Welborn familyhonored at CH

See Page 8A

NE TexasMoms meet

Church holdspie making

JailRoundup

Parade entrydeadline

© 2014 Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune

See Obituaries page 3A

• Helen D. Hanes• Edgar Allen Knox• Martha Alice Meagley

Sports

Local News

Obituaries

Northeast Texas Moms meets monthly to support parents and caregivers of children/adults with intellectual disabilities. Its Facebook page is Northeast Texas MOMS (Mothers of Memorable Students). They are in the process of trying to get an ARC chapter started as well, so they would love community support. The MOMS group meets the last Monday of every

Nevills Chapel Baptist Church will be making fried pies Nov. 21-22. Varieties will include peach, apple and apricot. The pies are $24 a dozen. Call the church 903-572-5664, Mary Turner at 903-572-0309, or Diane Goates at 903-573-6772.

First Glance

Daily TribuneMount Pleasant, Texas Www.Dailytribune.net 140th Year, No. 225 1 Section, 8 Pages Thursday, November 21, 2014 75¢

Thank our veterans and military every day!

By LOU ANTONELLIManaging Editor

Police Chief Wayne Isbell, who oversees the operation of the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, has named Sergeant Mark Miller as its administrator.

Isbell took advantage of the departure of shelter manager Holly Steen to reorganize the shelter’s structure. Steen was replaced by an animal control officer,

bringing the total to three, while Miller takes over the shelter’s administration.

Miller, who started in his new post Nov. 12, will still be officed at the police station.

“Practically speaking, there’s not enough space at the shelter,” Isbell said. “He will be going back and forth.”

Isbell said he made the change to improve shelter operations.

By ANNETTE WHITEand EMILY SIDES

Tribune Staff Writers

Approximately 80 Titus County residents met on the square in downtown Mount Pleasant Thursday night to demonstrate empathy for the 43 missing students from the teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa and demand justice from the Mexican government.

Mexican-Americans and Mexican nationals rallied and marched around the courthouse informing bystanders and chanting cries for justice.

The vigil was to demonstrate empathy and demand justice for the 43 rural Mexican students who were last seen on Sept. 26 in Iguala, Guerrero, during a protest of discriminatory hiring and funding practices by the Mexican government. The students were all male and enrolled in the Raul Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers’ College of Ayotzinapa.

Video surveillance shows the students being escorted away in police vehicles after six of their fellow protestors were gunned down. None of the students have been seen or heard from since. Mexican authorities stated the city’s then-mayor Jose Luis Abarca ordered the students to be turned over to a local drug gang.

Selene Fernandez was the event’s organizer. Her husband, Israel Garcia, is a Mexican national working under a U.S. government work permit. Garcia interpreted Fernandez’ chanting and informed

By LOU ANTONELLIManaging Editor

Mount Pleasant is on the way to bucking the statewide drought trend for a second year in a row, according to rainfall totals gathered at the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport.

The county saw 49.4 inches of rain in 2013, soundly breaking the drought that prevailed in 2012, With a little less than two months left in the year, the county airport has already seen 38.3 inches, according to Airport Manager Paul Henderson.

“It’s been another good year,” he said.

The airport has $100K worth of weather monitoring equipment that constantly broadcasts such data as temperature, visibility, cloud ceiling and such to pilots, Henderson said. Keeping rainfall records is another of the airport’s meteorological functions.

The latest figures reported by Henderson were as of Nov. 5. This past spring was a soggy time as May saw 6.2 inches of rain, and April 5.4 inches – the two highest monthly totals of the year so far. July had five inches, and June had four.

The pace slowed somewhat in the fall, with 3.2 inches in September and 4.1 inches in October. Up until the fifth of November saw 1.3 inches, but more is on the way. As of Thursday afternoon the National Weather Service was predicting a 90 percent

See Vigil, Pg. 3A

See Weather, Pg. 3A

See Shelter, Pg. 3A

GARY BORDERS/Daily Tribune

GARY BORDERS/Daily Tribune

GARY BORDERSv/Daily Tribune

An unidentified woman holds a sign that read “Todossomos Ayotzinapa,” a widely used Twitter hashtag. It translate into “We Are All Ayotzinapa,” the name of the teachers college where the missing were students.

Students at Annie Sims elementary school race to grab a cardboard turkey on a pipe and return it to the starting line in the annual Turkey Trot held Thursday. Parents participated as well with their children in the race, which is an annual event. A photo of the winners is on Page 2A.

Selene Fernandez, in the white sweater, leads those gathered at a candlelight vigil Monday in a series of chants.

Candlelight vigil heldfor missing students

New director ofanimal sheltertakes the helm

AyotzinApA: the Missing

MEXICO

Rainfallplentifulin 2014

month at 6:00 at the Luminant office on the square. The November meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24.

As of Thursday morning the Titus County jail had 87 inmates, 16 females and 71 males. There were four arrests in the previous 24 hours, two for DWI, one for drug related charges, and one for revocation of probation.

The annual Mount Pleasant Rotary Christmas Parade will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6. This year’s theme is Christmas Lights on Parade. Today is the last day for entries. For any and all questions, please call the civic center at (903) 575-4190.

Mark Miller

“I think this change in the organizational structure will allow us to have better oversight,” he said. “I wanted to pull someone from the department to work

bystanders of the reason for the vigil.

Fernandez led the event by handing out pictures of the 43 students to demonstrators. She then began calling each name and chanting “vivos los llevaron, vivo los queremos’’ which means “they were taken alive, we want them back alive.”

“They were students in a rural area like Mount Pleasant,” Fernandez said in Spanish. “Their parents didn’t have money to send them anywhere else.”

The crowd then chanted in Spanish, “Ayotzinapa, your pain is our pain.”

Maria Ramirez, resident of Mount Pleasant and a

“You don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know what it’s like. To love somebody, the way I love you.”

— The Bee Gees|———|

I was taking a photograph of a city worker installing new banners along the light poles

downtown the other day and humming along to this venerable Bee Gees song as the music wafted through the square. It was coming from the courthouse, of course, from the speakers installed along the roof. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue after the storm passed through, and it finally felt like autumn. I really wanted to just sit down on a bench, listen to the music and enjoy the cool air, but work beckoned. I reluctantly walked back to the office, the music still audible down at our new digs a couple blocks off the square.

There is a common question out-of-towners visiting me here ask, especially if we run up to Laura’s Cheesecake for lunch. (I recommend the chicken salad on a croissant, but everything I have ever tried has been delicious.):

Where is that music coming from?Most folks, including me, enjoy it. The first

time my Beautiful Mystery Companion and I walked around downtown, prior to me taking this gig, we wondered who was playing the music before figuring out it was coming from the courthouse.

“Wonder how that got started,” I thought.

Since then, friends and business acquaintances invariably remark upon the music, which apparently plays 24/7. At least, I have stumbled out of the newspaper office at 1 a.m. after covering football and laying out sports pages and heard a pop song playing in the distance. It sounds a bit ghostly at that time of night.

It was time to delve deeper into this. County Judge Brian Lee said he didn’t know the history, since he is just finishing up his first term. So I tried Jacob Hatfield at the city. He kindly went to the trouble of checking with Nita May, the previous Main Street manager, who confirmed the courthouse music was installed around 1993, after the building was remodeled. At first the music came from a satellite dish mounted on the roof.

“It created an atmosphere of friendliness and charm,” May said.

In the early days, someone had to physically turn the music on and off. But since 2008, Hatfield has been in charge and changed the service over to Sirius XM satellite radio. The city pays the contract annually and that includes the licensing to broadcast to the public, Hatfield said.

He added that he changes the stations every few months, “or whenever we get complaints that it is getting boring.” And, of course, the speakers broadcast Christmas music during the holiday season.

I could not confirm this, but I have been told that the courthouse broadcast music as far back as the 1970s. County commissioner Mike Fields, who has been in office 28 years, told me the music was playing when he took office. But apparently there was a hiatus at some point until 1993.

Titus County appears to be unique in continuously broadcasting music from its courthouse. I whiled away an hour Googling “courthouses that play music,” “singing courthouses,” and other variations. The courthouse in Haskell, Texas has the capability to do so but apparently only broadcasts on special occasions. The Northampton County courthouse in Pennsylvania did so until April 2012, when it pulled the plug because it didn’t want to pay a $2,343 licensing fee to the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers – or ASCAP. The county administrator joked that the last day music played from his courthouse was the “day the music died,” a line from Don McLean’s classic song “American Pie.”

Those were the only two courthouses I could find, though there are plenty that hold musical events on their lawns.

I’m thinking this could be a tourism attraction: Titus County: Home of the Singing Courthouse. One thing is certain: It certainly gets the attention of visitors and newcomers.

The other question I’m often asked is “Why do the courthouse clocks tell different times – none of which are correct.” Judge Lee said the clocks have been broken for years, and the cost to fix them is in “five figures.” That cost is hard to justify spending during these tight times, he said. Makes sense to me.

It does lead me to wonder if the Singing Courthouse has ever played that famous Chicago song: “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”

Gary Borders is editor and publisher of the Daily Tribune.

Email: gborders@dailytribune.net.

Wendy Davis’s TV ad with a shot of a wheelchair sparked a firestorm – including a blast from the

Greg Abbott campaign, calling it “disgusting.”

But Abbott, a paraplegic since a tree fell on him while jogging in 1984, was the guy who opened the door to the wheelchair discussion. He featured himself in a wheelchair in two recent ads in his Republican bid for governor.

One shows him working his way up the ramps of a parking garage in his wheelchair, showcasing his determination to deal with a life without the use of his legs. He told the Austin American-Statesman editorial board that the ad was “to demonstrate to Texans that I was able to bring that very same fortitude to addressing the challenges that Texans face.”

The other shows him in his wheelchair beside a barely moving lane of traffic on a highway overpass, saying that even “a guy in a wheel chair can move faster than traffic on some roads in Texas.”

Abbott says it’s time the Legislature spends on highways all the taxes supposedly earmarked for that purpose. (What he doesn’t say is that some of it now funds the Department of Public Safety.)

So the campaign of Davis, the Democratic candidate for governor, used the wheelchair shot as a backdrop to charge that while Abbott had gotten millions in his settlement, he has sided with companies against victims in three other cases while on the Texas Supreme Court and as attorney general.

In one, Abbott’s office argued a woman who suffered an amputated leg wasn’t disabled, because she had an artificial limb.

In another, he said a door-to-door vacuum cleaner sales company wasn’t to blame for not doing background checks on their employees, one of them a sexual predator who raped a woman in her home. The Texas Supreme Court majority ruled in the woman’s favor.

In the third, he “sided with a hospital that failed to stop a dangerous surgeon who paralyzed patients,” the ad charges.

“Greg Abbott,” the narrator concludes. “He’s not for you.”

It’s a gutsy move, akin to a Hail Mary pass into the end zone by a football team down by a touchdown in the final seconds of a game.

The Davis campaign, noting that a recent public poll showed her just six points behind Abbott, obviously hopes to undermine the sympathy for Abbott’s confinement to a wheel chair by charging that he hasn’t had the same compassion for others.

On the other hand, her campaign risks that the ad may backfire, turning off voters as being too harsh

“It is challenging to find language strong enough to condemn Sen. Davis’ disgusting television ad,” said Abbott campaign spokeswoman Amelia Chasse. “Sen. Davis’ ad shows a disturbing lack of judgment from a desperate politician, and completely disqualifies her from seeking higher office in Texas.”

Davis spokesman Zac Petrankas said Abbott “rightly sought justice after a horrible tragedy.”

But, Petrankas said, the Davis ad also “raises some very serious questions about Greg Abbott and whether (voters) want someone in the governor’s office who would seek justice and then spend their career denying justice to others.”

|———|Tort Law Changes . . . . This Davis ad

doesn’t mention that Abbott endorsed tort law changes that make it more difficult to sue multiple defendants, as he had.

Abbott won money from insurers for both the tree company that had worked on the tree that fell on him, and the wealthy homeowner.

Houston Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenberg wrote on Sept. 6, 2013 that she asked Abbott why he supported damage caps in medical malpractice cases in light of his own $10 million-plus liability settlement.

He contended that someone suffering an injury like his today “could have access to the very same remedies I had access to,” Falkenberg wrote.

“Only,” she added, “that’s not true.” Falkenberg said Houston personal injury

lawyer Don Riddle told her that the tort laws have become much more complicated and less generous to plaintiffs than when Abbott won his settlement.

“Today, a claimant would not have the same benefits because they’d be limited by the new joint and several liability limitations,” said Riddle.

He’s the lawyer who represented Abbott in the liability case.

|———|There are plenty of other things on which

Davis and Abbott differ.She’s for a $10.10 minimum wage. He’s

against it.She’s for mandated equal pay for women

for equal work. He’s against it.She’s for Texas expanding Medicaid, which

the feds would pay for, and would insure more than a million additional people, and create 300,000 jobs. He’s against it.

She believes a woman in the early stages of pregnancy should be able to decide with her doctor and family, whether to terminate the pregnancy. Abbott thinks pregnancies should not be terminated, even in cases involving rape and incest.

Texans will at least certainly have a choice.

Dave McNeely is a veteran Texas political writer.

Email: davemcneely111@gmail.com.

It is ironic that in this past weekend’s Daily Tribune we were bombarded with so-called statistics about Titus County’s financial condition (in

a political advertisement), when at the same time County Judge Brian Lee stated: “Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed an A1 bond rating on Titus County bonds” -- with the affirmation based on a history of

positive financial operations resulting in a very healthy general fund balance and cash reserves.” Further, Lee stated: “the county ended fiscal year 2013 with a $6.4 million general fund balance.”

Sounds to me like our long-term

commissioners have been doing a pretty good job!

Titus County citizens should ask ourselves: Do we really want to be paying our county employees the same rate as they were receiving in 1987? Do we want an old jail facility that will not meet state andfederal regulations?

Do we want the courthouse and other county buildings to be leaking when it rains because we do not want to spend the money to repair the roofs? Do we want county roads that are no longer maintained as is the case in other counties? Do we want Northeast Texas Community College to thrive and prosper?

There is a term for the bombastic financial figures that were offered up in your newspaper this past weekend — which were not correct. It is called voodoo economics.

Trish Scarborough, Chapel Hill

Gary Borders

Dave McNeely

4A • Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune • www.dailytribune.net • Saturday & Sunday, October 18-19, 2014

Letters to the Editor

Opinion

MALLARD FILMORE ® by Bruce Tinsley

A laurel (and prayers) go to Tim Ervin, the First Baptist music minister, who is recovering from a double-lung

transplant performed about 10 days ago in Dallas. The well-known minister had an incurable lung disease that was getting worse. We know the community’s thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as he recovers.

A dart to Titus County commissioners for declining, at least for now, to contribute to the Meals on Wheels lunch program. The modest amount requested, $1372.75, is hardly

a budget buster. Meals on Wheels provides lunches to largely elderly residents who otherwise might not get a hot meal. N.E.T. Opportunities administers the program

in this area and gets funding from a number of sources. Certainly if the amount requested is not received, it will not break the organization, but it does send a message that the county does not find the program valuable. And we think that is the wrong message.

A laurel once again to those responsible for the final Hot Night, Cool Music, held Friday night downtown. The weather was picture perfect, to the point the name could have been reversed to Cool Night, Hot Music, with the stellar performance of the David Whiteman Band.

We thank the downtown merchants and other supporters for their efforts to improve and increase night life on the square.

A dart to the miscreants whose “tweet” led to a lockdown of the

Pittsburg schools. Turns out the school in question was in Pittsburg, California, but school and law enforcement officials in “our” Pittsburg were right to take

precautions. And a similar dart goes to the person who called in a bomb threat at the local Walmart last Saturday night. That forced the store to close for an hour, costing it business and certainly inconveniencing customers. A 14-year-old was arrested on a felony charge in that incident. We hope the swift and strict response will keep others from taking such ill-considered actions.

A laurel to the city for opening a nine-hole disc golf course in Heritage Park this week. Disc golf is becoming increasingly popular and should lead to increased use of the park.

Besides, it is free.

Our ViewDarts and laurels:

What we liked, didn’t

Saga of the singing courthouse

Davis, Abbott differ on plenty

Figures in ad: Voodoo economics

By MICHELLE DILLONTribune Correspondent

Rivercrest hosted Union Grove, which had a faced-paced offensive game that the Rebels tried valiantly to stop but ended up on the short end of 45-0 score.

The Rebels had first possession of the night but had to punt the ball away.

The Lions, on an eight-play drive culminating in a sweep to the left side, took a six-point lead. Coy Larey deflected the pass preventing the two-point conversion. The second Rivercrest possession also ended in a punt, giving Union Grove field position on their own 42-yard line. In a single play the Lions connected on a long pass for another touchdown. Again, the two-point conversion failed as the quarterback was downed for a loss.

Rivercrest was finally able to gain some momentum, but when it came to fourth down and four, the Rebels went for the option play and found themselves so close to the first down that there was an official time out for measurement. With just 52 seconds left in the quarter, Rivercrest had their first down. This set of downs the fourth down resulted in an intercepted pass just after the opening of the second quarter. Once more on offense, Union Grove pounded up field on a 10-play drive that put them into the end zone, this time on a quarterback keeper from the one yard line. The two- point conversion was no good as the pass was overthrown, but the gap had widened to 18-0 in favor of the Lions.

The kickoff gave the Rebels decent field position at their own 46 and after gaining some ground with handoffs to Croix Parrott and Wyatt Tabb, they again threw an interception. The Lions scored with just 3:21 remaining in the period and this time faked the kick and completed a pass for the two-point conversion, giving them a 26-0 lead which they carried into the half.

On the sixth play of their opening drive in third quarter, Union Grove sent a pass up the left side, hitting a receiver for the touchdown. The kick afterward hit the cross beam and bounced in for the extra point, bringing the score to 33-0 in favor of Union Grove.

The Rebels then carried the ball from their own 48 to inside the 20, but an incomplete pass on fourth down meant the Lions once again had the ball. A seven-play drive gave them another TD. Jace Lum broke up the pass, preventing the two-point conversion, but the Lions were now up 39-0.

The Rebels then managed 11 consecutive running plays, almost exclusively handing off to Croix Parrott.

14A• Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune • www.dailytribune.net • Saturday & Sunday, September 20-21, 2014

Sports

GARY BORDERS/Daily Tribune

GARY BORDERS/Daily Tribune

MIKE DODSON/Daily Tribune correspondent

MICHELLE DILLON/Daily Tribune correspondent

Atlanta quarterback Chase Musgrove is wrapped up by Pittsburg defensive end E.J. Hill as his helmet lies on the ground during the first quarter Friday night. The Pirates received a facemask penalty after the play.

Pittsburg Pirate defenders try to wrap up Atlanta Rabbit running back Dequan Allen during the first quarter.

Pewitt running back Lamon Hillis tries to break away from a New Boston defender.

Rivercrest Rebel Croix Parrot heads downfield, followed by Hunter Binion.

The Mount Pleasant Tigers were off this week. The Tigers travel to Greenville next Friday night for

their district opener. Look for complete coverage

in next Saturday’s edition, plus

pregame coverage during the week from sports writer Tanner Holubar.

Miscues cost Pirates in loss to RabbitsAtlanta dominates in55-13 victory

By TANNER HOLUBARTribune Sports Writer

The Pittsburg Pirates hosted the Atlanta Rabbits in Pittsburg’s homecoming celebration, who put a damper on the celebration by taking a 55-13 victory.

The Rabbits got the scoring started with a Dequan Allen rushing touchdown. The Rabbits had blocked Billy Kimble’s punt and recovered on the Pittsburg 6-yard line.

The Pirates quickly scored on a Tyler Lafayette sweep run to bring the score to 7-6 with 5:02 left in the first quarter. Atlanta quarterback Chase Musgrove responded by hitting Jeremy Smith for a long touchdown pass to make the score 13-6 with 2:44 left in the first.

On the next drive, Kimble fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Atlanta’s Eddrick King on the Pittsburg 34-yard line. The Rabbits would turn the ball over on downs to give Pittsburg the ball on their own 38-yard line. The first quarter ended with the score 13-6.

The Pirates were forced to punt, and Kimble’s punt was blocked again and Atlanta recovered the ball and ran it to the Pittsburg 5-yard line. Allen scored again for his second rushing touchdown of the game. The extra point was successful to make the score 20-6 for the Rabbits with 11:07 remaining in the first half.

Pittsburg was in the midst of a good offensive drive before Kimble fumbled the ball on a scramble, which was recovered by Atlanta on the Pittsburg 12-yard line. Musgrove would cap off an 88-yard drive with a run up the middle that extended the Atlanta lead to 27-6. The Rabbits tried an onside kick after the touchdown and recovered the ball on the Pirates’ 36-yard line.

Musgrove then hit King on a 36-yard touchdown pass that extended Atlanta’s lead to 34-6 with about three minutes remaining in the first half.

Pittsburg continued to struggle moving the ball as the Rabbit defense got multiple stops in the backfield to keep the Pirate offense from moving forward. The Rabbits went for a punt and the snap went over the head of the punter and was recovered by Pittsburg at the Atlanta 15-yard line. The Atlanta defense did not allow the Pirates to do anything with the ball, and Pittsburg turned it over on downs.

The first half ended with the Pirates trailing the Rabbits 34-6.

The Rabbits kicked off to start

the second half and recovered the onside kick at the Pittsburg 39-yard line. Musgrave would score on a two-yard quarterback keeper to push Atlanta’s lead to 41-6 with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter.

The Rabbits would recover yet another onside kick at their own 46-yard line. Kelton Young would then score on a 50-yard run up the middle. Atlanta’s lead now stood at 48-6. The Pirates were able to keep the next kickoff, but were not able to move the ball much as they were forced to punt again.

The Rabbits took the 48-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

Tyrell Phillips extended the Rabbits lead to 55-6 with about four minutes remaining in the game. Hugo Fluellen p u t Pittsburg back on the board with a short rushing touchdown to make the score 55-13 late in the fourth quarter.

With Atlanta using many onside kicks to keep the Pirate offense off the field, the Rabbits were able to control the football for the majority of the game. Pittsburg was also not able to stop the balanced Atlanta offense, which utilized the running game to run the clock down as much as they could.

Tanner Holubar is a Tribune Sports Writer.

Email: tholubar@tribnow.com

Mount Pleasant off this week

Pewitt loses to New Boston

Rivercrest shut out, 45-0

The drive carried them into the fourth quarter and down to the Lion 28, but the 13th play was another intercepted pass. The Lions would score one more touchdown before the final buzzer, but failed on the two-point conversion, keeping the final score at 45-0.

Speaking after the game, Coach Connot stated that the Rebels “played better at times both on offense and defense and they (Union Grove) are picked to win their district.”

He added that he hopes the Rebels “eventually look like that, but we’re just taking baby steps and I’m proud of their effort.”

Next week the Rebels will travel to Ore City.

By LANCE LUTTRELLTribune Correspondent

The New Boston Lions scored every time the touch the ball in the first half to jump out to a 35-0 halftime lead over the Pewitt Brahmas on their way to a 35-7 win

The Brahmas are on their fifth

string quarterback on the season and had a hard time mustering up any offense in the first half.

The Brahmas showed some spark in the second half, led by quarterback John Terrell, as he led the Bulls to the lone score of the second half.

Jamal Edwards punched it in from 3 yards out with 5:15 left in the

game.Terrell led the Bulls on the ground

with 75 yards on 15 carries. Lamon Hillis lead the charge on

defense with seven tackles and a fumble recovery.

The Bulls travel to Mineola Friday to finish up the non-district schedule.

LifestyleMount Pleasant Daily Tribune • www.dailytribune.net • Saturday & Sunday, October 11-12, 2014 • 1B

Photographer works to capture local historyBy ANNETTE WHITE

Tribune Staff Writer

When Sam Guzman was contracted by Jeffrey Crabb of the Ark Ministries to photograph local landmarks, he had no idea it would turn into an ongoing project to capture Mount Pleasant’s historic scenery.

“Jeffrey’s always been a big support for me when it came to starting my own business,” Guzman said. “He asked me if I could help him decorate Jo’s by capturing some downtown scenes and shots around Mount Pleasant.”

Guzman said he spent 12 hours, from noon to midnight, walking around Mount Pleasant and trying to photograph historical homes, parks, and landmarks.

“I really wanted to do some shots of the old antique houses on Third St.,” Guzman said. “But I couldn’t ever get anyone to come to the door. They probably thought I was a salesman.”

Instead, Guzman photographed old buildings, including the old gym, former high school, and the run-down Borden dairy factory.

“When I started looking for these places, it made me think of all of the historical places that Mount Pleasant no longer has, like the historic homes that burned down on Lide St., and the old jail house,” Guzman said. “I mean, yeah, I understand they needed a parking lot, but how are people going to remember that? They need a photo.”

Guzman said at that point his project shifted focus.

“It started as Jeffrey wanting something to decorate Jo’s, and I just kind of ran with it. I started photographing locations that I liked, that meant something to me,” Guzman said.

Guzman, who has lived in Mount Pleasant his entire life, said his transition into photography really started when his son was born.

“I was never happy with the pictures Stephanie would take,” Guzman said. “I guess I’ve always had an artistic eye for photos. So I picked out a camera and I started photographing Jude. We have so many pictures of him.”

Guzman said even though he quickly realized how much he enjoyed photography, he still had no intention of doing it professionally.

“I was always raised that the guy has to provide for the family. So after high school, I went to work and told Stephanie to finish school. I wasn’t even worried about school at that time. My art teacher had encouraged me in high school to submit my work to different art schools, but I just told myself ‘You’ll never make a living off art’,” Guzman said.

Guzman said he continued working job to job until his father was laid off from Pilgrim’s Pride.

“When my dad was let go after 20 years, it really hit me,” Guzman said. “I realized he had never gone to college, so what was he going to do now? It opened my eyes that if I live my life going work to work I’m not going to have anything worthwhile or to call my own. And I had always felt like I should be doing something else, so I never took my work serious, like I was only operating at 50 percent.”

Guzman enrolled into the kinesiology program through Texas A&M University - Commerce with the plan of working as a coach with a local school district. He also enlisted in the Air Force Reserve.

ANNETTE WHITE/Daily Tribune

Guzman is pictured here atop the bridge crossing Jefferson. “I never shoot the same location twice, and I always try to photograph not the posed moments, but the moments in between, because that’s more authentic to me,” Guzman said.

Photo by Sam Guzman

Guzman’s photo of downtown at night.

Photo by Sam Guzman

Guzman’s photo of the old high school building on Riddle St.

Last spring, Guzman said he volunteered to photograph a holiday session for some friends.

“This friend was complaining that they had planned it too late and all the local photographers were already booked for Christmas shoots. I had just bought a new camera and I’d been looking at all these photographers’ websites, so I just told them I could do it,” Guzman said. “After the shoot, they loved the pictures. So I really started thinking about photography again.”

Guzman said after his successful first session, he began searching for models for free photo sessions.

“I wanted to do a few different types of sessions, so I could find out if this was something I could do or if maybe I just got lucky. When they all turned out good, I realized maybe I could do this and charge money for it. After that, it all just kind of snowballed,” Guzman said.

Guzman said he felt the need to study the art to improve his skills behind the camera.

“I contacted Manuel Aldana, a photographer from Guatemala, and asked him if he could help me use a camera properly,” Guzman said. “Manuel was a friend of a friend, and I didn’t know him that well, but I have always admired his work. Up until that point, I’d been what professionals call a green finger, someone who just used their camera on automatic settings.”

Guzman said he studied under Aldana for two weeks.

“My wife was planning on being a part of the medical mission trip to Guatemala with the First Baptist Church,” Guzman said. “Manuel told me to come study with him for the two weeks prior to the mission trip, and he would show me how to properly use my camera to capture the work they did there.”

Guzman said Aldana is probably the biggest influence he has had in his trade.

“I learned so much from Manuel, and I was so grateful I had the opportunity to learn from him. That experience was kind of emotional for me. When something is new and fresh it’s kind of like a honeymoon effect. All I wanted to do was take pictures of everything, to capture the time and space that we are living in,” Guzman said.

Guzman said when he returned home after the mission trip, he realized his true passion for photography.

“Capturing those pictures in Guatemala,

those kids being so happy to have the medical staff there, it was journalistic in a sense that I was telling their story,” Guzman said. “And that’s what I want to do.”

Guzman said he plans on pushing himself to go on mission trips every summer to capture those moments.

“I love taking pictures of weddings and babies and families. I love getting to meet all these people. And those sessions are a photographer’s main source of income, so that will be my focus from now on,” Guzman said. “But I really want to push myself to go on mission trips every summer and capture those moments. I want to bring those photos back and tell everyone here that story. I’d love to eventually be able to raise money somehow with those photos to send back to that country.”

Guzman also decided upon his return from Guatemala to change his degree plan.

“That was probably the hardest decision that I had to make. Everyone was kind of telling me that since I was already two years into my kinesiology degree that I should just finish school and do photography on the side. But I had spent my entire life doing everything only half-heartedly, and I knew that if I didn’t put everything into this that I wouldn’t succeed. So I changed my major,” Guzman said.

Guzman now books many different types of portrait sessions. He has also been hired by the city to photograph a local event. Recently, Guzman said he was hired for a live birth photo session.

“At first I was really hesitant. But I’m so glad that I had that opportunity. I was able

to capture those first moments, to capture the essence of life, and it’s just such an amazing experience,” Guzman said.

Guzman said while he loves his booked sessions, he looks forward to the time he gets for side projects, such as his

historical pieces. “I’d like people to

realize that there’s more to me than just photos of weddings and babies. I love trying new things, and with the local project, I feel like I was able to preserve some of the history left in Mount

Pleasant,” Guzman said. For more information,

or to view a gallery of Guzman’s work, visit www.facebook.com/sguzmanphotography.

Annette White is a staff writer for the Daily Tribune. Email awhite@dailytribune.net.