www.lsshopper.com • email:lonestarshopper@gmail.com • OCTOBER 14, 2020
Canton, Texas
LON E STAR SH O PP ER From The Free State Of Van Zandt...
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27928 STATE HIGHWAY 64 • CANTON, TEXAS 75103 • 903-567-3948 http://taylorautoservice.com
VAN OIL FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND THE 17TH. (VAN) - The Van Oil the Daytime MC Festival is this week- and Entertainer THERE WILL BE end.Celebrating OLD AND NEW EVENTS! Van’s Heritage - 91 Van Oil Festival Years of Oil 1st Annual Grill’n This Saturday from and Chill’n Contest. 8 am until 3 pm the Don’t forget the fifVan Oil Festival will ty fifty drawing as be held at the Van United Methodist Church. Don’t miss the Fabulous car and truck show. There will be a lot of fun for everyone including a BBQ Cook off - Food Vendors - Bake Cook off well as the live and and Auction - Pre- siklent auction. There will be serves, Jams, Jellies Contest and Auction plenty of music inForty plus vendors of cluding Holly Tucker Concert with Elfall sorts. Enjoy carnival in Paige and Chase Games , Train Rides, McClanahan Elfin Snow Cones, Penny Paige Music takes Toss , Splash Pad , the state at 5 pm. Inflatables , 5 K Run, ChaseMcClanahan Oil Museum Tours , Music comes to the state at 6 pm and Outhouse Races. Dale Cummings is Holly Tucker Music
- 7 pm to 9 pm there will be door prizes at the concert. Tickets can be purchased from Chamber Directors, Vandal Nation Station, Van City Hall or ONLINE via ticket link above in ‘Tickets’. Presale tickets - $20 / $25 at the gate Ages 6 - 12 -
$8 / $10 at the gate. Ages 5 and under Free **Cooler Fees at the gate - $20 ( per family or group NO GLASS)** Concert will be moved to Van ISD Auditorium in case of inclement weather. Bring your lawn chairs to enjoy the day. For questions call 903-963-5051, or 903963-4015. Please be aware of the Covid 19 suggestions to wear a mask and social distancing. The Oil Festival says they are doing all they can to keep every one safe.
TEXAS 2020 ELECTIONS Carrollton mayoral candidate arrested on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining mail-in ballots A candidate for mayor of Carrollton was arrested Wednesday night and charged with voter fraud. Zul Mirza Mohamed faces 25 counts of unlawful possession of an official mail ballot and 84 counts of providing false information on a voting application, according to announcements Thursday from the Denton County sheriff’s office and Attorney General Ken Paxton. In a news release, Paxton’s office said that Mohamed allegedly forged at least 84 voting registration applications for Denton County residents and had the resulting registrations sent to a post office box he had obtained with false identification. At the time of his arrest, Mohamed was in the process of stuffing envelopes with mailin ballot applications for neighboring Dallas County, Paxton’s statement said. The city of Carrollton straddles Denton, Dallas and Collin counties. According to the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, investigators began their probe into Mohamed on Sept. 23 after county elections officials alerted them that several absentee ballots were being mailed to the same post office box, which allegedly belonged to a nursing facility. Investigators watched the postal facility and placed an undercover officer there. On Oct. 7, police saw that a box of requested ballots was picked up from the location and followed the suspect. A search warrant was obtained for Mohamed’s residence, the sheriff’s statement says, where police found a box containing the requested ballots, including
several that were open. The fraudulent driver’s license used to rent the post office box was also found during the search. The arrest is the second incident in recent weeks in which Paxton’s office has partnered with local officials to prosecute suspected voter fraud. In September, Paxton, who has fought efforts to expand mailin balloting during the coronavirus pandemic, announced the indictments of an East Texas county commissioner who was arrested on charges that he and three associates committed voter fraud in the 2018 primary election by allegedly attempting to manipulate about 38 mail-in votes. It is unclear how many actual ballots were involved in the Carrollton case, and the statements do not indicate whether any ballots were actually cast. “Mail ballots are inherently insecure and vulnerable to fraud, and I am committed to safeguarding the integrity of our elections,” Paxton said in a statement. “My office is prepared to assist any Texas county in combating this form of fraud.” While there are documented cases of mail-in ballot fraud, experts say it remains rare and generally involves small numbers of ballots intended to influence local elections. Several states, including historically Republican Utah, vote entirely by mail, and officials there said absentee ballots have not caused more election fraud. Mohamed’s arrest comes less than one month before a major
national election that is expected to see historic numbers of absentee ballots, as voters afraid of contracting the novel coronavirus cast their votes by mail. Republicans across the country, including leaders in Texas, have sought to cast doubt on the security of mailin-ballots, claiming without evidence that expanding access to absentee ballots will lead to rampant fraud. Texas is among several states that has not expanded absentee voting this fall amid the pandemic. The matter of absentee ballots for people with disabilities has been a major point of political and legal contention over the last few months. In Texas, voters may only vote by mail if they are over 65, outside their home county during the election, confined in jail or disabled. But state law is not specific about how “disabled” is defined, and the issue has been politicized and litigated for months. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that a lack of immunity to the coronavirus is not in itself enough to qualify, but beyond that, said voters should decide for themselves if their health situation meets the state’s criteria. Mohamed, who is running against incumbent Mayor Kevin Falconer, is being held at the Denton County jail. His bond has not yet been set. “The fact an actual candidate for public office would engage in these activities is appalling,” said Denton County Sheriff Tracy Murphree.