News

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding shoppers they can save money on clothes and school supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-13.

Representative Keith Bell is proud to announce the successful creation of the 3rd District Court, also known as the 489TH Judicial District Court, in Kaufman County, a significant achievement that will enhance the local judicial system and improve access to justice for county residents. This milestone was made possible through the passage of House Bill 3474, which was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 13, 2023.

The City of Forney is thrilled to announce the opening of its newly renovated communications center. This state-of-the-art facility represents a significant milestone in the city’s commitment to enhancing public safety and providing the highest level of service to the community.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Noel E. Shoup, 25, of Dublin, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 6, 2023.

Texas broke three records again with number of jobs, number employed, and the size of the state’s civilian labor force. Total nonfarm employment increased by 31,100 positions over the month to reach a 21st consecutive serieshigh level at 13,944,600 jobs and achieved 28 consecutive months of growth. Since June 2022, Lone Star State employment grew by 542,500 positions—the largest annual increase in the nation. Texas’ employment growth rate continued to outperform with 4.0 percent annual growth from June 2022 to June 2023—outpacing any other state as well as the nation’s more modest 2.5 percent.

Drivers continue to choose to go too fast on Texas roads, making speed the number one contributing factor in traffic crashes. That’s why TxDOT is partnering with law enforcement on the “Be Safe. Drive Smart.” campaign to urge motorists to slow down.

One of the more interesting sports to surface in recent years is Sport Stacking which originated in the early 1980s in southern California and then received national attention in 1990 on a segment of the “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” That was where it captured the imagination of Bob Fox, a PE teacher in Colorado. He started teaching his students the skill sport of timed cup stacking and started seeing positive results in his students as some of the benefits included hand/eye coordination development. As the sport has developed, the benefits for non-athletic kids competing with athletic kids in what is essentially a level playing field becomes a win-win situation.

Jakob Zielinski of Forney graduates from Rochester Institute of Technology

A FREE TICKET and a FREE DAY-Off from School

RUSH SPRINGS, a town of about 1,000 friendly folks these days (have been as many as 1500 townsfolks during some decades) in Grady County, across the Red River and in the red dirt section of Oklahoma along U. S. Route 81, is the selfproclaimed WATERMELON CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. For those of you who know Oklahoma, you are between Chickasha and Duncan if you are in Rush Springs.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes are now integral components of students’ educations. Increasingly students are drawn to STEM education, including pursuing STEM pathways in high school, because of the doors such an education can open in the future. According to the United States Department of Labor, there were nearly 10 million workers in STEM occupations in 2021, and this total is projected to grow by almost 11 percent by 2031 - roughly two times faster than the total for all occupations.

Pies, cobblers and smoothies might be the first things that come to mind when people think of peaches. Perhaps nutrition needs to muscle its way into that discussion?

The Legacy of its Originator, John Criswell, Lives On!