A friendly place
to call home.

A National
Main Street City

A Certified Retirement Community

►...Over 30 contestants vied for a $500 cash prize, plus the opportunity to advance to the next level of competition in Alexandria, Louisiana. The winner was CheyAne Smith from Ore City, Texas. See a slide show of the event. [back}

►Guest speaker at the August 1 Rotary Club meeting was Charley Dromgoole, President of the Pineywoods Economic Partnership. He spoke about the Texas Forest Country and its significance to our area. Panola County has been a member of the Texas Forest Country since 2006.  Local citizens, Judge David Anderson and CEDC President Charles Thomas, are members of the TFC board. Mayor John Windham of Center, Chairman of the PEP Board, accompanied Mr. Dromgoole to the Rotary meeting. The Pineywoods Economic Partnership is made up of 13-counties committed to coordinating economic development-related activities in East Texas and further enhancing the appeal of the area.

►Check out the "Got Country?" blog on the Texas Forest Country website which highlights the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Show on August 16.

►Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples was in town to officially announce the selection of Panola County as a Certified Retirement Community. He presented a certificate to Retirement Committee members Mike Parker, Judge David Anderson and Charles Thomas. State Representative Chuck Hopson was present to introduce Commissioner Staples and also to show his support for Panola County. In Staples' speech, he reported that Texas is the number two retirement destination in the nation and is also the second most popular tourism state. Overall, retirees spend about $2.3 trillion annually. Visit the Retire in Texas website.

►Carthage is currently hosting the Dixie League State Tournament for several age groups at the ballpark complex. The tournament has brought in hundreds of visitors to the area and several have had good things to say about our town. One grandmother from Diboll wrote, "I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude for Carthage being host to the 9U Dixie State Tournament. My Grandson, “00” Chandler (Boo Roo) Reece plays for the Diboll All-stars. We have encountered some of the nicest people in this tournament from all areas. Your fields are like golf courses….well maintained and the facilities are impeccable. The sportsmanship of all the teams we have encountered as of today are to be commended. It truly shows a classy group of people." 

►The local TXDOT office located on U S 79 in Carthage will be making a small change to their scope of services. The engineering department will be combining with the Marshall Office as of May 1^st. The construction and maintenance departments will remain in Carthage and operate as usual.

►The Carthage Fire Department has received an ISO Fire Rating of 3.  In the past the city has had a 4 which is considered a good rating for a volunteer department our size. Due to our supply of water, fire department equipment, man power etc., the ISO rating has been decreased to a 3.  The lower the rating the better savings for our residents and businesses.  This will reduce the cost of insurance for our citizens by approximately 10%. We applaud the Carthage Fire Department, Chief Akins, Chief Baushke, and Carthage Fire Marshal Bryan Rickert for the hard work that went into this accomplishment.

►Carthage has received the “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” for the 15^th year in a row.  This award is presented by the Government Finance Officers Association to the government whose annual financial reports achieve the highest standards in governmental accounting.

►Hunter Road, closed due to recent heavy rains, is expected to be repaired by next week. City officials say work has begun to repair the damage. A new, larger culvert is being put in that will help alleviate the excess water flow in the Shawnee Addition.

►City Manager Brenda Samford was recently highlighted in the Longview News-Journal as part of a story on strong female public leaders in East Texas. As stated in the article, "Samford credits much of her success to former City Manager Charles Thomas and former City Secretary Beth Bonner. She said without their help in accommodating her schedule to help raise her two sons and keeping her abreast of city management, her knowledge of city government would not be as great." To read the entire article, click here.

►Monday evening, the Carthage ISD School Board named Dr. Joseph Glenn Hambrick as the lone finalist for superintendent. The State of Texas requires a 21 day waiting period before making the appointment official. Dr. Hambrick is currently superintendent of Elkhart ISD.

►FEMA has awarded $4.37 Million to help fund Carthage a shelter. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $4 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding to the State of Texas for the conversion of an existing building to a multi-purpose facility and community tornado/hurricane shelter in the Panola County town of Carthage. Total project cost of the conversion is $5,837,417, which includes the 75% federal share of $4,378,063 and 25% community match of $1,459,354.

The 43,679 square foot structure is owned by the City of Carthage and sits along the south loop near U.S. Hwy. 59, a designated hurricane evacuation route for the Texas Gulf Coast. Nearly 70% of the existing structure - 30,488 square feet - will be hardened to create a safe room capable of providing "near absolute protection" from an F-5 tornado. The facility was chosen by local and state officials to increase the emergency wind refuge infrastructure for local residents who occupy an area of high risk of injury or death from destructive tornadoes. The structure will also serve those thousands of people who evacuate from coastal regions during hurricane events.

►Citizen of the Year honors were presented to James Browning at the 62nd annual Chamber of Commerce banquet held on February 26, 2008. Last year's recipient, Bud Worley, presented Browning with the award. Employee of the Year award was presented to Connie Easley by Susannah Romero, last year's recipient. Both awards are sponsored by KGAS Radio. 

►Due to the number of complaints and the increased number of discarded vehicles, the City of Carthage is making a dedicated effort to control the junked vehicles in the community. City Inspector David Thompson has visited several locations within the city and has discovered many abandoned vehicles.