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Spice Things Up for Super Bowl Sunday

By
Megan Whitworth
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Are you ready for some football?
Get the party revved up on game day with mouthwatering, fiery snacks from both Brazi Bites and Kam’s Kettle Cooked Chili Sauce. Easy to make and even more delicious to eat, the following recipes will have everyone fired up!
Sweet & Spicy Crock Pot Meatballs Ingredients

1 pound Ground Beef
½ pound Ground Pork
1-12 ounce Jar of Kam’s Chili Sauce (1/4 jar for the meatball mix)
¾ cup Quaker® Old-Fashioned Oats
1 egg
¼ cup chopped onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (12 ounce) bottle of Kam’s Chili Sauce
1 (10 ounce) jar of currant or grape jelly

Preparation
Mix all ingredients (except for grape jelly & Kam’s Chili Sauce). Gently shape into 1-inch balls. Put meatballs in the oven on a cookie sheet until browned. Remove the meatballs. Pour the chili sauce and the grape jelly into the skillet and heat, stirring constantly and simmer, uncovered for about 30 minutes. To keep warm place into a crockpot and keep covered on low.

Cook’s Notes: Use Welch’s grape jelly or Cranberry Sauce. This recipe works great with pre-cooked, frozen meatballs. Just eliminate all of the meatball ingredients in the recipe, warm the sauce as above, then stir in the frozen meatballs with the heated sauce. Simmer on low to warm the meatballs through well, about 20 minutes, gently stirring them several times, then transfer them to a crockpot to keep warm if you like.

Frozen Meatballs in the Crockpot: Heat the sauce on the stovetop. Place frozen meatballs into the crockpot and follow the suggestion on the bag of your brand of meatballs for heating. Generally speaking you will need to allow about 3 hours for the meatballs to be ready to serve; about 2 hours on high, then another hour on low. Fresh cooked meatballs will only need to be held in the crockpot on low.

Cocktail Sausages: Substitute a pound of cocktail sausages for the meatballs, eliminate all other ingredients except for the chili sauce and grape jelly.
Plus, with only 5 ingredients, these Brazi Bites Jalapeno Poppers are sure to be a crowd-pleaser on game day. Choose your favorite flavor of Brazi Bites (or mix it up!) for an easy appetizer that will get everyone fired up!

Brazi Bites Jalapeño Poppers

Ingredients
1 bag Brazi Bites, thawed
4 each large jalapeños
2 ounces shredded mozzarella
1 ounce cream cheese
1 tablespoon green onions, diced

Preparation
Cut the ends off of the jalapeños and slice down the middle. Clean out seeds and place flat side down onto a sheet pan. Brush lightly with oil and broil in oven until skin blisters. Peel the skin off of the jalapeños and dice small. In a medium bowl, mix diced jalapeños, mozzarella, cream cheese and green onions until combined. Place Brazi Bites onto an oiled sheet pan. With your finger, press down into the Brazi Bite to create a small indentation in the top. Place 1/2 tsp. of the jalapeño mix into the indentation. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until deep golden brown. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Tips for Planning Your Wedding and Beyond

By
Megan Whitworth
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While making the wedding day spectacular may seem like the main goal for engaged couples, savvy twosomes are also considering how they will build their home and life together after the honeymoon.

Luckily, these days, there are plenty of ways to plan your big day and happily ever after at the same time, say wedding trend experts.

“Couples who personalize their weddings are also quietly setting a tone for their future,” says Nelson Tejada, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at Things Remembered, a leading retailer with 50 years of experience providing personalized wedding gifts and accessories.

Tejada suggests creating a customized wedding logo to adorn everything from invitations to keepsake items at the reception like champagne flutes and cake servers (items that can be used during future celebrations.)

If you work with a retailer like Things Remembered, you can celebrate your marriage every day by using the logo on needed items for your home, like cutting boards and picture frames.

The company also provides the files to the couple, so you can use the logo on items they don’t sell. For example — the cake!

Including your monogram on wedding items like drinkware, the guest book, photo albums and unity candles is another personalized way to celebrate the big day and beyond. Many couples use the same stylized initials on home items like wall art, blankets and aprons, as well as accessories like keychains, wallets and jewelry.

Your monogram can also make a fun and memorable addition on items in your gift bag for the wedding party and guests. To thank your wedding party properly, be sure to seek out items they will actually use, such as t-shirts and high-quality water bottles like Corkcicle, Contigo or TruHydrate.

Attending a wedding? Guests too can help the couple create a life together with personalized wedding gifts that help make the house a home. There are many useful, beautiful home gifts that can be given a personalized touch.

For more ideas for bride and groom and everyone in attendance, visit ThingsRemembered.com/Weddings.

When wedding bells are ringing, take care to make that day and every day following one-of-a-kind with unique flourishes that speak to you.

(StatePoint)

Realistic Resolutions for Busy Moms

By
Megan Whitworth
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Time is perhaps the most coveted thing moms have and it’s crucial to manage it effectively for you and your family.

Simple, easy changes in your daily routing can help you with your health goals.

To help moms everywhere make the most of their precious minutes in 2017, actress, director, producer, entrepreneur, mother-of-three and Nutrisystem ambassador, Melissa Joan Hart revealed her New Year’s Resolutions, crafted from years of juggling different time consuming tasks.

• Just say “no”: Sometimes you just have to decline requests or pick and choose which ones are doable. And remember, it’s okay to ask for a rain check.

• Limit screen time: It’s easy to fall into the screen time black hole. Instead, be present – put your phone down and limit your children’s time in front of their screens. Even talk to your spouse!

• Set aside 20 “Mom Minutes” daily: Do something for yourself for 20 minutes every day – meditate, do a quick workout, call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, or simply do nothing with a cup of coffee in hand.

• Have one-on-one time with each child: Create no-fuss activities like coloring or playing cards that you can do with each child individually based on his or her personality. Spending quality time separately will feed your soul and theirs.

• Try to be guilt free: As a working mom, you are doing things for your family even when you are at work, so don’t feel guilty about the time away from loved ones.

• Make simple healthy changes: Remember that your kids are always watching, so being a good role model when it comes to health and fitness will pay dividends for them and for you. Simple, easy changes in your daily routing can help you with your health goals. For example, drink a nutrient-rich shake for breakfast, such as Nutrisystem Turboshakes, drink more water throughout the day and maintain a consistent exercise schedule.

And if you want to lose weight, as so many do in the New Year, Hart says, “look for a plan that works for you. I chose Nutrisystem because it was simple and fit with my lifestyle. I lost 40 pounds and feel better than ever!”

For a kick start to your New Year, consider Nutrisystem Lean13, a new program designed to help you lose up to 13 pounds and seven inches in your first month. More information can be found at nutrisystem.com.

• Plan quality couple time: Make time to reignite your romance. Go out to a movie, take a walk together, write each other love notes.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make grand resolutions,” Hart said. “It’s the small resolutions that can make every day just feel better.”

(Statepoint)

Technology Recycling Program Restructured

By
Megan Whitworth
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Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful has restructured its technology recycling program to streamline the collection process and to continue offering Nacogdoches residents a sustainable, volunteer-based technology recycling option.

Three Techcycle Saturdays will be conducted this year. Those are from 9 a.m. to noon on March 25, June 24 and Sept. 23. The collection location is at 220 W. Hospital St. across Pearl Street from the Farmer’s Market.

“KNB hopes to partner with the city to provide other recycling options at these Techcycle Saturday events this year,” said Katie Blevins, executive coordinator for KNB.

Items accepted are computers, including towers, monitors and laptops, hard drives, printers, cables, mice, keyboards, DVD/VCR players, projectors, radios, telephones, cell phones, networking equipment/routers, copiers, fax machines and cords/wires.

Items not accepted include TVs, major appliances, such as washers, dryers and refrigerators, cameras, small household appliances, such as blenders, toasters, coffee makers and vacuum cleaners, ink and toner cartridges. Best Buy in Lufkin will accept TVs for recycling for a fee.

Electronics recycling is also accepted at Staples, 4608 North St. Acceptable items include computers, monitors, laptops, printers and other items. Items larger than a printer or computer monitor will not be accepted.

Anyone is welcome to volunteer at KNB’s Techcycle Saturdays, Blevins said. “Techcycle Saturday is the perfect volunteer opportunity for large groups,” she said. Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful is a county-wide volunteer organization. Its mission is to enhance the Nacogdoches community by encouraging individual responsibility.

KNB efforts are focused in three major areas: litter prevention, beautification and waste reduction.

For more information, contact Blevins at (936) 560-5624.

CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Clinics Welcomes Fourth OB/GYN

By
Megan Whitworth
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CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Clinics welcomes Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Lufkin native Dixie McClendon-Coker, M.D. to its growing team of specialists and primary care providers.

Lufkin native Dixie McClendon-Coker, M.D. joins the staff of CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Clinics.

Dr. McClendon-Coker specializes in routine and high risk Obstetrics, Gynecology, robotic and minimally invasive surgery, and infertility issues.

A former Flight Medicine physician with the U.S. Air Force, Dr. McClendon-Coker said she’s excited to be home utilizing her skills and expertise in the community she loves. She is the fourth Obstetrician and Gynecologist hired by Memorial Clinics in the past several months and will help expand and enhance women’s services offered to the East Texas community.

She graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University before receiving her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Her post-graduate training included a transitional year internship at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso and a Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency through Texas A&M University at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple Texas. Dr. McClendon-Coker was a Flight Medicine physician with the 96th Bomb Squadron based out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana during which she deployed to Guam. Prior to moving to Lufkin, she was serving as an OB/GYN at the Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Dr. McClendon-Coker is seeing patients at 1105 W. Frank Avenue, Suite 110, located inside the Medical Arts Pavilion on the CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial campus. Patients can schedule an appointment by calling 634-1620. Her office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to noon. Her office accepts most major insurance and Medicare.

7 Healthy Habits for Successful Weight Loss

By
Megan Whitworth
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Year after year, weight loss remains the top goal people set for themselves. That’s an important goal because being a healthy weight is one of the single biggest steps individuals can take to reduce cancer risk, according to research from the American Institute for Cancer Research.

AICR’s reports show that excess body fat is a cause of 11 cancers, including post-menopausal breast, colorectal and esophageal. If everyone in the US were a healthy weight, AICR estimates that 130,600 cases of cancer could be prevented each year.

Excess body fat tissue can promote chronic inflammation, and increase blood levels of insulin and related hormones that can spur the growth of cancer cells.

“We know losing weight is not easy, and keeping it off is even harder,” said AICR Head of Nutrition Programs Alice Bender, MS, RDN. “That’s why it’s good to think long-term: choose healthy foods that you love, start doing activities that you enjoy, and learn how to treat yourself in small ways.”

Below are seven research-based steps individuals can take to get to – and stay – a healthy weight.

1. Set Realistic Goals​
If your resolutions are overly ambitious or vague you may find yourself overwhelmed and slipping up early in the year. Make concrete, measurable goals and schedule tasks into your day to help you achieve them.

2. Veg Out
Instead of denying yourself the foods you love, focus on replacing some with nutritious, healthful foods. Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber to keep you healthy and feeling full. They’re also low in calories so filling up on these can help curb your appetite while you’re watching your weight. Plus, research has found that a plant-based diet is also a cancer-protective one.

3. Get Moving
Regular physical activity can help lower blood pressure, control cholesterol and improve immune function. It’s also a key component when trying to maintain or lose weight. On top of that, get at least 30 minutes of activity a day to help lower cancer risk.

4. Get Smart about Portion Sizes
Portion sizes are big in America. Recent studies suggest that several strategies using portion awareness can all result in meaningful weight loss over a year’s time. Get to know your portions and find the right amount for your goals.

5. Don’t Drink Your Calories
Sugary soda and alcohol both add extra calories without beneficial nutrients. For each sugary drink that you swap out for water or another zero-calorie choice, you’ll save 100 to 300 calories. Plus, alcohol by itself is linked to increased risk for several cancers, including breast and colorectal.

6. Snack Smart
Snacks can help supplement your meals and provide another opportunity to add healthful food to your day. The best snacks contain complex carbohydrates like veggies or whole grains with a little healthy protein and fats to stave off hunger in-between meals.  Just remember to keep portion sizes small and serve your snack on a plate, never right from the package.

7. Stay Strong
Working strength training into your schedule a few times a week can help you build muscle and burn calories. It’s a great way to mix up your fitness routine and prevent injuries.

Representative Ashby Honored as Deep East Texas Legislator of the Year

By
Misty Boggs
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Photo provided by DETCOG

AUSTIN – This week, at a reception hosted by the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) and the Deep East Texas Commissioners & Judges, State Representative Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) was named the Deep East Texas Legislator of the Year. The event which draws hundreds of attendees to Austin for the Opening Day ceremonies is held every two years, just as the Texas Legislature convenes.

“I take great pride in being a voice, not only for the fine folks in my six county legislative district, but for the entire region in Austin,” said Ashby, who is currently the State Representative for House District 57, which encompasses all of Angelina, Houston, Leon, Madison, San Augustine, and Trinity counties. “Receiving this recognition is an honor that I do not take lightly, and I will continue to listen to and consider the views of East Texans whenever I make decisions at the Capitol that impact our district, region, and state as a whole.”

The partnership between DETCOG and the Deep East Texas Commissioners & Judges is truly a regional effort made up of counties, cities, service organizations and private businesses. The group covers twelve counties and Representative Ashby shares representation of this region with House colleagues Ernest Bailes (R-Shepherd), Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches), Chris Paddie (R-Marshall), James White (R-Hillister), and also State Senator Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville).

Lonnie Hunt, Executive Director of DETCOG, had this to say regarding the group: “Their individual strengths, and their willingness to work together, make the Deep East Texas region much stronger, [and] we are truly blessed to have such an effective team representing us in Austin.” Executive Director Hunt continued that Representative Ashby “is well known and very knowledgeable and supportive of the communities he represents and the region as a whole. Deep East Texas is fortunate to have his representation and have him advocating for our needs at the State Capitol.”

Representative Ashby is beginning his third term as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Currently, Ashby serves as the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for public and higher education funding, the Vice-Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, which deals with water issues across Texas, and as a member of House Administration Committee. Trent lives in Lufkin with his family and is the Angelina County Chairman of Citizens National Bank.

Green Ambassadors Awarded 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence Partnership Award

By
Grace Baldwin
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Students from Houston’s impoverished East End are changing their schools, their neighborhoods and their futures — for the better.  And the forestry and agricultural communities are taking notice.
A multi-agency team of Green Ambassadors has been awarded the 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence Partnership Award from Texas A&M AgriLife.
The award was presented Jan. 9 at the AgriLife Conference on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.
The collaborative group is comprised of many individuals, and state, federal, non-profit and student organizations. Green Ambassadors is a grassroots movement led by the very youth they serve. The young leaders help local schools and the broader surrounding community plant and grow urban and community forests as answers to some of the issues they see in their neighborhoods every day. Issues such as access to fresh, healthy foods, the heat island effect and flooding that are so prominent in Houston, environmental justice and food sovereignty.
“By transforming our community from what I call a food dessert to a food forest we can help supply residents with fresh natural foods and also provide nourishment and shelter for wildlife and pollinators,” Juan Elizondo, Career and Technical Educator of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Houston Independent School District Green Institute at Furr High School said.
The Green Ambassadors have planted hundreds of fruit trees and more than 200 vegetable garden beds in Houston’s East End community. They raised approximately 3,000 pounds of collard greens, sweet potatoes and other vegetables that have been donated to area food banks.
These youth are preparing themselves to serve in leadership roles and careers in natural resource professions. In addition to the trees and gardens, there are members of the group dedicated to permaculture, pollinators, health and physical fitness, wildlife, urban planning and development and environmental justice.
The Green Ambassadors are themselves at-risk high school and college students who are gaining leadership skills and confidence through their roles as teachers and mentors to younger students. They go out to elementary and middle schools, local neighborhoods and parks to share information on how to take care of the environment with conservation and environmental awareness messages.
Unlike many established, youth ambassador programs that were developed top-down by agencies or other entities, the Green Ambassadors have themselves created a movement by building upon the energy of the youth and from partners such as the Latino Legacy program of the Friends of National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation’s Nature Explore program.
They are absorbing and combining conservation education curricula from many forestry and natural resource organizations like theAmerican Forest Foundation’s Project Learning Tree, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M College of Architecture — among others.
“The Green Ambassador program models ‘youth-leading-youth’ with students teaching each other how to learn, and how to think,” Tom Boggus, Texas A&M Forest Service Director said. “As natural resource agencies, we need to figure out how to help other communities achieve this same level of engagement and empowerment.”
Green Ambassador members and partners who were honored with the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence were:
  • John Warner, Urban District Forester, Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Tamberly Conway, Partnerships, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, USDA Forest Service Washington Office
  • David Salazar, Career and Technical Educator of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Houston Independent School District Green
Institute at Furr High School
  • Juan Elizondo, Career and Technical Educator of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Houston Independent School District Green Institute at Furr High School
  • Nalleli Hidalgo, College Green Ambassador
The Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence were established in 1980 to recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions of faculty and staff across Texas A&M AgriLife and provide opportunity to celebrate the achievements of those honored.

Press Release from  Texas A&M Forest Service News

Chris Edgar awarded 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Public Service in Forestry

By
Megan Whitworth
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Dr. Chris Edgar of Texas A&M Forest Service has been awarded the 2016 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Public Service in Forestry from Texas A&M AgriLife.

The award was presented Jan. 9 at the AgriLife Conference on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.

Edgar manages the Forest Economics and Resource Analysis program of Texas A&M Forest Service. This program provides information and analysis on conditions and trends in the state’s forest resources, wood utilization and marketing, economic contributions of the forest sector, timber prices, valuation of ecosystem services and forest taxation.

With a great command of the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, a sort of census for trees, Edgar pioneered FIA for urban forests, helping provide state and Southern United States regional depictions of forests along the continuum from a community’s urban core to rural areas. His work with this program aids natural resource professionals in better addressing forest health, insect and disease issues related to species diversity and density across the landscape. It also helps show the relationship between urban forestry and traditional forestry, thereby helping state agencies better understand the impact of urbanization.

In addition to helping develop and launch the Urban FIA program, Edgar integrated technology and communications with the complex data and analysis by creating the online My City’s Trees application so that it is user-friendly and easily accessible.

“Dr. Edgar early recognized the need for outreach to communities and led the design of the web app my City’s Trees,” said Dudley Hartel, Science Delivery Technology Coordinator for Urban Forestry South of the USDA Forest Service. “The app is a first-line communications tool for community outreach for all cities in the national UFIA program.”

Edgar is regarded across the nation by forestry partners as a source that helps bridge complex data and public accessibility.

“He has advanced urban forest inventory and analysis to the gain of Texas communities,” Burl Carraway, Sustainable Forestry Department Head for Texas A&M Forest Service said. “He is truly a public servant in forestry.”

The Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence were established in 1980 to recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions of faculty and staff across Texas A&M AgriLife and provide opportunity to celebrate the achievements of those honored.

Panola Edges Short-handed Roadrunners

By
Gary Stallard
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Angelina College’s Gary Blackston rips down a rebound between Panola’s Marlon Taylor (3) and Tope Arikawe (20) during Monday’s game. A short-handed Roadrunner team fell short in an 82-77 loss at Shands Gymnasium. (AC Press photo/Marcy Flores)

Against Panola College Monday night, the Angelina College Roadrunners dressed just seven players – and two of those fouled out late in the second half.

The short-handed roster left the door open for the Ponies, who escaped Shands Gymnasium with an 82-77 win in Region XIV conference play.

The Ponies’ Devyn Wilson hit a three pointer with 1:47 to play in the game, giving Panola a 78-76 lead over the Roadrunners, and the Ponies held the ‘Runners to a single free throw over the games waning moments to take the win.

Gary Blackston returned from receiving stitches in his chin in the first half to lead the ‘Runners with 22 points. Corinthian Ramsey battled early foul trouble – he picked up his third foul early in the first half – to finish with 16 points. Robert Lewis scored 13, Jason Towery 11 and Quinton Bush 10 in the loss. Bush added 12 rebounds before fouling out.

Panola’s Tope Arikawe led the Ponies with 24 points; Marlon Taylor III added 21 and Wilson 16 in the win.

The Roadrunners battled back from early shooting woes and a 12-point deficit to tie the score at 47-47 on a Malcolm Evans bucket off a Ramsey feed. Blackston’s three pointer at the 4:17 mark gave the ‘Runners a six-point lead, but the Ponies kept chipping away until Wilson’s trey gave Panola its final lead.

The Roadrunners (11-5, 3-2) will travel to Paris College on Wednesday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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