Texoma Patriots

Submitted by Kaaren Teuber

The Texoma Patriots will be meeting Tuesday, May 12 at 6 pm on the north steps of the Grayson County Courthouse in Sherman. Speaking to the group will be Tom Homan, who is the retired Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who vowed to crack down on sanctuary cities and build the wall.

Since his retirement from public service, he is a FOX News contributor. His book Defend the Border and Save Lives was just released. Homan said “the border wall is a good tool,” and he is 100 percent behind our President’s proposal to build the wall on our southernmost border. He offers proof that illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. He’s controversial because he has strong opinions based on facts. He spent 34 years working on the border, and he knows that if we don’t control illegal immigration now, this country will continue to suffer the consequences of crime, drugs, and financial strain - and it will get much much worse.

From a police officer in New York to Director of ICE, Tom’s career has spanned four decades and six presidential

Tom Homan

administrations. He is not a politician. As a law enforcement officer, he is uniquely qualified to address these subjects with brutal honesty, compassion, and a sincere desire to fix the problems once and for all. And he will share these with us next Tuesday.

You may have seen him this weekend on FOX News. Tom Homan says liberals are using coronavirus as an excuse to free detained illegal immigrants https:// news.yahoo.com/tom-homansays-liberals-using121657770.html? soc_src=community&soc_trk=ma

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Yesterday was a BIG day for Justice in the USA. Congratulations to General Flynn, and many others. I do believe there is MUCH more to come! Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians do not go well together! 6:18 AM · May 8, 2020

readers how every small town in Texas can do likewise." While Miss Mame received welldeserved recognition for her work, it was all inspired and made possible by Grace Collins, who provided a home for Miss Mame for many years, preparing meals, keeping house and serving as a driver, and who, in the background, conceived projects for her sister and encouraged her to apply her talents to them. Grace is the unsung hero of Howe's beautification efforts.

In 1942, William Wheat Collins, Jr. bought 125 acres north of Howe between Highway 75 and the railroad, and right after World War II acquired 77 adjoining acres, which included the former Brodhead home. Because of the more convenient location, Will and Grace moved form the Collins homeplace to this house. Subsequently, William Jr. bought additional acreage south of the Brodhead place and several tracts on FM 902 west of Highway 75. In the mid-1960s, during a dispute with Sherman over citylimit lines, he indicated preference for his land to be included in the Howe city limits, to which Sherman generally agreed. This partly accounts for Howe's irregular north city limit lines. Also, in the mid-1960s, while serving as Regional Administrator for the Southwest Region of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, he persuaded, through his staff, the City of Sherman to accept and treat Howe's sewage at substantial savings to Howe residents. A few years later, he sold to Howe, at below-market price, a tract of land on FM 902 for a water well. in 1972. Their children are William Wheat Collins III and Ann Collins Florsheim. After retirement, he served on the Board of Directors of the Merchants and Planters National Bank (later MBank and Bank One), on the Board of Trustees at Austin College, and as a Trustee for the Old Settlers Association. He strongly opposed the sale of the M&P National Bank and was the only Director to vote against it. He was also one of the original investors in the Howe State Bank and retained his proportionate interest when the holding company was formed. Margaret Binkley Collins' maternal grandfather, B.H. Zauk, was vice president of the old Commercial National Bank in Sherman and was an investor in the Farmers National Bank in Howe before it failed during the Great Depression. Her paternal grandfather, Rev. J.M. Binkley, was the first pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Sherman, and his brother, Judge C.C. Binkley was the first president of the M&P National Bank.

In 1981, William W. Collins, Jr. and Margaret B. Collins created the Will and Grace Collins Memorial Fund through a gift of $25,000 to the City of Howe, with the stipulation that the principal should be treated as a separate permanent fund and be invested to produce income that would be used for public purposes. While not specifically required, the donors preferred that the income be used for cultural and community improvement purposes not usually supported by tax revenues. (Editor's Note: The account is still in existence and funds have been used to help restore the old First Christian Church building).

In 1947, William Jr. married the former Margaret Binkley of Sherman. They reared two children in Fort Worth, where he was employed until his retirement This information was published in the 1991 book entitled, "90s...Then and Now - A Historical Cookbook."

2020 10-3A Senior Only AllDistrict Team

First Team All District

Pitcher Zach Smith - Van Alstyne, Dalton Tonubbee - Leonard, Austin Testerman - Whitewright,

Infield Drew Abate - Bonham, Tyler Hall - Blue Ridge, Layton Elvington - Howe, Samuel Tormos - Van Alstyne, Marshall Mangrum - Whitewright,

Catcher Ryan Godbey - Whitewright, David Terrell - Van Alstyne,

Outfield Jake Spiller - Bonham, Bubba Hulsey - Blue Ridge, Dylan Cordell - Whitewright, Jake Carroll - Van Alstyne,

Designated Hitter Cade Morgan Van Alstyne, Utility Player Cam Montgomery - Van Alstyne.

Second Team All District

Pitcher Kolby Windon - Howe, Jake Claburn - Whitewright, Derek Kirschner - Howe,

Infield Jaret Wallace - Blue Ridge, Blake Schur - Leonard, Grant Dennis - Bonham, Arturo Lowder - Howe,

Catcher Lane Brown - Bells, Kolbe Lappin - Howe, Randy Arris Bonham

Outfield Jake Hill - Whitewright, Ethan Litzkow - Van Alstyne, Garrett Mathers - Blue Ridge, Kaden Sadler - Leonard, Ayden Norton Howe

Designated Hitter Garrett Grigg - Howe, Utility Player James Tankersley - Blue Ridge,

Businesses have had to adapt as evidence by a sign in the window at Gabriela’s Mexican Cocina for several weeks which shows the necessary transition from a traditional sit-down restaurant to a to-go and delivery-only business.

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They also indicated as a whole that 22 employees had been laid off or furloughed during the shutdown.

It was reported last week that a record 20.5 million American jobs were lost in April which soared the unemployment rate to a staggering 14.7 percent—this after the US economy held the lowest unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in February.

Half of the local respondents applied for the Payment Protection Program and most did not apply for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance. Both of those items were administered through the Small Business Administration funded by the CARES Act.

Although this period has been a struggle all across the country, Howe has not been affected as much as other cities due to the lack of businesses that other cities have. While cities like Sherman and Van Alstyne rely heavily on their sales tax receipts to fund their city government, cities like Howe and Denison levy more from ad valorem tax which is more stable through economic downturns such as the one that has just swept the nation. While this is protection from short-term economic swings, no municipality is safeguarded against long-term financial distresses. Of the businesses survey results, 58 percent say that their future outlook is favorable, while 30 percent had serious questions about their future as a business in Howe as things continue.

Social media can play a crucial role in the local economy as well as indicated by a person commenting on a Howe Enterprise Facebook post regarding Palio’s Pizza last week. The thread took an ugly turn which questioned the owner practicing his own right to open their restaurant for indoor seating.

Fear has played a great role in the pandemic as the number of COVID-19 total cases are released by the Grayson County OEM (Office of Emergency Management) on a nightly basis on social media. The OEM proclaims the new cases in bold letters that there are EIGHTEEN NEW CASES in Grayson County while never giving the same emphasis on the number of recovered cases or the fact that 93 percent of all tests taken are returned with a negative result. This creates more of a hysteria effect rather than a true representation of the statistical analysis.

These are certainly trying times, and some say we are all in this together while others say where we go one, we go all.

The US unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent in April 2020, the highest in the history of the series and compared to market expectations of 16 percent, as the Covid-19 crisis threw millions out of work. The number of unemployed persons rose by 15.9 million to 23.1 million, while the number of employed declined by 22.4 million to 133.4 million. The labor force participation rate decreased by 2.5 percentage points over the month to 60.2 percent, the lowest rate since January 1973.

City sales tax receipts shows increase despite a portion of slow-down during the period

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Wednesday he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $824.1 million in local sales tax allocations for May, 5 percent less than in May 2019. These allocations are based on sales made in March by businesses that report tax monthly, and sales made in January, February and March by quarterly filers.

In Howe, the total was $38,386.78 which is a 2.23 percent increase from May 2019. To date, the City of Howe’s sales tax figures are above last year’s overall numbers by 1.21 percent.

Widespread social distancing requirements were not in place across much of the state until late March, meaning the impact of those measures affected only a portion of allocations for this month. The agency expects next month’s allocations, based on April sales, will show steeper declines compared to a year ago.

a

City February City 2020

Sherman Denison Gainesville Anna Melissa Celina Bonham Van Alstyne Whitesboro Pottsboro Whitewright Gunter Leonard

Howe

Southmayd Collinsville Bells Tioga Tom Bean Oak Ridge Savoy Ector Dorchester $1,990,838.43 $760,163.35 $645,369.52 $295,190.69 $279,203.30 $278,560.91 $190,352.00 $157,980.80 $141,049.33 $53,077.30 $42,886.87 $38,803.33 $38,650.87

$38,386.78

$33,430.74 $26,774.73 $24,756.41 $20,802.72 $11,697.30 $10,166.70 $6,152.82 $2,952.15 $1,104.80 Sherman Denison Gainesville Celina Anna Melissa Bonham Van Alstyne Whitesboro Pottsboro Southmayd Whitewright

Howe

Leonard Gunter Collinsville Bells Tioga Tom Bean Oak Ridge Savoy Ector Dorchester $9,630,990.86 $3,383,543.32 $3,065,051.60 $1,329,990.07 $1,328,366.52 $1,281,524.25 $910,389.58 $696,221.90 $593,141.31 $260,567.54 $224,834.77 $191,918.52

$170,729.06

$163,290.27 $161,237.93 $114,573.88 $105,262.67 $85,678.64 $49,933.60 $38,257.33 $24,917.47 $11,430.39 $5,086.72

In his recent executive order, Governor Abbott authorized Texas high schools to hold outdoor graduation ceremonies beginning May 29. In light of this announcement, Howe ISD has moved their graduation up to that date.

In a press release from Howe ISD Superintendent Kevin Wilson on Friday afternoon, he said, “We apologize for all of the changes, but we felt like this was more in line with traditional graduation dates. Additionally, there is concern that a spike in COVID-19 cases could lead to another prohibition, and we didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity when it was available.” Requiring to adhere to strict social distancing guidelines, each graduate will receive five tickets for family and guests. This number is subject to change, but as of this date that is the maximum allowed per the Governor’s order. Additional details from HHS administration will be communicated early next week.

HHS had tentatively scheduled a Prom photo opportunity for May 23. Unfortunately, they are going to have to cancel that event due to the current guidelines prohibiting multiple in-person gatherings for students. Wilson said that graduation takes precedence over prom.

Howe High School Graduation is now scheduled for May 29, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium. The ISD will continue to post the latest information as it becomes available.

Adrian Beltre vs. COVID-19

Grayson County Positive Test Rate for COVID-19 is an average of 0.064. For former Texas Ranger Adrian Beltre’s odds of taking a walk each time he came to the plate in his 21year career: 0.069.