Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 164, No. 26, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 21, 2013 Page: 6 of 16
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6A
■ Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Cljerokeeaij Herald ■ thecherokeean.com
JACKSONVILLE ISD
Scholarships announced at convocation
By Grace Traylor
Special Contributor
Jacksonville’s own stars are shin-
ing bright as two community lead-
ers were honored at the annual
fundraiser Aug. 15. The “Meet &
Greet” party, hosted at The Castle
on the Lake, showcased accomplished
alumna Sissy Austin, as well as leg-
endary Jacksonvillebasketball coach
John Alexander. It drew a crowd of
250 plus gathered to raise funds to
benefit the Jacksonville Education
Foundation.
Jacksonville Independent School
District, along with the Education
Foundation, hosted “JISD — Home of
Champions” as Convocation 2013 for
all JISD staff kicked off in the new
JISD gymnasium Friday morning.
The more than 1,300 attending in-
cluded all JISD staff and a number
of community leaders.
The JHS Student Council officers
opened the program prior to Super-
intendent Dr. Joe W ardell welcoming
JISD staff, school board trustees,
Education Foundation leaders, JISD
directors and principals, along with
many community leaders and JISD
supporters. Special recognition was
given to the 2012-13 Teachers of the
Year by last year’s District Teacher
of the Year and JHS English teacher,
Ben Peacock.
The Jacksonville Education Foun-
dation’s co-chairs for this year are
Sissy Austin and John Alexander.
Both addressed the enthusiastic
crowd. Mrs. Austin spoke of her
years in JISD and also presented
five $1,000 classroom grants to JISD
teachers. These grants were chosen
from applications submitted to the
Foundation earlier in the year. Also
new to JISD this year, the Foundation
presented the first “Star Awards.”
These $250 grants were made in each
star’s name to a JISD department of
their choice. Mrs. Austin selected the
JHS math department and the JISD
life- skills classrooms will benefit from
Coach Alexander. Coach Alexander
reminisced about his years as coach at
JHS and the many wonderful friend-
ships he made while at Jacksonville
ISD and in Rusk. The Alexander
tradition will continue as his son,
Mark, takes the reins this year as
the head basketball coach for JISD.
Barry Hughes, president of the
Jacksonville Education Foundation,
announced three classroom grant
recipients. Twenty-four applications
were submitted to the Foundation,
and these three deserving winners
were announced including a $1,000
Family First grant to Fred Douglass
After School Clubs, received by Erick
Alvarez; $1,000 Literature Circles
for the English I classroom received
by Susan Mouser and Alicia Her-
ron; and $1,000 ActiVote Student
Response Systems for sixth grade
reading received by Lisa Brown and
Myra White.
A top category for the JEF is the
Indian Chief award presented in
memory of beloved Jacksonville
alumn, businessman, and commu-
nity leader Tim L. Smith. He was
named an Indian Chief due to the
tremendous amount of money re-
cently donated to the Tim L. Smith
Scholarship Fund. He will be missed
in Jacksonville, but his love for this
town and the school system will keep
his memory alive for years to come
through this generous scholarship
fund that continues to grow.
In a new category, influential
educator, retired JHS accounting
teacher Larry Garner was named by
former accounting students Matt and
Kelly Lake Montgomery and Randy
and Cheryl Carroll Gorham. Both
couples own finance and accounting
businesses and have pledged funds
to allow the newly established “Larry
Garner Distinguished Business
Award” to be awarded to a deserving
senior for the next 10 years.
An additional surprise this year
was the establishment and presenta-
tion of the Neta Hanna Cheerleader
Scholarship which was started by
former cheerleaders and will be a
continuing fund that others will be
able to contribute to. Neta Hanna
was cheerleader sponsor for 35 years
at JHS and continues to be active
in the JEF. This scholarship will be
awarded annually to a graduating
senior cheerleader.
The eagerly anticipated Influential
Indian Awards were also announced
by JEF at convocation. These awards
require a minimum $1,000 donation
to the JEF to name an Influential
Indian. Added to the prestigious list
and surprised by the announcement
include: long-time East Side Elemen-
tary principal Jean Mixon by numer-
ous friends; long-time retired teacher
Margaret McCown by her family; in
memoriam of Joey Villavisencio by
Jacksonville area Aggies; JISD math
teacher Heather Avera by Bill Avera;
John Alexander by the JEF; Chuck
Hopson by Billie Hopson; Chris Lilley
by Billie and Chuck Hopson; Renee
Hopson Hamon by Chuck and Bil-
lie Hopson; Lisa Hopson Harris by
Chuck and Billie Hopson; Tony Har-
ris by Lisa Harris; and Gene Hamon
by Renee Hopson Hamon.
The program concluded with past
and present JHS Cheerleaders sur-
prising the crowd with an enthusi-
astic rendition of the old familiar
yell, “Two-Bits” as well as leading
the crowd in the school song. Forty
cheerleaders from the 1940s, 50s, 60s,
70s, 80s, 90s and through the present
demonstrated the never ending spirit
of Jacksonville. “Once an Indian,
always an Indian.”
Clearly, JISD is the Home of
Champions.
Additional JEF Grants made
possible by Austin Bank included
Windmill and Annie Laurie Phillips
Grant called SESTAM (Students
Encouraging Students To Achieve
More) for the AVID program in all
J acksonville High School grades with
Terri Orr, coordinator, of the grant
of $1,000.
The AVID Program at JHS is
a program designed for students
through teaching study skills, high
expectations, encouragement and
perseverance. This program has
been quite successful and many JHS
students benefit each year from the
AVID program.
“The purpose of the SESTAM grant
is to use trained AVID students as
tools to reach JISD students who
need help with grades, transition-
ing into high school and behavioral
problems. The goal is to create a big
brother/big sister like atmosphere
for students who need a mentor for
a period of time. The most powerful
tool being used at JHS—its students.
The purpose for SESTAM is to cre-
ate an alternative learning environ- Barry Hughes of the Jacksonville Education Foundation presents a
ment that is student-centered and JEF Grant to Lisa Brown and Myra White. The award was given to
student-led.” ActiVote Student Response Systems for sixth grade reading.
The Andy and Susan Phillips grant,
“Pony Up — We Are College Bound”
was presented to Stephanie Ganske,
Laura Kinard, Heather Brents and
Kelly Flanagan to be used for all
fourth grade subjects at West Side
School. The grant is in the amount
of $1,000.
As a No Excuses University cam-
pus, West Side believes that every
student deserves the opportunity to
be educated in a way that prepares
him or her for college if they choose
to attend. A field trip to SMU and
the George Bush Presidential Library
will expose students to a large college
campus that ordinarily may not have
an opportunity to do so, and will
increase real-world experiences for
West Side fourth graders. Students
will be able to compare a virtual tour
of the campus with an actual tour and
will design a SMU brochure high-
lighting interesting things learned
at the campus. The Bush Library
also offers tours specifically for school
children which uses student require-
ments listed in the Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
The $1,000 Austin Bank JISD
Graduates grant entitled Engaging
Students the Smart Way for sixth
grade math students at the Nichols
Intermediate School was given to
Freida Grimes, Katasha Robinson-
Harris and Amy Waldie.
This grant will allow the purchase
of three SMART Slates for interac-
tive classroom use. SMART Slates
will engage student’s right at their
desk, help teachers gain mobility
in their teaching, allow easy class-
room integration and simultaneous
interaction.
SMART Slate fits into a variety of
technology-enabled classrooms. On
its own, it functions easily with a com-
puter and projector. When integrated
with a SMART Board interactive
whiteboard or the SMART Podium
interactive pen display, the wireless
slate gives the teacher even more
ways to shift easily and frequently
Sissy Austin presents teachers Angie Stinson and MelyndaCundieff
a JEF Teacher Grant for all third and fourth grade gifted and talented
students to take a NASA field trip.
between whole-class, small group
and individual instruction.
The Class of 1959 $1,000 Classroom
Grant, “Giving Students the Tools
to Learn” is for all grades Science
at East Side Elementary, awarded
to Alice Ray.
The purpose of this grant is to pro-
vide East Side Elementary students
with access to more of the necessary,
basic science tools to conduct hands-
on science investigations as required
by the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowl-
edge and Skills). This grant will affect
more than 600 students. Some tools
will be distributed to classrooms,
while others will be available for use
in the science lab or to be checked
out for classroom use. The requested
tools are some of the most basic, and
many are applicable to both science
and math.
The Tim L. Smith Classroom
Grant will be a NASA Field Trip
for all third and fourth Grade GT
students, Melynda Cundieff and
Angie Stinson, in the amount of
$1,000. The third and fourth grade
GT students will work on a variety of
projects in the spring in which they
will become engineers for “NASA’s
BEST students.” BEST stands for
Beginning Engineering, Science and
Technology. The third and fourth
grade budding engineers will work
as engineering teams and will be
responsible for building a satellite
and creating a rocket to carry the
satellite to the moon. They will also
design and construct a Lunar Buggy
and Thermos, a Landing Pod and a
Solar Oven.
The NASA Field Trip will be an
“outside the norm” experience for
these gifted students to visit such an
extraordinary place, and be exposed
to the numerous opportunities that
exist for them in the real world.
104TH BIRTHDAY
SCENE IN PASSING
continued from pg. 1A
the oldest, then daughters, Donna
and Marcia; and finally Bill.
“The morning after Bill was born,
Richard went all over the neighbor-
hood announcing the birth of his
little brother. He was so proud to
have a brother, finally,” she said.
Mrs. Nielsen was a teacher for
10 or 15 years. She also was an
accomplished China painter and
said this was something that she
enjoyed immensely.
At present, she is an avid reader.
She doesn’t wear glasses, but did
have cataract surgery a few years
ago.
One of her happiest memories
is when her pastor and his wife
invited her to go on a trip around
the world with them. She said they
11 HEALTH CENTERS
continued from pg. 1A
and Cherokee Counties, will be on
a fast track in getting people into
the community to speak to different
groups, go door-to-door and gener-
ally be a source of information for
the public to learn what options are
available to each person.
The staff will be stationed at the
12 community centers and cover
the following counties: Anderson-
Cherokee County Enrichment Ser-
vices (ACCESS) serving Anderson
and Cherokee counties; Andrews
Center serving Henderson, Rains,
Smith, Van Zandt and Wood coun-
ties; Betty Hardwick Center serv-
ing Callahan, Jones, Shackelford,
Stephens and Taylor counties;
Bluebonnet Trails Community
MHMR Center serving Bastrop,
Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Gon-
visited eight countries and she en-
joyed every one of them, meeting
the people and seeing the sights.
Mrs. Nielsen has been a member
of DAR since 1949 and her patriot
is Capt. Keith Vaughn.
She said when she moved to
Jacksonville in 2005, Mary Taylor
was the first person she met and
they have become good friends.
Her daughter-in-law, Billie Good-
son Nielsen, was a member of the
chapter, so she transferred her
membership in 2006.
For the past several years she
has lived with her son, Richard,
and his wife, Billie. They lived
at Heath for several years before
moving to Jacksonville. Her other
son, Bill, lives in Florida, and
zales, Guadalupe, Lee and Wil-
liamson counties; Burke Center
for Angelina, Houston, Jasper,
Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sa-
bine, San Augustine, San Jacinto,
Shelby, Trinity and Tyler counties;
Community Healthcore for Bowie,
Cass, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Pa-
nola, Red River, Rusk and Upshur
counties; Gulf Bend MHMR Center
for Calhoun, Dewitt, Goliad, Jack-
son, Lavaca, Refugio and Victoria
counties; Gulf Coast Center serving
Brazoria and Galveston counties;
Lakes Regional MHMR Center
for Camp, Delta, Ellis, Franklin,
Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Lamar,
Morris, Navarro, Rockwall and Ti-
tus counties; Pecan Valley MHMR
Region for Erath, Hood, Johnson,
Palo Pinto, Parker and Somervell
both her daughters, Donna and
Marcia, live in Kansas City. She
has seven grandchildren and six
great-grandchildren.
Referring to her age and the
wonderful life she has lived, she
remarked, “Attitude is everything.”
She also noted that she enjoys her
church and really appreciates her
friendship with all of the members
of the DAR chapter.
DAR Registrar Mary Taylor
presented a framed proclamation
to the birthday honoree, as Regent
Pat Bales, Vice-Regent Eunice
Jackson, Treasurer Billie Nielsen
and Richard Nielsen looked on.
Guests enjoyed decorated birth-
day cake and coffee.
counties; Spindletop Center serv-
ing Chambers, Hardin, Jefferson
and Orange counties; Tri-County
MHMR Services for Liberty, Mont-
gomery and Walker counties.
All 75 counties make up the
assigned catchment areas of the
12 centers participating in this
navigator project.
“We are very excited about this
opportunity to move forward in
assisting Texans with answers to
their questions. As we place staff
in positions and have them trained,
our goal is to provide real factual
information and be the source of
information to help people navigate
their choices during this new and
exciting time,” said Gary Bramlett,
executive director of the East Texas
Behavior Healthcare Network.
continued from pg. 3A
is leaving two young brothers at
home, to follow in his foot steps.
Do you remember those early
years of going to school? Most of
my memories are along a walked
path. Today, kids either ride a
bus, go in the family car, or drive
their own vehicle. But my gen-
eration walked. If I had been in
Rusk at that school age, I would
be conjuring up many memories of
the creek that flows through the
Footbridge Park. It is embarrass-
ing to me that I do not know the
name of the creek. It travels under
6th Street (on my way to town)
and I never cease to wonder, what
is its name? Any help out there?
Some of you have been here longer
than I have surely.
The remembrance of school
days becomes a “daze” at my
age. Recently, I made a trip into
Walker County where I finished
high school at Huntsville. After
his move to Rusk, it was with joy
I learned that Bro. Tim Timmons
was also a Huntsville Hornet.
Quite a few years behind me. We
included ourselves and actor Dana
Andrews as ‘well known’ grads. Al-
ways with a smile on our faces and
a song in our hearts. Anyway, the
beautiful blue bells that grow wild
in that area, thanks to the State
Highway Department, were out in
bloom for our visit. Those lovely
lavender-purple blossoms brought
back many happy memories. A
visit with my cousin, Evelyn, also
helped precipitate more memories
and a few tears.
Every day is a good day for stir-
ring up old memories. It is enough
to make me glad that I am still
alive and able to get up. Because, I
am happy to say, I enjoy the past,
but I look forward to the many
more memories awaiting me. I
hope they will include you.
CITY OF RUSK
continued from pg. 1A
“library renovation is expected
to begin as soon as architectural
work in completed.”
Plans are to enlarge the library
with a new front entrance on Lone
Oak Street.
The library project is part of
capital improvements to be fi-
nanced with a $6 million bond
issue approved by the county in
late 2012.
A special election will be called
to sell a portion of the city-owned
property on FM 343 (Atoy High-
way). City Manager Murray will
report to the council prior to the
election which property will be
included and how much land is
involved.
Attending the meeting were
Mayor Angela Raiborn; Coun-
cilmembers Ben Middlebrooks,
Walter Session, Don Jones, Don-
ald Woodard and Sam Florian;
City Manager Murray; and City
Secretary Cinda Etheridge.
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Gonzalez, Terrie. Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 164, No. 26, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 21, 2013, newspaper, August 21, 2013; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth614650/m1/6/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.