Everything Nac

Record Of Criminal Actions taken by Nacogdoches County Court At Law

This is the report of the cases where a verdict was decided.

---

---

This page may take a moment to load

Click Here to load a PDF file (1)

Click Here to load a PDF file (2)

Click Here to load a PDF file (3)

Click Here to load a PDF file (4)

From recording studios to lobbyist apps, Stephen F. Austin State University students pitched their business ideas to win the third annual “Shark Tank”-style Lumberjack Entrepreneurship Competition April 26.

“It takes a lot of moxie to stand up and say, ‘I’ve got an idea that is worth investing in,'” Matthew Smilor, director of the Rusche College of Business’ Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship, told contestants. “Year after year, I’m consistently amazed by the creativity and innovation of SFA’s students. Their ingenuity, determination and passion are truly inspiring.”

Contestants were judged on the market opportunities for their businesses as well as their situational awareness, pitches, business models and go-to-market strategies by three judges: Jenny Meyer, SFA alumna and president and CEO of JEM Advisors in Houston; Kevin Carr, SFA alumnus and owner of Community Beer Co. in Dallas; and Bill McGaughey, SFA alumnus, certified public accountant and entrepreneur based in Lufkin.

The competition began with the lightning round, during which 12 students pitched their ideas. The judges narrowed down the contestants to five finalists, who presented longer pitches during the final round.

“The competition was really fierce,” said Dr. Raymond Jones, associate professor and director of the entrepreneurship program at SFA. “Each of the finalists was prepared and handled the tough questions from the judges very well.”

The first-place prize of $10,000 went to Sauce Dudes, an online platform that delivers “only the best gourmet sauce and spice blends to market from southern style recipes,” by Brady Dill, a senior history major from Spring. Jordan Gonzales, a senior entrepreneurship major from Nacogdoches, earned the $5,000 second-place prize with Beyond the Vine Cellars, a mobile wine trailer for events. The $2,500 third-place prize went to Wyatt Brasher, an entrepreneurship junior from Texas City, for Immersify event-planning software with augmented- and virtual-reality features to help clients truly see how an event will look.

The two remaining finalists who earned $1,250 each were hospitality administration first-year student Nykia Benit of Hutchins with Kingdom Kitchen, a junior culinary arts school, and Paulina Salazar, a management senior from Center, with JackTrack Parking, a parking app that highlights open spaces on the SFA campus.

“I am extremely grateful to be awarded the win in this difficult competition,” Dill said. “The other competitors were fantastic, and I am humbled to be selected as the winner. I plan to use my winnings to help grow my business into something profitable for years to come. I’d also like to thank the judges for giving us their valuable time.”

To learn more about the competition, center and SFA’s entrepreneurship program, visit sfasu.edu/ace.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications

Project Raíces, a grant-funded program facilitated through Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Education Studies, has completed its first year of Language and Literacy Academias with their 2023-24 cohort, enhancing bilingual and multilingual education for school districts in Nacogdoches and Angelina counties.

Reaching All Individuals and Communities to Establish Success in Language Learning, referred to in short as Project Raíces, was made possible through a National Professional Development Grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Its goals are to improve instruction for English learners; increase the number of East Texas teachers certified in English as a second language, or ESL; and engage parents and caregivers through workshops that focus on school readiness, emergent literacy and language acquisition.

The five-year grant began with a planning year in 2022. In the 2023-24 academic year, Project Raíces provided ESL professional development, community engagement activities and children’s literacy training.

“I am so excited to make the vision of this grant team a reality,” said Carrie Wright, Project Raíces program director. “Seeing teachers, parents and SFA students working together as a community with the shared goal of improving literacy has been such an inspiration.”

This year, Project Raíces hosted four Language and Literacy Academias, which are workshops that provide interactive instruction for teachers and teacher candidates on ESL testing and strategies while parents receive information on how to connect with community resources and help children in school.

At the academias, children in participating families also enjoyed a kermes, or carnival, that included musicians and artists to present cultural performances. Project Raíces coordinators also hosted Yuyi Morales, Mexican-American children’s author of “Niño Wrestles the World” and “Dreamers,” for an event.

In collaboration with other departments in SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education, students of Dr. Deborah Buswell, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, helped develop outdoor games for participants at the academias, and Dr. Gina Fe Causin’s, associate professor in the School of Human Sciences, hospitality students staffed the events as part of an ongoing service-learning project.

“I was part of the convention and meeting planning class with Dr. Causin and worked at the registration table, signing in parents and their children before leading them to where they needed to go,” said Belle Carrera, a first-year hospitality administration major from New Braunfels, Texas. “I definitely learned how to better communicate with not only my peers but with guests as well. Initiating conversation has always been a problem for me, and helping with Project Raíces has definitely helped me with my communication skills.”

The application for the grant — one of 44 awarded nationally — was authored by Drs. Heather Olson Beal and Lauren Burrow, professors; Dr. Chrissy Cross, associate professor; and Dr. Yuan He, assistant professor, all of whom are faculty members in SFA’s Department of Education Studies. Dr. Marisol Diaz, who is a faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, also served as an author and co-principal investigator on the project.

“We are always looking at new opportunities to involve the SFA student community in active learning,” Wright said. “If you have a student group who could benefit from being a part of the program, please reach out.”

Each year, Project Raíces will recruit 25 in-service teachers from Nacogdoches and Lufkin independent school districts, 25 pre-service teachers in SFA’s educator preparation program, eight SFA faculty members and 25 families of emergent bilingual students in East Texas to participate in the program.

Recruitment is already underway for the 2024-25 academic year. Those interested must fill out an application on their website at sfasu.edu/project-raices and are chosen based on several factors, primarily their relationship to teaching emergent bilinguals in their classes. The program will continue for three more years.

For more information, visit sfasu.edu/project-raices or contact raices@sfasu.edu.

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.

By Parastoo Nikravesh, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University