Daily Archives: January 30, 2012


The Pet Rescuer

BURLESON, TX —  Melissa Stiles-Longoria loves dogs, and has for as long as she can remember. “My mom says when I was around 2, I grabbed a dog who wandered up while we were attending a company picnic and wouldn’t let it go,” Melissa said. By the age of 8, she had made her first rescue. […]


A Texas-sized Romance

CORSICANA, TX — Billy Sr. and Louise Tallant’s love story started in Corsicana during the summer of 1950. Billy said he remembers it like it was yesterday. “A friend and I rode over to Corsicana High School one day. He went around one corner, and I went around another. That was the first time I ever […]


Always Answering the Bell

ENNIS, TX — Firefighters learn to respond instantly, even from a sound sleep, to the station’s alarm bell. Before a civilian could figure out what the noise is, the firefighters are wide awake, in their gear and halfway to the ladder truck. Retired with distinction from the Ennis Fire Department last June, Freddy Santos has […]


A Gift from Heaven

MANSFIELD, TX — Throughout history, there have always been those who have cried out against injustice. And there have always been those who wanted to speak up for the downtrodden. Many are willing to speak out for the poor. Someone is always ready to take up a cause that everyone else seems to want to ignore. […]


A Level Head for Leadership

MIDLOTHIAN, TX — As a young child, while watching the TV show Adam-12, Carl Smith, police chief for Midlothian, made the momentous decision that he never wanted to be a police officer. The actors on the show were always writing, and as a little boy who did not like to write reports, that was the deal breaker […]


Love’s Journey

RED OAK, TX — The love story of Chris and Jennifer Buckhannon began on December 31, 2007, when the duo met at a friend’s New Year’s Eve party. They quickly became inseparable, and even life’s challenges haven’t broken their bond. “Neither of us was looking for a relationship … but it was an instant […]


A Man and His Dog

DESOTO, TX —  One overcast day, not too many months ago, Lowe’s was the scene of an unusual field trip. Various autos disgorged their owners, along with several people in polo shirts and khakis and three dogs. One man in a wheelchair worked at backing down the ramp from his van, a woman settled […]


Rising Above the Circumstances

WAXAHACHIE, TX — The story begins in Freedman, a small community located within the city limits of Waxahachie. The all-black area derived its name following the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. From the early 1900s until desegregation was implemented with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Freedman […]


Helping Hands

WEATHERFORD, TX — On a hill overlooking Weatherford is set a piece of history gathering dust and graffiti. Long gone are the days when children would sit at desks and write on tablets. Seemingly, the only writing now comes out of cans of spray paint. Raymond George aims to change all that. The all-black […]