Easton News

Easton officials have canceled the city's largest fundraiser for next month and have talked about whether the volunteer fire department that serves the city should be disbanded because of its own financial woes.

Local government received unpleasant but unsurprising news in the past week in the form of falling property values projected in the latest estimated appraisals.

Overall property values have fallen in nearly every Gregg County jurisdiction, according to estimated appraisals released Thursday.

Turns out Gregg County Chief Appraiser Tom Hays' prediction one month ago that local property values wouldn't increase as much as in past years was an optimistic remark.

Is the city of Longview being penny wise and pound foolish in how it disposes of properties? It would appear so, but the City Council's recent directive to Sid Foster, the city's purchasing agent, to place legal notices soliciting bids for the properties in more widely read editions of the newspaper only addresses part of the issue.

Regional officials expect more than $7 million of federal stimulus funding to flow into the region for workforce training, transportation and criminal justice programs, according to state estimates.

Officials from throughout Northeast Texas attended a series of workshops focused on energy efficiency and management earlier this month.