ATHENS—Randy Williams of Staunton, Illinois, finally broke the ice: He caught Lake Fork’s first Toyota ShareLunker of the season on Tuesday, March 16.

The fish weighed 13.0 pounds and was caught in three feet of water on a Senko.

The good news for Lake Fork anglers was that the water temperature was 58 degrees. After unseasonably cold, cloudy weather, a few days of sunshine warmed the water and apparently encouraged bass to move to shallower water in preparation for spawning.

The fish is the 244th fish from Lake Fork to be entered into the ShareLunker program. It was 25.5 inches long and 22 inches in girth.

This week is “spring break” for the local kids. Kids are kids and are not always observant of safety considerations as they enjoy in their short stint of “freedom”. It is our responsibility as adults to be even more vigilant than usual to insure their safety.

At the same time, 9-1-1 addressing is still a concern of mine. As I travel county roads, I notice many things; not the least of which is 911 addressing; or perhaps I should say the lack thereof. 911 addressing requires clearly posted addressing on the residence, if it is visible from the street, or the driveway. One of the primary reasons for this requirement is the need for emergency services to be able to locate an address when responding to an emergency.

Van Zandt County discussed whether or not trash pickup services should be regulated in the county. Commissioner Virgil Melton said he would like the county to consider contracting with one company to provide service for the whole county.

“These trucks are tearing up our county roads,” said Melton. Commissioner Dwayne Harvey agreed, saying that while he does not want to put anyone our of business, the county does needs to look out for its own business.

EMORY--The Rains County Chamber of Commerce will host and "after hours" program Thursday, March 25.

The networking mixer with feature and Italian theme and be held in the Meadows Cultural Center at the Rains County Public Library beginning at 5:30 p.m. The evening will be hosted by the Friends of the Library.

ATHENS—Michael Banks of Jacksonville had a day off and decided to go fishing March 9. “I was just looking for a day out,” he said. “It would have been a great day if I had not caught a fish.”

Fishing from his kayak, he only got one bite, but it turned out to be a 13.6-pound largemouth bass that is the fourth ShareLunker from the lake and is only a few hundredths of a pound under the lake record. The lake record, caught in 1995, weighed 13.73 pounds.

Kiwanis Kids at Lindale’s E.J. Moss Intermediate School want to know if their fellow fifth and sixth grade students have “Got Change?”

“Got Change?” is a fundraiser developed by Kiwanis Kids, or K-Kids, concerned about the future of Haiti after the country was devastated by an earthquake. The students’ idea was to put a milk jug in each homeroom to collect change. Their idea was inspired by the "Got Milk?" campaign, and the K-Kids put “Got Change?” labels on each jug.

Tyler news media is reporting a DPS officer from Wood County has been shot in the face. KLTV in Tyler reported late Sunday evening that a DPS officer was shot while assisting Wood County deputies in serving a warrant near FM-1801. The trooper was taken to ETMC in Tyler were he was reportedly in good condition.

The shooter is believed to be Timothy Parmer, 45. Parmer was booked in to the Wood County Jail just after 2 a.m. Monday morning charged with aggravated assault with  deadly weapon. He is being held on a $50,000 bond.

A former Winnsboro band director has been arrested and charged with several counts of sexual assault of a child.

Paul Bramlett was arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Franklin County jail after grand jurors handed down eight separate indictments, each containing two counts, one of sexual assault of a child and one of indecency with a child.