Cooke Co. Conservatives meet Saturday, Monday
May 11—The Cooke County Conservatives group will tackle property taxes with programs Saturday and Monday at the Fold in Gainesville.
Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m. to noon, and Monday, May 15, 7 to 8:30 p.m. will be a two-day property-tax bash hosted by Cooke County Conservatives at The Fold of Grand Avenue Church in Gainesville.
Corsicana city councilman and real estate advisor Chris Woolsey will present a Saturday morning seminar, 10 a.m.-noon, on reducing property tax appraisals and rates, as well as information on how property taxes can be eliminated.
Monday evening, Cooke County Chief Appraiser Doug Smithson will explain Monday the entire property tax system and procedure in detail, taking questions as he goes. That program will begin at 7 p.m.
For more information, see www.CookeConservatives.com. The Fold is located at 630 N. Grand Ave. in Gainesville.
Choir, Bible study at First Presbyterian
Sunday worship service is at 10:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Gainesville.
Choir practice is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Session meets at 5 p.m and Reflections Circle meets at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Bible Study with Dr. Vivian Thomlinson is at 10 a.m. in the Parlor on Friday.
The church is at Denton and Church streets. For more information, leave a message at 940-665-5153 or email fpcgaines@sbcglobal.net.
Yard Sale deadline next week for vendors
The Red River Valley Tourism Association (RRVTA) has announced the HWY 82/287 Yard Sale, set for June 3-4 across the valley.
In the Red River Valley area, participating communities will have yard sales, garage sales, sidewalk sales, farmer's markets and flea markets covering 425 miles of the U.S. 82 and Highway 287 corridors. In Cooke County, the local chambers of Muenster, Gainesville, Lindsay and Saint Jo are all participating in the two-day event. Local vendors have until May 21 to apply with their local chamber of commerce.
Participating towns will have maps available guiding shoppers to the special sales throughout their communities. Gainesville's sale will be staged at the Cooke County Fairgrounds. Some towns will have yard sales set up at a central location, while others may have them spread throughout the community and showcase their downtown merchants or their flea markets/trade days. All sales are cash-only, according to organizers.Visit www.redrivervalley.info for information.
Gainesville ISD announces summer food program
Gainesville ISD will offer its Summer Food Service Program again this year.
Meals will be provided, first come first served, at no cost to school-aged students.
They will be available at the following sites:
—Edison Elementary, Monday through Thursday (starting May 31-June 29) — breakfast 7:30-8:30 a.m. and lunch 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.;
—Gainesville High School, Monday through Thursday (May 31-July 20) — breakfast 7:30-8:30 a.m. and lunch 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.;
—Cooke County Library, Wednesdays only (June 7-July 19) — lunch 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.;
—Woodglen Apartments, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (June 5-July 20) — 10:45-11:10 a.m.;
—Lexington Square Apartments, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (June 5-July 20) — 11:25-11:50 a.m.;
—Sunset Village, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (June 5-July 20) — noon-12:25 p.m.
There will be no food service the week of July 3 in observance of the Independence Day holiday.
Chamber warns of map scam
The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce is aware that members are being contacted by a company calling itself "X-Treme Marketing" claiming to be reselling advertising on maps for the City of Gainesville and Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
"The Chamber does produce maps with ads, but businesses would be notified by chamber staff first if we were in the process of collecting information for that publication," Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennifer Shumate stated. "The chamber is not currently producing a new map, nor are we working with this company."
The chamber urges businesses to treat the calls and emails as suspicious and fraudulent.
$10K grants available to women business owners
The Center for Women Entrepreneurs (CWE), a program of the Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership at Texas Woman's University, will begin accepting applications for its Texas Rural Woman Grant on May 15.
Thirty-five, $10,000 grants for a total of $350,000 will be awarded to qualified Texas rural women who have been in business for at least three years.
A completed online application must be submitted before 5 p.m. June 9. Winners will be announced on June 26.
Awardees will meet with a small-business advisor as well as complete a virtual training course hosted by the center to receive funding. The course will cover topics related to financial growth, business development and marketing.
For more information, FAQs or to apply, visit the Texas Rural Grant website.
Library closed Memorial Day weekend
The Cooke County Library will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday — on Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29. It will open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 30 with regular hours.
Patrons can still access eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, magazines and music by visiting http://cookecountylibrary.org/. Click the "eLibrary" tab, and then click on the eBooks, Downloadable Audiobooks, eMagazines, Languages and Music headers to learn more details on each of these services.
