, , The District 20-3A playoff picture is complete and for the first time in five years, the Mexia Blackcats are a part of it.Despite losing to Franklin, 4-0, in the final regular-season game at Blackcat Field on Tuesday, April 23, Mexia will enter the postseaso as the fourth seed from the district.The 'Cats finished with an 8-6 record in district and are 13-10 overall.Mexia will play District 19-3A champion Troy in bi-district. Details of the matchup were not set at press time. Troy was 13-0 in district play entering its regular-season finale against Rogers on Friday, April 26. The...

While Mexia’s sprint relay teams excelled this season, with the 4x200 quartet barely missing a state qualification, the junior high runners were scampering as fast as they could in an attempt to keep up with their high school counterparts. Mexia track coach Evan Simpson said the junior high’s 4x100 team set a school record that has stood for two decades and a number of other athletes made significant improvement in their times and distances over the course of the season. Simpson said the 4x100 team set the new standard with a time of 46.03 seconds at the final meet before district....

The Mexia baseball team ended a five-year playoff drought with a 6-1 victory at Palestine Westwood on Friday, April 19.The win improved Mexia's District 20-3A record to 8-5 and put them in a third-place tie with Fairfield with one game remaining. Westwood dropped to 7-6, one game behind Mexia. But the Blackcats hold the tiebreaker, having beaten Westwood in both their district meetings.Senior four-year starter Hunter Murphy has been the ace of the Blackcat pitching staff since he stepped onto the field as a freshman. In the most important game of his career, Murphy gave a sterling performance.The right-hander fired...

The Groesbeck Auction & LivestoThe Groesbeck Auction & Livestock Company held its weekly livestock auction sale on April 11. The sale is held each Thursday beginning at noon. Sellers 35 and 35 buyers. Head Count 191. The market report from last week’s sale is given below: Packer Cows: $70 - $144 Packer Bulls: $80 - $160 Thin Cows: $75 - $85 STOCKER COWS: Young Bred Cows: $1000 - $2350 Older Plain Bred Cows: $450 - $700 Good Choice Pair: $1400 - $3400 Older and Plainer Pair: $800 - $1400 STOCKER & FEEDERS & YEARLINGS STEERS GOOD AND CHOICE: 300-400 lbs: $260...

Yesterday morning, Saturday, I had a pleasant experience happen to me that hadn’t happened in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need this experience every day, nor am I somebody who thinks he’s “somebody” that everyone else needs to recognize, but it was just something that happened that used to happen quite often when I was a pastor of a church. Let me explain. One of the smaller churches in our area, one that is out on the highway, was doing what Baptist churches call, “canvassing the neighborhood” in hopes of encouraging folks who aren’t involved in any...

  Early voting for the Saturday, May 4, municipal and school board election kicks off Monday, April 22. There will be contested races in Mexia ISD and the City of Coolidge. In Mexia ISD, incumbent Trustee Jackie Craig will be opposed by John Schaefer for Place 6. Incumbent Trustee Ron Fowler will be opposed by Keith Smith and Lyle DuBus. Early voting will take place at Mexia ISD Administration Building at 616 N. Red River St. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22-26 and April 29-30. On Saturday, May 4, voting will take place 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Mexia Civic Center, 101 S. McKinney St. In the City of Coolidge incumbent Mayor Tonia Bruckner will be challenged by Jay John McClinton and Richard Green. Incumbent Councilwoman Ami Bauer will be competing for two open seats against Terri Shirley, Curtis Kaloi and Ann Nelson. Early voting will take place at Coolidge Civic Center, 806 Bell St. April 22-26 and April 29-30 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday, May 4, voting will take place 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Coolidge Civic Center, 806 Bell St.    

, In a battle for second place in District 20-3A, Groesbeck snapped a tie with four runs in the sixth inning and held off a Mexia rally in the bottom of the seventh to claim an 8-6 victory at Blackcat Field on Tuesday, April 16.The Blackcats scored two runs in the home half of the seventh and left the potential tying run on base.With the victory, Groesbeck takes sole possession of second place in the district with an 8-4 record. Mexia dropped to 7-5 and is in a three-way tie for third place with Fairfield and Palestine Westwood. Only two...

Some call Texas the Lone Star State. I like to call it “Big Bass Central.” An army of giant bass have been caught in Texas over the years. At last count, more than 90 Lone Star reservoirs had produced lake records weighing 13 pounds or more. The biggest bass are always females. Fisheries experts have told me a mature female bass with egg-swollen ovaries will weigh about 10 percent heavier than it will weigh without. A fish could weigh considerably more if caught soon after dining on a 1 1/2-pound crappie or fat gizzard shad. It happens. Former Toyota Share-Lunker caretaker and Texas...

The Mexia softball team lost to Elkhart, 180, in a District 20-3A game at Mexia on Monday, April 15. The contest was postponed last week due to inclement weather. Elkhart scored two runs in the first inning and erupted for 11 in the second inning. They tacked on five runs in the third inning. The game was stopped after three innings due to the 15-run mercy rule. Valerie Garcia and Daizy Fuentes each had a single to account for Mexia’s two hits in the game. Mexia was scheduled to host Groesbeck on Tuesday. The Ladycats will return to action Friday, April 19, wen...

, Seven Blackcats and one Ladycat qualified for the Region III-3A track meet with their performances at the area meet at Mc-Gregor on Friday, April 12. The regional meet will be Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, at Waco Midway. The top four finishers in each event at the area meet moved on to the regional meet. The top two in each event at the regional meet qualify for the UIL State Track & Field Championships scheduled for Thursday, May 2, at Mike Myers Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin. Draylon Lee qualified in three events for the Blackcats. The senior finished second...

Tehuacana City Council approved a drought contingency plan at its Thursday, April 11, meeting. Mayor Janis Johnson said the plan lays out the steps the city will take in case of another drought. “We didn’t have one in place that was sufficient,” she said. “If our water gets low it outlines how we will handle that.” Johnson said the plan is based on Bistone Municipal Water Supply guidelines. “We will cut back certain amounts on certain days,” she said as an example of the steps. The mayor added she does not anticipate needing such measures anytime soon. “We’re in fairly good shape,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of rain recently. I’ve still got puddles in my front yard.” In one other action, the council approved the hiring of Lynda Mitchell and Kerrie Danner at $100 each for working the May 4 election. “It was a short meeting,” Johnson said. “We were in and out in 30 minutes.”

In the midst of a hotly contested playoff race, the Mexia baseball team scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to slip past Buffalo, 5-4, in a District 20-3A game at Buffalo on Friday, April 12. They scored a 9-4 decision at Elkhart on Monday, April 15, in a game that has been postponed last week due to inclement weather. With the victories, the Blackcats are 7-4 in district and tied with Groesbeck for second place. The two teams were slated to play at Mexia on Tuesday. Fairfield and Palestine Westwood are a game behind, tied for fourth place...

The Wortham baseball team was shut out by Riesel, 11-0, in a District 162A game at Wortham on Friday, April 12. The game was stopped after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. Riesel scored two runs in each of the first and fourth innings and erupted for seven in the third inning. Wortham’s only hit was a leadoff single by Cash Perez in the fourth inning. But he was left on base after two strikeouts and a groundout. Jon Ross Black started and took the loss for Wortham, which committed seven errors. He pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits...

Mexia City Council granted requests from the Cindy Walker Foundation for hotel/motel occupancy tax funding at its Monday, April 15, meeting to restore the deceased Country and Western songwriter’s Mexia home and to stage a Cindy Walker Day event July 20. The grants totaled $53,500 with $15,000 going to the Brook Street home restoration as a 1962-era museum and $38,500 for the fete at The Cowboy Club on the anniversary of Walker’s birthday. If she were alive today, Walker, who died in 2006 would be 107 on her birthday. Foundation Executive Director Lindsay Liepman said the $15,000 grant would be used to...

Coolidge City Council resumed routine business at its Wednesday, April10, meeting — a sharp contrast to last month’s showdown between the mayor and several council members. No mention was made of the council voting last month by 3 to 2 with one member abstaining to seize Mayor Tonia Bruckner’s City Hall keys after a council member showed a video of her and a companion rummaging through the city secretary’s office after hours. In action items on the April agenda, the council: • Tabled two items related to a resident’s moving a mobile home into the city after she texted the mayor that she...

Limestone County Judge Patrick H. Simmons sentenced Groesbeck resident Brent Favors, 27, to 45 years in prison April 9. A jury in the 77th State District Court found Favors guilty March 14 after a four-day trial. Prosecuters Beth Toben and Jeff Janes called approximately 15 witnesses, including the child victim, who was 6 years old at the time of the abuse; her mother; and her grandmother. Favors was living with the child and her mother, whom he met on social media in 2020, when the abuse took place in 2021 and 2022. The mother became suspicious when she found pornography on Favor’s...

DEVOTION I found this moving story and wanted to share it. Charles Plum, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a Communist prisoner- of-war camp. He was released years later, following his repatriation, Plumb continued his Navy flying career in Reserve Squadron. He retired from the United States Navy with the rank of captain after 31 years of service. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant,...

The Wortham softball team scored a pair of big victories in District 16-2A action last week. The Lady Bulldogs routed Avalon, 18-2, on Friday, April 5, after shutting out Coolidge, 19-0, on Tuesday, April 2. The win at Avalon on Friday was stopped after three innings due to the 15-run mercy rule. Wortham scored six runs in the first inning, eight in the second and four in the third. Avalon managed single runs in the first and third innings. Katelynn Spain and Megan Cryer combined on a no-hitter. Each allowed an unearned run. Spain pitched two innings and walked one and struck out two....

The Wortham baseball team swept two games from Dawson last week and improved its District 16-2A record to 5-3. The Bulldogs romped to an 11 -1 win in Wortham on Tuesday, April 2, and notched a 6-4 decision at Dawson on Friday, April 5. Wortham scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-2 lead and held off a Dawson rally in the bottom of the seventh. Wortham took an early lead with one run in the top of the first. The Bulldogs added two in the top of the fifth, but Dawson matched that pair in the...

It was the third day after His crucifixion and Jesus was dead, or so they thought. Friday was the day that Jesus had entered into the city of Jeru-salem upon a donkey, the foal of a donkey. People were cheering and laying down palm leaves and spreading quilts and blankets on the ground for Him to ride over. Well was it a good day, and the reason why we call it “Good Friday”. But before that day was over, good was changed to bad, joy was changed to evil, and Jesus was brought before the religious offi-cials, the High Council...