News

By Bobby Horn Jr.

news@casscountynow.com

CASS COUNTY—Opponents of the Texarkana College annexation of Eastern Cass County won a resounding victory on Election Night, with voters rejecting the proposition by a 7,251 (or 78 percent) to 1,965 vote. This represented 99 percent of votes cast. The Cass County Clerk’s office had not tallied provisional ballots as of press time.

Texarkana College attempted to annex the boundaries of Atlanta, Queen City, Bloomburg, McLeod and Linden-Kildare School districts into their taxing district.

If the measure had passed, those living within the school districts would have been exempt from paying out-of-district fees.

However, over the last few months a group of voters who opposed raising property taxes became more vocal.

This anti-property tax increase sentiment also made its way into Linden.

Linden school bonds defeated

By Stephen Jones
sjones@casscountynow.com

By Tim Emmons
temmons@casscountynow.com

From Staff Reports

By Bobby Horn Jr.
news@casscountynow.com

From Staff Reports

From Staff Reports

By Bobby Horn Jr.
news@casscountynow.com

The after-school Junior Master Gardener (JMG) program is underway at the Atlanta Elementary School. Fifty-five students representing grades two through four participate in the gardening classes one day each on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday respectively. 
“We are so excited to offer the Junior Master Gardener program again this school year at AES,” said Principal Todd Marshall. “Our students who participate in the program gain new educational experiences each week. We appreciate Mr. Brown’s hard work and time in continuing our JMG program to benefit our students’ learning.”
According to Larry Brown, AES JMG Coordinator, because of the abundance of rain early in the summer, the raised bed gardens at the school are still producing banana peppers, onions, okra, lettuce, kale, and Swiss chard.  Radishes and carrots are growing with hopes that there will be a harvest before the winter overtakes the area. 
The knowledge of gardening doesn’t stop outdoors. 

In an attempt to make Queen City school zones a safer place, the Queen City Police Department will be monitoring and enforcing violations of cell phone laws with school zones.
Queen City has posted signs alerting citizens that cell phone use while driving within school zones is prohibited.
Law enforcement officials say misuse of electronics such as texting while driving, dialing while driving and even texting while in school drop-off and pick-up lines is very dangerous and presents a hazard not only to children but also to adults and property.
Driving while distracted is a real threat to safety. A large percentage of traffic-related accidents and deaths are caused by motorists who are driving while distracted. These accidents include texting, dialing, using sites such as YouTube, Facebook, taking photos and video recording.
Fines for driving while using a cell phone in a school zone can be as much as $500.