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I forgot my mask when I went into Hamilton Floral Monday afternoon. I usually don’t forget, but I was distracted.

Miss Anita was very forgiving. It’s sad that we have to remember things like masks when we see friends we’ve known forever, but if Miss Anita gets COVID, she would likely have a harder time with it than I did.

A&M ecologist recognized for ecosystem restoration

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The Charles Leonard Weddle Memorial Award is presented annually by the Native Plant Society of Texas for lifetime achievement in the field of Texas native plants. The most recent honoree is Texas A&M AgriLife Research’s James Muir.

Muir, Ph.D, is a grassland ecologist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Stephenville, as well as a Regents Professor in Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and with Tarleton State University.

AgriLife researcher honored for feeding the world

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The National Academy of Inventors has chosen Bill McCutchen as a Fellow. 

Bill McCutchen, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center director at Stephenville, has been made a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, NAI.

McCutchen will be honored at the NAI’s induction ceremony in June in Tampa.

Council talks Main Street, narrows HPD chief search

Hamilton’s City Council entered executive session to consider the 13th and final agenda item in a regularly scheduled meeting at City Hall last Thursday to deliberate the filling of the police chief vacancy.

Following the closed session, councilmember Justin Slone moved to schedule interviews for a pair of final candidates Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. Following a second by Shelley Voges, the motion carried by a unanimous council vote.

THIS WEEK IN TEXAS HISTORY

A simmering East Texas feud boiled over into bloodshed on Dec. 15, 1951, when Hunter Bergman shot his sister’s ex-husband to death on the main street of Corrigan.

Forty-three-year-old Dudley Veal heard someone call his name and turned to see who it was. His former brother-in-law fired once from a distance of ten feet, and the bullet tore through Veal’s chest killing him instantly.

Bergman, 55, calmly handed the smoking .32-caliber rifle to a dumbfounded deputy, climbed back in his truck and drove to Livingston, the Polk County seat, where he surrendered to authorities.

Star light, star bright

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From meteor showers and supermoons to eclipses, 2020 has been filled with astronomical events. Perhaps the rarest event occurs Monday with the appearance of the “Christmas Star.”

“This is not the Bethlehem star,” clarifies Central Texas Astronomical Society President Dick Campbell, part of the group that operates the Meyer Observatory near Clifton.

COVID vaccine coming

Hamilton Healthcare System reported 12 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday morning with 55 active cases in the county and four hospitalized patients with the virus.

There have been 13 deaths in the county since the pandemic began in March, and 402 residents have tested positive. Hamilton County did not receive any of the first Texas allocation of the Pfizer COVID vaccine, County Health Authority Dr. Randy Lee said Tuesday.

SELFIE TIME

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SELFIE TIME- Hamilton Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a selfie promotion, where selfies at local businesses can be submitted for a chance to win more than $500 in local merchandise. “2020 has presented challenges, and we are having to get creative this holiday season,” said chamber Executive Director Kim Hinton, pictured above right with Hamilton Herald-News Managing Editor Kym Jeschke. “Send your selfies to hamiltonchambertx@gmail.com from anywhere in Hamilton for a chance to win.” Staff Selfie

Suzy says adios after 21 years

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Suzy Thames didn’t really want to move to Hamilton County back in 1997. She was more inclined to a larger town, having grown up in Austin.

But as she and husband Reigh sat on the concrete rail around the Hamilton County Courthouse one afternoon, waiting for Realtor Jack Davidson to show them “the place for you,” Reigh said, “I know we’re supposed to live here.”

Suzy, incredulous, just looked at him with a raised brow.

“Really?” “Yes, just look over there,” he said. “Thames Jewelers. That’s bound to be a relative.”

School revises COVID policy

The Hamilton Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the addition of two student holidays/teacher workdays at their meeting on Monday, Dec. 14. Friday, Jan. 29 and Friday, March 5 have been assigned as “data days” which will be used to analyze student benchmark information to plan for future instruction. The revised 2020-21 school calendar now reflects these changes.