(Lufkin, TX – January 5, 2024) – The Salvation Army of Lufkin has recently renovated its thrift store. All are welcome to come out to the thrift store on Monday, January 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 412 S Third St. Several items will be available for sale, including women’s, children’s and men’s clothing and shoes, furniture, home good items, bedding and much more. Specifically on Monday, January 15, the store is hosting 25 percent off all items.
The store is located at 412 S. Third St., open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Salvation Army is accepting donations and are open for donations during the hours of operation. To schedule a pickup for large donations including furniture, please call the main office at 936-634-5132 and ask to speak with Jessica, the Thrift Store Manager.
“What we make through our thrift store is designated to be put toward rental assistance,” said Captain Jenifer Philips of The Salvation Army of Lufkin. “Your donation will help in three ways: it will help someone in our community and help recycle an item, raise funds for someone in need in our community, and provide a tax exemption for you personally.”
In addition to the thrift store, The Salvation Army of Lufkin also operates a soup kitchen daily, open from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., offers a food boxes distribution on Tuesday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., and social services Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Salvation Army of Lufkin also hosts church worship programs and services for all ages.
For more information about the programs and services available at The Salvation Army, or to make a donation, please call 936-634-5132, or go to our website at https://southernusa.salvationarmy.org/lufkin/.
Encourages Texans to wear blue on Thursday, January 11 for National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness
AUSTIN – First Lady Cecilia Abbott today announced that the Governor’s Response Against Child Exploitation (GRACE) initiative will host the fourth annual Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking from January 8 through January 14, 2024. The statewide interfaith week of prayer coincides with Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the state of Texas and serves as a call to action to the faith-based community to unite in prayer, learn more about human trafficking, and discern opportunities to prevent exploitation and support survivors.
“The Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking is an integral part of GRACE’s efforts, bringing hope and healing to survivors of human trafficking,” said First Lady Abbott. “I invite Texans of all faiths to join us in prayer and action as we work together to put an end to this horrific crime.”
GRACE will launch the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking through a virtual interfaith event on Monday, January 8 at 7:00 pm on Facebook. The event will include remarks from the First Lady, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Commissioner Stephanie Muth, Child Sex Trafficking Team Administrator Janet Kasper, DFPS Human Trafficking Director Blanca Denise Lance, and survivor-leader and advocate Karla Solomon; a prayer intention led by Fountain of Praise Church in Houston Co-Pastor Dr. Mia Wright.
Daily Prayer Intentions for the Week of Prayer include:
Monday, January 8 – Pray for all those currently being exploited to find safety and healing.
Tuesday, January 9 – Pray for all those who are vulnerable to receive the help, love, and support necessary to meet their needs and not fall victim to human trafficking.
Wednesday, January 10 – Pray for an end to demand and societal factors that normalize exploitation.
Thursday, January 11 – Pray for protection from online dangers and for caregivers to be equipped to keep their children safe.
Friday, January 12 – Pray for Texans to have the courage and skills to speak up and intervene when they see behavior that puts others at risk.
Saturday, January 13 – Pray for every child to have access to safe, supportive mentors and role models.
Sunday, January 14 – Pray for discernment on the actions you can personally take to prevent human trafficking.
Launched in 2019, GRACE is a collaboration between the Office of the Texas First Lady, the Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team, DFPS, and a diverse group of faith leaders across Texas that works together to develop effective strategies to end human trafficking.
The First Lady encourages all Texans to wear blue on Thursday, January 11 in honor of National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. Texans can use the hashtag #TXPraysToEndHT on social media to share their support for the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking.
Faith leaders providing the daily prayer intentions on Governor and First Lady Abbott’s social media pages include:
Dr. Mia Wright, Co-Pastor at Fountain of Praise, Houston
Susan Peters, Elder at Antioch Community Church in Waco and Global Director of Unbound
Pastor Eddie Aranda, Senior Pastor at Grace Bible Church, Laredo
Rabbi Neil Blumofe, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim, Austin
Sophia Strother, Evangelist, Author, Advocate and Survivor Leader
Pastor Mosley Hobson, Pastor at Greater St. John’s and New Zion Hill Church of God in Christ
Dr. Gilberto Velez, Senior Pastor at Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia, Laredo
I have bragged about the abundance of oaks and, consequently oak leaves, that I’ll be able to use between the rows in my vegetable garden. A friend asked if pine straw could work in the same manner. Much to their surprise, it certainly can. Right under our collective noses (and perhaps in your very own yard) is a great gardening tool that we have typically shunned. Pine straw.
Raked up and often bagged to be disposed, this all natural, completely organic, and recyclable material is an outstanding mulch for your garden and landscape.
In truth, pine straw has been a popular landscape ground cover throughout the South for years. In fact, it is one of the most widely used mulches for all size projects ranging from residential flower beds to industrial complexes and highway landscapes in states just east of my home in Texas.
Throughout the South, the needles are raked into bales of pine straw and sold in retail outlets as a landscape mulch. I only know of one local business that sells pine straw in my home county of Angelina. I held a seminar years ago to share with east Texas forest landowners this potential stream of income and got absolutely no response.
Some folks will say that pine straw makes your soil acidic. I think that we’ve just repeated this so often that we think it is fact, but research would say otherwise.
In truth, green pine needles (still on the tree) are indeed slightly acidic measuring in with a pH at 6.0 to 6.5. Remember that 7 is neutral on the pH scale. Values above 7 are basic and below 7 are acidic.
But if green pine needles are slightly acidic, by the time a pine needle dries up and is ready to drop off the tree, it is hardly acidic. And after a few days on the ground, they lose their acidity completely.
Interestingly, even pollution-free rainwater falls at a pH of 5.6– a much more acidic value than pine straw ever would be. According to rainfall records published by Lufkin Daily News at our airport, for the past 30+ years we receive just at 50 inches of rain a year on average. It is our rainfall coupled with our inherent soil types and some fertilization practices that make our soils acidic.
So, let’s brag on pine straw’s abilities. Among its many attributes, pine straw mulch insulates tender roots from temperature extremes keeping the soils warm during cool spells and cool during warm spells. It conserves soil moisture by reducing water evaporation rates and moisture loss. Pine straw also eliminates erosion caused by wind and rain splash impact.
Unlike some other mulches, pine needles mesh together and hold together during hard rains, heavy winds, and even on landscapes with considerable slope. Pine straw doesn’t float and wash out of beds as much as wood ship mulches. This helps keep walkways cleaner and further reduces maintenance.
Pine straw remains loose and friable and does not form a top crust like grass clippings, leaves, and some other mulches. This looser mulch allows water to infiltrate readily into the soil for plant availability and avoids wasteful runoff of irrigation. The large air pockets within the mulch may in fact help to dry the ground out, alleviating excessively wet soils.
The fine texture and uniform color of pine straw is simply more aesthetically pleasing to some gardeners. The non-detracting, earthly look brings out the color, contrast and texture of landscapes. Pine straw also prevents plants, flowers and fruit from becoming splashed with mud. Added annually, it gives landscapes a fresh clean and renewed appearance.
It breaks down more slowly than wood mulch, so it needs to be re-applied less often. It is also lightweight and is easily handled.
Typically, new applications will require three inches of straw that settles by half to an inch and a half. That equals to half a pound of straw per square foot. An additional inch per year is required to maintain the proper depth.
Compared to other organic mulches that you’ll purchase, most of us in areas blessed with pines will have plenty of free, locally sourced, natural, free-range, and organic pine straw to rake from one area of your landscape and use in another.
Hello and Happy New Year, everyone. Angelina College begins its Spring 2024 semester today, with classes starting on Tuesday, January 16.
And after a nice break, our AC athletics teams are back in action.
Our Roadrunner men’s basketball team played a conference road game on Saturday, and both the ‘Runners and Lady Roadrunners will hit league play at full speed starting with this Wednesday’s home doubleheader.
In addition, both the AC baseball and softball teams have released their spring schedules, and – get this – their season openers are a mere three weeks away.
Here’s a quick recap, along with this week’s events:
Roadrunners Split Games in Return from Break
AC’s men hosted Lonestar College-Tomball on New Year’s weekend, beating the Timberwolves 107-31 at Shands Gymnasium. Xavier Owens led the way with 21 points, followed by Keddric Mays with 15, Daniel Sanchez with 11, and Kai’Ree Murray with 10.
The Roadrunners then resumed conference play this past Saturday, falling at Paris College in a 58-56 heartbreaker – a game the ‘Runners led all the way until the final seconds.
The Roadrunners (10-5, 1-3) host Bossier Parish Community College on Wednesday as part of a Region XIV conference doubleheader. The Lady Roadrunners (8-6) welcome Kilgore College to Shands Gymnasium for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff, with the men following immediately afterward.
Both games will be live-streamed on TSBN Sports.
Baseball, Softball Release Spring 2024 Schedules
In just a few short weeks, we’ll be adding the sounds of pinging bats to the current sounds of basketball bounces, as both the Roadrunner baseball and Lady Roadrunner softball teams have released their schedules for the Spring of 2024.
The Roadrunner baseball squad opens the season with a doubleheader at Galveston College on Friday, Jan. 26; the ‘Runners then host their home opener against the Whitecaps on Sunday, Jan. 28 at Poland Field on the AC campus. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Lady ‘Runner softball team, fresh off its 2023 appearance at the NJCAA Division I World Series, open the new season at the Mardi Gras Invitation Tournament in Youngsville, LA on Friday, Feb. 2. AC’s ladies host their home opener with a doubleheader scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 4 at Lady Roadrunner Field. Game time for the opener is 1 p.m.
To view all AC Athletics schedules, visit www.angelinaathletics.com. In addition, keep track of any potential schedule changes by following @ACAthletics on X (formerly known as Twitter).
AC Softball Holding Recruiting Showcase
The Lady Roadrunners are looking for future Lady ‘Runners, and the program will host another evaluation/recruiting camp on Sunday, Jan. 14 at the Angelina College Softball complex. The camp is for prospective players in grades 9-12 and will feature skills evaluation along with information on the recruiting process.
There were numerous Angelina College student-athletes named to the President’s and Dean’s Lists following the Fall 2023 semester. Click the link below for the full list that includes names, sports played, and hometown of record.
That’s it for this week, sports fans. Again, the new semester kicks off tomorrow at Angelina College, meaning we’re about to have another five months of Athletics action.
If there’s anything else you need from me, please let me know.
Alex Morgan, the owner of a quaint boutique in the heart of Texas Forest Country, always had a knack for staying ahead of trends. One morning, she discovered Amazon’s Movers & Shakers list, revealing the top-selling products with the most significant sales rank increase over 24 hours. Excited, Alex decided to incorporate some of these trending items into her store’s inventory.
From eco-friendly kitchen gadgets that aligned with her sustainability values, to innovative beauty products that sparked curiosity among her clientele, Alex carefully selected items that resonated with her customers’ preferences. She also used insights from the list to create engaging social media content, sharing her thoughts on why these products were trending and how they could add value to her customers’ lives.
1. Modular Power Tool Organizer Wall Mount with Charging Station See it here.
– Alex’s Take: “Perfect for the DIY enthusiasts. Its space-saving design is a hit with customers looking for practical home organization solutions. A cool item for the man in your life, although ladies, your tools could use this!”
– Alex’s Take: “A skincare staple. Our customers love its healing properties, especially in harsh weather.”
9. Swiss Arabian Amaali for Women – Concentrated Perfume Oil See it here.
– Alex’s Take: “An exotic fragrance that’s been a hit. It offers a unique scent that appeals to our adventurous customers.”
10. GE Profile Opal 2.0 Countertop Nugget Ice Maker See it here.
– Alex’s Take: “For the home entertainer. It’s a luxury item that has intrigued many of our customers.”
Alex’s boutique has become a treasure trove of these trending items, each selected with her customers’ preferences and lifestyle in mind. She uses her intuition and keen market sense to bring the best of Amazon’s Movers & Shakers right to her store’s doorstep. Check out her regular column each week right here!
Evaluation on Jan. 14 Open to 9th through 12th Graders
Angelina College’s Lady Roadrunner softball program has made three trips to the national tournament, winning a national title in 2014 and finishing as national runners-up in 2019. In 2023, the team made yet another run at a national title, eventually finishing in the nation’s Top 10 in rankings.
The program has become one of the best in the nation over the past few years, with numerous AC players who have gone on to compete at the university levels.
Now the team is looking for future players to help build even more success.
The Lady ‘Runners will host a Recruiting Showcase starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday, January 14 at the Angelina College softball field on the AC campus. Prospective players in high school grades 9 through 12 are invited.
The fee is $75, and registration will take place on the field at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event.
Coaches will grade players on various softball skill levels. Players are asked to bring their own softball equipment (gloves, cleats, bats, catcher’s gear, etc.) and water bottles.
The camps will focus on skill evaluation only; depending on the number of attendants, there may be a brief scrimmage. Staff will grade on running, arm strength, fielding, hitting and power. Pitchers will throw brief bullpens in order to evaluate pitching skills.
Mostly, the camp is intended to find the right players for the Angelina College Lady Roadrunner softball program.
The Alcohol & Drug Awareness Council (ADAC), in partnership with The Coalition, Inc., is hosting free online tobacco cessation classes for adults who want to quit tobacco. There are many benefits for people who quit tobacco, including reduced risk of tobacco-related diseases and early death. With support and encouragement, you can double your chances of successfully quitting. The Freshstart program can be your start to a new life without tobacco! This 4-session program is free for all participants and all materials are included. The online class will be on January 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st from 5:00 pm-6:00 pm. For more information, or to register, visit Project-Quit.org or call (936) 634-9308.
KHS OP GRAD Purse and Pistol Bingo
$40 PER PERSON – MEAL PROVIDED
Tickets can be purchased from an op grad member
Tables can be purchased – 10 person table for $400
Date/Time Information:
Saturday, February 10, 2024, at 5 PM
Ken Brown is a regional solo musician who entertains with his unique style of traditional country music. A crossover music artist from an array of genres. His integration of various elements into the country genre has earned him his popularity with the mainstream audience.
Date/Time Information:
Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 6 PM to 8:30 PM
Location:
Ransom’s Steakhouse and Saloon
You can hear Ken perform LIVE on stage at Ransom’s Steakhouse & Saloon off 105 in Montgomery for a night of traditional country music. KB Country presents a Tribute to the Troubadours!
I can’t wait to see you there! Get to know my songs before the show!
LUFKIN – Beginning Thursday, Jan. 4, a traffic switch will occur within a major Nacogdoches construction project that will move traffic to a newly constructed frontage road.
Crews are scheduled to switch traffic to the new northbound frontage road on US 59/SL 224 located within the US 59/SL 224 South Interchange construction project in Nacogdoches. There will also be a detour in place at the SH 7 exit ramp. Message boards are set announcing the traffic switch and detour. Law enforcement will also be available to monitor and assist traffic as the new frontage road is opened.
The US 59/SL 224 South Interchange construction is currently 77 percent complete. The project was designed to upgrade existing US 59 to interstate standards by constructing new US 59 direct connectors at SL 224 and frontage roads along SL 224 between SH 7 and US 59 South.
“There are many moving parts to this major construction project,” said Rhonda Oaks, public information officer. “We urge the public to be very alert and slow down as they maneuver through this work zone.”
Construction began in Sept 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-2025, weather permitting. Crews continue to work to connect the new infrastructure to existing roadways throughout the project. Crews will be working this week drilling bridge foundations at Spradley Street, installing new drainage features for the US 59 southbound frontage road, and beginning work at SH 7 to rebuild the intersection.
As this work continues, motorists are urged to reduce speed and obey all traffic controls throughout the construction project. Stay alert for moving equipment and workers near the lanes of traffic Fines double when workers are present.
