COUNTY LIFE
Domestic Violence Awareness Month brings attention to widespread issue
“All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.” – Edward Burk
One in three women in Texas will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence. October is the month for Domestic Violence Awareness as purple is displayed in hopes of bringing awareness to a far too common problem.
“People want to say it’s not my business and I am not going to get involved, but we have to stop that. If we want to see a change, everyone wants it to go away and it not be true, but we can’t stop it if it is not addressed,” said Ginger Johnson, Community Educator and Bilingual Advocate for Wise Hope.
The Wise Hope Crisis Center, located at 1123 Highway 59 North in Bowie, opened its doors in April to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Montague County.
“We hit the ground running. With a new office, I anticipated trying to get the word out to everyone that we were here, but that hasn’t been the case,” said Johnson. “It is very pleasing to me because living here in Bowie I knew there was a need. You just have to read the newspaper and talk to people to know it’s there.”
Wise Hope has served the Jack and Montague County areas in the past but advocates were only able to be in the area one day a week. A grant from the region out of Wichita Falls changed all that, allowing Wise Hope to place an office in both Jack and Montague counties, giving them the ability to better serve those communities.
Not only does it operate the two offices, but also the main Outreach Office in Decatur, a thrift store and a 15-bed shelter in Bridgeport. The shelter is not just for victims in Wise County, but for victims in all the communities, and if a victim needs to get to safety quickly, a cot can always be pulled out.
The dual agency helps not only domestic violence victims, but sexual assault victims as well. It operates a 24-hour crisis hotline at 940-626-4855. No appointment is necessary for immediate face-to-face crisis intervention and advocacy services.
Read the full story in the weekend News.
When we were going through my grandmother’s house in Nocona after it sold, I found a few neat keepsakes, but the biggest treasure I thought I had found was her biscuit cutter. I was so excited to show my mother (her daughter) and just knew she would be happy it was found and would still be used after all this time.
My mother, however, had a different thought about my precious biscuit cutter. She said, “Suzanne, you know that biscuit cutter is just an old tomato paste can that has both ends cut out.”
I was still no less delighted with my cutter. I continue to use it today. My husband has bought me vintage, new and fancier cutters, but this cutter is something I go back to time and again.
My Memaw was recruited to be a lunch lady from 1952 to 1958 at Nocona Elementary, back when lunches were cooked, not “fixed.” Lenora Brown Burnett was an excellent cook and everyone knew it. She went on to work at the Nocona Major Clinic kitchen from 1958 to 1969.
You could only use shortcuts if you knew how to do it the long way. That is how I still approach cooking. You can only use a cake mix if you know how to make a cake with lots of ingredients, time and effort.
Read Suzanne’s Love & Luck column in the Thursday Bowie News on the On the Table page.
Top photo – Grandmother’s biscuit cutter and hand written recipes. (Photo by Suzanne Storey)
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
It’s a bitter cold January week, so it must be time for the Montague County Youth Fair, which opens Wednesday running through Saturday.
More than 330 students from across the county will compete in everything from golf ball art work to top dairy goat in this annual event where there are 1,160 entries. Almost every contest saw an increase in entries from the prior year.
Scheduling was still in flux at presstime due to pending weather. Watch the fair’s Facebook page for any late changes.
The All Together Show was moved to 5 p.m. on Jan. 8 in the show barn. It had been set for Thursday.
There were no changes for leadership day on Wednesday at presstime.
Read the full story on the fair in the Thursday Bowie News.
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