Local News
Related Photos
-
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and Rep. Betty Brown visited Henderson County last week. They stopped at Groom and Son’s and met with some local residents. Charles Stiff photo
State officials travel Henderson County
Gun Barrel City — Dist. 4 State Rep. Betty Brown showed Texas House Speaker Joe Straus around Henderson County Thursday.
The representatives spoke to crowds in the East Texas Medical Center, Athens Bush Board Room, and in the Trinity Valley Community College cafeteria around lunchtime. They then traveled to Groom and Son at Cedar Creek Lake.
“I invited the speaker because I’ll have occasion to talk to him about the needs of my district,” Brown said at the ETMC gathering. “I want him to have a picture in his mind of the people and places here.”
At TVCC, Straus told the audience he wants to get to know Brown’s constituents.
“It is important for me to meet her friends, which I hope will be my friends too,” Straus said.
Brown said the hospital provides the community with both vital services and good jobs.
“ETMC provides Henderson County a quality of healthcare that’s rare for a town this size. It supports the community by providing good-quality, good-paying jobs,” she said. “This hospital is a big reason Athens could be designated a certified retirement community by the state of Texas.”
At TVCC, Brown said the college contributes to Texas’ economic solvency by providing its students with skills in demand in the workforce. She said that in spite of the fact that she recognizes the suffering of those who are unemployed, the big picture in Texas is pretty good.
“When you look around, you see how much better the Texas’ economy is than other states in the nation,” Brown said.
She said the Wall Street Journal ranked Texas the best state in the nation for business. Forbes Magazine found the state has the fourth-lowest debt in the nation, Brown said.
Straus said the Texas Legislature was able to pass a balanced budget last session.
“We did a very good job of using all the revenues available to fund all the priorities important to this district and my district,” he said.
Straus said a recent decision — by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and himself — to have state agencies and universities trim spending by five percent, is an effort to curb a projected budget shortfall.
“We thought it was responsible to take some measured steps,” he said. “That is what taxpayers expect of us.”
- Local News
-
-
Kemp has water problems
KEMP — Residents in Kemp are glad the water is back on, there’s only one problem...It’s dirty.
-
Voters to decide on Mabank ISD tax increase
MABANK — Voters will be going to the polls to decide whether or not to assess themselves a 13 cent tax rate increase.
-
HC receives grant to fight crime
ATHENS - Henderson County has received $22,156 in grant money from the Department of Justice to help law enforcement decrease the crime rate in the area.
-
Tool mayor indicted for DWI
The Tool mayor was indicted for Driving While Intoxicated, third or more offense by the Henderson County Grand Jury in August.
-
Motorcycle accident sends two to hospital
MABANK - An accident involving a motorcycle on Friday sent two individuals to the hospital.
-
Man indicted for shooting
Athens — A 30-year-old man has been indicted for attempted murder in the shooting of his ex-girlfriend.
-
Avoid a DWI
AUSTIN— The Texas Department of Transportation, police departments, and sheriff’s offices across Texas are working together to reduce impaired driving this summer and especially during the upcoming Labor Day weekend. TxDOT is illustrating the choice between getting a sober ride or risking a DWI by driving after drinking with an arresting image—unique vehicles that are a police patrol car on the front end and a taxi cab on the back end.
-
Robbers hit two hotels same night
MABANK - Authorities in neighboring counties worked together to arrest two men in connection with the burglaries of two local hotels over the weekend.
-
Woman dies after jet-ski accident
Athens — A 27-year-old woman died Saturday after a fall from a jet ski on Cedar Creek Lake, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reports said.
-
Seven Points has to shift funds around
SEVEN POINTS — Make it five-in-a-row now.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Kemp has water problems
