athens review

By Chad WilsonSTAFF WRITER

In an effort to restore thebody of Christ back to itsfirst love and to promotethe coming together ofchurches from all denomi-nations, First LoveMinistries will be hosting acounty-wide prayer on thesquare Saturday, Oct. 29 at

the Athens courthouse.Led by First Love

Ministries founders Davidand Jeannie Pearce, theevent will begin at 11 a.m.on the west side of the cour-thouse and last until the fi-nal prayer is spoken.

Pastors from churchesall over the county havejoined in the effort and will

have specific prayer re-quests Saturday beforewhat is expected to be avery large gathering.

“The Lord told me amonth and a half ago tostart getting the churchestogether and talking tothem about a prayer on the

By Chad WilsonSTAFF WRITER

Each day more than 330people benefit from thefunds donated to theHenderson County UnitedWay.

How?Through the dedicated

service of Meals of WheelsMinistry, Inc.

Meals on Wheels hasserved the senior citizensof East Texas since 1973.From its humble begin-nings in Tyler, serving 14people per day, this charita-ble work has growntremendously and nowreaches six counties and 55communities daily. Justlast year, over 1 millionmeals were served byMeals on Wheels.

The operation expandedto Henderson County in1996 and in the 2011 fiscalyear the program hasserved 82,576 meals.

“We cover six countiesacross East Texas and arethe sixth largest meals on

wheels program in thestate. We serve within 100meals of the Austin Mealson Wheels program,”Director of Developmentand Public RelationsRachel Hat said. “We cannot do this without the sup-port of the United Way. Thesupporters of the UnitedWay make this mission pos-sible.”

The program is one of 26agencies supported by theHenderson County UnitedWay and its push to raise$189,000 during the 2011-12campaign.

“We believe that people'sindependence, nutrition

Vol. 111 No. 82© 2011

Athens Daily Review

Bible Verse“If my people, who are called by my

name, will humble themselves and pray andseek my face and turn from their wickedways, then I will hear from heaven, and I willforgive their sin and will heal their land.

— 2 Chronicles 7:14

Insidewww.athensreview.comBreaking News, Sports,Classifieds and More.

FEMA is ready to help HendersonCounty residents who were effected bythe wildfires. The state and federalagents will only be in the area untilWednesday. Don’t miss out. H88 L65

50 centsTUESDAY, October 25, 2011 Serving Henderson County

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KATHI NAILLING/ATHENS REVIEW

Mothers Against Drunk Driving held a 5K walk in Gun Barrel City Saturday. 'Walk Like MADD' walk was held in honorand in memory of people who were killed or injured in drunk driving accidents.

Part of a series highlighting the 26agencies supported by the United Way.

A time to prayArea churches to gather at courthouse Saturday

Regional repeatFormer Eustace principal named outstanding

By Rich FlowersNEWS EDITOR

The welcome rain that came toHenderson County over the weekendwas a drop in the bucket compared withthe amount needed to make up theshortfall caused by the ongoingdrought. Well, maybe, a few drops in thebucket.

The National Weather Service report-ed that Athens received .59 inches ofrain from the storm system that camethrough the area before dawn Sunday.That coupled with the .81 inches record-ed Oct. 18, makes October the wettestmonth since June. There looks to bemore on the way, NWS Meteorologist,Jason Dunn said.

“The system that comes throughThursday could bring decent rain,”Dunn said. “Beyond that, it doesn’t look

See RAIN, Page 3A

A drop in the bucketMore rain needed

to end drought

Reaching hundredsMeals on Wheels reaching

seniors across county

See WHEELS, Page 12A

Brownsboro man sentencedBy Chad Wilson

STAFF WRITER

A Brownsboro businessman whopleaded guilty to conspiring with aNew Orleans police captain to de-fraud the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency in a kickbackscheme was sentenced to five yearsin prison Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbieralso on Thursday ordered 38-year-old Joseph “Joey” Branch, ofBrownsboro, to pay a $50,000 fine

within 30 days.The five-year imprisonment is the

maximum sentence he could receivewhile he could have been fined up to$250,000.

According to the factual basis forthe case issued by U.S. Attorney JimLetten, Branch was owner ofGladius Inc., a security service locat-ed on State Highway 31 inBrownsboro.

He and Michael Roussel, a NewOrleans Police Captain, met with a

cooperating witness, and signed acontract, wherein Gladius, Inc.would provide armed guards toEntergy after a hurricane.

The hourly rate charged byGladius to the company, would be in-flated by about $15 per hour perguard to cover payments to the de-fendants.

The information released by thecourt said Branch further admitted

See BRANCH, Page 12A

TONI GARRARD CLAY PHOTO

New baby Relyk Pritchett has the distinction of being the first baby bornin one of ETMC Athens' spacious new LDRP rooms. The Labor, Delivery,Recovery and Postpartum rooms allow for mothers, in most cases, tospend their entire stay in a single room. Relyk was born Oct. 19. Picturedwith him are his parents, Josh and Michelle Pritchett of Mabank with bigbrother Kyler and Dr. Teri Baumgartner (far left), who delivered Relyk.

AAllll tthhiinnggss nneeww

See PRAY, Page 12A See EUSTACE, Page 12A

By Art LawlerSTAFF WRITER

EUSTACE – Former Middle School Principal KarenMullin, who was removed from that role a few weeksprior to the end of the 2010-2011 school-year, has been se-lected to represent the Texas Association of SecondarySchool Principals as a Region 7 Outstanding Principalof the year.

It's the second time the former Eustace middle school

Karen Mullin

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