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of Saginaw, Michigan; companion, Richard Trahan of Hemphill; son, Daniel 'Koda' Kennedy of Las Vegas, NV; daughters, Janet Mabbitt and husband, Phillip, of Elizabeth City, NC, Stacey Kennedy of Sherman, TX and Kate Wilson and husband, Justin, of New Jersey; brothers, Edward Wuepper of Germany, John Graham of Saginaw, and Andy Yarger of Tennessee; and grandchildren, Emily, Michael, Adalynn and Autumn.

On Tuesday, January 31st, eight teams of high school students competed in a Robotics Competition at FBC Family Life Center, where they had the opportunity to utilize their robotic renditions of how to meet the challenge of “Building a Livable Community on Mars”.

A befitting memorial marks the spot where one of the STS107 Columbia astronauts body was found after the tragic event on the morning of February 1, 2003. The marker is found on Beckom Rd in Hemphill, about a ¼ mile south of where the pavement ends. With such a vast debris field area, much of it covered with dense forest, only about 40% of the ill fated space craft was ever found.

All You Need Is Love In 1967, the world was in distress as the Vietnam Conflict continued. The era of Peace and Love and Flowers was mixed with War and Death and Sadness.

On Monday, January 30th, the Hemphill VFW Post 10351 hosted an Art Show honoring the 20th anniversary of the Columbia disaster. Pictures and art provided by NASA lined all the exterior walls, while two rows of tables contained art, letters, and pictures from both Hemphill ISD and West Sabine ISD students. (pictured L-R are Jim Waller, Curtis Buckner, and Carol Waller of the VFW Post 10351)

The City of Hemphill held a City Planning meeting on Wednesday, February 1st that was led by Joe Beeler of Grant Works. Several concerned citizens attended the meeting and were asked to mark up the many maps of the City to show where they lived, most used routes of travel to their most often points of destination, and identify areas that require improved drainage. This will allow Grant Works to develop a comprehensive plan of priority areas for the City to target for improvements. The $30K Planning Grant the City received is for planning and research concerning what identified areas of concern this meeting provides, and this Planning Meeting was a required first step procedure prior to being able to pursue other grants that would pay for actual implementation of City improvements.

BOM Bank has deep roots throughout Louisiana that are growing into Texas. 2023 marks BOM’s 120th anniversary. Bank of Montgomery opened its doors with $15,000 in capital in 1903. President and CEO, Ken Hale, said, “My great grandfather and other businessmen in Grant Parish came together to start a bank that would help their community of farmers, teachers, mechanics and their families. A century later, BOM is still committed to serving the same hardworking people now throughout seven parishes in Louisiana and two counties in East Texas.” Ken is a direct descendant of the Wardlow family and is the fifth generation of the family to run the bank and the sixth President & CEO.