Category: Ellis County

Get your hands dirty :: July 12

July 12th folks from encounter – as well as anyone else interested will spend a day working in and around Daniel’s Den in Waxahachie. Daniel’s Den is a ministry in Waxahachie, with the goal of reaching and helping the homeless of Ellis County.

There are a number of ways folks can help:

  • the back porch screen needs to be repaired
  • lots of caulking needs to be done
  • furniture needs to be moved
  • edging and mulching the front yard (mulch is free but trucks are needed)
  • flowers planted in the front
  • new lid (and or box) for trash box to keep dogs out of trash cans
  • fence needs to be built in the rear of the property
  • banana boxes needed to help organize garage sale items
  • garage sale items need to be organized
  • door needs to be painted and installed
  • items need to be moved from the old shelter location to the new one
  • shelves need to be installed in pantry

items needed:

  • 8′ ladder
  • twin bed and mattress sets
  • 2 full size mattresses (mattress only)
  • flowers
  • fencing
  • caulk and caulking guns
  • shelves

In addition to the regular work that day, if you’re interested in helping put together food and drink for those working that day, please let us know as well.

If you see something you’re interested in and would like to help, please let me know.

Ellis County 4 Huckabee

A new blog has popped up in Ellis County and this time it doesn’t appear to be focused on picking a fight with all the local officials.
EllisCounty4Huckabee showed up online last week to show support for Mike Huckabee’s run at the White House.
Check it out, visit often and share some Huckabee love.

Local icon dies

From the WDL:

By JOANN LIVINGSTON Daily Light Managing Editor

Waxahachie ISD sports’ biggest fan, Mary Jane Eubank, passed away Friday afternoon and her best friend, Debra Wakeland, is still in shock at Eubank’s sudden death.

“She was such a loving, caring person,” Wakeland said of the 65-year-old, who was found injured and unconscious at her home Wednesday morning. “She considered every student in Waxahachie as her child.”

Wakeland recalled her own son’s graduation ceremony and how she and Eubank – who was unmarried and who had no children – were standing together. She said she noticed Eubank crying even more than herself and asked her why?
“They’re all my children,” Eubank said to Wakeland, who told the Daily Light, “That’s how she felt.”

Read more here and here

Top News: Horses are allowed

The Top News story from the WDL yesterday:

Horses allowed for Christmas Parade

Equine entries will be allowed in this year’s Waxahachie Christmas Parade, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1.
The annual event, co-sponsored by the Waxahachie Optimist Club and Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce, had previously announced no equine entries would be allowed in this year’s parade due to safety concerns caused by the lack of a staging area.

I want to comment more on this, but I’ll hold off for now.

Govt. officials hope to block access to maps

As someone who works with GIS in my job, this story in particular caught my attention this morning.
It seems that some local and state entities around the country are trying to block the publics access to GIS maps, siting security reasons.
From NPR:

With Google Earth and GPS, people have grown accustomed to online maps of whatever they’re searching for. But the boom in digital mapping has run into an obstacle. Some government officials are refusing to release electronic maps of what they call “critical infrastructure,” such as water mains and fire hydrants.

There’s so much great information out there to help the general user/member of the public yet there are those in power who are doing all they can to hold on to that information and squash the open sharing of knowledge. Frustrating to say the least.
If I could only get my GIS information to convert to the correct file formats for my GPS unit we’d really be in business – but that may still be a ways off.
Listen to the full story online

Waxahachie ISD student suspended for John Edwards shirt

I haven’t hadn’t seen this in the WDL or on other media, but Capital Annex in Austin East Texas reports that a local student was suspended for wearing a John Edwards t-shirt to school.
The WDL had a report yesterday that I missed.
Apparently Fox 4 picked up the story:

One Waxahachie family is threatening to go to court after their son was booted from school for wearing a t-shirt supporting a presidential candidate.
Pete Palmer, a sophomore at Waxahachie High School, says he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong when he wore a John Edwards 2008 shirt to school.
But according to the district, shirts with political slogans are against dress code policy.
Waxahachie High School officials told Pete he couldn’t wear it.
“It had nothing to do with trying to stifle anyone’s free speech,” said Thomas J. Collins, WISD Superintendent.
“It was an opportunity for us to continue to try and maintain a safe and orderly environment. The dress code gives us the tools to make a decision on what is right and what isn’t,” Collins added.

WISD’s dress code reads as follows:
“T-shirts, other than WISD clubs, organizations, sports, or spirit t-shirts, college or university t-shirts, or solid-colored t-shirts, are prohibited.”