Rainbow photos, unfortunately, don't always look so awesome when they print in the newspaper - especially if they are printed in black and white.

So I wanted to share a couple of rainbow photos that were submitted by readers on Aug. 31.

This first rainbow picture was taken by Cheryle Evans.




This rainbow photo below was taken by Tammy Campos.

One of the favorite things I enjoy covering for the Herald-Press is festivals - especially the small-town festivals. There's something about going to a community, talking with the people you know, seeing all of the crafts made by people like you and me, and supporting a good cause, like a local community center.

Both Neches and Montalba have festivals each year that fit in this group. While Neches hold its annual Neches Heritage Day festival the first weekend in May, the Montalba Fall Festival is held in the fall on the last Saturday in September (Sept. 25 this year) on the Montalba Community Center grounds on Texas 19.

The Montalba Fall Festival organizers are gearing up for their festival and especially want to get the word out about the arts & crafts vendor spaces that are available. Booths are 10x10 feet. Booth spaces are $20 a booth until Sept. 22. Late entries will cost $25. To reserve a booth or for more information, call Christy Woolverton 903-549-3462 or email christyw79@aol.com.

The festival, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will start with a parade at 10 a.m. Other activities will include a children's pet contest, live auction, arts and crafts, exhibit show, chocolate pie contest, a men's cake baking contest (really good entries last year!) and more. The winning pie and cake will be auctioned at the live auction. All proceeds go directly to the Montalba Community Center & Volunteer Fire Department. For more information contact Jill Hamil at 903-549-2384.

As always, the Montalba Volunteer Fire Department will be selling barbecue dinners and stuffed potato plates as a fund-raiser. Meals include a drink and homemade desserts. For more information, call Cookie Wilbanks at 903-549-2537.

For the exhibit show, categories will include produce, home canning, arts, crafts, & needlework with many classes in each category. There also will be a special “youth section” for the youngsters to show the things they have accomplished this past year. Everyone welcome. Guidelines and show times may be obtained by calling Lucia Gramme at 903-549-2181.

The ladies from the Montalba Community Improvement Association have handcrafted a queen-sized quilt to be given away in a drawing during the festival. This has been the association's main fundraiser for over 40 years. Donations are $2 eachor three for $5. Purchase these the day of the festival, or in advance at Montalba General Store and area banks including Capital One Bank on the loop in Palestine. You need not be present to win. Call 903-549-2384 with questions about the quilt drawing.

Phillip Davis submitted this photo of a giant snowman made by family and friends in the Bridgesville community near Elkhart Tuesday after the Anderson County area received its second snowfall this month. The tallest man in the photo is 6 feet 2 inches tall, which makes the snowman about 10 feet tall.

More snow photos can be found on the Palestine Herald-Press Photo Gallery.

The 72nd Annual Dogwood Trails Celebration in 2010 will be held in Palestine the last two weekends in March and the first weekend in April.

The Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce has the Dogwood Trails Celebration brochure available in on its website, if you want to take a sneak-peek of the upcoming events (or click the logo to the left to download it!).

It looks like there is something for everyone during the three weekends — Dogwood Trails Parade, Palestine Community Theatre's production of "Little Women," the Old-Time Music & Dulcimer Festival, tours of historic homes, "gingerbread and coffee" at the historic Pilgrim Church, the "Gatherin' Steam Dogwood Bicycle Ride, events at the Texas State Railroad and a lot more!

You can find entry forms for several events including the parade and the bike ride on the Forms section of the Chamber website.

This is a video taken at the Spirit of Mardi Gras fund-raiser held Jan. 27 at St. Philip's Episocopal Church. In the video, Episcopal Church Women member Mary Kolstad explains how the fund-raiser has changed over the years from chili to jambalaya.

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While working on contest entries for the Associated Press Managing Editors competition for newspapers, I did a search on the Palestine Herald-Press website for stories I had written in 2009. At the time, I didn't think I had very many stories "worthy" of the contest, but upon looking back, I came up with a few gems (in my opinion).

Now, it necessarily wasn't my writing that made these stories special to me, but more the subject matter I was given to write about. These are stories that truly touched my heart. Click the links below to read the stories.



Here's a look at my favorite stories I wrote in 2009 that I am especially proud of:

• “Journey for a Cure” — This is a story about a California family (Bill and Victoria Strong) stopping in Palestine, Texas on their 5,000 mile journey across the country to raise awareness for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) which has crippled their 20-month-old daughter Gwendolyn. The family details the extensive care necessary just to keep their daughter alive while informing the public about this devastating illness. Before the end of the journey, the family introduced their daughter for the first time to her 104-year-old grandfather in Mississippi (a Palestine native).

• “Every 15 Minutes” — This is a feature about the "Every 15 Minutes" program designed to teach teens about the dangers of drunk driving. Using an intense, interactive “mock accident scene” and sobering program Every 15 Minutes stresses the shocking statistics that one teen dies in the United States every 15 minutes due to an alcohol-related wreck.



• “Keeping Hope Alive” — This is the story about a woman who has not given up hope despite the fact that her 19-year-old son has been missing for four years. After the case turned cold, this mother committed herself and her efforts to reopen the investigation into her son's disappearance.

• “Birdwell Talks About Surviving Pentagon Attack on 9/11” — This story is a feature on Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian Birdwell, who spoke to the Palestine Independent School District faculty about his horrific experience during the attack on the Pentagon on 9/11. Birdwell was in the Pentagon when the plane crashed into the building. In his speech,the visibly scarred veteran describes his emotions then and now. Birdwell endured 39 operations over a four-year period for the burns he received on that day. He and his wife founded Face the Fire Ministries Inc., which was established to assist burn survivors and wounded servicemen and women and their families.

• “Competition helps woman find strength to battle cancer” — This is a story about Mimi Burch, a woman who drew strength from her horse-riding competition to get her through the darkest days of her breast cancer treatments. A week after finishing her radiation therapy, Burch competed in a five-state competition not expecting to win, but to show that she wasn't going to let cancer take over her life. She won the competition.

Courtesy Photo: Bill and Victoria Strong try to cherish every moment they have with their daughter Gwendolyn, who suffers from SMA, Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Gwendolyn turned 2 years old in October, a major milestone for a child with SMA. Keep updated about the Strong Family on the GwendolynStrong.com website.

—— Cheril Vernon, Community Editor, Palestine Herald-Press

I am happy to report that the Yorkie named Teddy lost on CR 404 is safely back at home!

I had mentioned the little dog in a blog post about the Lost Tails website which posts photos of lost and found pets in the area.

With the help of some family friends, the owners found the little Yorkie stuck in some brush way back on their property. Besides being dirty, hungry and thirsty, the Yorkie is doing fine! This is a miracle because the dog had been gone for a few days and could have easily have been a target for a larger animal.

If you have ever had to scour the neighborhood looking for a lost pet, you know the horrible feeling of not being able to find your beloved pet. This happens every day in Palestine.

While putting up signs, calling and visiting the animal shelter and looking for your pet are the best things you can do, Palestine also has a fairly new website for lost and found pets.

This website Lost Tails posts pictures and information about missing and found pets in the Palestine area.

The idea is that if you find a pet, you can check this website to see if someone is looking for it, cutting down the time this pet has to spend without his/her family, especially before this pet is taken to the animal shelter. And if your pet goes missing, this website will provide you a place to post a picture and information that may help someone identify a pet they see that appears to be lost.

This Yorkie is the newest missing pet on the Lost Tails website, posted today. This adorable dog disappeared from his home on County Road 404, close to CR 403. Please call Joyce at 903-729-1521 if you see him.

On the "found" side, there is a cute Pug that was found on Jan. 1 on Loop 256 near the Aramadillo store. Maybe you know where this pet lives.


Be sure to visit Lost Tails often to see if you recognize any pets on the site. Some of these pets have medical conditions and need to be returned to home for proper care.

It's that time of the year when were are waiting for our W-2s to see if we are going to pay Uncle Sam or get money back on our taxes this year.

In Palestine, AARP Tax-Aide volunteers will be offering free tax return preparation starting Feb. 3 in Palestine.

AARP Tax-Aide volunteers will be available on Wednesdays and Fridays, Feb. 3 through April 14, at the Meals on Wheel of Palestine Senior Activity Center, 200 N. Church St.

All low- and medium-income taxpayers are welcome to participate in the free service.

Those wanting help should bring their 2008 tax return, all W2s and 1099s as well as Social Security and ITIN cards for each member of the family.