There is a new principal coming to Lindale's intermediate school. Former Lindale Independent School District superintendent Barbara Wilson has been named E.J. Moss Intermediate School’s interim principal. Wilson will begin her duties on December 7. She will continue her interim role until the end of the school year.

Mrs. Wilson temporarily replaces Mike Griffin who announced his retirement in October. Mr. Griffin served the district for a total of 16 years as principal.

It took a Wood County jury more than two hours to find William Isaacs not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Tuesday afternoon. Testimony in the trail began at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning and the court sent the case to the jurors.

The jury sent out two notes during deliberations asking about their instructions.

Winnsboro police say they have seen an increase in counterfeit money being used at local businesses. Lt. Andy Chester says two Winnsboro businesses have received fake ten-dollar and twenty-dollar bills during last weekend alone.

Officers describe the suspects in the cases as two black females, possibly traveling in a gold or tan Chevrolet or Saturn car. The counterfeit bills discovered so far have had identical serial numbers.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Many of us will be traveling to the homes of kinfolk or friends for the celebration. A safe journey and arrival are, of course, the primary considerations. We need also to keep in mind that we need to protect our environment on the journey. Food wrappers, drink containers and other associated articles should be kept in the vehicle and disposed of properly.

Tobacco users should be mindful that disposal of the product they use must comply with proper disposal of said products. If this statement generates a “huh?,” I will elaborate. Cigarette butts must be disposed of properly. Likewise “spit cups” must be properly discarded. The offense that is often referred to as littering is actually illegal dumping. A person who tosses a cigarette butt out the vehicle window commits an offense.

A Canton man died Saturday afternoon, after his vehicle ran off the road.

The man, 33-year-old Burke Warren Lewis, was driving west on FM-1255 when his Jeep ran off the road and hit an embankment and was thrown threw the air.  Department of Public Safety troopers say Lewis was ejected from the vehicle and then trapped under it. He died at the scene.

Lewis is the son of prominent Canton business man Henry Lewis.

The latest "Covered Employment and Wage" (CEW) analysis graph shows some local industries are facing a mixed outlook. These analyses are based on data provided by the Texas Workforce Commission for the State and Counties. 

Related File (pdf): Covered Employment and Wage Graph for 2nd Quarter 2009

The latest data published is for the Second Quarter, 2009 and can be found on the Labor Market Information (LMI) site.  The LMI Department administers the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program through a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  This provides Texas employers with information that may be vitally important business planning.

Rains County joined the Lake Country Crime Stoppers program Thursday. Rains Commissioners heard from a Lake Country Crime Stoppers representative who said the program wishes to expand into Rains, Franklin and Delta Counties. Current;y, the program includes Hopkins County.

Commissioners signed an agreement with the group which will allow the group to take anonymous tips from Rains County residents concerning crimes in the area. The Lake Country Crime Stoppers representative said the program is fully self-supporting, using funds charged by the court to convicted felons. He stressed the program would not cost the county any money. Rains County Chief Deputy Kurt Fisher said the Sheriff's Department supported the program.

In other action:

• Cast the county's ballot a slate of nominees for directors for the county appraisal district board. Commissioner's divided the county's votes between Bob Russell and Dwight Craver, giving each 1,026 votes.
• Established a new policy for manufactured home rental communities within the county. Among other restrictions, the policy requires home be separated by at least 25 feet to allow emergency vehicles to pass between them.
• Approved a policy for public displays in county offices.