All Around Lufkin

Matthew Mackey, 16-year-old son of Ann and Curt Mackey and grandson of Jean and Oscar Dillahunty, spent a week at Texas A&M Galveston at their Sea Camp. Matthew is undecided on wildlife or marine biology, and this was a look at the marine side. The camp took them behind the scenes of Moody Gardens. He saw a sea lion up close and they appear friendly but they bite. They dissected a dolphin. The class had 20 and they were from Kentucky, Mississippi, Kansas and his roommate was from New Jersey. It was open to 15 to 18 year olds. In Matthew's class there were 16 girls and four boys. He had six phone numbers of girls when the week was completed. He had a good time. Matthew is a student at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station.

Happy Birthday: Carrie Havard, David Ferguson, Tom Tatum, Megan Looney, Al Meyer, Carson Camp, Caleb Guzman, Patrick Brazil, Calianne Teutsch, Abby Moore, Margie Baker, June Clement, Morgan McCarty, Liz Martin-Jeffrey, George Thannisch, Sarah Williams, Bill West, Gena Hanner, Kerry Miller Jones, Bryce Nutt, Arah Rush, Paige Widner, Dottie Tompkins, Keith Christopher.

Happy Anniversary: Darrell and Suzy Durham, Juanita and Buddy Bridges, Sherry and Gary Rush.

My daughter Julie Jumper-Morris recommended a concentrated Medina Orange Oil to kill ants, mosquitoes, fleas, white flies, etc. I called several places in Lufkin and had no luck. I called John Ralph Pouland at the Everything Store and he ordered it for me.

Barb Flournoy had a telephone call with Jordan Flornoy who is in London on a Blackstone Fellowship. He told her after settling in to his small but nice room, shared with another intern, at Goodenough College in central London, Jordan and the other London interns met Jordan's friend, Katie, a Michigan law student also working in London, for dinner. Then they did some errands, and Jordan finally crashed after being up for 40 hours…plane trip, etc. He said he slept for twelve straight hours. Sunday he walked 45 minutes each way to an Anglican church, which, he said, had a good message and excellent organ music. Then he had a picnic at the park across the street from his residence followed by a several hours walk along the Thames River in 70-degree weather.

The Rev. Mike and Enid Hunter's daughter Cameron Hunter is engaged to Jessie Seale of Huntsville. He will graduate from Sam Houston State University in August with a construction management degree. Cameron will graduate in December with her kinesiology degree. The wedding is set for Jan. 3 at the First Christian Church.

The Lufkin State School is putting together activity centers for each home and is having trouble finding enough items to purchase locally. Please consider donating (through Volunteer Services) used DVDs and/or CDs that you've put away and never use. They need: DVDs: Exercise (all types), Comedy, Westerns, Sports, Animals, Travel, Wrestling, and Car Racing. CDs - Music (all types), Instrumental, Relaxation.

Drop them off at Volunteer Services and let them know that they are for the activity centers. You can contact Barbara Draper at 853-2759 ext 8390 or Lynn Hopper at 853-2759 or lynn.hopper@ dads.state.tx.us

Gay and John Ippolito joined John's mother, two sisters and niece within a group of 26 on a 12-day cruise of islands and ports of Greece and Italy. The cruise followed a visit to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and ended in Rome. Islands and ports visited were Delos, Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini of Greece, the island of Malta, then Taormina, Sicily, followed by Sorrento, Amalfi, Livorno (Florence and Pisa) and Portofino, Italy. Another port visited was Monte Carlo, Monaco.

John's grandfather moved from Salaparuta, Sicily, to Port Arthur in 1909. As a professional archeologist, John enjoyed the abundance of ruins, which tell the story of ancient Greek and Roman history, while Gay savored the many great photo opportunities.

Catch you around town. Janice Ann email: roweja@suddenlink.net