News

I used to think getting ‘old’ would be a total drag. I’d be sitting around in the rocking chair reflecting upon the good old days, and I guess that day will come. I’m now in my early seventies and no longer have the least bit of desire to guide elk or bear hunters, but I’m delighted to find I can still climb into a tree stand or pack meat out of the woods. I no longer drag deer or hogs very far but have learned that quartering and packing meat in smaller quantities better suits my stage of life! I am still a very active hunter but, these days, I am of the mindset that the next decade or so of hunting should be spent experiencing the glorious fall and winter days doing exactly what I enjoy most.

The City of Mesquite approved the 2022-23 Budget at its August 15 meeting which includes a tax rate of .65814. This tax rate is 5 cents below the current tax rate.

By Carey Kinsolving (Part 1 of 2)

Have you heard of Simplicity by September? No? Maybe you know it as Junk Free July? Organized in October? Less Mess March? It’s ok. Clearly, we’ve got some work to do. There’s a movement going on in the world. We GenXers have hit the wall. We were tasked with caregiving for our Greatest Gen parents, or even our Boomer elders (I had both), and we weren’t expecting the fallout to be this grim. Those generations subscribed to a waste not/want not philosophy. They realized the value of things. Their epiphany was centered around the fact that things cost money, but if they only took care of all possessions properly, if they guarded/ tended/repaired/saved, then they would never need to buy those things again. “I could toss this tin foil, but what if I just kept saving the tiny pieces until it formed a ball large enough to take up a spare bedroom? I’d never have to worry about having enough tin foil again!” Saving the Benjamins was all that mattered to them. It is a worthy and valid hill to die on, I must say. But, the result is utter chaos, especially to those of us left behind to declutter homesteads, execute wills, and dispense tchotchkes. It’s like we all woke up one morning, after futile attempts to find anyone willing to house Great Aunt Opal’s fox stole that she only ever wore once a year when Uncle Opie took her downtown to see the Christmas window at Niemen-Marcus, shouting the same mantra. WE WILL NOT DO THIS TO OUR CHILDREN. We won’t force them to hang onto the gift tags we saved for them from the baby showers thrown for us when they were still safe in our bellies (true story). They will not inherit bags upon bags of empty penny roller casings (also true). Their inheritance will not center around a metric ton of instamatic triplicate pictures that show more fingertips than scenery (yep). And, unlike our parents, we’ll save our children the guilt of having to feel that feeling of impending doom from throwing away the things they know we cherished. We will get rid of everything. We will do it right now.

The Kaufman County Historical Commission (CHC) has been awarded a 2021 Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Historical Commission (THC).

During this time of the year, college students are preparing for the upcoming semester and purchasing required items such as textbooks, laptops, meal plans and budgeting for other living expenses. The National Retail Federation expects total spending for back-tocollege goods to reach a record $74 billion in 2022, with an average of almost $1,200 per household. Households with college-aged and K-12 children may spend upwards of $2,000 on back-to-school items this year. To help offset the cost of attending college and for their own spending, many young adults seek employment near their college which can have disastrous results if the employer turns out to be fraudulent. In addition to this risk, increased inflation has led to more consumers comparatively shopping online for their back-toschool items, providing an opportunity for scammers to advertise high-demand products at low prices that are never delivered.

This season, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Big Time Texas Hunts (BTTH) program is offering Texans some of the very best hunting opportunities in the state. Ten premium guided hunt packages are offered in this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts drawing.

Trinity Valley Community College Professor Donna Bennett is teaming up with the Adult and Continuing Education program to offer an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge on what it means to go from arrest to trial.

“Women, Aviation and WW II” is the title of a traveling exhibit that will be on display at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum, 119 Silent Wings Blvd, in Terrell from August 19 – October 1.

By Paul Schattenberg

for the 2022 - 2023 school year.

UMGC Students Named to Dean’s List

The first week of school has been completed, and the busyness of the new school year and the extracurricular activities that are already happening resembles a bee hive in full swing. Just like the bees all have their specific roles in the hive, so do all of the teachers, students, and administrative staff. How appropriate that August 20th is National and International Bee Day (the 3rd Saturday in August) as well as, this year, the 9th day of the school year. The calendar itself always plays a large part in how school learning and activities happen since it is helpful for teachers to facilitate learning among their students based on what the day/date of the calendar is. National Bee Day could be used in biology, horticulture, mathematics, art or music.