(Austin, TX) ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch from January 15-17 due to forecasted extreme cold weather across the ERCOT region, higher electrical demand, and the potential for lower reserves. Grid conditions are expected to be normal during an ERCOT Weather Watch.
ERCOT continues to monitor conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid, continuing a reliability-first approach to operations.
In 2023, January peak demand was 65,632 MW, with the current all-time peak demand record of 85,508 MW, set on August 10, 2023.
What is an ERCOT Weather Watch? An ERCOT Weather Watch is an advance notification of forecasted significant weather with higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves. At this time, grid conditions are expected to be normal, and there is not a current expectation of an energy emergency. Texans should continue to monitor real-time and extended grid conditions at ercot.com.
What Action is Needed? No action is needed. You can monitor current and extended grid conditions on ercot.com.
Did You Know? Reducing electric use during peak demand times can help you save and lower demand on the grid. Energy-saving tips can be found on the TXANS webpage.
Stay Updated Sign up for TXANS notifications on the TXANS webpage. You can also subscribe to ERCOT Emergency Alerts, which are not sent through TXANS notifications, and download the ERCOT Mobile App for additional notifications: iOS | Android.
Media Graphics Graphics for media use can be found here.
LUFKIN – A pre-construction meeting was held Monday morning in the Lufkin Area Office, signaling the beginning of a new construction project in Angelina County.
Barricades and signage will be set on FM 58 on Jan. 15 with work scheduled to begin on Jan. 22. The project was designed to reconstruct and widen pavement to 28 feet, and add safety improvements consisting of additional paved surface, profile edge lines, and centerline markings.
A.L. Helmcamp, Buffalo, TX, will serve as contractor for the $9.8 million construction project that will include construction from 1.25 miles south of FM 2108 and continue to FM 1818.
As this project begins, motorists are urged to stay alert for workers and moving equipment near the lane of traffic, obey all traffic control including a lead car and flaggers through the work zone, and reduce speed. Fines double when workers are present.
With the holidays officially behind us, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year! As we turn the page on one year and begin another, we’re afforded a unique opportunity for new beginnings. Whether you commit to a New Year’s resolution or not, it’s my hope that we all take some time to consider ways to improve. In looking ahead to 2024, let’s make a renewed effort to enrich our own lives and the lives of others by lifting each other up and supporting one another in fulfilling our goals for the coming year.
With that, here’s an update from your State Capitol . . .
Capitol Update
As we take stock of the previous year, one of our state’s greatest blessings has been the unrivaled strength of Texas’ economy. Recently released employment data shows Texas leading the nation in annual job growth, adding more jobs over the last 12 months than any state in the nation. Texas also set three new record highs for total jobs, the number of Texans working, and the size of the Texas labor force. Importantly, Texans from every corner of the state – from downtown Houston to rural Deep East Texas – are reaping the benefits of a booming economy, and I’d like to highlight some of the policies enacted over the last year that will help ensure future prosperity for rural Texas.
You might be interested to know that rural small businesses make up nearly a quarter of all businesses in the State of Texas, contributing to more than 20 percent of the state’s economic output. With that in mind, I was proud to work with my colleagues to prioritize rural economic development through strategic investments in higher education, career pathways, and workforce development.
One of the hallmark bills of the 88th session was House Bill 8, which provides for a transformational change in community colleges by moving towards an industry-led, outcomes-based funding model to promote greater alignment between local community colleges and regional workforce demands. Through these strategic partnerships, Texas students will be guided into high-demand careers with good pay and upward mobility, and employers will have access to a pipeline of skilled workers.
As a compliment to House Bill 8, the Legislature passed House Bill 2209, which expands options for rural school districts to provide college and career pathways that lead to post-secondary success and earning family-sustaining wages in their hometown.
A highly-skilled workforce is the foundation for our state’s success and more importantly, the foundation for the state’s future to attract businesses and industry. Given this importance, the Legislature passed House Bill 1755, which created the Lone Star Workforce of the Future Fund and grant program to fund workforce training programs. Not only does this legislation help fill the demand for a skilled workforce, but it also increases our state’s competitiveness in recruiting businesses to Texas.
The mobile office is on the road again and our District Director will look forward to seeing you on the following dates, in the following locations: January 3 at the San Augustine County Courthouse from 9 – 11:00 am; January 10 at the Polk County Commissioners Courtroom in Livingston from 9 – 11:00 am, or the Tyler County Courthouse in Woodville from 1:30 – 3:30 pm; January 17 at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett from 9 – 11 am, or at the Trinity County Courthouse in Groveton from 1:30 – 3:30 pm.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office if we can help you in any way. My district office may be reached at (936) 634-2762. Additionally, I welcome you to follow along on my Official Facebook Page, where I will post regular updates on what’s happening in your State Capitol and share information that could be useful to you and your family: https://www.facebook.com/RepTrentAshby/.
LUFKIN – Nacogdoches motorists should expect more changes on US 59/SL 224 as crews work to implement a traffic switch this week as work continues on the US 59/SL 224 interchange project.
Beginning Thursday, Jan. 11, weather permitting, crews will move southbound traffic on SL 224 from the inside lane to the outside lane just south of Mockingbird Lane. Traffic will continue in a single lane to the US 59 southbound exit.
“The traffic switch last week on the northbound frontage road went smoothly and this traffic switch continues the efforts to construct and tie in new infrastructure,” said Rhonda Oaks, public information officer. “As this project continues, it is very important that motorists slow down through this work zone and pay attention to signage as these traffic switches will continue as needed.”
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. Construction began in Sept 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-2025.
Message boards have been placed notifying motorists of the upcoming traffic switch. Motorists should expect delays as drivers merge into a single lane. Reduce speed and obey all traffic controls in the area.
(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.
