Jordan Rhodes is the 17-year-old daughter of Tiffany and Mo Oliver of Hudson. She has one younger sister, Brooke. And this will be Jordan’s first year to show a lamb in the Angelina County Fair, just a few weeks away.

As a member of Hudson FFA, Jordan has entered the Angelina County Fair for the past three years. The first couple of projects were rather difficult. Jordan raised a steer that proved to be too much to handle, followed by heifer she purchased with funds from the Houston Livestock Show calf scramble that broke her hip and then was unable to show. Last year, Jordan did enter a wooden toy box that she made at home in the Arts and Crafts division. Today, that homemade box is in the family living room where her mom uses it to store blankets.

This year, Jordan is raising a lamb. She says, “I wanted a livestock project I could show. Since everything comes out of my own pocket, I chose a lamb project.” Jordan used some of the money from the sale of the heifer plus her regular income from her job as a carhop at Sonic. She figured she could use her funds to fully finance this year’s project. “I bought the lamb, buy the feed and other supplies. It’s much cheaper than raising a heifer.”

Jordan says the best part of showing a lamb is the experiences she’s had meeting new people at the smaller shows in which she has competed. She also enjoys the responsibility of getting up early to feed and seeing the results of all the hard work that she’s put into her lamb project.

Jordan’s mom, Tiffany, says, “Seeing the work ethic she has developed to not only raise the animal but work to fund her project makes me so proud. Not many kids can say they do it all by themselves. This project is teaching her invaluable life lessons.”

Jordan also adds, “It is so cool to see a livestock project grow up. My lamb didn’t really like me at first and now he follows me around the pen. We work well together now, and I can show him well.”

Raising a livestock project is not without its difficulties, “You don’t always place like you want to in the show arena.” She adds, “It’s like taking care of a child at times! You protect it from getting injured and you are responsible for its feeding and everything it comes in contact with!”

She bought her wether lamb, named Baily, at the very beginning of the school year, September 1, from a breeder in Shepherd, Tx. Baily currently weighs 164 lbs. and Jordan hopes he’ll reach 170 lbs. by the County Fair.

Sponsored by Kirk and Donna Mathis, the Market Lamb division has 27 lambs entered. With 27 entries, there will be 19 lambs making it to the auction on Saturday night.

Judging of lambs, like the other market animals, focuses on the market readiness of the entry. The judge will place a tremendous emphasis on two main areas: muscling and condition. With sheep, the exhibitors will “brace” them so that the muscles flex, showing more expression of muscle.

This year’s lamb show at the Angelina County Fair will be on Thursday morning, March 26 at the George H. Henderson Expo. The entire County Fair is from Tuesday, March 23 thru Saturday, March 28, concluding with the sale on Saturday evening. The lamb show begins immediately after the meat goat show.

Jordan says she would tell others, “It’s a lot more work than it looks like, but the benefits outweigh the work you put in. You really get to understand that ‘I’ made this happen.”

You can watch Jordan show at our County Fair, you can see her working at the Sonic on West Frank Street (and give her a good tip!), and you can support her at the auction on, Saturday, March 28 starting at 4 pm. For more information about this year’s Angelina County Fair, go to www.angelinacountyfair.com.

Lufkin, TX: Today, the Angelina College Board of Trustees appointed Lynne Haney to fill a vacancy on the Board resulting from Trustee Tim Stacy’s resignation earlier this month. Ms. Haney’s appointed term will expire in May 2022.

Haney is the president of Lufkin Coca-Cola Bottling Company, which is the oldest incorporated business currently operating in Angelina County and has been owned and operated by Ms. Haney’s family since 1911. Haney is only the fourth person to hold the President title in the company’s history, and Lufkin Coca-Cola is one of only seven 100% female-owned Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States. Haney serves as a volunteer for the Angelina College Foundation advisory committee, and Lufkin Coca-Cola has given significant support to the college’s programs and events for years.

Haney’s appointment is positive for both the college and the community, according to AC president, Dr. Michael Simon.

“Lynne and her company have a long history of supporting schools and education at all levels in Angelina County,” Simon said. “I am confident her commitment to the college’s success and her business acumen will serve Angelina College and the Board well.”

Haney replaces Tim Stacy, who recently resigned from the Board when his daughter-in-law Lauren Stacy applied for a position with the College. Mr. Stacy served as a trustee since 2010 and served as president of the Board from 2015 to 2017. During Stacy’s tenure on the Board, Angelina College invested significantly in technology and workforce programs, expanded online course and degree offerings, and supported numerous economic development initiatives.

“I deeply appreciate the service Tim has provided the college and the role he’s played on the Board of Trustees – in particular, his perspective on manufacturing,” Simon said. “He has provided leadership to help the college best serve students who are interested in manufacturing careers, and he has facilitated relationships with regional employers to help AC meet the human capital needs of East Texas.”

“Tim’s personal values and commitment to student success inspired the college and fed our passion for helping people in East Texas reach their full potential.”

[Lufkin, TX – February 25, 2020] A variety of hardwood trees will be available for free to all East Texans for the annual Arbor Day Free Tree Seedling Giveaway presented by Sterling. The annual event gives the local area the opportunity to replenish trees that might have suffered drought or storm damage as well as planting of new trees. This year’s event will take place at the corner parking lot of Lowe’s Home Improvement (3501 S Medford Dr.) on Thursday, February 27 beginning at 9 a.m. until supply runs out.

Sterling presents this year’s event along with volunteers from Angelina Beautiful/Clean (AB/C) and Texas A&M Forest Service to celebrate Arbor Day. East Texas has an early planting season compared to other parts of the nation, and even other regions in Texas. Arbor Day is celebrated in East Texas earlier in the year due to this reason.

“Trees are a truly a amazing thing. They provide us with shelter, shade, air, and beauty. When someone plants a tree, it takes years and years to fully mature. There is an old proverb that states that you plant a tree knowing that you may not reap the benefits because of that time it takes to grow. Planting a tree is such a beautiful selfless act. AB/C is proud to help in bringing this event to the community each year,” said Jennifer La Corte, Executive Director of Angelina Beautiful/Clean.

The Arbor Day Tree Seedling Giveaway is on a first-come, first-served basis. The event is free, but tax-deductible donations are welcome. Checks can be made out to Angelina Beautiful/Clean.

About Angelina Beautiful/Clean

Working in Angelina County since 1984, Angelina Beautiful/Clean (AB/C) has a mission to educate and empower East Texans to take responsibility for enhancing their community environment and serves Angelina County to help make it a cleaner, greener place to live, work and play. AB/C cultivates programs, services and education around litter reduction, recycling and beautification. For more information on this event or any other Angelina Beautiful/Clean program, please contact 936-63CLEAN (936-632-5326) or visit www.angelinabeautifulclean.org.

Texas A&M Forest Service law enforcement investigators arrested James Michael “Mike” Bennett of Cleveland, Texas for Timber Purchase as a Trustee with Intent to Defraud on Feb. 13, 2020 in Montgomery County. Bennett, 55, was charged with a state jail felony as the timber was valued between $500 and $20,000.

“Timber theft is more common than most people realize and most cases begin with an agreed upon contract. Victims deserve to be made whole and as a department, we seek justice for these individuals,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Law Enforcement Investigator David Colton.

To prevent timber theft, landowners should:

• Visit their property frequently.
• Have someone they know and trust report any cutting on their land immediately.
• Never sign a contract without checking several references of the buyer.
• For the best price, insist on getting bids for their timber.
• Mark all property lines to assure cutting on adjacent property does not encroach on theirs.
• Utilize trail/deer cameras on their property that can record suspicious activity or individuals.
• Always hold their timber contractor to the agreed upon terms.

Landowners who are unfamiliar with selling their timber are urged to contact their local Texas A&M Forest Service office. Agency field staff assists landowners with the process of securing the services of a professional resource manager to help select trees for harvest, estimate values and find potential buyers.

To report suspected timber theft or suspicious activity, call the Texas A&M Forest Service law enforcement timber theft hotline at 1-800-364-3470.

Visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/lawenforcement/reporttimbertheft/ for more information. 

The Texas A&M Forest Service law enforcement department works diligently with local officials to help bring those responsible for timber theft and other violations of the natural resource code to justice.

Angelina College instructors are offering rewards for excellent writers!

Open to both college and high school students, the Student Writing Excellence contest will award cash prizes for works composed for English classes:

The contest is open to all English students enrolled at Angelina College, but there’s also a separate category for area high school students from the 32 schools within the college’s 13-county service area.

“If the student has completed a junior or senior English class – even if they’re not a dual-credit student – he or she can enter something they’ve written for that class,” Renee Williams, AC English instructor, said. “Even if they’re not planning to attend AC, they’re still part of our community and we want to help them display their skills.”

“I think our entire community will be very proud of its students.”

The criteria for submissions include any work written for an English class during the 2019 calendar year and for which students already have received a grade. The four categories include Freshman Composition (anything written for an ENGL1301 or 1302 course); Research Argument (written at the end of one of the aforementioned courses); Literary Analysis (typically written for a sophomore-level English class); and High School works.

Each level of submissions will offer prizes of $250 for first place, $150 for second place and $100 for third place. In March, AC’s English faculty – the judges for the contest – will host an awards banquet to recognize participants. In addition, Williams said the hope is to have all entries published and displayed in the Angelina College library.

Judging for the contest will take place from Feb. 29 through March 14. The awards banquet is scheduled for Saturday, March 21 on the AC campus.

Students may submit their own work, or teachers may submit on the student’s behalf, using the on-line submission form located on the Angelina College web site under “Roadrunner News.”

“We have a lot of students passing through our English courses, and we wanted to acknowledge their achievements and kind of celebrate their works in academic writing,” Williams said. “A lot of people don’t really care for academic writing, so we thought maybe attaching some prestige to it would build some enthusiasm.

“We’d love to see students getting excited about English classes.”

For further information, contact Renee Williams at rwilliams@angelina.edu