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Around Town
March 17, 2019 - An African American Woman who sat on the City Council of Center was Mrs. Gretchen McNealy. She served for over twenty years. The story of Gretchen's getting to live in Center, Texas was no accident. She was a relative of Mrs. DeIvory Sampson who moved to Center from Commerce, Texas to live with her and the family. We know Mrs. Sampson as the wife of the principal of C. H. Daniels High, Mr. Perry Sampson, during the years 1950's and 1960's.
Mrs. Gretchen graduated from Daniels and went to Texas College where she received her Bachelors. She later went to Stephen F Austin and received her Masters of Arts. That was not enough education for Mrs. McNealy because she attended Whiddon Memorial School of Nursing in Everett, Massachusetts. Evidently she believed in continuing education.
Mrs. Gretchen moved back to Center and began working in the public schools in Panola County, Strong Public School and the public schools of Center. She spent thirty-five years in the field of education. During these years, she met and married Joe Nathan McNealy (now deceased), an educated man who also became a teacher in the Shelby County Area. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Paul Baptist Church in Center where the family were members and active in the church.
The McNealy's had four children, two girls and two boys. Each were active in sports in high school and other activities. They extended their knowledge by attending and completing higher education at various schools in Texas. They have children and all are living in the Dallas area. Mrs. McNealy is proud of her children.
She was very active with various other committees besides being on the City Council with a goal of the betterment of good living for the residents of Shelby County. She served on the Planning and Zoning Commission on Loop 500, the Crime Stoppers Committee, and many others. Mr. McNealy also served on the Center Planning and Zoning Commission for planning Center's growth and development. Thus, this couple cared about their community. They were productive citizens of Center.
Mrs. McNealy remained in Center several years after her husband's transition but now is living in the Dallas area with a daughter, being close to all her children and grandchildren. She has shown strides in developing education, culture and support of a better society.
March 14, 2019 - Lieutenant Del Birdwell with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department spoke at the Women on the Go Club meeting hosted by AgriLife Extension on Thursday, March 14th concerning civilian response to an active shooter situation.
Jheri-Lynn McSwain, Ph.D., Shelby County Extension Agent - Family and Community Health, introduced Shelby County Sheriff Willis Blackwell, Chief Deputy Kevin Windham, and Lieutenant Del Birdwell to the group. Lt. Birdwell was the primary speaker and described options in an active shooter situation - to run, to lock, or to fight.
From left: Del Birdwell, Sheriff Willis Blackwell, Jheri-Lynn McSwain, and Kevin Windham
Lt. Birdwell explained, "An active shooter is defined as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area." He continued, "Their objective is to kill as many people they can and as quick as they can." According to statistics, when an active shooter engages a group by shooting they kill on an average of one person every 15 seconds until first responders get there.
While doing research for the program he referenced reading, "To 'hide and hope' is not a good strategy. And that's really a pretty good thought, if somebody comes into here, you can go over into the corner and you can hide. And you are hoping they don't see you and you are hoping they don't kill you. That's not the best strategy in the world."
He advised it's important to be aware of the area which is called situational awareness. Knowing where the exits are located is important because situational awareness can help you have some kind of plan in place mentally. Once you are aware of your surroundings think about if a shooter enters, where the 'fatal funnel' is located. The fatal funnel is the view of the shooter.
"There are three options that you have when there's an active shooter. Run, that's your first option. Lock is your second option. And I'll cover some things with all of these and fight is your third option. Running is the best option as long as you have a plan in place," listed Lt. Birdwell.
If you are able to run, avoid the fatal funnel when possible, and run to the nearest exit. It is harder for the shooter to hit a moving target. Once you are out of the building or the room, be sure to take cover behind a vehicle or something substantial enough to stop a bullet.
If you aren't able to run but are able to lock in place, then close the door and lock it. If no lock is available, push a wedge under the door or something else to prevent it from opening easily. If in a bathroom, one option Lt. Birdwell mentioned is to put a trash can in front of the door (if it opens inward) and to lay down behind the trash can with your weight stopping the door from opening easily. If you are able to delay entrance, the shooter may move on since they know their time is limited as law enforcement will be en-route. Also, it is advised to be as quiet as possible and be sure to silence cell phones from alerting or ringing.
If not able to escape or find a secure place to hide, then your option is to fight. Look around the room and find anything that can be a weapon such as a folding chair. The element of surprise is to your advantage if attacking a shooter. Stay calm and quiet and commit to your actions, try not to hesitate. Most active shooters, although their targets may be selected randomly, they are aware of where they are going and know the floor plan. Remember a moving target is harder to hit and if possible stay out of the fatal funnel as much as possible before attacking.
If you are carrying a weapon and you do decide to engage the shooter, be aware of others around you so you don't shoot them instead of your target. When law enforcement show up, place your weapon down and put your hands up so law enforcement know you are not the active shooter or the threat.
Several people at the meeting asked Lt Birdwell about their kids and what parents can do to help kids to know what to do in the event of an active shooter. Lt. Birdwell advised talking to them about the same things he had mentioned at the meeting - Run, Lock, or Fight. One mother at the meeting said she had heard where some parents were putting door stoppers in their child's backpack. In the event an active shooter situation occurred the door stops could be used to hopefully secure a room.
From left: Ellen Manning, Connie Morrison, and Margaret Smith
McSwain and the audience thanked the Sheriff and his deputies for their presentation with a round of applause. Door prize winners were then announced to be Ellen Manning, Connie Morrison, and Margaret Smith.
During the meeting, McSwain introduced Konnor Windham who will be interning with the Shelby County Extension office as she works on earning a bachelor's degree in family studies. Konnor is a 2017 Center High School Graduate and is attending Texas Women's University.
Upcoming events McSwain mentioned were: Health + Wellness Fair on March 21st at the John D. Windham Civic Center in Center; Freezer Pleaser Meal Prep Club on April 6th from 1-5pm; and Women on the Go Club next meeting is April 11th from noon to 1pm.
Links for more information about what to do in an active shooter situation:
March 13, 2019 - Have you ever seen a woman in her eighties move around like Mrs. Lucille Wade Cloudy? Well, you should see her at church, or ask her to go out of town with you, or see what is planted in her garden. She is slowing down a bit but she has been a very active woman.
Mother Lucille, who is County mother of Center Triumph the Church in Kingdom of God in Christ, and her husband, Marvin, who is now deceased, raised eleven children. One has preceded her in death but the other ten have grown to be successful in life. They have given her many grandchildren and great-grands. She will always talk about how she raised her children and saw that her sons worked while they were going to school and appreciated her for doing so. She stressed education and they all finished school at Daniels High and Center High. Seven boys and three girls are all proud of their mother and keep her happy with visits, traveling, and parties. There are birthday milestone parties almost every year.
Mother Cloudy is fortunate to have many sons who are preachers and her eldest daughter is married to a preacher. It looks like the grandsons are following suit since some are beginning to preach as well. The entire family is a very spiritually active group. They support each other in any manner necessary, even if it means driving out of town.
Mrs. Cloudy is a good cook. She has been known for her baking throughout the city. Cakes and pies of all kinds are yours for the asking and sometimes a small fee is requested, just for the ingredients. She has baked for reunions, church activities, and other events. When she moved into a new home a few years ago she made sure there was a garden plowed and seeds planted so she could have productive vegetables in the appropriate season for canning and/or freezing.
The Mother of the Church is a well dressed woman as well, from head to toe. She is a great counselor for someone who needs a listener. Mrs. Lucille Cloudy is a great people person and if you meet her, you will say she does make an impact to education, culture, and society in Center, Texas.
From left: Dr. Greg Powell and Rotary President Hollie Adams
March 12, 2019 - Dr. Greg Powell, Panola College President, spoke at the Center Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2019 about the college which has an enrollment of around 2,800 students.
"Nineteen years ago we had 1,400 students. So, we have just about doubled. 68% of our students are female and the average age is 22. And I will tell you for the first time, at least in the past 19 years, the plurality of our students come from Shelby County. It has always been Panola County but this year 26% of our students come from Shelby County, 23% from Panola, Harrison 15%, Rusk 9%, Nacogdoches 5% and it goes down from there. Last year about 54% of our students were in one of our technical program and we saw a pretty big shift this year. This year its 53% are in our academic transfer programs and they intend on earning a four-year degree," explained Dr. Powell.
"Panola College has been a leader in online learning and distance learning for a number of years, at least for the past decade. It surprises me that we have 349 separate distinct courses that are available online and 75% of our students take at least one online class. I think we have 7 full degrees that are available online.
"We have rolled out about 1,800 students in our workforce and continuing ed. I know that we have done a number of projects with companies here in Shelby County whether it is General Shelters, or Tyson, or Portacool."
Dr. Powell addressed the increase in tuition which is directly influenced by the decrease in money from the state which is around 18%. In relation to the number of Shelby County students attending Panola College, Dr. Powell said, "During this year 2018-2019, Shelby County students received Panola College scholarships, I'm not talking about the generous scholarships from Shelby County like Bone Hill and others, I'm talking about Panola College itself awarded $332,708 to 363 students from Shelby County."
"We really do value and appreciate the partnership Panola College has with Shelby County whether its the facilities or the Bone Hill contributions among others. And I think it has allowed us to do so much more here than any other county," stated Dr. Powell. He spoke about the improvements which have been recently made at the Shelby County Panola College site.
Currently the college is going through their Southern Association for Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation. He spoke about intercollegiate athletics and the successes are having this year highlighting the Rodeo Team. He highlighted new construction including the new student center and new health and natural sciences building. He mentioned renovation of the library several years back which students are greatly utilizing for its study rooms. New potential projects mentioned included the music department and technology department.
March 11, 2019 - While writing about women who have made an impact in the community, the Mother of all times can not be forgotten: Mrs. Ruby Lister Biggers.
She was a mother of one, Karl, but all the students who passed through her English classes at Daniels High School and later at Center High were considered hers as she was another great teacher that the Daniels students loved. Her technique of teaching her students to memorize poems, sonnets, etc. paid off because its inspiring to know that many of the students to this day can recite those same poems. Students have done so at several of the Daniels Alumni Reunions.
She finished from Daniels High and further her education at Butler College in Tyler, transferred to Prairie View where she received her B.S. Degree and continued school until she received her Masters Degree. A believer in continuing education she did post graduate work at Texas Southern University in Houston and attended many work shops while working with the gifted and talented classes. Again, to support the community, many of her students won honors in speaking, spelling and essay writing in contests. Her belief that education was important passed down to her only son, Karl, because he graduated from Center High with honors and went on to college to obtain degrees for a financial career - Bachelors at SMU in Dallas and MBA at University of Texas in Austin. He presently lives in Dallas.
While an instructor at Daniels, Mrs. Ruby along with other teachers and students produced the only Bobcat yearbook’ which later was seen on social media. I assisted with the request to place Daniels High School as an entry to classmate.com, a website holding information for listing classmates of schools in various worldwide cities. Center High was the only school in Center on the site before Daniels High was added. Thanks again to Mrs. Ruby for having that book put together because it provided proof that the now closed school, Daniels High, existed and the school was added. The response has been great and many students' names can be found in that website: ' classmates.com. Try it and add your name so generations after us can keep the legacy alive by viewing the many students who passed through Daniels School.
Mrs. Biggers was not only an educator but she had great concerns for her community. She was a city councilwoman in Center for many years and had input on many improvements in the City while in office. Mrs. Biggers served the community in other areas as well including Center Chamber of Commerce, Toledo Bend Retired Teachers, Center Historical Commission, and Shelby County Museum. She was a member of Bright Morning Star Church where she served as Sunday School Teacher, Chairman of Deaconess Board, and Church Secretary.
So you see her dedication as a teacher and a community service worker is highly appreciated and should be acknowledged as one of the historical African American Women of Center.
March 6, 2019 - March has been declared "Texas History Month" by the Texas Legislature. In observation of Alamo Heroes Day, March 6, the William Carroll Crawford Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas presented a book, "Susanna of the Alamo," to the Fannie Brown Booth Library in Center. "Susanna" was Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson who, along with her infant daughter Angelina, were among the women and children who survived the battle of the Alamo. After the fall of the Alamo they were allowed to go to Sam Houston and spread the word of the battle. "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying call of the Texians as they continued the battle for independence. Presenting the book to Library Director Sandra Davis were DRT members Merle Howard, Vickie Martin, JJ Ford and Maggie Casto.
March 6, 2019 - The first meeting of the Morale Boosters - Proactive Support Group hosted by the Shelby County Cancer Fund was held on the first Tuesday of March with guest speaker Jheri-Lynn McSwain addressing 'Do You Know What You Are Eating?'
McSwain is with Texas A&M AgriLife, Shelby County Extension Agent - Family and Community Health. She spoke about factors that impact the foods that we purchase and gave definitions or descriptions of common words found on food packages and what they really mean. McSwain's goal for the meeting was to help attendees know what they are buying when shopping for food.
Research shows for people in the United States who are shopping for food, they often times select based on convenience, price, taste, and healthfulness. Convenience being the number one factor can often leads to poor choices for your health.
McSwain finished by encouraging everyone not to just read the front of a products packaging but ask yourself what are you concerned with? Be sure to read the nutrition facts panel and the ingredients list. Do some research and understand the definition of a claim on the package.
A good online source for additional information is Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/programs/family-community-health/. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Family and Community Health (FCH) unit helps Texans better their lives through science-based educational programs designed to improve the overall health and wellness of individuals, families, and communities. Programs featured on their website at this time include: Physical Activity, Nutrition, Diabetes Management, Weight Control, etc.
The next meeting of Morale Boosters is set for the first Tuesday in April which is April 2nd at 6pm. The meeting will be held at First Baptist Church in Center with a program about Gardening.
February 25, 2019 — Texas Woman’s University released its dean's list for the Fall 2018 semester and Konnor Windham of Shelbyville was listed. Windham is majoring in Family Studies and is a 2017 Center High School graduate.
Undergraduate students who complete at least 12 graded credit hours and achieve at least a 3.5 grade point average are eligible for the deans’ list.
To view the full list of students named on the Dean's list and on the Chancellor's list, click here.
March 4, 2019 - Women's History Month began Friday, March 1 and ends Sunday, March 31, 2019. Many activities recognizing women will be scheduled throughout the states. It is a month long celebration of women's contribution to history, culture and society. It began in 1987 after several events occurred of this nature and finally a bill passed to make it a nationwide event. With this in mind, I submit my first article about my aunt, Mary Kindle Lovell Greer in her memory.
Mary K Lovell Greer was the oldest of her eight brothers and sisters raised by her parents Vince and Lottie Kindle. She attended Daniels High School, Prairie View University for the bachelor of science and master's of education degrees. She had two daughters (both deceased). Mary's first teaching job was at East Hamilton school for $50 a month and continued to teach in several places 43 years until retirement. However it was not a real retirement because for 17 years after retirement she worked with adult education teaching the elderly to read and write, and she cared for the sick.
Mary and her family lived in the rural area called Africa for many years. She owned cattle and always had productive gardens. Mary worked for the Bright Morning Star Church as secretary and she was a member there since she was nine.
Mary received five awards for her volunteer services and she served as the vice president of Loop 500 Homemakers Club. She is one to remember who made a big impact to the cultural and society of the community. Many Center residents are saying, "I remember Mrs. Mary. She was a great teacher." The Kindle Family will have the first reunion of the descendants of Vince and Lottie Kindle in Center in June of this year.
March 1, 2019 - The Rotary Club of Center welcomed its newest member Yogesh Kumar Gorkhali during their Tuesday, February 26, 2019 meeting. Mr. Gorkhali, who is known in the community as Mr. Yogi, is a business owner in Center and is excited to be a part of the organization.
Hollie Adams, Rotary Club President, presented Mr. Gorkhali with his welcome packet and membership certificate.
The Rotary Club of Center meets at noon every Tuesday at the John D. Windham Civic Center. The club was organized May 26, 1925 and has been a part of the community ever since. The most notable fundraiser the club hosts is the What-A-Melon Festival which is held the second weekend in July. Proceeds from the festival enable the club to assist with community project, non-profit organizations, and scholarships for area seniors.
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