May 19, 2011 - On May 21 from 2-9 p.m. a Jones Family Benefit will be held in the Trenton high school gym. Donna Jones, fourth grade teacher at McNeil in McKinney, is the wife of Mike Jones who is the head girls' basketball coach at Trenton. Donna was diagnosed in April of 2010 with Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

May 19, 2011 - The Fannin County Master Gardeners will hold their business meeting on Monday, June 6, at noon in the Williams Building at the First Presbyterian Church located at the corner of Center and 9th Street.

Are weeds taking over your lawn, and your lawn not as lush as you would like? Stay after the business meeting at approximately 1 p.m. for a special program by Sue Malnory, a Master Gardener from Grayson County, who will talk about these issues and more regarding lawn care.

Anyone in the community who is interested in learning more about gardening are welcome to attend this presentation. Attendees do not have to be a master gardener. For more information please contact the Fannin County Extension Office at 903-583-7453. Texas AgriLife Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.

May 19, 2011 - The Texas Department of Public Safety is urging Texas residents to make sure that any alarm salesperson, company or alarm installer that they hire is licensed by the DPS Regulatory Services Division.

Historically, some alarm salespersons have aggressively marketed their services to residents in municipalities--primarily going door to door in neighborhoods. DPS is working with the alarm industry trade associations to provide information to citizens regarding licensed companies and individuals.

May 19, 2011 - As of this writing, there are only 16 days left in the 82nd Legislative Session. Friday was the last day that the House could hear bills that originated in the House, with the exception of local bills. Next week, the House will focus on bills that have been passed by the Senate. This week, I will discuss a few bills that were passed by the House this week and have now been sent to the Senate for approval.

House Bill (HB) 12, relating to the prohibition of sanctuary cities and about which I wrote last week, passed the House on Tuesday. It has now been sent to the Senate for consideration.