graduates of the Northeast Texas Regional Police Academy and will be assigned to the Patrol Division after completing field training.

Ransomware attack

TRMC experienced a network outage on Friday, January 15th. The outage is the result of a ransomware virus cyber attack, which encrypted files on multiple database servers.

The hospital's computer network was NOT hacked. This is a critical distinction - there is NO reason to believe any staff or patient information was visible or compromised.

TRMC has partnered with a national company specializing in these types of attacks to validate the security of patient and staff information and to determine the root causes of the event.

Two Arrested For Burglary in Mount Pleasant

On Saturday January 23, 2016 at approximately 10 a.m. officers responded to a suspicious persons call in the area of 1000 W. 6th Street.

A caller reported two people behind a house who did not belong there.

When the first officer arrived in the area he observed two subjects walking in the street, both carrying items that may have come from a residence.

The officer detained both subjects while other officers searched the area for an offense.

Officers and Detectives found several travel trailers located in the 800 Block of West 5th St had been broken into.

These travel trailers are temporarily parked on the property of the Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church at 806 W. 4th Street, while the building is under construction.

Construction crews who live in the units confirmed their residences had been broken into. Officers were able to match items in possession of both suspects with items taken from 3 of the 5 trailers at the site.

Arrested were 39 year old Jake Victor Sterling and 29 year old Dominique Marshan Sterling, both of Mount Pleasant. It’s believed that the Sterlings are common law married.

Both subjects have an extensive criminal record that includes Thefts, Burglaries and Assaultive offenses.

Both suspects were charged with three counts of Burglary of a Habitation, a second degree felony and booked into the Titus County Jail.

Do you know me?

The Mount Pleasant Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the man in the photos.

In October of 2015 a customer was standing at the service center desk inside Walmart, counting out money. After counting out the money the customer placed it on the counter. This suspect approached from behind and grabbed the $520 off the counter and ran out of the store.

If you recognize the person in this photo, please call the Mount Pleasant Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit at 903-575-4188.

Dawg Fest donates

Leo the Lion and Phil Scudder from the Mount Pleasant Lions Club (right)accepted a check for the Texas Lions Camp from the Robert Arellano Foundation (AKA The Dawg Fest) — Applebee's Saturday morning.

Food Giveaway

Everett Toyota is doing another awesome #EverettGiveaway to benefit their hometown. They need everyone to bring non-perishable food items up there to Everett Toyota through JANUARY 28TH!! Anyone who brings food will be entered in a drawing to WIN a $100 GAS CARD and 5 FREE Oil Changes!!

They will also DONATE $500 to the Food Pantry if they get 250 pounds of food!!! So help them do this.. Below is a list of things they need:

✅All kinds of nut butters
✅Canned Fish (tuna,chicken etc..)
✅Canned Chili
✅Soups
✅ Boxed Meals (hamburger helper, tuna helper, pancake mixes etc..)
✅ Canned Fruit

They will take ANY kind of non perishable food, but items high in protein are BEST!!!

They're oipen 8-6 and 8-5 Saturday. Swing by anytime and just drop it off and fill out an info card for drawing.

CHJH Teacher of the Month

The Chapel Hill Junior High School Rock star Teacher for the month of January is Mrs. Amanda Manning!!

Keeping warm with love

A local family bought new, warm coats as part of their extended family Christmas and dropped off a dozen jackets this week at Titus County Cares (TCC).

TCC was already already able to bless a young man with one Thursday as he entered the building on a very cold day with short sleeves. When asked if he had a coat, he shyly shook his head no.

He left wearing a new jacket and a smile!

Outdoor feeder donation

The Mount Pleasant Junior High Outdoor Adventure class is the recipient of a composite wildlife feeder donated by The Hunters Seminar Committee and Boss Buck Wildlife Company.

“The Hunter Seminar Committee and the Boss Buck Wildlife Company were happy to get involved in this program to help young people become aware of wildlife and the outdoor world,” said John Gullion from the Committee.

“We have been amazed at the number of birds and animals that the feeder attracts on a regular basis in our outdoor classroom setting,” said Outdoor Adventure class teacher Van Bowen. “My students and I would like to thank the Seminar Committee and the Boss Buck Wildlife Company for their support. These students are learning valuable lessons about the world around them in this class and this composite feeder just expands how they experience the world outside.”

School foundation donations

Guaranty Bank

Guaranty Bank and Trust and Pilgrim Bank have each donated $2500 to the Mt. Pleasant ISD School Foundation. The funds will be used to help fund Educator Grants.

“We thank Guaranty and Pilgrims for these donations to help fund our Educator Grants,” said Foundation Executive Director Dr. Judith Saxton. “We gave out our first set of Educator Grants this month to teachers who were very appreciative for the assistance. We were able to funds things that fall outside their campus budgets. The donations from these two local banks will allow us to distribute even more Educator Grants in May.”

Pilgrim Bank

Leads sought on daytime burglary

The Titus County Sheriff's Office is currently investigating a burglary which took place during daylight hours Thursday.

The burglary occurred at a residence in the Blevins Community on County Road 4875 near Cason. A significant amount of items were taken, included flat screen televisions, jewelry, guns and chain saws.

The Titus County Sheriff's Office is asking any citizen who observed any suspicious activity or vehicles in that corner of the county to please call in with their information.

"We will leave no stone unturned in pursuit of the burglars and we are working quickly to develop leads in this case," said Sheriff Tim Ingram. "We would like to again express our recommendation that homeowners make use of today's current inexpensive availability of surveillance cameras which frequently prove so valuable in leading to the identification and arrest of criminals."

Anyone with information in this or any other offense, are asked to call (903) 572-6641 and ask to speak to an investigator.

Reaching out to the community

The Board of Directors of Titus County Cares (TCC) spent a morning of planning and dreaming of big things for TCC with guest speaker Reggie McNeal. The planning session was held at Jo's on the Square. The training focused on how TCC can reach and help more people in Titus County.

It's election time!

Candidate for Place 3 Rick Rajotte hands his filing to City Secretary Darlene Denman.

Sign-ups opened Wednesday, Jan. 20, for the annual spring municipal elections in Texas. Applications for a place on the ballot will be taken until Feb. 19.

In Mount Pleasant, there are three seats coming for election. Thee people signed up on the first day.

Richard Rajotte filed for Place 3. The incumbent is David Huffman.

Both the incumbents in Place 4 and Place 5, Tim Dale and Sue Hawkins, also have signed up again.

Tigers take home medals

Congratulations to the MPHS Powerlifters who competed in the Lindale Meet and walked away with a lot of medals! Way to go TIGERS!!!

Medals - GIRLS:
Angie Contreras – 2nd place - 165 lb division
Cash Brown – 2nd place – 220+ lb division
Mialissa Peeples – 3rd place – 220+ lb division
Molli Dorsey – 5th place – 220+ lb division

Medals - BOYS:
Pablo Gutierrez – 1st place – 114 lb division
Jesus Perez – 5th place – 148 lb division
Joshua Martinez – 5th place – 165 lb division
Andrew turner – 5th place – 220 lb division
Caleb Johnson – 3rd place – SHW division

Pictured:
Kneeling from L to R: Angie Contreras, Cash Brown

2nd row L to R: Daniel Landeverde, Michael Cortez, Asheton Brown, Pablo Gutierrez, Kathryne Cantu, Mialissa Peeples, Molli Dorsey, Jesus Perez, Joshua Martinez

Back Row from L to R: Enoel Rodriguez, Caleb Johnson, Andrew Turner, Carlos Martinez, Ben Grissom, Damien Gwin, Ivan Rodriguez

Way to go TIGERS!!!

Congratulations to the Mount Pleasant High School Policy Debate Team of Audrey Courreges and Devon Reynolds who took 3rd Place out of 48 teams in the Lindale Debate Tournament over the past weekend.

First Annual Biker Ball

The Robert Arellano Foundation is PROUD to announce its very first Biker Ball.

Attire is nice casual. Tickets go on sale this Saturday. They will be available for purchase at website soon)!

Tickets are $25 per ticket or purchase a table (seats 8) for $180 *best deal*.

Seating is limited, so get your tickets purchased. Tickets include Meal and

Concert by Bo He... See more at Mount Pleasant Country Club Facebook page

Do you know me?

The Mount Pleasant Police Department needs help identifying a person who is accused of stealing a purse at Wal-Mart on South Jefferson, Friday January 15, 2016.

The suspect in the photograph used the victim’s debit card and student ID in an attempt to purchase items from Radio Shack located at 2306 S. Jefferson St. shortly after the theft at 5:00 pm.

Witnesses stated the white female appeared to have blonde hair pushed up under the ball cap she was wearing. Although the photo of the woman is grainy, she is wearing distinctive clothing.

If you know the person in the attached photographs please call the Mount Pleasant Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit at 903-575-4191.

Chapel Hill Homecoming is Friday

Food for the pantry

This van arrived Tuesday FULL of food for the Titus County Cares Food Pantry!

Thank you First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, TX DNOW youth for blessing the Pantry in a HUGE way!!!!

Suspicious circumstances

Titus County Sheriff's Office just received information of a really nice smoker/trailer that has been used but well cared for, having been sold under suspicious circumstances. The circumstances lead area law enforcement, to believe the smoker to have been stolen within the past few days. Any resident, with information regarding one having been stolen, are asked to contact the Titus County Sheriff's Office at (903) 572-6641.

Go Big Red!

This year's Chapel Hill Homecoming events start at 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22nd. Bring your family for supper in the MPF. Supper is chicken stew, tamales, and/or chili. Cost is $5 per person and includes dessert and drink. Silent Auction for many wonderful items will be in the MPF as well. It starts at 4 p.m. and goes thru 8 p.m.. Basketball game will be in the High School Gym. These start at 4 p.m., and they will feature great halftime performances. Please come and support the athletes and CHEF!

Helping with the Food Pantry

Titus County Cares thanks the Greenhill UMC Youth Program for organizing the Food4Kids bags.

Long-time volunteer firefighter passes away

Walter “Sarge” Lake Sr., age 68 of Mount Pleasant, passed away Friday, January 15, 2016 in Mount Pleasant. Funeral services were held Monday, January 18, 2016 at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Daingerfield at 1:00 P.M. with Father Stephen Duyka officiating. Visitation was held Sunday, January 17, 2016 from 3:00-6:00 P.M. at Curry-Welborn Funeral Home.

Walter was born in Long Branch New Jersey on January 12, 1948 to Richard Anthony and Louise Lake and married Elizabeth Ann Tahamont in Woodbridge Virginia on May 15, 1982. He served in the United States Army for over 29 years, was a member of the VFW of Mount Pleasant until it closed, a volunteer with the Nortex volunteer fire department, and was of the Roman Catholic faith.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth A. Lake of Mount Pleasant, his children; Walter Lake Jr. of Buffalo New York, Shawn M. Lake, Ann Hornbostel, stepchildren; Karen L. Head and husband Jimmy of Ben Wheeler Texas, Michael J. DuBey and wife Sheri of Browns Mills, NJ, Sheila E. Taylor and husband Jared of Wichita, KS, and Raymond V. DuBey and special friend Cyndi of Mount Pleasant, his brother Richard A. Lake III and wife Gertrude of Princeton Texas, his sister, Mary Jane Benning and husband Jack of Belford, NJ, and numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his son Stephen Lake, parents Richard A. Lake II and Louise Lake, sister’s Elizabeth L. Farney and Christine M. Salas and brother William J. Lake.

Memorials in the honor of Walter Lake Sr. can be made to the Cypress Basin Hospice at 207 Morgan St. Mount Pleasant Texas.

Packages from home

Nicholas Poe, a 2014 Mount Vernon High School graduate, and some of his fellow soldiers, were happy to receive holiday packages from Mount Pleasant's MOM (Ministering Our Military).

Christina Kessler Makes All-State Choir for Second Year

Mount Pleasant High School senior Christina Kessler will sing as part of the Texas Music Educator Association (TMEA) All- State Women’s Choir for the second year in a row. She will perform with the Choir in San Antonio on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center as part of the 2016 TMEA Clinic/Convention. Kessler, the daughter of Mike and Amy Kessler, is a member of the MPHS Bello Canto.

“This is the result of months of hard work,” said MPHS Choir Director Luke Dean. “Christina began preparing this summer when she went to an All-State choir camp, and then had to advance through three rounds of auditions. She has worked hard to learn the music and to perfect her sight-reading. I am proud that Christina will again be representing Mt. Pleasant in the All-State Choir.”

Kessler was chosen for this prestigious honor through a competitive process held this school year across the state at the District, Region and Area levels. She is one of over 1,600 students selected through an audition process that began with over 64,000 students from across the state of Texas vying for the honor of performing in one of 15 ensembles (bands, orchestras and choirs).

“The audition process is not easy,” said MPISD Director of Communication Dr. Judi Saxton. “Individual musicians perform selected music before a panel of judges who rank each instrument or voice part. From this ranking, a select group of musicians advances to the next level.

Only the top 3% of musicians who initially audition become All-State musicians. For an adult musician to perform alone before a panel of judges is intimidating. It can be even more for a high school student.”

Kessler’s accomplishment is even more amazing, Saxton added. “Christina was in a church van accident in July 2014 which seriously injured her mouth. She had to really adjust her singing style to take this into account. That she continued to sing and then made All-State Choir twice speaks to her personal determination and her commitment to being an outstanding musician.”

Kessler hopes to attend Baylor University after graduation to major in Music Education

$5,000 donation to MOM

Everett Toyota recently donated $5,000 to Ministering Our Military (MOM). It was as a result of a Facebook sharing competition just before Christmas. MOM received $10 for every share of their Facebook post, up to $5000. It only lasted about 12 hours before MOM maxed out!

Lions Club visit

Mount Pleasant Lion Kent Basinger (left) visited Weatherford Noon Lions Club on Wednesday to talk about Texas Lions Camp!

Historic score

The Chapel Hill girls basketball team beat Daingerfield at home Tuesday night, 102-23 - the first time a Chapel Hill girls basketball team has scored in triple digits.

Witnesses sought in burglary

Titus County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary of the Talco Quick Track store which occurred at approximately 12:25 AM on Friday Morning, January 08th. Burglars gained entry to the store through an exterior wall. Once inside, the burglars forced open an ATM removing its contents, as well as other items from the store.

Titus County Sheriff’s Investigators have knowledge that a white or light colored 4 door pickup, possibly a Toyota Prerunner towing a boat on a trailer was seen traveling west on FM 71 shortly before 1:00 AM. The pickup pulling the boat arrived from the east on FM 71 and continued west.
Investigators believe that the driver of that vehicle was likely a witness to some of the activity associated with the burglary but may not have realized it.

If anyone knows who the driver towing the boat might be, they are asked to relay that information to the Titus County Sheriff’s Office at (903) 572-6641.

UIL team in Austin

The Chapel Hill High School UIL Congressional Debate Team is in Austin, competing at the state tournament for the next two days! Tuesday students begin a series of four chamber sessions, debating 20 pieces of legislation, on the way to a state team championship!

MOM receives $1,000

Members of Mount Pleasant's Ministering Our Military (MOM) were presented with a $1,000 donation by Guaranty Bank Friday for coming in second place in the bank's Guaranty Gives Back Spotlight campaign.

Chapel Hill winter concert

The Chapel Hill High School choir and band did a great job at the school's winter concert Monday evening.

Happy birthday David Meyer

Titus County Cares wished volunteer David Meyer a happy 60th birthday on Monday!