KILGOROUND

A STORY in today's paper says the Humane Society in Longview euthanizes about 70 percent of the animals it takes in. Last year it took in about 9,700 dogs, cats and other critters.

THAT means the animal shelter put somewhere around 7,000 animals to sleep in 2005.

IS it any wonder they want us to neuter our pets?

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YOU'VE got to hand it to Mike Coston. The Chamber of Commerce president is always thinking.

ON Wednesday night, the Fort Worth Cats and the Shreveport Sports are playing a minor league exhibition baseball game.

IN response to concerns that Wednesday night is Prayer Meeting Night in East Texas, Coston found a way...

THE Cats will bring their chaplain with them. He will join Eddie Hilburn, the new preacher at First Baptist Church of Kilgore, in

conducting an open-air devotional (vespers?) at 5 p.m. at Driller Park. The game will start an hour later.

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WE'VE been collecting opinions of Kilgore's strengths and weaknesses as part of a homework assignment for the Kilgore Strategic Planning Committee.

OUR favorite 'strength,' came from a respondent who lives out of town but works in Kilgore: Brookshire's.

SHE says she shops there before she goes home in the evening and is always meeting other out-of-towners who buy their groceries there.

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YA gotta love politics ... a guy who voted for Republican candidates in the last three general elections gets arm-twisted into swearing he's a Democrat so the Democrats won't run a candidate against him in the fall.

WHEN, we wonder, did a constable's task become so politicized and so policy-oriented that it actually matters whether he's a Republican or Democrat?

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YOUR pants - pull 'em up. You look stupid.

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CELEBRATING birthdays today, Sunday, are Justin Vanderwater, Steve Leach, Kathleen Enochs, Pat Lackey, Tammy Belve, Sheila Nolan, Jim Wingfield, Stephen Reed, Lori Ingersoll, Heather Stetson, Judy English, Remona Scott, Dorothy Marshall, Justin Dean, Virginia Copeland, Charlie Fleming.

BLOWING out birthday candles on Monday are Tillie Dickerson, R.V. Davis, Donna Lynn Blackstone, Mrs. Cecil Warren, Sonya Goodacre, Donnie Lee, Calvin Sims, Eula White, Johnny Neal, Kerry Farmer, Gayle Davis, Marlo Thompson, Randy Earley, Andrew McBee, Calvin Williams.

AND celebrating wedding anniversaries Monday are Arturo and Patricio Ortiz, Staci and Joe Searcy.