The Italy Neotribune shut down on June 4, 2018. For sixteen years, we’ve published thousands of stories and photographs of the people and events of this wonderful town. Thank you to all the contributors, reporters, photographers, and editors who made this possible. Thank you to all the board members, council members, students, companies, and people we covered. And finally, a big thank you to everyone for reading the Neotribune.

We will keep an archive of this site online for as long as possible. All original photographs can be downloaded from their individual photo pages. We encourage you to save your favorites.

Farewell

When I was told the Neotribune was ending on June 4, 2018, several things came to mind.

As most already know, The Neotribune has announced they will close as of June 4th.

As my 68th birthday approaches, I have been thinking a lot about my past, especially my childhood here in Italy and the things and people that made it special. I now call this “way back when” which tells me I might just be getting old.

The South Ellis County Water Department works very hard for me!

My name is Luin McConnell, Sr. I have lived my entire life right here in Italy. I graduated from IHS in the 70’s. I was approached by some of the community leaders to run for city council, because they wanted a fair and honest representative for our community. Someone in which they know embodies the spirit of this community.

One of my favorite things to do is cook. I enjoy feeding my friends and family members when I can. The majority of them like to eat what I cook which makes me happy.

Land of Lost Socks is a story I wrote for my daughter Amy. Amy passed away from Multiple Sclerosis almost two years ago so the story is fiction. But, the amount of love I had for her is real.

“Land of Lost Socks” is a story I wrote for my daughter Amy. Amy passed away from Multiple Sclerosis almost two years ago so the story is fiction. But, the amount of love I had for her is real.

Land of Lost Socks is a story I wrote for my daughter Amy. Amy passed away from Multiple Sclerosis almost two years ago so the story is fiction. But, the amount of love I had for her is real.

I appreciate the folks at Neotrib allowing me to submit articles, especially Karen’s Korner. It has given me a way to share my opinion or write about people that are important to me. It has also given me a platform to vent when things bother me. It has been a rewarding experience to say the least. I have also covered the school, city and happenings around town. I love to write.

I think that most of you that truly know me will admit that I am very outspoken. There are times that after the fact I regret opening my mouth. But there are other times I need to say things and have chosen to do that in a Karen’s Korner column. I appreciate Neotribune for allowing me to do just that. Just to set the record straight these are always MY opinions and nothing else. You have the right to agree or disagree with me and can read or not read these columns.

We would like to thank all the new Board of Directors for giving of your time and energy to actively participate on all the members behalf in the running of our water system.

Today was a big payoff. For many years now, we have collected wheelchairs and other types of medical equipment. We do this in order to donate to people that may need it, or are not able to afford it. I invite others that are not in need of their old wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, nebulizers, oxygen machines, etc to bring it to us here at Monolithic, or we will pick it up from you.

Nine (9) citizens attended the Italy City Council’s regular meeting on Monday, November 9, 2015 held at the Italy Community Center. Under Item 5, Closed Session the council went into Executive Session to:

*Added: Mayor Farmer’s Response (4:30pm, 11/12/15)

We are trying a new commenting system for stories posted to the Neotrib. The system is called Disqus and is widely used across major websites. This allows everyone to make comments directly on a story. You will need to log in using an account from Disqus (FREE), Twitter, Facebook, or Google before you can post a comment.

In my 64 years on this earth, God has blessed me beyond measure. His goodness is very evident. One of my special blessings is my best friend, Donna Cate. She is always there when I need something or someone. I try to do the same for her. We don’t talk every day – we don’t have to. We laugh together and we cry together. One of the sweetest things she has done for me is share her life and family with me including her four amazing grandchildren. I thank God for Donna Cate.

My mama taught me many things as I was growing up. Several of her lessons I learned the hard way via a plum tree switch or her hand. Others she drove home in other ways via things like grounding. Needless to say she was strict.

1 Comment

I would like to respond to [the latest Karen’s Korner] article and explain why I voted against the budget. Many of those reasons you have already given, along with explanations. However, it’s always best served in my own words.

It is my choice to attend city council meetings. I have been doing that for a very long time. I like to hear things first hand. I try to keep up with what is going on and be informed. Because of this, I hear things that sometimes cause red flags to go up. Other times, something might be said that hits home with me for various reasons. The latter happened at a council meeting recently, hence the reason for this writing.

I have been wanting to write this letter to you for several weeks. I want thank you very much for leading the way to get Kinfolk Lane fixed up.

Memorial Day is now known mainly for its holiday sales and the beginning of summer. A much smaller cross-section of Americans go to places such as Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas for remembrances, and that’s a shame.

I am a native Texan. I have always been proud that Texas is generally considered a friendly state. We are very serious about our laws and I absolutely have no problem with obeying our laws and paying the penalty for not having done so. I am also a strong believer in good manners, honesty, and integrity. If nobody says anything about the abuse of power at your [Court Clerk’s] office many will be subjected to this judgement and misuse of position to punish people let alone, the disrespect issue.
If we want to live in a better place we have to be willing to be a voice for the betterment.

Paul Cockerham and myself would like to thank the community for their support this past Saturday. It was very refreshing to see everyone come together.

I felt like I needed to write something about our upcoming election and the turmoil that surrounds our city government. I didn’t quite know what to say, until my brother in law, Gary Clark, brought a quote to our staff meeting.

I would encourage everyone that is interested to watch the video from the last council meeting. You will see that the City Council stated that Department Heads have operational control of their departments. In the case of the Police Department, the Chief has operational control which includes determining who is on the wrecker rotation. The only business discussed was wrecker service for the Police Department when they needed a vehicle towed.

2 Comments

First I would like to welcome Brookshire Brothers to Italy.

Before I filed to seek a seat on the Italy City Council, I had prayed about it, thought about it and talked to several people I respect and trust including my husband, Brian.

I have noticed that the candidates for School Board Members rarely if ever, mention their responsibility to the tax payer, it the ones that through their propery tax make the School District possible. It seems to me that the questions for the candidates and current School Board members should be expanded to include something similar to the below.

As the wife and I neared the house about 4 pm on Tuesday, from a long day in Dallas, we saw that beast that everyone hates to see near their home. The city backhoe amid running water.

I would like to know who made the decision to clean house on face book? Stories about the city problems that were once posted on your page, have either been removed or hidden so they can’t be viewed.

I want to commend many of our community’s citizens for showing a passion for the happenings of our city government. I fear, however, that this passion at times becomes unproductive. I would like to appeal to all of the City of Italy leaders, employees, volunteers and citizens to move forward.

In a speech, made by Elmerine Bell at the Italy City Council meeting last evening, Mrs. Bell explains that the turmoil at Italy City Hall is not a game.

I have put in several requests in at City Hall to receive records under the Freedom of Information Act. Here are the following records I have requested.

Eminent domain is a very touchy subject and understandably so. Government entities, municipalities and even non-profit utility corporations can exercise eminent domain when they need to “take possession” of someone’s land for public use. But, there are legal guidelines that must be followed for this to happen.

Its easy for Italy citizens, with limited information, to jump to conclusions one way or the other regarding the bickering of our city leaders. On the Neotribune, we are trying to get more information about what is going on at City Hall, but its difficult. People in the city administration are not happy, the citizens are confused, and the bickering has no end in sight. I was able to talk to Chief Hill with the Italy Police Department this weekend, and he was able to answer a few of our questions. We encourage citizens to send us comments and questions, and we will continue to try and provide answers.