COUNTY LIFE
By BARBARA GREEN
Small town Texas may seem a far cry from small town France, but exchange student Maximillan Lenglet has found his niche in Nocona playing basketball, running track, fishing and all things Texan.
“Max” is attending Nocona High School and will finish out his year with his second host family. He began last August coming to live with Tammy and Steve Skinner in Nocona.
About three months later he moved in with the Tommy and Suzanne Storey Yowell family. There were plans for a third family, but that has changed and he will finish the year with the Yowells and also spend some time with the Skinners.
Lenglet hails from Lucheux, a town of just under 600 population in the northern France region of Picardie. His small town is a little more than 100 miles from the coastal cities of Calais and Dunkirk.
His parents are Stephane Lenglet and Virginiè, who both work in education. His mom is a history and geography professor, while his dad works in economics at the university. The teen is the middle of three boys. His oldest brother Clement is studying math and economics at college, and his younger brother Armand is a student.
Lenglet says he began thinking about becoming an exchange student when a friend returned from New Zealand and shared his experiences.
“I was very interested in learning a new language and a new culture, so I decided to do it. I didn’t know where, but I always liked America and wanted to come here and spend time,” he explains.
In considering locations, America was his first choice followed by New Zealand and Australia. When he was accepted for the program he first went to Florida, however, another change sent him to Texas.
His first thought about his future home, “Very, very happy.”
Read the full feature in the weekend News.
(Top image: Courtesy photo, Jody Langston runs an informative table on Wise Hope Shelter & Crisis Center at the National Night Out Oct. 6.)
An American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds. One in three Texans experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Statewide, intimate partner violence claimed the lives of 160 individuals in 2025 alone.
Behind these staggering statistics from organizations like Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and the Texas Council on Family Violence are real people, and that is precisely why the Wise Hope Shelter & Crisis Center exists.
This October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the agency stands as a vital resource. Originally founded on Aug. 2, 1999, following the 1997 organization of the Wise County Domestic Violence Task Force, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit was created to address violence in rural north-central Texas.
Supported by hundreds of volunteers, Wise Hope has since grown to encompass a 20-bed, 4,800-square-foot shelter, three outreach offices and a thrift store, and the agency is preparing to announce an upcoming renovation project soon.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
There will be a community blood drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov 2 at AVIR in Bowie, 700 W. U.S. Highway 287 South.
The Carter BloodCare Bus will be present with its staff to collect blood donations. The sign- up link is: greatpartners.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/168764.
Carter BloodCare is offering a plush new blanket to thank local blood donors for giving in November. Carter BloodCare’s annual blanket incentive has become a popular holiday tradition. The blanket is available while supplies last.
Eligible donors can give blood starting at age 16 with parental consent; those 17 and older can donate on their own. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds and feel well at the time.
Carter BloodCare donors help Texans with life-threatening injuries from car wrecks; children fighting cancer; burn patients; older adults with health issues; organ transplant recipients; new mothers and others in need.
For details, visit CarterBloodCare.org or call 800-366-2834.
Carter BloodCare has proudly served Texans since 1951. The independent community blood center provides transfusion resources in 59 counties of North, Central and East Texas, supporting thousands of patients in more than 225 medical facilities. Carter BloodCare is one of the largest nonprofit blood programs in Texas, delivering more than 450,000 doses of blood, platelets and plasma each year to meet the health care needs.
As the holiday near blood is often in short supply, but the need never goes away. Make time to scheduled your date to donate blood to help your community to be prepared for the upcoming season.
The Montague County Commissioner’s Court opened bids for the reconstruction of the Montague County Veterans Memorial Wall during regular session Oct. 26.
The memorial, located on the courthouse square, was heavily damaged on March 4, 2025, when a severe storm with high winds supposedly caused two large black panels containing the names of local veterans to fall over and shatter.
It was the second time a panel had fallen at the site. A single panel previously fell in November 2021, costing $16,000 to replace and raising questions regarding the monument’s structural integrity. Following the 2021 incident, it was discovered no steel rods or internal supports secured the stone panels to the concrete foundation.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
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