Local Interest

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The Delta Hope House board of directors is pleased to announce that they will be having an open house on Sunday, March 23 from 2 to 4 p.m.

This special event will be to celebrate Delta Hope House’s new location at 440 SW 3rd Street in Cooper.

Everyone is encouraged to attend, enjoy the refreshments that will be served and take a tour of the new facility.

Come see how the Delta Hope House serves those in need of food in the Delta County .

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There's a new millionaire in Paris after Friday's Mega Millions drawing, according to a KXII-TV report.

Gary L. Bryant of Paris claimed his second tier one million dollar prize on Monday, KXII reported. The winning ticket was sold at the Food Fast convenience store at 2610 North Main in Paris.

The Store's Manager says she hopes that selling the winning ticket will draw more lottery players.

"I think people tend to think that a winner will come from the same store, so I think they will come buy their tickets here I hope," manager D'Ann Gentry told KXII.

It may not take that long to determine who will get the job of rebuilding a portion of one of Greenville’s busiest streets.

Only one bid was received for the reconstruction of the south end of Sayle Street, although the estimate came in a little higher than what city officials were expecting.

Pavecon Public Works LP was the sole bidder on the project, submitting an estimate of $988,166.55. The sealed bid was opened and made public Thursday afternoon and will now be evaluated and presented to the Greenville City Council for its consideration.

Each year, the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters conducts a professionally-judged competition to evaluate stations who subscribe to AP services on a number of different facets of news and information broadcasting. This year, KETR comes away with five first-place awards, four second-place awards, and two honorable mentions.

Categories and Awards

Reporter

Second place: KETR News Director Mark Haslett.

Documentary

Winter Weather may be a pain for travelers, but it is the perfect time for photographers to get some of the most beautiful pictures.

Do you have any photos of the winter weather you would like to share? If so, email them to daniel@ketr.org with the subject "Winter Weather Photos" and also where you are from. We will post these to our website!
 

Stay safe!

Not only does The Hope House in Cooper give its clients hope – and nourishment – but now with a new location and new name, “Delta Hope House” it can truly serve the public to its capacity.

Greenville City Council member Jeff Dailey is hoping for another term on the panel.

Dailey filed Friday, seeking re-election to Place 3 on the council in the May 10 municipal election.

With a little more than a week left to go in the filing period, Dailey is the second person and the first incumbent to have filed for the election.

Places 3 and 4 on the council are on the May election ballot. Holly Gotcher filed for the Place 4 seat Thursday.

The Delta County Chamber of Commerce presented their annual awards last Saturday evening at their banquet with the sparkle of diamonds and the comfort of denim and boots.

At the banquet, the Chamber of Commerce presented four honor awards.

Charles Ruzicka, a volunteer firefighter for the Cooper Fire Department, was awarded the “Fireman of the Year” award.

Local farmer Randy Wright received the “Agriculturist of the Year” Award.

The Greenville Independent School District Board of Trustees voted this week to extend the contract of Superintendent Don Jefferies.

The board was scheduled to consider Jefferies’ annual evaluation and vote on his contract during Tuesday’s regular session.

Greenville ISD Director of Community Services Kelli Tharp said Wednesday the board voted unanimously during the meeting to extend the superintendent’s contract for one year.

But Tharp said Jefferies’s evaluation will have to wait for a special meeting next week.

The Greenville City Council voted Tuesday to raise the speed limit of one of the main roads which passes through the Ardis Heights community.

“This segment of the road is FM 499, which is also called Forester Street,” said City Manager Massoud Ebrahim. “The speed limit can be raised by 5 mph.”

The National Weather Service has issued a Freezing Rain Advisory for the region until 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. Winter Weather Advisories are also in effect for Franklin and Wood counties.

Ice accumulations are possible on bridges and overpasses late Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Areas in the northern portion of the region could see icing of roadways making travel hazardous.

Stay with KETR.org and KETR-FM 88.9 for up-to-date weather information.

Here is a list of closing and early releases for Thursday.

Bland ISD: Closing at 1:00 p.m.

Blue Ridge ISD: Closing at 12:30 p.m.

Boles ISD: Closing at 12:30 p.m.

Caddo Mills ISD, releasing at 1 p.m.

Campbell ISD, Releasing at Noon

Commerce ISD, Releasing two hours early (correction)

Cooper ISD, After-school activities canceled.

Cumby ISD,  closing at 11:30, opening tomorrow at 10 a.m.

The snow is here and leaving its mark, so how much are you expected to get?

Some locally heavier amounts are possible throughout the day.

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth is expecting that most of the snow will end from the Southwest to the Northeast after noon today. With the high being below freezing, however, any accumulations should stay throughout the day.

Snow on the roadways may melt away this afternoon depending on their frequency of use, but KETR has already gotten reports of slick spots  so please exercise caution when driving.

Officials with Splash Kingdom announced Tuesday that the official ground breaking ceremony for their Greenville water park is set for the afternoon of Feb. 10 at its future location, 6501 Interstate 30.

The word came following the quarterly Tourism Partnership Alliance Meeting, according to Greenville Chamber President/CEO Brendon Payne.

UPDATE: 9:08 p.m. Saturday -

The National Weather Service has extended the Winter Weather Advisory to include Hunt, Delta and Lamar counties in our region until 9 pm Sunday night.

Original Story follows:

Another cold snap is on the way to North Texas, and this time it could bring some wintry weather with it.

A Winter Weather Advisory has already been issued for Collin, Rockwall, and Fannin counties from 6 am to 9 pm Sunday.

Churchill at Commerce and the Commerce Police Department will be hosting a “Project Safe Child” event free for the community.

At this event, there will be free bicycle registration, a child safety program, food and family-friendly fun.

“Project Safe Child” will be on Feb.8 from 1-3 p.m. at 731 Culver St., Commerce.

For more information, call 903-886-4444.

On Jan. 28, Texas A&M University-Commerce brought the university community together to pay tribute to the memory of the Caddo Indians who lived in the Commerce area until their relocation to the Oklahoma Territory.
 

The race for the Lieutenant Governor's office is on, and KETR is covering the competition for the Republican Party nomination.

Tune in to KETR tonight a 8 p.m. to hear a live broadcast of tonight's debate as incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst faces Republican challengers Sen. Dan Patrick, Land Comm. Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Comm. Todd Staples. 

Financial problems have compelled the closing of the Cooper Lake Center in Hopkins County. A few light poles remain in an abandoned parking lot where bluegrass concerts and other events were held.

The South Sulphur Regional Development Association, sponsor of the Cooper Lake Center since the mid-1990s, has said it decided to close the facility for financial reasons.

The center, occupying former farm land on County Road 4777, has depended almost entirely on private donations.

The North Hopkins Independent School District Beta Club recently donated food to the Hope House in Cooper. Hope House organizers Tina Overman (far left) and First United Methodist Church Pastor Steve Cook (far right) welcomed the offering from senior students Jesse Williams, Silas Whaley, Tarence Berry, sponsor Danna Lewis and senior student Blake Adams.

On Sunday afternoon, January 19th, the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Commerce will once again host the 2014 The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Awards Celebration, promoting leadership by example.

The Hunt County African American Leadership Conference event is a vehicle through which to underscore individual commitments to tenets generally associated with the legacy of Dr. King, and to recognize those individuals publicly.

Just as they have for more than three decades, members of Clark Street Christian Church will help provide Christmas dinner to the community Wednesday.

The church has provided free dinners to those who need them every year since 1982.

According to a 2006  Herald-Banner article written by Carol Ferguson, the tradition began when Ernestine Katie Williams had a vision of providing a free Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner to the elderly, the sick and shut-ins who would not have family to visit and would not receive Meals on Wheels that day.

Picking up a little extra work over the holidays? That's great. Hiring some extra help for your own business? That's great, too. To keep the season bright, make sure you and/or your employer are compliant with federal labor regulations. 

Employers and workers not familiar with short-term employment might have questions . Here are answers to some most of the frequently asked questions received by the U.S. Department of Labor, and additional resources for more information: 

Texas A&M University-Commerce and Tyler Junior College have formally announced their partnership to simplify the transfer process for students transitioning from associate degree programs at Tyler Junior College into bachelor’s degree programs at A&M-Commerce. The statement came on Dec. 19.

The three-year partnership goes into effect Dec. 20, 2013, and will allow Tyler Junior College students to complete their four-year degrees through A&M-Commerce via online courses, on-campus classes or a combination of the two.