Home Blog Page 443

PREP TIME Lady Roadrunners Conduct Final Run-Through Before Tipping off Tournament on Wednesday

By
Gary Stallard
-
0
Angelina College head coach Byron Coleman walks point guard Taylor Jacob through a play during Tuesday’s preparation at South Plains College in Levelland. The Lady ‘Runners make their national tournament debut against Hutchinson College at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Lubbock Christian University. (Gary Stallard/AC Athletics photo)

The Angelina College Lady Roadrunners haven’t played an actual game since winning the Region XIV Conference Tournament championship back on March 9.

On Tuesday, the team spent the afternoon conducting a final walk-through before tipping off their national championship tournament debut scheduled for Wednesday.

AC’s ladies arrived in Lubbock on Saturday, giving them time to pick up some hard-earned rest while getting a look at the Rip Griffen Center on the Lubbock Christian University campus. Monday’s shoot-around was more for familiarization. Tuesday, at South Plains College in Levelland, the team focused on Wednesday’s opponent: Hutchinson College, which blew past Western Nebraska 81-60 in Monday’s opening round. Head coach Byron Coleman, assistant coach Randy McKelvey and the Lady Roadrunners attended that game and spent Monday evening going over what they’d seen.

Tuesday also offered a little time for reflection. Coleman, standing on the South Plains gymnasium floor, recalled this team’s historic run – and how a tail-whipping in a scrimmage helped put the Lady Roadrunners on their current path.

“We kind of got off to a slow start,” Coleman said. “First of all, we had low roster numbers. We only had 10 healthy bodies early in the year, so it was tough for us to do a lot of team work. We were a little behind, so we took a slower route with this group. We had to watch for injuries and our overall health, so when we went to some scrimmages, we kind of got our tails handed to us against a very good New Mexico team early.

“But it showed us what we needed to work on. We were able to get those things fixed, and I was very pleased about where we went from there. There were 100-something coaches watching us against New Mexico, and that team was thrashing us. But it really got us ready and aimed toward where we needed to go.”

With those low numbers in mind, Coleman – who on Monday was named the NJCAA District L Coach of the Year – pulled a card from legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summit’s deck. He recruited the Roadrunner men’s team for scrimmages in an effort to help his own squad develop into a quicker and stronger unit.

“We’ve always gotten help from the men’s team, but it was more sporadic,” Coleman said. “We might have them one week and not again for two or three weeks.

“But again, with our low numbers, we didn’t always have enough to hold our own 5-on-5 scrimmages. There were some days we only had 10 players, and on one day, one of our girls got hurt right at the beginning of practice. We brought the guys over steadily for two days every week for the majority of the year, and they really got after us. We told them, ‘Don’t hold back.’ They prepared us for our conference, and there’s no doubt those guys got us where we are today. We wouldn’t be here without them.”

Despite compiling a 29-3 record – by far the best season for a women’s team in AC history – Coleman and his crew know records mean nothing in a tournament of this magnitude. He said the approach to Wednesday’s action isn’t about changing much this late in the season.

Rather, it’s more about adjusting and forcing the opponent to stop the Lady Roadrunners’ formidable attack.

“Both teams have to adjust to each other,” Coleman said. “I don’t think they’ve seen our level of athleticism in a while, and we haven’t seen a lot of the type of structure they have. What you try to do is minimize some of the things they do well, and they’ll be doing the same thing. We want them to try and stop us. We’re going to run our style and force them to shut down our post players and outside shooters at the same time.

“Mostly, our girls are just ready to play again. It’s been a while.”

The Lady ‘Runners will tip off at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Lubbock. The game will be live streamed at njcaatv.com.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

WORK BEGINNING ON OVERHEAD SIGNS NEAR SL 287/US 59 SOUTH INTERCHANGE

By
Rhonda Oaks
-
0

Work is scheduled to begin Wednesday, March 20, on SL 287/US 59 South from near FM 58 to Whitehouse Drive to replace overhead guide signs. Daytime work is scheduled on Wednesday, but will be followed by night work through Sunday, March 24, weather permitting, and will include lane closures.

Message boards are set to help alert traffic to the upcoming work and traffic control and detours will be in place when crews are working. Vaca Underground Utilities, Inc., Houston, TX, will serve as contractor for the $125,000 sign replacement project. A total of 24 large signs will be replaced.

The night work is scheduled to begin at 9 pm each night and the roadway should be clear by 6 am ahead of peak travel hours. Lane closures on Wednesday will be during normal business hours. Motorists are urged to stay alert and reduce speed through this work zone, respect all traffic control and be prepared for possible delays.

For more information on statewide road conditions and closures, visit drivetexas.org. For more information on this and other Lufkin District projects, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or (936) 633-4395.

Doing The Spring Thing Safely

By
Rhonda Oaks
-
0

I read a great article in Texas Highways this month and it brought back a few memories of some road trips I have taken.

The article, written by Clayton Maxwell is entitled, “A Travel-Loving Parent Shares Her Road Trip Wisdom with Her Teenage Daughter.” If you have high school or college students, you need to read this. We want our kids to make fun memories and this article outlines advice for young adult drivers as they hit the road alone or with friends for that gloriously fun, memory-making road trip.

These days, high school and college students plan the entire year for where they will spend spring or summer vacation. There is usually a road trip involved. This article points out how important it is to make good memories, how to really enjoy road trips, the importance of self-reliance, putting down the phone and keeping a journal along the way. Of course, choosing the right soundtrack for the ride is very important to the overall experience. I still can’t go to the beach without hearing “Swingtown” by the Steve Miller Band over and over in my head. It brings back one of my favorite South Padre Island road trip memories.

To those suggestions, I would add a few more to make sure everyone has a safe trip. TxDOT is working statewide to get the word out this month in hopes that not one spring breaker will be injured in a crash. In 2018, there were 444 crashes involving young drivers who were under the influence. Of that number, there were 11 killed and 37 injured.

I urge parents, whether your child is in high school or college, sit down and have the safe driving talk with them before they start the car. Make sure they know that underage drinking is illegal. Make sure they know they can face up to $17,000 in fines and fees, jail time and the loss of their driver’s license if they are stopped or in a crash while driving under the influence of alcohol. Make sure they know there is no shame in calling a cab, designating a sober driver or even calling you for a safe ride home.

Will there be parties that don’t involve drinking during spring or summer break? Of course there will be. But just as sure as I am of that, I am equally as sure that there will be parties that do involve drinking. Parents, I urge you to make sure your young adult knows the drill.

Road trip memories should make you laugh years later, and everyone should be humming a song like “Swingtown” when they think back on them. Have a safe and super road trip, wherever it takes you.

ANGELINA COLLEGE PRESENTS “EXTRAVAGANZA”

By
Nancy Reynolds
-
0
The AC singers are (from left) Andrew Harper, sound technician; Raquel Rothschild, Caleb Perkins, Cailtyn Hutson, and Quavious Johnson. Nicholos Trusclair is in blue in the center. In front on the floor are Joyce Maranon, Robyn Adams. Not pictured: Hannah Young, Niya Bryant.

Take a trip through time with the AC Singers, guests and alumni as they bring down the house with songs and dances from the twenties through today during “Extravaganza”, March 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Temple Theater on the Angelina College campus. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for seniors, students, and children.

The AC Singers are directed by Beckie Compton and include Nicholos Trusclair of Lufkin, Raquel Rothschild of Nashville, Tennessee; Quavious Johnson of Conroe, Robyn Adams of Nacogdoches, Caitlyn Hutson of Hudson, and Joyce Maranon of Lufkin. Stacy Dicks is the choreographer and Andrew Harper is the sound technician.

Special guest performers are Hannah Young of Lufkin, Caleb Perkins of Nacogdoches, and Niya Bryant of Apple Springs.

Alumni performers are Jad O’Conner, Matthew Oliver, Monica Scurlock, Colin Wise, Kimberly Noble, Josh Robinson, Sarah Jackson, Keren Debose, Kyree Anderson, and Angela Isenblitter Cross.

Musical numbers will include “Turn the Beat Around,” “Soul Man,” “Shake Your Tailfeather,” “Love You I Do,” “Unchain My Heart,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Proud Mary,” “Car Wash,” “Suddenly,” “Never Enough,” “Cry Me a River,” “Gimme, Gimme,” “A Bushel and A Peck,” “Summertime,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You,” “Fools Fall In Love,” “Who You Say I Am,” and “I Can Only Imagine.”.

There will also be a Frank Sinatra medley, a Dance Evolution group dance, a rousing Charleston number, and the group’s signature song, “Guiding Light.”

“We are so excited to have our special guests and alumni performing with us. It’s wonderful to see the students working together with other performers,” Compton said.

For more information about this event, call the Temple Theater box office at (936) 633-5454, 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Asa Clary Shows a Lamb at the County Fair and Learns Life Skills

By
Cary Sims
-
0
Asa Clary braces his lamb that will show at the Angelina County Fair on Thursday, April 18 at the George H. Henderson Expo in Lufkin.

Asa Clary is the 15 year old son of Dr. Bradley and Amy Clary of Lufkin. This will be his 2nd year to show a lamb in the Angelina County Fair, just five short weeks away.

Asa is the oldest of four in his family. He has a younger brother Dalton (14 years old) who also shows lambs, as well as his brother Zane (3) and sister Jaydon (7), the only girl in the family.

As a member of Lufkin FFA and Blue Ribbon 4-H, Asa has been participating in the County Fair for seven years, starting when he was in third grade. For the first five years, he raised and showed hogs. Though they did well with them, Asa says, “we were getting tired of them and my mom encouraged me to give lambs a try. We did and we really like showing them.” Last year’s County Fair was their first time to raise lambs.  

Both of Asa’s parents were involved in showing livestock growing up. Raised in the Midland/ Odessa area, his mom showed lambs and his dad showed hogs.

The family agrees that meeting new people, getting to know them and helping them out has been one of the best parts of showing. Asa says, “We call them our ‘show family’. Outside and inside the show ring, we learn from each other – both from strengths and weaknesses.” 

Asa and his mom agree that the hardest part is getting the lambs broke to lead and show. “You have to develop a bond with them,” Asa said, “so they’ll work with you and not against you in ring.” As you watch a lamb show, exhibitors have to ‘brace’ lambs, pushing back on them to flex their muscles. While the showman is pushing on them, they want your lamb to comfortably push back towards you and not back up.

He thought his most memorable time at the Fair was just last year when they were showing lambs for the first time.  “My dad said we may not even make the sale. We ended up winning 3rd place in the heavy weight class and 5th place overall lamb! We were shocked as well as excited.”

His mom says that, “It’s just a good environment to be around. It’s a family environment.” Amy goes on to say that raising livestock and competing teaches great responsibility and sets a great example for the two youngest siblings that watch older brothers’ every move.

She laughed, “Especially our three-year-old son! He knows everything about the lambs and can already answer every question the judge asks.”

Asa’s dad, Dr. Bradley Clary, believes, “It’s one of the best character-building exercises that there is for adolescents. You know, there are so many negative influences out there. The raising and showing livestock teach youth ethics and responsibility as well as financial skills such as budgeting… so many of the skills needed to become a productive adult.”

Dr. Clary continued, “There is so much to learn if you just embrace it. You’ve got a snapshot of real life if you just look at these projects: raising livestock. That’s what I think is most important.”

Outside of raising lambs, Asa has entered the Public Speaking contest and, along with a few friends from school, is working on a shooting table in the AG Mechanics division. This year’s lamb show at the Angelina County Fair will be on Thursday, April 18 at the George H. Henderson Expo. The entire County Fair is from Tuesday, April 16 thru Saturday, April 20 concluding with the sale on Saturday evening. The lamb show begins immediately after the meat goat show. You can come watch Asa, his brother Dalton, and several other great youth competing.

MISSION TRIP Lady Roadrunners Depart for National Tournament

By
Gary Stallard
-
0
Angelina College’s Lady Roadrunner basketball team on Saturday morning prepares to board the bus on their way to the NJCAA Division I Women’s National Tournament in Lubbock. The tournament tips off Monday, and the No. 4 seed Lady ‘Runners will play on Wednesday at Lubbock Christian University. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

They streamed across the Angelina College campus early on Saturday morning dragging suitcases and carrying pillows and blankets. They looked like any other college students boarding a bus for a field trip.

Except this trip is a little different, and those students aren’t traveling just to bring home souvenir t-shirts.

AC’s Lady Roadrunner basketball team departed Lufkin on their way to Lubbock, where they’ll play as the No. 4 seed in the upcoming NJCAA Division I women’s national basketball tournament set to tip off on Monday. Head coach Byron Coleman was in his office – with packed bags nearby – studying game film as if a student cramming for final exams.

“We’re really just making sure we’ve got everything and we’re not leaving anyone behind,” Coleman laughed. “It’s hard to prepare when you don’t know who you’re playing, but we’re just trying to get everything prepared so when we know our opponent, we’ll be ready ahead of time.”

AC’s ladies won’t play until Wednesday at 1 p.m., but Monday’s first round will determine the Lady Roadrunners’ opponent. Western Nebraska and Hutchinson will play at 6 p.m. on Monday. Arriving early means AC will have a short practice session on the tournament’s floor at the Rip Griffin Center; more importantly, the extra day will allow the coaches and players an early look at their future opponent.

“Oh, no doubt, we’ll be front and center for Monday’s game,” Coleman said. “We’ll be trying to see what they do and how we’ll match up. Like I said, it’s hard not knowing which one we’ll play, but we’ll prepare for both right up until we know for sure who our opponent is going to be.”

A whirlwind week of post-season accolades and post-tournament attention hasn’t taken the team away from its approach. Coleman said the main focus was getting everyone to relax and re-focus – and get a little rest. Thankfully, the distractions didn’t have much effect on the team’s efforts.

“No, I feel like everybody’s locked in,” Coleman said. “We came back in for practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we just had about an hour to shoot around. We didn’t talk much about offense or defense. We just came back in to get our legs back under us. We were beaten up after that conference tournament. We had five or six kids in the training room, and we’ve lost one for this tournament. We have a small roster, so we’ll feel that loss a little.

“We’re just trying to make sure we’re rested and healthy before Wednesday.”

With all the mental and physical preparation taking place this week, the one thing Coleman and assistant coach Randy McKelvey wanted to accomplish was to ensure the players know they have a prime opportunity for an even bigger prize. Becoming the first Angelina College women’s basketball team to qualify for the national tournament has a nice ring to it – but not nearly as nice as the idea of a championship ring.

Coleman said his team needed no reminders at all. They’re on a mission to bring home a national title.

“They’ve had that mindset since we went back to practicing after the conference tournament,” Coleman said. “They’ve had some good workouts, and they understand we’re not finished yet. They won a trophy after the conference tournament, and they know they’ve got a real shot at an even bigger one this week.

“We haven’t had to say much as coaches. The kids have been speaking with their actions, and they’re excited and ready to go.”

The entire tournament will be live streamed from Lubbock Christian University at njcaatv.com. Other tournament information, including brackets, are at njcaa.org.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

An Update from Trent Ashby

By
Rep. Trent Ashby
-
0

With many schools on Spring Break, it was great seeing so many young people visiting their Texas Capitol. I recently had the privilege of keynoting an address to a dedicated group of 4-H students who were in Austin this week for their legislative day at the Capitol. Rather than using their time away from school to relax and unwind, this hard-working group of students spent a few days engaging with legislators to learn about the legislative process and advocate for the issues that are important to them. As a proud 4-H parent, having an opportunity to watch our next generation of leaders in action was the highlight of my week!

With that, here’s the latest update from your State Capitol. . .

  • Legislative Update

This week I presented a bill before the Ways & Means committee that would eliminate the practice of unfairly appraising portions of land specifically designated for timber production. This bill, House Bill 1409, was brought to me by members of the Texas Forestry Association and seeks to address a critical issue facing their industry. Given the profound impact that timber production and silviculture have in East Texas, I’m proud to be taking the lead on legislation that would bolster protections for an industry that benefits so many folks in my district.

I also presented a piece of legislation before the House Natural Resources Committee this week. This bill, House Bill 1964, seeks to streamline the burdensome permit application process for amending certain water rights. This legislation was supported by the Texas Water Conservation Association, and brought to me by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in an effort to increase efficiency by cutting through the burdensome red tape imposed on the application process for landowners.

In our longest hearing this session, the House Committee on Public Education adjourned around the midnight hour on Tuesday, after 12 hours of testimony on House Bill 3. As a member of this committee, it was encouraging to see so many passionate educators, parents, and other interested parties from around the state come to Austin to voice their opinion on this legislation. I am proud of the dedication this committee demonstrated throughout this hearing, as the entire committee continued to engage and ask important questions until the hearing completed. I look forward to working with this devoted group to bring meaningful reform to our broken school finance system, as we intend to vote this bill out of committee in the next week or two.

  • Reminders

The mobile office is on the road this month and looks forward to seeing you on the following dates, in the following locations: March 20th at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett from 9:00-11am, or at the Trinity County Courthouse in Groveton from 1:30-3:30pm; and finally, on March 27th at the San Augustine County Courthouse in San Augustine from 9:00am-11:00am.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact our office if we can help you in any way. Our District office may be reached at (936) 634-2762, or you can call my Capitol office at (512) 463-0508.

My Five Cents: Supplemental Budget, School Finance and Disaster Relief

By
Misty Boggs
-
0

March is always a busy month in the Capitol as many people make their way to Austin during spring break. We enjoy seeing everyone, but there is no spring break for legislators as committee agendas are full of potential legislation.

Here are five things happening at your Capitol this week:

  • Teacher Retirement System

Everything is bigger in Texas and that includes the state’s Teacher Retirement System (TRS), one of the 13th largest pension funds in the world which provides retirement benefits to over 420,000 people. The last few sessions, the Legislature has allocated funds to ensure TRS is financially stable and this session will be no different. Senate Bill 12, by Senator Huffman and of which I am a co-author, has been filed to address these costs. It will increase the states’, districts’ and active employees pension contributions over a six-year period, as well as provide a ’13th’ check to all retired school employees in an amount equal to their current monthly pension check during the 2020-21 budget cycle. The Legislature has made a commitment to these teachers and it is our job to make sure we are keeping that promise in ensuring they are receiving their benefits.

  • Supplemental Budget

This week, the Senate passed Senate Bill 500, also known as the supplemental budget bill. The supplemental is used to cover outstanding expenditures that may have arisen after the last biennium’s budget was adopted. Of the $6 billion allocated in this bill, most of it will be directed to cover Harvey related costs. This includes approximately $900 million for school districts impacted by lowered property values and attendance decreases caused by Hurricane Harvey. $100 million has been allocated to harden schools related to school safety, as well as additional funding to increase the state’s contribution to the Teacher Retirement System. A state flood plan and other disaster prevention plans would also be funded, contingent on legislation passing to cover these costs. I talk about some of these bills in the item below.

  • Disaster Relief Bills

The Senate has filed Senate Bills 6,7 and 8, with the funding allocated in each amounting to $1.8 billion in disaster relief for Texans. Senate Bill 6 would require the Texas Department of Emergency Management to create a disaster response plan for local officials in cities and counties. Senate Bill 7, would create a ‘resiliency fund’ of  $900 million from the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund (also known as the Rainy Day Fund) to help local communities draw down billions more in federal recovery funds for flood projects. Approximately $200 million of these funds would be used to draw down federal funds to construct nearly 27 miles of coastal levees in Orange County, which lies within Senate District 3, and to shore up nearly 30 miles of existing coastal levees in Port Arthur and Freeport. Senate Bill 8 would direct the state’s water planning agency to create the first statewide flood plan in Texas.

  • School Finance  

The Senate and the House have each filed their versions of a school finance reform bill. In addition to Senate Bill 3, the teacher pay raise bill, and Senate Bill 2, the property tax reform bill. Senate Bill 4 contains proposals for fund full-day pre-k, incentives for school districts to improve their third-grade reading performance, increase funding for low-income students and potential funding for teacher merit pay. There are many aspects of this bill that are still being considered in terms of changes in school funding formulas.

The house version, House Bill 3, combines many aspects of the three Senate bills into one. it  would provide an increase for base funding per students, funding for property tax reform, help to reduce recapture payments and funding for school districts to offer a merit pay program. The Senate and the House will have to work together to ensure that we are able to provide effective school finance reform. or it

  • Shelbyville Basketball Team

It was a very proud moment for Senate District 3 when we heard that an East Texas boys basketball team had won State Championship. The Shelbyville ISD Dragons are now the UIL Boy’s State Basketball Tournament Champions after they beat their opponents in San Antonio this past week. On their path to the championship, the Dragons outscored their opponents by a margin of 531 points to 343. I would like to congratulate the team on their win and hope that all teams in East Texas are successful in their futures.

East Texas Youth Attend SAY WHAT! Action Summit

By
Joshua Blackwell
-
0
Participants who attended the Lufkin Say What! Summit at the Lufkin Convention Center on March 2, 2019. School districts participating include: Central ISD, Diboll ISD, Hudson ISD, Huntington ISD, Kilgore ISD, Lufkin ISD, Woden ISD, Woodville ISD, and Pineywoods Community Academy. Say What! stands for Students, Adults and Youth Working Hard Against Tobacco and is a state-wide movement that aims to unify the youth of Texas under the common goal of making Texans healthier regarding tobacco use

The Coalition, Inc., in partnership with the Texas School Safety Center, recently participated in the Say What! Action Summit in Lufkin, Texas to learn more about youth leadership and tobacco prevention. Say What! stands for Students, Adults and Youth Working Hard Against Tobacco and is a state-wide movement that aims to unify the youth of Texas under the common goal of making Texans healthier regarding tobacco use. The Say What! Action Summit, held March 2, 2019 at the Lufkin Convention Center, was a fun-filled training and networking opportunity that focused on taking students to the next level in tobacco prevention. Through fun and interactive peer-led presentations, students learned about tobacco prevention and how to educate their communities about the dangers of tobacco and e-cigarettes. There were over 150 students representing Central ISD, Diboll ISD, Hudson ISD, Huntington ISD, Kilgore ISD, Lufkin ISD, Woden ISD, Woodville ISD, and Pineywoods Community Academy.

Since 1988, The Coalition has focused on eliminating the use of harmful substances by affecting public policy, laws, attitudes and behaviors, all in an effort to foster healthy life-long choices for the local community. For more information about this event, or our services, contact The Coalition at 936-634-9308 or visit @TheCoalition936 on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

AC McKelvey Named JUCO Assistant Coach of the Year Lufkin Native Instrumental in Lady ‘Runner Basketball Success

By
Gary Stallard
-
0
Angelina College assistant women’s basketball coach Randy McKelvey (right) on Wednesday was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year for Two-Year Colleges. The Lufkin native has been instrumental in building a national contender in his seven years at the position. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

He’s an East Texas native and a graduate of Lufkin High School, so it only stands to reason that Angelina College women’s basketball assistant coach Randy McKelvey would use his roots to cultivate local talent.

Now in his seventh year as the Lady Roadrunner assistant coach, McKelvey is seeing his efforts rewarded: On Wednesday, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association named McKelvey the Assistant Coach of the Year for Two-Year Colleges.

McKelvey graduated Lufkin High School in 1999 and graduated with his bachelors degree in kinesiology in 2013. Later, he would earn his Master of Science degree in Sports Management from Southern New Hampshire University.

Known for his ability to recruit and develop players, McKelvey played a huge role in this year’s Lady Roadrunner team and its advancement to the national tournament – the first AC women’s basketball team in the college history to qualify for nationals. Before this year, he was part of developing seven All-Conference players.

This year, one of McKelvey’s recruits, Natasha Mack, earned the NJCAA Division I National Player of the Year award, as well as the Region XIV Conference Most Valuable Player.

McKelvey and his wife Zephanie live in Lufkin with their three children: Z’Nya, Randy III and Kobe.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

1...442443444...758Page 443 of 758