Jan. 27, 2011 - Officers for the 2011-12 year were elected at the regular meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution George Blakey chapter held Jan. 8. Twelve members were present to elect the following: Regent, Betsy Sterkel; Vice Regent, Sheri Thedford; Chaplain, Nancy Bellows; Treasurer, Alice Creecy; Secretary, Debbie Westbrook; Historian, Mary Beavers; and Registrar, Shirley Harman.

Jan. 27. 2011 - The 82nd legislative session began Tuesday, Jan. 11. Legislators will debate the House Rules this upcoming week and are waiting to receive their committee assignments. This week, I will continue to talk about a few of the bills that have been filed by other legislators from around the state for the upcoming legislative session.

HB 199 would move the sales tax holiday for clothing, footwear, and other back-to-school items from the third weekend in August to the first weekend in August. The limits on what items are eligible for the tax exemption remain; the sales price of the article must be less than $100 and the sale begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and ends at midnight on the following Sunday.

Jan. 20, 2011 - Community Gardens are being established in small communities and within cities all over the USA with much success. Perhaps, it's a "comeback" from the Victory Gardens planted after World War II -- in which citizens planted gardens together on available plots and shared the bounty. These gardens helped to feed the nation and to increase community involvement in creating a local, sustainable food economy. Today, community gardening appears to be a viable solution to a number of problems. For one, we can expect food costs to soar -- with 1) energy costs rising,2) the environmental impact of conventional agribusines taking its toll on available resources, and3) transportation costs for food that travels an average of 1200+ miles to reach the supermarket.

Horseman's Association of Texas (HAT) president Stephanie Staton announced Jan. 11 that HAT will be working with several Fannin County organizations in 2011.