Middle School Basketball recap

Howe's seventh grade Lady Bulldogs A team beat Commerce, 21-17 last Monday thanks in part to Madisyn Matthews and her 10 points Audie Martin also added six points while Jentrie Doty and Danielle Hargrove each added two points each The girls were trailing 15-12 entering the final quarter, but six of Matthews points came in the fourth to give the Lady Bulldogs the come-from-behind win

The girls then took on a tough Farmersville team and came up short, 32-7 Matthews, Martin, and Doty each had two points for Howe, while Talia Bjorn added a free throw Farmersville got out to an 18-0 first quarter lead and never

Looked Back

The Howe eighth grade Lady Bulldogs A team took down Commerce, 51-21 Trinity Williams led all scorers with 25 points which included 12 field goals and one free throw Avery Snapp also landed in double-digits with 10 points Others scoring were Landery Sanders (7), Emma Harvey (6), and Chloe Scoggins (3)

The same girls then took on Leonard and were defeated, 29-19 due to a slow start where Howe trailed, 14-5 after the first Sanders led Howe with six points Other scorers were Harvey (4), Williams (4), Hadley Cheatham (3), and Snapp (2)

Tom Bean man sentenced to life

Today Mickey Joe Griffis, 65, of Tom Bean, was sentenced to two life sentences in prison for Possession with Intent to Deliver, Heroin, 1-4 grams and Possession with Intent to Deliver Methamphetamine, 4-200 grams Griffis was found guilty following a day and a half jury trial Griffis elected to have a Grayson County jury determine his sentence On Wednesday, December 13, 2017 that same jury sentenced Griffis to the maximum sentence allowed by law on both counts and the fine of $7,000 00 on each charge The Honorable Jim Fallon presided over the three day trial in the 15th Judicial District Court On Wednesday, August 17, 2016, Judge Fallon sentenced Griffis for his crimes and ordered him to pay the $14,000 00 fine

Narcotics investigators with the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office began conducting surveillance on a residence in Tom Bean on January 13, 2017 The surveillance led to the development of sufficient information for a search warrant Later the same day, a large team of law enforcement officers executed the search warrant at 106 Bois D’Arc and recovered a large cache of drug paraphernalia, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and 3 firearms. The Sheriff’s Office had information that Griffis was a convicted felon and could be armed

During the trial the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office presented evidence seized from the residence which included hundreds of small baggies used to package narcotics, syringes, pipes, a digital scale, and several grams of heroin and over a ½ ounce of methamphetamine

“We presented evidence and testimony which clearly led the jury to believe the defendant was involved in the distribution of narcotics and was armed with a rifle, pistol and a 12 gauge shotgun while dealing his drugs” said Assistant District Attorney Brett

Smith

During the punishment portion of the trial, Smith presented evidence to the jury that Griffis had six previous felony convictions, and four of those cases were for drug related offenses The jury learned that Griffis had twice previously been sentenced to prison for drug offenses

“The long sentence was, I believe, a result of the fact that this man just continued to deal drugs, and short prison sentences were not keeping him from doing that,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown. At some point, people just get tired of drug dealers who keep selling drugs and do not get the message The system gives people resources to deal with addiction, but when you are selling, it is a different ballgame ”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Brett Smith with the assistance of Paralegal Sherri Williams Griffis was represented by Sherman attorney Ron Uselton

Verse of the week - 1 Peter 2:25

For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Local Church Calendar

Community Bible Fellowship Wednesday

Times are subject to change Please check with each church for any possible changes

One area of the vast unknown that has been the focus of speculation throughout the ages is why certain events happen that seem to be cruel and unfair As a Christian minister and counselor, I am consistently either thinking, writing or being asked why tragedies happen when there is a God who can easily prevent them How many times has someone said, “If He is all powerful, then why does He allow terrible things to happen?” This leaves His followers trying to explain what we understand very little about Actually, the Christian worldview does not have answers to specific situations but there are general reasons why some things happen Matthew 5:45 mentions that nature does not discriminate between good and bad or the atheist and the believer Suffering can come to anyone and anytime without moral cause There are several reasons why we are vulnerable to tragedy but we only have time to observe a couple First, we are mortal and very vulnerable against an environment that is filled with danger and death In the beginning, God established this world with natural laws in mankind’s best interest but these laws can also cause us much harm For example, fire can be a wonderful way to cook our food and generate heat to keep us warm but it can also be a destructive and devastating force Likewise, gravity is a blessing as it keeps everything in place but if we are skydiving and our parachute does not open, there will be tragic consequences On the sixth day of creation, God said that everything

Monday, December 18, 2017

Looking to God within a fallen world

was perfect and beautiful which many believe included a diseasefree atmosphere without sickness, genetic defects or any other type of fear or danger However, when Adam and Eve sinned against God and was cast out of the garden of Eden, according to the Bible most everything changed Unfortunately, physical and spiritual death became a part of our vocabulary

My son and his wife are dog lovers and last year they chose to put two of their dogs down because of advanced cancer and of course they were very upset. About 6 months ago they purchased an adorable puppy and she was such a loving and strikingly beautiful dog This past week, they let her out in the backyard like usual and about a half-hour later called for her to come in My son started searching and thought that maybe she had escaped You can imagine the horror when he stepped up onto the deck of their pool and saw her resting on the bottom He dove in and retrieved her but it was too late The gates on the deck were locked and security cameras revealed that she had made an incredible leap into the pool from the yard We’ve all made terrible judgments and this mistake became a tragic accident They are devastated and in this time of being heart-broken again, it was mentioned about why God did not stop this from happening What can we say? Without being disrespectful, there are many times in our journey when the sovereignty of the Almighty seems to not make sense

There are events and situations when miracles happen and we are convinced that God stepped into the situation Then there are other times when crazy things occur that could have easily been prevented We know that God is watching and is all powerful but occasionally He decides to not intervene Why? It’s all a part of His perfect will, and for us to maintain a healthy spiritual attitude we are called to bow before Him in faith and submit as Jesus prayed in the garden, “not my will, but thine be done ” As we are also reminded of the old saying, “we will not understand until we get to the other side” but this hardly helps in our time of sorrow The second reason why bad things happen is called free-will and we can agree the most dangerous gift that God ever gave was our ability to choose Like the puppy who made a bad decision to jump in the pool, a large part of suffering can be and often is self- inflicted Reaping and sowing is associated with conditions and consequences and somewhere in the mix, we do the best we can and trust Him in everything

Dr Holland is a Christian author, outreach minister and community chaplain Learn more at billyhollandministries com

Portman, who had been the kidpitch vice president, will hand that

Learn about antiques and collectibles with Dr. Georgia Caraway

readers as well Comic books and graphic novels are in their own categories Children’s books especially those by illustrators like Beatrice Potter, Tasha Tudor, Maurice Sendak, and others, have many devoted fans

Linens This category embraces textiles, doll clothes, needlework and much more Condition is everything Quilts have become wildly popular with quilt shows popping up all over the country Chenille and embroidery has its fans (esp among crafters and recyclers) Handkerchiefs and aprons are fun and versatile, especially holiday and monogrammed versions

With Christmas fast approaching, and gift giving (and receiving) on the minds of many collectors, I thought I would recap a few of the newly released Top Collectibles Categories as noted by auction houses and collectors:. They are not in any order

Primitives: This is a category that includes one of a kind folk art, home made furniture, hand carved items, kitchen wares, quilts, old samplers, all kinds of knickknacks and gadgets, roughly made, even grungy rag dolls, toys, tramp art, and pottery Original condition and patina are very important

Restoration should be minimal

Don’t polish metals and don’t redress primitive dolls Things that share the patina of primitive make a house homey and homespun, inviting all of us to come in and sit for a while

Auto and motorcycle memorabilia: Motor vehicle-related collectibles are very popular Collectors in this field love posters, motor oil ads, metal advertising signs, hood ornaments, classic cars, pedal cars, vintage bicycles, and motorcycles

NASCAR is in a separate category

Books: Books continue to be popular collectibles First editions are still among the most collectible books, but very old books, especially those over 200 years old, are also desirable Old editions of popular classics, paperback editions of pulp fiction classics, and Texana, are always wanted

Surprisingly, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys are seeing a return to popularity not only with babyboomers who read them when they were teens, but with today’s young

Costume Jewelry: Collecting by types of materials such as rhinestones, enamel, paste, shell jewelry, Bakelite, Celluloid, Lucite, hand painted china are desired Other collectors look for designer items marked with the names of Tiffany, Enid Collins, Kenneth J Lane, Schiaparelli, Cartier, Chanel, Weiss, Judith, Eisenberg, Trifari, Monet, and Coro.

Museums for 14 years, and her friends opened the Howe Mercantile at 107 East Haning Store hours are Thursday through Saturday noon until 8 p m She has written five Denton history books She hopes her next book will be the history of Howe If anyone has photographs or documents that she can copy, please bring them to Howe Mercantile

Downtown Howe has two gift and antique shops Howe Mercantile and Stark Farms Gifts SHOP LOCAL We can show you Howe!

Vintage Fashions: Victorian and couture dresses in pristine condition are highly sought among fashion-minded collectors Clothing designers are also buying fashions to copy for their clothing lines Rolled up jeans, saddle shoes, oversized “letter sweaters and jackets,” mid-length plaid skirts, crisp white blouses and bowling shirts are among the fashion revivals that you will see in 2018 Especially popular are vintage military jackets, esp in the “Eisenhower cropped style ” Khaki jackets, military green, military clothing styles have inspired and influenced the creations of designers worldwide There has been a resurgence in vintage hats and purses as well

You can find all of these, and more, at Howe Mercantile. Come see us during the holidays

Dr Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County