COUNTY LIFE
Grandparents who are parents again, finding much-needed support
By DANI BLACKBURN
The third Thursday of each month, a group of children can be found singing, playing and doing arts and crafts at the First United Methodist Church in Saint Jo.
This group of little ones has more in common than their enthusiasm for fun. When they all go home for the night, they won’t be tucked into bed by their biological mother and father, but by grandparents or other kin who are caring for these children when their parents no longer can.
Those caregivers are finding support at the Grandparents As Parents “Again,” or GAPA, in Saint Jo.
“You can’t be a grandparent because you have to be a parent to them, and that robs us of being a grandparent,” said Carla, who is raising three grandchildren, including two, four-year-old twins and a nine-year-old.
The group began three years ago when members of the First United Methodist Church of Saint Jo were looking to fulfill a need of the community.
“We discovered there were really a lot of grandparents raising their grandchildren,” said Laurie Martin, one of the founders of GAPA. “We thought it would be a good thing to start a support group to help them. I served on the child welfare board and saw many grandparents in that situation, as well as through my job as a physical therapist in the school system.”
Read the full feature in you weekend Bowie News.
The Oct. 9-11 Art of the Song Music and Art Festival opens Friday night for three days of art and entertainment in downtown Nocona.
The festival opens on Oct. 9 with a Chisholm Trail Art Association Preview Party from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the H.J. Justin Building.
Come see all the entries for the adult show, which formally opens at 10 a.m. on Oct. 10.
Live music will be played by Full Circle Band.
Also on Oct. 9 enjoy a Nocona Nights Street Dance from 7 to 9 p.m. with the Mark Murphey and Highway 82 Band. Cost is $10 per ticket and $200 for a table seating eight. Bring your lawn chairs.
Read the full schedule of events for the festival in your Thursday Bowie News.
These students are nominees for the 2026 homecoming court at Gold-Burg High School. Homecoming royals will be crowned in pre-game ceremonies before the Bears take on Throckmorton at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9. Pictured are: Freshmen: Kenzley Foster and Jackson Allen, freshmen; Yareli Aguirre and Jojuan Grace, sophomores; Zara Andrade, junior and Brayden Odom, Kaylie Duncan, both seniors. Not pictured: Caleb Epperson, junior and Keelyn Case, senior.
Have piles of old documents cluttering your space and you are finally ready to get rid of them?
The Bowie Chamber of Commerce board of directors will will host its free community Shred-a-Thon on Oct. 10, in the Wellington State Bank bank parking lot.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1301 N. Highway 59 in Bowie.
The Paper Pig Secure Document Destruction will provide professional, on-site shredding. While the services are free, the Bowie Chamber of Commerce noted any donations collected during the event will be shared with a local charity.
For additional details, call the chamber office at 872-1173.
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