The Ennis Daily News (Ennis, Tex.), Ed. 1 Friday, March 7, 2014 Page: 4 of 8
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Opinion
Page 4
Friday, March 7,2014
Ennis Daily News
Education
Foundation’s
irst benefit
a success
Our
Point of
View
The team who put together the first
benefit for the Ennis ISD Education
Foundation has taken an important ini-
tial step for the nonprofit group’s efforts
to help drive improvements in educa-
tion.
The foundation will
continue to rely on
such efforts. This
group of local busi-
nesspeople has been
the first, and there will
surely be others com-
ing. The foundation it-
self has no direct hand in the
organization of an event such as the
Beast Feast at Grasshopper Ranch.
Those who made the effort to make a dif-
ference for the foundation should be rec-
ognized for their dedication to helping
the foundation achieve its mission.
Among the organizations responsible
for helping the event succeed are
Grasshopper Ranch, HEB, Confetti’s,
First State Bank, Ennis State Bank, Price
Distributing, Wally’s Card and Party and
Brookshire’s. A group of talented cooks
who made the offerings of exotic fare in-
cluded Kelly McManus, Kenneth Brad-
dock, Jess Haupt. Bryan Vitovsky, EISD
Board Trustee Alan Linson and T-Bone
Liska, deserve a shout out for their han-
dling of the fundraiser food.
Local Ennis ISD Board of Trustee
Alan Clark had a considerable hand in
the running of the Beast Feast as well,
and Matt Newsom, whose Grasshopper
Ranch served as the base for the success-
ful event, cannot be left out of recogni-
tion for these successes.
The foundation will continue to build
momentum in fundraising to support
improvement of the community’s educa-
tional landscape as long as local resi-
dents continue to see the benefit of being
involved in the overall plan to drive the
organization. We hope to see more
events like the Beast Feast that tap local
vendors and local luminaries for their
ability to make good things happen here.
Write to us!
The Ennis Daily News encourages readers to submit
letters to the editor about local issues that interest them.
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of residence and daytime phone number for verification.
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reserves the right to edit or refuse publication of any let-
ter.
You can mail your letter to The Ennis Daily News,
PO Box 100, Ennis, 75120; fax it to us at 972-875-9747;
email us at editor@ennisdailynews.com or you can
bring it by the office located at 213 N. Dallas St.
The opinions expressed by our readers may not nec-
essarily reflect the position of the Ennis Daily News.
© Contents copyright 2014 and cannot be reproduced
without the written permission of the publisher.
Tre Bischof ■ Publisher Josie Prachyl ■ Advertising Manager
Nick Todaro ■ Editor Teresa Watson ■ Office Manager
Jared Massey ■ Production Manager
Nikki Cohan ■ Circulation Manager
Melissa Honza ■ Composition Manager
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A fond farewell
Parting is such sweet sorrow
... but not as sweet as kolache I
have foundered myself on dur-
ing my short stay here in my
beloved Ennis.
It may take butter
and a crow bar to get
me into my convert-
ible and headed east
back to my current
home of Alabama.
I have packed as
much visiting and
writing and laughing
and eating and shop-
ping into a short four
days as is humanly
possible. But it isn’t
enough.
If there is any luck at all, my
feet will find their way back
here in time for the Bluebonnet
or Polka Festival. And I will
bring crazy Alabama friends
with me and show them some
real culture.
Back in the day when I spent
long hours at the Ennis Daily
News doing what we do, I knew
I could depend on the Wild-
flower Cafe, which is just a hop
and skip from our front door.
You can imagine my delight in
learning that the restaurant is
still open and doing well
I am not surprised by this,
just very happy.
I made my way over there
Thursday for a quick bite and
enjoyed some of their famous
sweet peach tea. I dined on a
club sandwich with fresh avo-
cadoes and a cup of their
tomato basil soup. I am hungry
again just thinking about it.
I was able to visit with Jerry
Hutson, who actually remem-
bered me from back in the day.
She was so sweet to call me
when I was back in the office
later to say she enjoyed reading
my column that afternoon.
This is why I like Ennis.
Friendly people.
When I first took this job
back in 2001 I remember folks
telling me to be careful with the
Czech people. “They are good
as gold, but don’t make them
angry”
I can relate to this somewhat.
Having grown up in Louisiana
we have a group of folks called
Acadians, or more popularly,
“Cajuns.”
The Cajuns and the Czechs
are really not that different,
and perhaps my ex-
perience in
Louisiana pre-
pared me for mak-
ing Ennis my
home.
We have several
things in common.
We love our God,
we love our family,
we love our food
and we love our
music.
Those four
things are the core of a Cajun
or a Czech. We are the embodi-
ment of the joy if living, the joy
of life. We appreciate those who
can play an accordion or a
squeeze box, however you pre-
fer to say it.
Perhaps that is why I felt at
home from the first time I
stepped on Ennis soil, and it
makes me a little sad to be leav-
ing you today.
So many people to thank for
their hospitality, and if I try I
will leave someone out. But you
know who you are, you know
you are loved, and I really ap-
preciate you.
I hope I will be back to visit
sooner than later. I am thrilled
to have made some new friends
and visited with some old ones.
If you ever need me, you can
reach me through email at edi-
torsarah@yahoo.com.
My parting words to this
newspaper family come from 27
years in this business and so
many newspapers where I
worked I don’t think I can
count them all:
• Be kind. Even when you
have reached your frustration
level and you want to throat
punch someone. Be kind.
• You will face criticism on
some level daily. When you
screw up you will know it im-
mediately because the town
folks will burn you in effigy.
When you do well, you are
lucky if you get one call to tell
you so. Do your job anyway to
the best of your ability.
• Speaking of the criticism,
you are going to get it no mat-
ter what you do. Give yourself
a break. If you leave the office
and someone comes to call, you
are shifty and out doing things
you shouldn’t. If you stay in the
office too much you should be
out more.
If you cover a meeting, you
should have covered their last
meeting, and you better be at
their next meeting. If you don’t
cover a meeting you are lazy
and don’t care.
There will always be those
who question your motives,
your loyalty and anything else
they have a mind to question.
Do your job. With a smile.
With patience of Job. It matters
not if you personally get along
with a person, every person has
a story to tell. There should
never be a shortage of good,
positive, endearing stories in
this town we call Ennis. You
just have to befriend some folks
that have lived here all their
lives.
And therein lies a 1,000 sto-
ries.
As an aside, for folks with
birthdays falling on Feb. 29, you
kind of got the short end of the
birthday stick. If there was any
real justice in the world, you
would age four times slower
than anyone else. But that isn’t
the case. However, we cannot of-
fend thee any further by forget-
ting to put your name in the
birthday listings.
That being said, a belated
but very sincere Happy Birth-
day to Rita Hroza who is a Feb.
29 baby.
I did not ask how old she
turned this year. So let us all
make assumptions that Rita is
29. Happy birthday, and here is
hoping for many, many more. If
you know Mrs Hroza, please let
her know you saw this here,
and we appreciate her many
years of readership!
Until I see you again ...
Sarah Stephens is a former
editor of the Ennis Daily News
and today works as a newspaper
columnist in Alabama. She
would love to have kolache
mailed in bulk to her anytime.
Heart of Ennis on display
Our town’s reaction to Sun-
day's icy weather, and the
havoc it wreaked on travelers
passing our fair city should be
a source of pride for
everyone who calls
Ennis home.
This year’s winter
is easily one of the
most drawn-out in re-
cent memory, produc-
ing no shortage of
interesting and terri-
ble tales we’ll be
telling our grandchil-
dren about in the fu-
ture. Sunday’s
weather was no ex-
ception, with its
weird ice pellets falling out of
the sky (people keep telling me
it’s called “sleet” and it’s nor-
mal, but I don’t believe them,
it’s devilry and they know it).
The horrible not-snow made
for treacherous driving condi-
tions across north Texas, espe-
cially on Interstate 45, which
quickly became a parking lot.
By nightfall hotels across
Ennis were booked up, leaving
almost 100 travelers from near
and far with no place to go.
Luckily, Ennis stepped up to
the plate.
Ennis first responders, city
officials and members of the
First United Methodist Church
worked together to open the
church’s Family Life Center as
a temporary shelter for
stranded motorists in need.
Police and fire personnel di-
rected travelers to the church,
where they were met by smil-
ing faces preparing warm
food, blankets and cots to pro-
vide if not five star accommo-
dations, at least a
safe and comfort-
able place to wait
for safer road con-
ditions.
Many of the folks
there were students
and their sponsors
heading home from
competitions in ei-
ther Dallas or Hous-
ton, stuck at the
same place on oppo-
site sides of the in-
terstate.
I joked with Mary Janousek
at the Chamber of Commerce
earlier this week that she
should have been there hand-
ing out Polka Festival flyers.
Looking back on it, I was only
half-joking.
What the people of Ennis
did for those travelers will
spread more good will and
word of mouth about the city
of Ennis than a thousand Na-
tional Polka Festivals or Blue-
bonnet tours.
It’s one thing when En-
nisites open their hearts and
their wallets for our local char-
ities, which they do with en-
couraging regularity. We know
how giving we are. It’s another
when we send money and
goods to disaster-stricken
places including West, when
we send our goodwill to those
in need elsewhere.
It’s another thing altogether,
however, when we open our
home to those in need when
that need is greatest.
On a personal note, it’s no
big surprise to me that the
Methodist Church would be in-
volved with this. I know any
church in town would if asked,
I just have a soft spot in my
heart for the Methodists. I’m
not a church-going man these
days, but I was raised
Methodists and when my fa-
ther had a heart attack they
stepped up and helped us with
some of the bills. I know how
dedicated they are to their fel-
low man, and for that reason
I’m still sweet on them.
Bluebonnet and polka sea-
son will be here before you
know it, and with them will be
crowds of folks sweeping into
town to experience our dis-
tinctive local climate and cul-
ture.
Many of them will leave re-
membering Ennis as “that
town with the bluebonnets” or
“the polka town.”
However, those people who
came in town Sunday night
will remember Ennis as a
place where people opened
their hearts and their doors
when it was needed most.
That’s something to be
proud of.
Phil is a staff writer for the
Ennis Daily News. He can be
reached at phil@ennisdai-
lynews.com.
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Todaro, Nick. The Ennis Daily News (Ennis, Tex.), Ed. 1 Friday, March 7, 2014, newspaper, March 7, 2014; Ennis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth771782/m1/4/: accessed May 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ennis Public Library.