Shelby County Today

January 14, 2026 - Joaquin High School teacher, Heaven Umbrell recently received her VFW Post 8904 Teacher of the Year award for 2025-2026. On Monday, January 12, Post Commander Derrick Roberts presented her with a framed certificate and a check for $200. Also on hand was Joaquin High School Principal Jonathan Jones.

January 12, 2026 - The following area students received degrees during the 2025 fall semester at Sam Houston State University.

Christopher Byndom, a 2019 graduate of Center High School, received a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice.

Reyna Duarte-Calixto, also a 2019 graduate of Center High School, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

January 7, 2026 - The Center Garden Club met for its December meeting in the home of Carolyn Bounds who served a holiday lunch and presented the program, "Trees for Christmas."

Carolyn shared her gumdrop tree, a festive holiday treat that can serve as a fun centerpiece. She, also, shared her arrangement of bare winter branches adorned with ornamental glass birds or bulbs that makes a simple but stunning use of leafless trees.

Carolyn's third reference to "Trees for Christmas" was her sharing of the legend of Captain Herman Shueneman who for many years crossed Lake Michigan in his old three-masted schooner laden with thousands of Christmas trees bound for Chicago where masses eagerly awaited him. The masses had proclaimed him "Captain Santa," the man who not only sold his trees, but more importantly, delivered many of them free of charge to the churches, hospitals, and needy families of Chicago. Unfortunately, in 1912 tragedy struck; Captain Santa and his crew were lost to a raging Lake Michigan storm. His legacy of generosity and kindness lives on to this day, when every year, including 2025, the US Coast Guard's cutter the Mackinaw arrives at Chicago's Navy Pier from the North to donate trees to deserving families as a kind gesture in the spirit of Captain Santa (Herman Shueneman). Trees are certainly one of Nature's loveliest gifts to all.

Following the program, a brief business meeting was conducted and adjourned with a Merry Christmas wish to all.

December 26, 2025 - Now is the time to update your home inventory! If you don't have one, start a new tradition and create an inventory of your home!

Christmas time can bring lots of new items into our homes! In the event of burglaries and thefts or even worse, a house fire, it's important to have a list of your items.

ReportIt is a free online tool available to Shelby County citizens. ReportIt lets you securely store serial numbers, item descriptions, pictures, and scans of receipts so that your items may be more easily identified in the event of theft or loss. ReportIt is a Citizen Property Inventory System powered by LeadsOnline (reportit.leadsonline.com) and is an invaluable tool to the general public and law enforcement.

Knowing what you own is the difference between recovering and not recovering stolen property and the outcome depends greatly on the information provided by the homeowner.

Home inventories are often times general and non descriptive. It is important to provide as much information about items as possible including makes and models, serial numbers, detailed physical description, and photographs of the items.

The ReportIt system is secure and only accessible by the person who sets up the account. Law enforcement agencies do not have access to your account, only you do. If you have items stolen, you can log into your account select the items which were stolen and then generate a report to give to law enforcement. The system is also valuable in the event of any kind of loss which has to be filed with an insurance company such as fire.

According to LeadsOnline, it is the nation's largest online investigative system used by thousands of law enforcement agencies to recover stolen property and solve crimes. Each year, LeadsOnline is credited with recovering millions of dollars in stolen goods and solving thousands of crimes that are often associated with bigger crimes, such as homicide, identity theft, and arson.

Law enforcement encourages all residents to use this free online system that will help keep track of valuable and invaluable personal property.

As you buy it; inventory it!