New owner, Heather Moody and her staff welcomed guests at their Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting at 11:00 a.m today. Hughes Florist has been in business for seventeen years, however as of November 1st, 2013, It was under new management.  Hughes Florist can handle all of your floral needs, as well as provide quality gifts for all ages and ocassions, everything from jewelry to bereavement gifts. They are open Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m  and 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m on Saturdays.  Hughes Florist is located at 321 Shelbyville Street in Center.

Make plans to attend the 2013 Health and Fitness Fair This Friday, March 28^th at the Windham Civic Center from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be over 30 vendors at the free event. There will be a variety of health screenings available and information distributed. A mobile blood unit will be available. To schedule to donate blood, call Debra Johnson at 591-2494. In addition, a mobile mammogram unit will be at the fair. All mammogram appointments must be made prior to March 26 by calling Daphne at 598-7744. There is a charge for the mammograms and financial assistance is available. For more information please contact the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce at 598-3682.

Banquet tickets are on still on sale for the 91st Annual Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Banquet until close of business today. The banquet will be held Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Windham Civic Center. The keynote speaker will be Lieutenant Commander Lafe Bab-in of the United States Navy Reserve. During the awards dinner the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce will present the Farm Family of the Year award, Young Citizen of the Year award and the Distinguished Service Award. Corporate sponsor reserved tables for 8 are available for $360 or individual dinner tickets are $35 each. For more information, call the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce at 598-3682.

A grand opening ribbon cutting and Open House for Cline Family Medicine will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 27 at 4:30 p.m with Dr. Mark A. Cline. Cline Family Medicine is located at 630 Hurst Street in Center and is open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday at 8:00 a.m. They offer care for infants through adults. To schedule an appointment call Cline Family Medicine at 936-657-1944.

The City Council of Joaquin will meet in regular session tomorrow at 6:00 p.m at The Joaquin City Hall located at 124 North Preston in Joaquin. Again, that's a Joaquin City Council meeting tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m.

The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will join owner, Heather Moody in a new owner ribbon cutting for Hughes Florist, located at 321 Shelbyville Street in Center tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. For more information please contact the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce at 598.3682.

The Center City Council will meet in regular session this evening at 5:00 p.m at the John D. Windham Civic Center. Visitors and guests are welcome. Again, that's a Center City Council meeting this evening at 5:00 p.m.

Notice is hereby given that a Special meeting of the Governing body of the Shelby County Commissioners' Court will be held today at 9:30 a.m in the Courtroom of the Shelby County Courthouse at 200 San Augustine Street in Center to deliberate and consider action on the following items: Approve and pay monthly expenses and amend budget line items accordingly. Discussion on resuming the maintaining of CR 1485. Accept or reject approving Resolution In Support of House Bill 777. Discuss and possibly take action on moving the Voter registrar to the County Clerk's Office. Pam Shofner, Tax Assessor Collector will address the Court concerning the hiring of an Elections Administrator along with discussion concerning the Tax Office obtaining new software to replace the manual system they are currently using. Again, that's a Shelby County Commissioners' Court meeting today at 9:30 a.m.

The control tower at the Shreveport Downtown Airport will be closed on April 7. The closure comes as the Federal Aviation Administration seeks to cut costs by some $600 million for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2013, the result of sequestration that went into effect on March 1 after Congress failed to pass a budget. When the Shreveport Airport Authority first learned of the possibility last week, airport management sent a letter to the FAA . Shreveport Regional Airport was also on an FAA list released last week of facilities where FAA-staffed towers could have their overnight shifts eliminated. There has been no word yet on which of those facilities will make the final list of those losing overnight shifts, or whether the FAA will move forward with that part of the cost-cutting plan at all.

When a Texan buys a concert ticket, is it a license to have a great time or does it become personal property that can be sold or traded? Texas lawmakers plan to take up the question that has triggered legislative fights in other states and could determine how tickets for concerts, sports or any other major event are sold, resold or even taken away. An attempt to wrangle tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last month put a spotlight on the problem. The rodeo discovered that season ticket holders, sponsors and others who had tickets to a George Strait concert were reselling their tickets, some for as high as $11,000. Rodeo staff decided that reselling the tickets for a higher value violated the terms of the ticket and canceled 5,000 of them in order to resell the tickets to someone else. That set off a backlash from the ticket holders who claimed the tickets belonged to them. They claimed they should be allowed to do anything they want with their property, to include selling them at whatever price the market would bear. But the fine print on those tickets made the rodeo's revocation and re-issue of the tickets perfectly permissible. Texas lawmakers will hear testimony and look into the issue over the next few weeks and decide how to balance what is best for the ticket sellers and buyers. Other states will certainly be watching to see what Texas does.

Funeral Announcements

William Lavell Jones, 80, of Center, passed away Monday March 11 in Nacogdoches. Funeral Services are pending with Watson & Sons Funeral Home at this time.

The 26th Annual Rotary Club 'Fun for Funds' auction is just one week away. Next Tuesday, March 19, the event will return to its original format with the event being broadcast via cable, radio or internet. Bids can be placed over the phone or by internet. All proceeds will benefit the Roughrider Scholarship Foundation. If you would like to make a donation of money or auction items, contact a Center Rotarian. Monetary donations can be made in honor or in memory of individuals. The Roughrider Scholarship Foundation is a Charitable Organization under the IRS Tax Code 501(c) (3) making your contribution fully tax deductible.

There will be a Life Saving blood drive held at Gaddy's Medical Supply located on Hurst Street Friday, March 15th from 8:30am to 12 noon. The donor coach will be on site. So roll up your sleeve and give the gift of life. All walk-ins are welcome and free T-Shirts will be given. For more information call The Blood Center of East Texas 936-558-4006.

The Center High School Floral Design team went to College Station Texas this past weekend and took their Texas State Florist Association Certification Test. While there the team competed in the regional Junior Florist Cup, some of our very own Center High School team members took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. 1st and 2nd place will advance on to the Texas Junior Cup finals in Dallas at the Texas State Fair in September. 1st Place went to Tarsheanna Bauer, 2nd Place was awarded to Adela Reyes, and 3rd place to Macayla Perry. Congratulations to the Center High School Floral Design team.

Wal-Mart was the scene of a theft this past Wednesday, March 6th, some time before midnight. According to authorities, three black male suspects were captured on video as they entered Wal-Mart on the grocery side of the store. While one of the suspects walked around, the other two suspects were able to remove an unspecified amount of iPads from a locked cabinet in the electronics department valuing approximately $7,000. The suspects then left the store without incident. The suspects get-away vehicle was a 4-door sedan, black in color. Detective Joey Haley from the Center Police Department is currently investigating the theft. If you have any information regarding the suspects or this case, please call the Center Crime Stoppers at 936-598-7233 or send a web tip at www.centercrimestoppers.com . You could earn a cash reward up to $1,000 if your information leads to the arrest of the suspects.

Thursday will be a big day for the town of Pelican and its school, Pelican All Saints. The small town in southern DeSoto Parish should be celebrating its 2nd straight basketball state championship, but instead, they are worrying about the future of Pelican All Saints as it is on the verge of being shut down after the school year. The exact date of the school's closure is unknown. The school board has told residents that it's because of the budget and their $12+ million dollars in debt. Others have stated that it's the education that is the reasoning for the possibility of being shut down. If the school is closed, the students will be scattered and sent all across DeSoto Parish. The meeting on whether or not DeSoto Parish will close Pelican All Saints will be held on Thursday.

The Texas Senate Public Education Committee will be considering overhauling standardized testing and high graduation requirements. Committee Chairman Dan Patrick will hear public testimony on his bill to reduce the number of tests and allow students to focus on vocational training rather than college preparation. Groups from across the political spectrum have called for fundamental changes to how students are assessed. Parents have complained that students take too many tests and that the tests should not count toward the student's grade. Business groups complain that only strict accountability will prepare students for college and the workforce. A Houston Republican, Patrick's bill would allow students to specialize in four areas, with different course requirements for graduation.