City revamps plans for animal control upgrade

City of Gladewater personnel are shifting course a bit on plans to refurbish and relocate the community’s animal control facilities. The current pens at Gladewater Police Department are neither fully-secure nor large enough. During budget talks earlier this fall, city leaders allocated up to $5,000 to craft a new setup using some materials on hand

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Drunk driving crashes peak during holidays

Thousands of Texas families are devastated by drunk driving crashes every year, and the problem gets worse during the holidays. In fact, one in four traffic deaths across the state are caused by drunk drivers, and that ratio increases to 28% during the holiday period. When asked in a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) survey,

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City ready to enforce new vacant building regs

Follow-through will be essential for the City of Gladewater’s updated vacant building ordinance to have an impact. “That will be picked up under policies and procedures for staff,” Mayor Brandy Flanagan noted, and execution of the new ordinance will be in conjunction with the courts along with enforcement of related fees. After months of review

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‘A Silent Servant’ | Local volunteer keeps giving

More food. More help. More guidance. For years, Dean Hanssen has focused on more – not for himself but for the children and families who rely on the Gladewater Backpack Program, for the men and women who rely on the support of Celebrate Recovery. A conversation with the First Methodist Church lay leader turns quickly

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Woman gets 15 years in prison

A judge in Gilmer sentenced Breanna Rena Simmons to 15 years in prison last week after she pleaded guilty to three counts of being intoxicated when she had a car crash that severely injured her three children, said Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd. Simmons, 32, of Gilmer, was sentenced Nov. 12 by 115th District

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The Economist | Sunny & Windy

Renewable resources are a growing piece of the global energy puzzle and will play a crucial role in meeting future demand while dealing with climate challenges. Texas is adding capacity at a strong pace, which is important in quenching the state’s growing thirst for energy going forward. Texas has long had more wind power than

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Upshur County Ag agent resigns

Upshur County Commissioners Court on Friday accepted the resignation of one of the county’s two extension agents, Tina Rosenbalm, effective Dec. 3. Rosenbalm has been with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office in Gilmer for two years as agriculture and natural resource agent, and coordinator of the county’s 4-H Clubs. Her letter of resignation said

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WOISD earns ‘District of Distinction’ accolade

White Oak ISD has earned the “District of Distinction Award.” Over 1,200 districts and learning institutions in Texas were eligible to apply for this prestigious TAEA Visual Art Award. 96 districts met the high standards and received this outstanding honor indicating that their Visual Art program is in the top 5.5% of the Visual Art

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