March 2023

The Terrell Tiger track and field team got its second taste of competitive action last week, making their way to Greenville’s T.A. Cotton Ford Stadium to participate in the annual Cotton Ford Relays.

The rains have returned, and we have had above average rainfall during the fall and winter, so why are all my trees dying? In September 2011, most of Texas was in a drought - the most severe drought in Texas history. Across the state, trees - particularly mature oaks, elms, pines and junipers - were dying simply from the lack of water.

I’m coming to you from my little writing station at home today, very early in the morning. I’m pushing deadline for my weekly column this week in hopes of getting a ‘fresh’ wild turkey photo for you. While out in the woods near my home yesterday morning, I heard a distant rifle shot which triggered the gobble of a wild turkey only a few yards back in the brush. I was packing in some corn to a feeder I have set up for hogs but when I heard the gobble I forgot all about wild porkers and quietly slipped out of the woods in hopes of calling the bird in for photos today! The Rio Grande subspecies of turkey were stocked not far from my home a few years ago and the birds appear to be doing well. Hopefully there will be a hunting season in a few years but until then, I will continue hunting them with my cameras. I’ve discovered this is almost as much fun as hunting with a gun or bow but I dearly love chicken fried wild turkey breast and fajitas made from the drumsticks and thigh meat. In a few weeks, I will be heading down to the Hill Country to hunt turkey on the famous Y O Ranch near Kerrville. In my opinion, there is no place on earth that is more beautiful during the spring than the rolling hills and bluebonnets this time of year than down in the Texas Hill Country.

TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION Texas once again has topped the list for new and expanded corporate facilities added in a year, according to Site Selection Magazine. With 1,028 new projects in 2022, the state had more than the next two states combined – Illinois and Ohio.

Governor Greg Abbott announced the release of the Final Report of the Teacher Vacancy Task Force that focuses on three primary areas of policy recommendations to address school district staffing challenges in Texas.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee unanimously approved legislation on Tuesday that would answer two of the seven emergency items laid out by Governor Greg Abbott last month: bail reform and dealing with the fentanyl epidemic. The latter issue is in response to a national epidemic of deadly overdoses.

On February 22, 2023, a Kaufman County jury sentenced Luis Jaime Ceballos of Arlington, Texas to 46 years in prison for the offense of Manufacturing/Delivery of a Controlled Substance PG1 4 grams to 200 grams.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service have announced that this year’s Upper Sabine Cattleman’s Conference will take place April 14 from 8 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. at Gabriel Ranch located at 8575 FM 1255 in Grand Saline.

Well last year this pesky lawn weed was my number one horticulture related call for two months. This weed that has infected a vast majority of yards in our area. Lawn burweed, carpet burweed or spur weed (Soliva spp.), a cool season annual introduced from South America, has become a nuisance on golf courses, athletic fields, parks and lawns throughout much of Texas and the Southwest.

Based on outstanding accomplishments and dedication to student success, Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) has been selected to participate in Talent Strong Texas Pathways. The $16 million 5-year statewide economic mobility grant administered by the Texas Success Center is designed to increase the number of credentialed Texans prepared for high-demand careers that offer a living wage.