ALBA — The Alba-Golden Independent School District (ISD) has scheduled a $20.6 million bond election for May. They aim to build a new Career and Technology Education facility and a new District Gymnasium that the district says aligns with its ongoing commitment to enhance learning environments.
The decision follows a recommendation from the Panther Legacy Vision Team, which consists of 36 members, including students, families, alumni, community members and district staff. This team has been evaluating the long-term facility needs over the past few months. If the bond is approved, the district expects to maintain a tax rate that remains lower than that of surrounding districts.
Further details will be released in the coming months. For any questions, individuals can reach out to Superintendent Shelby Davidson at the AGISD administration building or via email at [email protected].
TYLER — Temple Grandin, a prominent autism advocate and leader in the cattle industry, will appear at several Tyler Junior College events this month. Grandin is widely known for her work in animal welfare and autism awareness. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was diagnosed with autism at age 2. She experienced challenges with speech and social interaction early in life but developed a strong interest in reducing stress in livestock. Her ideas were initially met with skepticism in the cattle industry, but they later transformed cattle handling and housing practices across the United States. Grandin went on to become an influential voice in autism advocacy.
TYLER – On Saturday, Richard DeFreece of Tyler stopped by the King’s Academy Upper Campus gymnasium to attempt to make 250 paper airplanes, in just 60 minutes. Our news partners at KETK report that DeFreece was able to complete the feat on camera, with multiple timekeepers and in front of several witnesses, who helped count the planes and made sure they could all fly. He’ll have to wait for Guinness World Records to review the evidence of his attempt before verifying his new Guinness World Record. DeFreece said the previous record was for 200 paper planes made in an hour. For 250 planes in a hour, around 4.16 paper planes a minute had to be made. 
UT Tyler researchers recently conducted a study to see if health patterns in East Texas aligned with pre-COVID-19 data and they found that East Texans have a shorter expected lifespan than most Texans, according to our news partners at KETK. Research analyst Manuel Reyes and his team at the Hibbs Institute for Business and Economic Research took a look at 23 East Texas counties and found the average life span in this region is 75, which is four years less than the state average.