Progress16: Education & Religion

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Education and Religion

Building for the future Districts across county upgrading facilities

By Rich Flowers NEWS EDITOR

Getting the next generation ready to take their leadership roles is no small task and school districts in Henderson County are accepting the challenge.

Several of the districts have won voter approval on bond packages that will upgrade and add to their facilities over the next couple of years.

The largest of the group, the Athens Independent School District is building to the tune of $59 million dollars with funds assented by the voters in November.

Bonds were sold in January for the Athens project, with the district getting an extremely low 3.0 rate. The builder for the project is Gallagher Construction Services, a RICH FLOWERS/STAFF

See FUTURE, Page 4

Cross Roads ISD is one of several Henderson County area school districts to partake in an expansion of facilities.

Inside

Athens Christian Prep offers private education with Biblical worldview • Page 5

JEFF RIGGS/STAFF

Father Nolan Lowry, right, reflects on the pastoral history of St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Athens.

‘A great vision’ Many changes under way at Athens’ only Catholic church

By Jeff Riggs ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Organizations of every type usually wish to expand their facilities to meet the needs of the people they serve. Churches can be a dedicated part of that list.

St. Edward's Catholic Church, which has a rich history in Athens, has made that a tradition.

That again became significant when they bought acreage next to the church, near the intersection of Coleman Street and Tyler Street.

The land previously owned by the Cain family, measuring 4.25 acres, was priced at $700,000.

Father Nolan Thomas Lowry, STL, pastor of St. Edward's, said the former pastor, Father Pancras Savarimuthu made the purchase, intending to build another church in December, 2014.

Plans subsided when Pancras was sent by Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler to relocate to Tyler, and then to Fairfield, where he subsequently became the priest in charge of that location.

“We, as a society, must know who we are. We must know what it means to be both Catholic and Christian.

The center of our lives is Jesus Christ. I'm trying to emphasize Eucharistic worship, the breaking of bread to help celebrate Jesus Christ.”

– Father Nolan Lowry, STL Pancras had been over the Athens parish for 18 years.

“He had a great vision for the church building,” Lowry said.

Lowry said he now takes over those plans, and wishes to take them to completion.

“The new church is on the table,” he said. “But a master plan reflecting the needs of the community must be developed first.

This will take several months to a year to get consensus. I envision a new facility for the integral faith formation of children and youth as the highest priority."

As committed as Lowry is to bringing the new facilities to reality, he has goals in his position

which he believes are even more important than expanding the square footage used by parishioners.

“We, as a society, must know who we are,” he said. “We must know what it means to be both Catholic and Christian. The center of our lives is Jesus Christ. I'm trying to emphasize Eucharistic worship, the breaking of bread to help celebrate Jesus Christ.”

Lowry said there are currently 280 children who take supplemental Christian classes at the church, where the Bible and Catechism is their doctrine.

He said there are about 700 families registered at the church, and

one of the biggest reasons for the building expansions is that the current church is “strapped for space.”

“Buildings are a sign of growth, but I want to see Catholic faith grow here,” he said. “There is a different way of thinking about growth. My whole approach is traditional worship as a way of reaching people.”

Lowry said the current trend with churches is megachurches or non-denominational churches, which have a more contemporary worship experience.

He believes that many are looking for a more liturgical expression of worship with a dynamic Gospel message. That is what he is trying to provide.

Lowry said that his predecessor, Father Pancras, was asked to move on by Bishop Strickland after his many years of faithful service so that St. Edward’s could enter into a new stage of growth.

Father Lowry is also trilingual

See LOWRY, Page 4

TVCC celebrates 70 years of service to Henderson County • Page 8

Hope Springs Water continues its mission to provide clean water • Page 10

Special Section

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Conceptual drawing of new building at Athens High School.

‘Landmark’ event shapes Athens’ education future Hornet Nation approves $59.9M bond as district success is at all-time high

By Toni Garrard Clay AISD COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Voters in Athens ISD handed their school district a decisive victory at the end of 2015 by approving a $59.9 million bond proposal.

The election is viewed by many as an endorsement of the district’s focused implementation of improvements over the past several years.

Superintendent Blake Stiles referred to the victory as a “landmark” event for AISD and the community.

“The passage of this bond is a referendum by people who choose to do what is needed, even when it’s not easy; who embrace sacrificial giving without excuses or name-calling, because they know someone did the same for them,” said Stiles.

With $59.9 million in bond sales approved, the district will make significant improvements to four of its five campuses. (At 15 years old, Athens Middle School is by far the youngest campus and does not require any major upgrades.)

Improvements at Athens High School include new science classrooms, a new gym/activity center, and a new cafeteria. The gym

Not only are our schools making great strides, but our community as well. It’s a great time to be a Hornet.

– Assistant Superintendent Janie Sims

and activity center will be housed inside a new building that will connect the main building with the high school annex.

The AHS annex building will be expanded to provide more room for Career and Technical Education classes.

At Bruce Field, there will be new public restrooms, a new concession stand that serves both home and visitor sides, and new soccer and football field houses.

At Bel Air and South Athens elementaries, there will be new gym/activity centers.

And at Central Athens Elementary, the library will be expanded and additional classrooms added. Ground is expected to be broken around May 2016.

A mere two weeks after the bond proposal was approved, the school board took action to begin the projected two-year building project.

Upon Stiles’ recommendation, the board chose to use the construction manager-agent method.

“Having a manager-agent provides more transparency for our local vendors and more opportunities to use local vendors,” said Stiles.

Board members unanimously voted to use a manager-agent, with Board President Robert Risko noting, “When people bid on something and don’t get it, they want to know why they didn’t.”

Added Stiles: “One of our goals

is to utilize our local companies as much as we can.”

The bond approval follows on the heels of a string of achievements for AISD. In 2015, 192 of 196 graduating seniors at Athens High School were accepted to colleges — a remarkable 98 percent.

Athens ISD and Trinity Valley Community College continue to work together. In 2015, 35 students graduated AHS having already earned associate’s degrees.

AHS and TVCC also work together to provide students with real-world certification opportunities, ranging from machinists to lab techs.

All five district campuses met the standards for the state’s most recent accountability ratings, with three — AHS, Bel Air and South — earning academic distinctions.

Central Athens was created after testing and could not be rated in 2015.

Elementary campus redistricting resulted in the successful addition of a third pre-K through fifth-grade campus in 2015. In this process, Central Athens — previously Athens Intermediate — became the largest of the three ele-

mentary campuses (necessitating the expanded library and additional classes included in the bond proposal).

In the 2014-15 season, the Athens Hornets claimed seven team championships (football, baseball; boys basketball, powerlifting and soccer; girls soccer, and softball).

In the fall of the 2015-16 season, the boys football team won the bidistrict championship, and the softball team qualified for bi-district play.

Fine arts is thriving. The AHS “Pride of the Hornets” Band has won nine consecutive UIL “Sweepstakes” Awards as of 2015, and 10 students made all-region/all-state choir in 2015.

Athens is a force to be reckoned with in UIL academics as well, having repeatedly achieved state qualifications and several championships in debate, speech, oneact, math, social studies, number sense and calculator.

“I believe we’re in a time of renaissance,” said Assistant Superintendent Janie Sims. “Not only are our schools making great strides, but our community as well. It’s a great time to be a Hornet.”

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Education & Religion Future of education looks bright in Henderson County Continued from 1 Dallas firm established in 1968. The work is expected to be completed in late 2017.

AISD Chief Financial Officer Randy Jones said the timing was ideal for a district to go the bond route.

“The financial markets were extremely favorable at that moment in time,” Jones said. “The AISD benefitted with very favorable interest rate terms. We are very excited about the opportunity.”

If you go by the Athens High School and don't see the bustle of construction activity just yet, that's because a lot of paperwork has to be completed before dirt can be moved and concrete poured.

The better the planning, the better the building.

They should be breaking ground sometime in June, after the close of the current school year.

AISD Communications Specialist Toni Clay said the total interest cost over the expected life of the Series 2016 bonds is projected to be around $11 million less due to the extremely fa-

PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK DEBUSK

Construction in LaPoynor ISD is moving along as the steel structure was started in early February.

vorable rates, as compared to the original expectations.

Also in November, Mabank voters said yes to a $10 million bond proposal.

Enhanced security for all students district wide and parking modifications

were to be remedied with the funds.

More classrooms were needed to meet the demands of the growing population of students in the district.

The projects include expansion at Central Elementary, the high school and new roofs on two of the elementary schools. MISD was able to structure the bond election without an increase in property taxes.

Brownsboro ISD students are seeing the benefits of a $33 million bond passed in 2011, which has been used to construct and renovate several campuses in BISD. In May, LaPoynor voters also gave assent to a $8.99 million bond package to construct a new junior high school and multi-purpose gym.

The junior high is expected to be completed in time for classes in the fall of 2016. The gym will take about a year longer. After major dirt work, concrete was poured for the junior high building in February.

Malakoff also won voter

approval on a bond election in May. The $3 million package was to fund repairs, upgrades in technology, transportation and security. The bonds did not require a tax increase.

Cross Roads has been busy with construction for the past couple of years. In May 2014, the district approved a $4.5 million bond package.

The major part of that construction, which includes a gym/student center is well under way and easily seen when on campus. The new gym will double the size of the old one and enable the district to hold its graduation there.

The district has already opened new agricultural and vocational buildings, which were put into use in the fall of 2014.

The Cross Roads animal building has 48 pens for goats and lambs and plenty of space for cattle.

The new vocational headquarters has computer automated drafting and upgraded technology from the previous home, in addition to more size for the growing program.

Lowry is looking forward to establishing Athens impact Continued from 1 (English, Spanish, Italian), so that the community can be united under one pastor.

Lowry said that in conjunction with the future St. Edward's Catholic Church Building Committee, he wants to build a church to accommodate with less than five masses.

“That's the reason we have five masses per week,” Lowry said.

“We just don't have anywhere to put everyone at the same Mass, and cannot accommodate with less than five masses.”

Lowry, originally from Gilmer, has only been the pastor of the church for about the past nine months.

“This is a great town, and is a very Christian town,” he said.

“It's a great town to get to know people. I'm looking forward to the future in Athens, and to be a part of the larger community.”

Lowry, who is 32, was born in Tyler. At age 14, he converted to Catholicism at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Longview.

After graduating from Gilmer High School in 2002, he was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Tyler by Bishop Alvaro Corrada.

He was ordained a transitional deacon at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Oct. 8, 2009. On July 17, 2010, Bishop Corrada ordained Lowry a priest at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler.

Lowry has attended classes at Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he earned his STLMoral Theology.

He also attended Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned his STB, and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, where he earned his BA. He also attended classes at the University of Dallas in Irving. In all cases where he earned a designation, he graduat-

ed Magna Cum Laude.

Before coming to Athens, he had several Diocesan assignments in Tyler, Centerville, Hilltop Lakes, Madisonville, Nacogdoches and Rome.

St. Edward's began as a mission of the Immaculate Conception Church in Tyler.

Many priests traveled from Tyler on weekends to say mass, baptize and officiate marriages.

In 1946, St. Edward's Catholic Church was formed by Father Wolfe, who had been sent to Athens by Bishop Lynch from Dallas. The first Roman Catholic services were held at the Henderson County Courthouse in Athens. After three services in the courthouse, regular catholic church services were held at the Women's Building in Athens.

Church members prayed to

“This is a great town, and is a very Christian town.

It's a great town to get to know people.

I'm looking forward to the future in Athens, and to be a part of the larger community.”

– Father Nolan Lowry, STL

construct a Catholic church for Father Wolfe. With much hard work, time and money, the members were able build a church.

Thanks to the Church Extension Society, St. Edward's Catholic Church was dedicated on July 20, 1947.

The parish hall was added in May, 1972, during the residency of Father John Fowler, fulfilling the need for a place of fellowship for the members of the church.

It was in 1980 that St. Edward's was raised to the status of a parish with Msgr. James Tucek being its first resident pastor. A rectory was built at that time.

In 1984, Father Samuel S. Metzger served the St Edward's faith community as the second resident pastor, continuing the Lord's work.

In 1995, the current Faith Formation Center was converted from the white house next to St.

Edward's. In that spring season, the center was blessed by Bishop Edmond Carmody and opened for religious education.

In 1998, Father Pancras Savarimuthu arrived in June to continue the Lord's mission. The congregation had grown to 330 families and Fr. Pancras encouraged the start of many associations for the welfare of the parish community including the Finance Council and the Parish Council. He led the journey to begin planning a new St. Edward's Campus.

It was in 2015 that Father Nolan Thomas Lowry, ordained a priest for the Diocese of Tyler on July 17, 2010, arrived in June to pastor his flock at St. Edward’s Parish and the greater Athens area.

JEFF RIGGS/STAFF

A view of the current sanctuary at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Athens.

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Offering education from a

Biblical worldview ACPA continues to grow since opening its doors in 2008

By Chad Wilson EDITOR

Athens Christian Preparatory Academy started with 16 students in the fall of 2008 and the accredited, non-denominational Christian school now boasts an enrollment of more than 75 students in grades seventh through 12th.

As the only private school in Henderson County, ACPA does not strive to compete with public schools for their students.

Instead, ACPA wants to keep the families who seek private education from driving to Tyler on a daily basis.

Headmistress Teresa DeMay founded the school with a desire to create a place where students received a Biblical worldview education.

“The big argument is, 'Are we harmful to public school?' That is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about,” DeMay

said. “But if you look at their enrollment numbers since we came on the scene, they are unchanged or better enrollment. We showed up to keep the people traveling to Tyler at home. It was never to compete with public schools.”

ACPA draws students from more than 20 communities around the area, including some from Van Zandt and Smith counties.

The top priority for the academy is to present the students with a Biblical worldview education.

The second priority is academics.

“For instance, in Biblical worldview science we teach about evolution because they are going to encounter it, but we teach it as a theory, not a law,” she said.

“That allows us to also teach the weaknesses in the theory. We also teach intelligent design theory and creationism. In our estimation, that is actually the more scientific method because we're pre-

CHAD WILSON/STAFF

A view from the classroom porch at Athens Christian Prep overlooks a pond on the property. Students often are able to enjoy the outdoors during lunch break. senting all the evidence and saying, 'Now you decide.'”

DeMay explained that in history courses, a Biblical worldview

is to not leave out the Christian influence in history, especially in the United States and the writing of the Constitution.

“We don't have to avoid anything Christian, because that is how we live and breathe,” she said.

While many may think numbers are numbers when it comes to course study in mathematics, DeMay said ACPA finds a way to apply Biblical worldview there too.

“It is the application of math, what is the kingdom purpose for this math lesson,” she said.

“They may learn a geometry lesson, 'Now, how would we build a wheelchair ramp for a mission trip using this formula?'”

Every course, including electives, is designed to prepare students for their kingdom purpose.

A purpose as unique as each student.

“Because most of us came up through public school, we have never even been exposed to

See ACP, Page 6

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Students become entrepreneurs Athens Chamber of Commerce nears halfway point with YEA! of having your own business out there, putting your name out there,” student Abby Newman said. “The program has been really helpful. I did not know half of the things that I know now. I have learned to not be afraid, to speak up and tell people about my business and ideas.”

Newman, 17, is a student at Cross Roads ISD and plans to launch a cosmetology business this summer.

Like many of the students in the program, Newman and Athens ISD student Will Perryman, 16, heard of the YEA! opportunity through a presentation at school.

“They came and presented this opportunity to us at the school and I thought, 'Why not?' I had a pecan business which was only making about $1,000 in the summer and I thought, 'This doesn't seem too hard,'” Perryman said.

“Truthfully, Athens does not have a lot of competition so I felt I could be good at this.”

Perryman is following in his family's footsteps by starting his own business. His great-grandfather started an oil drilling business that remains in his family today.

While his summer job gave him a head start on understanding the ins and outs of operating a business, he has gained valuable experience through the YEA! program.

“The amount of logistics and unbreakable laws that go into making a business has stood out, including some barriers that we can't overcome even if we put our mind to it,” he said. “I think overall it is a decent program. If they continue to do it yearly, I think more kids should join. It should be a great experience.”

Coston said the chamber does plan to hold the program on a yearly basis.

By Chad Wilson EDITOR

The Athens Chamber of Commerce is serious about expanding business growth in Athens and Henderson County.

As part of its dedication to the community, the chamber launched the Young Entrepreneurs Academy in late 2015 to give students ages 11-18 a head start in creating their own business.

After presentations were made to area schools, 13 students enrolled in the program representing Athens Independent School District, Athens Christian Preparatory Academy, Cross Roads ISD and home schools.

Midway through the program, chamber president Mike Coston is pleased with the response from students and the business community.

“This is a great program for the chamber and the community because we will have 12 new businesses at the end of this. Not only is it good for the chamber and the city, it is a wonderful program for these kids because they are learning how to become a CEO or business owner,” Coston said. “The mistakes that a lot of people make in starting a business, they're learning how not to make those mistakes. They're learning from scratch how to start and run a business and be successful. If they don't continue in the business they start here, that is okay.

What we are trying to teach them is how to start and run a business.”

Two students joined together once the program started, combining their efforts under one business idea while 11 others have set their goal on launching their business once the program concludes in late May. “I have always wanted to own my own business. I like the idea

CHAD WILSON/STAFF

Students from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy present their business ideas to State Farm Insurance Agent Lona Mauk. Mauk was a guest speaker on the topic of insurance.

“I think after this year, when schools and students see the investors and CEO panel, it will show what a powerful program this is and it will be much easier to recruit students next year,” Coston said. “We are going to continue this program for sure. It is an excellent program for both the students and the chamber.”

During the 30-week program students learn how to run, set-up and operate their own business.

The academy features guest speakers, field trips and more hands-on events to help inspire the students.

Coston estimated there will be about 20 guest speakers from across the Henderson County business landscape. The speakers discuss their field of expertise while answering questions from the students. On average, the speakers spend at least two hours with the students.

“For them to give of their time

on a Monday evening to come and talk to these kids is a tribute to them,” Coston said.

Another way the local business community is reaching out to the students is through the academy's mentorship program.

“The mentors that come in take these students one-on-one.

We have 12 mentors coming in and spending two or three hours every Monday night for seven weeks with these students,” Coston said. “This is a great tribute to the business men and women of this community that are so excited and involved. They have an interest in, not only our program, but these students. I really appreciate them.”

Students will participate in a CEO Roundtable at Trinity Valley Community College on Monday, Feb. 29. The event will feature several area CEOs and is open to the public. Doors open at 5 p.m. while the event begins at 5:30 p.m.

Another highlight of the program is the investor panel where students will step into a “Shark Tank” like atmosphere with a panel of judges to determine how much the judges are willing to invest in the businesses.

It is estimated there will be up to $10,000 available to invest by the judges on behalf of the chamber. Every student will receive some money from the panel of judges.

The top business from Athens will advance to compete in the semifinals of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy with a chance to advance to the national competition in Washington, D.C. YEA! was developed at the University of Rochester with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The academy is a partner of the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Sam’s Club.

ACP vision includes community outreach Continued from 5 knowledge through the lens of a Biblical worldview. It is really different,” she said.

On the education side, private schools do not receive state funding and therefore do not have to focus on state testing.

Instead ACPA students focus on the college level testing as part of academic rigor.

“We care about the PSAT scores and the ACT, SAT scores. The tests that actually get you into college,” she said. “That is what we focus on preparing them for, starting in the seventh grade. Our scores are really good as compared to the local public entities. We glance at those, but the scores that we are comparing our scores to are the Tyler private schools. Our test scores are matching or beating almost every Tyler private school.”

Since it opened its doors in 2008 at First Christian Church in Athens, the academy has moved around quite a bit until landing its current home at the corner of Highway 175 and Loop 7.

In 2013 the academy acquired 48.6 acres that used to be a horse ranch. The space gives the academy room to expand, thus offering more to students.

“We find now that our challenge is facilities, more buildings,” DeMay said.

ACPA has a master plan that includes building dorms for foreign exchange

students, new classrooms and more.

“Our vision is to create a very strong central campus that we then have outreach in the area of education to things such as sex traffic victims who might need help with education that we might be able to do by satellite,” DeMay said. “We want to offer free tutoring in the community for kids that struggle, a clinic for learning challenge therapies. An aspect we are working on right now, I am about to complete it, will allow us to have multi-year foreign students who will be able to come to our school for Christian education.”

“We want to bring foreign students into our school because it gives us a true diversity. Global mindedness is really kingdom mindedness to us,” she said.

With the potential of expanding facilities, DeMay sees the opportunity for diverse expansion of educational opportunities as well.

“We have also a really big self-sustainability philosophy. For us, that means a lot of things. Energy wise, we want to add a super-roof with solar cells on top of it. Our lake will be used for geothermal coils.

We want to do a lot of energy engineering using traditional methods and nontraditional methods. When we start that, we will begin to emphasize a pre-engineering program for energy,” she said.

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The self-sustainability philosophy is already at work with the students in many elective courses.

“Everything our kids do, our electives, do things to support the school,” DeMay said. “We have three levels of education – concept, context and community. Anything we train them on, we want them to

see how they apply it in their life.”

Students in fine arts, choir, theater, culinary arts, media arts and graphic arts use their projects to benefit the school in one way or another.

For example, graphic arts students design and create all the school’s brochures that are used to

promote the academy.

Students are taught the elements of design so once they complete the course they can go out into the “real world” and design for non-profits, churches or other kingdom-minded businesses.

Christian education is not for everyone, but the Bible is the center of edu-

cation at Athens Christian Preparatory Academy.

Each family must agree for their student to be taught from a Christian worldview upon applying for enrollment. Bible courses are offered daily and are a core part of the education at ACPA. “It's our glue,” DeMay said.

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JULIE WHITLEY/AISD

Samuel Nichols (left) and Zach Carson anchor video announcements for Athens High School as Edward Risner films. They are being filmed in front of a “green screen” so that graphics can be added digitally.

CTE program accelerates career readiness

By Toni Garrard Clay AISD COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Moving boldly into the future occasionally requires rethinking past assumptions.

For years, educators were charged with directing every high school student toward a college career.

And while that is still the appropriate course for a great many young people, it is not a one-sizefits-all prescription.

Consequently, Athens High School’s CTE program is increasingly gaining attention.

“High school today looks very different than it did when we were teenagers,” said Athens High School Principal Jami Ivey.

“That has a lot to do with our CTE program. It’s wonderful.”

Career and Technical Education — or CTE — is a program of innovative, state-approved courses that traces its roots to what we “old-timers” knew as vocational education.

While today’s CTE classes include the familiar woodworking and welding classes, the curriculum ranges from audio/visual and culinary arts to landscape de-

“The CTE program can provide them with marketable skills and industry accepted certifications. That can mean the difference between staying in a non-skilled position for the rest of your life or going into a career.”

– Ward Wilbanks, CTE Director sign and pharmacy technology.

As a result, it’s possible for a young person to leave high school already licensed, certified and ready to work — or much further down a career path than a typical graduating senior could have traveled even five years ago.

“As educators, we had always said that every kid needs to go to college. I thought that way when I first started teaching. But for some kids, that’s not the right path,” said Ward Wilbanks, the high school’s CTE director who also teaches ag science. “The CTE program can provide them with marketable skills and industry accepted certifications. … That can mean the difference between staying in a non-skilled position

for the rest of your life or going into a career.”

Through the program, students have the option — to name just a few examples — of becoming a certified nursing assistant, a pharmacy technician, a veterinary technician or a welder.

Educators discussing the CTE program frequently mention the passage of House Bill 5, a state law passed during the 2013 legislative session that, among other things, incorporated career and technology academic tracks into graduation plans. As a result, districts such as Athens ISD expanded their CTE class offerings.

“Career clusters,” as they are called, are grouped into different speciality areas. Every graduat-

ing senior must have an endorsement in one of those areas, in addition to completing his or her core classes.

The intent is that students will focus their studies in an area that supports their future career interests, whether their plan is to go right to work after graduation, to continue their education, or both.

The speciality areas offered during the 2015-2016 school year at Athens High School are: • Ag food and natural resources. These classes include veterinary medical applications (a great path for anyone interested in a career involving animals); ag mechanics (welding and fabricating metal projects); and horticultural science (floral design and plant science).

•Architecture/Construction.

These are classes designed to give students a general background in building trades, including masonry, house framing and home electronics.

• Arts and Audio/Visual. These classes include broadcast production (students run the “jumbotron” at Bruce Field, operate cameras and produce videos);

study of digital arts (which can include becoming Adobe certified); and a working print shop.

• Business, marketing and finance. These classes include business law, business management and touch data systems, such as keyboarding and 10-key.

• Family and consumer sciences. This speciality includes the culinary arts program, human services (such as child growth and development classes), principles of education and training (for students who want to become teachers), and entrepreneurship.

• Health science. These classes cover topics from medical records to nursing. This speciality includes the possibility of becoming a certified nursing assistant or pharmacy tech.

• Manufacturing. Classes offered give students the opportunity to become certified machinists.

“Kids love it because they get to choose,” explained Ivey. “A lot of our CTE kids feel like they’re taking a really relevant class, because they see how it can be applied to something they might like to do in life.”

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TVCC at 70 Formerly known as Henderson County Junior College, the impact made is amazing

By Mark Meredith TVCC PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

Trinity Valley Community College marks its 70th birthday this year, celebrating a proud history of service to the community, and looking ahead to meeting the new challenges of educating an ever-changing population.

Henderson County Junior College was founded by a group of Athens civic leaders headed by J. P. Pickens, Orval Pirtle and public school administrators in late 1945 and early 1946.

The creation of HCJC was formally approved by voters in the election of May 4, 1946.

The first registration was conducted in temporary facilities at Athens High School on June 3, 1946, and three days later, classes began there.

The Board of Trustees provided Henderson County Junior College with its own facilities at the present location of the Athens campus on June 24, 1946, and classes began in the fall semester, 1946.

HCJC began its development into a multi-campus institution with the initiation of an off-campus instructional program at the Texas Department of Corrections, Coffield Unit, in the spring of 1969.

Course offerings were subsequently expanded to the following correctional units: Beto I; Powledge Unit; and the Michael Unit.

The campus in Palestine was established in 1972, and moved to its present facility three miles north of Palestine in 1975.

The Terrell campus was established in 1973 to serve the northern portion of what had become an enlarged Henderson County Junior College District.

The present campus opened in the fall of 1986. In May of 1983, a new Health Science Center complex was completed in Kaufman for the purpose of providing various health occupation programs.

The M.L. Risinger Learning Resource Center was added to the campus in 2006.

As a result of the continued regional expansion of the college, the Board of Trustees authorized and approved a name change from Henderson County Junior College to Trinity Valley Community College in September 1986.

The TVCC service area includes Anderson, Henderson, Kaufman, Rains and Van Zandt counties.

The creators of Henderson County Junior College were farsighted, seeing the need for vocational training from the beginning.

Even in the first year of HCJC, industrial and trades training were offered in auto mechanics, radio mechanics and refrigeration alongside academic classes in liberal arts, science and agriculture.

Many of those vocational students were recentlydischarged World War II veterans returning to civilian life.

Trinity Valley Community College continues to evolve as the needs of its diverse student body change.

While a good percentage of students (35 percent) are adults 22-39, and many (11 percent) are over 40, now, as much as 20 precent of enrollment is under 18, with dual-credit programs enrolling students from 27 high schools in all 31 districts in our service area.

Many of these students receive their associate degree before their high school diploma.

Adult Education and ESL (English as a Second Language) classes offer

COURTESY PHOTO

An ariel shot of Trinity Valley Community College shows how large the campus has grown since opening in 1946.

“There are tremendous opportunities and challenges that face the college in the future. Because of the importance of TVCC and Texas community colleges in our communities, we are hopeful that adequate funding will be available to allow the college to continue to provide an exceptional higher education for our students.”

– Dr. Glendon Forgey, TVCC President first-time students the chance to acquire the basic academic skills to earn a GED, or pass the tests required to enter skills programs or college classes.

Transitional Education helps adults 18 and older get ready to go to college by teaching the skills to pass the college entrance exam before beginning classes.

Career readiness programs help students identify pathways to success in the fields that interest them. Since 1983, TVCC’s Health Science Center in Kaufman has led the way in training students for success in a wide variety of health science careers.

Distance Education courses afford students the opportunity to earn college credit without being on campus, and the unique partnership with the Texas Department of Corrections helps prison inmates acquire the academic and job skills to achieve success on the outside, greatly reducing recidivism.

Workforce programs, such as the TVCC/Texas Workforce Commission partnership, offer paid training to help small businesses improve the skills and competency of employees and Continuing Education, including credit and non-credit “Learning for Living Academy” classes, are available to the general public in photography, computer skills, art, humanities, math and sciences.

Senior discount programs, like TVCC’s Gold Card, offer older adult learners free access to sporting events, facilities, performances and halfprice tuition for certain courses.

The TVCC Small Business Development Center offers free, confidential one-on-one business consulting for startup and existing businesses in the 5-county service area.

“There are tremendous advantages to attending TVCC over enrolling directly in a 4-year college or university,” said Dr. Jerry King, TVCC Vice President of Instruction. “Students can save thousands of dollars with lower tuition fees, and achieve the same level of academic success at a fraction of the cost. Core curriculum courses are fully transferable to any Texas public institution, and local students can save even more by living at home for two years.”

“Another advantage is our small class size, averaging 20-25 students, while

major universities may have hundreds of students in freshman and sophomore classes,” King continued. “Our faculty focus is on teaching and providing personal attention to students, and support services help students increase their skills in reading, writing and math, resulting in higher rates of success when they transfer to a university.”

The future will require community colleges to play an even greater role in training the workforce.

The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that just five years from now, 65 percent of American jobs will require some form of post-secondary degree or credential, but the current rate at which colleges and universities are awarding them will fall short by about 5 million.

So businesses and policymakers are increasingly turning to community colleges to help fill these workforce gaps, and local leaders are becoming more aware of the importance of developing an educated employee base close to home.

At TVCC, innovative programs continue to evolve to serve the changing needs of students and requirements of modern society.

Service Learning connects the classroom with the real life lessons that come with service, combining formal instruction and direction with the opportunity to serve in the community to provide a comprehensive learning experience.

Service Learning elements include Lunch Buddies, an elementary school reading program; Loop Trash Bash, a highway cleanup program; various organizations’ food pantry drives; and many other service activities.

The President’s Volunteer Service Awards teach civic responsibility, creating opportunities for students, faculty and staff to volunteer in their communities, tracking volunteer hours and recognizing participation.

Alongside the innovative programs offered, traditional student groups still offer fun and engaging activities to encourage campus student connections.

Organizations such as Red Bird Scholars, the Student Government Association, Phi Theta Kappa, Cardettes, Cardinal Regiment, sports teams, choirs, drama, journalism

and groups of every kind promote participation and excellence, and help students develop citizenship and leadership skills.

TVCC has a proud heritage of service to the people within the region and is currently engaged in continuing growth and development toward realization of its full potential in higher education.

The college lives by its service standards or values, known as “The Valley Way:”

• Value – We will value our students and understand that without them we would not be here.

• Accountability – We will hold ourselves and each other accountable.

• Lasting Traditions – We will continue to have pride in our institution, while we pursue excellence for both our colleagues and students.

• Learning Environment – We will foster a safe and inclusive learning environment in which our students and staff feel respected by, and connected to, one another.

• Ethical Behavior – We will choose to be ethical in all of our dealings.

• You first – We will value individuality and the opinions of others. Every voice has the right to be heard, and every word will be spoken with respect.

“There are tremendous opportunities and chal-

lenges that face the college in the future,” said TVCC President Dr. Glendon Forgey. “Because of the importance of TVCC and Texas community colleges in our communities, we are hopeful that adequate funding will be available to allow the college to continue to provide an exceptional higher education for our students.”

TVCC will continue to honor the original goals of the HCJC founders, and develop innovative programs to help supply the changing workforce, alongside the outstanding athletic, academic and social aspects that have been a part of HCJC/TVCC culture since the beginning.

To learn more about all that TVCC has to offer, explore www.tvcc.edu and follow the college on Facebook and @TrinityValleyCC on Twitter.

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Railsback tries new tune

By Rich Flowers NEWS EDITOR

Kern Railsback is known around Athens for his mastery of the keyboard and gift for leading choral music.

These days, the longtime music minister is spending more time on Bible verses than the verses of hymns.

For the past two years, he's been pastor of the First Christian Church of Athens. Railsback said he never planned to be a senior pastor, but God had other ideas.

“Church led me into my love for music,” Railsback said. “I loved the hymn singing we did while I was growing up. Later I felt a calling God gave on my heart to be a music minister.”

Signs of Railsback's love for music are evident in his home. There's a concert grand piano, signed by artists like George Bolet and Liberace.

In the same room you'll see a hybrid electronic pipe organ built by Railsback a few years ago, a harpsichord and a dulcimer that belonged to his father.

Another room has a pump organ and a square grand piano that dates to the latter 1800s.

Railsback grew up in Iowa Park, then left to pursue music at Baylor University.

He received his master’s degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. That led to a career with many stops, including 11 years at First

RICH FLOWERS/STAFF

With a background in music, Kern Railsback is now the lead pastor at First Christian Church in Athens. After two years, he is feeling comfortable in the new role.

Baptist Church in Athens and 13 years as high school choir director in Athens.

His work had always been in Baptist churches until a few years ago, when he received a call from First Christian Church in Athens to become their minister of music.

Railsback and his wife, Barbara were happy at First Baptist Church of Frankston, where Kern was a part-time music minister.

“I somehow felt I should

see what God had in mind for us,” Railsback said.

Railsback accepted the call and served at First Christian Church with Pastor Bill Houk for about four years. When the minister retired, there was an opening at the pulpit.

“Almost the day he retired I felt God was saying 'You need to be the pastor of this church,'” he said.

Up until that time, he had preached about five sermons.

“Some of the people did

not completely buy into it, but most of them did,” Railsback said.

That was a little more than two years ago.

“It meant I had to get out of my comfort zone and go into a new area, the preaching,” Railsback said. “I kind of struggled at first knowing how to do it.”

Railsback's brother-inlaw, who is a pastor of a Baptist Church in Forth Worth had some advice.

“He said, think about this – use what makes a suc-

cessful musician and apply it to preaching and it will work,” Railsback said First on the list of traits that make a successful musician is practice.

“I began thinking, I need to practice the preaching as well,” Railsback said.

Wayne Knotts, a friend for more than 20 years agreed to come every Saturday night and listen to the sermon.

“He's been very good about critiquing me,” Knotts said. “He's mostly very positive. Then he tells me areas that could be improved.”

Railsback integrated Power Point, visual display and new technology into his message.

“At first, I was trying to give them too much,” Railsback said. “I had to learn to tantalize them to interest them in what I was trying to do.”

Railsback said a pastor once told him a pastor should be a shepherd and gently lead the people.

“A shepherd has to be with his flock,” Railsback says. “You have to get to know them, by name and how they do things.”

First Christian Church is a very diverse congregation, in income, age and background.

Several men from the Lila Lane ministry attend there, Railsback said. Lila Lane Outreach Ministries offers programs that are designed to help men rise above addiction, dependence, and other self-defeating attitudes and behav-

iors. About 15 to 20 of the men attend FCC. “The whole concept of the ministry is to help them get back on their feet,” Railsback said. “They're encouraged not to stay long periods of time.”

Railsback's wife, Barbara teaches music at Bel Air Elementary. She is youth and children's minister at the church. When they arrived there were only about five children.

That's grown to 25 to 30.

Greg Haire volunteers working the youth.

At one time, the church had both a contemporary service and a traditional service. Railsback favors a single service combining traditional church music with today's music styles.

“Our worship style is kind of eclectic,” Railsback said. “We start the service with a more formal style with responsive readings and most of the time a traditional church hymn.”

That's followed by a choir piece that is usually more contemporary and a praise team with drums and guitars.

Railsback said First Christian Church in Athens differs from many in the denomination by offering an invitation at the end of the service to allow people to make a decision for Christ.

The church has baptized more than 30 people during the past two years, after recording three during the previous seven years.

“I feel like God is blessing,” Railsback said.

JEFF RIGGS/STAFF

Carroll Springs United Methodist Church will soon have a new fellowship hall that will be 4,800 square feet, pictured left of the church.

New CSUMC Fellowship Hall a ‘blessing’

By Jeff Riggs ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Every Sunday at Carroll Springs United Methodist Church before the sermon begins, you will see children trotting through the congregation collecting jars filled with coins from the smiling audience.

When they are finished collecting the jars, the children dump the coins into a single container.

The money is counted by Wayne Mitchell, and deposited each week into a much larger account.

At the end of year 2015, the program known as Change-for-Change, achieved a collection amounting to over $135,000, according to Damon Holley, who is chairman of the CSUMC Church Building Committee.

The Change-for-Change program was started as a method to pay off the parsonage early.

Each member was given a small fruit jar, and asked to place their spare change each night in the jar as they emptied out their pockets.

The members then bring the jars to church each Sunday.

After the parsonage was paid off, the money went toward a massive project to construct a new Fellowship Hall on the church property next to the church itself.

The money collected to

date is mostly through Change-for Change, but also from bazaars and bake sales conducted by the church. There are also onetime memorial donations when people have passed away, and people have made large one-time donations.

The new Fellowship Hall contains about 4,800 square feet, which compares favorably to the old Fellowship Hall, built in the 1940s, which contains about 1,200 square feet.

The old Fellowship Hall has been used successfully for various occasions, including those times when church members, or those from outside the church, were fed food cooked and served by church members for a fantastic meal.

But, the space got very small as the church membership grew. To get back to your table after loading your plate with homecooked meals, you have to go through a crowd with little space.

That was one of the reasons for the new building – to alleviate crowding during activities in the Fellowship Hall.

However, Holley still believes there is a use for the old building.

“We have discussed turning it into a youth center,” he said. “We may bring in a pool table, soda ma-

chines, some other things so youth will have a place to hang out.”

Holley said he is happy about the new Fellowship Hall project.

“It's four times the space, of the old Fellowship Hall,” he said. “The most important thing is that we will add five Sunday School classes. We will have a full kitchen, and for the first time, we will have handicapped restrooms. There will also be a 2,400 squarefoot dining area and assembly hall.”

Currently, the frame of the new building stands on the grounds, but there is still some work to be done on the inside of the structure.

Holley said one of the organizations that has helped in a large way to complete the inside is Marvin Menders of Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, an organzation that views the CSUMC project as a mission from God. Also on the CSUMC Building Committee are Jerry Nell Wilbanks, Linda Wade, Richard Stepp, Charles Cranfill and the pastor of the church, the Rev. Brian Waddell.

Waddell said he is “excited” about the project.

“I am excited about the possilbities of what it could bring for the church and the community,” he said.

“The church will have more room for Sunday school classes. The new building will have five new classrooms. We're a small congregation, but we're looking to the future.

Instead of just waiting, we're finding that money, and we have found a way that our future is taken

care of.”

Waddell said it will also be better for the community singings conducted at the church on the fourth Saturday.

At that time, the community is invited to the church to sing, either with a group, or as a solo before the crowds.

After the singing, there is a free dinner prepared by church members for everyone.

“The building will be great for community singings, and there will be more room to feed the community on the fourth

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Education & Religion

Hope Springs Water continues mission of clean drinking water

By Joe Elerson STAFF WRITER

For residents in the Henderson County area, the name Hope Springs Water is seen around numerous businesses.

But for Dr. Ted Mettetal, the mission of his business is so much stronger than just a name on a water bottle.

The mission statement is bringing hope to the world through clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education In the fall of 2009, Mettetal registered with the state. He then had to get two registrations as a corporation for a full-profit to sell the water and a non-profit to do all of the work in February 2010.

“When we started, we thought we would just be a funding organization. We would send money to groups or organizations to do some work,” Mettetal said. “That is what we did initially when we started off funding some wells in Nicaragua and then we funded a well or two in Uganda. We learned fairly quickly that a lot of places where there was a need and where people were asking us to help were areas where nobody else was doing any work. We found that we really needed to figure out a way to do the work ourselves.”

Since 2009, Hope Springs Water has done water well repair projects in 11 countries on three continents.

Mettetal said they have traveled North America, Asia and Africa with a big focus on the country of Belize.

“The two places where we are primarily working right now are in Belize. Bruce Hinds is our country coordinator for Belize and he goes on probably five or six trips a year to Belize,” Mettetal said.

“He takes teams of volunteers that come from the United States, usually from churches. They go to different villages and spend the night with Mayan Indians and are doing well pump repairs. The government of Belize has drilled wells and the water is really costing. The metal that is in those pumps will rust and turn bitter

and red for those who try to drink out of the wells.”

Hope Springs is then called in to replace the metal parts with stainless steel PVC which helps

CSUMC building project funded via Change-for-Change Continued from 9 Saturday,” Waddell said. “It's a great blessing for us.”

Linda Wade, who has been a member of the building committee for about one year, said the new Fellowship Hall was essential.

“The Fellowship Hall is very important because we have outgrown the old one. We have people standing outside to get in,” she said. “On Wednesdays, we have to have Bible study in the pastor's office, because Bible studies here have grown so much. Wednesday, we don't have a place for youth or adults classes to meet for Bible study.

Adults meet at the old Fellowship Hall, and youth meet at the sanctuary. We need those new Sunday school rooms desperately.”

Wade said the next goal of the building committee is to enlarge the sanctuary. She said that on Sunday, the number of people sitting in the santuary averages 60 to 70. She remembered that five years ago, there was about 30.

Charles Cranfill, who served on the original building committee that gave birth to the idea of a new Fellowship Hall, has been with the church for the past five years. It was in that earlier time period that the thought of a new structure on the church property began.

“It was when we owed money on the parsonage that we started the Change-for-Change,” he said. “We had about a $10,000 balance on the parsonage, and we paid that off, mainly through Change-for-Change, and we continued the program for the new building. We also decided to get the church in good shape from the old building fund and donations. We did that through putting in the new carpet, and taking shrubbery away from the building's front, because it was attracting termites. We also extended the stage up front.”

Cranfill believes the Change-for-Change program, as well as other activities, were blessings. He also believes the new Fellowship Hall will make things much easier for church activities, and will provide more room than the old Fellowship Hall that has been outgrown.

give drinkable water to those countries with bad drinking water.

“In Ethiopia where we are working, we are in the process of

partnering with a large organization out of Arlington that has a missionary couple on the ground right now,” Mettetal said. “We intend to be their community devel-

opment arm for doing water wells, sanitation and hygiene education in Ethiopia. That is in the process of being finalized as we speak.”

Locally, Hope Springs has partnered with Schlotzsky's, Anderson Drug, Groom and Sons, Gibson Drug and the local Jazzercise group to promote the sale of their water in their businesses.

“We actually talked with Schlotzsky's and they are very sympathetic to what we do and what we do with the profits that we make off of our water,” Mettetal said. “Bob and Stacy Hurst are the owners of Schlotzsky's and they presented us to the big organization. There was some consideration but I think that has not come to fruition. He tries to help us in whatever way that he can. We certainly appreciate him for that.”

When it comes to the future progress of Hope Springs, Mettetal and the board of directors already have plans for the next five to 10 years.

“We would love to have trucks that have drilling rigs on them that can reach lots of other areas where there are great needs. We are currently talking with a missionary couple in Nicaragua and they are in an area where we are trying to get a drilling program done there,” Mettetal said. “We have big plans and we are working to get grants and expand our water sales because we think we could fund a lot of these projects.”

He said the future of Hope Springs Water is promising when it comes to getting out their message of clean, sustainable drinking water “I think the future of Hope Springs is really bright. We continue to get requests for assistance from Malawi, Zambia, Cambodia and so we continue to get them and try to focus our assistance in places that we know we have people on the ground,” Mettetal said. “We want to make sure the sustainability is been taking care of and will maintain it when we are gone.”