Van Banner (Van, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 19, 2013 Page: 1 of 14
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Lady Vandals Sweep John Tyler, Move To #2 In State Poll
See Page 8A
Van Banner
© 2013 Van Zandt Newspapers, L.L.c. Serving \ran, Edom, Ben Wheeler, Kedland, Midway & Colfax - Northeast Texas Press Association Award Winner www.VanBanner.com
VOLUME 18 NUMBER 8 1 SECTION, 14 PAGES, WITH INSERTS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 PHONE: 903-567-4000 750
No Change In Tax Rate For Van
By Britne Reeves
Staff Writer
The Van City Council met in a regular session
Sept. 12 to discuss and approve many controver-
sial topics that were on the mind of the council
and townspeople present.
One positive item that will impact everyone liv-
ing in Van city limits is the choice to keep the tax
rate the same. This decision to keep the property
tax rate at $0.692623, marks the first time in four
years that the rate has not been raised for the city
of Van.
The change was hard-fought by members of the
council and by residents who chose to speak up
against the original proposed hike in taxes.
Barbara McMillan, member of the Van Economic
Development Corporation, stated that, “I commend
the members of the council for not raising the prop-
erty tax rate yet again. Our sales tax revenue really
See TAX, Page 4A
Van City
Alderman
Albert
McCarty
votes to keep
the tax rate
the same for
Van.
Photo by Britne
Reeves
Photo by David Barber
Tre-game Ceremony J-Conors MaCffowCer
Former Van Vandal head football coach Mai Fowler, second from right, is presented a special
plaque for the renaming of the field at Van Memorial Stadium to Mai Fowler Field. Presenting
Fowler with the award is Van School Board President Charles McCaffree, far right. Taking part
in the presentation are, from left, Van School Superintendent Don Dunn and Fowler’s wife, Emma.
The special recognition was made during pre-game ceremonies Friday night prior to kickoff of
the Van/i indale varsity football game. Game story, page 6A.
Residents Request Parks And Recreation Board
By Britne Reeves
Staff Writer
At a city council meeting held Sept. 12, various
residents of Van spoke up on behalf of founding a
parks and recreation board that would be governed
by the city council.
Leading the pack of residents were Barbara
McMillan, Van Economic Development Corpora-
tion member, and Donja Justice, a well-versed vol-
unteer of Van.
McMillan addressed the council first, “We need
a parks and recreation board for this city. Numer-
ous cities across Texas have these boards and they
are beneficial to the city in many ways. Our city
needs to be spruced-up so we can have new devel-
opments and homes built. We need to create in-
centives for businesses and people to move to Van.
Our purpose would not only be to revitalize the
parks and pools of Van, but also to give the resi-
dents something to do. The first step has already
been taken, Van has a group of people who want to
see change and they should be encouraged, not dis-
couraged.”
Justice also supported the idea of a parks and
recreation board, stating, “I have been here since
1975 and the park behind the Oil Museum has
looked exactly the same. I took my grandson to
the Cherry Creek Park in Canton, and he absolutely
loved it. I would love to see a park like that in Van.
“The park behind the Van Heritage Oil Museum
is not only run-down, but looks as if it is poten-
tially dangerous to children. There are missing sec-
tions in between ramps, missing steps and plat-
forms that lead nowhere. The swings look old and
dirty. The pool looks as if it has been abandoned. I
See PARKS, Page 4A
Several Recognized
At Board Meeting
By Britne Reeves
Staff Writer
The Van Independent
School District held a
meeting of the board of
trustees Sept. 16 to rec-
ognize staff of Van ISD
and consider the re-
alignment of Van ISD to
Class 4A.
Awards were dis-
persed among staff of
Van ISD with recogni-
tion of many employees
for their work. The
Vantastic Award was
presented to Kris Henry
of J.E. Rhodes Elemen-
tary. Employees of the
Month were Peggy
Allen, Tracey Boroughs,
Patty Garland, Lauren
Gossett and Jeanette
Germany.
Mai Fowler was also
present at the meeting.
Fowler gave a brief
speech and thanked the
board and people of Van
for the dedication of the
field in his name at Van
Memorial Stadium.
“The presentation
night of Mai Fowler
Field was perhaps the
greatest night of my
life. I love being a Van
Vandal and will always
be a Vandal. I thank ev-
eryone for all that has
been done,” Fowler said.
The Mai Fowler Field
sign was entirely con-
structed by students at
Van High School. The
students cut the metal
for the letters, welded
the support poles and
letters and then painted
the letters.
Superintendent Don
Dunn announced to the
board that he would be
taking the position of
Senate District Director
for District 2.
“I feel this is an honor
to serve and will be a
great opportunity for
me,” he said.
In other matters of the
meeting:
- A parent forum on
drug use will be held
Sept. 30 in the high
school cafeteria. The
Student Health Advi-
sory Council will host a
hot dog supper.
The program will
educate parents on what
is happening with drugs
in schools, what the new
drugs are and how to be
on the lookout for them.
Tim Scharfenberg of the
Van Police Department
will be the guest
speaker.
—The Van ISD will
likely be moved to Class
4A tin 2014. UIL re-
alignment happens ev-
ery two years based on
a school’s October en-
rollment. The number
of students currently en-
rolled in high school is
650.
The UIL Classifica-
tion system is undergo-
ing an over-haul and
will be making changes
soon.
“I feel comfortable
with where we are at
now. We still have some
time before a decision
will be made regarding
See BOARD, Page 4A
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Van Banner Index
Obituaries....................11A Events......................14A
Classifieds.............9-10A Sports....................6-8A
Van Banner - Three Time Northeast Texas Press Association
Award Winner; Texas Press Association Award Winner
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Vaughan, Julie. Van Banner (Van, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 8, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 19, 2013, newspaper, September 19, 2013; Wills Point, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth832450/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Van Zandt County Library.