Malakoff School Board Election .. Final Results (top 3)

Rick Vieregge – 1,204
Billy Sparks – 1,097
Michael Monroe – 213
David Hennessee – 75
Stacey Killough – 9

Boxes Reporting: Final … 27 of 27 reporting

Sheriff
Ray Nutt (R) 20,941
Bill Burton (D) 6,126

Tax Assessor
Milburn Chaney (R) 21,799
Bryan Barker (D) 5,340

By Michael V. Hannigan - The News Staff

It is time to go to the polls again.

Early voting in the November General Election will get under way Monday, Oct. 22 and run through Friday, Nov. 2.

Early voting in Henderson County will be at the following locations:

- Seven Points City Hall, 428 E. Cedar Creek Pkwy, Seven Points, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

- Chandler Community Center, 811 Hwy 31 East, Chandler, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

- Henderson County Election Center, 201 E. Larkin Street, Athens, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

While the big item is the Presidential election, there are also contests for sheriff, commissioner, tax assessor, and constable.

There are also several important local elections on the ballot. There will be school board elections in Malakoff and Cross Roads, plus there will be liquor election in Malakoff and a bond election in Cross Roads.

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This week’s editions of The Malakoff News and The Athens News are now on newsstands and posted online.

Stories of interest in Malakoff include:

• The Malakoff City Council approved raising water rates
• Malakoff Education Foundation kickoff scheduled
• Groundbreaking held at Tool Elementary
• Domestic Abuse Violence Awareness Month

Stories in Athens include:

• AISD Superintendent Dr. Robert Steeber resigns
• Trouble at The Family Peace Project
• Dave Campbell named to the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame
• Young Republicans club reborn
• Domestic Abuse Violence Awareness Month

You can read all the complete stories, plus columns from Loretta Humble, Emily Lundy, Buddy Hazell, and Clara Jo Davis, here.

Here come the Tigers (playing with a little technology).

Athens resident Mike Peek (far left) poses with his crew before the NFL Week 4 preseason game in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Aug. 30. Peek was selected as one of the replacement referees while the NFL went through a labor dispute with the regular referee’s union. (Courtesy Photo)

By Michael V. Hannigan
The News Staff

ATHENS — The first thing you notice in Mike Peek’s office are the game mementos. One from a Class 2A state title game here, another from a Class 3A title game there, a couple from NCAA playoff games.

Then you see the one with the NFL logo from 2001; that one is the biggest and gets a wall to itself.

But it is the little ones, obvious gifts from friends and family, that tell the real tale. Ceramic snowmen and a frog and a troll and a pinata and what looks like a cookie jar, all dressed like referees.

The personal gifts tell you about a lifelong passion rather than some momentary accomplishments, and for Peek the passion has been refereeing football. For going on 42 years, from middle school to the Dallas Cowboys opener 11 years ago, he’s called games at every level. He’s officiated at the college ball for 27 years, 13 in the Division 1 Southland Conference.

Because of the labor dispute between the NFL and the league’s referees this year, he earned a second shot at the big time and was the head linesman for three preseason and three regular season games before the two sides came to an agreement last week.

He called games at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Soldier Field in Chicago, and was even under the lights in prime time for Monday Night Football.

“I asked the supervisor when the thing first started, ‘Where would I want to go (to officiate) if I could go to one place?’ He said Green Bay,” Peek said. “We got to talking, and he said the next closest place, because of the history, would be Soldier Field.”
“So you talk about lucky, I got to go to Green Bay and then Chicago.”

READ THE REST OF THE STORY IN OUR ONLINE EDITION.

By Michael V. Hannigan
The News Staff

ATHENS — The Henderson County Performing Arts Center (HCPAC) will turn 50 in 2014. Supporters want to make sure the anniversary year isn’t also the theater’s final year.

Tough times economically and dwindling crowds have the theater in a difficult place financially.

“We’ve gone through a couple of really lean years because of the economy, but we’ve always been able to bounce back,” said HCPAC Director Dennis Gilmore. “But we’re like any other small business in the economy today, and that is you just keep holding on hoping it is going to turn around and to date it hasn’t turned around.”

The struggles aren’t because of a lack of effort. Two years ago, the HCPAC started its Legacy Program.

READ MORE IN OUR ONLINE EDITION.

By Michael V. Hannigan
The News Staff

The Malakoff Tigers are off and running.

The Tigers drilled Mabank 21-7 Friday night to open the 2012 football season, mainly by pounding the ball on the ground behind the offensive line of Isreal Chavez, Nelson Ochoa, Diego Medina, Jordan Harris, and David Havlik.

Malakoff took the opening kickoff and went 56 yards in 11 plays — with Damontes Dowell scoring from eight yards out to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead — and never looked back.

Dowell picked up 59 yards on 8 carries before injuring his hip in the first half.

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The Malakoff News is now posting the entire newspaper online each week. If you look on the right hand side of the page, you will see a graphic of the newspaper. Click on that and you will be taken to where you can read the entire newspaper, and can even read the back issues.

Because of this, we will no longer be posting stories separately to the web. For daily updates, comments and photos, please check out our Facebook Page.

By Michael V. Hannigan
The News Staff

It is livestock show time in Henderson County, when area residents celebrate the passing of a farming tradition on to youth.

But this year’s show comes in the shadow of worry over federal bureaucracy and possible changes to a way of life.

In September 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to child labor regulations for kids under 16.

“Children employed in agriculture are some of the most vulnerable workers in America,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis when the proposal was announced. “Ensuring their welfare is a priority of the department, and this proposal is another element of our comprehensive approach.”

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