All Around Lufkin

The Mosaic Center is busy planning Family Fun Day at Ratcliff Lake on June 20 for their graduates and their families from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. They have had a good response and have about 60 graduates and family members and 40 volunteers attending! They still have some needs for the event and hope you can help. Money: $20 for scholarships; prizes for children such as toys, stuffed animals, teenager gifts, gift cards to Wal-Mart and Target and the movies; Volunteers for birdhouse building booth (fasten together and paint, set up and clean up station); need paint sponges, paint brushes, drop clothes, bug spray, sun tan lotion; photographers; washer pit and washers (to lend for the event). Please e-mail Kitty Bounds at kittybounds@consolidated. net or Jennifer Eubank at jennifereubank@ consolidated.net if you have any gifts or can donate any thing that they need from the list. I took some gifts by to Cindy Hammond at Body In Sync on Frank Street. There will be games, nature walks, hamburgers and hotdogs. The purpose is to show that families have places to go in our area to have fun without spending much money.

Happy Birthday: Craig Teer, Steve New, Linda Poland, Carmen Angeline Perez, Bill Trout, Rachel Kennerly, Bettie Powell, John Ippolito, "Sister" Henderson, Stacey Willmann, Ken Reeves, Dyan Arnold, Mary Jule Baggett, Annon Card, Lee Friesen, Joy Fredrick, Martha Carswell, Amy Corley, Lynn Pavlic, Nina Powell.

Happy Anniversary: Kathy and David Burris, Theresa and Taylor McKewen, Patsy and Dennis Hopper, Sandra and Wyatt Leinart, Karla and Stephen Yates, Barbara and Dan Carter.

Our special thanks go to the parents of LHS 2009 baseball players: seniors - Zach Marberry -Cathy and Rick Marberry; Seth Thompson -Dana Thompson and Michael Thompson; J. P. Clifton - Debbie and Paul Clifton; Chase Greening - Tammy and Jimmy Citty and Gary Greening; Tim Tang - Dary and Tek Tang; Calvin Henson - Kathi White and Calvin Henson; Corey Lyles - Michelle and Ronnie Lyles; Tin Enriquez - Meli and Augustin Enriquez; Ryan Nicholas - Lisa and Craig Nicholas; Trent Collins - Kathy and DeWayne Collins; Colby Keeling - Beth and Gary Keeling; juniors: Stuart Hogue - Sally & Steve Hogue; Wes Taylor - Cinda and Randal Taylor; Eddy Duron - Marissa and Francisco Duron; Brian Roy - Tana and Kevin Roy; Brian Porter - Susie and Melvin Porter; Luis DeJesus - Gloria and Alberto DeJesus; Carrington Byndom - C. D. and Kathy Byndom; Tito Enriquez - Maria and Todd Belschner; Michael Conlin - Brenda and Bryan Conlin; Dustin Myers - Karla and Larry Myers; Sophomores: Chase Sorrell - Sandra Sorrell and Gary Sorrell; Gandy Stubblefield -Lisa and Gandy Stubblefield; Colton Wynne - Darla and Kennith Wynne; Kentrell Smith - Michelle Mark; Taylor Hudgens - Katherine and Tom Hudgens; Cole Caraway - Anita and Chris Caraway; Chris White - Jennifer and Clayton White and student trainer senior Jackson Nowlin - Holly and Jim Wehmeier. Also we want to recognize the coaches and their families: Clay Berry, head coach; Jeff Cook, assistant varsity coach; assistant coaches John Cobb, Riley Fincher, and Todd Foley. Mike "Doc" Waters is the trainer.

We were at the play off game against Pearland. It was just 103 degrees at Dell Diamond. The team played 11 innings before Luis DeJesus hit a walk off home run to break the tie. The crowd really was into the game. Purple was everywhere and they were loud. Joetta and Cecil Roach had come from Tyler. They let me sit in the shade with them. Karla and Amy Yates, Kyle Langford, Terry Elliott and Ernest stayed in the sun. I chickened out and went to the shade two times. We ate at the Salt Lick Barbecue that is new at the corner near Dell Diamond.

Friday night we met Diane Dunbar and her parents Bernice and Tommy Dorsey at the Monument Café in Georgetown. Bernice was a friend with the mother of the waiter Mark that worked at the café. All of their food is home grown and fresh.

Saturday morning we went to Dell Diamond early to get a seat in the shade. The El Paso Socorro Bulldogs were there too. The KYBI radio crew of Gary Ivins and W.A. Dempsey said that the Mayor of El Paso had rented city buses and charged the fans $20 to go to the game. The radio crew also said that there were 2500 at the game on Friday and almost 400 were listening over the Internet at www.yatesmedia.com. Thanks to Stephen Yates for having this available to the Panther fans around the country. I know that the crowd was larger on Saturday. A lady from El Paso told Ernest that she had not driven 12 hours to lose!!! And they did not. They had a good team and the Lufkin Panthers can say that they were the runner up in the 5A State finals in Round Rock.

These young men are to be praised for their performance in representing Lufkin. We are proud of them. Go Panthers!!!!

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