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By Connie Pinkham Several times in scripture a council is spoken of. The Sanhedrin in our New Testament was the Jewish council made up of chief priests, scribes, and elders. This council handled the religious governance of the Jewish population. That council was involved in the trials of Jesus. (Matthew 26:57 ff) Acts 15 tells about a council meeting in Jerusalem. The apostles met with leaders of the Christian community to resolve some disputes about Gentile believers expe

By Pam Kumpe Across from the shelter, a weathered van sat with both side doors rolled open. A black dog stood at the entrance like a faithful guard, though his open mouth and wagging tail made him look more like he was welcoming visitors than warning them away. Inside, a short, stocky older man covered in faded tattoos looked up at me. “Hi, I’m Pam.” I smiled. “Would you like a cold Gatorade?” He shook his head. “Nah. I don’t drink those sports drinks.” I held one up, beads o

By Kenny Mitchell kenny@westbowiepost.com A chance visitor at the office last week spurred a conversation with an old friend and it was nice to just sit and talk for a few minutes with someone else who truly cares about the community of Bowie County. People are so busy these days just trying to keep paddling that it is a rare thing to have a few minutes in the still to just sit and talk, but it was definitely a surprise pleasure for yours truly when my buddy Tommy Crouch came

By Kenny Mitchell kenny@westbowiepost.com A 6th grade student at Hooks Junior High has made it her mission this year to make the world a better place with simple acts of kindness. Katelyn McElroy was crowned earlier this year as Young Miss Hooks and she has decided to use her platform as a member of the Miss Hooks court to help her community and bring it together by simply being kind. Katelyn says, “When I became Young Miss Hooks, I wanted to do something to help people by sp

By Rylee Freeman Welcoming an exchange student into the family can create lifelong relationships while introducing new cultures to both the student and the host family. Foreign Links Around the Globe (FLAG) was founded by former Brazilian exchange student Mazi Cunha and his American host mother. Local coordinator Laura Shaw recruits host families willing to welcome an exchange student during the school year and treat them as part of the family. Shaw ma

By Allyson Pebsworth allyson@westbowiepost.com There’s no crying in baseball, a quote most people are familiar with. However for some people it’s more than just a quote the way playing ball is more than just a game, regardless of age. Harper Hankins, daughter of Jacey and Michael, has been playing ball since she was 5 years old, starting with t-ball and quickly jumping up to play on teams with kids much older than herself. Watching the Women's College World Series with her m

By Connie Pinkham It has become a job description in the age of social media. The word regularly finds its way into conversations. People speak about an influencer they follow like we used to talk about our favorite weather man or news commentator. They operate through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and probably others I’m too old and out of touch to know about. I remember when my mother-in-law talked about Ron Young like he was a personal acquaintance. She called him Ron. D

By Betty Simpkins Have you ever seen any of the paintings by Norman Rockwell? His artwork is synonymous with Americana because he knew how to put average people in the limelight. One of my all time favorites is the scene depicting a ridge along a seashore upon which stands an old sea captain and his very young protégé. I’m sure you’ve seen it a time or two on a calendar or in a magazine. But there is more to the picture than the immediately pleasing spectacle of a wind-ruffl

By Ken Esten Cooke Guest Columnist The World Cup — that “other” football event played every four years — has returned to North America. And the world’s most popular sport has brought the world’s most joyful fan bases with it. The Scottish Tartan Army is bringing laughs — and a huge economic boost — to the greater Boston region. Those Scot fans talked of running out of beer on the flight over, then proceeded to drain many a local watering hole of their supplies as well. On gam

By Kenny Mitchell It comes to mind that there are some days that life makes it extremely hard to make lemonade. Life has a tendency to throw things at us that will even not want to even think of drinking lemonade of any kind, and it is those days when we need it most. I play around with the word lemonade a lot here in this weekly spot, with the hopes that you will understand the real meaning behind the words. Obviously, lemonade has a hodgepodge of meanings, but in most cases

By Pam Kumpe I admit it. I followed her. It started with an innocent glance from my car window when I saw her sitting in the shade of a tree, almost hidden by low branches. The day was warm. I rolled down my window and called, “Would you like a Gatorade?” She waved me off, grabbed her backpack, and walked the opposite way. That should have been the end of it. But apparently, I am not always a “that should be the end of it” kind of person. At the corner of the street, I turned

By Pam Kumpe So that you know, I’ll never fly a helicopter. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not even if the pilot hands me the keys, pats me on the shoulder, and says, “You’ve got this.” Because I do not, in fact, “got this.” I learned this painful truth when I entered college and took a series of career assessment tests. The goal was to help students discover areas of work we might consider pursuing in the future. There were questions, aptitude tests, personality checks, and then,

By Connie Pinkham The fourth book of our Bible takes its name from the counting of the Hebrew men of war during the longest funeral march in history. The men who had gone ahead to assess the area they were to conquer came back with a report that was far from unanimous and the people refused to go forward in following God’s instructions. In unbelief at Kadesh-Barnea, they turned back. The first count of fighting men was 603,550, the second count 601,730. Only two of those

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:10 By Melissa Motes Success is great, but comebacks are what capture our hearts. Every comeback story requires a challenge to overcome and a moment when things look hopeless. The sports world is full of athletes and coaches who faced failure, adversity, or disappointm ent and found a way to turn their story around. Michael Jordan going on to become one of the greatest of all time after being cut from his high s

By Kenny Mitchell kenny@westbowiepost.com Summertime is here and along with the trips to the beach, the days spent at the pool, and maybe a few hours spent at the splash pad in New Boston, people in Texas know they have to deal with the heat. Temps will be rising and with that the heat index, so folks in NE Texas will soon feel the burn with triple digits becoming the daily norm. Though most have the luxury of air conditioning in homes and cars, many do not, and face the dang

The 2026 New Boston Miss Juneteenth royalty were crowned Saturday night. They are Baby Miss - Ki’Ayla Denae Atkins, Tiny Miss - Ayla Anthony, Little Miss - Laynee Marsh, Young Miss - Journee Jahay Williams, Junior Miss - Velma Jaelynn Eastman and Miss - Mackenzye Carpenter People’s choice was Jayleigh Cheyenne Riley

By: Rylee Freeman Residents of DeKalb no longer have to travel outside the area for custom signage, window tinting, invitations and other graphic design services with the opening of Tank Graphics' new location in town. Tank Graphics originated around a year ago, but owner Victoria Foil has long held a vision for what the business would become. After working for her mom’s sign company since the age of 14, Foil brings a wealth of knowledge, experience an

Life can sometimes deal us the most unimaginable circumstances. The kind of things that many in the world could never imagine anything good coming from it. One such day occurred on the night of June 11, 2010 when a peaceful, lazy river at Albert Pike in Arkansas went from its usual three feet deep to a destructive 23 feet in a very short time and claimed the lives of 20 people camped alongside its banks. Three of those lost were Lynn, Wilene and little Nick Shumake from DeKal