Issue #7

Smithville Texas News

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HAPPY 100TH LITTLE GRANDMA!

Today Refugia “Cookie” Campos, known by many in Smithville as “Little Grandma”, celebrated her 100th birthday!

It’s a milestone for sure, and anyone who’s met her knows what a truly special person she is.

We were on hand for her celebration on Saturday and spoke to family, friends, and people she cared for.

Check out what they had to say, and see videos from the celebration in our latest feature.

Want to read more feature articles about Smithville? Reply to this email and let us know whose story we should tell.

No 4-day School Week

The Smithville ISD Board of Trustees voted to keep the hybrid academic calendar for the 2025-26 school year. The calendar mirrors the one used this school year, offering extended breaks every nine weeks.

Find out why the Board decided to forgo changing to a 4-day school week, see how they voted, and get the full survey results in our latest article.

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Main Street Construction

If you’re making a trip downtown this weekend, please remember the intersection of Main Street and 2nd Street is closed as part of the drainage improvement construction project.

Despite the mess, businesses are OPEN, so please don’t let the road closed sign deter you from visiting our local businesses.

Check our X feed tomorrow for a story on the impact the construction is having on the downtown area.

Powerlifting Playoffs

Congratulations to our Smithville Powerlifting Teams for making the Regional Playoffs!

The Girls regionals will be this Friday, Feb. 28 in Dublin and the Boys will be next weekend, March 8 in Gatesville.

You can support our Powerlifting Team tomorrow (Thursday) morning with a playoff sendoff. Here is the route:

9:50 Junior High

9:55 Brown Primary

10:00 Main Street

10:05 Central Office and Elementary School

Good luck Tigers!

Smithville History

Looking for something fun and new to do this weekend in Smithville? The Smithville Heritage House & Museum will be open this Saturday, March 1st, from 10 a.m. to noon.

They are typically only open on Tuesdays, but thanks to the Smithville Garden Club, the museum will now be open on the first Saturday of every month.

Swing by, take a stroll through the past, and enjoy a glimpse into the stories that shaped our town!

From the Publisher:

Lead Up Goose PREVIEW   ​

Today, Jeff Bezos made waves by announcing changes to the opinion page of The Washington Post, which he owns. In his note, he said he was narrowing the focus of the paper’s opinion page to include only personal liberties and free markets.

He raised an interesting point: When newspapers were dominant, they were the only way readers could get varied opinions on an issue. Now, the internet, including social media, handles that role. That’s why he wanted to focus on just two pillars instead of providing opinions on everything.

I’ve worked in the newspaper industry for 15 years and have not only never seen anyone do that but also have never heard anyone suggest it.

So it got me thinking: What would you want a Smithville Texas News opinion page to focus on? Would it be something narrow, or would you want it to cover everything? Would you even want an opinion page?

As I said last week, we will never endorse candidates. But if a municipal issue arose, would you want to read what an expert had to say? Would you prefer someone from our community, or an outsider?

You can email me at Kristen@SmithvilleTexasNews.com and let me know your thoughts. I look forward to adding this topic to our listening sessions in April!

Looking forward to see what we can build together,

~K

Kristen Meriwether Publisher, SmithvilleTexasNews.com Kristen@smithvilletexasnews.com

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