Weekly Newsletter February 10, 2025

Dear Democrats,

Our fiscally-conservative state senator Robert Nichols was the only Republican to vote against Senate Bill 2, the school voucher scam. In a well-written statement opposing the bill he notes that SB-2 will promote a “new form of segregation … by income and ability, and it will be separate and inherently unequal.” He concludes by saying:

As a fiscal conservative and a believer in the value of public schools, I cannot in good conscience vote for this bill. It is not fair to the children and parents of Texas, has little oversight of how the public funds are spent, creates Constitutional questions about separation of church and state, hurts public schools, leads to class segregation, and is not fiscally conservative.

Call Senator Nichols, congratulate him on his courage, and ask him to have a chat with the state representative that Greg Abbott bought for us, Joanne Shofner. And read his entire statement at https://journals.senate.texas.gov/sjrnl/89r/pdf/89RSJ02-05-F.PDF#page=2

Upcoming events in the next few weeks 

1. The Nacogdoches County Democratic Party will meet on Monday, February 10, in the Courthouse Annex, 203 West Main Street. The Executive Committee will meet at 5:30pm. This will be followed at about 6:00pm by the general monthly meeting. Vicki Wood, the County Election Administrator, will train us to be Volunteer Deputy Registrars so we can register voters. No need to sign up in advance, she has the applications we will need.

2. The Nacogdoches NAACP unit will hold their Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 11, at 5:30pm, in the Little Zion Baptist Church, 305 Shawnee Street. The monthly General Membership meeting will start after this meeting, at 6:20pm. Contact the NAACP Secretary, Lisa Colston, at (504) 905-8720, for more information.

3. The Concerned Black Men of Nacogdoches (CBMN) is hosting its Ninth Annual Valentine Scholarship Gala on Thursday, February 13, at 6:30pm in SFA’s Grand Ballroom. The purpose of this event is to raise funds to provide scholarships, mentoring activities, and other programs that uplift and support the youth of our community. For tickets contact Roy Boldon (936) 564-5615 or (713) 494-1709, G.W. Neal (936) 554-0390, or Terrence Reeves (936) 371-2144.

4. The last day to file for a position on the City Council or NISD School Board is Friday, February 14, at 5:00pm.

5. The Nacogdoches Community Coalition will meet at 5:30pm on Monday, February 17, in the Little Zion Baptist Church, 305 Shawnee Street discuss final preparations for the Black History Expo.

6. The 21/7 Association will have their monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 18, at noon at Cypress Ridge, 2701 Logan Circle. Contact Nancy Niehaus for more information.

7. The Black History and Cultural Expo will be held from 10:00am until 2:00pm on Saturday, February 22 at McMichael Middle School.

Nac Dems

At our last monthly meeting we established six committees to help organize our activities during the next couple of years, focusing especially on local issues and elections. So get involved, contact a committee chair, and get to work!

o   Education - Gale Chenault

o   Communication - Karen

o   Search - Tory Free

o   Event -Betty Jacobs

o   Finance and Fundraising - Sean Hightower

o   Watchdog -Anne Keehnen

Nacogdoches City Council

The Nacogdoches City Council will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, February 18, at 5:30pm, in the City Hall, 202 East Pilar Street. See the City’s “Friday Update” for more information about meetings and more on their Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/CityofNacogdoches. Agendas for city meetings can be found at https://www.nactx.us/agendas. Meetings are streamed at www.nactx.us/1198/Channel-21.

The City Council will hold a workshop on Wednesday, February 12, at 4:00pm in City Hall. This workshop will review a proposed special event ordinance and permit guidelines. City staff, including representatives from Parks, Main Street, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Public Works, Fire, and Police have worked together to create the proposed guidelines. The City Council will not take formal action on matters presented at a work session but may direct staff to place items relating to the matter on future agendas for formal consideration. Let’s see how this will affect the events that we are particularly interested in.

Commissions and Committees

CANCELLED The Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on Monday, February 10.

Nacogdoches County Commissioners

The Nacogdoches County Commissioners Court will meet on Tuesday, February 18, at 9:00am in the Commissioners’ Courtroom, Suite 170 of the Nacogdoches County Courthouse, 101 West Main Street. Recordings of meetings are posted on the county website.  

NISD School Board meetings

The NISD School Board will have a regular meeting on Thursday, February 27, at 5:00pm in the E.J. Campbell District Support Center Annex, 420 South Shawnee Street. Go to their website for more information.

Nacogdoches County Hospital District

Nacogdoches County Hospital District Board of Directors meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 5:15pm in Memorial Hospital’s Auxiliary Conference Center, 1204 North Mound Street. For information about the Hospital District go to their website https://nachd.org.

Major holidays and events in Nacogdoches and elsewhere in the near future

            1-28 February Black History Month

10 February    Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

tbd February   SFA’s ninth annual Diversity Conference – cancelled

tbd February   SFA’s Black History Month Celebration – cancelled

13 February    Concerned Black Men’s Annual Valentiane's Scholarship Gala

14 February    Last day to apply for place on City Council and School Board elections

17 February    President’s Day

22 February    Community Improvement Program’s “Black History and Cultural Expo”

tbd March       SFA’s Annual Women’s Empowerment Summit – cancelled

1-31 March     National Women’s History Month

10 March        Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

tbd April          Farmers Market “Spring Fling”

3 April             Last day to register to vote in Local Election

14 April           Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

22 April           Earth Day

22 April           First day of early voting in Local Election

22 April           Last day to apply for ballot by mail for Local Election

29 April           Last day of early voting in Local Election

3 May              Local Election

Is spring here??

Mike Strong

Nac Dems