I was visiting with Lucy Burris who is the Sergeant at Arms and Troop Support Chair for the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 113. They are busy putting together boxes each month to send to our service persons in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have about 75 on the list that they mail each month. They meet at the Senior Citizen's Center the Wednesday before the first Saturday of the month to organize the boxes with things that are donated like candy, letters, rice crispy bars, peanut patties, toiletries, personal hygiene items, entertainment things like magazines, CDs, microwave popcorn and school supplies that they can give to the children. The Lufkin Middle School made 2500 beaded Christmas ornaments that were sent. Their website is: www.ala113lufkin.org if you want to look at pictures under "BCW Because We Care". It costs $8.95 per box in the flat rate boxes and they have to have a name and address to send to the service persons. If you would like to adopt a box, it would help and you can send your donation to: American Legion Auxiliary Unit 113, P.O. Box 2605, Lufkin, TX 75902. Rita Redd is the president; Janet Pavlic is the vice president; Bonnie Shows/Marsha Eppley are secretary; Alma Bush is treasurer and Linda Chudej is chaplain. Their next meeting will be Wednesday, April 5 at the Senior Citizens' building. Some groups help organize and get the boxes ready to mail on the first Saturday like the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow and Sunday School classes. Margaret Dillahunty was the one that first made me aware of the group that have been reorganized three years. They have a worthwhile project and you all know that the military people are close to my heart. If you have a service person that you would like included each month, contact them with the name.

Sherry and Gary Rush want all to know about the 2 nd Annual Jack Wolf, IV Memorial Golf tournament benefiting Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that will be May 10. The course will be The Links at West Fork in Conroe. Jack Wolf, IV was the son of Paige (Rush) and John Wolf. Proceeds of the golf tournament will go to purchase "kangaroo care" recliners. This is a way of holding a pre-term or full term infant so that there is skin-toskin contact between the infant and the person holding it.

Angel of Joy Lutheran Church is hosting its annual Sisters in Christ Banquet on Friday, April 11th (6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m). The table trimmings and settings are created and decorated by the Women of Angel of Joy and the Table Servers will be the Men of Angel of Joy. Entertainment will be provided by Narrow Road Quartet and Aaron Krise, Magician. For fellowship, fun, food and entertainment, make sure you reserve your place! Tickets are $10 and you can reserve yours by calling Martha Sutton at (936) 639-1577 or the Church Office at (936) 632- 4777. Angel of Joy Lutheran Church, E.L.C.A., is at the intersection of Daniel McCall and College Drive in Lufkin, across from Angelina College.

Joyce and Glenn Wallace reported FINALLY they have hummingbirds. Their first was March 24. She thought they would never get here. Jay & Julie Wallace, Greg, Dorothy, & Haley Wallace came in for Easter with Joyce and Glenn. They all enjoyed the Easter Brunch at Crown Colony very much. The food was very good and the new Chef certainly knows how to cook shrimp. Joyce believes that he does the best with fish of any Chef that Crown Colony has had in quite some time, especially shrimp, mussels, oysters, lobster, crab claws, etc.

Atha Martin told me that Don was buzzed by a hummingbird in their front yard. She put up the feeder and will watch closely to see what happens.

Barb and Tom Flournoy had Kristen, Kyle, Caleb, Morgan, Scarlett, and Anna Claire here for Easter from Yorktown in South central Texas where they are living temporarily (they still have their home here). Anna Claire will have surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot, a series of severe heart defects...she has about seven... holes, misalignments, constrictions, etc. The surgery will be done by Dr. Charles Fraser, son-in-law of the renowned Dr. Denton Cooley. Dr. Fraser is head of pediatric cardiac surgery at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. Because she has so many defects, she will have to be on the heart-lung bypass machine for a long time during the repairs. Barb thinks they will only repair the MOST SERIOUS defects in that time frame for safety's sake.

Jordan Flournoy, Barb and Tom's son, was home from the University of Michigan law school for winter break (it's still winter in Ann Arbor... has been the snowiest winter since 1880, the year they started keeping records, and they usually have MORE snow in April!!!). While in Texas, he had interviews with national firms in Houston and Dallas and was offered summer associate positions by both. He will be working for Haynes and Boone in Dallas in August, but he turned down an offer from the Houston firm in order to take a Blackstone Fellowship with the Alliance Defense Fund, a religious liberties firm based in Phoenix. Jordan will go to "school" in Phoenix for two weeks in June to study natural law and learn how to practice as a Christian lawyer in a secular world. Then he will spend the next six weeks doing public policy work in London, England, after which he will return to Phoenix for a follow-up week. He'll go straight to the Haynes and Boone firm from there before returning to Michigan in late August.

Val and Bill Dobrec report that Tigger was found Monday morning around 8:00 a.m. and brought home. She was wet, cold, scared and hungry and immediately went to her safe haven under the bed. Jeanne Moore cleans for the Dobrecs and is very familiar with Tigger. She was going around the loop and saw her in front of St. Cyprian's School. She loaded Tigger up in her new car and brought her home. Val said, " I promise not to ever be upset again when she wakes me up at 2:00 a.m. to go outside to pee. I'll just be thankful she's there to do it! So many thanks to all of you for looking for Tigger and keeping our "Big Girl" in your prayers. You all know how we love our animals and I thank you all for that also".

Doug Russell, owner of Nacogdoches Monument Company established in 1981, has recently purchased the Laird Monument Company from the Laird family. Doug will be relocating the current business to the Laird Monument Company location at 5514 North Street, which was established over 30 years ago. The prices of all current inventory at the older location of Nacogdoches Monument Company, 1202 Douglass Road, will be reduced by 25 - 50%. Doug also owns East Texas Monument Company here in Lufkin.

LaJune Bradley had cute pictures taken at son David Bradley's wedding to Emily Ramirez on March 1 aboard the Royal Princess II out of Clear Lake. The yacht was filled with friends and family.

Lacey Friesen, daughter of Andrea and Gip, pledged Chi Omega at TCU. She was a legacy from her grandmother Dora Jane Friesen who was a Pine Burr at SFA that became Chi Omega. The entire family are Chi Omegas: Leeanne Friesen Haglund at UT, Laura Friesen at TCU, Andrea at SFA and Lacey's god mother, Suzanne Barrett, at SFA.

Mary Jane and Jim West and daughter Rebecca hosted Easter at their clubhouse at Ranch 669. Others enjoying the dinner were: Len Medford, Sid Medford, Debbie Hodges and Ernest and me. Phil Medford was at his hunting lease at Coleman.

Clayton Medford had his bachelor party in Atlantic City with Lufkinites Russell Sumners, Kevin Roper and Dibollian Kevin Grogan attending. Clayton lives in Washington D. C. and the wedding to Ann Hawn will be in Austin.

Joan Poplin has a big gold bracelet with lots of "bling" from her son Bill Frank Poplin who bought it for her in Malaysia. It was an early birthday present.

Invitations for the Angelina Alliance for Children were mailed. Their event, Justice is Served 2008, will be on Tuesday, April 15 at the Pitser Garrison Civic Center. The Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General for the State of Texas, will be the speaker. I was impressed with the list of honorary servers: Billy Ball, Justice of the Peace; Barry Bryan, Judge, 159th Judicial District; Derek Flournoy, Judge, County Court at Law #2; Gerald Goodwin, retired District Judge; Kent Henson, sheriff; Clyde Herrington, District Attorney; Bob Inselmann, Judge, County Court at Law #1; Ed Jones, District Attorney; Pete Maskunas, Texas Ranger; Jim McReynolds, Texas State Representative; Wes Suiter, County Judge; Paul White, Judge, 217 th Judicial District; David Wilson, retired District Judge. There will be silent and live auction items. Contact them at 634.1999 for more information.

Happy Birthday: Harold Morris, Len Medford, Mary Martha Henderson, Evelyn Forrest, Maxine Jenkins, Thomas Gibbs, Nancy Hamilton, Emily Grimes, Ruby Moore, Hunter Russell, James Parish, Ashley Burroughs, Buddy Rush, Meredith Smith, Marshall McCarroll, Abigail Cain, Ronnie King, Carsyn Roach, Loye Martin.

Happy Anniversary: Dorothy and Berwyn Walker, Zaidee and Otto Brittain.

Sandra and Wyatt Leinart were gone a week to South Texas. They found a new place to eat in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico called Senorial Restaurant with tablecloths, napkins and waiters in formal attire. They will have to give you directions. They also enjoyed the Kings Inn Restaurant that was near the Sea Wind RV Resort near Riviera. When they returned they found that they had to have both bathrooms remodeled.

Patti and Claude Smithhart had grandson Harris Claude Mann in church for his first Easter with his parents Jane Ann and John Mann. Manse Draper was with the family too.

Betty and Robbie Warren had Pam and Brad Mueller and their children Caroline, Emily and Eric in town before Easter.

Fran Atkinson had great granddaughter Macie with her on Sunday. She is the daughter of Mandy and Mark Johnson and granddaughter of Marijo and Rick Meredith.

Making the cruise out of Galveston on the Voyager of the Seas were: Sonny and June Clement, Dubby and Judy Perry, Robert and Sheila Telford, Alyce Anne Baggett, Jonna Jones, Tucker and Elizabeth Westerman, Jerry and Debbie Ainsworth, Oscar and Sharon Crawford. They made stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

Applebee's Restaurant will give 20 percent of your bill to Terri Owens Hinson on Monday April 7. Terri is a single mom and a cancer patient on long term disability. There is a flyer that you need to give your server anytime between 10:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. for dine in or car side to go. You must bring the flyer for your donation to be counted. I have one of the flyers if you want me to send you one.

Let me hear about your Easter. Catch you Around Town. Janice Ann

Email: roweja@suddenlink.net