1. education
2. school

A Rare Medium Well Done
Thursday
February
5
2015
Volume 129
50¢
Number 47
Established in 1886 • Naples' Oldest Business Institution
P.O. Box 39, 110 Main Street, Naples, TX 75568-0039 • Phone 903-897-2281 • Fax 903-897-2095 • e-mail themonitor@valornet.com
• Hometown Newspaper of Ora Clubb of Naples, Texas •
New system to delete vehicle inspection stickers
Inspection needed prior to registration
Morris County is gearing up for
a new Texas Two Step.
Beginning March 1, the state
will no longer issue vehicle inspection stickers and will move to a
“Two Steps, One Sticker” program.
Under the new system, Texas
vehicle owners will need to pass
inspection prior to renewing their
registration. The familiar blue-bordered Texas Department of Motor
Vehicles (TxDMV) registration
sticker will serve as proof of both
inspection and registration.
“Morris County is prepared to
make this transition as smooth as
possible for our residents,” said
Morris County Tax Assessor-Collector, KimThomasson. “During
the first year of the program beginning in March, all you will need
to do is make sure you already
have a valid passing vehicle inspection before you renew your
registration in our office, online or
by mail.”
When vehicle owners renew
their registration, the system will
automatically verify whether the
vehicle has a valid inspection.
Without a passing inspection, the
vehicle will not be eligible for registration renewal.
During the second year of the
Valentine Banquet entertainment
The popular Goapel singing group Relentless will provide the entertainment at the annual First Baptist Church Valentine Banquet Saturday,
February 7, at the Naples church. The event is open to the public and
tickets are $15 each. A meal will be furnished by Catfish Catering. It all
begins at 6 p.m., and tickets can be purchased at the church office by
calling 903-897-5566 or by calling Ora Clubb at 903-897-5267. Tickets
can be picked up at Clubb Plumbing on Highway 67 west of Naples.
program, beginning March 1, 2016,
vehicles’ inspection and registration expiration dates will align to
the date that is on the registration
sticker.
Once the expiration dates are
aligned in that second year, you
will have a convenient 90-day window to pass inspection first and
then renew your registration before the end of the month listed on
your sticker.
“When the ‘Two Steps, One
Sticker’ program is fully implemented, Morris County residents
will appreciate having just one
sticker in the corner of their windshield and only one expiration date
to worry about,” said TxDMV Executive Director Whitney Brewster. “And because a passing vehicle inspection will be a requirement to renew your registration,
more vehicle owners will comply
with inspection requirements leading to safer and more environmentally sound cars on Texas roads.”
The implementation of “Two
Steps, One Sticker” is a result of
House Bill 2305 which passed during the 83rd Legislative Session in
2013. The program is joint effort
by the TxDMV, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, in collaboration with the 254 county tax assessor-collector’s offices which process
vehicle registrations and vehicle
inspection stations across the state.
I do solemnly swear ...
Justin Maiville, right, repeated the oath of office as a deputy sheriff on
January 22, for the Morris County Sheriff's Department. Administering
the oath was County Sheriff Jack Martin. Cheryl Murphy, chief dispatcher with the department, pinned the deputy's badge on Maiville as
part of the ceremony. Maiville is a 2001 graduate Pewitt High School and
he and his wife, Ashley, reside in Naples. Following high school, he served
in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a member of the Naples Police
Department from May to September of 2013 and worked for the New
Boston Police Department after that until January of this year. "I am glad
to have Justin working with the Morris County Sheriff's Department,"
said Sheriff Martin.
photo by Marlene Bohr
DPS report was two-vehicle head-on
Omaha man killed in traffic accident
An Omaha man, Bobby Joe
Whetstone Jr., 43, was pronounced
dead January 19, following a motorcycle and car accident on FM
250 between Lone Star and Hughes
Springs at about 5:37 p.m.
According to Texas DPS public
information officer Sylvia Jennings, Whetstone was the driver of
a 2002 Suzuki motorcycle and was
pronounced dead at the scene of
the accident by Morris County
Justice of the Peace Jennifer
Easley.
According to Jennings, Whetstone was wearing a helmet when
the accident occurred. He was traveling south on FM 250, crossed
Pewitt Alumni elects officers
Golf balls and life ... what's the
connection?
When things in your life seem
almost too much to handle ... when
24 hours in a day is not enough ...
remember this story about the
mayonnaise jar and the two cups
of coffee.
A professor stood before his
philosophy class and had some
items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large
and empty mayonnaise jar and
start to fill it with golf balls. He
then asked the students if the jar
was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a
box of pebbles and poured it into
the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. The
pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students
again if the jar was full. They
agreed it was. The professor next
picked up a box of sand and
poured it into the jar. Of course,
the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar
was full. The students responded.
With a unanimous "yes." The
professor then produced two cups
of coffee from under the table and
poured the entire contents into
the jar, effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the
professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize
that this jar represents your life."
The golf balls are the important things, God, family, children,
health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything
else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be
full.
The pebbles are the things that
matter ... like your job, house, and
car.
The sand is everything else.
The small stuff. "If you put the
sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the
pebbles or the golf balls."
The same goes for life. If you
spend all your time and energy on
the small stuff, you will never
have room for the things that are
important to you.
So ... pay attention to the things
that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Take time
to get medical checkups. Take
your partner out to dinner. There
will always be time to clean the
house and fix the dripping faucet.
Take care of the golf balls first.
The things that really matter. Set
your priorities. The rest is just
sand.
One of the students raised her
hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor
smiled and replied, "I’m glad you
asked. It just goes to show you
that no matter how full your life
may seem, there’s always room
for a couple of cups of coffee with
a friend."
=== cntm ===
Need another lesson in life?
It's called the tale of four worms.
A minister decided that a visual demontration would add
emphasis to his Sunday sermon.
Four worms were placed into
four separate jars near the pulpit.
The first worm was put into a
container of alcohol ... the second
into a jar of cigarette smoke ... the
third into a jar of chocolate syrup
and the fourth into a container of
good, rich soil.
At the conclusion of the sermon, the preacher offered the
results of the demonstration -The worm saturated in the alcohol was dead!
The worm in the jar with cigarette smoke was dead!
The worm that was in the
chocolate syrup was dead!
But, the fourth worm crawling
around in the good, rich soil was
alive and well.
The minister asked the congregation, "What did you learn
from this demonstration?"
A little ol' lady in the back pew
raised her hand and told the
preacher and all who were listening, "As long as you drink, smoke
and eat chocolate -- you won't
have worms!"
That pretty much brought the
service to an end.
All-school reunion is planned
as Pewitt celebrates 65 years
Pewitt CISD is 65 years old. In
February of 1950 a tornado destroyed the Omaha school building. Later that spring, Paul H.
Pewitt, local rancher, offered to
donate $100,000 and 100 acres of
land if Naples and Omaha would
consolidate into one school district.
An election was soon called and
local residents voted to create the
new consolidated school district.
In the fall of 1950, construction on
the current building, which houses
the high school and junior high
campuses, was begun. Classes began in the completed facility in the
fall of 1951. The Carver School
building was built in 1953 and
currently houses the Pewitt Elementary campus.
Pewitt CISD's Alumni Association has decided to host a 65th allschool reunion during Homecoming week end this fall. Planning is
just in the early stages. The Alumni
Board hopes to make Homecoming a special event for current and
former students. The District has
a rich history, thanks to many dedicated residents, educators, and
students. That history needs to be
preserved and cherished.
Other business at the January
meeting of the Pewitt CISD Alumni
Board on Tuesday, January 27 included electing new officers for
2015. They are: Jacki Smith
Brown, President; Echo Cason
Johnson, Vice President; Joan
Vaughn Cook, Secretary; and
Darla Davlin Ragland, Treasurer.
Other Board members are Steve
Eaves, David Fulcher, Barbara
McEntire Griffin, Ernest Paul
BOY SCOUTS
EARN AWARDS
AT CEREMONY
PAGE 9
Pewitt, Sheri Carpenter Russell,
Junetta Stringer Whitecotton, and
Bonnie Nance Wommack.
over the double yellow line around
a right hand curve and struck a
vehicle head on, said the accident
report.
Jennings said Kieston Dondrell
Rushing, 16-year old male of Lone
Star was the driver of the other
vehicle, a 2002 Lincoln Navigator.
Rushing was transported to
Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview and treated for non-incapacitating injuries. At last report he
was in stable condition.
Jennings said the accident was
still under investigation last week.
Funeral services for Mr. Whetstone were January 31, in Hughes
Springs. He was the son of Bobby
Joe Whetstone, Naples Water Department Superintendent.
2014 in review
Scanning through the pages of a bound volume of copies of The
Monitor for last year was Harper Adams, a part-time employee of
the newspaper. It was the most recent book of newspapers donated to the Naples Public Library. The Monitor has donated the
bound copies of the newspaper dating back to 1998 for library
visitors to use for local research, but they cannot be checked out.